“What are you looking at?” Hebrews 11:29 – 2:2
Last week we began Hebrews Chapter 11, the faith chapter.
The story of faith continues …
Perhaps you’ve heard the story about …
The pastor announced, “There will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service."
After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting. But there was a stranger in their midst -- a visitor who had never attended their church before.
"My friend," said the pastor, "Didn't you understand that this is a meeting of the Board?"
"Yes," said the visitor, "and after today's sermon, I suppose I'm just about as bored as anyone else who came to this meeting."
According to Hebrews 11, the life of faith is anything but boring. There is an excitement to a life lived by faith. And ultimately they were “commended for their faith,” they had a good testimony.
It's an impressive list of Old Testament believers and their amazing accomplishments. However, the writer kept interspersing the words "by faith," for his emphasis was strictly faith, not fame. Through faith these people obtained a good testimony (v.39), but was there always a good outcome?
By faith they subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, and escaped the edge of the sword. Others were tortured and killed. Did they obtain a bad testimony? No! Verse 39 says that "all these" – both the delivered and the undelivered – had a good testimony, they all acted in faith.
Faith does not automatically mean good things will happen to you.
I'm certain that all had asked the Lord for help. But some received deliverance, and others received an answer similar to the one given to Paul when he pleaded for his "thorn" to be removed: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Whenever you act in faith and in God's strength, you are obtaining a good testimony before Him—no matter what the outcome. Just the same, none of them received the full promise. The author tells us that this is reserved for us. All of these had faith that God would bring a messiah, a savior, etc., but they never saw Jesus. We are very privileged.
THEREFORE
Chapter 12:1 begins with this word; it’s an indicator of a practical application.
There are three things we should do to keep our lives guided “by faith.”
Three things to obtain a good testimony and be commended for our faith.
FIRST: LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASLIY ENGANGLES
Once, in Bolivia, I drove behind a loaded truck climbing the mountain road from Cochabamba to Oruro. It was loaded with produce destined for the highlands. The truck couldn’t handle the road, he had a compression problem. He had to get to Oruro, so he started to sell and give his produce to the people along the way. Some he just had to leave by the road. Why? He wouldn’t make it to the destination otherwise; stranded on a mountain road is not a good thing. It arrived with very little produce. It was painful for the owner of the truck to lose his load. He lost plenty of pesos on that trip, but he arrived.
It’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes we really love the stuff we carry around.
It reminds me of the story of the Franklin Expedition.
In 1845, the ill-fated Franklin Expedition sailed from England to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean. The crew loaded their two sailing ships with a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200-volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials engraved on the handles. Amazingly, each ship took only a 12-day supply of coal for their auxiliary steam engines.
The ships became trapped in vast frozen plains of ice. After several months, Lord Franklin died. The men decided to trek to safety in small groups, but none of them survived. One story is especially heartbreaking. Two officers pulled a large sled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice. When their bodies were found, they discovered that the sled was filled with table silver. Those men contributed to their own demise by carrying what they didn't need
But don't we sometimes do the same? Don't we drag baggage through life that we don't need? Evil thoughts that hinder us. Bad habits that drag us down. Grudges that we won't let go.Let's determine to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us"
When God told Joshua to take control of Jericho, and other cities in Palestine, they were told “not” to take plunder. Why? It would slow them down. It would divert their attention from the task. It would keep them from being effective in establishing the Kingdom of God.
What about the power of sin?
King David’s eyes were diverted and led him into sin. He needed to get rid of the sin that hindered his ability to rule God’s Kingdom. How did he get rid of that sin? By confronting the sin, confessing the sin and receiving forgiveness. There was no other way.
What is hindering your walk of faith? What is entangling your life?
What do you need to get rid of? You can’t get rid of it yourself.
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Give it to Jesus.
SECOND: LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET OUT BEFORE US
Verb tense in the Greek language indicates a daily action, we continually run the race.
I used to climb mountains. I needed to pace myself. Newcomers to our group might race to the top, but they expend all their energy getting there. They forget that it’s a round trip. Others help carry them down, to complete the journey. Perseverance is pacing yourself for the long haul.
Heb 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
James tells us something about perseverance.
James 1:3 – the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
James 1:4 – perseverance is necessary for us to be mature and complete.
James 5:11 – using the example of Job we learn that those who persevere are blessed.
Whatever comes, whatever happens, we need to keep going forward in the Christian life.
THIRD: LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS
Years ago there was a farmer teaching his son to plow with a horse: “To make a straight furrow you need to fix your eyes on something in front of you and follow it. He got his son started and went off to work in the barn. When he came back the furrows went in every direction.
The father asked, “Didn’t you follow my directions?”
The son replied, “ I sure did, I set my eyes on that cow over there.”
It’s important what we keep our eyes on something firm – Jesus.
We must keep our eyes on the master.
I remember teaching my dog to “stay.” I put meat or cheese (something tempting) on the floor in front of her and I said “stay.” Eventually the dog learned to stay (treat or no treat). How did the dog keep its concentration? She couldn’t look at the treat, which was too much of a temptation. She kept her eyes on me.
Ultimately, the puppy was more interested in keeping the master happy than in satisfying itself. Somehow the puppy learns that the master is trusted. The master is the one who may reward us. The master is the source of the food.
We are so much more important than a puppy; shouldn’t we keep our eyes on our master?
We need to learn to fix our eyes on Jesus.
Not on the pastor, the elders, parents, conference leaders, or anyone else.
All of these are going to let you down (pastor included), but Jesus will never let you down.
What do we look at? There are many things to choose from.
Leaders
Sins / temptations
Fears
The world and things of the world
Ourselves
You can think of many other things to divert our attention.
In the long run, none of these things are going to help us successfully complete the course.
To live the life of faith we need to
1. Get rid of sin and burdens
2. Persevere
3. Keep our eyes on Jesus
What are you looking at?
