Tis the Season to be Jolly

Christmas Day 2011

Most of you Know that I really love music. And this time of year has so much special music associated with it. We’ve heard and sung a lot of the Christmas Carols here at Church in the last few weeks. But there is a lot of other music that the world has attached to this season. “The Christmas Song” that speaks of “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”; “I’ll be home for Christmas”; one of Cheryl’s favorite movies brought us “White Christmas”; Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, and the list goes on and on. With the possible exception of the last song I mentioned, these songs speak of happiness and good times being the norm at Christmas. One song tells us “Have a holly, jolly Christmas” and another tells us “Tis the season to be jolly.”  All of that is well and good, but what do those songs give us as the basis or reason for being JOLLY? Pretty decorations, good food, snow, family gatherings, and the like. But those things aren’t much of a basis in themselves. You know as well as I do that family gatherings do not always give rise to feeling JOLLY.

What I want to do this morning is take that word JOLLY and use it to help us see the significance of the Christmas story in our lives. I’d like to do that by using each letter in JOLLY as the start of another word. So if we start with the letter “J” the word is …. Jesus! You’ve heard “Tis the season to be jolly” but that is truly accomplished only if you know Jesus is the reason for the season. We are celebrating the birth of the Savior of the World. Even His name tells us that: In Hebrew, Jesus means “The one who saves.” The angel said that Mary and Joseph should name Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins.

I guess the thing we need to know, then, is how we get to be “His People.” I’d like to use the letter “O” for the word OUR. He, Jesus, is ours. He is a gift to you and me. He is our Christmas present. You claim Jesus as your Savior when the Spirit leads you to faith, putting your trust and confidence in Him. He came for all of us, He is ours. That is why each of us can join in the refrain from Chief of Sinners: As the Branch is to the Vine, I am His and He is mine. Jesus is OURS.

The next letter is “L”. Even though there are two L’s, I had some trouble deciding which word to use here. I already knew what I wanted the second L to be. But for this one, it was a choice between LOVING and LIVING. Love came down at Christmas. It was the love of God that led Him to send Jesus into this world. It was love that led Jesus to lay aside His power as God, Love that persuaded Him to live a perfect life in our place, Love that compelled Him to go to the cross so that you and I would not have to die eternally. That love of God comes to us gift wrapped as a little boy in a Bethlehem stable. But LIVING is just as important. The fact that He came to live as one of us, living that perfect life, and through the Resurrection He is living still, His conquest over sin, death and the devil accomplished, giving us life eternal. Since I couldn’t decide, I’ll just have to cheat on this letter. In fact, we’ll just change the way we spell JOLLLY for the rest of this message and say the first two “L”s stand for LIVING and LOVING. 

As I said, I knew all along that I wanted the next “L” to stand for LORD. The joy and being jolly in this season is something that can be extended if you recognize Jesus as the Lord of your life, the master, the one in control. JESUS OUR LOVING/LIVING LORD rules and reigns. We need to let Him have control of our lives, yielding to His will, since His will is that we be joyful or JOLLY. Jesus Our Loving Living Lord wants the best for us.

All we have left is the letter “Y.” JESUS OUR LOVING/LIVING LORD…. If you know and believe in Him, the message to be JOLLY this season can be summarized by saying: JESUS OUR LOVING/LIVING LORD…YES! Say it and do it with me:  JESUS OUR LOVING/LIVING LORD…YES!  Tis the season to be jolly.

Communication

Christmas Eve 2011

The email subject line read: “Polar Bear Attacks Man.” The message itself said, “Warning: The following pictures document an actual polar bear attacking a man. The pictures were taken while people watched and  could do nothing to stop the attack! Reports from the local newspaper say that the victim will make a full recovery.” And then you scroll down to look at the pictures.

The information was accurate but misleading. When you first heard “Polar Bear Attacks Man” I doubt these are the images that popped into your head. And that is the problem with communication. You may say something that is true and correct, but that does not mean others will understand what you are trying to convey to them. Communication is a difficult thing. People do not always understand what you tell them.

A while back I came across an article about people ordering cakes for special occasions. You would think that ordering a cake would be a simple thing, and it usually is. The problems come from what people want put on the top of the cake. Someone ordered a cake for her daughter’s graduation. She told them she wanted a graduation cap, some flowers, and the year. They asked her if she wanted anything else on the cake and she said, “I want sprinkles.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One lady ordered a cake to celebrate the birth of a baby girl. They asked “What do you want on the cake?” She said, “Why don’t you write ‘Welcome Baby’ in pink.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can hear the person saying “Best Wishes Suzanne” Underneath that “We will miss you.” And that’s what they got.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last person knew this bakery’s reputation, so when asked what he wanted on his cake, he answered “Nothing.” Be careful what you ask for!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication can be very difficult. I have found that to be true in my profession. Sometimes people hear me say things that I don’t say. It is hard to accurately convey a message in a way that it will be understood by others. You may think you have made yourself clear, that you got your point across, only to be completely misunderstood. The video that played at the beginning of the worship service had all those children sharing their misconceptions and misunderstandings about the birth of Jesus. I can picture the teachers and parents sharing the story only to be surprised to hear the children share what they heard and understood. This illustrates just how difficult communication can be. This is true on every level of our existence, whether it be the guy working on your car, the person on the other end of the telephone, a subordinate at work, your neighbor across the street or the person to whom you are married. Communication takes work and effort and care if you are going to do it properly.

The same is true for God communicating with His creation. He tells us what we need to know, but we don’t always hear Him, we don’t always understand Him. He told the first people “Don’t eat the fruit of that tree or you will die.” Well maybe He didn’t really mean that. They ate, and so we all die. Ever since, God has been clear and consistent with His message. “You’ve sinned. You deserve death. I’m going to send you a Savior.” That message didn’t change, but people have not always understood it, or they have refused to listen. What we had was a failure to communicate. And that is why the Word Became Flesh.  God came down to make Himself known to mankind in terms that we could understand. He came as one of us, someone we could relate to. He lived among us. He lived the life of perfection God’s righteousness demands. And then offered that life as payment for our sins. That is God’s message. Everyone who hears and takes this message to heart receives forgiveness and life and salvation for Jesus’ sake. That is why the Word became Flesh – to communicate this message to the world.

As I already illustrated, the lack of communication can at times be amusing. It can also be disastrous. If people do not hear God’s message, if they do not understand it, if they do not come to faith, if they do not know and believe in the reconciliation accomplished through Jesus, they will not get what He earned for them. That means death and condemnation. We should not want that for anyone, to go to hell. God doesn’t. He wants His promise of life and forgiveness and salvation to be known. He wants everyone to come to faith in Jesus and be saved.

Paul Harvey had a wonderful ability to share stories. What follows is one that he shared for many years on his radio broadcast at Christmastime.

