Ask Yourself, “Who Am I?”

Posted by David on March 21, 1999 under Sermons

If someone asked you, “Who are you?” how would you answer? “I would give the person my name.”

What if the person said, “I did not ask for your name. I asked who are you?”

“Then I would give the person some identification, like my driver’s license.”

What if the person said, “I did not ask you for identification. I asked who are you?”

“What do you want? An address? My educational background? My occupation? My family tree? What do you want to know?”

“I want to know who you are.”

Let me approach this same question in another way. Have you ever asked yourself, “Who am I?” If you have, what was your answer?

1. “David, you lost me. I do not understand what you mean by that question.”
   1. Consider the same question from a different viewpoint.
      1. If a person is committing suicide, what is his or her answer to, “Who am I?”
      2. If a person decides to be a prostitute, what is his or her answer to, “Who am I?”
      3. If a person decides to commit a murder, what is his or her answer to, “Who am I?”
   2. Could you commit suicide or decide to be a prostitute or murderer?
      1. To the majority of us, any of those decisions are unthinkable.
      2. Most of us “cannot see” ourselves doing any one of those things.
      3. Why? “That’s not me. I simply could not do one of those things.”
      4. If that is not who you are, then who are you?
   3. Our answer to “who I am” determines many basic realities about who we actually are and how we actually live.
      1. “Who am I?” seems to be a very simple question.
      2. In truth it is one of the most complex questions that you will ever answer.
2. The person’s answer who understands the meaning of Jesus being the Christ and the person’s answer who does not understand the meaning of Jesus being the Christ are radically different answers.
   1. “Why? Why would understanding the meaning of Jesus being the Christ change my basic answer to the question, ‘Who am I?'”
      1. Jesus did not die to create another religion.
      2. Choosing to be a Christian is not a supermarket decision; it is not one religious choice of many religious choices.
      3. Christianity is a specific way to understand the world, to understand life, to understand self, and to understand death.
   2. When I understand that Jesus is the Christ, I answer the question, “Who am I?”
      1. Originally, we humans began in an ideal relationship with God (Genesis 1,2).
         1. We lived a complete, fulfilled existence that had no needs, no wants.
         2. There was no fear, no worry, no anxiety, no pain, no guilt, no shame, and no embarrassment; that life surpassed anything we can experience.
      2. We knew nothing about evil, but we were curious about evil (Genesis 3).
         1. Satan used temptation to peak our curiosity.
         2. To satisfy our curiosity, we defied the God who made and loved us.
         3. We learned about evil by choosing evil, and evil totally, completely, irreversibly changed us.
         4. It changed the way we saw ourselves; it changed the way we looked at life; it changed the way we lived life; it changed our natures, our dispositions, our attitudes, our emotions, and our behavior.
         5. Most devastating of all, it destroyed our relationship with God, and we were powerless to escape or reverse those destructive changes.
      3. With time, our knowledge of evil destroyed everything good in us and about us; we reached a point that we thought only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
   3. As evil as we became, God refused to abandon us; He was determined to rescue us from our self-imposed tragedy.
      1. God created our opportunity to escape the consequences of evil by sending us the Christ.
      2. God was determined to send the Christ; He literally refused to fail.
      3. God refused to allow our evil and ignorance to stop His planned solution.
      4. God’s plan was simple.
         1. Find one person who would trust Him so completely that this person lived life by trusting God.
         2. Make the descendants of this person a nation, hopefully a nation who knew how to trust God.
         3. Through this nation allow His Son to be born as a human in this world.
         4. Through His Son’s ministry, death, and resurrection, make His Son the Christ.
         5. Through the Christ, God would reconcile people to Himself by forgiveness; and, through new life in the Christ, God would allow people to become His sons and daughters.
      5. In spite of every human failure imaginable, in spite of Satan’s most powerful opposition, that is exactly what God did.
         1. The person who trusted God was Abraham.
         2. The nation that came from Abraham, the nation God worked through was Israel.
         3. His Son who came to this world was Jesus.
         4. In Jesus’ sinless life, atoning death, and resurrection, God made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).
   4. Only because God sent us the Christ:
      1. Can we be forgiven.
      2. Can we be made spiritually alive.
      3. Can we be reconciled to God.
      4. Can we live in peace with God and die in the secure promise of God.
3. How does that answer the question, “Who am I?”
   1. First, the Christ teaches me that life is not about me; it is about God.
      1. Life is not about fun, or pleasure, or possessions, or physical existence.
      2. Too many Christians answer “who am I” by using the answer of people who are not Christians.
         1. They say, “The only reality is the right here right now; that is all there is.”
         2. So the purpose of life is self-preservation in a dog eat dog world.
         3. Or the purpose of life is materialism; what you own determines your importance.
         4. Or the purpose to life is to have fun and pleasure because every tomorrow is uncertain.
         5. Or life has no purpose; everything is going to fall apart any way.
         6. Or the purpose of life is selfishness; all that really matters is me.
         7. The moment that you decide that life is only about the “right here right now” you answer the question, “Who am I?”
      3. When a person understands what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, he understands that life is about God.
         1. Life’s origin is God.
         2. Life’s destiny is God.
         3. The objective of evil in my life is to separate me from God.
         4. The Christ came to destroy evil’s control over my life and to reconcile me to God.
         5. The moment that you decide that life is about God, you answer the question, “Who am I?”
   2. Second, Christ teaches me to let God’s heart, attitude, and behavior define who I am.
      1. Because Jesus is the Christ, I can be God’s son or daughter.
      2. Therefore God is the road map for my life.
      3. And Jesus is my guide through life.
      4. I can understand God because the Christ was divine and became human; Jesus shows me what God would be and do as a human.
      5. One clear example: Jesus said those who belong to God love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-45).
         1. There is much to be understood in that statement, and we don’t have the time to explore the meaning of loving your enemies.
         2. What I want you to see is the reason that we are to love our enemies: “that you may be the sons of your Father in heaven.”
         3. Why would I ever love an enemy? Because understanding what it means for Jesus to be the Christ permits God to define who I am.
   3. Third, understanding the meaning of Jesus being the Christ gives me a godly conscience.
      1. The world Jesus was born into was a world without a conscience.
         1. That world in general was too wicked to have a conscience.
         2. Israel used religious reasoning, pat answers, and religious logic to destroy Israel’s conscience.
            1. The religious leaders were concerned about behavior control.
            2. Their religious teachings were not primarily concerned about what happened in people’s heads and hearts; the primarily concern was what people did with their bodies.
         3. The perfect illustration is a statement Paul made, the Paul who had an exceptional Jewish religious education.
            1. In Acts 23:1 he said that as a Jew, before he was a Christian, he lived with a “good conscience;” that “good conscience” allowed him to encourage a Christian’s execution and persecute Christians.
            2. After conversion, did Paul’s behavior change? Absolutely! Could he do after conversion what he did before conversion? Absolutely not!
            3. Why? Understanding that Jesus’ was the Christ gave Paul a godly conscience.
      2. I would affirm that our society is becoming a society without a conscience.
         1. I would affirm that often the church does not have a godly conscience; look at some of the ungodly ways the church treats people; look at the way the church justifies those acts.
         2. I would affirm that often a godly conscience is a non-factor or a weak factor when Christians make their decisions.
      3. Understanding the meaning of Jesus being the Christ gives birth to a godly conscience, and a godly conscience helps answer, “Who am I?”

