SERMON: ONE MAN’S JUNK

ONE MAN'S JUNK

25 January 2009

 

I. Introduction

    -- turn in Bibles to James 2

 

1. My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.

2. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

3. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet,"

4. have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5. Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

6. But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?

7. Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

9. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

10. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

11. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,

13. because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

14. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

15. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

16. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

    -- anybody who knows me knows that I'm a creature of habit -- I tend to do the same thing, the same way, everyday -- probably one of the reasons why God has placed me in the Methodist church -- because I am so methodical about the way I go through life

    -- anyway, my morning routine when I get to work is to log onto my computer -- load up my Outlook Express e-mail program -- and while I'm waiting for my messages to download -- I check out the headlines on CNN, MSN, and Fox News to see if there is anything of interest

    -- well, one day last week, I opened up my internet and looked at the headlines, and I have to say, my heart just broke -- the story about Caylee Anthony was the lead story in the news -- for months the attention of the nation has been riveted on her disappearance and we all know that her body was found in the woods near the Anthony home and that her mother Casey is in jail awaiting trial on murder charges

    -- but now more information is coming out about the state of the body and Caylee's last hours based on the forensic evidence -- and when I read that her mouth had been taped shut with duct tape, and that she had been stuffed in a laundry bag and then a plastic trash bag and just dumped in the woods like any other unwanted refuse, it was about all I could stand

    -- I sat there in stunned silence and asked myself, "How could someone treat a child like this? -- Especially their own child?"

    -- and so I closed that news story and went on to the next -- a news story from Jacksonville -- seems the police were announcing the discovery of the body of a 27-year old lady who had been killed and stuffed into a trashcan outside of an apartment complex in downtown Jacksonville

    -- I just sat there and started wondering, "When did we start treating people like trash? -- When did we start acting like people had no value -- and just started disposing of them when they had no more benefit or use to us? -- What type of society looks on others in that way?"

    -- I could understand it if these stories were in India or in other places where people are placed in classes -- where those in the lower castes are treated as garbage and are down-trodden and oppressed simply because of their family heritage -- I could understand it if this took place in a third-world country -- but how could this be taking place in America?

    -- a Christian nation? -- a nation founded upon the principles of freedom of religion and of the value of all human life -- a place where we affirm that all men are created equal, endowed with their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

    -- in a week where we saw the inauguration of our first minority president and the media proclaimed equality in the land -- how could stories like this take place? -- how could lives be treated in this way?

    -- and these are not just isolated events -- these stories are all too common -- think about this -- we just recognized -- not celebrated -- recognized -- the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade -- the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion and that has led to the death of almost 50 million unborn lives since 1973

    -- our streets and cities are filled with homeless people in a land of plenty -- our foster care system is bulging out of the seams with children removed from horrific home situations -- and drugs and violence and murder and theft remain common-place, especially in these bad economic times

    -- and I can't help but ask, in the midst of everything that is going on, "Where is the church? -- Where are the Christians?" -- it seems like most everyone is focused on themselves and on their circle of family and friends and just turn a blind eye to the needs of those around them

    -- I was reading the other day about a pregnant teen-aged girl who had been turned out of her home and who couldn't a place to stay -- on the very day that she gave birth, she was in a distant city, far from her home, and couldn't find a hospital or a place to stay -- every door she knocked on for help and lodging slammed in her face -- they wouldn't help -- they wouldn't even find a place for her and her boyfriend

    -- what would you have done? -- what would we do if she showed up at our door today and walked in, looking for a place to stay and a friendly face? -- we know what the people did in the town where she was -- Luke tells us in Luke 2:7 that they had no room for her -- they had no room for Jesus -- to them, Mary was worthless -- just another pregnant teenager

    -- it's easy for us to say that we would have acted differently -- Martin Luther, the father of the reformation once scolded his sixteenth century German congregation by saying, "There are many of you who think to yourselves, 'If only I had been there! -- How quick I would have been to help the little baby!' -- You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem...Why don't you do it now? -- You have Christ in your neighbor." [quoted in "A Peculiar Prophet" blog by Bishop Will Willimon]

    -- I wonder, if someone dressed in a suit showed up and knocked on their door, would they have had room then?

    

    - I watched a movie the other night called, "Music Within" -- it was the story of the man who worked to get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in the U.S. -- and I was amazed at what led him to this point -- how people would treat those with disabilities -- how they would look on down on them and make fun of them and refuse to let them in restaurants and stores and other places -- but what really amazed me was that this law was not passed until 1990 -- that's in my lifetime -- that's when I was an adult -- and I had to ask myself, "Surely, I didn't act like that -- surely I didn't treat people with disabilities like that?"

    -- but then I thought about David -- a kid who lives near us who has cerebral palsy -- he's in a wheelchair -- it's hard to understand him -- it's hard to talk to him -- and he was always causing problems when he came over -- and so I told him not to come back -- and I realized, "You know, I'm no better than that innkeeper in the Gospel of Luke -- I'm no better than that priest or that Levite who walked past the man on the road to Jericho and left him for the good Samaritan to take care of -- here I am -- trying to serve God -- and closing the door on one of His children because I valued him less than other kids in the neighborhood"

 

    -- when we play favorites -- when we start to look on other people as being less than us -- as being of lesser value than us -- then we end up slamming the door and locking Jesus out of our lives -- we end up as sinful hypocrites -- claiming to be friends of Jesus while not loving our neighbors as ourselves

 

    -- here in this passage, James warns us against doing just that

    -- look back at verse 1

1. My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.

2. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

3. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet,"

4. have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

     -- people -- and churches -- play favorites -- always have -- always will -- but it's not the way it should be -- God is no respecter of persons -- in other words, God recognizes the sanctity of human life -- the Bible tells us that we are all His children -- special creations of God with value and importance and worth in His eyes -- God sees everyone as valuable -- from the tiniest human in the womb to the junkie on the street to the best-dressed person in church

    -- but, we don't always see things through God's eyes -- we see things through an earthly filter -- and we put a higher importance on people that we deem as more valuable than others -- maybe they dress better -- maybe they have a better job -- maybe they drive a better car -- maybe they are famous -- and so we regard them as better than someone else

    -- James writes, "Don't do that -- don't play favorites -- treat everyone as special and precious in Jesus' name" -- and then he gives us three reasons why we shouldn't do it

 

    -- verse 5

5. Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

6. But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?

7. Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

    -- first, James points out that it is the rich who are slandering the name of God through their behavior and that it is the poor who will be exalted because they are rich in faith

    -- Jesus once said that it was harder for a rich man to get into heaven than to put a camel through the eye of a needle -- the rich tend to approach life with the arrogance of one who can pay their own way -- as a result, they think they don't have to rely on or trust in God to keep them safe and secure -- and they tend to exploit those who are less fortunate than them

    -- the poor, on the other hand, know they need God -- they need Him to survive -- and the roots of their faith go deep -- while they may be exploited and looked down on here on earth, they are storing up treasure in the one place where it truly counts -- in heaven with God

    -- by playing favorites and treating the rich better than we do the poor, we are exalting those who are less in God's eyes and ignoring those who are richer in the kingdom of Heaven

 

    -- verse 9

9. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

10. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

11. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

     -- next, James tells us that to treat people differently is a sin -- a violation of the "royal" law -- we call it the "Golden Rule" -- Jesus called it one of the most important commands of God -- to love our neighbors as ourselves

    -- if we look down on the poor -- if we walk past the homeless -- if we ignore the plight of the widow or the fatherless -- if we refuse to help the unborn or the abused or the disabled -- we are sinning against them and against God and will have to pay the consequences

    -- how can the church not speak out against the injustices in our land? -- against the policies and the actions of people who treat others as worthless trash simply because they have less value here on earth than others?

