Disciples Make Disciples

Posted by David on September 12, 2004 under Sermons

You have had a hard day on the job. It seems as if every time you turn around, something “goes wrong.” You spent a lot of your day trouble shooting. You did not accomplish nearly what you intended to accomplish. In fact, as you look back over your difficult day, you wonder to yourself if you did not waste your time and effort. You have nothing “to show for” all your work and effort that day.

You are bringing your work day to a close. You are preparing things to resume your efforts tomorrow. You do the necessary straightening up so you can start fresh tomorrow–you want there to be nothing to remind you of this miserable work day. You think about what has to happen quickly tomorrow. You are intent on completing your preparations for tomorrow. You just want to call it a day and forget about what you now consider a wasted day and wasted effort.

Just as you are almost through with your preparations, a religious teacher walks in and makes a ridiculous request of you. You know his request is just plain stupid. But you have been listening to the man teach, and you want to be polite. So you act out of politeness more than conviction. But you favorably respond to the man’s stupid request though it means the day will end on a meaningless, nonproductive note.

Read with me as we look at Luke 5:1-11. See if you can identify with the situation.
Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets. When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

1. If we talked to these men much later in their lives, I have little doubt that they would tell you, “That moment began the biggest and most important adventure of our lives.”
   1. If we asked, “Why?” I think we would hear these answers.
      1. “That was the day we began in earnest to be Jesus’ disciples.”
         1. “Our expectations were all wrong.”
         2. “We thought he was a special person sent by God, but we really did not understand just how special this person was.”
         3. “What we thought was going to happen and what did happen were not even similar.”
      2. “Before it was through, we finally understood we were the disciples of God’s own son. To this moment, that sounds incredible!”
   2. If we were to ask, “Why was being Jesus’ disciples so special?” I think they would respond in this way.
      1. “It being special had nothing to do with us.”
      2. “It being special had everything to do with who he was: God’s own son!”
      3. “It was special because God’s own son taught us God’s objectives and purposes in our lives and in the world.”
      4. “It was special because we were interacting with the greatest act of God ever manifested in Israel!”

2. I am going to share several scriptures with you as I seek to make a single point: people have to learn how to be disciples of Jesus, and that truth is very obvious in the twelve followers of Jesus.
   1. First, I call your attention to a continuing argument among these 12 disciples, an argument addressed in two ways by Jesus (they should be like children, and they should not be like Gentile rulers), but never resolved by the Lord.
      1. The argument: which one of us is the greatest (in the group) — a decidedly “not disciple like” argument.
      2. Consider these scriptures:
         Mark 9:33,34 They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.
         1. They understood that this discussion/argument would not meet Jesus’ approval.
         2. They understood it was not the focus Jesus wanted them to have.
         3. Yet, it continued to be a matter of significant concern among them.

            Luke 9:46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.

         4. Which one of them was the greatest might not have been of concern to Jesus.
         5. But, it is obviously of great concern to them.

            Luke 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.

         6. Luke associates this dispute with the last supper.
         7. Jesus will be dead in less than 24 hours, and the twelve are arguing among themselves about their “pecking order” in their rank!
         8. This is not a disciple’s attitude or a disciple’s issue to be pursued–yet this is the argument of the twelve at the end of Jesus’ life!
   2. Second, I call to your attention Peter’s attitude after his great confession that Jesus is the Christ.
      Matthew 16:21-23 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
      1. First, note Jesus began to discuss his death and resurrection with the twelve disciples after Peter’s confession.
      2. Second, note Peter became so bold after his confession that he privately rebuked the Lord: “That will never happen! You must stop talking like that! That is not the things the Christ should be saying!”
      3. Third, note Jesus is now very upset with Peter.
         1. Just as Jesus commended Peter for receiving his revelation from God, he now calls him Satan.
         2. The problem: “You have set your mind on human interest instead of setting your mind on God’s interest.”
         3. Peter created for Jesus a temptation that was totally unnecessary! What Peter said could get Jesus to thinking about himself instead of about God.
         4. This decidedly is not a disciple’s role, focus, or action!
   3. Third, I call your attention to a suggestion made by James and John.
      Luke 9:51-56 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
      1. Please remember that Samaritans and Jews hated each other.
         1. This hatred was quite old.
         2. Jews regarded Samaritans as the descendants of unfaithful Jews, and Samaritans regarded Jews as being theologically wrong.
      2. Remember that Jesus earlier had meaningful and fruitful interaction with the Samaritans (John 4).
      3. I think it is likely that James and John’s superiority Jewish attitude was oozing out.
         1. “Jesus has been very kind to these people.”
         2. “How dare they reject his request?”
         3. Notice the Samaritans are offended with Jesus preoccupation with Jerusalem–he was focused on the Jews!
      4. The rather obvious point I call to your attention is this: James and John’s desire to send fire on the offending Samaritans was very undisciple like–it is a basic failure to understand what Jesus is all about.
   4. Fourth, I call your attention to a statement Thomas made.
      John 20:24,25 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
      1. The time was shortly after Jesus’ resurrection.
      2. When Jesus first appeared to his disciples as a group the disciple Thomas was not there.
      3. When Thomas returned, excitedly the other disciples told him they had seen the resurrected Jesus.
         1. Thomas replied, “I do not believe it.”
         2. “Furthermore I will not believe he is raised from the dead unless I personally can feel the places where the nails were in his hands and the spear opened his side.”
      4. Again, I call your attention to the obvious–that is quite an undisciple like statement.
   5. Fifth, I call your attention to a statement made by the eleven disciples (Judas was dead) not long before Jesus’ ascension back to God.
      Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
      1. What these men expected to happen was not at all what was going to happen.
         1. In some way they expected the kingdom Jesus spoke about in his ministry to be connected with a restoration of the physical nation of Israel.
         2. Basically their question was, “Will it happen now?”
      2. Their question is a clear confession of the fact that they did not understand what was happening.
         1. They did not understand the foundation of Jesus’ ministry.
         2. They did not understand the meaning of Jesus’ death.
         3. They did not understand the significance of his resurrection (they were glad it happened, but they did not know its significance).
      3. These men followed Jesus throughout his ministry, they were witnesses of the truth of his resurrection, and they received instructions from him after his resurrection.
         1. But they were totally confused about what it all meant!
         2. It would have been impossible for them at that point to explain correctly the meaning of everything they had seen and heard!
      4. Note the obvious: we regard that as very undisciple like understandings and attitudes!

3. Allow me to call something to your attention in Matthew 28:19,20.
   1. This is the statement the resurrected Jesus made to his eleven disciples (Judas was dead).
      1. As Christians, we attach great significance to these two verses.
      2. We attach so much significance to these two verse that we often define the Christian mission and the work of the church by these two verses.
   2. First allow me to read these two verses from several translations.
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (NASV)
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (NIV)
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. (RSV)
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations: baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes to the end of time. (Jerusalem Bible)
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, to the end of the age. (Today’s English Version)
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. (The New King James Version)
      • Matthew 28:19,20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (The King James Version)
   3. I call some things to your attention.
      1. Every major English translation translates those verses with the primary emphasis on making disciples, except the King James translation (even the New King James version makes discipleship the focus).
      2. One of the truths I personally find distressful is the fact that we are baptizing people who have neither desire nor intention of being disciples.
      3. Every person who wishes to be a disciple needs to be baptized and taught the teachings of Jesus, but the objective must be to make disciples, followers of Jesus.

Every man or woman who is serious about making disciples must be committed to being a disciple. Those who followed Jesus as the 12 in his earthly minister declare discipleship is an ongoing pursuit. It is focused on understanding God’s purposes in Jesus Christ. Christians find our purpose in life when we understand God’s purpose.

Making Disciples for Jesus Eager to Serve Others

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Read Matt. 28:16-20
Imagine what it must have been like for the eleven as they met Jesus on that mountain and worshipped him and heard what we often call the Great Commission. The moment may be more profound than we realize. Not only for the majesty of it but also for the humility. Noticed that they worshipped – but some doubted. This group is still fresh from their betrayal and denial of Jesus. They were only hours earlier headed back to Galilee with broken dreams ready to pick up the pieces of the lives they left behind. This is still very new to them. They are uncertain what this means. This is the group that Jesus "entrusts" with the mission?
Of course we know that they did become his witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. We are here today because they did indeed go and make disciples. What enables this group to carry out that commission? How did they do it? Is there any hope for us that we might also be like them and make disciples?

