What Does It Mean To Be Spiritual?

Posted by David on June 3, 2001 under Sermons

I want to ask your permission to think with you by using a different approach. Please do not “turn me off” or “change channels.” My beginning may not appeal to all of you, but please follow me to the end. By the time I reach the end, I hope to connect with every teen and every adult present.

I want to begin simply. What is your definition of spiritual? You have a personal concept. What is it? Should a Christian be a spiritual person? As a Christian, is it your goal to be spiritual? How do you know when you are spiritual?

Is spirituality just a matter of being in a church building on Sunday? Owning a Bible? Believing God exists? Believing Jesus died and was resurrected?

Is spirituality just a matter of rules and regulations? Just a matter of accepting the right set of beliefs? Just a matter of doing right things and not doing wrong things?

1. On September 1, 1939, Germany began World War II by launching a ferocious invasion of Poland.
   1. By October 6, in only 36 days, the nation of Poland ceased to exist–it was completely absorbed into the Soviet Union and Germany.
      1. When Poland fell to the Germany invasion, Germany immediately did what to us is unthinkable.
         1. The German army arrested everyone who occupied a position of leadership in every sector of Polish society.
         2. All of these people (who numbered in the thousands) were executed.
         3. In the five years of Nazi occupation, over five million Poles were murdered, half of them Jews.
      2. All Polish leadership was systematically destroyed.

   2. In the course of that war, those in charge of the German war machine attempted to exterminate certain ethnic groups from Europe.
      1. Concentration camps existed to control and eliminate people.
      2. A number of those camps were designed to be death camps.
      3. The people killed in concentration camps numbered in the millions.
      4. To us, the scale of death, the scale of starvation, the cruelty used in the work groups, and survival conditions in the camps were unbelievable.

   3. How does a whole society become oblivious to death and human cruelty on such an enormous scale?
      1. How can cultured, advanced, civilized people tolerate such gross inhumanity?
      2. It is a complex process involving many factors, but at the foundation of the process is this: you change the way that people look at life.
      3. When a nation looks at itself as humanity’s master race, when a society looks at groups of people as being so inferior that they are not human, that nation (or society) can destroy those people for the good of the world.
      4. “If we are the master race, then the world is blessed if we control the world.”
      5. The process begins by changing the way people look at life.

2. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Air Force bombed Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack.
   1. That Sunday, 2,403 Americans were killed, and another 1,178 were wounded.
      1. American wives lost their husbands.
      2. American parents lost their sons.
      3. American children lost their fathers.

   2. In the next four years, Japan’s air force used Kamikaze pilots.
      1. A Kamikaze pilot deliberately crashed into a target to destroy the target.
      2. He willingly, deliberately died in the process.
      3. Can you understand that? Does that make any sense to you?
      4. Why would a pilot do that?
      5. You cannot understand the “why” unless first you understand how such people looked at life.

3. On August 6, 1945 , an American B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima; on August 9, three days later, another atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
   1. The destruction was so complete that it was unbelievable.
      1. Around the ignition point of the bomb, nothing was left–everything evaporated.
      2. The world had never experienced or witnessed such total devastation.
      3. Nothing ever produced such devastation.

   2. Those bombs began the atomic age and a whole new way to look at life.
      1. Once Russia also developed atomic bombs, Americans lived in the cold realization of what such bombs could do to us.
      2. Unless you lived in the cold war years between Stalin and Kruchiev’s Russia and this nation, you cannot image the fear.
      3. Unless you lived through the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, you cannot believe what fear of nuclear attack did to the American people.

   3. The potential of nuclear destruction fundamentally changed the way people looked at life.

4. In the early 1960s, the Viet Nam conflict began.
   1. That conflict began at a time when some Americans’ view of life was undergoing radical changes.
      1. The “flower children” and the “hippies” were feared as a revolution movement in our society.
         1. A whole generation of people shouted, “Make love, not war.”
         2. Other generations looked upon those people traitors.
         3. The hate-filled confrontation between Americans was incredible.

   2. The way many Americans looked at life changed as many of us watched, and the change was vicious and ugly.
      1. To those Americans who survived World War II or who lost sons or husbands in that war, the unthinkable was happening.
      2. To those rebelling against what they saw as American cruelty and injustice, the unthinkable was happening.
      3. As a result, this nation’s people was forever changed.
      4. Why? It permanently changed the way that Americans look at life.

5. So you teens say, “Okay. I see your point, but that stuff happened long ago–that kind of change that alters the way people look at life does not happen today. “
   1. Really?
      1. All it takes to change the way people look at life are powerful influences that change the way we think.
      2. Early In my lifetime the influences of arrogance, the dehumanization of people, death, and violence changed the way people looked at life.

   2. Today one of those powerful forces is music.
      1. One of the most powerful international forces known in today’s world is music.
      2. Song lyrics and musical sounds powerfully impact people’s views of life.
         1. I struggle to get people’s attention for less than two hours a week–in a year, the average weekly time is less than that.
         2. How many hours a week do you listen to music on a radio station, on a CD, on MTV, on VH1, on MP3, or on Napster?
      3. What does the music you hear say:
         1. About hopelessness?
         2. About worthlessness?
         3. About sex?
         4. About anger?
         5. About selfish pleasure?
      4. Which influence is the most powerful in the way you look at life–the words of Jesus Christ or the words of your music?
      5. Do the songs you listen to over and over do the same thing to the way you look at life that German death camps, Pearl Harbor, atomic energy, and the “make love not war” did long before you were born?

6. So everyone asks, “What does that have to do with being spiritual?” Everything! Everything!
   1. Listen to John’s thoughts:
      1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
      Listen to the same statement as translated by The Message:
      Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world–wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important–has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out–but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
      1. If you love God’s values, God’s love lives in you.
      2. If you reject God’s values, God’s love cannot live in you.
      3. You cannot love the things that oppose spirituality and love God at the same time.

   2. Listen to Paul’s words:
      Ephesians 5:15-21 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
      Listen to the same statement translated by The Message:
      So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.
      1. Be very careful in deciding how to live your life and use your time.
      2. Do not let drinking determine your songs.
      3. Let your feelings for God and Christ determine your songs.

For a hundred years we systematically created a monster, and now the monster has turned on us. For a hundred years we shouted, “Authority! Authority! Where is your authority?” Every religious issue was reduced to an authority issue.

Most of our divisions can be traced to arguments about authority. No matter what a member does, he claims Bible authority. No matter what position a member holds, he claims Bible authority. Regarding anything religiously important, I never hear a member of the church say, “I have no authority for this, but I believe…” Too many use the Bible anyway they wish to prove or justify anything they want.

Is Bible authority important? Absolutely! Is authority the only important consideration? No! Does something that includes authority go beyond authority? Yes! What? God’s will. God’s will creates spiritual people who live lives that respect God’s authority.

What is the monster we created? We allowed Christians to look at life through what they claim to be Bible authority. We allowed Christians to believe authority excuses ungodly thinking and behavior. Too many Christians justify ungodly thinking and behavior on the basis of authority with no intention of being spiritual. Too many of us fail to realize you cannot combine authority and ungodliness. The basic objective of God’s will is to produce spiritual people.

In my life time, I have heard many Christians ask, “Show me where the Bible condemns…” Rarely do I hear Christians ask, “Help me understand how to be spiritual.” Too many Christians have no desire to be spiritual. That is the monster.

Changing the Way We Look at Life

Posted by David on May 27, 2001 under Sermons

There is no end to the different ways that people look at life. People view existence in this world through very different sets of eyes. Even when people look at the same circumstances and situations, different people have totally different views. Let me use two examples as illustrations.

To some people, life stinks. No matter what the circumstances are or the situation is, they always see the stinky things. Trouble chases them like a vicious dog. Problems cling to them like ticks. Tragedy rains on them like hail stones. When something good happens, they cannot enjoy it. They spend their time wondering when the bad will come. If they win a million dollars, the taxes are horrible. When someone is kind to them, they wonder, “What is that person trying to do to me?” To them, life is horrible, so they look for the bad in every situation.

To some people, life is wonderful. Everything is wonderful! If trouble chases someone like an angry dog, that person irritated the dog. If problems cling to someone like ticks, that person walked among the ticks. If tragedy falls on someone like hail stones, that person chases tornadoes. Life is naturally good! Bad things do not happen unless you invite them into your life. They never look at life and see anything bad.

Three men experience the same plane crash and survive. All three sustain basically the same injuries. After the crash, one lives life in fear. Everywhere he looks, he sees something threatening life. One lives in anger. Everything is a giant conspiracy against him. One learns from the experience. The crash and recovery made him wiser, more insightful.

How can the same crash in the same plane at the same moment which caused each man similar injuries produce such different reactions? It was not the crash experience. It was the way the three men viewed life. The way we look at life molds the way we live life.

1. Are you a Christian?
   1. If your answer is, “Yes,” may I ask you a question: is it not obvious that something is basically incorrect with our concept of Christian existence, our concept of “church,” our concept of spirituality?
      1. It is obvious to me that something is basically incorrect with our concept of Christian existence, the church, and spirituality.
         1. If you talked to Brad Pistole who works with our young people, I have no doubt that he would tell you that it is obvious to him that something is basically incorrect with our concepts.
         2. If you talked to Ted Edwards who works with our education program and involvement, I have no doubt that he would tell you that it is obvious to him that something is basically incorrect with our concepts.
         3. There are any number of Christians in this congregation, some in leadership roles and some who are committed servants, who would say it is obvious that something is basically incorrect with our concepts.
      2. Someone says, “Amen! It is about time you talked about what is wrong!”
         1. “We need to correct some ‘doctrinal issues’ around here!”
         2. To me, what is obviously incorrect about the way we look at Christian existence, the church, and spirituality is far more basic than what many call doctrine.
         3. “We need to get some ‘church practices’ straightened out around here!”
         4. To me, what is obviously incorrect about the way we look at Christian existence, the church, and spirituality is far more basic than what many call “church practices.”

