17 April 2011 (Palm Sunday)
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to John 12:12-19
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
-- today is, of course, Palm Sunday -- it marks the start of Holy Week -- the holiest and most important week of worship in the Christian church
-- it starts with Palm Sunday -- goes through Maundy Thursday -- Good Friday -- and finally ends on Easter Sunday -- as we gather together to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus
-- one Palm Sunday, little 5-year-old Johnny had a sore throat and really didn’t feel like going to church -- so his family let him stay home with a babysitter -- when they got back to the house, they were carrying several palm branches -- just to let you know, on Palm Sunday a lot of the larger churches actually pass out little palm fronds and let the people wave them during the service as a reminder of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem almost 2000 years ago -- and evidently that’s what Johnny’s church had done
-- well, when Johnny saw his family come walking in with those palm branches, he wasn’t happy -- Johnny said, "Where did you get the palm branches? What are they for?” -- Johnny's older brother said, "People held them over Jesus' head as He walked by" -- Johnny looked disgusted and said, "That's just great -- The one Sunday I don't go to church and Jesus shows up!"
-- well, that’s exactly what this passage in John is all about -- it’s about Jesus showing up -- it’s about God coming to town
-- in order to really understand the significance of what is going on in this passage and what had been going on over the past 3-4 years in Israel, you need to understand some history
-- the Israelites were God’s chosen people -- out of all the people in the world, God had chosen the Israelites to be His special people -- God had called their ancestors -- Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- and promised to be their God and to bless them and all the world through them
-- He led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt across the Red Sea -- He led them through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land -- appearing as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to show them the path they should follow
-- God had spoken to them through Moses and Joshua and many, many prophets -- He had given them the law and they had written down and protected His word for thousands of years
-- the people had enjoyed their special relationship with God for a long time -- but one day, God quit talking -- it was a difficult time in the nation of Israel -- the people had once again turned from God to worship idols and to trust in their own strength -- in the past, God would send a prophet to them and warn them of their sins and would call them to come back to Him -- He would restore them to the land and restore His worship in the temple
-- but this time, instead of sending another prophet into the world to warn them and lead them back to Him, God just quit talking
-- God spoke through the prophet Malachi -- the last prophet in the Old Testament -- and warned the people to turn back to Him -- He told them to return and to worship Him again with all their hearts and souls and minds and strength because the end was coming -- the great Day of the Lord would soon be at hand when they would be judged for their sins -- and when Malachi wrote down all that God had told him to write and he proclaimed it to the nation of Israel, God stopped talking
-- for 460 years, the people of Israel had not heard a word from their God -- God had never left them before -- even in their sins, God would speak to them and would call them home -- but now, no one heard from God -- there had been no prophets for almost 500 years -- so the people did what they knew to do
-- they continued to go to church -- they continued to offer sacrifices -- they continued to go through the motions -- but there was no inspiration -- there was no word from God -- there was no indication that He was near
-- God was silent and the people suffered and wondered and hoped -- until one day, a man dressed in camel hair and wearing a leather belt appeared in the wilderness proclaiming the coming of the Lord and calling people to repent
-- and, as John baptized people in the Jordan River, the people wondered if this could be the messenger that Malachi told them about in the last book of the Old Testament --- the one who was going to be like the prophet Elijah and who would prepare the way for the return of the Lord
-- and then, there was Jesus -- as the Apostle John puts it -- a great light shining in the darkness -- a man who was more than a man -- a man who spoke with power and authority -- a man who touched the blind and the lame and the sick and they were healed -- a man who knew God and who spoke with God and who seemed to be God
-- and, so, the people flocked to Jesus -- they surrounded Him wherever He went -- some came for the healings -- some came for the bread from heaven -- some came to watch the show -- but others came seeking that which they had lost -- they came looking for God and hoping to hear His voice again
-- the people began to whisper that God was back -- they began to think that God had returned -- there were rumors of a revival going on in Israel through the ministry of Jesus
-- this is really what is going on in this passage in John about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem -- or, as we usually call it -- Palm Sunday
-- let’s look again at this with fresh eyes to catch a glimpse of what it was that drove these people to surround Jesus on that day
-- look back at verse 12
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem
-- the city of Jerusalem was crowded that day -- faithful believers from all over Israel and beyond had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread -- we know it better as the Passover Feast
-- this feast celebrated the protection of Israel by God as the angel of death passed over Egypt and slew the first-born children in the land as the final plague on the Egyptian Pharaoh -- only those people who had sacrificed a lamb and placed its blood on the doorposts of their homes were protected and delivered from death on that night
-- as commanded in the Jewish law, every year people would come to Jerusalem to remember the Passover and to worship in the temple
-- so, as Palm Sunday began, Jerusalem was filled with people who had come to worship God -- it was literally busting at the seams with people -- and all of them had heard of Jesus and were wondering if He was coming or not
-- verse 13
. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
-- when the people heard that Jesus was coming, they ran out to meet Him -- John says here they took palm branches with them and waved them in the air in anticipation of His coming
-- palm fronds signified victory -- they were waved when a victorious army came back home after winning a battle -- and they were waved when the king returned back to his palace -- through their actions, the people were saying what they truly believed about Jesus -- although they might not have fully understood that Jesus was God -- they knew that God had returned and that He was speaking through Jesus -- and so the people flocked to the road to welcome the voice of God back to Jerusalem after He had been silent for nearly 500 years
-- one thing to note here is that our actions proclaim what we believe, too -- more so than our words, what we do and how we live our lives tells others what we truly believe about God and about Jesus -- do we go through our lives proclaiming Him for the world to see -- or do we act like we haven’t heard from Him in a long time?
-- the other three gospel writers tell us that the people also spread their cloaks on the road in front of Jesus as He passed -- this was symbolic of royalty -- it’s kind of like our red carpets that we put out today for celebrities and dignitaries
-- it was also a way for the people to show that they were offering themselves and their possessions to Jesus -- by placing these cloaks in front of Him, they were saying, “We trust you -- we believe in you -- take our lives and take all that we have -- be our King and restore Israel to its former glory”
-- as Jesus made His way down from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, the people shouted at Him and said, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
-- “Hosanna” means “Save” -- it carries with it the idea of God delivering the people just as He had done during the Passover -- it is a cry to God for salvation and deliverance and healing
-- usually it was used just during worship as an expression of praise -- but here, the people are shouting it to Jesus, showing that they recognized Him as worthy of their praise -- as someone who was touched by God
-- verse 16
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
-- isn’t this verse amazing? -- “the disciples did not understand all of this” -- isn’t that the way it always is?
-- the people closest to someone can’t see them for who they really are -- sometimes it takes distance and a new look in order to fully see and understand just how special someone is -- let me give you an example of what I’m talking about
-- right now there is a miniseries on television called, “The Kennedys,” about the Kennedy family and their political dynasty, focused primarily on the life of John F. Kennedy
-- any time I’ve looked at the life of John F. Kennedy, one thing that has always fascinated me is the picture of John F. Kennedy, Jr. in the oval office -- he’s peeking out of the modesty panel underneath the president’s desk while his father, the president of the United States, is working at his desk
-- and what has always struck me about that picture is that JFK, Jr. has no idea who his father is or how important he is because he’s so close to him -- he could only understand later, when he looked at his father’s political career from a distant viewpoint
-- well, that is what is going on here in this passage -- the disciples were Jesus’ closest friends -- they had come to know Him in a special way -- they had lived with Him for three years -- they had traveled together -- they had shared meals together -- they had seen Him do miracles
-- but, because they were so close to Him, they just couldn’t see Him for who He truly was -- it was only later -- after the resurrection -- after Jesus’ ascension -- that they finally started to understand who this Jesus was that they had been with for so long and started to see Him as more than just a prophet but God Himself
-- verse 17
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
-- now here’s what I really want you to see in this passage -- word had spread about Jesus and what He had been doing -- especially after He raised Lazarus from the dead
-- so, when news that Jesus was coming to town spread, the entire town gathered on the street to praise His name and to wave palm branches and put their cloaks in the road
-- they had heard the stories of the miracles -- they had heard of the miraculous healings and the bread from heaven -- they had heard of the teachings and all that Jesus did -- and the people came to see for themselves if Jesus was the Messiah
-- this is always the pattern of God’s work in our world -- when God begins to move, people respond -- when they hear rumors of revival, people flock to be with God and to hear His voice and feel His presence
-- on February 3rd 1970, the students at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, were having their regular morning chapel service -- instead of preaching, the leader that morning gave his testimony and encouraged the students to come forward and talk about their own Christian experiences
-- one student came -- and then another and another -- the entire altar filled up -- and students began to confess their sins and offer forgiveness to others for wrongs that had been done and offer their lives back to God
-- this wasn’t a normal chapel service -- everyone could sense that -- everyone knew that God was truly there
-- the service was supposed to last 50 minutes -- instead, it went on non-stop for 185 hours -- 24 hours a day -- as students and faculty poured into the chapel and turned back to God with their whole hearts
-- just like on Palm Sunday, word began to spread about what God was doing -- and the revival grew and grew and grew -- people started flocking to tiny Wilmore, Kentucky -- seeking God and His presence in their lives
-- they knew God was there -- they knew He was doing something special -- and they wanted to be a part of it
-- by that summer, the revival had spread to more than 130 other colleges and seminaries and scores of churches -- there were reports of revivals occurring from New York to California and even as far away as South America
-- John tells us here about a revival that took place about 2000 years ago -- a revival that started a fire that has still not been extinguished
-- the Pharisees, who had been hoping to capture Jesus in secret, looked at the crowd and listened to their voices of praise and said, “The whole world has gone after Him.”
-- isn’t that the way it is supposed to be? -- why should Palm Sunday just be one day on the Christian calendar? -- why aren’t we expecting our churches and our streets to be filled with people looking for Jesus every Sunday? -- why should this be something that we just read about and not something that we are experiencing?
-- the message here is that revival begins with us -- if we have truly experienced the presence of God, then we should be spreading the word about Jesus just as the disciples did in His day
-- and we should expect the world to respond and to come seeking the God who saves and delivers and heals
-- so let’s pray that God would come into our hearts and into our lives just as He did that day in Jerusalem and that our churches and our streets would be filled with people running to meet Him
-- let us pray
Sunday, August 28, 2011
SERMON: JESUS, NOT JUST FOR EASTER ANYMORE
3 April 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 1:35-42
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
-- a groom and his new wife had just got married and had driven a long distance to get to their honeymoon location -- when they finally made it to the motel, they checked in and were escorted to the bridal suite in the wee hours of the morning -- they were both so tired from the long wedding and reception and from mingling with their guests and then the drive afterwards -- they were just looking forward to a few hours of sleep before they truly started to enjoy their new life together
-- so, you can imagine their disappointment when they finally got into their room and took a look around and couldn’t see a bed in sight -- there was a nice couch -- some chairs and a table -- but no bed -- what kind of bridal suite was this?
-- then they discovered that the couch was a hide-a-bed, complete with lumpy mattress and springs sagging to the floor -- so the newly married couple spent their honeymoon night on a hide-away-bed, waking up with sore backs and an even worse disposition
-- the next morning, the husband went to the hotel desk and gave the management a tongue-lashing for giving them such a terrible room, especially on their honeymoon
-- the manager asked, "Did you open the door in the room?" -- the manager carried the husband back up to the suite, and opened the door in back of the room -- and there, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates and wonderful decorations, was a beautiful bedroom -- the husband looked at his wife and then at the manager and said, "Oh, we thought it was a closet."
-- this illustration points to the way that many Christians are going through life today -- but it shouldn’t be like this
-- Jesus promised us in John 10:10 that He came to bring us life and life to the full -- the King James Version renders this as “abundant life” -- but if you look at most Christians, the lives that they are living could hardly be described as full or abundant lives
-- it’s almost like we’re missing the full gospel of Christ in our churches and in our lives -- think about the message of Jesus that is the focal point of most of our churches -- that is the focal point of most of our evangelistic efforts
-- we are told that Jesus is the way to heaven -- that He is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him -- we tell people that they are dead in their sins and their trespasses, but that if they will receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then Jesus will come into their lives and forgive their sins and bring them into eternal life with Him
-- and all of this is true -- wonderfully true -- this is what Easter is all about -- this is what Lent is all about -- seeking the God who saves -- celebrating the truth that in Jesus, God became one of us and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might receive forgiveness for our sins and eternal righteousness and life with Him
-- for 2000 years, the church has been really good at getting this message out -- at getting people to accept Jesus for their salvation -- at bringing them to the altar where they receive the justifying grace of God given to them at the cross of Calvary through the atoning death of Jesus
-- but, we’ve not done a very good job at helping people move past the altar to the wonders that await them in the next room -- we have failed to finish what Jesus called us to do when He told us in Matthew 28:18-20 to go and make disciples of all nations -- and, as a result, a lot of people have ended up getting stuck at the cross -- never maturing -- never growing -- never moving into the abundant life that Jesus promised
-- as A.W. Tozer put it almost 60 years ago, “Everything is made to center upon the initial act of ‘accepting’ Christ, and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls.”
-- but, isn’t there more to this Christian life than just punching a ticket to heaven? -- isn’t there more to Jesus than just salvation?
-- I have been spending time over Lent rereading the gospels -- not straight through -- but as I have been led by the Spirit to various passages -- and I noticed that Jesus’ message wasn’t as simple as we have made it -- it wasn’t just “come to Me and be saved -- come to Me and get to go to Heaven” -- no, His message was, “come to Me and enter the Kingdom of God -- come to Me and have life -- come to Me and live -- not just after you die and enter heaven -- but live to your fullest right now”
II. Scripture Lesson (John 1:35-42)
-- I think that’s why I found this passage in John so interesting -- it’s set at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry -- in fact, these verses cover the calling of Jesus’ first disciples
-- as these verses open, we read that Jesus has already been baptized by John in the Jordan River -- as you remember, John had been called by the Spirit to prepare the way for Jesus by preaching a gospel of repentance and baptism -- the Bible tells us that many people had gone out from the cities to see John and he had quite a large following with many disciples
-- one day, as John is standing there with his disciples -- preaching to the people and baptizing in the river -- he sees Jesus passing by
-- look back with me now at verse 35 and let’s pick up the story there
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
-- John knew exactly who Jesus was -- not only was Jesus his cousin, but he knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah -- the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world
-- when John had baptized Jesus the day before in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit had come upon Jesus as a dove and the heavens had opened up and God the Father had spoken Jesus as He rose from the waters -- “You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased”
-- John understood his role in the bigger picture -- he knew that his calling was to prepare the way for the Messiah, not to be the Messiah -- not to build a church -- not to gather disciples -- not to have a large following -- in John 3:30, when his disciples began to complain that everyone was going to Jesus and no one was coming out to see John anymore, John said, “He must become greater, I must become less”
-- John knew that there was more for Israel -- more for the world -- than the waters of the Jordan River -- than being called to the cross and being baptized in repentance of your sins
-- so, when Jesus walked by that day, John pointed Him out to the crowd and said, “There He goes -- there’s the One you have been looking for -- the Lamb of the World”
-- immediately, two of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus -- as I was reading that, I just tried to picture that in my head -- I could just see Jesus walking along the river and stopping to talk with someone and to shake someone’s hand -- to look at the wares that someone might have been selling in a booth out there
-- and there’s these two guys following Him -- when He stops, they stop -- when He moves, they move -- following Him but not really trying to make it obvious, you know? -- just kind of wandering around just to see what Jesus was doing -- at least, that’s how I pictured it since we don’t read that they ran up to Jesus and caught up to Him -- they didn’t stop Him and speak to Him -- no, they just followed Him
-- look with me at verse 38 -- and this really gets to the heart of what I want you to see
38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
-- you know that Jesus knew He was being followed -- you know that Jesus knew these two men were just following along at a distance and trying to watch Him and keep with Him -- so, finally, Jesus stops and turns around and asks the men, “What do you want?” -- the King James Version phrases it as, “What do you seek?”
-- in other words, Jesus wants to know, “Why are you following Me?”
-- how would you answer that question? -- if Jesus were to physically come in here this morning and walk up to you and look you in the eye and ask you, “Why are you here today? -- What do you want? -- Why are you following Me?” -- what would you say? -- why do you follow Jesus?