    -- how can we claim to be Christians if we slam the door in the face of the Davids in our lives?

 

    -- verse 12

12. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,

13. because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

    -- the final reason James gives for not playing favorites is that we are going to be judged for our actions -- God Himself will judge us for the way we have sinned -- either through commission or omission -- against the least of these my brothers

 

    -- verse 14

14. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

15. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

16. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

     -- pious words are not enough -- empty faith cannot save -- it's not enough to just offer up kind, sympathetic words for someone -- it's not enough to have empathy for their plight -- it's not even enough to offer up a prayer on their behalf

    -- Christ calls for more -- He calls for us to get involved -- to meet the needs of the poor and the sick and the lame and the disabled -- to work to end abortions and abuse and the rampant devaluation of human life in our days

    -- He calls for us to be part of the solution -- not part of the problem -- I sometimes listen to the conservative talk shows on the radio -- and they are so good at naming the problems -- they can identify what's wrong with America -- they can talk statistics about abortions and divorce and murder and violence -- they can get on their soapbox about the evils of America and how we are turning people into trash -- but if they aren't offering solutions -- if they aren't rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty, then they aren't fulfilling the great commandment "To love our neighbors as ourselves"

    -- James says, "What good is it to talk about it and then do nothing to fix the problem"

    -- it's time for us to stand up and be the church that Jesus called us to be -- to be the people that He called us to be -- to speak out and to speak up and to take action on behalf of the oppressed and the poor in our land

    -- it's time for us to quit playing favorites -- to quit acting like favorites -- and start loving those around us and meeting their needs

    -- there are many, many ways you can do that -- we have a crisis pregnancy support clinic in Valdosta that can always use help -- that can always use volunteer or financial assistance -- we have homeless shelters and soup kitchens that would love to see you -- there's a food bank in town that could use your help -- and if none of those sound good, then come up with your own idea -- we are only limited by our own creativity

    -- I was just reading yesterday about a church in Atlanta that ministers to the homeless by taking care of their feet -- evidently, the homeless people have enormous problems with the health of their feet because of the unsanitary conditions they live in -- so this church brings them in -- and they take care of their feet -- they get a soak, pumice, nail trim, massage, and a fresh pair of socks. Volunteers wearing gloves provide apricot scrub, ointments, air freshener for shoes, nail polish, and even insoles." -- small acts, but acts that restore their sense of humanity -- their sense of worth -- their sense that they have value in a country that tends to put them out with the trash [Ga. Homeless Ministry Tends their Feet, Dignity -- http://christianpost.com/Ministries/General/2009/01/ga-homeless-ministry-tends-their-feet-dignity-22/index.html]

    -- what acts can you do? -- what ministry is God calling you to today? -- as the old saying goes, "One man's junk is another man's treasure" -- in this case, we can easily say, "One man's junk is God's treasure" -- how can you show someone else that God treasures their life?

    -- on this Sunday where we celebrate the sanctity of all human life, let us start making a difference by changing the way we look at people and the way we interact with them in our lives

    -- and let's work for a world where all people are truly created equal and no one is ever thrown in the trash or to the curb again

    -- let me leave you with this old saying to consider as we pray: "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do."

    -- let us pray

SERMON: THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES
18 January 2009

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Acts 4

1. The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.
2. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
3. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
4. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5. The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.
6. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family.
7. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"
8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!
9. If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,
10. then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11. He is "`the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. '
12. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
13. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
14. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.
15. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
16. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.
17. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
18. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.
20. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

-- every March I go to the annual meeting of military wildlife biologists and wildlife managers -- these are usually really great conferences and great times for us to interact professionally and socially with our peers from around the United States and even those who are stationed in out-of-country installations
-- this is one meeting I don’t miss -- partly because of the information but partly because this is the one meeting where I get together with a few of my closest friends -- especially one friend that I worked with when I was with the Army -- although we’re separated by miles and work for different services now, we still remain pretty good friends and talk on the phone or by e-mail on a regular basis
-- it’s kind of funny that we’re friends, because we’re so different -- I’m an evangelical Christian and he’s an agnostic Jew who doesn’t believe in a personal God or in the faith of his fathers -- we’ve talked about religion from time to time and we understand each other -- we understand our differences -- and we accept who we are
-- so you can imagine my surprise at my friend’s reaction when we went to the social gathering of the group one night at a meeting down in Orlando -- it was an outside barbecue -- really informal -- and as everyone started to line up to get their plates, the president of the organization called on a retired member to offer up a blessing for the meal
-- he asked that everyone bow their heads and pray with him -- and he prayed to God and thanked for the food and asked Him to bless it for the nourishment of our bodies and souls -- my friend was o.k. with that -- he didn’t believe in God in that way, but it didn’t bother him that others did or that they talked about it verbally -- but when this guy closed his prayer by saying, “and we pray all this in the name of your son Jesus Christ,” you could feel the tension and the shock and unbelief emanating from my friend
-- he began to complain to me -- “How could he do that? -- how could he mention that name?” -- my friend became irate and I think he complained to the leadership of the organization about it to try to keep it from happening again
-- funny, isn’t it? -- he’s not a religious person -- he doesn’t even believe in God -- he was fine with the prayer -- he didn’t even have a problem with that -- until the name of Jesus was mentioned

II. The Name
-- what is it about that Name? -- what is it about the name of Jesus that causes some people to react in such a harsh way? -- whether they’re non-religious or whether they’re from another religion, most people don’t have a problem when someone prays in the name of God -- but if you mention Jesus, they get very, very upset

-- I assume that most of you have heard some of the controversy concerning the prayers and religious services that will be offered up this week around the inauguration of President-elect Obama
-- when Obama announced that Rick Warren -- the pastor of Saddleback Church and the author of “The Purpose-Driven Life” -- was going to give the invocation -- an outcry went up from the media elites and from a lot of Americans throughout this country
-- how would he pray? -- would he just pray to God? -- or would he, they whispered, dare to mention “the Name?” -- would he end his prayer by mentioning Jesus like Franklin Graham did back in 2001?
-- I’m not sure if you remember, but Franklin Graham was invited to offer a prayer at the inauguration of President George W. Bush in 2001 -- before he prayed, a fellow participant asked him if he intended to pray in the name of Jesus Christ -- Graham said, “Yes -- and you should do the same” -- Graham told him, "That's the only thing we've got."
-- and, sure enough, Graham ended his prayer with these words, “We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
-- within days, a lawsuit was filed against President Bush for Graham’s prayer, alleging that it was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion -- they were outraged that Graham invoked the name of Jesus -- Graham responded, "If you don't want someone to pray in Jesus' name, don't invite an evangelical minister."

