SERMON: FANNING THE FLAMES OF FAITH

24 August 2014

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 2 Timothy 1:1-7

2 Timothy 1:1-7 (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

            -- as we begin our message this morning, I want to warn you I'm about to show an image on the screen that may cause fear and anxiety for some of you -- I know there's a lot of people who have a phobia about these objects -- and their fear is real and not only do they get very scared and upset when they see the real object, but even pictures of this thing -- a harmless thing found in nature -- created by God -- can cause extreme fright in their lives -- so I just wanted to warn you up front in case any of you are scared of these

            -- all right, so here goes -- ready?

          

            -- everybody okay? -- nobody scared of bananas in here? -- no bananaphobes present? -- well that's good -- I'm glad to hear it -- I'm glad to know that's one fear none of us in here share, but it is a very real fear for some

            -- Mr. Smith (name removed to protect identity) is one person who is very scared of bananas -- he is a bananaphobe

          

 

            -- he has an irrational fear of the fruit -- he's terrified of them -- when he sees them in the store or when he sees someone peeling a banana and eating it, he becomes literally frozen in fear -- it makes him nauseous just to talk about bananas

            -- in a recent article in U.S. News and World Report, Mr. Smith said, "As long as I can remember, these things have been the worst things on earth" -- his fear of bananas is real and it can be debilitating -- he says a recurring nightmare he has is being on a plane where bananas are being served for breakfast -- having to look up the aisle and see a tray full of bananas getting closer and closer to him and watching as a banana is given to every person on the plane and then watching as they peel and eat their banana

            -- “It’s my greatest fear in life,” he says. “If I had advance knowledge of this, I would try to take the next flight. Hands down, I would probably have to get up and start vomiting in the middle of the flight. I just imagine the smell getting stronger and stronger, and then I would leave smelling like the dreaded things. It would be horrendous.”¹

            -- now before we make fun of Mr. Smith's fear of bananas, let me call to mind a quote from an old friend of mine -- "It's not nice to make fun of someone else's phobia" -- which is good advice -- because most of us have some irrational fear of something in our lives -- probably not bananas, because that's a rare phobia -- but there are a lot people out there who share common fears -- for some, it's spiders -- for others, it's clowns -- it could be snakes -- being in crowds -- speaking in public -- praying out loud -- the list of phobias go on and on and on

            -- but the thing is phobias are real and they can impact a person's life

            -- the question is "what do we do about it?" -- people have been trying to cure phobias for years, but I would suggest you not do what Gary Larson suggests in this cartoon 

Professor Gallagher and his controversial technique of simultaneously confronting the fear of heights, snakes and the dark

 

            -- our fears can impact our lives -- but the thing is, they can also impact our spiritual lives -- fear can bind a person's faith and keep them from being and doing what God has called them to do

            -- such was the case with Paul's young protege Timothy -- so let's talk about that this morning and see what we can learn from Paul's instructions to Timothy that might help us in our own walks of faith

            [click on last slide]

II.  Scripture Lesson (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

            -- Paul had met Timothy in the town of Lystra, and had taken an immediate liking to the young man -- his father was a Greek, but his mother was a Jew -- and Timothy had inherited his faith from her

            -- when he heard the gospel of Christ Jesus from Paul, Timothy became a believer and it quickly became obvious God had called him to serve in pastoral ministry -- Paul took Timothy under his wing and mentored him in the faith -- discipling him and teaching him how to lead others in a church setting and eventually appointing Timothy as the pastor of the church at Ephesus

            -- this is where we find Timothy at the time of this letter -- Paul, of course, is writing from the depth of a Roman prison, knowing his time is short and it is only a matter of days or weeks before his life will be ended -- so he writes this final letter to Timothy as a charge to his young disciple -- to encourage him to press on and continue in the faith of his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois

            -- we read the entire passage to give you the context of this epistle, but I want to focus this morning on just two verses -- verses 6 and 7 -- let's begin there in verse 6 and see what Paul has to tell Timothy -- and us -- in this verse

            -- verse 6

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

            -- Paul begins this verse with the words, "For this reason" -- Paul is referring back to Timothy's faith -- the faith he had inherited from his mother and grandmother -- the faith he had learned as Paul's disciple

            -- now, if you read through Paul's two epistles to Timothy, it becomes obvious Paul knew Timothy well -- he knew his strengths -- he knew his weaknesses -- he knew his fears -- and he knew how Timothy's fear could affect his faith, especially after Paul's death when he would no longer be there for counsel -- Paul was worried that his death might cause Timothy's faith to falter -- that Timothy's timidity and fear would cause him to shrink back and allow his faith to fade

            -- so Paul tells Timothy, I know your faith is real -- I know your faith is authentic -- for that reason, don't doubt it -- don't let it die -- keep it alive and active -- fan into flames your faith, which is evidenced by God's gift in your life and the fruit you bear

            -- there's a message for us there in Paul's words that I was reminded of this week -- I had to go to a training class this week and ran into a guy I had met who works for a different squadron on base -- as we're going around the room introducing ourselves, he mentioned he grew up in a town two hours east of here -- and when I run across military members who are from south Georgia, I always make a point to ask them about it -- so at the break I turned to him and said, "Where are you from?" -- and his response surprised me -- he said, "We've already talked about this"

            -- apparently, we had already had a complete conversation about his hometown and the fact we used to play his high school in football -- and I had no recollection -- no memory at all -- about this conversation -- I still don't remember it