Now the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. “I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.

And then, he realized, that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me. That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. “If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.”

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – Adeste Fidelis – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

What will it take for the Good News of God become man, the Word made flesh, to get through to people? Has it gotten through to you? Is it in your heart? How will it be communicated to others? Will you be one who shares it?

Immanuel. God with us. Born as one of us to be our Savior, our Redeemer, the one who would pay the price for all sin. God wants to communicate this message. He wants you to know that. He wants everyone to know that.

O Come, O Come Immanuel

About 20 years ago, Cheryl’s brother came to visit us. He was recently divorced and brought his 3 and 4 year old daughters with him. They went swimming with our girls in our pool and everything was going well. But when it was time for bed, the older one didn’t want to stay in our house. She thought she was going to get to sleep in her own bed, which was a three hour drive away. And then she started wailing over and over again, “I want to go home! I want to go home! I want to go home!” It was heartbreaking.

I think all of us know how she felt. We prefer to be in our own home. If you’ve been on the road for a long time, you want to go home. If you’ve been hospitalized, you want to go home. If you’ve had a long and tiring day, you want to go home. Home. The word evokes feelings of love and laughter, security and serenity, warmth and welcome. It means mom and dad, fun and games, good food, sleep. As Dorothy reminds us in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home!”

When Isaiah wrote in the eighth century BC, he was writing to the Israelites who would be  living in Babylon in the sixth century BC. These exiles were far from home. A monstrous reality called Babylon was a fire-breathing horror that had destroyed everything. In 587 BC the empire decided once and for all to destroy Jerusalem, that “rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces” (Ezr 4:15a). This is “why this city was laid to waste” (Ezr 4:15b).

God’s people found themselves in a faraway land. The exiles wondered: Is our God for real? If so, does he care about us? Just how can we believe in a God who lost the latest war? Why not worship Babylonian gods, after all, their armies are more powerful than ours? LORD, “Will you be angry with us forever?” (Ps 85:5)

The exiles are stuck in a strange land with canals and ziggurats and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the Ishtar Gate and the temple of Marduk. Judah and Jerusalem and the Jordan have been replaced by the building projects of Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar. Israel has no king, no temple, no royal city, no land, no liturgy, no sacrifice, no hope, no future and no song. How can they sing God’s songs while prisoners in a foreign land? (cf. Ps 137:4).

So by the rivers of Babylon they sit and weep (Ps 137:1), reminiscing about the good ol’ days when they worshipped in the splendor of Solomon’s temple, worked and shopped in the city of David, and saw the Mount of Olives from a distance. Oh God, “there’s no place like home!”

Israelites in exile are not only far away from home. They are far away from the Father. As the LORD’s firstborn son (cf. Ex 4:22) Israel had demanded his fair share of the inheritance, set off for a distant county, and squandered it all on wild living; enticing Baal worship, seductive Assyrian astral deities, the perverting of justice and righteousness, heartless worship, gutless faith. And then in 587 BC the collapse of Jerusalem.

Some of us are far away from home; all of us are far away from the Father. It’s the way we operate. We are, again, right here, just now, exiled in a Babylon of our own making. We have demanded our fair share of the inheritance and set off for distant lights, seductive lights, deadly lights. We’ve sold our baptismal inheritance and ended up with deceptive lives, empty relationships, and inflated egos. Into our exile God speaks. 

When we chase after all that this world has to offer, thinking that will bring happiness and contentment, we discover the truth that all men are like grass that withers, like flowers that fall. We yearn for something more, something better, something lasting, something secure. And our God has just the thing. Contrast We don’t last, but the Word does. The word of our God stands forever. He keeps His promises.

When Israel’s history seemed closed and hopeless in their Babylonian captivity, to the shock and surprise of everyone the LORD raised up a messiah, a Savior, a king named Cyrus. Cyrus and his Persian empire conquered the Babylonians and allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem where they would rebuild the city and the temple. Once again, just as He had done in the Exodus and countless other times, God rescued His people.

Later, another Savior would come, with an even greater rescue mission. This one would be for all people, a Servant who would be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (53:5). And guaranteeing this deliverance is the power and faithfulness of God’s word (55:10-11). The word of our God stands forever. These promises will not return empty. God said it. That settles it. Faith believes it! In Bethlehem this faithful Word took on flesh and blood and he had a heart. He lived exiled from the Father’s home for 33 years. Jesus was exiled, not only from the Father’s home, but finally from the Father. He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (e.g., Mk 15:34; cf. Ps 22:1). He knew what it was to be far from home.  And then He died. For You. And for me. Yet raised on the third day, He reminds us of all that He had promised!

• “In my Father’s home are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you!” (Jn 14:2).
• “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20).
• “We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1).

 

This is no shabby dorm room or army barracks or student housing; no Super 8 or Motel 6 or even a Holiday Inn Express. This will be accommodations beyond your wildest imagination. The robe and sandals are ready, and so is the ring. The Father welcomes the Prodigal home. The price is paid, the party prepared, the sacrifice complete, and the Father has rehearsed his lines, “This son of mine was dead and is alive again” (Lk 15:32). You will be welcomed home, because Immanuel came to us and accomplished everything necessary.

God wants His people to be comforted by the message He speaks through Isaiah. Sure, He tells us that we are like grass that withers and flowers that fall, but that is not the final Word. When He says The word of our God stands forever He is reminding us of His faithfulness. The Lamb who was slain has begun his reign. And Jesus’ dying love means that we are going home! How do we know for sure? “Grass withers, a flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

 

 

December 11, 2011

Prepare the Royal Highway

One pastor tells the story of attending a church is south St. Louis. He had been assigned there for “field work” while studying at Concordia Seminary. He noticed that every week, during the closing hymn, two little ladies walked up the aisle, stepped up to the altar and took the flowers. He thought, “This must be a St. Louis Lutheran custom I’m not aware of yet.” This was repeated week after week, and finally his curiosity could stand it no longer. He asked one of the ladies, “What do you do with those flowers?” She replied, “Young man, we take them to the people who are sick after the sermon.” People get sick from sermons!

Another pastor decided that on one Sunday he was going to preach on every book in the Bible. He would cover all 66 books of the Bible in one message, which is no small task. The sermon, predictably, went on and on and on. Finally he finished with the book of Revelation, only to realize that he bypassed the book of James. He told the congregation of his mistake and then asked, “What am I going to do with James?” One man shouted out, “Pastor, you can give James my place. I’m going home!”

