Sunday, August 26, 2012

Dressed for Battle



Dressed for Battle

Ephesians 6: 10 – 20


Introduction.
If we read the New Testament, we will discover both similarities and differences between our American Christianity and the Christian faith of the early church. 
One similarity is the fact that we are currently facing a cultural battle much like the early Christians faced.  The early Christians lived in states which were part of the Roman Empire.  The Roman Empire demonstrated tolerance for the Jewish faith and allowed Christians the same kind of tolerance as long as they considered themselves part of the Jewish faith.  However, as the Christians moved farther away from Judaism, the Empire was not as tolerant.  Christians were accused of atheism for not worshipping an acceptable god.  Christians were accused of cannibalism, because of their strange practice of observing the Lord’s Supper in their private worship.  Christians were accused of being unpatriotic and rebellious, because they would not declare Caesar as lord.
In the same way, we find ourselves in a cultural battle.  Perhaps there was a time when the Christian faith was well accepted in American culture.  If so, that is no longer the case.  Today, Christians are often labeled as old fashioned, intolerant or even hateful.
One difference between American Christianity and the faith of the early church is the way we approach our cultural battle.  American Christians have attempted to organize ourselves into political groups and to fight our cultural battles in the political arena.  Other times, we fight the cultural battles by lashing out at individuals or by boycotting certain businesses.
The early church did not respond this way, because they acknowledged something that makes us a little uncomfortable.  They recognized that they were not engaged in a battle against flesh and blood.  Instead, they were fighting a spiritual battle.
This is one of the important themes the Apostle Paul wrote about to the churches in Ephesus.  The Christians were facing persecution from the government and from individuals.  However, Paul pointed out to them that it was much worse than that.  They were fighting against principalities and powers in the spiritual realm.
In the same way, the cultural battle we are facing is not a battle against flesh and blood.  We are not at war with an individual, with groups of individuals or with human institutions.  We are facing a spiritual battle.
When it comes to spiritual warfare, I think we need to be careful to adopt a biblical view.  Some people prefer not to think about spiritual warfare, because we are too educated and sophisticated to believe demonic forces are at work in our world.  Some people focus too much on spiritual warfare and try to find demonic forces at work behind every rock or every sinful choice.  The danger here is never taking personal responsibility for sinful choices… “The devil made me do it.”
The Bible does not present us with either of these extreme positions.  Instead, the Bible teaches us that demonic forces are real but limited.  There is a spiritual battle going on around us, but Jesus has already defeated the devil through his crucifixion and resurrection.  What we are experiencing today is the devil’s last and desperate effort to stay in a battle he has already lost.


Ephesians 6: 10 – 20.
Paul lived his life and conducted his ministry throughout the Roman Empire.  It was a time characterized by the Pax Romana—the Peace of Rome.  Ironically, this peace was an enforced peace.  Roman armies had defeated the armies of other nations.  Then, the Roman government placed peace keeping troops throughout the land to ensure there would be no rebellion against the Empire.  As a result, Paul’s audience was very familiar with Roman soldiers and the traditional uniform of those soldiers.
I also find it significant that Ephesians is one of the New Testament books known as a “prison letter.”  Paul wrote these words from a Roman prison.  More than likely, he was surrounded by soldiers who were wearing the very armor he described.
In two places in this passage, Paul used the phrase “Full Armor of God.”  This English expression is a translation of just two Greek words.  The first word could be translated Full Armor.  The second is the word for God.


Full Armor

I find it significant that Paul used this particular Greek word for armor.  Rather than using a simple term for armor or weapon, Paul added a prefix to it describing it as Full or Complete.  This is not just any kind of weaponry or armor.  The suit of armor that Paul described is Full.  It is Complete…You will never need anything else.

Of God

In addition to being Full, this armor is also “Of God.”  What does this expression mean? 
One way we could interpret “of God” is to interpret it as a “Descriptive.”  Or in modern English, “Godly Armor.” 
But I think Paul has something else in mind.  Being the OT scholar that he was, I believe Paul is referring back to several passages from Isaiah (11: 4, 5; 59: 17).  In these passages, God is described as wearing the Breastplate of Righteousness and Helmet of Salvation. 
Therefore, I interpret this as a “Possessive.”  This is no ordinary armor.  You have been equipped with God’s OWN armor.

Armor
Belt of Truth…  Imagery employed here is that of girding up loins in order to run without hindrances…Pull up tunic and tuck under belt so long tunic would not entangle legs and trip the runner…Lies and deceit may slow down and trip some, but not the one who knows the Truth. 

Breastplate of Righteousness…  Breastplate protected the vital organs on the front of the soldier…In the same way, Righteousness protects the Christian from attack…Of course Righteousness in Paul’s theology does not refer to the way a person acts or lives…Righteousness is the gift God has given us through Jesus…When we accepted God’s gift in Jesus, God made us Right, or Righteous…God put us in Right standing with himself. 

Feet fitted with Gospel of Peace…  Shoes were one of most important part of soldier’s armor…Battles could be won or lost based on what kind of shoes soldiers wore…Heavy Combat Boots were necessary for some tasks…Lightweight Sandals were necessary for others…Gospel of Peace prepares the Christian for whatever they may face.  But shoes are made for walking.  Therefore, we are supposed to carry the Gospel wherever we go.

Shield of Faith…  Usually a heavy wooden shield to fend off darts and arrows and swords…Often the enemy would dip the tip of arrow in tar and set on fire…If several fiery darts accumulated in wooden shield, it would catch on fire….Led many armies to soak their shields in water over night so they would extinguish flaming arrows…Faith is like that shield soaked in water…It extinguishes the enemies greatest attempt to harm you. 