-- as the outcry against Pastor Rick Warren grew in the days after the announcement, perhaps President-elect Obama remembered what happened with Graham -- he took steps to diversify his spiritual team for the inaugural events -- he’s included Muslims, Buddhists, and liberal Christians to round out his team
-- one person he asked to participate is the Right Reverend Gene Robinson -- the openly homosexual Bishop whose appointment as Bishop caused a split within the Episcopalian and Anglican communities
-- According to the Associated Press, "Robinson said he doesn't yet know what he'll say, but he knows he won't use a Bible -- 'While that is a holy and sacred text to me, it is not for many Americans,' Robinson said. 'I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer.'" [Washington Update]
-- I think it’s a given that Gene Robinson will not pray in the name of Jesus

-- this prohibition on the name of Jesus in America today isn’t just revolving around presidential inaugurations -- it doesn’t just come up when prayers are offered -- there is a bias and a prejudice against Christians using the name of Jesus in any communications with others
-- you can talk about God -- you can talk Buddha -- you can talk about Muhammad -- but don’t you dare mention the name of Jesus
-- this is not new -- as this passage shows, this has been going on since Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day -- this has been going on since men and women have gone forth and spread the good news of the God who became a man and died to save us from our sins
-- let’s look back at this passage again and see what we might learn

III. Scripture Lesson (Acts 4:1-20)
-- before we turn back to the Scriptures, let me give you the context to clue you in on what’s going on -- this takes place shortly after the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came in power and indwelt Christ’s remaining believers
-- Peter and John have assumed leadership of the followers of Jesus -- they were still very much Jewish -- and continued to go to the Temple to worship and to pray -- one day as they were going into the temple to pray, they were met by a crippled man at the gate called “Beautiful” -- he begged them for money -- but, instead of giving him money, they healed him through the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit within them
-- a great crowd of people surrounded them in the commotion of the healing and Peter and John began to preach to them -- they caused such a commotion that the temple guards came up to them and questioned them
-- look back at verse 1

1. The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.
2. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

-- I’m sure you’ve heard of the Sadducees before -- they were one of the two leading sects of Jews in that day -- along with the Pharisees -- the Sadducees controlled the temple and were the temple leaders while the Pharisees focused more on teaching the Scriptures and were known for their legalism and their moral code
-- the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead -- so you can understand why they were disturbed at Peter and John’s teaching that Jesus rose from the dead

-- verse 3

3. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
4. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5. The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.
6. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family.
7. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

-- at this point, it’s a question of authority -- who gave Peter and John the right to speak in the temple? -- where did they get their power? -- where did they get their authority?
-- that used to be the question posed to people who preached Jesus to others here in America -- Josh McDowell points out that when he used to preach on college campuses, the people who gathered to listen to him never questioned the veracity of his statements about Jesus -- they questioned his authority -- what right did he have to preach to them? -- what authority allowed him to come and preach? -- that’s the same questions that the Sadducees are asking Peter and John in these verses

-- verse 8

8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people!
9. If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed,
10. then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
11. He is "`the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. '
12. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

-- Peter makes it clear -- he names the Name -- he tells the leaders of the temple, “It is by the name of Jesus that we have the authority to preach -- it is by the name of Jesus that we have power -- it is by the name of Jesus that this man was healed -- it is by the Name -- there is no other”

-- and look how the Sanhedrin responded -- verse 13

13. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
14. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.
15. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
16. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.
17. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."
18. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

-- when your authority -- when your right -- to preach and to share the gospel has been established -- then those who oppose you begin to attack your message -- “Stop using that Name -- stop preaching in the Name of Jesus -- stop telling people about Him -- you can talk about God -- you can pray to God -- but stop using the name Jesus”
-- kind of funny, isn’t it? -- the exact same arguments that we’ve hearing the past several weeks once the news got out that President-elect Obama had invited Rick Warren, an evangelical Christian, to come to Washington and pray
-- “He can talk about God -- he can pray for the nation -- but he can’t use the name of Jesus -- He can’t speak to anyone in this Name”

-- what do we do when people criticize us for speaking the name of Jesus? -- what is our response to those who want to prevent us from using His name?
-- it is not politically correct to speak the name of Jesus in public -- to pray to Him where others might hear -- to tell others about Him or to insinuate that He is the only way to heaven and all the other religions are just man-made paths to no-where
-- have you ever been asked to pray in public? -- have you ever felt led to tell someone about Jesus? -- what did you do? -- did you stand up and name the Name or did you bow to public pressure?

-- verse 19

19. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.
20. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

-- Peter and John stood up for what they believed in -- they stood up for Who they believed in -- “It is more important to obey God,” they said, “than to obey man -- no matter the cost to us”
-- are we willing to pay the cost to obey God and speak the name of Jesus in public?
-- a lot of Christians -- like Bishop Robinson -- won’t stand up for Jesus in public -- they act like they’re ashamed of Jesus and of mentioning His name -- “Better not to offend,” they say, “and still take the opportunities to pray and to preach”
-- but, a watered-down gospel is no gospel at all
-- in Romans 1:16, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” -- I am not ashamed of preaching about Jesus -- I am not ashamed of using the name of Christ
-- Jesus Himself warned us about the coming of this day -- the time when we would be persecuted and ridiculed and harassed for using His name -- in Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus said, “"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. -- But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
-- failing to speak the name of Christ -- failing to acknowledge Him before men when we are in public -- is the same thing as disowning Him

IV. Closing
-- Adolph Menzel was a German painter in the 19th century who specialized in paintings of Frederick the Great -- one of his most famous paintings is called, “Frederick the Great's Address to His Generals Before the Battle of Leuthen.”
-- This historical piece depicts Frederick's speech to his generals in December 1757 during the Seven Years' War before their famous battle in Silesia against the Austrians -- Menzel worked on it for three years, but never finished it -- if you look at it today, the monumental painting contains the background and the generals standing in a semi-circle, but the main figure of Frederick the Great is left blank
-- Menzel's famous painting is a picture of our lives today -- The background of career, interests, pursuits and achievement is complete -- The faces of significant people like family, friends and colleagues surround us -- But the central and most important figure is left incomplete
-- Jesus Christ has been given a name that is above all others and rightly deserves to be the focal point of our lives -- the greatest need of every person is to have Christ in the center of their whole life -- not just the part that comes to church on Sunday
-- by allowing the media and the culture to be like the Sadducees -- by allowing them to tell us to stop naming the name of Christ -- we are foolishly allowing Him to be a blank figure in our crowded lives -- forever living on the fringe, but not in our heart or the heart of America
[Humanities and Social Sciences Online; Pulpit Helps, May 2008, p.28]

-- what will you do when you are given the opportunity to speak the name of Christ in public? -- when you are called to make a public statement of your faith, are you willing to do so, despite the cost it may bring?

-- I want to leave you with a story of one man who took the opportunity to do what was right when he was afforded that chance -- During last week's BCS National Championship football game, Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the University of Florida, ran onto the field with John 3:16 inscribed on the black under his eyes
-- every time the t.v. focused on Tebow, you could clearly see that Bible verse -- as a result of Tebow standing up for Jesus in such a bold way during the national championship, Google reported that the biblical reference subsequently became the most popular search item for the next several days -- because Tebow was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, thousands -- if not millions -- of people were exposed to the gospel
-- while I know the odds are that none of us will ever have the chance to stand on the national stage like Tim Tebow or Rick Warren, we still have the opportunity every day of our lives to speak the name of Christ to others
-- when you have that opportunity this week, will you stand like Peter and John and boldly name the Name of Christ?
-- let us pray

SERMON: HE SAID/SHE SAID

FIREPROOF SERMON SERIES:
SERMON 1 -- HE SAID/SHE SAID
5 October 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Ephesians 5

21. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26. to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27. and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
28. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--
30. for we are members of his body.
31. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
32. This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.
33. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