   2. “David, what are you talking about? What possibly can be more basic than doctrine or church practices? Can anything be more basic than that?”
      1. Yes. There are understandings that determine our view of Christian existence, that determine our view of the church, that determine our view of spirituality that are more basic than what many classify as doctrine or church practices.
      2. “Why would you think that something is incorrect with our basic views?”
         1. I want to say some things that I need to say, that we all need to consider in our minds and hearts.
         2. I have a problem: some of you will think, “He is talking about me.”
         3. I want to make this very clear.
         4. I am not talking specifically about any person or situation.
         5. I know for a fact these things are common place.
      3. Let me share specific reasons for concluding that something is basically incorrect with our concepts of Christian existence, the church, and spirituality.
         1. Too many who sit here most Sunday mornings view Christian existence, the church, and spirituality as a matter of projecting an image.
            1. Everyone in the family knows the rules.
            2. Rule # 1: “All family arguments on Sunday morning stop when we are within one mile of the church building.”
               1. “We can fight like cats and dogs at home or in the car any other time.”
               2. “But not on Sunday morning when we are within a mile of the church building.”
            3. Rule # 2: “When we get out of the car, everybody must act like we are one, big happy family. We are not. But everyone of us must act like we are on Sunday morning at the church building.”
            4. Rule # 3: “Nobody can say anything to anyone about our family problems to anyone who goes to West-Ark. If you have to fake it, fake it. We must protect our image.”
         2. There are too many of us who think that a lifestyle of drinking, or drugs, or addictions have no relevance to spirituality.
         3. There are too many who think that pornographic habits have no influence or effect on Christian existence.
         4. There are too many who have concluded that sexual activity outside of marriage has nothing to do with faith in Christ.
         5. We Christians get our lives in horrible messes; we Christians inflict horrible pain on ourselves; and we Christians struggle with the consequences of ungodly lifestyles because we allow godless influences to shape our view of life.

   3. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
      1. Let me try to say it as plainly as I know how to say it.
      2. Too many Christians willingly look at life in the same way that people who do not belong to God look at life.
      3. Too many Christians willingly look at spirituality in the same way that people who are not spiritual look at spirituality.
      4. Too many Christians willingly look at the church in the same way that people who have no desire to be the church look at it.
      5. Too many Christians willingly look at Christian existence in the same way that people who do not want to be Christians look at Christian existence.
      6. Too many Christians hunger to live just like people who are not godly–and just add “going to church.”
      7. It is impossible to look at life as do the godless and belong to God.
      8. Question: who is influencing whom in the way they look at God and spiritual existence?

2. A basic truth that is fundamental to spiritual existence: when a person is converted to Jesus Christ, it changes the way he or she looks at life.
   1. I want to share two illustrations from the Bible.
   2. The first illustration comes from Jesus himself.
      1. I could use many of Jesus’ statements, but I will use Matthew 6:19-34. Read with me.
         Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
      2. Sometimes in our studies we are so focused on dissecting the thought that we never see the basic point.
      3. What is the basic point? “Israel, people who are serious about godliness and righteousness absolutely must change the way they look at life”.
         1. “You cannot look at life the way you always looked at life and be God’s people.”
         2. “I know that is the way your religious leaders look at life, and even tell you their view of life is God’s view of life.”
         3. “But if you truly want to be God’s people, you must see life differently.”

   3. The second illustration comes from Paul as he wrote to Christians whose background was in idolatry. The statement is found in Ephesians 4:17-24.
      So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
      1. “You must not look at life in the same way as do people who live godless lives.”
      2. “You cannot look at life in the same way you did when you worshipped idols.”
      3. “Christians look at life differently; they think differently, feel differently, and have different values.”
      4. “Christians desire to be what God created them in Christ to be–they want to be different because Christ makes it possible for them to look at life differently.”

Too often the influences that control the minds of Christians are the values of godless forces, the pleasures of godless forces, and the standards of godless forces. Many of these forces do not even pretend to be godly.

When I study the Bible’s concepts of godliness and spirituality, and I look at our common concepts of godliness and spirituality, I grieve. Our concepts too often are based on church membership, church attendance, and church programs. They are not based on being something. They are based on doing something. So if we do what we consider to be the right things, we can live and behave like people who have no spiritual interests.

That is not the Bible’s concept of Christianity. That is churchanity. Is the church important? Absolutely! Those who are in Christ are the church. Jesus died so we could be the church. But we who are the church simply cannot look at life in the same way as do people who are not the church. We who seek to be godly, spiritual people in Christ cannot look at life and adopt the lifestyles of people who have no interest in being godly or spiritual.

If we think the difference is seen in church attendance, we do not understand godliness. If we think the difference is seen in church membership, we do not understand spirituality. If we think the difference is just a different set of rules, we do not understand righteousness.

The difference is seen in the way we use life. We use life differently because we look at life differently.

Credibility and God’s Outreach

Posted by David on May 20, 2001 under Sermons

God is prepared to set the final segment of His salvation outreach in motion. His Son will be sent to live as a human on earth shortly. Before sending His Son, He calls a conference of righteous people to explain what is about to happen. You are one of the righteous God calls to attend the conference.

God speaks. “Here is what I will do and what I will begin. Soon I will send my Son to earth. He will be born as a person and named Jesus. As an adult, he will have a ministry in Israel that reveals the coming of My kingdom. His ministry will be devoted to two purposes. First, he will challenge Israel to understand the priority I place on mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Second, he will prepare the Jewish people for the coming of my promised kingdom.

“This spiritual kingdom will be brought into existence by My Son’s death. In death he will give his blood to atone for all sin. Then I will raise him from death to be Lord over this new kingdom. All who will place their trust in him, redirect their lives away from sin, and participate in his death and resurrection through immersion will be citizens in My kingdom. Anyone on earth who accepts forgiveness and submits to his Lordship can be citizens in that kingdom.

“Are there any questions?”

1. There are a lot of questions and comments.
   1. One question is asked that was on many righteous people’s mind.
      1. “The Jewish community is basically a closed, isolated community that is not really open to outsiders.”
         1. “They are not going to be thrilled about the fact that your new spiritual kingdom is available to everyone.”
         2. “Obviously, after Jesus dies and is resurrected he will need to use a human spokesmen to tell Israel what You have done and to tell the world what You have done.”
         3. “Those critical roles are sensitive and extremely important. Who do you have in mind to do this?”
      2. God responds, “Men by the names of Peter and Paul will serve those purposes.”

   2. How do you feel about Peter and Paul functioning in such sensitive positions?
      1. Because we are Christians who live about 2000 years “after the fact,” our likely initially reaction is, “God really knew what He was doing when He used Peter and Paul.”
         1. Both men did incredible work.
         2. Both men functioned in the way God wanted.
         3. Looking back, it is easy to see that.
         4. I do not think I ever heard a Christian suggest that God could have done a much better job if He had used men other than Peter and Paul.
      2. But this is the truth of the matter: if it was our decision to make today, right now, most of us would not use Peter or Paul in the role they served.
         1. Why?
         2. Today we would say that it was a matter of credibility, that such was not in the best interest of the church.

2. Why would we feel that way about Peter?
   1. There are a number of things that we admire about Peter during the time of Jesus’ ministry.
      1. We admire that fact that he left his occupation to follow Jesus as a disciple to learn (Matthew 4:18-20).
      2. We admire the fact that he became one of the closest disciples to Jesus during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
         1. “Peter, James, and John” occupy a special relationship with Jesus as disciples.
         2. When Jesus selected some disciples to share a special moment with him, he commonly selected Peter, James, and John (the transfiguration –Matthew 17:1; the “in the garden” time of prayer–Matthew 26:36,37).
      3. We admire the fact that Peter would drop the nets because Jesus asked him to lower them (Luke 5:1-11).
      4. We admire the fact that Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water (Matthew 14:24-29).
      5. As a disciple while Jesus lived, we admired his determination, his single-minded devotion, and the strength of his commitment.

   2. But there is some thing we do not admire about Peter.
      1. We do not admire Peter’s reaction to stress when the unexpected and undesired happened in the moment of great crisis.
         1. The last night of Jesus’ life, prior to his betrayal, he told his disciples that all of them would stumble that night because of him (Matthew 26:31-35)
            1. All of them said they would not stumble because of Jesus and they would die if necessary.
            2. Peter was quite emphatic in his denial: “If everyone else does, I will not.”
            3. Jesus replied that Peter would deny him three times before the roster crowed.
            4. Peter replied, “Even if I have to die, I will not do deny you.”
         2. When Jesus was arrested, Peter was ready to die (Matthew 26:47-56).
            1. When a single fisherman engaged many Roman soldiers in a sword fight, the fisherman was ready to die (John 18:10,11).
            2. He would die fighting, but not standing there.
            3. He and the others fled into the darkness leaving Jesus alone with his enemies.
         3. Before the roster crowed, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, the last time with cursing and swearing (Matthew 26:69-75).
            1. Right after the third denial, the roster crowed.
            2. Peter left the courtyard crying bitterly.

   3. If we were on a search committee looking for a man to explain God’s work in Jesus Christ for the very first time, we would not select Peter.
      1. The first sermon was to be preached in the same area of the denial, and some of the people who heard the denial likely heard the sermon in Acts 2.
      2. We would reason that Peter’s denial destroyed his credibility, and the occasion was much too important to risk Peter being the speaker.
      3. Honestly, most of us would not do it that way.

