SERMON: IT IS FINISHED (TETELESTI)

EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE

20 April 2014

            -- turn in Bibles to John 19:16-30

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.

21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son,"

27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.

30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

            -- as tax day rolled around this week, I heard an interesting fact about our tax law here in the U.S. -- the 2013 tax code has over 4 million words -- if you were to print out the entire thing, it would take almost 74,000 pages of paper

            -- it seems a current state of affairs to be verbose in our writing and in our communication with each other -- but perhaps we would be better served if we chose our words more carefully, and rather than writing fluff to make our documents larger, we instead concentrated on expressing the point in the fewest possible words

            -- have you ever considered the fact that the messages that truly have impacted history and our own lives are all messages of very few words?

            -- for instance, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address -- considered by many to be the greatest speech ever given in America -- just 272 words that changed the fate of our nation

            -- or what about Franklin D. Roosevelt's radio address on December 7th, 1941 -- "Today is a day that will live in infamy" -- just hearing those words immediately reminds us of the tragedy of Pearl Harbor

            -- or in more recent history -- remember the impact hearing the words, "The Space Shuttle Challenger has exploded" or "A plane has hit the world trade center in New York," had on your life? -- I don't doubt that each of us -- at least those who are old enough -- can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news

            -- even in our own personal lives, it is amazing how many life-changing events are announced with just a few simple words

            -- words such as:  "I love you" -- "Will you marry me?" -- "I'm pregnant" -- "He passed away" -- "The tests were negative" -- "It's a girl" or "It's a boy"

            -- simple words -- simple messages -- but messages that change lives

            -- maybe that's why the most profound event in the course of human history and this world was announced with just one word -- Tetelesti

            -- as His time on the cross was nearly over, John tells us here in verse 30 that Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven and cried out in a loud voice, "It is finished -- Tetelesti" -- and with that proclamation, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit to the Father

            -- the only place in the entire New Testament where the word Tetelesti is used is in this passage -- and to understand the importance of that word, you need to know how it was used in Jesus' day

            -- someone only used the word Tetelesti when their work was completed to perfection

            -- for instance, when an artist finished a painting, he might have put down his brush and stepped back and proclaimed Tetelesti to declare the picture was perfect

            -- or a servant would respond Tetelesti when asked by his master if the work assigned had been completed as asked

            -- a judge might have said Tetelesti when he conferred a sentence or issued a ruling that a sentence had been completed -- Tetelesti -- "Justice has been served"

            -- a priest would say Tetelesti when an unblemished and acceptable sacrifice was given to God and a soldier might cry Tetelesti as a battle cry towards a vanquished foe¹

            -- Tetelesti was only used to indicate the task was perfectly completed

            -- all over the world today, believers have gathered to celebrate this final word from the cross -- while the empty tomb and resurrection stand as proof of Christ's final victory, it was the cry of Tetelesti that proclaimed to all creation that the task assigned to Jesus had been perfectly completed -- that "it" was finally over

            -- the question, then is "what task did Jesus accomplish? -- what is the "it" that Jesus said was over?"

            -- part of the answer can be found in Luke Chapter 4 -- Luke records Jesus' first message in the synagogue at Nazareth -- as He stood up to read the scriptures, He turned in the scroll of Isaiah and read this passage:

            -- Luke 4:18-19 -- "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor -- He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

            -- every eye in the room was on Him to see what He would say in response to this powerful verse -- He reached over and slowly put up the scroll and announced "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing"

            -- don't miss what He did there -- when I took my homiletics -- my preaching -- class -- I was told, "Never close your Bible when you are preaching -- never read the Scripture and close the Bible and start preaching -- you always leave the Bible open because this is the source -- this is the place where revelation comes from -- this is where your message originates -- the word of God is alive and active and should never be put away while it is being proclaimed"

            -- so why did Jesus do just that? -- why did Jesus put the scroll up before He spoke that day in the synagogue? -- because it was finished -- it was fulfilled

            -- Jesus had been assigned the task of preaching the good news of salvation to the poor -- of proclaiming freedom for the prisoners -- healing to the blind -- release to the oppressed -- and announcing the day of the Lord's redemption

            -- His presence in the synagogue that day fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah

            -- as Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets -- I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them" -- through His sinless life and His death on the cross, the law and the prophets were fulfilled -- for Him and for us -- it was finished perfectly and completely -- Tetelesti

            -- another "it" that was finished on the cross was the curse of sin and death -- Adam and Eve had been warned not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if they did, they would surely die

            -- and when sin entered the garden through the temptation of the serpent, Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit, and the curse of sin and death fell upon mankind and all creation

            -- because of them we are born with the curse in our bodies -- we sin because we are sinners -- we sin because we have been born infected with a sin nature that corrupts our very soul and spirit -- and not only do we suffer from this sin nature, but all creation suffers too

            -- that is why Paul said in Romans 8:22 that all creation has been groaning up to the present time -- it groans because of the curse that has been laid upon it

            -- but when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible tells us that He became the curse for us -- He became sin for us -- the righteous becoming unrighteous -- the sinless One taking upon Himself our sins and transgressions -- bearing the consequence of sin and death and paying a debt we could never pay