[Song of reflection: #768, Jesus, Let Us Come to Know You]

We can make the primary foundation of our faith the organization, the structure, and the practices of the church without learning the meaning of Jesus being the Christ. We do that by learning a system that never connects with the Savior.

But if the primary foundation of our faith is understanding the meaning of Jesus being the Christ, we will seek to be the Christ’s kingdom. When we understand the Savior, we will discover his kingdom.

We do not have a behavior crisis in the church. We have a faith crisis in the church. We have an identity crisis in the church. We founded our identity on the church, not on the Savior. Because too many do not understand what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, we do not know who we are.

Wise and Peaceful or Thoughtlessly Harmful

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

In past decades Christians enjoyed a favorable status. Any “church” endeavor in a community received special consideration. Commonly, preferential treatment was extended, “red tape” was “cut,” opportunities were created, and help was offered.

The community considered spiritual values to be an asset. Our moral values and ethical principles were “good.” Christians were a community asset to be encouraged.

To an extent (depending on the geographical area) that is still true. However, it is a shrinking reality. In our society, growing numbers do not regard Christian influence to be a community asset. Christian moral values and ethical principles are increasingly regarded to be contrary to the “best interests” of society.

Certainly, the existing situation is complex. Oversimplifying it is not to the spiritual benefit of Christians or to the best interests of society. Many (who are unquestionably devout in their convictions) send distressful messages to society. The first Christians never used destructiveness or lawlessness to defend or preserve Christian values.

Christians are in conflict with our unspiritual society. This is not just a war for minds and thinking. It is a war that assaults Christian values and emotions. It assaults our feelings as well as our lifestyle. It challenges our standards and attacks our principles. It seeks to turn our priorities upside down.

For generations we existed with society’s blessing. This opposition confuses us. We are “the good guys.” Why assault “the good guys”? This opposition also angers us.

We want to reclaim what we think is “ours.” We do not want to be controlled by those who oppose us. Yet, controlling those who reject our faith and life seems desirable.

Christianity began in a hostile society. It became a world movement in a hostile world. In both it not only survived, it flourished. We are not Christians because it is convenient. Spiritual success does not depend on ideal conditions in favorable circumstances. We are Christians because in our trust of God we belong to the Christ. The war will not be won by controlling an unbelieving society. It will be won by allowing the Christ to be our Lord.

“I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

When We Are Our Opposition

Posted by David on March 14, 1999 under Sermons

That is true in our social associations. It is true in our roles in the community. It is true spiritually.

It is also true of the Christian community, the church. No force external of us believers can inflict as much damage on our spiritual community, the kingdom of God, as we can. That has always been true, and it always will be true. Satan can never through external attack inflict the wounds on God’s family that we can inflict on ourselves. As is true of any family, the most serious threats to God’s family come from within, not from without.