Helmet of Salvation…  Again this is protection for vital organs…Without proper headgear, soldiers would risk their lives…In the same way, the salvation that God has given us in Christ prevents us from losing our lives in the Battle…Something about a helmet that I have noticed in my limited football career…It is difficult to look behind you while wearing a helmet…Salvation has taken away the sins of you past…You have no reason to continue to look back on your past sins and mistakes. 

Sword of Spirit…  Paul gave us a little extra explanation for the Sword of the Spirit…In no uncertain terms, Paul described this weapon as the Word of God…But interestingly, this is a weapon, not a piece of armor…Sword was used in battle to defend against other swords and to attack other soldiers…Word of God is our defense against sins—like the way Jesus fought temptations from Satan by quoting from the Old Testament…It is important for us to read the Word of God, to know the Word of God, and to memorize the Word of God.  How sad would it be to face temptation defenseless, because we did not take the time to read, learn and memorize the Bible? 

Some have called the Sword of the Spirit the only Offensive weapon in our arsenal.  But I disagree!  I believe Paul has described one more Offensive weapon, without which the armor cannot be complete. 

Prayer…  Paul called the Armored Warrior of God to the activity of Prayer… Constant Prayer…Intense Prayer…Unselfish Prayer…Defensive Prayer…Offensive Prayer. 
In many ways, I fear that the modern church has lost the concept of Prayer as an Offensive Weapon…Most prayers uttered in churches today focus on the sick, the dying, asking for protection from sin & evil…
Folks we don’t have many Offensive weapons…If we do not use the ones God has equipped us with, then we will not fulfill our Commission as Army of God. 
Offensive Prayer…Praying for the Lost…Praying to be used as a witness


Be Strong (v. 10)

None of our English translations quite capture the meaning behind Greek.  The verb “be strong” is best understood as a passive verb, and should probably be translated “be strengthened.”  In other words, our strength is inadequate for facing the enemy.  God’s strength is enough, but we are helpless without God’s strength in us. 
The only way we can be prepared for a spiritual battle is to allow God to give us the strength we need. 


Put on Full Armor (v. 11)

Paul’s second command to us is written exactly like his first command.  It should also be translated in the passive voice.    
As a human being, I do not possess the ability to save myself.  I cannot strengthen myself…And I cannot take up / put on the armor that belongs to God and dress myself in it.  I must rely on God’s work. 
This reminds me of when I played football (in junior high and high school) and wore what we called “Girdle Pads.”  When they came out of the dryer, no one could put them on by himself…It usually took two other people.
               

Stand (v. 13)

Standing is a command Paul repeats four times in this passage.  This leads me to believe that this is his main point…The most important thing a Christian can do in Spiritual Warfare is to stand your ground.  Protect the ground you are standing on, and do not allow the devil to gain more ground.
Does it surprise you a little that Paul has called Christians to Stand?  Put on (or allow God to dress you) in the full armor of God… Belt of Truth…Breastplate of Righteousness…Shoes of the Gospel…Shield of Faith…Sword of Spirit…Prayer…And all Paul asks us to do is to Stand our ground! 
Paul did not call on a Christian Army to go out and fight.  There is a reason for this.  We are fully equipped for one specific task.  God called us and prepared us to Stand…NOT to FIGHT! 
If you rush out of here into the Spiritual Battlefield attempting to fight against the Devil, rest assured of one thing…You will LOSE, because you are not doing what God has equipped you to do.  God has equipped you to Stand against evil.  God has equipped Jesus to Fight against evil.  The Full Armor of God is your equipment to Stand.  The Resurrection is Jesus’ equipment to Fight and to Win.


Pray (v. 18)

Once again, Paul has called Christians to do something that seems unusual to our minds.  We like to think of a mighty warrior, bravely fighting the battle.  That is not what Paul called Christians to do.  We are called to let God strengthen us…to let God dress us in his full armor, then we will be prepared to stand and to pray.
 In other words, your role in spiritual warfare can be summed up in just two activities…to Stand against evil and to Kneel before God.



Conclusion.
Have you ever heard about the largest church in the world?  It is not a Baptist church, and it is not located in the United States.  It is the Central Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea.  In 2007, they claimed a membership of over 1,000,000, and they are growing by over 10,000 new members per month. 
Members meet weekly in over 23,000 homes for their Bible Study Groups.  This is different from our experience, since we meet at the church in Sunday School classes.  But there is another, more important difference between their Bible Study and ours.  In the Korean church, each Bible Study Group has the goal of leading just 2 people to Christ every year.  AND, they commit themselves to praying for their lost family members and friends.  The church discovered that with work and school schedules every week, they couldn’t find a time to pray.  So they have prayer meetings at 4:00 in the morning!
What would happen to our community if we were just as serious as the church in Korea?  What if we began today by acknowledging God wants us to pray?  To pray not only for the sick, but to pray for the lost.    To use prayer as the spiritual weapon Paul described and that God intends for us to use.
What would happen is we would Stand against evil and Kneel before God?  What if we prayed that God would transform our lives and use us to reach our lost friends?

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Godly Wisdom


Godly Wisdom
1 Kings 3: 1 – 15.

