tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65675236755225216802024-02-06T19:51:13.404-08:00The Tales of Oxford Circle Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-51100131462943396052015-04-19T16:04:00.000-07:002015-04-19T16:04:54.879-07:00Waiting with Wisdom<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Matt.
25:1-13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We are continuing today with our sermon series “How Long
is the Wait.” When Jesus was leaving his
disciples before he ascended into heaven he told them in Acts 1 “Do not leave
Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…in a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.” They
didn’t have to wait long, just 10 days or so and the Holy Spirit came. But when we read further down in the chapter,
after Jesus was taken up, the disciples just stood there looking intently into
the sky. Two angels had to come and say
to them, “Why are ya’ll standing around looking into the sky? This same Jesus who went up is going to come back.” In other words, you need to get busy doing
what he told you to do. Don’t let him come back and catch you standing around
not doing what he told you to do. And
what he had told them to do for the immediate future was to wait. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But waiting is hard.
I’ve been waiting since Jan. 5<sup>th</sup> to see my Baby Girl
again. She’s been in Central America on
her cross-cultural semester. She got engaged
and I’ve been waiting since Feb. 21<sup>st</sup> to see that engagement ring on
her finger. Because they couldn’t
possibly take a picture of it and text it to me anytime during the last 2
months. No they are making me wait. Pastor Leonard referred in his sermon last
week to me waiting on the wi fi here to work but I’m not the only one who has
problems waiting for that! I think
that’s why he asked me to speak on Waiting with Wisdom. He’s trying to equip
me. Believers have been waiting 2000
years for the promise of these 2 angels to be fulfilled and for Jesus to come
back. For 2000 years Christians have
died waiting for the promise of the resurrection to be fulfilled. Many of us are waiting for God to answer our
prayers. Last week many of you wrote down what you are waiting for and posted
those on the prayer wall. So we all are
familiar with waiting. But the question
we are looking at today is how do we wait?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Acts 1:6 the disciples asked Jesus the question “Lord,
are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They knew Jesus was the Messiah and the
Messiah was the one who would rule forever on David’s throne. The prophet Daniel had spoken of the son of
man who came with the clouds of heaven and approached the Ancient of Days and
was given authority, glory and sovereign power.
In Daniel 7:14 he writes, “all peoples, nations and men of every
language worshiped him. His dominion is
an everlasting dominion that will not pass away and his kingdom is one that
will never be destroyed.” The
expectation of the disciples was that this everlasting kingdom, with Israel as
its location, would be fully inaugurated by Jesus in their lifetime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But in Matthew 25 Jesus tells 3 parables explaining that,
at the time before his final return, the kingdom of heaven will be like people
waiting. The 10 virgins were waiting for
the bridegroom to come. In the parable
of the talents a little further on in the chapter, the servants were waiting on
their master to return. And in the
parable of the sheep and the goats, when Jesus does return, there is a
separating out of those who were waiting and ready for his return and those who
were not ready for his return. At this
time, in this time in which we are living, the Kingdom of Heaven involves
waiting. It’s normal for us as believers
to be waiting. But it is important how
we wait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In the parable of the 10 virgins, we see that there is a
difference in how these girls waited.
They all were anticipating going into the wedding feast. They went to the house of the groom and were
all waiting for him to return with his bride.
The custom for a marriage in Jesus’ day was that the groom would go to
the house of the bride with some of his relatives to claim her as his wife, and
then take her back to his house for a feast.
All her relatives would process back to the groom’s house with her. Along the way, they would stop at friends and
relatives houses to receive congratulations and for more people to join the
procession. You never knew how long it
would take to get back to the groom’s house where there were more friends and
relatives gathered to celebrate. The
feast wouldn’t start until the bride and groom arrived. If the bride lived in another village and
they planned to make several stops along the way, it could be the middle of the
night before they arrived at the groom’s house.
Then everyone would go inside the house, or into the compound if the
house had a yard that was walled in, and the doors would be shut and the party
would begin. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> These 10 young women were waiting at the groom’s house
and they all had taken lamps because they anticipated him arriving after
dark. 5 of them were prepared for the
wait. They took extra oil so their lamps
could burn all night long if necessary.
5 of them were not prepared for the wait. They took the lamps but no extra oil. When their lamps burned low, they had nothing
to replenish them with. And while they
were out looking for more oil, the bride and groom arrived and went into the
feast and the doors were shut. When the
5 foolish girls returned, they couldn’t get into the party. This sounds harsh
and it’s meant to. How could they let 5
young teenage girls wander the streets in the middle of the night? Wouldn’t they have asked the partygoers if
anyone knows them and then let them in?
Jesus means it to sound harsh because he’s making a point. In the kingdom, we must be properly prepared
for our wait. There are serious
consequences to us not being properly prepared for our wait. He says in verse 13 “Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know the day or the hour” meaning the time of his
return. In all 3 of the parables in
Matthew 25, there are serious consequences for the foolishness of those who do
not wait with proper preparations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Now to give us an idea of what he means by being properly
prepared, we need to remind ourselves of the Passover story. The teachings and events in Matthew 24, 25
and 26 take place in the week before Passover, after Jesus came into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday. So this is taking place
in the days just before his crucifixion, when Jesus, his disciples, and all the
Jews were preparing for the Passover celebration. We read about the original Passover in Exodus
12. In this chapter God gives Moses and
Aaron the instructions for how the Jews are to celebrate the first Passover and
for how they are to observe this celebration every year from here on out. He tells them that each household is to
select a lamb or 2, enough to feed their household, and they are to care for it
for 4 days and then slaughter it. Then
they are to put the blood of the lamb on the sides and top of their doorframes
to mark their houses. They are to roast
the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread.
In Exodus 12:11 God says “This is how you are to eat it; with your cloak
tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.” They were to eat the Passover meal dressed
and ready to leave Egypt at a moment’s notice.
They had to be properly prepared for their journey. The Passover was the last meal they would eat
as slaves. In the middle of the night,
after God had passed through Egypt and destroyed the firstborn of the
Egyptians, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to take the
Israelites and get out of Egypt. Their
waiting was over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When Jesus talks about the bridegroom arriving in the
middle of the night, the master returning home in the middle of the night, he’s
reminding the people of the first Passover, when God delivered them in the
middle of the night and the order came to leave Egypt immediately. Deliverance arrived suddenly in the middle of
the night and they had to be packed and ready to go. This is waiting with wisdom, waiting prepared
for what we are anticipating to finally arrive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The Israelites waited over 400 years to be delivered from
Egypt. We’ve been waiting 2000 years for
Jesus to come back. Many of us are
waiting for answers to prayers, for loved ones to come to faith in Christ, for
financial needs to be met, for relationships to be healed, for sickness or
diseases to be healed, for peace to come between nations, for light to shine on
those who are steeped in the darkness of prejudice of one type or another. How do we wait with wisdom, being prepared
for the answer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Waiting with wisdom means waiting in spite of the
circumstances. The Israelites had been
waiting a long time for a deliverer to come.
When Moses finally came and God called him to deliver the Israelites, he
went to Pharaoh to demand their release, as God told him to do, and Pharaoh
responded by increasing the workload of the Israelites. Things got worse for them. Moses and Pharaoh kept going back and forth,
with God sending plagues and Pharaoh telling them to leave but then changing
his mind and making them stay. Over and
over the people’s hopes were dashed as Pharaoh held on. But when they were told to eat the Passover
dressed and ready to go, they did it. In
spite of all that had gone before, in spite of all the times they thought they
were free and then weren’t, in spite of 400 years of waiting, they were
prepared when deliverance arrived. They
waited in spite of the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The disciples waited after the crucifixion. They had no expectation of the resurrection
in spite of the fact that Jesus had told them he would come back for them. Fortunately Jesus didn’t stay in the grave
that long because, I think once the shock of the crucifixion wore off, they
would have been tempted to scatter. But
for those 3 days between the crucifixion and the resurrection, they held
together and waited in spite of the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Waiting with wisdom means waiting with hope. In looking at our parable of the 10 virgins,
5 of them anticipated needing oil. The
other 5 didn’t. They didn’t expect to
need to use their lamps very long. In a
sense they didn’t have hope that the party would last all night and they would
need to replenish their oil. When we
don’t expect something, when we don’t hope for something, we don’t plan for
it. We’re not going to expend our
resources on something we don’t expect to happen. But when we have hope that something is going
to happen, then we prepare. Are we
preparing for the answer to those things we posted on the prayer wall last
week? Are we preparing for the answer to
our prayers to arrive? What do we need
to be doing to prepare to receive God’s answer?
How much oil do we need? When we
can answer this question, then we are waiting with wisdom and with hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When we were still located in the little white building
across the street, we began to envision what the kingdom of God could look like
in this neighborhood. I remember
probably 12 or so years ago, we had an adult Sunday school class where we did
some visioning. We talked about being in
a bigger space where we could offer programming for children, where we could
have health and wellness programs for the neighborhood, where we could maybe
have a thrift store, where we could have more space for worship so more people
could be welcomed into our fellowship.
And for years we prayed and visioned and researched and planned. Out of those dreams was birthed Oxford Circle
Christian Community Development Association and all the programming this
organization does to benefit this neighborhood.
Out of those dreams was birthed the ability to move into this space, to
increase our capacity for worship and Christian Education. For years we waited while this building sat
on the market unsold until the owners were ready to hear our vision and we were
ready with concrete plans to put our vision into action. We waited and in our waiting we prepared. This is waiting with wisdom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Waiting with wisdom means we are careful who we listen
to. The 5 wise young women didn’t listen
to the 5 foolish ones. One translation I
read called them dim witted. They didn’t
have good sense. They didn’t take extra
oil. We don’t need to listen to those
who aren’t prepared themselves. We need
to listen to those who are waiting prepared for what is to come. Who do you know who is prepared for the
return of Jesus, who is waiting with hope and anticipation that He will come,
and that He will make good on all His promises?
When you find that person of hope, listen to them. Learn from them. Do what they do. Don’t listen to people who have no hope. They can’t help you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Waiting with wisdom means we follow the instructions we
were given. The disciples were told to
go to Jerusalem and wait, not stand there and sky gaze. The Israelites were told to wear their
traveling clothes while they ate the Passover.
We’ve been given instructions in Matthew 28 to go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. Are we following those instructions? Are we growing as disciples ourselves and are
we making disciples? If we are like the
5 foolish girls, we won’t believe Jesus is coming back anytime soon and we
won’t be growing in discipleship ourselves or seeking to make disciples of
others. When you see someone growing in
their knowledge and understanding of Jesus and putting that knowledge into
action in their own lives then you have found someone who is waiting with
wisdom. This doesn’t mean that we have
to be perfect or that we have to know everything there is to know about Jesus
and the Bible. But it means that we put
into practice what knowledge we have and we keep trying to learn more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Waiting with wisdom means that we don’t try to borrow
someone else’s resources. The 5
dimwitted girls tried to borrow oil from the 5 who were prepared but that
doesn’t work. The 5 wise girls told them
“we can’t give our oil to you or we won’t have enough for ourselves.” We can’t have someone else do our kingdom
preparation work for us. I had a great
aunt and uncle who were both overweight.
This aunt was a real character.
They would come to my grandparents’ house for dinner and my aunt would
say to my uncle “you don’t need that piece of chicken. It’s not good for you. I’ll eat it for you.” You can’t have someone else eat your chicken
for you and you can’t have someone else do your kingdom preparation work. We all have to make our own preparations for
Jesus’ return. We all have to do our own
work of growing as his disciples. No one
else can get you ready for Jesus’ return and you can’t do the work for anyone
else either. As much as we love other
people and want them to know and love Jesus, and be a part of the kingdom, we
cannot make them be disciples. We can
support, encourage and pray for one another, but each one of us has to make the
decision every day, on our own, to live as a disciple of Jesus. We have to do our own work in the
kingdom. We have to put our own
traveling clothes on and wait for our deliverance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Are we waiting with wisdom? Are we really expecting the kingdom of God to
come on earth as it is in heaven? Are we
praying in expectation, making preparations for the answer to come? Are we waiting in hope, in spite of the
circumstances around us? As the worship
team comes up and we transition into a time of prayer, I want to encourage us
to think about how we are waiting. Are
we waiting in hope or are we really not expecting any change? Are we anticipating Jesus to do something in
our lives or are we really just content to let things stay the way they
are? Do we have a sense of excitement
that Jesus could break into our world today, or are we apathetic, lulled into
complacency because we’ve been waiting so long?
Have we given up hope that our prayers will be answered because we see
no change in circumstances, or do we still have our traveling clothes on,
prepared for our deliverance to come at a moment’s notice? Jesus said in Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore
keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what
time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have
let his house be broken into. So you
also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not
expect him.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> As the worship team leads in a song, if you would like
prayer I’ll invite you to come up and members of the prayer team can join
me. We’ll be happy to pray for you. If you’ve been apathetic, not really
believing that Jesus is coming back or that He wants to break into your life,
or that He’s really going to answer your prayer, then please come and let us
pray with you that your hope will be renewed and you can wait in readiness for
what God wants to do in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-4791721621001128742014-11-04T07:22:00.000-08:002014-11-04T07:22:07.114-08:00There is No Cure<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jeremiah chapter 8</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> There has been a lot of
information in the news lately about health issues. We’ve heard the stories over the last several
weeks of the Ebola crisis in Africa.
According to the BBC </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">as
of October 23rd,” 4,922 people had been
reported as having died from the disease in five countries; Liberia, Guinea,
Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the United States. A further death has been reported
in Mali. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The total number of reported cases is in excess of 10,000.” (</span><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28755033"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28755033</span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">). A few weeks ago, our neighbor Emmanuel, who
is from Liberia, came over to see us and we asked about his family back in
Liberia and what they were experiencing.
He told us his family had a distant member who had died of Ebola but no
one else had been affected. But he did
tell us that the medical system in Liberia was breaking down. People were afraid to seek treatment for
anything for fear they would be exposed to Ebola. Medical personnel were afraid of catching the
disease. Whole families were being wiped
out in some cases. It’s a very dire
situation in his home country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This
is not the first outbreak of Ebola. The
disease was first identified in 1976 but this is the deadliest outbreak there
has ever been. One of the things that is
so scary about Ebola is that there is no cure.
If it’s caught early enough it can be treated and people may be able to
recover if symptoms are managed. But
there is no cure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There
has also been news of a young woman who has been diagnosed with brain cancer
and had chosen to die on Nov. 1 . Like
Ebola, her disease has no cure. Unlike
the thousands in Africa, she does have access to medicine that can help
alleviate some of her symptoms and she doesn’t have to worry about her doctors
being afraid to treat her or the entire medical system breaking down on
her. But she will still die. Some things have no cure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In the passage we are looking at today in
Jeremiah, God asks the question, “Is
there no balm in Gilead? Is there no
physician there? Why then is there no
healing for the wound of my people?” (v. 22)
Jeremiah prophesied to the people of Judah and these people were
suffering from an incurable disease. Like
many facing ebola in Africa today, there was no physician to care for them and
no medicine to cure them. If we read
through the whole of chapter 8 we see that the Lord declares that war is coming
and the people of Judah will not win it.
They will be overrun. The graves
of the kings, prophets and priests will be desecrated and their bones scattered
on the ground. The crops will fail. The people who survive the war will wish for
death rather than life in the land where they will be banished. There will be no peace, only terror. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Why is
this happening? Well God asks the same
thing. In verses 4-6 he says to Jeremiah
“‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road,
don’t they turn back? Then why do these
people stay on their self-destructive path?
Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?<br />
They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around. I
listen to their conversations<br />
and don’t hear a word of truth. Is
anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does
anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No! All are running down the path of sin<br />
as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!”
The people were sinning, refusing to repent or change their ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
people of Judah were not living according to the covenant they had made with
Yahweh. They were not keeping the laws
He had given them and that they had promised to keep. They were worshiping other gods, even
sacrificing their children to them, something that God said He had never
commanded nor had it ever entered His mind to do. They were participating in practices that
were totally detestable to God. They were
going the wrong way, heading down a path of self-destruction and refusing to
turn around. God asks the question –
When people discover they are on the wrong road, don’t they turn around? Don’t they change direction? Don’t they go back and figure out where the
right road is? Why do these people
refuse to turn back? It makes no sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Vandy
told me once that he was going somewhere and he had his GPS on but it was
telling him a way to go that he didn’t want to go. Sometimes a GPS will give you the more
convoluted way to go. So he went the way
he thought was best. For a while the GPS
kept telling him to turn around when possible.
But he ignored it for so long that it finally just shut up and stopped
giving him directions altogether. That’s
what’s about to happen to Judah in the book of Jeremiah. They have ignored God for so long, going down
their own path of self-destruction, that He’s about to stop giving them
directions altogether. He’s going to
remove His protection from them, they will be overrun by their enemies, the
land will be destroyed, people will be slaughtered, and those who survive will
go into exile. There will be no more
nation of Judah. There will be no cure
for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">God
says in verse 2 of this chapter that his people have loved, served, followed,
consulted and worshiped other gods. They
put some effort into this. They changed
their lifestyles and devoted themselves to these other gods. It wasn’t just a casual thing. They reoriented their lives around idol
worship. It influenced how they thought,
their decision making, what they gave priority to, how they spent their money,
everything. Earlier in the book of
Jeremiah God compares the people of Judah to an unfaithful wife, who leaves her
husband to go after someone else. Judah
is the unfaithful spouse who leaves God to pursue relationships with other
gods. She’s so enamored of these idols
that she ends up doing things that God never dreamed of and things for which
there is no cure without a complete return to Yahweh. Reading this places before us the question,
what are we orienting our lives around?
What influences our decision making, our prioritizing, how we spend our
money and our time? Is it our
relationship with Jesus Christ and the message of His gospel or does something
else have a bigger influence over us?
Have we gotten on the wrong road and don’t realize it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Chapter
8 of Jeremiah is God’s lament over Judah.
In the class we’ve had the last few weeks on scriptures of lament, we’ve
learned that Biblical laments contain several elements including a complaint
about what is wrong and then a petition, where the person tells God what they
want him to do about their complaint. In
chapter 8 God is the one with the complaint.
His people are going the wrong way.
They are not being faithful to Him but are worshiping other gods. They say they have the law of God but they
don’t know what His law requires of them because their scribes and priests have
taught them lies. They’ve handled God’s
laws falsely and corrupted it, telling the people what they want to hear rather
than telling them the truth. The people
are greedy and everyone practices deceit.
They are willing to commit any act of violence if it means they will
gain from it. They keep saying peace,
peace but there is no peace. That word
peace is “shalom” which means wholeness, soundness, completeness, health in
relationships including a sound and healthy covenant relationship with
God. There is none of that in Judah. But the people refuse to acknowledge the
truth of where they are in relation to God and so there is no cure for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There
are some things that don’t mix well. Oil
and water is a combination that doesn’t mix well. When I was a kid, I used to have to do the
dishes and would have to be reminded not to pour the used cooking oil down the
kitchen drain because it wouldn’t wash away.
It would just sit in the drain and clog it up and then the water
couldn’t pass through. Greed and deceit
are things that don’t mix well with shalom.
Shalom is like springs of living water.
Shalom brings life. It flows
through relationships among individuals, families, communities, and between
humanity and God. It brings refreshing,
creativity, harmony and life. But greed
and deceit will block it. They will clog
the drain. Walls will come up.
Misunderstandings will happen.
People will get hurt. Someone
will be victimized. Life will be cut off
and destruction will be the result. Wars
come about because of greed and deceit.
Families have been destroyed, businesses have been destroyed, and
peoples’ futures have been destroyed because of greed and deceit. Think of the financial scandals that have hit
this country in the last several years and how much economic stagnation has
happened in different parts of the world because of greed and deceit. How much development has not taken place around
the world, and how much creativity has been stifled because of greed and
deceit? They are like cancerous tumors
that must be removed in order for life to continue. Without their removal, there is no cure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
people of Judah have a serious wound, something that will kill them if not
treated properly, but they are just putting a bandaid on it. God says in verse 11 “They dress the wound of
my people as though it were not serious.”
As a parent or as anyone who has taken care of young children, we know
that any hurt must be tended to. It might
take a wet paper towel, a piece of ice, a kiss, a bandaid, but every hurt must
be acknowledged and tended to. Our young
children demand this. I’m going to tell
a cute story about Marcela. When she was
maybe 3 years old, she came to church one day with Pastor Leonard and she was
down in the basement over at the old church playing and I was down there as
well doing something. Somehow she hurt
her finger I think it was and she got very upset and was about to cry. Pastor
Leonard was upstairs or outside at the time and I was trying to soothe her so I
asked her if she wanted me to put some Mommy medicine on it. She said yes, so I kissed her finger. She waited a minute and then she said “It’s
not working!” I was like “Well it works
for Bethannie!” Obviously I wasn’t
treating her wound seriously enough! But
Judah in this passage, isn’t as smart as our young children are. Judah is suffering a serious wound, but
rather than demand treatment, she is content to just put a bandaid on it and
let it continue to bleed, and just ignore it.
Judah isn’t even taking the time to acknowledge there is a wound. There is no cure when we refuse to
acknowledge the seriousness of the wound or even to take the time to examine
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
verse 14 the people of Judah speak. They
ask, “why are we just sitting around? We’ve been waiting for peace but it’s not
coming. Instead God has doomed us to
perish and so we should go into our fortified cities.” What are they looking for in their fortified
cities? Do they think that death will be
more comfortable there? They seem to be
seeking some measure of control over their death and destruction. But there is none. Death and destruction is going to happen. Their only real recourse is to repent, to get
off the wrong road they are on and seek for the right one, to head in a new
direction. But they refuse. They put their
trust in their fortified cities rather than in God. And so there is no cure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
verse 19 God says “listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no
longer there?” God is saying that the
people will be taken into exile and they will then cry out where is the
Lord. He’s like a parent watching a
child who’s heading for trouble, knowing that heartbreak is ahead of them,
knowing they are going to go through pain, and knowing there is nothing He can
do to stop it because they are refusing to listen and turn around. God mourns over the people of Judah in these
verses, giving voice to His deep pain at their rejection of him. He’s the husband whose wife has been
unfaithful with multiple partners, even though He has loved Judah and given her
a good home and provided abundantly for her.
In verse 21 God says, “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed: I mourn and horror grips me.” God will not come out of this unscathed. He is wounded by the wounds of His
people. He suffers with them. God is the one who asks the question “Is
there no balm in Gilead: Is there no
physician there? Why then is there no
healing for the wound of my people?” God
is in mourning and he cries out “why.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">One of
my favorite movies is “Steel Magnolias” about a group of Southern women who are
friends. One of the women has a daughter
who dies of complications of diabetes.