People get sick from sermons for lots of reasons. There are always the jokes and wisecracks about the length of sermons, but people get sick of them for other reasons. Some folks don’t like to listen to sermons on stewardship, thinking the church should stay out of the way they spend their time and money. Sermons make people uncomfortable when they strike a nerve, when they step on your toes. If a particular sermon points out one of your sins, you are likely to get defensive. One Sunday the preacher was going through the Ten Commandments and one of the members was voicing his approval with comments like, “that’s right, preacher” and “you tell ‘em.” But then the preacher started condemning a sin that this man was known for and the man changed his tune. He said, “Hold on now just a minute, preacher. Now you’re meddling.” None of us likes to be told we are doing something wrong. So a call to repent, to stop sinning, to turn from your sin, will often upset people and make them bow up their backs.   

That is the message John the Baptizer was preaching outside of Jerusalem. Repent. Prepare. The Lord is coming. He was confronting people with their sin, striking a nerve, hitting a sensitive spot, so people called him a lunatic and tried to dismiss him. Isaiah said there would be a voice crying out “Prepare the way for the Lord.” Get ready, for He is coming. That means you need to change. Straighten out the path. Do things right. Get your act together. Making the rough ground level and the rugged places smooth is like telling you to straighten up and fly right. Stop sinning. Prepare. And when you are preaching this kind of message, you cannot pull your punches. You have to tell it like it is.

The owner of a greenhouse hired a young man whom he had judged to be a hard worker. Although the owner’s judgment proved to be correct, the greenhouse plants began to die. Then the owner called a more experienced gardener to remedy the situation. Soon the plants began to grow larger and healthier. The owner was puzzled, “What made the difference?” The experienced gardener explained, “When the young man moved the plants, he did it with great caution and care. But I was rough with them. I disturbed their roots. Plants flourish when you shake them up at their roots.”

I think we all need our roots shaken from time to time. We all have a tendency to get comfortable, maybe even smug and arrogant, in our sin. Think about it. We shake our heads and wonder how other people can do such terrible things. Yet when you are confronted with your own sin, whatever it may be, you tell yourself that is not as bad as what others do and you even justify your wrongdoing in your own mind. But that is not the message God has for you in His Word. Sin is sin. It all deserves to be punished. That is why you need to REPENT, to turn from your sin, prepare the way of the Lord.

A Lutheran church in Milwaukee was having their annual outdoor nativity pageant with live animals. One evening, the donkey wandered off and entered a nearby bar. Upon seeing the donkey, one customer pushed his glass aside and decided he had had enough. The bartender tried to calm him down by saying, “Oh, don’t let that donkey bother you. He belongs to the Lutheran Church down the street.”

There are a lot of donkeys that belong to the Lutheran church. I can say that because I’m one of them. I can be as stubborn and as stiff-necked as anyone. I need to repent of my sin as much as anyone else. And I do so with all of you, asking God to help me do better in the future.

The words of Isaiah’s prophecy were directed to those who were going to be carried off in the Babylonian exile. Because of the repeated disobedience of God’s chosen people, He was going to let them be conquered by an invading army. God’s glory was going to leave His people.

Earlier in Israel’s history, before they were ruled by kings, this had happened. 1 Samuel 4 speaks of a battle with the Philistines in which the Israelites were defeated and the ark of the covenant was captured. The ark was what had led them through the Exodus, it had the Ten Commandments in it, it represented God’s presence with His people. And it was now in the hands of their enemies. One woman, whose husband died in that battle, gave birth right after that and named her son Ichabod which is Hebrew for “no glory,” saying The glory has departed from Israel.

When Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judah, God’s glory left his people again for a time. Ezekiel was a prophet to the exiles. Chapters 8–11 are a vision in which the prophet sees the idolatry of God’s people, worshipping the sun and false gods. The Lord, although it broke His heart, withdrew from the people. They left Him to worship other things, so His presence and His glory was taken away from the people. It was not what God wanted, but His people refused to follow Him.

That sounds depressing, and it is. But Isaiah reminds us of the faithfulness of our God, in spite of the faithlessness of His people. The voice crying in the wilderness tells the people to prepare the way of the Lord because the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.

That glory of God was displayed in the coming of Jesus Christ into the flesh. He is the ultimate and permanent expression of God’s glory (1 Cor 2:8).

The shepherds saw the glory of the Lord when Jesus was born, and it shook them up.

In the infant Jesus they saw God’s glory in human flesh

At His transfiguration his glory was displayed when his clothes became dazzling white

But on Good Friday his disciples deserted him. His garments were gambled away. Then his Father turned his back. As Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46; see Ps 22:1) the Lord’s presence leaves the Temple alone to die upon the cross. We once again have Ichabod, no glory. But is was short lived. His glory returns on Easter and this means that the day is coming when, at the Second Coming of Christ, all flesh will see God’s glory. You and I have the glory of God made known to us.

Advent, like Isaiah’s text, calls us to prepare. So How shall we prepare? In a word—repent. For then we will see God’s glory in a Babe in a manger; in his body and blood at the Table; and in the eastern sky on the last day. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken it!

Comfort, Comfort My People

One of the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV shows was entitled “The Final Escape.” It was actually made twice, once in Black and White and once in color. In the latest version, a woman in prison became good friends with the prison caretaker. When a prisoner died the caretaker would ring the bell, get the body, put it in a casket and nail it shut. Then, placing the casket on a wagon, he would take it to the graveyard outside the prison walls and bury it. Knowing this routine, the woman devised an escape plan and shared it with this caretaker. She said, “The next time the bell rings, I’ll leave my cell and sneak into the coffin with the dead body. Nail the lid shut and take the coffin outside the prison with me in it. Bury the coffin,” she continued, “and because there will be enough air for me to breathe for some time, you can come back to the graveyard that night, dig up the coffin, and set me free.” The caretaker agreed to the plan. One day this woman heard the ringing of the death bell. She got up, walked down the hallway in the dark, found the coffin containing the dead body and climbed in. Soon she heard the pounding of hammer and nails. The coffin was lifted onto the wagon and taken outside to the graveyard. After the dirt was poured on the coffin she began to giggle out loud, “I’m free, free!” Feeling curious she lit a match to identify the prisoner beside her and in the glimmer of light she discovered that she was lying next to the dead caretaker! In classic Alfred Hitchcock fashion this final scene fades as we hear the woman screaming, screaming, screaming, then silence.

Have you ever been buried like that before? Sure you have, and so have I.

• ·        We’ve been buried in questions: “If God is so good, why do I hurt so bad?” “If Jesus is the light, why am I in the dark?” “Where was God when tragedy struck?”
• ·        We’ve been buried in disappointment: “Why can’t you be more like your older brother/sister!” “You’re just not like our last boss!” “My mom always did it better.”
• ·        We’ve been buried in responsibilities: “Here’s a 30 page case study—be ready to discuss it tomorrow.” “Honey, Conner has a soccer game and Colleen has volleyball and I have to be at church tomorrow, all at the same time.”
• ·        We’ve been buried in the past—the minute we lost our temper, the hour we lost our purity, the day we lost control, the years we lost our priorities.
• ·        And on top of it all—literally—we’re buried in our “Self”: self-assertion, self-righteousness, self-satisfaction, self-sufficiency and self-will.