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
August 12, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
“Faith Based Initiatives” Hebrews 11:1-16
Maybe you heard the story …
A businessman was in a great deal of trouble. His business was failing, he had put everything he had into the business, he owed everybody it was so bad he was even contemplating suicide. As a last resort he went to a pastor and poured out his story of tears and woe. When he had finished, the pastor said, "Here's what I want you to do, put a beach chair and your Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer; that will tell you what to do."
A year later the businessman went back to the pastor and brought his wife and children with him. The man was in a new custom- tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, the children shining. The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with money out of his pocket and gave it to the pastor as a donation to the church in thanks for his advice. The pastor recognized the benefactor, and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked.
"Absolutely," replied the businessman.
"You went to the beach?"
"Absolutely."
"You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"
"Absolutely."
"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"
"Absolutely."
"And what were the first words you saw?"
"Chapter 11."
The scripture passage I want to consider is Chapter 11 of Hebrews, and maybe we will learn something about keeping our faith from going bankrupt.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is known as the “Faith Chapter.”
The book is written to Jews (Hebrews) who have accepted Jesus and to Gentile Christians (who need to understand the OT heritage and message that Jesus fulfilled). Here we have a lesson about the “History of Faith.”
How’s your faith?
Is faith evident in your life?
Is faith guiding your life?
I recently heard the story …
A pastor was taking a load of medical supplies to a local medical ministry. He was pushing the limits of his gas tank, when he ran out of gas, only a mile from the gas station.
He walked the mile to the gas station and asked to borrow a gas can to get enough gas to get to the station. They didn’t have one, so he thought and walked back to the car. In the medical supplies he found a bed pan, so he took it to the gas station, filled it with gas and carefully carried it back to the car.
As he was putting the gas in the car some of his church members drove by and saw their pastor pouring the contents of the bed pan into the car’s gas tank. The one remarked to the other, “Man, that’s faith!”
Faith is more than believing you can run a car on pee.
From this passage, we learn some things about faith.
Verse 1 has a definition. It’s not complete, but focuses on a few important features of faith.
1. Faith is being sure of what we hope for. What are we hoping for? The Psalmist wrote, “Our hope is in the Lord.” We should hope for eternal life, heaven, God’s guidance, etc.
2. Faith is being certain of what we can’t see. Israel was unusual in the world; they believed in the “unseen God.” Others made fun of them for having a God you can’t see.
3. Verse 3 tells us that the world was made through the Word of God. We are re-created through the Word of God – the Word became flesh, John 1:12 – through Jesus.
The creation of the world is a matter of faith. What would happen if we took God out of the picture? There is no purpose to anything! The one who created is more important than how it was done. Faith gives purpose to life.
4. Verse 6 lets us know that you need to have faith to make God happy. “Without faith it’s impossible to please God.”
We live in a world where so many people are concerned about being happy and having “God make them happy.” The goal of our faith is to make God happy, not for God to make us happy. We need to learn: It’s not about making me happy; it’s about making God happy.
Faith Based Initiatives
Faith Based Initiatives are know as a government program to distribute funding through faith based organizations.
The government has learned that “faith based ministries” are the most efficient, the most successful at making permanent changes in peoples lives,
Some Christian organizations won’t accept government funding. They base this decision on the separation of church and state, that the government often has “strings attached,” and they don’t want any government control of their ministry.
Faith has motivated many people in ministry. Faith has initiated a number of ministries such as Tel Hai, Bridge of Hope, No Longer Alone Ministries, and the MCC.
True faith based initiatives have less to do with funding and more to do with ministry to others. After all, God has all the resources necessary to fulfill his plan for the world. Our initiatives need to be found within that plan. The scripture tells us, “Our Lord will supply everything according to our needs.”
Why do you do the things you do?
Why does our church do the things we do?
What motivates or initiates our actions?
We should be motivated by Faith
There is a phrase that is repeated throughout chapter 11 of Hebrews: “By faith.”
Faith is the motivational factor in the lives of the individuals we read about.
Faith is manifested in the lives of individuals
Chapter 11 makes a contrast between us and them
It is the “we” (present) / “they” or “he” (past) difference
The author says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see.”
The scripture gives examples from the past, but the question of faith is in the present.
Interesting Note: verse 2 calls them “ancients” which is a translation of “presbyteroi” which is translated as “elders” in other places in the Bible. I’d be careful referring to our “Elders” as “ancients.”
Example 1: ABEL
Why was his gift better than his brothers? Many scholars have explained this in a number of ways. What stands out here is the faith the motivated and accompanied the offering.
By faith:
- He offered a better offering
- He was commended by God
- His story lives on
Example 2: ENOCH
He pleased God; that is, he made God happy. This gave him a direct trip to heaven.
By faith: he passed to heaven without experiencing death.
Example 3: NOAH
By faith he believed God’s warning and acted on it.
Example 4: ABRAHAM
By faith:
- He left his comfortable surroundings to obey God
- He made his home in a foreign land (illegal immigrant?)
- He fathered a child in his old age.
What do all of these have in common? They heard God’s word and acted on it.
I know a number of people in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic who can be added to that list:
Santiago Canaviri started training school for rural pastors and leaders.
Juan Corcos planted on the islands of Lake Titicaca.
Arelí began a ministry to the children in her community.
Marino & Graciela Garcia opened a school in San Cristobal for children who couldn’t go to school.
Pierre Espady started rural health clinics in Haitian communities in the DR
All of this makes God happy!
Do you make God happy? Or do you make God ashamed?
Verse 16 tells us, “There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God”
Have you ever been ashamed of your children? Your friends? Your church? Did you feel embarrassed by them?
How do you make God feel?
Sure, we can’t see the whole picture.
Did Abel know God’s plan of salvation for the world through Jesus?
Did Enoch? Did Noah? Did Abraham?
