Work Versus Worship
1 Samuel 8: 1 – 22 and Colossians 3: 22 – 24.
I. Introduction.
Last Sunday, my brother and his family visited our church. After church, we drove to New Braunfels for a week of vacation. On Monday, we spent an entire day riding the water slides at Schlitterbahn with five children. At the end of the day, we were worn out! On Tuesday, we drove to San Antonio and spent the day at Sea World. By the end of the day, we were worn out. On Wednesday, we drove back to San Antonio to see everything we had missed the day before at Sea World. Then, we toured the Alamo, strolled along the River Walk and ate supper at the Rainforest Café. When we got home, we were worn out. On Thursday, we went back to Schlitterbahn to visit the two parks we had missed on Monday. Again, by the end of the day, we were worn out. On Friday, we could barely get out of bed. After a week of vacation, I am ready to get back to work!
No matter what you do for a living or what social circles you find yourself in, one thing we all have in common is the way we meet people for the first time. Typically, we ask someone, “What do you do?” We rarely ask other people who they are. We ask what they do.
There is a difference between what you do and who you are; just as there is a difference in your being and your doing. Yet, you can learn a lot about someone by asking what they do. Where a person spends their day to day working life often reveals something about that person’s experience, priorities and even their character.
The one side of being a minister that I haven’t gotten used to is the way some people respond when they first discover what I do for a living. When I meet someone for the first time, I often try to avoid talking about being a minister for as long as I can. But the inevitable question always comes up at some point in the conversation…What do you do?
It’s not that I am embarrassed to be a minister. But, I often find myself getting embarrassed for other people when they find out that I am a minister and then feel like they have to say something spiritual. Once I met a married couple at a football game. When the wife found out that I was a Baptist minister, she said, “We used to go to a Baptist church in Alabama, but we haven’t found a church in Texas.” I found out later that they had left Alabama seven years earlier.
Then there was the time that Shauna and I moved from an apartment in Waco to a duplex. She was seven months pregnant and couldn’t help move anything heavy. I asked some of the college students to help us move and had only a couple of guys respond. The night before, one of those guys called to ask if we needed any more help. He was in a fraternity and thought it would be a good idea to make the new pledges come and help his college minister move. The next morning I had 15 new pledges show up whom I had never seen before and never saw again. I was riding in the truck with one of those guys when he found out I was the college minister of First Baptist, Woodway. He said, “I go to Calvary Baptist.” I said, “I have not been here very long, but I recently had the opportunity to meet Ken Massey. He seems like a great guy.” He said, “Who is Ken Massey?” I said, “He is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church.”
In January 2006, I spent a week in Nashville with 18,000 college students from all over the world. We were challenged by John Piper, Beth Moore and Louie Giglio to declare God’s renown to the nations. But Louie made a very important point in the final session. He said that many of the 18,000 students at Passion wanted to be ministers and missionaries, but there were some students who perhaps felt guilty that God had not called them to go to the nations.
Maybe that is your story. Maybe you have heard a lot about mission and ministry, and you have gotten excited about what God is doing, but that just hasn’t been what you felt God calling you to do. Does that make your calling and direction in life less important than what other people are called to do?
Work is an important part of our lives. On one hand, work can give us a sense of dignity and importance and purpose and even a sense of satisfaction. But this brings with it a great temptation. Our work can give us a false sense of security by tempting us to become less dependent on God and more dependent on ourselves.
The story of Israel and its first king illustrates this very danger. We can become so interested in work that we begin to think that we do not need God. Our work can replace our worship.
Read 1 Samuel 8: 1 – 22.
This story gives us an important insight into human nature—Or at least it gives us a key insight into the way God has chosen to deal with human beings. God gives us freedom to choose, and the freedom to suffer the consequences for the choices we make.
Samuel’s sons chose not to follow in their father’s footsteps and obey God’s commands…This is another sermon in this passage of Scripture that I preached on Fathers’ Day a couple of years ago…Notice that Samuel is always held up as a godly example in the Bible…Nothing is ever mentioned about Samuel, criticizing him for disobedience or failing in his spiritual life…Yet, Samuel’s sons did not grow up to serve and follow and obey God…His sons had the freedom to choose not to serve God and thus had the freedom to face the consequences…Samuel was never held responsible for the disobedience of his children…
The people of Israel chose to turn their backs on God’s leadership by asking for a human king…just like the nations around them…
In the book of Exodus, we read the story of how God used Moses to release God’s people from slavery in Egypt and to lead them into the Promised Land. During their forty years in the wilderness, God made his covenant with the Hebrews and established them as a nation. This is the only nation in world history that was set up as what we call a Theocracy—meaning, “Ruled by God.” (Our nation is set up as a Democracy—meaning, “Ruled by the People.”)
Theocracy was based on one very important element…Someone has to listen to God and speak God’s will to the nation. That person was Samuel. However, when Samuel’s sons stopped listening to God and began to rebel against God, the people of Israel got concerned. They could no longer trust their priests to lead them and to show them God’s will. So they made their own choice…They asked the aging Samuel for a King…They chose to abandon the Theocracy in favor of the human system that seemed to work for all the neighboring countries.
Israel faced two choices…To do things God’s way…OR…To do things like the world around them…Ultimately, every choice comes down to the same two categories…
We know how this story eventually played out…God told Samuel to give in to the people’s wishes and anoint Saul as the first King over Israel…
And Saul started out as a great king…He was tall, good-looking, he was a real charmer, and he was a military genius…But eventually Saul’s gifts and abilities began to work to his disadvantage…He began to depend less on God and more on himself…
The first time this happened was in 1 Samuel 13…Saul was at war with the Philistines at Micmash and were greatly outnumbered…Saul and Samuel had an arrangement that Samuel would lead the army in worship and burnt offerings before every battle…This was a way of searching for God’s will and assuring that Israel’s army was fighting God’s battles and not their own…On this particular occasion, Samuel had told Saul that he would join Saul and the troops on the battlefield after seven days…However, before Samuel arrived, Saul became anxious and decided to take matters into his own hands…Instead of waiting for the priest to come and offer sacrifices, Saul offered the sacrifices himself…Samuel arrived just as Saul had finished the ritual and pronounced God’s judgment on Saul and his kingdom…
The second time this happened was in 1 Samuel 15…God had spoken to Samuel about the Amalekites…These were the same people who had “waylaid” the Israelites as they moved into the Promised Land…God had a special plan for the Amalekites…He planned to use King Saul to utterly and completely wipe them off the face of the earth…However, Saul refused to listen to the Word of the Lord as spoken by Samuel…Instead of destroying these people, Saul spared the life of their King, Agag…Instead of killing all the flocks and herds of animals, Saul kept the best animals for his own coffers…The Word of the Lord came to Samuel again, informing him that Saul had disobeyed God’s commands…So, Samuel went to Saul the next morning…As Samuel approached, Saul greeted him by describing how he had done exactly as the Lord had commanded him to do…Samuel responded, “Then why do I hear the bleating of sheep?”…So, Saul told another lie—If you lie once, you have to keep telling lies to cover all that you’ve told before… “We kept the best sheep and goats in order to offer a big sacrifice to your God.”…Once again, Samuel pronounced the Lord’s judgment on Saul and his Kingdom…
Notice how both times Saul got in trouble it was about worship…Both times were at the height of Saul’s accomplishments as King…Defeat of the Philistines and Defeat of the Amalekites…In both cases, Saul had become so self-confident and self-reliant, that he refused to listen to God and follow God’s direction…He allowed his work to replace his worship…
In some ways, this reminds me of the Experiencing God materials written by Henry Blackaby…The greatest point of that Bible study is found in the two points…God is already at work in our world…We should join God in what he is already doing…
Saul worked contrary to God’s work in the world…And refused to listen to the Word of the Lord in worship…
My favorite Pastor-Theologian is a Presbyterian minister Eugene Peterson. Peterson helped me make this connection between work and worship in his book Leap Over a Wall. He points out that God is a worker…We first see God at work Creating everything in heaven and earth…Then we see God at work Redeeming his people through Moses, the Judges, the Prophets and ultimately in Jesus…This leads us to think of our own work as making us God-like…In other words, when we are creative and doing good work it is only a small step to jump from thinking of our selves as God-like to begin thinking that we are actually god…
This is a problem that the Apostle Paul addressed in the New Testament when he gave instructions to Christian slaves…
Read Colossians 3: 22 – 24
I like to say that when we work as if we are working for the Lord Christ, our work actually becomes an expression of our worship…And then we are less likely to allow our work to stand in the way of our relationship with God…
Not every kind of work is good work that can be offered up to Christ as an act of worship…Just because you have exerted energy and draw a nice paycheck and come home feeling tired at the end of the day does NOT mean that you have done good work in the name of Jesus Christ…
II. Good Work Brings Dignity.
To bring honor to self and to other people…
Just as God values all human life, so our work ought never to devalue or to shame or to bring dishonor to any other person…
III. Good Work Gives Life.
Compare our work to God’s work in creation…
Just as God gave life in creation, so our work ought never to kill or destroy or tear apart the life of another person…
This includes destroying the life of your own family…
IV. Good Work Glorifies God.
Can you do your job in the name of Jesus Christ?…
Name is a reference to character…Can your job be done according to the character of Jesus?…Would Jesus do your job?…Or are there some things about your job that Jesus could not be comfortable with?…
V. Good Work Joins God’s Work.
God’s work is ultimately about salvation of humanity and restoring creation to its original intent…Good human work participates in God’s plan of salvation for all of creation…If you have never made the free choice to accept God’s offer of salvation, then you cannot participate in what God is doing in the world…To bring salvation to humanity and to restore creation to its original intent…
VI. Conclusion.
In France in the 1600’s, a man named Lawrence entered into a Carmelite Monastery. He was a very spiritual man, but he was not very educated. Since he was not educated, he had no hope of ever becoming a priest. Yet, he wanted to enter into the Monastery to grow closer to God.
Since Lawrence was a layman, he didn’t get one of the “cool” jobs in the Monastery. He was assigned to kitchen duty. Every morning after breakfast was served, Lawrence would go into the kitchen to wash the pots. As soon as the pots were cleaned, it was time to reuse the pots to cook lunch. Then, after lunch, Lawrence would return to his work of washing the pots. Again, as soon as the pots were cleaned, it was time to use them again to cook supper. (Does this sound familiar to anyone?) And after supper, Lawrence would once again wash the pots.
Lawrence thought that he would have more time to spend with God in the Monastery, but all his time was spent washing pots. This led Lawrence to a great spiritual discovery. Washing the pots was a way for him to spend time with God. He was not washing pots for himself, he was washing pots for others. He was not only washing pots for the Monastery, he was washing pots for God. (Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, [Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1982])
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009: Spirit Is Life
Spirit Is Life
John 14: 15 – 31.
I. Introduction.
It’s interesting how we use the phrase “to make a living.” “Making a living” is common way to describe our careers—the jobs we work in exchange for financial compensation. For some reason, we associate the word “living” with money…As if money is the most important thing in life. Yet, there is more to life than money. (At least I hope there is more to life than money.)
Ironically, it is possible for a person to become so consumed with “making a living” that there is no time left over for “life.” There simply has to be more to life than “making a living.”
Every day, husbands and wives drift farther apart, because work interferes with their relationship. Children and parents long for more time together. Friendships, church and spiritual lives get placed on the backburner. I once heard it said that no one says on their deathbed, “I wish I had spent more time at work.”
Yes. Making a living is not the most important thing in life. But, what is the meaning of life? Why are we here?
Since we are at church today, you should expect me to offer a spiritual answer to those questions. If we were at the lake, the baseball field, the soccer field, or still in the bed, perhaps we would hear a different answer.
As Christian men and women, we are supposed to be “Christ followers” before anything else…Christian first, American second…Christian first, husband or wife second…Christian first, student second. Our primary identity ought to be our relationship with Jesus. Therefore, we should describe life in terms of what Jesus has said to us. The meaning of life for Christian men and women is the meaning we find when we read the words and teachings of Jesus.
There is a unique passage of Scripture in the Gospel of John. It spans almost five chapters from John 13 – John 17. Some New Testament scholars refer to this as Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse,” since it was the final extended discourse Jesus gave to his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection.
The Farewell Discourse began immediately following the Last Supper. Jesus and his disciples observed the Passover meal on Thursday evening before Jesus was crucified on Friday. They gathered in a borrowed, upper room to share this symbolic meal together.
The scene began when the disciples discovered that they needed to wash their feet before the Passover meal. However, there was no servant present to perform the washing. So, Jesus did the unthinkable. He picked up a towel and a bowl of water to wash the feet of all twelve disciples.
The evening began in confusion…the Master serving the most basic needs of his followers. Then, the confusion grew as Jesus talked to his disciples over supper.
First, Jesus told his disciples that they would all leave him. The twelve men who had followed Jesus most closely—listening to his teaching, witnessing his miracles and going out to do the work of ministry—would all run away from Jesus in his most agonizing moment. Peter objected to Jesus’ words by saying, “Though all go away, I will never leave you.”
This is when Jesus made his second confusing statement. Even Peter will turn his back on Jesus. Not once. Not twice. But, Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times in the next few hours.
Third, Jesus dropped a bombshell on his disciples. He told them that one of them would betray him by handing him over to the Roman and Jewish officials. The Romans and Jews would beat Jesus and crucify him, but the grave would not be able to hold him. Jesus would rise from the dead in just three days.
All of this was difficult for the disciples to accept. Yet the most difficult thing Jesus said was when he told them he was about to leave them. After three years of shared ministry and life together, Jesus was going to a place where the disciples could not accompany him. Yet, in the midst of all this “bad news,” Jesus had some “good news” for his disciples. Yes, he was going away. BUT, he would come back.
There are three important theological doctrines wrapped up in Jesus’ promise that he would come back.
First, it could be a reference to the resurrection. Jesus would die an agonizing death on a Roman cross. He would be physically absent from his disciples for three days before coming back to them.
Second, it could be a reference to the Second Coming. This is a very important part of our Christian faith. Jesus died and rose again. Then, he spent forty days with his disciples, reminding of all he had done and taught them during their three years of ministry together. But, as we witnessed last week, Jesus ascended into heaven to be glorified at the right hand of his Father in heaven. Yet, as Jesus left the disciples, the two angels promised that Jesus would “come again” in the same way he had ascended.
Third, it could be a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to leave his disciples in order to send the Holy Spirit. If we read Jesus’ words about leaving and coming again in this context, we can find great hope and comfort. Jesus was offering his disciples a remedy for their confusion and stress. There is immediate help.
Read John 14: 15 – 31.
If we remember all Jesus has said about leaving and coming again, then we can find some great comfort in these words. For example, notice what Jesus said in verse 18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
These words imply that Jesus and his disciples had a very special, intimate relationship. His absence from them would leave them feeling abandoned, like a child who has lost both parents. I think the King James Version translates this with the word “desolate.” That is certainly one word to describe loneliness and abandonment, but the Greek word is actually the word “orphanos.” It is the root word for our English word “orphan.” So, Jesus literally acknowledged that his disciples would feel like “orphans” without him. BUT, Jesus was not going to allow that to happen.
The disciples would not be like orphans, because Jesus was coming again. Yet, once again, we can learn a lot from the Greek text. The Greek verb here is a present, active verb. It does NOT say that Jesus “will come” to his disciples. It says that Jesus “is coming” to his disciples. We ought to read this as, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”
Jesus is not telling his disciples to wait and hope for the Second Coming! Jesus is offering present, immediate help for his disciples. They will NEVER be left alone as orphans. You and I will NEVER be left alone as orphans. We have a present, active, immediate help in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
II. Another Counselor (verse 16 and 17a).
While we may not immediately recognize that Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit in this passage, by the end of the passage it is clear. Jesus actually used the phrase “Holy Spirit” in verse 26. However, he begins by referring to “another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.”
The phrase “another Counselor” is a very difficult phrase to translate from Greek to English. We know it is difficult by comparing the various ways it is translated in different versions of the Bible. The King James Version says “another Comforter.” The New International Version says “another Counselor.” The New American Standard Bible says “another Helper.” The New Revised Standard Version says “another Advocate.” So, which is it? Comforter, Counselor, Helper or Advocate? Truthfully, all of these are correct. But none of these is perfect.
The Greek word here is “parakletos.” John is the only New Testament author who uses the word. Paul never uses it. It shows up in the Farewell Discourse and in 1 John 2: 1. In the Farewell Discourse, it refers to the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2: 1, it refers to Jesus’ role in heaven. Jesus does for us in heaven what the Holy Spirit does for us on earth. The Holy Spirit does for us on earth what Jesus does for us in heaven.
We can derive meaning from the word “parakletos” by looking to the meanings of the two words that build it. “Para” is a preposition which means alongside. “Kaleo” is a verb which means to call. Therefore, “parakletos” literally means “one who is called to be alongside.”
We can also derive meaning from the ways “parakletos” is used in secular Greek. Outside the New Testament, “parakletos” usually refers to the defense attorney in a court of law. The defense attorney is the “one who is called to be alongside” the accused person. In this light, Jesus is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the throne of God. The Holy Spirit is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the world.
It is also worth noting here that Jesus said the Holy Spirit was “another.” In other words, the Holy Spirit is not the first one to stand alongside the disciples. Who was the first? This seems to be an obvious reference to Jesus himself. Even though Jesus is leaving his disciples, they will not be alone. A Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate just like Jesus will be with them forever.