-- for many people, the answer is simple -- “because I want to go to heaven” -- “because I want to be saved” -- but, is that all we look to Jesus for -- an escape from the fires of Hell?
-- look at how John’s disciples respond to this question -- here they’ve been following Jesus around for some time and He finally turns around and confronts them, “What do you want? -- What do you seek?” -- and they respond by saying, “Where are you staying?”
-- it seems a shallow answer to such a profound question -- but, if you work through what they are really asking, they are proclaiming to Jesus, “O God, show us your glory -- “they want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God.” [Source: A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God]
-- these disciples weren’t following Jesus because they wanted something from Him -- they didn’t follow Him that day because they wanted healing or bread from Heaven or financial gain -- they followed Jesus because He was who they were looking for -- He was the answer to all their questions -- He was the answer to life
-- this invitation of Jesus to these two disciples to come and go with Him to His home really gets to the heart of Christianity -- it gets to what’s missing in most of Christianity
-- let’s say that this was you in this story -- let’s say that when we leave here, we run across Jesus walking down the street -- and He turns to us and invites us to His house -- what are you going to say? -- what are you going to do?
-- would you say, “I’ve already got salvation -- I’ve already got my ticket to heaven -- I’ll see you when I die”
-- if we’re honest, that’s what most of us do -- that’s what most of us think -- we kind of treat Jesus like the spare tire in our cars -- we know He’s there in case of emergency, but we don’t pay any attention to Him except for when we need Him
-- He’s just something that we added to our lives as fire insurance -- and so we get stuck at the cross
-- we may be saved -- we may have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior and been washed in the blood of the Lamb, but we just go through life sleeping on a hide-away-bed rather than entering into the bridal suite
-- we have eternal life -- but not the abundant, full life that Jesus offers -- what are we missing by settling with just getting by at the cross and not entering into the full gospel that Jesus offers?
-- look at what happens in verse 39 -- when these disciples asked to see where Jesus was saying, Jesus told them to come and to go with Him to His home -- and we read that they spent the day with Him
-- can you imagine what it would be like to spend the day with Jesus?
-- I just finished a book yesterday by David Gregory called, “Dinner with a Perfect Stranger,” that was about this very subject -- it’s the story of a man who receives an invitation to have dinner with Jesus
-- can you imagine what it would be like to spend the day with Jesus or to share a meal with Him in a fine restaurant? -- to just sit in His presence and to listen as He talked? -- to be able to share with Him from your heart and know that He really cared about what you were saying -- about who you are?
-- if you could spend the day with Jesus like these two disciples, would you waste that time by just asking for things? -- would you spend all that time complaining about your day and about your life and about what could be better?
-- no, of course not -- we would simply sit there and enjoy the moment -- we would sit there and rejoice that we were in the presence of our God and Savior
-- our focus wouldn’t be on eternity -- it wouldn’t be on fire escapes or getting out of Hell free -- our focus would be on Jesus and Jesus alone
-- look at what happened to these disciples -- verse 40
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
-- after spending a day with Jesus, these disciples went home changed -- after spending a day with Jesus, these disciples went home knowing that they had seen God -- knowing that they had been with the Messiah
-- so, the first they do is tell others about Jesus -- notice what Andrew told Simon -- he didn’t tell him, “I have found the path to God” -- he didn’t tell him, “I know what we have to do to get to heaven -- we have to go to the altar and pray the sinner’s prayer and get baptized and go to church”
-- no, Andrew told Simon, “We have found the Messiah -- we have found God” -- not a plan -- not a program -- a Person
-- you see, that’s what we have lost in our religion -- that’s what we have lost in most of our churches -- it’s not about what Jesus can do for us -- it’s not about us at all -- it’s about Jesus
-- Jesus died on the cross -- not only to save us for heaven -- but to invite us home
-- He died not just so that we could escape the flames of Hell -- but to restore our relationship with Him so we could enjoy His presence once again
-- Jesus didn’t just come to give us life -- He came to be our life
-- Why do we follow Jesus?
-- is it because of what can get -- or because of who He is?
-- the answer to that question is the difference between just living life or living an abundant life with Christ
III. Closing
-- as I close this morning, I want to invite you -- right now -- to just take a moment and think about your relationship with God
-- I pray that all of you have already entered into a relationship with Jesus -- that you have been to the cross and you’ve put your faith and trust in a God who saves and who forgives us of our sins -- if you haven’t, then I want to you invite you to do so right now and to ask Jesus to be your Savior
-- for those of you who have been to the cross -- who know that you are saved -- ask yourself this question, “How am I following Jesus now?” -- think about your life and think about the importance of Jesus in your life
-- is He just there to give you things or to be available in times of need -- or do you seek His presence and follow Him because you love Him and want to spend time with Him?
-- Easter isn’t just one day on a calendar -- Easter is our wedding day -- and Jesus is calling you to enter the bridal suite with Him and to enjoy life with Him for who He is and not for what He does
-- don’t go through life sleeping on a hide-away-bed waiting for eternity -- but follow Jesus home now and spend your life with Him from this moment on
-- let us pray
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 1:35-42
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
-- a groom and his new wife had just got married and had driven a long distance to get to their honeymoon location -- when they finally made it to the motel, they checked in and were escorted to the bridal suite in the wee hours of the morning -- they were both so tired from the long wedding and reception and from mingling with their guests and then the drive afterwards -- they were just looking forward to a few hours of sleep before they truly started to enjoy their new life together
-- so, you can imagine their disappointment when they finally got into their room and took a look around and couldn’t see a bed in sight -- there was a nice couch -- some chairs and a table -- but no bed -- what kind of bridal suite was this?
-- then they discovered that the couch was a hide-a-bed, complete with lumpy mattress and springs sagging to the floor -- so the newly married couple spent their honeymoon night on a hide-away-bed, waking up with sore backs and an even worse disposition
-- the next morning, the husband went to the hotel desk and gave the management a tongue-lashing for giving them such a terrible room, especially on their honeymoon
-- the manager asked, "Did you open the door in the room?" -- the manager carried the husband back up to the suite, and opened the door in back of the room -- and there, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates and wonderful decorations, was a beautiful bedroom -- the husband looked at his wife and then at the manager and said, "Oh, we thought it was a closet."
-- this illustration points to the way that many Christians are going through life today -- but it shouldn’t be like this
-- Jesus promised us in John 10:10 that He came to bring us life and life to the full -- the King James Version renders this as “abundant life” -- but if you look at most Christians, the lives that they are living could hardly be described as full or abundant lives
-- it’s almost like we’re missing the full gospel of Christ in our churches and in our lives -- think about the message of Jesus that is the focal point of most of our churches -- that is the focal point of most of our evangelistic efforts
-- we are told that Jesus is the way to heaven -- that He is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him -- we tell people that they are dead in their sins and their trespasses, but that if they will receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, then Jesus will come into their lives and forgive their sins and bring them into eternal life with Him
-- and all of this is true -- wonderfully true -- this is what Easter is all about -- this is what Lent is all about -- seeking the God who saves -- celebrating the truth that in Jesus, God became one of us and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might receive forgiveness for our sins and eternal righteousness and life with Him
-- for 2000 years, the church has been really good at getting this message out -- at getting people to accept Jesus for their salvation -- at bringing them to the altar where they receive the justifying grace of God given to them at the cross of Calvary through the atoning death of Jesus
-- but, we’ve not done a very good job at helping people move past the altar to the wonders that await them in the next room -- we have failed to finish what Jesus called us to do when He told us in Matthew 28:18-20 to go and make disciples of all nations -- and, as a result, a lot of people have ended up getting stuck at the cross -- never maturing -- never growing -- never moving into the abundant life that Jesus promised
-- as A.W. Tozer put it almost 60 years ago, “Everything is made to center upon the initial act of ‘accepting’ Christ, and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls.”
-- but, isn’t there more to this Christian life than just punching a ticket to heaven? -- isn’t there more to Jesus than just salvation?
-- I have been spending time over Lent rereading the gospels -- not straight through -- but as I have been led by the Spirit to various passages -- and I noticed that Jesus’ message wasn’t as simple as we have made it -- it wasn’t just “come to Me and be saved -- come to Me and get to go to Heaven” -- no, His message was, “come to Me and enter the Kingdom of God -- come to Me and have life -- come to Me and live -- not just after you die and enter heaven -- but live to your fullest right now”
II. Scripture Lesson (John 1:35-42)
-- I think that’s why I found this passage in John so interesting -- it’s set at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry -- in fact, these verses cover the calling of Jesus’ first disciples
-- as these verses open, we read that Jesus has already been baptized by John in the Jordan River -- as you remember, John had been called by the Spirit to prepare the way for Jesus by preaching a gospel of repentance and baptism -- the Bible tells us that many people had gone out from the cities to see John and he had quite a large following with many disciples
-- one day, as John is standing there with his disciples -- preaching to the people and baptizing in the river -- he sees Jesus passing by
-- look back with me now at verse 35 and let’s pick up the story there
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
-- John knew exactly who Jesus was -- not only was Jesus his cousin, but he knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah -- the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world
-- when John had baptized Jesus the day before in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit had come upon Jesus as a dove and the heavens had opened up and God the Father had spoken Jesus as He rose from the waters -- “You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased”
-- John understood his role in the bigger picture -- he knew that his calling was to prepare the way for the Messiah, not to be the Messiah -- not to build a church -- not to gather disciples -- not to have a large following -- in John 3:30, when his disciples began to complain that everyone was going to Jesus and no one was coming out to see John anymore, John said, “He must become greater, I must become less”
-- John knew that there was more for Israel -- more for the world -- than the waters of the Jordan River -- than being called to the cross and being baptized in repentance of your sins
-- so, when Jesus walked by that day, John pointed Him out to the crowd and said, “There He goes -- there’s the One you have been looking for -- the Lamb of the World”
-- immediately, two of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus -- as I was reading that, I just tried to picture that in my head -- I could just see Jesus walking along the river and stopping to talk with someone and to shake someone’s hand -- to look at the wares that someone might have been selling in a booth out there
-- and there’s these two guys following Him -- when He stops, they stop -- when He moves, they move -- following Him but not really trying to make it obvious, you know? -- just kind of wandering around just to see what Jesus was doing -- at least, that’s how I pictured it since we don’t read that they ran up to Jesus and caught up to Him -- they didn’t stop Him and speak to Him -- no, they just followed Him
-- look with me at verse 38 -- and this really gets to the heart of what I want you to see
38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
-- you know that Jesus knew He was being followed -- you know that Jesus knew these two men were just following along at a distance and trying to watch Him and keep with Him -- so, finally, Jesus stops and turns around and asks the men, “What do you want?” -- the King James Version phrases it as, “What do you seek?”
-- in other words, Jesus wants to know, “Why are you following Me?”
-- how would you answer that question? -- if Jesus were to physically come in here this morning and walk up to you and look you in the eye and ask you, “Why are you here today? -- What do you want? -- Why are you following Me?” -- what would you say? -- why do you follow Jesus?
-- for many people, the answer is simple -- “because I want to go to heaven” -- “because I want to be saved” -- but, is that all we look to Jesus for -- an escape from the fires of Hell?
-- look at how John’s disciples respond to this question -- here they’ve been following Jesus around for some time and He finally turns around and confronts them, “What do you want? -- What do you seek?” -- and they respond by saying, “Where are you staying?”
-- it seems a shallow answer to such a profound question -- but, if you work through what they are really asking, they are proclaiming to Jesus, “O God, show us your glory -- “they want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God.” [Source: A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God]
-- these disciples weren’t following Jesus because they wanted something from Him -- they didn’t follow Him that day because they wanted healing or bread from Heaven or financial gain -- they followed Jesus because He was who they were looking for -- He was the answer to all their questions -- He was the answer to life
-- this invitation of Jesus to these two disciples to come and go with Him to His home really gets to the heart of Christianity -- it gets to what’s missing in most of Christianity
-- let’s say that this was you in this story -- let’s say that when we leave here, we run across Jesus walking down the street -- and He turns to us and invites us to His house -- what are you going to say? -- what are you going to do?
-- would you say, “I’ve already got salvation -- I’ve already got my ticket to heaven -- I’ll see you when I die”
-- if we’re honest, that’s what most of us do -- that’s what most of us think -- we kind of treat Jesus like the spare tire in our cars -- we know He’s there in case of emergency, but we don’t pay any attention to Him except for when we need Him
-- He’s just something that we added to our lives as fire insurance -- and so we get stuck at the cross
-- we may be saved -- we may have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior and been washed in the blood of the Lamb, but we just go through life sleeping on a hide-away-bed rather than entering into the bridal suite
-- we have eternal life -- but not the abundant, full life that Jesus offers -- what are we missing by settling with just getting by at the cross and not entering into the full gospel that Jesus offers?
-- look at what happens in verse 39 -- when these disciples asked to see where Jesus was saying, Jesus told them to come and to go with Him to His home -- and we read that they spent the day with Him
-- can you imagine what it would be like to spend the day with Jesus?
-- I just finished a book yesterday by David Gregory called, “Dinner with a Perfect Stranger,” that was about this very subject -- it’s the story of a man who receives an invitation to have dinner with Jesus
-- can you imagine what it would be like to spend the day with Jesus or to share a meal with Him in a fine restaurant? -- to just sit in His presence and to listen as He talked? -- to be able to share with Him from your heart and know that He really cared about what you were saying -- about who you are?
-- if you could spend the day with Jesus like these two disciples, would you waste that time by just asking for things? -- would you spend all that time complaining about your day and about your life and about what could be better?
-- no, of course not -- we would simply sit there and enjoy the moment -- we would sit there and rejoice that we were in the presence of our God and Savior
-- our focus wouldn’t be on eternity -- it wouldn’t be on fire escapes or getting out of Hell free -- our focus would be on Jesus and Jesus alone
-- look at what happened to these disciples -- verse 40
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
-- after spending a day with Jesus, these disciples went home changed -- after spending a day with Jesus, these disciples went home knowing that they had seen God -- knowing that they had been with the Messiah
-- so, the first they do is tell others about Jesus -- notice what Andrew told Simon -- he didn’t tell him, “I have found the path to God” -- he didn’t tell him, “I know what we have to do to get to heaven -- we have to go to the altar and pray the sinner’s prayer and get baptized and go to church”
-- no, Andrew told Simon, “We have found the Messiah -- we have found God” -- not a plan -- not a program -- a Person
-- you see, that’s what we have lost in our religion -- that’s what we have lost in most of our churches -- it’s not about what Jesus can do for us -- it’s not about us at all -- it’s about Jesus
-- Jesus died on the cross -- not only to save us for heaven -- but to invite us home
-- He died not just so that we could escape the flames of Hell -- but to restore our relationship with Him so we could enjoy His presence once again
-- Jesus didn’t just come to give us life -- He came to be our life
-- Why do we follow Jesus?
-- is it because of what can get -- or because of who He is?
-- the answer to that question is the difference between just living life or living an abundant life with Christ
III. Closing
-- as I close this morning, I want to invite you -- right now -- to just take a moment and think about your relationship with God
-- I pray that all of you have already entered into a relationship with Jesus -- that you have been to the cross and you’ve put your faith and trust in a God who saves and who forgives us of our sins -- if you haven’t, then I want to you invite you to do so right now and to ask Jesus to be your Savior
-- for those of you who have been to the cross -- who know that you are saved -- ask yourself this question, “How am I following Jesus now?” -- think about your life and think about the importance of Jesus in your life
-- is He just there to give you things or to be available in times of need -- or do you seek His presence and follow Him because you love Him and want to spend time with Him?