I showed the children a “connect the dots” picture of two cows grazing in a field. You really couldn’t tell what the picture was without the dots connected. Doing a “dot-to-dot” puzzle is similar to having faith.
You trust that an artist designed a picture that will be revealed to you if you continue to trace the sequence, dot to dot. If you decide to stop drawing you’ll never see the full picture the artist designed.
So it is with our faith in God. God is leading us and sometimes we only have part of the picture, but faith helps us connect the dots.
Did Abel see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 3 to dot 4.
Did Enoch see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 5 to dot 6.
Did Noah? No, dot 16 to 17.
Did Abraham? No, but he connecte a few of the dots.
None of them saw the entire picture.
God knows the big picture (when all the dots are connected). We need to trust God.
We need to make God proud!
Do problems in your life cause you to stop connecting the dots?
Did you just lose interest in connecting the dots?
You just need to trust God. That way you can live your life “by faith.”
Maybe you heard the story …
A businessman was in a great deal of trouble. His business was failing, he had put everything he had into the business, he owed everybody it was so bad he was even contemplating suicide. As a last resort he went to a pastor and poured out his story of tears and woe. When he had finished, the pastor said, "Here's what I want you to do, put a beach chair and your Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer; that will tell you what to do."
A year later the businessman went back to the pastor and brought his wife and children with him. The man was in a new custom- tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, the children shining. The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with money out of his pocket and gave it to the pastor as a donation to the church in thanks for his advice. The pastor recognized the benefactor, and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked.
"Absolutely," replied the businessman.
"You went to the beach?"
"Absolutely."
"You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"
"Absolutely."
"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"
"Absolutely."
"And what were the first words you saw?"
"Chapter 11."
The scripture passage I want to consider is Chapter 11 of Hebrews, and maybe we will learn something about keeping our faith from going bankrupt.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is known as the “Faith Chapter.”
The book is written to Jews (Hebrews) who have accepted Jesus and to Gentile Christians (who need to understand the OT heritage and message that Jesus fulfilled). Here we have a lesson about the “History of Faith.”
How’s your faith?
Is faith evident in your life?
Is faith guiding your life?
I recently heard the story …
A pastor was taking a load of medical supplies to a local medical ministry. He was pushing the limits of his gas tank, when he ran out of gas, only a mile from the gas station.
He walked the mile to the gas station and asked to borrow a gas can to get enough gas to get to the station. They didn’t have one, so he thought and walked back to the car. In the medical supplies he found a bed pan, so he took it to the gas station, filled it with gas and carefully carried it back to the car.
As he was putting the gas in the car some of his church members drove by and saw their pastor pouring the contents of the bed pan into the car’s gas tank. The one remarked to the other, “Man, that’s faith!”
Faith is more than believing you can run a car on pee.
From this passage, we learn some things about faith.
Verse 1 has a definition. It’s not complete, but focuses on a few important features of faith.
1. Faith is being sure of what we hope for. What are we hoping for? The Psalmist wrote, “Our hope is in the Lord.” We should hope for eternal life, heaven, God’s guidance, etc.
2. Faith is being certain of what we can’t see. Israel was unusual in the world; they believed in the “unseen God.” Others made fun of them for having a God you can’t see.
3. Verse 3 tells us that the world was made through the Word of God. We are re-created through the Word of God – the Word became flesh, John 1:12 – through Jesus.
The creation of the world is a matter of faith. What would happen if we took God out of the picture? There is no purpose to anything! The one who created is more important than how it was done. Faith gives purpose to life.
4. Verse 6 lets us know that you need to have faith to make God happy. “Without faith it’s impossible to please God.”
We live in a world where so many people are concerned about being happy and having “God make them happy.” The goal of our faith is to make God happy, not for God to make us happy. We need to learn: It’s not about making me happy; it’s about making God happy.
Faith Based Initiatives
Faith Based Initiatives are know as a government program to distribute funding through faith based organizations.
The government has learned that “faith based ministries” are the most efficient, the most successful at making permanent changes in peoples lives,
Some Christian organizations won’t accept government funding. They base this decision on the separation of church and state, that the government often has “strings attached,” and they don’t want any government control of their ministry.
Faith has motivated many people in ministry. Faith has initiated a number of ministries such as Tel Hai, Bridge of Hope, No Longer Alone Ministries, and the MCC.
True faith based initiatives have less to do with funding and more to do with ministry to others. After all, God has all the resources necessary to fulfill his plan for the world. Our initiatives need to be found within that plan. The scripture tells us, “Our Lord will supply everything according to our needs.”
Why do you do the things you do?
Why does our church do the things we do?
What motivates or initiates our actions?
We should be motivated by Faith
There is a phrase that is repeated throughout chapter 11 of Hebrews: “By faith.”
Faith is the motivational factor in the lives of the individuals we read about.
Faith is manifested in the lives of individuals
Chapter 11 makes a contrast between us and them
It is the “we” (present) / “they” or “he” (past) difference
The author says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see.”
The scripture gives examples from the past, but the question of faith is in the present.
Interesting Note: verse 2 calls them “ancients” which is a translation of “presbyteroi” which is translated as “elders” in other places in the Bible. I’d be careful referring to our “Elders” as “ancients.”
Example 1: ABEL
Why was his gift better than his brothers? Many scholars have explained this in a number of ways. What stands out here is the faith the motivated and accompanied the offering.
By faith:
- He offered a better offering
- He was commended by God
- His story lives on
Example 2: ENOCH
He pleased God; that is, he made God happy. This gave him a direct trip to heaven.
By faith: he passed to heaven without experiencing death.
Example 3: NOAH
By faith he believed God’s warning and acted on it.
Example 4: ABRAHAM
By faith:
- He left his comfortable surroundings to obey God
- He made his home in a foreign land (illegal immigrant?)
- He fathered a child in his old age.
What do all of these have in common? They heard God’s word and acted on it.