There is a scene near the end of the movie as the women are leaving the
daughter’s grave after the funeral and they tell her mother how well she’s
holding up and they are seeking to comfort her.
But then the mother, Ma’Lynne, breaks down and she starts crying and
screaming and she says she wants to know why this happened. She should have gone first, not her
daughter. She’s hurt and she’s
incredibly angry and she lets it all out to her friends, saying she just wants
to hit something. That’s what God is
doing in this passage. He’s hurt and
He’s angry and He’s letting it out. We
didn’t read further than chapter 8 today but God’s lament continues into
chapter 9 where He says “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a
fountain of tears! I would weep day and
night for the slain of my people.” God
realizes that His people will not repent.
They will not change. There is no
cure for them and He mourns deeply for them.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">There
are some things for which there is no cure, things like cancer and ebola. These things can be treated and sometimes people
can recover, although there is no guarantee.
But treatment must be sought.
Care must be taken. The sickness
must be acknowledged and treated seriously.
But there are other things that are just as deadly as ebola – greed,
hatred, racism, ignorance, a love of self and an individualism that devalues others,
a focus on achievement and advancement that leaves no room for God, a refusal
to examine our spiritual lives and repent of sin. Without recognizing the presence of such
things and without treating them seriously as the spirit killers that they are,
there is no cure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What
is God mourning for today? What is
causing Him to grieve and cry and scream today?
Isn’t it the same as it was in Jeremiah’s day? The people are going the wrong way, headed
for destruction and refusing to turn around.
We only have to look around us to see that things are not the way they
should be. Shalom is missing. We don’t have wholeness and health in our
world. There are so many instances of
injustice taking place. Violence and war
is all around. People are greedy for
more without considering who suffers as a consequence of that. People regularly practice deceit, spinning
things any which way to sway the way others think. But there is a balm in Gilead and there is a
physician to treat our wounds if we will seek treatment. We are told in Isaiah 53 that Christ himself
took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace – shalom – was
upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (v.5) There is hope for our world. There is healing possible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As the
people of God, we need to seek healing for ourselves on a regular basis. We need to be examining our own lives for
signs of spiritual sickness and be seeking healing from Jesus Christ. But we also need to be joining Christ in
intercession for our world. We need to
be crying and raging over the things He is crying and raging about. We need to be praying for His Kingdom to come
and His will to be done so that our world can be healed and people can have
shalom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As we
close this morning I invite you to join me in a prayer found in our blue
hymnals, #803. The worship team can join me now. This coming Tuesday is
election day in Pennsylvania. We are electing people whose decisions will
affect our lives and could possibly affect lives all over the world. It’s important that we each pray about the
decisions we will make as we vote. But
we also need to pray for God’s Spirit to be moving around the world to draw
people to Himself, the source of life.
There are several prayer requests mentioned in the bulletin about
different situations in the world where God’s intervention is needed. There is a cure for the problems in our
world, but there is no cure if people don’t seek it. As we pray this prayer together, let us be
mindful of our need to continue to pray for the healing of our world and that
people will seek healing for their spiritual sickness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-26348936847120172472014-08-04T09:03:00.002-07:002014-08-04T09:03:57.138-07:00More Than a Shepherd<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Psalm
23<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> About 6 weeks ago, my family and I went camping for a
week for vacation. It’s the first time
in about 4 or 5 years that we’ve been able to go camping together and when we
were planning it, we decided we wanted to be in the mountains and we wanted
there to be a lake so we could go swimming and boating. We wanted to be near water. When we got to our
campground we saw that there was also a creek right across the road from our
site. So we got bonus water. I’ve
noticed that lots of people like to vacation near water. Pastor Leonard and his family are camping in
Maine this week and he posted a photo over the weekend of the water there. On Facebook, people have been posting
pictures at the pool, at the beach, at a swimming hole in the mountains. And you know in the city, there’s always the
option to open the hydrant. The other
week someone had opened the hydrant on our block. We like to play in and around water in the
summer. It refreshes us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> One of the first things we are told in Psalm 23 is that
the Lord leads us beside quiet waters.
I’ve heard that sheep won’t drink from a stream that’s moving. They will only drink from a place where the
water is still. I don’t know if that’s
true or not. But I would imagine, if one
is a sheep, it would feel safer to drink from still water rather than running
water. The picture here in Psalm 23 of
the sheep lying down in green pastures and being lead beside quiet waters is a
tranquil picture. It’s one of safety and
rest. In fact the next line after the
quiet waters one says “he refreshes my soul.”
When we read the first few verses of Psalm 23, it’s like taking a drink
of cold water on a hot day. It’s
soothing and refreshing. “The Lord is my
Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me
lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his
name’s sake.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The image of God as Shepherd is gentle and kind and yet
also strong and capable. At
Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church, where I also pastor, there is a huge
stained glass window behind the pulpit with the picture of Jesus as Shepherd,
holding the lamb in his arms and he’s looking out over the congregation with,
what I think, is a very stern look on his face.
We have jokingly referred to that picture as “evil Jesus” because he’s
got such a mean look on his face, like he’s watching the congregation to see
who is going to fall asleep or check their phone or something and then he’s
going to smack them with his staff. But
one of the members told me one time that they find the picture comforting
because Jesus looks so protective of the sheep, like he is guarding them and
woe to any enemy that may try to harm his sheep. To the sheep, the Shepherd is loving, kind, gentle,
comforting, providing all that is needed.
But to the enemy, the Shepherd is dangerous, vigilant, strong, and
scary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Psalm 23 is attributed to David whose first job was to
watch his father’s sheep. In 1 Samuel
17, when David volunteers to fight the giant Goliath, he tells King Saul that
when he was guarding his father’s sheep and a lion or a bear would come and
carry off one of the flock, he would follow the animal, hit it and rescue the
sheep from its mouth. And then when the
animal would turn on him, he would seize it by the hair, hit it and kill
it. David was just a teenager but he had
already killed the lion and the bear and so he thought he was perfectly capable
of killing a giant as well. David was a
little crazy. His protective instincts
were off the chart. No one I know would
willingly run after a wild lion or bear, grab it by the hair and then hit it in
order to get a sheep back. Most of us
would just consider the sheep a loss and we’d move the flock somewhere where
there were no lions or bears. But the
problem with a lion or bear or any animal that preys on livestock, is that once
they’ve eaten of your stock, they know where to find food. They will come back looking for more. David had to get rid of the enemy of his
sheep or they would just come back for seconds.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Psalm 23 says the Lord is our Shepherd. When there is an enemy preying on His people,
the Lord will deal with it. Because,
like David, the Lord’s protective instincts, when it comes to His people, are
off the chart. In Deuteronomy 23, the
Lord is giving instructions to the Israelites when they are in the wilderness
after leaving Egypt and he tells them to make a latrine outside the camp. They are not to leave their bodily wastes
laying on the ground in the camp. And
the reason he gives is this: “For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to
protect you and to deliver your enemies to you.
Your camp must be holy…” God
Himself patrolled their camp to keep His people safe in the wilderness. And He watched out for their enemies, to
deliver them into His people’s hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Psalm 91 speaks a great deal about the protection of the
Lord, that he is a refuge and fortress, a strong and safe place. He saves his people from the snare and from
deadly disease. His faithfulness is a shield to his people. He rescues and protects those who call on His
name. In John 17, on the night before
his crucifixion, Jesus prays for his disciples and for all who will believe in
him. He tells the Father that he has
protected his disciples by the power of his name while he was with them, but
now He is going back to the Father and He asks that the Father now protect His
people by that same power, the power of His name. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In John 10 Jesus tells his disciples that he is the good
Shepherd and he lays down his life for the sheep. He protects them from all enemies. The hired man who watches the sheep would run
away if an enemy like a wolf would come to steal a sheep. But the Good Shepherd doesn’t run away. Like
David, He faces the enemy and overcomes it.
It is in this context that Jesus speaks of the enemy of His people and says
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may
have life, and have it to the full.” Our
shepherd watches over our lives, protecting us from all enemies, laying down
his own life so that we might be safe.
He doesn’t abandon us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Psalm 23 goes on in verses 4 and 5 to focus more on the
dangers that surround the sheep. “Even
though I walk through the darkest valley (the valley of the shadow of death) I
will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort
me. You prepare a table before me in the
presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.” I remember when I was a preschooler, I was
afraid of the dark. I hated going into a
dark room. It terrified me to think of
what might be waiting there in the dark.
Even now I get a little uncomfortable going down into our basement if
all the lights are off, because it’s just creepy in the dark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Last month Bethannie and I were house sitting for friends
and we were staying overnight at their house, watching their cat. We had been out on their back porch and I had
come in first to go to bed and I checked the front door to make sure it was
locked. But Bethannie was still out back
so I left it up to her to lock up the back door. Well in the middle of the night when it was
good and dark, I heard a noise in the house that woke me up. My first thought was, did the back door get
locked. Was someone in the house? Then I realized I had left my cell phone in
the living room so I couldn’t call 911. We’re
out in Abington and I’m thinking “the serial killers all live in the
suburbs!” Turns out it was just their
cat running around. The point is, it gets
scary in the dark. When we find
ourselves walking in the dark, whether literally or figuratively, it gets
scary. It’s hard when we are in a
situation and we don’t know how it’s going to turn out or what we are going to
do. Our Shepherd walks with us. When we hear scary things in the dark – news
reports of violence and war, news that there’s not enough money to provide for
our children’s education, news that our jobs might be in jeopardy, news that
our health is in jeopardy, news that our child is in trouble or our parent is
sick – we have to be reminded that our Shepherd walks with us. His rod and staff are there to protect and to
comfort. He’s strong enough to face
whatever is going bump in the night.
Even when we face death, He is with us to bring comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> He prepares a table before us in the presence of our
enemies. This is a powerful picture of
reconciliation. The table is the place
where people come together to meet a basic need. We all have to eat. There is something equalizing about being at
the table. We use this image in talking
about inclusion. Everyone has a place at
the table. The Lord our Shepherd
prepares a table where we and our enemies can come together, a place of
reconciliation where healing can happen.
The anointing of the head with oil is a picture of healing as well as a
picture of the blessing of the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> This image of the table reminds me of the table where
Jesus was with his disciples the night before his crucifixion. In John 13 Jesus and his disciples were
sitting at the table to eat the evening meal.
John tells us right at the beginning that Judas was there and was
already planning to betray Jesus. Jesus
was at the table with his enemy but he got up, took off his robe, wrapped a
towel around his waist, poured water into a basin, and proceeded to wash the
feet of his disciples, including the feet of Judas. Jesus knows what it’s like to have a
relationship break. He knows what it’s
like to have an enemy. He knows what it
takes to seek healing and reconciliation in that situation. He understands the level to which a person
must humble themselves and how hard it can be to let go of the injustice that
one has suffered in order to write off the debt that is owed when we’ve been
wronged. He prepares a table before us
in the presence of our enemies and invites us to take a seat at that
table. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> One of the things that they teach us at seminary is to
look at the context of any passage that you preach from. We tend to think of Psalm 23 or any of the
psalms as being their own context. Each
one is its own individual song or poem.
But the truth is that the Psalms are placed in relationship to one
another. So this week I read Psalms 22
and 24 to get a better idea of the context of Psalm 23. Psalm 22 starts out with the cry “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?” And it
goes on as the psalmist says that he has cried out to God day and night and yet
God seems so far from him. We
recognize these first words as the cry of Jesus from the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In verses 7 and 8 the psalmist says “All who
see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord, they say, let the Lord
rescue him. Let him deliver him, since
he delights in him.” Further on in
verses 14 and following it says “I am poured out like water, and all my bones
are out of joint. My heart has turned to
wax; it has melted within me. My mouth
is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you
lay me in the dust of death. Dogs
surround me, a pack of villains encircles me, they pierce my hands and my
feet. All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me. They
divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garments.” We recognized this as a description of Jesus’
crucifixion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Psalm 22 sets the context for Psalm 23. The Lord our Shepherd is the one who has
walked through the valley of the shadow of death. He is the one who has prepared the table with
his own body and blood. On the night he
was betrayed he took the bread and broke it and said “This is my body which is
broken for you.” And then he took the cup and said, “This cup is the new
covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.” In John 6 Jesus said “I tell you the truth,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no
life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is
real drink.” We are all in need of this
real food. At the table the Lord has
prepared, all are included because all are equally in need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The title for this sermon is “More than a Shepherd”
because we see that Jesus, our Lord, is our Good Shepherd but he is also much
more than that. He makes us lie down in
green pastures – a place of rest and peace – and He Himself is our peace who
has broken down the walls of hostility that separate us from God and from one
another. He leads us beside quiet waters
and He gives us living water that becomes a spring of water within us welling
up to eternal life and refreshing our souls.
He guides us along the right paths and He himself is the way, the truth
and the life. He is with us even in the
darkest places and His very name is Emmanuel- God with us. He became what we are, laying aside His glory
and taking on human flesh in order to be with us. As I said earlier, He prepares the table before
us in the presence of our enemies and He is the bread and the cup that we
take. He anoints our head with oil. Oil is a symbol of the Spirit of God whom
Jesus has sent to be with us, to be our comforter and our teacher and to fill
us with power to witness and live as disciples of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> This is good stuff!
We can take comfort when we read Psalm 23 knowing that our God is our
Shepherd but He is also so much more.
But in a little bit we are going to leave this place of worship. Tomorrow, or maybe later today for some of
you, we go back to our jobs. In a little
bit we leave here and go back to our neighborhoods and homes. We go back to relationships that may be
strained or broken. We go back to the scary places in our lives. What about when we go back to the dark?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I got together with a group of ladies this past week and
one of them had just come back from a trip to Rwanda and Tanzania. She was on a learning trip to Rwanda and
heard from people who had been through the genocide and people who were working
with survivors to bring healing and she said it was just incredible hearing
stories and being with people there.
After that she went to Tanzania on safari and she said she really needed
that break after the intensity of experiences in Rwanda. And so she’s on safari riding in a big truck
with a group of people through the Serengeti and they are taking pictures of
lions and giraffes and all these wild animals and the animals are just right
there, with nothing separating them from you.
Then they get to this camp where they are spending the night and she
realizes it doesn’t have any walls around it.
So she says to the guide, “so you have someone patrolling through the
camp at night right?” As we read earlier
in Deuteronomy, even Israel had God patrolling their camp at night. But the guide just laughs at her and says
“No, this is camp at your own risk.” So
then she asks if she can sleep in the truck but he just laughs again and says
that’s where he’s sleeping. So she
reconciles herself to the fact that she will be sleeping in this little tent in
the middle of wild animal country, and that people had slept here the night
before and no one was eaten. But then in
the middle of the night, when it’s all dark and scary, she hears this noise,
like a purring sound. She realizes
there’s an animal outside her tent. She
tries to ignore it and be still and go back to sleep but it keeps getting
louder. I think she was probably praying
by this point as this purring sound is not going away. Suddenly something nudges her through the
tent wall and that’s when she loses it and screams, waking up everyone. Turns out it was not lions purring in
anticipation of a snack. It was 3 zebras
that had wandered into camp. So after
everything settled down, she texted a friend in the US and said, “This isn’t
fun anymore.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I’m telling you this story because that’s how many of us
probably feel. It’s great when we come
together on Sunday morning, we worship, we learn, we pray, we fellowship. But then when we go back home and there’s a
shooting a few houses down from us, as what happened on Freeman and Naomi’s
block this week, it’s not fun anymore.
When we hear cop cars in the neighborhood and a helicopter is
spotlighting on our block because there’s been a home invasion, as happened
over near several of our families in Northwood this past week, then it’s not
fun anymore. When an SUV is carjacked
and plows into a fruit stand killing 3 kids and putting their mother in the
hospital and it turns out one of the perpetrators lives on your block, as is
true of one of our families, then it’s not fun anymore. When our kids are participating as campers
and workers at our summer camp program, and a youth counselor is jumped right
here on our property and injured, as happened just on the other side of this
wall on Thursday afternoon, then it’s not fun anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When we leave this worship space, we go back into a scary
dark world and it’s not fun. It wears us
down. We face real enemies, real
problems, real worries that are way bigger than we are. We realize we are just as helpless as sheep
and we need our Shepherd. I’ve made the
observation the last few weeks to several people and they’ve agreed with me,
that people seem to just be tired. It wears
us down walking through dark places all the time, dealing with enemies in the
dark. It tires us out dealing with the
craziness in the world around us. We
need our Shepherd to make us lie down in green pastures and to lead us beside
still waters and to restore our souls.
We need to know He’s patrolling through our camp, watching over us in
the darkness, keeping us safe, delivering our enemies into our hands. We need to sit at the table He has prepared
for us and eat the food He sets before us.
We need the living water welling up within us each day, refreshing us
and giving us life. Our Shepherd
provides all that we need but we have to reach out and take it.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> He leads us beside quiet waters, he gives us living water to drink to
refresh our souls. We need refreshing
don’t we? We need to be filled with the
Spirit of God and with the water of life if we are going to be able to face the
darkness and the valleys that are waiting for us this week. We need the water
that washes us clean and purifies us of our own sin. A</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">sk God to fill you with the living water that refreshes our souls and
to give you the rest and renewal you need to face this next week.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-78916414756003268842014-06-18T09:45:00.001-07:002014-06-18T09:45:44.416-07:00Good News for the Persecuted<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Good
News for the Persecuted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">OCMC
6/15/14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Acts
16:16-34; Matthew 5:10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> First of all I would like to wish all the fathers and
grandfathers with us today a very Happy Fathers Day! May God bless you and continue to give you
wisdom and grace as you father your children and grandchildren. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Today
we are ending our sermon series on the beatitudes. Pastor Leonard said we’ve saved the best for
last! I don’t know, I’ve not been too
enthused about this persecution beatitude. In fact last month Pastor Leonard
was talking about the beatitude he was working on and was saying it wasn’t very
exciting or inspiring and he asked “Can you think of worse beatitude than this
one?” and I was like “Hello?
Persecution?” It’s not like “blessed are the peacemakers” or
“blessed are the merciful” or “blessed are the pure in heart.” The other beatitudes highlight some admirable
quality and we’d like to have these qualities.
But I don’t really think of persecution as being an admirable quality to
have. It tends to be something we’d like
to avoid if possible. To be persecuted means to be harassed or mistreated. It sounds painful and unpleasant. It involves people being evil to one another
and that’s something we as Christians are supposed to be working against. So when I first started working on this
sermon, it was hard to get into it.
Actually I’ve been working on it for about 3 weeks and that’s unusual
for me. It usually doesn’t take that
long for one to come together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I finally realized the problem I was having
was the word “persecuted”. It was taking
over the whole beatitude for me and it was hard for me to see what else was
there. It was persecuting me! So I took it out of the verse. I just decided to ignore it for a little bit
and look for what else might be there and that’s when I was able to focus on
the word “righteousness”. This word
refers to God’s saving acts but it also indicates a relationship. Through God’s saving acts we who trust in
Christ are brought into a new relationship with God. We have a new status as righteous. It means we’ve been placed into a “right”
relationship with God. We receive this
as a gift from God but it places responsibilities on us. In this new status, God has some claim on our
conduct. We are to live as righteous
people. It’s like if I were to come into
your home as a guest, you would have some claim on my conduct. If you wanted me to take my shoes off at the
door, I would need to do that because it’s your house and I’m your guest. When God brings us into this new relationship
of “righteous” He brings us into His household.
Paul writes in Eph. 2:19 that we are “no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” So He has a say over how we live as members
of His household. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So
now we can go back and add in “persecution” and we see that Jesus is saying
“blessed are those who are persecuted because they are in right relationship
with God and are living according to the standards of conduct for the members
of God’s household.” The reason for the
persecution is because we are doing the right thing. Peter writes “It is better, if it is God’s
will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil (3:17)…If you suffer, it
should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as
a meddler. However, if you suffer as a
Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
(4:15-16). So the beatitude started to
sound a little better to me as I unpacked that word “righteous”. Being in right relationship with God, and
living as members of His household are supposed to live, may invite some
persecution from those who are not members of God’s household and don’t live as
God wants us to live. It’s a fact of
life as a Christian. Not everyone is
going to like us or like what we stand for and how we live. And they will let us know. Jesus is telling us this right at the
beginning of his sermon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But
then I got hung up on the word “blessed.”
No matter how I tried, I couldn’t see blessing in being persecuted, even
if the persecution is because of being in right relationship with God and
living as He wants members of His household to live. So I decided to consult a Bible commentary
and see what someone else thought about this.
In NT Wright’s commentary on Matthew he translates the word “blessed” as
“wonderful news” or “good news.” Jesus
is announcing good news here at the beginning of his sermon. “Good news to you
who are poor in spirit. Yours is the
kingdom of heaven. Good news to you who
mourn. You will be comforted. Good news to you who are meek. You will inherit the earth. Good news to you who hunger and thirst for
righteousness. You will be filled. Good news to you who are merciful. You will be shown mercy. Good news to you who
are pure in heart. You will see
God. Good news to you who are
peacemakers. You will be called children
of God. Good news to you who are
persecuted because you are in right relationship with God and are living as
members of His household. Yours is the
kingdom of heaven.” Good News! This announcement of Good News begins and
ends with the declaration “that the kingdom of heaven is ours.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This
fits in so well with what Jesus makes clear to everyone is his purpose. In Luke chapter 4 Jesus stands up in the
synagogue of his hometown at the beginning of his ministry and declares “The
Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach or announce or
proclaim good news to the poor. He has
sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the
blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor.” Now in Matthew 5 we read a
further announcement of good news that the kingdom of heaven is ours. Matthew and Luke are making it very clear
that Jesus is the Messiah – God’s anointed one – who has come to announce that
the Kingdom of God is now here on earth as it is in heaven. And Jesus is not only announcing this, he’s
also instituting the rule of God’s kingdom as he goes around forgiving sins,
healing the sick, delivering those oppressed by evil, casting out demons, and
preaching and teaching how to live as members of God’s household. He’s advancing the kingdom of God or the rule
of God as He does this and He commissions those who are his disciples to do the
same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But
as we all know, when a new rule is instituted, when a new regime takes over,
the old regime will fight back. Just
this week in Iraq, Sunni militants took over the city of Mosul and that country
is on the brink of civil war as Shiite’s organize to fight against them. Just over a week ago, the world was
remembering D-Day, when allied forces invaded France to take back the territory
in Europe that Hitler had invaded and placed under Nazi rule. When one power seeks to assert itself against
another power, there is a fight coming.
