Remembering 9/12 (No this is not one of my typos)
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Have we returned to the 9/10 mentality? Do you think maybe God wants us to go back to 9/12.
Yesterday was 9/11, and today is 9/12. This weekend we remembered 9/11 for the 9th time, as we should. But have we returned to the 9/10 mentality? Have you ever thought that maybe God wants us to remember 9/12, and how we woke up different on that day. Maybe He wants us to go back to 9/12?
Some events in human history impact us so greatly that we will forever have engraved in our minds where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news. I’ll never forget that I was a high school senior sitting in study hall when President Kennedy was assassinated. I was watching the Today show when the 1st tower was hit. Where were you?
Every time we watch that footage we relive it. How many can feel it the same right now as we did that day? We said, "Never forget," and most of us never have. But it seems that America at large has forgotten. We need to go back to 9/12...but instead, we’re back to 9/10 in our thinking. How can we avoid another 9/11 that may be looming?
Today let’s ask and attempt to answer some questions that no doubt have puzzled so many since that horrific day 9 years ago: How could this happen on our own soil? Where were we on 9/11 and where was God on 9/11, and where were we on 9/12 and where are we today?
“Where was God on 9-11?”…
1. The same place He was when Adam rebelled in Eden – He was waiting to cover his sin. (Gen 3) Where was God when man first raised his ugly head of defiance and rebellion? Couldn’t He have stopped it before it began? Oh, it is not a matter of whether or not He could have. But He designed us with a freedom of choice. When Adam and Eve finally “fessed-up”, He was there with a covering for their nakedness and shame; exacting the ultimate punishment on an innocent victim, His son, to cover man’s sin. But, He was there!
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
2. The same place He was when Noah built an ark – protecting him from disaster. Sadly, man’s rebellion did not end with Adam and Eve. Their sons, and their son’s sons for every generation followed in their rebellious path. Until such time that the wickedness of man filled the whole earth. Yet in the midst of such ungodliness, “…Noah found favor with the LORD.” (Gen 6:8). Here was a man, not a perfect, but a righteous man, who faithfully proclaimed the righteousness of God. (2 Pet 2) And when God, grieved by man’s wicked rebellion, became determined to wipe man from the face of the earth, He decided to spare Noah and his family, and from them re-populate the earth. So in mankind’s greatest natural disaster, God was on His throne protecting His own.
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
3. The same place He was when Job lost everything he had (except his nagging wife) – proving Himself to be God despite unfortunate circumstances. (Job 1-2) Just as Noah’s generation experienced earth’s greatest natural disaster, Job would surely rank among the top in man’s history as experiencing the greatest personal disaster. Again we see a man, a good man, a godly man standing for what is right and hating what is wrong. Did being “blameless and upright” immune Job from problems, or even disaster? Of course not! He became the special target of Satan’s fury. As a result, Job lost everything of value; even his precious children. Where was God? Had He turned His back on Job? Would Job return the favor by turning his back on God? No! No! and NO! God had not deserted Job. And Job would not curse God, even though he was urged to do so by a less than faithful wife.
Where was God when Job was losing all? Where was He when Job’s children were killed? Where was He when Job’s flesh was wracked with pain? Job maintained his integrity and recognized that it was God’s prerogative to give and take, and it was his duty to “Bless the name of the Lord.” And in the end God was there giving him double of all he had lost!
“Where was God on 9-11?” …
4. The same place He was when Joseph was rotting in jail – accomplishing His perfect will. (Gen 37-50) If ever anyone was misunderstood and ill treated, it was Joseph. If ever anyone suffered wrongly, it was Joseph. Yet with all his hardships, problems and abuse, Joseph was able to honestly say, “You meant it for harm, but God meant it for good.” This was certainly true in the case of his brothers selling him into slavery, Mrs. Potiphar falsely accusing him of attempted rape, and the lapse of memory of his Butler friend. Yet each step of the way, God was able to take Joseph’s trying circumstance and mold him ever more closely into the man he would one day become. He was there all the time, but even Joseph must have wondered at times where God was during this time.