-- Easter isn’t just one day on a calendar -- Easter is our wedding day -- and Jesus is calling you to enter the bridal suite with Him and to enjoy life with Him for who He is and not for what He does
-- don’t go through life sleeping on a hide-away-bed waiting for eternity -- but follow Jesus home now and spend your life with Him from this moment on
-- let us pray
Sunday, July 10, 2011
SERMON: THE MEANING OF BAPTISM
THE MEANING OF BAPTISM
27 March 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 23:37
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
-- before God sent the rain to us yesterday, you were probably aware that we had gotten really dry and that we’ve been having a lot of wildfires in our area -- we had a small wildfire out at Moody last Thursday that we had to quickly put out and there’s been a lot of smaller fires throughout the county over the last couple of weeks -- of course, there’s the larger wildfire that has been raging in Clinch County for several days now that had been threatening homes and lives in Cogdell and north of Homerville
-- even though wildfires are natural and part of this southern ecosystem -- they can still be very destructive and cause a lot of damage -- not only to homes and structures -- but also to the forests and to the animals that live there
-- I was reading about a wildfire the other day that had happened not far from us -- it was a massive wildfire and many firefighters had been brought in to help put it out -- they finally got it stopped and the firefighters were walking through the area putting out all the hot spots that were left -- all the stumps and the logs that were still burning and that might ignite the fire again
-- as they were walking through the burned out area, one of the men noticed a large lump on the trail -- it was kind of unusual so he walked over to it to see what it was -- and as he got closer, he noticed it was the charred remains of a large bird that had burned nearly half way through in the fire
-- he stood there looking at that bird and he wondered why this bird had died -- birds can easily fly away from the approaching flames -- I’ve been on lots of burns and lots of wildfires and I’ve never found a bird that died from the fire -- they always just fly away -- and so this guy stood there looking at that bird and trying to figure this out -- and he wondered if maybe it had been sick or injured and just couldn’t get away
-- after a moment, he decided to just kick the remains of the bird off the trail and go on -- and as soon as he did, he jumped and was scared half to death because there was all kinds of activity right by his feet -- he jumped back and watched as four little birds ran out from underneath the remains and scurried away down the hillside
-- and then he realized what had happened -- the mother’s body had covered them from the searing flames -- and even though the heat was enough to consume her -- her body protected her babies and allowed them to find safety underneath her wings -- and even though the flames came near -- and even though the heat became unbearable -- she had stayed with her young
-- she was their only hope for safety -- and she was willing to risk her own life to save them -- even when the pain reached its most unbearable moment -- when she could have flown away to start another family on another day, she made herself stay through the raging flames
-- this mother made the ultimate sacrifice to save her young -- and her death illustrates an even greater story -- the very story that brings us here today -- it is the story of a God who covered His children with His very own body and protected them from the flames of sin and death on the cross of Calvary [illustration adapted from Wayne Jacobson, The Hen and Her Chicks -- http://www.lifestream.org/bodylife.php?blid=23]
II. The Sacrifice of Jesus
-- this was the very reason Jesus came -- He told Nicodemus in John 3:16-17 that He had come into the world -- not to condemn the world -- but to save the world through Himself
-- the Bible tells us that we are all sinners -- that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- a lot of times we like to think that we’re ok -- that just because we haven’t done anything really bad -- we haven’t stolen anything or killed anyone -- that we’re going to get into heaven on our own merit
-- but the Bible tells us that this is just not true -- if we break God’s law at any point -- if we commit just one sin in our life -- then we have broken the entire law and are subject to the punishment of death and eternal separation from God
-- I’ve used this analogy before, but I think it makes a pretty clear picture -- think about all the different kinds of sins -- murder and robbery and lust -- telling white lies -- gossip -- impure thoughts -- all the sins -- everything you can think of
-- and now imagine them written on a plane of glass -- like that front window up there -- just written up there in a list with a little checkbox right next to each one of them -- now, I want you to imagine that on the other side of that window is a roaring lion and you can look through the glass and see him, just like an exhibit in the zoo
-- now let’s say that you were an extraordinary person and the only the only sin that you ever committed was to tell a white lie to someone -- and so I hand you a hammer and a nail and I tell you to go up there and put a hole in the checkbox next to that sin with the hammer and the nail
-- what’s going to happen to that plate of glass when you hit it with that hammer? -- it’s going to shatter -- that whole plane of glass is going to come crashing down around you -- and what’s that roaring lion going to do? -- he’s going to come through that window after you
-- that’s what happens with sin -- that’s what God tells us in His word -- if you break just one little sin out of all of the sins in the world -- it’s the same thing as breaking them all -- and you deserve the punishment that you will get
-- and there’s no one in here that has just committed one sin in their life -- we’ve all committed lots of sins -- and so the punishment that is owed us is great
-- but God didn’t want us to suffer the punishment for our sin -- He didn’t want us to spend an eternity apart from Him -- He certainly didn’t want us to end up in Hell
-- so He sent His Son to earth to die on the cross in our place -- to become sin for us -- to take up the sufferings and the afflictions that were ours -- to experience the eternal separation from God -- so that we might not have to
-- we see that here in this passage -- we see the heart of God right here in this verse --keep in mind that Jesus was talking to His most bitter enemies -- the Pharisees and those who thought they could justify themselves -- those that thought they could work themselves to heaven and make their own way to God by following the law
-- and Jesus weeps over them and He says, “I have longed to gather you up -- as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings -- but you were not willing”
-- Jesus was offering them salvation -- He was offering them eternal life -- but they just wouldn’t come
III. What Must We Do?
-- flip over to Acts 2:36
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
-- when God sent the Holy Spirit upon the church at Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached the message of salvation and told these same Pharisees and the Jews who had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem the good news of Jesus Christ
-- He told them about the cross and the resurrection -- and as the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon them -- they cried out, “What must we do? -- we know now that the law won’t save us -- we know now that our good works can’t get us to heaven -- what must we do?”
-- and Peter lines it out for them in verses 38 and 39
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
-- Peter says to “repent” -- to repent means that you confess to God that you know who you are and you know what you’ve done -- you take ownership for the sins that you have committed and you agree with God that you are guilty and that you stand condemned for your sin -- deserving of death
-- through repentance you ask Him to forgive you of your sins through Jesus -- to let Jesus’ death and suffering on the cross stand as payment for what you have done -- and then you agree to turn around and follow God by trusting and believing in Jesus
-- and then Peter tells us to “be baptized”
-- I read a story from Bob Beasley, who is a pastor in Canada, about the time he carried his three-year-old daughter with them to a baptismal service -- she just couldn’t understand what was going on -- when the pastor immersed the candidate and put them under the water, his daughter exclaimed in surprise, "Why he pushed that guy in the water? Why, Dad, why?"
-- later that night, they tried to help her understand what was going on -- they talked about in and told her that when people decide to live for Jesus and "do good" they want everyone to know and so they get baptized -- they explained to her that the water symbolizes Jesus' washing people from sin -- and that when they come out "clean," they are going to try to be "good."
-- but, it was obvious that his daughter still didn’t quite get it -- she responded, “Well, if he has been bad, why didn’t the preacher just spank him?” [Source: Preaching Today Illustration from Bob Beasley, pastor of Gregory Drive Alliance Church, West Chatham, Ontario, Canada]
-- that’s the great thing about grace -- we don’t have to be spanked because Jesus was spanked for us -- we don’t have to suffer the punishment for our sins because Jesus was punished for us
-- so, when we humble ourselves and ask Jesus to forgive us for all we have done wrong and we repent of our wicked ways and turn to follow Him -- Jesus gives us eternal life and tells us to offer ourselves to Him through the act of baptism as Peter tells us here
-- baptism is an outward expression of an inward grace -- it is a symbolic act that proclaims to the world the inward change that has occurred in our hearts and in our spirits
-- it signifies our new life in Christ that began with the forgiveness of our sins -- it makes us a part of the body of Christ -- and makes us one with Christ and one with the church
-- baptism is what we call a sacrament -- the word sacrament literally means “sacred moment” -- what this means is that when we are baptized, not only are we present in the act -- but God Himself is present and is pouring out His grace upon us
-- that is what makes this act of baptism so special and so meaningful in our lives -- it’s not just us -- it’s God with us
-- and while we use water to represent the waters of creation and the cleansing of sin in our lives -- we have to keep in mind that we are being baptized with both water and the Spirit -- when we are baptized, the presence of God through the Holy Spirit is made alive in us to raise us up from the old life to a new life in Christ and to empower us to live that new life in victory
-- because the water is used only as a symbol of what Jesus has done within us, I don’t believe it really matters how much water you use, although some will argue that you have to be immersed completely when you are baptized
-- here at Koinonia, we baptize in the three methods that we believe have been used throughout the Bible -- immersion, sprinkling, and pouring -- and we leave it up to the choice of the person being baptized as to how they would like to be baptized
-- I like the symbolism of immersion for I think it really proclaims to the world the death of our old body and the washing away of our sins and the rising to new life in Christ -- but, obviously, we can’t always baptize in this way -- sometimes we don’t have access to a pool of water and sometimes the person being baptized can’t be immersed -- they might be terminally ill and unable to be immersed -- or they might be an infant or a child who couldn’t be immersed safely
-- which brings up something that I want to note here in this passage -- Peter says in verse 39 that the promise of salvation is for you and your children -- we know that in the Old Testament infants were included in the covenant with God -- God commanded Abraham to mark all male infants at eight days of age with the sign of circumcision to show they were part of the covenant -- in the same way, the church has traditionally baptized infants and children as a sign that they are part of the new covenant in Christ
-- now, I know some churches do not baptize infants -- but I don’t believe they should be excluded from the sacrament simply because of their age -- Peter says here that the children are part of the promise -- and Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
-- children and infants have always been a part of the covenant of God, going back to the days of Abraham -- and nowhere in the Bible are we told to exclude them from the covenant of faith -- so I think they should be allowed to baptized as a sign of that they are part of the new covenant in Christ
-- think about it this way -- let me give you a picture of what’s really going on in baptism-- when we are baptized, we place ourselves under Jesus -- under His authority and His protection
-- very much like the picture I gave you in my story of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them from harm -- through baptism, we are publicly making the declaration that we have placed ourselves under the wings of Jesus -- we are proclaiming that we are part of His church -- that we are part of the new covenant that He offers us through His body and His blood
-- when an infant or child is baptized, we are doing the same thing to them that Jesus does to us -- not only are they under the sheltering wings of Jesus, but they are being placed under the sheltering wings of their parents and the entire community of faith
-- through baptism, children are brought into the community of faith and are sheltered and protected from the world around them by the grace of God
-- now, that’s not to say that infants and children receive salvation through the act of baptism -- it only means that they are part of the covenant of God and part of the body of Christ -- to be protected and nurtured and raised in the faith until they can declare on their own their personal faith and trust in the saving grace of Jesus Christ at confirmation
-- just like a Jewish boy who was circumcised at 8 days of age would one day have to stand up and become a believer on his own and agree to live for God -- infants and children who are baptized will have to do the same -- at some point in their life they are going to have to ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins and to be their Savior if they want eternal life with Him
IV. Closing
-- one Sunday morning after the worship service, a little boy came up to Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in California and the author of the Purpose-Driven Life, and asked him, "When can I get advertised?"
-- He meant "baptized" but he made the right point -- baptism is advertising that you're a Christian
-- in the church we are baptized -- not only because we are commanded to do so in Scripture -- but because we want to proclaim to the world that we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and have received forgiveness for our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus
-- this morning, we are honored to have Kaylee Harpe being presented to us for baptism by her parents -- but before I invite them up, I want to offer this invitation to you
-- Christ calls for us to be baptized as an act of obedience -- as a proclamation of who we are in Him -- and as a witness to the inward change that has come through our salvation
-- maybe some of you here have never received Jesus before as your Lord and Savior -- maybe you grew up thinking that going to church and believing that Jesus was real was enough to be saved -- but the Bible tells us that you have to do more
-- you have to repent -- you have to confess your sins and admit you are a sinner and ask Jesus to forgive you for what you have done -- and then you have to trust in His atoning death and His resurrection and believe in your heart -- not just your head -- that He is God and that we are saved and can go to heaven only because of Him
-- if you’ve never received Jesus as your personal Savior -- if you’ve never come and asked Him to forgive you for your sins, then I want to invite you to do so right now
-- and if you have received Jesus but you’ve never followed through and been baptized -- then I want to invite you to come up and offer yourself for baptism -- if you want to be immersed, we can arrange a time and place for that -- but if you just want to experience the baptism and the grace of Jesus right now through the symbolic act of sprinkling with water, then I’d invite you to come forward as we prepare to baptize Kaylee
-- so, let’s close in prayer and then I’ll have Seth lead us in the final song and then we’ll celebrate together the sacrament of baptism
-- let’s pray
27 March 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 23:37
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
-- before God sent the rain to us yesterday, you were probably aware that we had gotten really dry and that we’ve been having a lot of wildfires in our area -- we had a small wildfire out at Moody last Thursday that we had to quickly put out and there’s been a lot of smaller fires throughout the county over the last couple of weeks -- of course, there’s the larger wildfire that has been raging in Clinch County for several days now that had been threatening homes and lives in Cogdell and north of Homerville
-- even though wildfires are natural and part of this southern ecosystem -- they can still be very destructive and cause a lot of damage -- not only to homes and structures -- but also to the forests and to the animals that live there
-- I was reading about a wildfire the other day that had happened not far from us -- it was a massive wildfire and many firefighters had been brought in to help put it out -- they finally got it stopped and the firefighters were walking through the area putting out all the hot spots that were left -- all the stumps and the logs that were still burning and that might ignite the fire again
-- as they were walking through the burned out area, one of the men noticed a large lump on the trail -- it was kind of unusual so he walked over to it to see what it was -- and as he got closer, he noticed it was the charred remains of a large bird that had burned nearly half way through in the fire
-- he stood there looking at that bird and he wondered why this bird had died -- birds can easily fly away from the approaching flames -- I’ve been on lots of burns and lots of wildfires and I’ve never found a bird that died from the fire -- they always just fly away -- and so this guy stood there looking at that bird and trying to figure this out -- and he wondered if maybe it had been sick or injured and just couldn’t get away
-- after a moment, he decided to just kick the remains of the bird off the trail and go on -- and as soon as he did, he jumped and was scared half to death because there was all kinds of activity right by his feet -- he jumped back and watched as four little birds ran out from underneath the remains and scurried away down the hillside
-- and then he realized what had happened -- the mother’s body had covered them from the searing flames -- and even though the heat was enough to consume her -- her body protected her babies and allowed them to find safety underneath her wings -- and even though the flames came near -- and even though the heat became unbearable -- she had stayed with her young
-- she was their only hope for safety -- and she was willing to risk her own life to save them -- even when the pain reached its most unbearable moment -- when she could have flown away to start another family on another day, she made herself stay through the raging flames
-- this mother made the ultimate sacrifice to save her young -- and her death illustrates an even greater story -- the very story that brings us here today -- it is the story of a God who covered His children with His very own body and protected them from the flames of sin and death on the cross of Calvary [illustration adapted from Wayne Jacobson, The Hen and Her Chicks -- http://www.lifestream.org/bodylife.php?blid=23]
II. The Sacrifice of Jesus
-- this was the very reason Jesus came -- He told Nicodemus in John 3:16-17 that He had come into the world -- not to condemn the world -- but to save the world through Himself
-- the Bible tells us that we are all sinners -- that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- a lot of times we like to think that we’re ok -- that just because we haven’t done anything really bad -- we haven’t stolen anything or killed anyone -- that we’re going to get into heaven on our own merit
-- but the Bible tells us that this is just not true -- if we break God’s law at any point -- if we commit just one sin in our life -- then we have broken the entire law and are subject to the punishment of death and eternal separation from God
-- I’ve used this analogy before, but I think it makes a pretty clear picture -- think about all the different kinds of sins -- murder and robbery and lust -- telling white lies -- gossip -- impure thoughts -- all the sins -- everything you can think of
-- and now imagine them written on a plane of glass -- like that front window up there -- just written up there in a list with a little checkbox right next to each one of them -- now, I want you to imagine that on the other side of that window is a roaring lion and you can look through the glass and see him, just like an exhibit in the zoo
-- now let’s say that you were an extraordinary person and the only the only sin that you ever committed was to tell a white lie to someone -- and so I hand you a hammer and a nail and I tell you to go up there and put a hole in the checkbox next to that sin with the hammer and the nail
-- what’s going to happen to that plate of glass when you hit it with that hammer? -- it’s going to shatter -- that whole plane of glass is going to come crashing down around you -- and what’s that roaring lion going to do? -- he’s going to come through that window after you
-- that’s what happens with sin -- that’s what God tells us in His word -- if you break just one little sin out of all of the sins in the world -- it’s the same thing as breaking them all -- and you deserve the punishment that you will get
-- and there’s no one in here that has just committed one sin in their life -- we’ve all committed lots of sins -- and so the punishment that is owed us is great
-- but God didn’t want us to suffer the punishment for our sin -- He didn’t want us to spend an eternity apart from Him -- He certainly didn’t want us to end up in Hell
-- so He sent His Son to earth to die on the cross in our place -- to become sin for us -- to take up the sufferings and the afflictions that were ours -- to experience the eternal separation from God -- so that we might not have to
-- we see that here in this passage -- we see the heart of God right here in this verse --keep in mind that Jesus was talking to His most bitter enemies -- the Pharisees and those who thought they could justify themselves -- those that thought they could work themselves to heaven and make their own way to God by following the law
-- and Jesus weeps over them and He says, “I have longed to gather you up -- as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings -- but you were not willing”
-- Jesus was offering them salvation -- He was offering them eternal life -- but they just wouldn’t come
III. What Must We Do?
-- flip over to Acts 2:36
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
-- when God sent the Holy Spirit upon the church at Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached the message of salvation and told these same Pharisees and the Jews who had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem the good news of Jesus Christ
-- He told them about the cross and the resurrection -- and as the power of the Holy Spirit fell upon them -- they cried out, “What must we do? -- we know now that the law won’t save us -- we know now that our good works can’t get us to heaven -- what must we do?”