III. You Know Him (verse 17).
In verse 17, Jesus describes a difference between his disciples and the rest of the world. This difference is evident in their relationship with the Holy Spirit. The world does not know the Holy Spirit. Followers of Jesus know the Holy Spirit.
You and I have a different understanding of knowledge than the ancient world. Our understanding of knowledge has more to do with intellect than anything else. The ancients thought of knowledge in terms of relationship. For example, think about how a person might “know God.” On one hand, you and I are tempted to think this has to do with accumulating facts and information about God. On the other hand, the ancients believed this had more to do with personal experience than intellectual data. Another example is the way we use the word “know” to describe other people. Like the question, “Do you know Andy Pittman?” If you have only heard my name or seen me shopping in Abelt’s, then you don’t know me. You have to sit down with me, experience part of my life, share time with me before you will ever know me.
By saying the Holy Spirit can be “known,” Jesus is telling us the Holy Spirit is a Person. The Holy Spirit is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is a “He,” who can be known through experience and shared life.
IV. You Will Live (verse 19).
As Jesus describes the Holy Spirit to his disciples, I see a progression taking place. In verse 16, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be “with you forever.” In verse 17, Jesus says the Holy Spirit “lives with you.” Then, again in verse 17, Jesus says the Holy Spirit “will be in you.”
The progression goes something like this…Among you…Alongside you…In you. There is a growing intimacy in the way Jesus describes the Holy Spirit…With you…Beside you…In you.
This reminds me of the story of creation in Genesis 2: 7, “(T)he LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and the man became a living being.”
Interestingly, in both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “breath” is the same as the word for “spirit.” The Hebrew word is “ruach.” The Greek word is “pneuma,” the root for English words like pneumonia and pneumatic.
In the beginning, when God created the first man, God reached down to earth and scooped up a handful of dirt. God molded that dirt into the shape of a man. But the man was not a living being until God breathed his breath into the man.
In the same way, you and I may think we are alive today, we might even “make a living” in some kind of employment…But we are not a living being until God breathes his Holy Spirit into our lives! This real living is the result of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. If Jesus never left his disciples, he could not send the Holy Spirit. If Jesus never sent the Holy Spirit, we would be lonely, desolate, orphanos…We would have no life.
V. Conclusion: Jesus Gives Peace (verse 27).
I find another progression in Jesus’ words to his disciples. First, he described a growing intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is with us, beside us and in us.
Second, Jesus described the Holy Spirit in progressive terms. In verse 17, Jesus said he was giving us “the Spirit of truth.” In verse 26, Jesus said he was giving us “the Holy Spirit.” Then, in verse 27, Jesus said he was giving us “his peace,” which is not like the peace offered by the world.
The only kind of peace the world offers is a negative peace…Peace that is the absence of conflict…Peace that comes when one side surrenders or is defeated by a stronger adversary…Peace that is maintained by military presence and diplomatic threats.
Jesus offers us a peace that is positive. Jesus’ peace does not depend on the absence of conflict, but the presence of the Holy Spirit…Peace that is not dependent on any external circumstances.
John 14: 15 – 31.
I. Introduction.
It’s interesting how we use the phrase “to make a living.” “Making a living” is common way to describe our careers—the jobs we work in exchange for financial compensation. For some reason, we associate the word “living” with money…As if money is the most important thing in life. Yet, there is more to life than money. (At least I hope there is more to life than money.)
Ironically, it is possible for a person to become so consumed with “making a living” that there is no time left over for “life.” There simply has to be more to life than “making a living.”
Every day, husbands and wives drift farther apart, because work interferes with their relationship. Children and parents long for more time together. Friendships, church and spiritual lives get placed on the backburner. I once heard it said that no one says on their deathbed, “I wish I had spent more time at work.”
Yes. Making a living is not the most important thing in life. But, what is the meaning of life? Why are we here?
Since we are at church today, you should expect me to offer a spiritual answer to those questions. If we were at the lake, the baseball field, the soccer field, or still in the bed, perhaps we would hear a different answer.
As Christian men and women, we are supposed to be “Christ followers” before anything else…Christian first, American second…Christian first, husband or wife second…Christian first, student second. Our primary identity ought to be our relationship with Jesus. Therefore, we should describe life in terms of what Jesus has said to us. The meaning of life for Christian men and women is the meaning we find when we read the words and teachings of Jesus.
There is a unique passage of Scripture in the Gospel of John. It spans almost five chapters from John 13 – John 17. Some New Testament scholars refer to this as Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse,” since it was the final extended discourse Jesus gave to his disciples before his crucifixion and resurrection.
The Farewell Discourse began immediately following the Last Supper. Jesus and his disciples observed the Passover meal on Thursday evening before Jesus was crucified on Friday. They gathered in a borrowed, upper room to share this symbolic meal together.
The scene began when the disciples discovered that they needed to wash their feet before the Passover meal. However, there was no servant present to perform the washing. So, Jesus did the unthinkable. He picked up a towel and a bowl of water to wash the feet of all twelve disciples.
The evening began in confusion…the Master serving the most basic needs of his followers. Then, the confusion grew as Jesus talked to his disciples over supper.
First, Jesus told his disciples that they would all leave him. The twelve men who had followed Jesus most closely—listening to his teaching, witnessing his miracles and going out to do the work of ministry—would all run away from Jesus in his most agonizing moment. Peter objected to Jesus’ words by saying, “Though all go away, I will never leave you.”
This is when Jesus made his second confusing statement. Even Peter will turn his back on Jesus. Not once. Not twice. But, Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times in the next few hours.
Third, Jesus dropped a bombshell on his disciples. He told them that one of them would betray him by handing him over to the Roman and Jewish officials. The Romans and Jews would beat Jesus and crucify him, but the grave would not be able to hold him. Jesus would rise from the dead in just three days.
All of this was difficult for the disciples to accept. Yet the most difficult thing Jesus said was when he told them he was about to leave them. After three years of shared ministry and life together, Jesus was going to a place where the disciples could not accompany him. Yet, in the midst of all this “bad news,” Jesus had some “good news” for his disciples. Yes, he was going away. BUT, he would come back.
There are three important theological doctrines wrapped up in Jesus’ promise that he would come back.
First, it could be a reference to the resurrection. Jesus would die an agonizing death on a Roman cross. He would be physically absent from his disciples for three days before coming back to them.
Second, it could be a reference to the Second Coming. This is a very important part of our Christian faith. Jesus died and rose again. Then, he spent forty days with his disciples, reminding of all he had done and taught them during their three years of ministry together. But, as we witnessed last week, Jesus ascended into heaven to be glorified at the right hand of his Father in heaven. Yet, as Jesus left the disciples, the two angels promised that Jesus would “come again” in the same way he had ascended.
Third, it could be a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to leave his disciples in order to send the Holy Spirit. If we read Jesus’ words about leaving and coming again in this context, we can find great hope and comfort. Jesus was offering his disciples a remedy for their confusion and stress. There is immediate help.
Read John 14: 15 – 31.
If we remember all Jesus has said about leaving and coming again, then we can find some great comfort in these words. For example, notice what Jesus said in verse 18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
These words imply that Jesus and his disciples had a very special, intimate relationship. His absence from them would leave them feeling abandoned, like a child who has lost both parents. I think the King James Version translates this with the word “desolate.” That is certainly one word to describe loneliness and abandonment, but the Greek word is actually the word “orphanos.” It is the root word for our English word “orphan.” So, Jesus literally acknowledged that his disciples would feel like “orphans” without him. BUT, Jesus was not going to allow that to happen.
The disciples would not be like orphans, because Jesus was coming again. Yet, once again, we can learn a lot from the Greek text. The Greek verb here is a present, active verb. It does NOT say that Jesus “will come” to his disciples. It says that Jesus “is coming” to his disciples. We ought to read this as, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”
Jesus is not telling his disciples to wait and hope for the Second Coming! Jesus is offering present, immediate help for his disciples. They will NEVER be left alone as orphans. You and I will NEVER be left alone as orphans. We have a present, active, immediate help in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
II. Another Counselor (verse 16 and 17a).
While we may not immediately recognize that Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit in this passage, by the end of the passage it is clear. Jesus actually used the phrase “Holy Spirit” in verse 26. However, he begins by referring to “another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.”
The phrase “another Counselor” is a very difficult phrase to translate from Greek to English. We know it is difficult by comparing the various ways it is translated in different versions of the Bible. The King James Version says “another Comforter.” The New International Version says “another Counselor.” The New American Standard Bible says “another Helper.” The New Revised Standard Version says “another Advocate.” So, which is it? Comforter, Counselor, Helper or Advocate? Truthfully, all of these are correct. But none of these is perfect.
The Greek word here is “parakletos.” John is the only New Testament author who uses the word. Paul never uses it. It shows up in the Farewell Discourse and in 1 John 2: 1. In the Farewell Discourse, it refers to the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2: 1, it refers to Jesus’ role in heaven. Jesus does for us in heaven what the Holy Spirit does for us on earth. The Holy Spirit does for us on earth what Jesus does for us in heaven.
We can derive meaning from the word “parakletos” by looking to the meanings of the two words that build it. “Para” is a preposition which means alongside. “Kaleo” is a verb which means to call. Therefore, “parakletos” literally means “one who is called to be alongside.”
We can also derive meaning from the ways “parakletos” is used in secular Greek. Outside the New Testament, “parakletos” usually refers to the defense attorney in a court of law. The defense attorney is the “one who is called to be alongside” the accused person. In this light, Jesus is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the throne of God. The Holy Spirit is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the world.
It is also worth noting here that Jesus said the Holy Spirit was “another.” In other words, the Holy Spirit is not the first one to stand alongside the disciples. Who was the first? This seems to be an obvious reference to Jesus himself. Even though Jesus is leaving his disciples, they will not be alone. A Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate just like Jesus will be with them forever.
III. You Know Him (verse 17).
In verse 17, Jesus describes a difference between his disciples and the rest of the world. This difference is evident in their relationship with the Holy Spirit. The world does not know the Holy Spirit. Followers of Jesus know the Holy Spirit.
You and I have a different understanding of knowledge than the ancient world. Our understanding of knowledge has more to do with intellect than anything else. The ancients thought of knowledge in terms of relationship. For example, think about how a person might “know God.” On one hand, you and I are tempted to think this has to do with accumulating facts and information about God. On the other hand, the ancients believed this had more to do with personal experience than intellectual data. Another example is the way we use the word “know” to describe other people. Like the question, “Do you know Andy Pittman?” If you have only heard my name or seen me shopping in Abelt’s, then you don’t know me. You have to sit down with me, experience part of my life, share time with me before you will ever know me.
By saying the Holy Spirit can be “known,” Jesus is telling us the Holy Spirit is a Person. The Holy Spirit is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is a “He,” who can be known through experience and shared life.
IV. You Will Live (verse 19).
As Jesus describes the Holy Spirit to his disciples, I see a progression taking place. In verse 16, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will be “with you forever.” In verse 17, Jesus says the Holy Spirit “lives with you.” Then, again in verse 17, Jesus says the Holy Spirit “will be in you.”
The progression goes something like this…Among you…Alongside you…In you. There is a growing intimacy in the way Jesus describes the Holy Spirit…With you…Beside you…In you.
This reminds me of the story of creation in Genesis 2: 7, “(T)he LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and the man became a living being.”
Interestingly, in both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “breath” is the same as the word for “spirit.” The Hebrew word is “ruach.” The Greek word is “pneuma,” the root for English words like pneumonia and pneumatic.
In the beginning, when God created the first man, God reached down to earth and scooped up a handful of dirt. God molded that dirt into the shape of a man. But the man was not a living being until God breathed his breath into the man.
In the same way, you and I may think we are alive today, we might even “make a living” in some kind of employment…But we are not a living being until God breathes his Holy Spirit into our lives! This real living is the result of the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. If Jesus never left his disciples, he could not send the Holy Spirit. If Jesus never sent the Holy Spirit, we would be lonely, desolate, orphanos…We would have no life.
V. Conclusion: Jesus Gives Peace (verse 27).
I find another progression in Jesus’ words to his disciples. First, he described a growing intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is with us, beside us and in us.
Second, Jesus described the Holy Spirit in progressive terms. In verse 17, Jesus said he was giving us “the Spirit of truth.” In verse 26, Jesus said he was giving us “the Holy Spirit.” Then, in verse 27, Jesus said he was giving us “his peace,” which is not like the peace offered by the world.
The only kind of peace the world offers is a negative peace…Peace that is the absence of conflict…Peace that comes when one side surrenders or is defeated by a stronger adversary…Peace that is maintained by military presence and diplomatic threats.
Jesus offers us a peace that is positive. Jesus’ peace does not depend on the absence of conflict, but the presence of the Holy Spirit…Peace that is not dependent on any external circumstances.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009: Jesus' Call to Remember
Jesus’ Call to Remember
Luke 24: 44 – 53 and Acts 1: 1 – 11.
I. Introduction.
Remembering is what this Memorial Day is all about. I’m sure it is not news to you that tomorrow is Memorial Day—the first three day weekend of the summer. But, did you know that Memorial Day was originally established as a day to bring healing to Americans who had been divided by the Civil War?
Decorating the graves of soldiers who had lost their lives in the Civil War was supposed to bring us all together. It didn’t matter whether the soldier had fought for the Union or the Confederacy, this was a day to honor all those who had died in the War. Mourning the dead and decorating their graves could heal the nation’s wounds.
After World War 1, Decoration Day became Memorial Day. It is no longer a time to single out those who died in the Civil War. Now, it is a time to remember all those who died while serving in any branch of the United States military. Yet, somewhere along the way, we forgot what we were supposed to remember!
Most people will enjoy the long weekend without pausing to remember the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who died. Most people will celebrate the beginning of summer. Most people will associate Memorial Day with the day to wear their white shoes or with the day when the public pools open for summer. Somewhere along the way, we forgot what we were supposed to remember.
However, today is not Memorial Day. Today is the day before Memorial Day. Since Memorial Day is always a Monday, this also means today is Sunday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. The day Christian men and women gather to worship. We worship on Sunday morning—and not on Friday evening, like the Jews—because Sunday morning is when our Lord rose from the grave.
It’s on days like today when we face a great temptation. We are tempted to forget what we are supposed to remember. Just as many people have forgotten the original purpose of Memorial Day; it is possible for us to forget the original purpose of the Lord’s Day.
Today is a special Lord’s Day. Not only is today the day of the week we have set aside to worship the resurrected Jesus; it is also the day Christians all over the world remember the day Jesus ascended into heaven.
Easter Sunday was on April 12 this year, and Thursday was exactly 40 days after Easter Sunday. That makes Thursday Ascension Day and today Ascension Sunday.
During the week, I read the last several chapters of all four Gospels. I started reading at the resurrection and read through the end of the books. I find it interesting that Luke is the only Gospel who tells us about the ascension of Jesus. This is even more interesting (perhaps only to me) when we notice that the ascension of Jesus appears in one other place in the New Testament: Acts 1. It’s interesting, because Luke was the author of both accounts of the ascension. Let’s read both of these accounts and discover what the ascension has to say to us.
Read Luke 24: 44 – 53.
Luke 24 is the only chapter Luke devotes to several important theological events: the resurrection of Jesus; the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection; Jesus’ commissioning his disciples; and Jesus’ ascension into heaven. There is a lot going on in this one chapter!
Luke tells us that when the disciples first saw Jesus after the resurrection, they were afraid. These men had been witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion. They may not have been at the foot of the cross when Jesus breathed his last breath, but they didn’t need to be present to know that Jesus had died. The disciples knew that the Romans were professional executioners. No one could escape the certainty of death on a Roman cross. The soldiers knew what they were doing. They had perfected their skills as executioners. No one could come down from the cross alive.
Therefore, when Jesus appeared to them three days after the crucifixion, the disciples had to believe one of two options. First, Jesus must have been resurrected from the dead. However, this has never happened before and it goes against everything we have ever experienced about the finality of death. Second, they must be seeing a ghost. While seeing a ghost does not seem very logical, it made more sense to the disciples than resurrection. They thought they were seeing a ghost!
So, Luke tells us that Jesus had to prove to his disciples that he was not a ghost. Jesus did this by doing two things. First, he invited them to touch his body. Ghosts do not have physical bodies. Therefore, if Jesus has a physical body, he must not be a ghost. Second, Jesus ate a meal with his disciples. Eating is an activity only performed by people who are truly alive. Dead people cannot eat, and ghosts have no need to eat. Therefore, Jesus really is alive! God has done something that has never been done before!
Now that Jesus has proven to his disciples that he really is alive, it is safe to say he has their full attention. With every eye fixed on Jesus, and every ear tuned in to hear what Jesus will say next, Jesus called his disciples to “remember.”
II. Remember Jesus’ Teachings.
Once Jesus had the disciples’ attention, he reminded them of what he had taught them during their ministry years together. Luke 24: 44, "This is what I told you while I was still with you..."
By saying these words to the disciples, Jesus is saying something significant. The man standing in front of them today is the same man they knew three days ago (or even three years ago when he first called them to be disciples). Jesus has died and been raised from the dead. God has done something brand new. Yet, some things remain the same. Jesus’ call to discipleship remains the same. Everything Jesus has taught them about the Kingdom of God remains the same. Everything Jesus sent the disciples out to do remains the same.