Motivation: Why did they evangelize? Why so much energy and effort? What changed them from hopelessness to hope? They didn’t simply meditate on the great commission and decide they needed to act. They didn’t preach a few sermons on the topic to fire the church up. They didn’t have to give statistics about a lost and dying world to make comfy Christians feel guilty about pagans. They didn’t have to implement a new technique or program to do missions. So what did they do? How did they make disciples? If we are going to be true to our mission statement and the commission of Jesus to his disciples – including us – then I think there are two things important to us …

1. Notice that the core of the commission is to "Make Disciples"
      Making Disciples is a complex set of intentional activities and habits that is more akin to farming or education or running a government than it is to making a phone call, brushing your teeth, or preparing lunch. Making disciples involves whole persons and a community of faith in process and growing throughout generation to generation.
      If the work of making disciples were as simple as we often reduce it to then: 1) We would be doing it every day, and 2) the Bible would be much thinner. Paul’s letters are testaments to the work of making disciples. He is doing what Jesus instructed.
      Looking again at the text, notice that in this brief sentence we call the Great Commission, Jesus involves much more that some of our simple reductions (witness, proclamation, recruitment, mass media communication). Just follow the verbs …
      Make disciples – that’s the imperative or command. The going is incidental. "As you go on your way … make disciples." Of course it can be intentional and it should be – but the nature of the going reminds us that this is what we do and there isn’t a time we set aside for evangelism and then turn it off later. Our presence in the world is always redemptive and evangelistic. We are more than just those entrusted with God’s mission – we are the result of it too. In us people see the emerging Kingdom of God and being a disciple means being initiated into the kingdom (like citizenship process – you live in the land and are initiated into it)
      a) Baptizing – This verb is a participle. Here’s the initiation into the kingdom. Baptism is the new birth into the new way of kingdom life. But making a disciples doesn’t end with baptism …
      b) Teaching – Now how long does that take? Is this question even valid?
      Doesn’t it become clear that disciple-making calls us to reorder our lives and our common life together? Evangelism is not a wing or department of the church – it is the orientation of the church – it is our mission – or rather it is God’s mission to continue the establishment of his kingdom and we are caught up in it. This brings us to the second important item …

2. We make disciples for Jesus – but most importantly we do it with him!
      [A scene from the end of Schindler’s List … “How many more could I have saved?”] Let’s be honest. Talking about evangelism can make us nervous or guilty. We are always aware of how we are not doing enough. We might be concerned that God will be displeased because we didn’t do enough to save others. Often we get discouraged and we avoid the topic or turn evangelism over to a few specialized "evangelists" or missionaries and we say "It’s not my gift and I have to focus on other works."
      If anything should discourage us it is our short-sighted efforts to attempt evangelism ourselves. We either make evangelism the responsibility of a few individuals or every individual and that denies the role of community. Or if we regard it as the work of the church as a whole, we assume that disciple-making is a project Jesus left for us.
      But there is a part of the Great Commission that we have neglected. The Great Commission is bracketed by two all important statement that Jesus proclaims about himself. If we ignore them then the Great Commission becomes just another church program or it becomes mere church growth justification or member recruitment.
      First, Jesus claims all authority. This leads to the therefore that establishes the commission. Jesus isn’t passing the buck. He’s not delegating responsibility. He is taking responsibility and he is doing the work in us and through us.
      The early church never claimed that anything they did was by their own effort. They were witnesses to the work of God among them as it oozed out into the world. When they healed, it was Jesus healing. When they preached, it was Christ’s message.
      Second, Christ makes it clear that he’s not leaving this commission "up to us." "And behold (lo!) I am with you always even to the end of the age." That should fill us with joy, hope, and awe! It’s a good thing he threw the "Lo" in. We hardly use that word, but our equivalent would be "hey" or "look here." It’s an attention grabber.
      The disciples of Jesus do not make their own disciples – they make disciples for Jesus. (You can’t be a disciple of someone who is dead or gone). When it comes to making disciples we too often leave Jesus out of the process. When we think in terms of "US" and "THEM" and assume that our mission is to make more of "THEM" into some of "US." How then does Jesus factor into that?
      Now pay careful attention to this statement: We weren’t saved when we were added to the church; we were added to the church when Jesus saved us. The church is made up of the recipients of God’s grace and salvation. It grows because Jesus continues to save those who submit to his Lord ship. They are part of the church because we all continue in our journey of growing as disciples.

US-THEM is a 2-dimensional view of making disciples. We are going to need a 3-dimensional view. Let’s illustrate:

The two-dimensional view that neglects Jesus’ promise to be with us is a sort of "Kick Start" view of Evangelism … We need to get rid of this.

There is God and there is the World. God "kicks" off the mission be forming the church and then the church is left with the commission. Now the church – which is somewhere between God and the world – has to go out into the world and bring people in and as it does it grows larger. Notice that all God did was get the engine started.

If we take Christ’s promise that he is always with us seriously – and we should – then we get a three-dimensional view of evangelism and disciple-making that participates in God’s continuing mission to save a lost world …

There is God and the World – all of it including us. God has a mission to save this fallen world corrupted by sin and rebellion. He called Abraham. He sent the prophets to Israel and the other nations. He sent Jesus, his son, to save the world. Those who respond to God’s missional effort to draw near are gathered up into a relationship with him. It involves worship and discipleship. The relationship is a theme throughout the Bible – Jesus is God coming to us. We want to become more like him. We are his disciples. Those who live in worship and discipleship of the God who has a mission to save us become a visible expression of God’s Kingdom breaking into this world – God gathers them together and makes them one. They are sent to others to extend the welcome into the kingdom that they themselves have received. This sending from and gathering into the presence of Jesus is central to evangelism, mission, and disciple-making. It started with the eleven and continues to this day. For Christ is with us always – even to the end of the age!

Being a Disciple
      The implications of all of this are greater than we are going to discuss this morning. And that’s a given when we consider that making disciples and being a disciple is a life-long, generation to generation process. But if we consider how the early church made disciples as an outgrowth of their identity as disciples and – most importantly – because of the active power of God among them, then we see how important it is to be disciples if we are to make disciples.
      I don’t think we have to despair or grow nervous and guilty about making disciples if we have a sense – like the early church – that Jesus is among us. The early church experienced Jesus’ presence among them and it radically changed them …

• Jesus is present with them
• Their view of the world changed
• They lived differently
• They demonstrated love and unity
• They were empowered to serve others in Christ’s name

      Jesus is still with us and it ought to change who we are. Through us, let him change others so that as we commit to being disciples we naturally as an outgrowth make other disciples as we are empowered to do so by his power and presence.
      The goals we have set out for West-Ark as a church are more than just growth indicators. They are qualitative goals that flow from characteristics of living with Jesus in our midst as Lord. That’s what we will keep in mind over the next twelve weeks as we are …

• Focusing daily on Jesus and His cross
• Proclaiming a biblical worldview that is obedient to Christ
• Nurturing spiritual growth and transforming all into God’s holiness
• Increasing love and godly behavior
• Using spiritual gifts to glorify God

Conclusion: I love our mission statement. I think it expresses well the biblical sort of purpose that should drive our life together as a church and as individuals. Of course, if this missional purpose is going to be emblazoned on our character and community and not just our banner then we need to develop and dwell in the Holy Spirit and the disciplines of Christ. We need to organize our life (not consumer-oriented church programs) around values that keep the evangelistic purpose of our life together living, vital and meaningful.
      Do we act as if Jesus is with us? Or are we presumptuous? Do we think evangelism is all up to us? Are we self-centered? Are we lazy and inattentive? Hey, the Lord is here!

– I heard a story recently about a Russian Monastery that was dying and declining. The brothers were growing old, many had died. The villagers had stopped coming to visit the monastery. Young men were no longer interested in dedicated themselves to the monastic order. This decline led to worry and the loss of hope led to bitterness. In desperation the abbot went to visit an old hermit we had heard about. He hoped that the old man might have some wisdom. The abbot arrived after a long journey and explained their problem to the hermit. The hermit prayed for the abbot but said nothing more. The two men sat in silence for a very long time and the abbot patiently waited to hear some word of hope – a blessing, a prophecy, just something simple to try. Finally the abbot could abide the silence no longer and he begged the hermit for an answer. The hermit replied, “I’m sorry, but there really isn’t anything I have to tell you. I don’t know what the future holds for the monastery. I am sorry – oh, but there is this – I believe that the Messiah is in your midst.” The Messiah?, thought the abbot. Among us at the monastery. He rushed back and reported the unexpected news and the brothers began to question, “Who is it?” “Who among us is the Messiah?” Surely not Bro. Nicolaus, he gripes too much. Surely not Bro. Stavros he is so whiney. But what if …? And on it went. And in time as the brothers began to suppose that any one of them could be the Messiah, they began to treat each other with respect and kindness and love. That spirit extended into the village and rumors of the Messiah’s presence continued so that everyone began to wonder if their neighbor might be the Messiah. And though no one was ever identified as the Messiah, the monastery was thriving and the village was blessed and young men devoted themselves to the faith.

Since Jesus is with us always, then discipleship is on-going and it is everyday. It is not something for a special day or a special evening or a special program. It is the pulse of every moment lived in the kingdom of God.

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 12 September 2004

Why Concern Ourselves With Spiritual Insights?

Posted by David on September 5, 2004 under Sermons

To a high percentage of those assembled here tonight, the Bible is extremely important. One of the significant reasons for your being here this evening is directly related to the scripture’s importance to you as a person. If I were not concerned about the specifics of what the Bible says, many of you would not be here.

I want to ask what may seem to you to be a ridiculous question. However, I am quite serious in asking the question. I definitely want you to answer it in your own minds. I definitely want each of us to think about the answer we give ourselves.