Buried, boxed in, six feet under, again, right here, just now—it’s dark, cramped, claustrophobic and the enemy has nailed the lid shut. And if there isn’t screaming, there are heavy sighs and lifeless looks and empty hearts and a feeling of hopelessness.

Buried, boxed in, six feet under—that had to be how God’s people, the Israelites, felt when conquered and oppressed by the Babylonian Empire. Judah was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the people were exiled to Babylon. Part of their thought process was that if they had been defeated, the gods of their enemies were more powerful than their own. It was as though everything they ever believed was now called into question. Were the gods of the Babylonians stronger that the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob? Did Yahweh even exist?  If He did, was He helpless or did He just not care? The future of God’s people looked awful bleak at this point. They felt helpless, hopeless, and were full of despair. They could easily have said, “What’s the use?”

What do you think of when you hear the word “bedlam?” Many of you think of the football rivalry between OSU and Oklahoma – a game that will be played this Saturday. Maybe you think of chaos and confusion, which is how the word is normally used. But did you know that the word “bedlam” comes from the word “Bethlehem”? The hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem was established in 1247 in London, but the locals had their own way of speaking, which was not always the King’s English. Bethlehem for them came out “bedlam.” When Henry VIII dissolved all the monasteries in his realm, the hospital was given to the city of London, which incorporated it in 1547 as an insane asylum. The name “bedlam” became irretrievably linked with the noise and confusion within its walls. So man took Bethlehem and created bedlam; in the same way, we take Christmas and make it so full of noise and confusion and chaos that most people have no idea what it is anymore. We know more about bedlam than we do of Bethlehem.

We need to remember what our God accomplished by sending Jesus to be born in Bethlehem. God sent His Son into the bedlam of this world to take care of everything that causes us to be separated from our heavenly Father. He was saying, “I know you are in a bad situation, one that is desperate and appears to be hopeless. But be comforted.”

Through Isaiah God tells us that the sins of God’s people have been paid for. He is talking about us. This baby that was born in Bethlehem would be the one who would accomplish this for everyone. He would face all our enemies for us. It started with Judas, Pilate and Herod…then thorns, nails, spear, darkness and sweat, … and then the screaming, screaming, screaming like that woman in the casket, until there was total silence. It all ended “crucified, dead and buried.” Nothing is as bottomless as a pit, as lifeless as a grave, as hopeless as a tomb. Smell the mildew, the odor of blood, the stench of death. See the confines of a tomb, the darkness, the sealed stone. It appeared to be the hopeless end.

Cramped by the chaos, suffocating in the stillness, trapped in transgressions and sins, screaming in the silence, you and I need to light a match and see who we’re buried with. Well get this—

Through water and the Word you and I have been buried and raised with Jesus.

No hopeless screaming here, but a divine explosion to life! We are indeed free because of who we were buried with – we were buried with Jesus and we are also raised with him. This is the greatest comeback in history!

We all love a good come-back. A young lady singing the national anthem draws a blank on a phrase, but then she jumps right back in on the next phrase and finishes with a flourish. Good for her. Last week I watched Sherman come back from a 14 point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat a very good team from Waxahachie. I also watched an exciting comeback victory by Baylor over OU. Cardinal fans are still talking about their stunning victory in the last two games of the World Series. And, of course, Longhorn fans are still rejoicing in their comeback victory over what should have been a much better A&M team this year. Yesterday Cheryl and I watched as Sherman once again came from behind. At the end of the 3^rd quarter they were down 19-0. They were down 25-20 when they got the ball back with just over a minute to play. They won the game 28-20. If I lose my voice today it is because I was screaming too much at that game.

 As exciting as all of those were, they pale in comparison to our certain defeat being turned into a come-from-behind victory. Our doom and deserved death was certain. But Jesus changed all that for us. What should have been our buried, boxed-in scream is forever changed into a baptized, blood-bought, forgiven, Spirit-filled “Hallelujah!”  God does not abandon us in our circumstances, no matter what. No matter how bad it seems, no matter what I am going through, no matter what I encounter, I know He is with me. Right here, right now.

This is why God wrote through Isaiah, and why He is still saying to you right now, “Comfort, comfort my people.” Be comforted. Know that God is in control. He does not abandon His people. Your sin has been paid for. Comfort is here. Comfort is yours. Comfort is now!

 

First Things First

November 20, 2011

You have two choices: [A] You can get One Thousand dollars a day for a year, or [B] you can get one penny which would be doubled every week for one year?” Choose either option A or option B. This illustrates how people today are unsure, confused and unclear about the choices they make until they have by a process of addition or multiplication calculated the potential return on their investment. Option “A” sounds appealing. One Thousand dollars a day for a year would get you $365,000. That’s a lot of money. That is what a lot of players in the NBA are missing each month because of their labor dispute. It is more that most of us will make in a year or even five years!  But what about the second choice, a penny a week doubled for one year. [Explain chart] At the end of 52 weeks you would have 22,517,998,136,852.50!!! There is a huge difference between addition and multiplication. Faithful investment of treasures to support the work of the kingdom of God multiplies ministry and reaps a fruitful harvest.

During a visit to Korea, two American businessmen were amused to see a young farmer hitched to a plow that was guided by his father. The younger man was pulling the plow. Later they learned that both father and son were Christians who had sold their only ox to provide money for a new church building. “What a stupendous sacrifice!” exclaimed one businessman. “Not really,” replied a missionary accompanying the Americans. “They were only sorry they had but one ox to give to the Lord’s work.” That’s the attitude of putting first things first. That what it means to seek first the kingdom of God! That’s what it means to live as fruitful stewards of treasures.

I wonder how many Christians living in this country today would be willing to make that kind of sacrifice and commitment to the kingdom of God. Research has shown that in many congregations, 20% of the members contribute 80% of the financial support.

Why are the 20 percent willing to contribute so much and the other 80 percent content to give so little? Understand this – God never asks you to give anything to His kingdom that He has not already given to you. Everything you have comes from God. Some are content to have a little bit of God in their lives, to give a little bit to God in their offerings. What I would really like for those people to understand is that you are depriving yourself of so many blessings. You will never out give God. And it also makes me wonder how many of those who don’t give are like that withering, sickly, shriveling, fig tree which bears no fruit.  The law says: “Cut it down.  Why should it take up the ground?” The Gospel says: “Give it another year. Let’s fertilize, cultivate, water, and pray for fruit. If it bears no fruit next year, then cut it down” (Luke 13:6-9).