This is why Jesus announces about persecution. As the kingdom of heaven advances, those who
advance it can expect to meet opposition and persecution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Paul
and Silas experienced this in the story we heard from Acts 16. Paul and Silas are in Philippi and they’ve
met with a few people there who had a habit of gathering near the river to pray
together. There wasn’t a synagogue at
Philippi, most likely because there weren’t enough devout Jewish men in that
area to form one. But there were several women who gathered regularly and Paul
and Silas met them and talked with them about Jesus and they became
believers. So in verse 16 Paul and Silas
are on their way to meet these new believers at the place of prayer and this
slave girl who was a fortune teller starts following them around yelling that
they are servants of the Most High God and are telling people the way to be
saved. So we read that as Christians in
2014 and think, “what’s wrong with that?”
But to the people of Philippi listening to this slave girl, they have no
idea that the Most High God is Jesus and that the way to be saved is through
faith that he is the Messiah who died for their sins and rose again and this
salvation involves living as members of God’s household. They think she’s talking about Zeus or
Jupiter and salvation is wealth, health and power. She’s distorting the message that Paul and
Silas have to bring to this town. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So
here we see Paul and Silas coming up against the spiritual powers of darkness
that have been ruling in this girl’s life and in this town. Through this slave girl, these spiritual
powers are trying to distort the announcement of the good news that the kingdom
of God has come. This girl followed them
around for many days, yelling like a town crier until finally Paul got so upset
that he confronted the spirit in her and commanded it in the name of Jesus to
come out of her. And it did because the
Kingdom of God has come and now there is a new authority in place that has to
be obeyed. The spiritual powers of
darkness that had ruled for so long were no longer in power and the demon now
had to obey the authority of Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Well,
once the demon left the girl she lost her powers of fortune telling and her
owners were upset because they had made a lot of money off her. Luke writes that “they seized Paul and Silas
and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.” So now the kingdom of God is coming up
against the earthly authorities of government.
We see this so many times in Acts where the Kingdom of God comes against
the Empire of Rome. Paul and Silas are
severely flogged and thrown into prison.
That’s persecution. They are
suffering because they are doing the things that members of God’s household
do. They are proclaiming good news and
advancing the rule of God by doing the very things that Jesus himself did in
confronting the powers of darkness and casting them out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Now
even in the prison, they pray and worship God and the other prisoners are
listening to them. Even now they are proclaiming
good news. And God intervenes by
bringing an earthquake that shakes the foundation of the prison, the doors fly
open and everyone’s chains come loose.
This is a pretty big announcement of freedom for the prisoners. Everyone’s chains are broken, not just Paul
and Silas’. The theme of last week’s
Pentecost service was “there is power in the name of Jesus to break every
chain.” We see that truth demonstrated
here in this story as everyone’s chain is broken. The kingdom of God is for everyone and there
is no opposing power that can stand against the power of God. Every chain is broken and every power is
brought into submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When
the jailor comes and sees that all the doors are open he’s about to kill
himself because he thinks all the prisoners have escaped. But Paul stops him by saying they are all
there. Why would prisoners who are
suffering under the empire of Rome, choose to stay when their chains have been
broken? Most likely because they
recognized that in this place a new authority has broken in. This is another part of the good news. The kingdom of God has come to us right where
we are. We don’t have to go somewhere
new to experience the kingdom of God. We
don’t have to move to Jerusalem to live in the kingdom of God. We don’t have to get our lives straightened
out first before we can experience the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God came
into the prison and the kingdom of God comes to us wherever we are and breaks
all the chains in that place and brings freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
jailor at some level recognizes that there is a new authority, a new kingdom
ruling here because he prostrates himself before Paul and Silas and then asks,
“What must I do to be saved?” He’s the
jailor but he’s asking the prisoners what he needs to do. NT Wright translates the jailor’s question as
“Gentlemen, will you please tell me how I can get out of this mess?” And they answer him “Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” The jailor recognizes that under the old
kingdom – the empire of Rome - things are about as messed up as they can
be. His prison is in a shambles and all
the prisoners are loose. He’s in a heap
of trouble. But there’s a new kingdom
and he can enter that kingdom and be saved – him and his whole household. How does the jailer do this? How do we get out of the shambles that our
lives may be? How do we get out of the
mess of broken relationships, bad decisions, financial difficulties, regrets,
shame, whatever mess it is we find ourselves in? We believe in the Lord Jesus. We recognize and acknowledge his authority as
Lord over all. We enter the kingdom of
God and live under His rule as members of His household. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This
doesn’t mean everything will be great, that’s God is going to instantly make
right everything that’s been wrong. All
we have to do is look around us to see that’s not true. But God will fill us with His Spirit, create
in us a new heart, transform us from the inside out so that we have a new
motivation for living as God wants us to live.
This is what it means to be born again, because we are born into the
kingdom of God. This is the good
news. The kingdom of heaven is
ours. The jailor found out the truth of
this as he and his household believe, are baptized and are changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">In
this beatitude Jesus is declaring the good news that the kingdom of heaven is
ours. We can live in this kingdom with
full rights and privileges as God places us in right relationships with Himself
through His own gracious acts of salvation.
We can live as members of God’s own household, fulfilling those
responsibilities, with God Himself giving us the ability to do this as He fills
us with His own Spirit. There will be
persecution as the kingdom of God advances against the kingdoms of
darkness. But there is no power that can
stand against the kingdom of God. It
breaks into every place, breaks every chain, overcomes every form of
opposition. God is advancing His kingdom
through us, He is working through us. We
are his hands and feet, his eyes and mouth as we work against the powers of
darkness and do the things Jesus did in our own network of relationships, our
own families, our communities, and around the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
story of Paul and Silas in prison is the story of God at work expanding His
kingdom. God is not just looking out for
his boys Paul and Silas. He’s working to
bring freedom to the slave girl, bound by an evil spirit and used by her owners
for their own selfish gain. He’s working
to bring freedom to the jailor and his whole household and perhaps to many of
the other prisoners as well. He’s
working to bring light into the spiritual darkness of Philippi. At the end of the story God’s rule now
extends over many more lives and will continue expanding as these believers now
carry out the commission from Jesus to make disciples. This is the good news – the kingdom of heaven
is ours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I’ll
invite the worship team to come up now as we transition to a time of
prayer. Maybe you are like me and have a
hard time with this persecution idea.
Maybe you don’t like to think of the conflict and hard work and change
that will need to happen if the kingdom of God is going to advance in your own
life. But to quote Dr. Phil, how is it
working for you outside the kingdom of God?
Have you found yourself yet asking the question the jailor asked “How
can I get out of this mess?” Whatever
mess we find ourselves in, whatever enemies we find ourselves facing, the good
news is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The answer is to face the fight because it is a fight between darkness
and light. We have to make the decision
that we will face the discomfort and pain of confronting the powers of darkness
as we live under the rule and reign of Jesus in the kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Last
week Chantelle spoke to us about peacemaking and reminded us that it wasn’t
comfortable. It’s hard work and it
creates its own conflicts. None of what
Jesus is talking about in Matthew chapter 5 is sweet and peaceful and
comfortable because he’s talking about the kingdom of God advancing against the
kingdom of darkness and that creates conflict.
Jesus says in Mt. 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold
of it.” There’s work involved in living
in the kingdom of God. Are we ready to
commit to the work that needs to be done in our own lives, our own families,
our own communities and to face the conflict and pain that will be involved as
the kingdom of God advances? As the
worship team leads us in our closing song, if you are ready to see the kingdom
of God advance in whatever situation you may be facing, then in this time of
prayer and worship, make that commitment to believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Ask for the power of God to come
into your own life in a fresh way so that you can make your stand against the
kingdom of darkness. If you’d like
prayer, myself and others from the prayer team can be available here to pray
with you as we worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-73688896276504467882014-04-09T08:36:00.000-07:002014-04-09T08:36:39.686-07:00Jesus Let Lazarus Die!<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ezekiel
37:1-6; John 11:17-26<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> This past week I officiated
at a funeral for the father of a friend of mine. When we got to the grave I read from this
same passage in John 11. I always read
this at the graveside when I officiate a funeral because it is such a striking
contrast. Here we are burying someone
who was loved, who lived a vibrant life, and now they are dead with their
family around them grieving, and yet we are also confessing faith in Jesus who
says he is the resurrection and the life.
We are putting a body into the ground with the hope that one day it will
be raised back to life. It makes no
sense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Here in this passage from John 11, not only is Lazarus
dead, but we find out he needn’t have died.
If Jesus had come when the sisters sent for him, if he hadn’t waited 2
more days before leaving for Judea, Lazarus may have lived. Jesus could have healed him. Jesus let Lazarus, his friend whom he loved,
die. Now I want to give proper
credit. I didn’t think of this sermon
title. Pastor Leonard told me his friend
Pastor Ernie Flores of 2<sup>nd</sup> Baptist Church in Germantown had this as
the title of his sermon last week and when I heard it I thought “Wow. I have to use this.” Because this also doesn’t make sense. When Jesus got word that Lazarus was sick he
waited 2 days before leaving to go back to Judea, knowing that Lazarus was
going to die. When he finally does
decide to leave, he tells his disciples that Lazarus has died and that he’s
glad for their sakes that he wasn’t there so that they may believe. “Believe what?” is my question when I read
this. We all believe Jesus could have
healed Lazarus and that’s why Mary and Martha sent for him in the first
place. Jesus was their hope. But now that Lazarus is dead, what hope is
there?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Now turning to the Ezekiel passage that Jacob read for us, we see another hopeless situation.
There’s a valley full of dry bones just laying out all over the
ground. The Lord asks Ezekiel if these
bones can live? And he wisely answers “O
Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” It
would seem to be impossible that all these bones could come back together and
live. They are old bones and very
dry. There’s no life left in them. The flesh and blood is gone. Scientists have been able to take old bones
and extract DNA from them and study it.
They’ve been able to extract DNA that is thousands of years old, but it
has to be under the right conditions.
There are some bones that are too degraded to get any usable DNA. But even if they can get DNA, they can’t make
the bones come back to life. These bones in Ezekiel were degraded, dried out
bones. You couldn’t even get DNA from them. It’s hopeless to think that life can come into
them again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So here we have these 2 hopeless situations, one in
Ezekiel and one in John, and yet in both we are questioned as to whether we
believe there can be life again. Can
these bones live? Do you believe
this? It doesn’t make sense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Another thing these 2 hopeless situations have in common
is that God let them both happen. The
valley of the dry bones is a vision of the state of the people of Israel. At the time of Ezekiel, the people of Israel,
the descendants of Abraham, who had been a nation, were in exile. Ezekiel was with the exiles in Babylon. There was no nation of Israel anymore. The nation that had existed under the reign
of King David was done. After the reign of David’s son Solomon, it had been
split into two nations – Judah and Israel, and both of these had been
overthrown by enemies and the people taken away to foreign lands. And God had let it happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> You see God and the people of Israel had established a
covenant, a binding legal agreement, that the people would worship Yahweh only
and would live by His laws as His chosen people. Yahweh would be their God, protecting them,
providing for them, giving them peace, and they would be the people who would
show the world what it meant to live in relationship with and to worship the
one true God. If they broke the
covenant, if they worshiped other gods and refused to live under God’s laws,
His protection would be withdrawn and their enemies would overcome them. The people of Israel did not remain faithful
to the covenant and so God withdrew His protection and let them go into exile. He didn’t step in to prevent their
destruction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In this case, we can understand a little better why God
let the people go into exile. They were
reaping the consequences of their sin.
God had warned them and now it had happened. With Lazarus, we don’t understand. Why didn’t Jesus just go to Lazarus when the
sisters first sent for him? Why didn’t
he just speak a healing word? He could
have just spoken from where he was and Lazarus would have been healed. Why didn’t God do something? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Last week I preached on the passage from John 9 where a
man born blind is healed by Jesus. In
that passage, when the disciples see the blind man they ask Jesus “Who sinned,
this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “No one sinned. But this happened so that the work of God
might be displayed in his life.”
Sometimes it’s obvious that bad things happen to us because of our
sin. We reap what we sow. We run the red light, we get mailed the ticket,
right? But other times bad things just
happen through no fault of our own.
That’s what happened with the man born blind and that’s what happened
with Lazarus. And this is when we
question God. Why didn’t you keep me
from having this tragedy happen, from losing my job, from losing someone I
love, whatever it may be. God why? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> It’s normal to ask the why question and there’s nothing
wrong with asking it, but sometimes it’s better to ask “For what purpose did
this happen?” Jesus said regarding the
man born blind that the work of God would be displayed in his life. Jesus reframed the situation. He didn’t focus on assigning blame for the
tragedy but rather focused on what God was up to in the situation. The works of God were going to be displayed
in this man’s life. The same is true for
the situation in Ezekiel and in John 11.
God reframes both situations to display His work. Yes, Jesus let Lazarus die and God let Israel
be destroyed and taken away into exile.
He could do that because He has the power to restore life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Ezekiel, God shows the prophet that He has the ability
to bring life even to old bones that are dried out and degraded. His word is spoken over those hopeless bones
and they come back together, tendons and muscle grow on them and skin covers
them and they are bodies once again.
Then God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind to blow over them, which
is a call for God’s Spirit to breathe on them, and when that happens they come
back to life and stand up on their feet, not just bodies, but a vast army. This is a picture of vitality and power and
strength. These old dried out bones are
now a healthy, living, strong, vast army.
And God says to Ezekiel that these bones are the whole house of Israel. The people of Israel think their situation is
hopeless. They are like bodies in the
grave. But God says he’s going to open
their graves and bring them up from them and bring them back to the land of
Israel and not only that but He will put His Spirit in them and they will live
and know that He is the Lord, He has spoken and He has done what He
promised. The works of God are going to
be displayed in His people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The same is true of Lazarus. Jesus tells Martha, “Your brother will rise
again.” She thought he was talking about
the resurrection at the end of time but Jesus was talking about that very
day. The works of God were going to be
displayed right there at Lazarus’ grave. And this is the part of the story that
we love. Jesus commands in a loud voice
for Lazarus to come out of the grave and he walks out with the grave clothes
still wrapped around him, alive and well.
Jesus let Lazarus die, so that it could be seen that Jesus is the
resurrection and the life and those who die in Him will live again. This is good stuff!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But as I was thinking about this passage this week, I
wonder how Lazarus felt about being allowed to die. Did that thought even cross his mind or was
he too overwhelmed by the fact that he was dead for 4 days and then was alive
again? As a 21<sup>st</sup> century
American, I’m not so sure I would want Jesus to let me die just so he could
show everyone that he has the power to raise the dead. If Jesus were to come in here and ask for a
volunteer to demonstrate resurrection on, would anyone here raise their
hand? And here we get to the real
problem we have with this whole thought that Jesus let Lazarus die. Our lives are our own and we don’t want
anyone messing around with them. It’s
fine if Jesus wants to bless us and prosper us and protect us. But we don’t want him to let things in our
lives die. We want life, not death. We want the blessing, not the suffering. But we can’t have resurrection without death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> God said in Ezekiel that when His word was fulfilled and
the dry bones lived again, then they would know that He is the Lord. The Lord is the one we submit to. He’s the one who has the final say over our
lives. The Lord is the one we bow down
to and acknowledge as being greater than we are. So if we are confessing that Jesus is our
Lord, then we are saying that He has the final word in our lives and we don’t. So as a 21<sup>st</sup> century American,
that might go against everything my culture says, but it doesn’t change the
truth. Jesus is either my Lord or he’s
not. If he is my Lord, then he can let
me die in order to raise me again. My
life is his to do with as He pleases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We confess that truth here at Oxford Circle. We sing the song “Where you go, I'll go, where
you stay, I'll stay, When you move, I'll move, I will follow you. Who you love, I'll love, How you serve, I'll
serve, If this life I lose, I will follow you.” (Chris Tomlin) But when it comes down to specific situations
in our lives, do we believe that? Do we
live that out? What if we have a dream
that we are following and Jesus wants to let that dream die? Are we willing to go along with that and let
that dream die so that Jesus can raise something new to life? What about a relationship we may be in? What if Jesus wants that relationship to
die? Will we submit to Him as Lord and
suffer that death? This is the hard
stuff of the Christian life. Do we trust
Jesus with our lives, with all the pieces of our lives, when He may want to let
things die? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We may be willing to let things die that are not
good. We all want to die to sin. If there’s sin that we struggle with and want
to be free of we’re happy if Jesus wants to put that to death because it’s a
bad thing and we would be happy to be delivered from that struggle. But Lazarus was a friend of Jesus’. He was a good thing in Jesus’ life. What if the thing that needs to die is
something good? Before Vandy and I moved
to Philadelphia, we lived in Virginia, about 2 hours from where our parents
live. Vandy was working in a church
there as associate pastor for youth and could have stayed in that
position. They would have been happy to
have him stay there and would have paid him a good salary. I was working as administrative secretary in
a Christian school there and my boss was happy to have me stay as well. We lived in a nice little townhouse and could
have built a nice life for ourselves in suburbia, closer to our families. But we knew we had to let that life die
because God had called us to Philadelphia.
That life was good in many ways.
But it wasn’t what God was calling us to. It had to die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The thing is God is calling us to a relationship with
Himself that demands everything we have.
We cannot keep part of our life separate from the Lordship of Jesus
Christ. Our complete surrender to His
will has to happen. But the relationship
we are being called to is not drudgery as God’s slave. God is calling us to enter into the
relationship that already exists among the Trinity, a relationship of perfect
love and unity. In John 17 Jesus prays
that those who believe in Him might be brought to complete unity and might be
with Him to see His glory. We are
invited to become the children of God, to be in intimate relationship with the
one God who created and sustains all things.
We are being invited into a relationship with the God who has the power
to raise the dead. And we are allowed to
call this God Father because the relationship He wants is for us to be His
children with all the rights and privileges that go along with that. I’ll take that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To
what extent has God gone to make this possible?
He became human and lived within time and space. He confined himself as we are confined. He lived as humans lived 2000 years ago,
without running water, electricity, indoor plumbing, refrigeration, modern
medicine, cell phones, or internet.
You’d think God would pick a more convenient time period to live in. But in the fullness of time Jesus came and
lived and died and rose again to never die.
I can know that this God is trustworthy and will fulfill His promises to
me to give me life because this God has already gone through death and been
raised to life Himself. There is no
other who has done this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Not
only did God let Israel go into exile, not only did He let his friend Lazarus
die, He let His own Son die. And Jesus
didn’t die of sickness in his own bed, or die of old age with loved ones around
him. He was publicly executed with
people around him mocking him and abusing him.
But then Jesus was resurrected and because He lives, we also can
live. This God we can trust, even when
He wants to let things in our lives die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When
we accept God’s invitation to be in covenant relationship with Him as His
people, His children, He gives us His Spirit to live within us. He gives us the power to live as His
children. In Romans chapter 8 Paul
writes “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of
sin and death. For what the law was
powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in
order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who
do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit…If the
Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised
Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his
Spirit, who lives in you….for if you live according to the sinful nature, you
will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you
will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes
you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If
we live in this relationship with God, God’s own Spirit, the Spirit that raised
Christ from the dead, is in us to help us let go and put to death those things
that are of the sinful nature. And he
will give us the power and strength to let things die, even good things, that
God wants to let die in our lives. God
Himself is with us and will not leave us to do this on our own. The question left for us is what needs to
die? What things in our lives need to
die? What false ideas about God are we
holding on to that need to die? What
harmful habits do we indulge in that need to die? What relationships are we involved in that
need to die? What lies about ourselves
or others do we believe that need to die?
What dreams are we chasing that need to die? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Another
question is what are we holding on to that’s already dead and needs to go in
the grave? What dead things are in our
lives that are sucking life out of us?
It might be a habit, a mindset, a relationship. It might be anger, bitterness, unforgiveness
or grief that we are holding on to and it’s a dead thing spreading death in our
lives. We need to put those things in
the grave. If there’s something in our
lives that needs to die or is already dead and needs to go in the grave, today
is the day to make that happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> As the worship team
comes up and we transition to a time of prayer, let’s take this message
seriously today. God wants to let some
things die in our lives. We can trust
him through this process because He also has the power to bring new life. I’m not saying He’s going to give you a new
and improved resurrected version of whatever you may release to Him. I’m saying He’s going to give you life in
exchange for death. As the worship team
plays, I want us to take the time to pray and listen to what God might say to
us about what He wants us to let go of and let </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">die.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">And then give those things to Him. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-52373984240726847502014-02-04T12:24:00.000-08:002014-02-04T12:24:02.674-08:00There's a Party Going On<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">OCMC
2/2/14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Luke
14:15-24<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Today we are continuing this sermon series “Empowered by
the Spirit” which is the beginning phrase of our church mission statement. If you’ve never seen this before, we had the
mission statement and the vision for mission statement printed on these bookmarks
with contact information and our logo.
Most of you should be familiar with the mission statement by now because
it’s printed on the front of your bulletins every week and we’ve been reading
it together every week that we’ve been doing this sermon series. We wanted to do this series of sermons to
focus on our mission as a congregation and focus on the different areas of
ministry that we have at OCMC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Today we are focusing on the ministry of
hospitality. When I originally thought
of this topic, the story of Lydia in Acts 16 came to mind. She was a woman in Philippi who had a business
selling purple cloth and she was converted to Christianity by Paul. After her conversion she offered for Paul and
his companions to stay in her house while they were at Philippi. When she extended the invitation she said to
them, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my
house.” I read that and got to thinking
how odd that was. Usually when we invite
someone to stay at our house, we don’t think about if they will consider us
good people to stay with. We usually
think, is our house clean and comfortable, and what will we need to do to make
it that way so our guest feels welcome and their needs are met. But Lydia is saying, if they think she’s okay
to stay with because they consider her to be a believer, then they can stay at
her house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Then I remembered another story from Luke chapter 7 where
a Roman centurion had a servant who was very sick and he sent the Jewish elders
to Jesus to ask him to come heal the man. The Jewish elders said to Jesus “This
man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our
synagogue.” (v. 4). But as Jesus got close to the man’s house,
the man sent another messenger to him saying “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for
I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” There’s that idea again of, if you consider
me good enough, come to my house. It
seems that hospitality in Jesus’ day had some rules attached to it. With the centurion and with Lydia as well, it
can be partly explained by the fact that these were Gentiles interacting with
Jews. The Jewish purity laws would have
placed restrictions on Jesus and Paul being able to come into the house of a
Gentile. But it seems that there is also
this idea that the host should be worthy of the guest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We have the same sort of rules today in certain
circumstances. For example, I’ve never
been invited to dinner at the White House.
I’m guessing most of you haven’t either.