I know a number of people in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic who can be added to that list:
Santiago Canaviri started training school for rural pastors and leaders.
Juan Corcos planted on the islands of Lake Titicaca.
Arelí began a ministry to the children in her community.
Marino & Graciela Garcia opened a school in San Cristobal for children who couldn’t go to school.
Pierre Espady started rural health clinics in Haitian communities in the DR
All of this makes God happy!
Do you make God happy? Or do you make God ashamed?
Verse 16 tells us, “There fore God is not ashamed to be called their God”
Have you ever been ashamed of your children? Your friends? Your church? Did you feel embarrassed by them?
How do you make God feel?
Sure, we can’t see the whole picture.
Did Abel know God’s plan of salvation for the world through Jesus?
Did Enoch? Did Noah? Did Abraham?
I showed the children a “connect the dots” picture of two cows grazing in a field. You really couldn’t tell what the picture was without the dots connected. Doing a “dot-to-dot” puzzle is similar to having faith.
You trust that an artist designed a picture that will be revealed to you if you continue to trace the sequence, dot to dot. If you decide to stop drawing you’ll never see the full picture the artist designed.
So it is with our faith in God. God is leading us and sometimes we only have part of the picture, but faith helps us connect the dots.
Did Abel see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 3 to dot 4.
Did Enoch see the whole picture? No, he just connected dot 5 to dot 6.
Did Noah? No, dot 16 to 17.
Did Abraham? No, but he connecte a few of the dots.
None of them saw the entire picture.
God knows the big picture (when all the dots are connected). We need to trust God.
We need to make God proud!
Do problems in your life cause you to stop connecting the dots?
Did you just lose interest in connecting the dots?
You just need to trust God. That way you can live your life “by faith.”
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
July 22, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
We Forgive Those Who Sin Against Us – Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35
How is your relationship with God? God wants us to have a good relationship with him.
GOD WANTS US TO BE FORGIVEN
I told the children a familiar story that has been circulating ….
Johnny and Sally went to visit their grandparents on the farm. Johnny’s grandpa gave him a slingshot to play with. He went out into the fields and the woods, but he could never hit his target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for lunch.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and scared!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she didn’t say anything.
After lunch Grandma asked Sally to help wash the dishes. But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny wants to help wash the dishes.” Johnny looked a bit puzzled and Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped Grandma wash the dishes.
Later that day Grandma asked Sally to help with the baking. Sally told her, “Johnny really wants to help you.” Again, Johnny was a little confused so Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped in the kitchen.
Every time there was something to be done, Sally volunteered Johnny and reminded him, “Remember the duck!” After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, Johnny finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Darling, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
How do we deal with the bad things we have done? God knows everything we have done. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of Lord are everywhere.” The Bible also lets us know that, through Jesus on the cross, God has already forgiven us. We need to confess. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us.”
We are forgiven by God through Jesus – that’s good news! God has forgiven us. We can have a good relationship with God when we confess our sins. That way, nobody can bother us, “Remember the duck.”
GOD WANTS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In today’s Scripture passage Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Peter was being generous. Rabbinic tradition at the time taught that we need to “forgive for three times, on the fourth there is no forgiveness.”
Jesus told Peter he needs to be even more forgiving – 77 times or 490 times (depending on the translation). Basically what Jesus was saying, was that we should always forgive.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEING FORGIVEN AND FORGIVING OTHERS
The verses that follow the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:14-15) highlight that fact. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
That’s a pretty heavy condition to lay on us if we want to be forgiven.
Peter asks, “How much is enough?” Jesus asks Peter to put it into perspective, and he tells them a story (parable).
God’s Kingdom is like this ….
A King (God) wants to settle accounts with his servants. The servants represent the disciples or followers of God – us, the citizens of God’s Kingdom.
The story talks about one particular case. A man had a debt of 10,000 talents.
A talent was a monetary unit equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius is the daily wage of a hired worker (picking grapes, for instance). If you do the math, the man owed the King a little more than 190,000 years of work – probably more than he could ever pay.
The king’s request was not reasonable – he asked the man to pay it back
The man’s offer was not reasonable – he asked for patience and promised to pay him back.
The king did the unexpected – he forgave the man’s debt.
GOD FORGIVES A DEBT WE COULD NEVER REPAY
How does the man feel? How do we feel?
God didn’t have to do it, but he forgave us our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross – Grace. Grace is an undeserved gift.
I don’t understand the response of the forgiven man.
He went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (about 3 months wages), he grabbed him and began to choke him, demanding to be repaid.
What an ingrate!
The other man responded to the forgiven man exactly as the forgiven man responded to the King – “please be patient, and I’ll pay you back.”
But he put him in prison until he paid him back.
GOD SEES EVERYTHING
The king found out – God will always find out.
It wasn’t a happy ending, but it didn’t have to be that way.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S FORGIVENESS?
You’ve heard the old story …
The Trustees were painting the church building. They didn’t have enough paint and there weren’t funds available to purchase more paint, so they added some water to the paint. Halfway through, they realized they still weren’t going to have enough paint, so they added some more water. Finally they finished the job – a pretty thin coat. Our Trustees wouldn’t do such a poor job.
When they were finished, a big storm came through – thunder, lightning, wind, a gully washer! All the paint washed off the building and a booming voice was heard from the sky, “Repaint and thin no more!”
Jesus often asked people to repent and to stop their sinning. Sin is going against the values and principles that God (our King) has established. Apparently it would be a sin not to forgive someone who as done something bad to you.
If we don’t forgive, God won’t forgive us. Our response to God’s forgiveness is to be forgiving of others. Not just once, twice, seven times or 490 times, but always.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Some of what he said is recorded in John 20:21-23. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
God gave us the job to forgive sins – We go to others as God sent Jesus – to forgive their sins.
God gave us the power to forgive sins – God’s spirit is in us. Only God can forgive or not forgive.