Introduction
I am a self-taught typist.  I type a full sermon manuscript every week.  I typed a 265 page final doctoral project.  I’m pretty fast, and I don’t usually look at the keyboard while I type…But I don’t use all my fingers.  I only use six of my ten fingers. 
I started typing all my school work when I was in the eighth grade.  My dad is an engineer, so we were one of the first families I knew that had a home computer.  (Of course, we were the last family with a microwave, a VCR and a touchtone phone.)
I even went to college with my own computer.  Everyone in the freshman dorm was impressed, because my computer had a 30 megabyte hard drive.  The computers in the computer lab only had 20 megabyte hard drives.  I think my cell phone has a capacity of 16 gigabytes!  That means my cell phone can store over 500 times as much information as my first computer.
Computer storage has increased over the years for a couple of reasons.  On one hand, technology is getting cheaper, so we can afford to walk around with high powered computers in our pockets.  On the other hand, the amount of information has exploded in recent years. 
Some philosophers estimate that the sum total of information on planet earth doubled one time in the 1500 years between the time of Jesus and Leonardo da Vinci.  Then, it doubled again in the 200 years between da Vinci and the French Revolution.  It doubled again in the 150 years between the Revolution and the 1900’s.  Then, it doubled again in 1950, 1960, 1967 and 1973.  Today, it is estimated that information doubles every 18 months![1]
As information has exploded, it has also become easier for us to access that information through books and the Internet.  But, has the information explosion made us smarter?  I suggest that we have an abundance of knowledge but a shortage of wisdom.  There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge is about information.  Wisdom is about taking that information and applying it in practical ways.
A good example of the difference between knowledge and wisdom can be found in the novel / movie, Jurassic Park.  The plot involves a group of scientists who have the knowledge to clone dinosaurs from blood found in prehistoric mosquitoes.  They were smart enough to figure out how to clone dinosaurs.  Yet, they lacked the wisdom to know that the dinosaurs would eat them by the end of the movie.  It is possible to have a lot of knowledge but to apply that knowledge in ways that are not wise.
Wisdom is a significant theme in the Old Testament.  There are even books of the Old Testament which are referred to as Wisdom Literature.  This Old Testament Wisdom Tradition is usually associated with King Solomon, whom Jewish people consider the wisest man who ever lived.


1 Kings 3: 1 – 15.

Verses 1 – 3 give us a foreshadowing of Solomon’s life.  All of his accomplishments and his failures are summed up.  Solomon was known for his building projects.  He built a beautiful palace for himself, a wall around the city of Jerusalem and a Temple for the LORD of Israel.  He was able to accomplish these lavish building projects, because he was the king during a peaceful time.  Of course, Solomon was largely responsible for these peaceful times.  He made peace treaties with the surrounding kings by marrying their daughters.  These marriages were strategic, because the foreign kings did not want to go to war against their son-in-law.  But, these marriages also led to Solomon’s downfall.
Solomon’s foreign wives brought their foreign gods with them to Israel.  Solomon not only allowed his wives to worship foreign gods, he also allowed his wives to dilute his worship and allegiance to the One True God of Israel.
So, at the very beginning of this Scripture, we are able to see Solomon at his best and at his worst.  This is a remarkable fact about both the Bible and the kinds of people God chooses to do his work in the world.  The Bible presents our heroes as flawed heroes.  We read about their successes and their failures.  AND, God chooses ordinary people to accomplish his work.  God is not looking for perfect people.  God is looking for people like Solomon…people like me…people like you…
I believe this is the way God prefers to work in the world.  If God used perfect people, then we might be tempted to focus on the person rather than the God who is using them to accomplish his work.  If I thought I was perfect, I would be tempted to take all the credit for myself, rather than giving God the credit and the glory for using me and allowing me to serve a small part of God’s plans in the world.


God’s Offer
The Scripture tells us that Solomon was offering sacrifices at the altar in Gibeon.  If there had been a Temple in Jerusalem, this would not have been an acceptable place to sacrifice.  However, the Book of Chronicles tells us that the Tabernacle used by the Hebrew people in their Wilderness Wanderings finally settled at Gibeon.  Therefore, we can assume Solomon was probably offering sacrifices on the altar Moses built in the wilderness, and that Solomon was worshipping God at the holiest place in the land.
After the sacrifices, Solomon went to sleep and had a dream.  It is possible that Solomon went to sleep in the Tabernacle.  There was an ancient practice known as “incubation,” where a worshipper would offer sacrifices and pray to God for an answer.  Then, they would sleep in the church in hopes that God would speak to them in their dreams.  (Perhaps that is why some of our folks go to sleep in church.  They are hoping God will speak to them in their dreams.  Actually, I think God is speaking to you in your sleep right now, saying WAKE UP.)
God showed up in Solomon’s dream and offered him carte blanche.  Solomon could ask God for anything he wanted…anything he thought he might lack as he began his rule as the King of Israel.
In some ways, we can think of this as a God’s way of testing Solomon to see what kind of king he wanted to be.  In the ancient world, kings were known for their extravagant wealth and absolute power over their people.  At this point, Solomon did not have wealth.  And, there was some doubt about whether or not the kingdom would hold together.  So God is offering Solomon a choice about what kind of king he wants to be.  Does he want to be a king of glory, who focuses on his own wealth and power?  Or, does Solomon want to be a servant king, who puts the welfare of God’s people first?
Solomon’s rise to power was a brutal and bloody story.  He had his own brother executed, because Adonijah tried to become king instead of Solomon.  Then, he had Abiathar the priest exiled and executed David’s military leader, Joab.  It was beginning to look like Solomon would become a brutal tyrant.
We expect Solomon to ask for wealth to prove to his kingdom what a great man he is.  We expect Solomon to ask for his enemies to die—at least the enemies he hasn’t already killed.  We expect Solomon to ask for the kind of honor and respect a king deserves.  But, that is not what he asks for.  In fact, Solomon surprises us with his request…
What do you think you would ask for?  This is like the American dream.  I’ve always heard people say that the America dream is to work hard and make a better life for yourself than your parents and grandparents had.  But, that has not been my experience.  In my experience, the American dream is getting something for nothing.  Finding a Genie in a bottle or having God show up in your dream and tell you that you can have anything you want without ever working for it.  So, what would you ask God for?  Money?  Power?  Fame?
The fact is we know what we would ask God for, because we know what our prayers sound like.  We pray about health and finances.  We pray for protection for ourselves and for our children—even when we know we are making poor decisions, we pray for God to protect us from the consequences of our decisions.  Our prayers tend to be very selfish prayers.