            -- I've been doing a lot of reading lately about memory and enhancing your memory -- and the one constant in all of these articles is you have to use your memory to keep it alive -- they say your mind is like a muscle, and you have to flex it -- you have to use it -- to keep your ability to remember active -- and, if you want to remember certain things -- like conversations you have had -- then you have to go back and walk through that memory from time to time or you will lose it

            -- it's the same way with faith -- our faith is our spiritual muscle -- and just like Paul is counseling Timothy here -- we have to keep it active -- we have to use it -- we have to exercise it -- we have to take care of it -- to keep it alive -- if we don't, it dies down, just like a fire in a fireplace can do if you are not tending it

            -- there are four ways our flame of faith can be smothered

            -- first, willful sin -- willful disobedience to God's word can cause your faith to be smothered -- it kills your witness -- it inhibits the work of God in your life -- when you are not walking with God, God's power does not flow through you and His gift is not manifested in your life -- willful sin can dampen the flames of faith

            -- secondly, neglect -- neglect can cause our fires to go out and weaken our faith -- just like I was saying about my memory -- if you don't use it, you lose it -- and that's true whether we're talking about memory or muscles or faith -- if you want to keep your faith active, you have to use it

            -- third, others can dampen your faith -- other people can lead you away from the faith -- the tendency -- the direction in our lives -- is always away from God -- just as the second law of thermodynamics says, "Energy tends towards entropy" -- energy goes from order to disorder -- the same is true in our spiritual lives -- our natural bent is towards the world and towards ourselves and away from God -- and other people can propel us in this direction if we're not careful

            -- people can dampen our faith in other ways, too -- a lot of churches tend to be like the Stepford Wives -- they want everyone to look the same and talk the same and do the same things -- even have the same spiritual gifts -- and when you are forced to be what you are not, it can dampen the true and authentic flame of faith in your life -- that's why Paul tells Timothy to fan into flame the gift that is in him -- all of us are unique individuals in Christ -- gifted in different ways and with different natural abilities -- and we should never be forced to be what we are not

            -- finally, our faith can be dampened through fear -- maybe not fear of bananas -- but fear of living out our faith as we are called to do so -- which brings us to the next verse

            -- verse 7

7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

            -- God did not give us a spirit of timidity -- the KJV says a spirit of fear -- as I mentioned in the opening of this message, fear is a very real thing -- it can cripple your faith -- it can even dampen it and smother it and put it out

            -- evidently, Timothy had a problem with timidity -- it seems Timothy was probably an introvert -- someone who preferred to be behind the scenes -- someone who was more studious, perhaps, and who didn't like to be out in front leading -- someone who was timid about being in positions like that -- and I can certainly relate to that

            -- I am an introvert by nature -- I like being hidden and being behind the scenes -- I can do okay speaking to crowds -- standing up by myself in front of a nameless audience -- but put me one-on-one with someone or put me in a small group, and I clam up -- I don't know what to say -- and I tend to shrink in on myself -- and I can tell you it has been difficult and life-stretching for me to accept this call into ministry

            -- Timothy evidently had the same issues -- and it seems as if he relied a lot on Paul and Paul's extroverted nature to help him get by -- and now that Paul's ministry and his life is ending, and now that Paul is passing the mantle of spiritual leadership on to Timothy alone -- Paul knows that Timothy's natural tendency to timidity could inhibit his faith and cause irreparable damage to the church

            -- so Paul reminds Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but had given us a spirit of power and of love and of discipline to enable us to minister in His name and to keep our flames of faith roaring hot

            -- notice that Paul did not say he prayed for Timothy to get this spirit of power and love and discipline -- he had already received it -- he just needed to use it

            -- and that's the way it is with us, too -- notice that Paul didn't say to Timothy, "God has given you this spirit" -- no, he said, "God has given us this spirit" -- we have it, too

            -- God has already empowered us to do everything He has called us to do -- we don't have to pray for God to give us power -- Paul says He has already done that -- we don't have to pray for God to give us the ability to love others with agape, unconditional love -- He has already done it -- we don't have to pray for God to give us the ability of self-control and discipline in our lives to walk with Him -- He has already done that -- we just need to put aside our fears and our timidity and pick up what He has already given and walk forward in faith

            -- Paul says we have been given the spirit of power -- the Greek word he uses here is dunamis -- two of our English words are derived from this root:  dynamite and dynamic

            -- both of them refer to the power within -- to energy that is contained within us and that propels us into motion and action and activity -- it is this dunamis that enables change in the life of a Christian

            -- Kim and I watched a show the other night about glass -- and we saw in there a special type of glass called Prince Rupert's drop -- it has a large bulb on one end and a tail that gets narrower and narrower as it moves away from the bulb

            -- what's interesting is you can take pliers and squeeze on this bulb, and it will not break or shatter -- they even shot the bulb with a .22 rifle, and it absorbed the energy of the bullet without breaking

            -- but, if you squeeze the end of the tail, the entire drop shatters explosively because of the energy contained and bound within the bulb

            -- that's what Paul is talking about here when he says God has given us a spirit of power -- it implies we have power within -- the ability to withstand the pressures of life -- to stand against any trial or storm without fear or timidity -- we just have to look deep within and allow God's strength to empower us to do what we could not otherwise do -- dunamis is applied power in our lives

            -- next Paul tells Timothy we have been given the power of love -- the word he uses here is agape -- and we've been over that enough you should know exactly what that means -- unconditional, all-encompassing love -- the love of Christ -- the love of the cross -- the love we are completely incapable of -- apart from God, that is

            -- whatever it was that drove Timothy's fear, Paul said you can overcome it with love -- when you think about Christianity, you should always think about relationship -- and all relationships within our faith should be driven by agape love