The ridiculous question: Why is knowing what the Bible or scripture says so important to you? Or, why do you give such a high priority to the knowledge that comes from knowing what the Bible [scripture] says?

Consider some answers. (1) “It is the word of God, and you should know what God says.”
(2) “It’s a good habit for anyone to have.”
(3) “Every person should be able to give a ‘Thus says the Lord’ to everything that happens.”
(4) “What makes a sermon a sermon is its use of scripture. Any preacher worth anything uses lots of scripture.”

When I was a boy, there was lots of emphasis given by audiences on preachers using lots of scripture in a sermon. The emphasis was not on, “Did we learn something from this lesson?” The emphasis was not on, “Did this lesson challenge me to think and in that thinking better understand God?” Much of the time, the emphasis was not on God’s concept of godly existence. “Good sermons” used lots of scripture. If it had lots of scripture, it was good. It made no difference if the scriptures were used out of context. It made no difference if the scriptures were not directly related to the subject. It was the fact that the preacher used scripture that made a sermon good.

When I was a boy, my family attended a gospel meeting in which a nationally known preacher spoke. He typically spoke a couple of hours when he preached, and he used a lot of quotations. [This was not at my home congregation.] One Christian lady in the congregation was known for two things. (1) She never missed an assembly. (2) She took down and looked up every quotation. After a few nights, she respectfully told the preacher, “I cannot find the scriptures you use by the references you give.” He replied, “Sister, that is okay. It will do people good to search for them.”

I have for years challenged people to think when I spoke. Decades ago there were two basic rules for “good preaching.” Rule one: use lots of scripture. Rule two: say those things that the congregation expects to hear.

I was speaking in a gospel meeting years ago that had an “amen” bench and on that bench was an elderly man who said “Amen!” frequently. I started speaking, and I received two or three quick amens. But soon the man who said the “amens” did not know where I was going, and everything got very quiet for most of the sermon. When I concluded and reached a conclusion he agreed with, he said a very loud, very relieved, “Amen!”

Why do we listen to sermons? What is the objective of understanding scripture? As you think about your answer to “why,” allow me to challenge your thinking.

1. Why do we seek knowledge of the scriptures?
   1. May I first suggest that a person should seek knowledge from scripture to better understand God.
      1. Let me challenge our thinking by reading from John 5.
         [The audience] John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
         [The response] John 5:39-47 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
         

         Moses, author of early scripture “Scripture contains eternal life.” “It talks about Me.” “But you don’t see Me in it.”

         1. Consider a fascinating but frightening situation.
            1. These people were experts in knowledge of scripture.
            2. These people totally were convinced that scripture was the key to eternal life.
            3. Yet, they did not understand what scripture was about.
            4. They regarded the person scripture was about as being false and anti-scripture.
            5. They were experts in scriptural knowledge, but they missed the basic point in scripture–they knew a lot, but what they knew did not direct them to God.
         2. God does not do things the way we sinful people do them. (Isaiah 55:8,9)
            1. I seek to understand scripture so I can be aware of the way God does things.
            2. I seek to understand scripture so I can increase accurate knowledge of God’s nature.
            3. I seek to understand scripture so I can properly identify God’s character.
         3. I cannot and will not intuitively know God’s ways and thoughts.
   2. May I suggest secondly that I seek knowledge of scripture so I can make application to my life.
      1. The more I understand God’s ways, the more I change the way I live.
      2. I will not devote my life to things or attitudes that oppose the nature, the character, the ways, and the thoughts of God!
      3. Just because I acquired some knowledge does not mean I understand what I know.
         1. It is not a simple question of authority–it runs much, much deeper than that.
         2. Let me use an old, old illustration I heard years and years ago.
            1. An older gentleman who spent his life reading scripture decided one day he was going to allow God to decide how he would use the day.
            2. He decided he would just take his Bible, close his eyes, let it fall open, with eyes closed he would place his finger on a statement, and that would be God speaking to him, telling him what to do that day.
            3. He did that, and his Bible fell open to Matthew 27 and he placed his finger on verse 5: “Judas went out and hanged himself.”
            4. He said, “That cannot be God’s instruction to me!”
            5. So he did the same thing again, and this time the Bible fell open to Luke 10 and his finger on verse 37: “Go and do the same.”
            6. Now he begins to break out in a sweat as he decides that cannot possibly be what God is telling him.
            7. So he decides to follow the same procedure one last time.
            8. This time his Bible falls open to John 13 and his finger lands on verse 27: “What you do, do quickly.”
         3. Does the Bible say all those things? Yes!
            1. Are they related? No!
            2. The first talks about Judas’ reaction to his guilt in betraying Jesus; the second is a statement made after Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan as Jesus explained who is our neighbor; and the third is Jesus’ dismissal of Judas at the last supper.
            3. That approach to scripture does not focus on God’s nature nor determine God’s will.

2. We just completed several weeks of focusing on Christian transformation.
   1. In that emphasis:
      1. We noted humanity suffered an enormous loss when we allowed evil to become a part of the human condition–we are nothing like what God intended us to be.
      2. We noted transformation is the process in which a person chooses to move his/her life in the direction of God.
      3. We looked at several examples of transformation in the New Testament.
   2. My question now is this: why did we do that?
      

      Unacceptable answer: “That is what good Christians do!” Acceptable answer: Conversion results in personal transformation.

      1. Unacceptable answer: (1) good Christians go to church on Sunday nights; (2) they are supposed to listen to sermons given on Sunday nights; (3) that just happened to be what the preacher chose to speak about.
      2. Acceptable answer:
         1. God acted in our conversion giving us forgiveness and redemption when we allowed faith in Jesus to produce repentance and baptism.
         2. As those who are in Jesus Christ through God’s act, we commit to our conversion in Christ by committing ourselves to transformation.
   3. Is that a legitimate response to our conversion?
      1. It is not only a legitimate response to our conversion, it is a necessary response to our conversion.
      2. I call your attention to two situations.
         1. The first is found in Matthew 3:7-9
            But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”
            1. John the baptizer was baptizing in the Jordan valley, and people were coming to him from Jerusalem.
            2. John and his work were such a phenomena that some of the Jewish leaders [Pharisees and Sadducees] came.
            3. John immediately reacted to their coming–he questioned their motives.
            4. “You poisonous snakes, why are you trying to escape God’s wrath?”
            5. “If you have come for the right reason, let your lives show the fruit of repentance.”
            6. “Do not try to evade your need to redirect your lives by trusting your heritage–God can make descendants of Abraham from these rocks.”
         2. Dare we make an application?
            1. “You are here for the wrong reason, and it has nothing to do with God’s way or will.”
            2. “If you are here for the right reason, demonstrate that fact in the way you turn your life around.”
            3. “Do not try to evade your responsibility to turn your life around by saying you are good church members–God could make church members out of rocks.”
            4. Or, God wants conversion to result in redirected lives, not just membership.
         3. The second statement was made by Peter in Acts 3 after he performed a miracle in healing a crippled man.
            1. He, speaking to Jewish people in the temple who devoutly believe in God but not Jesus, said this in Acts 3:18-21:
               But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
            2. I think an appropriate paraphrase of what Peter said can be stated like this: “If you do not express your faith in God by redirecting your lives in Jesus Christ, God cannot give you the seasons of refreshing He wants to give you.”

Let me close by noting a statement made about Peter and John in Acts 4:13. Peter and John were arrested because of what they did and said in Acts 3. The Jewish court [Jerusalem Sanhedrin] was tremendously upset with these two men. The court was accustomed to men humbling themselves before them as the men sought mercy. But these two men were not in the least bit intimidated by them. They were bold as they defended what they said and did. As the court observed the reaction of these two men, Acts 4:13 records:
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

May we be bold enough to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24) in our lives.

Final Words of the Last Words (2 Pet. 3:14-18)

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Read the text – 2 Peter 3:14-18

Think about the word grace. What does it mean? In our church setting, we may define grace as God’s mercy, patience, and forgiveness. When we think about our Lord we may define grace as his sovereign authority. When we think of our sinfulness and his majesty, as in the old familiar tune Amazing Grace, we may define grace as a second chance and salvation.

Yet, grace has another familiar definition. Imagine that you are watching a gymnastics competition. Now what does grace mean? Imagine you are watching a dance recital, now what does grace mean? Imagine you are watching a football game and you see the running back move to catch the pass and dodge tackles to score a touchdown; now what does grace mean? In that context grace has to do with our ability to move and perform. It has to do with excellence and experience in action.

One simple word, grace, with two different definitions. However, in describing our relationship with God the two meanings of grace may not be all that different and distinct. In fact, God’s mercy, patience, and sovereign authority does have some connection with the way we move, perform, and grow as Christians. Peter recognizes that grace involves a cooperation of God’s saving power and his sure promises and our opportunity to participate in his divine nature. Thus, our two concepts of grace combine.

In the final words of Peter’s last word, he calls us to dwell in God’s grace. One way he describes it is to be found at peace with God.