Solomon’s Prayer
Solomon’s prayer doesn’t sound very much like our prayers.  It was not a selfish prayer.  And, it can serve as a model for the way we ought to approach God in prayer.
First, Solomon began his prayer by praising God for God’s faithfulness to his father David.  God took care of David, and God made a promise to David.  God promised that David would always have a son to serve as king over God’s people.
Then, Solomon praised God for being faithful to him.  Solomon knew that his kingship was the natural result of God’s faithfulness.  God made a promise to David.  God kept his promise by allowing Solomon to become the king.
Then, Solomon approached God in humility.  He referred to himself as God’s servant and as nothing more than a “little child.”
We believe that Solomon would have been in his twenties at this point.  He was not a “little child”—notice that he had already married the Pharaoh’s daughter.  But, Solomon recognized that he was wholly inadequate for the job God had placed him in.  Solomon was to serve as the leader of God’s people.  He was stepping in to fill the shoes of his father, David.  But, he was also taking the job once held by heroes like Abraham, Moses and Samuel.
Solomon did not begin his reign as king as an arrogant young man who thought he could do a better job than his father.  He began by feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility and recognizing that he was inadequate for the task.  Therefore, Solomon asked God for wisdom.
Technically speaking, Solomon never asked for wisdom.  The New International Version says he asked for a “discerning heart.”  Literally, he asked for a “hearing heart.”  This is important for a couple of reasons.  First, it tells us something about the Hebrew understanding of discernment.  While we typically speak about discernment as a function of our eyes—to see clearly—the Hebrews spoke about it as a function of the ears—to hear clearly.  Secondly, the Hebrew word for “hear” is very closely related to the word for “obey.”  So, we can translate Solomon’s request either as a “hearing heart” or an “obeying heart.”
Theologically speaking, this should immediately make us think of God and the way God has revealed himself to his people.  God never revealed himself through images.  Instead, God warned his people against images.  God revealed himself through his word.  God spoke to Moses, and Moses spoke to God’s people.  God spoke to the prophets, and the prophets spoke to God’s people.  And God’s Word has been handed down to us in the form of the Bible.
On a practical level, we can apply this to our modern lives by saying that the person who obeys is the only person who truly hears.  It is not enough to simply hear God’s Word and then do nothing about it.  Hearing must lead us to obedience.  We can think of this in terms of communication.  How many times do you have to communicate the same message before that message is received and acted on?  I have no statistics on this, but experience tells me it takes more than just one time for someone to receive the message you communicate.  Or, we could think of this in terms of reading and studying the Bible.  Hearing God’s Word read and preached in worship is not enough.  Reading the Bible at home is not enough.  Studying the Bible in Sunday School of small groups is not enough.  We never truly hear God until we begin to obey and live out the message God has given us.


God’s Answer
God answered Solomon’s prayer by giving Solomon what he asked for (a hearing and obedient heart) and by giving him what he did not ask for (wealth and honor).
I can think of two ways to misread this Bible story.  When I was a kid, I thought the point of the story was “if you don’t ask God for money, God will give you money anyway.”  It’s a way to manipulate God and get what you want out of him.  The other way is to think this promotes a “health and wealth” or “prosperity gospel” point of view.  To say that God will make every believer wealthy.  No.  The point is that when God is your priority, God will meet your needs better than you could have ever imagined.
Solomon was famous in the ancient world (and continues to be famous in the Jewish world) for his wisdom and his wealth.  This Scripture tells us how Solomon became wise and wealthy.  Both his wisdom and his wealth were gifts from God
While Solomon never actually used the word “wisdom” in his request, God did use the word “wise” in his answer.  In verse 12, God told Solomon that he would give him a “wise and discerning heart.”  Or, a “wise and obedient heart.”
If Solomon asked for a “hearing and obedient heart,” then God makes the connection between wisdom and obedience.
This is like the difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Knowledge is about cramming as much information in your brain as possible.  Wisdom is taking that knowledge and using it in practical ways.  Theologically speaking, it is possible to have your brain filled with all the knowledge of the Bible but to waste that knowledge by never applying it to your daily life.  True wisdom involves hearing from God and obeying God’s Word.


Conclusion
Wisdom is an important theme in the life of Solomon and in the Old Testament.  But, wisdom also shows up in the New Testament.

James 1: 5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Since we believe the Book of James was written by James, the brother of Jesus; and since we know from the Book of Acts that James was the leader of the Jerusalem church and lived as a Jewish Christian (a practicing Jew who accepted Jesus as the Messiah); then it is no stretch to say that James understood wisdom as hearing and obeying the Word of God.
We can also say that James teaches us that wisdom is one of those prayer requests that God wants to give us.  All we have to do is ask.
But be careful what you pray for.  God wants to answer this prayer.  And this is one of those prayers that will change the way you live your life Sunday through Saturday.  When we ask God to give us a “hearing and obedient heart,” we are asking God to help us listen as the Bible is read and preached in worship.  We are asking God to show up and speak to us in our Sunday School and small group Bible study.  We are even asking God to speak to us through daily Bible reading.  We are asking God to help us to obey his Word by loving our neighbors, forgiving our enemies, sharing our faith with the lost, and serving people in need.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Christlike Mission