The disciples are supposed to remember everything Jesus has told them. However, we can make an argument here that simply remembering is not enough. What if the disciples had a cognitive remembrance of Jesus’ call to follow him, but then did nothing to follow? What if they could recall all of Jesus’ words about the Kingdom of God, but then did not live out the principles of the Kingdom? What if the disciples remembered when Jesus sent them out to preach the Good News, cast out demons and heal the sick, but did nothing to continue that ministry?
When Jesus told his disciples to “remember,” he meant more than simply having the ability to recall what he said. Remember Jesus’ words by living them out daily. Recall his words, but practice his words.
III. Remember God’s Plan from the Beginning.
Then, Luke tells us Jesus “opened the disciples’ minds” to understand the Old Testament teachings about God’s plan. Luke 24: 46, "This is what was written..."
Again, I think Jesus is stressing the importance of continuity. Jesus is the same today as he was before the crucifixion. And, God is the same today as he was as far back as the teachings in the Old Testament. In fact, the crucifixion and resurrection has ALWAYS been God’s plan. This was not God’s Plan B when the nation of Israel failed to live up to expectations.
Jesus told his disciples that God has recorded his plan in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. These three designations include the entire Old Testament. This was the only Scripture in Jesus’ and the disciples’ day. And the only way to understand what the Old Testament says is to have your mind opened by Jesus. In other words, we will never understand what the Bible has to say about God unless we accept the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
In verses 46 – 49, Jesus told his disciples that God’s plan has never changed. The Old Testament prophesies that the Christ (Messiah) will suffer and rise from the dead (v. 46). This has been God’s plan all along. The Old Testament also teaches that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations beginning in Jerusalem (v. 47). Again, this has been God’s plan all along.
In Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven, Jesus explained how his work on earth is a part of God’s big picture. God never changed his mind. God simply waited until the time was right to bring his plan to fruition.
Jesus did not give his disciples a new calling. No. Jesus reminded them of God’s original plan. However, no one could rightly understand God’s plan until after the resurrection. Jesus gave his disciples a right understanding of Scripture and God’s plan by “opening their minds.”
Jesus used his last moments on earth to call his disciples to remember two things. First, remember everything Jesus taught. Second, remember God’s plan from the beginning.
Now, let’s compare this to what Luke says in Acts 1…
Read Acts 1: 1 – 11.
One significant difference between Luke 24 and Acts 1, is the sensation of time. Luke 24 SEEMS to tell us that everything happened in one day. Jesus rose from the grave, appeared to the women, walked to Emmaus with two disciples, appeared to the original eleven disciples, and ascended into heaven. Acts 1 tells us specifically that these events (and others not recorded in the Gospel of Luke) occurred over the course of 40 days. Then, Jesus ascended into heaven.
I believe Luke used the story of Jesus’ ascension as a “bridge” to connect his two books. On one hand, this story connects the two books. On the other hand, this story serves two completely different purposes in the two different books. The ascension is the END of the Gospel. But, the ascension is the BEGINNING of Acts.
As the END of the Gospel, the ascension serves as a conclusion to everything that has gone before it. Just like any good conclusion, Luke used this story to wrap up the loose ends. It directs our attention to the past: the Old Testament teachings about Jesus, the things Jesus taught his disciples, the ministry work Jesus shared with his disciples, and (perhaps most importantly) proves once and for all that Jesus really is who he claimed to be. Jesus is the unique Son of God, crucified for our sins (as a part of God’s original plan), resurrected as the first among all who believe in Jesus, and ascended into heaven to be glorified at the right hand of his Father.
As the BEGINNING of the Book of Acts, the ascension serves as an introduction to everything that will come after it. Just like any good introduction, Luke used this story to direct our attention toward the future.
It would be funny if it were not so sad. In Acts 1, the disciples are trying to reminisce, but Jesus will not let them. They are trying to look at the past and remember the “good ole days” of ministry with Jesus and the “good ole days” when the nation of Israel held a high status in the world’s geo-political structure. Yet, Jesus’ words to his disciples snap them out of the past and force them to look at the future.
IV. Remember the Spirit’s Mission (through the church).
It would have been natural (perhaps even easy) for the disciples to walk away after witnessing the ascension. They could have returned to their old ways of life: fishing in the Lake of Galilee and collecting taxes for the Roman government. But, that is not what Jesus wanted them to do. Jesus said to them in verse 4, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…”
Do you know what Jesus meant when he said, “Do not leave Jerusalem?” He meant, “Do not go home.” The disciples had jobs, family, friends and houses waiting for them in the northern part of Israel. But, Jesus had something else for them in Jerusalem. He wanted them to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples were true to form here. Jesus gave them clear instructions, spoken in a way they could all understand. Yet, they did not understand. As soon as the words left Jesus’ mouth, the disciples demonstrated that they did not comprehend.
Look at the disciples’ question in verse 6, “Lord, are you at this time going to RESTORE the kingdom to Israel?”
The word “restore” is an important word here. Restore means to put things back the way they used to be. Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again just to put things back the way they used to be. No. Jesus died and rose again to make all things new. Jesus didn’t restore Israel. Jesus re-created the entire world as a place where the Kingdom of God can be established!
Again, the disciples were trying to look backward at the past. Jesus called them to look forward to the future. Notice these future-sounding words in Acts 1: Jesus BEGAN to do and teach (1:1); wait for the gift my Father promised (1:4); you will receive power (1:8); you will be my witnesses (1:8); and Jesus will come back (1:11).
God’s plan in the Old Testament has not changed. God was working throughout all human history to lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection. But that was just the beginning. Now, God’s plan depends on us.
Jesus called us to be his disciples, taught us about the Kingdom of God, healed the sick and cast out demons. But that was only the beginning. Now, God’s plan depends on us.
V. Conclusion.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. This year, don’t forget what you are supposed to remember. Today is the Lord’s Day. Don’t forget what you are supposed to remember. Remember the things that will never change: God’s plan from the beginning; Jesus teaching to his disciples; and the Spirit’s mission that is accomplished through his church.
Luke 24: 44 – 53 and Acts 1: 1 – 11.
I. Introduction.
Remembering is what this Memorial Day is all about. I’m sure it is not news to you that tomorrow is Memorial Day—the first three day weekend of the summer. But, did you know that Memorial Day was originally established as a day to bring healing to Americans who had been divided by the Civil War?
Decorating the graves of soldiers who had lost their lives in the Civil War was supposed to bring us all together. It didn’t matter whether the soldier had fought for the Union or the Confederacy, this was a day to honor all those who had died in the War. Mourning the dead and decorating their graves could heal the nation’s wounds.
After World War 1, Decoration Day became Memorial Day. It is no longer a time to single out those who died in the Civil War. Now, it is a time to remember all those who died while serving in any branch of the United States military. Yet, somewhere along the way, we forgot what we were supposed to remember!
Most people will enjoy the long weekend without pausing to remember the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who died. Most people will celebrate the beginning of summer. Most people will associate Memorial Day with the day to wear their white shoes or with the day when the public pools open for summer. Somewhere along the way, we forgot what we were supposed to remember.
However, today is not Memorial Day. Today is the day before Memorial Day. Since Memorial Day is always a Monday, this also means today is Sunday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. The day Christian men and women gather to worship. We worship on Sunday morning—and not on Friday evening, like the Jews—because Sunday morning is when our Lord rose from the grave.
It’s on days like today when we face a great temptation. We are tempted to forget what we are supposed to remember. Just as many people have forgotten the original purpose of Memorial Day; it is possible for us to forget the original purpose of the Lord’s Day.
Today is a special Lord’s Day. Not only is today the day of the week we have set aside to worship the resurrected Jesus; it is also the day Christians all over the world remember the day Jesus ascended into heaven.
Easter Sunday was on April 12 this year, and Thursday was exactly 40 days after Easter Sunday. That makes Thursday Ascension Day and today Ascension Sunday.
During the week, I read the last several chapters of all four Gospels. I started reading at the resurrection and read through the end of the books. I find it interesting that Luke is the only Gospel who tells us about the ascension of Jesus. This is even more interesting (perhaps only to me) when we notice that the ascension of Jesus appears in one other place in the New Testament: Acts 1. It’s interesting, because Luke was the author of both accounts of the ascension. Let’s read both of these accounts and discover what the ascension has to say to us.
Read Luke 24: 44 – 53.
Luke 24 is the only chapter Luke devotes to several important theological events: the resurrection of Jesus; the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection; Jesus’ commissioning his disciples; and Jesus’ ascension into heaven. There is a lot going on in this one chapter!
Luke tells us that when the disciples first saw Jesus after the resurrection, they were afraid. These men had been witnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion. They may not have been at the foot of the cross when Jesus breathed his last breath, but they didn’t need to be present to know that Jesus had died. The disciples knew that the Romans were professional executioners. No one could escape the certainty of death on a Roman cross. The soldiers knew what they were doing. They had perfected their skills as executioners. No one could come down from the cross alive.
Therefore, when Jesus appeared to them three days after the crucifixion, the disciples had to believe one of two options. First, Jesus must have been resurrected from the dead. However, this has never happened before and it goes against everything we have ever experienced about the finality of death. Second, they must be seeing a ghost. While seeing a ghost does not seem very logical, it made more sense to the disciples than resurrection. They thought they were seeing a ghost!
So, Luke tells us that Jesus had to prove to his disciples that he was not a ghost. Jesus did this by doing two things. First, he invited them to touch his body. Ghosts do not have physical bodies. Therefore, if Jesus has a physical body, he must not be a ghost. Second, Jesus ate a meal with his disciples. Eating is an activity only performed by people who are truly alive. Dead people cannot eat, and ghosts have no need to eat. Therefore, Jesus really is alive! God has done something that has never been done before!
Now that Jesus has proven to his disciples that he really is alive, it is safe to say he has their full attention. With every eye fixed on Jesus, and every ear tuned in to hear what Jesus will say next, Jesus called his disciples to “remember.”
II. Remember Jesus’ Teachings.
Once Jesus had the disciples’ attention, he reminded them of what he had taught them during their ministry years together. Luke 24: 44, "This is what I told you while I was still with you..."
By saying these words to the disciples, Jesus is saying something significant. The man standing in front of them today is the same man they knew three days ago (or even three years ago when he first called them to be disciples). Jesus has died and been raised from the dead. God has done something brand new. Yet, some things remain the same. Jesus’ call to discipleship remains the same. Everything Jesus has taught them about the Kingdom of God remains the same. Everything Jesus sent the disciples out to do remains the same.
The disciples are supposed to remember everything Jesus has told them. However, we can make an argument here that simply remembering is not enough. What if the disciples had a cognitive remembrance of Jesus’ call to follow him, but then did nothing to follow? What if they could recall all of Jesus’ words about the Kingdom of God, but then did not live out the principles of the Kingdom? What if the disciples remembered when Jesus sent them out to preach the Good News, cast out demons and heal the sick, but did nothing to continue that ministry?
When Jesus told his disciples to “remember,” he meant more than simply having the ability to recall what he said. Remember Jesus’ words by living them out daily. Recall his words, but practice his words.
III. Remember God’s Plan from the Beginning.
Then, Luke tells us Jesus “opened the disciples’ minds” to understand the Old Testament teachings about God’s plan. Luke 24: 46, "This is what was written..."
Again, I think Jesus is stressing the importance of continuity. Jesus is the same today as he was before the crucifixion. And, God is the same today as he was as far back as the teachings in the Old Testament. In fact, the crucifixion and resurrection has ALWAYS been God’s plan. This was not God’s Plan B when the nation of Israel failed to live up to expectations.
Jesus told his disciples that God has recorded his plan in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. These three designations include the entire Old Testament. This was the only Scripture in Jesus’ and the disciples’ day. And the only way to understand what the Old Testament says is to have your mind opened by Jesus. In other words, we will never understand what the Bible has to say about God unless we accept the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
In verses 46 – 49, Jesus told his disciples that God’s plan has never changed. The Old Testament prophesies that the Christ (Messiah) will suffer and rise from the dead (v. 46). This has been God’s plan all along. The Old Testament also teaches that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations beginning in Jerusalem (v. 47). Again, this has been God’s plan all along.
In Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven, Jesus explained how his work on earth is a part of God’s big picture. God never changed his mind. God simply waited until the time was right to bring his plan to fruition.
Jesus did not give his disciples a new calling. No. Jesus reminded them of God’s original plan. However, no one could rightly understand God’s plan until after the resurrection. Jesus gave his disciples a right understanding of Scripture and God’s plan by “opening their minds.”
Jesus used his last moments on earth to call his disciples to remember two things. First, remember everything Jesus taught. Second, remember God’s plan from the beginning.
Now, let’s compare this to what Luke says in Acts 1…
Read Acts 1: 1 – 11.
One significant difference between Luke 24 and Acts 1, is the sensation of time. Luke 24 SEEMS to tell us that everything happened in one day. Jesus rose from the grave, appeared to the women, walked to Emmaus with two disciples, appeared to the original eleven disciples, and ascended into heaven. Acts 1 tells us specifically that these events (and others not recorded in the Gospel of Luke) occurred over the course of 40 days. Then, Jesus ascended into heaven.
I believe Luke used the story of Jesus’ ascension as a “bridge” to connect his two books. On one hand, this story connects the two books. On the other hand, this story serves two completely different purposes in the two different books. The ascension is the END of the Gospel. But, the ascension is the BEGINNING of Acts.
As the END of the Gospel, the ascension serves as a conclusion to everything that has gone before it. Just like any good conclusion, Luke used this story to wrap up the loose ends. It directs our attention to the past: the Old Testament teachings about Jesus, the things Jesus taught his disciples, the ministry work Jesus shared with his disciples, and (perhaps most importantly) proves once and for all that Jesus really is who he claimed to be. Jesus is the unique Son of God, crucified for our sins (as a part of God’s original plan), resurrected as the first among all who believe in Jesus, and ascended into heaven to be glorified at the right hand of his Father.
As the BEGINNING of the Book of Acts, the ascension serves as an introduction to everything that will come after it. Just like any good introduction, Luke used this story to direct our attention toward the future.
It would be funny if it were not so sad. In Acts 1, the disciples are trying to reminisce, but Jesus will not let them. They are trying to look at the past and remember the “good ole days” of ministry with Jesus and the “good ole days” when the nation of Israel held a high status in the world’s geo-political structure. Yet, Jesus’ words to his disciples snap them out of the past and force them to look at the future.
IV. Remember the Spirit’s Mission (through the church).
It would have been natural (perhaps even easy) for the disciples to walk away after witnessing the ascension. They could have returned to their old ways of life: fishing in the Lake of Galilee and collecting taxes for the Roman government. But, that is not what Jesus wanted them to do. Jesus said to them in verse 4, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…”
Do you know what Jesus meant when he said, “Do not leave Jerusalem?” He meant, “Do not go home.” The disciples had jobs, family, friends and houses waiting for them in the northern part of Israel. But, Jesus had something else for them in Jerusalem. He wanted them to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The disciples were true to form here. Jesus gave them clear instructions, spoken in a way they could all understand. Yet, they did not understand. As soon as the words left Jesus’ mouth, the disciples demonstrated that they did not comprehend.
Look at the disciples’ question in verse 6, “Lord, are you at this time going to RESTORE the kingdom to Israel?”
The word “restore” is an important word here. Restore means to put things back the way they used to be. Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again just to put things back the way they used to be. No. Jesus died and rose again to make all things new. Jesus didn’t restore Israel. Jesus re-created the entire world as a place where the Kingdom of God can be established!
Again, the disciples were trying to look backward at the past. Jesus called them to look forward to the future. Notice these future-sounding words in Acts 1: Jesus BEGAN to do and teach (1:1); wait for the gift my Father promised (1:4); you will receive power (1:8); you will be my witnesses (1:8); and Jesus will come back (1:11).
God’s plan in the Old Testament has not changed. God was working throughout all human history to lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection. But that was just the beginning. Now, God’s plan depends on us.
Jesus called us to be his disciples, taught us about the Kingdom of God, healed the sick and cast out demons. But that was only the beginning. Now, God’s plan depends on us.
V. Conclusion.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. This year, don’t forget what you are supposed to remember. Today is the Lord’s Day. Don’t forget what you are supposed to remember. Remember the things that will never change: God’s plan from the beginning; Jesus teaching to his disciples; and the Spirit’s mission that is accomplished through his church.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mothers' Day, May 10, 2009: Spiritual Mothers
Spiritual Mothers.
Acts 18: 24 – 28 and 1 Samuel 2: 1 – 10.
I. Introduction.
Three women had a discussion about when is the best time to begin teaching their children…The first woman said that the best time to begin teaching a child is when the child begins to talk and walk…The second woman said that the best time to begin teaching a child is at birth…But the grandmother said, “The best time to begin teaching a child is 20 years before birth”…
Developing mothers develops children…This is the responsibility of the church. As the church develops girls and young women into godly mothers, the church is developing children…Actually, we are developing disciples of Christ…
I see this as an important lesson for us to grasp this morning. Our role as a church is very closely related to our role as parents—both mothers and fathers alike. We are not called to raise PERFECT children. We are called to raise godly children…spiritual children…children who will become disciples of Jesus Christ.
There is a story that I believe illustrates this very well.
After creating everything in heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing God told them was, “DON’T!”