And that’s because no one at the White House knows me. Dinner at the White House with the President
is for leaders in the worlds of politics, business, science, the arts and so
forth. It’s for religious leaders like
the Pope or Billy Graham. I’m not in
that category yet. I haven’t done
anything to warrant an invitation to dinner at the White House. This makes sense to us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But if I were in that category and did receive an
invitation to the White House, the President certainly would not try to
convince me that he was worthy of having me as a guest. And when we invite people to come over for
dinner or to a party or any event we may host, we usually don’t talk about
whether we are worthy of having them as our guests. Hosts don’t usually have to sell themselves
as being good people. Most people
consider an invitation to be a gracious gesture and are happy to be thought
of. But in these 2 stories I’ve referred
to, the people doing the inviting seem to be having to sell themselves to the
invitee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Now we come to the passage from Luke 14 that Chantelle
read for us. In this passage a man is
having a banquet and he’s already invited people and they have accepted his
invitation. In Jesus’ day, when a
person had a big dinner party like this with lots of people invited, they would
get confirmation of how many people were planning to attend and then plan for
the food. On the day of the banquet,
when the food was ready, they would send out servants to let everyone know it
was time to come eat. When we have
dinner parties, we usually tell people what time to come and then plan our food
prep so that the food is ready shortly after people arrive but in Jesus’ day
they didn’t have the conveniences we have, so they summoned people once the
food was ready.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In this parable that Jesus tells, the servant goes around
to let people know it’s time to come, and the invited guests start to give him
excuses. One says he’s bought a field
and has to go inspect it. This is a lame
excuse. No one buys a piece of land
without looking at it first and making sure it’s a good property for what you
have in mind. <br />
The second guest says he’s just bought 5 yoke of oxen and needs to go try them
out. <br />
This is another lame excuse. Oxen were
valuable animals in Jesus’ day. It was
no easy thing to pair oxen together for work.
Both of the animals had to have about the same stamina because they
would be working together. You couldn’t
have one ox getting tired and trying to lay down while the other was still
pulling the plow. The animals had to
like each other. You couldn’t have 2
oxen fighting each other while trying to get them to plow your field. They had to be about the same size because
they would be yoked together. No one is
going to buy 5 yoke of oxen without first putting them in the field and seeing
how they work together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The third guest doesn’t even ask to be excused. He says he’s just gotten married and can’t
come. What he means is he’s too busy
with his wife to be disturbed. In Jesus’
day, this would have been considered a very crude excuse. The servant comes back and lets his master
know that no one is coming. It has
become very plain that, for whatever reason, these invited guests do not
consider the host to be worthy of their presence, even though they originally
accepted his invitation, and by their excuses and absence, they mean to ruin
his banquet. It’s a real social snub
that Jesus is describing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So the host is upset and angry and rightfully so. He’s
gone to all this trouble and fixed all this food because these people accepted
his invitation and now no one’s coming.
These people are insulting him in their refusal to come. But he does something truly amazing. He takes his anger and he channels it into
extending a broader invitation. He
doesn’t take his anger and channel it into retaliation. To put it in street terms, he doesn’t worry
about the fact he’s been dissed and he doesn’t strike back. This is grace. This man has suffered an injustice. His guests have disrespected him, they have
lied to him, they have insulted and embarrassed him. He gets angry. But he turns his anger in a positive
direction. He doesn’t strike back and he
doesn’t go off and hide. He doesn’t get
depressed and think no one loves him.
Instead he chooses to extend the invitation again, to send his servant
out into the streets and alleys and to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind
and the lame. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Hospitality doesn’t give up. Here we see hospitality partnered with grace
and it continues to invite people to come share the banquet rather than giving
up or striking out. Hospitality
continues to welcome. The first guests
refused to come so the host went out and got other guests. Plan A didn’t work so, rather than give up,
he went to Plan B. When our invitation
is rejected by one person, we can’t give up.
We go to another person and extend the invitation again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When I was working in London, we did a lot of street
evangelism. Our youth engaged in this
type of evangelism in 2012 when they went to Berlin. When you do street evangelism, you have to
practice this type of hospitality. When
you approach someone to engage them in conversation about the gospel, and they
reject you, you simply move on to the next person. You don’t chase them down or argue or
anything else. That type of behavior
will really turn people off and give them one more reason not to listen. But if you respect their no and move on, they
may hang around longer and may end up talking to someone. Hospitality takes the rejection and continues
to extend grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Another thing I see in this parable is that the host sent
his servant out to invite in the lame, the blind, the poor, the crippled. These were people of a lower social class
than the host. Jesus’ listeners would
have been shocked that the host would choose to invite these people. These are people who couldn’t possibly repay
this man’s hospitality and they wouldn’t have been considered worthy of the
host. But hospitality breaks the
rules. The hospitality that Jesus is
describing here is one that crosses boundaries.
It doesn’t let itself be limited by social mores. In the face of injustice, like the insult the
host suffered from his first guests, biblical hospitality breaks the rules and
continues to reach out in a gracious way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So the servant goes out and invites the poor, the blind,
the crippled and they come but there is still room for more. So the host tells him to go out into the
countryside and make those people who live outside the town come to the
banquet. So now the man is extending the
invitation to strangers. Jesus’ listeners
would have understood him to mean possibly Gentiles are being invited. These are people who aren’t from our
neighborhood. These are not the people
that we are familiar with and see as we go about our business. Now the man is inviting strangers from the
countryside. But this host wants a full
house for his banquet and he’s willing to really stretch the boundaries wide
and invite unknown people into his house.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Hospitality
has a long arm. It reaches out pretty
far. It crosses some pretty solid borders. There have been times in history when, in the
face of great injustice, hospitality reached out pretty far. In the civil rights movement, there were
people who dared to cross some pretty intimidating borders. Last summer Vandy and I went to the Smithsonian
Museum of American History and we saw the Woolworth’s counter where the 4 young
African American men sat as they challenged the border of segregation and
extended an invitation of inclusion.
Yesterday, google had a doodle honoring Harriet Tubman, a brave woman
who crossed the border between North and South many times to bring slaves to a
place where they could be free. These are just a couple of examples but there
are many times in history where, in the face of great injustice, hospitality has
reached out with grace and extended an invitation to something better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In our vision for mission statement, we as a congregation
have put out an invitation to work together for reconciliation. I want to read part of this, which was
written about 8 years ago. “Oxford
Circle Mennonite Church envisions being a place and a people open to God’s new
life. Having experienced God’s
forgiveness of sins, and having committed to imitate Christ’s example, we seek
openness to God, each other, and to our larger community through the Holy
Spirit’s guidance. We yearn for
increased wholeness – spiritual, physical, environmental and social: purer hearts, healthier lifestyles, cleaner
neighborhoods, and safer streets. So we
commit to bold movements towards reconciliation, because God has made us right
with himself through Christ. We embrace
risky opportunities to love our neighbors in order to see the Spirit tear down
walls of race, gender, age and class….we sense that there will be increasing
hope; new faces and voices; deeper discipleship and communion; more
holistically Godly living. We realize
challenges to these efforts, for conflict often accompanies openness to
diversity. However, we trust that
honesty and reliance on the Spirit will keep us humble and united, as we listen
to God and each other…We believe all this is possible because of God’s grace,
which joins us in Jesus Christ, as we together submit ourselves to the Spirit’s
wisdom.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When we put together this statement, we committed
ourselves as a congregation to be a people and a place of hospitality. Not just hospitality that likes to eat
together, although this statement does talk about sharing each other’s ethnic
foods, but the type of hospitality that challenges the rules. The type of hospitality that continues to
reach out in the face of injustice. The
type of hospitality that will take the insult and still extend the invitation
to come. This is the type of hospitality
that our God practices. In the face of
the great injustice of sin in this world, He offers to invitation to come and
be forgiven and reconciled and healed.
Even as Jesus was being crucified he extended the invitation for
forgiveness, first to those who were nailing him to the cross, and then to the
thief dying beside him. That’s crossing
all kinds of social barriers right there.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Ultimately this parable is talking about the great
banquet of God. God is the host. He is
the one whose invitation is rejected by those first invited, so he partners his
anger with grace and extends the invitation to strangers and to those
considered unworthy. He crosses social
and cultural borders because He’s prepared a feast and He wants to see people
enjoying it. He’s offering those things that we can’t provide for ourselves. The poor sick people invited in this parable
could never have afforded a feast like they got at this banquet. God is offering to us what we can’t afford or
provide for ourselves. He’s offering
forgiveness of sins, healing of hurts, peace, His presence with us always, His
Spirit remaining with us to empower us to live as He wants us to. He’s offering us life. Are we going to accept his offer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">What is the
invitation that you sense God is extending to you today? Maybe an invitation to lay down a burden
you’ve been carrying, to let Him carry it for you. Maybe an invitation for forgiveness, to come
and be cleansed of whatever it may be that’s on your conscience so you can have
peace. Maybe it’s an invitation to
commit to something or someone. Whatever
invitation you sense God is extending to you, understand that he gives this
invitation because He loves you. He
knows you might reject it, but he extends it anyway. He’s reaching across all kinds of barriers to
you. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-19376866593055438372014-01-28T07:10:00.000-08:002014-01-28T07:10:30.918-08:00In a Solitary Place<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">OCMC 1/26/14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark 1:35-39<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Today we are continuing the sermon series called
“Empowered by the Spirit”. In this
passage that Lyllian read for us, we see Jesus at the end of a period of
intense ministry. A lot of stuff has
happened in Mark chapter 1. One of the
things that makes Mark’s gospel unique is the fast pace of the
storytelling. Mark moves from one event
to another using lots of action words and giving the impression that things are
moving quickly. Mark focuses a lot on
Jesus’ power in doing miracles and his authoritative teaching that also held
power. Jesus is like a superhero in
Mark’s gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We can see this in chapter one which begins with John the
Baptist coming and baptizing people in the wilderness while making it clear
that there is another coming who is much greater than John who will baptize
with the Holy Spirit. Then in verse 9
Jesus appears, coming from Nazareth and being baptized by John. As Jesus is coming out of the water after
being baptized, we have this exciting description of heaven being torn open and
the Spirit descending on Jesus and a voice speaking from heaven, “You are my
Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Wouldn’t that have been something to see?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Then immediately after that, the Spirit sends Jesus out
into the wilderness for 40 days where he is tempted by Satan and where angels
attended him. Mark doesn’t go into any
detail about what happened there choosing instead to move quickly on to Jesus
beginning his ministry and calling his first disciples. After Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James and
John from their fishing jobs to following him, they go to Capernaum. That’s a lot of action in about 20 verses. But when Jesus gets to Capernaum, Mark
focuses on the happenings of one Sabbath day and goes into more detail about
what Jesus did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> First Jesus and the disciples went to the synagogue and
Jesus taught there. The people were
amazed at his teaching because he taught with such authority. There was a man there possessed by an evil
spirit who cried out “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”
(v. 24). Jesus orders the spirit to be
quiet and come out of the man and it does.
Again the people are all amazed because Jesus is exhibiting such
spiritual authority both in his teaching and in his casting out the evil
spirit. So the news spreads quickly over
the whole region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> After they leave the synagogue, Jesus and his disciples
go to Simon and Andrew’s home where Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a
fever. When Jesus finds out she’s sick,
he goes to her and heals her. It’s the
Sabbath day so the people aren’t supposed to be doing work. But when evening comes and the Sabbath is
officially over, the people from the town begin bringing all their sick and
demon-possessed people to Jesus so he can heal them. Mark says that the whole town gathered at the
door and Jesus healed the sick and drove out the demons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I’m tired just reading about it. I can imagine how Jesus must have felt after
the last person was healed and everyone finally left for the night. He must have been exhausted. When I go home this afternoon, I will not be
good for anything for a few hours. After
spending the morning teaching, preaching and tending to all the details of
Sunday morning, I will be wiped out for a while and will most likely take a
nap. Most pastors are the same way. Sunday is our high energy day, where we put
out a lot of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy in a short
amount of time and it wipes you out.
Just to give you an idea of how much energy and sweat is expended, I once
weighed myself before coming to church on a Sunday when I was scheduled to
preach. After I came home I weighed
again and I was 3 pounds lighter.
Bethannie said that must have been how much the Holy Spirit weighed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The point is Jesus was very intensely engaged in ministry
here and he must have been physically exhausted. Yet very early in the morning, while it was
still dark, and apparently while everyone else was still sleeping, Jesus went
off by himself to a solitary place where he prayed. This isn’t the only incident where Jesus went
off to pray after an intense time of ministry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Matthew 14 Jesus received word that John
the Baptist had been beheaded and so he withdrew by boat to a solitary
place. But the crowds followed him and,
when he landed there was a large crowd already waiting. It’s like going on vacation and finding out
your boss is staying in the room down the hall from you. Jesus took compassion on the people and healed
their sick. When evening came the
disciples wanted him to send the people home because they needed to eat but
Jesus ended up miraculously feeding them with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.
Then Jesus made the disciples get in the boat to go to the other side while he
dismissed the crowd. After sending the
disciples and the crowds away, he went up on a mountainside by himself to
pray. In this story, not only is Jesus
expending energy healing, teaching, and performing miracles, he’s also grieving
the death of John the Baptist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
hope you are getting the picture here that Jesus’ preferred method of self-care
is to go off by himself to pray. It’s
not to take a nap, it’s not to chill with friends, it’s not to veg in front of
the TV, or eat junk food, or take a walk, or go to a spa, or read a book, or
any of the other things that we like to do to recharge our energy. It’s to go off to a solitary place and talk
with the Father. I think one of the
reasons why this was so important was because, alone with the Father was the
one place where Jesus could get his needs met.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">How
many incidents in the Bible can you think of where someone came to Jesus and
offered to do something for him? There
are two incidents recorded of women anointing his feet with perfume and a few
times where people had a dinner in his honor, but these were mostly in response
to what Jesus had already done for these people. And the only place I can think of where Jesus
ever expressed a need was on the cross where he said he was thirsty. That doesn’t mean it never happened, but it’s
not recorded anywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jesus
was constantly serving others but he had needs as well. He was fully human just as we are. But like Mark, we tend to think of Jesus in
superhero terms and forget that he got hungry and tired and stressed just like
we do. And it seems that when he was
drained, what recharged his energy was to be alone with the Father. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">You
know we talk about needing prayer for ourselves, meaning we need other people
praying for us about certain things. And
there is nothing wrong with that. It’s
important that people are praying for us.
It’s encouraging to know that others are thinking about us and asking
God to help us or to meet a need we have.
But do we think of needing some prayer like Jesus needed prayer? What we see from this episode in Mark 1 is
Jesus needing to do the praying. He
needed to get away and talk things over with the Father. We don’t talk about needing prayer in that
sense. But that’s exactly what we do
need. There are times when we just need
to be alone with the Father, to be in His presence, just experiencing His peace
and His strength, listening to His voice and letting Him interact with our
spirits for a bit, renewing our strength and giving us direction. This what we mean when we say “empowered by
the Spirit.” It is in the place of
prayer, the place of solitude with God, that He fills us with what we need to
fulfill our mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Look
at the front of your bulletin where our mission statement is printed and let’s
read it together. “Empowered by the Holy
Spirit, we present Christ’s message of hope in the Oxford Circle neighborhood
and beyond; by appealing to individuals to be reconciled to God through Christ
Jesus, and by living out this peace and wholeness in relationships in our
diverse church body and the world.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">We
can’t do this if we aren’t all spending some time in the place of solitude,
talking things over with the Father, receiving the energy, direction, power and
creativity that He gives. This is what
Jesus is talking about in John 15 when he tells his disciples “I am the vine;
you are the branches. If you remain in
me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. If anyone does not remain in
me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are
picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”
A branch that withers is one that no longer is receiving nutrients from
the vine. It dries up and wilts. How many of you have felt sucked dry
before? The demands of job, family,
life, the stress you face have just left you feeling empty and dry. That’s when we need some prayer, some time
alone with the Father, letting Him fill us back up with His life. We have to remain in Him if we hope to have
enough life in us to bear spiritual fruit and that comes from a regular
practice of being alone with God in prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Another
thing that strikes me in this story of Jesus going off to a solitary place to
pray is that, when the disciples find him and want him to go back with them to
where they were before, because everyone is asking for him, Jesus says he must
go on to other places. A lot of people
would have stayed there in Capernaum. He
already was experiencing success there. The whole town had turned up at his
door the night before with the sick and demon possessed. He could have planted a church right then and
there. But after being alone in prayer,
Jesus left and went on to other places. Being
with the Father in prayer gave Jesus the direction he needed and he walked away
from a place where he was experiencing success to go on to other places,
because that’s what he was there for. No
one could ever accuse Jesus of seeking after worldly success. If the gospel writers were trying to describe
a successful messiah, they never would have told the story of the
crucifixion. Jesus wasn’t about success
as we think of success. He was about
faithfulness in doing the Father’s will.
Success would say stay here in Capernaum where they love you and build a
ministry here. But Jesus knows the
Father wants him to go on to other places, even places where he will be
rejected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Success
in the kingdom of God doesn’t look like success in the world. Yet when it comes to prayer, we have a mindset
of wanting to be successful. We think if
we don’t pray for a certain length of time, we are not successful. We think if we pray for something and it
doesn’t happen we aren’t successful. We
think if we pray and we don’t “feel” anything, we aren’t successful. But success has nothing to do with
prayer. Emilie Griffin wrote “You should
have it firm in your mind that prayer is neither to impress other people nor to
impress God. It’s not to be taken with a
mentality of success. The goal, in
prayer, is to give oneself away.” And
Henri Nouwen wrote “…what is really happening in the house of prayer is not
measurable in terms of human success and failure.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
prayer that Jesus modeled in the place of solitude is a form of
relationship. It’s about being with God
and talking with Him. It’s about
receiving life from Him, being renewed in our own strength. It’s about submitting to Him, being willing
to lay out our own plans and thoughts and dreams and ideas and letting Him sift
through them and shape them as He knows best. It’s sharing intimacy with God,
being real with Him and learning about Him. God wants to be real with us about
who He is. That’s an incredible
thought. We have the privilege of
getting to know personally the God of the universe. And that happens in the place of solitude in
prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As a
congregation, we are a body made up of many parts. Each part of this body is a branch on the
vine, in going back to Jesus’ words from John 15. Each one of us needs to be spending time in
the place of solitude, seeking life from the Father, if we as a body are going
to be empowered. This is so
important. Nothing we do at OCMC is done
apart from prayer. To try to live out
our mission statement without prayer would be like trying to grow a plant with
no roots. There would be no way to
receive life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">This
story of Jesus seeking a place of solitude for prayer comes at the end of a
time of intense ministry. But it also
comes at the beginning of a time of intense ministry. Jesus leaves the place of solitude and meets
a man with leprosy and heals him. This
man spreads the news about Jesus so far and wide that Jesus can no longer
openly enter a town without being mobbed.
Jesus had to have a rhythm of
ministry and prayer, of being with people and being alone with the Father. It was how he was able to sustain himself and
keep going. We also need that rhythm of
doing and being, of living life and receiving life. We can’t give out to others what we haven’t
received ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Prayer
is our lifeline. We can’t let go of
it. It’s the place where we get to know
God, the place where we are known by Him.
It’s the place where our needs can be met, where we can receive
life. We have to make the commitment to regularly
spend time in the place of solitude, in prayer, if we truly want to have life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-28469211277777056652014-01-02T09:16:00.001-08:002014-01-02T09:16:58.352-08:00Already, But Not Yet<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Isaiah
7:1-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Matthew 1:18-25<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> A couple weeks ago I was with the preschoolers during the
sermon time and it had started to snow.
When we went into the preschool room, the kids got so excited because it
was snowing outside and they all gathered around the windows and were saying
“It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas!” They
thought it was already Christmas because it was snowing and we had to tell
them, “Not yet!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In some ways it is Christmas already and has been since
about Sept. 30<sup>th </sup>when stores
had Christmas merchandise out. Retailers
would have us believing its Christmas as soon as school starts back in the
fall. But even though we already have
decorations up and snow on the ground and presents under the tree maybe, it’s
not yet Christmas. It’s still Advent
time, the time of waiting for what is already a reality, but is not yet here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In that sense Advent is a lot like pregnancy. When a couple is expecting a child, they are
already parents, but not yet. The child
exists. It’s growing in the mother. Two have already become three and you’re
already setting up a nursery, gathering clothes, diapers, and all the supplies
that the baby will need. You’re already
in love with the child and making decisions that will benefit the child. You are in many ways already acting like a
parent. But the child is not yet
born. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> All of the scriptures we’ve read today are stories of
already, but not yet. Matthew’s account
of Jesus’ birth tells us that Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married but
they had not yet come together. They
were making preparations to start married life.
Joseph would have been preparing their house and Mary would have been
making the things she needed to set up housekeeping. When all the preparations
were completed, Joseph would come to take Mary home and the marriage would be
celebrated and consummated. They were already a couple pledged to each other
and it would have taken legal action for them to break that pledge, but they
were not yet husband and wife. But
before their preparations were complete, Mary was found to be pregnant. Joseph assumed she had been with someone else
because he knew she hadn’t been with him.
But because he was compassionate, he decided to just quietly divorce
her. And then an angel appeared to him
in a dream and told him not to be afraid to go through with the marriage
because Mary was carrying the Son of God, the Messiah. So Joseph took Mary into his home. He let everyone believe that he was the
biological father of the child and shared with Mary the burden of the social
stigma of becoming pregnant before the wedding.
So Joseph and Mary lived together, kept house together, planned for the
birth of their first child together, but did not consummate their marriage
until after Jesus was born. They were
already a married couple, but not yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In the passages we read from Isaiah 7 and Psalm 80, there
are other situations of already, but not yet described. In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz of Judah has a
problem. Two other kings are plotting together
to invade Judah and Ahaz and his people
are afraid. So the Lord sends Isaiah to
the king to give him the message to not be afraid and to keep calm because the
Lord has already determined that this invasion plot will not work. The Lord tells Ahaz to ask him for a sign
that God means what he says, but Ahaz refuses to ask. But the Lord tells him anyway and we have a
prophecy of the virgin being with child and giving birth to a son. When God is speaking to Ahaz, he tells him
not to be afraid of these kings who are plotting against him because within 65
years, they won’t be a threat anymore and He says “If you do not stand firm in
your faith, you will not stand at all.”