-- this morning we are starting a new sermon series on the movie, "Fireproof" -- the new movie from Sherwood Baptist Church that just came out last week -- I know that most of you in here have seen the movie and know that it is about strengthening the marriage relationship -- a couple of the sermons will focus primarily on marriages and the relationships with your spouse, but the majority of these sermons are going to have principles that you can apply in all your relationships -- whether that's with your spouse -- your family -- your friends -- or your God
-- when I saw the initial screening of the movie, I was very excited about the focus of this movie -- this is something that is near to my heart and something that I have been talking about from the pulpit for years
-- the family is in trouble in America today -- marriages are in trouble in America today -- right now, the divorce rate in America is holding steady at over 50% -- we have more kids growing up in single parent homes right now than ever before -- we have more couples living together unmarried than ever before -- and it's not just the unchurched
-- it's people who have received Christ as their Savior -- people who are dedicated to the Lord -- people who come to church and who have stood before their God and their family and friends and who have made a covenant to stay married who are divorcing in unheard of numbers today
-- right now, the divorce rate among Christians is 54% -- it's even higher than that of people outside the church -- I just found out that a friend of mine was getting divorced -- he is not a Sunday Christian -- this is a man who is devoted to God -- who has served as the leader on Emmaus walks -- who has gone into the prisons to minister to others -- this is a man whose wife was active in her church -- whose wife was in leadership roles in women's ministry -- but now they're divorcing
-- why is that? -- what is causing Christians to divorce? -- we are the people who proclaim the name of Christ -- we are the people who proclaim forgiveness and love to others because of the forgiveness and love shown to us by our God -- so, why do so many Christian marriages end in divorce?
-- think about it like this -- this line is about half the church -- what this means is that in any given church, the odds are all the people on this side of the room are going to get divorced at some point in their life -- and it just doesn't make any sense
-- like I said, these are Christians -- these are Christian families -- it's not like they just go home after church one day and say, "You know, I'm just going to throw my life and my family away" -- we know it's not that -- so what's causing this epidemic in America today?

II. The Primary Cause of Divorce
-- I've spent some time pondering that -- thinking about that -- we know that there's some big things out there that can lead to divorce -- spousal abuse -- addictions -- bad financial decisions that really impact families -- but I don't think that's what's driving the divorce rate among Christians
-- I don't think it's the big things -- I think it's the little things -- think of it like this -- how many of you in here have been bitten by an elephant? -- how many of you have been bitten by a rhinoceros? -- now how many have ever been bitten by a mosquito?
-- you see, it's the little things that creep in and chip away at marriages that you really have to watch out for -- I think most Christian marriages begin to fail when communication begins to fail -- when spouses just aren't spending time together and aren't talking and sharing with each other
-- it can be hard for men and women to communicate with each other -- men and women are different -- we all know that -- our bodies are different -- our minds are different -- we think differently -- we talk differently -- we reason differently -- men and women are not the same -- and so that makes communication difficult
-- From the first moment of birth, little girls have more lip and mouth movement than boys -- In a Harvard study of hundreds of preschoolers, researchers found that 100% of the sounds coming from little girls’ mouths were words -- while only 60% of sounds coming from preschool boys were words -- The other 40% were yells and sound effects like, “Vrrooom!” “Aaaaagh!” and “Toot, toot!” -- those of you who have had both boys and girls or who have spent time with toddlers know exactly what I'm talking about
-- Gary Smalley pointed out that “This difference persists into adulthood -- Communication experts say that the average woman speaks over 25,000 words a day, while the average man speaks only a little over 10,000" -- is it any wonder that we have communication problems in our marriages? -- by the time a man gets home from work, he's probably used up his daily amount of words while his wife is just warming up
-- Smalley said that he asked couples how much time they needed to spend in meaningful conversation with their spouses to keep their relationship strong -- women said they need 45 minutes to an hour every day -- men said they need 15-20 minutes, but only once or twice a week
-- and then, when you add in all the differences in the way we think and reason and act -- you can see how communication can be challenging -- when I counsel couples who are thinking about getting married, I tell them that getting married is like moving to another country -- in order to live there, they're going to have to learn a new language -- new customs -- new traditions -- and it's only the ones who take the time and put in the effort that are truly happy in this new place

-- now that we've spent some time talking about the dangers of not communicating with each other, let's take a moment and look at a clip from the movie, "Fireproof" [show clip 1]

III. Fireproofing Your Relationship
-- men and women are different -- but, we have to keep in mind that God designed us like that -- He made us different to complement each other -- not "compliment" -- but "complement" -- just like Tom Cruise told Renee Zelweger in the movie, "Jerry Maguire:" "You complete me"
-- God made us different so that we would need other people in our lives to complete us and to make us whole -- our differences should unite us -- not divide us
-- so, how do we do we do that? -- how do we reach the point where our relationships complete our life? -- or, as this movie asks, "How do we fireproof our marriages so that we can walk through the fires of life together without being burned?"
-- in this passage from Ephesians, God gives us three important concepts that we must apply in our relationships if we want them to be fireproofed -- these are the words "submit," "respect," and "love"

-- look back at verse 21

21. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

-- this verse tells us that we are to submit to each other -- the Greek word here literally means that to line yourself up under or to give up your rights -- in other words, God tells us that successful relationships are built upon the principle of selflessness -- on the principle that we put the other person's needs before our own
-- each person in a marriage is to give up their rights and look out for the best interests of their partner -- if you come into a marriage and refuse to give up your rights, your marriage just will not work well -- giving up our rights is an essential part of meeting each other's needs -- you can't meet your partner's needs if you are demanding that your needs be met at the same time
-- if Kim needs me to take out the trash, then I am called to submit -- to give up my right to sit on the couch and watch football in order to meet her needs and in order to work in the best interests of our marriage -- and the same holds true for her -- she has to give up her rights in order to meet my needs
-- this is the same thing that Christ did for us -- He humbled Himself and became a servant to us -- suffering humiliation and death on the cross -- to meet our needs -- and He calls for us to do the same thing for those people that we are in a relationship with -- especially our spouses
-- the first principle in fireproofing your marriage is to submit one to the other

-- verse 22


22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
24. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

-- now in these verses we see the word "submit" again -- but a better translation would be "respect" -- God is telling us here that if we want strong marriages -- if we want strong relationships -- then wives are to respect their husbands
-- you heard that word come up in the clip from the movie that we watched -- men have been created with a need for respect -- this means that wives line themselves under the leadership of their husbands -- they submit to their leadership within the marriage relationship and they encourage and help their husbands meet their marriage responsibilities
-- even a casual reading of Scripture will lead you to see that God is giving men authority to be the leaders of their household -- that means that men are responsible for the direction that their house is going
-- it's kind of like a ship -- the marriage ship, if you will -- men are called to be the captains of the ship -- it is their responsibility to point the ship in the right direction and to make sure that it gets there -- it is their responsibility to know the route and to know the hazards of the route and to make sure that the ship avoids the storms and the rocks and the dangers of the sea -- it is the captain's responsibility to take care of his crew -- to make sure they are kept safe -- to make sure they are taken care of -- to make sure everyone is working to help the ship go in the right direction
-- the wives, then, are called to assist the captain -- to help him direct the ship to their final destination -- and it takes both of them, working together, to pull this off
-- they are partners -- the husbands have to trust their wives to do their part while the wives have to trust their husbands to be good captains of their marriage
-- this is the biblical image of a marriage -- two people, joined together and working together in Christ's name to keep their family pointed toward their heavenly destination
-- so, for this reason, wives are called in this passage to respect -- to submit to their husbands, because their husbands are the ones who are supposed to be leading the family -- so, whose responsibility is it to make sure that the family is running smoothly and headed in the right direction -- the husband's
-- this goes all the way back to the book of Genesis -- not good for man to be alone -- Gen 2:18 -- "help meet" -- NIV "helper" -- Eve was created to help Adam meet his responsibilities -- not take them over -- they were still Adam's responsibilities -- Eve was simply supposed to help -- to complement his efforts -- to complete him
-- when the wife follows the leadership of a Godly man, she if fulfilling her God-given purpose -- that is why it says in Ephesians 5:22, "submit as to the Lord" -- if a man is doing what God has called him to do, then when a woman follows him, she is acting in obedience to God
-- this is the second principle for fireproofing your marriage -- wives are to respect their husbands