Christlike Mission
John 20: 21

Introduction
In May of this year, I was contacted by Vanessa Solis.  She is a college student and a member of our Hispanic mission church, La Casa del Alfarero (The Potter’s House).
Back in the fall semester, Vanessa applied to be a summer missionary to Venezuela with Go Now Missions (a ministry of the collegiate ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas—we used to call this BSU summer missions).  Vanessa was not selected back in the fall.  I’m sure she was disappointed, because she wanted to go to Venezuela.  In May, the BGCT contacted Vanessa to tell her that one of the students on the Venezuela team could not go.  They wanted to know if Vanessa still wanted to go.  She did want to go, but she had a problem.  She had only three weeks to raise $3,200 and fly to Venezuela.
When Vanessa and I discussed how to raise the money for her trip, I shared some advice I received from my friend, Mary Carpenter, who teaches missions at Howard Payne University.  Mary tells her students to send letters to their friends and family members to describe the mission trip and to ask for their prayers and financial support.  Mary gives this advice to all students, even if they already have the financial resources to pay for the trip without any help from others.  The reason you should ask people for support is because there are people in our churches who cannot travel to places like Venezuela but want to participate in missions.  If you don’t ask for money, you are robbing other people of the blessing of participating in missions.
So, I told our missions committee about Vanessa’s need.  Then, I told our church members who attend the Wednesday night prayer meeting.  Vanessa sent letters to friends and family members…And, the money came in.  God provided for her trip.  God used our church to share the Gospel with children in Venezuela.
This is one of the things I truly love about our church!  We have a long history of missions giving and missions participation.  And, that heart for missions continues up to today.  Let me give you three examples…
On Wednesday night, our youth group went on a mission trip to Lufkin.  Walker brought in adults to drive cars and divided the youth into five groups.  Each group was given $20 cash and the assignment to go out and minister to others in Jesus’ name.  The youth could do anything they thought of as a group. One group went to the choir room and raised a total of $111 and bought school supplies for a girl and boy and then found a boy and girl to give it to. Another group visited people in a nursing home.  Another group took flowers to people in the hospital. Another group bought a school uniform and underwear for a child. And one group bought items for a homeless lady and straightened up her camp site.
On Saturday morning, 74 people from our church met in the Family Life Center to package 10,000 meals to send to Ethiopia.  Currently there is a famine taking place in the Horn of Africa.  Every four weeks, 29,000 children in the Horn of Africa die of hunger or hunger related diseases.  So, some East Texas Baptist churches have formed an organization called Meals 4 Multitudes (http://www.facebook.com/Meals4Multitudes) to send 500,000 meals to be distributed by Ethiopian churches.  The meals actually taste pretty good.  We cooked some yesterday and tasted it.  We packaged dehydrated vitamins, vegetables and protein.  Once those packages arrive in Ethiopia, we will purchase rice and chick peas from Ethiopian farmers to add to our packages.  (This is the way they are accustomed to eating their meals, and purchasing rice and chick peas in Ethiopia stimulates the local economies.)
On September 22, one of our church members—Scott Foster—is going with a group of Lufkin folks to plant a church in a village in Peru.  Scott has been leading the worship over at Fairview Baptist Church.  The pastor at Fairview has been going to Peru for years and has developed a relationship with a Southern Baptist missionary there. Scott’s group will go into a small mountain village called Mena in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The village is approximately 800 in population. There are no other churches at all in the village. There is no running water or electricity and the village is mainly made up of poor Peruvians who have migrated to this area from Lima. This region was long considered uninhabitable because of the tough terrain and lack of measurable rainfall. It should be a challenge, so please pray for the team and for the people of this area.  Our missions committee has agreed to help Scott with the cost of the mission trip.  But, Scott is also a small business owner.  So, this trip means he will have to shut down his business while he is away.  So, remember what I said about sharing the blessing of missions by allowing other people to participate?  God may be calling you to participate in Scott’s trip by supporting him financially.
Why do we take missions so seriously as a church?  Really, it comes down to one reality.  Jesus has called us to participate in missions.  We could even go one step farther and say Jesus EXPECTS all of us to be engaged in missions—local missions, missions across Texas and the United States, and missions around the world.


John 20: 21, "Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you (NIV).'"

In some ways, I think this Scripture can be described as John’s version of the Great Commission.  We usually think of the Great Commission as Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he ascended into Heaven (Matthew 28: 19 – 20).  In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus giving his disciples their mission on the first Easter Sunday, immediately after his first resurrection appearance.  I don’t consider this a contradiction.  Instead, I think mission was so important to Jesus that he probably talked about it more than just once.
There may also be something else at work in this Scripture.  If we remember the context of Jesus’ words here, we remember that the disciples were hiding behind locked doors.  John tells us the disciples were afraid of the Jews.  After all, Jesus got into conflict with the Jewish leaders, and they began to plot against Jesus.  They found one of Jesus’ disciples who was willing to betray Jesus and hand him over to them.  The Jewish religious leaders then handed Jesus over to the Roman political leaders and accused Jesus of leading a rebellion against Rome.  So, the disciples were hiding…Because they didn’t want to be crucified.
The more I think about what was going on, the more I realize how much this truly applies to you and me.  All of the Christians were gathered in one room.  They had separated themselves from the rest of the world.  And, they probably had no intention of ever leaving that room.  That’s why Jesus had to send them.  They were satisfied to stay right there, enjoying Christian worship and relationships with other Christians.  So, Jesus came to them and said, get out of the church building and go out into the world.  Jesus is sending us just as much as he was sending his disciples.  We have to get out of the church building.


Peace Be with You
I like the way Jesus introduced himself to his disciples.  John tells us they had hidden out of fear.  The doors were locked, and no one knew where they were.  Then, all of a sudden Jesus walked into a locked room.  I think it is safe to assume that when they saw Jesus, they went from fear to terror.  So, Jesus first had to calm their fears.
This same kind of thing happens in New Testament stories of when angels appear.  The angel shows up unexpectedly.  The person who sees the angel is terrified.  So, the angel introduces himself by saying, “Do not be afraid…”  Jesus didn’t say, “Do not be afraid…”  Jesus said, “Peace to you…”
Only Jesus can give us Peace.  Angels cannot give us peace.  Presidents and governors and kings cannot give us peace.  Even our closest friends and family members cannot give us peace.  Peace only comes from Jesus.
Perhaps Jesus’ understanding of Peace came from his Jewish upbringing.  If so, then Jesus would have been thinking about the Hebrew word “shalom.”  One way to translate the word “shalom” is to use the English word “peace.”  However, “shalom” means more than that.  Shalom means a state of being whole or complete.  Peace is the result of being made complete.  In this sense, peace does not refer to the absence of conflict.  Peace is the presence of God which makes us whole.  Without the presence of God, we are incomplete and experience the conflicts and brokenness of life.  With the presence of God, we are complete and experience the resulting peace—a peace that passes all human understanding.