1. From 1 John 1:5 through 1 John 2:15-17, John emphasized two obvious concerns.
   1. The first concern John emphasized was fellowship with God: specifically, those who are in fellowship with God.
      1. They must be committed to living the lifestyle that God revealed to believers (1:5).
      2. They must not knowingly, by choice, live a lifestyle of evil (1:6).
      3. They must maintain fellowship with fellow believers (1:7)
      4. They must accept responsibility for their mistakes and confess those mistakes to God (1:9).
   2. The second concern John emphasized was pretentious lying; to pretend to be in fellowship with God is to lie.
      1. For a person in the Christian community to say that he/she is in fellowship with God while knowingly living an ungodly lifestyle is to lie (1:6).
      2. For a person in the Christian community to say that he/she has no sin is to lie to self (1:8).
      3. For a person in the Christian community to say that he/she has not sinned is to make God a liar (1:10).
      4. For a person in the Christian community to claim fellowship with God while refusing to obey God is to lie (2:4).
      5. [Inferred] For a person in the Christian community to claim fellowship with God and hate a Christian is to lie (2:7-11).
      6. [Inferred] For a person in the Christian community to claim God’s love is in him/her while he/she loves that which opposes God’s purposes and objectives is to lie (2:15-17).
2. John then began addressing the problem of false teachers.
   1. It is of critical importance to note carefully how John used the concept of false teachers.
      1. What John said in identifying such teachers has been ignored which results in the abuse of his statements.
      2. Too many have followed this pattern.
         1. They personally conclude, either by personal judgment or by collective conclusion, that something is “wrong.”
         2. They declare that anyone who teaches this “wrong” to be a false teacher.
         3. They “seal” their conclusion with divine authority by citing statements from 1 John (or some other New Testament writing).
         4. They accept no responsibility to use their quotations as did the writer.
         5. They do not restrict their condemnation to the writer’s concern.
      3. As a result we use John’s statements to condemn things that John did not address, and we do not address John’s concerns.
   2. John said many antichrists already existed when he wrote. (2:18).
      1. The fact that they existed was proof that the “last hour” had come.
         1. I do not understand that to be a predictive statement about the end of the world or the return of Christ.
         2. I understand that to be a declaration that a major transition had begun.
      2. In the context of what John said, what person was an antichrist?
         1. An antichrist was a person who affirmed that Jesus was not the Christ, the son of God.
         2. An antichrist affirmed that a person could be in fellowship with God without Jesus Christ.
         3. There have been antichrist in every age; there will always be antichrist in this world.
      3. The antichrists to whom John referred had been a part of the Christian community to whom he wrote this letter (2:19).
         1. These people had left the community of those who belonged to Christ.
         2. They left of their own choice; they wanted separation; they were not forced out.
         3. They left because their conversion to Christ was not genuine.
      4. Understandably, the views of these people about Jesus Christ and their departure caused genuine concern among those who believed in Christ.
         1. Both the views and the departure of the antichrists cast suspicion on the believers’ fellowship with God.
         2. John understood the doubt that the antichrists had created.
   3. John said that you have no need to doubt your fellowship with God or to wonder about Jesus Christ.
      1. They should not doubt for two reasons (2:20,21).
         1. They have been anointed by Jesus Christ.
         2. They know the truth about Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ established and sustains their fellowship with God.
         3. That truth is never the source of a lie.
      2. The liars are the antichrists (2:22).
         1. Anyone who has been a part of the Christian community and denies that Jesus is the Christ is the liar.
         2. To declare that Jesus is not the Christ is not merely disputing a fact; it is affirms that Jesus was not God’s promise, was not God’s plan, was not God’s work through Israel, was not God’s Son, and did not achieve God’s eternal purpose.
         3. It denies the basic bond and relationship between the Father and the Son.
      3. This is truth and fact (2:23).
         1. The person who denies Jesus also denies God.
         2. The person who confesses Jesus also confesses God.
   4. “Let what you heard and learned from the beginning live in you, and you will be in fellowship with God as the Son and the Father live in you” (2:24).
      1. What had they heard and learned from the beginning? The identity of Jesus and Jesus’ relationship with God.
      2. Review the sermons in Acts beginning with the sermon in Acts 2; from the beginning they stressed Jesus’ identity and his relationship with God.
      3. The result of letting the Son and the Father live in them was that they would receive the promise: eternal life (2:25).
   5. Do not be deceived; Jesus is the Christ (2:26).
      1. You should not be confused by a pretended new revelation.
      2. The anointing you received confirms the truth about Jesus and life in Jesus (2:27).
         1. The anointing does not lie to you.
         2. It instructs you in truth.
      3. Live in Jesus so that you will not be ashamed when Jesus returns (2:28).
         1. Jesus was righteous (2:29).
         2. Those who are born of Jesus practice righteousness.
3. The more I understand what John wrote about these antichrists, two things scare me.
   1. The first thing that scares me is to note how often that we made fellowship with God depend on something besides Jesus Christ.
      1. A person can believe in Jesus, redirect his/her life away from evil, be baptized into Christ, trust the resurrection of Jesus, accept scripture as God’s word, and devote his/her life to serving and ministering.
      2. BUT, some will say, “If you do not accept this position, if you do not take this stand on this issue, you are not in fellowship with God.”
      3. When a person in God’s family establishes conditions for fellowship with God that either exclude Christ or go beyond being in Christ, is that person flirting with the voice of the antichrist?
   2. The second thing that scares me is to see some in God’s family giving the role and the work of Christ to the church.
      1. It is not enough to declare that the saved are the church because of an act of God (He adds, Acts 2:47); some declare that the church does the saving.
      2. It is not enough to declare that the forgiven are the church; some declare that the church does the forgiving.
      3. When people attribute to the church the things that scripture attributes to Jesus Christ, are those people flirting with the voice of the antichrists?

The community of Christians, the church, needs to make certain that Jesus Christ occupies the place, the role, and the purpose that God gave him when God accepted his atoning blood and raised him from the dead.

I am afraid that too many leave the church because they never had a relationship with Christ.

I am afraid that too many never become a part of the community of Christians because they never understand the true relationship between Christ and the church. I am afraid that restoration of the church has lost sight of the importance of restoration of the place and role of Jesus the Christ.

Who Are You?

Posted by David on under Sermons

Consider the three small words…who…are…you? Three words of three letters each. The whole question is has but nine letters, two spaces, and one punctuation mark. Have you considered how many things you can ask with those three words?

[Use that question with different voice inflections to illustrate the following usage.] (1) “Who are you?” “I do not know you. I have not met you. Please introduce yourself.” (2) “Who are you?” “I think I know you. I am sure that I know your family. Please help me remember.” (3) “Who are you?” “Just what makes you think that you have any authority or position of power around here?” (4) “Who are you?” Given as a insult, a “put down,” a demeaning declaration intended to embarrass you. “Who are you?” A question of mystification. “You obviously are someone important. Pardon my ignorance but I don’t know you.”