Perhaps many Christians are confused and unclear about addition versus multiplication when it comes to investing in the kingdom of God. In their confusion, they choose to give little or nothing in proportion to what they have received. What percentage of your income, your blessings, is an investment in the kingdom of God? How much do you put in the offering plate? Are you growing in your giving? Are you more fruitful this year than last? Are you committed to being more fruitful next year? Do you put First things first. Is Jesus represented as being first in how you use the treasures He has entrusted to your care? Your financial commitment today and for 2012 is a reflection of your faith. If you are growing in your faith, you will also grow in your giving.

Some evening when you have a few moments, retrieve your old checkbook registers or bank statement and read through the entries. Or maybe it’s your old credit card statements that best shows your spending habits and preferences. Whichever you use, you may find it interesting, and perhaps somewhat startling, to discover just how the money you’ve earned has been spent. The entries will read like a family journal. They record major events, vacations, visits to the mall, travel, how expensively you dress, what you spend on groceries or how extravagantly you furnish your home. The total spent in each category will pinpoint the things that make the greatest demands on your income – either because of need or by choice. The entries reflect what you have prioritized and value the most.

Such a checkup will also reveal your spiritual temperature. Are you hot, cold, lukewarm? How does your support of the work of God’s kingdom fit into your financial picture? The contributions given to the work of the Lord compared with the expenditures for the things of life offer some clues. If nothing has gone to support the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, or to people in need, but large sums were spent for personal gratification, YOU need to examine your values related to your treasures. You show what you love by what you do with what you have.

What does it mean to put first things first? 

Give as if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind … give as if you love your neighbor as yourself.

That was Paul’s attitude. He wanted to be like Jesus. That’s what I want, too. I want to be like Christ! He is the most important thing in my life. He was willing to offer Himself as the payment for my sins so that I could get what I don’t deserve: forgiveness for all my sins and the guarantee of eternal life. That should be reflected in the way I live and in the way I give.

First things First

• Our church is a “first things first” church where God’s Word is truth and where the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are faithfully administered. 
• Our church is a “first things first” church with a vision for missions and ministry.
• Our church is a “first things first” ministry where we serve and work together in Christ with time and talents.
• Our church is a “first things first” congregation where all people are cared for, where families are nourished, where marriage is uplifted, where young and old are encouraged to live fruitful lives.

It begins in your heart, touches your home, and extends to your fruitful use of time, talents and treasures. Bearing fruit as stewards of time, talents, and treasures is the fruit of faith that seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then, everything else will fall into place. It means I am connected to Christ as the true vine; I am one of the branches, so connected as to take my life from Him, and to bear fruit.

Stay connected to Jesus, the cross and the empty tomb. In Christ, you will be fruitful stewards of time, talents, and treasures.

Using What You’ve Got

Bearing Fruit for Jesus.  Last week we talked about the use of our time.  Today we will talk about the use of our talents. We all know someone who is more talented or who has more skills and abilities than we do. Why do some people seem to excel at everything? Thomas Jefferson was a lawyer, scientific farmer, politician, and statesman. Martin Luther was a theologian, linguist, and hymn writer. When you’re in school it always seems there are some kids who excel at everything they attempt. It seems as if some people have dozens of talents, and you have only a few. And you get discouraged.

Every single person has been given talents, abilities, and gifts. In His grace and wisdom, God has given each of you certain talents and gifts. He gives you the ones you can use the best and that can best accomplish His purpose through you. The talents that you receive are unique because of your personality and character. True, some get more than others, but everyone is different. Whatever you are and whatever you have are all gifts from God.

In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus commended those who used their talents for Him. He says of them, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23). To the person who failed to use his talents, the Lord said, “You wicked, lazy servant.” The talents God gives are varied: leadership, creativity, mechanical ability, housekeeping, encouragement, caring, musical ability and a host of others. Maybe you can’t sing solos, but you can sing to the glory of God in worship. Maybe you can’t teach, but you can write encouraging letters or notes or send a card or make a telephone call to someone who needs to be lifted up. Maybe you can’t lead a Bible study, but you can visit a shut-in or someone in the hospital.

You each have different gifts. What are your talents, abilities and skills? Are you using them? Do you have unused abilities? Whatever you have, God wants you to “use what you’ve got.” Your gifts are God-given. And He did not give them to you just for serving ourselves. They were not given to you just so that you can make more money or get ahead or be more successful. They were not given to you so that you could be more desirable or popular. Your gifts were given to be used for God.

You have a choice. Do you want to be self-centered or God-centered? Do you use all you are to serve your own selfish interests or to serve God and His purposes?  1 Corinthians 4:2, “It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”  Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

How do you use your God-given gifts? Are you like Moses? He had lots of excuses for not using the gifts that had been given to him. “Who am I?  I am a nobody. You want me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt? I can’t lead. I could never do that. I can’t talk in front of a group. I don’t have any experience. The people won’t believe me. I’m too young. Ask somebody else who’s more capable and more qualified.” Sound familiar? In spite of all of his excuses, God had plans for Moses. He turned Moses “NO” into a “YES”. God used Moses mightily to accomplish His purpose.

God blesses us and gives us talents for a reason: to equip us to serve Him and His people. God gave you eyes and ears, hands and feet so that your bodies function effectively. In the same way God has given you talents and skills and abilities as members of the body of Christ, for the good of your church and your community.

That parable of the talents says that each person received at least one talent from God. It belonged to God, and it was to be managed and taken care of for Him. Each person was responsible for what was given to him and was expected to give an account of what he did with his gift. Each was required to produce results with the gift given to him. The one who refused to use the talents he had had them taken away and was thrown into the darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Another way to think of it is that God has invested Himself in you and He expects a return on His investment. He gave you talents, skills, gifts, and abilities, and He expects you to use those to serve Him and others. When you make an investment, you want a return, don’t you? When you invest money in stocks or mutual funds or bonds, you do so with the intent of getting a good return on your investment. But it doesn’t always work that way. Earlier this year I received a statement on my retirement account. Over a three month period, I had payroll deductions of about $2000 deposited to that account. But the value of the fund was $3000 less at the end of the three month period than it was at the beginning. That is not the kind of return you want on your investment.  When that happens to you, it doesn’t make you feel very good.

God wants a good return on the investment He made in you, but sometimes He gets a very poor return. How sad for God and for us and for others when we say,

• “He’s got the brains if he would just use them.”
• “She is really gifted if she would just apply herself.”
• “He could really be good at his job if he would just put his mind to it.”
• “She could get straight A’s if she wanted to.” 

How disappointing it must be to God when people do not use the gifts He has given them.

God uses imperfect people to do great things for Him and to extend His kingdom: Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah – they used their talents and abilities to proclaim the true God and His promises in spite of their failings and shortcomings. Thomas, Paul, Peter – they used their talents and abilities to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world even though they were far from perfect. When you think that you are unimportant and insignificant, you need to remember the investment God made in you. You need to hear the Good News of just how much God thinks of you and how much He cares for you. He considered you so important that He laid down His life for you. He redeemed you from the power of sin with His own precious blood. He will love you forever. One day He will come back to take you home with Him forever.