3. Why would we feel that way about Paul?
   1. In the Churches of Christ, Paul is one of the most admired people in the New Testament.
      1. He was probably one of Jesus’ greatest missionaries.
      2. He made incredible personal sacrifices to teach others about Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-33).
      3. Almost half of the books in the New Testament were letters send by Paul to congregations or individuals.
      4. He was executed for his faith in Christ.

   2. Yet, before he became a Christian, Paul was one of the greatest, most feared enemies of Christians.
      1. By his own words, he was violent, he blasphemed, and he persecuted (1 Timothy 1:13).
      2. In an attempt to destroy the church in Jerusalem, he made a house to house search for followers of Christ, and when he found men or women who were Jesus’ disciples, he dragged them out of their homes and put them in prison (Acts 8:3).
      3. He threatened Christians with murder (Acts 9:1).
      4. In his own words, “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” (Acts 26:11).

   3. If we were on a search committee to find a man to share Christ for the first time in areas that never heard of Jesus, we would not select Paul.
      1. We would reason that if anyone ever learned of Paul’s past that it would destroy his credibility.
      2. We just could not risk a man with Paul’s past being a missionary.
      3. In all honesty, we simply would not do it that way.

4. “So what is the point? The people who have the most troubled past should be our leaders? The people who have experienced the greatest turmoil and struggle should be our leaders?” No, that is not the point.
   1. There were reasons that God could use Peter and Paul so powerfully.
      1. Before they were broken, Peter and Paul were committed, aggressive, determined, confident men.
      2. Before they were broken, both men placed their primary confidence in themselves, their drive, their understanding, and their personal strength.
      3. Before he was broken, Peter knew his capabilities; he had great faith in his own personal drive.
      4. Before he was broken, Paul had great faith in his knowledge and in his being correct.
      5. Both men were driven and were self reliant.
         1. Before either man could be of maximum usefulness to God and His purposes, each had to fail.
         2. Each had to fail in ways that completely disillusioned them.
         3. Each had to fail in ways that transferred their confidence and dependence completely away from self and totally to God.
         4. Ironically, both men were certain they did depend on God and not themselves.
         5. Though both men were absolutely confident they were depending on God and faith, both men were wrong in their assessment of themselves.

   2. “In your understanding, David, what was the basic reason that these two men who failed miserably were able to be useful in such key roles?”
      1. They placed no confidence in themselves or their abilities.
      2. They placed total confidence in what God did in Jesus Christ.
      3. Their spirit and attitude completely changed when they stopped trusting themselves and placed all trust in God.

   3. The point: God makes powerful use of broken people who totally depend on Jesus Christ.
      1. “Why?”
      2. The answer to “why” is found:
         1. In understanding what brokeness does to the heart and the spirit of the person.
         2. In understanding the power that exists in appreciating forgiveness when the person knows he received mercy.
      3. God uses His strength to work through human weakness so that people respond to the God of strength, not a person of strength.

   4. If we want to utilize people who can accomplish significant things for God’s purposes, we must learn to look at converted hearts, not messed up pasts.

Does this mean that a godly person capable of great leadership and service is a perfect spiritual person with all understanding and wisdom? No. It certainly did not mean that for Peter. Doing exactly what God wanted in the teaching of Cornelius cost Peter his position in the Jerusalem church and made him afraid of a group of Christians in that church (Galatians 2:11-13).

If we are to achieve God’s purposes in Christ, we must learn how to be led and taught by Christians who have great hearts. Christians who have great hearts have learned how to depend on God and not themselves. Often they have learned that lesson through weakness and failure.

Strange Happenings

Posted by David on May 6, 2001 under Sermons

What is the simplest way to misunderstand another person?

I realize there are many ways to misunderstand people. I realize that it is much harder to understand a person than it is to misunderstand him or her. The probability is high that in the privacy of your own thinking and emotions you are convinced that no one really understands you. Certainly you would say that a few individuals understand you better than the majority of people. Yet, some people do not understand you at all. But does anyone truly understand completely your thoughts and feelings?

Back to my original question. What is the simplest way to misunderstand another person? My emphasis is on simplest. A suggestion: the simplest way to misunderstand another person is to fail to listen to him or her. If I do not listen to the person, I mistake my misunderstanding for understanding. When I do not listen, I am convinced that I have the person “figured out” so accurately that he or she needs to listen to me.

What is the simplest way to misunderstand God? Again, I realize that many different routes lead to a misunderstanding of God. However, the simplest way to misunderstand God is to fail to listen. When I do not listen, I easily conclude that I have God accurately figured out. “If you do not understand God, you do not need to listen to God. You need to listen to me because I have God figured out.”

In the last two lessons we focused on God’s ways being different from human ways. We looked closely at the meaning of Isaiah 55:8,9 when Isaiah speaking in God’s voice declared that God’s ways were not our ways. We looked at God’s use of Abraham’s family. We noted that we would not use those kinds of people to create the perfect means for saving people. We just would not do things the way God obviously did them.

1. Tonight I want us to focus on Jesus’ genealogy found in Matthew 1 to note that God’s ways are not our ways.
   1. Evidence within the gospel of Matthew suggests that this gospel was written to Jewish people to verify that Jesus was the Christ.
      1. As this gospel begins, Matthew notes a basic evidence that had special significance to the Jewish people: Jesus was a descendant from Abraham through King David.
      2. In declaring Jesus’ lineage, Matthew mentioned five women, four of whom we today would not expect to see in the lineage of the Messiah (Christ).
         1. If you and I selected just four women to be mentioned in our family’s history, we would not select four women like these.
         2. The four represent incidents that we would rather forget than remember.
      3. The first woman Matthew mentioned was Tamar (Genesis 38).
         1. Tamar’s story is one that we would want to forget if she were in our family tree.
         2. Judah, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, had three sons.
         3. The oldest son (Er) married Tamar, but he was so wicked the God killed him.
         4. Judah told his second son (Onan) to perform the custom of levirate marriage through which Tamar would have a child, and that child would be considered the child of his dead brother.
         5. Onan refused to honor his responsibility because he knew the child would not be considered his child, and God killed him.
         6. After Onan died, Judah told Tamar to allow his third son to mature, and the third son would perform the function of levirate marriage.
            1. While she waited for that time to come, Tamar was to return to her father and live as a widow.
            2. Time passed, and Judah forgot his promise.
         7. After Judah’s wife died, Judah made a trip to check on his flocks.
            1. Tamar knew where Judah was going and when he would make the trip, so she dressed as a temple prostitute and took a position on his route.
            2. Sure enough, Judah saw her and propositioned her.
            3. When he approached her, she asked what he would pay, and he promised her that he would sent her a baby goat the next day.
            4. She asked for a pledge to keep until she received the goat, and she took his ring, staff, and the cord men wore around their waist.
            5. The next day when Judah sent the goat to reclaim his ring, staff, and cord, the temple prostitute did not exist.
         8. Three months later Judah was informed that Tamar was pregnant, and he said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
            1. She sent Judah his ring, staff, and cord with the statement, “The man who owned these is the father of my child.”
            2. Judah recognized his possessions and said, “She is more righteous than I am.”
      4. The second woman Matthew listed was Rahab (Joshua 2).
         1. When Israel prepared to invade Canaan, Joshua sent two spies to Jericho.
         2. The spies found lodging at Rahab’s (a prostitute) house.
         3. When their presence was discovered in Jericho, Rahab hid them and saved their lives.
         4. In exchange for a promise for safety when the invasion occurred and Jericho fell, she helped them escape.
         5. Matthew noted this woman, a prostitute, not an Israelite, was an ancestor of Jesus.
      5. Third woman Matthew listed was Ruth (Ruth 4).
         1. Economic conditions were very bad in Israel, so an Israelite man (Elimelech), his wife (Naomi), and his two sons (Mahlon and Chilion) moved from Bethlehem in Israel to the country of Moab.
         2. The Israelite man died there.
         3. The two sons married Moabite women, and they died in Moab.
         4. The Israelite woman, Naomi, left Moab and returned to home to Israel.
         5. One of her daughters-in-law, a Moabite (Ruth), left her country and her family to follow Naomi to Israel, and she worked with Naomi in Israel.
         6. In time Ruth married Boaz, and they were the great-grandparents of King David.
         7. Matthew noted this Moabite woman as an ancestor of Jesus.
      6. The fourth woman Matthew listed was Bathsheba who had an affair with King David while she was married to Uriah the Hittite (2 Samuel 11).
         1. King David initiated a sexual encounter with Bathsheba.
            1. Bathsheba conceived from that encounter.
            2. David tried to cover the pregnancy by having Bathsheba’s husband send home from the war front.
            3. Uriah came to Jerusalem, but he would not go to his house and be with his wife.
         2. As an end result, David issued orders to the commander in charge of his troops to have Uriah placed in a position were he would certainly be killed in battle.
            1. Then, after an appropriate period of mourning, David married Bathsheba in an attempt to cover his affair.
            2. Months later, after Bathsheba had his son, Nathan (God’s prophet) condemned David for his wicked acts.
            3. Among the consequences of his wickedness was the death of the child.
         3. But David was allowed to keep Bathsheba as a wife.
            1. By Bathsheba David had a son he named Solomon.
            2. 2 Samuel 11:24 states that God loved Solomon from birth.
            3. Solomon, David’s son by Bathsheba, became the next king of Israel.
         4. That is not the way we would do God’s business.
            1. We would not let David keep Bathsheba for a wife.
            2. We would not let a descendant of David and Bathsheba be the next King of Israel.