            -- when Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished," He was referring to the debt that each of us owed and the sin in our lives -- Tetelesti means our sins are completely forgiven -- Tetelesti means our sin nature has been destroyed -- Tetelesti means we are no longer bound by sin and death but have been freed for victorious life in Christ

            -- we no longer have to sin because Jesus has perfectly and completely removed sins and the sin nature on the cross of Calvary -- Tetelesti

            -- the final "it" that was finished on the cross was the divide between God and man -- the Bible tells us God is holy and cannot look upon sin -- He cannot be in the presence of sin -- and so, when Adam and Eve infected the human race with sin, they separated us from God's very presence -- their sin created a chasm that none could cross

            -- it was for this reason Jesus was sent to earth -- remember John 3:16? -- "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have eternal life"

            -- that is the final task Jesus came to fulfill -- He came not only to fulfill the law and the prophets -- not only to pay the penalty for our sins -- but to reconcile us to the Father by transferring His righteousness to us

            -- when Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished," it also meant the bridge that Jesus had built with His own body had been completed -- and now we could cross the chasm to the Father

            -- His sinless life became our bridge to the other side -- His righteousness replaced our unrighteousness -- His holiness replaced our unholiness -- and we are reconciled to the Father through His Jesus' death and resurrection

            -- the separation has ended -- it is finished -- because Jesus paid the price -- Tetelesti

            -- the final cry of Jesus from the cross was the summation of God's love to a world that had turned its back on Him -- it was a cry of defiance against Satan and his minions -- a cry of victory over sin and death -- and a cry of reconciliation with the Father -- Tetelesti -- Jesus had completely and perfectly ended His task on earth and so He bowed His head and gave up His spirit and died

            -- so if it is finished, why are you still trapped by lingering sin? -- if it is finished, why then do you still fear death? -- if it is finished, why do you still worry and fret over life? -- if it is finished, why do you still strive to pay a debt that has already been paid?

            -- Tetelesti means it is finished -- finite -- nothing left to do -- it has all been done

            -- someone once asked in a lecture what the difference was between Christianity and all the other religions of the world -- the lecturer paused for a moment and said, "All the other religions of the world tell its adherents, "Do! -- Do this and you will be saved." -- Christianity, on the other hand, says "Done! -- Tetelesti! -- It is finished!"

            -- as you leave here today on this Easter morning -- as you go forth into the rest of your day and time here on earth, remember the cry of Jesus from the cross -- cease your striving and work -- cease your worry -- believe that it is finished -- that all your sins have been forgiven -- that all your sin debt has been paid -- that you are being created anew in the image of your God and Father -- and walk in the knowledge that it is done -- Tetelesti"

            -- let us pray

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 [SOURCE:  “It Is Finished!” Jesus Does Not Need Your Help by Tony Miano, edited by Matt Slick, http://carm.org/it-is-finished, accessed 4/19/2014]

SERMON: HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

13 April 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Revelation 4:1-8

Revelation 4:1-8 (NIV)

1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.

3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.

6 Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back.

7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."

            -- this morning I wanted to discuss a new movie that is opening this week -- it's called "Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back" -- it's based on a 2010 book by the same name and it relates the story of Colton Burpo, a four-year-old little boy who supposedly died and went to heaven and then came back to tell his story

            -- Colton's story begins with emergency surgery after a ruptured appendix -- the doctors weren't sure Colton was going to survive, but he did, and a few months later, Colton began telling his father about going to heaven and about the people he met there

            -- Colton said as he was going to heaven, he saw his father and mother praying for him in the hospital -- once he was there, he met relatives who had died before he was even born -- he told his father he had talked to his great-grandfather and met a sister who had died in a miscarriage -- he saw Jesus come riding up on a rainbow-colored horse, and he met John the Baptist and the angel Gabriel -- he said everyone in heaven had wings and halos just like all the angels -- and that heaven was filled with little children who had either died in utero or as an infant and who continued to grow at a normal rate once they went to heaven -- he said he saw God the Father on His throne, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, who he described as being bluish and transparent and hard to see

            -- so what do you think? -- sounds pretty accurate, doesn't it? -- it seems to fit pretty closely with what most people believe about heaven

            -- we all know that heaven is in the clouds and that when we die, we will go to heaven to be with Jesus and we will become angels -- or, at least, we will be given wings like angels

            -- everyone agrees that we will know each other when we get to heaven -- and we will spend eternity sitting around on the clouds and playing harps and singing hymns, right? -- that's pretty much what Colton saw when he went to heaven and came back and that's pretty much what we have seen in books and paintings and movies over the years

            -- but before we head out to see "Heaven is for Real" at the movies this weekend -- before we pick up Colton's book or one of the other many books that have come out about near death experiences recently where someone either goes to heaven or hell after they die and come back to tell us about it -- we really should turn to the Bible and see what it says about heaven and the afterlife

            -- I know I tend to say this a lot, but if you get nothing else out of our time together at Koinonia, I want you to get this -- always, always, always go to the Bible and see what it says before you accept any spiritual teaching