(v. 9)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When I read the verse that in 65 years these guys would
no longer be a threat, I thought “that’s not really a lot of comfort.” To God, 65 years is a blip but to a human 65
years is a long time. I don’t intend to
still be alive 65 years from now and that’s probably what Ahaz was thinking
when he heard this as well. But God
takes the long view of things. He knows
these nations will not succeed in their threats. Judah will not be overthrown by these
enemies. God has already determined
deliverance and is willing to give a sign to reassure everyone of this. Deliverance is already, but not yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Psalm 80, the people of God are crying out to God from
a desperate place. God is angry at
them. He has turned his face from
them. They eat the bread of tears and
drink tears by the bowlful. That sounds
like a country western song doesn’t it – drinking tears by the bowlful. Their enemies mock them but they still cry
out to God to save them. If God will
hear and answer their prayer, then everything will be okay. They cry out to God and ask for restoration
because they know God has the ability to restore them. All they need, God can supply. He just needs to answer their prayer. The solution is already there, but they
haven’t received it yet. They pray and
cry out to God in expectation that God will hear and will give a good answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The Christmas story, the story of Jesus’ birth, is the story
of already, but not yet. It teaches us
that God fulfills His promises. The
people of Israel had waited a long time for God to send the Messiah who had
already been promised but had not yet come.
The people prayed for God to fulfill His promises and He heard the
prayers of His people. He remembered His
covenants with His people and He fulfilled them. But God takes the long view. It took a long time for Jesus to come. And there are many other promises of God that
are already but not yet. Many prophecies
have been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus but not all. There are still promises and prophecies that
are outstanding. But Peter tells us in 2
Peter 3:8-9 “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years
are like a day. The Lord is not slow in
keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to
perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
In answering our prayers, in fulfilling His promises to us, God takes
the long view. We need to keep this in
mind and not get discouraged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Jesus has already come, but not yet. The kingdom of God is among us, within us,
around us, but not yet. There are many
miracles that have been done, many prayers answered, many mighty works of God
the world has witnessed. But there is so
much still waiting to be fulfilled. The
season of Advent is the time we wait. We
wait for the coming of a child, a Savior, a Deliverer, one who leads us out of
darkness into light. But all our time is
Advent time. We still wait for Jesus to
come again. We wait for the answer to
our prayers, for the miracle we need, the healing, the restoration of
relationship, the meeting of that financial need. Whatever it is, we wait for it and we cry out
to God for it because it has not yet arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> As we wait, we need to remember that God is seeing with
the long view and He’s saying to us, “It is already done, but not yet. If you do not stand firm in your faith, you
will not stand at all.” Mary and Joseph
had to stand firm in their faith as they waited for a child to be born that
they did not make. They had to believe
in the provision and protection of God as that child was threatened with death
and they had to leave the country to protect his life. They had to believe and stand firm in their
faith as he grew and they wondered about what kind of child is this who debates
with the teachers in the Temple. Mary
had to stand firm in her faith as Jesus taught, ministered, and did miracles
all over the country. And she had to
stand firm in her faith, believing in the God who keeps promises when her son
was crucified and placed in a grave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> God has given each one of us promises just as He gave to
Mary and Joseph, to Isaiah and King Ahaz, and to the people of Israel whose
prayer we read in Psalm 80. We can cry
out to him in prayer because He has promised to hear and answer us when we call
on Him. He already has answers to our
prayers, but we have not yet received them all.
We have to stand firm in our faith in the God who keeps promises, or we
will not stand at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When Jesus was born, he wasn’t born blind, deaf, and
mentally deficient. We don’t serve a God
who can’t see, hear, or understand our condition and our needs. No we serve a God who is also our high priest
and who, according to Hebrews 4, has
been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. Our God is able to sympathize with us, He
gets us. And we are told that we can
approach His throne of grace with confidence, not with fear of rejection. It is in Him that we receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need – as we go to Him with all our need. God has already determined to help us, to
overthrow every enemy, to heal this world of every injustice. And because He has determined it, it is
already done. But not yet. We wait in Advent time until Jesus comes
again and all things are made new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> What is it you are waiting for in this Advent
season? What prayers are you offering
that have not yet been answered? What
questions are you asking that haven’t been answered yet? What breakthrough are you hoping for that
hasn’t arrived yet? The message to us
today is wait for it. Wait in confidence
that God is working all things together for our good as He knows it needs to
be. He is acting on our behalf. He has already determined to hear and answer
our prayers or we would not have the scriptures that tell us to come to him
with confidence. We must commit
ourselves to continue to wait in prayer for whatever our need is. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, we are to
“strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way, say to those with
fearful hearts, ‘be strong, do not fear; your God will come…he will come to
save you.’” It may be years in the
future that God’s answer will come. It
may be this afternoon. No matter how
long it takes for the answer to come, will you be faithful to wait and to pray
for what is already but not yet?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I’ll invite the worship team and the prayer team to come
forward. As we close our service, I’m
inviting us as a congregation to commit to wait in faithful prayer and faithful
living for the things we are hoping for that have not happened yet. Maybe you are like Ahaz and are facing
enemies that are pretty scary. It can be
hard to stand in faith when we see no answer and we are in the grip of
fear. But God is always on time. He has promised not to leave us or forsake us
and He will not give us up to be destroyed.
We have been promised life everlasting.
Maybe you are like the people of Israel who cried out to God in Psalm
80, feeling that God is angry at you or has turned His back on you. Take courage from their example and cry out
to God to turn back to you and to restore you to right relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Maybe you are like Mary and Joseph,
facing things that seem overwhelming but trying to remain faithful. Continue in that faithfulness and remain
strong. I want to give us the
opportunity as a congregation to commit ourselves to stand together and wait
for the promises of God to be fulfilled among us, to strengthen our feeble
hands, weak knees, and fearful hearts.
The prayer team is here and prepared to anoint you with oil and speak a
blessing over you. As the worship team
leads us, I invite you to come forward and receive this anointing and blessing and
to once again, offer up to God the burdens and worries you carry, knowing that
He hears and has already determined to answer. Commit to wait in faithfulness
and in confidence that God will complete His good work in you, in your family,
in your neighborhoods, in this congregation, and in our world. Would you come?</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-70152242890367073682013-11-11T11:50:00.000-08:002013-11-11T11:50:18.452-08:00Submission - Let's Go There<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ephesians 5:8-21</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Vandy and I are currently reading a book together called
“A Year of Biblical Womanhood” by Rachel Held Evans. Rachel took a year and examined different
aspects of what some American evangelical Christians would describe as being
the biblical ideal for women. She
decided to do this because she realized all the mixed messages she was getting about
what a Christian woman should be and do.
For example, her church taught that women should not have authority over
a man so women should not preach from the pulpit because this was a violation
of Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 1 Tim. 2:12. But her church would consider conservative
Mennonite women to be legalistic for covering their heads even though Paul says
in I Cor. 11:5 that that should also be practiced in the church. So Rachel wanted to gain understanding into
why some things were emphasized as essential to church practice and others were
not. It’s a very thought provoking book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> It raises some interesting questions about why there are
certain things in the Bible that we don’t follow today and why there are things
in the Bible that seem contradictory. We
can see some of this contradiction in Ephesians. There is this beautiful description of the
Church as the Body of Christ, where there is no division because Christ has
destroyed the dividing wall of hostility and brought peace between God and
humanity and between Jew and Gentile.
There are no insiders and outsiders in the Body of Christ, for “through
Christ we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” So there are no foreigners and aliens but all
are fellow citizens and members of God’s household (2:14-20). In chapter 4 Paul exhorts his readers to make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace because
there is one Body and one Spirit and we’ve all received one baptism and have
one Lord. Yet in this unity, there is
also diversity as God has gifted the members of the Body with different gifts
and abilities. These are given for the
good of all that the entire body might grow and mature and reach unity in the
faith and in the knowledge of God and become mature. (chapter 4).
So he’s teaching that we all have a place in the Body of Christ, we all
are necessary to it, we all have gifts that are needed and useful to the Body
and we are all growing together, supporting each other, towards maturity in the
faith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In the passage we read this morning, Paul is encouraging
his listeners to live faithfully as children of the light, doing those things
that please the Lord, not having anything to do with those things that are of
the dark because they aren’t in the dark anymore. They are now in the light. He means don’t practice those things that are
contrary to the kingdom of God anymore.
In chapter 4 and into chapter 5 he had listed some of those things such
as harboring bitterness, rage and anger, slandering others, fighting with
others, stealing, lying, being greedy, impure or immoral. These are not the things that bring glory and
honor to God so make sure such things as these are not a part of your life, is
what he is saying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Eph. 5:15 Paul tells the reader to be very careful,
then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every
opportunity, because the days are evil.
…Understand what the Lord’s will is…be filled with the Spirit.” He’s saying we are to devote ourselves daily
to seeking the Lord’s will, to be living in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to avoid the evil around us
in the world, we need God’s help. Only
He can truly give us the power to overcome evil, both the evil that exists in
our own sin nature and the evil that lurks in the world and would love nothing
better than to destroy God’s people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I made a commitment to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ
when I was 16 years old. Since that time
I’ve experienced how easy it is to fall prey to evil. You think you’re doing good and suddenly
something sets your temper off. Or you
start questioning someone’s motives and thinking bad about them. Or you find yourself in a situation of need
and you’re tempted to do something about it that you know is against God’s
laws. We are all fallible and it takes
staying connected to God’s Spirit and to God’s people to keep on track and
continue to grow. This is what Paul is
encouraging the Ephesians to do. He
tells them to speak to each other with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, to
encourage each other and instruct each other with scripture. To worship God and give thanks. These things help us remember what God has
done and is doing. Thankfulness helps us
to keep from falling into despair as we remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness
and love. It’s all good stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But then in 5:22 Paul tells wives that they are to submit
to their husbands as to the Lord. For
the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the body. Suddenly we are no longer in the context of
relationships of equality and mutuality in the Body of Christ, where we are all
supporting one another and encouraging one another as we grow together, but are
in a context of hierarchy with the wife being told to take a subordinate
position to her husband. As we go on
into chapter 6 Paul continues in this vein telling children to obey their
parents in the Lord and to honor them and telling slaves to obey their masters
with respect, fear and sincerity of heart, just as they would obey Christ. Here we can see very clear divisions in
relationships in contrast to Paul’s earlier writings that we are all members of
one household, no longer foreigners and aliens divided from one another, but
fellow citizens together, members of one body.
It’s confusing. It seems like 2
different messages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In the Church today, the confusion continues. Some churches, like the one Rachel Held Evans
grew up in, hold to the view that women submit to men and therefore cannot lead
in the church. Other churches say that
this teaching doesn’t apply to women in the church, that it is a teaching for
husbands and wives and as long as a husband allows it, a woman can lead in the
church. Others would say leadership in the
church is about who God is gifting and calling and that could be a man or a
woman and whoever God is gifting and calling should be allowed to lead or teach
or whatever. Paul really doesn’t help us
gain any clarity into how this should be applied because in this book and in
Colossians, he has these instructions for submission in the household. Yet in his other writings he affirms women
leaders in the church, including mentioning a woman named Junia whom he said
was outstanding among the apostles (Rom. 16:7).
And he writes in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave
nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” There doesn’t seem to be any indication of
hierarchy of relationships in that verse.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As
far as the teaching about slaves and masters goes, Paul, in his letter to
Philemon, actually is advocating for freedom for the slave Onesimus. He writes “Therefore, although in Christ I
could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on
the basis of love…I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while
I was in chains…I am sending him back to you.
I would have liked to keep him with me…But I did not want to do anything
without your consent…Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little
while was that you might have him back for good – no longer as a slave, but
better than a slave, as a dear brother.
He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a
brother in the Lord.” He’s clearly
telling Philemon that the relationship of slave/master is no more and now they
are brothers in the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">So
what are we to make of all this? Let’s
go back to Ephesians 5:21. Before Paul
gets into his instructions about husbands and wives he writes “submit to one
another out of reverence for Christ.”
That word submit is a military term meaning to arrange the troops in a
military fashion under the command of a leader.
In non-military usage, it meant a voluntary attitude of giving in,
cooperating, assuming responsibility and carrying a burden. So Paul is telling the believers at Ephesus
to not be stubborn and insist on one’s own way all the time but rather work
together, cooperate, assume responsibility for one another and carry each
other’s burdens. In this way, the church
will work harmoniously and grow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But
then he includes something called the household codes. These were codes of behavior that were
followed by households in Roman culture. They gave absolute authority to the
male head of the household. They
prescribed how life would be lived in Roman culture by giving men total
authority over their wives, children and slaves. The difference is that Paul, in his
instructions, commands the men to love their wives and treat them well, even as
they love their own bodies and take care of them. They are not to exasperate
their children but train them in the Lord, and they are to treat their slaves
well, not threatening them. The Roman
household codes didn’t put any restrictions on men at all, while Paul does put
restrictions on them. But still this
doesn’t seem to fit in with what Paul’s been advocating earlier about mutual
relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">To
be honest, I don’t know why Paul includes this in his letter. Greater minds than mine argue over Paul’s
teachings about submission and can’t come to an agreement, so I don’t feel too
bad. The best I can come up with is that he’s telling his Gentile readers who
live in Roman culture that, if they are going to follow the Roman household
codes, then it has to be transformed by the truth of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. That means that men have a
responsibility to their wives, children and slaves. It doesn’t just go one way. But I don’t think this is the ideal for the
Body of Christ. So I went further back
to the creation account to see what God’s original intent was for human relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">When
we go back to the creation account and read in Genesis 2 where God decides to
make woman, we read that God says “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” There was no suitable helper for Adam to be
found among the animals. So God caused
him to fall asleep, took one of his ribs and made a woman from it and brought her
to Adam. When he saw her Adam said “ This
is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for
she was taken out of man.’ For this
reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and
they will become one flesh.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Adam
needed someone suitable to him, someone who corresponded to him, who literally
“went in front of” him or matched him. And
this person was give help or aid or support.
So Adam needed something that Eve provided. The idea is of two things of equal strength
but different abilities that match and make a whole. Now please don’t misinterpret what I’m
saying. I’m not saying a single person
isn’t whole and you need a mate to be whole.
I’m saying in the original male/female relationship the dynamic was to
be a team and part of what that particular team needed to do was be fruitful
and multiply so, yes, they had to be one male and one female.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But
to bring this idea back into the context of relationships within the Body of
Christ and into the context of Christian households, I think this idea of
relationships being like a team is very valid and fits with the model of the
Body of Christ. In a team, people work
together and strengths and weaknesses are balanced out. The focus isn’t on one person alone. All work together to reach a common
goal. This is what Paul has been
teaching all along in this letter to the Ephesians. The goal is maturity in Christ and all are
exhorted to work together, to use their gifts, to encourage one another, to
speak to each other in psalms and hymns, to guard against those things that
destroy unity. The same goal is there in
household relationships. The relationship
between spouses should be that of a team with the goal of both growing in
maturity in Christ. It’s not about one
being lifted up higher than the other but rather about both respecting and
honoring the other and both using their strengths for the good of the
household. In relationships between
parents and children the goal is growth and maturity in Christ, not having the
last word or putting pressure on our kids to succeed in one area or
another. What difference would it make
in our relationships with our children if we were more intentional about
talking about the strengths they bring to the family system and their value to
the family, then we did talking about their weaknesses or areas where they need
to improve? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">What
really stands out to me in looking at these household codes in Ephesians is
that relationships can’t be about power.
There is one Lord, one Father, one Savior, one Spirit and none of us are
that one. The issue of power has been
settled. We all live under the power and
authority of Christ, whether we be male or female, child or adult, master or
servant. So the real issue of submission
is to submit first to the authority and Lordship of Christ and then to one
another. Remember submission is defined
as a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility and
carrying a burden. We cooperate with one
another in our family relationships. We
assume responsibility for one another, looking out for one another, protecting
one another. We carry each other’s
burdens, adding our strength where the other is weak. And we allow others to carry our burdens as
well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">If
we want strong families, strong friendships, strong churches, we need to have a
good understanding of what it means to be the Body of Christ and how this works
in all these areas of relationship. Last
week at the women’s retreat we began a conversation about the strengths of
women’s voices, the necessity of having our voices heard in the community of
faith, in our homes, in our workplaces.
We talked about why our voices are silent and what it would take to have
them heard again. And we recognized the
affirmation we have received from men and women in our lives. We need to support and encourage each other
as we grow together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">As
we conclude this sermon series on the Body of Christ, I think it is important
that we commit ourselves to living as the Body.
We need each other, we need the support we gain from one another. We can’t let ourselves be divided in our
congregation or in our homes. Last week
Pastor Leonard preached about standing together and he used the illustration of
the Redwood trees, whose root systems are intertwined. This is what helps to make them strong. We as believers in Christ have to grow like
that. We have to draw close so that our
root systems can intertwine and give us all strength. This past Wednesday as we prayed together at
noon prayer, one of the things I found myself praying for was that those in our
congregation who feel like they are on the outside would be drawn in and feel
welcomed and a part of this fellowship; that there would be no foreigners or
strangers among us. We are all one
people in Jesus Christ and we want to commit ourselves to continue to grow in
unity and in strength.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I’ll
invite the worship team to come forward now and lead us in our closing worship
song. As we worship, let’s commit
ourselves to continue to grow together, to do the hard work of maintaining
healthy relationships both in the congregation and in our homes, and to open
ourselves up to continue to welcome others into our circles of relationships,
and to grow to maturity in Christ. Let’s
pray.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-72028583886087969332013-10-23T10:43:00.002-07:002013-10-23T10:43:56.514-07:00The Body Speaks<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Body Speaks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">10/20/13
OCMC<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eph.
4:1-6, 22-32<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This sermon began with a demonstration. I had two people join me and we were tied together at the wrist, one person's left arm tied to my right arm, one person's right arm tied to my left. Then we tried to work together as one body.</span></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The bonds that tie us together as believers in Jesus
Christ are spiritual bonds, not physical.
We are united in our belief in the One True God, in our faith and
submission to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lord, and in our
baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ.
We follow the leading of one Spirit and we participate in the one
Kingdom of God. But we each have
different parts to play. We each have
our own strengths and weaknesses, our own gifts, talents and passions. And it takes each one of us doing our part
under the direction of the One Lord for the Body of Christ to be effective in
this world. We don’t all do the same
thing. Last week Pastor Leonard preached
about the different gifts that are part of the Body and he spoke about how,
early in his tenure here at OCMC he prayed that God would send him people with
different abilities and gifts and God said “You have all you need right here,
right now.” But he didn’t believe it. You see Pastor Leonard, like the rest of us
who were a part of OCMC at that time, wanted to get to the end result of seeing
the Body mature and growing and functioning well. We wanted to see the neighborhood transformed
and wonderful things happening right then.
We had the raw ingredients among us but they needed to be put together
and cook awhile before we could enjoy the meal.
And I would say, we’ve had a taste of what’s cooking but the meal is
still in the oven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We are still growing.
People with gifts and abilities are still coming and joining with
us. Vision is still being
developed. We still have a lot of work
to do and it does take all of us working together to keep the mission of this
congregation going forward. And Paul’s
words to the Ephesians in chapter 4 give us some good instructions on how to go
about growing and living and working together.
Beginning in verse 22, we are reminded that, as people who profess faith
in Jesus Christ, we have entered into a new life. Our former way of life is described here as
being old and worn out. It’s like a
piece of clothing that we’ve worn forever and it’s ragged and dirty and
threadbare and needs to be thrown out.
We can’t wear it any more. We
need to put off our old way of life because it’s been corrupted by evil, by
desires for what is forbidden by God.
Instead we are to put on the new self which, rather than being
corrupted, is actually patterned after God.
We are to be made new in the attitude of our minds. We are to think differently, to have a change
in world view. We are to see through the
eyes of God now, to think as He thinks, to view the world as He views it. Our new self which is patterned after God or
created to be like God, is fresh, unworn, unused. It is a new self of righteousness and
holiness and conforms to the truth that is found in Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Paul is using action words in this chapter. He’s telling us to take specific action, to
put off the old and put on the new so that our lives will conform to the
pattern of the righteousness and holiness of God. If our lives don’t look like Jesus, if they
aren’t conforming to this pattern, it probably means we still have some old to
take off and some new to put on. I don’t
know how many of you watch makeover shows on TV but what Paul is talking about
is like a spiritual makeover. If we
think of a show like The Biggest Loser, where people are trying to lose a
hundred pounds or more, it can help us understand what he’s talking about. On the Biggest Loser, people have to stop
doing things the old way and do things in a new way. They have to stop eating the old way and eat
in a new healthy way. They have to stop
being inactive and start exercising regularly.
They have to stop believing they can’t change and start believing they
can. Then, over the weeks, as they
consistently stop the old and enact the new, change happens in their bodies and
they lose weight. At the end of the
season, they look like new people. The
same thing happens to us spiritually as we renew our minds with the truth of
God’s word, as we stop following old habits that are corrupted by evil, and as
we begin doing those things that originate in righteousness and holiness, as we
follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and rely on His strength and power, we
become new creations and we end up looking like Jesus. It’s hard work, just as it’s hard work to
lose weight. But that’s how it’s done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Paul says we are to put off falsehood, deception, lying
and instead speak according to the truth.
We are to be free of pretense and deceit in our interactions with
others. If I had said to my helpers this
morning that we were going to walk to the left and then I turned to the right,
that’s lying and the result is confusion.
They won’t know which way to go and we won’t get anywhere. That’s how it is in the Body of Christ. We are bound together and we need to be
truthful with each other so as not to cause confusion. There is a way to speak truth though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Paul goes on in verses 26 and 27 to talk about anger and
he warns us not to let our anger lead to sin.
We need to stay on the path of uprightness and honor even if we are
angry. We need to seek to resolve things
quickly, not letting conflicts or problems go on and on because they will just
get worse. We have a spiritual enemy who
will take every opportunity to destroy us.
We should not give him any opportunity to act against us. The word devil here means slanderer or
accuser. How many times when we are
angry are we quick to believe the worst about the person we are angry
with? I know there are times I get angry
with Vandy and I’ll find myself thinking all kinds of bad things about him and
then I have to get on myself because I’ve given in to the accuser who is trying
to destroy my relationship with my spouse.
Maybe you’re thinking, well you have a right to be angry and yes I
do. Paul isn’t telling us we don’t have
the right to be angry. But I don’t have
the right to let my anger lead to accusations and slander and a tearing down of
the relationship. That’s the difference. My anger can’t distort the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We are to speak truth to one another, truth that is not
tainted by slander and accusations that come from the devil. The truth needs to be spoken in love. In verse 29, Paul tells us to not let any
unwholesome talk come out of our mouths but only what is helpful for building
up and promoting growth in the other, according to their needs. Truth may be hurtful at times, but it
shouldn’t cause the other person harm.
