Posted by David on December 15, 2002 under Bulletin Articles
People’s lives were such a mess! Evil was everywhere! Typical moral standards were sickening! Those who considered themselves “experts” in scripture were certain they were “superior” to most other people. People who knew the attitudes and lives of these “experts” had no desire to be like them. If the “experts” represented God, people who knew nothing about scripture wanted nothing to do with the God of the “experts.”
The world was such a complicated place! Those who devoutly declared they belonged to the living God (1) lived in isolation and (2) looked at everyone else with contempt. They honored one God in a world that acknowledged many gods. Though they were a small minority, they considered themselves to be extremely important. “Outsiders” could be accepted if the “outsiders” agreed to live exactly as the community lived.
The majority of the world believed in, accepted, and worshipped many gods. This group of people built temples, maintained priesthoods, and conducted sacrificial worship. They were confident the gods controlled every aspect of life. Most of them also believed the objective of worship was to keep the gods happy. Many of them felt a deep sense of contempt for anyone who believed there was only one God. Believing only one God existed was dangerous to society, to political stability, and to economic opportunity!
There were also those people “who just had it” with religion. They did not believe in any god. Ineffective gods exploited ignorant people while changing nothing!
Moral conditions were horrible! Adultery was so common in Roman society that ineffective civil laws were passed to attempt to curb that problem. Divorce was common. Some brides were accused of wearing out their wedding veils! Homosexuality was common in Greek society. Drunkenness was a part of some religious fellowships. Greed, dishonesty, stealing, and injustice were merely a part of daily existence.
Slaves were helpless! They faced each day knowing they did not control their lives or activities. Owners often considered their slaves as opportunities for sexual gratification. For slaves, saying “no” to an owner was not an option.
Violence was terrible! One never knew when soldiers would fight on their farm! One never knew when his family would be caught in the middle of a violent conflict! Thieves were so bad that (1) you did not travel at night and (2) you secured your home as best you could at sunset. For many, the first century was a cruel, unjust world!
It was in this age and world that Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. It was in this world that Jesus became Lord and Christ. It was to this age that Jesus brought forgiveness, redemption, hope, and peace. It was a wicked world, but what God accomplished in Jesus Christ was effective! IT STILL IS!
Posted by David on December 8, 2002 under Sermons
In this country we are obsessed with winning, with being on the winning side. Perhaps this obsession is most easily illustrated by team sports competitions. If “our” team loses and loses and loses, we frequently say, “What is wrong with THEM?” If “our” team wins and wins and wins, we frequently say, “WE are doing okay, aren’t WE?”
Not all people in all nations share our obsession with this kind of winning. In fact, many people in many nations never think about winning from our perspective. They never win politically. They never win against disease. (They often lose children to death in ways we regard as unnecessary.) They do not even win against hunger.
In November we held national mid-term elections that involved numerous local and state offices. Where I grew up, it was common to hear friends ask each other after an election, “Did you lose your vote?” Some people had so much desire to be on the winning side that who was winning would determine their vote. In fact, if you did not vote for a winner, you lost your vote!
I personally think this obsession with winning may be a factor in the decision too many American Christians make about living the Christian life on a real world, everyday basis. Thinking from the criteria of a winner by the standards of our society:
- When it comes to drunkenness, Christian living is not on the winning side.
- When it comes to unmarried sexual indulgence, Christian living is not on the winning side.
- When it comes to loving money and loving things, Christian living is not on the winning side.
- When it comes to any form of pleasure that is produced by ungodly indulgence, Christian living is not on the winning side.
If a person wants to be on the “winning” side as defined by our society, Christian existence is not the way to live.
This morning I want you to see something (and see it clearly) from the letter that Paul wrote to the Christians who lived in Ephesus.
- Let me begin by asking a question: “Does God know what He is doing?”
- Allow me to anticipate three answers.
- The first response would be what I would call “the response of the insulted.”
- “I can’t believe you asked that ridiculous question!”
- “Of course God knows what He was and is doing!”
- “He is God! He always knows what He is doing!”
- The second response would be what I would call “the response of the startled.”
- “I never thought about that before.”
- “You mean that God was and is trying to accomplish something?”
- “You mean that God has a purpose and an objective in what He does?”
- The third response would be what I would call “the response of the short answer.”
- “Sure, God knew what He was doing.”
- “He was and is saving us, destroying our sins, establishing the church.”
- “Our forgiveness was and is the foundation of everything God did and does.”
- To those who give the response of the insulted, I want to say, “It is okay to ask that question.”
- To those who give the response of the startled, I want to say, “Think about it.”
- To those who give the response of the short answer, I want to ask a question: “Was saving us all God was doing? If we accept His forgiveness, does that accomplish His entire purpose?”
- In the first three chapters of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus, Paul wrote about what God accomplished in Jesus Christ.
- In chapter one:
- Paul said God’s intentions in Jesus Christ are older than the creation (1:3,4).
- In fact, what God accomplished in Jesus Christ is the source of every spiritual blessing available to us (1:3).
- Through Jesus Christ, God made it possible for us to be adopted into God’s family (1:5).
- Through Jesus Christ, God made our redemption possible (1:7).