   2. Why list those four women as Jesus’ ancestors?
      1. I do not know.
      2. Many have discussed possible reasons, but no reason is the obvious reason.
         1. The fact that this gospel was intended for a Jewish readership makes Matthew’s inclusion of these four women the more unusual.
         2. Jewish attitudes toward women and the values of female virtue in the first century makes the inclusion of these four women the more unusual.
         3. Why not use women who were honored as virtuous, dedicated Israelites?
      3. The fifth woman included on that list was Mary, the mother of Jesus.
         1. We look with great respect and favor on Mary, her faith in God, and her devotion to God as a godly woman.
         2. Could it be that when Matthew wrote Mary was not held in as high esteem among Jewish people then as we hold her now?
         3. Could it be that many Jews rejected the explanation of Jesus being born of a virgin as ridiculous?
         4. Could it be that the typical view of many Jews was Mary had a child when she was not married and was sexually unfaithful to the man to whom she was engaged to marry?
         5. Could it be that Matthew reminded them that God made unexpected use of women in His work by recalling Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba–a woman who seduced her father-in-law, a prostitute who was not an Israelite, a woman who was a Moabite, and a woman who had an affair with their greatest Old Testament king?

2. Whatever the reason, Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus certainly reminds us that God does not do things the way we do them.
   1. To me, there are some important lessons to be understood from Matthew’s inclusion of the first four women.
      1. Be very careful when you come to the conclusion that you have God “figured out” and know what God would do; you may be deceiving yourself.
      2. God measures righteousness by different standards than do most of us; we need to place our faith in his standards and not our own.
      3. God can make use of anyone to accomplish His purposes if that person places his or her faith in God in a dependent relationship.
      4. Through His forgiveness, God often uses His power to value those we would reject.
      5. Our greatest challenge is to grow in understanding of God instead of functioning as judges as did the Pharisees.

   2. To me, the greatest lesson of all is accepting this truth: God’s ways are not our ways.

As Christians, may all of us have the goal of allowing Jesus to teach us God’s ways. No one ever understood God as completely and correctly as did Jesus. No one ever modeled the physical behavior that God wants and honors as did Jesus. May our understanding of God’s will and purposes always begin with Jesus.

Stability in the Instability of Life

Posted by David on under Sermons

I want to introduce our visitors to two people who are well known in this congregation. I do this with permission. First, I want to introduce you to Jonette Shirley. Jonette had the symptoms of a respiratory infection last Thanksgiving. In early January, she was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. On Saturday, March 31, we joined Paul and his family in thanking God for the blessing Jonette had been to us and in burying her body. Jonette died just a few days before her 50th birthday.

Jonette & husband

James & family

Second, I want you to meet James Word. He is a Christian man with a sweet spirit and a caring heart. He helps coordinate our mission committee and foreign mission work. By occupation, James has been an Emergency Room doctor at Saint Edward Hospital for several years. He is in his early 50’s. In recent days he had a stroke that has for the moment robbed him of the use of his right arm and leg. This morning he is with us. Right now he is a patient in Saint Edward Hospital as he begins rehab.

Of all the people on earth, Americans probably have the most developed, stable lifestyle known. We likely have the most predictable, advanced lifestyle in the world. But with all we seem to have, we are constantly reminded of two truths: life is unpredictable, and life is unstable. Do you doubt that life is unpredictable and unstable? We struggled with an ice storm as this year began. How stable and predictable was your life? The stock market recently plunged dramatically. Did that affect your life? We are told that gasoline prices may rise to more than three dollars a gallon in the next five years. If that happens, do you know what that will do to your life?

1. What is your personal view of God?
   1. More importantly, how did you acquire your personal view of God?
      1. Did your view of God come from someone’s traditional views handed down to you?
      2. Is your view of God built on pieces of hearsay that you fit together like a puzzle?
      3. Is your view of God based on fragments of thoughts that appeal to you?

   2. Which of these two concepts better describe your thoughts about God?
      1. “God is a human invention created by human minds in an attempt to find stability in an unstable world.”
      2. Or, “God is the highest reality of all existence who helps people cope with an unstable world.”

   3. “Who are you people and what are you about?”
      1. That is a fair question, and it could be answered in many ways.
         1. To answer the question well, I would need to know what you mean by what you ask.
         2. Let me share a general answer in the hope it can be a foundation for understanding.
      2. We are a people who believe that God is the highest reality of all existence, and He has enormous personal interest in people and concern for people.
         1. We believe that God made an sacrificial commitment to people’s well being by providing the solution for our number one problem in an unstable, unpredictable world.
         2. We believe that God interacts with people in compassion because He cares.
      3. Because we believe those things, we seriously seek to teach ourselves and others how to base daily life on God.
         1. We are serious about honoring God for His love and compassion–that is why we worship.
         2. We are serious about allowing God to teach us life’s purpose, to define for us life’s priorities, and to reveal to us life’s realities.

   4. “Excuse me, but something you keep saying disturbs me.”
      1. “You prefaced those statements with ‘we believe.'”
         1. “What you seem to say is that you are a people who use faith to consider the most important questions of life.”
         2. “When people talk about life’s purposes, life’s priorities, and life’s realities, they are talking about extremely serious matters.”
         3. “I am all for having faith, but it makes me nervous to include faith in such serious matters.”
         4. “I think there are some things that are just too serious for faith.”
      2. First, you are quite correct: we are a people of faith who constantly learn how to use faith in the serious matters of life.”
      3. Second, you live by faith every day of your life.
         1. I doubt that any of us regard any consideration more serious than the realistic possibility of dying.
         2. Yet, as an act of faith, in faith, you place your health and your possible death on the line every single day when you get in a car to drive or to ride as a passenger.
      4. “How is that an act of faith? How is ‘believing’ involved when I get in a car?”
         1. You have faith that every single car or truck you meet in oncoming traffic is mechanically sound.
         2. You believe that your own car or truck is mechanically sound.
         3. You believe that every driver you meet is sufficiently healthy to drive safely, is trained to drive, knows how to make good judgments driving, is not too tired to drive, is not under the influence of alcohol, and is not under the influence of any kind of drug that would impair their judgment.
         4. If you are the driver, you believe that you will make the right decision instantly in any given situation.
      5. That is a lot of faith in a matter that could determine your health for the rest of your life, and could even determine when you die.

2. “As you use God to determine the purpose, priorities, and realities of life, how do you use faith?” Let me share two basic faith concepts with you.
   1. Our first faith concept is this: we believe that God seeks our greatest good as we live in and cope with an evil world.
      1. I am quite aware many things are legitimately a part of that understanding.
         1. That concept does not mean that we believe that nothing bad can or will happen to us.
         2. It means that no matter what happens, God is firmly committed to our “greatest good.”
      2. The challenging problem lies in our understanding of “greatest good.”
         1. Who defines what is in our “greatest good?”
         2. Does God make that definition? Or do we?
         3. Does God understand what is in our greatest good when we do not or when we even disagree with God?
      3. Consider an illustration based on realities all teenagers and all parents of a teenagers understand.
         1. Conscientious, caring parents of teens seek the teens’ “greatest good.”
         2. The problem and frustration exists for both the teens and the parents because the teen’s definition of “greatest good” and the parent’s definition of “greatest good” are quite different.
            1. Most teens are convinced that their “greatest good” is to have a really nice car; many parents are convinced a teen having a really nice car is not in his or her best interest.
            2. Many teenage girls are convinced that their “greatest good” will be found by having the right look (the right body, the right clothes, the right physical presentation of self); most parents know that having the right look is temporary and focuses on life on the wrong values.
            3. Many teenage boys think their “greatest good” is found in developing the right image so they can be cool and have a girl with the right look; most parents understand that image can literally destroy a son’s future.
            4. Because of different perspectives and different levels of maturity, the teens’ concept of “greatest good” and parents’ concept of “greatest good” will never be identical.
      4. God is the greatest reality in life, a reality Who goes beyond death.
         1. Not only do we believe that He exists, but we believe He is the origin of life.
         2. His understanding, perspective, and maturity exists on levels we cannot approach.
         3. We are the teenager; He is the parent.

   2. Our second faith concept is this: once we exist, we never cease to exist.
      1. That is the basic meaning of “life after death”: once we exist, we never cease to exist.
      2. That is the basic reality on which the judgment is based: once we exist, we never cease to exist.
      3. That is the basic reality of personal accountability and personal responsibility: once we exist, we never cease to exist.
      4. That is the basic truth of resurrection: once we exist, we never cease to exist.
      5. No issue is ever as simple as “here and now;” every issue involves eternity.
         1. “Why?”
         2. Once we exist, we never cease to exist.

3. The fact that God seeks our greatest good and the fact that once we exist we never cease to exist are linked together.
   1. Jesus Christ links them.
      1. Because God seeks our “greatest good,” He sent a part of Himself as the human Jesus to show us how to win the war against evil.
         Hebrews 4:14-16 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
      2. God through Jesus paid the total price of every mistake, every act of evil that has been, is, or will be committed by any person.
         2 Corinthians 5:20,21 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
      3. God now patiently waits for us to turn to Him and live in His forgiveness.
         2 Peter 3:9-13 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

[Prayer: Help us understand why You sent Jesus Christ. Create in us the desire to turn to and belong to Jesus Christ.]

In your existence, what do you consider our greatest enemy? Poverty? A poor standard of living? Bad health? A terrible job? No job? No retirement? Death?