            -- I don't care how popular it is -- I don't care whether I say it or whether you hear it from a preacher on the radio or on the TV or if it's the latest movie on the big screen or the hottest Christian book out on the market

            -- before you believe what you hear, check it against the Bible -- if there was one verse in the Bible -- other than John 3:16 -- that I wanted all of you to know and to live by, it is Acts 17:11 -- "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

            -- when the Apostle Paul preached and shared the message of the gospel with the Bereans, they didn't accept it at face value, but they went back and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul -- the Apostle Paul -- said was true -- and we should do no less with every spiritual message that we receive today

            -- and that's what we're going to do this morning with Colton Burpo's story, "Heaven is for Real"

            -- just to let you know, we're going to be going to be jumping around a great deal in the Bible this morning, but I'm going to give you a study guide with a list of all the scriptures and I want you to commit to going back and reading these in context to make sure what I'm saying is what God is telling us through His word

            -- so let's get started

II.  Is Heaven for Real?

            -- let's start with the question that Colton tries to answer -- "Is Heaven for Real?" -- is heaven a real place?

            -- Americans certainly think so, and I expect this movie to do really, really well at the box office because of that -- depending on the poll you look at, somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of Americans believe in heaven -- they believe heaven is a real place -- but, what does the Bible say? -- is heaven real?

            -- sure it is! -- of course heaven is for real -- that is one of our basic beliefs -- at the very start of the Bible -- in Genesis 1:1 -- we read that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" -- at the beginning of time, God created heaven -- and in almost every book of the Bible, we see a reference to heaven -- heaven is real, there is no doubt about that

            -- now before we move on, let's talk about one thing -- if you notice in Genesis 1:1, it says that "God created the heavens" -- plural -- and in many places throughout the Bible, we see references to "heavens" -- plural -- and in 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul talks about being caught up to the third heaven -- about being carried to Paradise

            -- so why does the Bible talk about heavens in a plural sense? -- it has to do with the way the Israelites used that term -- they recognized three heavens -- three spheres or plains that existed above the earth

            -- the first heaven is the atmosphere -- the air we breathe -- the place where clouds are -- this is the first heaven -- the second heaven is what we call space -- the place where the heavenly bodies reside -- the sun and the moon and the stars -- the third heaven, that Paul talked about, is what we normally think of in our day as heaven -- it's the abode of God -- it's the place where God lives -- it's the place where we find the throne of God

            -- so that's why the Bible refers to heavens in a plural term

            -- so Heaven is real -- the Bible confirms that -- Colton and all the others are right in their assertion that heaven is a real place

III.  Does God Live in Heaven?

            -- let's move on to the next question:  "Does God live in heaven?" -- according to Colton's story, when he went to heaven he saw God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit -- so, what does the Bible say? -- does God live in heaven?

            -- sure He does! -- all the way back in the Book of Genesis, we see references to God being in heaven -- Genesis 21:17 -- "God called to Hagar from heaven" -- Genesis 22:11 -- "The Angel of the Lord called out to him [Abraham] from heaven"

            -- same thing in the New Testament -- in Matthew 5:16, Jesus told us to let our light shine before men, that they might see our good deeds and praise our "Father in heaven." -- in many references in the gospels, Jesus referred to our Father who is in heaven -- we even see that in the Lord's prayer -- "Our Father, who art in heaven..."

            -- so, yes, God lives in heaven -- that is where He has chosen to reside and that is where His throne is -- Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 6 that he say the Lord seated on His throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple -- over in Revelation Chapter 4, John was caught up to heaven and saw God seated on His throne

            -- and we know that Jesus is there, too -- in Acts 1 we read of the ascension of Jesus from the Mount of Olives -- and in Acts 7:55 we read, "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" -- in Ephesians 1:20 it says Christ was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms

            -- so both God the Father and Jesus are in heaven -- the Bible tells us that -- however, there are not any clear references to the Holy Spirit being in heaven -- at least at this time -- we know the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity -- He is God -- so in that sense He is in heaven because God is in heaven -- and Jesus also said in John 16:7 it was good for Him to leave because when He ascended, the Father would send the Holy Spirit down to be our Counselor and Comforter -- so in order to send the Holy Spirit down, He had to have also been in heaven -- however, the Holy Spirit is never described as having a body of any type or of being in a form that we can see -- so this part of Colton's story breaks down a little

            -- also, Colton's description of the throne room of God does not match what we see in Scripture -- in the Bible, we see two accounts of people being caught up to heaven and appearing before the throne of God -- Isaiah in Isaiah Chapter 6 and the Apostle John in Revelation 4 -- and both of their accounts are remarkably similar

            -- both describe the scene in the throne room of heaven as being filled with worship led by the Seraphim -- the Seraphim have six wings, are covered with eyes in front and in back, and have different faces -- one has the face of an ox -- one the face of a lion -- one the face of a man -- and one the face of a flying eagle -- and both Isaiah and John describe them as flying around and crying out in a loud voice, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty"

            -- the throne room is described as being filled with smoke -- and John describes elsewhere in the Book of Revelation that peals of thunder and lightning came from the throne