God gave us the responsibility to forgive sins – There isn’t anyone God won’t forgive – there shouldn’t be anyone we won’t forgive, even though we have the power not to.
We need to forgive others. It’s the way God would have it.
How is your relationship with God? Have you forgiven anyone today? Your relationship with God depends on it.
May God's forgiveness be seen in your lives this week and always.
How is your relationship with God? God wants us to have a good relationship with him.
GOD WANTS US TO BE FORGIVEN
I told the children a familiar story that has been circulating ….
Johnny and Sally went to visit their grandparents on the farm. Johnny’s grandpa gave him a slingshot to play with. He went out into the fields and the woods, but he could never hit his target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for lunch.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and scared!
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she didn’t say anything.
After lunch Grandma asked Sally to help wash the dishes. But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny wants to help wash the dishes.” Johnny looked a bit puzzled and Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped Grandma wash the dishes.
Later that day Grandma asked Sally to help with the baking. Sally told her, “Johnny really wants to help you.” Again, Johnny was a little confused so Sally whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny helped in the kitchen.
Every time there was something to be done, Sally volunteered Johnny and reminded him, “Remember the duck!” After several days of doing both his chores and Sally’s, Johnny finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Darling, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
How do we deal with the bad things we have done? God knows everything we have done. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of Lord are everywhere.” The Bible also lets us know that, through Jesus on the cross, God has already forgiven us. We need to confess. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us.”
We are forgiven by God through Jesus – that’s good news! God has forgiven us. We can have a good relationship with God when we confess our sins. That way, nobody can bother us, “Remember the duck.”
GOD WANTS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS
Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In today’s Scripture passage Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Peter was being generous. Rabbinic tradition at the time taught that we need to “forgive for three times, on the fourth there is no forgiveness.”
Jesus told Peter he needs to be even more forgiving – 77 times or 490 times (depending on the translation). Basically what Jesus was saying, was that we should always forgive.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BEING FORGIVEN AND FORGIVING OTHERS
The verses that follow the Lord’s Prayer (Mt. 6:14-15) highlight that fact. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
That’s a pretty heavy condition to lay on us if we want to be forgiven.
Peter asks, “How much is enough?” Jesus asks Peter to put it into perspective, and he tells them a story (parable).
God’s Kingdom is like this ….
A King (God) wants to settle accounts with his servants. The servants represent the disciples or followers of God – us, the citizens of God’s Kingdom.
The story talks about one particular case. A man had a debt of 10,000 talents.
A talent was a monetary unit equal to 6,000 denarii. One denarius is the daily wage of a hired worker (picking grapes, for instance). If you do the math, the man owed the King a little more than 190,000 years of work – probably more than he could ever pay.
The king’s request was not reasonable – he asked the man to pay it back
The man’s offer was not reasonable – he asked for patience and promised to pay him back.
The king did the unexpected – he forgave the man’s debt.
GOD FORGIVES A DEBT WE COULD NEVER REPAY
How does the man feel? How do we feel?
God didn’t have to do it, but he forgave us our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross – Grace. Grace is an undeserved gift.
I don’t understand the response of the forgiven man.
He went out and found a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (about 3 months wages), he grabbed him and began to choke him, demanding to be repaid.
What an ingrate!
The other man responded to the forgiven man exactly as the forgiven man responded to the King – “please be patient, and I’ll pay you back.”
But he put him in prison until he paid him back.
GOD SEES EVERYTHING
The king found out – God will always find out.
It wasn’t a happy ending, but it didn’t have to be that way.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE TO GOD’S FORGIVENESS?
You’ve heard the old story …
The Trustees were painting the church building. They didn’t have enough paint and there weren’t funds available to purchase more paint, so they added some water to the paint. Halfway through, they realized they still weren’t going to have enough paint, so they added some more water. Finally they finished the job – a pretty thin coat. Our Trustees wouldn’t do such a poor job.
When they were finished, a big storm came through – thunder, lightning, wind, a gully washer! All the paint washed off the building and a booming voice was heard from the sky, “Repaint and thin no more!”
Jesus often asked people to repent and to stop their sinning. Sin is going against the values and principles that God (our King) has established. Apparently it would be a sin not to forgive someone who as done something bad to you.
If we don’t forgive, God won’t forgive us. Our response to God’s forgiveness is to be forgiving of others. Not just once, twice, seven times or 490 times, but always.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. Some of what he said is recorded in John 20:21-23. “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
God gave us the job to forgive sins – We go to others as God sent Jesus – to forgive their sins.
God gave us the power to forgive sins – God’s spirit is in us. Only God can forgive or not forgive.
God gave us the responsibility to forgive sins – There isn’t anyone God won’t forgive – there shouldn’t be anyone we won’t forgive, even though we have the power not to.
We need to forgive others. It’s the way God would have it.
How is your relationship with God? Have you forgiven anyone today? Your relationship with God depends on it.
May God's forgiveness be seen in your lives this week and always.
Monday, July 16, 2007
July 15, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
Forgive Us Our Sins – Scripture: 1 John 1:8 – 2:2
How is your relationship with God?
I told the children a story ….
When I was young I sneaked out and broke a cup from my mother’s favorite set of dishes. It was from a special set we used on holidays and formal dinners. I felt awful. I didn’t mean to do it. What should I do? I had a few options:
I could hide it and pretend that nothing happened. But surely it would eventually be found out. I would always think about it when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could try to fix it. But I wasn’t very good at fixing things and there were lots of little pieces. It would be noticed and It would always bother me when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could buy another one and cover up my misdeed. But where would a kid get enough $ for fine china, and it was an old piece that had been in the family for a long time. I wouldn’t have enough time or money to do this and my Mom would never trust me again – not a good option.
I could take the broken pieces to my mom and confess. This is probably the most difficult option; there would be consequences, but in the end I would feel better about it. At the end I could look my Mom in the face, hug her and feel her love for me – that’s the option for me.