            -- love overcomes all -- love builds relationships -- in ministry agape love is the love that puts self last and puts the needs of others first -- agape love even overcomes fear

            -- I think everyone in here knows Kim is deathly afraid of spiders -- she'll tell you its not an irrational fear but rational, because spiders can sometimes hurt you -- and they can sometimes cause you to do things which are harmful -- but what you may not know is that I don't really like spiders, either -- I have a healthy fear of spiders, too

            -- but when a spider shows up in our house and Kim screams in terror for me to come, I come and I fight back my fear and I kill the spider and save the day -- how? -- agape love

            -- agape love empowers our faith -- it drives ministry -- agape love is only from God and is the only way we can live in love in this world -- Jesus said the world would know us by our love -- not our theology -- not our righteousness -- not our holiness -- but our love -- and this love comes from God

            -- finally, Paul tells Timothy we have been given the spirit of self-discipline or a sound mind -- a sound mind keeps fears at bay -- where do your fears come from? -- what is the source of Mr. Smith's fear of bananas? -- it's his mind -- fear comes from our minds -- it comes from our memory and it comes from our imagination of what the future may be

            -- as Kelly Niven wrote, "if it’s allowed to, the mind will take you away from the present moment. -- If it’s not forced to focus, the mind will return to memories of the past, when circumstances may not have gone well -- [or] the mind will race ahead to the future, worried that things will not go well there, either. -- It operates on fear as a way of self-preservation."

            -- Niven says, "The only way to truly overcome fear is to come into the present moment and focus on the activity in hand -- In all likelihood, there is nothing to fear in the immediate moment."²

            -- I think Paul would agree -- in this verse he tells Timothy, and us, that God has given us a sound mind -- He has given us the spirit of self-discipline -- with a sound mind we can look past our fears to what is real and what is now and what we believe and trust in and move forward to do what God has called us to do

            -- self-discipline and a sound mind allows us to focus our power and our energy and our love on the task at hand -- self-discipline keeps us from wandering off to other pursuits and keeps us doing what needs to be done -- self-discipline keeps us focused on what God wants us to do

III.  Closing

            -- On April 14, 1912, as the Captain of the Titanic realized the extent of the damage to his ship, he broadcast signals of distress in all directions -- many ships heard the cries for help, but most were not close enough to respond -- The S.S. Californian was the closest ship to the scene of the accident -- they were only about one and a half hours from the Titanic -- still the Californian never reached the place where the Titanic sank.

            -- after the Titanic sank and most of the passengers and crew perished, Congress launched an inquiry into the accident -- interviewing the chief officer of the S.S. California, Senator William Smith asked him point-blank, "Why did you not sail to the scene of the accident when the wireless [distress call] reached you?"

            -- The officer shifted uncomfortably in the witness chair -- "We feared icebergs and were lying motionless -- for this reason we had banked our fires and had no steam up." -- in other words the Californian could not move

            -- this was the reason why the Californian, which could have reached the Titanic before it sank, never got there and never rescued a single soul. -- No fire, no power, no one rescued!³

            -- in these verses from 2 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy -- keep your fires lit -- keep your flames roaring -- do not fear -- you have not been given a spirit of fear or of timidity -- but you have been given a spirit of power and love and a sound mind

            -- John MacArthur calls these the "Great Spiritual Triumvirate" -- he writes that God has endowed us with these spiritual gifts to keep our faith alive and active -- "power, to be effective in His service -- love, to have the right attitude toward Him and others -- and discipline, to focus and apply every part of our lives according to His will -- When those endowments are all present, marvelous results occur."⁴

            -- as we leave here today and go back into this world, let's keep Paul's charge to Timothy in mind -- don't let sin or neglect or fear dampen your faith -- but keep it alive through the power and love and discipline of Christ

            -- let us pray

1  [Reference removed by privacy request]

2  Kelly Niven, "Think Simple," accessed 23 August 2014, http://thinksimplenow.com/calmness/live-in-the-moment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ThinkSimple+%28Think+Simple+Now%29

3  Gustaf F. Johnson, "Light the Fires Again," DECISION, March 1971, p. 10.

4  MacArthur, J. 2 Timothy. Chicago: Moody Press

SERMON: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: WRATH

17 August 2014

I.  Introduction

            [Show video clip "Grudge" through 2:40]

            -- so does that sound familiar anybody? -- can anybody relate to what that guy was saying in the video clip?

            -- yeah -- here I was --we have made it now to the end of our sermon series on The Seven Deadly Sins -- and this has been a really convicting series of messages for me -- it's really opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn't realize I was struggling with

            -- but I thought today might be different -- today we're ending the series with the sin of wrath or anger -- and I was just telling someone this week that I'm not an angry person -- I don't angry -- maybe just once a year at the most, I'll get really, really angry -- but I just don't have a problem with anger

            -- and then I started working on this message and I watched that clip and I realized, "I have more problems with anger than I realized" -- not major "stomp through the house and yell and throw things" anger, but everyday anger

            -- and, as one author pointed out, most of our anger is with small things -- cabinets left open -- standing in line for a long time at the store -- getting stuck in traffic -- lost keys -- someone in front of us not using their blinker -- that kind of stuff

            -- everyday kind of anger -- and when you think about wrath or anger as being a deadly sin, this is the reason why -- anger is a deadly sin because this little, everyday anger opens the door for more sin -- this little everyday anger turns us into monsters

            -- it makes us do and say things we shouldn't -- it corrupts who we are -- as people and as Christians -- and it ruins our witness for Christ