Found at Peace with God – while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish

1. God is at work and his purpose is to bring about the new heaven and earth – the home of righteousness. The day of the Lord is coming and everything will be laid bare – it will be "found" by God. God is acting in grace as he both holds back and ushers in this change by his sovereign authority.
2. In the meantime, we live in anticipation of what God is going to do. His grace empowers our maturity as we move from faith to love. We live without spot and blemish because, by God’s grace, we strive to be more like him and to be what we shall be in the home of righteousness (participation in the divine nature).
3. This Peace with God is all about Relationship. We cannot make too much distinction between our part and God’s part in salvation. Our part in salvation puts no claim on God – our part is staying the course so we might grow in grace and knowledge. And salvation is entirely through God’s power and promise. There is a combining of God’s will and our life so that we will not make too much of a distinction between God’s grace and our actions. We are stable and secure when we understand that they have to do with one another.

We lose that stability when the relationship between God’s grace and our ability to live gracefully are separated. Separating these concepts creates a distortion.

The Distortion of Grace – There are some things in [Paul’s writings] hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.

1. Paul uses the wisdom God gave him – as did the prophets and the apostles. Paul speaks from a truth and power greater than himself.
2. But Paul’s teaching (like all biblical teaching) can be twisted by those interested only in justifying their self-centered interests:
   • Using Paul’s teaching on freedom from law as a license for freedom from morals – The abuse and distortion of grace!

Common Distortion 1 – God is merciful and gracious, but we act as if that grace has no implication for how we live.
Mistaking God’s Grace for License: D.A. Carson, professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School used to meet with a man from French West Africa to practice German. He got to know the man and learned that his wife was in London training to be a doctor. He was a student in engineering and needed to learn German to pursue studies in Germany. Once a week the man visited the red-light district and paid for a relationship with a woman. Carson asked the man what he would do if his wife did something like that. "I’d kill her," he replied. Isn’t that a bit of a double standard?" asked Carson. The man said, "In my culture, the man has the right to sleep with many women, but the unfaithful wife is killed." Carson replied, "You told me you were raised in a mission school – you know the God of the Bible does not have double standards." The man smiled and said "Ah, God is good. He’s bound to forgive us; that’s His job."

• Some believe that God has provided a system for dealing with our proclivity to sin. We sin first and ask forgiveness later. We just assume we will sin, so we don’t try to do better. "After I sin, I just ask for forgiveness." Our dilemma is – "What if you don’t have time to say your prayer? What if you die in your sins?" Grace is not a legal loophole in God’s system of judgment. It is not a matter of simply saying the right words; it is the beginning of a new life!

Common Distortion 2 – We feel the burden of living without spot and blemish, but have no hope or trust in God’s grace and his empowerment of that life. So we act in fear and resentment. We become religious people who act spiteful and bitter. There is no joy in Christian living

• How Green Was My Valley: Walter Pidgeon plays Mr. Gruyffd, the preacher for a church in a small Welsh coal-mining town. He had always dreamed of conquering the world with truth in order to liberate mankind. Instead he is ousted by the more influential members of the church based on nothing more than rumor and gossip. Rather than confronting him, they cowardly refuse to say anything, but will hold their meeting to end his service shortly after his sermon. Blaming himself as well as them for their hypocrisy, Gruffyd gives them an opportunity to accuse him. When they do not, he has stern words for them. "Only a few of you understood. The rest of you put on black and sat in chapel. Why do you come here? Why do you dress your hypocrisy in black and parade before your God on Sunday? From love? No! For you’ve shown that you hearts are too withered to receive the love of your divine Father. I know why you’ve come. I’ve seen it in your faces Sunday after Sunday as I’ve stood here before you. Fear has brought you here – horrible, superstitious fear. Fear of divine retribution. A bolt of fire from the skies. The vengeance of Lord and the justice of God. But you have forgotten the love of Jesus. You disregard his sacrifice."

Stability – since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Peter began his message by reminding the church of God’s Power for godly living and the promises God gives that confirms righteousness. This encourages us to walk the certain path of godly living …

 1:10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.

Grace as God’s power and authority and as our ability to walk rightly is stability. We grow in this grace …
Grace– the hope of doing well and becoming more. What we might become depends on his Amazing Grace because it is greater than our greatness and it is greater than our sin.

To Him belongs Glory (the transfiguration) = He is king and judge.
Both now – He is already glorified this is past tense.
And on the Day of eternity – it is a hope for the future; He is coming back.
So in the meantime grow – in His grace and knowledge.

The End of the World As We Know It (2 Pet. 3:1-13)

Posted by Chris on August 29, 2004 under Sermons

[Read 2 Peter 3:1-13]
When Is The Lord Coming Back? Is He Coming Back?

• Peter has warned the churches of the dangerous teaching of the false teachers (2 Peter 2). They live a life dominated by their lusts, because they believe the outcome doesn’t matter. When asked about the return of Christ, these teachers scoff. (Scoffing is more than doubt – it is denial and cynicism. An arrogant rejection of a position they believe absurd).
• They say, "Christ is overdue. The apostles misunderstood. He is not coming back. He never was." And their evidence is the world around them. Nothing has ever changed, they say. The world has been the same since the time of our ancestors.
• And in our own time, this has been one of the chief criticisms against belief in God. The supposed historical record of the earth that demonstrates long drawn out, slow change was for decades considered foundational to scientific explanations of the origin of earth and life. The constancy of the earth and its resistance to change was regarded as core. (Epicureans believed that the atom was constant and indestructible – now we know that is untrue).
• Many of our contemporary cynics and scoffers are able to conceive of time and history in terms of billions and billions of years, yet Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov said that if Christ is coming back he’s 1900 years overdue. That’s ironic- what is 1900 years compared to ten million?
• Obviously, these people were wrong. Jesus did not return for his disciples, nor at anytime since. We can therefore only assume that Jesus made a false prophecy, and he will not be returning for his Church at any time. – Web site author (Former Baptist, now atheist).
• The view that the earth is unchanging and constant is falling out of favor. Of course Peter knew this centuries ago …

1. The End of the Unchanging World (3:5-6)
   1. – In the beginning the earth was formless and void. And by the word of God, it became good and vibrant – teeming with life. That’s change!
   2. – Things were going along just peachy in the days of Noah (or so everyone thought) and this man Noah was saying it is going to rain. No one had seen rain, no one could imagine rain, so everyone believed this was outrageous. They were knocking on the door of the ark when "the sky began to fall."

   God is sovereign and his word shapes reality. That is sovereignty. Sovereign is defined as having supreme power and potency. [When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen – When God speaks, it becomes reality.]
   "By the same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment."
   Things do not remain constant simply because nothing is happening, They remain this way because God wills it – by the same word that issued change and destruction, preservation and keeping are maintained.

   • The continuance of the world "as we know it" depends on God, just as "the end of the world as we know it" is by God’s will. His word creates, destroys (he holds back the chaos waters), and re-creates. The stability of the world and the permanence of the world cannot be taken for granted.

     • By his word and will God created heaven and earth
     • By his word and will God destroyed heaven and earth in the flood
     • By his word and will God restored the heaven and earth after the flood
     • By his word and will God sustains the heaven and earth until it will be burned with fire
   • Since God is creator and sustainer, God does not intend for things to remain as they are. He intends to eliminate evil from the world. He intends to purify it and renew it. So, why does he keep things as they are? Two reasons given:
     1. God’s perception of time differs from human perspective, thus the Psalm 90:4 statement (this is a reminder of the prophets words).
     2. God is slow to anger and patient (see Joel 2:12-13, Exodus 34:6; Jonah 4:2). God is holding off giving everyone a chance to change and be prepared to welcome the return of Christ. [This should erase any notion that God is waiting to catch us at our worst – like the high school principal. When we are at our worst, God is most merciful – but we dare not ignore the forbearance of God. This should inspire everyone to make ready for something wonderful – the home of righteousness!]
        • God keeps his promises. Whether it takes a thousand years or a day, he keeps his promise – he does not forget, he does not get tired, he is not impatient. In fact, he is extremely patient with us. He does not want anyone to perish.

   The Impatience of Humanity

   • The Cecropia Moths – May of 1999, caterpillars/June 1999 they wove cocoons/April 2000 I was trimming the bushes and cleaning out our overgrown flower beds and I thought, what shall I do with the cocoons. I spoke to Karen and said, "They might be dead." I thought that with all the pesticide and mosquito fogging that these bugs were lost. Karen said, give them a month, and then we can remove their branches. The very next day, I stepped out onto the front walk early to see two beautiful moths. They stayed for a few days and then they were gone.
   • What a shame if I had taken down their cocoons. I would have missed a miracle. My children would have missed the miracle. They would have missed the story. We still talk about the moths.
   • When the caterpillars were roaming around eating the trees, it was always a challenge to see whether they were still there – where were they hiding? Had a bird gotten them? But after the cocoon, there was no drama. We knew that one day they would emerge, but it became tedious to wait. And looking at the dead lifelessness of the cocoon, it was hard to believe that they might be alive.
   • Believers are not unaffected by the delay. We sort of think that life will go on as it always has. We don’t wait with anticipation. We don’t pray “Maranatha” as we should.
   • In our fast-paced world, we have become truly impatient. We await change. We want something to happen. And when it doesn’t, we assume it will never change. We give up. We are visionless. And that’s is very dangerous because: 1) we accept that the world we see is all there is and 2) we forget some very important promises.