As the Father Has Sent Me
The presence of Jesus is an important part of what it means to be sent. 

John 8: 29, “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him (NIV).”

Jesus is sending you and me in the same way Jesus was sent by his Father in Heaven.  If God did not leave Jesus alone on his mission, then Jesus will not leave us alone either.  In fact, Jesus promised us that after Jesus goes back to be with the Father in Heaven, God would send the Holy Spirit so that we would never be alone.  God sent Jesus to show us the mission we are supposed to accomplish.  God sent the Holy Spirit to be present with us and to be our source of Power to accomplish our mission.
One of our favorite verses in the Gospel of John describes the purpose for which God sent Jesus into the world.

John 3: 16 – 17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (NIV).”


Jesus is eternal and preexistent.  There has never been a time when Jesus was not.  He was present with the Father before, during and after the creation (John 1: 1).  Therefore, in order for God to give his One and Only Son, he had to be sent from Heaven to earth.
The theological term for this is the Incarnation, which means “in the flesh.”  Jesus came to earth, because God sent him to be God “in the flesh.”  The life of Jesus reveals to us the Glory and character of God.
It is significant that John 3: 16 tells us that the Incarnation was motivated by God’s love for the world.  God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus to reveal the Glory and character of God.
Since Jesus says he is sending us “just as” the Father sent him, we should agree that our mission is a mission to the world.  We are not supposed to stay in the church.  We are not to spend all of our time around Christian friends.  Our mission is to be an Incarnational mission—to live out the love of God among people who do not know God.
I am just as guilty of this as anyone in church today.  As a pastor, I have discovered that I can spend an entire week surrounded by people who are all Christian people.  But that does not reflect the way Jesus spent his time.  Jesus came to share the message of God’s love and God’s Kingdom with sinners and non-Christians.
Perhaps it is time for us to sit down with some of our friends and have a talk.  “It’s not you.  It’s me.  I have discovered that my friends are too good.  It’s time for me to find some new friends.”  Or, perhaps it’s time we started paying more attention to the acquaintances God has placed in our lives—neighbors, classmates, people at work, etc.  If God has placed these people in our lives, then we are supposed to Incarnate the love and salvation God has shown us in Jesus.


I Am Sending You
This is not the first time Jesus has told us that God sent him.  In fact, sending is an important theme running throughout the Gospel of John.  John uses two different Greek words which we translate as “send” or “sent” or “sending.”  The Greek word apostello appears 28 times in John 1 – 20.  The Greek word pempo appears 32 times in John 1 – 20.  Therefore, we encounter some form of the English word “send” 60 times in the Gospel of John.  That is pretty significant.
In fact, I think we can make a case that the Gospel of John begins and ends with sending.  In John 1, we read that Jesus is the Light that leads all humanity.  Then, we read John 1: 6…

John 1: 6 – 9, “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (NIV).”

Then, the sending theme ends with the Scripture we read this morning, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  The Gospel doesn’t end with these words.  BUT, this is the last time the word “Send” appears in John.  This leads me to believe two things.
First, this is what all John’s talk about sending has been leading up to.  God sent John the Baptist to testify about the Light.  God sent Jesus to be our savior.  God sent the Holy Spirit to be our source of strength and power.  God is sending us.
Second, notice that Jesus said, “I am sending you.”  This sending is not a one time event.  Instead, it is continuous and ongoing.  Jesus sent the disciples.  Jesus sent the early Christians.  Jesus sent the Christians of the Nineteenth Century.  Jesus is still sending us today.


Conclusion
For the past several weeks, we have been talking about what it means to imitate Jesus.  In some ways, this is like physical exercise.  I can think of three reasons why people exercise.  Some people exercise, because their doctor told them to lose weight and get healthier.  Some people exercise, because they want to look good (or perhaps stop buying bigger clothes).  But, there are some people who exercise to prepare for something.  They prepare to run a marathon, or they prepare for their jobs—professional athletes, police officers and firemen.
Jesus is our model for humility; our model for service; our model for love; our model for endurance; and Jesus is our model for mission.  But, we do not imitate Jesus so that we can just look good.  It is so that we can enter into the world and tell others about God’s love and salvation.  Serving others is important, but it is incomplete if we never talk about Jesus and salvation.

Sunday, August 05, 2012

Christlike Endurance


Christlike Endurance
1 Peter 2: 13 – 25.