            -- this little every day anger just builds up in our lives, just waiting to erupt -- and then one day, some little thing just sets us off, and we explode -- maybe not to the same extent as people with major problems with anger and anger abuse -- but to the point where we want to see another person harmed -- maybe not physically, but surely emotionally

            -- we want to see another person get what's coming to them -- and we find ourselves filled with such hatred about what someone has done to us or what God has to done to us that we just want someone to hurt like we do

            -- so this morning, as we look at this final deadly sin of anger, don't think about the major episodes of anger you read about -- the anger that leads to road rage and killing someone because they cut you off in traffic -- or the anger that leads someone to abuse another person or to walk into a school or movie theater and randomly start shooting

            -- instead, think about the anger you deal with -- the anger hidden deep in your soul -- the minor irritations that cause you to react and that make you do things you know you shouldn't do -- this is the anger most of us deal with -- and this is the anger that is the most insidious, because it is hidden in our very lives

II.  Scripture Lesson (James 1:19-21)

            -- with that said, let's turn now to our Scripture for this morning -- we're going to be in the Book of James -- James 1, starting at verse 19 -- and if you know anything about James, you'll know this is the place to go to find frank and honest discussion about everyday life and the way we should act and live as Christians

            -- James 1:19-21

James 1:19-21 (NIV)

19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

            -- the first thing we see in these verses is that James is writing to his "dear brothers" -- specifically, he is writing to the Jews scattered throughout the Roman empire -- these are his brothers because they are related to him by heritage and culture and descendancy

            -- but they are his brothers in another sense also -- these are Jewish believers -- so when James uses that word brother, he is referring to us also, because we are included in the family of faith through Christ Jesus

            -- now I bring this up to remind you of what we just talked about -- anger is not just a problem with unbelievers -- anger can be a problem with us, too, and James is very careful to make sure we are aware of this as he opens his thought on the subject

            -- James says take note of this -- this isn't about someone else -- this isn't about the unbeliever on the street -- this is about you -- when I'm talking about someone with anger problems, don't think about your neighbor -- think about yourself

            -- now I guess before we delve into the subject of anger, we really need to define what we're talking about -- what is anger?

            -- seems like an easy question, but you might be surprised -- as I was going through this, I found out I had the wrong definition of anger in my mind -- it wasn't what I thought

            -- when I define anger, I think about someone getting mad and lashing out -- yelling at someone or talking to them sarcastically or harshly -- sometimes getting violent and punching the wall or throwing things or slamming pots down on backyard decks -- I'll say, "Man, that person is angry," but that's not anger -- that's the result of anger

            -- it's kind of like the wind -- try to define what wind is -- and, nine times out of ten, you'll start talking about its effects -- you'll say things like, "the wind is what blows the trees around and makes the leaves rustle" -- "the wind is what you feel on your face" -- "that noise you hear is the wind" -- but none of that is the wind -- what you're describing is the effect of the wind on your environment

            -- it's the same way with anger -- when we try to define anger -- when we picture in our minds -- we usually think about the effects of anger, not what anger actually is

            -- so what is anger? -- anger is an emotion, just like love or sadness -- it is a feeling -- anger is an emotional response to some stimulus in your life -- a goal, a value, an expectation -- and it's important to note that anger is God-given -- anger, in and of itself, is not wrong

            -- the problem with anger is what we do with it -- anger becomes a sin when we allow the anger to express itself in unhealthy ways

            -- since anger is God-given, this lets us know there is a healthy and Godly response to this emotion -- God gave us anger for a reason -- and if you think about the reasons for our anger, you'll realize we become angry primarily when we or someone we care about is hurt or threatened -- when something comes along and harms or threatens to harm us physically, spiritually, or emotionally

            -- the emotion of anger initiates our body's "fight-or-flight" response -- it triggers an adrenaline rush -- the emotion of anger helps us focus our actions and energy and control our response in threatening situations -- when you're angry, physical pain actually decreases, and you are able to move and act on adrenaline alone -- God gave us anger to empower us to protect ourselves and defend those around us from physical, spiritual, or emotional harm

            -- in the church we call this "righteous anger" -- and expressing the emotion of anger in a manner like this is not a sin -- think about Jesus' response to the money changers in the temple -- He became angry because of a spiritual injustice -- the money changers and those selling livestock to gain profit were doing so at the expense of true worshipers -- they were taking advantage of people and lying to them -- they had corrupted God's law for personal gain -- and they were blaspheming God through their actions

            -- this made Jesus angry and He responded by turning over their tables and running them out of the temple courtyard -- the important thing to note there is that Jesus did not attack them personally or physically -- He attacked the problem and focused His energy and efforts on correcting the injustice that was occurring in a way that was righteous and Godly

            -- but if there is righteous response to anger, then there must also be an unrighteous response -- a sinful anger -- which is what James is talking about in this passage

            -- now, remember, we're not talking about the obvious explosions of anger we all know is sinful and unrighteous -- what concerns us today is the everyday anger we choose to respond to in an ungodly and unrighteous manner

            -- "Let’s say that someone you love hurts your feelings -- God gave you those feelings -- It hurt -- You're angry -- That is not sinful." -- that is a normal emotional response

            -- "but let's say you yell back at them. -- That was a choice you made -- that was your decision, your will. -- You could have made another choice" -- a more Godly choice

            -- you could have controlled your emotions --  you could have chosen not to react in like manner -- emotions are never sinful, but your response to them can be -- "sin is your decision to take things into your own hands -- You always have control over your own sin."¹

            -- anger becomes a sin when we choose to react from a sense of vengeance -- when we feel personally wronged and we want to give it back -- we want to make the other person pay -- we want them to suffer like we are suffering -- or we just feel like we need to make a scene or do something physically to express our hurt and displeasure with what is going on -- like the guy in the video clip getting back at the cashier by leaving his buggy in the store and storming out or when we slam doors or yell in frustration

            -- but we need to realize this is a choice we are making -- a choice to respond by sinning

            -- so what is the Godly way to respond to this emotion of anger? -- look back at what James says here

            -- James 1:19-20

19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

            -- be quick to listen and slow to speak -- in other words don't react -- when you get angry -- when you start to feel that anger welling up inside of you, stop -- take a breath -- count to 10 -- let your body relax and your mind think about the situation for a moment -- what is a better way to respond? -- how does God want you to react to this situation?