1. During Jesus’ ministry, there were a lot of arguments about his identity.
   1. Jesus could not be dismissed or ignored by the prominent religious and political leaders of Israel.
      1. This man came out of nowhere from a nothing town.
      2. He came from the wrong region; he had the wrong background; he had no religious training.
      3. Yet, he influenced the Jewish people as no other spiritual force in the nation.
         1. Wherever he appeared, thousands of people came to see him, to hear him, to touch him, and to be healed by him.
         2. There simply was no explanation for his extraordinary power that he used daily.
         3. Everybody talked about Jesus; everybody had an answer for the question, “Who is he?”
   2. In Matthew 16, while Jesus and his twelve disciples were in the northern region of Palestine, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
      1. They informed him of what people said about who he was.
         1. Some said that he was John the baptizer who was resurrected.
            1. Matthew 14 states that John was beheaded by Herod the tetrarch.
            2. John was a dramatic, charismatic religious teacher in Israel who attracted thousands of people and baptized thousands of people.
            3. Some said that Jesus was John raised from the dead.
         2. Some said that Jesus was the Old Testament prophet Elijah.
            1. The Jewish prophet Malachi wrote that Elijah would return before the great and terrible day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5).
            2. The Jews commonly believed that Elijah would return before God sent the Christ.
            3. In Matthew 11:14 Jesus said that John the baptizer fulfilled the promised return of Elijah.
            4. In Matthew 17:12 Jesus said that Elijah had returned and they did not recognize him.
         3. Others explained Jesus by saying that he was Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
      2. Then Jesus redirected the question, “Who do you say that I am?”
         1. Without hesitation, Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
         2. “You are the person God promised to send to Israel.”
         3. “Israel was introduced to the living God in their ancestor Abraham; you are that living God’s Son.”
      3. Jesus blessed Peter.
         1. He stated that no human taught him this.
         2. He said Peter understood this because God revealed it to him.
         3. Jesus said Peter’s understanding could not be explained by education; it could be explained only by revelation.
2. In the last fifty years as the church we made a grave mistake, and that mistake is costing us dearly today.
   1. “What mistake?”
      1. For the last fifty years we have assumed that the majority of people believed that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the living God.
         1. We said little about the living God; we assumed everyone believed in him.
         2. We said little about Jesus being the Son of the living God; we assumed everyone knew that he was God’s Son.
         3. We said little about the Christ, what the Christ was, why the Christ came, what being the Christ means, and why the Christ is important to us.
      2. We have been concerned about getting people to change churches.
         1. We wanted religious people to know that the Church of Christ is biblical.
         2. We wanted religious people to know that the Church of Christ seeks biblical practices and biblical structure.
         3. We wanted religious people to know that the Church of Christ is committed to Bible authority because we trust the Bible to be God’s word.
   2. “Why would you ever consider that a mistake?”
      1. It is not a mistake to be biblical.
      2. It is not a mistake to be biblical in practice and structure.
      3. It is not a mistake to live by Bible authority and trust the Bible as God’s word.
      4. It is not a mistake to challenge religious people to seek to be the church that Christ died to bring into existence.
      5. It is a mistake to fail to teach people that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God.
   3. Why is that a mistake?
      1. First, it is a mistake because today between sixty and sixty-five percent of Americans do not attend a church assembly.
         1. When we talk about the church to people who are not interested in any church, they do not listen because they do not consider our message relevant to their lives and problems.
         2. For over fifty percent of the people living in our nation, we commonly have no message.
         3. Many Christians have little to discuss if they cannot talk about the church.
      2. Second, it is a mistake because too many of us do not understand what it means to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God.
         1. If we did, our lives would not be as distressed as they are.
         2. If we did, our families would not be as distressed as they are.
         3. If we did, we would not live like we live.
      3. Third, it is a mistake because about half of our children have been walking away from the church when they become adults.
         1. Jesus who is the Christ, the Son of the living God is a non-factor in their decision.
         2. The living God is a non-factor in their decision.
3. No level of faith, no level of trust will eliminate the stress, the trials, the problems, and the suffering caused by Satan and evil.
   1. Satan and the forces of evil will create problems and suffering in this world as long as it exists.
      1. Jesus was crucified.
      2. The early church was persecuted.
      3. Many of the apostles were martyrs.
   2. To me, this is the tragedy: many of our problems and trials are not directly produced by Satan, but by the fact that we do not understand what it means for Jesus to be the Christ the Son of the living God.
      1. Either:
         1. We do not understand what that means.
         2. Or the friends who influence our lives do not understand what that means.
         3. Or the person we marry does not understand what that means.
         4. Or our family does not understand what that means.
         5. Or our children have not understood what that means.
      2. It is just a fact.
         1. Like Lincoln freed the slaves or electricity flows through wires.
         2. It doesn’t mean anything; it just happened.
         3. It is not relevant to our lives; it does not do anything or change anything.
      3. Then, the “black holes” of life declare the meaning of Jesus being the Christ, the Son of the living God is more than a fact.
         1. When you are so depress you don’t want to go on,
         2. When your life falls apart,
         3. When an accident permanently alters your life,
         4. When your health fails,
         5. When death is staring you eye to eye,
         6. A “fact” won’t do anything for you; Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God will.
   3. Because we insufficiently presented Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, we allowed Christianity to become ninety percent human and less than ten percent divine.
      1. Our faith is built on human knowledge, human reasoning, and human logic.
      2. We act as if God sent Jesus and quit; Jesus was resurrected from the dead and quit; and the Holy Spirit inspired men to write scripture and quit.
      3. The question is always, “What are we going to do?” We conclude it is all up to us.
   4. Consider an obvious difference between Peter and the Pharisees or Sadducees.
      1. The Pharisees and Sadducees knew more scripture, had their religious reasoning down pat, and logically drew all their religious conclusions.
      2. Peter could not compete with their knowledge, reasoning, or logic.
      3. Yet, with all they knew, twice when they tried Peter in their highest court they could neither hush him nor intimidate him (Acts 4:1-22; 5:27-42).
      4. And they knew that he was an uneducated, untrained man (Acts 4:13).
      5. Why? They had the superior knowledge and education. But Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Peter understood what that meant.

   [Prayer for God to save us from ourselves.]