2. The End of the Unrighteous World (3:7-10)
   • There is current not only the view of a random creation (evolution), but also a random or accidental destruction (extinction event, biological/ecological/nuclear disaster). If the final end of the world is impersonal and senseless, then morals don’t really matter. Examples of impersonal, non-judgmental destruction: meteor extinction event, nuclear accident/war, ecological or biological disaster. The only moral imperative we can sustain is an impulse to avoid the destruction or to escape it somehow and preserve the continuation of the species or civilization.
   • If creation and destruction are impersonal and without judgments, then we assume that we are free to live as we like. But the beginning and end of the world, as well as every moment in between have meaning and purpose! The destruction is a creation – the end of unrighteousness and the beginning of the home of righteousness …
   • All things will be judged and only righteousness will prevail …
     • The destruction/breaking down of the elements is the pre-condition for the new heaven and new earth (see Rev. 21:1-22:5). It is like the refiners fire that melts gold and burns out the impurity – the destruction of the ore creates something beautiful.
     • Righteousness is worth maintaining even now because it is the final state of things. It is the reality that will prevail. It is the destination of the godly path and the fulfillment of the divine promise – the sharing in the divine nature.
     • On Jan 1, 2002 the 12 countries of the European Union switched to a new currency – the euro. The preparation for the currency change had taken years. For six weeks after Jan 1, the two currencies were in circulation together, but after the grace period all other currency would be worthless. Some governments planned to use the old currency as fuel in government building heating systems, some had plans to shred the old currency and use it as confetti in a carnival. Others planned to use the old money as compost material. Whatever they planned, for six weeks the two currencies operated together, but after the grace period only the Euro had value.
       1. The world as we know it – in which evil and unrighteousness sometimes seem to prevail, is ending.
       2. The home of righteousness is the only feature of the world to come that Peter cares to mention. All other features are set aside. This is the only detail that really matters – especially for the now! Debates about the details of judgment and the end of time miss the point. Whether the earth is burned up or burned over or whether there is a tribulation or rapture are ancillary concerns. They are possibilities – debatable issues.
       3. The focus ought to be on God’s will being set into motion and prevailing. By his word he created, and by his word he will dissolve it. He will judge and test all things. He will recreate and transform. He will fashion a new heaven and new earth. God’s will prevails – this gives us hope! And that shapes the way we live …

3. The End of the Hopeless World (3:11-13)
   • We have made a mockery of the return of Christ. We have reduced it to a boogeyman tale to scare sinners and frighten children at Bible camp. In reaction to such a fantastic view or to the millennial controversies of past and present some leave the subject aside entirely. That’s also to our shame because the return of Christ and the meaningful, purposeful end of this age by God’s sovereign action is rooted in the gospel. It gives us hope of sharing in his resurrection wonder and the ultimate beauty of the world to come. That’s a greater motivation than avoiding punishment.
   • The Iraqi Olympians – Because Uday Hussein is dead, this is the first Olympics in which they are motivated to win the prize rather than avoid punishment.
   • The hope of Christ’s return and God’s will to establish the home of righteousness orders the way we live even now. There’s where we need to focus our energy and our attention!
     1. One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford, Conn. Darkened suddenly and ominously. Some of the representatives in the State Congress left their seats to glance out of the window fearing the end of the world was at hand. There was a clamor for immediate adjournment so that the representatives could leave and see to their personal affairs. The speaker of the House, Col. Davenport, rose up and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause to adjourn. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought."
     2. The Christian outlook should be one of hopefulness not fear and worry. We are not the people who fear the end and the return of Christ, we are those who welcome it and who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
     3. This is the idea in the Lord’s Prayer that God’s will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. That’s not a maybe – that is an eventual reality and we as the pilgrims on the divine path ought to be inviting that reality to come soon!

Transformation Illustrated: Christians in Ephesus

Posted by David on August 22, 2004 under Sermons

I often grieve because I observe the tragedies created in people’s lives through misperceptions. These people do not know that the core behaviors of their lives are based on misperceptions. They sincerely think they are functioning on basic truths they hold dearly. Thus they function on a misperception as though it were a truth, and they are totally confused by the consequences of their behaviors.

Allow me to share a specific example. Suppose we randomly go into every neighborhood of Fort Smith. We ask a thousand people the same question, and ask for a simple, understandable answer. The question: “What does it mean for a person to be a devout Christian?”

Would you care to predict how many different answers would be given by a thousand people? Likely the most prevalent answer would be, “A devout Christian is a person who goes to church regularly.” “Regularly” might mean to some several times a week, and to some every Sunday morning, and to some one Sunday morning a month.

Some would answer that question by associating devoutness with belief in a theological perspective. “People are devout Christians if they believe … [the theological position would vary with the people answering.]

Let me give my prediction with what we would not hear. I would predict we would rarely hear an answer that would connect being “a devout Christian” with daily human behavior. I readily confess I might be wrong. However, I would be surprised if many of that thousand people would give answers that connected deep religious conviction with the way a person lived every day.

In the past few weeks we have discussed how much we lost when evil became a part of the human reality. We discussed what transformation is. We looked at some examples of transformation in scripture.

This evening I want to examine the Christians in Ephesus from the perspective of transformation. I want to begin by reading Ephesians 4:25-32.
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

1. Before we talk about the text we just read, I want to call three things to your attention.
   1. First, I want you clearly to understand my objective. I want you to see “the forest” before you focus on “the trees.”
      1. I am going to do my best to challenge you to see the general picture before you get lost in details.
      2. I am convinced that is what commonly happens to Bible students.
         1. They become so absorbed in details that they get lost.
         2. They put things together that are not even discussing the same situation because they can call everything they put together “scripture.”
         3. Details are essential, but we need to see “the big picture” before we examine the details–or we will misinterpret the details.
   2. Second, I want you to notice two verses.
      1. Chapter four begins with this statement:
         Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called
         1. I, Paul–the apostle to the Gentiles, beg you to pay attention to the way you live.
         2. If you belong to Jesus Christ, it will change the way you behave every day of your life.
         3. If you have heard and accepted your calling to God, do not live in ways that shame and embarrass the call.
      2. Chapter 5 begins with this statement:
         Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children
         1. If you belong to God, you are attracted to God’s character and nature.
         2. You want to look like your Father.
         3. You regard yourselves to be His children.
         4. Just like a small child commonly seeks to imitate the Father who loves him, you imitate God.
         5. Live and act like you belong to God.
      3. Third, I call your attention to the structure of 4:17-32.
         1. Verse 17-19 talked about how people who do not belong to Christ lived–that is the way they used to live.
         2. Verse 20 declared that when they heard the message about Christ, they understood following Christ was not about continuing to live as they had lived.
         3. Verses 22-24 emphasized why following Christ produces a change in lifestyle.
         4. Verses 25-32 explained what they need to understand about their lifestyle as Christians.
         5. I ask you to recognize two things:
            1. There was a distinct way of living before they were Christians, a re-creation, and a distinct way of living after they become Christians.
            2. Note Paul intentionally, specifically coupled together these two things: being a Christian, and the way you live–that is fundamental!

2. Now focus with me on the ways Ephesian Christians lives changed because they were Christians.
   1. Verses 25-32 contain a huge contrast.
      1. “This is how you used to live before you belonged to Jesus Christ.”
      2. “This is how you are to live because you belong to Jesus Christ.”
      3. These are fairly common problems among first century gentiles who lived in idolatry in societies that were controlled by idolatrous thinking.
      4. Note the contrast:
         1. “This is how people commonly act.”
         2. “This is how you act, and you act this way because you belong to Christ.”
   2. First, people who are transformed in Christ refuse to be deceitful liars.
      1. Why?
      2. Christ teaches you to see other people as created from God.
      3. People were made in God’s image; they do not exist for you to exploit them.
      4. You acknowledge and feel a bond with others, therefore you treat them with respect, not with deceit.
   3. You do not allow your anger to lead you into sin.
      1. How do you do that?
      2. While you will get angry, you will not give your anger a long life by nursing it along.
      3. Your anger will have a very short life.
   4. In Christ, you understand that keeping your anger alive just opens the door of opportunity to Satan.
      1. Our anger creates all types of evil opportunity for the devil.
      2. Hate begins with anger.
      3. Wrath begins with anger.
      4. Ill-will begins with anger.
      5. Vengeance begins with anger.
      6. Jealousy and anger are so intertwined it is impossible to separate them.
   5. Christians do not support themselves by stealing.
      1. Please note that some of the Christians in Ephesus existed as professional thieves prior to conversion, and some of them continued to steal as Christians.
      2. Paul said it is not possible to be transformed by Jesus Christ and to steal.
      3. Accept responsibility to support yourself honorably!
         1. Get a job! Work!
         2. In your work do what is good–do not just make money any way you can make it because “a person has to live.”
         3. In Christ the objective of your work is more than supporting yourself, more than prosperity.
         4. A primary reason for a Christian working is to help those who cannot work.
   6. Christians are careful about their words, are careful about what they say.
      1. They do not say things that insult God.
      2. They do not say things that hurt other people.
      3. People are built up by what these Christians say–their words help people.
      4. Christians say what is appropriate for the situation.
      5. The hearers receive grace from the words of a Christian.
      6. People are drawn to God through the speaking of a Christian rather than being led to resent God.
   7. Christians refuse to behave in ways that work against God’s influence in their lives.
      1. One of the purposes of the Spirit in our lives is to encourage us to surrender to God’s purposes and ways.
      2. If we act in ways that encourage evil in our lives, we grieve the Spirit which God gave us at baptism to encourage us.
      3. Christians refuse to make God’s work in their lives harder!
      4. Paul said to these first century Christians that possessing God’s Spirit was proof they belonged to God, and that God was serious in His commitment to redeem them.