Introduction
I promise this sermon will not be about Chick-fil-A or even about traditional marriage.  I selected this Scripture and topic weeks ago before Chick-fil-A ever appeared in the daily news cycle.  However, the events of the past week have given me a reason to stop and think about what it means to be a Christian—a follower of Jesus Christ as Lord.
(In the spirit of full disclosure, I gave a brief interview with the Lufkin Daily News about Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.  I made two statements about what has been going on in the media.  First, I said that since Chick-fil-A is a privately held business with no connection to any government entity and no public shareholders, the Cathy family has the right to voice their own opinions and to donate money to any organization they support.  In fact, I find it rather hypocritical that people who speak up in the name of tolerance are so intolerant of opinions different from their own.  Second, I made a statement about traditional marriage.  Marriage was not invented by the state and was not invented by the church.  Marriage was not invented by anyone.  Marriage was created by God in Genesis 2: 24, “For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh (NIV).”  Also, my family ate at Chick-fil-A for lunch on Wednesday.)
On Thursday, Chick-fil-A made a statement that Wednesday had been a record breaking day of sales. On Wednesday, I saw pictures on the Internet of crowded restaurants and people lined up on the outside of restaurants all over the nation.  Mike Huckabee issued a challenge and people responded.
I went to bed Wednesday night thinking about Mike Huckabee’s challenge and the overwhelming response.  My first thought was that Huckabee found a simple way for people to express their views.  It was simple and practical—Go to Chick-fil-A and spend money to eat at their restaurant.  Perhaps this is something pastors and churches should do to help people express their faith and to live out their discipleship.  Perhaps we need simple and practical ways to express faith and live out discipleship.
Then, I remembered something Jesus said about discipleship…

Mark 8: 34, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (NIV).”

Jesus’ call to discipleship is not simple, but it is practical.  Deny yourself probably means to make a sacrifice for the sake of other people.  It probably means Christian disciples are supposed to put our own needs behind the needs of others and to live for others.  Take up your cross is an obvious reference to suffering.  Jesus is telling us that we must be willing to sacrifice and to suffer as a result of our faith in Jesus.  Follow me probably has multiple meanings.  On one hand, it means to live with Jesus as your leader and guide—to seek Jesus’ wisdom and will for your life before making any decision.  On the other hand, following Jesus can also mean that our lives are to reflect the kind of life Jesus modeled for us in his earthly life.  Jesus demonstrated a life of humility, a life of service, a life of love, and a life of endurance in the face of suffering.
Some people ate at Chick-fil-A on Wednesday as a positive way to support Dan Cathy’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech.  Some people did this as a positive way to support all of our First Amendment right to religious liberty.  But other people did this as a negative protest against homosexuality or against homosexual individuals.
As Christians, we are called to be followers of Jesus.  As followers of Jesus, our external actions matter.  But our internal attitudes and motivations are just as important.  We need to ask ourselves: Do our actions reflect the actions of Jesus?  And, do our internal attitudes and motivations reflect the humility, service, and love of Jesus?
Today, we continue to talk about being imitators of Jesus by turning our attention to the suffering of Jesus.

1 Peter 2: 13 – 25.
More than likely, the Book of 1 Peter was written by the Apostle Peter.  Peter had been one of Jesus’ closest followers in the Gospels.  In the Book of Acts, Peter became an impassioned preacher of the Gospel message.  He primarily preached to Jews about accepting Jesus as the fulfillment of all their hopes for a Messiah.  But, Peter was the first to cross over racial boundaries and share his faith with a Gentile named Cornelius.
Based on what Peter wrote in the opening verses of 1Peter, we believe this book of the Bible was a letter Peter wrote to a series of churches in Central Asia—the modern day nation of Turkey.  He was not writing to them about how to become Christians.  He was writing to them about how to express their faith and live out their discipleship in a secular culture which was hostile to both the Gospel message and to Christian disciples.
The section we read this morning fits into a First Century literary form knwn as “household codes.”  There are examples of household codes in other New Testament books and examples in secular literature.  Household codes were written as a way to protect the social order by making sure the inferior members of the First Century household knew their place and remained in their place.  Men were the recognized heads of the ancient household and were to keep their wives, children and slaves in line.
The Christian household codes we find in the New Testament (Ephesians 5 – 6; Colossians 3 and 1 Peter 2 – 3) were revolutionary in the First Century world.  Christian household codes did not tell the men to keep their wives, children and slaves in line.  Instead they offered instructions to wives and husbands, children and parents (both fathers and mothers), slaves and slave owners.  This was revolutionary, because they address wives, children and slaves as human beings.  The Bible emphasizes their status as free human beings and not as the property of their husband, father or master.
Imagine that.  Peter is telling slaves that they have a choice about how they will relate to and respond to their masters.
My usual way of interpreting the biblical household codes about slavery is to try to apply it to modern day employment.  Modern day employees should work hard for their employers as if they are working for Christ.  But there is a better way to interpret this passage.

Slaves of God
Verse 18 is clearly addressed to Christian slaves who are members of the church.  Verse 19 could be interpreted in the same way, except that Peter does not mention slaves.  He does not say, “It is commendable if a slave bears up under the pain of unjust suffering.”  Instead, he said, “It is commendable if SOMEONE bears up under the pain of unjust suffering.”
I believe this is supposed to remind us of Peter’s instructions in verse 16: “Live as free men (and women), but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as slaves of God (NIV).”  If this is true, then Peter’s instructions to Christian slaves ought to be understood as instructions to all Christians, because we are all slaves of God.
According to Peter, all Christians face the same kinds of moral choices faced by Christian slaves.  As long as we live on this earth, we live as aliens and strangers here.  We have a dual citizenship.  We are citizens of the United States of America, and we are citizens of the Kingdom of God.  Most of the time, there is no conflict between our two allegiances. Our earthly authorities do not ask us to do things that contradict the desires of our heavenly authority.  As long as there are no conflicts, we are to be law-abiding citizens who freely submit ourselves to earthly authority.  But there will be times when we have to make a choice.
The Christian slave serves as an example for all Christians.  For the slave, day to day safety depended on the moods of their owner.  When the owner was happy, the slave could expect to be treated well.  But if the owner was unhappy for any reason, the laws of the land allowed the owner to mistreat or even beat his slave.  In the same way, Christians with dual citizenship experience safety as long as the king or the government is happy.
Sometimes slaves suffer as a result of their disobedience to their earthly masters.  In the ancient world masters had the authority to disciple their slaves for disobedience. There is no honor in this kind of suffering.
Sometimes Christians suffer because they have broken the laws of the land.  In all societies, government officials have the right to enforce the law.  There is no honor in breaking the law and suffering the consequences.
Peter is describing the expectations for a Christian lifestyle.  Christian discipleship is more than acknowledging an orthodox set of beliefs.  Christian discipleship makes demands on the way we live and express faith in our day to day relationships—including our relationship to government officials.
Christians have a responsibility to live as good citizens and to obey the law…as long as those laws do not contradict God’s will and God’s word.  If we face a choice between obeying the government or obeying God, we need to acknowledge two realities.  On one hand, we should obey God above all earthly authorities.  On the other hand, when we choose God over the government, we need to be prepared to face the consequences of our choice.  There is honor in suffering for doing the right thing.  There is no honor in suffering the well-deserved consequences of our actions.