-- and Peter lines it out for them in verses 38 and 39
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
-- Peter says to “repent” -- to repent means that you confess to God that you know who you are and you know what you’ve done -- you take ownership for the sins that you have committed and you agree with God that you are guilty and that you stand condemned for your sin -- deserving of death
-- through repentance you ask Him to forgive you of your sins through Jesus -- to let Jesus’ death and suffering on the cross stand as payment for what you have done -- and then you agree to turn around and follow God by trusting and believing in Jesus
-- and then Peter tells us to “be baptized”
-- I read a story from Bob Beasley, who is a pastor in Canada, about the time he carried his three-year-old daughter with them to a baptismal service -- she just couldn’t understand what was going on -- when the pastor immersed the candidate and put them under the water, his daughter exclaimed in surprise, "Why he pushed that guy in the water? Why, Dad, why?"
-- later that night, they tried to help her understand what was going on -- they talked about in and told her that when people decide to live for Jesus and "do good" they want everyone to know and so they get baptized -- they explained to her that the water symbolizes Jesus' washing people from sin -- and that when they come out "clean," they are going to try to be "good."
-- but, it was obvious that his daughter still didn’t quite get it -- she responded, “Well, if he has been bad, why didn’t the preacher just spank him?” [Source: Preaching Today Illustration from Bob Beasley, pastor of Gregory Drive Alliance Church, West Chatham, Ontario, Canada]
-- that’s the great thing about grace -- we don’t have to be spanked because Jesus was spanked for us -- we don’t have to suffer the punishment for our sins because Jesus was punished for us
-- so, when we humble ourselves and ask Jesus to forgive us for all we have done wrong and we repent of our wicked ways and turn to follow Him -- Jesus gives us eternal life and tells us to offer ourselves to Him through the act of baptism as Peter tells us here
-- baptism is an outward expression of an inward grace -- it is a symbolic act that proclaims to the world the inward change that has occurred in our hearts and in our spirits
-- it signifies our new life in Christ that began with the forgiveness of our sins -- it makes us a part of the body of Christ -- and makes us one with Christ and one with the church
-- baptism is what we call a sacrament -- the word sacrament literally means “sacred moment” -- what this means is that when we are baptized, not only are we present in the act -- but God Himself is present and is pouring out His grace upon us
-- that is what makes this act of baptism so special and so meaningful in our lives -- it’s not just us -- it’s God with us
-- and while we use water to represent the waters of creation and the cleansing of sin in our lives -- we have to keep in mind that we are being baptized with both water and the Spirit -- when we are baptized, the presence of God through the Holy Spirit is made alive in us to raise us up from the old life to a new life in Christ and to empower us to live that new life in victory
-- because the water is used only as a symbol of what Jesus has done within us, I don’t believe it really matters how much water you use, although some will argue that you have to be immersed completely when you are baptized
-- here at Koinonia, we baptize in the three methods that we believe have been used throughout the Bible -- immersion, sprinkling, and pouring -- and we leave it up to the choice of the person being baptized as to how they would like to be baptized
-- I like the symbolism of immersion for I think it really proclaims to the world the death of our old body and the washing away of our sins and the rising to new life in Christ -- but, obviously, we can’t always baptize in this way -- sometimes we don’t have access to a pool of water and sometimes the person being baptized can’t be immersed -- they might be terminally ill and unable to be immersed -- or they might be an infant or a child who couldn’t be immersed safely
-- which brings up something that I want to note here in this passage -- Peter says in verse 39 that the promise of salvation is for you and your children -- we know that in the Old Testament infants were included in the covenant with God -- God commanded Abraham to mark all male infants at eight days of age with the sign of circumcision to show they were part of the covenant -- in the same way, the church has traditionally baptized infants and children as a sign that they are part of the new covenant in Christ
-- now, I know some churches do not baptize infants -- but I don’t believe they should be excluded from the sacrament simply because of their age -- Peter says here that the children are part of the promise -- and Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
-- children and infants have always been a part of the covenant of God, going back to the days of Abraham -- and nowhere in the Bible are we told to exclude them from the covenant of faith -- so I think they should be allowed to baptized as a sign of that they are part of the new covenant in Christ
-- think about it this way -- let me give you a picture of what’s really going on in baptism-- when we are baptized, we place ourselves under Jesus -- under His authority and His protection
-- very much like the picture I gave you in my story of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them from harm -- through baptism, we are publicly making the declaration that we have placed ourselves under the wings of Jesus -- we are proclaiming that we are part of His church -- that we are part of the new covenant that He offers us through His body and His blood
-- when an infant or child is baptized, we are doing the same thing to them that Jesus does to us -- not only are they under the sheltering wings of Jesus, but they are being placed under the sheltering wings of their parents and the entire community of faith
-- through baptism, children are brought into the community of faith and are sheltered and protected from the world around them by the grace of God
-- now, that’s not to say that infants and children receive salvation through the act of baptism -- it only means that they are part of the covenant of God and part of the body of Christ -- to be protected and nurtured and raised in the faith until they can declare on their own their personal faith and trust in the saving grace of Jesus Christ at confirmation
-- just like a Jewish boy who was circumcised at 8 days of age would one day have to stand up and become a believer on his own and agree to live for God -- infants and children who are baptized will have to do the same -- at some point in their life they are going to have to ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins and to be their Savior if they want eternal life with Him
IV. Closing
-- one Sunday morning after the worship service, a little boy came up to Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in California and the author of the Purpose-Driven Life, and asked him, "When can I get advertised?"
-- He meant "baptized" but he made the right point -- baptism is advertising that you're a Christian
-- in the church we are baptized -- not only because we are commanded to do so in Scripture -- but because we want to proclaim to the world that we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and have received forgiveness for our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus
-- this morning, we are honored to have Kaylee Harpe being presented to us for baptism by her parents -- but before I invite them up, I want to offer this invitation to you
-- Christ calls for us to be baptized as an act of obedience -- as a proclamation of who we are in Him -- and as a witness to the inward change that has come through our salvation
-- maybe some of you here have never received Jesus before as your Lord and Savior -- maybe you grew up thinking that going to church and believing that Jesus was real was enough to be saved -- but the Bible tells us that you have to do more
-- you have to repent -- you have to confess your sins and admit you are a sinner and ask Jesus to forgive you for what you have done -- and then you have to trust in His atoning death and His resurrection and believe in your heart -- not just your head -- that He is God and that we are saved and can go to heaven only because of Him
-- if you’ve never received Jesus as your personal Savior -- if you’ve never come and asked Him to forgive you for your sins, then I want to invite you to do so right now
-- and if you have received Jesus but you’ve never followed through and been baptized -- then I want to invite you to come up and offer yourself for baptism -- if you want to be immersed, we can arrange a time and place for that -- but if you just want to experience the baptism and the grace of Jesus right now through the symbolic act of sprinkling with water, then I’d invite you to come forward as we prepare to baptize Kaylee
-- so, let’s close in prayer and then I’ll have Seth lead us in the final song and then we’ll celebrate together the sacrament of baptism
-- let’s pray
SERMON: LIVING IN A TSUNAMI WORLD
LIVING IN A TSUNAMI WORLD
20 March 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
-- as I’m sure everyone in here knows, on March 11th at 2:46 pm the nation of Japan was rocked by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit off its northeast coast -- the fourth largest earthquake recorded in the world since 1900
-- this quake along the Pacific tectonic plate generated a massive tsunami that sent 30-ft waves roaring onto Japan -- devastating coastal towns and causing damage as far away as California and Hawaii -- and resulting in the deaths of over 10,000 people in the small island nation
-- in addition to the wholesale destruction of homes and communities along the coast, the massive tsunami also severely damaged nuclear plants in northeast Japan -- and for the past week the eyes of the world have been watching as Japan’s scientists and engineers desperately tried to cool the nuclear material in these plants and prevent the catastrophic release of radiation at levels exceeding that of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl
-- while people in California and along the United State’s western coast scrambled to buy iodine tablets and Geiger counters -- and as our TV screens were filled with the horrific images of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami and of the race against time to rescue survivors and to restore order in a devastated country which was trying not only to survive a natural disaster but also the complete meltdown of a nuclear reactor -- we looked at the situation and felt hopeless and wondered if anyone would be able to help us out of this disaster
-- how often in recent years have we experienced these same feelings of hopelessness and helplessness? -- in the last decade, we have seen unprecedented natural and man-made disasters of increasing magnitude -- from the horrific events of 9-11 and the 2004 tsunami that killed over 230,000 people in Indonesia -- to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and earthquakes in Haiti, Tibet, Chili, and New Zealand -- to catastrophic flooding in Europe and South America
-- we have witnessed economic and financial collapses -- seen the dollar decrease in value against other national currency -- and watched as home foreclosure rates and unemployment reached all-time highs
-- and, just this morning, we open our papers to read of military attacks against the nation of Libya as our country expands the war effort from Afghanistan and Iraq and Pakistan to yet another region of the world while unrest and civil protests rage throughout Bahrain and Iran and other Arab countries
-- events such as these cause us to do just as the Psalmist does here and turn our eyes to the heavens and ask the questions, “How do we live in such a world? -- How do we survive in the midst of total chaos and devastation and destruction? -- Where do we look for answers and hope and help?”
II. Scripture Lesson -- Psalm 121:1-8
-- we are unsure who wrote this Psalm -- the scriptures do not tell us who the author is -- some scholars think it was King David and that this Psalm was written as he fled from Saul and his armies or later in life as he fled Jerusalem after his son usurped the throne
-- but, regardless of who wrote these words, they resonate in our hearts -- because we have felt the same emotion -- we have experienced the same doubt and despair and uncertainty -- and we know, as we read the heart-cry of this Psalmist, that we could have written these words ourselves
-- while we don’t know exactly the situation that led to this Psalm, we do know this -- the Psalmist who penned these words was in the midst of chaos -- perhaps surrounded by enemies who sought his life -- perhaps seeking answers in the midst of a natural disaster
-- he had little hope left of surviving -- and everywhere he looked, he saw danger and death and destruction -- he asked himself, “How do I live in this world?” -- and then he gives us the answer in this Psalm
-- look back at verse 1 and see what he wrote
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
-- Corrie ten Boom -- the great Dutch evangelist who was sent to a German concentration camp for hiding Jews in her home during World War II -- once wrote, “Look around and be distressed -- Look within and be depressed -- Look at Jesus and be at rest”
-- the Psalmist looked around and was distressed -- he looked within himself and didn’t see any hope there -- so he lifted his eyes to the hills -- he lifted his eyes to heaven -- wondering where help would come from
-- verse 2
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
-- the Psalmist makes it clear here -- our help does not come from charismatic presidents or politicians -- it doesn’t come from bank presidents or generals leading armies -- it doesn’t come from scientists or engineers
-- our help comes only from the Lord -- from the maker of heaven and earth -- and that’s true, whether we’re talking about being surrounded by enemies or if we’re talking about natural or economic disasters or if we’re talking about the state of our soul -- our hope rests only in God -- our Savior can only be God
-- verse 3
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
-- when I read these verses, I am reminded of the great battle of faith on Mount Carmel when the prophet Elijah confronted the false prophets of Asherah and Baal -- if you remember this story, Elijah proposed a test of faith whereby the nation would see who the true God of Israel was based on which God could supernaturally light the fire on the altar
-- the false prophets went first, and no matter how loud they wailed and cried out -- no matter how much they cut themselves and offered their souls to their gods -- nothing happened -- and Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry louder -- perhaps your god is asleep and cannot hear”
-- the Psalmist here reminds of the great truth that our God doesn’t sleep or slumber -- the Bible tells us that God is with us always and will never leave us or forsake us
-- God wasn’t asleep when the earthquake hit off the coast of Japan last week -- He wasn’t slumbering when the tsunami roared ashore -- He wasn’t surprised by what happened -- He was there, in the midst of His people, ministering to them in their despair
-- some might ask why God didn’t stop the tsunami -- why He didn’t stop the earth from quaking or the tectonic plates from shifting -- but answers to questions like that are above our understanding -- God is God and His purposes and His ways are higher than ours
-- but, I do know this -- without winter, we can never enjoy the beauty of spring -- without sickness, we can never rejoice in health -- without pain and death, we can never realize the blessing of life
-- why do bad things happen? -- why does God allow bad things to happen? -- we don’t know -- but, we do know that He is there in the midst of our pain and suffering -- ministering to our hearts and spirits and giving comfort to our souls
-- the Psalmist gives us the promise that God will never let our foot slip off the path of salvation -- He will never let our faith waiver -- no matter what we may experience -- no matter the tragedies we may faith -- He will hold us firm and keep us on the straight and narrow because our God never sleeps -- He never slumbers -- but He is always there to lift us up and to bring us hope and help wherever our feet may trod
-- verse 5
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
-- I don’t know about you, but these verses here speak to me in a special way -- I don’t know how many of you have spent sleepless nights worrying about things in your life -- about your family -- about your work -- about school or tests or friends -- but I know the feeling of being wide awake at 3:00 in the morning -- worrying and anxious about things to come
-- some have done that with this disaster in Japan -- others have stayed up and worried about finances and jobs and other things -- but these verses say that we don’t have to worry -- that whether it’s in the middle of the day or in the middle of the night, God is with us and He is watching over us
-- they remind us of the truth of that quote that gets passed around on e-mail and on the internet -- “Why take your worries and troubles to bed with you? -- Give them to God -- He’s going to be up anyway!”
-- Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. -- And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
-- all the worrying in the world won’t make the slightest difference in the situation in Japan -- staying up all night and fretting about your family or your job or your friends won’t change the situation in the slightest
-- worry is actually the opposite of faith -- worry says that the problem is too great for God and that we must come up with some answer on our own to fix the problems in our lives and in this world
-- but, the Psalmist reminds us that it’s not up to us -- it’s up to God -- the Lord is with us and He watches over us -- regardless of whether we slumber or sleep or whether we stay up all night worrying and fretting -- God watches over us and He keeps us from all harm -- not only now but in the future as well
-- but what about those in the tsunami? -- what about those in the flood? -- God didn’t keep them from all harm, did He?
-- the thing to remember is that God’s focus is on eternity and not on this world -- Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
-- Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we would live a life free from trouble and pain here on earth -- He didn’t die on the cross so that our 401Ks would be full and that we would enjoy a peaceful and secure retirement in the sunset of life -- no, Jesus died on the cross so that we might have eternal life with Him
-- God’s focus is always on the eternal and on bringing glory to Himself -- when the Psalmist says here that God will not let our foot slip and that He will keep us from all harm, he is not referring to life here on earth -- he is referring to eternity
-- the message of this psalm is that our trust and our faith should be on the God who sees past the immediate -- who sees past the worry and stress of the crisis -- to the great eternity we will share with Him in heaven
III. Closing
-- so, what do we do with disasters such as the one in Japan? -- how do we live in a tsunami world?