- Through Jesus Christ, God lavished grace upon Christians (1:8)
- Through Jesus Christ, God made it possible for Christians to understand His objectives (1:8-10).
- Through Jesus Christ, God gave us an inheritance (1:13,14).
- If we are to see what God is doing, we must realize what God did in Jesus Christ (1:15-23). (Paul: my prayer is that you will see what God is doing, what is happening.)
- Chapter two:
- In Jesus Christ, God gave life to people who had been destroyed (killed) by evil (2:1-10).
- In Jesus Christ, God made it possible for anyone from any background from any nation to be part of God’s people (2:11-21).
- Chapter three:
- Basically, Paul said, “You simply must see and understand what God always intended to do through Jesus Christ, and you must understand that what God intended to do–He did!” (3:1-15)
- God did what He eternally intended to do! (See 3:11)
- Paul was so in awe of what God did and was doing in Jesus Christ that he prayed this prayer for the Christians in Ephesus.
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.
- Just as Paul wrote about God’s meaning in Jesus Christ in the first three chapters of Ephesians, he wrote about what it meant for the Christians at Ephesus to be in Jesus Christ in the last three chapters.
- A primary emphasis in those three chapters is a basic contrast.
- The primary contrast is the contrast between who they were before they were a part of Jesus Christ and who they are now that they are a part of Jesus Christ.
- When they understand God did something incredibly special when He allowed them to enter Jesus Christ, they must also understand that they can no longer think and act like the people who do not belong to God.
- To focus us on that contrast, I want you to read Ephesians 4:20-24 and think carefully about Paul’s statement.
But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
- There are several things I want you to notice in Paul’s statement.
- In context, Paul said they could not continue to live and act like those people who had not come to God.
- When they were taught about Christ, they were not taught to live and act like the people who do not belong to God.
- Belonging to Jesus Christ makes you a different person–the life you live really differs from the lives of people who do not belong to Jesus Christ.
- And that is just exactly what a person who belongs to God wants.
- You don’t want to be that old person who was ruled by evil, who was a slave to temptation, who was deceived by your physical desires and appetites.
- You have a new way of thinking that makes you a different kind of person.
- God took the evil “you” and created something that never before existed–a “you” who wants to be righteous and holy.
- Please note that God did not force them to be people they did not want to be.
- Please note they wanted to be as much like God as possible, letting His nature become their nature.
- In chapter two when Paul discussed the incredible things God did through Jesus Christ, Paul made this statement in Ephesians 2:10.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
- If you are a Christian, God did not forgive your sins just for your pleasure of being forgiven.
- God re-created you in Jesus Christ–He made something out of you that never existed before.
- As a Christian, you are God’s workmanship–in the same sense that a craftsman makes an object.
- God designed each of us as Christians to be people who do good works.
- That is what God always intended.
- Before you were ever born, this was God’s intention: “Any person who accepts what I did in Jesus Christ will be committed to living a life that does My good works.”
- God forgave you and me so that each of us could do God’s good works.
- God did not save you or me to live any way we pleased.
- God did not save you or me for us to be a selfish, self-centered people.
- God did not save you or me so we could “Christianize evil” and thereby justify any lifestyle we wanted to live. [“I can merely put a Christian ‘spin’ on any evil I do.”]
- God saved you and me for each of us to become more and more like God.
- God saved you and me for each of us to devote our existence to doing the things God wants.
Being a Christian involves the desire to become what I was born in Jesus Christ to be–the Christian wants to grow and to mature in God’s own nature. The Christian wants to live the life God wants and to do the things God wants done. The Christian does not want to act or live in ways that oppose God.
Christianity is for people who want to grow closer to God. Christianity is not for people who have no intention of living and acting like people who belong to God.
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Jesus made this statement in a sermon (Matthew 5-7). To most Christians, it is a very familiar statement. It is so familiar that rarely does it provoke basic thought. We have heard discussed many times what the kingdom is and when it came. We frequently have heard discussed how a man or woman goes about the process of putting the kingdom first. Truthfully, most of us could lead a discussion on those matters.
Yet, rarely do we note what a strange statement this was. Certainly, Israel’s religious leaders discussed for years what the kingdom was and when it would come. To declare that “kingdom understandings” were important to first century Israel is an under-statement. They, like us, had much to teach about the kingdom because their “kingdom understandings” were “excellent.” Their understandings were deep and meaningful! They knew all about the kingdom!
Jesus made this strange statement to disciples as crowds listened. He said godliness was not about religious deeds that attracted attention or praise to self (Matthew 6:1-24). He said kingdom concerns were not centered in clothing, food, or the basic necessities for sustaining physical life (Matthew 6:25-31).
Dedication to God’s kingdom was not contained in things godless people declared to be priorities (Matthew 6:32). Nor was it found in anxieties produced by life’s troubles (Matthew 6:34).
We fail to realize how strange this statement was until we consider to whom it was given. Jesus declared this in a religious nation to people in its religious society. They were so religious that their “civil laws” were based on religious perspectives! They had priests who maintained the temple, elders who made religious decisions, scribes who preserved scripture, lawyers who were experts in scripture, and religious leaders who controlled society. Surely if anyone understood God’s rule, they did! Yet, they did not.