When you allow yourselves to be used by God He will take your talents and bless them and use them to build His kingdom and to reach lost people. In the process, you will be an example for others. 2 Corinthians 9:13 “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ.” 

All your talents and abilities are to be used so that God is praised and His purpose is accomplished. With the Lord there is no such thing as unemployment or retirement. There is no time to be bored and lazy. There’s no time to sit back and let somebody else do it. Each of you has received at least one gift to be part of God’s purpose in touching lives with His Gospel. If you have the gift of mercy, then use it to help the hurting and comfort the grieving. If you have the gift of leadership, use it to carry out plans and accomplish great things for God and the Church. If you have the gift of giving, then use it to support the Church and other special needs and causes.

What interests and skills and abilities has God given you to use in your role as member of the body of Christ in this congregation? Do you have the gift of hospitality? Are you good at visiting new people or shut-ins? Perhaps you are good at plumbing, electrical work, painting, ushering, praying, and helping. Maybe you are good at listening, organizing, teaching, singing, and writing. Use what you’ve got to serve Him.

Jesus gave us a perfect example of serving. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life for a ransom payment for all of our sins. He wasn’t interested in getting credit or in getting ahead. He wasn’t even thinking of what it would cost Him. He gave His life for His enemies and for His friends. He gave Himself for the sins of every man, woman, and child of the past, present, and future. He wants you to serve Him.

As you hear the Word of God in worship, Bible class, and in your devotions, you should be encouraged and strengthened. As you receive the body and blood of Christ Jesus in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, you are strengthened and empowered for serving. When you remember your baptism, you are reminded of your forgiveness. In His promises, God gives you strength and power to be a fruitful stewards. You are to be like trees planted next to streams of water (Psalm 1:3). You produce fruit. Whatever we do prospers because we do it to the glory of God, and He uses and blesses your efforts.

Use all of the talents that you’ve got, whether two or half a dozen or more.  You will be a blessing to God, to the Church, to the community, and to your family.  God loves you with all that He has.  Serve Him and one another with what you’ve got.

 

 

Living as Fruitful Stewards of Time

November 6, 2011

Today, we begin our stewardship program Bearing Fruit for Jesus: His Grace and Power at Work Within You. And for this week, our focus is on being fruitful with our time. You all had an extra hour yesterday as we observed the government mandated end of Daylight Savings Time. So what did you do with that extra hour? Did you put it to good use?

Picture yourself going to the funeral of a loved one. You arrive at the church and walk in. You see friends and family and you feel the shared sense of loss and grief that fills their hearts. You walk up to the casket at the rear of the sanctuary and come face-to-face with yourself. This is your funeral. All these people have come to remember you, honor you, and you hear them expressing feelings of love and appreciation for your life.  As you take a seat and wait for the service to begin, you look at the service folder in your hand. There are four speakers. The first is from your family, the second is a friend, the third is a co-worker, and the fourth is your pastor.

Now think about it. What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of son or daughter or cousin were you? What kind of friend have you been?  What kind of neighbor were you? How would your pastor describe your Christian life? How would those who know you best remember your relationship to them? Bottom line: how would you like to be remembered when you die? You will be thought of in definite terms. What will those terms be? If you participated seriously in this exercise, you revealed some of your deep, fundamental values, principles, and beliefs.  (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey).

Time is a gift from God, and, if Christians will begin each day with the end in mind, it could change lives. Every day you live under God’s grace. You live with saving faith in Jesus Christ Who died and rose that we might live the abundant life as fruitful stewards of time.

Let me put it this way: To begin with the end in mind isn’t to be focused on “What will others think of me when I’m dead and gone?” Rather, how should I use the time God has given to bear witness of His grace at work in my life? What should I be doing differently? When we consider how we will be remembered upon our death, it awakens our sense of urgency for living a Christ-filled, fruitful life.

If you are going to bear fruit, you have to be connected to Christ as the true vine. “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5).  Jesus is telling you that as branches you will bear fruit as long as you stay connected to Jesus, the Vine.  In order for us to be fruitful with the time God gives you, you need to stay connected to Jesus.  My time and life has meaning from beginning to end.  And even then, the end is only the beginning of all eternity.  In Christ, you will be fruitful stewards of time.

When people in their eighties were asked, “What would you do differently if you had life to live over?” Their response was threefold: Risk more, reflect more, and leave a legacy (something that would last beyond their time here).

What did they mean by “risk more?” Gamble? Invest more money in the Stock Market? Live with reckless abandon? Drive like there were no tomorrow? (Some are doing this already!) What does is mean for the Christian to “risk more?” How about using your time to boldly, confidently, and openly share the love of Christ, risking ridicule and rejection so that people bound for hell might receive eternal life? Doesn’t it mean using my time with a non-Christian to share Christ with him? How about risking a relationship by using your limited time to share your faith.

“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Colossians 1:6).  It was because the early Christians were willing to risk it all for the sake of Christ that the church grew in the power of the Holy Spirit. What risk will you take?

Reflect more. What does this mean? It has a two-fold or dual meaning here. To pause and think; to retrace the past; to stop and smell the roses; ponder; or reflect as the moon reflects the sun in the night sky, or a mirror reflects the image before it. By the use of our time, we should reflect such a life filled with fruit that others would know decisively that we are Christians.  (“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Matthew 3:8).

We need to use our time to reflect on the richness of God’s grace revealed in His Word. We need to use our time to recall and remember the power and benefits of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We should reflect on our certainty of living for all time and eternity with our Lord. AND, we need to be closer to Him Who is the Light of the world that we might more brilliantly reflect His light and love to the world, to others.  “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).  Jesus doesn’t want us to hide our lights.  He wants the world to see His light shine through us.

Leave a lasting legacy. “Begin with the end in mind.” Your use of time, how you prioritize and live your life each day, sends a powerful message to others regarding what you value the most.

Toward the end of the 19th century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper. It read: “Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man.” Actually, it was Alfred’s older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter had bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process.

So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Nobel said, “Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one.” Few things will change us as much as looking at our life as though it is finished. (Is It Real When It Doesn’t Work?  Doug Murren and Barb Shurin; quoted in Leadership by Rex Bonar, Summer, 1991)

There is a time for everything under heaven. This is your time, a gift from God. It is your appointed time. For such a time as this the Lord has appointed you to live as a fruitful steward of the days and years, the weeks and months, the minutes and seconds He will give. The Holy Spirit is your powerful source of strength for living as fruitful stewards of time. Begin with the end in mind, because the end is the beginning of forever with Jesus!

