Tuesday, June 12, 2007

June 10, 2007 Sermon Synopsis

Is there any Word from the Lord? – Scripture: Jeremiah 37:1-21

You can put a tractor in your garage, but it won’t make you a farmer.
A shop full of tools won’t make you a mechanic.
In the same way, a Bible in the house doesn’t make you a Christian.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to have a Bible around. But God wants you to learn to use it and then use it. It can help you become a Christian.

The children were asked if their parents ever ask them to do things they don’t want to do. “Clean up your room; set the table; do the chores.” They know what’s good for us and if nothing else, it will “build character.”

Sometimes kids at school may ask them to do something that their parents would not approve of: smoking, drugs, swearing, cheating, etc. They say it won’t hurt you; your parents have a different opinion. Who do you believe?

God (our heavenly parent) wants us to make good choices. The world often asks us to do things that God doesn’t approve of. How do we know what God wants? We can read about it in God’s word for us – the Bible. We can talk with other Christians; God’s Word should live in their lives.

God wants us to know – there is a Word from the Lord for us.

Jeremiah lived in difficult times. You should read up on the history sometime. The books of Kings and Chronicles are full of information. The book of Jeremiah gives a lot of detail.

Israel (and Judah) was God’s kingdom on earth. It didn’t work out very well. God’s reign is not primarily a political reign – in first place it needs to be a spiritual reign. The Kings were God’s representative or servant. Other countries had kings who were gods (Egypt for example). For Israel, God was to be the King. Jesus (our king) told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” None of the leaders in the church function as Kings. Jesus is our king; we are all God’s servants.

Judah’s kings should have had a close relationship with God. The needed to hear God’s word and obey. Unfortunately they obeyed the world powers of the day: Assyria, Babylonia or Egypt. They should have trusted in God.

This got them in trouble. God had to punish them because they followed their own instincts instead of God’s leading. God told them that obedience would result in blessing and disobedience in destruction. Not much has changed.

Jeremiah prophesied during the reign of the last 5 kings of Judah. Today’s scripture passage in Jeremiah chapter 37 begins when Zedekiah is named king of Judah.

Zedekiah inherited a kingdom of trouble. His dad, Josiah, had brought the country closer to God, but two of his brothers and one of his uncles who served as king following Josiah really messed things up. Zedekiah didn’t do any better. Jeremiah told him that God was going to punish everybody because Zedekiah wouldn’t bring the country back to God. Being faithful to God’s word landed Jeremiah in Jail – not a big blessing, but Jeremiah knew it’s better to be punished by an earthly authority than by God.

Zedekiah had lots of prophets that told him what he wanted to hear. They told him that God’s word was that “the king of Babylon will not attach you” (37:19), but deep down Zedekiah knew they weren’t right.

It was crisis time; the biggest of Zedekiah’s life. One night Zedekiah secretly spoke with Jeremiah, “Is there any Word from the Lord?” (37:17).

What did he want to hear? “Everything’s going to be OK. Just keep living your life as you have and everything will work out just fine.”

Zedekiah was in the biggest crisis of his life. Judah was God’s anointed Kingdom; they were God’s chosen people. Yet their very existence was at stake. What went wrong?

What do we want to know during a crisis?
-When your marriage is on the rocks
-When the kids rebel against you
-When you lose your job and don’t know how you’re going to make the next mortgage payment
-When sickness and disease has you down

It’s crisis time; “Is there any word from the Lord?”

Jeremiah told him that God did have a word and it was the same old thing he’d heard before.

There is a word from the Lord!
-It’s the Word that was spoken to create the world.
-It’s the Word that was given to Moses on the mountain.
-It’s the Word that directed God’s people through the desert.
-It’s the Word that led God’s people into the Promised Land.
-It’s the unchanging Word of God.
-It’s the Word that tells us to follow God or suffer the consequences.
-It’s the Word that tells us to put God first, above other gods.
-It’s the Word that tells us to trust God above our enemies.
-It’s the Word that says, “I will be your God and you will be my people.”