“Don’t what?” Adam replied.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.” God said.
“Forbidden fruit?! We have forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve…We have forbidden fruit!!!”
“No way!” “Yes way!”
“Do NOT eat the forbidden fruit!” God said.
“Why?”
“Because I am your Father and I said so!” God replied, wondering why He hadn’t stopped creation after making the elephants.
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry. “Didn’t I tell you not to eat the forbidden fruit?” God asked.
“Uh huh,” Adam replied.
“The why did you?” asked the Father.
“I don’t know,” said Eve.
“She started it!” Adam said.
“Did not!” “Did too!” “Did NOT!”
Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
But there is reassurance in the story! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give wisdom to your children and they have not taken it, don’t be hard on yourself. If God could not raise perfect children, what made you think that you could?
Again, let me say… We are not called to raise PERFECT children. We are called to raise godly children…spiritual children…children who will become disciples of Jesus Christ.
In this case, we need churches who are willing to develop Spiritual Mothers. But what exactly do I mean by the term Spiritual Mothers. I don’t think you will ever find that term in a book somewhere, because I think I made it up. I made it up about six years ago while I was sitting in a senior adult men’s Sunday School class in Mississippi.
The teacher was teaching a lesson on Acts 18, the story of Priscilla and Aquila…In particular, he focused on how Priscilla and Aquila served as Spiritual Guides, or Mentors for the Apollos…
Read Acts 18: 24 – 28
Apollos eventually became one of the Apostles and church planters of the early church. He had a great influence over the church at Corinth. But none of this would have been possible without the influence and discipleship of Priscilla and Aquila.
When Priscilla and Aquila first met Apollos, he was a traveling Jewish preacher. He taught the Jewish Scriptures in synagogues all over the Jewish world. Apollos was even familiar with the life and teachings of Jesus. But Luke tells us that Apollos thought Jesus was only a Jewish rabbi who was teaching the same old Jewish message of the Old Testament. That is until Priscilla and Aquila took him into their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
And this is what I remember the Sunday School teacher saying: "In other words, Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos what his mother should have done for him…"
Many of you may have a story like mine…I had a godly mother who taught me the Bible at home and demonstrated a consistency of what she believed and how she lived out her faith…She took me to church and helped to shape me into the Christian man and minister that I am today. (My father did also, but this is Mothers' Day.)
Yet, there are many people who are just like Apollos. Either you do not live at home with a godly mother or you never had the opportunity as you were growing up. If that is your story this morning, then perhaps the church can help you to find a Spiritual Mother who will lead you into the godliness of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
There are many different qualities of godliness and discipleship that I could describe this morning, but I want to focus on just one: The life of prayer. There is a wonderfully familiar story in Luke 10 about two sisters, Martha and Mary. One day Jesus and 70 of his friends stopped by their house for a visit. While Martha was scurrying around in the kitchen trying to prepare food for 71 people, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Jesus used this as a teaching moment and said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Prayer is perhaps the most important skill for good parents. How could anyone endeavor to be a parent today without daily—or hourly—prayer? Prayer is also the most important spiritual discipline we could teach our children.
I can think of at least one mother in the Bible who demonstrated a consistent prayer life and instilled that into all her children…Hannah. Hannah chose the Only Necessary Thing and serves as a great example of a Spiritual Mother.
Read 1 Samuel 2: 1 – 10.
This may surprise you when I say…But this is not really the story about Hannah. No, this is the beginning of the story of David. The only reason we know about Hannah is so that we can be introduced to the Prophet who anointed David as the second king of Israel and the ONLY Ideal King over all Israel.
It is ironic that the story of the monarchy of Kings David & Saul began with story of a woman. Of course this is not just any woman. Her name was Hannah, which means “Gift” or “Grace.” Therefore, we can say that the nation of Israel began in Grace…God’s people are always born of grace.
The Grace that Hannah reminds us of is that in the midst of our barren days, we can know that our trust & God’s faithfulness brings new life our God turns barrenness into birth.
In the world in which Hannah lived, it was acceptable for a man to take more than one wife. For example, if a man’s first wife could not have children, then it was OK to take a second wife.
People understood that children are security for the future. If a man could not have children, then there would be no one to carry on his family name…And from a practical point of view, there would be no one to take care of him in his old age. Therefore, I believe that Elkanah married Hannah for love and Peninnah for children.
This made Hannah the favorite wife, but that wasn’t enough for Hannah. She was just like many of us…She felt like something was wrong with her…That she wasn’t good enough…Hannah felt inadequate. And going to church didn’t make things any better…In fact, going to church made things worse than staying at home.
The Bible tells us that every year, Elkanah took his two wives and the rest of his family to the religious festival at Shiloh. Hannah dreaded the religious festival every year, because while everyone else was eating, drinking, enjoying fellowship, Hannah felt excluded…inadequate…no joy in church…
I know that there are some of you who are here this morning just like Hannah. You didn’t want to come, because of the way you feel when you come to church. For some, church is a place of guilt, not of grace; but it does not have to be that way…It shouldn’t be that way at all.
The prayer that we read this morning in 1 Samuel 2, is not the first time that Hannah prayed. In fact prayer is exactly what Hannah did while everyone else was celebrating at the Shiloh festival and worshipping God…She went into a private place and cried out to God for help…
Hannah demonstrates for us that there are basically two ways we can pray…Help me, Help me, Help me…and…Thank you, Thank you, Thank you…
II. Help Me, Help Me, Help Me.
Hannah’s feelings of inadequacy stemmed from the fact that she could not have children. This caused her to think other women were somehow better than she, and it led her husband to take a second wife. But, when Hannah felt inadequate, she took her inadequacy to God.
This was the smartest thing Hannah ever did, because God answered her prayers…Can you imagine what would happen if we did the same thing?
We will have a breakthrough in our faith as soon as we realize that God can handle our anger, frustration, fear, doubt. The truth is He already knows them…And he is waiting for us to let Him set us free.
The cry “Help me, Help me, Help me” is an invitation in the midst of trouble for God to be faithful…
It is a shift in our focus. No longer satisfied to focus on our own insufficiencies, but to remember the words of Christ who said, “My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.”
“Help me, Help me, Help me” is a hopeful prayer…To place all our hope in God…Not in ourselves…
But there is another prayer we must pray…
III. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah taught us to pray, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” This is a prayer not only for the hopeful, but for the grateful. I also believe it is a prayer of mature faith…As we grow in faith, our prayers change from “Help me, Help me, Help me” to “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” (Of course, we will always pray for God's help. Maturity comes as we learn to say "Thank you" to God, giving him the credit for what he has done in our lives.)
Notice how Hannah expressed her gratitude… My Heart Rejoices…My Mouth Boasts…There is a natural connection between what is inside the heart and what comes out of the mouth…I suggest there is a progression…The gratitude that we feel in our hearts ought to always come out in our words and our actions…
Hannah prayed to God for a child, and God answered her prayer when Samuel was born. Then Hannah did the strangest thing. She demonstrated her gratitude to God by giving Samuel back to God. Sometimes I think we lose sight of just how big a deal this was. In giving Samuel to God, she gave up her own security in old age. This was an act of trust declaring that God, not her child was her source of security.
And this is how Hannah’s prayer changed from “Help me, Help me, Help me” to “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you”…By trusting in God’s Faithfulness, not her own.
IV. Conclusion.
When Hannah was desperate, she prayed the most honest prayer: Help me, Help me, Help me. Then, she responded by giving God her life and actions as a mirror of her prayers: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you… This is what makes Hannah a model for all mothers, fathers and disciples…
The truth about the book of 1 Samuel is that this is not a story about Hannah so much as it is the story about David, the greatest King of all Israel. But there was something else we have learned about David. He was not just a good King. David was a disciple who demonstrated a “Passionate Spirituality.” In fact, 75 of 150 Psalms have been attributed to David. Some of the most beautiful and passionate prayers ever written came from his lips: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…Create in me a clean heart O God…
I can’t help but think that David learned a lot about prayer from his pastor, a man named Samuel. And just where do you think Samuel learned how to pray? Samuel learned to pray with his whole heart from his Spiritual Mother, his birth mother—Hannah. We can learn from her, too.
Acts 18: 24 – 28 and 1 Samuel 2: 1 – 10.
I. Introduction.
Three women had a discussion about when is the best time to begin teaching their children…The first woman said that the best time to begin teaching a child is when the child begins to talk and walk…The second woman said that the best time to begin teaching a child is at birth…But the grandmother said, “The best time to begin teaching a child is 20 years before birth”…
Developing mothers develops children…This is the responsibility of the church. As the church develops girls and young women into godly mothers, the church is developing children…Actually, we are developing disciples of Christ…
I see this as an important lesson for us to grasp this morning. Our role as a church is very closely related to our role as parents—both mothers and fathers alike. We are not called to raise PERFECT children. We are called to raise godly children…spiritual children…children who will become disciples of Jesus Christ.
There is a story that I believe illustrates this very well.
After creating everything in heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing God told them was, “DON’T!”
“Don’t what?” Adam replied.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit.” God said.
“Forbidden fruit?! We have forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve…We have forbidden fruit!!!”
“No way!” “Yes way!”
“Do NOT eat the forbidden fruit!” God said.
“Why?”
“Because I am your Father and I said so!” God replied, wondering why He hadn’t stopped creation after making the elephants.
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry. “Didn’t I tell you not to eat the forbidden fruit?” God asked.
“Uh huh,” Adam replied.
“The why did you?” asked the Father.
“I don’t know,” said Eve.
“She started it!” Adam said.
“Did not!” “Did too!” “Did NOT!”
Having had it with the two of them, God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.
But there is reassurance in the story! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give wisdom to your children and they have not taken it, don’t be hard on yourself. If God could not raise perfect children, what made you think that you could?
Again, let me say… We are not called to raise PERFECT children. We are called to raise godly children…spiritual children…children who will become disciples of Jesus Christ.
In this case, we need churches who are willing to develop Spiritual Mothers. But what exactly do I mean by the term Spiritual Mothers. I don’t think you will ever find that term in a book somewhere, because I think I made it up. I made it up about six years ago while I was sitting in a senior adult men’s Sunday School class in Mississippi.
The teacher was teaching a lesson on Acts 18, the story of Priscilla and Aquila…In particular, he focused on how Priscilla and Aquila served as Spiritual Guides, or Mentors for the Apollos…
Read Acts 18: 24 – 28
Apollos eventually became one of the Apostles and church planters of the early church. He had a great influence over the church at Corinth. But none of this would have been possible without the influence and discipleship of Priscilla and Aquila.
When Priscilla and Aquila first met Apollos, he was a traveling Jewish preacher. He taught the Jewish Scriptures in synagogues all over the Jewish world. Apollos was even familiar with the life and teachings of Jesus. But Luke tells us that Apollos thought Jesus was only a Jewish rabbi who was teaching the same old Jewish message of the Old Testament. That is until Priscilla and Aquila took him into their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
And this is what I remember the Sunday School teacher saying: "In other words, Priscilla and Aquila did for Apollos what his mother should have done for him…"
Many of you may have a story like mine…I had a godly mother who taught me the Bible at home and demonstrated a consistency of what she believed and how she lived out her faith…She took me to church and helped to shape me into the Christian man and minister that I am today. (My father did also, but this is Mothers' Day.)
Yet, there are many people who are just like Apollos. Either you do not live at home with a godly mother or you never had the opportunity as you were growing up. If that is your story this morning, then perhaps the church can help you to find a Spiritual Mother who will lead you into the godliness of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
There are many different qualities of godliness and discipleship that I could describe this morning, but I want to focus on just one: The life of prayer. There is a wonderfully familiar story in Luke 10 about two sisters, Martha and Mary. One day Jesus and 70 of his friends stopped by their house for a visit. While Martha was scurrying around in the kitchen trying to prepare food for 71 people, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Jesus used this as a teaching moment and said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Prayer is perhaps the most important skill for good parents. How could anyone endeavor to be a parent today without daily—or hourly—prayer? Prayer is also the most important spiritual discipline we could teach our children.
I can think of at least one mother in the Bible who demonstrated a consistent prayer life and instilled that into all her children…Hannah. Hannah chose the Only Necessary Thing and serves as a great example of a Spiritual Mother.
Read 1 Samuel 2: 1 – 10.
This may surprise you when I say…But this is not really the story about Hannah. No, this is the beginning of the story of David. The only reason we know about Hannah is so that we can be introduced to the Prophet who anointed David as the second king of Israel and the ONLY Ideal King over all Israel.
It is ironic that the story of the monarchy of Kings David & Saul began with story of a woman. Of course this is not just any woman. Her name was Hannah, which means “Gift” or “Grace.” Therefore, we can say that the nation of Israel began in Grace…God’s people are always born of grace.
The Grace that Hannah reminds us of is that in the midst of our barren days, we can know that our trust & God’s faithfulness brings new life our God turns barrenness into birth.
In the world in which Hannah lived, it was acceptable for a man to take more than one wife. For example, if a man’s first wife could not have children, then it was OK to take a second wife.
People understood that children are security for the future. If a man could not have children, then there would be no one to carry on his family name…And from a practical point of view, there would be no one to take care of him in his old age. Therefore, I believe that Elkanah married Hannah for love and Peninnah for children.
This made Hannah the favorite wife, but that wasn’t enough for Hannah. She was just like many of us…She felt like something was wrong with her…That she wasn’t good enough…Hannah felt inadequate. And going to church didn’t make things any better…In fact, going to church made things worse than staying at home.
The Bible tells us that every year, Elkanah took his two wives and the rest of his family to the religious festival at Shiloh. Hannah dreaded the religious festival every year, because while everyone else was eating, drinking, enjoying fellowship, Hannah felt excluded…inadequate…no joy in church…
I know that there are some of you who are here this morning just like Hannah. You didn’t want to come, because of the way you feel when you come to church. For some, church is a place of guilt, not of grace; but it does not have to be that way…It shouldn’t be that way at all.
The prayer that we read this morning in 1 Samuel 2, is not the first time that Hannah prayed. In fact prayer is exactly what Hannah did while everyone else was celebrating at the Shiloh festival and worshipping God…She went into a private place and cried out to God for help…
Hannah demonstrates for us that there are basically two ways we can pray…Help me, Help me, Help me…and…Thank you, Thank you, Thank you…
II. Help Me, Help Me, Help Me.
Hannah’s feelings of inadequacy stemmed from the fact that she could not have children. This caused her to think other women were somehow better than she, and it led her husband to take a second wife. But, when Hannah felt inadequate, she took her inadequacy to God.
This was the smartest thing Hannah ever did, because God answered her prayers…Can you imagine what would happen if we did the same thing?
We will have a breakthrough in our faith as soon as we realize that God can handle our anger, frustration, fear, doubt. The truth is He already knows them…And he is waiting for us to let Him set us free.
The cry “Help me, Help me, Help me” is an invitation in the midst of trouble for God to be faithful…
It is a shift in our focus. No longer satisfied to focus on our own insufficiencies, but to remember the words of Christ who said, “My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.”
“Help me, Help me, Help me” is a hopeful prayer…To place all our hope in God…Not in ourselves…
But there is another prayer we must pray…
III. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah taught us to pray, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” This is a prayer not only for the hopeful, but for the grateful. I also believe it is a prayer of mature faith…As we grow in faith, our prayers change from “Help me, Help me, Help me” to “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.” (Of course, we will always pray for God's help. Maturity comes as we learn to say "Thank you" to God, giving him the credit for what he has done in our lives.)
Notice how Hannah expressed her gratitude… My Heart Rejoices…My Mouth Boasts…There is a natural connection between what is inside the heart and what comes out of the mouth…I suggest there is a progression…The gratitude that we feel in our hearts ought to always come out in our words and our actions…
Hannah prayed to God for a child, and God answered her prayer when Samuel was born. Then Hannah did the strangest thing. She demonstrated her gratitude to God by giving Samuel back to God. Sometimes I think we lose sight of just how big a deal this was. In giving Samuel to God, she gave up her own security in old age. This was an act of trust declaring that God, not her child was her source of security.
And this is how Hannah’s prayer changed from “Help me, Help me, Help me” to “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you”…By trusting in God’s Faithfulness, not her own.
IV. Conclusion.
When Hannah was desperate, she prayed the most honest prayer: Help me, Help me, Help me. Then, she responded by giving God her life and actions as a mirror of her prayers: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you… This is what makes Hannah a model for all mothers, fathers and disciples…
The truth about the book of 1 Samuel is that this is not a story about Hannah so much as it is the story about David, the greatest King of all Israel. But there was something else we have learned about David. He was not just a good King. David was a disciple who demonstrated a “Passionate Spirituality.” In fact, 75 of 150 Psalms have been attributed to David. Some of the most beautiful and passionate prayers ever written came from his lips: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…Create in me a clean heart O God…
I can’t help but think that David learned a lot about prayer from his pastor, a man named Samuel. And just where do you think Samuel learned how to pray? Samuel learned to pray with his whole heart from his Spiritual Mother, his birth mother—Hannah. We can learn from her, too.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009: I Can Do All Things
I Can Do All Things
Philippians 4: 13
I. Introduction
There are many things in life that children do better than adults. Children have better imaginations than adults. (When was the last time you held up two dolls and had a conversation with yourself?) Children take better vacations than adults. (When was the last time you stopped everything you were doing to stare at the clouds and create animals and faces out of the shapes? Or lie down in the grass and watch a roly-poly?) Children are MUCH better than adults at memorizing Scripture. (When was the last time your Sunday School teacher asked you to recite the verse of the week at the beginning of class?)