Paul urged the Christians at Ephesus to understand that our greatest enemy is not physical or material.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Our greatest enemy is not physical. Our greatest enemy is not material. Our greatest enemy uses the physical and the material to attack us now and to destroy our eternity.

But our greatest enemy is no match for Jesus Christ. If we dare to place our trust in Jesus Christ, he will help us survive now, and care for us in eternity.

For What Reason?

Posted by David on April 29, 2001 under Sermons

All of us have asked for a favor. Every person here who is able to understand me has asked for a favor. Most of us asked someone for a favor this week. This week did you say to anyone, “Would you do me a favor?”

When someone asks you, “Would you do me a favor?” what do you say? It depends on who is asking for the favor. If it is a person you know and respect, your likely response is, “Sure!” You trust the person to ask something reasonable. You trust the person to ask something in your ability and power to do.

If the person asking for a favor is a stranger or a person you do not know well, you likely will say, “It depends on what you want,” or “If I can.” You are not certain the request will be reasonable or doable, so you will not give unqualified assurance you will grant the favor.

What would be your answer if a person you know and trust asked you to do something truly weird and unreasonable. If you knew the person well and trusted him or her a lot, you probably would ask, “Why?” If he or she could give you an important reason for the favor, you might consider it. But your response depends on the reason.

1. John 1:35-51 provides us some interesting insights into the lives of some fascinating people.
   1. John the baptizer identified Jesus as the Lamb of God.
      1. The next day John was standing with two of his own disciples as Jesus walked by.
         1. One of those two men was Andrew.
         2. John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
         3. The two disciples immediately started following Jesus.
         4. He turned and asked, “What are you looking for?”
         5. They answered, “Teacher, where are you staying?”
         6. He invited them to come see, and they spent the rest of the day with him.
      2. Following his day with Jesus, Andrew went to his brother Peter.
         1. He told him, “We have found the Christ.”
         2. He then took Peter to Jesus.
      3. The next day Jesus went to Galilee.
         1. There he found a man named Philip and invited Philip to follow him.
         2. Philip lived in the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
         3. Philip searched for his brother Nathanael, found him, and told him, “We (probably meaning Philip, Andrew, and Peter) found the person Moses and the prophets spoke about; he comes from the town of Nazareth.
         4. Nathanael was not impressed: would Moses predict someone important would come from Nazareth? Would the prophets prophesy about someone who would come from Nazareth? Nazareth was religiously insignificant, spiritually unimportant.
            1. It was a small, out-of-the-way town away from any significant road.
            2. God’s Christ would certainly come from some place much more significant than Nazareth–maybe like the Holy City, Jerusalem.
            3. But Nazareth?
         5. Philip made no attempt to convince Nathanael.
         6. He just said, “Come and see.”
         7. Jesus, not Philip, convinced Nathanael.

   2. I want you to notice the reasons.
      1. The reason John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God was God revealed it to him (John 1:32-34).
      2. The reason two of John’s disciples followed Jesus and spent a day with him was John’s recognition of Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:35-37).
      3. The reason Andrew found Peter was his desire to share the news, “We have found the Christ (John 1:41).
      4. The reason Philip found Nathanael was to share that they had found the person Moses and the prophets wrote about (John 1:45).
      5. The reason Nathanael went to see Jesus was at his brother’s invitation (John 1:46).

2. Next Sunday, we will experience the results of weeks of work to invite friends and neighbors to come visit us.
   1. We spent much of this month encouraging you to invite friends to worship with us next Sunday.
      1. Why? For what reason?
         1. Is it just a matter of statistics? Are we trying to impress ourselves or someone else with attendance numbers?
         2. Do you think that God will be more impressed with me or the elders or the deacons or you in the day of judgment if 1000 attend here instead of 750?
         3. Is it just a matter of “good business?” Is it just a matter of pointing to statistics to prove that we are growing instead of stagnating or dying?
      2. Is there any reason?
         1. Does a reason have to exist?
         2. Is the reason simply we are supposed to invite people?

   2. Which of these two things do you think impresses God?
      1. The number of people sitting in this room on a Sunday morning?
      2. Or the reason people are sitting in this room on Sunday morning?

   3. Suppose this situation happened.
      1. You invite a friend to worship with us next Sunday.
      2. The person asks your reason for your invitation. “Thanks for the invitation. But why do you want me to come?”
         1. Would your reason be this: “I am just doing what I am supposed to do. They said, ‘Invite,’ so I am inviting you.”
         2. Would your reason be this: “Going to church is a good habit to have, and I want to encourage you to develop a good habit.”
         3. Would your reason be this: “We are trying to set some recent attendance records, and I want you to help us set a record.”
      3. Would your reason be, “Being a part of that congregation encourages me every week.”
         1. “Every week I come closer and closer to God.”
         2. “Every week I appreciate Jesus more and more.”
         3. “Every week I see my blessings more clearly.”
         4. “Every week my understanding of Jesus my Lord grows deeper.”
         5. “Every single week my life is more spiritual because of my Bible study and worship.”
         6. “I want to share my blessing.”

3. To you, how important is it for your friends to find and experience what you find and experience in Jesus Christ?
   1. When you invite someone into your home, what do you do to make them feel welcomed and appreciated?
      1. “Honey, our company should be here in fifteen minutes. It is time to get ready.”
         1. “Let me move the car in position to block the driveway so they can’t pull in.”
         2. “While I move the car, be sure all the doors are closed.”
         3. “Whatever you do, don’t straighten anything up. By the way, did you remember to make it hard to get to our front door?”
         4. “Remember, ask them to sit in the worst chairs we have.”
         5. “Whatever you do, don’t be friendly or make them feel welcome–they might get the idea we would like for them to come back.”
      2. Next Sunday, we need to keep some things clearly in mind.
         1. Be aware, be friendly, be helpful.
         2. We will have a visitors parking section; help us reserve it for visitors.
         3. Come in as few vehicles as possible–even car pool.
         4. If you have a friend come, please sit with them and help them feel welcome.
         5. If you do not have a visitor, sit in some of the special seating we have out.
         6. Sit close to the front.
         7. Make it obvious that we are happy for people to be here.

   2. Why? Because we want our friends and neighbors to come back. Why?
      1. So we can impress them with a preacher? No.
      2. So we can stand out statistically in the community? No.
      3. So we can feel good about how many people are coming? No.
      4. Because the most important thing that can happen in person’s life is to follow Jesus? Yes!
         1. Nothing brings the powerful blessings to life as does following Jesus.
         2. We want friends and neighbors to come because we want to encourage them and help them follow Jesus Christ.
         3. We want people to see the hope that exists in Jesus, and to come because they want to share the hope.

4. Peter wrote the letter of 1 Peter to Christians who were suffering real pain because they followed Jesus.
   1. Even though they did good things and blessed people, those who hated Jesus Christ and Christianity caused them suffering.
      1. Peter said many things about a Christian’s attitude toward the suffering other people cause.
         1. He told them to remember that Jesus Christ suffered for them (1 Peter 4:1).
         2. He told them to rejoice when they suffered so that they would rejoice when Jesus returned (1 Peter 4:12,13).
         3. He challenged them to entrust their souls to God by suffering with the attitude God wanted them to have (1 Peter 4:13).
      2. The statement I want you to listen to closely is found in I Peter 3:13-16
         Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
         1. Peter said, “When you suffer, have the heart, the attitude, and the outlook that cause people to ask, ‘How can you do that?'”
         2. “How can you do good things for other people and suffer?”
         3. “Where do you find the hope to keep on doing good?”

   2. We rarely suffer because of our faith in Christ. At no time have Christians had it better than we do.
      1. Yet, I want the same thing Peter wanted.
      2. I want our hope in Jesus Christ to be such a force in our lives that people see our hope and ask about our hope.
      3. I want us to be able to explain our hope.

   3. If that happens, certain things must be true.
      1. We must be controlled by faith in Jesus, not by fear.
      2. We must not be intimidated or troubled by suffering.
      3. Jesus must sit on the throne of our hearts–he rules us every day.
      4. We must be gentle and reverent.
      5. We must keep a good conscience.
      6. We must have godly behavior.

   4. When people see us committed to being that kind of people, when they see us with that kind of hope, they will want to come; they will want to find in Jesus what we have found.

[Prayer: God, help our reason for worshipping You be found in Jesus Christ. Help us be hungry to share Jesus with others.]

Have the kind of faith and hope in Jesus Christ that make others want to find what you found in Jesus.

The Need and the Challenge

Posted by David on April 25, 2001 under Sermons

It is very important for you to understand clearly my goal this evening. I want you to think. I am going to use this time and my ability to challenge you to think. I do not want you to react. Reaction basically is an emotional response. Reactions use feeling rather than thinking. I want you to think.

I do not ask for your agreement. I do not ask for your approval. I just want you to think. I do not want you to think just for the few minutes I share with you. I want you to begin thinking in ways that you cannot turn off.

1. Recently some articles “jumped out” at me in our local newspaper, Southwest Times Record.
   1. Three of the articles appeared on the same weekend, and all of the articles were published in March and April.
   2. The first one I share with you had the title, “KB Toys Eyes Future.”
      1. KB has a 6% share of the $30 billion U.S. toy retail industry.
      2. A quote from the CEO, Michael Glazer: “We never get depressed around here because we can always come play with the toys.”
      3. The company was founded by two brothers in 1922 as a candy business.
         1. When World War II made sugar scarce, they switched from candy to toys.
         2. They have taken the company off the stock market and returned to being a privately controlled business.
      4. They are now trying to build their Internet presence to keep pace with the profound changes in the toy industry.
      5. They are now seriously trying to define their personality.
      6. How needs have changed in the toy industry!