-- Hudson Taylor -- the great missionary to China and founder of what is today known as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship -- gave this excellent advice in regards to worry and anxiety -- he wrote: "Let us give up our work, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into [God's] hand -- and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about."
-- in other words, Taylor suggests that we work to meet the immediate needs of those affected by these disasters and that we show the love of God by being His hands and feet to those most in need of His presence
-- if you are looking for tangible steps you can take to survive in this world, let me give you this advice
--first, when trials and troubles come our way -- when things arise that give us pause and that cause us anxiety and worry -- the first thing we should do is to look to the hills -- we should turn to God in prayer and ask for His hand and His grace to be in the situation -- ask Him to take away your worry and anxiety and to replace it with His peace -- and rest sure in the knowledge that He is with you no matter what is going on around you
-- second, you can prepare -- Jesus gave us the parable of the man who built his house on the foundation of rock and who was ready when the storms came -- we know that troubles are going to come our way -- we know that trials and natural disasters will occur -- and we should prepare for them by having on hand ample supplies of food and water and medicine
-- third, you serve -- we have been called to be Christ’s hands and feet in this world and to share His love with others -- physically, materially, and spiritually
-- and, granted, we may not be able to respond physically to the crisis in Japan or in other parts of the world, but we can serve in other ways -- we can send our financial resources to Christian relief organizations already present in the country working to help those affected by the disaster -- we can send blankets and food or other items to relief agencies -- we can write notes of hope and encouragement and share the love of God with them
-- one reason I encourage people to prepare for disasters is so that we are able to respond to those around us in their time of need -- what better way to show the love of Christ than to share your food and resources with someone who needs help in their lives
-- I’ve printed out a list for you of two things that you can take with you today -- one is a list of Christian relief agencies who are actively working in Japan right now and who could use your financial assistance if you feel so led -- the other is a list from FEMA of basic supplies that everyone needs to have on hand to prepare for disasters or unexpected situations
-- lastly, you trust -- it is too easy in our day and age to get overwhelmed with life and the things around us -- the overwhelming message of this Psalm is that we should trust in God -- we should rest in His arms and in His grace and let His peace that surpasses all understanding lift up our hearts in the midst of uncertainty and despair
-- trusting God to take care of you demonstrates a depth of faith rarely seen these days -- by trusting God in the midst of trouble we proclaim to the world that our God saves -- that our God cares -- that our God loves
-- Jesus called us to go forth and proclaim His word to this world and to carry His message of good news to all -- what better message can we give an anxious world than to rest and trust in the arms of our Maker?
-- In his book, “If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil,” author Randy Alcorn tells the story about a friend of his who had to have a double mastectomy because of breast cancer -- Two months after the surgery, her doctors discovered that the cancer had spread -- and that more radical treatments would be needed just to save her life -- in the midst of this devastating diagnosis, one of her friends asked, “How do you feel about God now?” -- after spending some time reflecting on that question and the trial that she was facing, Alcorn’s friend offered up the following response:
-- As I sought to explain what had happened in my spirit, it all became clearer to me -- God has been preparing me for this moment -- He has undergirded me in ways I've never known before -- He has made himself increasingly real and precious to me -- He has given me joy such as I've never known before—and I've no need to work at it, it just comes, even amidst the tears.
-- He has taught me that no matter how good my genes are or how well I take care of my diet and myself, he will lead me on whatever journey he chooses and will never leave me for a moment of that journey.
-- And he planned it all in such a way that step by step, he prepared me for the moment when the doctor dropped the last shoe … God is good, no matter what the diagnosis or the prognosis, or the fearfulness of the uncertainty of having neither.
-- The key to knowing God is good is simply knowing him."
[Randy Alcorn, If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil (Multnomah, 2009), p. 399]
-- that is the message of this Psalm -- in the midst of our trials and troubles -- when we try to learn how to live in this tsunami world -- the answer is simply to know that God is good and to trust Him with our lives and our hearts and our souls
-- as I close now, I want us to remember our families in Japan -- our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering through this devastating natural disaster -- and I want us to consider our response to their plight
-- and, I want to invite you to lift up to God your own worries and anxieties -- to leave these burdens at the cross -- and to trust that He will see you through
-- if anyone would like me to pray with them or if you feel a need to respond to God’s word in some other way -- please either come up as the last song is playing or meet with me after the service
-- let us pray
20 March 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
-- as I’m sure everyone in here knows, on March 11th at 2:46 pm the nation of Japan was rocked by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit off its northeast coast -- the fourth largest earthquake recorded in the world since 1900
-- this quake along the Pacific tectonic plate generated a massive tsunami that sent 30-ft waves roaring onto Japan -- devastating coastal towns and causing damage as far away as California and Hawaii -- and resulting in the deaths of over 10,000 people in the small island nation
-- in addition to the wholesale destruction of homes and communities along the coast, the massive tsunami also severely damaged nuclear plants in northeast Japan -- and for the past week the eyes of the world have been watching as Japan’s scientists and engineers desperately tried to cool the nuclear material in these plants and prevent the catastrophic release of radiation at levels exceeding that of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl
-- while people in California and along the United State’s western coast scrambled to buy iodine tablets and Geiger counters -- and as our TV screens were filled with the horrific images of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami and of the race against time to rescue survivors and to restore order in a devastated country which was trying not only to survive a natural disaster but also the complete meltdown of a nuclear reactor -- we looked at the situation and felt hopeless and wondered if anyone would be able to help us out of this disaster
-- how often in recent years have we experienced these same feelings of hopelessness and helplessness? -- in the last decade, we have seen unprecedented natural and man-made disasters of increasing magnitude -- from the horrific events of 9-11 and the 2004 tsunami that killed over 230,000 people in Indonesia -- to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and earthquakes in Haiti, Tibet, Chili, and New Zealand -- to catastrophic flooding in Europe and South America
-- we have witnessed economic and financial collapses -- seen the dollar decrease in value against other national currency -- and watched as home foreclosure rates and unemployment reached all-time highs
-- and, just this morning, we open our papers to read of military attacks against the nation of Libya as our country expands the war effort from Afghanistan and Iraq and Pakistan to yet another region of the world while unrest and civil protests rage throughout Bahrain and Iran and other Arab countries
-- events such as these cause us to do just as the Psalmist does here and turn our eyes to the heavens and ask the questions, “How do we live in such a world? -- How do we survive in the midst of total chaos and devastation and destruction? -- Where do we look for answers and hope and help?”
II. Scripture Lesson -- Psalm 121:1-8
-- we are unsure who wrote this Psalm -- the scriptures do not tell us who the author is -- some scholars think it was King David and that this Psalm was written as he fled from Saul and his armies or later in life as he fled Jerusalem after his son usurped the throne
-- but, regardless of who wrote these words, they resonate in our hearts -- because we have felt the same emotion -- we have experienced the same doubt and despair and uncertainty -- and we know, as we read the heart-cry of this Psalmist, that we could have written these words ourselves
-- while we don’t know exactly the situation that led to this Psalm, we do know this -- the Psalmist who penned these words was in the midst of chaos -- perhaps surrounded by enemies who sought his life -- perhaps seeking answers in the midst of a natural disaster
-- he had little hope left of surviving -- and everywhere he looked, he saw danger and death and destruction -- he asked himself, “How do I live in this world?” -- and then he gives us the answer in this Psalm
-- look back at verse 1 and see what he wrote
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
-- Corrie ten Boom -- the great Dutch evangelist who was sent to a German concentration camp for hiding Jews in her home during World War II -- once wrote, “Look around and be distressed -- Look within and be depressed -- Look at Jesus and be at rest”
-- the Psalmist looked around and was distressed -- he looked within himself and didn’t see any hope there -- so he lifted his eyes to the hills -- he lifted his eyes to heaven -- wondering where help would come from
-- verse 2
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
-- the Psalmist makes it clear here -- our help does not come from charismatic presidents or politicians -- it doesn’t come from bank presidents or generals leading armies -- it doesn’t come from scientists or engineers
-- our help comes only from the Lord -- from the maker of heaven and earth -- and that’s true, whether we’re talking about being surrounded by enemies or if we’re talking about natural or economic disasters or if we’re talking about the state of our soul -- our hope rests only in God -- our Savior can only be God
-- verse 3
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
-- when I read these verses, I am reminded of the great battle of faith on Mount Carmel when the prophet Elijah confronted the false prophets of Asherah and Baal -- if you remember this story, Elijah proposed a test of faith whereby the nation would see who the true God of Israel was based on which God could supernaturally light the fire on the altar
-- the false prophets went first, and no matter how loud they wailed and cried out -- no matter how much they cut themselves and offered their souls to their gods -- nothing happened -- and Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry louder -- perhaps your god is asleep and cannot hear”
-- the Psalmist here reminds of the great truth that our God doesn’t sleep or slumber -- the Bible tells us that God is with us always and will never leave us or forsake us
-- God wasn’t asleep when the earthquake hit off the coast of Japan last week -- He wasn’t slumbering when the tsunami roared ashore -- He wasn’t surprised by what happened -- He was there, in the midst of His people, ministering to them in their despair
-- some might ask why God didn’t stop the tsunami -- why He didn’t stop the earth from quaking or the tectonic plates from shifting -- but answers to questions like that are above our understanding -- God is God and His purposes and His ways are higher than ours
-- but, I do know this -- without winter, we can never enjoy the beauty of spring -- without sickness, we can never rejoice in health -- without pain and death, we can never realize the blessing of life
-- why do bad things happen? -- why does God allow bad things to happen? -- we don’t know -- but, we do know that He is there in the midst of our pain and suffering -- ministering to our hearts and spirits and giving comfort to our souls
-- the Psalmist gives us the promise that God will never let our foot slip off the path of salvation -- He will never let our faith waiver -- no matter what we may experience -- no matter the tragedies we may faith -- He will hold us firm and keep us on the straight and narrow because our God never sleeps -- He never slumbers -- but He is always there to lift us up and to bring us hope and help wherever our feet may trod
-- verse 5
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
-- I don’t know about you, but these verses here speak to me in a special way -- I don’t know how many of you have spent sleepless nights worrying about things in your life -- about your family -- about your work -- about school or tests or friends -- but I know the feeling of being wide awake at 3:00 in the morning -- worrying and anxious about things to come
-- some have done that with this disaster in Japan -- others have stayed up and worried about finances and jobs and other things -- but these verses say that we don’t have to worry -- that whether it’s in the middle of the day or in the middle of the night, God is with us and He is watching over us
-- they remind us of the truth of that quote that gets passed around on e-mail and on the internet -- “Why take your worries and troubles to bed with you? -- Give them to God -- He’s going to be up anyway!”
-- Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. -- And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
-- all the worrying in the world won’t make the slightest difference in the situation in Japan -- staying up all night and fretting about your family or your job or your friends won’t change the situation in the slightest
-- worry is actually the opposite of faith -- worry says that the problem is too great for God and that we must come up with some answer on our own to fix the problems in our lives and in this world
-- but, the Psalmist reminds us that it’s not up to us -- it’s up to God -- the Lord is with us and He watches over us -- regardless of whether we slumber or sleep or whether we stay up all night worrying and fretting -- God watches over us and He keeps us from all harm -- not only now but in the future as well
-- but what about those in the tsunami? -- what about those in the flood? -- God didn’t keep them from all harm, did He?
-- the thing to remember is that God’s focus is on eternity and not on this world -- Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
-- Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that we would live a life free from trouble and pain here on earth -- He didn’t die on the cross so that our 401Ks would be full and that we would enjoy a peaceful and secure retirement in the sunset of life -- no, Jesus died on the cross so that we might have eternal life with Him
-- God’s focus is always on the eternal and on bringing glory to Himself -- when the Psalmist says here that God will not let our foot slip and that He will keep us from all harm, he is not referring to life here on earth -- he is referring to eternity
-- the message of this psalm is that our trust and our faith should be on the God who sees past the immediate -- who sees past the worry and stress of the crisis -- to the great eternity we will share with Him in heaven
III. Closing
-- so, what do we do with disasters such as the one in Japan? -- how do we live in a tsunami world?
-- Hudson Taylor -- the great missionary to China and founder of what is today known as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship -- gave this excellent advice in regards to worry and anxiety -- he wrote: "Let us give up our work, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into [God's] hand -- and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about."
-- in other words, Taylor suggests that we work to meet the immediate needs of those affected by these disasters and that we show the love of God by being His hands and feet to those most in need of His presence
-- if you are looking for tangible steps you can take to survive in this world, let me give you this advice
--first, when trials and troubles come our way -- when things arise that give us pause and that cause us anxiety and worry -- the first thing we should do is to look to the hills -- we should turn to God in prayer and ask for His hand and His grace to be in the situation -- ask Him to take away your worry and anxiety and to replace it with His peace -- and rest sure in the knowledge that He is with you no matter what is going on around you
-- second, you can prepare -- Jesus gave us the parable of the man who built his house on the foundation of rock and who was ready when the storms came -- we know that troubles are going to come our way -- we know that trials and natural disasters will occur -- and we should prepare for them by having on hand ample supplies of food and water and medicine
-- third, you serve -- we have been called to be Christ’s hands and feet in this world and to share His love with others -- physically, materially, and spiritually
-- and, granted, we may not be able to respond physically to the crisis in Japan or in other parts of the world, but we can serve in other ways -- we can send our financial resources to Christian relief organizations already present in the country working to help those affected by the disaster -- we can send blankets and food or other items to relief agencies -- we can write notes of hope and encouragement and share the love of God with them
-- one reason I encourage people to prepare for disasters is so that we are able to respond to those around us in their time of need -- what better way to show the love of Christ than to share your food and resources with someone who needs help in their lives
-- I’ve printed out a list for you of two things that you can take with you today -- one is a list of Christian relief agencies who are actively working in Japan right now and who could use your financial assistance if you feel so led -- the other is a list from FEMA of basic supplies that everyone needs to have on hand to prepare for disasters or unexpected situations
-- lastly, you trust -- it is too easy in our day and age to get overwhelmed with life and the things around us -- the overwhelming message of this Psalm is that we should trust in God -- we should rest in His arms and in His grace and let His peace that surpasses all understanding lift up our hearts in the midst of uncertainty and despair
-- trusting God to take care of you demonstrates a depth of faith rarely seen these days -- by trusting God in the midst of trouble we proclaim to the world that our God saves -- that our God cares -- that our God loves
-- Jesus called us to go forth and proclaim His word to this world and to carry His message of good news to all -- what better message can we give an anxious world than to rest and trust in the arms of our Maker?
-- In his book, “If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil,” author Randy Alcorn tells the story about a friend of his who had to have a double mastectomy because of breast cancer -- Two months after the surgery, her doctors discovered that the cancer had spread -- and that more radical treatments would be needed just to save her life -- in the midst of this devastating diagnosis, one of her friends asked, “How do you feel about God now?” -- after spending some time reflecting on that question and the trial that she was facing, Alcorn’s friend offered up the following response:
-- As I sought to explain what had happened in my spirit, it all became clearer to me -- God has been preparing me for this moment -- He has undergirded me in ways I've never known before -- He has made himself increasingly real and precious to me -- He has given me joy such as I've never known before—and I've no need to work at it, it just comes, even amidst the tears.
-- He has taught me that no matter how good my genes are or how well I take care of my diet and myself, he will lead me on whatever journey he chooses and will never leave me for a moment of that journey.
-- And he planned it all in such a way that step by step, he prepared me for the moment when the doctor dropped the last shoe … God is good, no matter what the diagnosis or the prognosis, or the fearfulness of the uncertainty of having neither.
-- The key to knowing God is good is simply knowing him."