How do we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness above all things, as life’s first priority? Through having right rules and regulations? Through having right forms and methods? Through worrying about things godless people worry about? Through making material needs our top priority in life? No. Then how do we do that?
Jesus said we allow God to rule our lives. We place God in control of who we are and what we do. We let God teach us what righteousness is. Then … we allow God to provide us the strength to be a godly person who, in compassion, is fair to everyone.
Because we are Christians, who we are as persons is essential to life. That is more essential than what we eat, wear, or drink. Why? God rules us. We are His people. We exist to represent Him well. Who and what we are leads people to God, not way from Him.
Posted by David on December 1, 2002 under Sermons
This evening I want to encourage you to think about what four scriptures have in common. The first two focus on situations that occurred in Jesus’ life.
First, read with me Luke 7:36-50:
Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
I especially want you to focus on the Pharisee’s thoughts when the sinful woman came in uninvited and went to Jesus (verse 39): “If Jesus were a prophet (the prophet), he would know who this woman is and what this woman is, and if he knew those things, he would not allow her to touch him.”
The Pharisee was thinking from the concept of exclusion instead of inclusion. He did not think with compassion, “Look at her grief!” He thought judgmental thoughts, “She does not belong here, and if Jesus was who people say he is, he would know that.”
Now read with me from John 12:1-8:
Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it. Therefore Jesus said, “Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.”
Judas said, “This woman has the wrong priorities! We should be using this money to help poor people instead of buying and wasting perfume!”
The concept is distressing. “Poor people are our opportunity to show our righteousness.” They were not people to be seen with compassion, but people who were “our” opportunity.
The next statement is one made by Paul to Timothy about something Timothy needed to stress to Christian women in the city of Ephesus (1 Timothy 2:9,10).
Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
The social context of the city of Ephesus was quite different to the social context in most other major cities in the Roman Empire. In fact, circumstances were literally opposite many other population centers in the Roman empire. The chief religion of the city centered on a female idol, a goddess. Because of that, women had roles and forms of prominence in Ephesus that women did not have in other places.
Paul instructed Timothy to tell Christian women not to get caught up in these false measures of significance. Paul said, “Help them understand that what they wear should be consistent with what they do. Help them understand that they should be known for the good they do, not for the clothes they wear.”
The next statement was made by James perhaps to Jewish Christians (James 2:1-9).
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
I am confident that I could demonstrate this was a primary emphasis in the first century church among Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians: anyone from any level of life should feel comfortable in a gathering of Christians. James said for that to occur Christians had to make the poor slave and the wealthy citizen feel equally accepted, equally welcome. That was the responsibility of the Christians, not the visitors.
- Let me encourage you to consider some past emphasis among us.
- Let me begin by sharing recent and past experiences.
- More than one person lightheartedly teased me about being the only clean shaven person when Ron, Brad, and I talked with you recently and Larry led us in singing.
- I remember when growing a beard was reason for dismissal from some of our Christian colleges.
- In fact I remember two separate occasions at two separate colleges when it was stressed that a beard was an expression of ungodliness.
- One college had a wall dedicated to the school’s founders with their pictures on that wall–and the majority of the founders had beards.
- One college had pictures of the school’s founders in the room where students and faculty gathered for a daily devotional, and the majority of those men had beards.
- In those days beards were a symbol of ungodly rebellion, and we focused on the symbol instead of the attitude.
- My point is not that all men should wear beards.
- My point is that we should not judge a person’s character by a beard.
- That is a “people criteria,” not a “God criteria.”
- I do not often notice those who are serving communion.
- I am just glad they are helping us as we remember Jesus.
- On those few occasions when I do notice, I gratefully am struck by the variety represented in those serving.
- Usually there is a variety of ages.
- Usually there is a variety of clothing styles: suits, shirts and ties, dress pants and casual shirts, casual pants and casual shirts.
- Given our diversity as a congregation and a people, I personally think that is appropriate.
- When Christians assembled in the first century, there often was a mixture that ran spectrum that included slaves, people freed from slavery but poor, people who had never been slaves and were above the poverty line, and patrons who were wealthy.
- Their clothing was not comparable–the poverty stricken slave and the wealthy patron did not dress alike.
- The New Testament writers stressed these points:
- Jesus Christ is the great equalizer; in him we are all equally dependent on God’s mercy and grace.
- God is impressed with the person’s faith, not his or her clothing or jewelry.
- God’s people make others feel wanted, not excluded.
- The objective of Christians has not changed: anyone with a broken heart or seeking heart should be able to come into an assembly of Christians and feel comfortable.
- That is what must happen among us–that is where our faith in God and Jesus Christ must lead us.
- Let me encourage you in this way when you are here: always be more concerned about wearing your best heart than you are wearing the best clothing.
- My point is not that we should be careless and indifferent.
- I surely understand there are inappropriate ways to dress when we assemble.
- We certainly need to be sensitive to others and to be careful:
- Not to intentionally be distracting.
- Not to intentionally be disrespectful to God or to people.
- However, if we have a significant impact on our community, we increasingly will touch the lives of people who have no religious background.
- Those people will come from all levels of Fort Smith society.