We can make all the excuses we want, but there is no excuse for us as Christians to neglect the practice of memorizing Scripture. Psalm 119: 11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” This means that the Scriptures we have committed to memory (to heart) are one of the defenses God has provided to help us when we face temptation.
Author Donald Whitney says in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Nav Press, 1991) that memorized Scripture is life arrows in an archer’s quiver. When danger approaches, the archer reaches into his quiver to pull out an arrow. When temptation approaches, Christians reach into our quiver to pull out a Scripture… Now, imagine reaching into your quiver and finding Genesis 1: 1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Or, what about John 11: 35, “Jesus wept?” Or even John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
These are great verses to commit to memory and very important to our faith. However, these verses might not be your best source of strength to fight off temptation! (That’s enough guilt for today. Now, go home and start hiding God’s word in your heart, so you can be ready to face temptation.)
One of the verses we learned as children is Philippians 4: 13. It can be a source of strength for us when facing temptation.
Read Philippians 4: 13
I learned a very important lesson about Philippians 4: 13 when I was a college student working as a counselor and lifeguard at a Christian camp in Mississippi—Central Hills Baptist Retreat.
This camp was primarily a boys’ camp. For 10 weeks of the summer we had around 200 boys per week. But for 2 weeks we had 200 girls. During the weeks of the boys’ camps, I worked as a counselor leading a group of 10 – 12 boys through a week of activities. But during the girls’ camps, I worked either at the lake as a canoe instructor or at the pool as a lifeguard.
Central Hills required that every activity have a Christian emphasis and should always end with a spiritual application. This was not hard as a canoe instructor, because every camper came through our activity only one time every week. That meant we could give the same spiritual application every hour, every day, and no one would hear the same thing twice…This paddle is like Jesus…You can’t make it in the water without a paddle, and you can’t make it in life without Jesus.
But it was much more difficult at the pool. Every camper came to the pool every day. That meant that we had to come up with five different spiritual applications and use one per day.
Well, it just so happened that my first year as a lifeguard, I had spent a lot of time in the pool. And over that time, I had decided that I would learn how to do a one-and-a-half…That is a dive where the diver jumps off the diving board, does a complete flip in the air, then does another half flip and enters the water head first. I worked all summer on that one-and-a-half. I started out doing a flip. Then a flip and a belly flop. Until finally I perfected my one-and-a-half. And I must admit that back in my thinner and more athletic days it was a PERFECT one-and-a-half.
During the week of girls’ camp, I practiced my one-and-a-half in between the swimming groups.
In one of our last groups of the day, there was a little girl who was scared to death of jumping off the diving board. She finally got up enough courage to climb up on the board and loooooook over the edge into the water. But she would not jump.
She thought it would be easier if she took a running go before she jumped into the water. So she backed up to the back of the diving board and raaaaaan up the the very end and STOPPED! She baaaaaacked up…And raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED!
Finally it was time for the group to end their swim period, so we blew the whistle and got everybody out of the water. But that one little girl was still on the diving board. So I got on the board with her to "HELP" her while everybody else sat on the edge and watched. And the same thing happened. She baaaaaacked up…And raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED…Grabbed her nose and JUMPED. Everybody cheered!
When she finally got to the side of the pool, I stayed on the diving board with everyone’s attention. And I must admit, I used to really like having the attention of little girls. I started by reminding everyone about how she had been scared of jumping. I raaaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED! I baaaaacked up and raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED!
Then, I told how she finally got over her fears and jumped into the water.
Then, I quoted Philippians 4: 13… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Then…Can you guess what I did next? I ran to the end of the diving board JUMPED…BOUNCED…and did my "perfect" one-and-a-half…I knew that all the little girls were thoroughly impressed…
I swam to the side of the pool. As I was coming up to the ladder to climb out of the pool, I heard a little girl say… Now, do it off the high dive!
I had never done it off the high dive.
Can you guess what I did next? I cliiiiiimbed up to the top of the high dive. I took a deeeeeeeep breath. I raaaaaaaaan to the end of the diving board. And I STOPPED! I couldn’t do it. I was too scared to try it for the first time with all those girls watching. I couldn’t do it…AND…I was caught. I could not practice what I had just preached… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
But is that really what Paul meant in Philippians 4: 13? Did Paul mean that no matter what you want to do in life, if you will just pray about it, then Christ will give you the strength that you need to do whatever you want to do?
The best way to determine the meaning of any biblical text is to read it in its proper context. In terms of context, there are two important things we need to consider: The Background and The Foreground.
The background of a passage of Scripture is what stands behind the text as we look at it. The foreground is what stands in between us and the text. Just like in a photograph (family on the beach). There is the subject of the photograph (the family)…There is stuff behind the subject that shows up in the photo (ocean)…There is stuff in front of the subject that stands in between us and the subject (sand).
II. Background (Read Philippians 4: 10 – 13)
Remember that Paul is in prison as he writes this letter to the church at Philippi…Even though he is in prison, Paul can find reasons to rejoice…
He rejoiced that the spread of the Gospel does not depend on him…Even though one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived is in prison, the Gospel continued to spread and people continued to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
He rejoiced in the faithfulness of the Philippian Christians…This is one of the reasons why the Gospel continued to spread…Even though Paul gave a few words of instruction about church problems and conflict in this book, there is very little…The church was faithful to its task, mission, purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission.
He rejoiced that the Philippian church had sent him some money to help in his Gospel ministry…
And Paul rejoiced in his Contentment…This is an important word for understanding what Paul is saying in this passage.
It is reminiscent of the philosophical teachings of the Stoics. Stoicism was a philosophy that was very popular in Paul’s day and had infiltrated the Philippian church. Stoic philosophers taught that salvation was something that was possible for any man, woman or child to accomplish for himself or herself.
In fact, they believed that God had implanted a little piece of himself in every person. And all you had to do to be saved is to allow that piece of God to shine through in your life. They believed that piece of God was your REASON or your LOGIC.
Instead of being controlled by your emotions or your feelings, salvation is achieved by suppressing emotions and living according to your REASON or LOGIC.
Contentment = that Stoic state of salvation…Not happy…Not sad…Not angry …Not afraid…Just Neutral, or content…
III. Foreground (Read Philippians 4: 14 – 20)
There is a common belief among New Testament scholars that Philippians 4: 10 – 20 might be a second letter to the Philippians (i.e. 1 & 2 Corinthians), because it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of what Paul said. And this theory seems to make a little sense…Listen to how the book seems to come to a conclusion in Philippians 4: 9… Read Philippians 4: 9…
This doesn’t really matter, because it doesn’t change the fact that we believe that the Holy Spirit inspired these words and they are authoritative for our lives…But it might affect how we interpret these words…
What if this is a second letter to the Philippians? What if chapters 1 – 4: 9 represent a LETTER and chapter 4: 10 – 20 represent a short note?
Well, that makes sense to me, because 4: 10 – 20 reads just like a Thank You Note! I know you have all written and received Thank You Notes, because we live in Texas…And people in Texas are supposed to write Thank You Notes.
Paul is saying Thank You to the Philippians for their monetary gift…But this is an unusual Thank You Note, because of two things that Paul said…
1) I really didn’t need or expect the money…
2) You cannot afford to give me so much money…
Paul didn’t need the money, because he was Content. He had learned how to be happy and joyful and thankful no matter what his circumstances looked like.
The Philippians could not afford to give because they were being severely persecuted…They were impoverished and unemployed because of their faith… Yet, they gave out of love…
IV. Ancient Prayer
I recently came across an ancient prayer written by that wonderful poet and writer of prayers named Anonymous…
Give me neither Poverty nor Riches.
Feed me with the food that is needful to me.
Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor and steal.
And use profanely the name of the Lord.
V. Conclusion
As I read Philippians 4: 13 in context, I think it teaches us that we have three choices of how our lives will end up…
1) Frustration…Failing to achieve what we so earnestly desire…
2) Disillusion…Achieving what we desire and realizing that it will not satisfy…
3) Contentment…Achieving what we desire and being satisfied…
Paul teaches us that there is only one way to be Content.
Desiring Christ…Having Christ…Finding satisfaction in Christ…No matter what the circumstances of our lives…
No matter what the circumstances of life… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…
Philippians 4: 13
I. Introduction
There are many things in life that children do better than adults. Children have better imaginations than adults. (When was the last time you held up two dolls and had a conversation with yourself?) Children take better vacations than adults. (When was the last time you stopped everything you were doing to stare at the clouds and create animals and faces out of the shapes? Or lie down in the grass and watch a roly-poly?) Children are MUCH better than adults at memorizing Scripture. (When was the last time your Sunday School teacher asked you to recite the verse of the week at the beginning of class?)
We can make all the excuses we want, but there is no excuse for us as Christians to neglect the practice of memorizing Scripture. Psalm 119: 11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” This means that the Scriptures we have committed to memory (to heart) are one of the defenses God has provided to help us when we face temptation.
Author Donald Whitney says in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Nav Press, 1991) that memorized Scripture is life arrows in an archer’s quiver. When danger approaches, the archer reaches into his quiver to pull out an arrow. When temptation approaches, Christians reach into our quiver to pull out a Scripture… Now, imagine reaching into your quiver and finding Genesis 1: 1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Or, what about John 11: 35, “Jesus wept?” Or even John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
These are great verses to commit to memory and very important to our faith. However, these verses might not be your best source of strength to fight off temptation! (That’s enough guilt for today. Now, go home and start hiding God’s word in your heart, so you can be ready to face temptation.)
One of the verses we learned as children is Philippians 4: 13. It can be a source of strength for us when facing temptation.
Read Philippians 4: 13
I learned a very important lesson about Philippians 4: 13 when I was a college student working as a counselor and lifeguard at a Christian camp in Mississippi—Central Hills Baptist Retreat.
This camp was primarily a boys’ camp. For 10 weeks of the summer we had around 200 boys per week. But for 2 weeks we had 200 girls. During the weeks of the boys’ camps, I worked as a counselor leading a group of 10 – 12 boys through a week of activities. But during the girls’ camps, I worked either at the lake as a canoe instructor or at the pool as a lifeguard.
Central Hills required that every activity have a Christian emphasis and should always end with a spiritual application. This was not hard as a canoe instructor, because every camper came through our activity only one time every week. That meant we could give the same spiritual application every hour, every day, and no one would hear the same thing twice…This paddle is like Jesus…You can’t make it in the water without a paddle, and you can’t make it in life without Jesus.
But it was much more difficult at the pool. Every camper came to the pool every day. That meant that we had to come up with five different spiritual applications and use one per day.
Well, it just so happened that my first year as a lifeguard, I had spent a lot of time in the pool. And over that time, I had decided that I would learn how to do a one-and-a-half…That is a dive where the diver jumps off the diving board, does a complete flip in the air, then does another half flip and enters the water head first. I worked all summer on that one-and-a-half. I started out doing a flip. Then a flip and a belly flop. Until finally I perfected my one-and-a-half. And I must admit that back in my thinner and more athletic days it was a PERFECT one-and-a-half.
During the week of girls’ camp, I practiced my one-and-a-half in between the swimming groups.
In one of our last groups of the day, there was a little girl who was scared to death of jumping off the diving board. She finally got up enough courage to climb up on the board and loooooook over the edge into the water. But she would not jump.
She thought it would be easier if she took a running go before she jumped into the water. So she backed up to the back of the diving board and raaaaaan up the the very end and STOPPED! She baaaaaacked up…And raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED!
Finally it was time for the group to end their swim period, so we blew the whistle and got everybody out of the water. But that one little girl was still on the diving board. So I got on the board with her to "HELP" her while everybody else sat on the edge and watched. And the same thing happened. She baaaaaacked up…And raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED…Grabbed her nose and JUMPED. Everybody cheered!
When she finally got to the side of the pool, I stayed on the diving board with everyone’s attention. And I must admit, I used to really like having the attention of little girls. I started by reminding everyone about how she had been scared of jumping. I raaaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED! I baaaaacked up and raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED!
Then, I told how she finally got over her fears and jumped into the water.
Then, I quoted Philippians 4: 13… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Then…Can you guess what I did next? I ran to the end of the diving board JUMPED…BOUNCED…and did my "perfect" one-and-a-half…I knew that all the little girls were thoroughly impressed…
I swam to the side of the pool. As I was coming up to the ladder to climb out of the pool, I heard a little girl say… Now, do it off the high dive!
I had never done it off the high dive.
Can you guess what I did next? I cliiiiiimbed up to the top of the high dive. I took a deeeeeeeep breath. I raaaaaaaaan to the end of the diving board. And I STOPPED! I couldn’t do it. I was too scared to try it for the first time with all those girls watching. I couldn’t do it…AND…I was caught. I could not practice what I had just preached… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
But is that really what Paul meant in Philippians 4: 13? Did Paul mean that no matter what you want to do in life, if you will just pray about it, then Christ will give you the strength that you need to do whatever you want to do?
The best way to determine the meaning of any biblical text is to read it in its proper context. In terms of context, there are two important things we need to consider: The Background and The Foreground.
The background of a passage of Scripture is what stands behind the text as we look at it. The foreground is what stands in between us and the text. Just like in a photograph (family on the beach). There is the subject of the photograph (the family)…There is stuff behind the subject that shows up in the photo (ocean)…There is stuff in front of the subject that stands in between us and the subject (sand).
II. Background (Read Philippians 4: 10 – 13)
Remember that Paul is in prison as he writes this letter to the church at Philippi…Even though he is in prison, Paul can find reasons to rejoice…
He rejoiced that the spread of the Gospel does not depend on him…Even though one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived is in prison, the Gospel continued to spread and people continued to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
He rejoiced in the faithfulness of the Philippian Christians…This is one of the reasons why the Gospel continued to spread…Even though Paul gave a few words of instruction about church problems and conflict in this book, there is very little…The church was faithful to its task, mission, purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission.
He rejoiced that the Philippian church had sent him some money to help in his Gospel ministry…
And Paul rejoiced in his Contentment…This is an important word for understanding what Paul is saying in this passage.
It is reminiscent of the philosophical teachings of the Stoics. Stoicism was a philosophy that was very popular in Paul’s day and had infiltrated the Philippian church. Stoic philosophers taught that salvation was something that was possible for any man, woman or child to accomplish for himself or herself.
In fact, they believed that God had implanted a little piece of himself in every person. And all you had to do to be saved is to allow that piece of God to shine through in your life. They believed that piece of God was your REASON or your LOGIC.
Instead of being controlled by your emotions or your feelings, salvation is achieved by suppressing emotions and living according to your REASON or LOGIC.
Contentment = that Stoic state of salvation…Not happy…Not sad…Not angry …Not afraid…Just Neutral, or content…
III. Foreground (Read Philippians 4: 14 – 20)
There is a common belief among New Testament scholars that Philippians 4: 10 – 20 might be a second letter to the Philippians (i.e. 1 & 2 Corinthians), because it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of what Paul said. And this theory seems to make a little sense…Listen to how the book seems to come to a conclusion in Philippians 4: 9… Read Philippians 4: 9…
This doesn’t really matter, because it doesn’t change the fact that we believe that the Holy Spirit inspired these words and they are authoritative for our lives…But it might affect how we interpret these words…
What if this is a second letter to the Philippians? What if chapters 1 – 4: 9 represent a LETTER and chapter 4: 10 – 20 represent a short note?
Well, that makes sense to me, because 4: 10 – 20 reads just like a Thank You Note! I know you have all written and received Thank You Notes, because we live in Texas…And people in Texas are supposed to write Thank You Notes.
Paul is saying Thank You to the Philippians for their monetary gift…But this is an unusual Thank You Note, because of two things that Paul said…
1) I really didn’t need or expect the money…
2) You cannot afford to give me so much money…
Paul didn’t need the money, because he was Content. He had learned how to be happy and joyful and thankful no matter what his circumstances looked like.
The Philippians could not afford to give because they were being severely persecuted…They were impoverished and unemployed because of their faith… Yet, they gave out of love…
IV. Ancient Prayer
I recently came across an ancient prayer written by that wonderful poet and writer of prayers named Anonymous…
Give me neither Poverty nor Riches.
Feed me with the food that is needful to me.
Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor and steal.
And use profanely the name of the Lord.
V. Conclusion
As I read Philippians 4: 13 in context, I think it teaches us that we have three choices of how our lives will end up…
1) Frustration…Failing to achieve what we so earnestly desire…
2) Disillusion…Achieving what we desire and realizing that it will not satisfy…
3) Contentment…Achieving what we desire and being satisfied…
Paul teaches us that there is only one way to be Content.
Desiring Christ…Having Christ…Finding satisfaction in Christ…No matter what the circumstances of our lives…
No matter what the circumstances of life… I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009: Why the Resurrection Is Important
Why the Resurrection Is Important
1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 28
I. Introduction
Two of the blind men that Jesus healed in the Gospels met at the market one day. Each man was thrilled to finally meet another person who had also been healed by Jesus. They talked about the wonder of sight, the color of flowers, the beauty of butterflies, the glory of sunrises, finally being able to see the faces of their own children and grandchildren. They talked about the wonder of having seen the face of Jesus. They were laughing and having a great time together, when one of them said, "And do you remember how Jesus took that mud, spit on it, and put it into your eye?"