            -- none of this is mentioned in Colton's book, which is hard to believe -- I would think this would stand out to anyone who went to heaven -- that we certainly would notice four living creatures with six wings, covered with eyes, and leading worship around the throne -- both John and Isaiah mentioned this in their accounts

IV.  Our Bodies in Heaven

            -- let's move on to our bodies -- Colton said that everyone in heaven had wings just like the angels -- and that's a common belief of most people -- that when someone dies, they go to heaven and become an angel -- or at least, they get angel wings

            -- we see that in one of our most loved Christmas movies -- "It's a Wonderful Life" -- Clarence is an angel who is sent to help Jimmy Stewart so he will get his wings -- and remember the line from the movie, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings"

            -- the only problem with this -- and with Colton's story about everyone in heaven -- including the little children -- having wings like the angels is that not all angels have wings -- in fact, according to the Bible -- out of the four types of angels we know of -- angels, archangels, seraphim, and cherubim -- only the seraphim and cherubim have wings -- the other two don't

            -- in the accounts of angels appearing to people in the Bible, they are never described as having wings -- in Luke 2, when the angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields outside Jerusalem, there is no mention of wings -- when the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament, and then to Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, and to Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the New Testament -- no mention of wings

            -- when Mary Magdalene and the other women visited Jesus' tomb on Easter morning in Luke 24:4, they were startled by the appearance of two men with clothes that gleamed like lightning -- no wings

            -- so what about us? -- when we die and go to heaven, will we get wings? -- no where in the Bible are we told that people are going to get wings when they die and go to heaven

            -- we will be given a new body when we go to heaven -- Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:49 that our new bodies will bear the likeness of the resurrected Jesus -- our bodies will be imperishable -- immortal -- and physical

            -- think about what Jesus' resurrected body was like -- Jesus was not a spirit -- He was not a ghost -- He was flesh and blood -- He didn't have wings, and we won't either -- after the resurrection, He talked with His disciples -- He ate with His disciples -- He touched His disciples and let them touch Him -- and our new bodies will be like His

            -- Colton's story about seeing people in heaven with wings is not biblical -- it does not line up with the biblical account -- not for the angels -- and, definitely, not for people who have passed away and who have gone to be with the Lord

V.  People in Heaven

            -- let's look at one more part of Colton's story and we'll end there

            -- Colton told his father he had talked to his great-grandfather and met a sister who had died in a miscarriage -- his sister was a little girl and his great-grandfather was a young man

            -- that brings up two questions, the first of which we have partly answered -- what will our bodies look like in heaven? -- will we be present in heaven at the age at which we died or will we be given a body at a different age?

            -- Colton said both in his story -- his little sister was brought up to heaven as a miscarried baby and grew from that point on until she was a little girl about his age when he went there -- his great-grandfather, however, was not an old man, but instead was a young man in the prime of his life

            -- so what does the Bible say? -- well, it doesn't -- the Bible just tells us that we will be given a new body -- as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, this new body will be imperishable and immortal -- but he doesn't tell us how old we will appear to be when we are in heaven

            -- over in Revelation 7:9, when John sees the multitudes that appear before the throne of God in heaven, he doesn't tell us their age

            -- so we really don't know -- the Bible is silent on this account -- and this is true whether we're speculating on the presence of infants and children in heaven or speculating that we will all be given a new body as a young adult in the prime of life

            -- the Bible simply does not say -- I think the assumption that is made by most believers is that we will be given the body of a young adult is based on the story of the creation of Adam and Eve -- it is obvious from that account that Adam and Eve were created as adults -- they were not infants -- they were not children -- they were created as adults and placed in the Garden of Eden -- we can assume from this that our resurrected bodies will be the same -- but that is not stated in Scripture -- we simply do not know

            -- the other question Colton's story raises is whether we will know each other in heaven -- will we know our relatives in heaven? -- every single story about people dying and going to heaven and coming back say the same thing -- they all knew their family in heaven -- but what does the Bible say?

            -- once again, the Bible really doesn't tell us a whole lot on this account -- the closest thing we have is the story of Lazarus and the beggar from Luke 16 -- you need to keep in mind this occurred prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus -- it references what happened to people who died prior to the resurrection of Jesus

            -- when people died before the cross, they were sent to Hades -- there were two areas in Hades -- paradise or Abraham's bosom -- and a place of torment -- Lazarus was sent to the place of torment and he could look across to paradise -- he recognized and knew both the beggar and Abraham and spoke to them

            -- that is the only reference we have in the Bible about people knowing others beyond the grave

            -- I think we will know each other after death -- but I cannot back that up with a scriptural reference -- as he was dying, Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right of hand of God and knew Him and recognized Him -- and we know that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration -- and Peter and James and John recognized them even though they had never seen them before -- so I believe we will recognize and know each other in heaven

VI.  Closing

            -- so let's bring this home -- what does all this mean?