- Because of their background, they may have no concept of what is appropriate or not appropriate.
- Whoever attends our assemblies, I want him or her to know and to feel that he or she is welcome, and that we genuinely care about him or her as a person.
- To that end, allow me to encourage everyone to wear your best heart to every assembly.
- Let the heart you wear say more about you and us than the clothes you wear.
- What is my “best heart”?
- A heart that is humble.
- A heart that repents.
- A heart that is merciful.
- A heart that is loving.
- That is the heart that represents God correctly.
- That is the heart that reflects Jesus properly.
- That is the heart that makes people feel at ease in our assemblies.
In the incident of the sinful woman in Luke 7, Jesus said, “I know who she is and what she does, and she belongs here because I care about her.” In the incident of the anointing in John 12, “The priority is knowing who I am.” Paul said to Timothy, “Teach Christian women to be known for the good they do instead of the kind of clothing they wear.” James said, “Make people feel welcome among you even if they are obviously very poor.”
May God give us the wisdom, understanding, and insight to do that.
Posted by David on under Sermons
In the fall of 1966 I attended graduate school at Harding Graduate School of Religion. Most of us who were students in the graduate school at that time were working full time for a congregation and commuting to the school one day a week. The school functioned on a special schedule designed for commuters. We could come to the school one day a week and take up to three courses. Each course was two hours long each day we came.
That was a great arrangement for us students until final examination time came. All the exams were timed, and all exams were taken on the day you took class. It was rare to have an exam that did not take two full hours. In fact, most exams were like a mental marathon–from the moment you began to take the test, you raced the clock. Two hours was all you had to take the exam.
That fall I took a course in restoration history taught by Dr. Earl West. He had a reputation among students for giving long tests. His students needed the full two hours for his tests–and then some! Like most of the graduate teachers, Dr. West did not want you to give him just the information he gave to you. He wanted you to prove you really understood what happened in the period of history he covered.
As soon as I received his test, I began writing furiously. We could choose from several questions. One group of questions were short essay questions, and one group of questions were long essay questions. I was really prepared, and information was pouring out of my head through my pen to my paper.
I wrote until my hand began to cramp–and I ignored the cramp. With about five minutes to go, I stopped just long enough to scan my long essay answer. And immediately, with terror, I realized I started my answer at the wrong place. And it made a difference!
So I began writing even more furiously to prove that I knew where I should have started. I tried really hard to correct what I knew I messed up! But it was too late. There was no time to make right what I messed up.
I knew I messed up before I turned my test in. I knew how I messed up before I turned my test in. And I knew messing up would affect my grade.
- In life, one of the really difficult struggles we all endure are the struggles created when our past affects our present.
- Sometimes we do not know what we did in the past to produce such consequences.
- We realize we did something, but we do not understand what.
- We just know that some mistake we made in the past keeps on producing consequences in our lives.
- Nowhere is that more true than in our relationships.
- Sometimes we do know what we did in the past to produce continuing consequences.
- We really regret making that past mistake.
- We wish we just had the power to erase the mistake, erase the past, and eliminate the consequences so we could live as if the mistake never happened.
- Again, that is especially true in our relationships.
- But all too often, the mistake seriously injured the relationship, and we simply cannot get beyond the consequences of our past mistake.
- The past continues to powerfully influence the now.
- If we are not awfully careful, we find ourselves in relationships where past mistakes have more influence on the relationship than the present has on the relationship.
- Too many of us struggle or suffer on an ongoing basis because of something we did in the past.
- It often seems that no matter how hard we try, our past controls our present.
- I want you to think carefully about 1 John 1:5-10. Read with me as I read from the New American Standard translation.
1 John 1:5-10 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
- I especially want you to focus on John’s statements in verses 7 and 9:
- Verse 7:
1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Verse 9:
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- In those two verses I want you to see John’s emphasis in two things he wrote to those Christians:
- One emphasis was on God’s promise and was declared in the word “cleanse.”
- One emphasis was on Christian behavior and was declared in the word “confess.”
- In verse 7 John wrote:
- When we as individuals are committed to living a life that reflects God’s light in our lives, two things will be true:
- We will have fellowship with other men and women who reflect God in their lives.
- Jesus’ blood flows through our lives continually cleansing us of sin.
- This does not happen because we are fabulous people who deserve such consideration from God.
- It happens because we are committed to reflecting God in our lives.
- In verse 9 John wrote:
- When we as individuals accept responsibility for admitting our mistakes, God can be trusted to keep his promises.
- What promises?
- The promise to forgive the mistakes we confess (the forgiveness of confessed sins).
- The promise to cleanse us of the eternal consequences of the mistakes we do not even realize we made (the cleansing from all unrighteousness).
- What does that mean?
- It means if my commitment to reflect God in my life is a serious, responsible commitment, God promises to do for me what I could never do for myself–forgive all of my mistakes.
- It means God allows the forgiving, cleansing blood of Jesus to continually flow in the lives of the men and women who are committed to reflecting God in their lives.
- It means that our forgiveness is not dependent on our perfection, but on God’s cleansing.
- No person can be sinlessly perfect, but every person can be responsible.