            -- William Arthur Ward wrote, “It is wise to direct your anger towards problems -- not people; to focus your energies on answers -- not excuses.” -- redirect your anger productively -- focus your energy on the problem, not the person or situation you perceive as causing the problem

            -- sounds easy, doesn't it? -- piece of cake -- brings us to the question we should always ask ourselves, "Yes, but how?"

            -- verse 21

21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

            -- James seems to shift here to an unrelated topic -- in verse 21 he says get rid of all your moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent in your life -- now what does that have to do with anger or our response to anger?

            -- I have a friend who went out to Colorado a couple of weeks ago for a class -- I was talking to him this week and he was telling me what bad shape the forests were in that area -- they've been having an extended drought in that part of Colorado that weakened the trees and made them susceptible to disease and insects -- well, pine beetles had come in and killed acres and acres of trees -- he said there were whole mountains that were just covered with standing and fallen dead trees and there were branches and other debris just piled up all around them -- he said it was hard to walk through the forests for all the fuel on the ground

            -- and he was telling me how there were a lot of areas that wildfires had gotten to -- entire forests had just been burned to a crisp -- because of the drought and the insects and the disease, these forests were just brittle and ripe for a fire and then a thunderstorm came in and one lightning strike -- one little spark -- and the whole forest erupted into a conflagration -- he said it's a really dangerous situation out there and the whole place could just go up in a moment

            -- that's exactly what James is saying here in this verse -- when we let broken attitudes and dry spirits and brittle hurts and frustrations -- moral filth and sin -- build up in our lives, we become a tinder box -- and all it takes is just one spark -- one little, minor incident like having to stand in line at the grocery store too long or a harsh word from a family member -- and we erupt in the fire of anger ²

            -- so James says get rid of all of that -- confess it -- repent of it -- give it over to God -- don't build up fuel in your life that might catch on fire with anger

            -- instead, he says, turn to the word -- accept the word planted in you -- let God show you how to respond in these situations -- it's a Christian cliche now, but it's still true -- ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" and do it -- God's word dwelling inside of you will show you how you should respond -- the issue is whether we choose to follow His path or whether we choose to react in anger on our own

III.  Closing

            -- when something bad happens, we can get enraged and furious and a lot of times we explode into action, thinking some wrong needs to be righted and we're the person to do it, regardless of the consequences -- let me close by sharing with you a story from Ann Finkbeiner that shows a better way -- that demonstrates how to respond instead of react to angry situations

            -- Ann interviewed a woman about her son’s death years after the incident -- this woman's son had been killed when he surprised an escaped convict at a construction site he worked at -- Ann asked the if she thought she was over it.

            -- instead of answering the question, the woman instead talked about her immediate response to the incident -- she had made up her mind she was going to kill the convict who had murdered her son -- she was going to walk into the courtroom with a gun and kill him and she didn't care what happened to her personally -- but she didn't -- she couldn't -- and the murderer was sentenced to 67 years -- but even with the verdict, her anger did not subside

            -- however, rather than react in anger and lash out at others, this woman channeled her anger into productivity -- she became a vocal proponent of gun control and worked on national political platforms to that end -- she ran for state office, won awards, and organized a gun control group -- Thirteen years after her son died, her state banned Saturday-night-specials, partly through the efforts of her organization. 

            -- In 1996, when the murderer was about to be paroled on a technicality, she xeroxed a truth-in-sentencing form and got 8,000 signatures, and the parole was denied -- even in her seventies, she continued to work passionately on the issue of gun control -- writing newspaper articles and being interviewed in the national news on the issue

            -- rather than exploding in rage, she responded righteously and fought against injustice to right the wrong that took her son's life³

            -- anger is an emotion, given by God to help us in our lives -- it is only a sin when we choose to react in ungodly ways

            -- so how do we respond to anger in a Godly manner? -- how do we choose to live righteously in this area of our lives?

            -- first, we have to admit we have a problem -- don't be like me -- don't think that just because you don't have rip-roaring hissy fits all the time that you don't have an anger problem, but recognize the everyday issues with anger we all face -- I've got a handout for you with a checklist to think about to see if you really do have an anger problem or not -- take a moment today or this week and fill it out and see how you do

            -- secondly, anticipate problem areas -- What situations can you avoid? -- What people or situations do we struggle with that causes us to lose our temper? -- consider how you're feeling before you put yourself in those places -- if you're feeling out of time and frustrated and irritable, probably not a good time to head to the store or to get in traffic if you can avoid it -- learn from your past mistakes and don't repeat them

            -- third -- when you start to feel angry, take a breath -- count to 10 or 100 or 1000 -- whatever it takes -- be quick to listen and slow to speak -- and then turn to God -- commit that situation to Him and ask Him to show you how to respond in a righteous manner -- as James said, accepted the word planted in you, which can save you