“Where was God on 9-11?” … We could go on and on and tell of the experiences people such as Moses, Samson, Jonah, Daniel. Peter, John, Paul, James …..
But maybe the greatest insight into the heart of God when a tragedy strikes such as the 9-11 Disaster is to respond in this way to the question…
“Where was God on 9-11?”
12. The same place He was when Jesus hung on the Cross – enduring the pain for the benefit of others. (Matt 27)
Not just the thorns on His brow. Not just the lashes on His back. Not just the bruises from the reeds and fists of his captors. Not just the plucking of the beard from His face. Not just the spit being hurled at Him. Not just the nails in His hands and feet. Not just the spear piercing His side. All this, yes; plus the weight of the sins of the world pressing down on His shoulders.
Where was God when His one and only Son hung dying on the cross? Didn’t He know? Couldn’t He have prevented it; or stopped it? Was He helpless? Was He not aware? Didn’t He care?
Of course He knew! Of course He could have prevented it! Of course He could have stopped it! Of course He wasn’t helpless! Of course He was aware! And, Of course He cared! God knew it was happening, could have stopped it, … but He didn’t.
He had a larger picture in view. There was a greater good to be accomplished by the suffering and death of Jesus. Through the suffering of One, many would be made whole. Through the sacrifice of One, many would have their sins forgiven. Through the death of One, many would be made alive.
He wasn’t just sitting idle and helpless as His Son suffered. He was using the schemes of wicked hearts to bring about the redemption of mankind. He reminds us that … “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8-9)
Please note: Though God was there near His Son while He hanged on the cross, there was a moment when He had to turn His back on Him, because of our sins laid there. Our God is holy, and can’t tolerate sin, but must judge it. Did He turn His back on America on 9/11? If so, was it because of our national sins? Will He turn His back again?
There is a story of Al Braca who when he realized that they weren’t going to make it, shared the gospel with 50 of his co-workers and led them in prayer and many no doubt were saved before they died. Some of those same individuals had in the past mocked him for his faith. On 9/12 many of us changed our tune and became witnesses
On 9/12 we were all Americans, and we had received a wake up call. Have we gone back to sleep? What will it take to rouse us again?
A record number of people were in church on the following Sunday and for a couple more weeks before attendance began to fall back off again.
We must remember 9/11, and remember who we became on 9/12. Let’s don’t go back to 9/10!
As believer’s we need to remember that our feeling of security goes beyond the measures of home land defense, beyond metal detectors, security checks, military power, political alliances or the strength of our economy. Our faith must rest solidly on a relationship with the one and only true and living God. Security is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God and the confidence and courage He gives in the midst of trouble. God is not just some far off source from whom we can seek advice but this psalm tells us that he is “our refuge and strength.”
For prayer requests, comments or to be included in our email ministry, email us at: whosoever@cottagehillbaptist.org. Also, Check out our “blog” at: http://thewhosoevers.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
A GOOD BATTERY, BUT A BAD CONNECTION
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18
Everybody has seen the Energizer battery commercial on television. The little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says "still going”! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. We need to know that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery.
It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get it started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak battery just won’t do it.
Tape recorders with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights with weak batteries will go dim, pocket radios with weak batteries will fade, and our cell phones with weak batteries will eventually disconnect themselves from the network. Why?….because the battery is the power source.
But even a good battery is only half the solution. There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to Wal-Mart, to purchase a new battery. When he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds.
Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. As Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus.
But this “power source” is of little or no value at all if let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggest that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound.
We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God.
In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the wisdom of preaching the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church seems to be involved in foolishness.
What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you. Maybe it’s your belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when people dislike you, persecute you, or say bad things about you.
Singing, praying, testimonies and other forms of worship are inspiring, but it is the Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs us to the Cross.
People that are not saved can’t understand this power and surely cannot “connect” to it.