- Because God does this, God can do something for us in our relationship with Him that does not typically happen in human relationships.
- God allows me to begin every day fresh and new in my relationship with Him.
- When I wake up each day, God does not require me to make my past a part of my present. God does not say:
- “Do you remember how horribly you failed last month?”
- “Do you remember what a terrible mess you made two years ago?”
- “You mean you have forgotten what happened five years ago? Well, I have not!”
- “You mean you do not remember what an awful background you came from?”
- “How can you live with the fact that you were so mean to people in the past?”
- If you want a wonderful insight into the nature of God’s forgiveness, read the gospels and pay attention to Jesus’ forgiveness.
- Jesus forgave people that religious people in his day did not think should be forgiven.
- Jesus forgave people that religious society thought should be rejected.
- Jesus’ forgiveness was frequently given in the most unusual situations to the most (from our perspective) unlikely people.
- Jesus forgave people who wanted forgiveness.
- He forgave people who realized they needed forgiveness.
- He forgave people who, in their awareness, felt truly unworthy of forgiveness.
- Every day God says to each of us, “I do not care who or what you have been; I care who you are right now.”
- “It is not what you were; it is who you are.”
- “It is not about how you have failed in the past; it is about how you reflect My light right now.”
- “It is not about the enormous messes you made in life in the past; it is about your living responsibly right now.”
- “My love for you is sustained by the fact that you trust me now, depend on me now, and live responsibly now.”
- The heart and soul of repentance involves our awareness that we must redirect our lives away from the past and toward God.
- When I repent, I make the commitment to refuse to allow my past to determine who I am.
- When I repent I commit to letting God be the power of my present.
- When I repent I declare God rules my now; my past does not rule my now.
- Please read with me Matthew 21:23-32.
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
- Why would the Jewish prostitutes (harlots) and Jewish tax gathers (publicans) enter into God’s kingdom before Jewish priests and elders did?
- Because they saw their need more quickly.
- Because they were ready to repent more quickly.
- Because they more quickly could see God’s blessings in Jesus Christ for them.
- Because they more quickly believed what God made possible.
- Do you have the kind of need that quickly sees what God does for you?
God allows every person in Christ to begin fresh and new each day. God in Christ teaches us how to give people opportunity instead of judgment.
Have you realized what a great gift God offers you in Christ? Who else lets you live in the now instead of the past?
Posted by David on November 24, 2002 under Sermons
I want to begin by sharing some statements from Jesus and from Paul. I begin with statements from Jesus.
Mark 8:34-38 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
John 12:24-26 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
Now consider some statements made by Paul:
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Philippians 3:7-11 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned from the office of the presidency. He was forced to resign, forced to leave his position of Commander-In-Chief of the United States’ powerful military. When he resigned, his transition was quiet — there was no violence, no armed struggle, no civil war.
In November of 2000 we had a national election. When the election was finally over, Al Gore won the popular vote, but George Bush won the electoral vote. For several days prior to determining the final results, there were confrontations and heated exchanges as this nation witnessed a historical event. But when the results were determined, Al Gore conceded the election and George Bush became President. And the transition was quiet. There was no violence, no armed struggle, no civil war.
We just completed a hard fought, historic national mid-term election. It was a historic mid-term election. It was close, very close. A lot was at stake in many states and in the nation. During the campaigns the head-butting was often furious and mean. That was not only true in our state. It was true in many states. Even a casual listening to the political ads might convince you that many of the candidates hated each other. But when the results were in, the transition was quiet. There was no violence, no armed struggle, no civil war.
- Let me ask you a question: fundamentally, what are the basic differences between a true democracy and many other forms of government?
- I realize there are several.
- I do not want to use our time this morning for a civics’ lesson.
- I do not intend to use our time this morning discussing the virtues of a true democracy.
- I do want to challenge your awareness.
- For a true democracy to exist anywhere in our world among any people in our world, this is essential: people have to know how to lose.
- A democracy cannot exist where people do not know how to lose.
- Where people in power are certain that losing is not an option, where people in power must win at any costs, democracy cannot exist.
- That is not just true of a democracy; it is also true of Christian existence.
- In this life, in this physical world, knowing how to lose is the foundation of Christian existence.
- As stupid as it might sound to some, in this physical existence Christianity achieves victory through losing.
- In fact, losing is the foundation of Christian maturity.
- Before you totally reject that idea, let me challenge you to think.
- At least within our culture, people know how to win.
- Americans do not have to learn how to win — it is not something we have to be taught. Winning is the American goal in everything we do!
- The objective of all the recreational games we play is winning.
- The objective of all the competitions we have is winning.
- In America, success is winning.
- Success in business is winning.
- Success in selling is winning.
- Success in buying is winning.
- And if we are not very, very careful:
- Success in friendship — is winning.
- Success in dating — is winning.
- Success in marriage — is winning.
- Success in the church — is winning.
- And, again, if we are not very, very careful:
- Our all-to-common concept for winning is controlling.
- “I defeat you in business by dominating you.”
- “I defeat you in dating by dominating you.”
- “I defeat you in marriage — by dominating you.”
- “I defeat you in the church — by dominating you.”
- “I must be in control because I must win!”