Zedekiah lived in a tension: the promises of an earthly kingdom vs. the promises of God.

Zedekiah had lots of false prophets to give him false hope.

People put their faith in lots of different things. We’ve seen Pachamama (Mother Earth) worship in Bolivia and voodoo in the D.R.

For Americans, the false god is often science or technology or the power of material wealth.

We ask, “Is there a word from the Lord?” and at the same time look to other things to help us out. In some ways we’re not a lot different from Zedekiah.

2 Peter 3:17 says “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.”

Zedekiah knew the political reality of the world he lived in.
Zedekiah knew the word of the Lord.
He chose to stay the course – which was, unfortunately, the road to destruction.

CHOOSE THE WORD
We need to remember to choose the word of God.

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word ….
John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us …
… That’s Jesus!

Is there a Word from the Lord? Yes, it’s Jesus.

God doesn’t want anyone to perish (John 3:16), we do that to ourselves.

The church is the visible Kingdom of God in this world. We need to remember that Jesus is our King!

We must all submit to God’s rule. Trouble begins when we start to make decisions on our own, when we become kings. We need to constantly ask, “Is there any word from the Lord?”

Max Lucado wrote, “If there are a thousand steps between us and God, He will take all but one. He will leave the final one for us.” We need to choose God, and in so doing, turn away from the things of this world.

The story if Israel has a sad ending. Babylonia destroyed Jerusalem, killed most of the people, deported others, and left behind the poor and those in Jail (fortunate for Jeremiah). The crisis became a disaster. It didn’t have to be that way.

What about you? By trusting in God’s Word, the crises in our lives don’t have to turn into disasters. The decision is ours.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

June 3, 2007 Sermon Synopsis

Thy Will Be Done – Scripture: Matthew 6:10

The children were reminded of Commandment #5 – Honor your mother and your father. Elizabeth told us that the best way to honor our parents is to do what they want us to do, even before they ask.

How do we know what our parents want us to do? They tell us, and, after we’re told enough times, we can remember without being told.

Jesus obeyed his parents, Mary and Joe, and especially his heavenly father! Jesus prayed to God (Father): “I won’t do what I want, but what you want.” (Matthew 26:39, 42)

Just as Jesus obeyed his parents, we need to obey our parents, and our heavenly parent. How do we know what God wants us to do? The Bible is a good source of information; sometimes the preacher or our Sunday School teacher conveys God’s word to us as well. After we’re told enough times, we should be able to do it without being told.

We live in a world of many decisions.
High school seniors decide what to do with their lives.
Career changes or choices come up once in a while.
Parents sometimes agonize about what to do over a teenager's substance abuse.
We may need to help older parents make life decisions.

Christians want to know and do the will of God. It’s nothing new, we’ wrestled with this many times before.

What is God’s will for you?
What is God’s will for your family?
What is God’s will for Maple Grove Mennonite Church?
How can we be sure that what we are doing is God’s will?

The Scriptures are full of admonitions to find God’s will and be in God’s will.
Psalm 40:8a – “I desire to do your will, O my God”
Psalm 143:10 – “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Jesus at crisis moment (Garden of Gethsemane): “Not my will but your will be done.”

There are some common myths about finding God’s will:
-God makes it difficult to find his will.
-God’s will is something to be afraid of.
-God’s will can be found by luck (fate).

None of these are true. But some things are true:
-God has something in mind for us to do.
-God wants us to know what that is.
Some times that which is most obvious is the hardest to find.

We usually as these questions: What does God want for me? For my family? For Maple Grove?
First we need to ask: What does God want?

We need to be found in God’s general will for all of humanity, before we can know God’s specific will for us as individuals.

Where’s the answer?