-- and women, I'm going to go ahead and let you in on a secret -- most of us men are insecure in this area -- we need to know that we're the hero in our home -- we need to know that we're doing a good job -- we need to be affirmed and encouraged
-- you would be surprised at what a difference phrases like, "I'm so proud of you" or "I believe in you" or "you do that so well" make in the well-being of a husband
-- you need to respect your husbands -- and, if for whatever reason, you've stopped respecting your man, then think about what first attracted you to him, pray about how you can regain that sense of respect -- make a list of things you need to do if it will help you -- but decide that you are going to respect your husband once again and then get busy showing your respect to him
-- this can make the difference in your marriage

-- verse 25

25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
26. to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
27. and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
28. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

-- if there's one thing I have learned about women, it's that I will never truly understand them -- I will never really understand what it means to be a woman -- I don't know why women can't go to the bathroom by themselves in a restaurant -- I don't know why it takes hours to get ready to go out -- men, we're never going to go through monthly cycles or menopause -- we'll never get pregnant or do any of those other things that make women women -- so, we'll never really understand what it's like to be a woman
-- but I do know this -- our wives need to know that we love them -- they need to hear it from us -- they need to feel it from us -- they need to receive it from us -- and the way our wives receive our love will probably be in a way that we have never studied or trained or prepared for -- there's a book by Gary Chapman that I recommend to every married couple I know -- it's called, "The Five Love Languages" -- and it points out that people receive love in different ways and it teaches you how to learn the way your spouse receives and understands love
-- but even if you don't have this book, let me share with you how to show your love best to your spouse -- listen to her -- listen to her dreams and her feelings and her fears and her thoughts -- if you'll listen to her -- with full eye contact and as much emotional engagement as possible for just 5 to 10 minutes a day -- it will fill her more than you can know -- and your marriage will reap the benefit

-- that's what Paul means here when he tells us to love our wives as Christ loved the church -- it means to love them sacrificially -- to give ourselves to them -- to put aside our rights and our needs and to just serve them by spending time with them -- we don't have to fix every problem -- when they're sharing with us about their day, they're not looking for us to solve anything -- they just want us to listen and to be there and to love them
-- that's what we see in the life of Christ -- He always had time for other people -- He always took time to show them He loved them
-- when Christ was going to the temple, he loved the church so much he stopped to heal a sick woman -- when Christ was going to preach in Galilee, he loved the church so much he stopped to speak to a Samaritan woman at the well -- Christ always had time for His people -- He always had time for a touch or a laugh -- or to heal someone -- or to show love or compassion
-- He always put others first, never Himself -- He forgave wrongs -- He didn't keep a grudge -- He modeled a life of love and service to the church all the time He was here on earth -- this is what this verse is talking about
-- this verse is calling for us men to love our wives in the same way -- to give ourselves up for our wives -- to put aside our wants and our wishes and live in love and service to our wife
-- as Ray Steadman once said in a sermon, "No husband is playing his proper role in marriage until he learns to give himself up to his wife -- to open his heart to her -- to share his emotions and dreams -- his thoughts and disappointments -- his joys -- to fully expose himself to his wife -- and there is nothing that makes a woman happier than to know that she fully enters her husband's life -- that fulfills her and it fulfills him"
-- look at your wife right now -- think about your relationship with her and with your family -- are you fulfilling her -- are you doing what God has called you to do -- are you loving her as Christ loved the church, giving yourself up for her?
-- the third principle for fireproofing your marriage is to love your wife as Christ loved the church, and the best way to do that is by spending time with her and listening to her and communicating with her

IV. Closing
-- I know I've been going on for a while now, so I'm going to wrap this up -- but I'm going to close with a challenge -- in the movie, Caleb is about to give up on his marriage, when his dad hands him a special little hand-written book -- The book is called the LOVE DARE -- and in it is 40 days’ worth of practical ways for Caleb to demonstrate his love to Catherine
-- Caleb’s dad challenges him to do one of these love dares every day for the next 40 days and see if it doesn’t change his attitude and his marriage -- Caleb takes the challenge, and the dares do their work -- At the end of the 40 days, he really is a different man, just like we will be 40 days from now, if we take this series seriously.
-- One of the things Caleb discovers while working his love dares is that putting tangible effort into loving his wife does more to change him than change her -- if you saw the movie, you might remember the scene where Catherine stays home sick from work -- Caleb sees her in bed and asks if she needs anything -- she says "no" because she doesn't believe he really wants to love her and submit to her needs -- but he persists and he goes out and gets her lunch and gets her some medicine -- when he gives her the medicine, she says, "What are you doing? -- this isn't normal" -- and Caleb says “Welcome to the new normal." -- Caleb has changed, even though she may not have realized it yet

-- Over these next six weeks – which works out to almost 40 days – we are going to have our own Love Dare Challenges -- They’ll be practical assignments designed to raise the level of your relationships, whether you’re married or whether you're single
-- I know that many of you thought you were just going to come to a nice safe church service, sit through it and go home -- But church was never meant to be that way -- church is supposed to be life-changing -- God-honoring -- and hope-filled.

-- So are you ready for this first love dare challenge? -- when you leave here today, I've got a handout for you -- it's got questions on it for husbands and wives and singles -- and the challenge for this week is to think about and pray about the answers to these questions -- and then to do something this week that fulfills that need in your partner or, if you're single, with someone else that you are in a relationship with

-- let's close in prayer -- and remember that the altar is always open if you need a special time with the Lord this morning -- let's pray

THOUGHTFUL MOVIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

One word -- Netflix. Don't know how I lived without it. I never thought this movie in the mail service would have any effect on my spiritual life, but it has, because it has called my attention to movies that either never came to our small town cinema or our local video rental stores or that I just walked past because I didn't recognize the title. Netflix has a suggestion system based on previous movies that you rated, so I took a chance and rented several movies that I would not have noticed before. I'm glad I did.


Bella is a heart-warming film of life, love, and forgiveness with a profound pro-life message. A troubled cook reaches out to a pregnant and unmarried waitress and changes both of their lives forever.




Juno is another strong pro-life movie that came out last year and became a sleeper hit nation-wide. Although it contains some objectionable material, most notably language and sexual references, it tells the story of an unmarried pregnant teenager who seeks the perfect parents to adopt her baby.



Strange as it may seem, Lars and the Real Girl was one of the most heart-warming movies that I watched this year. Christianity Today promoted this movie as one of the year's most redeeming films, and since it involves the premise of a guy who purchases a life-like sex doll as a companion, I just had to see for myself if the Christianity Today editors had lost their mind or not. They had not. It was a great movie about a community coming together to care for Lars, a loveable loner in a small town who is unable to form a relationship with anyone, including his brother and sister-in-law. The "real girl" comes onto the scene to draw Lars and the town out of their proverbial shell and into reality together.




Time Changer is the story of a nineteenth century seminary professor who has written a book asserting that the teaching of morals is of more importance than teaching the source of those morals to the general public. Challenged by a colleague, Professor Carlisle is transported into the future -- our present day -- to see the results of such a teaching. In his time in our day, Professor Carlisle sees the current state of religion and morals and returns to his day aghast at his erroneous thesis in his book. A lot of Christian movies are, honestly, horrible. They are not well-written and have horrible acting. But this one is different. With the sole exception of Professor Carlisle looking suspiciously like Will Ferrell in a Saturday Night Live skit, this was a great movie and a great indictment on the lack of commitment in our churches today.