- Most of us, if not all of us, know how to win; but most of us do not know how to lose.
- If you want grim confirmation of that fact, take a careful look at our relationships.
- Two things bear grim testimony to the fact that we do not know how to lose.
- The first of those grim things is the state of our marriages.
- The second of those grim things is the state of relationships in the church.
- I seriously doubt that any of us begin to comprehend how indebted we are to the fact that God’s knows how to lose.
- Mercy exists because God knows how to lose.
- Grace exists because God knows how to lose.
- Forgiveness exists because God knows how to lose.
- Mercy, grace, and forgiveness are not the acts of a controlling winner.
- They are the attitudes of the compassionate One who knows how to lose.
- They are the acts of kindness of the One who knows how to lose.
- I seriously doubt that any of us begin to comprehend how indebted we are to the fact that Jesus knew how to lose.
- The life-after-death we say we want to go more than anywhere else Jesus left — for us.
- The life Jesus lived on earth was the life of a loser — and he lived it for us.
- Jesus’ ministry on earth was the ministry of a loser — but he did it for us.
- Jesus’ death by crucifixion combined, in his day, two ultimate acts of losing — death and crucifixion.
- He lost so we could be blessed.
- Because he lost, I can be redeemed — freed from slavery to sin.
- Because he lost, I can be sanctified — set apart for God and God’s use.
- Because he lost, I can be forgiven — my sins can be destroyed.
- If he had not been willing to lose and if he did not know how to lose, I could have none of these things.
- A definite part of the heart of Christianity is knowing how to lose.
- There are many things I can never be, nor can you ever be.
- We can never be perfect, not in relationship with God, not in relationship with Jesus, not in relationship with God’s Spirit, not with each other.
- We can never be sinless, not for a single moment of our lives.
- We can never be guiltless; at any moment in our existence, justice could rightfully destroy us.
- We can never have full knowledge and total understanding of God’s will and priorities; God is so far above and beyond us that we will never know or understand everything about Him.
- But we do not have to become those things we are incapable of being.
- We do not have to be perfect; we have to love.
- We do not have to be sinless; we have to be forgiven.
- We do not have to be guiltless; we have to live in God’s mercy.
- We do not have to possess perfect knowledge or perfect understanding; we have to be ruled by the faith that trusts God enough to become the people He wants us to be.
- But there is an essential reason that allows us to love, to be forgiven, to live in God’s mercy, and to be ruled by faith in God.
- This is the reason: God knew how to lose.
- We can have that love, that forgiveness, that mercy, and that faith because God knew how to lose.
- Knowing how to lose is the heart of:
- Christian love for God and for people.
- Christian service to God and to people.
- Christian compassion.
- Christian kindness.
- Christian mercy.
- Christian forgiveness.
- Christian gentleness.
- Christian patience.
- Christian self-control.
- Christian peace.
- When Christians know how to lose, they become capable through God’s strength to be a part of some special things in this world.
- When Christians who know how to lose are friends, their friendship is something special.
- When Christians who know how to lose marry, their marriage is something special.
- When Christians who know how to lose form congregations, the fellowship among them is something special.
- But those special relationships and experiences happen when they are formed by Christians who know how to lose.
I am so thankful that we can belong to a God who knows how to lose. I am so thankful that God gave us a Savior who knows how to lose. I am so thankful that God’s Spirit lives within us in spite of the fact that each of us is so weak.
Do you know how to lose? Is it evident in the way you treat people? Is it evident in the your marriage? Is it evident in the way you treat other Christians?
How long has it been since you asked God to teach you how to lose? Are you willing to lose anything necessary to the God and Savior who blesses you because they knew how to lose?
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
In a letter to the church of God at Corinth, Paul wrote: To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. (1 Corinthians 1:2)
What a strange thing to write to those Christians! Were “to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “saints by calling” appropriate to the situation? After all, they had divisions (1:10); had sexual immorality in the congregation (5:1); had lawsuits among them (6:1, 2); had marriage issues (7); had fellowship issues (8); had serious worship problems (11-14); and questioned their resurrection (15).
How could Paul possibly refer to them as people “who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “saints”? How could that be appropriate?
Early in the same letter, Paul wrote: But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” (1 Corinthians 1:30, 31)
They were in Christ Jesus by “God’s doing.” They were not in Christ because God could not do without them. They were there because they could not do without God. God was not indebted to them. They were indebted to God.
What God did for them in Christ was wisdom (God’s, not theirs), righteousness (making them just before God), sanctification (making them holy), and redemption (the act of ransoming from slavery). The wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption did not result from their achievements, but from God’s accomplishments for them in Christ.
Any honest look at those Christians blatantly screams that they had major spiritual struggles. In their confidence in their accomplishments, they were spiritual failures. They argued about meaningless things. They treated each other horribly. They engaged in ungodly competitions. They reflected God’s influence in their lives terribly.
Their Christian confidence could not be in what they did for God. Their confidence must be in what God did for them. Even though they were far less than God wished them to be, what [in His wisdom] He did for them allowed them to be the sanctified and redeemed. Did they need to grow and mature? Absolutely! However, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption would never be their rewards for perfection. Those always were the result for what God did for them in Christ.