But as Believers we know that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power.
Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. This means that many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, but when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars.
Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required.
There are two types of current, A/C and D/C. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. In other words they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to.
Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets.
Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post.
Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior.
And what can corrode our connection with God? Well, pride will corrode our cables and interfere with our connection. Hatred and unforgiveness will keep us from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep us from having a good connection with God. Conflict will keep us from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. We need to get rid of the things that are keeping us from having a good connection with our power source.
And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded?
You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution.
Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live. When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead.
Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation and His name is Jesus. We don’t need to go to Wal-Mart to find a good power source if we know God's original power source.
Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source….Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse…..Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source…..Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard.
Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare.
They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hand… “Wonder working power”, “soul saving power”, “healing power” in His hand. Are you connected to His power?
Everybody has seen the Energizer battery commercial on television. The little bunny appears beating a drum, and the announcer says "still going”! On he goes, across the desert, over mountains, on lonely highways. Nothing seems to stop the little bunny. We need to know that the point of the commercial is not the bunny, but the battery.
It’s important to have good batteries because weak batteries cause problems. Cars with weak batteries have problems starting. Once the motor starts the car usually runs, but it takes a good battery to get it started. Particularly in cold weather, a weak battery just won’t do it.
Tape recorders with weak batteries will drag. Flashlights with weak batteries will go dim, pocket radios with weak batteries will fade, and our cell phones with weak batteries will eventually disconnect themselves from the network. Why?….because the battery is the power source.
But even a good battery is only half the solution. There was a woman who was having trouble getting her car started. Every time she would turn on the ignition she would get a clicking sound. So naturally she thought that her battery was dead. Without checking with anyone, she sent her son down to Wal-Mart, to purchase a new battery. When he put the battery in and she tried to start the car again, but she got those same clicking sounds.
Finally, she called a mechanic who took one look at her cable ends and analyzed her problem. He said “Ma'am, you have a good battery but your cables are bad.” That day she learned a good lesson about her car; you must always make sure that you have a good connection to the battery. As Christians, must make sure that we have a good connection to our power source; and that source is Jesus.
But this “power source” is of little or no value at all if let our connection get rusty and corroded. You see, that corrosion causes a bad connection. There are too many believers who go through life hearing the "clicking" sound that suggest that there is power under the hood that can't get through. Many of us have the ability to achieve greatness through the exercise of our gifts, but every time we turn the switch all we get is a clicking sound.
We, as Christians, need to keep a clear and uninterrupted connection with God. Yes, others might think that we are foolish for doing so, but we who are saved know that our power comes from the Cross, the Power of God.
In our text, Paul writes to the church at Corinth about the wisdom of preaching the truth of the cross of Christ. Paul explains that those who are saved recognize the cross as a symbol of the power of God. But to those outside of the faith, the church seems to be involved in foolishness.
What is this foolishness of which Paul speaks? Maybe it’s the command to love your enemies or to pray for those who use you. Maybe it’s your belief that what you hope for will become evident through your faith. Maybe it’s your belief that you are blessed when people dislike you, persecute you, or say bad things about you.
Singing, praying, testimonies and other forms of worship are inspiring, but it is the Word of God that connects us to our power source. It is the Word of God that directs us to the Cross.
People that are not saved can’t understand this power and surely cannot “connect” to it.
But as Believers we know that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We know that, at the foot of the cross, we find our ability, our strength, and our power.
Our knowledge of the historical account of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is our power source; it is our spiritual energizer that just keeps us going, going, and going. There are many who are hooked up to the wrong source; they’re trying to use a six-volt transistor to empower a twelve-volt understanding. This means that many of God’s created people are depending on their own skills and education to get them through life. Educational skills are necessary, but when trouble comes, that battery is too small for the job. When you need real power, you’d better be hooked up to the power that holds the world in the palm of His hand, and lights up the night with the moon and the stars.
Now, in order to get the needed energy from your power source, you must have the right connection. You can have a good battery but if the connection is wrong, there is no power. And since we are talking about connecting to a power source, we must also determine the type of connection required.