3. If the Ephesians Christians were transformed in Christ, what would their Christian life look like?
   1. First, they would not behave like people who did not know and had not come to Jesus Christ.
      1. They would not be a bitter people (resentment would not control their behavior).
      2. Wrath, and anger, and confusion, and slander would not be a part of their motives or their conduct.
      3. They simply would not be a hateful people who held anyone in contempt.
   2. Instead:
      1. They would be kind to other Christians (people who were not Christians might refuse them opportunity to be kind).
      2. They would be tenderhearted–their compassion and sympathy easily could be touched.
      3. They were always ready to forgive those who hurt them. They would not “hold something against” another Christian.
      4. Their example was nothing less than God Himself.
         1. Jesus Christ showed them God.
         2. Because of that, they did something very uncharacteristic for their age–they were as devoted to forgiving others as God was devoted to using Christ to forgive them.

Letting God call me to Him through Christ changes everything. It changes me as a person. It changes the way I live in an evil world. That is the essence of transformation. The purpose of being baptized into Christ is far more than developing a correct belief system. The primary purpose of being baptized into Christ is changing me and the way I live.

Back To School Blessing

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSING

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BLESS?
Genesis 12

God’s Promise to Abraham:
[Genesis 12] ² “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

1. God blesses Abraham – God is the source of all blessings. God gives Abram a future and promises to make him great.
2. Abraham will be a blessing – Abraham is blessed so the he might be a blessing to others. God isn’t favoring Abraham to the exclusion of all others. Consider how this promise fits into the context of Genesis: the first 11 chapters show how the sin has corrupted the world and caused it to be cursed. God reverses the curse with a blessing.
3. Blessings and Curses – How others live in relationship to Abraham, the one that God blesses, makes a difference. But the way Abraham lives is also important! Pharaoh and Abimelech (Genesis 20) both suffer because Abraham does not live among them as he should.
4. Blessed through you – Can we infer from this that how God’s people live among others makes a difference not simply for our fortune, but for theirs also? Can we see how we are called to intercede for the world and if we live in suspicion, fear, mistrust, anger or hatred we are bringing a curse on the world?

God’s people are called to be a blessing to the nations, not a curse. We are to be the salt of the earth, enhancing the culture rather than corrupting it. We are supposed to shine like stars in the midst of a crooked and depraved generation. We cannot do so if we are committed to grumbling and complaining (Philippians 2:14-15). We have many opportunities to be a blessing to the world around us – this morning we focus on the opportunity we have to bless students and schools.

Jumping on the "bad-mouth bandwagon" will not help. Nagging about the ills of society will not help. Discussing the sources of cultural breakdown and the problems of families and schools seems worthwhile, but there is something much more effective. If we will humble ourselves and pray to God on behalf of our teachers and students, we will be accomplishing so very much. Praying a blessing is not something extra – something additional to the real work. It is the real work.

God blesses us so we can be a blessing to others. Perhaps the reason we sometimes don’t feel as if we can bless others is because we are inattentive to God’s blessing. We want pray that God bless our students this morning – not only for your sake, but so you will be a blessing to others …

1. Elders and ministers were invited to assemble on the upper stage.
2. Students of all ages were invited to come to the upper stage (pre-K thru college). A song was led during the transition.
3. Once the students were gathered up front, Chris Benjamin offered the following blessing and charge to them …

(Directed to youngest children): You’re important to us. The people of this church care about you and look forward to watching you grow up. You are learning so many things in school. What you learn about there matters to us very much.
We also want you to learn about God and his son Jesus. We will help you. We want you to know that God and Jesus are important not just at church and on Sunday, but all the time. That’s why the people of this church are going to pray for you all the time.

(Directed to older children): We love you as you are. You are human just like us and capable of right and wrong. Yet, we challenge you to grow spiritually, to be like Christ. You are our hope for the future church – and you are servants and leaders even now. We believe in you. Faith is not just for adults, so we urge you to "Remember your Creator" during this time in your life.

(Explain the magnets): Someone will be praying for you this year when you are having fun at school, and even when you’re not having fun. Some one will pray for you when you are sick and can’t make it to school. Someone will be praying for you if others are acting mean toward you. And they may be praying for you when you’re not acting as nice as you should. Someone will be praying for you when you feel left out, and also when you have the chance to make a new friend.

Sometime this year someone will be praying for you when you’re taking a test, when you’re playing sports, when you’re performing. Sometime this year someone will be praying for you by name when people are saying bad things about you for no reason, when you’re on a date, whenever temptation is strong. Sometime this year someone will be praying when you are praying on a retreat, when you are reading your Bible, when you are thinking about your place in God’s church.

1. An elder prayed for the students.
2. Students were dismissed.
3. Elders and ministers remained up front.
4. Teachers and all school workers were invited to come forward.
5. A song was led during transition.
6. Once the teachers were gathered at the front, Chris Benjamin offered this blessing …

(Directed to Teachers and others): It’s an old joke, but you didn’t get into education for the money. In some way you answered a call to be involved in education. I hope you haven’t forgotten that. The world of the curse will deny that calling. It will try to corrupt your love for teaching with all sorts of pressure and criticism. The world of the curse knows only criticism. But you are not merely educators – if you are a child of God you are much more. You are Christians and you carry songs of blessings and words like apples of gold in frames of silver into the world. Your family of faith reaffirms your calling this morning. We want that calling to be blessed by God as you walk and talk like Christ. Our blessing carries this charge – "Be Christ for the schools!"

When we are all at our best, we are all, church and school, committed to a common goal – helping people mature into better people. Jesus said that he came into this world so that we might have life and live it to its fullest – eternally! (John 10:10) Our pledge to you is to work alongside you in that goal.
You are ministers and missionaries of a special sort. In every school, in every city, in every neighborhood, in every family, we call you to model the life of our Lord to the children.

This year both my sons go to school and I realize that another person has an influence in the life of my children. I now realize that I have two options: To bless her, or curse her – and to do nothing is essentially a curse, a curse of unimportance. I will pray for my son’s teachers and everyone at their school and as often as I can, I will "put feet" to my prayers!

We wish to bless you because you have such a wonderful mission. The one who gives a blessing must know that he/she is blessed. To all of you who serve as teachers, principals, school workers, counselors, and in many other ways I don’t even realize I offer you this pledge: someone will be praying for you when you have those victorious moments and the children "get it!" Someone will be praying when it seems they don’t. Someone will be praying for you when you’re convinced that this is your last year, and when it really is your last year. Someone will be praying when you wonder what you are going to do about a student in trouble. Someone will be praying for you when an opportunity to minister open up before you and you feel the awesome responsibility of the moment. Someone will be praying for you when a red-faced parent blames you for their problems, and someone will be praying when a student shares with you his or her dreams and thanks for what you have done for them. We will all be praying as a student gets closer to Christ because of your influence, whether you know it or not.

1. An elder prayed for the teachers, school workers, etc.
2. All were dismissed from the upper stage.

Chris Benjamin concluded with final comments that will:

1. Charge the church to be in prayer.
2. Give them instructions about the prayer magnets
3. Give the invitation to prayer and baptism

Transformation Illustrated: Christians in Galatia

Posted by David on August 15, 2004 under Sermons

What is the purpose of transformation? That may seem like an insignificant question, but it is a significant question that deserves an answer. It is much too easy to evade the question by focusing on the results of transformation instead of the purpose of transformation.

So, what is the purpose of transformation? Let me emphasize the purpose of transformation by first stating what it is not and then by stressing what it is. The purpose of transformation is not to make everybody else like “me.” I do not prove that I have been transformed by God through Jesus Christ because I like what you like, I do what you do, my life and your life are replicas of each other, and we approach things in the same way. Too often in the past we have decided if transformation was occurring by using ourselves as the measuring stick.

The purpose of transformation is to move everyone in Christ toward God and His nature. The physical influences and desires of this existence do not determine who I am or how I live my life. God determines who I am and how I live my life. That is very easy to say, but very demanding to understand. It is not a matter of talking, but of being.

This evening I want to try to deepen our insights into this process of transformation by considering the Christians in the Roman province of Galatia (the gentile Christians to whom Paul wrote the book of Galatians). I ask you to turn to Galatians 5. I want to read verses 13 through 26.