            -- Friday I had a coworker come up to me to talk about this movie, "Heaven is for Real" -- I know him to be a Christian -- he teaches Sunday School -- he leads the youth for his church -- and he was planning on carrying his young people to go see this movie, but another friend of his told him not to -- that it wasn't biblical -- and so he was coming to me to see what I thought

            -- I don't know if I've ever told you I have an unwritten rule I try to live by -- I do not take unsolicited books -- I have people constantly trying to get me to read this or that book -- "just take it -- borrow this and let me know what you think" -- and I did that early on in my ministry -- but I don't do it any more -- and it's all because of this book, "Heaven is for Real"

            -- when that book came out, I had a lot of people trying to get me to read it -- and so I looked up what it was about -- and I decided it was not scriptural -- it just did not line up with what the Bible taught about heaven -- and so I refused to read it

            -- and when my friend came up and asked me about it, I told him that I didn't think he should carry his youth group to see the movie because it was not biblical and it might plant wrong ideas about heaven in the minds of these impressionable youth -- I told him if he wanted to see an unbiblical movie that had a better plot and more action, go see "Noah" -- it doesn't line up with scripture either, but it has a lot of action

            -- the book and the movie, "Heaven is for Real," is simply not correct -- it does not line up with the word of God -- but it raises a larger issue

            -- why do so many people have wrong views about heaven? -- why are there so many false teachings about heaven out today?

            -- the answer is simple -- these false teachings have been introduced by Satan to lead the world astray -- in Revelation 13:6, John writes that the Beast -- the Antichrist -- is empowered by Satan to "blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven"

            -- this is what Satan does -- he attacks God by slandering God's name, God's people, and God's dwelling place -- heaven

            -- by slandering heaven, Satan has been able to take God's most wonderful promise to us -- His promise of the kingdom to come -- of life everlasting filled with wonders and excitement and rest -- and turn it into a parody of disembodied saints with wings floating on clouds and sitting in church all day

            -- by convincing the world that everyone is going to heaven regardless of what you believe, Satan is keeping people away from the truth of the gospel

            -- that is his goal -- that is his purpose -- and our goal and our purpose should be to stand against false teachings, to share the good news of Christ, and to point people to the truth

            -- let's not totally castigate this movie -- it is an opportunity for us to talk with others about what heaven is really like and what the says about heaven and, more importantly, how we get to heaven in the first place

            -- so I'm going to leave you with that -- and let's join together in prayer to pray for those in our world who are being led astray through false teachings -- and let's pray that God would open their eyes and remove the veil Satan has put before them so they might come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ

            -- let's pray

SERMON: WHAT PHIL SAID

29 December 2013

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

            -- the title of today's message is "What Phil Said" -- of course I am referring to the recent controversy resulting from an interview Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, gave to GQ Men's Magazine for their January 2014 edition -- Phil's interview set off a firestorm in the media, resulting in the A&E network suspending Robertson from Duck Dynasty because of his comments about homosexuality -- but, if you were to subtitle this message, I guess you would have to call it "Was Phil Right?"

            -- today's topic, of course, deals with homosexuality -- I know this is a controversial topic -- not something you would normally expect in a message given in the Christmas season right before a new year, but I just feel this is something that the church really needs to talk about -- not only because of the controversy with Duck Dynasty but because we need clear biblical insight on this issue and our response to this issue-- and the voice of the church has been somewhat missing from this media firestorm

            -- I have seen only a couple of articles from church leaders about the Duck Dynasty issue -- one from Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and a few others scattered about -- but, by and large, the church has been silent over the past couple of weeks -- the controversy and the arguments about this issue have primarily been bantered about by special interest groups on the left and conservative politicians and grassroots supporters on the right -- Facebook in particular has been lit up with this issue over the past several weeks

            -- but the church has been silent, and this should not be the case -- the church has not responded to this or other controversial topics of our day in years -- I have seen very little from the church leadership on Obamacare or our economic crisis or war in Syria or any other similar divisive topic -- but this should not be

            -- on issues of morality and injustice and righteousness, the church should be at the forefront -- telling others of the good news of Christ and responding with grace and truth in the midst of the controversy

            -- so this morning, we are going to wade into this current controversy because I want you to understand why it started and why it should not have started and what our response as the church of Christ should have been in the midst of this cultural firestorm

            -- before I begin, let me give you some caveats -- first, I am going to address this issue solely from a Biblical perspective -- if you look in the media or on the internet or in books or magazines, you will see the political and biological aspects of homosexuality debated -- that is not our concern as a church -- our concern resides in the social and cultural and religious aspects of this issue -- and our focus and response should be centered on what God's word says about it

            -- secondly, this message is based on my interpretation of scripture -- there are differing interpretations and opinions among the nation's Christians leaders -- on a subject like this, I think it is important that you read God's Word first -- then read the different interpretations and opinions from both sides of the issue so you can come to the place where God is leading you

-- my intent this morning is to relate to you what I feel God has been saying to me about this issue and to challenge you to consider your own position on this subject -- were your opinions on this Duck Dynasty controversy formed because you researched the issue yourself or did you just react because you like Duck Dynasty or because of what you saw on Facebook and Twitter?