Three Kinds of Suffering
Suffering is a part of what it means to live as a human.  Most suffering falls into one of three categories.
Human Suffering…  We are fallen creatures who have inherited our sinful nature and our sinful desires from the first man and woman—Adam and Eve.  Their sin affected us.  But, their sin also affected the world we live in.  Because the creation experiences the effects of sin, we have a common experience of suffering.  For example, this is the reason we experience death—including our own approaching deaths as well as the deaths of people we love.  This is the reason we have diseases like cancer and have to experience natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.  When sin entered creation through Adam and Eve, three relationships were broken.  There is no longer harmony between God and humanity; no harmony between human and human; and no harmony between humanity and creation.
The Consequences of Sin…  Sometimes we suffer the results of our own stupid choices.  When we sin, we feel the pain of broken relationships and undesired consequences.  As human beings, we have the freedom to choose between obedience and sin.  All freedoms come with responsibilities.  Just as Americans have the freedom of speech, we also have the responsibility to accept the consequences of what we say.  In the same way, we have the freedom to choose evil over good and therefore the responsibility to accept the suffering which comes as a result of our sinful choices.
Christian Suffering…  There is a kind of suffering which comes as a result of our faith and discipleship.  In the ancient world, Jewish people who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and followed Jesus as their Lord often found themselves disowned by their families and friends.  Christians in the Roman Empire were marginalized and eventually persecuted because of their faith in Jesus.  The Empire labeled Christians as atheists because they refused to worship the Roman gods.  Christians were accused of being cannibals because of the strange practice of the Lord’s Supper.  They were even labeled as unpatriotic, seditious and defiant because they were loyal to Jesus over the Caesar.
In some respects, we don’t face this kind of persecution in Twenty-First Century East Texas.  After all, in our culture it can be a good thing for business to hold membership in the right church.  It might help your business to tell people that you are a member of Lufkin’s First Baptist Church…Just don’t talk about Jesus too much.  Church membership is a good thing.  Professing to be a Christian is a good thing.  But, it seems there is a limit on how much religion is enough.  It is offensive for us to be too Christian. 
In our culture, faith can be placed on a bell-shaped curve.  If you do not profess any faith, you will have a lower quality of life—friends, family and business.  If you have a little bit of faith, your quality of life will go up and will keep going up and up until you become too Christian.  If you talk about Jesus too much, you will lose friends, family and business.  And this is exactly the kind of suffering we are called to experience.  It is more important for us to be children of God and citizens of the Kingdom of God than any other relationship.  Jesus is our model for enduring unjust, Christian suffering.

1 Peter 2: 21, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (NIV).”

Jesus’ Example in Suffering
When we look back at the life of Jesus, we discover that Jesus was neither a law breaker nor a sinner, and Jesus suffered. God has one Son without sin, but none of God’s children have ever escaped suffering.
Jesus never experienced suffering as a consequence of his sins.  However, Jesus did experience other forms of suffering.  Jesus experienced human suffering in the pain of betrayal from one of his closest followers; rejection from his own family; and grief at the death of a friend.  And, Jesus  experienced Christian suffering by being faithful to God to the very end of his earthly life.
I want you to notice that Peter says two things about the death of Jesus in this passage.  In verse 24, he tells us that Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree (cross).”  This is the aspect of the crucifixion we are most familiar and comfortable with—vicarious suffering.  Jesus accepted the punishment for our sins so that we will not have to.  But, Peter also says that Jesus suffered and died as an example for us.
Jesus didn’t suffer for doing evil.  Jesus suffered for doing good.  On one hand, Jesus did good by obeying the law.  On the other hand, Jesus did good by living for justice and righteousness.  Jesus served the needs of others by healing the sick, casting out demons and feeding the hungry.  And Jesus suffered for doing good.
Notice how Jesus endured his suffering.  “No deceit was found in his mouth.”  “He did not retaliate” to their verbal insults.  “He made no threats.”  Jesus not only refused to return violence for violence, Jesus also held his tongue.  Sadly, this is not the way most of us respond when our faith and values are under attack.  Instead of holding our tongues, we return insult for insult and end up looking more like the world than like Jesus.
If Jesus is our example, then we should expect to suffer for doing good.  If Jesus is our example, we should endure suffering by not fighting with the same means used against us.  Perhaps we can learn from some folk wisdom…If you fight with a pig, you are going to get dirty, and the pig likes it.  Or, if you fight with a skunk whether you win are lose you end up smelling like a skunk.

Conclusion
One way to think of Jesus as our example is to think of Jesus as the perfect model.  It’s like a first grader who is learning how to write the letters of the alphabet.  There is a perfect letter on the classroom wall.  The only difference is that we are incapable of making a perfect copy of Jesus’ example.  We need more than his example.  We also need his righteousness and his presence as we endure suffering of all kinds.  This is one of the promises Jesus fulfilled in his sufferings.  No matter what kind of suffering we face, Jesus is here with us.  He gives us the strength to endure and to endure without becoming like the world.