   3. The second had this title: “Ousted College Coaches Learn The Hard Way.”
      1. About 25 head basketball coaches from division I colleges lost their jobs at the end of the season–in spite of the fact that most of them had contracts.
      2. Division I college basketball has become big money.
         1. In 1963 the television rights to telecast the NCAA tournament cost $140,000.
         2. In 1985 they cost $27,000,000.
         3. In 1995 they cost $149,000,000.
         4. In 2003 the price has already been established: $545,000,000 (which is part of a $6,000,000,000 eleven year contract already signed).
      3. So today when we attend a division I college basketball game, students are the smaller section of the crowd; the majority are the “gray hairs” who have money.
      4. Among the coaches who lost their jobs was Jerry Green of the University of Tennessee.
         1. In the last four years, his teams won 89 games, the same number the University of Florida won.
         2. He had guided his teams to four consecutive NCAA tournaments.
         3. Each of the four years his teams won at least 20 games.
      5. And he was forced to resign. Why?
         1. He did not “play the publicity game” correctly.
         2. He did not meet the expectations of the alumni.
         3. He did not please the alumni.
      6. How needs have changed in college basketball!

   4. The third had the title, “Refocus and Renew.”
      1. It talked about needs that must be met if a marriage survives.
      2. It said 75% of divorced people remarry, and 70% of those divorce again.
      3. Why? “Step-families have less time than regular families and regular families have no time.”
      4. Married couples must care for three levels of relationship: physical, emotional, and spiritual.
      5. How needs have changed in marriage!

   5. The fourth article had the title, “Compassion, Understanding Keys to Custody.”
      1. The article talked about the local problems created by unreliable child support in divorced families.
      2. On March 5, the Sebastian County Circuit Clerk’s Office handled $38,000 in child-support checks (for one month).
      3. For a year, that office handles an average of $5.7 million worth of checks.
      4. How needs have changed in caring for children!

   6. The last I share with you had this title: “Kmart Headquarters Employees Offered Early Retirement.”
      1. About 500 employees at Kmart’s headquarters in Troy, Michigan, were offered early retirement packages.
         1. The criteria for the buy out: 50 years old or older, worked for Kmart headquarters for at least 10 years.
         2. It was said that the nation’s number three retailer may be striving to attract a younger, more tech-savvy staff.
         3. They have been recruiting new executives who are forty years old or younger.
      2. The people offered the buyout “are probably very good people, but they were not brought up or schooled in the new ways of running a business in a tightly and intensely competitive environment.”
      3. How needs have changed in the business world!

2. I would like for you to interact with me by raising your hand; I will not intentionally embarrass anyone.
   1. Would those of you who have children raise your hand?
      1. In your love for your children, how many of you would risk your life for them?
      2. How many of you would you do anything in your power to help them through any real danger or real crisis?
      3. Thank you!

   2. Would those of you who have grandchildren raise your hand?
      1. In your love for your grandkids, how many of you would risk your life for them?
      2. How many of you would do anything in your power to help them through any kind of real danger or real crisis?
      3. Thank you!

   3. I want to ask you some more questions. DO NOT RAISE YOU HANDS.
      1. Before I ask these questions, let me be as clear as I know how to be.
         1. I love God; I love Jesus Christ; I love God’s Spirit; I love the Bible; I love the church.
         2. I never knowingly encourage anyone to do anything that opposes God, Christ, and the Spirit; the authority and message of the Bible; or the church in the Bible.
         3. I do not knowingly do anything in my life that opposes God, Christ, and the Spirit; the authority and message of the Bible, or the church in the Bible.
         4. The questions are not asking you to consider doing anything unbiblical or contrary to God’s will.
      2. The questions: (remember, do not raise your hand. Remember many of you said you would risk your life for your children.)
         1. How many of you in your love for you children and grandchildren would change the songs you sing in worship?
         2. How many of you in your love for your children and your grandchildren would regularly change your order of worship or your focus in worship?
         3. How many of you who love your children and your grandchildren would reach out to their needs and their preferences in the church even when it meant your needs and preferences were not met all the time?
         4. How many of you who love your children and your grandchildren would regularly use your teens in significant ways in your worship assembly?
         5. As long as it is biblical, would you do whatever it takes to help your children become disciples of Jesus Christ who truly accept him as Lord?
      3. Nation wide in the Churches of Christ 50% of our young people stop associating with the Churches of Christ when they “get out on their own.” Is it okay with you if that continues?

3. Another question: who will own your church property in 25 years?
   1. Do some figuring with me.
      1. First, add 25 years to your age right now. In 25 years, how old will you be?
      2. Second, look right now in your congregation at the people who are the age you will be in 25 years.
         1. How much support can they afford to maintain?
         2. How much are they able to be involved?
      3. Third, look at all the girls who will either be married or on their own in 25 years, and understand that most of them will live somewhere else with their family or their job or both.
      4. Fourth, look at all the boys who will either be married or on their own in 25 years, and understand a significant percentage of them will not live in your community.
      5. Fifth, look at how much your congregation has grown in dedicated, involved, sacrificial members in the last 25 years, and honestly estimate how much you expect to grow in the next 25 years.
      6. Then answer the question: who will own your church property in 25 years?
         1. Many of you have made an sacrificial investment in your church property.
         2. As a group, you probably have invested more in your facilities than in anything else.
         3. I know what we all want to happen, but will it?

4. If it were possible for me to go back almost 2000 years and attend worship in a first century congregation, I would feel very “out of place.”
   1. The things I am most accustomed to would not be there.
      1. They did not own church buildings with air conditioning and insect control.
      2. Since printing had not been invented, songs books, pew Bibles, and visitor cards did not exist.
      3. Since the New Testament letters had not been compiled, New Testaments did not exist.
      4. There were no bulletin boards, printed announcements, or newsletters.

   2. Things that really distract me would be there. 1 Corinthians 14 gives us a small glimpse at some of the things that happened.
      1. The Holy Spirit was visibly active.
      2. Some would speak in tongues, and some would interpret.
      3. Some would receive a revelation and share it.
      4. Some would edify, and some would prophesy.
      5. A lot of people were verbally involved.
      6. I doubt many of us would be comfortable in that situation.
      7. Neither would they be comfortable right now with the way we do things.

   3. Christians who were Jews and Christians who were converted from idolatry did not do things in the same way when they assembled.

A real need and real challenge we all face as congregations is to understand that biblical things can be done in different ways to meet the spiritual needs of people as they mature in Christ. If we do not let Jesus teach us that biblical truth, we will die in our isolation, our children and grandchildren will increasingly leave, and someone else will own our facilities in 25 years.

Abraham and His Family

Posted by David on April 22, 2001 under Sermons

Assume that God is forming an advisory committee. God wants to evaluate the entire process He used to bring salvation to our the world. He wants our reactions to His methods and means used to bring Jesus to be our Savior. That includes the way He used almost 1500 years to prepare this world for Jesus, the way He brought Jesus, the way He made Jesus the Christ, the way He brought the church into existence, and the way He informed the world about forgiveness.

God selects you to be on this advisory committee. He wants every member of the committee to be very open and very honest. He wants every member of the committee to critique anything in the entire process, and explain his or her critique.

1. Let’s quietly listen to the first committee meeting. It is your turn to speak.
   1. “God, it has been my experience that if you want to accomplish truly good things you must use genuinely good people.”
      1. “The more important the accomplishment, the more important is it to use people who are exceptionally good people.”
      2. “Simply stated: if you want to change the thinking and emotions of the people of the world, you must use the best people in the world.”
      3. “It is essential that good people of great character be used so they can be an excellent, powerful influence.”
         1. “People in general are very skeptical, very critical.”
         2. “If you give people half a reason to criticize, they will criticize.”
         3. “If people have the choice between changing the way they think and live or criticizing the new ways, people will choose criticism almost every time.”
      4. “I think the biggest mistake in your plan to bring salvation to people was this: You used the wrong people when you began.”
         1. “I would never begin producing salvation by using Abraham and his family.”
         2. “That family simply had too many problems to criticize.”
         3. “They did not have the potential for being a powerful influence.”

   2. “Take an honest look at Abraham and his extended family.”
      1. “I would not begin with a man who used his wife to deceive other people as Abraham did.”
         1. “I would not begin with a man who lied about his wife being his wife.”
         2. “I would not begin with a man who allowed a king to take his wife with the intention of marrying her because the king thought the woman was unmarried.”
         3. “I would not begin with a man who had a son by a woman who was not his wife.”
         4. “I would not begin with a man who made his own son and that son’s mother permanently leave his family.”
         5. “I am sorry God, but that was a mistake.”
      2. “I would not use a man who showed enormous favoritism among his two sons as Isaac did.”
         1. “I would not use a man who dearly loved one son and disregarded the other son.”
         2. “I would not use a family in which the blind father’s wife plotted against and deceived him.”
         3. “I would not use a family in which both sons despised each other.”
         4. “I am sorry God, but that was a mistake.”
      3. “I would not use a man who lied and exploited others for his own benefit as Jacob did.”
         1. “He used his own brother’s hunger to take something precious from his brother.”
         2. “He intentionally lied to deceive his own blind father.”
         3. “He took advantage of his father-in-law.”
         4. “He had two wives, and he was partial to one wife and her children.”
         5. “His family interactions looked more like a war zone than a family.
         6. “He had horrible control of his wives and sons.”
         7. “I am sorry God, but that was a mistake.”
      4. “I would not use men who were guilty of despicable things such rape, hate, deceit, and murderous violence like the sons of Jacob were.”
         1. “Jacob’s sons made a covenant with the men of a city, sealed the agreement with those men’s circumcision, and then killed all of them when they could not defend themselves” (Genesis 34).
         2. “Judah used Tamar as if she were a prostitute” (Genesis 38).
         3. “Reuben raped one of his father’s concubines” (Genesis 35:22).
         4. “Nine brothers sold Joseph into slavery” (Genesis 37:18-28).
         5. “Those boys had enough jealousy and hatred in them to infect many generations.”