-- Sarah Palin jumped into this controversy and spoke out several times in support of Phil Robertson, even drawing an analogy between him and Rosa Parks, when it turns out she never even read what Phil said in his GQ interview

-- our response should always be based on truth and we cannot speak intelligently into a situation until we have researched the facts and looked at both sides and searched God's word for His truth about the situation

            -- so, let's begin there

II.  Exegesis of Homosexuality

            -- first, what did Phil say? -- what started all of this controversy? -- it all began when Phil shared with the GQ interviewer a candid portrait of his life -- Phil was not always a good person and he has been honest about who he was in his testimony -- but Phil's life was changed through an encounter with the risen Christ -- and Phil is not shy to share his experiences and his beliefs about Jesus -- as one person put it this week, "If you don't want to know the thoughts and opinions of a 67-year old redneck from the backwoods of Louisiana, you shouldn't ask, because they're going to tell you"

            -- throughout the interview, Phil constantly talked about our country's drift away from Christian morals and principles and shared the gospel message many times with the interviewer, asking him point-blank if he and his wife were "Bible people" and telling him to put his faith in Jesus -- at one point, Phil said the big problem in our country is that "everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong" -- “Sin becomes fine.”

            -- the interviewer than asked the question: "What, in your mind, is sinful?" -- and Phil responded with the quote that resulted in the media firestorm:

            -- “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there -- Bestiality -- sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men -- Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”¹

            -- so that's what Phil said -- and from that point on it was Katie-bar-the-door

            -- so let me ask you -- was Phil wrong? -- now before we answer, let me say that Phil did get more graphic in the interview about the differences between homosexual and heterosexual relationships -- he was using natural law -- the obvious truths communicated through the design of nature -- to make the point God had designed our bodies in a certain way and that homosexual relationships obviously and clearly are outside that design -- but was he wrong in what he said?

            -- in order to answer that we have to go back to the word of God -- I spent some time going through the Bible looking at the topic of homosexuality -- and, you know, when I began, I expected the Bible to be filled with reference after reference about  homosexuality -- but what I found was surprising

            -- the topic of homosexuality only occurs about 5 times in the entire Bible -- depending on what translation of the Bible you use, the actual word "homosexual" may only occur once or twice -- two of these references to homosexuality are in the book of Leviticus where God was giving the law to the Israelites

            -- Lev. 18:22 -- "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."

            -- and Lev. 20:13 -- "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable."

            -- now, a lot of Christians will tell you we live under grace and not under law -- and therefore, the legal requirements of the Law of Moses that we see in the Old Testament do not apply to us -- and that is correct, in a sense

            -- no, we do not have to follow the Law to the letter to find salvation -- our sins were forgiven through Christ's atoning work on the cross and our salvation was made sure through His resurrection on the third day

            -- we couldn't keep the law nor find salvation through the law, so Jesus fulfilled the commandments of the Law through His life and death and resurrection -- we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus

            -- so what does the Old Testament law mean to us? -- what do we do with it? -- the Law is a picture of God's heart and of His intent for our lives -- God has called us to be holy as He is holy -- and through the Law we see that holiness defined

            -- so when we look at these two passages in Leviticus, one thing stands out -- in both verses God tells us He views the homosexuality act as "detestable" -- both verses indicate that the act of homosexuality is a sin -- keep that in mind as we look at the other three references I found to homosexuality -- all in the New Testament

            -- hold your place here in 1 Corinthians but turn over to Romans 1 with me -- there is a passage here that I think is most definitive -- Romans 1:26-27

Romans 1:26-27 (NIV)

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

            -- in these verses, Paul uses words like "shameful lusts," "unnatural relations," "indecent acts," and "perversion" to describe the homosexual act -- it's obvious from Paul's use of those words that God views this act as offensive -- as a sin

            -- let's look at Jude 7 -- the next to the last book in the Bible -- right before the Book of Revelation

Jude 1:7 (NIV)

7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

-- if you know the story of Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah, then you know that the "sexual immorality and perversion" that Jude is referring to here includes homosexuality along with other acts

            -- finally, turn back to the passage we opened with -- 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

            -- this is the same passage Phil Robertson was paraphrasing in his interview with GQ -- this is what got him in hot water with the media and the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities -- it wasn't really Phil's words -- it was God's word

            -- and I think, if you honestly look at what we just read in context, you will have to agree the Bible is very clear and very consistent in condemning the homosexuality act as a sin -- and while it is true Jesus never directly mentioned anything about homosexuality, He did make it clear in His teachings throughout the gospel that it was God's intent for marriage and for sexual relations to be between one man and one woman

            -- one important thing I want you to understand in all of this, though, and this will tie in with where I want to go next -- these verses show that God condemns the act of homosexuality -- He does not condemn the person who commits the sin -- this is an important point -- God hates sin -- not the sinner -- we cannot get these two confused

-- we all know John 3:16

John 3:16 (NIV)

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

-- but most of the time we leave off the next verse -- John 3:17 reads, "For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

-- we see the same thing in the story in the Bible about the adulterous woman brought before Jesus -- Jesus refused to pass judgment on the woman and said to the men who were gathered there, "If any one of you is without sin, then let him cast the first stone" -- one by one all the men left, and when Jesus was left alone with the woman, he turned to her and said, "Where are they?  Has no one condemned you?" -- then she says "no one, sir." -- and Jesus responded by saying, "Then neither do I condemn you -- Go now and leave your life of sin."