When we examine this text, we will look at the problem, the reaction, the way these people lived prior to conversion to Christ, the way these people were to live after conversion to Christ, and the continuing process of transformation.

1. Let’s begin by calling our attention to Galatians 5:13-26.
   For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

2. What was the problem?
   1. One cannot read chapter 1 and be ignorant of the fact that a serious problem existed.
      1. Paul obviously was upset–he did not even begin this letter with an word of encouragement often found in his other letters.
      2. Almost immediately he went to his deep concern: “I am amazed…” (Galatians 1:6)
      3. Then Paul made an emphatic statement he repeated: “No one, not an angel, not even me has the right to change the message I first gave you gentile Christians!” (Galatians 1:8,9)
   2. What was the problem that so upset Paul?
      1. Paul told gentile Christians (you and I are gentile Christians) that they did not have to adopt Jewish ways to become Christians, and Jewish Christians deeply resented Paul’s message.
      2. Many Jewish Christians said, “There is no way these heathen idol worshippers can be God’s people unless they learn Israel’s ways!”
         1. They worship stupid things–carved rocks, carved sticks, animals, insects, etc.
         2. They have not even known who the living God is.
         3. They get drunk, commit adultery, lie, steal, cheat and never even know such things oppose God.
         4. To prepare to become Christians, first they need the indoctrination involved in becoming Jewish proselytes.
         5. The only way to bring their heathen lifestyle to an end is for them to be converted to Judaism before they are converted to Christ.
         6. They cannot be Christians unless they first learn how to be like us.
      3. Paul said, “No! This never was God’s plan! God’s grace is the power to transform; gentiles do not have to yield to Jewish ways. They just have to learn God’s ways.”
      4. To Jewish Christians, what Paul said was downright unscriptural, was an unthinkable spiritual perversion.
   3. So this is what a group of Jewish Christians from the Jerusalem area did: they banded together to refute Paul’s gospel (good news).
      1. When Paul left an area, they sent a group of Jewish Christians to that area to teach Paul’s converts to Christ “things Paul failed to tell you.”
      2. These Jewish Christians from Judea would teach the new gentile converts that their baptism was meaningless unless they first were circumcised.
         1. “We have known God for almost 1500 years!”
         2. “God gave the law to us!”
         3. “God sent the prophets to us!”
         4. “We know how to do God-things in God-ways and you do not–so allow us to be your teachers if you are serious about being saved!”
      3. This is what had Paul so upset.
         1. These Jewish Christians were teaching gentile Christians that the grace in Christ that Paul taught them was insufficient.
         2. They told gentile Christians they could not be Christians unless they became Jewish proselytes first.
         3. Though both these Jews and Paul were Christians, there was a major theological disagreement between them about how a person who was not a Jew entered into Christ and how a person who was not a Jew stayed in Christ.

3. What was the reaction?
   1. There was more than one reaction.
      1. If the gentile Christians believed the Jewish Christians, many of them turned to Jewish customs and Jewish ways.
      2. If the gentile Christians believed Paul, many of them looked with contempt on the Jewish Christians as they rejected them and their teachings.
      3. Some gentile Christians concluded that God did not care how a person lived and acted as long as that person believed in Jesus Christ.
   2. Paul rejected all three of those reactions.
      1. He did not want gentile Christians believing they had to be Jewish proselytes to be Christians.
      2. He did not want gentile Christians having bad attitudes toward Jewish people (see Romans 11, and note verse 18).
      3. He certainly did not want gentile Christians concluding God did not care how they lived.
   3. Paul wanted gentile Christians to understand that God in Christ provided them freedom from becoming Jewish proselytes, freedom from Jewish culture-tradition-law, freedom from Jewish ways, but the purpose of that freedom was not ungodly living.
      1. The purpose of their freedom was not to live as they pleased doing anything they pleased.
      2. The thrust of the ten commandments given to early Israel in Exodus 20 was to honor God and to honor people.
      3. You honored God by:
         1. Recognizing He is the only God, not one of many gods.
         2. Not worshipping or making idols.
         3. Not using God’s name lightly.
         4. Depending totally on God.
      4. You honored people by:
         1. Taking care of your older parents.
         2. Not murdering people.
         3. Not committing adultery with people.
         4. Not stealing.
         5. Not lying about people.
         6. Not allowing greed to make you want what belonged to another person.
      5. Paul said if you had the love that lay behind all these acts, you would behave in this manner (honoring God and honoring people).
         1. If you love, you will do the things the law instructed.
         2. If you do not love, you will destroy each other.
         3. Freedom was given to allow you to love others, not to indulge yourself.

4. Before they believed that Jesus Christ was the resurrected son of God, how had they lived?
   1. This was the starting point, the essential understanding: they must understand the animosity between the flesh and the Spirit, between physical concerns and God’s concerns.
      1. It is as impossible to mix a fleshly focus and a Spirit focus as it is to mix absolute light and absolute darkness.
      2. They are natural enemies.
      3. Each is dedicated to the other’s destruction–they cannot coexist.
      4. A basic Christian understanding regardless of cultural background: forces which opposed God and God’s values and forces which champion God and His values are at war.
         1. They are not compatible and never will be compatible.
         2. Do not be deceived into believing that a Christian can use his or her freedom in Christ to endorse and support both sides in this war.
   2. When they were idolaters, they lived for the flesh (or, physical concerns and desires determined how they behaved).
      1. How did they live then? How did they behave then?
      2. Verses 19-21 enumerate some of the common expressions of the “works of the flesh”.
         1. I would classify what I call the first group (immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery) as insults against God and His holy nature.
         2. I would classify what I call the second group (strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying) as insults against other people.
         3. I would classify what I call the third group (drunkenness, carousing) as insults or abuses against one’s self.
         4. May I quickly add all three of these areas are inner-connected and inner- related.
         5. Paul would say that before you believed in Christ, your life insulted God, your life abused other people, and your life abused your own nature.
         6. In fact there is a powerful parallel with the emphasis in the Ten Commandments — before Christ your life did not honor God and did not honor people.

5. After they believed in and accepted Jesus Christ, the focus of their life changed.
   1. No longer do they live selfishly, doing as they please.
      1. Believing in Christ resulted in a whole new understanding of God, and they will not use life to insult God.
      2. Believing in Christ resulted in a whole new understanding of other people, and they will not use life to abuse, intimidate, or exploit other people.
      3. Believing in Christ resulted in a whole new understanding of self, and they will not use life to indulge self.
   2. The entire focus of life has changed–they now exist to produce the fruit of the Spirit.
      1. Their life will give evidence in every area that God’s presence is in them, and who they are is consciously determined by a willing surrender to God.
      2. They are now committed to love, joy (not indulgence), peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control.
      3. These things properly represent God’s nature.
      4. These things change the way they treat people.
      5. These things change the way they treat themselves.

6. Please note these changes occur because Christians want them to occur.
   1. This is a willful, willing change.
      1. It does not happen involuntarily because “something came over me, controlled me, and I could not resist.”
      2. It happens because I want it to happen, I encourage it to happen, I behave in the manner that allows it to happen.
   2. Those who belong to Christ crucify the flesh.
      1. Physical things will not define who I am or determine how I live.
      2. I choose “for” an existence that is dedicated to killing the control of desires and hungers in me that oppose God.
      3. When I belong to Christ, I choose to let the Spirit instead of the flesh direct my life.
   3. If the Spirit makes it possible for me to have life in God, I must also allow the Spirit to determine how I behave.
      1. The immediate evidence that I have surrendered to transformation is seen in the way I treat people–including you!
      2. I will not be arrogant!
      3. I will not exploit or abuse other people!

Transformation is more than a “one time” change. It is a journey in the direction of God. Are you on that journey?

Escaping Destruction (2 Pet. 2:11-22)

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Ali is a young man with little money and no wife. This is all the incentive he needs to take the ninety-minute bus ride from his village to Baghdad. As soon as he arrives, the 21-year-old Iraqi heads straight to Abu Abdullah’s. There it costs him only $1.50 for 15 minutes alone with a woman.

Referring to all the newly available immoral activities, Ali grins and says, “Now we have freedom.” – – Christian Caryl, “Iraqi Vice,” Newsweek (12-22-03)

If freedom is genuine, then all choices have to be available. Unfortunately, some will choose to squander their freedom. To waste a second chance at new life is incredibly disappointing and anguishing. We grieve when we see people around the world trade in their freedom for false security or idle pleasures. We a sickened by those in our country who have opportunities to escape their circumstances but their own foolishness returns them to a life of misery. How often do we consider our freedom in Christ as a precious opportunity? How often do we stop and consider how freedom from sin and death has given us more than just an exemption from condemnation – it has given us a new life to be lived well!

Peter warns the church not to end up like the false teachers who are enslaved to their foolishness. The false teachers claim that freedom gives them power to do whatever they want, but Peter shows that they really have no freedom since their life isn’t conformed to that which is greater than ourselves …

2:10 – Being bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to slander glorious beings. ¹¹ Yet even angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring a slanderous accusation against them from the Lord. ¹² These people, like irrational animals, are mere creatures of instinct that are born to be caught and killed. They insult what they don’t understand, and like animals they, too, will be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong as punishment for their wrongdoing.