There are two types of current, A/C and D/C. Some folks in our churches are A/C in nature. They suffer from being hooked up to an alternating current. They attend church on alternating Sundays. They pray on alternating occasions. They tithe on alternating occasions. In other words they come to church when they feel like it, pray when it is convenient, and give when they want to.
Then there are those who are hooked up to the D/C, or direct current. God is looking for some D/C folks…dedicated Christians; people on whom He can depend. People who just don't do things when it’s convenient for them, but “press toward the mark” daily. God is looking for those who will keep on going no matter how hard it gets.
Now, if you have a good battery, and the connecting cables are good, there’s still one more thing you need to know. The connection must be tight! The battery must be free of external interference. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post.
Paul said it best when he declared, “nothing shall separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” And when it comes to the life of a Christian there must be no space that separates us from the Master. The life of a Christian must be lived in such a way that there is nothing between our soul and our Savior.
And what can corrode our connection with God? Well, pride will corrode our cables and interfere with our connection. Hatred and unforgiveness will keep us from having a good connection with God. Jealousy will keep us from having a good connection with God. Conflict will keep us from having a good connection with God. And there are many more. We need to get rid of the things that are keeping us from having a good connection with our power source.
And finally, make sure both cables are connected. Along with the hot wire, there must be a ground cable. Somebody, today, is trying to get a prayer through and you’re not properly grounded. You’re trying to sing His praises but your ground wire is loose. How do I become grounded?
You are grounded when you accept Christ as your PERSONAL SAVIOR, confess with your MOUTH the Lord, Jesus Christ, and believe in YOUR HEART that He was raised from the dead. Abide in the Word of God. Ground yourself to the Cross of Christ….then plunge into the “foolishness” of loving those who hate you. Plunge into the foolishness of believing without seeing. Plunge into the foolishness of praying for those who use you, and finding a blessing in persecution.
Ground yourself to the belief that in Christ we live. When you need power you need to go to the one that created the trees and the flowers. When you need power you need to go to the one that is able to heal the sick and raise the dead.
Yes, when you need power you need to go to the Rock of (your) Salvation and His name is Jesus. We don’t need to go to Wal-Mart to find a good power source if we know God's original power source.
Before there was a 36-Month Goodyear Power Source….Before there was a NAPA 40 Month Power Horse…..Before there was a Sears 60-Month Guaranteed Power Source…..Before Sears and Roebuck ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die-Hard.
Yes, Jesus is better than Ever-ready; and He's got power to spare.
They crucified Him on the cross, they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and they tried to drain Him of his power. But early one Sunday Morning, My Die Hard, My Ever Ready, My Energizer, My Duracell, rose with all power in his hand… “Wonder working power”, “soul saving power”, “healing power” in His hand. Are you connected to His power?
Let Go, Let God, and Let’s Go
In Mark 1:16-20, several fishermen received an invitation that changed their lives forever. That invitation came in the form of a call, from a rabbi, a teacher named Jesus, who was just starting out his ministry proclaiming the good news that the kingdom of God was near. One day, Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. He found four men fishing in the lake and said to them: “Come, follow me.”
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. For you see, rabbis did not go around making house calls and visiting places of business to invite potential “students” to come follow them. No, it was the eager ones who would approach a rabbi asking for the privilege of studying with him, and the rabbi would say either yes or no. It’s like back when I was in high school, trying to decide where to go to college. The universities and the professors didn’t come to me. No, I had to fill out forms, send my ACT scores and high school transcripts, hoping the college I chose would take me. But sought out Simon and Andrew, and James and John. There is no indication whatsoever that these fishermen had anything special about them that would have caught Jesus’ attention. Those four were just minding their own business when Jesus took the initiative to seek them out and to issue this invitation: “Come, follow me.”