4. Early in my life I wanted to “change the world” in a way that blessed people.
   1. As a teenager, I wanted the world to be a better place because I lived, and I thought that would be simple and doable. I quickly learned that it was not.
   2. When I was in my late 20s, married, with a family, I wanted to do mission work in a third world country.
      1. I wanted to go somewhere that I could make a difference, and I thought I did.
      2. I believed that I could make a difference among a disadvantaged, poverty stricken people; it seemed very doable; but it was much too complicated.
   3. I learned so much on the mission field that I really believed that I could make a difference in a town or city back in this country.
      1. It seemed very doable.
      2. But things were even more complicated when I came back.
   4. I cannot make a lasting change in the world, or a country, or a town.
      1. I won’t change the world, and that is no longer important.
      2. God never asked me to change the world.
      3. God never expected me to change the world.
      4. God asks me to understand what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
      5. And he asks me to help others understand what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
      6. Why? Because when God made Jesus the Christ, God made a lasting change in the world.

Do you understand what Peter understood when he truly grasped that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?

Why Is Everyone Shocked?

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

In the 1960s our society altered the concepts of sexual morality. The 1970s made living together while unmarried an acceptable lifestyle. The 1980s altered the basic concepts of integrity and character. The “political correctness” of the 1990s has erased the “archaic, meaningless” distinctions between “good” and “bad,” “right” and “wrong,” and “moral” and “immoral.”

Many people who grew up with these altered concepts accept them as verified truths. Accountability has nothing to do with personal behavior. Personal choices should not produce consequences. “Fun” determines “right” and “good.” Only irresponsible prejudice declares anything to be “wrong” or “evil.” If the individual is valued, there can be no judgmental responses. Society is unimportant; the individual is all important.

The Monica view: catastrophic consequences do not result from the irresponsible conduct of “poor,” “unwise,” or “wrong” behavior. Catastrophic consequences are the result of getting caught. If a person is not caught, no problem exists. The “wrong” is not in the behavior; the “wrong” is in getting caught. The “real” problem is not about the person, or his/her choices, or his/her behavior. The “real” problem is about things “personal and private” becoming public. “It is so unjust and unfair! No one else should know! How can people be so mean to those who just had fun?”

Many who do and do not live by religious principles are astounded to hear such views freely embraced about personal decisions and actions that resulted in monumental national consequences. Why are those who are and are not religious astounded? We are seeing and hearing the end product of forty years of altered concepts.

Do we hear and see nothing else? How often are Christian teens and adults deeply concerned about the consequences of getting caught, but unconcerned about the consequences of what “my life” has become? How often are Christians embarrassed by “public knowledge” of happenings, but not concerned about “my life”? How often is the concern focused on justifying the occurrence instead of redirecting the life?

If we think that the tragedy of altered concepts is society’s problem, we are deceived. Once, because of evil deeds, people loved darkness instead of the light. Those who practiced evil did not want the light to expose their deeds. Those who loved truth came to the light to expose their deeds (John 3:19-21). We need to be Christ’s light of hope instead of blending into the darkness of despair.

Why Was She Crying?

Posted by David on March 7, 1999 under Sermons

There are times and occasions when we expect people to cry. We expect people to cry when there is a disaster. We expect people to cry when they learn of a serious illness or death in the family. We expect people to cry at a funeral. We expect people to cry when they experience a unexpected, radical, severe change. When we see a person crying at such times or in such circumstances, we understand. No one has to explain why the person is crying.

There are times and occasions when people cry that we see no reason for tears. When we see someone crying, and we see no reason for tears, we ask, “Why is she crying?” or “Why is he crying?” If a person cries, it is for a reason.