1. Stupid Animals – [They do not recognize anything greater than themselves. Antithesis to the promise of God]
   • Disregard for the power of sin and evil – like a stupid animal. Dismissal of final judgment and the consequences of their behavior. They claim freedom over these.

   • Sin has consequences – It should not be treated lightly. It is dangerous and kills, it hurts and maims. (Harmless fun?) Don’t try this at home! Why? Despite appearances and the luck of stunt performers these acts are dangerous.)

   • Freedom does not give license to ignore consequences. (Yelling “Fire” in a theatre, joking about bombs in an airport terminal is not protected free speech because it is irresponsible.)

   They take pleasure in wild parties in broad daylight. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceitful pleasures while they eat with you. ¹⁴ With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse. ¹⁵ They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his offense. A donkey that normally cannot talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s insanity.

2. Stains and Blemishes – [They are a corrupting influence. Antithesis to the Path of godly living.]
   • Reveling in their deceitful pleasures – this is in your face behavior! Why? Why make it so obvious and direct? The need for acceptance and enablement. And we need to be careful because this is done in some subtle ways …

   • Sins like violence, greediness, irresponsible sexual behavior, drug use are glamorized to suppress the real human cost of the behavior. (We try and cover over the stain and blemish of sin.)

   • Sin distorts human relationships and others are viewed as people to be manipulated and used. (On the streets of London – everyone was someone to be used or exploited. Why did you take his money? Well he’s bad and uses drugs. So said the man who wanted me to buy him more liquor. So said the man who stole money from others.)

   • Balaam: We have wandered off the straight path. Balaam did not recognize that there was something greater than his greed. We have made the self the most sacred principle and we have denied ourselves the freedom that comes from knowing the source of power for Godly life …

   ¹⁷ These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him. ²⁰ For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled and conquered by them, then their last condition is worse than their former one. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. ²² The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: "A dog returns to its vomit" and "a pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud."

3. Dried-Up Springs, Dogs and Pigs – [They are slaves to their sin. Antithesis to the Power for Godly living.]
   • How is the empty cry for freedom and liberation to be believed when it only promises more bondage? Dried up springs and wispy clouds look good, but they cannot offer life giving water to the thirsty and drought stricken.

   • (Hurricane Charley – How foolish it would be for those who escaped to rush back into the full force of the hurricane thinking they are safe because they "got out.")

   • How can you promise freedom when you are a slave? (The hopeless and empty solutions of the false philosophies of our age: examples.)

   • God does more than forgive – he cleanses, he heals, he frees us and then he leads us.

   • God has set us free. We have escaped the corruption of this world – what a shame it would be to squander the opportunity to share in the divine nature. – This present world, as corrupt and conflicted as it is, will pass away when the morning star rises and the Day of the Lord arrives.

Transformation Illustrated: Paul (Saul)

Posted by David on August 8, 2004 under Sermons

This evening I want to call your attention to what I personally regard the classic illustration of transformation. Tonight I call your attention to Paul (Saul). I want us to look at him when he was convinced that Jesus was a fraud, that Jesus was not resurrected, and that the myth of Jesus’ resurrection was the greatest single, immediate threat to Judaism’s future.

One point I want you to grasp is this: the person in the New Testament who had the most to say about transformation was the person who experienced/permitted radical transformation. In the terminology of today, “He had been there, done that, and understood what it was.” He knew “what he was talking about” because he experienced transformation. He knew the difficulty of change [he knew it was hard!], but he also knew the importance of change–transformation is not an option Christians can pursue if they want to!

This is the man who said:

To Christians in Rome: Romans 12:1,2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

To Christians in Galatia: 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.

To Christians in Ephesus: Ephesians 4:22-24 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.

To Christians in Corinth: 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Paul knew that with God’s help transformation could occur and must occur in every man and woman who became a Christian.

1. First, I want you to see clearly who this man was when he thought Jesus was not the Christ and was not resurrected from the dead.
   1. Acts 8:1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
      1. This statement is made at Stephen’s execution [the first Christian put to death because of his faith in Jesus Christ].
      2. Paul was not only there, but Acts 7:58 states that the witnesses who testified against Stephen and started his execution by stoning placed their outer garments [robes] at Paul’s feet–he kept their robes safe as they executed Stephen!
      3. He was fully in agreement with killing Stephen!
      4. That death began a persecution against Christians, and quickly [if not immediately] Paul was involved in inflicting physical harm on Christians.
   2. Acts 8:3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
      1. Pay attention to the words of contempt and hostility describing Paul’s actions:
         1. “Ravaging the church.”
         2. “Dragging” men and women out of their homes.
         3. Putting them in prison.
      2. Jewish men and women who believed that Jesus was the Christ deserved no respect!
         1. Jewish Christians as the church deserved no respect!
         2. Jews who dared believe Jesus was the Christ deserved abuse and pain!
         3. Jewish men and women who believed Jesus was resurrected deserved to be prisoners!
   3. Acts 9:1,2 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
      1. Paul told people who followed Jesus Christ, “I will see you dead!”–and he meant it!
      2. He did all in his power to destroy those who followed Jesus–his hate for Christians was not restricted to Palestine!
      3. He must have been highly respected by the Jewish enemies of Jesus.
         1. He had access to the high priest, and not just anyone could walk into the presence of the high priest.
         2. He could make a request of the high priest and get a favorable response.
         3. He could ask for and receive authority to go to Jewish synagogues in a major city of another nation and arrest Jews who followed Jesus.
         4. He could place such believers under arrest and march these people 4 to 6 days (150 miles) to Jerusalem for trial by the Jerusalem Sanhedrin.
         5. Can you imagine hating someone so much that you would walk 300 miles to arrest them?
   4. Listen to Paul’s self description at the point in his life when he hated those who believed in Jesus:
      1. Paul made this statement as he defended himself before Agrippa in Acts 26:9-11:
         So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.
         1. Note Paul did things “hostile” to the “name of Jesus of Nazareth.”
         2. Note Paul took Christians in Jerusalem to prison with authority received from the high priest.
         3. Note Paul used his influence to encourage the execution of Christians.
         4. Note when Paul found Jewish Christians in synagogue, he abused them in an attempt to make them blaspheme Jesus.
         5. Note Paul was “furiously enraged” at Christians–we would call him a man out of control, a man filled with hate!
         6. Note Paul hated Jewish Christians so much that he would go to other countries to pursue them.
      2. Paul made this statement to Christians in the Roman province of Galatia in Galatians 1:13, 14:
         For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.
         1. Paul said he used to be an extremist in persecuting the church of God.
         2. Paul said his intent at that time was to destroy the church of God.
         3. Paul said at this point in his life he was Israel’s ” rising star”–he was going places! He had a bright future in Judaism!
         4. Paul said he was “extremely zealous” for Judaism’s ancient traditions–he knew those traditions, he followed those traditions, and he defended those traditions! He was a devoted, committed man!
      3. Paul made this statement to Timothy in 1 Timothy l:12-14:
         I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
         1. God through Jesus Christ transformed a blasphemer into a Christian missionary.
         2. God through Jesus Christ transformed a persecutor of Christians into a Christian missionary.
         3. God through Jesus Christ transformed a violent aggressor into a Christian missionary.

2. How did this happen?
   1. Let Paul tell us as he defended his Christian actions before Agrippa:
      Acts 26:14-18 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect [Aramaic], “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” And I said, “Who are You, Lord?” And the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”
   2. When Paul understood Jesus’ true identity, everything changed for Paul.
      1. The pivotal understanding that everything Paul understood depended on the identity of Jesus Christ.
         1. If Jesus was a fraud, the myth of his resurrection was extremely dangerous.
         2. If Jesus was God’s resurrected son, Jesus’ resurrection was the hope of all people in all nations.
         3. When he knew that Jesus was the resurrected son of God, that changed his understanding of everything.

3. How much change occurred in this transformation of Paul?
   1. I want to read some verses from two letters Paul wrote, and I want you to listen for yourselves.
      1. The first is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:5-8:
         For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed–God is witness–nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.
         1. How much transformation occurs when you go from being a violent aggressor who dragged men and women out of their homes, put them in prison, and encouraged their execution to a gentle man who lovingly works for the faith he hated?
         2. How much transformation occurs when you go from being a violent, hate filled man to being a man filled with love who will die for the faith he hated?
      2. The second statement I want to read to you is found in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:
         Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
         And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness’, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weakness’, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
         1. How much transformation occurs if you go from willingly inflicting pain on other people to willingly enduring pain inflicted on you?
         2. How much transformation occurs if you go from being totally self-reliant and self-confident to being totally dependent?
   2. I want to conclude these thoughts by asking you some questions.
      1. How has belonging to Jesus Christ changed you as a person?
      2. Would you be any different if you did not believe Jesus was the resurrected Christ?
      3. Can someone who has known you for years look at your life and see the ways Christ has changed you as a person?
      4. Is it very obvious in the way you behave that Christ is in control of your life?

The objective of living as a Christian is to be transformed.