-- God condemns the sin -- not the sinner

III.  Was Phil Right?

-- which brings up the question I said was the subtitle of this message -- "Was Phil Right?"

            -- let's look back at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 again

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

-- that's what Phil said -- but was he right?

            -- well, the answer is yes -- and no

            -- yes, the Bible seems to be clear in calling the homosexual act a sin -- yes, God does condemn homosexuality and call it detestable -- yes, Phil was right on that account

            -- but he was wrong on two others

            -- first, he was wrong because he focused solely on homosexuality in his interview -- look at what Paul wrote here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- who does Paul say will not inherit the kingdom of God? -- just homosexuals? -- No!

            -- Paul says no sinners can inherit the kingdom of God -- not just homosexuals -- but also the sexually immoral -- idolaters -- adulterers -- thieves -- the greedy -- drunkards -- slanderers -- nor swindlers -- all of these are detestable in the sight of God -- all of these are equally offensive to God -- all of these are sinners

            -- homosexuality is no more wrong that being greedy -- it is no more wrong than being drunk -- it is no more wrong than being a thief or a liar or an adulterer -- and that's where Phil missed it

            -- he applied his own personal bias -- his own sliding scale of sin -- to these verses -- we do that, don't we? -- we look at some sin as being worse than others

-- but let me ask you this:  who is the worst sinner? -- someone who tells a white lie now and then or someone who commits murder?  -- the answer is NEITHER -- there are no "worse" sinners or "better" sinners -- in the eyes of God, there are just sinners and sinners and more sinners

-- but we still think that way, don't we? -- we rank sin -- we treat people differently -- if Bill is having an extramarital affair, the church doesn't go over to his house and protest with banners that say "adulterers are going to hell" even though that's what it says here

            -- if Jane was to go out and covet Tom's car, we don't send mail to her telling her she will "burn in hell" even though the Bible says it's a sin to covet

            -- but the church does that with homosexuals -- we treat this sin differently than we do most others -- and that's exactly what Phil did in his interview and that's exactly why the Duck Dynasty story blew up over the past couple of weeks

            -- in God's eyes, sin is sin is sin -- it doesn't matter what you do, if you transgress against Him in any area, you are just as guilty as someone involved in homosexuality or murder or any other sin we rank as horrendous

            -- we all have sinned and when we sin, we appear no different to God than any other sinner -- God doesn't rank sin and neither should we

            -- so what else was Phil wrong about? -- let me remind you of the question the interviewer asked that started this whole controversy -- he asked, "What, in your mind, is sinful?"

            -- did you catch what he said? -- What -- IN YOUR MIND -- is sinful? -- not "what is a sin?" -- but what, IN YOUR MIND, is sinful?

            -- that phrase makes it clear -- the interviewer was not a Christian -- he did not look to God's word for his standard of right and wrong -- and although Phil was right in condemning homosexuality and the other sins listed in these verses -- he was wrong because he left something out that this man needed -- grace

            -- look at 1 Corinthians 6:11

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV)

11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

            -- Phil was wrong because he focused on the sin and erected barriers with this man and the readers of this magazine who obviously are not Christians -- rather than speaking the truth in love and offering grace to the interviewer, Phil Robertson came across as a bigoted, hateful man -- and even though he did share the gospel message later in his interview, the damage was already done -- the message was not received because of the messenger

            -- but, we can't put all the blame on Phil Robertson because those who sided with him on Facebook and Twitter and in the media over the past couple of weeks were just as condemning and judgmental as he was portrayed to be in that interview

            -- missing in the midst of all the response on the Duck Dynasty controversy was grace and truth and love

            -- the way we respond to sin and sinners shows what we truly believe about God and what we truly believe about ourselves and can literally make the difference between a person accepting Christ or not

            -- let me ask you a question, after all this controversy -- after all the media uproar and A&E finally caving in to ratings and money and the political right "winning" this case -- what do you think the non-Christians in this country think about us? -- Do you think they would be encouraged to turn to Christ based on the response of the Christian community in this controversy?

            -- Jesus said that the world would know us by our love -- there wasn't much love shown over the past few weeks -- there wasn't much grace offered

            -- Paul was very upfront and bold in his condemnation of sin -- but he always tempered that condemnation with the good news of Christ -- with the offer of grace -- I didn't really see that here in this situation

            -- so how should we have responded as a Christian community?  -- let me close this message by sharing with you the story of my friend Tommy

            -- Tommy was a pastor friend of mine -- one of my mentors -- he passed away a few years ago -- but I truly respected him and his insights into God's word and God's work in our lives today

            -- he shared with me the story of his son -- after Tommy had been a pastor for quite some time, his son came to him and announced he was gay -- and Tommy reacted just like Phil Robertson -- just like all of us on the Christian right did in this Duck Dynasty situation

            -- he beat his son with the Bible -- verse after verse -- passage after passage -- denouncing his son -- telling him he was a sinner and needed to repent of his sin -- telling him he was condemning himself to Hell -- Tommy said he responded with judgment and hatred of the sin rather than grace and truth and love -- he told his son to get out and not come back