1. Luke wrote about a fascinating incident in Jesus’ life (Luke 7:36-50).
   1. A curious Pharisee extended an invitation to Jesus and to some other people of the town to have a meal in his home.
      1. Nothing in the context suggests that the Pharisee had a serious intention of learning from Jesus.
         1. This country preacher was the rage of all Palestine.
         2. The popularity of this miracle worker was beyond exaggeration.
         3. The Pharisee wanted to look at Jesus “up close and personal.”
      2. After the meal began, a highly unusual thing happened.
         1. An immoral woman, likely a prostitute, came into the Pharisee’s house uninvited and unwelcome.
         2. She went to Jesus and stood at his feet as he lay on a couch eating.
         3. Likely at any other time the Pharisee would have had her thrown out of the house immediately.
         4. However, his curiosity was greater than his indignant feelings.
      3. What she did was totally, absolutely unacceptable as public behavior.
         1. She wept so hard that her tears wet Jesus’ feet.
         2. She let her hair down (absolutely forbidden!) and dried Jesus’ feet.
         3. She repeatedly kissed his feet (absolutely forbidden!) and anointed his feet with an expensive perfume that she brought.
         4. She continued to wash, dry, kiss, and anoint Jesus’ feet.
      4. The Pharisee was fascinated by this entire spectacle.
         1. He thought to himself, “If this man was a prophet, he would know who this woman is.”
         2. “He would know that she was immoral (the Pharisee knew who and what she was), and he would not allow her to touch him.”
   2. Jesus knew what Simon was thinking.
      1. He taught Simon a private, pointed lesson.
      2. The person who is forgiven much loves deeply.
      3. The person who is forgiven little loves little.
      4. Then he said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
2. Would you ask and answer this question: “Why was the woman crying?”
   1. The woman was crying because of what she knew.
      1. She knew what she was.
         1. She was the town prostitute.
         2. Everyone, including the Pharisee, knew what she was.
         3. There was not the slightest question about what she was.
      2. According to the Jewish law, she knew what she deserved.
         1. In the Mosaical law, the punishments for sexual sin were quite severe (Deuteronomy 22:13-20).
         2. She knew that men of the town tolerated her because she served a purpose, but she knew that was the only reason she was tolerated.
      3. She knew that she was worth nothing.
         1. There were few ways for a woman to support herself.
         2. The majority of people lived in poverty, so if your husband died and no one married you, prostitution was one of the few available options.
         3. Many women were reduced to prostitution.
   2. Do you understand what prostitution does to a woman’s mind, heart, and self-image?
      1. Before the act you are wonderful, you are important, you are desirable.
         1. In a society that considers itself to be moral, after the act you immediately become a problem for the man.
         2. Sneak in, flatter, pay, sneak out.
         3. “In public I don’t know you, and you don’t know me.”
      2. Nothing can hide the fact that you are used.
         1. How many times of being used does it take to make you hard, cynical, bitter, and distrustful?
         2. How long does it take for you to realize that no man honestly cares about you as a person; you are a thing to be used, not a person.
   3. Jesus could see past the hardness, past the bitterness, past the distrust, past the pain, and as he looked past all of that, Jesus cared.
      1. How long had it been since she encountered a man who cared about her?
      2. How long had it been since she met a man who understood?
      3. How long had it been since she knew a man who would not use her and reject her?
      4. And she cried, no, she sobbed.
         1. In a house where she was unwelcome, she sobbed.
         2. Among men who looked at her as worse than nothing, she sobbed.
         3. In a place she did not belong, she cried, openly, deeply, without shame.
   4. Where did her tears come from?
      1. The tears came from her grief.
      2. The tears came from her gratitude.
      3. The tears came from her sorrow.
      4. Those are the tears of conversion.
3. And Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
   1. Forgiveness? Do you think anyone had ever forgiven her?
      1. She felt used, like a nothing, like a nobody, like she was not a real person.
      2. Forgiven? As though she mattered? As though she was a person?
      3. She could be forgiven, after the life she lived?
   2. Which had you rather hear?
      1. The Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes tell you that you have won $10,000,000?
      2. A travel agency tell you that you have won an eight day, all expense paid cruise on the Caribbean?
      3. The General Motors Company tell you that you have won a new luxury car?
      4. Or Jesus tell you, “Your sins are forgiven?”
   3. Have you received an honor that moved you deeply?
      1. Have you felt moved because you were picked to be on an all-star team?
      2. Have you been honored as being the best at what you do?
      3. Have you been given a place in a prestigious group?
      4. Have you ever won an award?
      5. Have you ever felt any sense of honor in the fact that the eternal God offers you forgiveness?
      6. No honor any person can ever receive in this life will begin to equal the honor of having Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven.”
         1. May we understand that honor before we die.
         2. The moment we die, every earthly honor stays right here.
         3. Only love and forgiveness travels with us through death.
4. Any serious attempt to restore New Testament Christianity must be committed to restoring conversion to Jesus Christ.
   1. Conversion to Jesus Christ is the heart, the soul, and the core of Christianity.
      1. The heart of New Testament Christianity is not behavior modification.
      2. It is not building better habits.
      3. It is not learning the correct rituals.
      4. It is not about practicing better traditions.
   2. The heart of New Testament Christianity is found only by seeking and accepting forgiveness.
      1. Christianity is about needing forgiveness.
      2. It is about wanting forgiveness.
      3. It is about seeking forgiveness.
      4. It is about finding forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
      5. It is about gratitude for forgiveness.
      6. It is about the peace found through forgiveness.
      7. It is about relationship with God given to us through the forgiveness made possible by Jesus Christ’s blood.
      8. Christianity is about life that comes because forgiveness is given.

   [Song of Reflection: Amazing Grace, # 129]

5. We live in a skeptical, cynical, deeply distrustful society.
   1. Many things are ineffective in calling the people of this society to Christ.
      1. Telling people that “we know more about the Bible than you do” will not impress many people.
         1. Many will say, “So what?”
         2. They know we know more Bible than they do; so what?
      2. Telling people that “we understand the Bible better than you do” does not impress many people either.
         1. Again, many will say the same “so what?”
         2. Some will vigorously disagree with that claim.
   2. Most people with little or no religious background do not believe that Christians have found anything in Jesus Christ that would benefit their lives.
      1. Many people have zero interest in what we believe until they see two things.
         1. They must see that what we believe causes us to care.
         2. They must see that what we believe blesses our lives on a daily basis.
      2. The faith that produces a fulfilled life worth living impresses them.
      3. A relationship with God that enables us to cope with life impresses them.
      4. When living in Christ produces better marriages, better parents, better neighbors, better friends, better workers, and just plain better people, that impresses them.
   3. Our genuine conversion to Christ creates opportunities to share Christ.

Have you ever been converted, or have you only complied with what you were told to do? Compliance is not conversion.

Many prostitutes saw and heard Jesus. This prostitute came to Jesus crying. Why? She knew what she was. She knew what she deserved. She knew Jesus cared.

Have you ever cried when you came to Jesus? Have you ever realized who you are? Have you ever realized what you deserve? Do you understand that Jesus cares? Has Jesus said to you, “Your sins are forgiven?”

Encouragement While Facing the Realities of Evil

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

Each letter Paul wrote to congregations addressed serious expressions of evil. No congregation (ever!) has escaped serious expressions of evil within. Evil is the basic reality of the human state and existence. Each group of Christians stand before God by grace. No congregation stands before God in sinless godliness.

Though Paul addressed their problems, he let them know that they were a powerful force of encouragement to him. “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all…” (Romans 1:8). “I thank my God always concerning you…” (1 Corinthians 1:4). “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3). “We give thanks to God always for all of you…” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). Often Paul gave personal reasons for congregations uplifting his spirits.

Virtually every week this congregation moves my joy and amazement to a new level. They are at a level I never expected to experience. Because this congregation is composed of “superior” Christians? No. Because no member has problems? No. Because this congregation has active ministries devoted to doing good? We certainly have that, and that gives me great joy. But that is not the reason for my amazement and joy.

Sunday evening in our congregational family meeting I easily could have cried tears of gratitude. “Why? We were discussing uninteresting ‘nuts and bolts’ matters no one enjoys considering. Finding leaks, fixing water damage, painting, and hauling dirt are not typical topics of spiritual inspiration.”