As you leave church today, you will be given an apple. This apple is a reminder of Jesus’ command in John 15 to go and bear fruit. It is my hope and prayer that you will bear fruit with your time as you look for opportunities to honor the Lord by serving and helping others.

Our Unchanging God

October 30, 2011

The preacher’s five-year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. So one Sunday after the service, she asked him why he did that. He replied, “I’m asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.”  She thought about that for a moment and then she said, “Does He ever say ‘Yes?’”  I prayed that again this morning, so we’ll see how it goes.

When you travel by air, one of the things you always find in the seat pocket in front of you is SKYMALL MAGAZINE. This is the Summer 2011 edition. They have all kinds of gadgets and ridiculously useless items that make it something fun to flip through while sitting on an airplane. But something in particular caught my attention is this issue. This page features two different products for people who are losing their hair. (Don’t worry – I’m okay with my lack of hair). At the top of the page is some kind of spray on hair that is supposed to make the little bit of hair you have look thicker. On the bottom of the page is some kind of laser device that you shine on your head in order to stimulate hair growth. And there are several other similar products in this issue. But the reason these ads caught my eye is that on the facing page, right across from these ads to help those who are losing their hair, is an ad for hair removal. As I looked at this I thought: Dear Lord, how dissatisfied are we in this country. Those who don’t have hair want it and those who have hair don’t want it. And how much time and effort and money do we spend on trying to grow hair where it won’t grow and trying to stop growth where it occurs!

This lack of contentment reminded me of these words from Scripture:

 

In the context of telling us to be content, God tells us through this letter the reason we should be content:  He does not change: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. And that is where I want your focus to be today as we observe Reformation Sunday: our Unchanging God whose truth stand forever. That is the sentiment of the Reformation Hymn, A Mighty Fortress. It is a message that is necessary for our world today. God’s steadfast, unchanging nature must be proclaimed.

Ten years ago at this time, people were flocking to churches in the wake of the September 11 terrorism acts. They were looking for answers. They wanted to know where God was in all of this. And we have an answer. God is right here, He is with us. He never left us. He has always been with us. He could just as easily have said today what Jesus said about the people of Jerusalem: you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. (Matthew 23:37) Jesus has always wanted to gather His children together. He is not the one who left. People have been running away from him. That is why evil flourishes.

But the message God’s people have to share is that no matter who you are or what you have done, it is never too late to turn back to God and trust in His mercy. The promise God made through Jesus is still available. Jesus came to take care of the problem of sin, to make sure you could be forgiven. He lived a life without sin because you could not. He offered that perfect life as the payment for the sins of everyone. Through faith, you can claim His payment as your own. Because of what Jesus did for you, God will be merciful and forgive you. That is the same message that has been proclaimed since Jesus rose from the dead in victory. That message does not change. It is the message the world needs to hear.

Unfortunately, that is not the message people are hearing in all churches that identify themselves as Christian. Many try to twist and pervert the message of God’s Word to suit their own purposes and needs and desires. That is not a comfortable thing to talk about, but it is true, and it is nothing new. It was the same thing that prompted the event we remember and celebrate today, the Reformation. Luther spoke out against those who had perverted the message of the Bible in His day. He spoke out so that the message of forgiveness for Jesus’ sake would be what people heard proclaimed. In the same way Luther spoke out in his day in defense of the unchanging Word of God and the unchangeableness of our God, we must speak out today.

Look around. You know what is happening. Christians are compromising the Word of God to their desires and sinful ways. We hear and read of teachings in churches that claim to be Christian, but they are changing or adding things that are not Biblical.

• ·        While Scripture calls homosexual behavior an abomination, many churches today say the exact opposite, that it is not sinful, even ordaining clergy who are practicing homosexuals.
• ·        Where Scripture says, “You shall not murder”, we have churches today defending the right of people to kill the most helpless among. They call it euthanasia or “A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE”, but it is still sin.
• ·        Where God calls us to “Walk in the light as he is in the light” many are encouraging people to go along with the crowd and do whatever makes you feel good.

People who are earnestly seeking God and looking for answers will be disappointed if they go to those churches that blow in the wind, changing their teachings to accommodate the times. In fact, that is why so many who feel a spiritual yearning have abandoned Christianity all together. They are lost and looking for direction, and they don’t find it in churches that have abandoned the Bible.

People are looking for a SOLID God, an ALMIGHTY God, an UNCHANGING God, and folks, we’ve got Him to share. A Church that believes in what Luther called SOLA SCRIPTURA, Scripture Alone, will have just the thing to share with a world looking for answers. God tells us what we need to hear in His Word. He tells us He loves us and wants us to be with Him. He tells us that our sins have separated us from Him. He tells us that He bridged that gap by sending Jesus to pay for sins in our place. God tells us that all who believe in Jesus will have forgiveness as a gift. He tells us that we should live as though we know we have already been saved, letting the light of Jesus shine for others to see. He tells us sin is wrong and that we should not sin. Nor should we condone sin in the lives of others. That would not be living the new life to which we have been called. All of this is found in the Word of God, which does not change.

Much of what God tells us is difficult for the world to accept. That is why so many churches have tried to water it down for people. What they have succeeded in doing is nothing more than planting doubt. If people have nothing firm, nothing solid, no foundation on which to build, why should they trust you? If a church proclaims a fleeting message, if they preach a god who is “blowing in the wind”, they offer nothing but insecurity. That is not the message of God in the Bible. The true God who is proclaimed in Scripture invites you to a faith that is built on certainty, the secure hope in Jesus Christ who does not change, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

When you know and believe what God has done for you in Christ, through His life, death and resurrection, the words of today’s text have a deep significance for you:  The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

We must proclaim the unchangeable, only true God and the message He has given us in His Word. God does not change. His Word does not change. The Word of the Lord stands forever. To proclaim anything else would be a disaster. God’s people, the Church, must remain faithful to His Word. As we strive to live as God’s people, we need to remember that we have been called as followers of Jesus to change the world, not be changed by it. God does not change. He wants to change us from lost and condemned creatures to those who walk in the newness of life He provides. He wants that for everyone.

If this is going to happen, the Church must remain faithful. And by that, I mean you. You are the Church. As individual members of the body of Christ, you need to remain faithful to our God who does not change. Those of us who have already heard the truth of God’s Word must stand up for it. We are God’s instruments on this earth to spread His message. It may mean ridicule at times. So what if some make fun of you? Shouldn’t you be more concerned with what God thinks of you? You have been called by Jesus to be uncompromising in a compromising age. As far as the truth of God that has been revealed to us, you are to be unyielding. You must stand up for what is true, and I can tell you right now that it will not be politically correct. We should never try to adapt Christ to men. We are to adapt men to Christ.