How do we deal with things we do that we know God doesn’t like? We can go through the same list. The best way is to accept the responsibility, confess and accept the consequences. It’s the only way to have a good relationship with God.
1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us our sins.”
How do you think I felt when my Mother forgave me for breaking the cup? I was extremely relieved! I was glad it was over (including the punishment). And most of all my relationship with my Mom was restored.
That’s the way God wants us to feel all the time.
That’s why God sent Jesus.
The words “sins,” “trespasses,” or “debts” all come from the Old Testament system of making sacrifices. These offerings and sacrifices were made to cover a variety of sins in the OT penal code. These were performed on altars in high places and ultimately in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. Sin condemned a person to death. God allowed an animal or bird to die in place of the person.
The Jewish people in Jesus’ time believed that all sacrifices had to be made on the altar in front of the Temple. When John wrote the words of today’s scripture, the Temple and Altar had been destroyed. There was no altar, no sacrifice, no forgiveness – there was no hope for the Jews.
Some Jews and non-Jews in Jesus’ time began believing in a religious-philosophy called Gnosticism. The Gnostics believed that everything important and permanent existed in the spiritual realm, and that there was no connection between the two. They taught that our goal is to shed the physical to achieve the spiritual. Anything we do in the physical realm has no eternal consequence – a convenient belief. Their only hope was to escape the world we know.
What a hopeless world John lived in.
The Jews didn’t have a way to be forgiven and the Gnostics believed that anything we did wasn’t wrong.
Pop psychology today tries to pass the buck. It’s taught that the things we do are the fault of bad experiences as a child or mistreatment by parents, teachers or others. Many people claim, “It’s not my fault.”
John wrote:
(1:8) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(1:10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
It was always a bad situation in my home when the kids wouldn’t own up to their mistakes. We needed to hear “I’m sorry,” so we could move on. There can be no reconciliation or restoration with that first step.
John wrote:
(1:9) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(2:1) If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
What’s the worst thing your children could do, that you wouldn’t forgive them? I hope you can’t think of anything.
We are God’s children. I confess, “I did it,” and I take the blame.
We have one speaks in our defense – more than that, he paid the price for our sins on the cross.
Long ago Jesus said, “Punish me for the bad things Steve does.”
He used your name too.
Jesus didn’t take the blame, but he took the punishment.
We need to take the mess we’ve made (our broken cup) to God. Maybe he won’t fix it or replace it, but we’ll be forgiven. We can count on that.
That’s the way God wants all of us to feel all the time.
How is your relationship with God?
How is your relationship with God?
I told the children a story ….
When I was young I sneaked out and broke a cup from my mother’s favorite set of dishes. It was from a special set we used on holidays and formal dinners. I felt awful. I didn’t mean to do it. What should I do? I had a few options:
I could hide it and pretend that nothing happened. But surely it would eventually be found out. I would always think about it when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could try to fix it. But I wasn’t very good at fixing things and there were lots of little pieces. It would be noticed and It would always bother me when I was around my Mom – not a good option.
I could buy another one and cover up my misdeed. But where would a kid get enough $ for fine china, and it was an old piece that had been in the family for a long time. I wouldn’t have enough time or money to do this and my Mom would never trust me again – not a good option.
I could take the broken pieces to my mom and confess. This is probably the most difficult option; there would be consequences, but in the end I would feel better about it. At the end I could look my Mom in the face, hug her and feel her love for me – that’s the option for me.
How do we deal with things we do that we know God doesn’t like? We can go through the same list. The best way is to accept the responsibility, confess and accept the consequences. It’s the only way to have a good relationship with God.
1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he … will forgive us our sins.”
How do you think I felt when my Mother forgave me for breaking the cup? I was extremely relieved! I was glad it was over (including the punishment). And most of all my relationship with my Mom was restored.
That’s the way God wants us to feel all the time.
That’s why God sent Jesus.
The words “sins,” “trespasses,” or “debts” all come from the Old Testament system of making sacrifices. These offerings and sacrifices were made to cover a variety of sins in the OT penal code. These were performed on altars in high places and ultimately in front of the Temple in Jerusalem. Sin condemned a person to death. God allowed an animal or bird to die in place of the person.
The Jewish people in Jesus’ time believed that all sacrifices had to be made on the altar in front of the Temple. When John wrote the words of today’s scripture, the Temple and Altar had been destroyed. There was no altar, no sacrifice, no forgiveness – there was no hope for the Jews.
Some Jews and non-Jews in Jesus’ time began believing in a religious-philosophy called Gnosticism. The Gnostics believed that everything important and permanent existed in the spiritual realm, and that there was no connection between the two. They taught that our goal is to shed the physical to achieve the spiritual. Anything we do in the physical realm has no eternal consequence – a convenient belief. Their only hope was to escape the world we know.
What a hopeless world John lived in.
The Jews didn’t have a way to be forgiven and the Gnostics believed that anything we did wasn’t wrong.
Pop psychology today tries to pass the buck. It’s taught that the things we do are the fault of bad experiences as a child or mistreatment by parents, teachers or others. Many people claim, “It’s not my fault.”
John wrote:
(1:8) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(1:10) If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
It was always a bad situation in my home when the kids wouldn’t own up to their mistakes. We needed to hear “I’m sorry,” so we could move on. There can be no reconciliation or restoration with that first step.
John wrote:
(1:9) If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(2:1) If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
What’s the worst thing your children could do, that you wouldn’t forgive them? I hope you can’t think of anything.
We are God’s children. I confess, “I did it,” and I take the blame.
We have one speaks in our defense – more than that, he paid the price for our sins on the cross.
Long ago Jesus said, “Punish me for the bad things Steve does.”
He used your name too.
Jesus didn’t take the blame, but he took the punishment.
We need to take the mess we’ve made (our broken cup) to God. Maybe he won’t fix it or replace it, but we’ll be forgiven. We can count on that.