Although this movie is a couple of years old, I just got the chance to see Chocolat recently. While this movie has some objectionable material, most notably the not-shown but obvious tryst between Juliette Binoche as a senuous creator of chocolate desserts and Johnny Depp as a traveling gypsy, it is a superbly acted and compelling story. The most interesting facet of this movie for me was the interaction between the dessert maker and the lay leader of the local church and the not-so-subtle indictment of religious legalism. This movie raises questions about the church's image in the public eye and how we really live out the grace of Christ in our lives.

SERMON: THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGINARY NUMBERS

THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGINARY NUMBERS
31 August 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 15

1. Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him.
2. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3. Then Jesus told them this parable:
4. "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
5. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
6. and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'
7. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

-- this morning, we are going to finish up our series on God as our math teacher -- so far, we have talked about how we can't add anything to our salvation and how God has provided all we need through Jesus to be saved
-- then we talked about how God can subtract our sorrows -- how He can give us hope and joy even in the most sorrowful times of life
-- after that we talked about how Jesus brings division -- how the Word of God divides families and communities and churches
-- and, finally, we talked about how anyone can multiply with God -- about growing the kingdom of God through God's grace and mercy
-- this morning, we are going to close this series by looking at how God's math is different from our math -- how in God's math numbers that are imaginary to us are the most important to Him
-- so, the title of my message this morning is, "The Importance of Imaginary Numbers"

-- several years ago I was invited to speak on careers in wildlife biology at a high school -- and I was there telling a group of juniors and seniors about my job and what I did and then I started talking about the educational requirements to go into the field of wildlife biology
-- one of the students asked me, "Well, how important is math?" -- and I knew I was being set up, but I went ahead and played along -- "Math is very important for wildlife biology," I said -- "You have to calculate proper dosages of drugs to capture wild animals -- you need to know statistics in order to quantify what is going on with wildlife populations -- things like that"
-- and then he asked, "What about imaginary numbers? -- how often do you use them?" -- and I had to laugh, because I knew what he was talking about
-- when I was his age in school and learning about math, they tried to teach us about imaginary numbers, too -- and, with apologies to any mathematicians that might be here this morning, that was one of the stupidest things I had ever heard
-- imaginary numbers -- I understood real numbers -- I may not have liked learning about them, but I knew that we needed to know how to do math in order to live and to work and to be successful in this world -- I had no real problem with learning how to do math with real numbers
-- but having to learn about imaginary numbers -- numbers that didn't even exist -- numbers that were made up by some guy back in the 16th century -- I just didn't understand that at all
-- it may be important for some fields like quantum mechanics and electrical engineering, but for a farmer or for a wildlife biologist -- which is what I wanted to be -- they had no meaning at all

-- well, in recent years, my eyes have been opened to the importance of the imaginary, especially in our spiritual lives -- I think that for most of us the word "imaginary" has a negative connotation -- in that anything that is imaginary is not real -- and that is true to a great extent
-- as the dictionary defines it, something imaginary is something that we think exists, even though it may not have a direct counterpart at the physical level -- in other words, it is something that we believe in or that we picture in our minds that is not real -- at least, not real physically in this world -- it is not something that we can touch or hold or even see
-- but isn't that the definition of faith? -- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see -- believing in that which is not real in a physical sense -- but that we know exists anyway
-- think about it like this -- no one in here has ever physically seen God -- no one in here has ever physically touched God -- yet we believe in Him -- we know He exists because we have pictured Him with our imaginations -- we have read His message in the Bible -- we have seen the evidence of His passing in this land -- and even though we can't point to Him and say, "There He is," we believe in Him nonetheless
-- we know God through our imagination -- through our hearts -- through our experiences with Him -- through our faith

-- so, what in the world do imaginary numbers and our imaginations have to do with the parable of the lost sheep? -- everything -- because this parable makes no sense if we only look at it in our physical reality
-- let's look back at this passage again and see what we might learn about God's use of the imaginary in our lives and what lesson He might want us to see in this passage

II. Scripture Lesson -- The Parable of the Lost Sheep
-- look at verse 3

3. Then Jesus told them this parable:
4. "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

-- Jesus begins this parable by asking the question, "If you have 100 sheep and one of them gets lost, don't you leave the 99 out in the open and then go and search for the one that you lost?" -- and my response has always been, "No, of course not"
-- in the church, of course, we spiritualize this and we say, "Jesus is saying that we need to go out and look for the lost sheep" -- and that's all well and good -- but are we reading into this parable what we want it to say?
-- if you look at this parable from a biological or agricultural point of view, this parable just doesn't make any sense -- it's not what we do in the real world
-- think about it for a moment -- when I was in wildlife school, I was taught that the population was more important than the individual -- in other words, it didn't matter if one deer got hit by a car or one deer got killed by a hunter provided that the whole herd -- the whole population -- wasn't declining -- we were more worried about the 99 than the one that got killed
-- the same holds true for agriculture or for ranching -- let's say that a farmer has planted a field of squash -- now if one squash plant in that field gets sick and starts to die, the farmer doesn't stand around and cry -- if he has one plant in a field of 100 that gets sick, he doesn't worry about it -- because he's more concerned with the entire field than the single individual -- it's only when most of the plants start getting sick or most of the plants start dying that he starts to worry and starts to do something about it -- whether it's spraying chemicals or adding fertilizer or changing his irrigation
-- the same is true with cattle -- you get one sick calf out of a herd of 100 calves, you're not going to be greatly worried -- you'll do what you need to do in order to take care of it -- but you're not going to neglect the rest of the herd to take care of one calf -- you're not going to go out and risk the 99 that you still have in order to save the one
-- and that's why this parable really doesn't make much sense
-- why in the world would a shepherd leave 99 sheep out in the open -- unguarded and unprotected -- and go off and look for one lost sheep
-- why risk something coming in and getting the other 99? -- wolves -- predators -- thieves -- all kind of things could come in
-- wouldn't it be better to just say, "Well, I lost one, but I've still got 99 left?" -- honestly, isn't that what you would do? -- it's what I would do -- and that's why this parable doesn't make any sense -- any shepherd worth his salt would know that what Jesus is talking about is not natural -- it's out of the ordinary -- it's not real

-- so, if it's not natural -- if it's not ordinary -- if it's not real -- then what is it?
-- that's where God's imaginary numbers come in -- for some reason, in God's math, this one sheep is more valuable than the other 99 -- in Jesus' parable, it doesn't matter what happens to the 99 sheep -- it doesn't matter if a wolf comes in and devours them -- it doesn't matter if lightning strikes them standing out in the open field and kills them all -- it doesn't matter if thieves try to sneak in and steal them -- because in this parable, the one which is lost is more valuable than all the others combined
-- now the only way this parable can make any sense at all is if Jesus is not talking about reality -- about something that we can see and that we know exists -- but something that is invisible to our physical eyes -- something that is imaginary in that it can't be touched or seen or felt

-- look back at verse 3

3. Then Jesus told them this parable:
4. "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
5. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
6. and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'
7. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

-- o.k. -- now we've got a little bit more of the picture -- Jesus tells us here that this parable is about a lost sinner who repents and comes to Him for salvation -- so what He's talking about here is the spiritual state of the sheep -- He's talking about their soul -- not their lives
-- Jesus tells us that the lost sheep is a sinner -- so, what are the 99 that He leaves out in the open? -- well, by inference, you would have to assume that they are saved -- their eternal destinies are set -- they are sinners who have repented and have received forgiveness for their sins by faith through grace
-- and that's why it doesn't matter whether He leaves the 99 sheep alone in the open or not -- it doesn't matter if they live or die -- it doesn't matter what happens to their physical bodies in this physical reality -- because what is important is the state of their souls, not what happens to them here
-- when you look at it that way, this parable makes perfect sense, doesn't it? -- but, if that's the case, then why aren't we obeying the principles that this parable teaches?