            -- fourth, hate the sin and not the sinner -- in other words, focus on the problem and not the person and realize the problem may be you -- it might be internal -- and the situation you are in is just causing it to catch fire

            -- lastly, "practice the presence of Christ -- be aware that God is present and hears every word [and sees every action] -- Christ is not only present with us when we are in church -- He is present in your household and with you at work -- He hears every idle word and sees every thought -- If I practice the presence of Christ, I may chose my

words differently" -- if I remember God is watching, we may be less prone to erupt in anger and do something that embarrasses us and brings dishonor to God⁴

            -- the key word for today is choose -- choose to respond to your God-given emotion of anger in a righteous way and choose not to sin through your actions

            -- let us pray

1  Father Mark Hamlet, http://www.fathermarkhamlet.com/the-seven-deadly-sins-anger/

2  Murray Pura, "Majestic and Wild"

3  Ann Finkbeiner, http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2012/01/04/the-seven-deadly-sins-anger/

4  Modified from a sermon by Jeff Sims, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/good-and-angry-jeff-simms-sermon-on-anger-58925.asp

SERMON: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS: PRIDE

10 August 2014

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to Daniel 4:29-37

Daniel 4:29-37 (NIV)

29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,

30 he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"

31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.

32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."

33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

      -- Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall -- Humpty Dumpty had a great fall -- And all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again

      -- now in this familiar nursery rhyme, we are introduced to the tragic character of Mr. Dumpty -- we don't know much about Mr. Dumpty, but we do know that he was evidently a very successful man -- he had risen to the top and found himself perched on a wall, overlooking life and all that he had accomplished

      -- you know that's how the top businessmen in the world judge if they have truly made it or not, don't you? -- when they have the top office -- the corner office on the top floor with the large window that overlooks the city -- when they stand at that window, high above everyone else, and look out at the world beneath them -- then they know they have arrived -- they know they have it all together -- they know they are truly successful in life

      -- we may not have the opportunity to get the top office in our careers, but we have other measures to let us know if we have made it to the top or not, don't we? -- for teachers, it might mean getting a Master's degree and being recognized as the top teacher in the county for that year -- for businessmen, it might mean reaching a certain milestone in annual profits or a certain number of sales for a given year -- for others, it might be an award given from your peers or from those in authority over you or recognition from the Governor of others in positions of power

      -- regardless, if we are honest, most of us want to be just like Mr. Dumpty in the start of this story -- we want to be at the top -- looking over life and all it has given us and thinking to ourselves, "I have made it."

      -- Mr. Dumpty was there -- he had arrived -- he was at the top -- but his story doesn't end there -- something happened, and Mr. Dumpty was unceremoniously dropped from the top and ended up at the bottom of the wall

      -- that happens a lot, doesn't it? -- how many stories have you read of successful men and women who had risen to the pinnacle of their career -- to the pinnacle of life itself -- only to have something come in and pull the rug out from under them -- sending them crashing from the heights of success to the depths of misery and brokenness, just like Mr. Dumpty

      -- now, we don't know what caused Mr. Dumpty to fall, but we've seen a variety of things take out other leaders in our very own nation -- a few years ago, we watched as Enron, an American energy company -- one of the five largest partnerships in the world -- collapsed largely because of the actions of one man --its founder, Ken Lay

      -- at the time Ken Lay was one of the most successful businessmen in the nation -- well-respected -- financially secure -- admired by business leaders and Christians alike -- pointed to as an example of what a Christian businessmen should look like -- in fact, I have a book at home on how to live out your Christian walk in the work-place, and one chapter uses the example of Ken Lay as a model for us to follow

      -- but bad decisions -- unethical decisions -- and, apparently, outright fraud and deceit, caused Ken Lay to tumble from the top of the business world to the bottom, fighting for his freedom in a court of law

      -- other leaders have been toppled through sexual immorality -- drug and alcohol addictions -- illegal behavior or ties to corrupt organizations -- there is no end to the list of things that could cause a person to tumble from the top of a wall to the ground below -- we see it every single day

      -- something apparently happened to Mr. Dumpty -- while he was sitting happily on top of his wall, enjoying life -- something came along and knocked him from his perch and sent him falling to the ground

      -- but the story doesn't end there -- Mr. Dumpty was not one to stay at the bottom -- he enjoyed the top -- he wanted back on the top -- he wanted to be repaired and fixed and restored back to his previous position on top of the wall

      -- so he did like a lot of those who have fallen in their lives -- he looked for help from those around him -- evidently, Mr. Dumpty was of the mindset that the Government had all the answers -- so he went to the government in his day -- he went to the king -- the king sent out his horses -- his workers -- the blue-collar guys -- to see if they could help -- these were the programs and the projects that the government had in place to help people get back on their feet again -- but it obviously didn't work -- Mr. Dumpty was still at the bottom of the wall, broken with no repair in sight

      -- so the king sent his men -- the leaders of his day -- the men with connections and power and prestige and resources -- surely these men would be able to help Mr. Dumpty and get him back up on the top of the wall where he belonged

      -- but they, too, were unsuccessful -- nothing that either Mr. Dumpty or the King tried worked -- and in the end, all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty back together again -- he had fallen and he couldn't get up

[sermon illustration based on/modified from illustration by Dr. Tony Evans at Promise Keepers]

      -- this morning we are continuing in our sermon series on the Seven Deadly Sins -- so far we have looked at five of the seven sins -- greed, envy, lust, gluttony, and slothfulness or laziness -- this morning we are going to look at number six on our list -- the sin of pride