[Randy Alcorn, If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil (Multnomah, 2009), p. 399]
-- that is the message of this Psalm -- in the midst of our trials and troubles -- when we try to learn how to live in this tsunami world -- the answer is simply to know that God is good and to trust Him with our lives and our hearts and our souls
-- as I close now, I want us to remember our families in Japan -- our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering through this devastating natural disaster -- and I want us to consider our response to their plight
-- and, I want to invite you to lift up to God your own worries and anxieties -- to leave these burdens at the cross -- and to trust that He will see you through
-- if anyone would like me to pray with them or if you feel a need to respond to God’s word in some other way -- please either come up as the last song is playing or meet with me after the service
-- let us pray
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Lately, we've been discussing "the church" and what the church is and what the church should be in our Bible Studies and Sunday night services. The church is not a building. The church is not an idea. The church is not a denomination or a sign out front. The church is God empowering His people to love others and to share with them the awesome power of the resurrected Christ.
I have been trying to get the point across that we don't "go" to church -- we "are" the church, regardless of whether we meet in the largest sanctuary in town or in a borrowed business or in the park on a Sunday afternoon.
The question that we need to ask ourselves on a daily basis is, "Am I being the church or am I just going to church?" Can you imagine what a difference it would make if people would stop looking at church as a Sunday morning form of entertainment and started looking at it as a lifestyle and a calling and a responsibility?
The early Christians turned the world upside-down through their faith and their love lived out in action. Why aren't we seeing this today? Because for too many years we have gone to church and not been the church. Let's make a difference today.
I ran across this article on Huffington Post's Religion Page the other day, and thought it was very much in line with what we had been teaching and striving for at Koinonia. I thought it really showed what happened when the church left the building and started living for Christ by putting their faith into action.
Rev. Bowman speaks from her experience at seeing and being the church in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast.
-----------------------------------------------
"When the Church Shows Up" by Rev. Gail Bowman
"When the church shows up by praying for you, long and hard, that seemingly mundane practice takes on shocking substance, picks you up off the floor, and carries you around town. When the church shows up by acting on your behalf, that means the situation is pretty darn serious and while you may have been a giver of help before, you are a recipient of help now, and some humility and grace on your part is warranted. When the church shows up and disagrees with you about what to do next in your situation, that probably means that your clear recollection of what once was is not pertinent in a conversation about what needs to be. When the church shows up bringing you everything from tiny handmade prayer mats to hymnals newly returned from retirement, it means that for the rest of your days you will have precious things with a value that may be invisible to anybody but you. When the church shows up, you are encountering those who believe that people-helping-people is not just generous/fair/appropriate; they believe it's holy. Welcome, now, the change of lens.
"Church is supposed to be about "things hoped for" and "things not seen," and it's good at encouraging that murky "here but not here, now but not now" walk of faith. But the church walked into a whole bunch of lives and situations in this area, and it did so physically, actually and really -- chewing gum and gutting houses and ignoring blueprints and slinging hammers and pausing at mid-day to pray like it was Sunday then going right back to work again. I still don't know quite what to make of this, or quite what to tell young people who were 12 or 14 or 16 when Katrina happened. How can I capture both how real and practical and messy it was and is, and how stunning it also was and is? Maybe I'll just begin by saying, "I like church.""
I have been trying to get the point across that we don't "go" to church -- we "are" the church, regardless of whether we meet in the largest sanctuary in town or in a borrowed business or in the park on a Sunday afternoon.
The question that we need to ask ourselves on a daily basis is, "Am I being the church or am I just going to church?" Can you imagine what a difference it would make if people would stop looking at church as a Sunday morning form of entertainment and started looking at it as a lifestyle and a calling and a responsibility?
The early Christians turned the world upside-down through their faith and their love lived out in action. Why aren't we seeing this today? Because for too many years we have gone to church and not been the church. Let's make a difference today.
I ran across this article on Huffington Post's Religion Page the other day, and thought it was very much in line with what we had been teaching and striving for at Koinonia. I thought it really showed what happened when the church left the building and started living for Christ by putting their faith into action.
Rev. Bowman speaks from her experience at seeing and being the church in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast.
-----------------------------------------------
"When the Church Shows Up" by Rev. Gail Bowman
"When the church shows up by praying for you, long and hard, that seemingly mundane practice takes on shocking substance, picks you up off the floor, and carries you around town. When the church shows up by acting on your behalf, that means the situation is pretty darn serious and while you may have been a giver of help before, you are a recipient of help now, and some humility and grace on your part is warranted. When the church shows up and disagrees with you about what to do next in your situation, that probably means that your clear recollection of what once was is not pertinent in a conversation about what needs to be. When the church shows up bringing you everything from tiny handmade prayer mats to hymnals newly returned from retirement, it means that for the rest of your days you will have precious things with a value that may be invisible to anybody but you. When the church shows up, you are encountering those who believe that people-helping-people is not just generous/fair/appropriate; they believe it's holy. Welcome, now, the change of lens.
"Church is supposed to be about "things hoped for" and "things not seen," and it's good at encouraging that murky "here but not here, now but not now" walk of faith. But the church walked into a whole bunch of lives and situations in this area, and it did so physically, actually and really -- chewing gum and gutting houses and ignoring blueprints and slinging hammers and pausing at mid-day to pray like it was Sunday then going right back to work again. I still don't know quite what to make of this, or quite what to tell young people who were 12 or 14 or 16 when Katrina happened. How can I capture both how real and practical and messy it was and is, and how stunning it also was and is? Maybe I'll just begin by saying, "I like church.""
Sunday, June 12, 2011
SERMON: A MOMENT WITH GOD
13 March 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 4:1-2
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
-- I want you to think for a moment about gifts -- everybody loves gifts, don’t they? -- we love to give them -- and we love to get them -- there’s just something about seeing a nicely wrapped package with your name on it that gets your heart beating just a little bit faster -- especially if there’s something that you’ve been wanting and you think that this just might be it
-- I was thinking about gifts this morning and I came to the realization that I am 44 years old -- you know what that means? -- that means I have been through 44 Christmases -- 44 birthdays -- and countless other gift-receiving events throughout my life -- conservatively thinking, I have probably received over 1,000 gifts since I was born -- and if you’re somewhere around my age, then that’s probably true for you, too
-- but you know what? -- even though somebody took the time to go out and purchase every one of those gifts for me and then they wrapped them and wrote my name on them and gave them to me on a special occasion -- and even though that gift might have been really special to me at the time -- for the life of me, I just can’t remember them all
-- it occurred to me that I can’t even remember most of the gifts that I’ve gotten in my life -- in fact, when I tried to sit down and think about all the gifts I have gotten over the years, I could only remember a handful of them out of the thousand or so that I have received in my life
-- but, I can tell you what I do remember about all of those gift-giving occasions, especially the big one -- especially Christmas
-- when I sit down and think about Christmas -- I don’t think about the gifts that I got -- when I think about Christmas, what I remember is going to Grandma’s -- when I was a kid, that was what we would do -- we didn’t have any family up here -- all of our immediate family was down in Florida -- so every Christmas, we would load up and head to Grandma’s
-- we usually had to wait for Daddy to get done loading greens on Christmas Eve, but as soon as he got home -- no matter how late it was -- we’d load up the car and head south -- driving for four hours or so until we finally saw that great big mailbox that said, “Lee,” on it and we turned down that narrow, bumpy lane that led to Grandma’s house -- scraping the bottom of our car as we drove down it -- that is what we did every year -- and that’s what I remember most about Christmas
-- and like I said, thinking back on it, it’s not the gifts that I remember -- the best part of being at Grandma’s happened after the gifts had been opened -- when the whole family -- all six of the kids and their spouses and all seven of us grandkids would gather on the front porch with Grandma and Granddaddy after lunch
-- and while the kids played with their new toys -- the adults reminisced -- they talked about memories of past Christmases -- memories of growing up in the country in Florida -- memories of life together
-- this is what I remember most about Christmas -- not the gifts -- not the trees -- not the tinsel -- but these moments that our family would gather -- these moments when we would be reminded of who we were -- of our place in the world -- of the things that really mattered
II. The Season of Lent
-- this morning, we’re going to talk about just such a moment -- a moment in time when our church families stop what we’re doing -- and we gather together to talk and to share and to be reminded of who we are -- of our place in this world -- and of the things that really matter -- this is what the Christian Season of Lent is all about
-- now, before we go too far, let me make sure you understand that I’m talking about Lent -- L-E-N-T -- not lint -- L-I-N-T
-- I read about this preacher who was giving his first sermon at the start of Lent -- and so, during the children’s service, he asked the children who had gathered around him if they knew what Lent was -- one 8-year-old boy said, “I do” -- the preacher said, “Well, great -- why don’t you tell us all?” -- so the boy reached into his pocket -- fished around for a moment -- and then pulled out a handful of lint and showed it to the church -- “This is lint”
-- yes, that is one type of lint -- but that's not the type of Lent we're going to talk about this morning -- we are going to talk about the season of Lent -- the period in the Christian Calendar where we take a moment to stop in the middle of our busy lives and intentionally spend time remembering -- remembering what is important -- and remembering who we are as Christians -- as we prepare to celebrate Easter together again
-- the word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, "lencten" -- meaning spring -- the time of the year when the days grow long -- it begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for forty days -- not counting Sundays -- and ends on the Saturday before Easter
-- the season of Lent is not in the Bible -- it was started in the early days of the church as a remembrance of two events in the life of our Lord where He took time out from the world to spend a moment with the Father and to prepare for what the Father was about to do through Him
-- the first event that Lent is based on happens at the start of Jesus’ public ministry -- look back at the passage that we opened with in Luke 4
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
-- this passage happens immediately after Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist -- Luke tells us here that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit -- as we talked about a few weeks ago, to be filled with the Holy Spirit means more than just being filled up like a cup -- it means being filled with the presence of God like a sail on a ship is filled with wind to the point that the Spirit gives direction and meaning and purpose to your life
-- that’s what we see right here -- the time has come for Jesus to begin His public ministry and the Spirit has completely filled Him and leads Him out into the desert
-- that seems kind of strange, doesn’t it -- here Jesus had just been baptized and the Spirit of God came and rested on Him like a dove and the voice of God spoke out from heaven saying, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”
-- Jesus is getting ready to carry the message of salvation to the world -- but, rather than leading Jesus to where the people were -- rather than leading Jesus into Jerusalem or to Rome or to any other large city in that time -- Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert -- why?
-- because Jesus needed to spend a moment with God -- He needed to take a moment just to be with God and to prepare Himself for what He was about to do -- and so, for 40 days, Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness and spent time with God -- all the while suffering temptation by the devil who was trying to keep Him from His appointed task -- this is the first event that the Season of Lent is based on
-- the second event that Lent is based on is Holy Week, starting on Palm Sunday and ending with the crucifixion
-- now, while Jesus was always seen going off to spend time alone with God while He was ministering here on earth, we really see that pattern during the last week of His life -- as things started to get difficult during that last week -- as opposition increased and as Satan started to do everything he could to keep Jesus from accomplishing His task here on earth, Jesus would take a moment out of His busy life and go out with His disciples to the Mount of Olives to pray and to fast and to spend time with the Father
-- let’s look at that real quick
-- flip over, if you would, to Luke 22:39-44
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him
-- now, there’s an important phrase there in verse 39 I want you to see -- Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives “as usual” -- this was something that He did on a regular basis -- it wasn’t just a one-time thing -- it was a habit
-- as Christians, we’re called to imitate Christ -- in fact, the word “Christian” literally means, “little Christ” -- Jesus routinely would go out and spend a special moment with God in a quiet place to just rest in His presence -- to just spend time with Him -- and so should we
-- verse 40
40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
-- here we see Jesus getting ready for what is about to happen -- He knows that He is about to be betrayed by Judas -- He knows that He is going to be put into the hands of His enemies -- He knows that He will be beaten and mocked and crucified -- He knows that the sins of the world are about to fall on Him -- that He is going to take into Himself all the sins that you and I and everyone who has ever lived has committed
-- and, what does He do? -- how does He get ready to suffer on the cross for our sins? -- He takes a moment to just spend time with God in prayer -- while the world around Him was melting down, Jesus withdrew to the Mount of Olives -- to a quiet place where He could be alone with God -- and He spent time with the Father in order to prepare Himself for the trials to come -- for the burden that He had to carry -- for the suffering that He had to endure
-- Luke tells us that Jesus’ moment with God was so intense that as He prayed, He actually sweat drops of blood
-- these two events -- the 40-days in the wilderness and the experience of Holy Week -- were special moments for Jesus -- periods of spiritual reflection and preparation for the task ahead of Him -- they were times for Jesus to strengthen Himself against the temptations of the devil and to prepare to accept the responsibility for the sins of the world
-- following the example of Christ, the early church developed the season of Lent as a time of reflection, prayer, and strengthening to help Christians get ready to celebrate Easter -- Lent was developed to be a special moment for us -- a time when we could take a break from our normal routines -- to stop the world for just a moment -- so we could spend time with God and prepare ourselves for Easter
-- it is also a time for us to look honestly at who we are to see if we are truly walking with God or if we have sin in our lives that we need to repent of -- and it is a time when we try to share in the sorrows and sufferings of Christ so we can better appreciate what He has done for us and who we are in Him
III. Ash Wednesday
-- as I said, the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday -- traditionally, on Ash Wednesday, a special service is held where people are marked with the sign of a cross on their forehead in ashes that they are to wear the whole day as a reminder of who they are and of what Christ has done for us
-- there are several reasons why we use ashes -- first, they are a reminder of who and what we are -- the Bible tells us that we came from dust and that we will return to dust -- if you remember, in the Book of Genesis it says that Adam was created from the dust of the ground and that he only became alive when God breathed the breath of life into him -- so, the ashes remind us that without God in our lives, we are just like dust -- without life and without worth
-- the ashes also remind us that anything we do in our own power -- apart from God -- are worthless -- the Bible tells us that there is nothing that we can do on our own that has any value to God -- that’s why we can’t work our way to heaven -- our lives and our actions only have value if God works through us and gives us meaning and purpose -- so the ashes remind us that we have to depend on God throughout our whole lives
-- the third reason we use ashes is that ashes have traditionally been a sign of repentance and mourning in the Bible -- back in the Bible days, it was common for those who were sorry for their sins and who wanted to make a new beginning with God to cover themselves with sackcloth and ashes -- that’s why it says in Job 42:6, "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." -- ashes are a symbol of our repentance and a sign that we seek forgiveness through God's grace
-- the ashes are placed on the foreheads in the sign of a cross as a reminder that after we have mourned and repented of our sins and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit -- traditionally, the ashes used on Ash Wednesday would be mixed with oil to symbolize the presence of the Holy Spirit who works to keep us holy and who intercedes on our behalf
-- one more thing about the ashes -- the ashes used on Ash Wednesday usually come from palm fronds -- palms are symbols of victory and were waved before Christ as He entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday -- by making the ashes from palms we are reminded of how we have victory through Christ's death and resurrection
-- so, the overall purpose of putting the ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent is to remind us that we belong to Jesus and to celebrate what He has done in our lives
IV. Closing
-- then, for the next forty days, people are encouraged to break from their normal routines so they can spend a special moment with God every day
-- traditionally, this involved fasting and prayer -- and people would give up one meal a day or one day a week and not eat -- and then they would use that time that they would normally be preparing their meal and eating to just spend time with Jesus -- to have a special moment with Him
-- but, it’s really all up to you -- you don’t have to give up eating to celebrate Lent -- the overall idea is to offer up something that you replace with time with God -- maybe instead of giving up a meal, you give up watching TV for a night and spend that time reading the Bible and praying
-- or maybe you try to take up some new spiritual discipline --- like having a set quiet time with God every day or starting to journal or reading through the entire New Testament during the forty days of Lent
-- the important thing is that you’re taking time with God -- that you’re using this season to examine your life and to get ready to celebrate Easter and what Jesus has done for us all
-- so, as I close in prayer, I want to invite you to go ahead and take a moment and think about your life -- think about where you’ve been and what Jesus has done for you -- and take a hard, honest look at yourself and see if you need to make any changes in your life and the way you have been living -- and, if so, then confess your sins to God ask Jesus to forgive you and give you a new start this morning
-- this is what Lent is all about -- this is what the cross is all about -- this is what Jesus is all about
-- let us pray
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 4:1-2
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
-- I want you to think for a moment about gifts -- everybody loves gifts, don’t they? -- we love to give them -- and we love to get them -- there’s just something about seeing a nicely wrapped package with your name on it that gets your heart beating just a little bit faster -- especially if there’s something that you’ve been wanting and you think that this just might be it
-- I was thinking about gifts this morning and I came to the realization that I am 44 years old -- you know what that means? -- that means I have been through 44 Christmases -- 44 birthdays -- and countless other gift-receiving events throughout my life -- conservatively thinking, I have probably received over 1,000 gifts since I was born -- and if you’re somewhere around my age, then that’s probably true for you, too
-- but you know what? -- even though somebody took the time to go out and purchase every one of those gifts for me and then they wrapped them and wrote my name on them and gave them to me on a special occasion -- and even though that gift might have been really special to me at the time -- for the life of me, I just can’t remember them all
-- it occurred to me that I can’t even remember most of the gifts that I’ve gotten in my life -- in fact, when I tried to sit down and think about all the gifts I have gotten over the years, I could only remember a handful of them out of the thousand or so that I have received in my life
-- but, I can tell you what I do remember about all of those gift-giving occasions, especially the big one -- especially Christmas
-- when I sit down and think about Christmas -- I don’t think about the gifts that I got -- when I think about Christmas, what I remember is going to Grandma’s -- when I was a kid, that was what we would do -- we didn’t have any family up here -- all of our immediate family was down in Florida -- so every Christmas, we would load up and head to Grandma’s
-- we usually had to wait for Daddy to get done loading greens on Christmas Eve, but as soon as he got home -- no matter how late it was -- we’d load up the car and head south -- driving for four hours or so until we finally saw that great big mailbox that said, “Lee,” on it and we turned down that narrow, bumpy lane that led to Grandma’s house -- scraping the bottom of our car as we drove down it -- that is what we did every year -- and that’s what I remember most about Christmas
-- and like I said, thinking back on it, it’s not the gifts that I remember -- the best part of being at Grandma’s happened after the gifts had been opened -- when the whole family -- all six of the kids and their spouses and all seven of us grandkids would gather on the front porch with Grandma and Granddaddy after lunch
-- and while the kids played with their new toys -- the adults reminisced -- they talked about memories of past Christmases -- memories of growing up in the country in Florida -- memories of life together
-- this is what I remember most about Christmas -- not the gifts -- not the trees -- not the tinsel -- but these moments that our family would gather -- these moments when we would be reminded of who we were -- of our place in the world -- of the things that really mattered
II. The Season of Lent
-- this morning, we’re going to talk about just such a moment -- a moment in time when our church families stop what we’re doing -- and we gather together to talk and to share and to be reminded of who we are -- of our place in this world -- and of the things that really matter -- this is what the Christian Season of Lent is all about
-- now, before we go too far, let me make sure you understand that I’m talking about Lent -- L-E-N-T -- not lint -- L-I-N-T
-- I read about this preacher who was giving his first sermon at the start of Lent -- and so, during the children’s service, he asked the children who had gathered around him if they knew what Lent was -- one 8-year-old boy said, “I do” -- the preacher said, “Well, great -- why don’t you tell us all?” -- so the boy reached into his pocket -- fished around for a moment -- and then pulled out a handful of lint and showed it to the church -- “This is lint”
-- yes, that is one type of lint -- but that's not the type of Lent we're going to talk about this morning -- we are going to talk about the season of Lent -- the period in the Christian Calendar where we take a moment to stop in the middle of our busy lives and intentionally spend time remembering -- remembering what is important -- and remembering who we are as Christians -- as we prepare to celebrate Easter together again
-- the word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, "lencten" -- meaning spring -- the time of the year when the days grow long -- it begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for forty days -- not counting Sundays -- and ends on the Saturday before Easter
-- the season of Lent is not in the Bible -- it was started in the early days of the church as a remembrance of two events in the life of our Lord where He took time out from the world to spend a moment with the Father and to prepare for what the Father was about to do through Him
-- the first event that Lent is based on happens at the start of Jesus’ public ministry -- look back at the passage that we opened with in Luke 4
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
-- this passage happens immediately after Jesus is baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist -- Luke tells us here that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit -- as we talked about a few weeks ago, to be filled with the Holy Spirit means more than just being filled up like a cup -- it means being filled with the presence of God like a sail on a ship is filled with wind to the point that the Spirit gives direction and meaning and purpose to your life
-- that’s what we see right here -- the time has come for Jesus to begin His public ministry and the Spirit has completely filled Him and leads Him out into the desert
-- that seems kind of strange, doesn’t it -- here Jesus had just been baptized and the Spirit of God came and rested on Him like a dove and the voice of God spoke out from heaven saying, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”
-- Jesus is getting ready to carry the message of salvation to the world -- but, rather than leading Jesus to where the people were -- rather than leading Jesus into Jerusalem or to Rome or to any other large city in that time -- Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert -- why?