-- first, this parable teaches that the most important part of a person is their soul -- but we tend to put more importance on the life of a person
-- let's say that you leave here today and you witness a car wreck in front of you -- person's trapped in their car and it's on fire -- you know it's about to blow -- so what do you do? -- you try to get that person out -- but the door won't open -- you have to break the glass, but you know it might cut you and it might them -- do you do it? -- sure
-- and then you try to pull the person out but their caught under the steering wheel -- their leg is trapped and the car's about to blow up -- the only way to get them out is to break their leg -- do you do it? -- yeah -- you don't want to -- you know it'll hurt -- but you do it because you're trying to save their life [Illustration from Jay Cardee sermon]
-- now, I want you to think about something and I want you to be real honest with yourself -- how many people did you witness to this week? -- how many people did you tell about Jesus?
-- you see, we put more importance on the life of a person than we do their soul -- Jesus said He would leave the 99 saved sheep out in the field -- He didn't care if they lived or died because their eternal destinies were set -- He'd leave them there and He would go out and hunt for the one that was lost and that was going to go to hell
-- but we don't do that, do we? -- we really aren't putting a great importance on the souls of those we pass by every day -- and that leads us to the second point

-- the 99 sheep in this parable are saved -- they are a group of saved people -- what do we call a group of saved people? -- the church -- and what should be the focus of the church? -- going out and looking for the lost sheep
-- that's what Jesus did -- and that's what we should do, too -- Jesus didn't sit there with the church and wait for the lost sheep to wander in -- He got up and went out and He actively tried to find it -- that's the purpose of the church -- that should be our overarching goal and purpose -- to find the lost sinner and lead them to repentance through Jesus, our shepherd
-- look back at verse 1

1. Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him.
2. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

-- the whole reason why Jesus preached this parable was because the religious crowd of His day -- the Pharisees and the teachers of the law -- were complaining because Jesus was associating with tax collectors and sinners -- not only were they not going out and searching for the lost sheep, they complained about the One who was
-- as the church of Christ we are called to go out and search for the lost sheep -- to search the highways and the byways for the lost soul -- for the person who is going to hell -- and tell them about the salvation that we have found through Jesus

III. Closing
-- Evangelist Ray Comfort shared about a conversation that he had with an atheist -- he had been talking with the atheist and trying to witness to him -- he had shared with him the truth of the gospel and the truth of heaven and hell
-- one day, the atheist went by a fire and watched as a fireman sat in the front of the truck with headphones on listening to a CD while his fellow firefighters ran into a burning building to rescue people who were trapped inside -- the atheist thought about everything that Ray had been telling him and then sent him an e-mail
-- this is an excerpt of the e-mail to Ray from the atheist: "You are really convinced that you've got all the answers. You've really got yourself tricked into believing that you're 100% right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you're right, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your 'loving' God created, yet you stand by and do nothing"
-- "If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That's equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You're just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that 'walk' signal will shine your way across the road."
-- "Think about it. Imagine the horrors Hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You're just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you're right, then you're an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring."

-- this parable may be about the imaginary -- about the souls and the spirits that we can't see -- about the eternal destination of a lost sheep -- but it is a very real indictment on the church in America today
-- we spend our time focused on time -- we spend our lives focused on life -- and we let our neighbors and our friends and our families speed right on to hell -- all because we won't go and search for them and bring them home to God
-- as I close this morning, I want to leave you with this challenge -- I want you to read this parable one time each day for the next seven days -- and as you read it, I want you to pray that God would lead you to the lost sheep in your life -- that He would show you how to reach your lost sheep -- and that He would help you to remember to focus on what is truly important -- not the reality of life here on earth -- but eternity with Him in heaven
-- let us pray

SERMON: ANYONE CAN MULTIPLY WITH GOD

ANYONE CAN MULTIPLY WITH GOD
24 August 2008

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to John 6

1. Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),
2. and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.
3. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.
4. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
5. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
6. He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7. Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
8. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up,
9. "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
10. Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
11. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."
13. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14. After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."
15. Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

-- one day Ms. Johnson, the elementary school math teacher, was having her students do problems on the blackboard that day -- but no one seemed ready and no one wanted to get up before the class
-- Ms. Johnson asked, "Who would like to do the first problem, addition?" -- No one raised their hand -- so she called on Tommy, and with some help he finally got it right.
-- 'Who would like to do the second problem, subtraction?' -- all of the students hid their faces and wouldn't look at her -- finally, Ms. Johnson called on Mark, who eventually got the problem right
-- 'Who would like to do the third problem, division?' -- once again, no one looked at her and the teacher had to call on Suzy, who got it right
-- finally, Ms. Johnson said, 'Who would like to do the last problem, multiplication?' -- once again, Ms. Johnson didn't expect anyone to volunteer and started looking around the room for someone she could call on -- but, to her surprise, Tim's hand shot up -- Ms. Johnson was shocked but finally regained her composure and asked, "Thank you, Tim -- Why are you so excited about coming up here and answering this question?"
-- Tim replied, "Because God told me to" -- "God told you to?" -- "Yes, God said, 'Go fourth and multiply'"

-- well, this morning, we are continuing our series on God as our math teacher -- and since this is the fourth sermon in this series, we are going to go forth and talk about multiplying -- specifically, we are going to talk about how anyone can multiply in God's kingdom with God's help
-- so, if you would, please look with me at the very familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 -- a story that most of us have heard before some time in our life -- and let's try to look at it with fresh eyes this morning -- as we go through this ask yourself, "What is God telling me today in this passage?"

II. Scripture Lesson (John 6:1-15)
-- before we turn to this passage in John 6, let me give you the context of this passage
-- as this passage opens, Jesus has just been teaching and preaching in the streets of Jerusalem -- in John 5 we read the account of how Jesus healed the paralytic man next to the pool of Bethsaida
-- John tells us that when the Pharisees heard of Jesus' healing of this man on the Sabbath and Jesus' claims to be equal with God, they began to persecute Him and question His authority
-- Jesus responded by appealing to their faith -- He told them that they had the testimony of John the Baptist -- they had the testimony of Moses -- and they had the testimony of God the Father Himself through the Holy Scriptures -- all of these, He said, point to me and to my purposes
-- but, if you don't believe in them -- if you don't have faith in them -- how are you going to believe in what I say?
-- which brings us to Chapter 6 -- this is a chapter about faith -- this is a chapter that asks the question, "Are you going to believe in what Jesus says?" -- it is a chapter that questions the faith and the belief of all those around Him, even that of the disciples

-- with that in mind, look back at verse 1

1. Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),
2. and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick.
3. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.
4. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
5. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
6. He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.