      -- if you have to wonder what caused the fall of Mr. Dumpty, I contend it was pride -- just as God warns us through the Bible, pride goeth before the fall -- and Mr. Dumpty's pride at being large and in charge -- at being on top of his world -- led to his downfall

      -- this morning we're going to look at the story of another man who found himself at the top of the world and we'll see what happened to him -- this is the story of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon -- the ruler of the first world empire -- whose story we find in the Book of Daniel

II.  The Rise and Fall and Rise of Nebuchadnezzar

      -- before we start looking at this passage in detail, let me give you a little of the context and background of King Nebuchadnezzar

      -- in this book written by the prophet Daniel, we learn about the rise of Nebuchadnezzar -- under his leadership, Babylon had risen to become a major military and financial power in the world -- and Nebuchadnezzar was attacking and conquering all the countries near him

      -- at the same time we see the people of Israel living in the Promised Land, but not living in the promise -- as the kingdom has grown and become successful, the people turned away from God -- they became nominal God-followers -- going through the motions, but not really believing -- others completely went away from God and started worshiping idols and foreign gods

      -- and because of this, God's wrath fell on the nation of Israel -- the northern kingdom has already been carried into exile by the Assyrians, and God used Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument of wrath and discipline to conquer the nation of Israel -- the Israelites were sent into exile in Babylon -- the prophet Daniel, who wrote this book, was one of those carried off into captivity early in Nebuchadnezzar's reign

      -- by the time Chapter 4 rolls around, Nebuchadnezzar was at the top of the world -- he had conquered and now ruled all of the known world -- he was rich beyond belief -- his capital city was expansive and recognized as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world -- and spiritually, he wasn't doing too bad, either -- after the incident with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar had professed faith in the God of Israel -- not exclusive faith -- maybe not even saving faith -- but he professed belief and fear and awe at the power of the Lord God Almighty

      -- however, God knew Nebuchadnezzar's heart, and so He sent Nebuchadnezzar a dream to warn him of the danger of spiritual pride and to warn him what would happen if he failed to repent of his sin and pride and truly acknowledge God and follow Him as Lord and Savior

      -- but, like all men and all nations who find themselves sitting on the top of the wall, Nebuchadnezzar didn't listen to God's warning in the dream

      -- let's pick up with the story now in verse 27 as Daniel completes his interpretation of the dream and gives God's final warning to Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4:27-28 (NIV)

27 Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue."

28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.

      -- what God was telling Nebuchadnezzar was, "You're on the top of the wall -- I placed you there -- and if you want to stay there, you must acknowledge Me and My hand in your life -- you must turn to me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength -- you must repent of  your sins and seek to live in My kingdom and not your own" -- but the king was stubborn, and refused to listen to God and paid the consequences for his pride and his sin -- and everything God said would happen to Nebuchadnezzar happened

      -- look at verse 29-30

Daniel 4:29-30 (NIV)

29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,

30 he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"

      -- ah, here we see the folly of the man living on top of the world -- or, in this case, walking about on top of the royal palace looking over all of Babylon and all the lands that he possessed

      -- notice the arrogance in Nebuchadnezzar's comments as he looked at what he owned -- "I have built" -- "my mighty power" -- "the glory of my majesty" -- I -- me -- mine -- my

      -- danger words -- words that let you know that you're straying too close to the edge of the wall -- and if you don't pull back and remember how you got up there in the first place, you might just find yourself falling off

      -- and that's exactly what happened -- verse 31-33

Daniel 4:31-33 (NIV)

31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.

32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes."

33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

 -- just like Humpty Dumpty, Nebuchadnezzar fell -- what God gave, God took away -- his position -- his power -- his finances -- his resources -- even his own sanity -- in one moment, gone -- taken away by God because of Nebuchadnezzar's belief that he had done it on his own and with his own power

      -- God told us in the first commandment that we should have no other gods before Him -- and that was exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had done -- Nebuchadnezzar had made another idol out of himself -- maybe not a 90-foot tall golden image like last time -- but an idol none-the-less

      -- by using words like "I" and "mine," Nebuchadnezzar had put himself in the place of God -- so God pushed Nebuchadnezzar off the wall

      -- God had given Nebuchadnezzar twelve months to repent of his sins and turn to Him -- but Nebuchadnezzar refused -- and in the end, he wound just like Humpty Dumpty -- one moment he's sitting on top of the wall -- the next he finds himself falling

      -- when Nebuchadnezzar fell, he hit the bottom -- he became a shell of his former self -- a broken man -- and, unlike Humpty Dumpty, he has no one else on earth on whom he can call -- Humpty called on the king for help -- but in this case, the one who has fallen is the king -- and no one on earth can put Nebuchadnezzar back together again -- there is no one he can even cry out to for help -- his only hope is in the mercy and grace of God

      -- verse 34

34.  At the end of that time, -- "at the end of that time" refers to the seven year time period of punishment that God had warned Nebuchadnezzar about in his dream

Daniel 4:34-37 (NIV)

34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

      -- for seven long years, Nebuchadnezzar lay at the bottom of the wall -- broken and battered -- out of his mind -- living in the fields with the animals -- but, finally, he turned his eyes towards the only One who could help -- he looked towards God and, even in the midst of his insanity and his brokenness, called out to God for mercy and grace and restoration

      -- and God heard the cry of Nebuchadnezzar's heart -- He saw that Nebuchadnezzar had truly repented of his sin of pride -- so God brought healing and restored all that Nebuchadnezzar had lost -- his sanity -- his position -- his power -- his resources -- his palace