Father Andrew M. Greeley, a rather prolific and often controversial Roman Catholic Priest, once said: “Only a fool would argue that the church should change its doctrine to keep up with the times. One does not arrive at moral judgments by counting noses. Nor does one derive ethical systems from surveys. The truth of God has not changed since the beginning of time and any church that decides it needs changing now will lose that argument in the eternal perspective.”

We must proclaim God’s unchanging truth in changing times. We must continue to lift up the cross of Jesus and explain to men and women everywhere that God has in Christ reconciled the world to Himself and all who believe in Him have forgiveness and life everlasting.

That is God’s promise. That is God’s plan. And it is for everyone. But we can’t wait for those who are perishing to come to us. Ten years ago people were flocking to churches. But not today. And if we wait for them to come to church, we will never reach the vast majority of those who are perishing. As the Church, we need to be the ones who share our unchanging God with the world in our day to day living.

Lord, help us proclaim your unchanging message in our world today!

Need Any Help?

October 23, 2011

You’re driving along on a trip. You printed out your route from Google Maps, or maybe you’re following the GPS on the dash or in your phone. You are happily cruising down the Interstate, but then it happens. You see the sign: Road Construction next 30 miles. You follow the detour onto a state highway and then a couple of county roads. Your printed directions are now worthless. The GPS gets confused and is not longer of any use. And before you know it, you are lost. What would you do? Would you drive around to try to find your way, even though you know you are lost? Or would you stop at the first gas station and ask for help?

This situation was presented to 100 men and 100 women. My wife will tell you that I would be one to keep on driving. And I guess I am in the majority, because only 10% of the men replied they would ask for help immediately. What may surprise you is only 21% of the women said they would ask for help rather than drive around lost. Even though there was a difference in the percentages for men and women, one characteristic is clear: The vast majority would rather drive around lost than admit they needed help.

We live in a time of “Do-it-yourselfers,” when people take pride in accomplishing things without any help. Some assert their independence because life and circumstances have made them that way. But to refuse to ask for help when you know you need it is a sign of plain old fashioned stubbornness and pride.

Today’s text is taken from the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, a passage that is know as “The Beatitudes”, which is the Latin word for “blessed.” People have looked at this list in many ways down through the years. Some see it nothing more than slogans that you put on your refrigerator. Others see it as a how-to guide for getting to heaven. But we need to look at the intent of the one giving this list. He was offering BLESSING, which is more than just being happy. He was speaking of a total sense of well being in your existence. And the ones who get that blessing are mentioned.

Today I want to look at the first “Blessed” on the list. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The beginning of the list sets the stage for all that follows. Those who are poor in spirit will be blessed. So who are the poor in spirit?

First of all, the poor in spirit are those who know that they are helpless. By that I do not mean they are simply weak or fainthearted, but totally helpless. They have come to the realization that they are lost and can do nothing to find their way.

That leads to the second point: The poor in spirit know they are helpless and they know where their help is! They realize their dependence on God! And that takes surrender. It takes an admission of your own inability to save yourself.

When you are young, you long for the day when you can be on your own. No more depending on Mom and Dad for whether you can go out or have some money. As small children, we all cry and run straight to Mom for comfort and understanding. At 16 or 17, forget it. You won’t show your pain, much less ask her to help. When you were small and broke a toy, you would run to Dad and ask him to fix it. At 18 or 19, you would rather use it broken, try to fix it yourself, or act like you didn’t need that stupid thing anymore. It comes from an attitude of not wanting to admit that you need help.

That same attitude has been identified as a primary reason so many high school seniors graduate without knowing how to read. Tutors are available for the asking, but it requires the student to ask for help, to admit his or her own helplessness, and people don’t want to do that.

This desire to be self-sufficient carries over to our relationship with our heavenly Father. “Just tell me what I have to do and I’ll do it. After all, God helps those who help themselves.” That’s in the Bible, right? Wrong! That is a man-made philosophy which our do-it-yourself mentality wants to believe. But the message God gives in His Word is the opposite.

What God expects and demands of us is clear: perfection. But Isaiah tells us that we can’t do it:

And it doesn’t matter how hard you try. It is not possible for you to do-it-yourself. That is the message God was trying to communicate through Paul in the book of Romans:

You have to admit your own helplessness and look to the only source of help, Jesus Christ.

Being poor in spirit does not mean you lack knowledge. In fact, You can be rich in KNOWLEDGE and poor in spirit. That was the situation of Nicodemus. He was a teacher of Jewish Law, very knowledgeable. No doubt many people came to him for answers, and he must have felt close to God because of his advanced study of the Torah. But somewhere, deep inside, he knew he needed help. And he finally admitted that one night. In the secrecy of darkness he sought out the one who could help. He asked, “How can I gain eternal life?” His knowledge was not enough. His spirit was poor and helpless, yet by going to Jesus he was blessed. He received the kingdom of heaven then and there when he heard that precious promise from Jesus lips: God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Karl Barth was regarded by many as one of the most intellectual theologians of all time. He is quoted as having said, “All my knowledge from all my books has not made me as rich as the knowledge of this simple truth: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.’” By admitting he was poor in spirit, he received God’s riches. Blessed are those who are rich in knowledge but admit they are poor in spirit.

You can be rich in POWER and poor in spirit. Remember that Roman Centurion who came to Jesus asking that his child be healed? He was a man of authority. He ordered men to go and they went. He ordered them to come and they came. Yet this man of power admitted he was poor in spiritual power. He needed help and went to the one who could give it. And by trusting in the power of Jesus, he was blessed.

You may remember the name Chuck Colson from Watergate. He went to prison, was led to faith in Jesus Christ. After his release he became active in prison ministry throughout the world, telling others about Jesus. He said, “It all began when I stopped thinking I could handle everything myself and admitted that I needed help. I’ve been so close to those in the highest office in the world. I’ve been in palaces; I’ve preached in great cathedrals around the globe; but the greatest joy and riches I have found is to be in prison on a grimy concrete floor with a burly convict who in a flood of tears gives his life to Jesus Christ.” Blessed are those who are rich in power but admit they are poor in spirit.

In your case, it may not be knowledge or power that keeps you from admitting your need for Jesus. It may be that you don’t trust anyone but yourself. You may not think anyone else can handle the situation as well as you. Whatever it may be, there is something in your life that tries to keep you from being poor in spirit. We all have pride that doesn’t want to admit that we need help. But it is only when we admit our helplessness and turn to Jesus that we will receive the joy and blessings He promises.

Don’t wait until you are in intensive care after a heart attack to admit your helplessness. Do it now. Kneel down at the foot of the cross. Remember that He did there what you could never do: paid for sin. Rejoice in front of the empty tomb, knowing that He rose so that you might live also. What you could not do, Jesus has done for you.

You and I are powerless, but we know the one who has power over everything. He calls us to recognize and admit our helplessness so that we will depend on Him and receive His blessing.

 

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