It was not the subjects. It was not the suggestions. It was not the plans of action. “Then whatever was it?” It was the heart. It was the attitude. It was the spirit. It was the fact that we are a community of people who are increasingly devoted to the heart and mind of Christ. I knew that there were differing views and opinions. But it was so obvious that it was never “me” versus “you” or “us” versus “them.” I could sense the mutual trust. That powerfully encourages me! How blessed I am to be a part of a community of believers who nurture trust in each other as they deepen trust in God!

As long as we physically live, evil will be a huge part of our reality. We are sustained and will endure through God’s goodness. Sinless perfection will never be an option. Yet, with Jesus’ heart, godly attitudes, a Christ-like spirit, and devotion to nurturing love and trust, we ceaselessly encourage each other as we all struggle against evil.

Why Can’t Life Be Simple?

Posted by David on February 28, 1999 under Sermons

Life is not simple. It never has been simple. No period in my life has been simple. Nothing simplifies life. Money does not. Success does not. Status does not. Accomplishment does not. Pleasure does not. “Dropping out” does not. Being irresponsible does not. There are only two types of people who affirm that life is simple: those who live in denial and those who live in self-manufactured pretense.

Why can’t life be simple? An endless list of things complicate life. Just one item on that list forever occurs. The unexpected always happens, and it is never predictable. The only thing predictable about the unexpected is that it will happen.

Spiritual existence is not simple. Serving God is not simple. Being godly is not simple. Accepting responsibility is not simple. Living in relationships is not simple. Accepting forgiveness is not simple. Living in forgiveness is not simple.

Why can’t we make life simple? Because there is a war going on. God and Satan are at war. They are at war in our world. They are at war in our society. They are at war in our city. They are at war in our families. They are at war in our individual lives. War complicates every aspect of life.

Then what are we to do? Never take our eyes off of God and His work in our lives. Never take our eyes off of Jesus Christ and his work in our lives.

Ephesians 3:14-21, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)

The better we understand and trust the purposes of God, the more certainly the chaos of life is transformed into the purpose of life.

What If God Were the Glue?

Posted by David on under Sermons

I frequently have talks with myself. In those talks, I often make an important statement to me. I find it quite necessary to repeat this statement to me often. It helps me with my perspective. It challenges me to be careful when choosing my focus. It reminds me that I must see and identify pride when it raises its head in my life. It tells me to listen carefully. It reminds me that my knowledge is truly limited. It reminds me that the temptation to be self-centered is a powerful temptation.

“That must be some statement! What statement does all that?” It is quite simple, but profoundly true. The statement: “It is about God; it is not about me.”