The other fellow looked kind of stunned, and answered, "Why no, he simply said, 'Receive your sight,' and I could see." The first fellow said, "Wait a minute - now just wait a minute here. You mean he didn't use any mud?" "No." "Well, did he at least have you wash in the pool of Siloam?" "No…Of course not…who has ever heard of anything so ridiculous as mud in your eye?!"
"Well," said the first man, "if he didn't put mud in your eyes and have you wash in the pool of Siloam, then you are still blind! Blind - do your hear me? Because that's the way Jesus healed me; that's the way he does it!"
Then the second man began to get angry. He shouted, "Mud, mud, mud! Who ever heard of using mud?! That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! You still have mud in your eyes. You're the one who's still blind!"
They got into a big argument…Their relationship was destroyed…And right then and there, they formed the first two Christian denominations: the Mudites and the Antimudites!
I once heard Frank Pollard tell this story just a little differently. He said that there were three ways that Jesus healed the blind in the Bible: He touched, he used spit and he used mud. Dr. Pollard said, “I’m surprised that today we don’t have Mudites, Spittites and Touchites.”
This is not technically the story of how denominations came into existence. But, it’s not that far off base. Don’t misunderstand me at this point…I am a Baptist through and through. However, I can admit that some of the reasons Christians have separated into denominations are secondary issues. Worship style, role of women in the church, election verses free will, even the amount of water to use in baptism. None of these are primary issues.
Yet, during the season of Easter, we focus on the primary issue of the Christian faith. There was a time in history when Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God, was crucified and resurrected on the third day.
The fact that Jesus rose again on the third day has affected us even today. The resurrection has eternal significance and theological importance that is perhaps best described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul used this entire chapter to answer questions about the resurrection. He offered historical proof that the resurrection actually happened, theological meaning and how it applies to every Christian man and woman. I will not read all 58 verses this morning…
Read 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 28
Can you imagine what the Disciples must have been going through as they stood at the foot of the cross watching Jesus die the humiliating and agonizing death of crucifixion? They had given up everything to follow Jesus—and now it seemed they would lose it all. Surely, if Jesus really is the Son of God, God will intervene; God will come and rescue Jesus from the cross…But God did not! Where was God as his Son suffered and bled and died?
The Bible tells us that Jesus said seven things while he was hanging on the cross. In six of these seven, it was obvious that Jesus was in control. He told John to take care of Jesus’ mother, Mary. Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who nailed him to the cross. Jesus offered hope of eternal life to the thief on the cross. And he proclaimed the ultimate victory, when he shouted, “It is finished!” Even as he was being executed by the Roman government by hanging on the cross, Jesus was in control. Jesus only said one thing on the cross that sounded like a cry of anguish…My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?
Does this mean that God had left Jesus alone? Had God abandoned his Only Begotten Son? Where was God when Jesus was dying on the cross?
According to the Apostle Paul, God was there. Paul tells us in Romans 5: 8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…God was demonstrating his love in the death of Jesus.
The death of Jesus demonstrates God love for us, because the death of Jesus was the ONLY way God could have possible offered us forgiveness of sins. Jesus had to die in order to forgive us our sins.
There is an interesting thing about Forgiveness. Forgiveness comes as a response to a sin or a crime that was committed against another person. It is interesting that the guilty person CANNOT EARN OR ACHIEVE OR DESERVE forgiveness from the innocent person. Forgiveness is something that can only be offered as a gift by the innocent person.
When someone sins against us, we have three choices of how we can respond. First, we can simply FORGET about the sin committed against us and pretend that nothing has ever happened. Of course this is nothing more than ignoring the sin and gives the person permission to continue doing exactly what they did in the first place. But Forgetfulness is not the same thing as Forgiveness. (Now it is possible for us to Forgive and Forget, just as God tells us that he will cast our sins away as far as the East is from the West and will remember our sins no more. But Forgiveness must come first.)
Our second choice is to seek JUSTICE and give the guilty sinner exactly what he or she deserves. But Justice is not the same thing as Forgiveness.
The third choice is FORGIVENESS. And FORGIVENESS is only possible is the innocent person accepts the penalty and the consequences of the other person’s sins. Forgiveness is never cheap, because Forgiveness is a response to sin. And sin ALWAYS involves suffering. Either the sinner will justly suffer the consequences of his or her own sins, or the innocent will suffer and offer costly FORGIVENESS.
And that is why Jesus had to die on the Cross. You and I are guilty of sin and should rightfully face the consequences and suffer the penalty of our sins. When Jesus died on the Cross, God FORGAVE us by personally suffering the penalty of sin so that if we would just believe, we would not face the penalty of sin.
God demonstrated his love for us by accepting the consequences and penalties of sin so that we would not have to. The death of Jesus was necessary in order to provide FORGIVENESS. But salvation involves more than just FORGIVENESS. Salvation is FORGIVENESS of sins and the reward of ETERNAL LIFE.
This is the point that Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 15. We have forgiveness of sins because Jesus died for our sins. We have the promise of eternal life because Jesus rose again…
II. The Resurrection Reveals God
Through the Resurrection of Jesus, we can know God for who he really is…
The Bible teaches us that we can only know God by his actions…A good place to see this is in Exodus 33 where God told Moses that Moses could not look at him, but he could look at where God had been…In the same way, we can see God by looking at what God has done…
The Old Testament teaches us that the One True God is the God of Creation and the God Who brought his people out of Egypt…In the New Testament, we know that same God as the One who Raised Jesus from the Grave…
Death is the only thing that you and I will ever face that is truly irreversible. If you have ever lost someone you love, you know what I am talking about. Death is that point of no return where nothing we say and nothing we can possibly do can ever bring that loved one back to us.
There is no one else, besides God himself, who can bring a dead man back to life. You see, Jesus did not die on the cross so that it might become POSSIBLE for him to rise again. NO, Jesus died on the cross so that it might be IMPOSSIBLE for him to rise again. The Resurrection of Jesus is not a possibility. The Resurrection of Jesus is an impossibility…Yet, nothing is truly impossible for the God who is able to bring his own dead Son back to life again!
III. The Resurrection Demonstrates that Jesus Is the Son of God
Through the Resurrection of Jesus, we can know that Jesus really is who he claimed to be, the Only Begotten Son of God…
Our Faith would be worthless if Jesus has not been raised…Resurrection demonstrates that there is something different about Jesus…He is Unique…The Unique, Only Begotten Son of God…
Resurrection reveals exactly who it was that died on the cross…It was not just any ordinary man…It was the Son of God…It was God himself…If we say that Jesus died for our sins, then our faith is literally destroyed if Jesus was no different from us.
IV. The Resurrection Gives Us Eternal Life (vv. 17 – 23)
Through the Resurrection of Jesus, we can know that we have the promise of Eternal Life with Jesus in Heaven…
Paul said in verse 26… The last enemy to be destroyed is death…And again in verse 54 – 57… Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many of us are terrified of dying. This is a normal human fear. Most of what we do on a daily basis is an effort to avoid death…We breathe, because if we stop breathing, we die…We eat, because if we do not have food, we die…We take medicine, we go to the doctor, we have surgery, we wear our seat belts, we look both ways before crossing the street…Why? Because we do not want to die!
As living human beings, we have a natural-born instinct that teaches us Death is our enemy. We avoid death at all costs! But Paul tells us that through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, our enemy Death has been defeated once and for all!
There is no natural, human way for us to deal with our fear of death. We work as hard as we can possibly work to avoid death. And death continues to catch up with us. Every one of us will one day face death. There is no natural and human way to overcome death…But the resurrection of Jesus gives us the only way we can deal with death in a SUPERNATURAL and DIVINE way.
Read 1 Corinthians 15: 17 – 23
I like what Paul says in this passage about our salvation. If Jesus never rose again, then our forgiveness is meaningless. What good is forgiveness of sin, if there is no reward of Eternal Life?
We will share in the fate of our Lord Jesus…If he rose again, so will we…In this passage, Paul describes Jesus as the first fruit…Jesus was the first one to come back from the grave…Jesus was the first to experience Eternal Life…
V. Conclusion
"The Resurrection is an enormous answer to the problem of death," says Notre Dame theologian John Dunne. "The idea is that the Christian goes with Christ through death to everlasting life. Death becomes an event, like birth, that is lived through."
--Kenneth L. Woodward, "2000 Years of Jesus," Newsweek, March 29, 1999, 55.
1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 28
I. Introduction
Two of the blind men that Jesus healed in the Gospels met at the market one day. Each man was thrilled to finally meet another person who had also been healed by Jesus. They talked about the wonder of sight, the color of flowers, the beauty of butterflies, the glory of sunrises, finally being able to see the faces of their own children and grandchildren. They talked about the wonder of having seen the face of Jesus. They were laughing and having a great time together, when one of them said, "And do you remember how Jesus took that mud, spit on it, and put it into your eye?"
The other fellow looked kind of stunned, and answered, "Why no, he simply said, 'Receive your sight,' and I could see." The first fellow said, "Wait a minute - now just wait a minute here. You mean he didn't use any mud?" "No." "Well, did he at least have you wash in the pool of Siloam?" "No…Of course not…who has ever heard of anything so ridiculous as mud in your eye?!"
"Well," said the first man, "if he didn't put mud in your eyes and have you wash in the pool of Siloam, then you are still blind! Blind - do your hear me? Because that's the way Jesus healed me; that's the way he does it!"
Then the second man began to get angry. He shouted, "Mud, mud, mud! Who ever heard of using mud?! That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! You still have mud in your eyes. You're the one who's still blind!"
They got into a big argument…Their relationship was destroyed…And right then and there, they formed the first two Christian denominations: the Mudites and the Antimudites!
I once heard Frank Pollard tell this story just a little differently. He said that there were three ways that Jesus healed the blind in the Bible: He touched, he used spit and he used mud. Dr. Pollard said, “I’m surprised that today we don’t have Mudites, Spittites and Touchites.”
This is not technically the story of how denominations came into existence. But, it’s not that far off base. Don’t misunderstand me at this point…I am a Baptist through and through. However, I can admit that some of the reasons Christians have separated into denominations are secondary issues. Worship style, role of women in the church, election verses free will, even the amount of water to use in baptism. None of these are primary issues.
Yet, during the season of Easter, we focus on the primary issue of the Christian faith. There was a time in history when Jesus Christ, the One and Only Son of God, was crucified and resurrected on the third day.
The fact that Jesus rose again on the third day has affected us even today. The resurrection has eternal significance and theological importance that is perhaps best described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul used this entire chapter to answer questions about the resurrection. He offered historical proof that the resurrection actually happened, theological meaning and how it applies to every Christian man and woman. I will not read all 58 verses this morning…
Read 1 Corinthians 15: 1 – 28
Can you imagine what the Disciples must have been going through as they stood at the foot of the cross watching Jesus die the humiliating and agonizing death of crucifixion? They had given up everything to follow Jesus—and now it seemed they would lose it all. Surely, if Jesus really is the Son of God, God will intervene; God will come and rescue Jesus from the cross…But God did not! Where was God as his Son suffered and bled and died?
The Bible tells us that Jesus said seven things while he was hanging on the cross. In six of these seven, it was obvious that Jesus was in control. He told John to take care of Jesus’ mother, Mary. Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who nailed him to the cross. Jesus offered hope of eternal life to the thief on the cross. And he proclaimed the ultimate victory, when he shouted, “It is finished!” Even as he was being executed by the Roman government by hanging on the cross, Jesus was in control. Jesus only said one thing on the cross that sounded like a cry of anguish…My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?
Does this mean that God had left Jesus alone? Had God abandoned his Only Begotten Son? Where was God when Jesus was dying on the cross?
According to the Apostle Paul, God was there. Paul tells us in Romans 5: 8, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…God was demonstrating his love in the death of Jesus.
The death of Jesus demonstrates God love for us, because the death of Jesus was the ONLY way God could have possible offered us forgiveness of sins. Jesus had to die in order to forgive us our sins.
There is an interesting thing about Forgiveness. Forgiveness comes as a response to a sin or a crime that was committed against another person. It is interesting that the guilty person CANNOT EARN OR ACHIEVE OR DESERVE forgiveness from the innocent person. Forgiveness is something that can only be offered as a gift by the innocent person.
When someone sins against us, we have three choices of how we can respond. First, we can simply FORGET about the sin committed against us and pretend that nothing has ever happened. Of course this is nothing more than ignoring the sin and gives the person permission to continue doing exactly what they did in the first place. But Forgetfulness is not the same thing as Forgiveness. (Now it is possible for us to Forgive and Forget, just as God tells us that he will cast our sins away as far as the East is from the West and will remember our sins no more. But Forgiveness must come first.)
Our second choice is to seek JUSTICE and give the guilty sinner exactly what he or she deserves. But Justice is not the same thing as Forgiveness.
The third choice is FORGIVENESS. And FORGIVENESS is only possible is the innocent person accepts the penalty and the consequences of the other person’s sins. Forgiveness is never cheap, because Forgiveness is a response to sin. And sin ALWAYS involves suffering. Either the sinner will justly suffer the consequences of his or her own sins, or the innocent will suffer and offer costly FORGIVENESS.
And that is why Jesus had to die on the Cross. You and I are guilty of sin and should rightfully face the consequences and suffer the penalty of our sins. When Jesus died on the Cross, God FORGAVE us by personally suffering the penalty of sin so that if we would just believe, we would not face the penalty of sin.
God demonstrated his love for us by accepting the consequences and penalties of sin so that we would not have to. The death of Jesus was necessary in order to provide FORGIVENESS. But salvation involves more than just FORGIVENESS. Salvation is FORGIVENESS of sins and the reward of ETERNAL LIFE.
This is the point that Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 15. We have forgiveness of sins because Jesus died for our sins. We have the promise of eternal life because Jesus rose again…
II. The Resurrection Reveals God
Through the Resurrection of Jesus, we can know God for who he really is…
The Bible teaches us that we can only know God by his actions…A good place to see this is in Exodus 33 where God told Moses that Moses could not look at him, but he could look at where God had been…In the same way, we can see God by looking at what God has done…
The Old Testament teaches us that the One True God is the God of Creation and the God Who brought his people out of Egypt…In the New Testament, we know that same God as the One who Raised Jesus from the Grave…
Death is the only thing that you and I will ever face that is truly irreversible. If you have ever lost someone you love, you know what I am talking about. Death is that point of no return where nothing we say and nothing we can possibly do can ever bring that loved one back to us.
There is no one else, besides God himself, who can bring a dead man back to life. You see, Jesus did not die on the cross so that it might become POSSIBLE for him to rise again. NO, Jesus died on the cross so that it might be IMPOSSIBLE for him to rise again. The Resurrection of Jesus is not a possibility. The Resurrection of Jesus is an impossibility…Yet, nothing is truly impossible for the God who is able to bring his own dead Son back to life again!
III. The Resurrection Demonstrates that Jesus Is the Son of God
Through the Resurrection of Jesus, we can know that Jesus really is who he claimed to be, the Only Begotten Son of God…
Our Faith would be worthless if Jesus has not been raised…Resurrection demonstrates that there is something different about Jesus…He is Unique…The Unique, Only Begotten Son of God…
Resurrection reveals exactly who it was that died on the cross…It was not just any ordinary man…It was the Son of God…It was God himself…If we say that Jesus died for our sins, then our faith is literally destroyed if Jesus was no different from us.
IV. The Resurrection Gives Us Eternal Life (vv. 17 – 23)
Through the Resurrection of Jesus, we can know that we have the promise of Eternal Life with Jesus in Heaven…
Paul said in verse 26… The last enemy to be destroyed is death…And again in verse 54 – 57… Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Many of us are terrified of dying. This is a normal human fear. Most of what we do on a daily basis is an effort to avoid death…We breathe, because if we stop breathing, we die…We eat, because if we do not have food, we die…We take medicine, we go to the doctor, we have surgery, we wear our seat belts, we look both ways before crossing the street…Why? Because we do not want to die!
As living human beings, we have a natural-born instinct that teaches us Death is our enemy. We avoid death at all costs! But Paul tells us that through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, our enemy Death has been defeated once and for all!
There is no natural, human way for us to deal with our fear of death. We work as hard as we can possibly work to avoid death. And death continues to catch up with us. Every one of us will one day face death. There is no natural and human way to overcome death…But the resurrection of Jesus gives us the only way we can deal with death in a SUPERNATURAL and DIVINE way.
Read 1 Corinthians 15: 17 – 23
I like what Paul says in this passage about our salvation. If Jesus never rose again, then our forgiveness is meaningless. What good is forgiveness of sin, if there is no reward of Eternal Life?
We will share in the fate of our Lord Jesus…If he rose again, so will we…In this passage, Paul describes Jesus as the first fruit…Jesus was the first one to come back from the grave…Jesus was the first to experience Eternal Life…
V. Conclusion
"The Resurrection is an enormous answer to the problem of death," says Notre Dame theologian John Dunne. "The idea is that the Christian goes with Christ through death to everlasting life. Death becomes an event, like birth, that is lived through."
--Kenneth L. Woodward, "2000 Years of Jesus," Newsweek, March 29, 1999, 55.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009: Good Fish, Bad Fish
Good Fish, Bad Fish
Matthew 13: 47 – 52.