If truth is spoken in love, it won’t seek to harm or do damage to the
other person. Instead it will seek to
heal and to promote growth. Unwholesome
talk is anything that is corrupted by evil.
Paul uses the same language he uses in describing the old self. Don’t talk in ways that are corrupt and lead
to death. We have to think about the
words we use sometimes. And not just the
words themselves but how they are being said.
If anger, condescension, judgment and other such negative emotions come
through our words, the message is probably not going to communicate love and
promote growth and unity. Instead it can
cause hurt and division. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> So again in verse 30 Paul tells us to get rid of all
bitterness, rage, anger, brawling or arguing, slander and malice. These things are not helpful. They don’t help us grow. Instead, if left to fester, they will divide
and destroy relationships. The Body of
Christ exists in relationship as the members are joined together to the head,
who is Christ, and to each other. We
have to get along. My helpers and I this
morning found out how hard it can be to try to do something without any anger
or malice in the equation. How much
worse is it when we are dealing with all these negative emotions as well?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The corruption of the old life must be put away. We think of this most often in terms of our
individual lives. It’s not good for my
own spiritual growth if I hold on to anger or malice or if I’m lying to people. But it’s also not good for the Body of
Christ. Nothing we do as people is in a
vacuum anymore once we become believers in Jesus Christ. The health of my marriage has an effect on
you just as the health of yours has an effect on me. The health of your prayer life has an effect
on me just as the health of mine has an effect on you. We are joined together in the body of
Christ. If you aren’t growing
spiritually, it can cause me problems too.
We don’t think of this though. We
tend to think our spiritual lives are our own business between us and God and
don’t affect anyone else around us but that’s not good theology. Why do you think Paul went to such lengths to
give specific instructions for living in this letter? Because we are bound together and what one
does affects the whole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When my helpers and I were tied together, every move one
of us made affected the others. So it is
in the body of Christ. The bonds of
faith join us together so that the movements of one affect the others. In chapter 5 Paul goes on to write to the
Ephesians that there should not be even a hint of sexual immorality among
them. Our culture tells us that our sex
lives are private and what happens between 2 consensual adults has no effect on
anyone. Yet looking at our own society
how much are we affected by the sexual mores of others? We can’t listen to popular music, watch a
movie or TV show, see an advertisement without being bombarded with someone’s
sexual mores. It has an effect. And if sex is so private, why is it on every
billboard in America? And why does
pornography even exist if sex is private? Our culture is lying to us people. But in the Body of Christ there is to be no
deception and no corruption of the old way of life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Neither is there to be greed. Paul writes in 5:5 “For of this you can be
sure: No immoral, impure or greedy
person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the Kingdom of
Christ and of God.” Greed has no place
in the Body. Greed leads to all kinds of
problems and it separates people from one another. In chapter 4 Paul writes about the person who
has been stealing and says he must do this no longer but instead is to do
something useful with his hands.
Stealing is an unuseful use of one’s hands. It’s dishonorable and unworthy of anyone who
confesses Jesus Christ as Lord. You
might say that some people steal because they have no other means of getting
what they need. I’m not saying that
isn’t so. But in the Body of Christ
there should be no reason for someone to need to steal. There should be a generosity of spirit among
us that those who have will provide for those who don’t have. And all who are able to work and do something
useful with their hands will do so, so that the needs of the community are
met. Yes, this is an ideal. I know that. But we have to start moving in
that direction and we won’t if we are greedy.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When Paul speaks of the person who steals doing something
useful with their hands, he is talking about doing something excellent and
honorable and distinguished. To me this
communicates work that a person can take pride in and that will reflect
positively on the Body of Christ. No matter what type of work we do, whatever
we produce should be our best effort. We
shouldn’t have a work ethic that slacks off.
You know I entitled this sermon “The Body Speaks” because Paul writes so
much about language here, but he’s gotten into our sex lives, our finances, our
work habits. He’s just all up in our
business here. Because every part of our
lives speaks. It’s not just the words we
use or how we say them, it’s all our habits, our lifestyle. They all speak something to the world about
the reality of Jesus Christ. This is why
he tells us to take off the old lifestyle, put away the old world view that is
corrupted by evil and put on a new lifestyle, see through a new world view that
is patterned after God. When we do that, we will begin to look like, sound
like, act like Jesus. What is it that we are communicating through
our lives, as individuals and as a church community?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Ephesians 5 beginning in the last part of verse 18
Paul says that we are “to be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs. Sing and make music in
your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Thanksgiving, praise, joy, these are what we are to be communicating
through our words and our actions. Our
lives should reflect the reality that we have been forgiven of our sins,
cleansed from everything that is corrupted by evil. We’ve been reconciled to God, accepted into
His household as His own children. We’ve
been made new. Our lives are moving in a
new direction and we are now joined together in the Body of Christ. We have hope.
We have the promise of eternal life.
We’ve been given the very Spirit of God to dwell within us as our source
of life and strength. Our lives should
reflect and communicate this. We are not alone in this walk of faith. We have the members of the Body of Christ
around us, as well as the Holy Spirit within us, and we should be learning from
each other, praying for each other, encouraging each other as all of us are in
the process of taking off the old and putting on the new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> I want to invite the worship team up
now to lead us in our closing worship.
We can celebrate today because we are bound together in the bonds of
faith with one Lord, One God, One Father who loves us and is working out His
will in our lives. And we can dedicate
ourselves to continue to put off the old self that is worn out and useless to
us, and with the help of the Holy Spirit to put on the new self which is
patterned after God.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-45249203628389456612013-10-01T04:22:00.000-07:002013-10-01T04:22:52.940-07:00<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Soul Food<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
John 6:47-59<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
Luke 22:14-34<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> When I was in school growing up, everyone bought lunch at
school. We had a cafeteria and the
ladies would cook the meals so the food was pretty good. They cooked just like they were cooking for
their families at home. I remember once
in 4<sup>th</sup> grade, the cafeteria decided to have international foods
week. So every day we had a different
type of food. So one day we had
spaghetti for Italian day and another day we had chicken chow mein for Chinese
day. But one day I didn’t know what to
expect because the menu said we were having soul food. When I was in 4<sup>th</sup> grade I didn’t
know what soul food was and I was excited because I imagined it would be
something very different and I was looking forward to trying it. I remember taking my tray up to be served on
soul food day and there was ham, collard greens, black eyed peas, and corn
bread and I thought, “This is Sunday dinner at my Grandma’s house. We just need some sweet potato pie.” It was a little disappointing to find out I
had been eating soul food my whole life and didn’t know it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Today I want to talk about soul food. Not the kind that my Grandma would make but
the soul food that Jesus speaks about. In
John 6 Jesus makes the declaration that he is the bread from heaven and he
gives life to the world. In verses 55ff
he makes this shocking statement that unless a person eats the flesh of the Son
of Man and drinks his blood, they will have no life in them but whoever eats
his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life. Jesus is talking about real soul food, food
that feeds the soul of a person and gives real life. But it sounds really exotic and pretty far out
there. This is one of those Bible
statements that is every bit as jarring for us to hear as it would have been
for Jesus’ original listeners at the synagogue in Capernaum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> What is Jesus talking about when he says we need to eat
his flesh and drink his blood? This is
zombie movie stuff, not stuff you expect to hear in church. People were so offended at what Jesus was
saying that many of them turned away from following him. But when Jesus asked his 12 disciples if they
were going to turn away from him as well, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we
go? You have the words of eternal
life. We believe and know that you are
the Holy One of God.” Yes this is a
saying that is hard to understand. But
like the 12, we need to hang in here with Jesus and find out just exactly what
he’s talking about. He has the words of
eternal life, He’s the one who can feed our souls. It’s important that we take the time to
understand just what this soul food is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The idea of food and drink that feeds the soul, that
gives eternal life didn’t start with Jesus.
It was something that goes back into the Old Testament. In fact at the very beginning of the Bible we
see in the Garden of Eden there was the tree of life. When Adam and Eve sinned, God said that they
must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life and live forever. Their sin needed to be atoned for before they
could be allowed to live forever. The
prophets speak of the source of living water which is God Himself. Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13 both speak of the
people of Israel forsaking God who is the spring of living water. Isaiah 25:6 speaks of a great banquet that
God will prepare for all people, a feast with the best food and wine, an
abundance of good things that give life and joy. And in Isaiah 55 there is the invitation to
the hungry and thirsty to come and get life giving drink and food from God, to
hear the words of the Lord so that our souls will delight in the richest of
food and drink, and that our souls may live.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In Luke 22 and in John 6 Jesus is speaking right in line
with the teachings of the law and the prophets.
He’s not coming up with some new concept out of the blue but rather he’s
expanding it and personifying it. He’s
saying that He Himself is the living water and the bread of life. This is what was so hard for the people to
understand. You see we tend to think mainly
of the physical. So when I say soul
food, some of you are having visions of fried chicken, biscuits and gravy,
collard greens and ham, macaroni and cheese.
And that’s how the people of Jesus’ day thought. At the beginning of John 6, Jesus had
performed the miracle of feeding a crowd of 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread
and 2 fish. Then he left the people and
went to Capernaum and the crowds came looking for him there. When they got there Jesus told them, “You are
looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the
loaves and had your fill.” They wanted
more free bread and fish. They were
overlooking the fact that it was a miracle that they had gotten that food in
the first place. In fact they even ask
Jesus in verse 30 what miraculous sign he would do to prove to them that he was
from God. He just did one people! They couldn’t be satisfied because they were only
focusing on the physical. They only
wanted physical food, not soul food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Now Jesus did meet the physical needs of people. He healed many people, he raised the dead, he
turned water into wine and multiplied food to feed thousands. But he also consistently offered soul
food. He taught about the kingdom of God
and called people to repent and turn to God.
He taught about the things that God requires of people and he corrected
the religious leaders when they did things or taught things that kept people
from freely coming to worship God. Jesus
knew people need soul food in addition to physical food. Physical food is only going to satisfy us so
long and then we get hungry and we have to eat again. Physical food will spoil. It won’t last forever. It won’t stay fresh forever. And if it does, we probably shouldn’t be
eating it because it’s probably shot full of dangerous chemicals. Physical food is temporary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Soul food, the food that Jesus offers, will satisfy
forever. In John 4 Jesus speaks to the Samaritan
woman at the well and he tells her that he has living water. He says “whoever drinks the water I give him
will never thirst. Indeed, the water I
give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” To the crowd at Capernaum he says “I am the
bread of life. He who comes to me will
never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” There is a food that doesn’t spoil and that
never runs out and it satisfies forever.
It is food for the soul and it is found in the person of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> But still what does it mean to eat the flesh and drink
the blood of the Son of Man? That still
sounds ghoulish to us. So let me try to
illustrate this in a way that this congregation ought to be able to relate to
very well. I want to use the analogy of
a pregnant woman. Where does her baby
get life from? From her flesh and her
blood. Yes, the father contributes his
DNA and gets the process started but it’s the mother’s flesh, the mother’s
body, that protects the unborn baby and allows it to continue to grow and
develop. It’s her blood that provides
oxygen and nutrients that allows that baby to live and grow. If a baby is disconnected from its mother too
early, it will die. For 40 weeks, give
or take, the mother nourishes the baby from her own flesh and blood. Then after the baby is born, she continues to
feed it from her own body, nursing it and providing it nutrients so it can
continue to live and grow. This, I
think, is the picture Jesus is trying to give us when He says we must get our
source of nourishment and life from His flesh and His blood. In order for our souls to live, we must be
connected to Him, receiving life-giving nourishment from Him. The difference is that we never disconnect
from Him, as the baby will eventually disconnect from its mother. Children eventually learn to eat solid food
and feed themselves and grow up to be able to provide their own food and we no
longer have to feed them. But we always
need to feed from Jesus. He is the never
ending source of living bread and living water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> This, I think, is why our practice of communion is so
important. It is a regular way of
reminding ourselves that we get living bread and living water from Jesus. As we take communion, we are re-enacting the
Last Supper and remembering the words and actions of Jesus. Luke records that at the last supper Jesus
took the bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to his disciples telling
them, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” He also took the cup and said, “This cup is
the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">I
want us to think about that word “covenant” for a minute. The Greek word that is translated covenant
can also be translated as testament meaning legal agreement. One way we use the word testament is in last
will and testament, which is a valid translation of this Greek word. I believe the primary meaning Jesus is using
is to say that His blood seals a new and binding agreement with God, a new
covenant based on God’s promises of forgiveness and cleansing</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> from sin for all who call on His
name. But I think we can also gain great
insight into the depth of this sacrifice, and what Jesus means by feeding on
his flesh and blood, if we consider these words as Jesus’ last will and
testament. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
last will and testament is a legal document that spells out how a person wants
to dispose of their possessions after their death. Jesus had no possessions to pass on to anyone
at his death. He spent the last few
years of his life on the road, traveling around teaching about the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">God</st1:placename></st1:place> and demonstrating it through his
miracles. If he had any personal
possessions, they most likely were left with his family. So at the Last Supper Jesus is handing on to
his disciples the only thing he has left to give – his body and his blood. This is what is going to be sacrificed for
our sins. In the Passover celebration,
the Israelites sacrificed a lamb and ate it at their Passover meal. At the original Passover in Egypt, the
Israelites had to take the lambs blood and put it on their doorposts so their
first born children would not be killed along with the first born of the
Egyptians. They had to eat the flesh of
the animal that was sacrificed so they could live. This again gives us some understanding into
what Jesus is talking about. Just as the
Israelites had to feed on the sacrifice that spared their lives, so we have to
feed on the sacrifice that spares our souls from eternal separation from God
and eternal death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
bread and the cup that we have at communion are a representation of the bread
and cup that Jesus gave His disciples and proclaimed that this was true food of
the new covenant and that we are to partake of these in remembrance of
Him. This is soul food and it’s not
comfort food. Real soul food demands
something of us. It demands that we look
at the things in our lives that are not right, the things that separate us from
God. When we look at the bread and the
cup of communion and we remember the sacrifice behind it, it should make us
uncomfortable. Even at the Last Supper
Luke records that Jesus had to confront the fact that one of his disciples was
going to betray him. Judas was sitting
with him at the table, eating this meal with him, planning how he was going to
betray Jesus. And Jesus knew it. The
other disciples broke out into an argument about which of them was considered
the greatest. Apparently it was one of
their favorite things to argue about.
Jesus had to confront their pride and ambition and remind them that he
served them, even washing their feet that very night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
had to confront the fact that he and his disciples had a spiritual enemy who
wanted to destroy them. He tells Peter,
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you Simon, that your
faith may not fail. And when you have
turned back, strengthen your brothers.” He went on to tell Simon Peter that he
would end up denying that he even knew Jesus 3 times that very night. But even in knowing that Peter was going to
deny him, Jesus promised restoration – “when you have turned back, strengthen
your brothers.” Jesus confronted some
uncomfortable stuff but in that confrontation, he offered life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
are the things we are to remember as we prepare to take communion today. This is soul food. It is necessary that we listen to and respond
to the words of Jesus. It is necessary
that we spend time in His presence in prayer and in service. It is necessary that we take what He offers
us, that we take it into ourselves and make it a part of us, that we may
live. It’s not always comfortable but it
does give real life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> As we prepare ourselves to take communion today, let us
take the time to examine our own lives to see what’s there that Jesus needs to
confront. We are told that we should
examine ourselves in preparation for taking communion so that we do not take it
in an unworthy manner, meaning we confess any known sin in our lives and ask
for forgiveness. When we do, we are
forgiven and as we take communion, we can remember not our sins, but Jesus who
gave Himself so we could have life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-70972991712374501252013-09-17T11:49:00.001-07:002013-09-17T11:49:24.621-07:00Soul Care of Children<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The first story that came to
my mind in thinking about Jesus as a child and his interactions with children
and what we can learn from that, is from Luke chapter 2. This is on page 945 in the pew bibles. Here we have the story of Jesus’ birth and
the shepherds coming to visit him as a newborn, after the angel had announced
his birth to them. Then, when he was
still an infant, his parents brought him to the temple in Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord. It was Jewish law that
every firstborn male would be set apart to God and the parents would bring the
baby along with a sacrifice, and dedicate the child to God. This is where we get our practice of child
dedication from and some of you will be doing this in a couple of weeks. Our understanding of this practice is a
little different. We don’t bring animals
or birds to sacrifice when we do a dedication.
And actually our understanding is more that we are dedicating ourselves
as parents and as a congregation to raise this child to be a disciple of Jesus,
rather than dedicating the child. We
parents, and we congregation members, are making a vow to each other and to God
to model and teach the Christian faith to our children, to provide an
atmosphere where they can learn and to encourage and pray for them, so that
they will make their own decision to live as disciples of Jesus. And we believe God honors these vows and
works with us in drawing our children’s hearts towards Him and giving them the
gift of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Then in verses 41-52, we have the story of 12 year old
Jesus who is going to the Temple with his parents for the Passover
celebration. Luke tells us that Jesus’
parents went to Jerusalem for Passover every year. They were a family who took their religious
duties seriously. Mary and Joseph
modeled their faith for their children.
We parents are vital to our children’s faith development. They need to see us putting our own faith in
action in order to believe. In fact
researchers have identified parents as the most significant factor in a child’s
faith development. When children see
their parents modeling a life of faith, and hear their parent’s faith stories,
it has more of an impact on them than anything else – more than the influence
of their peers, of other people at church, of youth workers, of teachers, of
pastors, of service or missions experiences or sending them to Christian school
instead of public. Outside of the Holy
Spirit, parents are the number one influence in a child’s faith development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Jesus’ parents took their role in faith development
seriously and they brought their 12 year old son with them to the Passover
celebration. But lest we feel bad that
perhaps we as parents don’t live up to the model of Mary and Joseph, the story
goes on to say that when they left Jerusalem to go back home, they neglected to
bring Jesus with them! For anyone who
has ever been less than the perfect parent, this story gives some comfort. No matter how short we may fall with our own
children, we’ve never lost the son of God!
But all of us can sympathize with Mary and Joseph when they realized
that Jesus wasn’t with them. They
thought he was with some others in the group they were traveling with and when
they discovered he wasn’t, they immediately turned around and went back to
Jerusalem. They searched for 3
days. Can you imagine the panic they
must have felt? They finally found him
at the Temple. He had been there the
whole time, hanging out with the teachers, asking them questions and talking
with them. Luke tells us that everyone
who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers to the
teachers. When his parents asked him why
he had worried them so he said “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s
house, or be about my Father’s business?”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Even as a 12 year old, Jesus knew his purpose. He knew he was supposed to be at the Temple, going about His
Father’s business. Our children are
capable of great understanding of faith issues.
They are capable of being about the Father’s business and we do them a
disservice if we don’t include them in that business. This summer, we had prayer walking in the
neighborhood every other week. In
planning for this we debated as to whether we should have childcare at the
church during that time. But after
discussing it we decided that it would be good for families to do prayer
walking together. Remember it’s
important that our kids learn from us how to do this faith stuff. So we included the kids in prayer
walking. I went out for one of the
prayer walks into Oxford Village with Quinn, Lani and Carmela. When it came time to pray, Lani and Carmela,
who have both grown up in this congregation, blew me away with the insight and
passion with which they prayed. As we
walked, they talked about the different people from the Village they knew
through summer camp experiences or through church activities and they prayed
with real insight and wisdom for the community.
A few weeks later Ron Sider went out with Jaron Tinsley and I think
Jacob Prunes and maybe someone else on a prayer walk further down Langdon
Street as you go towards the Boulevard.
When he came back, he said he too was so impressed with how these young
boys were able to pray for the neighborhood with insight and faith. It’s important that we remember that our
kids, no matter how young, are capable of understanding and being about the
Father’s business and I hope we will continue to find ways to have our children
involved with us in ministry. I tried to
include a sense of that involvement in the
video we just saw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Jesus thought children were very important and that there
was a lot we adults could learn from them.
In Mark 9:35 (page 932), Jesus was at a house in Capernaum and he called
the 12 disciples to sit with him to teach them.
Earlier as they traveled to Capernaum, his disciples had been arguing
about which one of them was the greatest.
So now Jesus tells them that if anyone wanted to be the first, he must
be the servant of all. Then he took a
little child and placed the child among them.
I think by placing a small child in among his group of disciples, he was
communicating that this child was also a disciple. Then he took the child in his arms and told
the disciples that whoever welcomed one of these little children in his name,
welcomed him. And whoever welcomes him,
welcomes the one who sent him. Then in
verse 42 he tells them that it would be better to be drowned than to cause one
of these little ones who believe in him to stumble. Jesus was teaching his disciples an important
lesson that greatness in God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of being the best or the
first, but a matter of service and looking out for one another, encouraging
each other in growing in our faith. And
he used a small child to teach this lesson.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> In another story in Matthew 19:13 (p. 908), we see that
parents were bringing their children to Jesus so he could pray for them but his
disciples were telling the parents not to bother Jesus with that. But Jesus said “Let the children come to me
and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as
these.” And he placed his hands on them
and blessed them. Jesus had been
welcomed by the teachers in the Temple as a 12 year old boy. He had been welcomed to ask questions and
learn. And he welcomed children to come
to him. He allowed their presence when
he was teaching the 12. Not only did he
allow it but he included them in the teaching session, placing a small child
among the disciples and holding the child in his arms, blessing the children
that were brought to him and praying for them.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Over the last year we’ve included our children in the
worship services. They might tell Pastor
Leonard and I that we could do a better job of making the sermons more
interesting to them, I don’t know. But
one parent told me her child was listening to the sermons and said she liked
being in service and found the sermons interesting, and she could understand
them. As the children have shown me
their sanctuary art pictures, I’ve enjoyed seeing the detail they put into them
and how they are able to express what they learn through their art. Take the time to look at some of the pictures
sometime because they capture some interesting aspects of the sermons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We’ve included the children in such things as Bible
memory. One of the things I’ve
appreciated about Rich’s approach to the Bible memory is how he has found so
many creative ways to do it and the kids really seem to love it. I heard a story from this summer about Josiah
Leaman working on the bible memory verses and he knows we are supposed to say
our memory verse to someone else in the church and then we can put our paper up
on the board. He was learning his verses
and was then helping his stuffed animal Ruff learn it as well and Ruff had to
tell the verse to someone so he could get credit for learning it. That’s disciple making in action! Already Josiah is passing on what he himself
is learning. As we include our children,
as we set them among us and let them learn, they will grow in their faith and
will start passing it on to those around them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> The last story I want to share from the Bible is from
Matthew 21:14 (p. 910). This took place
in the week before Jesus was crucified.
He was at the Temple and, according to Matthew, it was after he had run
the money changers out of the Temple.