Every Christian struggles. Struggles do not make it impossible to belong to God. A Christian grows toward what God made him or her in Christ. God’s mercy and grace in Christ are never earned, only appreciated by those who accept them.
Posted by David on November 17, 2002 under Sermons
It is much too easy to make religion about us instead of about God. It is much too easy to be overwhelmed with our issues instead of God’s issues. It is much too easy to focus on our priorities instead of God’s priorities. It is much too easy to superimpose our priorities on God’s priorities and thereby consider our priorities to be God’s priorities.
Read with me Matthew 12:9-14.
Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”–so that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
- Long before Jesus was born one of the raging religious debates in Israel concerned what you could do and could not do on the Sabbath (Saturday).
- This debate had its roots in one of the ten commandments:
Exodus 20:8-10 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
- God commanded Israel to keep the Sabbath holy by not working on that day.
- Worship on this day was not the means of consecrating the day to God.
- Not working on this day was the means of consecrating the day to God.
- To make that command doable one thing is essential: what is and is not work must be defined.
- That was the foundation of this debate in Israel: what is the proper definition of work?
- One of the major disagreements the Pharisees had with Jesus was his understanding of how you keep the Sabbath day holy.
- We can clearly see this argument in Matthew 12:1-14 in the argument between the Pharisees and Jesus about what it was appropriate to do on a Sabbath day.
- The Pharisees were incensed that Jesus’ disciples were picking ripened grain growing along the path.
- Jesus’ response: “If you knew the meaning of this statement from scripture, you would not condemn the innocent: I (God) desire compassion, not sacrifice.”
- The Pharisees were incensed that Jesus healed a wither hand on the Sabbath day.
- Jesus’ response: “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
- The incident we read about occurred in a synagogue.
- Jews went to synagogues to pray and to study scripture.
- Jews did not go to synagogues expecting medical treatment.
- Jesus attended this synagogue, and in this synagogue were some Pharisees who resented Jesus, and a man who had a useless (withered) hand.
- The Pharisees saw what they regarded to be an excellent opportunity to make their point and accuse Jesus of misrepresenting God’s law.
- We must remember that the purpose of their question was not a desire for insightful understanding, but the intent of finding an accusation that would discredit Jesus as a teacher.
- Their question seems innocent and insignificant to us, but it was potent because it dealt with a very sensitive, emotional matter.
- The question: is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?
- To appreciate how explosive this question was, we need some background.
- The Mishnah is a Jewish writing that has a section entitled Shabbath which deals with what was and was not work on a Sabbath day.
- The Mishnah is composed third and fourth century writings.
- But many of the positions reflected are considered to express views held in the first century.
- In Shabbath 7.2 main classes of work are divided into 39 categories.
- Much of Shabbath considered when certain acts were and were not permitted on the Sabbath, and procedures to doing things “lawfully” on the Sabbath.
- To give you some insight into the nature of the discussions, consider these:
- A tailor cannot carry a needle on the Sabbath, a person who wrote for a living could not carry a pen; you could not search your clothes for fleas; you could not read by lamplight; children could read but a teacher could not read (Shabbath 1.3)
- You could not dye an article on the Sabbath (Shabbath 1.5)
- You could not sell something to a person who was not a Jew unless that person could reach his home before the Sabbath began (Shabbath 1:7).
- You could not cook a food unless the cooking was completed before the Sabbath began (Shabbath 1.10).
- How you lighted the Sabbath lamp, what kinds of oil you could use, and restrictions about making a lamp burn longer were decreed (Shabbath 2).
- You could not put a Sabbath lamp out unless you had reason to be afraid in specific situations or you were trying to help a sick person sleep (Shabbath 2.5).
- There were arguments about how to cook an egg on the Sabbath and about heating water (Shabbath 3.3-6).
- There were rules about how to cover hot food (Shabbath 4).
- There were rules about what your animals could carry (Shabbath 5.1); what you could wear (Shabbath 6.2); wearing a false leg (Shabbath 6:8); what kind of knots you could tie (Shabbath 15.1,2); how much food and clothing you could save from a burning house (Shabbath 16.2 and 4).
- In the context of all those discussions, can a person heal someone on the Sabbath?
- This was the basic rule: if a person’s life was in danger, you could act to save his life.
- Ladies, you will be relieved to know that if a woman started giving birth, a midwife could come from anywhere, and you could tie the umbilical cord of the newborn.
- Jesus answered their question by asking questions.
- If you had a sheep and it fell in a pit on the Sabbath, are you not permitted to lift it out? [That was permitted.]
- Is not a person more valuable than a sheep?
- Doing good on the Sabbath does not violate God’s law!
- To emphasize his point, Jesus restored the man’s withered hand to complete health.
- Clearly understand the Pharisees’ objection.
- The objection was not that Jesus helped a man who benefitted from his help.
- The objection was this: the man’s life was not in danger; he had his withered hand for a while; Jesus could have and should have waited until the next day to heal his hand.
- The objection was not based on the fact Jesus healed the man, but on when Jesus healed the man.
- What Jesus did really irritated his enemies: Jesus healed the man’s hand.
- Please remember that their question was not a sincere inquiry.