-- there will be times in our lives and in our churches when God is going to speak -- when He is going to call us to a task that is greater than ourselves -- a task that seems impossible
-- in this case, Jesus turned to Philip and said, "Here's a crowd of 5000 men -- we don't know how many women and children were there -- there could easily have been over 10,000 people there that day -- we don't know for sure -- but Jesus said, "Here's this crowd -- here's this multitude -- where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
-- This was more than a question -- it was more than a test of faith -- it was a call to mission -- Jesus was telling Philip, "I want you to feed this people -- now how will you do it?"
-- take a moment and just think -- this was an impossible task -- there was no way that Philip could do it -- none -- and yet Jesus was asking him to do it
-- what is He asking us to do today? -- what impossible task is He calling us to do? -- this is where faith comes in -- this is where trust comes in -- this is where we truly say what we believe about God

-- verse 7

7. Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"

-- Philip missed the point, didn't he? -- Philip was trying to solve the problem on his own -- He looked at the crowd, he figured up the cost it would take to feed them, and then he turned to Jesus and said, "It can't be done"
-- we do that too, don't we -- God calls us to do something and we immediately start coming up with reasons why we can't do it -- "We don't have the money" -- "We don't have the people" -- "We don't have the resources" -- "We don't have the programs" -- "We don't have the time" -- "We don't have the talent" -- "It can't be done"
-- Philip missed the point -- this was a test of faith -- Jesus wanted Philip to say, "I can't do this, but you can" -- when Jesus asked Philip, "Where do we go to feed these people," He wanted Philip to say, "to You"
-- and when He calls us to an impossible task -- to something that we know we can't do -- He wants us to do the same -- He wants us to turn to Him and say, "We can't do it -- will you do it through us?"
-- Dwight L. Moody was a poorly educated, unordained, shoe salesman who felt God calling him to do the impossible -- God was calling him to preach the gospel -- and Moody heard that call and said, "I can't do that -- I'm only a shoe salesman -- I can't speak to people -- I don't have any talent -- it's impossible"
-- but then he went to hear the great Charles Spurgeon speak, and as he listened to the message from Charles Spurgeon, Moody realized something -- "it was not Mr. Spurgeon, after all, who was doing the work -- it was God -- and if God could use Mr. Spurgeon, why should He not use the rest of us -- and why should we not all just lay ourselves at the Master's feet and say to Him, 'Send me! Use me!"
-- Moody went on to become one of the world's greatest evangelists -- and the ministry that he started continues to this day -- all because he realized, "I can't do it, but God can"

-- verse 8

8. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up,
9. "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

-- don't you just feel like encouraging Andrew along -- I mean, he has the right idea -- he is looking at the possibilities -- he knows that the only way this is going to happen is through Jesus -- he even goes so far as to say, "Here's a boy with five small barley loaves and two fish..." and you just know that he's going to go all the way and tell Jesus -- "multiply them and feed the crowd" -- "do a miracle and feed everyone we see"
-- you just want to stand back and say, "Yes, Yes, you're going the right way, Andrew, you're responding in faith -- you're not letting the size of the task keep you from moving forward -- now just ask Jesus to do something"
-- keep in mind that Andrew had been with Jesus from the start -- He had seen the water turn to wine -- He had seen the sick healed -- He had seen people released from demonic possession -- He knew that miracles happened when Jesus was around
-- but then Andrew says that little three-letter word that changes everything -- "BUT" -- here's the bread and fish...BUT
-- Andrew once again falls into the trap of the impossible -- in this case, Andrew is limiting God's ability to work -- he got so close -- he knew where to turn -- but, truth be told, Andrew's conception of God was too small
-- In essence, Andrew was saying, "We've got these five loaves and bread and two fish, BUT not even you can do anything with them"
-- "BUT" is a ministry killer -- "BUT" is keeping our churches from being faithful to God's calling -- "BUT" is keeping us from doing the impossible through God
-- a friend of mine asked me the other day, "Why don't we see miracles like the Bible describes? -- if God is real, then why don't we see miracles all over the place?"
-- the answer is because of our "BUT" -- it's because of us
-- Jesus said that God is always at work around us and He is always calling us to join Him in His work -- He is always calling us to do the impossible -- and when we hear His call, we add up our money -- we count up our resources -- and we say, "This is all we have -- we'd like to help, BUT it's not enough"
-- we limit God and so we limit His ability to do miracles through us -- not because God can't do them -- but because He only works through our faith
-- What does this tell us? -- if we want to live lives of faith -- if we want to experience the miracle of God doing the impossible through us, then we've got to get off our "BUTs" and start trusting God

-- verse 10

10. Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them.
11. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."
13. So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

-- in Mark 8, after Jesus had fed the 7,000 in a similar way, Mark tells us that the Pharisees came up to Jesus and asked Him for a miraculous sign -- and Mark says, "Jesus sighed deeply"
-- I just love that picture -- I think that's probably what Jesus did after testing Philip and Andrew -- I think He listened to them and heard their doubts and their lack of faith and just sighed deeply -- you see, Jesus knew what He wanted to do -- He knew what He was going to do -- He just wanted Philip and Andrew to be the ones who trusted in Him enough to suggest it
-- and when it didn't happen, I think Jesus sighed -- I think He does that with us, too -- I think when He calls us to do something impossible -- when He calls us to a new task or a new ministry and all we do is say, "BUT," -- I think He sighs -- and then He either turns to someone else or He does it on His own -- and we're the ones who miss out
-- in this case, Jesus took over and He fed the crowd Himself and He showed us what could have been
-- Jesus wasn't asking Philip and Andrew to feed the people -- He knew they didn't have the resources -- He knew they didn't have the ability -- He knew it was impossible for them
-- what Jesus wanted was for Philip and Andrew to come to Him with what they had and to say, "This is it -- this is all we have -- it's not enough -- we're not enough -- but we know that you can take what we have to offer and multiply it and do a miracle through us"
-- Jesus takes what we have and multiplies it by faith and produces a miracle every time -- the key to God's multiplication is knowing that you have to have both factors -- you have to bring your resources and you have to bring your faith
-- your resources aren't enough to get the job done -- you have to have faith, too
-- on the other hand, your faith is not enough -- God wants us to offer up what we have -- our time and our money and our gifts and our talents
-- why do you think God asks us to tithe -- why does God want your money? -- He doesn't need it -- He owns everything -- so why does He tell us to bring it? -- because He wants you invested -- He wants you to offer your money and your time and your talents and your gifts as a sacrifice in faith
-- it takes both resources and faith to produce a miracle
-- and when God multiplies our resources by our faith, the world changes

-- verse 14

14. After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."
15. Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

-- the people saw what Jesus had done and they responded in faith -- they recognized Him as the promised one -- the Prophet who Moses had said would come -- the Messiah who would be king
-- when we respond to God's call to do the impossible and bring our resources and our faith -- God multiplies it and does a miracle -- He produces a response in the lives of those around us -- people see the hand of God and they turn to Him for salvation and eternal life -- and we experience the power of God working through us

III. Closing
-- After the flood, Noah opened the doors of the Ark and released the animals -- God told them, "Go forth and multiply" -- and all of the animals in the ark -- all of the living creatures there rused off the boat and to freedom, except for two snakes who lingered in a corner
-- Noah asked them, "Why don't you go forth and multiply like the rest?
-- "We can't," sighed the snakes. "We're adders!"

-- as I close this morning, I want to make one thing clear to all of you -- God hasn't called us to be adders -- He's called us to go forth and multiply -- He's called us to get off our "BUTs" -- to get off our "We can'ts" -- and to trust that we can do all things through Him
-- Jesus told His disciples that they would do even greater things than Him -- He told us that we would do even greater things than He did on earth -- but we're not -- just look around
-- the problem is not with Jesus -- the problem is with us -- we're still walking in sight and not in faith -- if we can't see how something can be accomplished, then we don't even try
-- God wants to take our limited resources and our limited faith and He wants to multiply them together to do miracles in this place and in our lives
-- anyone can multiply with God -- it just takes trust and faith and obedience

-- What is God asking us to do today? -- What is God asking you to do today? -- what ministry are you refusing to do because you think you don't have enough? -- trust God -- trust Jesus -- and let Him multiply your ministry and your life
-- as I close I want to invite you to respond to God's word -- give Him your BUTs today -- give Him your "We can'ts" -- and leave here saying, "with You, I can"
-- let's pray