That’s the way God wants all of us to feel all the time.
How is your relationship with God?
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
July 1, 2007 Sermon Synopsis
True Freedom – Scripture: John 8:31-36
Freedom is a common term for those of us who live in the USA. It has meant many different things throughout history. Most of us think in terms of political freedom.
Jesus lived in a world that new little about freedom. The Jewish people of his day (God’s chosen ones) reacted in different ways to political oppression.
Some became Zealots and planned a violent revolution to overthrow the Roman oppressors.
Some became Sadducees and used the system for personal gain and wealth.
Some became Essenes and removed themselves from society to form separate communities.
Some became Pharisees and lived in a tension between this present world and God’s promised world. The Pharisees reacted to the situation by emphasizing a legalistic system with many strict rules for living as citizens of God’s Kingdom in a foreign land and under the control of a competing kingdom.
Jesus never really talked about political freedom … he was aligned with the Pharisees, but promoted a different way of living in this world as citizens of God’s Kingdom.
CONTEXT OF TODAYS SCRIPTURE
Jesus often found himself at the center of controversy. In today’s Scripture passage he is in dialog with Jewish believers. Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2). He went secretly (John 7:10), most likely because there were folks out to kill him (John 7:19). At the beginning of chapter 8, the Jews were about to kill a woman caught in adultery and Jesus stopped them. He set her free from the death penalty. She was set free, but Jesus told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)
After this, Jesus entered into another round of dialog with the Jewish leaders. Some believed him.
ARE YOU FREE?
There’s a lot of talk about freedom this week. Are you free?
I asked the children if any of them had slaves at their house. None of them did. We talked about what a slave is and concluded that they were not free in many ways. I showed the kids a large, old key. It reminds me that sometimes slaves were locked up because they wanted to get free. The key opened the lock to set them free; it reminds me of Jesus. Jesus is the key to true freedom. Jesus sets us free from our sins.
FOLLOWING JESUS DEMANDS DOING WHAT HE SAYS
There’s a difference between believing Jesus and believing in Jesus. We need to be careful that we don’t just have a head faith (believing about Jesus). We need to have a heart faith as well (believing in Jesus).
Jesus told those who believed him, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (verse 31) They needed to move from believing Jesus’ words, to following Jesus. They needed to be, as James put it, doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).
A true disciple will understand and do their master’s bidding. That sounds a lot like slavery! Does following Jesus mean we trade one form of slavery for another?
Being a disciple of Jesus is different from following anything else. In verse 32 Jesus tells us, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus speaks the truth and is the truth.
BEING A SLAVE OF JESUS MEANS BEING SET FREE
Jesus was speaking about spiritual freedom, something much more important than political freedom. But the Jews were thinking in political terms. They replied, “We’ve never been slaves to anyone.”
They had forgotten about a few moments in their history: slaves in Egypt, oppressions at the time of the Judges, the exile in Babylon, and the present Roman domination of their land and people.
God had, time and time again, freed them from political slavery. It was the basis of their formation as God’s people. God freed them from slavery in Egypt.
Jesus wants them to know that slavery is much deeper than political or human control of other human beings – it’s deeply spiritual. And until the spiritual bondage is taken care of, nobody will truly be free.
FREEDOM CAME BEFORE THE LAW
The Pharisees emphasized obedience to the law. They came close to becoming slaves to the Law. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in a number of his letters.
In the history of Israel, it’s interesting to note that freedom (liberation from Egypt) came before the law (Mt. Sinai). Slaves can’t fully understand the rules.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know that they needed to be truly free before they could fully understand the meaning of God’s rules.
SLAVES TO SIN
The Jews claimed they were never slaves, but Jesus tells them they were, and that they are – the worst kind of slavery, the slavery that has eternal consequences – slavery to sin!
Verse 34 – “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
We understand the relationship between a slave and the master.
Slaves do what they are told, against their will, they submit without questioning, they receive minimal care, enough to increase their master’s wealth, decisions are made for them, and they never reach their potential. You can think more about this type of relationship.
When Mennonites first came to live in America, many people had slaves. Mennonites were the first to speak out against slavery (published “A Minute Against Slavery” in February of 1688). They did things differently, because they believed that God wanted them to live differently – as Jesus taught and lived.
As a master controls the slave, sin controls those who give in to sinful desires. It’s a difficult cycle to break. Just think how many repeat offenders there are in our penal system. If you go to jail, you have a good chance of going back. That’s because you have not been truly set free.
SLAVES TO JESUS
We have a different relationship to Jesus. Our understanding of a slave is very different than the kind of relationship we have with Jesus.
We give our lives to Jesus because and we obey because we want to. We’re not forced to. We obey because we understand that the law is good for us. We make decisions based on our relationship to Jesus. We can reach our potential because Jesus is our Lord.
I’d rather be that kind of slave. That’s the kind of relationship Jesus wants to have with us. Jesus is the head of the church (and our lives) in a way that truly frees us. It’s not the way we understand slavery at all.
THE SON CAN SET YOU FREE
Who sets slaves free? The master or his descendents have that power. Nobody else can. The master has full decision making power over the slaves. Only the master can set you free.
Jesus said (v.36), “if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Who can set you free from the sin in your lives? Not the preacher, not the elders, not the Sunday School teacher. Nobody but Jesus. Jesus is the Key to true freedom.
SIN WANTS TO CONTROL YOU, BUT JESUS KEEPS YOU FREE
Jesus told the Jews who believed him (verse 37), “You are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” They wanted to kill Jesus, just like they wanted to kill the woman caught in adultery. Jesus was innocent; killing was against the 10 commandments. All of this shows that sin was still in control of their lives. They were still slaves to sin. Jesus wants them to be free.
How about you? Who (or what) is in control of your life? Jesus wants you to be free. Know Jesus – He is truth! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
We closed our worship with the chorus “I’m So Glad Jesus Set Me Free.” I hope you are able to sing those words.