The blind and lame came to Jesus and he healed them. But the chief priests and teachers of the law
got indignant, not only because of the wonderful things Jesus did, but also
because the children were in the Temple courts shouting “Hosanna to the Son of
David” in reference to Jesus. When the
religious leaders confronted Jesus about what the children were saying he
answered, “have you never read, ‘from the lips of children and infants you have
ordained praise?” Jesus accepted the praise
of children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> Jesus accepts the praise and prayers of our
children. It is precious to him. When my daughter was little, we used to tell
her when we came to church that we were going to Jesus’ house. It seemed like a simple way to explain what
church is and I think it helped to communicate a sense of belonging for
her. Just like she belonged and was
welcomed at Grandma’s house or Nana’s house, so she belonged and was welcomed
at Jesus’ house. We wanted her to know
that it is normal for her to join in the praise and prayer and learning and
service that happens at Jesus’ house and not to feel like that was something
for the adults but not really for her. I
can remember having that feeling some as a child and maybe some of you have
also. But Jesus acts as if it is
perfectly normal and acceptable that the children would be shouting his praises
in the Temple courts. It’s what he
expects. And our children should feel it
is normal and acceptable that they participate in all aspects of congregational
life and learning and worship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> What do I hope we as a congregation take away from this
Children’s Sunday service? One, we are
incredibly blessed that God has entrusted the souls of so many children into
our care. As parents, we’ve been blessed
and we’ve been given a great responsibility to nurture faith in our children,
to care for their souls. We need to make
sure we get this right. We parents need
to be seeking the wisdom, strength and grace of God to guide our children in
faith because, outside of the Holy Spirit, we are the most important influence
in helping them grow in faith. So we
parents need to be continually growing in our own faith if we are going to
nurture faith in our kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> We as a congregation have to be committed to nurturing
faith in the children who have been entrusted into our care. We have to consciously work to make church a
safe, welcoming, accepting place for them, a home where they belong. We have to continue to include them in what
we do as a congregation and we should be continuing to have conversations about
how to do that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> I was going through files on my computer this
week and I came across a testimony that one of our youth wrote after the youth
missions trip to Berlin last year. In
expressing what the trip meant to him he wrote, “It was not necessarily what
happened while we were there. Rather, it was the fact that those adults within
our community made it possible…</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The
devotion and support we saw from the adults around us… If I had my way,
everyone would experience it…What was really important to me was seeing the
older generation reach down, grab the hands of the younger, and allow them to write
another passage of their lives- one that will never be forgotten, and could
never be replaced.” I would hope that
every child in this church experiences this same devotion and support from
us. The children of this congregation
need to know that we believe in them, are praying for them, are available to
them, and are willing to help them go further than we ourselves have gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Many of you are
working directly with our children and youth in the Christian Ed classes, in
choir, in volunteering through OCCCDA, through mentoring, and through praying
for our children, through encouraging them.
I’m going to ask Pastor Leonard to come now and to lead us in prayer for
those who are working in our Christian Ed. Program in the coming year. We want to dedicate ourselves to this work
and to ask for God’s anointing so we can do it well. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12428192486871983425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-32555290155559834642013-08-19T12:29:00.000-07:002013-08-20T07:54:48.788-07:00"The God of Honor" Sermon on Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8, 8/18/13 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In these 2 passages that we’ve read today, Jesus is teaching on prayer. In one, a man is appealing to his neighbor to help him out with a fairly simple need for some bread for a visitor who has arrived late at night. In the other a woman is appealing to a judge for justice against her adversary, which is probably a little more complicated than borrowing a loaf of bread. But in each case, whether the request is simple or complex, the person has to persist in asking. Both of these parables have been used to teach the point that we are to pray consistently and persistently and God will hear and answer our prayers. Jesus even states in Luke 11:9 that we are to ask, seek, knock, and there will be a response. The verb tense that Jesus uses is one that is progressive, meaning we are to ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. The widow in chapter 18 is certainly a picture of persistence. This scoundrel of a judge declares that he’ll be sure to give her justice so she won’t wear him out with her constant coming to court. The best way to get rid of her is to give her what she wants!<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But we don’t persist in asking if we know there is no chance of an answer. Last month, I took my car to my mechanic for an oil change. He opens at 8AM so I was there at 8:30. But the doors were locked, no one was there. It was the day after July 4th and he had closed for the holiday weekend. There was no sense in me staying there knocking on the door asking for an oil change, because there was no chance for an answer. We only persist in asking if we know there is chance of getting an answer. So inherent in Jesus’ admonition to keep on asking, seeking, knocking in prayer is the reality that an answer is possible. The widow persisted in pestering the judge because he was the one who could and should give her justice. The man persisted in pestering his neighbor at midnight because he knew the neighbor was there and could give him what he needed. We are to be persistent in prayer because God is the one who can and will answer our prayers.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is another reason to persist in prayer and that has to do with a cultural factor at work in these stories that people in Jesus’ day would have picked up on immediately, but it’s one that is not as strong in our own culture and that is the concept of honor and shame. Middle Eastern culture is not as individualistic as our own culture. It’s very communal. So we have to keep in mind when we read about Jesus’ interactions and teachings, that it is always in the context of a community. So let me ask you a question. When you hear the story of the man going to his neighbor at midnight and waking him up, asking him to get out of bed and give him some bread for this visitor, do you sympathize more with the man who needs the bread, or with the neighbor who has to get out of bed and give this guy bread and then most likely get his kids back to sleep because the whole household has been woken up? Because if the guy had just planned ahead for his visitor and made sure he had bread, this wouldn’t have happened. Am I right? <br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus’ audience would have sympathized with the guy who needed the bread, not the guy who was woken up. Back in those days, you were honor bound to give the best hospitality to guests. The basic need was an unbroken loaf of bread for each guest. People ate with their hands and bread served as a utensil. You wouldn’t give a dinner guest a fork that someone else had used that hadn’t been washed. They wouldn’t have given someone a loaf of bread that another person had eaten from. Also back in those days, there would have been a communal oven in the village that everyone used and so you only had certain days of the week when your family could use the oven. So everyone knew the schedule and knew who had fresh bread in the house. Obviously the guy with the guest didn’t have use of the oven that day or he would have made fresh bread for his guest. But he knew his neighbor did use the oven and did have fresh bread. Finally, when a guest came, they were the guest of the whole community, not just one individual family. It was the responsibility of the whole village to see that they were properly cared for. Because people placed such a high value on hospitality, everyone in the village would have done what was necessary to properly care for the guest. It would have brought shame on the whole village if a guest was not treated well. <br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today, when we invite someone over we take full responsibility for caring for them. We don’t want people to leave our home thinking we were rude or not good hosts. This weekend my brother and his family were with us to celebrate Bethannie’s leaving for college. So I made sure the house was cleaned, fresh sheets were put on the bed, fresh towels were put out and that we had extra food and drinks on hand. We wanted them to be comfortable in our home. Back in Jesus’ day, a visit like this would have been more communal. One neighbor would have provided the sheets, another the towels, another special dishes and so forth. The host was providing the house for the person to stay in, so he would have gone around the village and collected everything else he needed for the guest from his neighbors. So if he knows that this person has the best tablecloth in the village and that one the best dishes, he goes and gets those because the honor of the whole village is at stake. The village doesn’t want to be known as a poor place with bad hospitality so everyone would have brought out the best and taken care of the guest.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So when people heard the story that this man was going around asking for bread, they sympathized with him and understood that their sense of honor would have compelled them to get out of bed at midnight and get together the best loaves of bread they had and give them to the man, along with anything else he needed. Applying this to prayer, we persist in praying because God is the one whose sense of honor will compel Him to answer our prayers. If our sense of honor and value of hospitality compels us to provide for guests in our home in an adequate way, how much more will God provide for us, His children, when we have need? <br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is the one who can and will answer our prayers. There are many instances in the Bible where God tells His people to come to Him and ask and He will answer. Isaiah 58:9 says “You will call and the Lord will answer.” In Isaiah 65:24 God says “Before they call I will answer.” In Jeremiah 33:3 He says “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you do not know.” In Psalm 86:7 the psalmist says to God “When I am in distress I call to you because you answer me.”<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> It’s a matter of honor with God that He answer when people call on Him in prayer. The concept of honor in Jesus’ day had to do with avoiding shame. There were strong ideas of what was honorable and what was not. People of honor were people who followed conventions and didn’t do things to bring shame on themselves, their families or their communities. This idea still persists in many cultures of the world including the Middle East. One of the things you may have heard of is honor killings. This is when a person is killed by a member of their family or social group because they have been thought to bring shame on their family or community. Most often it is women who are killed in this way because the way they dress or act is considered shameful, or because they don’t want a prearranged marriage. It is estimated that as many as 20,000 women a year are victims of honor killings. This shows you how seriously honor and shame are taken in these cultures. So in these parables that we are looking at today, we have to realize how startling it would have been to Jesus’ listeners to hear that a neighbor would refuse to give bread or a judge would have no concern for what people thought of him and his actions. It got their attention because these things went so much against their core value of honor.</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">The parable Jesus tells in Luke 18 was scandalous not only because there was a judge who didn’t fear God or care about people, but also because this judge represents God! Jesus is taking a bold risk in using a negative character to represent God and to teach by contrast that God answers prayer. The point of the parable is that we ought to always pray and not lose heart. Jesus begins with a description of the judge who is a man who doesn’t feel shame. He’s an anomaly in this honor bound culture. This is one of the sharpest criticisms that could be levied against a person in Jesus’ day. This judge does shameful things but doesn’t feel ashamed of them. He should be a person of honor. He’s a leader in the community and people come to him for justice. He has a great deal of power and authority. He should be the one who is most concerned that things are done right. </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">The widow by contrast is innocent, without power, destitute, and oppressed. She has no one to help her. Back in Jesus’ day a woman didn’t go to court. A man would go if a family had a legal issue because court was a very rough place. The fact that this widow is in court pleading her own case shows that she has absolutely no one to help her. This judge should have taken care of her need first. In the Old Testament the Lord had specified that orphans and widows were to be cared for and to be protected from oppression and violence. The orphans and widows were to be the first ones whose cases were heard in court. The fact that this widow had to keep coming to the judge with her plea was against Old Testament law. Her legal rights were being violated. But the judge is the only one who can give her justice so she keeps coming back day after day. The judge becomes convinced that she will never give up, that she will pester and irritate him forever. And so even though he can’t be appealed to out of a sense of duty to God or to the people, or out of sense of shame for evil, he finally grants the woman justice just so he can have some peace.</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">How much more will a loving father grant justice to His children who cry out to Him day and night? If we persist in prayer, we will be heard. We aren’t appealing to a scoundrel of a judge who doesn’t care for anyone but himself. We are appealing to the God who welcomes us to come before Him in prayer, whose character is one of mercy and justice, and who wants to answer our prayers. In Luke 18:7-8 Jesus asks the rhetorical question “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” It is in God’s character to answer us when we cry out to Him.</span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">The night when I was working on this sermon our dog was sitting next to me in the chair in the living room. Vandy had come in to work on some things there as well and he was talking to the dog. He had gotten her a doggie biscuit earlier and he always gets a couple and teases her with them. He’ll give her one and then hide the others somewhere. So he had one doggie biscuit set aside but she snuck up and got it. He was fussing at her that she took it without asking. So I asked him why did she need to ask and he said because it was polite. Now the doggie biscuits all belong to the dog. They were bought for her, they are made for her and nobody else in the house is going to eat them. But she still has to ask for them. It’s kind of the same way when we pray. God has all that we need. He’s Lord of our lives and He’s provided for our salvation and for every circumstance we may face in life. He created this world with everything that we need for life. He’s provided for the life to come. All this is for us. But we still have to ask. And we have to be persistent in asking. Because really it’s not about being polite, it’s about being in a relationship. Vandy wants the dog to ask him for treats because he wants to relate to her. He wants her attention and wants to interact with her. God wants to have our attention. He wants to communicate with us and relate to us. He wants us to learn about Him as we relate to Him. </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">Ultimately we pray because God is our Father. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he said we are to start with the words “Our Father”. These are words of relationship. The relationship we have with God is one of love and acceptance and also one of discipline and correction, all done with perfect justice and mercy. We spend time with God so that we can become more like Christ, that we can also be people of honor. The bible tells us that we are being formed into the likeness of Christ, with ever-increasing glory that comes from the Spirit. We pray persistently so that we can come to know the mind of Christ, to know His will for our lives, and to receive what we need from His Spirit in order to participate in His mission on earth. God doesn’t reject the person who comes before Him in prayer. He doesn’t kick us out of His presence or walk away from us. He doesn’t leave us hanging, refusing to grant us what is just and right as He knows it should be. He may tell us “no” or He may make us wait while He works to get things ready for us to receive a “yes”. But He never ignores us or actively works to harm us. </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">It takes faith and persistence to keep coming to God, presenting our requests to Him, when it seems no answer is coming. But in those times, as we continue to come to God in prayer, we get to be in His presence. I remember Pastor Leonard’s sermon from a few weeks ago when he reflected on the story of Jesus and the disciples in the boat when the storm came up and the disciples woke Jesus up, scared they were going to be killed. They had the answer to their prayers right there in the boat with them. They were with Jesus. As an outsider looking in I can say of course they were going to survive because Jesus was there. But how many times do we get discouraged and afraid because we pray for something and don’t see the answer and we forget that Jesus is in the boat with us? He’s promised to never leave us. </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">I’ll invite the worship team to come forward now as we transition into a time of prayer. And during this time, I want to encourage us to think about who God is. He’s the God of hospitality who welcomes us to come into His presence and spend time with Him. He’s our Father who loves us and has already determined to provide for us. He’s the God of honor who keeps His word and doesn’t lie to us. He’s the God who sees and hears us, He gets us, He knows where we are at and still welcomes us to come to Him. One of the things that has struck me this summer as I’ve watched the response of this congregation to this series of sermons on the Scriptures of Good Report is that many of us are carrying heavy burdens and many people are coming to God in prayer for many different things. Some of you may have gotten answers already this summer but others are still burdened and still crying out. As we pray today, let’s pray for each other for God to give us the strength and the faith to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, knowing that we will get an answer. </span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre;">So what I want us to do as a response today is to stand up and join hands with the people sitting next to you. This may mean you need to move around a little or reach across the aisle for someone’s hand. And as we hold hands, let’s pray for the people on either side of us. I’m going to ask the worship team to join hands with me up here. We’re going to just take a few minutes and pray for each other, for the worries or burdens that the people next to us might be bearing, for the needs they might have, for God to be at work in their lives and for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done. Let’s take a few moments and pray.</span><br />
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Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-90896706997887597402013-08-15T13:51:00.000-07:002013-08-15T13:51:43.998-07:00Jordan Kauffman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4frMsczlu0ls0qz5ibiehZTmrUKmZQMBF-Dr9C6puOsy6MGBM4yI-t_H4rM0xbtmfBkf4pYYoO5hOtrXi4pZ6oKPksZx4AEoMyN3v6Zxzbrc6CXKih5_4HQKNqjicznkvrq9KSSOJz8k/s1600/IMG_0247+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4frMsczlu0ls0qz5ibiehZTmrUKmZQMBF-Dr9C6puOsy6MGBM4yI-t_H4rM0xbtmfBkf4pYYoO5hOtrXi4pZ6oKPksZx4AEoMyN3v6Zxzbrc6CXKih5_4HQKNqjicznkvrq9KSSOJz8k/s1600/IMG_0247+(1).JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Jordan grew up in a Christian family,
went to church regularly, and in general was a good guy. He wasn’t rebellious,
never did anything crazy. He believed what his parents believed, and did what
the church told him to do, for the most part. He did accept Christ when he was seven
and several more times after that. That’s because Jordan liked going up for
altar calls though, and it was a competition between him and his cousin to see
who could get up there first – actually, Jordan admits that it was probably
only a competition for him. His cousin may have had better intentions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Jordan’s relationship with Christ
started very early, though he didn’t entirely understand the weight of that
relationship and begin to have a more personal connection with Christ until right
before he started high school. The summer after eighth grade, Jordan went on a
middle school retreat. While he was there he had something like a vision. It
was similar to something he had seen in a made-for-TV Christian movie. He was
in a large crowd when everyone froze and he was the only one who could move.
Jesus was on the cross, and Jordan walked up to him. They looked at each other,
then Jordan turned and just walked away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> This was an eye opener for Jordan,
and marked the beginning of his personal relationship with Christ. From that
point on, Jordan made greater attempts at seeking out Christ. He wasn’t always
successful, and it was still hard, though. Throughout high school, Jordan tried
to figure out how to separate his faith from that of his parents, how to have
his own relationship with Christ that wasn’t just mimicry. Jordan also
describes his relationship with Jesus in high school as being very emotionally
based. The best way he knew to connect with God was through emotionally charged
situations, and so he was constantly seeking these out. He judged how his
relationship with God was going by how he felt, and that wasn’t always the best
measure. While he was feeling good about it, that would be great, but if he
felt distant from God, he didn’t have much to hold onto to tell him that wasn’t
necessarily true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> At this point, Jordan’s relationship
with Christ is very different from how it was in high school. He now is much more
intellectual in his approach to God than he used to be. He’s always thinking
about why he believes what he believes, why he does certain things, whether or
not there is value in different traditions and practices of the church. And all
of that is good. Jordan is very thoughtful of how he relates to God, though he
does think he’s become too analytical. He has a hard time believing the things
he did in high school, but wishes sometimes that he could get caught up in an
emotionally charged moment with God from time to time. He is now trying to find
that balance between being both emotional and intellectual with God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Jordan also, like many of us,
struggles with a vast amount of other things in his relationship with God. He
has a hard time figuring out how he’s supposed to love a God that he can’t
easily see or hear. He wonders how he is now supposed to be a man of God, since
he is no longer a child. And most of all, he wonders what his role is in God’s
Kingdom, and what His plan for him is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Jordan struggles with many things,
and has gone through a lot of dramatic changes in his relationship with Christ.
He has gone from misunderstanding and complacency, to emotional overdrive, to an
analytical approach. He is still trying to find a balance in how he relates to
God. However, despite all the changes he’s gone through, and things he still
has trouble with, Jordan is still actively seeking out God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-9978123844285306592013-08-12T09:52:00.000-07:002013-08-12T09:52:35.020-07:00"Holding On or Being Held?" Sermon on Luke 12:16-34, 8/11/13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This
whole chapter in Luke deals with some important themes. Jesus is talking about those things that are
most important in life and not being concerned just for one’s physical well
being. Along with having enough food and
clothing, it is also important that we be people of integrity, that what we do
in the dark, we will not be ashamed of in the light. If we say we are disciples of Jesus Christ,
then we need to demonstrate that in every area of our lives. Just as food and clothing are important, so
are healthy relationships with our families and neighbors and colleagues. Jesus warns the people listening to him to be
on their guard against all kinds of greed because true life does not consist in
an abundance of possessions. To
illustrate this he tells them the parable of the rich fool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is a rich
man whose fields produce an abundance of crops and he finds he doesn’t have
enough room to store all the grain. So
he takes counsel with himself. He literally
says “Self, what will I do? I don’t have any place to store my grain. I know.
I’ll tear down the barns I have and build bigger ones and then I can say
to my self, ‘Self, you have plenty of food for years to come. Retire and enjoy the good life.’” He’s
kind of like Gollum and Smeagol talking about how to get the ring of power
back. No good can come of this.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In
Middle Eastern culture, family, friends, community are all very important. When someone has an important decision to
make, they consult with others. They don’t
do this on their own. They have long
discussions with family and friends who can help them think it through from
various angles and then they make their decision. It’s important to have people in our lives
who can give us good advice and who will truly look after our best
interests. It’s important who we talk
to, who we listen to, and who has influence in our lives. But this rich fool didn’t consult with anyone
but himself. He seems not to have anyone
close to him<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jesus’
audience would have picked this up right away when he was telling this parable
and would have wondered what was wrong with this rich man that he didn’t talk
with others before making a decision about what to do with his crop. This man lives isolated from his fellow human
beings and so the only person who’s interests he takes into account are his
own. Now this guy is already rich even
before he has this bumper crop. It
wouldn’t hurt him to sell the whole crop rather than store it. It wouldn’t hurt him to give the crop
away. He would still be rich. But in taking counsel with himself, he
decides to tear down the barns he has and build bigger ones to store all of his
crops and then he’ll retire. We don’t
know how old he is. He could be still
pretty young and have several good years of farming ahead of him. But in taking counsel with himself, he
decides to store this crop and retire and live off it for the rest of his life.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m not a farmer but I’m pretty sure that’s
not really a good idea. Where is he
going to store things between the time he tears down the old barns and builds
the new ones? And why would he want to
store it all anyway? What if rats get
into it or it gets moldy or rots? And
what about his land? Is he just going to
let it sit fallow for the rest of his life?
What about all the people who could benefit from the food he grows? How is it going to affect his community if he
no longer is hiring people to work his land and selling his crops to others?<o:p></o:p></div>
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But the rich fool
doesn’t seem to take any of this into consideration. He is only focusing on himself. Just like in Lord of the Rings when Gollum
held onto the ring of power, this rich fool is holding on to his crops. But with Gollum we know that, not only was he
holding onto the ring, but the ring was also holding on to him. The more he tried to possess the ring, the
more he was possessed by it until he was destroyed by it. That’s what happens with the rich fool. God steps in and says to him “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded
of you. And the things you have
prepared, whose will they be?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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This is getting to
the crux of Jesus’ point. Life is
something that is given by God. The
Greek word for “life” that is used is “psyche” which means the animating force
of life. It is the thing that leaves the
body at death. It is something we cannot
create, but rather is bestowed on us by God.
And life is not something we can hold on to indefinitely. We can’t stop it from leaving the body at the
time of death. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Hebrew word
that refers to this life force is nephesh and the nephesh is the thing that
hungers and thirsts after God. It is the
part of us that is able to relate most directly to God. And the nephesh is that thing that realizes
it must remain connected to God if it is to be healthy and strong. This nephesh, this life force is what is
being demanded of the man. The language
God uses is that of repayment of debt.
In other words God is foreclosing on the rich man’s soul. He’s taking back what he had loaned to this
man because the man has failed to make proper payment on the loan. Jesus says in verse 21 “So it is with those
who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich, (not abundantly
generous) toward God.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our very life
force is on loan to us by God. And he
can demand it back at any time. There is
a generosity towards God that is expected of anyone who has been given
life. But we won’t express this generosity
if we are being held down by the things of this life. The rich fool could only think of what he
needed to have a good physical life.