      -- God picked Nebuchadnezzar up out of the pit he had fallen into and placed him back on the top of the wall again -- what all the king's horses and all the king's men could not do, God did

      -- but this time, the man on top of the wall was not the same -- he had been changed through the grace of God -- he still had the power and the prestige and the palace -- his kingdom still stretched from the sea to the mighty rivers in Babylon -- in fact he even became greater than he was before -- but the pride and the arrogance and the idolatry were gone -- and, in its place, was humbleness and respect and true worship for the Lord God Almighty

      -- the story of Nebuchadnezzar is similar to that of Humpty Dumpty -- but it is not nearly so tragic -- Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall and fell, never to get back up again -- Nebuchadnezzar sat on the wall and fell, too, but he was raised back up through the redeeming grace of God

III.  Closing

      -- we are constantly surrounded by stories of modern-day Humpty Dumpty's -- men and women who rose to power or prestige and who fell to the bottom again -- our papers and our news stories are filled with their tragic tales -- such is the fate of those who put their hope and faith in themselves and in the things of this earth

      -- but we are also surrounded by the stories of modern-day heroes of the faith like Nebuchadnezzar -- men and women who fell, but who put their hope and faith in the living God and who rose again -- perhaps not to the same positions of power -- perhaps not to the same levels of income or prosperity -- but to something better -- to the heights of heaven itself

      -- if I had to point to one modern man whose story most closely parallels that of Nebuchadnezzar, I would have to mention Chuck Colson -- a name that has been mentioned this week as we remember the 40th anniversary of Watergate and President Nixon's resignation from office

      -- Chuck Colson was one of Richard Nixon's most trusted advisors -- and in his position, Colson had it all -- he had power -- he had prestige -- he had money -- he had the ear of the president of the most powerful nation on earth -- he lived on top of the wall

      -- but then Watergate happened -- and Colson made some bad decisions -- some illegal actions -- and went to federal prison -- the mighty man had fallen off the wall and landed in a hole -- but, he didn't stay there

      -- during the time he was on trial and later in prison, Colson placed his trust and faith in the saving grace of Christ Jesus -- and, just like Nebuchadnezzar, God restored Colson to his place of prominence

      -- only this time, instead of being in the west wing of the white house, it was as the leader of Prison Fellowship Ministries -- a place where Colson could use his new-found faith in Christ to minister to prisoners and give them a hand up to help them make it to the top of the wall, too

      -- pride goeth before the fall, but humility and grace picks us up

      -- pride is the bane of our existence as humans -- out of the seven deadly sins, I think pride is the most dangerous -- some have even contended that pride is the root of all other sins because pride makes us want to be God in our own lives

      -- we say that a sin is a sin is a sin -- but the Bible points out in many places that God specifically hates the sin of pride in our lives -- in Proverbs 8:13, we read, "I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech" and in James 4:6, we read that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble

            -- did you know that the very first sins recorded in the Bible were pride?

            -- in Isaiah 14, we read how pride was Satan's downfall -- Satan started out as Lucifer, God's anointed cherub -- ordained with every precious stone -- beautiful in all his ways

            -- but in his heart, he was prideful -- he desired more than he had -- and he said, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

            -- Lucifer's pride led him to try to become higher than God -- to take God's place -- and so God cast him down from heaven and he became Satan

            -- and, then, in the Garden of Eden, it was Adam and Eve's pride that made them take the forbidden fruit and disobey God -- just like Lucifer, they desired to become like God -- to know what God knew -- to be equal to Him -- and they took the fruit and ate it and brought sin into the world

            -- our natural tendency as humans is not to be humble, but instead to be filled with pride -- and this is even encouraged in our culture -- we're told to take pride in our accomplishments -- to be proud of our work -- proud of our heritage -- proud of our country -- proud of everything that we do -- and for those kids who don't quite get it, we even have self-esteem classes so that they can learn how to become prideful in their own lives

            -- to be proud means that we exalt ourselves and our accomplishments and our lives -- to be proud means that we put ourselves on the throne of our lives -- to be proud means that we think we have made it to the top without anyone else's help

            -- how do you know if you have a pride problem? -- listen to yourself this week -- do you find yourself saying far too often, "I" and "My" and "Mine?" -- do you find yourself taking credit for your accomplishments without giving God the praise and glory we owe Him?

            -- it reminds me of the story about the two ducks and the frog who lived happily together in a farm pond -- these three animals were the best of friends -- they would spend the whole day playing together in their waterhole -- but, when summer rolled around, the pond started to dry up -- and as it got smaller and smaller, it soon became apparent that the three friends would have to move.

            -- This was no problem for the ducks, who could easily fly to another pond -- But the frog was stuck -- he had no way to leave this drying waterhole and go to another place to live -- so they thought and thought and, finally, the frog came up with a brilliant idea -- he told the ducks to find a stick and put one end in each of their mouths so the frog could hang on to the middle with his mouth as they flew to another pond

            -- they tried it and the plan worked well--so well, in fact, that as they were flying along a farmer looked up in admiration and saw the frog suspended on the stick between the two ducks and said in amazement, "Well, isn't that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it?" -- The frog opened his mouth and said, "I did..." -- and that was the end of that

            -- that's the way of pride -- as soon as you open your mouth and exalt yourself, you find yourself falling off your wall and flat on your face before God and everyone else

            -- pride is insidious -- it is so hard to get rid of -- and that's why it is one of the seven deadly sins

            -- so as we close in prayer, let us pray for humility -- let us repent of our sin of pride -- and let us turn our eyes off ourselves and focus our gaze on Heaven and on the Lord God Almighty

            -- let us pray