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. But at first glance, even more strange, even more amazing, was the fact that when Simon and Andrew heard Jesus’ invitation, verse eighteen says, “at once they left their nets and followed him.” There seemed to be no hesitation on their part. They simply let go of their nets, which were their means of livelihood – their “tools” to make a living, and followed Jesus. What Simon and Andrew did immediatel is very intriguing. No one in his right mind would just let go of everything to follow an itinerant teacher, just because he said, “Come, follow me.” Right?
Now we know that Jesus was no ordinary teacher. But, even so, it is hard to imagine how Simon and Andrew could immediately let go of their nets, their only means of of making money, in order to follow Jesus. But that’s not all. In the next verses, Jesus issued the same invitation to James and John, and they not only let go of their nets, but they also left their father Zebedee, left their boat and their hired men to follow Jesus. James and John let go of family ties, let go of possessions and let go of a life of being served in order to answer Jesus’ call. It’s hard for us to imagine letting go of so many things in order to follow Jesus. We are a people who have been told again and again to “grab all we can” and “you can have it all.” We often don’t know what it’s like to let go and give up some things in order to pursue the best path God has for our lives. Maybe that’s why we overextend ourselves in our work, we overextend our credit limits to accumulate more than we need, and we overextend our schedules and our commitments. Sometimes, it is possible to allow our lifestyles, our possessions, and yes, even our families to become our idols. As Christians, our work, our accumulations, our schedules and our families are not bad things in and of themselves, but when we cannot let them go and when they begin to occupy a higher place than following Jesus, then we may be missing out on a life of discipleship that Christ calls us to live.
I don’t know about you, but in my life, I find that when I’m afraid to let go, many times it is because I fear what will happen when I’m no longer in control of my life. Those who know me know that I like to be in control. I like to be in charge. But when Jesus calls to invite us to follow him, He’s basically asking us to hand over the control of our life to Him. The question is, “Am we willing to let go of control and let God be the Lord of our life?” Really this means to let Him be in charge of our lives.
To respond to this invitation to “follow me” meant they had to let go of their current lifestyle and pattern a new lifestyle after that of Jesus. This is still true today. Jesus’ invitation is secondly a call to a continuous journey with Him rather than a single act toward Him: “Follow me.”
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean just saying the “sinner’s prayer” once, just “walking down the aisle” and getting baptized once, and then never reading the Bible, never praying and hardly ever darkening the doors of the church again. In this passage, Mark describes Jesus’ first approach to evangelism, and it is very interesting that in His invitation, Jesus did not say, “Come, and invite me into your hearts so that you might be saved.” Jesus also did not say, “Come, and I will give you eternal life.” No, Jesus’ invitation was, “Come, follow me, I will turn you into people who win friends and influence people!” Jesus’ invitation to his first disciples was a call not to their own individual salvation, but a promise to empower them to serve and bless others! It was an invitation to live a life of significance that would make a positive impact on the world!
Jesus offers us individual salvation and eternal life - but not just for our own sake.
Who among us does not want to live a life of significance? Who among us does not want to live a life of influence that points others to God? Who among us does not want to live a life that will make a lasting, positive impact that carries on long after we’re gone? The truth of the matter is, God has bigger plans for us than we could ever dream about. But in order for God’s plans to come into fruition, we must be willing to let go of the nets in our lives and let God have control over our lives.
The world’s a better place because throughout history, there have been people who were able to let go and let God.
What if,
Noah said “I don’t do arks and animals.”
Moses said, “I don’t do Pharaohs or mass exoduses.”
David said, “I don’t do giants.”
Mary said, “I don’t do virgin births.”
Paul said “I don’t do letters.”
AND what if Jesus had said, “I don’t do crosses.”