Today’s Scripture passage is just one verse from the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

What does God want us to do and be? We need to look to Heaven – God’s Eternal Kingdom – to find God’s will. Jesus tells us that there is a direct relationship between heaven and earth – God’s will is a reality in heaven; God’s will is desired here on earth. What happens in heaven should be a model for what we do here on earth.

We need to avoid the temptation to be so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good. The two are intrinsically related.

To know God’s will we need to ask a question. What is heaven like.

God wants everyone to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ.
Will there be anyone in heaven that doesn’t know and love the Lord Jesus Christ?
John 3:16 tells us God wants “that none should perish, but that all should have eternal life”

There are some that believe that there are people that God wants to condemn to eternal damnation, people that God wants to exclude, and people that God wants to destroy. God’s desire is that everyone knows and loves the Lord Jesus.

If that is what God’s will is for those in his eternal kingdom, it must be God’s will for us today.

God’s will for you and me and the Maple Grove Church is that we work for everyone to know the Love of Jesus. This is the first decision we need to make – to do what God wants for us)

GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO BE HOLY
Will there be any sin in heaven?

God’s people should be involved in promoting holiness, ethics, etc.
I Thess 4:3 “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified”
I Peter 1:16 “Be holy, for I am holy, says the Lord”

God’s will for you and me and Maple Grove Church is to be holy in the midst of an unholy world.

GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO BE HEALTHY
Will there be any sick people in heaven?

Rev. 21:1-4 tell us there will be “no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

To be in God’s will, his church should be involved in healing ministries (physical, psychological and spiritual). Jesus provided the example. The Gospels are full of stories about Jesus healing others.

God’s will for you and me and Maple Grove Church is to promote health in a sick world.

GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO HAVE THE BASIC NEEDS AND NOT BE POOR
Will there be poor people in heaven? Will there be a good side of town and a bad side of town? Will there be people lacking food, shelter, clothing, etc.?

This isn’t part of God’s eternal plan for humanity; it should be something we’re concerned about. God’s people should be involved in ministry to end poverty.
Our church supports missionaries who bring God’s message to others. We support programs of the MCC. The Sewing Circle makes quilts, school and health kits, and many other things. Why? Because we believe that God doesn’t want people to be poor.

Educational ministries are a big part of this. Education is a good way for people to get out of poverty. You’ve heard the old adage: “Give a person a fish and feed him for a day; teach him to fish (and give him access to the fishing hole) and he’ll eat for the rest of his life.”

God’s will for you and me and Maple Grove Church is to work against poverty in this world.

GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO BE TREATED JUSTLY
Will there be injustice in heaven? There will be no lawyers needed there.

Amos 5:24 “But let justice roll on like a river . . .”
Jesus: “What is good and right and just – do these things.”
Matthew 6:33 – “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.”

We live in a world of corrupt governments, predator corporations and people seeking to take advantage of others. That’s not how God’s eternal kingdom will be; that’s what God’s will is for us.

God’s will for you and me and Maple Grove Church is to work against injustice in an unjust world.

GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO FEEL SAFE
Will there be terrorists in heaven? Will heaven need a department of homeland security?

The admonition, “Fear Not,” appears in the Bible many times. The resurrected Jesus began many of his talks with “Fear Not.”

God doesn’t want us to be afraid. The church should be a safe place for people who are afraid. The power of the Holy Spirit will embolden us in the face of threats.

JUST THINK ABOUT HEAVEN
There are many other things we could think of. Jesus tells us, if we want to know God’s will for us and for his church – Just think about heaven!

But make sure: you’re not too heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.

So what about the specifics? What about the day to day decisions? What a bout the big decisions of life?

These things will become clear once we are doing God’s general will. As long as we are found in God’s will we can be sure we won’t do anything that God would disapprove of.

We can be confident that we can do anything we want as long as it promotes the values of God’s eternal kingdom and doesn’t come in the way of God’s desire for humanity.

We need to pray: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”