            -- years went by -- Tommy's son continued to live a homosexual lifestyle -- he was in a long-term homosexual relationship in Florida -- and father and son remained estranged

            -- until God spoke to Tommy one day -- he reminded Tommy of the truth I have given you in this message -- we all are sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God -- we all are sinners in need of grace -- we all need someone to love us back home again

            -- in the Emmaus community we have a saying -- "Listen, listen -- Love, Love" -- Tommy realized he had done neither -- and so he reached out to his son and asked him to come home -- as his son sat at their table that day, Tommy didn't speak -- he didn't open the Bible -- he just listened -- and then he responded with love

            -- when Tommy died, he and his son had been reconciled for several years -- no, Tommy's son did not turn from his homosexual lifestyle -- yes, Tommy made it clear where he stood on the issue and what God's word said about the issue -- but he loved him all the same and prayed daily for his son's return to the faith

            -- this is the way Jesus responded to sinners -- this is the way He responded to the adulterous woman -- this is the way He responded to the woman at the well and to Zaccheus and to Matthew and to you and to me

            -- He listened and He loved -- He didn't condemn -- He didn't judge -- He listened -- He loved -- and He offered salvation and freedom from sin -- this is how we, as followers of Christ, should react to all who sin, whether they are homosexuals or adulterers or slanderers, or gossipers

VI.  Closing

            -- in closing, I want to encourage you to remember two things:

            -- the first is to remember the depths from which you were picked up -- remember who you were before you were saved -- remember how filthy your soul was before Christ cleaned you and forgave you -- even if the worst thing you did was tell a white lie, it was still enough to sentence you to hell for eternity

            -- secondly, don't condemn those who are still lost in their sins -- we need to make it clear where we stand on the issue -- we need to make it clear what the word of God says -- but we need to speak the truth in love and offer grace and hope instead of hatred and judgment

            -- as the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar -- and we need to learn to respond as Christ did -- through grace and love -- by listening and not judging -- by loving them into the kingdom

            -- sin is sin -- all sin is detestable in the eyes of God -- but the message of the Bible is not that God hates sin, but that God loves us so much He did something about it -- the message of the Bible is that God sent Christ to earth to take away our sin -- to fulfill the Law -- and to justify and sanctify our souls

            -- never forget -- Jesus died on cross for all sinners and for all sin -- liars -- gossips -- thieves -- idolaters -- drunkards -- sexually immoral people -- murderers -- and, yes, even homosexuals -- even you and me

            -- let grace rule your actions -- let love lead your tongue

            -- Let us Pray

¹"What the Duck?" by Drew Magary, GQ Magazine, January 2014 -- http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson#ixzz2orlJzqvF

BEING SPONTANEOUS FOR CHRIST

"Remember: experiences trump possessions, almost every single time." -- Steve Kamb.

I just ran across this quote in an article about being spontaneous, and I couldn't help but think about the guys who wanted to follow Jesus but just couldn't pull the trigger.

The story is in Luke 9:57-62. Jesus (yes, "that" Jesus), passes by three men who appear to have an interest in following Him. The first says he'll come, but doesn't when Jesus points out that the Son of Man doesn't have a place to lay his head (think: I can't follow because I have financial obligations). Jesus tells the second man, "Come, follow Me," but he says I can't because I have to bury my dead father (think: I can't follow because I have family obligations). The third tells Jesus he will follow, but first he has to say goodbye to his family (think: I can't follow until my children are out of the nest)....

You know those guys, right? You remember their names, right? No, because they let life, with a lower-case "L," keep them from Life, with an upper-case "L." No, because they chose things over experience, stability over spontaneity.

Now, think about the names you do know: Peter, James, John, Andrew -- Jesus said, "Come, follow Me," and they dropped their nets and everything else and followed. Matthew -- Jesus said, "Come, follow Me," and he left his tax collector's booth and followed. Why do you know their names? Because they chose Jesus and Life instead of stability and life.

Does this passage from Luke imply that Jesus wants us to shirk our responsibilities to our families? No, of course not. But it does mean that Jesus wants us to trust Him with our future, to trust Him with our uncertainties, to trust Him to be with us if He calls us to step out and follow Him where He leads.

Can we be spontaneous and stop to help someone broken down by the side of the road when the Holy Spirit whispers to us to do something, even though it's dangerous to stop for people now-a-days and it will make us late to work and possibly get us in trouble with the boss?

Can we be spontaneous and say, "No, I don't need that new CD. I'll go ahead and give this money to the missionary who is speaking in our church when the collection plate comes by for a love offering?"

Can we be spontaneous and go up to someone and say, "God wanted me to just tell you He loves you today and wants you to know that" even though they might look at you like you're a fool?

Can we be spontaneous and say, "Yes, I can go to Brazil or Mexico or Uganda with my church, even though I don't have the time or money. I trust God will make it happen."

Can we start experiencing Life with Jesus rather than just living life in the same old grind day in and day out? Can we start saying "Yes" instead of letting others tell us what we should do? Can we be spontaneous when Jesus says, "Come, follow Me?"