This list reads like a Hall of Fame of the heroes of faith. Some of you might think: “There’s no way that I can attain that level.” But Jesus is not calling you to be the next Moses or David or Mary. Jesus only calls us to be the very best we can be. And the Good News is that Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before. Jesus knows what it was like to let go of the status, prestige, and power that was rightly His. In Philippians, Paul tells the readers of his letter that: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross”. Philippians 2:5-8 NLT
Jesus also knew what it was like to let God be in control of His life. At the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night when he was betrayed, Jesus prayed “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Mark 14:36). And when Jesus was hanging on the cross, bearing the sins of the world, Luke records Jesus calling out with a loud voice, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” (Luke 23:46). Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before.
Okay, so far we’ve seen we need to let go and let God. Many of have seen bumper stickers or church signs with this on them. But that’s not all. For if we were to do just those two things, we might be tempted to sit back passively, letting go of everything and letting God do everything. There is one final thing. In response to Jesus’ invitation, Simon and Andrew, James and John, not only let go and let God, but at the end of this passage, Mark tells us that they basically said, “Let’s go!” and they followed Jesus on a journey of faith.
Can we as a class, as a church - let go, let God and say, “Let’s go!” on a journey of faith with God in the coming months?
A lot of churches today have a “rowing ministry.” This is where the congregation places its ministry “boat” in the water and plots its own course. Taking a firm grip their oars, the congregation then rows in their preffered direction without ever looking to change courses – no matter the direction of the wind, the turbulence of the water, or who gets in or out of the boat. This congregation is living by its own agenda, not God’s. God calls churches and individuals to put down their oars, to let go of them, and hoist up the sails and put them in the path of the wind, the wind of God’s Spirit. Then and only then will the church find God, discover her calling and be able to move toward God’s vision and preferred future.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we let go of our oars and let the wind of God’s Spirit take us where God wants us to go?
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. For you see, rabbis did not go around making house calls and visiting places of business to invite potential “students” to come follow them. No, it was the eager ones who would approach a rabbi asking for the privilege of studying with him, and the rabbi would say either yes or no. It’s like back when I was in high school, trying to decide where to go to college. The universities and the professors didn’t come to me. No, I had to fill out forms, send my ACT scores and high school transcripts, hoping the college I chose would take me. But sought out Simon and Andrew, and James and John. There is no indication whatsoever that these fishermen had anything special about them that would have caught Jesus’ attention. Those four were just minding their own business when Jesus took the initiative to seek them out and to issue this invitation: “Come, follow me.”
What a strange thing for a rabbi to do. But at first glance, even more strange, even more amazing, was the fact that when Simon and Andrew heard Jesus’ invitation, verse eighteen says, “at once they left their nets and followed him.” There seemed to be no hesitation on their part. They simply let go of their nets, which were their means of livelihood – their “tools” to make a living, and followed Jesus. What Simon and Andrew did immediatel is very intriguing. No one in his right mind would just let go of everything to follow an itinerant teacher, just because he said, “Come, follow me.” Right?
Now we know that Jesus was no ordinary teacher. But, even so, it is hard to imagine how Simon and Andrew could immediately let go of their nets, their only means of of making money, in order to follow Jesus. But that’s not all. In the next verses, Jesus issued the same invitation to James and John, and they not only let go of their nets, but they also left their father Zebedee, left their boat and their hired men to follow Jesus. James and John let go of family ties, let go of possessions and let go of a life of being served in order to answer Jesus’ call. It’s hard for us to imagine letting go of so many things in order to follow Jesus. We are a people who have been told again and again to “grab all we can” and “you can have it all.” We often don’t know what it’s like to let go and give up some things in order to pursue the best path God has for our lives. Maybe that’s why we overextend ourselves in our work, we overextend our credit limits to accumulate more than we need, and we overextend our schedules and our commitments. Sometimes, it is possible to allow our lifestyles, our possessions, and yes, even our families to become our idols. As Christians, our work, our accumulations, our schedules and our families are not bad things in and of themselves, but when we cannot let them go and when they begin to occupy a higher place than following Jesus, then we may be missing out on a life of discipleship that Christ calls us to live.
I don’t know about you, but in my life, I find that when I’m afraid to let go, many times it is because I fear what will happen when I’m no longer in control of my life. