Jesus Is First
Colossians 1: 15 – 23
I. Introduction.
A few weeks ago, I shared with you a terrible quote from Jim Denison. I heard Jim say this at a pastors’ retreat. He said that a worldwide Christian revival is currently taking place on every continent except Europe and North America. He attributes the worldwide revival to people and churches who proclaim God as king. He attributes the lack of revival to the fact that in Europe and North America we do not live as if God is our king. We proclaim God as our hobby. Here is the terrible quote…In the places where the church proclaims God as King, the Christian faith is growing faster than any other time in history. In the places where the church proclaims God as our hobby, Islam is the fastest growing religion.
If I understand the connection between God as King or God as hobby, then I think we ought to realize that our culture is depending on us right now. The way we live our lives individually actually makes a difference for the world we live in. The way we approach church actually makes a difference in our local community and in the world. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will succeed or fail, depending on how we chose to live in the world and how we approach the work of church.
It seems like an easy choice to make. On one hand, we can live as if God is the King of our lives and our church. On the other hand, we can live as if God is nothing more than our personal hobby—soccer, baseball, golf, deer hunting, one choice among many.
One of my seminary professors helped me to understand what it means to be a Christian. Granted, I became a Christian as a nine year old boy in Vacation Bible School and grew up in church. I majored in Bible in college and studied theology in seminary. However, I had never stopped to think about what separates Christianity from the religions of the world and what separates Christians from people with other faiths or no faith at all. The difference boils down to one belief. Jesus is the only way to God.
If someone believes Jesus is one option among many options for knowing God, then that person is not a Christian. If a person believes Jesus does not lead the way to God, then that person is not a Christian. Jesus is the exclusive way to God, salvation, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, Heaven. There is no other way to be a Christian.
One biblical person who demonstrates this both in his life and his writings is the man we know as the Apostle Paul. Paul began his life as a good Jew. Perhaps that is an understatement to refer to Paul as a “good Jew.” It would be more accurate to say he was the “best of the best” of all the Jews. He was born into a religious family. They trained him in godliness. They gave him the very best Jewish education money could buy. He advanced in educational circles and became a Pharisee.
The Jews of the first century were not happy with the way Jesus’ original twelve followers began preaching about Jesus among the other Jews. After the resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, these twelve followers grew in number from 12 men to 120 men and women to a movement of over 3,000. The Jews organized a resistance movement to stop the growth of the Christian movement. And Paul was the leader of the resistance.
Just as Paul had excelled in Judaism, he excelled in resisting the Christian church. He excelled until the day Paul met Jesus personally. At that moment, Paul’s life changed. He became a follower of Jesus, and he became an Apostle—an Apostle is someone who has been sent by Jesus to do Jesus’ work in the world.
Paul carried out his God-given mission by preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, establishing Christian churches in foreign countries and by writing letters to instruct and encourage the Christian churches.
Read Colossians 1: 15 – 23.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.(NIV)
If you are reading the New International Version, you will notice a subject heading in boldface type before verse 15. The interpreters tell us that this Scripture describes “The Supremacy of Christ.” That is a helpful notation because of all the pronouns…It begins with the pronoun “he” and never really explains who he is. But, we don’t have to depend on the subject heading to tell us who this Scripture is about. We can look at the context.
If we begin reading at verse 12 instead of verse 15, it is obvious who Paul is writing about. “…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1: 12 – 15).”
Paul tells us that God the Father has rescued us from this dark world and provided us with access to the Kingdom of Light. God the Father did this by sending his Son. This seems like an obvious reference to Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God. But, once again, we do not have to assume anything. The context gives us the answer:
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you…(Colossians 1: 3)”
Paul’s theology is certainly in the center of what it means to be a Christian. He teaches us that Jesus is the only way out of the darkness and into the light of Heaven. He professes two things about Jesus in his statement Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Christ is Jesus’ title or even his purpose for coming. Christ is the English form of the Greek word Christos. Christos is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Messiah. In Jewish teaching and expectations, the Messiah was God’s Chosen One, who would come to earth and establish God’s Kingdom. This is why Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God. It was his Messianic purpose to establish God’s Kingdom.
In Matthew 16, we read a story about Jesus and his disciples on the banks of the Lake of Galilee. Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others say Jeremiah of one of the other prophets.” Jesus then made the question personal by asking, “What about ya’ll? Who do ya’ll say that I am?” Simon Peter was the first to answer the question. He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus accepted this title in the way he agreed with Peter’s answer, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven.” To profess Jesus as the Christ is to profess Jesus as the Messiah.
Paul agreed with Peter’s profession of faith. Paul recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Jewish Messiah. Paul’s most frequent reference to Jesus is to call him Christ Jesus. And, Paul continued preaching Jesus’ words about the true nature of God’s Kingdom.
Christ is not Jesus’ name. It is his title. Lord is not Jesus name. Lord is Jesus’ role in our lives. The word “Lord” comes from the world of slavery. Every slave has a lord. The slave does not have any freedom of his or her own. The slave is subject to the wishes, the desires and the commands of their lord. The lord is the owner, the ruler, the boss and the king over the slave’s life. In the same way, as followers of Jesus, we are to think of ourselves as slaves to Jesus. Jesus is the one who determines what we do, where we go and how we live our lives.
In a word, Jesus is to be FIRST in our lives. Verse 15 – 20 contain Paul’s argument for why Jesus ought to be FIRST place in your life. There is an interesting thing about FIRST place. There can only be one FIRST place…
II. Jesus Is First in Creation.
Paul begins his argument with a description of Christ’s place in creation. Colossians 1: 15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
There is a false doctrine that developed out of this verse. It teaches that Jesus was the first creation God undertook. This is a false teaching, because it places Jesus on the wrong side of the Creator – creation relationship. Jesus is not a part of God’s creation. Rather, Jesus was with God at the moment of creation.
I can only explain it as much as I understand it, and I don’t understand it well. God has always been Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God did not begin as One and then create his Son and later create his Holy Spirit. No, God has always been One God, expressed in the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Perhaps the Gospel of John gives us our best expression of this in John 1: 1. John tells us that Jesus is the Word of God. In John 1: 1 the Gospel tells us that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus was not created by God. Jesus was present and united with God in the moment and the act of creation.
Instead of saying that Jesus was first in the birth order of creation, perhaps we should say Jesus is first in priority of creation. All of creation testifies of Jesus. All of creation points us toward Jesus.
Both John’s Gospel and Paul’s words in Colossians tell us that Jesus had an active role in creation. Jesus created all things—animal, plant, mineral and even human life. Jesus created the things we see and the things we cannot see—microscopic life forms and even nuclear design. Jesus created the power structures of our world—political powers of kings, queens and presidents as well as institutional powers.
All of these things were created by Jesus. But we also know that all things were created for Jesus. All of creation—life on earth, inanimate objects and institutional power—was created to bring glory to Jesus the Christ. He is the FIRST priority of everything that is.
Paul wants us to read these words about the supremacy of Jesus the Christ and to feel something. He wants us to feel that we are missing out on something when Jesus is not FIRST in our lives. If everything was created by Jesus…If everything was created for Jesus…If Jesus is the reason that everything continues to exist…Then, we are missing out on something when we place anything else FIRST in our lives.
Remember, there can only be one FIRST. What is your FIRST love? What is your FIRST priority? What is your FIRST purpose for living?
When it comes to setting priorities in life, most of us make very poor choices. We substitute created things for the Creator. If your FIRST priority is anything other than Jesus, you are living for the creation and not the Creator. Money…Work…Politics…Family…Self
III. Jesus Is First in the Church.
Now look at Colossians 1: 18, “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”
In this verse, Paul makes a theological point about Jesus and then makes a practical application to the church.
The theological point is the fact that Jesus was “the firstborn from among the dead.” This is a reference to the resurrection of Jesus—the central point of the Christian faith and the development of the Christian church. It is central to our faith, because if Jesus had not been raised from the dead we could not believe anything Jesus told us about himself.
For example, Jesus is the Christ—the promised Jewish Messiah. His purpose for coming into the world was to establish God’s Kingdom. This Kingdom was not to be a political kingdom defined by the political boundaries of a nation or the racial boundaries of a particular people. This Kingdom is something new and different. It transcends all human boundaries of politics, nationality, gender and race. It is God’s people, of which Christ Jesus himself is the King, the head, the FIRST.
On one hand, the resurrection proves that Jesus really is who he claimed to be—the FIRST. On the other hand, Jesus is the FIRST one to rise from the grave to enjoy eternal life. There is a connection between Jesus’ resurrection and our resurrection. Because he lives, we too will live an eternal life that goes beyond the grave.
Jesus is the FIRST in creation, and Jesus is FIRST in God’s new creation. God’s new creation will be fully realized when we are united with God and Jesus in Heaven. Until that day, God’s new creation is something we experience on earth through the church.
IV. Conclusion: What the Church Should Look Like.
There are a lot of churches in many different neighborhoods, cities, states and even different countries around the world. Some churches do a better job than others in reflecting what God intends the church to look like. So, who has it right? Is our expression of church what God wants the church to look like?
There is only one way to answer that question. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about our church or a church in a remote village of Africa. The church God wants is the church where Jesus is FIRST. All decisions in the church are made with Jesus in mind. All programming and ministry takes place with Jesus as the Lord, the King, the FIRST priority.
Sadly, a lot of churches have lost sight of this. There are a lot of churches who think their FIRST priority is to make all the members happy. They make decisions with the goal of keeping the members happy. They plan ministries and programs in an attempt to satisfy as many people as possible. They plan worship services to please people and not Jesus.
According to Colossians 1, this is the way church is supposed to work…
We begin by looking at Jesus. Colossians 1: 15 tells us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the only way to get a true picture of God.
Since God revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ, when we look at Jesus we not only see who God is…But, we also see what God wants us to do. God gave us our mission when he gave us Jesus as our example. Jesus spent his earthly life and ministry reaching out to people who were far from God. Some of those people were unclean and undesirable sinners. They spent their time doing things that were in direct opposition to God’s will and God’s word. Yet, Jesus went to them and invited them to enter into a relationship with God. Other people Jesus went to were people who were held captive by demonic forces, physical disease and even poverty. Jesus went to them and met their needs. Then, Jesus invited them to enter into a relationship with God. Sometimes we see Jesus’ going to church…But that was rare and was not where Jesus spent most of his time.
When we look at Jesus, we see God. When we see God, we also see God’s mission for us as individuals and as a community of God’s people. Then, we develop our concept of church around God’s mission for God’s people.
Here is the sad reality. There are too many churches who reverse the order. We develop a concept of church around what I like to do…The songs I like to sing…The programs and ministries that make me happy…The decisions to do things the way I like them. Then, we think our mission is to get more people to like church the way we like church. Then, we take the next step and develop a theology about God and Jesus that proves to the world Jesus likes the same things about church that I like about church.
There can only be one FIRST in the church. Stop competing with Jesus. Jesus is FIRST in the church. Jesus is Lord of the church. Jesus is the head of the church.
When we discover that Jesus is FIRST in creation, we are suppose to realize that we are missing out on God’s purpose for our lives when Jesus is not our FIRST priority.
When we discover that Jesus is FIRST in God’s new creation, we are supposed to realize that we are missing out on God’s purpose for our church when Jesus is not our FIRST priority.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
One Message, Many Methods
One Message, Many Methods
1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 23.
I. Introduction.
I am a week late on this information…Last Sunday—October 3, 2010—was the 50th anniversary of “The Andy Griffith Show.” The program aired on CBS television from October 3, 1960 until April 3, 1968. It ran for eight seasons and shot 249 episodes—I’m fairly sure I have seen each episode about a dozen times.
While I was not alive during the eight seasons “The Andy Griffith Show” was on television, I remember the show from its run in syndication. In fact, I would dare say that “The Andy Griffith Show” has probably been on television every day of my life—either on TBS or TVLand.
Do you have a favorite character from “The Andy Griffith Show?” Perhaps Andy was your favorite, because he was always able to solve problems in less than 30 minutes. Perhaps Barney was your favorite, because he could create problems for Andy to solve in less than 30 minutes. What about Helen Crump? Or Thelma Lou? Otis the town drunk? Or Ernest T. Bass?
Do you have a favorite episode? One of my favorite episodes was the one where they all went to church. (I know you expected me to say that, since I am a pastor.) There was a visiting preacher from out of town. He preaches a sermon with a refrain, “Relax…Slow down…Take it easy…” Of course, Barney slept through church. When he walked out the preacher’s door, he said, “Good sermon. Like I always say, You can’t preach enough on sin.”
The rest of the Sunday afternoon, all the residents of Mayberry work to refurbish the town Gazebo in order to have a Sunday afternoon band concert. By the end of the day, they realize they have not followed the advice of the sermon.
I can only think of one episode that was not funny. It was dramatic. Do you remember the time when Opie killed the momma bird? Andy made him raise the baby birds. Opie named them Inkin, Blinkin and Nod. By the end of the story, Opie learned his lesson and released the three birds back into the wild.
That may be the only sad episode…But there is something really sad about “The Andy Griffith Show.” It was fiction. Oh, but we wish it weren’t fiction. We wish the real world was more like Mayberry. We want to go down to Floyd’s Barber Shop and catch up on the town gossip. We want to pick up the phone and say, “Sarah, get me Aunt Bea on the phone.” We want to live in a town where the only crime is moon shining, and the only criminal is Otis—and only Otis has to serve 24 hours in jail…
It’s really not that sad for us to wish we lived in Mayberry. But, it is very sad to pretend like we do. For example, I think a lot of churches are organized for the people of Mayberry. We develop programs and ministries for a simpler time. We expect all families to have two parents. We expect the town and community to recognize the valuable services the church provides. Yes…If the real world ever returns to the fictional world of Mayberry, the churches will be well prepared.
If we can all recognize that we don’t live in Mayberry, we need to create churches that aren’t Mayberry churches. We need to be committed to the life changing story of the Gospel. But we need to present the Gospel in ways that our real world culture can hear the Gospel and respond.
The best way I know to say this is to say that our church needs to have one unchanging message—Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But we need to communicate our one unchanging message in many different methods. Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul was talking about to the churches at Corinth…
Read 1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 23.
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.(NIV)
In my experience, most people who quote this passage use it to rationalize their behavior. Perhaps they live an unconventional Christian life. They claim to be Christians, but they don’t really live like Christians. So, they turn to places like this in the Bible to claim that they are living a missionary lifestyle. They claim that by becoming more like the world, they are in a better position to share the Gospel with the world. But, is that really what Paul was saying?
Actually, I think Paul is saying something entirely different. We can grasp Paul’s point by looking carefully at the context and at Paul’s words…
II. Context.
1 Corinthians 9 falls in between 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. That seems obvious enough. But, I want you to notice the themes of 1 Corinthians 8 and 10.
1 Corinthians 8: 13, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”
This verse sounds like Paul’s conclusion about meat sacrificed to idols. It only sounds like his conclusion, because I believe his argument does not end in chapter 8. It continues through chapter 9 and ends in chapter 10.
Meat sacrificed to idols does not seem to be a very big issue to you and me. However, there was no such thing as Brookshire Brothers in the ancient world. On one hand, people did not eat a lot of meat. Meat was a luxury item. On the other hand, the places where meat was most readily available were the places where animals were being sacrificed on a daily basis.
The animals were slaughtered as a part of pagan worship services. There were a lot of animals killed, and there was a lot of meat left over. The pagan temples would then sell that meat to the public.
Some Christians didn’t really see this as a dilemma. They knew that the pagan gods were not real gods. These gods didn’t actually exist. These gods didn’t actually possess any real power. Therefore, these Christians would eat the leftover meat.
Other Christians had a real struggle with this practice. They thought that eating meat sacrificed to idols was in actuality participating in idolatrous behavior. Where did they get this idea? From the Old Testament…
1 Corinthians 10: 18 – 21, “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.”
Paul’s argument is based on the Old Testament as the Word of God. He refers to the Jewish practice of eating the meat of slaughtered animals as an act of worship. Then, he does two more things. First, he warns the Corinthians not to participate in idolatrous worship by eating tainted meat. Second, he encourages the Corinthians to make a choice between worshipping God and worshipping false gods.
1 Corinthians 10: 23 – 24, “"Everything is permissible"-- but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-- but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
The NIV has placed the first quote in quotation marks. This is a way of interpreting this passage as something Paul has placed in the mouths of the Corinthians. In other words, this is a dialog between Paul and his readers. Since this is a written communication, Paul is the only one speaking. So, he is both asking their questions for them and answering their questions. We could read it like this… “You say everything is permissible. I say yes, but not everything is beneficial. You say everything is permissible. I say yes, but not everything is constructive. Remember, nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
1 Corinthians 10: 31 – 11: 1, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God--even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
This is Paul’s conclusion to his teachings about meat sacrificed to idols. His conclusion includes three points. First, be very careful in your actions and make sure that everything you do brings glory to God and to no one else. Second, don’t do things that might cause other people to sin. Third, follow Paul’s example.
In my interpretation, this is the reason 1 Corinthians 9 appears in Scripture. Paul was setting himself up as an example for the Corinthians to follow. In fact, I think he is setting himself up as the example for all of us today to follow as well.
What was Paul’s example?
III. Paul’s Example.
In 1 Corinthians 9: 1 – 6, Paul insists that he is an Apostle. Apostleship in the New Testament had an exclusive membership. Everyone who claimed to be an Apostle had to have two characteristics. On one hand, they had to have personally seen the resurrected Jesus. On the other hand, they had to have been sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel. This is the literal meaning of the word Apostle—one who was sent.
Paul met both characteristics. In Acts 9, we read Paul’s conversion story. While Paul was on the road to Damascus to persecute the church there, Jesus appeared to Paul. In the rest of the Book of Acts, we read about Paul’s missionary journeys. On these missionary journeys, Paul preached the Gospel, established churches and even appointed elders, pastors and deacons to serve in the churches. The churches of Corinth were some of the churches Paul established. These churches were in and of themselves proof that Paul was a real Apostle.
As an Apostle, Paul was in an elite company of men. We don’t know how many Apostles there were, but we know that there were not very many. Apostles got special treatment from the early churches. The churches paid all the living expenses for the Apostles, so that they would not have to work. If the Apostles did not have to work for a living, they could devote themselves to full time ministry—preaching the Gospel is far away places and establishing more and more churches.
Yet, this was not Paul’s practice. Paul never accepted money for his work as an Apostle. Instead, he chose to work with his hands, making tents. However, he insists that he has every right to take money from the churches he served. He had a right, but he chose not to exercise his right.
This is the example Paul wants us to follow. When you and I became Christians, we received certain rights from God. It would be perfectly understandable for you to demand that your rights be upheld. In fact, we could even jump ahead to chapter 10 and say it would be “permissible” for you to demand your rights. However, not everything “permissible” is “beneficial.” Not everything “permissible” is “constructive.”
Paul never demanded his rights, because it was not the best thing for the church. He thought of the church more than himself. He placed the good of others above his own rights as an Apostle.
With that in mind, think of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 23…
Paul did not think of himself as a Jew anymore. His primary way to identify himself was as a follower of Jesus—a Christian. Yet, he was willing to live like a Jew in order to preach the Gospel to the Jews.
Paul did not consider himself a man under the Old Testament Law. When he placed his faith in Jesus, Jesus set Paul free from the Law. Yet, he was willing to forego his rights of freedom and to live according to the Law in order to preach the Gospel to those who lived according to the Law.
Paul did not live under the Law, but he also did not live a “lawless” life either. He lived according to the Law of Christ—The Law that Christ gave and the Law that is Christ himself. Yet, he was willing to live among lawless people in order to preach the Gospel to lawless people.
Paul’s fourth example is different from the first three. In the first three, Paul said he became LIKE a Jew, LIKE one under the Law and LIKE one who is lawless. In the final example, he did not use the word LIKE. Paul did not become LIKE a weak person. He actually became a weak person.
What do these examples have in common? Paul chose NOT to exercise his rights as a Christian. As a Christian, Paul did not have to live like a Jew…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel. As a Christian, Paul did not have to obey the Old Testament Law…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel. As a Christian, Paul did not have to live among lawless people…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel. As a Christian, Paul did not have to be a weak person who refused to eat meat sacrificed to idols…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel.
In a word, Paul SACRIFICED for the Gospel. We don’t really like the word SACRIFICE. We would much rather demand our rights as Christians and, as a consequence, live any way we want to live. But, Paul tells us that the church and the Gospel are worthy of our sacrifices.
IV. Conclusion: Following Paul’s Example.
Life in the church today is very hard. I have several friends who grew up with fathers who were pastors. Most of their fathers are retired today. And most of their fathers have told them that they could not do it today, because it is so different.
There are cultural differences today. We don’t live in Mayberry anymore. Perhaps, we never really lived in Mayberry…But we thought we did.
There are internal differences today. For the first time in history, the church consists of four or five generations of the same family worshipping together. Think about the number of 80 and 90 year olds in our church. Just 20 years ago an 80 year old would not be healthy enough to attend church every week. Today, our churches contain 90 year olds, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Have you ever stopped to think about how difficult it is to bring four generations together for worship? And how difficult it is to select music for four generations?
Have you ever stopped to think about the differences in the ways these four generations learn? For example, I am almost 40 years old. I was born in 1971. Two years before I was born, 1969, a new television program came out—Sesame Street. I grew up watching Sesame Street. I grew up learning by watching characters on a TV screen. If you are older than I am, you grew up learning by reading words on a page or listening to a lecture given by an expert. If you are younger than I am, you grew up with the Internet. On the Internet, you can learn anything you want to learn (and probably some things that you don’t want to learn).
This has huge implications for the church. We have One Message—Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But if we communicate our One Message in only One Method, we will not connect with the multiple generations inside our church and we will miss our opportunity to reach those outside the church.
1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 23.
I. Introduction.
I am a week late on this information…Last Sunday—October 3, 2010—was the 50th anniversary of “The Andy Griffith Show.” The program aired on CBS television from October 3, 1960 until April 3, 1968. It ran for eight seasons and shot 249 episodes—I’m fairly sure I have seen each episode about a dozen times.
While I was not alive during the eight seasons “The Andy Griffith Show” was on television, I remember the show from its run in syndication. In fact, I would dare say that “The Andy Griffith Show” has probably been on television every day of my life—either on TBS or TVLand.
Do you have a favorite character from “The Andy Griffith Show?” Perhaps Andy was your favorite, because he was always able to solve problems in less than 30 minutes. Perhaps Barney was your favorite, because he could create problems for Andy to solve in less than 30 minutes. What about Helen Crump? Or Thelma Lou? Otis the town drunk? Or Ernest T. Bass?
Do you have a favorite episode? One of my favorite episodes was the one where they all went to church. (I know you expected me to say that, since I am a pastor.) There was a visiting preacher from out of town. He preaches a sermon with a refrain, “Relax…Slow down…Take it easy…” Of course, Barney slept through church. When he walked out the preacher’s door, he said, “Good sermon. Like I always say, You can’t preach enough on sin.”
The rest of the Sunday afternoon, all the residents of Mayberry work to refurbish the town Gazebo in order to have a Sunday afternoon band concert. By the end of the day, they realize they have not followed the advice of the sermon.
I can only think of one episode that was not funny. It was dramatic. Do you remember the time when Opie killed the momma bird? Andy made him raise the baby birds. Opie named them Inkin, Blinkin and Nod. By the end of the story, Opie learned his lesson and released the three birds back into the wild.
That may be the only sad episode…But there is something really sad about “The Andy Griffith Show.” It was fiction. Oh, but we wish it weren’t fiction. We wish the real world was more like Mayberry. We want to go down to Floyd’s Barber Shop and catch up on the town gossip. We want to pick up the phone and say, “Sarah, get me Aunt Bea on the phone.” We want to live in a town where the only crime is moon shining, and the only criminal is Otis—and only Otis has to serve 24 hours in jail…
It’s really not that sad for us to wish we lived in Mayberry. But, it is very sad to pretend like we do. For example, I think a lot of churches are organized for the people of Mayberry. We develop programs and ministries for a simpler time. We expect all families to have two parents. We expect the town and community to recognize the valuable services the church provides. Yes…If the real world ever returns to the fictional world of Mayberry, the churches will be well prepared.
If we can all recognize that we don’t live in Mayberry, we need to create churches that aren’t Mayberry churches. We need to be committed to the life changing story of the Gospel. But we need to present the Gospel in ways that our real world culture can hear the Gospel and respond.
The best way I know to say this is to say that our church needs to have one unchanging message—Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But we need to communicate our one unchanging message in many different methods. Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul was talking about to the churches at Corinth…
Read 1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 23.
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.(NIV)
In my experience, most people who quote this passage use it to rationalize their behavior. Perhaps they live an unconventional Christian life. They claim to be Christians, but they don’t really live like Christians. So, they turn to places like this in the Bible to claim that they are living a missionary lifestyle. They claim that by becoming more like the world, they are in a better position to share the Gospel with the world. But, is that really what Paul was saying?
Actually, I think Paul is saying something entirely different. We can grasp Paul’s point by looking carefully at the context and at Paul’s words…
II. Context.
1 Corinthians 9 falls in between 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. That seems obvious enough. But, I want you to notice the themes of 1 Corinthians 8 and 10.
1 Corinthians 8: 13, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”
This verse sounds like Paul’s conclusion about meat sacrificed to idols. It only sounds like his conclusion, because I believe his argument does not end in chapter 8. It continues through chapter 9 and ends in chapter 10.
Meat sacrificed to idols does not seem to be a very big issue to you and me. However, there was no such thing as Brookshire Brothers in the ancient world. On one hand, people did not eat a lot of meat. Meat was a luxury item. On the other hand, the places where meat was most readily available were the places where animals were being sacrificed on a daily basis.
The animals were slaughtered as a part of pagan worship services. There were a lot of animals killed, and there was a lot of meat left over. The pagan temples would then sell that meat to the public.
Some Christians didn’t really see this as a dilemma. They knew that the pagan gods were not real gods. These gods didn’t actually exist. These gods didn’t actually possess any real power. Therefore, these Christians would eat the leftover meat.
Other Christians had a real struggle with this practice. They thought that eating meat sacrificed to idols was in actuality participating in idolatrous behavior. Where did they get this idea? From the Old Testament…
1 Corinthians 10: 18 – 21, “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.”
Paul’s argument is based on the Old Testament as the Word of God. He refers to the Jewish practice of eating the meat of slaughtered animals as an act of worship. Then, he does two more things. First, he warns the Corinthians not to participate in idolatrous worship by eating tainted meat. Second, he encourages the Corinthians to make a choice between worshipping God and worshipping false gods.
1 Corinthians 10: 23 – 24, “"Everything is permissible"-- but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-- but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
The NIV has placed the first quote in quotation marks. This is a way of interpreting this passage as something Paul has placed in the mouths of the Corinthians. In other words, this is a dialog between Paul and his readers. Since this is a written communication, Paul is the only one speaking. So, he is both asking their questions for them and answering their questions. We could read it like this… “You say everything is permissible. I say yes, but not everything is beneficial. You say everything is permissible. I say yes, but not everything is constructive. Remember, nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
1 Corinthians 10: 31 – 11: 1, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God--even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
This is Paul’s conclusion to his teachings about meat sacrificed to idols. His conclusion includes three points. First, be very careful in your actions and make sure that everything you do brings glory to God and to no one else. Second, don’t do things that might cause other people to sin. Third, follow Paul’s example.
In my interpretation, this is the reason 1 Corinthians 9 appears in Scripture. Paul was setting himself up as an example for the Corinthians to follow. In fact, I think he is setting himself up as the example for all of us today to follow as well.
What was Paul’s example?
III. Paul’s Example.
In 1 Corinthians 9: 1 – 6, Paul insists that he is an Apostle. Apostleship in the New Testament had an exclusive membership. Everyone who claimed to be an Apostle had to have two characteristics. On one hand, they had to have personally seen the resurrected Jesus. On the other hand, they had to have been sent by Jesus to preach the Gospel. This is the literal meaning of the word Apostle—one who was sent.
Paul met both characteristics. In Acts 9, we read Paul’s conversion story. While Paul was on the road to Damascus to persecute the church there, Jesus appeared to Paul. In the rest of the Book of Acts, we read about Paul’s missionary journeys. On these missionary journeys, Paul preached the Gospel, established churches and even appointed elders, pastors and deacons to serve in the churches. The churches of Corinth were some of the churches Paul established. These churches were in and of themselves proof that Paul was a real Apostle.
As an Apostle, Paul was in an elite company of men. We don’t know how many Apostles there were, but we know that there were not very many. Apostles got special treatment from the early churches. The churches paid all the living expenses for the Apostles, so that they would not have to work. If the Apostles did not have to work for a living, they could devote themselves to full time ministry—preaching the Gospel is far away places and establishing more and more churches.
Yet, this was not Paul’s practice. Paul never accepted money for his work as an Apostle. Instead, he chose to work with his hands, making tents. However, he insists that he has every right to take money from the churches he served. He had a right, but he chose not to exercise his right.
This is the example Paul wants us to follow. When you and I became Christians, we received certain rights from God. It would be perfectly understandable for you to demand that your rights be upheld. In fact, we could even jump ahead to chapter 10 and say it would be “permissible” for you to demand your rights. However, not everything “permissible” is “beneficial.” Not everything “permissible” is “constructive.”
Paul never demanded his rights, because it was not the best thing for the church. He thought of the church more than himself. He placed the good of others above his own rights as an Apostle.
With that in mind, think of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 23…
Paul did not think of himself as a Jew anymore. His primary way to identify himself was as a follower of Jesus—a Christian. Yet, he was willing to live like a Jew in order to preach the Gospel to the Jews.
Paul did not consider himself a man under the Old Testament Law. When he placed his faith in Jesus, Jesus set Paul free from the Law. Yet, he was willing to forego his rights of freedom and to live according to the Law in order to preach the Gospel to those who lived according to the Law.
Paul did not live under the Law, but he also did not live a “lawless” life either. He lived according to the Law of Christ—The Law that Christ gave and the Law that is Christ himself. Yet, he was willing to live among lawless people in order to preach the Gospel to lawless people.
Paul’s fourth example is different from the first three. In the first three, Paul said he became LIKE a Jew, LIKE one under the Law and LIKE one who is lawless. In the final example, he did not use the word LIKE. Paul did not become LIKE a weak person. He actually became a weak person.
What do these examples have in common? Paul chose NOT to exercise his rights as a Christian. As a Christian, Paul did not have to live like a Jew…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel. As a Christian, Paul did not have to obey the Old Testament Law…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel. As a Christian, Paul did not have to live among lawless people…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel. As a Christian, Paul did not have to be a weak person who refused to eat meat sacrificed to idols…But he did, for the sake of the Gospel.
In a word, Paul SACRIFICED for the Gospel. We don’t really like the word SACRIFICE. We would much rather demand our rights as Christians and, as a consequence, live any way we want to live. But, Paul tells us that the church and the Gospel are worthy of our sacrifices.
IV. Conclusion: Following Paul’s Example.
Life in the church today is very hard. I have several friends who grew up with fathers who were pastors. Most of their fathers are retired today. And most of their fathers have told them that they could not do it today, because it is so different.
There are cultural differences today. We don’t live in Mayberry anymore. Perhaps, we never really lived in Mayberry…But we thought we did.
There are internal differences today. For the first time in history, the church consists of four or five generations of the same family worshipping together. Think about the number of 80 and 90 year olds in our church. Just 20 years ago an 80 year old would not be healthy enough to attend church every week. Today, our churches contain 90 year olds, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Have you ever stopped to think about how difficult it is to bring four generations together for worship? And how difficult it is to select music for four generations?
Have you ever stopped to think about the differences in the ways these four generations learn? For example, I am almost 40 years old. I was born in 1971. Two years before I was born, 1969, a new television program came out—Sesame Street. I grew up watching Sesame Street. I grew up learning by watching characters on a TV screen. If you are older than I am, you grew up learning by reading words on a page or listening to a lecture given by an expert. If you are younger than I am, you grew up with the Internet. On the Internet, you can learn anything you want to learn (and probably some things that you don’t want to learn).
This has huge implications for the church. We have One Message—Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But if we communicate our One Message in only One Method, we will not connect with the multiple generations inside our church and we will miss our opportunity to reach those outside the church.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
The Work of the Church
The Work of the Church
Acts 2: 42 – 47.
I. Introduction.
I spent Monday through Wednesday of this week at Camp Buckner in the Texas Hill Country. Camp Buckner is a retreat facility owned and operated by Buckner International—a ministry our church works with to serve orphans and vulnerable children around the world. We have worked with them in ministries here in Lufkin, and we are working with them in Ethiopia.
The retreat began on Monday night, so I planned to drive from Lufkin to Burnet on Monday afternoon. But, on Sunday night, an interesting thing happened. Dr. Sid Roberts (from our church) called me to ask a huge favor. He needed to borrow my truck for a couple of days to move some furniture. I told him that I don’t mind his borrowing my truck, but I was planning to drive to Burnet for the retreat. He said, “If you will let me drive your truck to Dallas, I will let you drive my convertible to Burnet.”
Do you remember what the weather was like on Monday? It was probably the most perfect day of 2010—Fall-like temperatures and a clear sky. So, I drove a sporty convertible from Lufkin to Burnet with the top down the entire way. That’s a little over four hours on the road.
I told my sons that I was going to drive up at the pastors’ retreat in a convertible, and all the pastors would say, “Andy, if you ever want to leave Lufkin, I hope you will recommend me as their next pastor.” But, that’s not what happened.
It was a beautiful day. I drove on two-lane Texas highways with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. But, nobody told me you need to wear sunscreen when you drive a convertible for four hours!
I showed up at the pastors’ retreat with a sunburn on my face and “raccoon eyes,” because I was wearing sunglasses. The first person I saw at the camp said, “That’s not your convertible. Everyone who drives a convertible knows you have to wear sunscreen.”
Buckner invited 20 pastors from around Texas to participate in a pastors’ retreat. It was quite an honor to be one of 20 pastors invited to the retreat. However, I do not believe it reflects on me as one of the top twenty pastors in Texas. Rather, I think it reflects on you as a church. I was invited to participate, because Buckner recognizes Lufkin’s First Baptist Church as a valuable ministry partner. Our church’s work with Buckner began before I was your pastor.
Each day, we heard presentations from Buckner ministers describing Buckner ministries in Texas and around the world. We also heard presentations from Jim Denison about what is taking place spiritually around the world.
Did you know that the Christian faith is growing faster today than at any other time in history? The people who study the growth and spread of religions estimate that at least 82,000 people are becoming Christians every day. That is the lowest estimate. Some people estimate that the number is over 200,000 new Christians every day.
Of course, some of us hear those statistics and have our doubts. We are not experiencing that kind of spiritual growth and spiritual awakening in Lufkin, Texas. How can we say that Christianity is growing faster today than at any other time in history when we can’t see it happening in our own community? There are two answers…
First, there is a spiritual awakening taking place in Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. But, there is no spiritual awakening taking place in Europe and North America. For example, there are 82,000 people becoming Christians every day around the world. BUT, only 6,000 people become Christians every day in Europe and North America COMBINED. (That is to say, approximately 7% of all new Christians live in Europe and North America.)
Second, spiritual awakening happens when we adopt a biblical view of God. The Bible teaches us that God wants to be our King. When the church teaches the culture that God is our King, spiritual awakening takes place. But, that is not happening in the United States of America. In our country, we don’t like to talk about God as our King. We prefer to talk about God as our hobby. In the cultures where the church proclaims God as King, Christianity is growing at unprecedented rates. In the cultures where the church proclaims God as our hobby, Islam is growing faster than Christianity.
This reminds me of the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. We can describe Pentecost in two ways. On one hand, it was the day Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, it was the birthday of the Christian church.
After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with his disciples. In these forty days, Jesus reminded the disciples of everything he had taught them during his earthly ministry. Jesus also instructed the disciples in their new roles—they were to continue the work Jesus began. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, Jesus would send them the Holy Spirit to be present in their lives and to be their source of Power to perform the same kinds of work Jesus performed in his earthly life. But…Jesus told his disciples to wait. They were not supposed to go to work until they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples obeyed Jesus. After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the disciples waited in Jerusalem for another 10 days. After 10 days, the Holy Spirit came, and a miracle took place. The same disciples who were once so frightened they could not stand up with Jesus were now empowered with supernatural power to preach the Gospel to their friends, family members and neighbors.
Remarkably, Peter stood up and preached to a crowd of thousands of people. This was the same Peter who once denied even knowing who Jesus was, because he was afraid for his life. The Bible tells us that Peter’s sermon led to an enthusiastic response to the Gospel. Over 3,000 people placed their faith in Jesus as Lord…Affirming that God is the King of their lives.
But what happened next? What happened when the disciples stopped preaching? These 3,000 new believers organized into the first Christian church. This was no ordinary church. It was unique because it was the first church. But, it was also unique because it was a church which proclaimed God as their King. If we want to be a church which proclaims God as our King, we ought to follow their example.
Read Acts 2: 42 – 47.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.(NIV)
II. The Apostles’ Teachings.
The first way the church demonstrated that “God is their King” is the way they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teachings.
Before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, there were 12 Apostles and a total of 120 Christians. All of these people had lived with Jesus. The Apostles had sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to all his teachings. The rest of the Christians had followed Jesus in the crowds, witnessing all the miracles and learning from Jesus’ public sermons. They knew what Jesus had stood for and what he had come to accomplish in his death and resurrection.
After the Holy Spirit came, over 3,000 new believers committed their lives to Jesus as Lord. These people did not have the same kind of knowledge and understanding about what Jesus had done for them. Therefore, it was now necessary for the 12 Apostles to share what they knew about Jesus with others.
The most important thing we can say about the Apostles’ Teaching, is to say that they were teaching others what Jesus had taught them. The Apostles were not making up new teachings to share with the new believers. They were giving others what Jesus had first given them. In the Twenty-First Century, this is the same thing as teaching the Bible. We teach the Bible, because the Bible is God’s Word. It contains the teachings of Jesus passed down to his Apostles, who in turn wrote it down so that we can know what Jesus has done for us.
III. The Fellowship.
The church was also devoted to a new kind of fellowship. This is the Greek word “Koinonia.” It refers to fellowship in the sense of Christian brothers and sisters relating to each other through the love of Christ. The heart of the word “Koinonia” is the Greek word “koinos,” which means common. In other words, these new Christians had something in common with the original 12 Apostles and the original 120 Christians.
I find it noteworthy that Luke does not say the early church was committed to “fellowship.” He says they were committed to “THE fellowship.” There is something different, something unique about the fellowship these Christians shared with one another. For me, I have always associated fellowship with the church. And, I have always associated church fellowships with pimento and cheese sandwiches with the crust cut off. That might be “a fellowship,” but it is not “THE fellowship” Luke was talking about in this passage.
THE fellowship is the significant bond we share with each other that can only come as a result of our relationship with Jesus. When a man or woman places their faith in Jesus, something supernatural occurs. At the moment we profess our faith, God places his Holy Spirit in us to begin the work of shaping us into the image of Jesus. When a group of people whom God is shaping to become like Jesus get together in the church, God begins to work on that church. God shapes that community of believers into the image of Jesus. Just as God is working on you and me as individuals to make us more like Jesus, so God is working on our church to make us more like Jesus.
THE fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters is different from the community life on non-Christians. God is forming us into a community like no other. He is placing in us the same loves and desires that Jesus demonstrated in his life. THE fellowship we experience is a missional experience. Sure, we like to hang out with each other and laugh together. But, we also feel called—even compelled by God—to meet the needs of the world around us and to share the life-changing message of the cross.
One Demonstration of Fellowship: Selling Their Possessions, They Gave…
This is a source of great debate. Among many theologians, there is a belief that the early church practiced a form of socialism. They claim that individual church members did not own property. They think this is God’s ideal for us, even today.
I do not subscribe to this interpretation. In fact, there is evidence here that Luke did not want to communicate this kind of shared property. Luke described the church’s action by using a Greek Imperfect tense. The Imperfect tense is translated as “continuous action in past time.” In other words, we can translate this as “they kept on selling their possessions to give to those in need.” If they did this in a continual sense, then it suggests they continued to own property and continued to sell that property to give the money to the church. Also, we later read examples of Barnabas as well as Ananias and Sapphira who sold their property at a later time, suggesting that they did not sell everything at this one time in history.
The best way to describe what the Christians were doing here is to compare it with stewardship—stewardship as an expression of fellowship. They used their personal possessions and their personal wealth in ways that demonstrated the life of Jesus. They gave to those in need, and they gave to advance the Kingdom of God missionally.
IV. The Breaking of Bread.
There are at least three ways to interpret the words “the breaking of bread.” This might be a reference to the Lord’s Supper—the act of eating bread and drinking wine (or grape juice) in remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross.
This might be a reference to the simple act of sharing a meal together. There is no better place to see community life in action than to observe people who are eating together. Some have interpreted this as a reference to the Lord’s Supper—the act of eating bread and drinking wine (or grape juice) in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrificial death. Others interpret this as simply sharing food together. I prefer to think of this as simply sharing a meal together.
We believe the book of Acts is the second volume of Luke’s account of Christianity. The first volume is the Gospel According to Luke. One of the many consistent themes in the Gospel According to Luke is the criticism Jesus faced as a result of his eating habits. In Luke, Jesus rarely ate supper with good, religious people. Most of the time, Luke tells us that Jesus ate supper with tax collectors and sinners. The religious folks did not like this, because it was against their customs to eat with people who were different from them. Jesus broke the religious and cultural norms of his day by sharing his meals with “undesirable” people.
Some of you are old enough to remember the civil unrest in our country during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. One aspect of the Civil Rights movement related to the restaurants and lunch counters in our country. The burning question of the day was: Should black men and women be allowed to eat with white people? The reason this was such an issue is because sharing a meal with another person is like saying we consider that person our equal. All social barriers are broken down when people sit shoulder to shoulder at the same table.
I find it remarkable that the 120 Jewish men and women who made up the very first Christians were comfortable eating at the same table with foreigners. They abandoned their Jewish, social norms in favor of a new kind of community where all who believe in Jesus are considered equal.
The third way we can interpret the words “the breaking of bread” is to observe one of the earliest practices of the early church. The church ate a meal together as a part of their corporate worship. Eating together demonstrated their unity BEFORE they entered into worship together in music and preaching. As such, we can interpret this in the context of our worship. A church who proclaims God as our King will be devoted to unity in worship…Worship that brings us together…Worship that demonstrates how much we have in common, rather than how much we don’t have in common
V. The Prayers.
Literally, Luke tells us the new community was devoted to “THE prayers.” This leads many scholars to interpret this as reference to the official Jewish practice of religion. In other words, the church abandoned their traditional social norms but did not abandon the worship of God in the Temple. In much of the Book of Acts, we continue to see the Apostles teaching and preaching in the Temple and showing how Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the Jews had been hoping for in the Old Testament. As long as the Gospel was preached primarily in Jerusalem, the early church remained closely connected to the Jewish Temple. When the Gospel began to spread outside of the Jewish race, Christian worship became separate from Judaism.
That is a great historical fact, but it does not translate very well to our Twenty-First Century American, Christian lives. What does translate is the way the early Christians were committed to the power of God that is only possible through prayer.
What do you think about people who pray? Some people think prayer is a sign of weakness. They think people who pray cannot take care of their own needs under their own power and abilities. These people are exactly right. This is why we pray. We pray, because we need God. We pray, because we cannot make it on our own power and abilities. We pray in order to express our total dependence on God for even our smallest needs. Without God and his power, we can do nothing.
This is true for individuals. This is true for churches. A church that prays acknowledges God as our King. A church that refuses to pray thinks of God as nothing more than a hobby.
VI. Conclusion.
Are you currently praying for your church? Do you spend time during the week praying for God to move in our church?
Perhaps there are people praying for our church that I am not aware of…But I do know of two groups. On Wednesday mornings, there is a men’s Sunday School class that meets for breakfast and to pray for our church. On Monday nights, there is a small group of folks who meet here at the church to pray.
What do you suppose would happen if we had groups of people praying for our church every day of the week? What if your Sunday School class or your group of friends took time to pray for God’s leadership? Frankly, we can’t be the church we need to be on our own power or abilities. We can’t become the church who proclaims God as our King without God’s help.
Acts 2: 42 – 47.
I. Introduction.
I spent Monday through Wednesday of this week at Camp Buckner in the Texas Hill Country. Camp Buckner is a retreat facility owned and operated by Buckner International—a ministry our church works with to serve orphans and vulnerable children around the world. We have worked with them in ministries here in Lufkin, and we are working with them in Ethiopia.
The retreat began on Monday night, so I planned to drive from Lufkin to Burnet on Monday afternoon. But, on Sunday night, an interesting thing happened. Dr. Sid Roberts (from our church) called me to ask a huge favor. He needed to borrow my truck for a couple of days to move some furniture. I told him that I don’t mind his borrowing my truck, but I was planning to drive to Burnet for the retreat. He said, “If you will let me drive your truck to Dallas, I will let you drive my convertible to Burnet.”
Do you remember what the weather was like on Monday? It was probably the most perfect day of 2010—Fall-like temperatures and a clear sky. So, I drove a sporty convertible from Lufkin to Burnet with the top down the entire way. That’s a little over four hours on the road.
I told my sons that I was going to drive up at the pastors’ retreat in a convertible, and all the pastors would say, “Andy, if you ever want to leave Lufkin, I hope you will recommend me as their next pastor.” But, that’s not what happened.
It was a beautiful day. I drove on two-lane Texas highways with the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. But, nobody told me you need to wear sunscreen when you drive a convertible for four hours!
I showed up at the pastors’ retreat with a sunburn on my face and “raccoon eyes,” because I was wearing sunglasses. The first person I saw at the camp said, “That’s not your convertible. Everyone who drives a convertible knows you have to wear sunscreen.”
Buckner invited 20 pastors from around Texas to participate in a pastors’ retreat. It was quite an honor to be one of 20 pastors invited to the retreat. However, I do not believe it reflects on me as one of the top twenty pastors in Texas. Rather, I think it reflects on you as a church. I was invited to participate, because Buckner recognizes Lufkin’s First Baptist Church as a valuable ministry partner. Our church’s work with Buckner began before I was your pastor.
Each day, we heard presentations from Buckner ministers describing Buckner ministries in Texas and around the world. We also heard presentations from Jim Denison about what is taking place spiritually around the world.
Did you know that the Christian faith is growing faster today than at any other time in history? The people who study the growth and spread of religions estimate that at least 82,000 people are becoming Christians every day. That is the lowest estimate. Some people estimate that the number is over 200,000 new Christians every day.
Of course, some of us hear those statistics and have our doubts. We are not experiencing that kind of spiritual growth and spiritual awakening in Lufkin, Texas. How can we say that Christianity is growing faster today than at any other time in history when we can’t see it happening in our own community? There are two answers…
First, there is a spiritual awakening taking place in Africa, Asia, Australia and South America. But, there is no spiritual awakening taking place in Europe and North America. For example, there are 82,000 people becoming Christians every day around the world. BUT, only 6,000 people become Christians every day in Europe and North America COMBINED. (That is to say, approximately 7% of all new Christians live in Europe and North America.)
Second, spiritual awakening happens when we adopt a biblical view of God. The Bible teaches us that God wants to be our King. When the church teaches the culture that God is our King, spiritual awakening takes place. But, that is not happening in the United States of America. In our country, we don’t like to talk about God as our King. We prefer to talk about God as our hobby. In the cultures where the church proclaims God as King, Christianity is growing at unprecedented rates. In the cultures where the church proclaims God as our hobby, Islam is growing faster than Christianity.
This reminds me of the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. We can describe Pentecost in two ways. On one hand, it was the day Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, it was the birthday of the Christian church.
After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with his disciples. In these forty days, Jesus reminded the disciples of everything he had taught them during his earthly ministry. Jesus also instructed the disciples in their new roles—they were to continue the work Jesus began. When Jesus ascended into Heaven, Jesus would send them the Holy Spirit to be present in their lives and to be their source of Power to perform the same kinds of work Jesus performed in his earthly life. But…Jesus told his disciples to wait. They were not supposed to go to work until they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples obeyed Jesus. After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the disciples waited in Jerusalem for another 10 days. After 10 days, the Holy Spirit came, and a miracle took place. The same disciples who were once so frightened they could not stand up with Jesus were now empowered with supernatural power to preach the Gospel to their friends, family members and neighbors.
Remarkably, Peter stood up and preached to a crowd of thousands of people. This was the same Peter who once denied even knowing who Jesus was, because he was afraid for his life. The Bible tells us that Peter’s sermon led to an enthusiastic response to the Gospel. Over 3,000 people placed their faith in Jesus as Lord…Affirming that God is the King of their lives.
But what happened next? What happened when the disciples stopped preaching? These 3,000 new believers organized into the first Christian church. This was no ordinary church. It was unique because it was the first church. But, it was also unique because it was a church which proclaimed God as their King. If we want to be a church which proclaims God as our King, we ought to follow their example.
Read Acts 2: 42 – 47.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.(NIV)
II. The Apostles’ Teachings.
The first way the church demonstrated that “God is their King” is the way they devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teachings.
Before the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, there were 12 Apostles and a total of 120 Christians. All of these people had lived with Jesus. The Apostles had sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to all his teachings. The rest of the Christians had followed Jesus in the crowds, witnessing all the miracles and learning from Jesus’ public sermons. They knew what Jesus had stood for and what he had come to accomplish in his death and resurrection.
After the Holy Spirit came, over 3,000 new believers committed their lives to Jesus as Lord. These people did not have the same kind of knowledge and understanding about what Jesus had done for them. Therefore, it was now necessary for the 12 Apostles to share what they knew about Jesus with others.
The most important thing we can say about the Apostles’ Teaching, is to say that they were teaching others what Jesus had taught them. The Apostles were not making up new teachings to share with the new believers. They were giving others what Jesus had first given them. In the Twenty-First Century, this is the same thing as teaching the Bible. We teach the Bible, because the Bible is God’s Word. It contains the teachings of Jesus passed down to his Apostles, who in turn wrote it down so that we can know what Jesus has done for us.
III. The Fellowship.
The church was also devoted to a new kind of fellowship. This is the Greek word “Koinonia.” It refers to fellowship in the sense of Christian brothers and sisters relating to each other through the love of Christ. The heart of the word “Koinonia” is the Greek word “koinos,” which means common. In other words, these new Christians had something in common with the original 12 Apostles and the original 120 Christians.
I find it noteworthy that Luke does not say the early church was committed to “fellowship.” He says they were committed to “THE fellowship.” There is something different, something unique about the fellowship these Christians shared with one another. For me, I have always associated fellowship with the church. And, I have always associated church fellowships with pimento and cheese sandwiches with the crust cut off. That might be “a fellowship,” but it is not “THE fellowship” Luke was talking about in this passage.
THE fellowship is the significant bond we share with each other that can only come as a result of our relationship with Jesus. When a man or woman places their faith in Jesus, something supernatural occurs. At the moment we profess our faith, God places his Holy Spirit in us to begin the work of shaping us into the image of Jesus. When a group of people whom God is shaping to become like Jesus get together in the church, God begins to work on that church. God shapes that community of believers into the image of Jesus. Just as God is working on you and me as individuals to make us more like Jesus, so God is working on our church to make us more like Jesus.
THE fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters is different from the community life on non-Christians. God is forming us into a community like no other. He is placing in us the same loves and desires that Jesus demonstrated in his life. THE fellowship we experience is a missional experience. Sure, we like to hang out with each other and laugh together. But, we also feel called—even compelled by God—to meet the needs of the world around us and to share the life-changing message of the cross.
One Demonstration of Fellowship: Selling Their Possessions, They Gave…
This is a source of great debate. Among many theologians, there is a belief that the early church practiced a form of socialism. They claim that individual church members did not own property. They think this is God’s ideal for us, even today.
I do not subscribe to this interpretation. In fact, there is evidence here that Luke did not want to communicate this kind of shared property. Luke described the church’s action by using a Greek Imperfect tense. The Imperfect tense is translated as “continuous action in past time.” In other words, we can translate this as “they kept on selling their possessions to give to those in need.” If they did this in a continual sense, then it suggests they continued to own property and continued to sell that property to give the money to the church. Also, we later read examples of Barnabas as well as Ananias and Sapphira who sold their property at a later time, suggesting that they did not sell everything at this one time in history.
The best way to describe what the Christians were doing here is to compare it with stewardship—stewardship as an expression of fellowship. They used their personal possessions and their personal wealth in ways that demonstrated the life of Jesus. They gave to those in need, and they gave to advance the Kingdom of God missionally.
IV. The Breaking of Bread.
There are at least three ways to interpret the words “the breaking of bread.” This might be a reference to the Lord’s Supper—the act of eating bread and drinking wine (or grape juice) in remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross.
This might be a reference to the simple act of sharing a meal together. There is no better place to see community life in action than to observe people who are eating together. Some have interpreted this as a reference to the Lord’s Supper—the act of eating bread and drinking wine (or grape juice) in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrificial death. Others interpret this as simply sharing food together. I prefer to think of this as simply sharing a meal together.
We believe the book of Acts is the second volume of Luke’s account of Christianity. The first volume is the Gospel According to Luke. One of the many consistent themes in the Gospel According to Luke is the criticism Jesus faced as a result of his eating habits. In Luke, Jesus rarely ate supper with good, religious people. Most of the time, Luke tells us that Jesus ate supper with tax collectors and sinners. The religious folks did not like this, because it was against their customs to eat with people who were different from them. Jesus broke the religious and cultural norms of his day by sharing his meals with “undesirable” people.
Some of you are old enough to remember the civil unrest in our country during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. One aspect of the Civil Rights movement related to the restaurants and lunch counters in our country. The burning question of the day was: Should black men and women be allowed to eat with white people? The reason this was such an issue is because sharing a meal with another person is like saying we consider that person our equal. All social barriers are broken down when people sit shoulder to shoulder at the same table.
I find it remarkable that the 120 Jewish men and women who made up the very first Christians were comfortable eating at the same table with foreigners. They abandoned their Jewish, social norms in favor of a new kind of community where all who believe in Jesus are considered equal.
The third way we can interpret the words “the breaking of bread” is to observe one of the earliest practices of the early church. The church ate a meal together as a part of their corporate worship. Eating together demonstrated their unity BEFORE they entered into worship together in music and preaching. As such, we can interpret this in the context of our worship. A church who proclaims God as our King will be devoted to unity in worship…Worship that brings us together…Worship that demonstrates how much we have in common, rather than how much we don’t have in common
V. The Prayers.
Literally, Luke tells us the new community was devoted to “THE prayers.” This leads many scholars to interpret this as reference to the official Jewish practice of religion. In other words, the church abandoned their traditional social norms but did not abandon the worship of God in the Temple. In much of the Book of Acts, we continue to see the Apostles teaching and preaching in the Temple and showing how Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the Jews had been hoping for in the Old Testament. As long as the Gospel was preached primarily in Jerusalem, the early church remained closely connected to the Jewish Temple. When the Gospel began to spread outside of the Jewish race, Christian worship became separate from Judaism.
That is a great historical fact, but it does not translate very well to our Twenty-First Century American, Christian lives. What does translate is the way the early Christians were committed to the power of God that is only possible through prayer.
What do you think about people who pray? Some people think prayer is a sign of weakness. They think people who pray cannot take care of their own needs under their own power and abilities. These people are exactly right. This is why we pray. We pray, because we need God. We pray, because we cannot make it on our own power and abilities. We pray in order to express our total dependence on God for even our smallest needs. Without God and his power, we can do nothing.
This is true for individuals. This is true for churches. A church that prays acknowledges God as our King. A church that refuses to pray thinks of God as nothing more than a hobby.
VI. Conclusion.
Are you currently praying for your church? Do you spend time during the week praying for God to move in our church?
Perhaps there are people praying for our church that I am not aware of…But I do know of two groups. On Wednesday mornings, there is a men’s Sunday School class that meets for breakfast and to pray for our church. On Monday nights, there is a small group of folks who meet here at the church to pray.
What do you suppose would happen if we had groups of people praying for our church every day of the week? What if your Sunday School class or your group of friends took time to pray for God’s leadership? Frankly, we can’t be the church we need to be on our own power or abilities. We can’t become the church who proclaims God as our King without God’s help.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
God Answers Prayers
God’s Answers to Prayer.
John 11: 1 – 44
I. Introduction.
I would like to begin with a kind of commercial—or at least an invitation for you to join us on Wednesday nights. We offer something for everyone on Wednesday nights. We begin with supper in the Family Life Center at 5:30. Then, at 6:30, we divide into groups. We have childcare for babies, mission activities for preschool and children, youth worship service for teens, adult choir practice, and Bible study and prayer meeting for adults who don’t sing in the choir.
On Wednesday nights, I am teaching through the Book of Ephesians. I started Ephesians two weeks ago, but it’s not too late to join us. I have only made it through the first 14 verses!
One of the remarkable things about the Book of Ephesians is the way Paul devotes so much of his time to pray for the churches of Ephesus. He is not talking about the churches of Ephesus. He is not talking to the churches of Ephesus. He is praying for the churches of Ephesus. There is a big difference between talking about someone, talking to someone and praying for someone. I think we would see a big improvement in all our relationships if we follow Paul’s example and pray for others instead of talking about them or even talking to them.
I once heard a comment about how to resolve church issues. “If you want a better pastor, pray for the one you have.” We could probably apply the same reasoning to just about any relationship. If you want a better Sunday School teacher; If you want a better youth minister, children’s minister, music minister, education minister, senior adult minister; If you want a better husband…If you want a better wife… Pray for the one you have.
There are many places we could turn in Scripture to look at the ways God answers prayer. Today, I want to look at the story how Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. In this story, we listen to Jesus as he prays, and we listen to several of Jesus’ disciples make requests of Jesus. Since Jesus is the One and Only Son of God—fully divine and fully human—I think we can listen to the disciples’ requests in the context of prayer.
The story begins with Jesus and his disciples spending some quiet time together in an isolated region of Palestine near the Jordan River…The disciples were probably relieved to finally get out of Jerusalem, because of the dangers they faced there.
The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem he had to go in a disguise, because the Jewish leaders already wanted to kill him…He had taught in their Temple, claiming to have been sent directly from God…Then he claimed that he was actually God’s Son…When confronted by the Jewish leaders, claiming they too were sons of God, Jesus told them they were actually sons of the devil, because they could not recognize him as the Son of God…Then, the Jewish leaders ran Jesus out of the Temple and collected rocks to stone him…As Jesus left the Temple, he spotted a man who had been blind from birth. . .Jesus spit on the ground, mixed up mud, placed on the man’s eyes and healed his blindness…There was a catch to this. . .Jesus was in the Temple. . .on the Sabbath.
Therefore, I believe it is safe to say, the disciples were enjoying a little time alone with Jesus, outside of Jerusalem, where it seemed like everyone wanted to kill them…Then they received a message that none of the disciples wanted to hear…Jesus was needed in Bethany.
Now, Bethany & Jerusalem are not the same city, but if you will look on your maps at the back of your Bible, you will discover. . .Bethany and Jerusalem are like Hudson and Lufkin…It would be virtually impossible for a person of Jesus’ status to go into Bethany unnoticed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem…And the disciples did not want to go…But Jesus insisted that they travel to Bethany to see about Lazarus and his worried sisters.
An interesting part of this passage informs us that Jesus did not rush immediately to Lazarus’ aid…Rather, he waited an extra 2 days before even leaving…Jesus explained this to his disciples when he told them “Lazarus is dead, but I am glad for your sake so that you might believe.”
When they arrived in Bethany, the disciples discovered that Jesus was right...Lazarus had been dead for over four days…This is a significant part of the story…In the Jewish belief, the human spirit hovered over the body of a dead person for three days…After the third day, the belief was that the spirit would leave and the decaying process would begin…Jesus waited beyond what anyone would have expected, then performed his miracle of raising his friend from the dead.
II. Sometimes, God Answers, “No.”.
The 1st character I want to look at is one of Lazarus’ sisters, Mary.
Read John 11: 32 – 37.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"(NIV)
Notice the response of Mary and the Jews in this passage…Their response sounds so final. . .like there is no hope…“If you had been here”…“Surely he could have done something. . .”
You and I have a certain luxury as we read this text. . .we know how it ends. . .We know that Jesus walked to the tomb and called Lazarus to come out of that tomb…But Mary and the Jewish mourners do not know how it will end…All they know is that a message was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, and Jesus did not come to help…From their perspective, God had answered, “No,” to their prayer…In fact, thru 20 centuries of interpretation, I would still say God’s answer to their request was, “No.”…They asked that God heal Lazarus, and God did not do it.
Why did God answer, “No,” to this request?…Very simply, it was not God’s will…There are times in our lives that we cry out to God in desperation…“God, Heal me.”…“God, Make it all stop.”…“God, I can’t take it anymore. Solve this problem.”… There are times when we cry out, God hears us, God understands our cries for help, yet God answers, “No.”
When this happens, it does not indicate that prayers do not work…It does not mean that we have weak faith…It simply means we have asked for something that is not God’s will.
In Mary’s case, she asked that her brother be healed. God answered, “No,” but gave her something far better. God gave her a testimony that God can do the impossible. . .He can raise the dead.
III. Sometimes, God Answers, “Grow.”
I also want you to look at the answer the disciples received from Jesus.
Read John 11: 7 – 15.
7 Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.
10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."
13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."(NIV)
The disciples made a different kind of request of Jesus…They were not praying that Lazarus be healed of his sickness…They were worried for their lives and did not want to return to Jerusalem or Judea…I would paraphrase their request like this, “Lord, please don’t make us go back to Judea. We could be killed there.”…Jesus answered their request as only Jesus could answer it…He was not as concerned about their lives as he was concerned that they have faith in him.
Have you ever received this answer from God?…Perhaps you prayed that God would heal you. . .or that God would take away some personal problems and frustrations you were facing…Sometimes, God will answer our prayers just like he answered the disciples’ prayer…I am not so much concerned with you physical condition as I am concerned with your spiritual condition…Do you really trust me? Do you really rely on me for your strength to make it through each day? Is your relationship with me the most important thing in your life?
I recently read a quote by author and minister Tim Hansel that I believe captures the essence of this answer…“I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands, of times for the Lord to heal me. . .and he finally healed me of the need to be healed.”
Sometimes, God answers, “Grow”…Because he is more interested in our spiritual condition.
IV. Sometimes, God Answers, “Slow.”
The 3rd character I want you to see is Martha. . .
Read John 11: 17 – 22.
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."(NIV)
Did that passage surprise you a little? It surprised me…We are so accustomed to the story of Jesus visiting in the house of Mary and Martha, that we generalize Mary into the spiritual sister and Martha as the one who worked in the kitchen with no interest in the presence of Jesus…This story pictures the 2 sisters in the opposite light…Mary is the one who looked at the problem of her brother’s sickness and death as a hopeless situation that even Jesus could not solve…Martha, on the other hand, made 2 very spiritual comments.
1. In v. 27, Martha confessed that Jesus was the Christ… Some believe this was the 1st confession of faith, even earlier than Peter’s similar confession.
2. In v. 22, Martha confessed her faith that Jesus could do whatever he wanted, even raise dead.
Martha made a different request of Jesus…Her faith allowed her to look beyond the physical problems of sickness and death…Martha looked toward the spiritual…I would paraphrase Martha’s request like this, “Jesus, I would like to see my brother again. If you want to raise him from the dead, I know you can do it. If you do not want to raise him, then I will look forward to seeing him in the end times, at the final resurrection.”
Martha’s request differed from her sister’s request in one major area…Martha asked for what was already God’s will, but it was not the right time…Therefore, Jesus answered, “Slow”…In other words, Martha would receive what she asked, she would just have to wait on it. . .for God’s timing.
This is a hard lesson for many of us to learn…We often interpret a “No” when God really said, “Slow.”…We like things to come instantly…We would rather cook our dinners in the microwave, not in the crock pot…This is the same as what happened in the life of Abraham…Abraham asked God for a son who could be his heir…This was God’s will…But God’s time was for Abraham to wait until he was 100 years old.
As we pray, we have to learn to trust God’s will. . .But we must also trust God’s time.
V. Sometimes, God Answers, “Go.”
The last character I want you to look at is Jesus himself.
Read John 11: 38 – 44.
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."(NIV)
When Jesus prayed to the Father, God said, “Go”…God answered his prayer just as he prayed it…Because Jesus had all three things in place in order for God to answer his prayer. . .
1. He asked God to do what was already in his will.
2. He asked God to work on God’s own time schedule.
3. Jesus’ spiritual condition was just where God wanted him.
Don’t get me wrong, God will not give you what you want just because you are spiritual…But there are certain spiritual objectives that God wants to accomplish in your life that are far more important than any other request you could ever make.
VI. Conclusion.
I recently ran across a prayer attributed to my favorite author, Anonymous. . .
AND GOD SAID NO (Anonymous)
I asked God to take away my pride,
And God said "NO"
He said it was not for him to take away
But for me to give up
I asked God to make my
handicapped child whole,
And God said "NO"
He said her spirit is whole
Her body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience,
And God said "NO".
He said that patience is a byproduct of tribulation,
It isn't granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness,
And God said "No"
He said He gives blessings,
Happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain,
And God said "NO"
He said, "Suffering draws you apart from worldly
cares and brings you closer to me.
... ... ...
I asked God to help me love others
As much as He loves me,
And God said, "Ah, finally you have the idea."[1]
[1] http://www.bvbcministries.org/Poems.htm, “And God Said No.”
John 11: 1 – 44
I. Introduction.
I would like to begin with a kind of commercial—or at least an invitation for you to join us on Wednesday nights. We offer something for everyone on Wednesday nights. We begin with supper in the Family Life Center at 5:30. Then, at 6:30, we divide into groups. We have childcare for babies, mission activities for preschool and children, youth worship service for teens, adult choir practice, and Bible study and prayer meeting for adults who don’t sing in the choir.
On Wednesday nights, I am teaching through the Book of Ephesians. I started Ephesians two weeks ago, but it’s not too late to join us. I have only made it through the first 14 verses!
One of the remarkable things about the Book of Ephesians is the way Paul devotes so much of his time to pray for the churches of Ephesus. He is not talking about the churches of Ephesus. He is not talking to the churches of Ephesus. He is praying for the churches of Ephesus. There is a big difference between talking about someone, talking to someone and praying for someone. I think we would see a big improvement in all our relationships if we follow Paul’s example and pray for others instead of talking about them or even talking to them.
I once heard a comment about how to resolve church issues. “If you want a better pastor, pray for the one you have.” We could probably apply the same reasoning to just about any relationship. If you want a better Sunday School teacher; If you want a better youth minister, children’s minister, music minister, education minister, senior adult minister; If you want a better husband…If you want a better wife… Pray for the one you have.
There are many places we could turn in Scripture to look at the ways God answers prayer. Today, I want to look at the story how Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. In this story, we listen to Jesus as he prays, and we listen to several of Jesus’ disciples make requests of Jesus. Since Jesus is the One and Only Son of God—fully divine and fully human—I think we can listen to the disciples’ requests in the context of prayer.
The story begins with Jesus and his disciples spending some quiet time together in an isolated region of Palestine near the Jordan River…The disciples were probably relieved to finally get out of Jerusalem, because of the dangers they faced there.
The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem he had to go in a disguise, because the Jewish leaders already wanted to kill him…He had taught in their Temple, claiming to have been sent directly from God…Then he claimed that he was actually God’s Son…When confronted by the Jewish leaders, claiming they too were sons of God, Jesus told them they were actually sons of the devil, because they could not recognize him as the Son of God…Then, the Jewish leaders ran Jesus out of the Temple and collected rocks to stone him…As Jesus left the Temple, he spotted a man who had been blind from birth. . .Jesus spit on the ground, mixed up mud, placed on the man’s eyes and healed his blindness…There was a catch to this. . .Jesus was in the Temple. . .on the Sabbath.
Therefore, I believe it is safe to say, the disciples were enjoying a little time alone with Jesus, outside of Jerusalem, where it seemed like everyone wanted to kill them…Then they received a message that none of the disciples wanted to hear…Jesus was needed in Bethany.
Now, Bethany & Jerusalem are not the same city, but if you will look on your maps at the back of your Bible, you will discover. . .Bethany and Jerusalem are like Hudson and Lufkin…It would be virtually impossible for a person of Jesus’ status to go into Bethany unnoticed by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem…And the disciples did not want to go…But Jesus insisted that they travel to Bethany to see about Lazarus and his worried sisters.
An interesting part of this passage informs us that Jesus did not rush immediately to Lazarus’ aid…Rather, he waited an extra 2 days before even leaving…Jesus explained this to his disciples when he told them “Lazarus is dead, but I am glad for your sake so that you might believe.”
When they arrived in Bethany, the disciples discovered that Jesus was right...Lazarus had been dead for over four days…This is a significant part of the story…In the Jewish belief, the human spirit hovered over the body of a dead person for three days…After the third day, the belief was that the spirit would leave and the decaying process would begin…Jesus waited beyond what anyone would have expected, then performed his miracle of raising his friend from the dead.
II. Sometimes, God Answers, “No.”.
The 1st character I want to look at is one of Lazarus’ sisters, Mary.
Read John 11: 32 – 37.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"(NIV)
Notice the response of Mary and the Jews in this passage…Their response sounds so final. . .like there is no hope…“If you had been here”…“Surely he could have done something. . .”
You and I have a certain luxury as we read this text. . .we know how it ends. . .We know that Jesus walked to the tomb and called Lazarus to come out of that tomb…But Mary and the Jewish mourners do not know how it will end…All they know is that a message was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, and Jesus did not come to help…From their perspective, God had answered, “No,” to their prayer…In fact, thru 20 centuries of interpretation, I would still say God’s answer to their request was, “No.”…They asked that God heal Lazarus, and God did not do it.
Why did God answer, “No,” to this request?…Very simply, it was not God’s will…There are times in our lives that we cry out to God in desperation…“God, Heal me.”…“God, Make it all stop.”…“God, I can’t take it anymore. Solve this problem.”… There are times when we cry out, God hears us, God understands our cries for help, yet God answers, “No.”
When this happens, it does not indicate that prayers do not work…It does not mean that we have weak faith…It simply means we have asked for something that is not God’s will.
In Mary’s case, she asked that her brother be healed. God answered, “No,” but gave her something far better. God gave her a testimony that God can do the impossible. . .He can raise the dead.
III. Sometimes, God Answers, “Grow.”
I also want you to look at the answer the disciples received from Jesus.
Read John 11: 7 – 15.
7 Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.
10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."
13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."(NIV)
The disciples made a different kind of request of Jesus…They were not praying that Lazarus be healed of his sickness…They were worried for their lives and did not want to return to Jerusalem or Judea…I would paraphrase their request like this, “Lord, please don’t make us go back to Judea. We could be killed there.”…Jesus answered their request as only Jesus could answer it…He was not as concerned about their lives as he was concerned that they have faith in him.
Have you ever received this answer from God?…Perhaps you prayed that God would heal you. . .or that God would take away some personal problems and frustrations you were facing…Sometimes, God will answer our prayers just like he answered the disciples’ prayer…I am not so much concerned with you physical condition as I am concerned with your spiritual condition…Do you really trust me? Do you really rely on me for your strength to make it through each day? Is your relationship with me the most important thing in your life?
I recently read a quote by author and minister Tim Hansel that I believe captures the essence of this answer…“I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands, of times for the Lord to heal me. . .and he finally healed me of the need to be healed.”
Sometimes, God answers, “Grow”…Because he is more interested in our spiritual condition.
IV. Sometimes, God Answers, “Slow.”
The 3rd character I want you to see is Martha. . .
Read John 11: 17 – 22.
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."(NIV)
Did that passage surprise you a little? It surprised me…We are so accustomed to the story of Jesus visiting in the house of Mary and Martha, that we generalize Mary into the spiritual sister and Martha as the one who worked in the kitchen with no interest in the presence of Jesus…This story pictures the 2 sisters in the opposite light…Mary is the one who looked at the problem of her brother’s sickness and death as a hopeless situation that even Jesus could not solve…Martha, on the other hand, made 2 very spiritual comments.
1. In v. 27, Martha confessed that Jesus was the Christ… Some believe this was the 1st confession of faith, even earlier than Peter’s similar confession.
2. In v. 22, Martha confessed her faith that Jesus could do whatever he wanted, even raise dead.
Martha made a different request of Jesus…Her faith allowed her to look beyond the physical problems of sickness and death…Martha looked toward the spiritual…I would paraphrase Martha’s request like this, “Jesus, I would like to see my brother again. If you want to raise him from the dead, I know you can do it. If you do not want to raise him, then I will look forward to seeing him in the end times, at the final resurrection.”
Martha’s request differed from her sister’s request in one major area…Martha asked for what was already God’s will, but it was not the right time…Therefore, Jesus answered, “Slow”…In other words, Martha would receive what she asked, she would just have to wait on it. . .for God’s timing.
This is a hard lesson for many of us to learn…We often interpret a “No” when God really said, “Slow.”…We like things to come instantly…We would rather cook our dinners in the microwave, not in the crock pot…This is the same as what happened in the life of Abraham…Abraham asked God for a son who could be his heir…This was God’s will…But God’s time was for Abraham to wait until he was 100 years old.
As we pray, we have to learn to trust God’s will. . .But we must also trust God’s time.
V. Sometimes, God Answers, “Go.”
The last character I want you to look at is Jesus himself.
Read John 11: 38 – 44.
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."(NIV)
When Jesus prayed to the Father, God said, “Go”…God answered his prayer just as he prayed it…Because Jesus had all three things in place in order for God to answer his prayer. . .
1. He asked God to do what was already in his will.
2. He asked God to work on God’s own time schedule.
3. Jesus’ spiritual condition was just where God wanted him.
Don’t get me wrong, God will not give you what you want just because you are spiritual…But there are certain spiritual objectives that God wants to accomplish in your life that are far more important than any other request you could ever make.
VI. Conclusion.
I recently ran across a prayer attributed to my favorite author, Anonymous. . .
AND GOD SAID NO (Anonymous)
I asked God to take away my pride,
And God said "NO"
He said it was not for him to take away
But for me to give up
I asked God to make my
handicapped child whole,
And God said "NO"
He said her spirit is whole
Her body is only temporary.
I asked God to grant me patience,
And God said "NO".
He said that patience is a byproduct of tribulation,
It isn't granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness,
And God said "No"
He said He gives blessings,
Happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain,
And God said "NO"
He said, "Suffering draws you apart from worldly
cares and brings you closer to me.
... ... ...
I asked God to help me love others
As much as He loves me,
And God said, "Ah, finally you have the idea."[1]
[1] http://www.bvbcministries.org/Poems.htm, “And God Said No.”
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Baptism and the Lord's Supper: Two Demonstrations of the Gospel
Two Demonstrations of the Gospel
Romans 6: 1 – 7 AND 1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 34
What do you think is the most important value in the United States of America? From my perspective, it seems that our culture places a priority on “tolerance” as our most important value. Religious tolerance…Political tolerance…Tolerance of “alternative sexual lifestyles.” However, if you listen to the arguments for tolerance, it quickly becomes apparent that many people do not make a distinction between “tolerance” and “acceptance.”
In a religious sense, I believe it is important for Americans to tolerate all world religions and even to protect their rights to express their religious views. But, I do not believe we are required to accept all world religions as equally valid or even viable expressions of true faith, as if all religions lead to the same God.
My faith in Jesus requires me to be exclusive in my understanding of the Christian faith as the only true faith. My faith is grounded on the exclusive claims of Jesus as the One and Only Son of God, who is “the way, the truth and the life…no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14: 6).”
My faith in Jesus also requires me to acknowledge that sin is a reality. Sin is real. Sin exists in our world. And, sin affects all human beings equally. Since all humans are sinners, all humans are separated from God and have a basic need for God’s offer of salvation. God is the only One who can save us. Salvation is available ONLY on God’s terms—faith in Jesus as the crucified and resurrected Son of God.
Many of the lifestyle choices our American culture promotes through entertainment and media are choices to rebel against God and to refuse God’s offer of salvation. In short, these lifestyle choices are sin.
At some point in the future, Christians will no longer live in this sinful world. When Christians die, God will take us into Heaven to live with him eternally. When Jesus returns as he promised us, he will take Christians into Heaven to live with God eternally. In Heaven, we will no longer live with sin. We will not commit sin…We will not face the temptation to sin…We will no longer have to choose between tolerating a sinful world or accepting sin as an “alternative lifestyle” or a viable option.
When someone tries to promote tolerance as a virtue, they are usually demanding acceptance. American culture has a difficult time distinguishing between tolerance and acceptance of sin. Therefore, I do not believe tolerance is our culture’s most important value. I think individual freedom is that most important virtue. Everybody gets to choose how they will live their lives. No matter what you choose, you are right. No matter what you choose, you cannot make a wrong choice. Everybody is right. Nobody is wrong.
In fact, I would even go so far as to say worship of self is the American religion. Sadly, this has crept into the way American Christians understand our faith.
American Christians are prone to describe their faith exclusively in individualistic terms…a private matter of the heart…an individual decision…Don’t ask and don’t tell, because this is between a person and God.
There is truth in this individualistic view of spirituality. Every person who becomes a Christian does so through individual profession of faith. Jesus died on the cross for individuals. Individual men and women must make a personal profession of faith that Jesus is the Lord of their lives. However, God’s purpose for our lives goes beyond our individual profession of faith. God saves us as individuals and brings us together in the church so that we become a part of the Body of Christ. It is within the Body of Christ that we fulfill God’s purpose for our lives and God’s mission in the world.
Another way to say this is to say there is both an individual expression of the Christian faith as well as a corporate expression of the Christian faith. As Baptist Christians, we demonstrate the individual side of our faith and the corporate side of our faith through the two ordinances of our church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper serve as visual demonstrations of the Gospel.
Baptism and the Gospel… Romans 6: 1 – 7.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
In this Scripture, the Apostle Paul clearly describes the symbolism of baptism. He helps us to realize that nothing magical or mystical happens when a person is baptized.
The water in our baptistery is not holy water. It comes from the City of Lufkin’s water supply. It is just like the water we drink, use in our cooking and take a bath in every day. We don’t ship it in from the Jordan River, and we don’t do anything to bless it before we fill the baptistery. It is plain, Lufkin water…It probably even smells a little like eggs to people who haven’t lived here their entire lives!
The water in that baptistery cannot wash away a person’s sins. There is only one thing that can take away a person’s sin…The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation can only be accomplished by God. God accomplished your forgiveness and salvation on the cross of Jesus. It is a free gift, an expression of God’s grace. All you have to do is accept God’s gift.
We do not believe baptism can save anyone. But, we do believe baptism is required. Baptism is required for anyone to be a member of our church. Baptism is required as an act of obedience. (Since Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, we think all Christians ought to be baptized to follow the example Jesus set for us.) And, Baptism is required as a visual demonstration of what God has already done for us through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
If Baptism does not wash away a person’s sins, what does Baptism do? It tells a story. On one hand, it tells the story of Jesus. On the other hand it tells a personal story of what Jesus has done for me.
Baptism tells the story of Jesus by demonstrating visually the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus was crucified, he literally and physically died. Jesus’ followers took his dead body down from the cross and buried his body in a tomb. But, death was not the end for Jesus. Just as Jesus predicted, and just as the Old Testament had prophesied, Jesus rose from the grave on the third day.
Baptism tells a personal story of the person standing in the baptistery. All humans are sinners. Sin separates us from God and makes it impossible for us to achieve our own forgiveness or to save ourselves. The logical conclusion of sin is that sin leads to death. Therefore, as long as we are unforgiven, we are dead. However, when we accept God’s gift of grace—forgiveness and eternal salvation—the old dead sinner is buried and through faith raised to live a new kind of life. This new life is the life led by God’s Holy Spirit.
Baptism is a visual demonstration of the Gospel, because it shows us how God changes individual men and women through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
The Lord’s Supper and the Gospel…1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 34.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
In this Scripture, we read the Apostle Paul’s theological understanding of the Lord’s Supper. He offers his theological understanding of the Supper in response to an abuse that was taking place in the churches of Corinth. The church members were being selfish. Some people ate too much. Some people got nothing to eat. Some people were even using the Lord’s Supper as an occasion to get drunk. Paul addressed these concerns theologically.
First, Paul tells us that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. On the night Jesus was betrayed, he shared a meal of bread and wine with his disciples. Jesus specifically taught his disciples that the elements of this supper were symbolic—they are reminders of what Jesus has done for us. The bread is a reminder of the physical body of Jesus. No one took his body from him. Jesus freely and willingly laid down his body by going to the cross. The wine is a reminder of Jesus’ blood. The blood reminds us of the gruesome nature of crucifixion. Jesus gave his life freely and willingly, but he did not die an ordinary death. He freely and willingly died in the most painful and gruesome manner of execution ever known.
Second, Paul teaches us that the Lord’s Supper is proclamation. Whenever we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are preaching the story of Jesus’ death. Just like Baptism, the Lord’s Supper tells a story. On one hand, it tells the story of Jesus who gave his life freely and willingly. On the other hand it tells our story.
The Lord’s Supper is different from Baptism. While baptism tells the story of what Jesus did for individuals, the Lord’s Supper tells the story of what Jesus did for the church—the community of faith or the Body of Christ. Baptism is something we do individually. The Lord’s Supper is something we do together.
Through the centuries of Christian theology, there has been much debate over who can participate in the Lord’s Supper. Some people say the Lord’s Supper is for all Christians. The context does not matter. The Lord’s Supper can be taken in a church service, a youth group meeting, a choir practice or even a gathering of multiple churches in a convention or retreat setting. Other people say the Lord’s Supper is for the church alone. It must be offered in a church worship service, and it can only be taken by people who are members of that church alone. (Our practice is to offer the Lord’s Supper only in a church worship service, but to allow any Christian present to participate.)
There are many differences in these interpretations of the Lord’s Supper. However, there is one thing they have in common. No one believes the Lord’s Supper is something an individual does on his or her own. It is reserved for the community of faith, the Body of Christ, the church.
The Lord’s Supper is a visual demonstration of the Gospel, because it shows how Jesus has brought us together. Yes, salvation is a gift of grace which must be accepted individually. However, salvation brings us together into the Body of Christ.
Conclusion: The Body of Christ…1 Corinthians 12.
The context of Paul’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper is significant. He gives us his theological understanding of the Lord’s Supper immediately before he enters into a detailed description of the church as the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is made up of many different people with many different spiritual gifts. This is just like the human body. The human body has two eyes, two ears, two hands and two feet. None of these body parts can change places. Each has its own job. And, the body is only successful when each part of the body does the job God created it to do.
The same thing is true for us. God brought you into this church to do a specific task. God has given you talents, the passions, the experience and the spiritual gifts you need to accomplish that work in the church.
It does not matter who you are or where you came from. Jesus has destroyed all the walls that divide us. No race, no gender and no class can divide us. We are united as one Body as we gather at the Lord’s Table.
Romans 6: 1 – 7 AND 1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 34
What do you think is the most important value in the United States of America? From my perspective, it seems that our culture places a priority on “tolerance” as our most important value. Religious tolerance…Political tolerance…Tolerance of “alternative sexual lifestyles.” However, if you listen to the arguments for tolerance, it quickly becomes apparent that many people do not make a distinction between “tolerance” and “acceptance.”
In a religious sense, I believe it is important for Americans to tolerate all world religions and even to protect their rights to express their religious views. But, I do not believe we are required to accept all world religions as equally valid or even viable expressions of true faith, as if all religions lead to the same God.
My faith in Jesus requires me to be exclusive in my understanding of the Christian faith as the only true faith. My faith is grounded on the exclusive claims of Jesus as the One and Only Son of God, who is “the way, the truth and the life…no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14: 6).”
My faith in Jesus also requires me to acknowledge that sin is a reality. Sin is real. Sin exists in our world. And, sin affects all human beings equally. Since all humans are sinners, all humans are separated from God and have a basic need for God’s offer of salvation. God is the only One who can save us. Salvation is available ONLY on God’s terms—faith in Jesus as the crucified and resurrected Son of God.
Many of the lifestyle choices our American culture promotes through entertainment and media are choices to rebel against God and to refuse God’s offer of salvation. In short, these lifestyle choices are sin.
At some point in the future, Christians will no longer live in this sinful world. When Christians die, God will take us into Heaven to live with him eternally. When Jesus returns as he promised us, he will take Christians into Heaven to live with God eternally. In Heaven, we will no longer live with sin. We will not commit sin…We will not face the temptation to sin…We will no longer have to choose between tolerating a sinful world or accepting sin as an “alternative lifestyle” or a viable option.
When someone tries to promote tolerance as a virtue, they are usually demanding acceptance. American culture has a difficult time distinguishing between tolerance and acceptance of sin. Therefore, I do not believe tolerance is our culture’s most important value. I think individual freedom is that most important virtue. Everybody gets to choose how they will live their lives. No matter what you choose, you are right. No matter what you choose, you cannot make a wrong choice. Everybody is right. Nobody is wrong.
In fact, I would even go so far as to say worship of self is the American religion. Sadly, this has crept into the way American Christians understand our faith.
American Christians are prone to describe their faith exclusively in individualistic terms…a private matter of the heart…an individual decision…Don’t ask and don’t tell, because this is between a person and God.
There is truth in this individualistic view of spirituality. Every person who becomes a Christian does so through individual profession of faith. Jesus died on the cross for individuals. Individual men and women must make a personal profession of faith that Jesus is the Lord of their lives. However, God’s purpose for our lives goes beyond our individual profession of faith. God saves us as individuals and brings us together in the church so that we become a part of the Body of Christ. It is within the Body of Christ that we fulfill God’s purpose for our lives and God’s mission in the world.
Another way to say this is to say there is both an individual expression of the Christian faith as well as a corporate expression of the Christian faith. As Baptist Christians, we demonstrate the individual side of our faith and the corporate side of our faith through the two ordinances of our church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper serve as visual demonstrations of the Gospel.
Baptism and the Gospel… Romans 6: 1 – 7.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
In this Scripture, the Apostle Paul clearly describes the symbolism of baptism. He helps us to realize that nothing magical or mystical happens when a person is baptized.
The water in our baptistery is not holy water. It comes from the City of Lufkin’s water supply. It is just like the water we drink, use in our cooking and take a bath in every day. We don’t ship it in from the Jordan River, and we don’t do anything to bless it before we fill the baptistery. It is plain, Lufkin water…It probably even smells a little like eggs to people who haven’t lived here their entire lives!
The water in that baptistery cannot wash away a person’s sins. There is only one thing that can take away a person’s sin…The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation can only be accomplished by God. God accomplished your forgiveness and salvation on the cross of Jesus. It is a free gift, an expression of God’s grace. All you have to do is accept God’s gift.
We do not believe baptism can save anyone. But, we do believe baptism is required. Baptism is required for anyone to be a member of our church. Baptism is required as an act of obedience. (Since Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, we think all Christians ought to be baptized to follow the example Jesus set for us.) And, Baptism is required as a visual demonstration of what God has already done for us through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
If Baptism does not wash away a person’s sins, what does Baptism do? It tells a story. On one hand, it tells the story of Jesus. On the other hand it tells a personal story of what Jesus has done for me.
Baptism tells the story of Jesus by demonstrating visually the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus was crucified, he literally and physically died. Jesus’ followers took his dead body down from the cross and buried his body in a tomb. But, death was not the end for Jesus. Just as Jesus predicted, and just as the Old Testament had prophesied, Jesus rose from the grave on the third day.
Baptism tells a personal story of the person standing in the baptistery. All humans are sinners. Sin separates us from God and makes it impossible for us to achieve our own forgiveness or to save ourselves. The logical conclusion of sin is that sin leads to death. Therefore, as long as we are unforgiven, we are dead. However, when we accept God’s gift of grace—forgiveness and eternal salvation—the old dead sinner is buried and through faith raised to live a new kind of life. This new life is the life led by God’s Holy Spirit.
Baptism is a visual demonstration of the Gospel, because it shows us how God changes individual men and women through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
The Lord’s Supper and the Gospel…1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 34.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
In this Scripture, we read the Apostle Paul’s theological understanding of the Lord’s Supper. He offers his theological understanding of the Supper in response to an abuse that was taking place in the churches of Corinth. The church members were being selfish. Some people ate too much. Some people got nothing to eat. Some people were even using the Lord’s Supper as an occasion to get drunk. Paul addressed these concerns theologically.
First, Paul tells us that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. On the night Jesus was betrayed, he shared a meal of bread and wine with his disciples. Jesus specifically taught his disciples that the elements of this supper were symbolic—they are reminders of what Jesus has done for us. The bread is a reminder of the physical body of Jesus. No one took his body from him. Jesus freely and willingly laid down his body by going to the cross. The wine is a reminder of Jesus’ blood. The blood reminds us of the gruesome nature of crucifixion. Jesus gave his life freely and willingly, but he did not die an ordinary death. He freely and willingly died in the most painful and gruesome manner of execution ever known.
Second, Paul teaches us that the Lord’s Supper is proclamation. Whenever we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are preaching the story of Jesus’ death. Just like Baptism, the Lord’s Supper tells a story. On one hand, it tells the story of Jesus who gave his life freely and willingly. On the other hand it tells our story.
The Lord’s Supper is different from Baptism. While baptism tells the story of what Jesus did for individuals, the Lord’s Supper tells the story of what Jesus did for the church—the community of faith or the Body of Christ. Baptism is something we do individually. The Lord’s Supper is something we do together.
Through the centuries of Christian theology, there has been much debate over who can participate in the Lord’s Supper. Some people say the Lord’s Supper is for all Christians. The context does not matter. The Lord’s Supper can be taken in a church service, a youth group meeting, a choir practice or even a gathering of multiple churches in a convention or retreat setting. Other people say the Lord’s Supper is for the church alone. It must be offered in a church worship service, and it can only be taken by people who are members of that church alone. (Our practice is to offer the Lord’s Supper only in a church worship service, but to allow any Christian present to participate.)
There are many differences in these interpretations of the Lord’s Supper. However, there is one thing they have in common. No one believes the Lord’s Supper is something an individual does on his or her own. It is reserved for the community of faith, the Body of Christ, the church.
The Lord’s Supper is a visual demonstration of the Gospel, because it shows how Jesus has brought us together. Yes, salvation is a gift of grace which must be accepted individually. However, salvation brings us together into the Body of Christ.
Conclusion: The Body of Christ…1 Corinthians 12.
The context of Paul’s teaching on the Lord’s Supper is significant. He gives us his theological understanding of the Lord’s Supper immediately before he enters into a detailed description of the church as the Body of Christ.
The Body of Christ is made up of many different people with many different spiritual gifts. This is just like the human body. The human body has two eyes, two ears, two hands and two feet. None of these body parts can change places. Each has its own job. And, the body is only successful when each part of the body does the job God created it to do.
The same thing is true for us. God brought you into this church to do a specific task. God has given you talents, the passions, the experience and the spiritual gifts you need to accomplish that work in the church.
It does not matter who you are or where you came from. Jesus has destroyed all the walls that divide us. No race, no gender and no class can divide us. We are united as one Body as we gather at the Lord’s Table.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Praying in Jesus' Name
Praying in Jesus’ Name
John 14: 10 – 14.
Introduction
Read John 14: 10 – 14.
This Scripture comes in the context of Jesus’ last extended teaching to his disciples. They had just shared the Last Supper together, and Jesus took this opportunity to prepare the disciples for what would come next. Jesus told them that he would be betrayed by one of the twelve disciples; Jesus would be handed over to the Jewish religious leaders to be tried for blasphemy; Jesus would be handed over to the Romans to be crucified. As if this were not bad enough, Jesus also told them that in his hour of greatest need, all twelve disciples would abandon him.
Peter spoke up and insisted, “Lord, even if all others run away, I will never abandon you.” Jesus predicted that Peter would in fact deny knowing Jesus three times before the rooster crows the next morning.
This was a very heavy moment for the disciples. One of them would betray Jesus. All of them would abandon Jesus. And, Jesus was about to die at the hands of the Romans. This was nothing short of a major life crisis for the disciples. After all, these twelve disciples had given up everything they had ever known to follow Jesus. They walked away from their families and friends. They gave up their jobs and careers. They had even changed their understanding of their traditional religious beliefs. And, now Jesus was going away from them.
This explains why Jesus began his final extended teaching with words of comfort and encouragement…
John 14: 1 – 9, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
There are a couple of important themes in Jesus’ words to his disciples.
First, Jesus assures them not to worry, because he is preparing a place for them in his Father’s house. It seems apparent that this is a reference to Heaven. Jesus is preparing a permanent home for all who trust in him. This permanent home will be with Jesus and with the Father, in fact, it is in the Father’s house.
Second, Jesus offers hope to his disciples that even thought Jesus must go to his Father’s house; they will not be left alone. Jesus describes both his going and his coming again. He is going away. But, he is coming again. On one hand, I think it is possible for us to interpret this as a reference to the Second Coming of Jesus—there is a coming day in the future in which Jesus will return to take all his living disciples to live with the Father in Heaven. On the other hand, I think we ought to think of Jesus’ coming as something more immediate. This is a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The disciples will not be alone, because Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to be with them. You and I will never be alone, because Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as well.
Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ disciples, the work Jesus did in his earthly life will continue. Notice what Jesus said in John 14: 12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
It is important for us to note that while Jesus did perform miraculous signs, not everything Jesus did was a miracle. Yes, Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead. But, Jesus also fed the hungry, spent time with people who were physically and spiritually unclean, and Jesus preached the Gospel. We ought to keep this in mind as we try to interpret what Jesus meant by saying his followers would do “even greater things.”
Actually, we can see what Jesus meant by looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. On occasion, Jesus’ disciples performed miracles among the sick. But, for the most part, the work of the Holy Spirit was apparent in the way people responded to the Gospel message the disciples preached. Jesus did not get this kind of response when he preached the Gospel! But, when the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to inspire, to convict and to convince…The Christian faith literally exploded! Just look at the response to Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost…3,000 people believed the Gospel and were baptized into the church
Third, Jesus places a priority on prayer. When Jesus ascended to his Father’s house in Heave, he left the Holy Spirit to be with us. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples changed. He was not present with them in a physical sense. However, he was present with them spiritually. In the same way, Jesus is not physically present with us today. Yet, we have a spiritual relationship with him through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Since this is a spiritual relationship, we grow in this relationship through spiritual practices—spiritual disciplines. Specifically, Jesus places on us an expectation that we will pray.
The expectation of prayer comes with a promise. Notice what Jesus said in John 14: 13 – 14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Do not let anyone tell you Jesus never claimed to be God. In this short passage, Jesus tells us that he is in the Father and the Father is in him; he tells us that the words Jesus has spoken are words that came directly from God; he tells us that to see Jesus is to see the Father; AND Jesus tells us that he is the one who answers our prayers. Any one of these four statements would be enough to prove that Jesus claimed to be God. But, taken together, they provide us with an emphatic statement about Jesus’ character. He claimed to be God before the crucifixion. He proved himself to be God after the resurrection.
Jesus expects his followers to pray. Jesus promised to answer the prayers of his followers. However, Jesus placed some limits on what his followers ought to pray. Verse 14 says, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus did not promise to give us ANYTHING we ask. Jesus promised to give us anything we ask IN HIS NAME.
What’s In a Name?
What do you think Jesus meant when he encouraged us to “pray in his name?” Do you think that means we are supposed to close our prayers with the phrase, “In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen?” Or do you think there is something mystical or even magical about the five letter word J-E-S-U-S?
We ought to interpret Jesus’ teaching about his name in the context of how the concept of a person’s name was used in the ancient world. For example, ancient people thought of names differently than we think of names today. In the ancient world, names actually meant something. Names were more than a designation to distinguish one person from another. Names were actually descriptive. In the ancient world, a name described the person and revealed something about that person’s character.
This is what we read in Proverbs 22: 1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” It does not mean we should feel sorry for people who have bad names like Zipporah, Nimrod or Ichabod. It means we should all strive to have a good character or a good reputation.
Have you ever wondered why God changed the name of so many biblical characters? Ultimately, it is a symbolic way to describe the way God changes a person’s character or nature. In the Bible, when God changed a person’s character or nature, God also changed their name.
In Genesis 17, God changed a man’s name from Abram to Abraham. The name Abram comes from the Hebrew word for “father.” This was a very ironic name, since Abram lived for 85 years without ever having any children of his own. Yet, in Genesis 17, God reaffirmed his covenant with Abram and assured him that he would become a father of nations. Thus, when God changed Abram’s nature, God also changed his name. Abram means “father.” Abraham means “father of nations.”
Abraham’s son Isaac had twin sons, named Esau and Jacob. The name Esau means “hairy.” He probably received this name, because even at the time of his birth, his body was covered in hair. The name Jacob means “one who grasps at the heel.” Again, when the twins were born, Esau was born first—covered in hair—and Jacob was born next, grasping at the heel of his brother. Jacob fulfilled the literal meaning of his name at birth by grasping at his brother’s heel. However, he also fulfilled the figurative meaning of his name by “tripping, deceiving and tricking” other people throughout his life. Yet, God used this deceiver to become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. In Genesis 32, God changed Jacob’s character and changed his name. Jacob was on his way to reconcile his relationship with his brother. The night before they met, Jacob stayed awake all night long wrestling with God. At the end of the night, Jacob asked his assailant for his name. God refused to give his name, but God changed Jacob’s name. He was no longer to be known as the deceiver. Instead, he would be known as Israel, “one who wrestles with God,” or “God prevails.” When God changed his nature, God changed his name.
In the New Testament, we meet a disciple named Peter. That was not his real name. That was the name Jesus gave him. Peter was born with the name Simon, which means “flat nose.” I wonder if Simon was born with a flat nose, or if he got that name later in life when he spoke too much and someone gave him a flat nose. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples who people thought Jesus was. They answered that people thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the prophets. Jesus made his question personal by asking the disciples, “But what about ya’ll? Who do ya’ll think that I am?” Simon answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God.” With these words, Simon was the first person in all of the New Testament to profess Jesus as the promised Messiah. That is when Jesus changed his name from Simon (flat nose) to Peter (rock), because Peter’s confession of faith would be the rock on which the entire church would be built. When God changed his future, God changed his name.
Praying in Jesus’ Name
I suppose it would be possible for us to think Jesus is giving us a formula for our prayers. It might even be possible to think Jesus is telling us to use the five letter name J-E-S-U-S as a kind of magic word. If we use the name J-E-S-U-S in our prayers, then Jesus will be obligated to give us whatever we ask for in our prayers. However, this does not take into account the many times we pray without receiving the answer we had hoped for. It also does not take into account the biblical concept of name and character. Therefore, I believe to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in Jesus’ character or nature.
Our prayers ought to be consistent with the Person of Jesus. We should pray for the things Jesus would pray for. Praying in Jesus’ name means that our prayers should reflect the desires of Jesus.
Think of a modern day example of a man and woman who get married. Traditionally, when a man and woman get married, the woman takes her new husband’s name. The new wife does not lose her identity. She does not give up her unique personality. However, she has entered into a union in which “two become one.” The man and woman share the same possessions, the same dreams, the same hopes, the same desires, the same will, the same purpose…
In the same way, our spiritual relationship with Jesus reflects a similar kind of union. We share in Jesus’ possessions and inheritance. We share in Jesus’ dreams, hopes, desires and will. We even share in Jesus’ purpose—to continue his work in the world.
Conclusion
Bruce McIver tells his story of the Baylor Youth Revivals on the 1940’s in the book Riding the Wind of God (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2002). Through these revivals, literally thousands of young men and women professed faith in Jesus. Some well known Texas Baptist pastors became Christians through these revivals: Buckner Fanning, Milton Cunningham and Bailey Stone for example. But the revivals began when a group of 6 Baylor students prayed for a revival. They started praying in September 1944. They held their first revival in April 1945.
To pray in Jesus’ name is not the same thing as being hopeful. This is not the same thing as wishful thinking or even good luck. This is confident assurance in the promises of God. God promised us, and God can be trusted. When we desire what Jesus desires, Jesus will do it. When we dream as Jesus dreams, Jesus will accomplish it. When we pray as Jesus would pray, Jesus will answer.
John 14: 10 – 14.
Introduction
Read John 14: 10 – 14.
This Scripture comes in the context of Jesus’ last extended teaching to his disciples. They had just shared the Last Supper together, and Jesus took this opportunity to prepare the disciples for what would come next. Jesus told them that he would be betrayed by one of the twelve disciples; Jesus would be handed over to the Jewish religious leaders to be tried for blasphemy; Jesus would be handed over to the Romans to be crucified. As if this were not bad enough, Jesus also told them that in his hour of greatest need, all twelve disciples would abandon him.
Peter spoke up and insisted, “Lord, even if all others run away, I will never abandon you.” Jesus predicted that Peter would in fact deny knowing Jesus three times before the rooster crows the next morning.
This was a very heavy moment for the disciples. One of them would betray Jesus. All of them would abandon Jesus. And, Jesus was about to die at the hands of the Romans. This was nothing short of a major life crisis for the disciples. After all, these twelve disciples had given up everything they had ever known to follow Jesus. They walked away from their families and friends. They gave up their jobs and careers. They had even changed their understanding of their traditional religious beliefs. And, now Jesus was going away from them.
This explains why Jesus began his final extended teaching with words of comfort and encouragement…
John 14: 1 – 9, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
There are a couple of important themes in Jesus’ words to his disciples.
First, Jesus assures them not to worry, because he is preparing a place for them in his Father’s house. It seems apparent that this is a reference to Heaven. Jesus is preparing a permanent home for all who trust in him. This permanent home will be with Jesus and with the Father, in fact, it is in the Father’s house.
Second, Jesus offers hope to his disciples that even thought Jesus must go to his Father’s house; they will not be left alone. Jesus describes both his going and his coming again. He is going away. But, he is coming again. On one hand, I think it is possible for us to interpret this as a reference to the Second Coming of Jesus—there is a coming day in the future in which Jesus will return to take all his living disciples to live with the Father in Heaven. On the other hand, I think we ought to think of Jesus’ coming as something more immediate. This is a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit. The disciples will not be alone, because Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to be with them. You and I will never be alone, because Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as well.
Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ disciples, the work Jesus did in his earthly life will continue. Notice what Jesus said in John 14: 12, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
It is important for us to note that while Jesus did perform miraculous signs, not everything Jesus did was a miracle. Yes, Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead. But, Jesus also fed the hungry, spent time with people who were physically and spiritually unclean, and Jesus preached the Gospel. We ought to keep this in mind as we try to interpret what Jesus meant by saying his followers would do “even greater things.”
Actually, we can see what Jesus meant by looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. On occasion, Jesus’ disciples performed miracles among the sick. But, for the most part, the work of the Holy Spirit was apparent in the way people responded to the Gospel message the disciples preached. Jesus did not get this kind of response when he preached the Gospel! But, when the Holy Spirit was sent into the world to inspire, to convict and to convince…The Christian faith literally exploded! Just look at the response to Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost…3,000 people believed the Gospel and were baptized into the church
Third, Jesus places a priority on prayer. When Jesus ascended to his Father’s house in Heave, he left the Holy Spirit to be with us. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples changed. He was not present with them in a physical sense. However, he was present with them spiritually. In the same way, Jesus is not physically present with us today. Yet, we have a spiritual relationship with him through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Since this is a spiritual relationship, we grow in this relationship through spiritual practices—spiritual disciplines. Specifically, Jesus places on us an expectation that we will pray.
The expectation of prayer comes with a promise. Notice what Jesus said in John 14: 13 – 14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Do not let anyone tell you Jesus never claimed to be God. In this short passage, Jesus tells us that he is in the Father and the Father is in him; he tells us that the words Jesus has spoken are words that came directly from God; he tells us that to see Jesus is to see the Father; AND Jesus tells us that he is the one who answers our prayers. Any one of these four statements would be enough to prove that Jesus claimed to be God. But, taken together, they provide us with an emphatic statement about Jesus’ character. He claimed to be God before the crucifixion. He proved himself to be God after the resurrection.
Jesus expects his followers to pray. Jesus promised to answer the prayers of his followers. However, Jesus placed some limits on what his followers ought to pray. Verse 14 says, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus did not promise to give us ANYTHING we ask. Jesus promised to give us anything we ask IN HIS NAME.
What’s In a Name?
What do you think Jesus meant when he encouraged us to “pray in his name?” Do you think that means we are supposed to close our prayers with the phrase, “In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen?” Or do you think there is something mystical or even magical about the five letter word J-E-S-U-S?
We ought to interpret Jesus’ teaching about his name in the context of how the concept of a person’s name was used in the ancient world. For example, ancient people thought of names differently than we think of names today. In the ancient world, names actually meant something. Names were more than a designation to distinguish one person from another. Names were actually descriptive. In the ancient world, a name described the person and revealed something about that person’s character.
This is what we read in Proverbs 22: 1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” It does not mean we should feel sorry for people who have bad names like Zipporah, Nimrod or Ichabod. It means we should all strive to have a good character or a good reputation.
Have you ever wondered why God changed the name of so many biblical characters? Ultimately, it is a symbolic way to describe the way God changes a person’s character or nature. In the Bible, when God changed a person’s character or nature, God also changed their name.
In Genesis 17, God changed a man’s name from Abram to Abraham. The name Abram comes from the Hebrew word for “father.” This was a very ironic name, since Abram lived for 85 years without ever having any children of his own. Yet, in Genesis 17, God reaffirmed his covenant with Abram and assured him that he would become a father of nations. Thus, when God changed Abram’s nature, God also changed his name. Abram means “father.” Abraham means “father of nations.”
Abraham’s son Isaac had twin sons, named Esau and Jacob. The name Esau means “hairy.” He probably received this name, because even at the time of his birth, his body was covered in hair. The name Jacob means “one who grasps at the heel.” Again, when the twins were born, Esau was born first—covered in hair—and Jacob was born next, grasping at the heel of his brother. Jacob fulfilled the literal meaning of his name at birth by grasping at his brother’s heel. However, he also fulfilled the figurative meaning of his name by “tripping, deceiving and tricking” other people throughout his life. Yet, God used this deceiver to become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. In Genesis 32, God changed Jacob’s character and changed his name. Jacob was on his way to reconcile his relationship with his brother. The night before they met, Jacob stayed awake all night long wrestling with God. At the end of the night, Jacob asked his assailant for his name. God refused to give his name, but God changed Jacob’s name. He was no longer to be known as the deceiver. Instead, he would be known as Israel, “one who wrestles with God,” or “God prevails.” When God changed his nature, God changed his name.
In the New Testament, we meet a disciple named Peter. That was not his real name. That was the name Jesus gave him. Peter was born with the name Simon, which means “flat nose.” I wonder if Simon was born with a flat nose, or if he got that name later in life when he spoke too much and someone gave him a flat nose. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples who people thought Jesus was. They answered that people thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the prophets. Jesus made his question personal by asking the disciples, “But what about ya’ll? Who do ya’ll think that I am?” Simon answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God.” With these words, Simon was the first person in all of the New Testament to profess Jesus as the promised Messiah. That is when Jesus changed his name from Simon (flat nose) to Peter (rock), because Peter’s confession of faith would be the rock on which the entire church would be built. When God changed his future, God changed his name.
Praying in Jesus’ Name
I suppose it would be possible for us to think Jesus is giving us a formula for our prayers. It might even be possible to think Jesus is telling us to use the five letter name J-E-S-U-S as a kind of magic word. If we use the name J-E-S-U-S in our prayers, then Jesus will be obligated to give us whatever we ask for in our prayers. However, this does not take into account the many times we pray without receiving the answer we had hoped for. It also does not take into account the biblical concept of name and character. Therefore, I believe to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in Jesus’ character or nature.
Our prayers ought to be consistent with the Person of Jesus. We should pray for the things Jesus would pray for. Praying in Jesus’ name means that our prayers should reflect the desires of Jesus.
Think of a modern day example of a man and woman who get married. Traditionally, when a man and woman get married, the woman takes her new husband’s name. The new wife does not lose her identity. She does not give up her unique personality. However, she has entered into a union in which “two become one.” The man and woman share the same possessions, the same dreams, the same hopes, the same desires, the same will, the same purpose…
In the same way, our spiritual relationship with Jesus reflects a similar kind of union. We share in Jesus’ possessions and inheritance. We share in Jesus’ dreams, hopes, desires and will. We even share in Jesus’ purpose—to continue his work in the world.
Conclusion
Bruce McIver tells his story of the Baylor Youth Revivals on the 1940’s in the book Riding the Wind of God (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2002). Through these revivals, literally thousands of young men and women professed faith in Jesus. Some well known Texas Baptist pastors became Christians through these revivals: Buckner Fanning, Milton Cunningham and Bailey Stone for example. But the revivals began when a group of 6 Baylor students prayed for a revival. They started praying in September 1944. They held their first revival in April 1945.
To pray in Jesus’ name is not the same thing as being hopeful. This is not the same thing as wishful thinking or even good luck. This is confident assurance in the promises of God. God promised us, and God can be trusted. When we desire what Jesus desires, Jesus will do it. When we dream as Jesus dreams, Jesus will accomplish it. When we pray as Jesus would pray, Jesus will answer.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010: Work Can Be Spiritual
Work Can Be Spiritual
Matthew 6: 19 – 34.
I. Introduction.
This is Labor Day Weekend…The last three day weekend of the Summer…The last opportunity for family vacation or to get some work done around the house…Or your last opportunity to wear your white patent leather shoes…
But Labor Day is an often overlooked holiday…It is a unique holiday, because it is not devoted to any particular religious group or nationality…First Monday in September is Labor Day in America…Other nations have their own days set aside as Labor Day…
In America, Labor Day began in 1882 when the Central Labor Union designated September 5 as a “working man’s holiday.”
Even though Labor Day is not a Christian holiday, it does fit with our Protestant work ethic and our understanding of the value of a good day’s work…As Christians, we ought to give thanks to God for our work and for allowing us to live in a country where work is available…
We can even pause today and look at the biblical perspective of work…The Bible presents us with two ways we can view our work…
Read Genesis 3: 17 – 19…Work as a Curse…This curse came as a result of the Fall and a consequence of human sin…Notice there are two sides of that curse: work and separation from God…Through Christ our relationship with God has been restored, so we have reason to believe that the first part of that curse has also been broken…
Read Colossians 3: 22 – 25…Through Christ, our work does not have to remain a curse…It can be a blessing and a kind of service to God…
Today I want to encourage you to let Christ break the curse that has held our work captive and move to an understanding of work as a blessing…There are three ways that you can know if your work is a blessing or a curse…
Read Matthew 6: 19 – 34.
II. Is Your Work Irreverent?
Work that is irreverent is work that does not show reverence toward God…We show reverence by honoring God and loving God through our actions…Revere is another word for worship…to focus our mind, attention and affection on God and to act in ways that reflect those thoughts and love for God…
Many people like to compare the Old and New Testaments and say that the OT is about Law and the NT is about Grace…This is a great idea, except it is wrong and does not reflect what the Bible teaches…Grace does not just show up in the NT…The OT is all about Grace…Law does not just show up in the OT…The NT places legal requirements that are actually tougher than the OT…
In the OT, believers were required to give a tithe or 10% of parts of their income to God…In the OT, believers were required to give 1/7 of their time—one day out of every week totally devoted to worship and rest…In the NT, Paul called all Christians to present themselves as “living sacrifices” to God…In other words, the NT requires more than the OT ever thought to require…Now, believers are required to give 100% of both financial assets and time…Worship is not reserved for Sunday mornings…It is for every day of the week…We are to worship God with all that we have…
Paul said in Colossians 3 that Christians ought to work as if God himself were our boss…Not the earthly boss that we report to every day…We can even worship God through our work…
How can we know if our work is Reverent or Irreverent? We should compare our work to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6. Are you storing up for yourself treasures in heaven or treasures on earth? Reverent work stores treasures in heaven.
If all you are doing in your work is storing up treasures on earth…Then your work might be more of a curse than a blessing…
III. Is Your Work Irrelevant?
Work that is irrelevant is work that does not accomplish anything significant…Or make a meaningful contribution to change the world for the better…
I have confessed to you before that I like to do things…I don’t like to be idle or to waste my time…I can remember when I was in school how I always hated having a substitute teacher…Because having a substitute usually meant doing busy work that didn’t seem to accomplish anything…
When our work is a blessing, it is relevant work…Work that makes a difference…
How can we know if our work is Relevant or Irrelevant? Again, we should compare it to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6. Is the Kingdom of God your number one priority? Or do you spend your time worrying about food, drink, clothing, etc…Relevant work places the Kingdom of God as the top priority…Irrelevant work focuses on secondary concerns like food, drink, clothing and ironically creates more stress…
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])
IV. Is Your Work Irresponsible?
Work can be irresponsible when it does not consider the needs of others…Does your work look out for your own needs, or for the needs of others? This includes family…
How can we know if our work is Responsible or Irresponsible? Again, compare it to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6…Does your work give life to others, or does it actually take away life from others? When our work is responsible to God, then it provides for our personal needs and for the needs of others—including our families…
Work that is Irresponsible is work that only looks after our own personal, selfish needs…It is nothing more than stress and worry and “vanity, vanity”…
Jesus’ words on this subject were plain enough…Worry and Stress cannot add to your life…They actually take away life…
Many people today tend to find their meaning and identity in their work…This had led many to spend inordinate amounts of time working…Of course, it is easy to rationalize this kind of addiction… “I am just providing for the needs of my family”… “I just want my children to have more than I had”… “My family comes first, so I work to provide for my family”…
The reality is that this kind of addiction to work does not improve the quality of life for a person’s family…It actually destroys the family…It does not give life to others…It takes away life from others…By creating more stress, anxiety and worry…Jesus said that you cannot improve your life through worry!
V. Conclusion.
I took a group of college students on a mission trip to Mexico during Spring Break of 1997. We worked on several building projects at a Christian orphanage in the Mexican city of Reynosa. On our last full day, our host took us on a trip to observe the site of a new mission he was trying to develop.
This was a small fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico that was so small and so remote that it didn’t even have a name. They just referred to it as “Fish Island.” We drove four hours southeast from the Texas border on the worst roads I have ever driven in my life.
We were not prepared for what we saw when we got there…Families lived in shacks and crates and cardboard boxes on the beach with no access to electricity or plumbing. The filth and smell was unbelievable.
The men made their living by fishing. Every morning they rowed in small boats onto the Gulf to a small island that was just over the horizon and out of our sight. On the other side of that island they fished and then brought what they had caught back to the beach to sell to the trucks that came by every afternoon.
They made next to nothing for their fish and lived in filth and poverty. Just as I was beginning to feel sorry for these Mexican families, I learned something else. They didn’t work year round. They only worked for six months each year. And this was not because of the weather or the fishing season.
They only worked for six months, because that is how long it took them to earn enough money to live for the rest of the year. Once they made as much money as they wanted, they took their families and moved back to an inland village to live.
These poor fishermen did not live a glamorous lifestyle…And they did not have the wealth and luxury that you and I are used to…But it seems to me they had something that we have missed…They have broken the curse…
Matthew 6: 19 – 34.
I. Introduction.
This is Labor Day Weekend…The last three day weekend of the Summer…The last opportunity for family vacation or to get some work done around the house…Or your last opportunity to wear your white patent leather shoes…
But Labor Day is an often overlooked holiday…It is a unique holiday, because it is not devoted to any particular religious group or nationality…First Monday in September is Labor Day in America…Other nations have their own days set aside as Labor Day…
In America, Labor Day began in 1882 when the Central Labor Union designated September 5 as a “working man’s holiday.”
Even though Labor Day is not a Christian holiday, it does fit with our Protestant work ethic and our understanding of the value of a good day’s work…As Christians, we ought to give thanks to God for our work and for allowing us to live in a country where work is available…
We can even pause today and look at the biblical perspective of work…The Bible presents us with two ways we can view our work…
Read Genesis 3: 17 – 19…Work as a Curse…This curse came as a result of the Fall and a consequence of human sin…Notice there are two sides of that curse: work and separation from God…Through Christ our relationship with God has been restored, so we have reason to believe that the first part of that curse has also been broken…
Read Colossians 3: 22 – 25…Through Christ, our work does not have to remain a curse…It can be a blessing and a kind of service to God…
Today I want to encourage you to let Christ break the curse that has held our work captive and move to an understanding of work as a blessing…There are three ways that you can know if your work is a blessing or a curse…
Read Matthew 6: 19 – 34.
II. Is Your Work Irreverent?
Work that is irreverent is work that does not show reverence toward God…We show reverence by honoring God and loving God through our actions…Revere is another word for worship…to focus our mind, attention and affection on God and to act in ways that reflect those thoughts and love for God…
Many people like to compare the Old and New Testaments and say that the OT is about Law and the NT is about Grace…This is a great idea, except it is wrong and does not reflect what the Bible teaches…Grace does not just show up in the NT…The OT is all about Grace…Law does not just show up in the OT…The NT places legal requirements that are actually tougher than the OT…
In the OT, believers were required to give a tithe or 10% of parts of their income to God…In the OT, believers were required to give 1/7 of their time—one day out of every week totally devoted to worship and rest…In the NT, Paul called all Christians to present themselves as “living sacrifices” to God…In other words, the NT requires more than the OT ever thought to require…Now, believers are required to give 100% of both financial assets and time…Worship is not reserved for Sunday mornings…It is for every day of the week…We are to worship God with all that we have…
Paul said in Colossians 3 that Christians ought to work as if God himself were our boss…Not the earthly boss that we report to every day…We can even worship God through our work…
How can we know if our work is Reverent or Irreverent? We should compare our work to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6. Are you storing up for yourself treasures in heaven or treasures on earth? Reverent work stores treasures in heaven.
If all you are doing in your work is storing up treasures on earth…Then your work might be more of a curse than a blessing…
III. Is Your Work Irrelevant?
Work that is irrelevant is work that does not accomplish anything significant…Or make a meaningful contribution to change the world for the better…
I have confessed to you before that I like to do things…I don’t like to be idle or to waste my time…I can remember when I was in school how I always hated having a substitute teacher…Because having a substitute usually meant doing busy work that didn’t seem to accomplish anything…
When our work is a blessing, it is relevant work…Work that makes a difference…
How can we know if our work is Relevant or Irrelevant? Again, we should compare it to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6. Is the Kingdom of God your number one priority? Or do you spend your time worrying about food, drink, clothing, etc…Relevant work places the Kingdom of God as the top priority…Irrelevant work focuses on secondary concerns like food, drink, clothing and ironically creates more stress…
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])
IV. Is Your Work Irresponsible?
Work can be irresponsible when it does not consider the needs of others…Does your work look out for your own needs, or for the needs of others? This includes family…
How can we know if our work is Responsible or Irresponsible? Again, compare it to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6…Does your work give life to others, or does it actually take away life from others? When our work is responsible to God, then it provides for our personal needs and for the needs of others—including our families…
Work that is Irresponsible is work that only looks after our own personal, selfish needs…It is nothing more than stress and worry and “vanity, vanity”…
Jesus’ words on this subject were plain enough…Worry and Stress cannot add to your life…They actually take away life…
Many people today tend to find their meaning and identity in their work…This had led many to spend inordinate amounts of time working…Of course, it is easy to rationalize this kind of addiction… “I am just providing for the needs of my family”… “I just want my children to have more than I had”… “My family comes first, so I work to provide for my family”…
The reality is that this kind of addiction to work does not improve the quality of life for a person’s family…It actually destroys the family…It does not give life to others…It takes away life from others…By creating more stress, anxiety and worry…Jesus said that you cannot improve your life through worry!
V. Conclusion.
I took a group of college students on a mission trip to Mexico during Spring Break of 1997. We worked on several building projects at a Christian orphanage in the Mexican city of Reynosa. On our last full day, our host took us on a trip to observe the site of a new mission he was trying to develop.
This was a small fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico that was so small and so remote that it didn’t even have a name. They just referred to it as “Fish Island.” We drove four hours southeast from the Texas border on the worst roads I have ever driven in my life.
We were not prepared for what we saw when we got there…Families lived in shacks and crates and cardboard boxes on the beach with no access to electricity or plumbing. The filth and smell was unbelievable.
The men made their living by fishing. Every morning they rowed in small boats onto the Gulf to a small island that was just over the horizon and out of our sight. On the other side of that island they fished and then brought what they had caught back to the beach to sell to the trucks that came by every afternoon.
They made next to nothing for their fish and lived in filth and poverty. Just as I was beginning to feel sorry for these Mexican families, I learned something else. They didn’t work year round. They only worked for six months each year. And this was not because of the weather or the fishing season.
They only worked for six months, because that is how long it took them to earn enough money to live for the rest of the year. Once they made as much money as they wanted, they took their families and moved back to an inland village to live.
These poor fishermen did not live a glamorous lifestyle…And they did not have the wealth and luxury that you and I are used to…But it seems to me they had something that we have missed…They have broken the curse…
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