   3. “Perhaps I can best communicate my point by stating what I would do.”
      1. “I would start my plan for salvation with a man who was the ideal person, the ideal husband, and the ideal father.”
      2. “This man would be married to the ideal wife who would be the ideal mother.”
      3. “Their children would love and respect each other, and treat each other with great kindness and consideration.”
      4. “The children would become adults who were kind, who were great husbands and wives, and who were great parents.
      5. “Even through future generations, people would talk about what a great family and a wonderful example these people had been for generations.”
      6. “The church has enough problems trying to get people to be godly without tracing its roots through a family who obviously had so many flaws and faults.”

   4. Is that the way you would reason?

2. Look at the kind of people often chosen to lead the church in spiritually maturing.
   1. I hope that we all are in agreement that we want a person who is genuinely devoted to God, who is genuinely converted to Jesus Christ.
      1. I hope that is a “given.”
      2. As a “given,” our discussion goes beyond that consideration.

   2. If we seek people to lead us in spiritual service and involvement, what kind of devoted, converted person do we want?
      1. What do we stress?
         1. Do we stress commitment and ability, or do we stress prominence?
         2. Do we stress a deep love for God, or do we stress material success?
         3. Do we stress having the attitude and spirit of Jesus, or do we stress business achievements?
         4. Do we stress great faith, or do we stress educational accomplishments?
      2. Are prominence, material success, business achievements, and educational accomplishments bad things?
         1. No, of themselves they are not bad things.
         2. But neither are they of themselves spiritual things.
         3. They are no substitute for spiritual commitment, ability, deep love for God, the attitude and spirit of Jesus, and faith.
      3. What is the basic difference between the two lists of characteristics and qualities?
         1. Prominence, material achievements, business success, and educational accomplishments focus on the human accomplishments of the individual.
         2. Spiritual commitment and ability, a deep love for God, the attitude and spirit of Jesus, and a great faith focus on the accomplishments of God in Christ.
         3. A common tendency among all of us is to depend on human achievement for spiritual success.
         4. God wants us our confidence to be placed in His achievement as being the key to spiritual success.

3. Consider Paul’s statement to the Christians at Corinth in 2 Corinthians 4:7.
   1. Context:
      1. Paul had some powerful critics in the church at Corinth.
         1. His critics attempted to destroy his credibility by declaring how unimpressive Paul was in person.
            1. “He is a terrible speaker” (2 Corinthians 10:10).
            2. “In person his physical appearance is most unimpressive” (2 Corinthians 10:10).
         2. The implication was this: “God’s spokesman who delivers God’s glorious message surely would look and sound like someone other than Paul.”
      2. Paul said that his purpose was to impress them with Christ, not himself.
         1. The God who promised “Light shall shine out of darkness” is the One who shone in Paul and his company’s hearts to give the light of God’s glory in Jesus’ face.
         2. The precious good news he shared was about Jesus, not about Paul.

   2. The verse:
      2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.
      1. God placed this incredible treasure of the good news about Jesus Christ in the clay pots of Paul and his company.
      2. Clay pots had little value–they literally were “dirt cheap.”
      3. The treasure in those pots was too valuable to even estimate.
      4. For the sake of illustration, it would be like placing a billion dollars in an empty coffee can.
      5. “That is stupid! Why do that?”
         1. There is a very important reason.
         2. God did it that way so people would be impressed with God and what God did in Jesus, not the container that revealed the treasure.
         3. The container had just one purpose: to draw attention to the value of the treasure.

   3. “But I would not do it that way!”
      1. That is the point.
      2. We do not do things the way God does them.
      3. God’s ways powerfully declare what God had done and is doing, not what we have done and are doing.
      4. Our tendency is to try to impress people with us; if people are sufficiently impressed with us perhaps we can impress them with our God.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Isaiah said, speaking for God in Isaiah 55:8,9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Christian faith and existence are not based on demanding that God function and work in ways we would function and work. Christian faith and existence constantly seek to grow in understanding of God’s ways. We learn His ways. We do not demand He do things our ways.

Faith, Behavior, and Conviction

Posted by David on under Sermons

Years ago I met a person who asked me for help. He began by saying, “I am an agnostic.” This was his request. “I really do not know if God exists. But, I read and study the Bible. It is clear that God expects people to be baptized. I do not know if God exists. If He does, He expects me to be baptized. If I die, and God exists, I dare not face God without being baptized. Will you baptize me?”

Here was a person who had no faith in God, but who was convinced if he did the right act, that act would content God, if God existed.

I refused to baptize him. If a person is baptized without faith in God and Jesus, and without personal repentance, his or her baptism is without spiritual meaning.

His request illustrates a religious problem that grows worse and worse in the church and in our society. Too often people do religious acts in wrong convictions. Too often people believe religious acts without faith have the power to make God happy. Too many people never understand religious acts lose their power and meaning if there is no faith.

1. To me, the agnostic’s request for baptism powerfully illustrates a major problem in our society.
   1. When a person misses the point of an act, the act itself can become horribly destructive.
      1. Let me illustrate my point.
      2. Illustration #1: abuse misses the point of discipline.
         1. Abuse believes the point of discipline is control.
         2. The true point of discipline is loving guidance.
      3. Illustration # 2: anorexia misses the point of self-control.
         1. Anorexia believes the point of self-control is to destroy the body.
         2. The true point of self-control is to increase health.
      4. Illustration # 3: drug abusers miss the point of life.
         1. Many drug abusers think the point of life is evasion of responsibility.
         2. Life’s true point is to find highest level of responsibility and live there.

   2. As a driver, do you understand the point of a 4-way stop?
      1. 4-way stops illustrate freedom and responsibility working together.
         1. When drivers understand the point of a 4-way stop, that intersection can move a lot of traffic quickly and smoothly.
         2. But when drivers do not understand the point of 4-way stops, the same intersection becomes a disaster waiting to happen.
      2. At a 4-way stop, you are free to drive any way you choose to drive.
         1. You are free to be totally selfish and inconsiderate.
         2. You are free to ignore the law.
         3. You are free to cause accidents.
         4. You are free to wreck your own car.
         5. You are also free to stop and wait your turn.
      3. If you use your freedom irresponsibly, a 4-way stop quickly becomes a nerve-racking, disaster area.
         1. 4-way stops will not work when drivers use their freedom irresponsibly.
         2. If drivers at 4-way stops are irresponsible, they soon create gridlock, and no one goes anywhere.
      4. However, if all four lanes of drivers at the intersection choose to use their freedom responsibly, it is amazing how smoothly and quickly lots of traffic flows through the intersection.

2. If I asked, “What is the point of being a Christian?” what would you say?
   1. Let me give you three words: faith, behavior, conviction.
      1. If I asked you to explain the point of being a Christian by using those words, which word or words would you choose?
      2. Some of us would choose the word “faith.”
         1. Many of us would use “faith” to emphasize the importance of trusting God.
         2. However, we might struggle to share how that trust expresses itself.
      3. Some of us would choose the word “behavior.”
         1. Many of us would use “behavior” to emphasize the importance of doing the right things the right way.
         2. However, when we make our lists of godly behavior, our lists might be based on “don’t dos” or “church things.”
      4. I would predict that the majority of us would choose the word “conviction.”
         1. To most of us the word “conviction” is the unshakable dedication to what we are convinced is true.
         2. However, it is common for Christians to place their faith in their convictions, and to regard convictions as more important than behavior.

   2. “Well, David, which word would you select?”
      1. I would select all three.
         1. We need to firmly trust God and Jesus by trusting what God does in Jesus.
         2. We need convictions that are founded in the Bible’s teachings, God’s priorities, and Jesus’ values.
         3. We need godly behavior that demonstrates the blessing and value of our faith and convictions.
      2. Would you notice something in your daily association with other people?
         1. When others are impressed and challenged by someone’s Christianity, what do they admire?
         2. Do they admire the fact the person has faith? Sometimes.
         3. Do they admire the fact the person has convictions? Sometimes.
         4. Do they admire the person’s behavior? Often.
      3. The value of our faith and convictions must be obvious in our every day behavior.
      4. It is our behavior that attracts people to our faith and convictions, or our behavior that repels people from our faith and convictions.

   3. Too often we create the impression that all that matters is convictions.
      1. “I abuse my wife, but I have the right convictions.”
      2. “I cheat on my husband, but I have the right convictions.”
      3. “I neglect my children, but I have the right convictions.”
      4. “I indulge in destructive pleasures, but I have the right convictions.”
      5. “I am miserable to deal with, but I have the right convictions.”
      6. “I have horrible attitudes that cause other Christians problems, but I have the right convictions.”
      7. “I take advantage of people in business, but I have the right convictions.”

   4. Too many Christians think “if my convictions are right,” I do not need to understand the point.
      1. “Miss worship on Sunday morning? My convictions will not allow that!” Why are you so committed to attending? “I know I am supposed to come, but I cannot explain to you why.”
      2. “Miss communion on Sunday? My convictions will not allow that!” Why do you take communion every week? “I am supposed to, but I could not explain to you why.”