-- because Jesus needed to spend a moment with God -- He needed to take a moment just to be with God and to prepare Himself for what He was about to do -- and so, for 40 days, Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness and spent time with God -- all the while suffering temptation by the devil who was trying to keep Him from His appointed task -- this is the first event that the Season of Lent is based on
-- the second event that Lent is based on is Holy Week, starting on Palm Sunday and ending with the crucifixion
-- now, while Jesus was always seen going off to spend time alone with God while He was ministering here on earth, we really see that pattern during the last week of His life -- as things started to get difficult during that last week -- as opposition increased and as Satan started to do everything he could to keep Jesus from accomplishing His task here on earth, Jesus would take a moment out of His busy life and go out with His disciples to the Mount of Olives to pray and to fast and to spend time with the Father
-- let’s look at that real quick
-- flip over, if you would, to Luke 22:39-44
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him
-- now, there’s an important phrase there in verse 39 I want you to see -- Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives “as usual” -- this was something that He did on a regular basis -- it wasn’t just a one-time thing -- it was a habit
-- as Christians, we’re called to imitate Christ -- in fact, the word “Christian” literally means, “little Christ” -- Jesus routinely would go out and spend a special moment with God in a quiet place to just rest in His presence -- to just spend time with Him -- and so should we
-- verse 40
40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
-- here we see Jesus getting ready for what is about to happen -- He knows that He is about to be betrayed by Judas -- He knows that He is going to be put into the hands of His enemies -- He knows that He will be beaten and mocked and crucified -- He knows that the sins of the world are about to fall on Him -- that He is going to take into Himself all the sins that you and I and everyone who has ever lived has committed
-- and, what does He do? -- how does He get ready to suffer on the cross for our sins? -- He takes a moment to just spend time with God in prayer -- while the world around Him was melting down, Jesus withdrew to the Mount of Olives -- to a quiet place where He could be alone with God -- and He spent time with the Father in order to prepare Himself for the trials to come -- for the burden that He had to carry -- for the suffering that He had to endure
-- Luke tells us that Jesus’ moment with God was so intense that as He prayed, He actually sweat drops of blood
-- these two events -- the 40-days in the wilderness and the experience of Holy Week -- were special moments for Jesus -- periods of spiritual reflection and preparation for the task ahead of Him -- they were times for Jesus to strengthen Himself against the temptations of the devil and to prepare to accept the responsibility for the sins of the world
-- following the example of Christ, the early church developed the season of Lent as a time of reflection, prayer, and strengthening to help Christians get ready to celebrate Easter -- Lent was developed to be a special moment for us -- a time when we could take a break from our normal routines -- to stop the world for just a moment -- so we could spend time with God and prepare ourselves for Easter
-- it is also a time for us to look honestly at who we are to see if we are truly walking with God or if we have sin in our lives that we need to repent of -- and it is a time when we try to share in the sorrows and sufferings of Christ so we can better appreciate what He has done for us and who we are in Him
III. Ash Wednesday
-- as I said, the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday -- traditionally, on Ash Wednesday, a special service is held where people are marked with the sign of a cross on their forehead in ashes that they are to wear the whole day as a reminder of who they are and of what Christ has done for us
-- there are several reasons why we use ashes -- first, they are a reminder of who and what we are -- the Bible tells us that we came from dust and that we will return to dust -- if you remember, in the Book of Genesis it says that Adam was created from the dust of the ground and that he only became alive when God breathed the breath of life into him -- so, the ashes remind us that without God in our lives, we are just like dust -- without life and without worth
-- the ashes also remind us that anything we do in our own power -- apart from God -- are worthless -- the Bible tells us that there is nothing that we can do on our own that has any value to God -- that’s why we can’t work our way to heaven -- our lives and our actions only have value if God works through us and gives us meaning and purpose -- so the ashes remind us that we have to depend on God throughout our whole lives
-- the third reason we use ashes is that ashes have traditionally been a sign of repentance and mourning in the Bible -- back in the Bible days, it was common for those who were sorry for their sins and who wanted to make a new beginning with God to cover themselves with sackcloth and ashes -- that’s why it says in Job 42:6, "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." -- ashes are a symbol of our repentance and a sign that we seek forgiveness through God's grace
-- the ashes are placed on the foreheads in the sign of a cross as a reminder that after we have mourned and repented of our sins and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit -- traditionally, the ashes used on Ash Wednesday would be mixed with oil to symbolize the presence of the Holy Spirit who works to keep us holy and who intercedes on our behalf
-- one more thing about the ashes -- the ashes used on Ash Wednesday usually come from palm fronds -- palms are symbols of victory and were waved before Christ as He entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday -- by making the ashes from palms we are reminded of how we have victory through Christ's death and resurrection
-- so, the overall purpose of putting the ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent is to remind us that we belong to Jesus and to celebrate what He has done in our lives
IV. Closing
-- then, for the next forty days, people are encouraged to break from their normal routines so they can spend a special moment with God every day
-- traditionally, this involved fasting and prayer -- and people would give up one meal a day or one day a week and not eat -- and then they would use that time that they would normally be preparing their meal and eating to just spend time with Jesus -- to have a special moment with Him
-- but, it’s really all up to you -- you don’t have to give up eating to celebrate Lent -- the overall idea is to offer up something that you replace with time with God -- maybe instead of giving up a meal, you give up watching TV for a night and spend that time reading the Bible and praying
-- or maybe you try to take up some new spiritual discipline --- like having a set quiet time with God every day or starting to journal or reading through the entire New Testament during the forty days of Lent
-- the important thing is that you’re taking time with God -- that you’re using this season to examine your life and to get ready to celebrate Easter and what Jesus has done for us all
-- so, as I close in prayer, I want to invite you to go ahead and take a moment and think about your life -- think about where you’ve been and what Jesus has done for you -- and take a hard, honest look at yourself and see if you need to make any changes in your life and the way you have been living -- and, if so, then confess your sins to God ask Jesus to forgive you and give you a new start this morning
-- this is what Lent is all about -- this is what the cross is all about -- this is what Jesus is all about
-- let us pray
SERMON: WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN
6 March 2011
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 30:15-22
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
-- I know it’s a little odd to have church in a doggie daycare, but there are advantages -- we’re not having to pay to rent a facility -- we have a nice open space to worship in -- and we are joined in our worship by our furry and fuzzy friends
-- one of the things I have enjoyed since we have been worshiping together in here is the way the animals join in our worship of God -- you’ve probably all noticed how the birds, especially the parakeets, just join in when we’re singing praise songs in our worship services
-- I’ve been up here a lot of times before and there’s music playing and the television is on and the birds aren’t singing like that -- but when we join together and start praising God, they just seem to join in
-- I’m constantly reminded of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees on Palm Sunday -- when they complained to Him about the people shouting “Hosanna” as He rode into Jerusalem on that Sunday, He said that if the people were quiet, the rocks and the trees would cry out -- the message that Jesus was telling us is that all creation joins us in our worship of God, although we may not always hear it
-- I was thinking of that as I started working on this sermon and it reminded me of the story of a parakeet named Chippie that Max Lucado talked about in one of his books -- Lucado said that Chippie’s owner loved him very much because he was such a happy little bird -- he would sit at the window and watch the other birds outside and as the sun came up, he would just sing and sing and sing
-- but then Chippie had a bad day -- his owner was cleaning the bottom of the Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner when the telephone rang -- she reached for the telephone without removing the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner from the cage, which was a mistake -- as she reached for the phone, the nozzle came up off the bottom of the cage and pointed right at Chippie and sucked him into the vacuum cleaner
-- when she heard the noise, she looked in the cage and saw Chippie was missing and immediately, she dropped the phone and turned off the vacuum cleaner and ripped open the dust bag to rescue her bird -- Chippie was a real mess, but he was alive -- she ran to the kitchen sink and turned the water on full force on the bird -- almost drowning him in the process
-- then, she ran to the bathroom and started trying to dry Chippie with her hair dryer -- wide open and on high heat -- almost cooking him in the process
-- finally, she got the bird dry and put him back in his cage and closed the door
-- several days later, a friend called and asked how Chippie was doing -- “He’s alive,” she said, “but he just sits in his cage and stares out into space -- and,” she added thoughtfully, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore”
-- how many of you can relate to what happened to Chippie? -- you’re just going through life, minding your own business, singing your song -- and then all of a sudden -- without warning -- life starts to suck and you get hit with a bad day
-- sometimes it’s not big things -- sometimes it’s just minor issues -- the stuff of life -- losing your keys -- losing your phone -- just minor irritations
-- but, sometimes, it is the big things -- a few weeks ago, we looked at the introduction to the Book of Job when we were talking about hearing God through our circumstances -- Job got hit with a lot of bad things all at once -- and sometimes that happens to us, as well
-- bad things -- really bad things -- come our way -- trials and tribulations -- afflictions and adversities -- things like sickness or death -- crime or violence -- wayward children -- cars break down -- our finances tank -- everything we touch -- everything we do -- just goes wrong
-- and we don’t know why -- what do you do when bad things happen? -- how do you respond?
II. Scripture Lesson -- Isaiah 30:15-22
-- well, that’s the question that the Israelites were facing in this passage from Isaiah -- just to give you the background -- at this time, the nation of Israel had split up and divided into two kingdoms -- Israel and Judah
-- Israel was the kingdom in the north of the Promised Land -- it had just been attacked by the Assyrians and all of the people were carried off into exile -- the northern kingdom had been destroyed
-- Isaiah lived in the south -- in Judah -- the kingdom where Jerusalem and the Temple of God was located -- the people of Judah had stayed out of the fight while the northern kingdom was being attacked by the Assyrians -- they thought if they minded their own business, Assyria would leave them alone and trouble would pass them by and they could just go on enjoying their life
-- but, now, as the Book of Isaiah tells us, the Assyrians have turned on them -- and are attacking towns and villages throughout Judah -- one moment, life is going on just like normal -- and, in the next, bad things are happening
-- the people don’t know why this is happening -- they don’t understand why they are being attacked -- why they are suffering the way they are -- so God speaks to them here through the prophet Isaiah -- let’s see what we can learn about how to respond to life when bad things happen through what God tells Isaiah here
-- look back with me at verse 15 again
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
-- when the Assyrians started threatening the people of Judah, the leaders of the Jewish people tried to make a deal with Egypt to come to their rescue and to fight on their behalf -- even though they were the people of God, when trouble came their way, they looked to Egypt for strength and salvation
-- so, God rebukes here for what they have done -- He reminds them that salvation and strength come from Him and not from man -- He tells them that if they had repented for their sins, He would have given them rest -- If they had come to Him with humble and trusting hearts, they would know the peace and quiet of His strength
-- He would have fought the battle for them, but they would have none of it -- instead, they went to Egypt -- and when that didn’t work their plan was to run and leave their troubles behind
-- so, what do you do when bad things happen? -- where do you go for salvation and strength?