I. Introduction.
Four hundred years ago, there were so many cod fish off the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts that early settlers named the region “Cape Cod.” But in 1999, the cod population was so depleted that the United States government was forced to begin a series of programs to limit the number of cod that could be harvested.
Over those four hundred years, the fishing industry had changed so much that professional fishermen were known to say “the fish don’t stand a chance.”
Fishing boats became safer, faster and more capable of traveling farther out to sea. Fishing nets became larger and stronger. And, the fishing boats relied on underwater sonar to locate the fish. Indeed, the fish don’t stand a chance.
The result of all this technology is that Cape Cod has become “overfished.” This means the fishermen are catching fish faster than the fish can repopulate. In other words, there are not as many fish in the sea.
When Jesus called his first disciples, he found them fishing in the Lake of Galilee. One pair of brothers was actually in the boat, conducting their daily business of catching fish. A second pair of brothers was sitting on the lake shore repairing their nets, perhaps getting ready to begin their daily pursuit of fish. Jesus’ words to these two sets of brothers was simply, “Follow me; and I will make you fishers for people.”
I believe this is the same, simple call Jesus extends to us as well. “Follow Jesus, and become fishers for people.”
In a place like Lufkin, Texas…I wonder if we need to worry about “overfishing.” An entire industry in Cape Cod is struggling from overfishing. But, what about us? Is it possible for us to “overfish” in Lufkin and Angelina County?
There are a lot of churches in Lufkin and Angelina County. Our church is even involved with three “new” churches—helping them to get started. This fact alone should prove that we do not believe Lufkin has been “overfished.” There are still fish in the sea. There are still people who do not know Jesus as the Lord of their lives. There are still people who choose to stay at home on Sunday mornings to catch up on sleep, yard work or to do something as honorable as spend time with their families.
You have heard me say this before, but it is worth repeating… If you and I want our church to grow, we have three choices. There are three ways our church could grow and reach more people on a given Sunday morning.
1. Growth by birth. If you would just have more babies, our church will grow. Actually, it is a little more complicated than that. You have to have more babies, AND you have to bring your babies to church.
2. Growth by transfer. This is actually how many churches in the United States are growing right now. Larger churches have been the beneficiaries, while the smaller churches have suffered. The Mega Churches offer more ministries and activities for children and youth than smaller churches can afford. As a result, smaller churches have gotten smaller. Mega Churches have gotten larger, or Mega-er. The sad thing about this type of growth is the way some churches look larger, while the number of Christians has remained about the same. The churches are growing, but the Kingdom of God is not.
3. Growth by evangelism. I believe this is the type of growth described in the New Testament. This is what it means to become “fishers for people!” Jesus didn’t call us to transfer fish from one aquarium to another. Jesus didn’t call us to grow our churches by having more babies than the rest of the world. Jesus called us to throw our nets out into the sea and bring in fish who have never seen the inside of an aquarium.
Jesus called us to “go fishing.” But, please don’t misunderstand me on this point. Yes. I want you to have more babies. There is nothing wrong with having babies and rearing your children in the church. We just do not need to rely on our birthrates to grow our church.
And, Yes. We do accept people who are moving their church membership from one church to another. We have a dynamic youth ministry that many people may want their kids to be a part of. We are developing a children’s ministry right now by searching for a fulltime children’s minister. The committee has been reviewing résumés and is ready to begin interviewing prospective candidates. I met with one of our young married adult Sunday school departments two weeks ago to tell them how much I need them to invest in the children’s ministry—for the future of our church.
And, as far as evangelism goes… We have made some progress. I am not ready to say we are the best in Texas. But we are doing more evangelism now than we did three years ago. We have held two Matthew Parties and had professions of faith, baptisms and new members as a result of both parties. On Easter Sunday, New Beginnings Baptist Church held their first worship service in the location on Pershing Avenue. In that service, they had 134 people present—they have been averaging 40 in our chapel. They also baptized seven new believers, including one man who was baptized with his wife and child. At the end of the service, they had three people join by transfer of membership.
What would it take for us to experience the same kinds of results at First Baptist Church? A short answer…Go Fishing.
Read Matthew 13: 47 – 52.
One characteristic of the Gospel of Matthew is the way it shows Jesus doing a lot of talking. If you have a “red letter” Bible, you will probably find more red letter in Matthew than in any of the other Gospels. That is because the words of Jesus are in red. Matthew shows us Jesus as a teacher. Not just any kind of teacher…Jesus was a teacher with authority. People listened to Jesus when he taught them.
In this section of Matthew, we find Jesus teaching through the use of parables. There are many different ways we can define the term parable. Sometimes a parable is a story, but not always. At other times, a parable is a comparison. We find one of each kind of parable in Matthew 13: 47 – 52. In fact, I would suggest that we just read two parables—one about a net, another about an owner of a house.
II. The Parable of the Net.
Notice the way Jesus began the Parable of the Net. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net…”
More than likely, the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” means exactly the same thing as the “Kingdom of God.” Matthew is the only Gospel writer who does not use the phrase “Kingdom of God.” Perhaps this indicates that Matthew was writing to a primarily Jewish audience and was using Jewish terminology. Good Jews would not use the word “God” out of fear of violating the third commandment—Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.
If this is true, then Matthew is talking about the realm in which God is the King, whether that realm is in Heaven or on earth. That would be consistent with the other Gospels’ usage of the “Kingdom of God.” On one hand, God is the King of Heaven. On the other hand, God is the King on earth in the hearts and lives of the individuals who name Jesus as their Lord.
The Kingdom of God—both in Heaven and on earth—is like a net. But, how is it like a net?
The type of net Jesus describes here was a common way of fishing in the First Century world. The net was shaped like a cylinder and was open on the top and bottom. The top of the net had some kind of floatation device to keep it from sinking. The bottom of the net had weights to allow it to sink as close to the bottom of the lake as possible.
As the bottom of the net sank to the floor of the lake, all kinds of fish were trapped inside. The fishermen would then draw the top and the bottom of the net closed, then haul it back into the boat.
There is at least one place in the Bible where we see the disciples using this kind of net. It is the story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples after the resurrection in John 21. The disciples had fished all night long, with no luck. As the sun was rising, Jesus appeared on the shore line. He commanded them to cast their net out the opposite side of the boat. They did as he said and caught 153 fish!
This catch was so large that it nearly sank their boat. The net was so full of fish that the disciples couldn’t even pick it up to put it in the boat. They had to tow the net behind the boat.
On a typical day in the First Century, anyone walking along the lake shore would see fishermen with nets spread out on the banks going through the fish. Some of the fish were “keepers,” but most of the fish were trash. They had to be thrown back into the lake. Perhaps the fish were too small. Perhaps they weren’t the right kind of fish. Either way, the net would bring in both good fish and bad fish. The net was indiscriminate.
Again, notice that Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a net.” He didn’t say, “The Kingdom of God is like a bunch of fishermen sorting out their fish on the banks of the lake.”
This is the mistake we Christians make when we “go fishing” for people. We usually look for the good people and try to witness to them or to invite them to church. Jesus doesn’t tell us to discriminate. Jesus tells us to be like a net that catches all kinds of fish. In fact, Jesus used a very curious word to describe the fish in verse 47.
“The Kingdom of God is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all RACES of fish.”
If Matthew did write his Gospel to a primarily Jewish audience, this is significant. The Jewish people believed there were only two types of people in the world: Jews and Gentiles. Jesus said, “The Kingdom is not just for the Jews. It is for Jews AND Gentiles.”
Jesus is teaching us the same thing today. The Kingdom of God is not just for the white people. It is for Red and Yellow, Black and White. The Kingdom of God is not just for American citizens. It is for Americans, Mexicans, Scandinavians, Ethiopians, Kenyans and even for the illegal aliens living in Texas. The Kingdom of God is not just for the middle to upper class. It is for the kid at school with no lunch money, the man working at the factory, the woman waiting on tables, the family evicted from their home, the businessman, the CEO, the doctors and lawyers. The Kingdom of God is like a net, because it knows no boundaries.
If you want to do the work of the Kingdom of God, then be like a net that does not discriminate or sort good fish from bad fish. Jesus said there will be an appropriate time and place for sorting the good and the bad. But that is not our job.
Sorting is God’s job, and God will do the sorting at the final judgment.
Judgment is real. But, it’s not our job. Heaven and Hell are real. But, we don’t determine which people go to Heaven or Hell. Our job is to catch the fish and leave the rest to God in the final judgment.
III. The Parable of the Homeowner.
After telling the parable to his disciples, Jesus asked them if they understood. For once in their lives, they did understand. But, with understanding comes responsibility.
Notice Jesus’ words in verse 52…
“Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
When I first started studying this Scripture, I was expecting Jesus to finish the parable by describing the way the homeowner sorted out the new and the old. I was expecting Jesus to tell his disciples to throw away all the old stuff and keep the new stuff. But, Jesus made no mention of sorting. The old is still good. The new is also good.
The key to understanding this parable is a word that doesn’t show up in our English translations. Literally, Jesus said, “Every scribe who has been DISCIPLED about the Kingdom of God is like the owner of a house.”
Usually when we use the word “disciple,” we are talking about the students of Jesus. The men (and later women) who lived life with Jesus, witnessed his miracles and learned about the kind of life Jesus came to give us. If we think in these terms, then it seems that Jesus is telling us that all disciples ought to combine the old and the new as we do the work of scribes. The scribes were teachers.
IV. Conclusion.
The Kingdom of God is NOT about sorting good fish from bad fish. The Kingdom of God is NOT about sorting the old and the new. The Kingdom of God is about catching all kinds of fish, instructing them in all the traditions (old and new), then allowing God to do the work of sorting.
"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." -Charles Spurgeon.
Matthew 13: 47 – 52.
I. Introduction.
Four hundred years ago, there were so many cod fish off the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts that early settlers named the region “Cape Cod.” But in 1999, the cod population was so depleted that the United States government was forced to begin a series of programs to limit the number of cod that could be harvested.
Over those four hundred years, the fishing industry had changed so much that professional fishermen were known to say “the fish don’t stand a chance.”
Fishing boats became safer, faster and more capable of traveling farther out to sea. Fishing nets became larger and stronger. And, the fishing boats relied on underwater sonar to locate the fish. Indeed, the fish don’t stand a chance.
The result of all this technology is that Cape Cod has become “overfished.” This means the fishermen are catching fish faster than the fish can repopulate. In other words, there are not as many fish in the sea.
When Jesus called his first disciples, he found them fishing in the Lake of Galilee. One pair of brothers was actually in the boat, conducting their daily business of catching fish. A second pair of brothers was sitting on the lake shore repairing their nets, perhaps getting ready to begin their daily pursuit of fish. Jesus’ words to these two sets of brothers was simply, “Follow me; and I will make you fishers for people.”
I believe this is the same, simple call Jesus extends to us as well. “Follow Jesus, and become fishers for people.”
In a place like Lufkin, Texas…I wonder if we need to worry about “overfishing.” An entire industry in Cape Cod is struggling from overfishing. But, what about us? Is it possible for us to “overfish” in Lufkin and Angelina County?
There are a lot of churches in Lufkin and Angelina County. Our church is even involved with three “new” churches—helping them to get started. This fact alone should prove that we do not believe Lufkin has been “overfished.” There are still fish in the sea. There are still people who do not know Jesus as the Lord of their lives. There are still people who choose to stay at home on Sunday mornings to catch up on sleep, yard work or to do something as honorable as spend time with their families.
You have heard me say this before, but it is worth repeating… If you and I want our church to grow, we have three choices. There are three ways our church could grow and reach more people on a given Sunday morning.
1. Growth by birth. If you would just have more babies, our church will grow. Actually, it is a little more complicated than that. You have to have more babies, AND you have to bring your babies to church.
2. Growth by transfer. This is actually how many churches in the United States are growing right now. Larger churches have been the beneficiaries, while the smaller churches have suffered. The Mega Churches offer more ministries and activities for children and youth than smaller churches can afford. As a result, smaller churches have gotten smaller. Mega Churches have gotten larger, or Mega-er. The sad thing about this type of growth is the way some churches look larger, while the number of Christians has remained about the same. The churches are growing, but the Kingdom of God is not.
3. Growth by evangelism. I believe this is the type of growth described in the New Testament. This is what it means to become “fishers for people!” Jesus didn’t call us to transfer fish from one aquarium to another. Jesus didn’t call us to grow our churches by having more babies than the rest of the world. Jesus called us to throw our nets out into the sea and bring in fish who have never seen the inside of an aquarium.
Jesus called us to “go fishing.” But, please don’t misunderstand me on this point. Yes. I want you to have more babies. There is nothing wrong with having babies and rearing your children in the church. We just do not need to rely on our birthrates to grow our church.
And, Yes. We do accept people who are moving their church membership from one church to another. We have a dynamic youth ministry that many people may want their kids to be a part of. We are developing a children’s ministry right now by searching for a fulltime children’s minister. The committee has been reviewing résumés and is ready to begin interviewing prospective candidates. I met with one of our young married adult Sunday school departments two weeks ago to tell them how much I need them to invest in the children’s ministry—for the future of our church.
And, as far as evangelism goes… We have made some progress. I am not ready to say we are the best in Texas. But we are doing more evangelism now than we did three years ago. We have held two Matthew Parties and had professions of faith, baptisms and new members as a result of both parties. On Easter Sunday, New Beginnings Baptist Church held their first worship service in the location on Pershing Avenue. In that service, they had 134 people present—they have been averaging 40 in our chapel. They also baptized seven new believers, including one man who was baptized with his wife and child. At the end of the service, they had three people join by transfer of membership.
What would it take for us to experience the same kinds of results at First Baptist Church? A short answer…Go Fishing.
Read Matthew 13: 47 – 52.
One characteristic of the Gospel of Matthew is the way it shows Jesus doing a lot of talking. If you have a “red letter” Bible, you will probably find more red letter in Matthew than in any of the other Gospels. That is because the words of Jesus are in red. Matthew shows us Jesus as a teacher. Not just any kind of teacher…Jesus was a teacher with authority. People listened to Jesus when he taught them.
In this section of Matthew, we find Jesus teaching through the use of parables. There are many different ways we can define the term parable. Sometimes a parable is a story, but not always. At other times, a parable is a comparison. We find one of each kind of parable in Matthew 13: 47 – 52. In fact, I would suggest that we just read two parables—one about a net, another about an owner of a house.
II. The Parable of the Net.
Notice the way Jesus began the Parable of the Net. He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net…”
More than likely, the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” means exactly the same thing as the “Kingdom of God.” Matthew is the only Gospel writer who does not use the phrase “Kingdom of God.” Perhaps this indicates that Matthew was writing to a primarily Jewish audience and was using Jewish terminology. Good Jews would not use the word “God” out of fear of violating the third commandment—Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.
If this is true, then Matthew is talking about the realm in which God is the King, whether that realm is in Heaven or on earth. That would be consistent with the other Gospels’ usage of the “Kingdom of God.” On one hand, God is the King of Heaven. On the other hand, God is the King on earth in the hearts and lives of the individuals who name Jesus as their Lord.
The Kingdom of God—both in Heaven and on earth—is like a net. But, how is it like a net?
The type of net Jesus describes here was a common way of fishing in the First Century world. The net was shaped like a cylinder and was open on the top and bottom. The top of the net had some kind of floatation device to keep it from sinking. The bottom of the net had weights to allow it to sink as close to the bottom of the lake as possible.
As the bottom of the net sank to the floor of the lake, all kinds of fish were trapped inside. The fishermen would then draw the top and the bottom of the net closed, then haul it back into the boat.
There is at least one place in the Bible where we see the disciples using this kind of net. It is the story of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples after the resurrection in John 21. The disciples had fished all night long, with no luck. As the sun was rising, Jesus appeared on the shore line. He commanded them to cast their net out the opposite side of the boat. They did as he said and caught 153 fish!
This catch was so large that it nearly sank their boat. The net was so full of fish that the disciples couldn’t even pick it up to put it in the boat. They had to tow the net behind the boat.
On a typical day in the First Century, anyone walking along the lake shore would see fishermen with nets spread out on the banks going through the fish. Some of the fish were “keepers,” but most of the fish were trash. They had to be thrown back into the lake. Perhaps the fish were too small. Perhaps they weren’t the right kind of fish. Either way, the net would bring in both good fish and bad fish. The net was indiscriminate.
Again, notice that Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a net.” He didn’t say, “The Kingdom of God is like a bunch of fishermen sorting out their fish on the banks of the lake.”
This is the mistake we Christians make when we “go fishing” for people. We usually look for the good people and try to witness to them or to invite them to church. Jesus doesn’t tell us to discriminate. Jesus tells us to be like a net that catches all kinds of fish. In fact, Jesus used a very curious word to describe the fish in verse 47.
“The Kingdom of God is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all RACES of fish.”
If Matthew did write his Gospel to a primarily Jewish audience, this is significant. The Jewish people believed there were only two types of people in the world: Jews and Gentiles. Jesus said, “The Kingdom is not just for the Jews. It is for Jews AND Gentiles.”