Freedom is a common term for those of us who live in the USA. It has meant many different things throughout history. Most of us think in terms of political freedom.
Jesus lived in a world that new little about freedom. The Jewish people of his day (God’s chosen ones) reacted in different ways to political oppression.
Some became Zealots and planned a violent revolution to overthrow the Roman oppressors.
Some became Sadducees and used the system for personal gain and wealth.
Some became Essenes and removed themselves from society to form separate communities.
Some became Pharisees and lived in a tension between this present world and God’s promised world. The Pharisees reacted to the situation by emphasizing a legalistic system with many strict rules for living as citizens of God’s Kingdom in a foreign land and under the control of a competing kingdom.
Jesus never really talked about political freedom … he was aligned with the Pharisees, but promoted a different way of living in this world as citizens of God’s Kingdom.
CONTEXT OF TODAYS SCRIPTURE
Jesus often found himself at the center of controversy. In today’s Scripture passage he is in dialog with Jewish believers. Jesus is in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2). He went secretly (John 7:10), most likely because there were folks out to kill him (John 7:19). At the beginning of chapter 8, the Jews were about to kill a woman caught in adultery and Jesus stopped them. He set her free from the death penalty. She was set free, but Jesus told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)
After this, Jesus entered into another round of dialog with the Jewish leaders. Some believed him.
ARE YOU FREE?
There’s a lot of talk about freedom this week. Are you free?
I asked the children if any of them had slaves at their house. None of them did. We talked about what a slave is and concluded that they were not free in many ways. I showed the kids a large, old key. It reminds me that sometimes slaves were locked up because they wanted to get free. The key opened the lock to set them free; it reminds me of Jesus. Jesus is the key to true freedom. Jesus sets us free from our sins.
FOLLOWING JESUS DEMANDS DOING WHAT HE SAYS
There’s a difference between believing Jesus and believing in Jesus. We need to be careful that we don’t just have a head faith (believing about Jesus). We need to have a heart faith as well (believing in Jesus).
Jesus told those who believed him, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (verse 31) They needed to move from believing Jesus’ words, to following Jesus. They needed to be, as James put it, doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22).
A true disciple will understand and do their master’s bidding. That sounds a lot like slavery! Does following Jesus mean we trade one form of slavery for another?
Being a disciple of Jesus is different from following anything else. In verse 32 Jesus tells us, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus speaks the truth and is the truth.
BEING A SLAVE OF JESUS MEANS BEING SET FREE
Jesus was speaking about spiritual freedom, something much more important than political freedom. But the Jews were thinking in political terms. They replied, “We’ve never been slaves to anyone.”
They had forgotten about a few moments in their history: slaves in Egypt, oppressions at the time of the Judges, the exile in Babylon, and the present Roman domination of their land and people.
God had, time and time again, freed them from political slavery. It was the basis of their formation as God’s people. God freed them from slavery in Egypt.
Jesus wants them to know that slavery is much deeper than political or human control of other human beings – it’s deeply spiritual. And until the spiritual bondage is taken care of, nobody will truly be free.
FREEDOM CAME BEFORE THE LAW
The Pharisees emphasized obedience to the law. They came close to becoming slaves to the Law. The Apostle Paul spoke about this in a number of his letters.
In the history of Israel, it’s interesting to note that freedom (liberation from Egypt) came before the law (Mt. Sinai). Slaves can’t fully understand the rules.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees to know that they needed to be truly free before they could fully understand the meaning of God’s rules.
SLAVES TO SIN
The Jews claimed they were never slaves, but Jesus tells them they were, and that they are – the worst kind of slavery, the slavery that has eternal consequences – slavery to sin!
Verse 34 – “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
We understand the relationship between a slave and the master.
Slaves do what they are told, against their will, they submit without questioning, they receive minimal care, enough to increase their master’s wealth, decisions are made for them, and they never reach their potential. You can think more about this type of relationship.
When Mennonites first came to live in America, many people had slaves. Mennonites were the first to speak out against slavery (published “A Minute Against Slavery” in February of 1688). They did things differently, because they believed that God wanted them to live differently – as Jesus taught and lived.
As a master controls the slave, sin controls those who give in to sinful desires. It’s a difficult cycle to break. Just think how many repeat offenders there are in our penal system. If you go to jail, you have a good chance of going back. That’s because you have not been truly set free.
SLAVES TO JESUS
We have a different relationship to Jesus. Our understanding of a slave is very different than the kind of relationship we have with Jesus.
We give our lives to Jesus because and we obey because we want to. We’re not forced to. We obey because we understand that the law is good for us. We make decisions based on our relationship to Jesus. We can reach our potential because Jesus is our Lord.
I’d rather be that kind of slave. That’s the kind of relationship Jesus wants to have with us. Jesus is the head of the church (and our lives) in a way that truly frees us. It’s not the way we understand slavery at all.
THE SON CAN SET YOU FREE
Who sets slaves free? The master or his descendents have that power. Nobody else can. The master has full decision making power over the slaves. Only the master can set you free.
Jesus said (v.36), “if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Who can set you free from the sin in your lives? Not the preacher, not the elders, not the Sunday School teacher. Nobody but Jesus. Jesus is the Key to true freedom.
SIN WANTS TO CONTROL YOU, BUT JESUS KEEPS YOU FREE
Jesus told the Jews who believed him (verse 37), “You are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” They wanted to kill Jesus, just like they wanted to kill the woman caught in adultery. Jesus was innocent; killing was against the 10 commandments. All of this shows that sin was still in control of their lives. They were still slaves to sin. Jesus wants them to be free.
How about you? Who (or what) is in control of your life? Jesus wants you to be free. Know Jesus – He is truth! You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
We closed our worship with the chorus “I’m So Glad Jesus Set Me Free.” I hope you are able to sing those words.
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.
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.”
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.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