- Please remember before they asked their question it was calculated to discredit Jesus.
- Jesus in his statements and actions drew a clear contrast between their understanding of God’s law and his understanding of God’ law: his correct understanding of God’s law resulted in compassion for suffering people that resulted in doing good.
- Note Jesus’ actions did not improve the Pharisees understanding of God’s law–instead they were more determined to destroy Jesus.
- I want to make a very simple point: a correct understanding of God’s priorities results in compassionately doing good for people.
- The man or woman who belongs to God recognizes God’s great concern for suffering people.
- God’s top priority for His people is their humble compassion.
- If God in humble compassion could give His son to humanity through crucifixion, people who belong to God can in humble compassion can help each other.
- This evening I want to challenge you to be a Christian.
- I want to challenge you to represent God well.
- I want to challenge you to do this, not because you are sinlessly perfect [none of us is!] but because you are compassionate.
- I am no prophet and I am not trying to play prophet–do not “read into” this statement things I do not say.
- My personal conviction is this: we will have opportunity to show compassion in ways we cannot even imagine.
- Represent our kind God well!
- Even in the hardest circumstances, be prepared to do good because you believe in God.
Each day as you live your life, because of your love of God and compassion for people, do good. Use your abilities to do good. Represent God well. Help people see God’s kindness through your kindness. Do not waste time and opportunity thinking about what you cannot do. Just do what you can. Always remember: it never violates God’s priorities to do good.
Posted by David on under Sermons
Link to preparatory presentation of 29 September
On Sunday, October 6, 2002, the West-Ark congregation filled out a Congregational Needs Analysis survey consisting of twenty-five questions. It was presented in a simple format that was easily completed. All adult members were requested to complete the analysis during the morning assembly in the time typically dedicated to a sermon. Provisions were made for those who wanted additional time. Provisions were also made for members not present that morning. Teens took the survey earlier in the week so they could assist in the Sunday morning process. There were four hundred and ninety-nine members who completed and turned in a survey form.
After the congregation sang praises and took communion on Sunday morning [November 17], Ron Lenderman (an elder) informally interviewed Brad Pistole and David Chadwell (two of the ministers on staff) in regard to the information collected through the analysis. The interview began by each of the three making a brief statement, then Ron asked Brad and David three questions. All three men responded to the fourth question.
The four questions were these:
- Why are we doing this?
- What did you learn that supported what you already knew?
- What are some things in the survey that surprised you?
- Where do we go from here?
By better understanding the needs and challenges spiritually confronting members of all age groups and in all situations, the elders hope to stimulate the type of congregational environment that encourages everyone’s spiritual growth and development.
After this interview, Brad Pistole encouraged people to respond to Jesus Christ.
Everyone could obtain [that morning and below] a printed analysis of the Congregational Needs Survey. Any member could obtain a complete account of the “raw numbers” by contacting the office.
Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles
Jesus said: “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
Jesus gave this directive after speaking about the uselessness of anxiety. He said it was pointless to worry about tomorrow. Anxiety is counter-productive. He said life’s objective was to learn to trust God for life’s necessities as we yield personal life to our sovereign God’s rule. “Reality” in our physical world changes in the “blink of an eye.” Realities in God’s kingdom are eternal. Jesus’ directive: neither trust nor depend on “realities” that are certain to change; trust and depend on the changeless.
Each year the week before Missions’ Sunday, Joyce and I visit our parents in Crossville, TN. Joyce’s Dad is 88 and her Mom is 85. My Mom is 86. All three live in their own homes. Those two homes are separated by only four miles. (Joyce and I called those houses “home” when we were kids). Usually we also have opportunity to see my only brother and sister-in-law, their children, and some of Joyce’s cousins and aunts. We visited Crossville last week.
This morning we learned several tornadoes touched down in that area. Then we learned these storms touched down in the vicinity of our families. After confirming our immediate families and their homes were okay, we learned all of them lost electrical service, most of them lost telephone service, and so many trees were down that some of them could not get out of their driveways.
While their homes had no damage, some of their neighbors’ homes were severely damaged. My sister-in-law’s comment was, “We will never live long enough for Pigeon Ridge Road to look the same.” [That is right: Pigeon Ridge Road. I grew up on Grassy Cove Road with Turkey Oak Road behind me. My brother lives on Coon Hollow Road. Joyce is prestigious — she grew up on Wells Road, and she is a Wells!]
How strange to realize places so familiar to us, places robed in fall beauty just last week, are now scenes of a disaster that produced fatalities and destruction. What seemed so secure only a week ago is now damaged or destroyed because uninvited circular winds blew. The security produced by electrical power, telephones, and road access was imprisoned by circular winds and uprooted trees.
Electrical power will flow again. Telephones will ring again. Driveways will be cleared. Damaged houses will be repaired. Many destroyed houses will be rebuilt. And the uprooted trees? For years uprooted trees grimly will testify to the insecurity of trusting in the unreliable.
What happens to you when powerful winds blow within? What happens when the rains descend, the floods come, the winds blow, and burst against your life? Does it stand or collapse? (Matthew 7:24-27) Does trusting the wrong things imprison you? Does trusting God transform your insecurity to security?