With his bumper crop he had hit the lottery and was planning to
retire. He wasn’t planning on doing
anything to help out his community. In
fact his actions were probably going to result in harm to his community.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jesus warns us not
to fall into the trap of worrying so much about the things of this life, being
held down by the things of this life, and he mentions specifically food and
clothing. Food and clothing are
necessities of life. They represent
basic needs we have for nourishment and protection. Yet Jesus points out that God feeds the birds
and clothes the flowers and they don’t grow crops or make cloth or do any
worrying or planning for their basic needs.
Yet God provides beautifully and abundantly for them. And how much more valuable are we than
birds? How much more important to God
are we than flowers? Our worrying
doesn’t gain us anything so why do we do it?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Now what Jesus
means by worrying is the state of being tossed around mentally, going back and
forth, unable to come to any state of peace or resolution about things because
we feel like a rat in a maze with no way out.
We get frantic in our minds over things that we have no control over and
can’t do anything about. When we get in
this state we are being held down by anxiety and worry. We have no peace. There’s only fear, confusion, panic. And when we are in this state, we can’t be
generous towards God or anyone else.
When we get like this our relationships are going to suffer. We’re going to be jealous or resentful of
people who aren’t suffering. We’re going
to feel sorry for ourselves. We may
isolate ourselves. We complain and argue
and drive people away. We don’t pray and
may begin to blame God for what’s going on in our lives. We hold on tighter to what we have, worried
that it won’t be enough. We aren’t
trusting God anymore. This isn’t the way
to live and it certainly isn’t the abundant life that Jesus died for us to
have. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Jesus offers us
comfort in these verses when he says that we are not to be anxious and agitated
even about the basic necessities of life because our Father knows we need these
things. Our Father is the one who is our
creator, our preserver, our guardian and our protector. Inherent in this word “father” is the meaning
of one who knows us, loves us, and wants to take care of us. He has our best interests at heart. He takes pleasure in us. He
knows what we need. He is aware of what
is going on and He has already determined to provide what we need. In fact, even more than supplying the basic
needs of this life, our Father takes pleasure in giving us His Kingdom. He has already decided to give us His kingdom
as a gift. It doesn’t cost us
anything. If He’s already decided to do
this, how much easier is it for him to give us the basic necessities of
life? And if that is such a small thing
for him to do, why do we worry and get in such an agitated state about it? This is Jesus’ question, not mine. I tend to worry. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
For me, I have to
remind myself very often that I am of more value to God than the birds and the
flowers are, and that it pleases Him to give me the kingdom in addition to all
the necessities of life. For me, the
hard part is trusting Him when I feel that I have a necessary need and I don’t
see how He’s going to provide for that.
But sometimes what He considers necessary and what I consider necessary
are 2 different things. One of the
verses we’ve been memorizing this summer is Isaiah 43:1-2 where God says “Do
not fear, I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be
with you and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over
you. When you walk through the fire you
will not be burned; the flames will not sweep you away.” I don’t see the necessity of passing through
water and fire. I figure if there’s
water there, I need a bridge or a boat and God says, no you need to jump in and
pass through that water. And I say, I
can’t swim and He says, well I can, so jump in.
Our perception of what we need is often different than what God knows we
need. If we hold on to our own
perception of what we need, we fall into worry and panic and so forth and we
fail to live in generosity towards God and others, experiencing the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">God</st1:placename></st1:place> among us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
I read a story
once about a woman named Granny Brand who was a missionary in <st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place> for many years. After she was widowed, she continued to live
in <st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place>
and serve. When she turned 70 years old,
her missions board told her they would no longer continue to support her. She needed to retire and return home. She refused.
She used what resources she had and built a little shack to live in, got
a horse, and continued to travel around on horseback, ministering in various
villages. She fell off the horse once
and broke her hip. Her son who was a
doctor told her she needed to go home but she refused. Finally when she was 93, she couldn’t ride
the horse anymore so the men in the villages she ministered in built her a
stretcher and continued carrying her around from village to village so she
could continue to minister to people.
She finally died at age 95. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Granny Brand had
God’s perspective on what she needed.
She wasn’t listening to what the people around her told her she
needed. She understood her place in the <st1:placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">God</st1:placename>
and that place was to minister to people in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>. She did exactly what Jesus describes in
verses 33 and 34 in pretty much liquidating all her resources, living very
simply, and being rich towards God and others.
Her heart, the center of her spiritual life, was firmly in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">God</st1:placename></st1:place>, not in the possessions of this
world. She had purpose and meaning in
her life. She had people who helped her
and provided for her. She was living in
right relationships with the people God had called her to be with. She wasn’t holding on to the things of this
life like the rich food did, and she wasn’t being held captive by worries and
doubts. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
As we transition
into a time of prayer, the question to ask ourselves is what are we holding on
to and what is holding on to us? Are we
holding on to worries about what we don’t have or ambitions to have more? Are we holding on to those things that
separate us from other people? Are we
being held down by fears or feelings of inadequacy? What is holding us back from being generous
towards God and others? As the worship
team comes up and leads us in our closing song, let’s take these things to
God. Our Father loves us. We are valuable to Him and it gives Him
pleasure to give us the kingdom. But we
have to let go of what we think that needs to look like and embrace God’s
vision for our lives. Maybe it’s time to
jump into the fire or the water and find out what it’s like to have God with us
in those places. Maybe we’re already in
those places and we need to open our eyes to see God with us and let go of the
worry and fear and take hold of Him. We
don’t have to continue to be afraid. Our
Father takes pleasure in giving us His Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
-Pastor Lynn Parks</div>
Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-74613097940932079182013-08-12T07:02:00.000-07:002013-08-12T07:02:50.479-07:00Tim Leaman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaBiAwH0otefnooZ3mz_HgN9K4cILQpw1UotZMapxB_SsRz1RijmZqdZgGpNdagzUSvEAK1q1PcpS029aDN7AT3XP0WJeHBhqsEoCo_ns1xlZ_RhFUXpSvHvz1m17yX0OEW4mlEyyMTg/s1600/tim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaBiAwH0otefnooZ3mz_HgN9K4cILQpw1UotZMapxB_SsRz1RijmZqdZgGpNdagzUSvEAK1q1PcpS029aDN7AT3XP0WJeHBhqsEoCo_ns1xlZ_RhFUXpSvHvz1m17yX0OEW4mlEyyMTg/s1600/tim.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Tim Leaman was
born June 8, 1972 at Northeastern Hospital, which is actually about ten blocks
from where he currently works at Esperanza Health Center. This is the story of
Tim’s journey to get back to the place he started, the place he was born, and
how God worked to give him the experiences and skills he needed to bring
healing to his home. Literally healing, since Tim is a doctor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Tim was born in Philadelphia, and at
the time his father was the pastor at Norris Square Mennonite Church in
Kensington, a church community which is no longer there, but replaced by a
Spanish-speaking congregation, Arca de Salvacion – the home congregation of
Carlos Carmona. Tim spent his toddler years in Kensington, but when he was
about pre-school age, his family moved to Virginia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> It was at that time that Tim first
accepted Christ into his life. He was four years old, and remembers praying
about it with his mom in the house they were living in at the time. It was a
big commitment, but it was by no means the end of Tim’s story. At four, Tim was
making a huge decision, but he didn’t necessarily understand all the nuances of
what that decision meant. However, he had allowed Christ to enter his life, and
so Christ would continue to lead Tim closer to Him in the coming years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Tim’s family moved back to
Philadelphia when he was five. They moved into the Oxford Circle neighborhood, because
Tim’s father was asked to pastor at Oxford Circle Mennonite Church. It was also
at that time that Tim started kindergarten at a Christian school called Cedar Grove.
It was a K-12 school, so Tim was there until he went to college. He received
good spiritual support from his school and church throughout his childhood and
adolescence, but school was still a difficult place for him – especially high
school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Cedar Grove had an independent
learning track that Tim went through from fourth to seventh grade, so by the
time he would’ve started eighth grade, he’d finished all of the work on his
own. So, his parents and teachers decided to let him skip eighth grade, so that
he wouldn’t be repeating the same work in a traditional classroom setting. The
decision made sense academically, but it made high school more difficult for
Tim socially. Cedar Grove was a relatively small school, so everyone in the
school knew what was happening. Tim was also leaving behind the friends and
peers he’d had since kindergarten, and would have to build friendships in a
group that had been together since kindergarten as well, and knew that he was
younger than all of them. Because of these social hardships, Tim struggled with
a lot of insecurity during his high school years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> However, even in high school, Tim
felt a call to ministry, and by his senior year he saw himself becoming a
medical missionary, like one of his uncles. After high school, Tim went to
Eastern Mennonite University. College was one of the first times that Tim had
close friendships among his peers. In high school, his significant
relationships tended to be with teachers and mentors, but in college he finally
met people his own age that he connected with deeply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Though, college was not an entirely
easy time for Tim either. During his second semester of his junior year, Tim
had a complicated break up, and his closest friend was unavailable for support because
he was spending the year studying in South Africa. Some of Tim’s insecurities
resurfaced, and he slid into an emotional and spiritual valley because of this.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> After all of this, during the summer
before his senior year, and the fall of his senior year, Tim went on a mission
with the YES Program (Youth Evangelism Service,) through Eastern Mennonite
Missions. He spent the summer in Philadelphia, training for the program, and
then in the fall went to Honduras.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> That summer, Tim says, was the most
important, formative time in his relationship with Christ. At that time, Tim
was broken in a lot of ways, in relationships and within himself, and he was
uncertain about whether or not medicine was what he should pursue. But through
prayer, journaling, and times of worship, God moved closer to Tim, giving him
security and healing in his brokenness. It was the first time that Tim really
felt that he was building a <i>relationship</i>
with Christ. And God became his source of identity. Tim didn’t need to feel
like his worth was in relationships, or academic achievement, or what people
thought of him – he was a child of God, and that was the most important thing.
God loved him, and that became a personal reality for Tim that summer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Tim also went through a period of
questioning his motives for wanting to become a medical missionary. Was he
doing it just because it was a “good” thing to do? Because people would look at
him and see what he was doing, and think it was great? Because it seemed
important and even heroic? Tim felt that he had genuinely been called to
medicine during his senior year in high school, but he wondered if he was now
being led into it by his pride, rather than by God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> He also wondered about the
practicality of doing medicine overseas. He didn’t know if it made sense to
build over $100,000 of debt and then work in an impoverished setting. How could
he pay back his loans? And while working in Honduras, Tim realized that the
skills he would learn in an American medical school wouldn’t really transfer
over to third world settings. The jobs of medical professionals in the kinds of
places where he wanted to work were more to train local health workers than to
provide Western medicine. As Tim pointed out to me, you can’t order an MRI in a
country that doesn’t have MRI machines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Tim began to wonder if God was
really calling him to work internationally or instead to work in a North
American urban setting. During the summers of his sophomore and junior years of
college, Tim had worked in New York City with the Young People’s Christian
Association. It was then that Tim began to understand his own appreciation of
urban settings. He loved the diversity, mix of cultures, different experiences,
and perspectives. Those were things he missed, going to school in Harrisonburg,
Virginia. And when realizing he may not be called to work in an international
setting after all, he thought that God may be leading him to an urban one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> After Tim graduated with his
Bachelor’s, he was invited to lead a YES team to Mexico. He hadn’t applied to
any medical schools at that point, because he was so unsure about what he
should do. However, during the time he spent training to lead the team, Tim
applied to a few schools. Now, it’s recommended that students apply to between
fifteen and twenty medical schools. Tim only applied to three: two within
Philadelphia, and one outside. After all, Tim didn’t know if he even wanted to
go to medical school, and while training for the YES team to head to Mexico, he
didn’t have much time for applications and interviews. But, he applied anyway
to those three, and asked the Lord to get him into one if that was the Lord’s
will. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Before his interview for Temple, Tim
was nervous because he didn’t know how he was going to advocate for himself
when he wasn’t sure that he actually wanted to go into medicine. However, the
interview was during a week that the leaders for the YES program were spending
time fasting and praying. Through that, Tim felt God calling him back to
medicine, letting him know that it was what he needed to do. So, when Tim went
into the interview for Temple, he was able to do so with confidence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Incidentally, on his return from
Mexico, Tim was accepted into Temple’s med school, and decided to study there. Also, by that time, Tim felt a pretty strong
call from the Lord to work in Philadelphia. He still was uncertain, however,
about how the financial part of medical school would work out. In his last year
of med school, though, Tim received a $40,000 scholarship, which removed over a
third of his medical school debt. This was a big confirmation for Tim that God
would provide for him to practice medicine in an underserved community. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Also during his last year in medical
school, Tim found out about Esperanza Health Center. He met with some of the
doctors there, and learned more about their ministry to provide medical care to
the Latino community in North Philadelphia, and to other underserved communities
in their area. Tim got an opportunity to do a rotation at Esperanza during his
residency training at Jefferson, and took it. Tim saw that Esperanza was already
doing what he’d felt the Lord calling him to during his whole journey through
medical school. At Esperanza, he could work in an urban context, providing
healthcare to people who need it most, and incorporating spiritual care with
health care. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> However, Time thought that he
wouldn’t have an opportunity to work there, because at the time he did his
rotation at Esperanza, they were having financial difficulties and were not in
a position to hire. But during the half year that Tim was finishing up his
medical training, a position at Esperanza opened up. It seemed that that was
where God was leading him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> And if that wasn’t providential
enough, Tim was able to get the rest of his loans from medical school paid off
through a program called Project MedSend, because of his work with Esperanza. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Through his life, Tim got to see God
take him through insecurity, confusion, and doubt, to greater clarity of his
role in God’s kingdom, only ten blocks away from where he was born. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-77374718479480661732013-07-30T15:44:00.000-07:002013-07-30T15:44:17.452-07:00United by the Eucharist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAN54ckLacV_VAdQtOnW86T3N9ZqB-d_0M8A3FPMo_yCGAdKa3052U2pQCwfNZKw14qEb3yeNfUOyBXNeeqoM-XrLVuP0F3JYF1wNQwc4PTkm1Ebry6DOilPbTFNPtzmWC32PIK9jZlQ/s1600/biblebreadcup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaAN54ckLacV_VAdQtOnW86T3N9ZqB-d_0M8A3FPMo_yCGAdKa3052U2pQCwfNZKw14qEb3yeNfUOyBXNeeqoM-XrLVuP0F3JYF1wNQwc4PTkm1Ebry6DOilPbTFNPtzmWC32PIK9jZlQ/s320/biblebreadcup.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In Romans 12, Paul describes believers in Christ as parts of His body. Each member is different, with varied gifts, abilities, and callings. Some are called to service, others to generosity, some to prophecy, or encouragement, or leadership. Each member serves a unique purpose within the body. Members are not alike. So how is it that we, who are all so varied, are all parts of Christ’s body?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Eucharist may provide the answer to one way Christians are united, no matter how different we may seem from one another. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Paul writes, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here Paul explains how participation in Communion unites believers. When we take part in the Eucharist, we are becoming Christ’s body by joining ourselves to Him and His church. More light can be shed on how this happens when we look more closely at the implications of the Last Supper. At the Last Supper, Jesus knew that He was going to die. At the time, when a prophet or a teacher was going to die, he would leave his possessions with his disciples. Jesus, however, had no earthly possessions aside from His body and blood. That was all Jesus had, and so when He tells His disciples that they are to take His body and blood, He is giving them their inheritance. Now, each time Christians partake of the Eucharist, we are accepting our inheritance from Christ. In this way, we are all Christ’s disciples, all held together as His body, by His body.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>However, taking part in Communion does not just create unity among believers, it requires it. In 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, Paul writes, “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” If someone partakes of communion with selfish intentions, not considering the church as the body of Christ and themselves as a part of that body, they will be judged. Further in the text, Paul defines this punishment as sickness and death for those who take part in communion without first discerning the body. Paul emphasizes how important it is to understand what Communion is, and what it means for us before we partake. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This also means that it is important for us to be in right relationship with others in the church, and with God, before we accept Communion. In this way, Communion acts as a way of calling believers back to unity with each other and God. It is a regular reminder of how we are all parts of Christ’s body and therefore must work together for His purposes. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, it is important as Christians for us to examine ourselves each time we take part in Communion. We must reconcile ourselves to God and the church first, and recognize the each time that we take part in the Eucharist, that we are accepting Christ’s inheritance, and unifying ourselves to His body. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Bibliography</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Barker, Kenneth L., ed. <i>Zondervan TNIV Study Bible</i>. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"> Print.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Cavanaugh, William T.<i> Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ</i>. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;"> Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1998. Print.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Parks, Lynn S. Philadelphia. Speech.</span></span></div>
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Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6567523675522521680.post-24532236631856295832013-07-29T13:27:00.000-07:002013-07-29T13:36:41.276-07:00Carlos Carmona<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEcjJYw2lB-tnAmsP5Zv3kuODdQ2H0lB8YWGqvdh8JJpehERA3OGyubL5qNYCY5XTtvFZa0B1Q_syvmippv5n5HVRKYrnerG_0vy5TE-HtI9d8OjJTURoio_fcWFvAkQD7RXvYSW1RMM/s1600/422222_4384165132670_437364359_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEcjJYw2lB-tnAmsP5Zv3kuODdQ2H0lB8YWGqvdh8JJpehERA3OGyubL5qNYCY5XTtvFZa0B1Q_syvmippv5n5HVRKYrnerG_0vy5TE-HtI9d8OjJTURoio_fcWFvAkQD7RXvYSW1RMM/s320/422222_4384165132670_437364359_n.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Growing up, Carlos almost always sat on a wooden bench towards the front left of the sanctuary, closest to where the drums were. Even then he was drawn to music and beats. His parents were pastors at the time, but that didn't mean he always paid attention to sermons. He preferred doodling, or writing poetry to listening intently, and was more interested in reading Revelation than hearing the impassioned speech of his father on a Sunday morning.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>However, one Sunday, when he was thirteen, Carlos was drawn out of his distractions to his father’s sermon. It may have been the “Amens” of the people around him that did it, or it could have been their silence, but Carlos was pulled out of what he was doing. He looked up, and listened to his father preach about how a relationship with Christ should be. He told how it is something personal, something each individual has to choose for themselves.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This was news to Carlos. Prior to hearing his father’s sermon, Carlos had believed because his parents were pastors, he would automatically be saved. He thought that if you were part of a righteous family, where the other members follow Christ, then you too will be given entry into Heaven. In his own words, he thought it was a combo pack.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So it was both jarring and pivotal when Carlos heard his own father saying that each person has to seek Jesus on their own. He was being told by the person he’d thought had bought him a ticket into heaven that it didn’t work that way – he was going to have to find Christ for himself.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After that service, Carlos made the decision to build his own relationship with God, without relying on mimicry of others. Before, he would only pay attention to the congregation on Sunday to follow suit when God was praised or hands were raised. Now, he had to ignore those cues and experience Jesus for himself.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Carlos first started seeking Him, he’d hoped that God would become his best friend, someone he could tell anything to, who would protect him and comfort him, leading him away from sin and evil. As he tried to make that connection with God on his own, he realized that it wasn't easy. He struggled for personal experiences with Christ, and felt distant and unsuccessful for many years.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It wasn’t until last summer, during the youth trip to Germany, that Carlos’ relationship with God took off. Before arriving at the YWAM base in Berlin, Carlos hadn’t known what to expect during his trip to Germany. He was looking forward to experiencing the culture of Berlin, and learning about Germany’s history, but he wasn’t anticipating much else. So, when on the first day he arrived, he was thrown into evangelizing people on the streets of Berlin, Carlos wasn’t sure how to cope. He was in a whole new country, surrounded by strangers who spoke a language he didn’t understand. In fact, he felt like the stranger.<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the first couple days that Carlos was in Germany, he wanted only solitude. He sought to be alone, because that was how he felt – isolated. He was uncomfortable in this new environment, and believed he was unwanted and not needed. Even though the people at YWAM had invited him in, and he still had the support of his youth group, those things could not sink into Carlos’ soul because he felt too strongly that he was alone. Over those first couple days, Carlos kept repeating in his head, “I am not loved. I am an outsider. I am just this random guy that no one seems to care about.”<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It was the words of the prayer of St. Francis that Carlos read that dispelled the lie he’d been telling himself. It goes as,<br />
<br />
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.<br />
Where there is hatred let me sow love.<br />
Where there is injury, pardon,<br />
Where there is doubt, faith,<br />
Where there is despair, hope,<br />
Where there is darkness, light,<br />
And where there is sadness, joy.<br />
<br />
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek<br />
to be consoled as to console,<br />
to be understood as to understand,<br />
to be loved as to love.<br />
For it is in giving that we receive;<br />
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;<br />
and it is in dying that we’re born to eternal life.<br />
Amen.”<br />
<br />
<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The parts about sowing hope and joy spoke most to Carlos in his own sadness and despair, and the part about seeking to love more than to be loved led Carlos to the solution to his desperation. It would be in giving love that Carlos would become open to receiving the love that was being offered.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>However, giving love away, especially when one feels unloved, is challenging. It is through receiving the love of Christ that we are able to give the gift of love freely to others. At the time that he was reading this prayer, Carlos also found in his prayer book this picture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkkNO1AxS-tC75_gQ8x9pPu5sfclZ-wVVZdROhsqz4fbgoMZVcbaRB-ydvHzCZjTiXZIflgUMr79hToqEpHUyRPJuGbjDeFFS8khvlhs_L-kXY4R1XDXwXFQ5QdE0Rt9cGranvqSl1HE/s1600/journey%2520of%2520the%2520soul.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkkNO1AxS-tC75_gQ8x9pPu5sfclZ-wVVZdROhsqz4fbgoMZVcbaRB-ydvHzCZjTiXZIflgUMr79hToqEpHUyRPJuGbjDeFFS8khvlhs_L-kXY4R1XDXwXFQ5QdE0Rt9cGranvqSl1HE/s1600/journey%2520of%2520the%2520soul.jpeg" /></a></div>
For Carlos, this illustration represented all the mess that surrounded him with Jesus waiting for him in the distance. Though he’d felt far from God for so long, Carlos knew that He had been waiting for him. It was then that he felt truly loved by God, and his relationship with Christ transformed into the intimate one he’d always desired.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus and Carlos are best friends. They are inseparable. Where Jesus goes, Carlos goes, and they talk all of the time – about everything. Carlos feels especially close to Jesus when he plays music and worships Him. Jesus speaks to Carlos most clearly through song and melody, and in music, Carlos never feels estranged from Him. Carlos still struggles with keeping his relationship with Jesus his own, not reliant on others, but the friendship is there and it is thriving.<br />
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Yvonne Parishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08728821950317732505noreply@blogger.com0