-- in order to really answer that question, we first have to know why the bad things are happening -- the Bible teaches that the things that we call “bad,” -- trials and tribulations and troubles in our lives -- come to us for a couple of different reasons
-- first, as we see here in this passage, God will allow trouble to come into our midst as a consequence of our sins -- as a means to correct us and to bring us home when we have strayed from His path
-- the Israelites had quit trusting in God with all their hearts and souls and mind and strength -- instead, they were just going through the motions of religion and were trusting more in the strength of man and in their idols for their salvation
-- instead of asking God to help when bad things happened, they asked Egypt -- instead of turning to God, they prayed to their idols
-- so, God allowed this calamity to come into their lives to get their attention and to lead them back to Him
-- the other night I came up here with Kim for the graduation of her dog obedience class and she had me work with our schnauzer, Cookie, along with the class -- I rarely walk Cookie on leash or do obedience with her, and I realized that night just how strong-willed that little dog was -- she did some things good -- but, on other things, she just dug her heels in and refused to do what I told her to do -- and so I had to force her to obey
-- you see, I knew what she needed to do -- I knew that if she obeyed and did what I said, she would get a treat -- but she had other ideas -- so when I told her to go down, and she didn’t, I pulled her down with the leash -- the opposite direction from where she thought she wanted to be -- and she fought against me, but eventually gave in and got the treat
-- that’s one way God uses adversity in our lives -- that’s what we see here in this passage --when we run away from God and go in a direction He doesn’t want us to go, He will allow adversity and affliction into our lives to force us to come back the right way
-- the Israelites had turned away from God in their faith and in their trust, so God used the Assyrians to lead them to repentance and true salvation
-- the second way God uses affliction and adversity in our life is to mold our character -- Hezekiah, the King of Judah, was a Godly man -- he was opposed to turning to Egypt for help, but he allowed himself to be swayed by the arguments of his advisors -- he gave in to peer pressure
-- so, God used the Assyrian attack to help Hezekiah grow in his faith -- to help him become more mature so that he would stick to the right path and not give in when others tried to tell him otherwise
-- In James 1:1-3, we read that God allows trials and tribulations to come our way to help us develop character and to allow us to become mature in our faith
-- it’s kind of like the refining of silver -- in order to refine silver, the silversmith has to put the silver in the hottest part of the fire in order to burn away the impurities -- as the silver is subjected to heat, the impurities come off and the silver is made more and more pure until it is fully refined -- that is the way God uses adversity and affliction in the life of a believer -- not to punish us or discipline us for disobedience -- but to burn off any impurities in our life and to make us holy and mature in His eyes
-- so, when bad things start to happen, the first thing we should do is to find out why bad things are happening -- we need to examine ourselves and to ask God if we are sinning against Him -- if we are in disobedience to His will and if He is trying to get us to repent -- or if this trial and affliction we are going through is just part of God’s refining process to mold us into the people He has called us to be
-- if He shows you that you are in sin -- that you are living in disobedience to His will -- then you must repent of your sins -- this means more than just asking forgiveness -- this means more than just confessing your sins -- it means that you actually turn away from whatever it is you are doing -- you stop what you’re doing and you turn 180 degrees and you start following God instead
-- and then you ask God to give you the strength to walk with Him rather than in the path you have been walking
-- one important thing to see here is that God tells the Israelites that He is on their side -- He doesn’t want them to suffer -- in verse 18 He says that He longs to be gracious to them -- He rises to show them compassion -- He wants the best for their life -- but they have to choose it -- they have to choose to turn away from what they have been doing -- they have to repent and accept what He has for them instead
-- just like my dog Cookie had to turn away from fighting me about going down so that she could receive the treat I had for her
-- and, what happens when we repent? -- verse 19
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
-- as soon as God hears us call for forgiveness -- as soon as He sees us repent -- God moves -- He springs into action and takes away all our tears-- He allowed adversity and affliction into our lives -- not because He was trying to harm us -- but because He was trying to teach us--either to show us the error of our ways or to refine us as silver so we would be holy as He is holy
-- God says here that when we are walking with Him, He walks with us -- He shows us the path we should follow-- and He speaks in our ears and in our minds and tells us, “This is the way -- walk in it rather than the path you want to follow”
-- in verse 22 we see the picture of a people who are finally getting it -- who understand why bad things have happened to them -- who recognize and confess their sin and turn completely away from it by getting rid of everything in their lives that had defiled them -- everything that had kept them from following God and turning to Him in the first place -- so that God would rescue them and show them His salvation and empower them through His strength
III. Closing
-- in 1929, Georgia Tech was playing the University of California in the Rose Bowl -- they were losing the game and were making a final drive to the goal for the winning touchdown when Roy Riegels, a California defender, recovered a Georgia Tech fumble, then turned and ran sixty-five yards in the wrong direction -- one of Riegels’ own teammates had to tackle to stop him from crossing the wrong goal line -- on the next play, Georgia Tech scored and went on to win
-- from then on, Riegels was known throughout the country as “Wrong Way Riegels” and endured a lifetime of ridicule
-- sometimes, we are also “wrong way people” -- sometimes bad things happen to us because we are going the wrong way in our life and God wants to stop us before we cross the wrong goal line
-- so, He allows bad things to come into our life -- not because He hates us -- not because He wants to do us harm --but because He loves us and wants the best for our lives
-- God uses these bad things to lead us back to Him when we are in sin and disobedience -- and He uses them to refine us and to make us holy as He is holy
-- bad things happen -- but our response should always be to look to God in the midst of the storm -- knowing that His sunshine is on the other side of the clouds and that He wants to bring us out of the darkness of trouble and into the light of His love better than we were to start with
-- I don’t know what trials you may be suffering through right now -- I don’t know what afflictions or adversities you may be experiencing or why -- but if you need prayer, I would be happy to pray with you and to help carry your burden to Christ
-- as we close, I want to invite you to lift up your needs to God -- and if you want me to pray with you, either come up here as the last song is playing or let me know after the service, and I will pray with you
-- Let us pray
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 30:15-22
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
-- I know it’s a little odd to have church in a doggie daycare, but there are advantages -- we’re not having to pay to rent a facility -- we have a nice open space to worship in -- and we are joined in our worship by our furry and fuzzy friends
-- one of the things I have enjoyed since we have been worshiping together in here is the way the animals join in our worship of God -- you’ve probably all noticed how the birds, especially the parakeets, just join in when we’re singing praise songs in our worship services
-- I’ve been up here a lot of times before and there’s music playing and the television is on and the birds aren’t singing like that -- but when we join together and start praising God, they just seem to join in
-- I’m constantly reminded of Jesus’ response to the Pharisees on Palm Sunday -- when they complained to Him about the people shouting “Hosanna” as He rode into Jerusalem on that Sunday, He said that if the people were quiet, the rocks and the trees would cry out -- the message that Jesus was telling us is that all creation joins us in our worship of God, although we may not always hear it
-- I was thinking of that as I started working on this sermon and it reminded me of the story of a parakeet named Chippie that Max Lucado talked about in one of his books -- Lucado said that Chippie’s owner loved him very much because he was such a happy little bird -- he would sit at the window and watch the other birds outside and as the sun came up, he would just sing and sing and sing
-- but then Chippie had a bad day -- his owner was cleaning the bottom of the Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner when the telephone rang -- she reached for the telephone without removing the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner from the cage, which was a mistake -- as she reached for the phone, the nozzle came up off the bottom of the cage and pointed right at Chippie and sucked him into the vacuum cleaner
-- when she heard the noise, she looked in the cage and saw Chippie was missing and immediately, she dropped the phone and turned off the vacuum cleaner and ripped open the dust bag to rescue her bird -- Chippie was a real mess, but he was alive -- she ran to the kitchen sink and turned the water on full force on the bird -- almost drowning him in the process
-- then, she ran to the bathroom and started trying to dry Chippie with her hair dryer -- wide open and on high heat -- almost cooking him in the process
-- finally, she got the bird dry and put him back in his cage and closed the door
-- several days later, a friend called and asked how Chippie was doing -- “He’s alive,” she said, “but he just sits in his cage and stares out into space -- and,” she added thoughtfully, “Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore”
-- how many of you can relate to what happened to Chippie? -- you’re just going through life, minding your own business, singing your song -- and then all of a sudden -- without warning -- life starts to suck and you get hit with a bad day
-- sometimes it’s not big things -- sometimes it’s just minor issues -- the stuff of life -- losing your keys -- losing your phone -- just minor irritations
-- but, sometimes, it is the big things -- a few weeks ago, we looked at the introduction to the Book of Job when we were talking about hearing God through our circumstances -- Job got hit with a lot of bad things all at once -- and sometimes that happens to us, as well
-- bad things -- really bad things -- come our way -- trials and tribulations -- afflictions and adversities -- things like sickness or death -- crime or violence -- wayward children -- cars break down -- our finances tank -- everything we touch -- everything we do -- just goes wrong
-- and we don’t know why -- what do you do when bad things happen? -- how do you respond?
II. Scripture Lesson -- Isaiah 30:15-22
-- well, that’s the question that the Israelites were facing in this passage from Isaiah -- just to give you the background -- at this time, the nation of Israel had split up and divided into two kingdoms -- Israel and Judah
-- Israel was the kingdom in the north of the Promised Land -- it had just been attacked by the Assyrians and all of the people were carried off into exile -- the northern kingdom had been destroyed
-- Isaiah lived in the south -- in Judah -- the kingdom where Jerusalem and the Temple of God was located -- the people of Judah had stayed out of the fight while the northern kingdom was being attacked by the Assyrians -- they thought if they minded their own business, Assyria would leave them alone and trouble would pass them by and they could just go on enjoying their life
-- but, now, as the Book of Isaiah tells us, the Assyrians have turned on them -- and are attacking towns and villages throughout Judah -- one moment, life is going on just like normal -- and, in the next, bad things are happening
-- the people don’t know why this is happening -- they don’t understand why they are being attacked -- why they are suffering the way they are -- so God speaks to them here through the prophet Isaiah -- let’s see what we can learn about how to respond to life when bad things happen through what God tells Isaiah here
-- look back with me at verse 15 again
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.” 18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
-- when the Assyrians started threatening the people of Judah, the leaders of the Jewish people tried to make a deal with Egypt to come to their rescue and to fight on their behalf -- even though they were the people of God, when trouble came their way, they looked to Egypt for strength and salvation
-- so, God rebukes here for what they have done -- He reminds them that salvation and strength come from Him and not from man -- He tells them that if they had repented for their sins, He would have given them rest -- If they had come to Him with humble and trusting hearts, they would know the peace and quiet of His strength
-- He would have fought the battle for them, but they would have none of it -- instead, they went to Egypt -- and when that didn’t work their plan was to run and leave their troubles behind
-- so, what do you do when bad things happen? -- where do you go for salvation and strength?
-- in order to really answer that question, we first have to know why the bad things are happening -- the Bible teaches that the things that we call “bad,” -- trials and tribulations and troubles in our lives -- come to us for a couple of different reasons
-- first, as we see here in this passage, God will allow trouble to come into our midst as a consequence of our sins -- as a means to correct us and to bring us home when we have strayed from His path
-- the Israelites had quit trusting in God with all their hearts and souls and mind and strength -- instead, they were just going through the motions of religion and were trusting more in the strength of man and in their idols for their salvation
-- instead of asking God to help when bad things happened, they asked Egypt -- instead of turning to God, they prayed to their idols
-- so, God allowed this calamity to come into their lives to get their attention and to lead them back to Him
-- the other night I came up here with Kim for the graduation of her dog obedience class and she had me work with our schnauzer, Cookie, along with the class -- I rarely walk Cookie on leash or do obedience with her, and I realized that night just how strong-willed that little dog was -- she did some things good -- but, on other things, she just dug her heels in and refused to do what I told her to do -- and so I had to force her to obey
-- you see, I knew what she needed to do -- I knew that if she obeyed and did what I said, she would get a treat -- but she had other ideas -- so when I told her to go down, and she didn’t, I pulled her down with the leash -- the opposite direction from where she thought she wanted to be -- and she fought against me, but eventually gave in and got the treat
-- that’s one way God uses adversity in our lives -- that’s what we see here in this passage --when we run away from God and go in a direction He doesn’t want us to go, He will allow adversity and affliction into our lives to force us to come back the right way
-- the Israelites had turned away from God in their faith and in their trust, so God used the Assyrians to lead them to repentance and true salvation
-- the second way God uses affliction and adversity in our life is to mold our character -- Hezekiah, the King of Judah, was a Godly man -- he was opposed to turning to Egypt for help, but he allowed himself to be swayed by the arguments of his advisors -- he gave in to peer pressure
-- so, God used the Assyrian attack to help Hezekiah grow in his faith -- to help him become more mature so that he would stick to the right path and not give in when others tried to tell him otherwise
-- In James 1:1-3, we read that God allows trials and tribulations to come our way to help us develop character and to allow us to become mature in our faith
-- it’s kind of like the refining of silver -- in order to refine silver, the silversmith has to put the silver in the hottest part of the fire in order to burn away the impurities -- as the silver is subjected to heat, the impurities come off and the silver is made more and more pure until it is fully refined -- that is the way God uses adversity and affliction in the life of a believer -- not to punish us or discipline us for disobedience -- but to burn off any impurities in our life and to make us holy and mature in His eyes
-- so, when bad things start to happen, the first thing we should do is to find out why bad things are happening -- we need to examine ourselves and to ask God if we are sinning against Him -- if we are in disobedience to His will and if He is trying to get us to repent -- or if this trial and affliction we are going through is just part of God’s refining process to mold us into the people He has called us to be
-- if He shows you that you are in sin -- that you are living in disobedience to His will -- then you must repent of your sins -- this means more than just asking forgiveness -- this means more than just confessing your sins -- it means that you actually turn away from whatever it is you are doing -- you stop what you’re doing and you turn 180 degrees and you start following God instead
-- and then you ask God to give you the strength to walk with Him rather than in the path you have been walking
-- one important thing to see here is that God tells the Israelites that He is on their side -- He doesn’t want them to suffer -- in verse 18 He says that He longs to be gracious to them -- He rises to show them compassion -- He wants the best for their life -- but they have to choose it -- they have to choose to turn away from what they have been doing -- they have to repent and accept what He has for them instead
-- just like my dog Cookie had to turn away from fighting me about going down so that she could receive the treat I had for her
-- and, what happens when we repent? -- verse 19
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
-- as soon as God hears us call for forgiveness -- as soon as He sees us repent -- God moves -- He springs into action and takes away all our tears-- He allowed adversity and affliction into our lives -- not because He was trying to harm us -- but because He was trying to teach us--either to show us the error of our ways or to refine us as silver so we would be holy as He is holy
-- God says here that when we are walking with Him, He walks with us -- He shows us the path we should follow-- and He speaks in our ears and in our minds and tells us, “This is the way -- walk in it rather than the path you want to follow”
-- in verse 22 we see the picture of a people who are finally getting it -- who understand why bad things have happened to them -- who recognize and confess their sin and turn completely away from it by getting rid of everything in their lives that had defiled them -- everything that had kept them from following God and turning to Him in the first place -- so that God would rescue them and show them His salvation and empower them through His strength
III. Closing
-- in 1929, Georgia Tech was playing the University of California in the Rose Bowl -- they were losing the game and were making a final drive to the goal for the winning touchdown when Roy Riegels, a California defender, recovered a Georgia Tech fumble, then turned and ran sixty-five yards in the wrong direction -- one of Riegels’ own teammates had to tackle to stop him from crossing the wrong goal line -- on the next play, Georgia Tech scored and went on to win
-- from then on, Riegels was known throughout the country as “Wrong Way Riegels” and endured a lifetime of ridicule
-- sometimes, we are also “wrong way people” -- sometimes bad things happen to us because we are going the wrong way in our life and God wants to stop us before we cross the wrong goal line
-- so, He allows bad things to come into our life -- not because He hates us -- not because He wants to do us harm --but because He loves us and wants the best for our lives
-- God uses these bad things to lead us back to Him when we are in sin and disobedience -- and He uses them to refine us and to make us holy as He is holy
-- bad things happen -- but our response should always be to look to God in the midst of the storm -- knowing that His sunshine is on the other side of the clouds and that He wants to bring us out of the darkness of trouble and into the light of His love better than we were to start with
-- I don’t know what trials you may be suffering through right now -- I don’t know what afflictions or adversities you may be experiencing or why -- but if you need prayer, I would be happy to pray with you and to help carry your burden to Christ
-- as we close, I want to invite you to lift up your needs to God -- and if you want me to pray with you, either come up here as the last song is playing or let me know after the service, and I will pray with you
-- Let us pray
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