1. As God’s children, we are powerful tempted to make Christianity about us instead of about God.
   1. All of us fall to that temptation more often than we admit, even more often than we realize.
      1. When we are so impassioned about being right, often our passions are about us, not about God.
      2. When we are so definite about what should be done, often our inflexibility is about us, not about God.
      3. When we are so judgmental, often our condemning spirit is about us, not about God.
      4. When we are so severe in our evaluations, often our severity is about us, not about God.
      5. When we have no conviction, our lack of conviction is about us, not about God.
      6. When we are uncertain about what should be done, our uncertainty is about us, not about God.
      7. When we approve of anything, our generous approval is about us, not about God.
      8. When we refuse to make evaluations, our refusal to measure anything or anyone is about us, not about God.
   2. Humor me for a moment. I accept as fact that every person who is here by choice this morning has faith; I do not question that.
      1. May I ask you a question about your faith?
         1. In whom do you place your faith?
         2. Is your faith in God, or is it in yourself?
      2. Each of us has an instinctive spoken answer and an unspoken reality answer.
         1. Our instinctive spoken answer is, “Without doubt, my faith is in God.”
         2. Our unspoken reality answer is not that definite because too often we see ourselves as taking care of God instead of God taking care of us.
         3. After all, what would God do if we did not take care of Him?
2. Having faith in God basically means trusting God.
   1. But what is involved in trusting God?
      1. There are different levels of trust, and those levels reflect the level of our personal spiritual maturity.
      2. Level # 1: We trust the facts.
         1. At this level trust is fact centered.
         2. We believe that God exists, that God sent Jesus, that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus lived as a man, that Jesus was crucified, that Jesus was raised from the death, and that Jesus ascended back into heaven to be with God, and that Jesus is Lord and Christ.
         3. We trust those facts to be true, and that is what we mean when we say that we have faith.
      3. Level # 2: Our faith is crisis centered.
         1. When there is a crisis in our lives, we ask God for help.
         2. We believe that He can help.
         3. We believe that He will help.
         4. We believe that we should trust God when we have a crisis.
         5. When we find ourselves in a crisis, we trust God.
      4. Level # 3: Our faith is decision centered.
         1. When we must make a decision, we ask God to help us make the right decision.
         2. God understands the consequences of the decision better than we do.
         3. God understands the significance of the decision better than better than we do.
         4. It would be foolish and arrogant to make an important decision without involving God in the decision process.
         5. We should trust God to help us with our decisions.
      5. Level # 4: Our faith is “will of God” centered.
         1. We accept as fact that God has a will.
         2. We accept as fact that God’s will directly involves us.
         3. We want God’s will to be done in our lives.
         4. We invest time and prayer in trying to determine God’s will in specific matters.
         5. We want to know specifically what God wants us to do.
         6. We believe we should entrust our lives to the will of God.
      6. Level # 5: Our faith is centered in spiritual existence.
         1. If things go well in our lives, we trust God and thank Him.
         2. If things go poorly in our lives, we trust God and thank Him.
         3. If we are in good health or in sickness, we trust God.
         4. No matter how confusing, uncertain, frustrating, or traumatic things are, we trust God.
         5. No matter how good, opportune, blessed, fulfilling, or rewarding things are, we trust God.
         6. Trusting God defines who we are in all circumstances.
   2. How is the depth of our faith revealed?
      1. I question that the depth of a person’s faith is revealed when everything is going wonderfully in his or her life. I do not deny that some Christians use great blessings as devout stewards, and it takes exceptional faith to do that.
      2. I think that the depth of our faith is revealed in the worst of circumstances when it appears that Satan is in complete control. Being in control of nothing has a unique way of revealing who and what we trust.
      3. The depth of our faith is more likely to be revealed by our struggles and doubts than by our blessings and good times.
      4. Why? The depth of our faith is revealed by our dependence on God, not by merely by the strength of our convictions.
3. Please allow me to come inside your head and your heart.
   1. I want you to have a conversation with yourself; I assure you that I have conversations with myself all the time.
      1. I do not want to oppress you or put you on a guilt trip.
      2. I just want you to think, to think seriously, and to look at what is happening in your life from a different perspective.
      3. One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to fill and stress our every day lives to the point that we spend our lives reacting instead of thinking.
   2. First, let me talk to those of us who are single.
      1. What holds your life together?
         1. Your job? Fulfillment in what you do?
         2. Your accomplishments? The fulfillment of being successful?
         3. Money? Do you measure personal significance in what you earn?
         4. Possessions? Does what you own make you feel good about yourself?
         5. Pleasure? Is having fun what makes your life worth living?
      2. If something happens within the next year that:
         1. Causes you to lose your job and accept work that does not fulfill you.
         2. Ends your accomplishments and your feelings of success.
         3. Reduces your income so low that you cannot pay your bills.
         4. Places you in such deep debt that you own nothing.
         5. Ends having fun.
         6. What will hold your life together?
   3. Let me talk to those of us with a family.
      1. What holds your family together?
         1. Convenience? Is it more convenient to stay together than to separate?
         2. Economic necessity? Do you stay together because financially it would be very hard to make it alone?
         3. Reality? Do you have good friends who have divorced and you see the horror and pain they lived through?
         4. The kids? You refuse to subject your children to the pain and anxiety of separation, so you make personal sacrifices to “hang in there?”
      2. If something happens within the next year that:
         1. Makes it very inconvenient to keep the family together.
         2. Makes economic sacrifice acceptable.
         3. Makes life in the family worse than the reality of separation or divorce.
         4. Awakens you to the pain and anxiety your children have right now.
         5. What will hold your family together?
   4. Let me talk to all of the members of this congregation.
      1. What holds us together as a congregation?
         1. Doctrine? The assumption that everyone believes doctrinally what you believe?
         2. The focus that you desire or prefer? Members see things like you see them?
         3. The priorities that you desire or prefer? Your top ten most important things are everyone’s top ten desires?
         4. Facilities and programs? We own and build what you want, and we do what you want done?
      2. What if something happens within the next year:
         1. That magnifies our doctrinal differences? Will you stop loving and respecting people here because they do not believe what you believe?
         2. To change our focus? You see many members looking at things differently than you look at them.
         3. To change our priorities? Your top ten things are not the congregation’s top ten things.
         4. To radically change our facilities and our programs? We cannot have what you want us to have and we cannot do what you want us to do.
         5. What would hold this congregation together?
   5. One more set of questions.
      1. If God were the glue that held your life together every day, how would your life be different?
      2. If God were the glue that held your family together every day, how would your family be different?
      3. If God were the glue that held this congregation together every day, how would this congregation be different?
      4. How can God be the glue if we don’t trust Him? How can God change our lives, change our families, change our congregation if we don’t trust him?
      5. What God is allowed to do in our lives, our families, and our congregation is determined by us, not by God.
         1. He exceeds our imaginations if we trust him.
         2. He can do nothing within us if we don’t.

Psalm 62:1-8 My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will you assail a man, That you may murder him, all of you, Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence? They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; They delight in falsehood; They bless with their mouth, But inwardly they curse. My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)

[Song of Reflection: 71, As The Deer]

How does God know that you trust Him? How does Christ’s place in your life reveal that you trust God? In what matters do you trust God?

“Wow! What Faith!”

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

An officer in the Roman Army met Jesus when he arrived in Capernaum (Matthew 8:5-13). The officer had a paralyzed servant in great pain. He asked Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus agreed to come heal him. The officer said “no” to Jesus coming. “I am unworthy of having you enter my house. All you need to do is command that my servant be healed, and it will happen. I know what it means to have authority. When I command one of my soldiers to do something, he does it.”

This officer was astounding. He was not a Jew. He did not have the advantages of a life spent in the synagogue. It is unlikely that he knew about God’s interaction with Israel through the centuries. But he recognized power and authority when he saw them. He saw Jesus’ miracles for what they were. He accepted them for what they were. Many Pharisees, Sadducees, and Jewish scribes never saw what he saw.

This officer cared about his servant. He cared that he was paralyzed. He cared that he suffered. How much did he care? He was an officer in an occupation force that was hated for what it did and what it represented. He dared make a request of a Jewish man. He did not command, order, or threaten Jesus. He asked Jesus. He risked ridicule, rejection, and contempt because he cared about his servant.

This officer was truly a humble man. Roman military officers were not known for humility. The officer not only recognized power and authority when he saw them, but he also recognized position when he saw it. I do not know what identity he ascribed to Jesus, but I know what he thought of Jesus. Though the officer commanded one hundred fighting men, he knew that Jesus was infinitely superior to him. How superior? He felt unworthy for Jesus to enter his house–true humility, not false modesty!

This officer was a man of incredible faith. His servant’s health did not depend on Jesus’ presence. Nor on Jesus’ proximity. Nor on having Jesus speak to or touch the servant. It depended on nothing more than Jesus’ command. If Jesus said the servant was healed, when the officer returned home the servant would be well.

Jesus had not found that much faith in a single Israelite. Not even Peter, Andrew, James, and John who had the trust to leave everything to follow Jesus had this faith.

I wish that Jesus could look at us and say, “Wow! How they trust me! I have not found that much faith among Christians in the USA!” Why would I wish that? So we would be superior? No. I wish we were that caring, that humble, and that trusting.