3. To me, the agnostic’s request to be baptized illustrates a major abuse of Christianity.
   1. “Why does that request illustrate an abuse of Christianity?”
      1. Some have forgotten the point of Christian existence, and through their forgetfulness they create the wrong impression.
      2. Some have never known the point of Christian existence, and through their ignorance they create the wrong impression.

   2. “What is the wrong impression?”
      1. Wrong impression # 1: the point of Christianity is procedure.
         1. “The whole point of Christianity is doing the right things the right way.”
         2. “As long as the right things are done the right way, God is happy.”
      2. Wrong impression # 2: the point of Christianity is current security.
         1. “The whole point of Christianity is obtaining spiritual insurance.”
         2. “If you do what God says, nothing bad can happen.”
      3. Wrong impression # 3: the point of Christianity is performing proper rituals.
         1. “The whole point of Christianity is practicing spiritual magic: if you perform the right rituals, God will do what you want Him to do.”
         2. “If you want God to do what you want, you have to learn the right rituals.”

   3. “What is the correct impression?”
      1. God knows what evil does to us; God knows the trouble that evil produces in our lives; and God loves us.
      2. God wants to use Jesus to change us inside out so we are free from the control of evil to live in the freedom of godliness.
      3. Does God want us to believe in Him, in Jesus, and in His Spirit? Absolutely! If we do not have faith, He cannot change us.
      4. Does God want us to build convictions that are based on His will? Absolutely! If we do not let Him teach us what is important, He cannot change us.
      5. Does God want our behavior to reflect our faith and convictions? Absolutely! If our faith and convictions are real, our everyday behavior is based on God’s values and priorities.

   4. Paul’s challenge to the Christians in Ephesus in Ephesians 4 is powerful and practical.
      1. He challenged them to understand God’s purpose among them collectively.
      2. He challenged them to understand God’s purpose in the church was the spiritual maturing of every Christian as they serve Christ as Christ’s body.
      3. He said that if they understood God’s message in the Christ, they understand that people who belong to God do not live and act like godless people.
      4. He said that if they understood the meaning of being a new person in Christ, they wanted God to spiritually recreate them in righteousness and holiness of truth.

For the sake of emphasis, for the sake of focusing on meaning, I want to read Ephesians 4:25-32 from a translation called The Message. Listen, think, and read with me.

What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry–but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. Did you used to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can’t work. Watch out the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

[Prayer: God increase our faith. Deepen the convictions You want in our hearts and minds. And teach us how to live. Teach us how to behave every day. Teach us how to treat each other. Teach us how to treat all people.]

The agnostic who asked me to baptize him came to see me many months later. He returned as one who believed. He asked me to baptize him because he believed, and with joy I did.

Do you believe? Was your baptism a declaration of faith? Is your faith obvious in your behavior?

“My Ways Are Not Your Ways”

Posted by David on April 15, 2001 under Sermons

Among the many spiritual understandings that cause Christians to struggle is the desire to relate to God. The primary purpose of being a Christian is to form a developing, maturing relationship with God. We seek to understand the information and message of the Bible, to understand Jesus Christ, to understand God’s concept of the church, and to understand salvation because we desire a developing, maturing relationship with God.

Understanding God is an enormous, never-ending challenge. Commonly the individual Christian bases his or her understanding of God on his or her understanding of humanity. Commonly, we assume many things about God. “If it makes sense to me, it makes sense to God.” “If I would do it that way, God would do it that way.” By humanizing God, we impose our priorities on God; we impose our values on God; we impose our perspectives on God; and we impose our stances on God.

It is much too easy for us to think of God as if He was a superhuman or the highest expression of “the best” of humanity. We often justify our conclusions about God or His will by emphasizing scriptures that agree with our conclusions and ignoring scriptures that disagree with our conclusions. We too easily conclude that God is far more concerned about our beliefs than our actions. We find it easy to blind ourselves to God’s balance between belief and action. We even conclude that we can justify horrible acts if those horrible acts support “good” beliefs.

When we reason in these ways, we duplicate the mistakes of the generations and ages before us.

1. Think with me as we conduct an interview with a devout Israelite in the last years of the Old Testament period.
   1. “Do you know God?”
      1. “Of course I know God.”
         1. “I belong to the nation of Israel, and the nation of Israel exists because God formed it.”
         2. “I can trace my ancestors back all the way to Abraham who lived over a thousand years ago.”
         3. “I know which son of Jacob was my forefather.”
         4. “I live by God’s law.”
         5. “I know the prophets that God sent to us.”
      2. “Of course I know God!”

   2. “Of the many things I need to understand about God, what one thing would you recommend that I never forget about God.”
      1. “You must never forget that God is tough! If you do not do what He says, He will crush you!”
      2. “He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s wife.”
      3. “He killed every firstborn son of the Egyptians.”
      4. “In the forty years of the exodus, He killed every adult Israelite man who left Egypt with only two exceptions–Joshua and Caleb.”
      5. “He did not allow Moses to enter Canaan after all Moses endured.”
      6. “In the period of the Judges, he punished Israel with captivity after captivity.”
      7. “He withdrew His presence from King Saul, and King Saul and some of his sons were killed by the Philistines.”
      8. “As close as David was to God, there were times when God punished David.”
      9. “Solomon was severely punished by God.”
      10. “God destroyed ten of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Assyrian captivity, and those people never were a nation again.”
      11. “God placed the kingdom of Judah in Babylonian captivity and caused horrible suffering.”
      12. “Never, never forget this fact: God is tough!”

2. Please take your Bibles and turn to Isaiah 1.
   1. Isaiah began his teaching before the kingdom of Judah was captured by the Babylonians and sent into exile.
      1. I want you to notice ways in which chapter one could be used to verify God’s “tough guy” image.
      2. “My own people do not know me” (verses 2, 3).
         1. “Farm animals know who their owner is, but my people do not know Me.”
         2. “They exist because of Me, but they neither know nor understand Me.”
      3. “You are a sinful nation, descendants of evil people, and sons who do wickedness” (verse 4)
         1. “You abandon me and despise Me.”
         2. “You turn away from Me.”
      4. “As a nation, you are like a sick body” (verses 5,6).
         1. “There is not one healthy place on you.”
         2. “You are like a sick person who is cut and raw all over who has received no medical care.”
      5. “You need to clean yourself up, completely turn your life around, treat people like they ought to be treated, and listen to me” (verses 16-20).
         1. “If you do that, I will bless you wonderfully.”
         2. “If you do not do that, I will destroy you with the sword.”
      6. “This is what will happen to you:”
         1. “Your land will be deserted, and strangers will live on it” (verses 7-9).
         2. “I will pay zero attention to your worship” (verses 10-15).
      7. “Jerusalem has become a prostitute filled with every kind of corruption (verses 21-23).
         1. “I will take my own vengeance and turn my hand against you” (verses 24-26).
         2. “I will crush the transgressors and the sinners” (verse 28).

   2. Judah and the city of Jerusalem refused to hear God’s call to repentance, and Babylon destroyed Judah.
      1. The temple was destroyed, reduced to rubble.
      2. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed and its walls pulled down.
      3. The people were forced by the Babylonians into exile for seventy years.

   3. In this [as well as all other acts of God], understanding God’s motives is extremely important.
      1. God was not being “mean” to Judah because He enjoys punishing people.
      2. God allowed Judah to endure the complete consequences of their evil because He wanted them to repent.

3. After Judah finally “understood God’s message” in Babylonian captivity, God had the enormous job of making these people understand that He really cared about them. Turn with me to Isaiah 55.
   1. God had Isaiah to encourage Judah (verses 6, 7).
      1. To encourage them, Isaiah asked them to do two things.
         1. First, seek God while he can be found (remember in Isaiah 1 God paid no attention to their worship.)
         2. Second, turn away from wickedness and unrighteous thoughts, and turn to the Lord.
      2. If they did that, Isaiah promised God would do two things.
         1. God would have compassion on them.
         2. God would pardon them.

   2. The reaction of many when they heard this is predictable.
      1. “God, have compassion on us? Pardon us? God? No way!”
      2. “He did not have compassion on us or pardon us when Jerusalem fell, when the temple was destroyed, when we were forced into exile!”
      3. “He told us it was going to happen! He let it happen! And now we are supposed to think that he extends a compassionate pardon?”
      4. “God is tough! The tough God does not deal in compassion that pardons.”

   3. Isaiah answered for God in a totally unexpected way (verses 8, 9).
      1. “Do not think that God acts like you act or thinks like you think.”
      2. “God’s thoughts and ways are so far beyond yours that you cannot comprehend them.”
      3. “God’s thinking and actions are so far beyond yours that they are like the heavens being higher than the earth.”

4. This is the problem people have in trying to understand God: they think God is like them (same use of emotions, same use of reasoning, same use of logic).
   1. If we could not or would not do something, we think God could not or would not do that.
      1. “If someone upset me so much that I let happen to them what God let happen to Judah in the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity, I would not have compassion or want to pardon their descendants.”
      2. For us there is a basic inconsistency between punishment and compassion, between consequences and pardon.
         1. You do not show compassion to people you punish–that is inconsistent!
         2. You do not pardon someone you make endure the consequences–that is inconsistent!
      3. God is not ruled by what we humans declare to be “consistent.”
         1. He can be compassionate toward those He punishes.
         2. He can pardon those He calls to consequence.
         3. He not only can; He does.

   2. “But I would not do it that way!”
      1. That was Isaiah’s point when he declared for God, “My ways are not your ways.”
      2. Every single Christian should be deeply grateful that God does not do things the way we would do them.
      3. If God did, none of us could be saved.

Thank you, God, for thinking and behaving in ways far beyond anything we can image. Thank you, God, for not being confined to our thoughts and our actions.