Jesus is teaching us the same thing today. The Kingdom of God is not just for the white people. It is for Red and Yellow, Black and White. The Kingdom of God is not just for American citizens. It is for Americans, Mexicans, Scandinavians, Ethiopians, Kenyans and even for the illegal aliens living in Texas. The Kingdom of God is not just for the middle to upper class. It is for the kid at school with no lunch money, the man working at the factory, the woman waiting on tables, the family evicted from their home, the businessman, the CEO, the doctors and lawyers. The Kingdom of God is like a net, because it knows no boundaries.
If you want to do the work of the Kingdom of God, then be like a net that does not discriminate or sort good fish from bad fish. Jesus said there will be an appropriate time and place for sorting the good and the bad. But that is not our job.
Sorting is God’s job, and God will do the sorting at the final judgment.
Judgment is real. But, it’s not our job. Heaven and Hell are real. But, we don’t determine which people go to Heaven or Hell. Our job is to catch the fish and leave the rest to God in the final judgment.
III. The Parable of the Homeowner.
After telling the parable to his disciples, Jesus asked them if they understood. For once in their lives, they did understand. But, with understanding comes responsibility.
Notice Jesus’ words in verse 52…
“Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
When I first started studying this Scripture, I was expecting Jesus to finish the parable by describing the way the homeowner sorted out the new and the old. I was expecting Jesus to tell his disciples to throw away all the old stuff and keep the new stuff. But, Jesus made no mention of sorting. The old is still good. The new is also good.
The key to understanding this parable is a word that doesn’t show up in our English translations. Literally, Jesus said, “Every scribe who has been DISCIPLED about the Kingdom of God is like the owner of a house.”
Usually when we use the word “disciple,” we are talking about the students of Jesus. The men (and later women) who lived life with Jesus, witnessed his miracles and learned about the kind of life Jesus came to give us. If we think in these terms, then it seems that Jesus is telling us that all disciples ought to combine the old and the new as we do the work of scribes. The scribes were teachers.
IV. Conclusion.
The Kingdom of God is NOT about sorting good fish from bad fish. The Kingdom of God is NOT about sorting the old and the new. The Kingdom of God is about catching all kinds of fish, instructing them in all the traditions (old and new), then allowing God to do the work of sorting.
"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." -Charles Spurgeon.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Sunday 2009: What Is Your Life Worth?
What Is Your Life Worth?
Mark 8: 34 – 38.
I. Introduction.
Join me this morning as we reflect on the title of the sermon: What is your life worth? What value would you place on your life? Is your life something that can be measured in a monetary value?
Scientists from Japan and the United States have actually done research to determine the value of a human body based on its chemical composition. Of course, many of the basic building blocks of your body are minerals which are traded on the commodities markets, so the value of your body will fluctuate along with the New York Stock Exchange and the Japanese Nikkei Index.
The elements of the human body and the skin combine for an approximate value of $4.50. The skin on an average human body is worth $3.50 by itself. The elements and minerals that make up human life are worth about $1.00.[1]
The Indiana University School of Medicine cites a different kind of study on the human body. This study, conducted by Wired Magazine, came up with different results. Instead of breaking down a human body into basic elements and minerals, Wired Magazine placed a monetary value on human tissues, organs and fluids based on the amounts insurance companies pay for organ and tissue transplants. This study claims that the working parts of a human body are worth an estimated $45 Million.[2]
Somewhere in the middle of these two surveys, we meet a man named Ian Usher. In 2001, Ian Usher moved from England to Australia with his wife. Six years later (2007), they went through a very painful divorce. Ian continued to live in the house he and his wife had built, surrounded by all the furnishings and memories he shared with his wife. After a year of trying to forget his pain and move on with his life, Ian decided it was time to take drastic measures. He put his life up for sale on the Internet.
You cannot sell your life on eBay, so Ian had to set up his own website, www.ALife4Sale.com. Ian’s life included: a three-bedroom house, car, motorcycle, jet ski, all his friends, his memories of his wife, and his job. (His employer agreed to allow the person who bought Ian’s life to work at the rug shop for two weeks with the potential of permanent employment.)
The website was set up like an auction. The bidding began at $1.00, but Ian was hopeful it would go as high as $500,000. But, it didn’t. The auction for Ian’s life ended with a disappointing high bid of $399,000. Then, to add insult to injury, the person who won the auction couldn’t get the financing to complete the sale.[3]
The question about the value of your life is not something we should take lightly. Sure, I have cited a chemical survey that underestimates the value of life; a survey about organ and tissue transplants that is illegal and unethical; as well as a silly story about a heartbroken man who failed to sell his life online. However, this is a question Jesus asked his disciples. This is a question Jesus asks us to consider as well.
Read Mark 8: 34 – 38.
I believe Jesus is talking about discipleship in this Scripture. On one hand, this teaching falls in the context of what I call the “discipleship section” of Mark. On the other hand, this teaching comes at a time when Jesus is setting his course toward Jerusalem and the crucifixion.
“Counting the cost” is an evaluation Jesus asks from all of his followers. If you want to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus, a Christian, then you must be willing to give your life away for Jesus and for the sake of the Gospel. As you evaluate your life today, which do you think is more valuable? Is it better to continue living life on your own terms? Or is it better to give your life away to Jesus in exchange for eternal life in heaven?
One of the goals Jesus had in offering this teaching to his disciples was to prepare them for what was about to take place. Jesus began by predicting his death. Jesus knew that his teaching and healing ministry had angered the religious and political leaders. Jesus knew that his view of the Kingdom of God was in direct conflict with the views and values of the powerful elite. Jesus knew that if he continued to teach about God’s Kingdom, he would be rejected; he would suffer; and he would die on the cross. Jesus knew that continuing on his journey to Jerusalem would lead him to the cross. But, Jesus also knew this was his purpose.
The cross was Jesus’ purpose… Because the cross is the only value that can ever be placed on a human life.
The story begins with the story of creation in Genesis 1 and 2. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God spoke, and everything we see came into existence. The sun, moon, stars and earth were created by the Word of God. The plants, insects and animals were created when God said, “Let there be…” There is only one thing God created without speaking a word—human beings. When God created humans, he got his hands dirty. He reached down, scooped up a handful of dirt (probably about $1.00 worth of dirt), shaped the dirt into a human being, then breathed into the human the breath of life—God’s own breath.
Practically speaking, the act of creation shows there is something different about human beings that separate us from the rest of creation. God didn’t speak humanity into existence. God didn’t call us forth from the chaos. No. God shaped us and formed us and breathed his own breath into us.
Theologically speaking, there is another difference that separates humanity from the rest of God’s creation.
Genesis 1: 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
God created human beings in his own image.
I think it is important for us to realize that God did not create us to BE our own gods. God created us to REFLECT the image of the one true God. We fulfill God’s purpose for our lives when we reflect his image to others. We live up to our greatest potential when other people see God at work in our lives.
Another way to think of this is to think of our relationship with God like the relationship between the sun and the moon. The sun is the source of all light on the planet earth. We are only aware of the sun during the daytime. At night, there is another “light” in the sky—the moon. However, the moon is NOT a source of light. It is merely a reflection of the light emanating from the sun. The moon fulfills its purpose by reflecting the light from the sun. In the same way, I fulfill my purpose by reflecting the image of God.
The story of Easter is the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Easter was not a surprise to Jesus. He knew that he had come to earth as God’s only-begotten Son to suffer and die on a Roman cross and to rise again on the third day. He predicted this to his disciples in Mark 8. This was no surprise to Jesus. It was his purpose. Jesus had to die and rise again. This was the only way to place a value on the human life.
You and I were created in the image of God, to reflect God’s image to the world. Jesus lived a human life on earth. But, The New Testament tells us that Jesus’ life was different from ours.
Hebrews 1: 3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (NIV).”
Colossians 1: 15, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (NIV).”
This is the Good News! Chemists believe your life is worth $4.50. Transplant doctors and insurance companies believe your life is worth $45 Million. If you are lucky, you might find someone on the Internet willing to pay $400,000 for your life. But, God thinks you are so valuable that he gave his only-begotten Son.
God could not send any human being to purchase your life. He sent his Son—the exact representation of his being, the perfect image of the invisible God—to die on the cross and to rise again. This is how much your life is worth TO GOD.
II. What Are Other People Worth?
Since you and I were created in the image of God, our lives cannot be measured in monetary values. But, what about other people? What about the people who do not go to church? What about the people who do not even believe in God?
In God’s eyes, their lives are just as valuable as yours and mine.
John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5: 8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God did not send Jesus to die for Christians. God sent Jesus to die for sinners. God sent Jesus to die for the world.
III. Conclusion.
What is your life worth (to God)? He sent his only Son to die for you.
What are other people worth (to God)? He sent his only Son to die for a world of sinners.
But, what are other people worth to you? Now THAT is an interesting question.
The best answer I have ever found to this question comes from the mouth of a professed atheist—magician and comedian Penn Jillette. Two weeks ago, I discovered a video of Penn describing a Christian man who tried to witness to him after a show. As you watch this video, keep in mind…This is an atheist talking.
Penn Says - Micro Church Message Video from The Church at Chapel Hill on Vimeo.
How much do we hate other people when we refuse to tell them about Jesus? God loves sinners so much that he sent his only Son. We love others so much that…
I can think of three decisions God may be calling you to make today.
Is God calling you to give your life to Jesus today?
Perhaps, God is calling you to be a better witness—to do something “socially awkward” by telling your friends that Jesus died for them.
Perhaps, God is calling you to start inviting your friends to church. If you believe your church makes a difference in your life…If you believe your church preaches the Gospel…If you believe your church has something to offer the people you care about… Then, telling your friends about your church is a way to tell them about Jesus.
[1] http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/worth.asp
[2] http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/archive/2003/quiz/humanWorth.html
[3] http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23391578-23109,00.html, http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23690706/, http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/03/after-divorce-m.html, http://www.alife4sale.com/index.htm, http://alife4saleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-bought-alife4sale-all-answers.html.
Mark 8: 34 – 38.
I. Introduction.
Join me this morning as we reflect on the title of the sermon: What is your life worth? What value would you place on your life? Is your life something that can be measured in a monetary value?
Scientists from Japan and the United States have actually done research to determine the value of a human body based on its chemical composition. Of course, many of the basic building blocks of your body are minerals which are traded on the commodities markets, so the value of your body will fluctuate along with the New York Stock Exchange and the Japanese Nikkei Index.
The elements of the human body and the skin combine for an approximate value of $4.50. The skin on an average human body is worth $3.50 by itself. The elements and minerals that make up human life are worth about $1.00.[1]
The Indiana University School of Medicine cites a different kind of study on the human body. This study, conducted by Wired Magazine, came up with different results. Instead of breaking down a human body into basic elements and minerals, Wired Magazine placed a monetary value on human tissues, organs and fluids based on the amounts insurance companies pay for organ and tissue transplants. This study claims that the working parts of a human body are worth an estimated $45 Million.[2]
Somewhere in the middle of these two surveys, we meet a man named Ian Usher. In 2001, Ian Usher moved from England to Australia with his wife. Six years later (2007), they went through a very painful divorce. Ian continued to live in the house he and his wife had built, surrounded by all the furnishings and memories he shared with his wife. After a year of trying to forget his pain and move on with his life, Ian decided it was time to take drastic measures. He put his life up for sale on the Internet.
You cannot sell your life on eBay, so Ian had to set up his own website, www.ALife4Sale.com. Ian’s life included: a three-bedroom house, car, motorcycle, jet ski, all his friends, his memories of his wife, and his job. (His employer agreed to allow the person who bought Ian’s life to work at the rug shop for two weeks with the potential of permanent employment.)
The website was set up like an auction. The bidding began at $1.00, but Ian was hopeful it would go as high as $500,000. But, it didn’t. The auction for Ian’s life ended with a disappointing high bid of $399,000. Then, to add insult to injury, the person who won the auction couldn’t get the financing to complete the sale.[3]
The question about the value of your life is not something we should take lightly. Sure, I have cited a chemical survey that underestimates the value of life; a survey about organ and tissue transplants that is illegal and unethical; as well as a silly story about a heartbroken man who failed to sell his life online. However, this is a question Jesus asked his disciples. This is a question Jesus asks us to consider as well.
Read Mark 8: 34 – 38.
I believe Jesus is talking about discipleship in this Scripture. On one hand, this teaching falls in the context of what I call the “discipleship section” of Mark. On the other hand, this teaching comes at a time when Jesus is setting his course toward Jerusalem and the crucifixion.
“Counting the cost” is an evaluation Jesus asks from all of his followers. If you want to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus, a Christian, then you must be willing to give your life away for Jesus and for the sake of the Gospel. As you evaluate your life today, which do you think is more valuable? Is it better to continue living life on your own terms? Or is it better to give your life away to Jesus in exchange for eternal life in heaven?
One of the goals Jesus had in offering this teaching to his disciples was to prepare them for what was about to take place. Jesus began by predicting his death. Jesus knew that his teaching and healing ministry had angered the religious and political leaders. Jesus knew that his view of the Kingdom of God was in direct conflict with the views and values of the powerful elite. Jesus knew that if he continued to teach about God’s Kingdom, he would be rejected; he would suffer; and he would die on the cross. Jesus knew that continuing on his journey to Jerusalem would lead him to the cross. But, Jesus also knew this was his purpose.
The cross was Jesus’ purpose… Because the cross is the only value that can ever be placed on a human life.
The story begins with the story of creation in Genesis 1 and 2. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God spoke, and everything we see came into existence. The sun, moon, stars and earth were created by the Word of God. The plants, insects and animals were created when God said, “Let there be…” There is only one thing God created without speaking a word—human beings. When God created humans, he got his hands dirty. He reached down, scooped up a handful of dirt (probably about $1.00 worth of dirt), shaped the dirt into a human being, then breathed into the human the breath of life—God’s own breath.
Practically speaking, the act of creation shows there is something different about human beings that separate us from the rest of creation. God didn’t speak humanity into existence. God didn’t call us forth from the chaos. No. God shaped us and formed us and breathed his own breath into us.
Theologically speaking, there is another difference that separates humanity from the rest of God’s creation.
Genesis 1: 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
God created human beings in his own image.
I think it is important for us to realize that God did not create us to BE our own gods. God created us to REFLECT the image of the one true God. We fulfill God’s purpose for our lives when we reflect his image to others. We live up to our greatest potential when other people see God at work in our lives.
Another way to think of this is to think of our relationship with God like the relationship between the sun and the moon. The sun is the source of all light on the planet earth. We are only aware of the sun during the daytime. At night, there is another “light” in the sky—the moon. However, the moon is NOT a source of light. It is merely a reflection of the light emanating from the sun. The moon fulfills its purpose by reflecting the light from the sun. In the same way, I fulfill my purpose by reflecting the image of God.
The story of Easter is the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Easter was not a surprise to Jesus. He knew that he had come to earth as God’s only-begotten Son to suffer and die on a Roman cross and to rise again on the third day. He predicted this to his disciples in Mark 8. This was no surprise to Jesus. It was his purpose. Jesus had to die and rise again. This was the only way to place a value on the human life.
You and I were created in the image of God, to reflect God’s image to the world. Jesus lived a human life on earth. But, The New Testament tells us that Jesus’ life was different from ours.
Hebrews 1: 3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (NIV).”
Colossians 1: 15, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (NIV).”
This is the Good News! Chemists believe your life is worth $4.50. Transplant doctors and insurance companies believe your life is worth $45 Million. If you are lucky, you might find someone on the Internet willing to pay $400,000 for your life. But, God thinks you are so valuable that he gave his only-begotten Son.
God could not send any human being to purchase your life. He sent his Son—the exact representation of his being, the perfect image of the invisible God—to die on the cross and to rise again. This is how much your life is worth TO GOD.
II. What Are Other People Worth?
Since you and I were created in the image of God, our lives cannot be measured in monetary values. But, what about other people? What about the people who do not go to church? What about the people who do not even believe in God?
In God’s eyes, their lives are just as valuable as yours and mine.
John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5: 8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God did not send Jesus to die for Christians. God sent Jesus to die for sinners. God sent Jesus to die for the world.
III. Conclusion.
What is your life worth (to God)? He sent his only Son to die for you.
What are other people worth (to God)? He sent his only Son to die for a world of sinners.
But, what are other people worth to you? Now THAT is an interesting question.
The best answer I have ever found to this question comes from the mouth of a professed atheist—magician and comedian Penn Jillette. Two weeks ago, I discovered a video of Penn describing a Christian man who tried to witness to him after a show. As you watch this video, keep in mind…This is an atheist talking.
Penn Says - Micro Church Message Video from The Church at Chapel Hill on Vimeo.
How much do we hate other people when we refuse to tell them about Jesus? God loves sinners so much that he sent his only Son. We love others so much that…
I can think of three decisions God may be calling you to make today.
Is God calling you to give your life to Jesus today?
Perhaps, God is calling you to be a better witness—to do something “socially awkward” by telling your friends that Jesus died for them.
Perhaps, God is calling you to start inviting your friends to church. If you believe your church makes a difference in your life…If you believe your church preaches the Gospel…If you believe your church has something to offer the people you care about… Then, telling your friends about your church is a way to tell them about Jesus.
[1] http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/worth.asp
[2] http://soundmedicine.iu.edu/archive/2003/quiz/humanWorth.html
[3] http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23391578-23109,00.html, http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23690706/, http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/03/after-divorce-m.html, http://www.alife4sale.com/index.htm, http://alife4saleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-bought-alife4sale-all-answers.html.
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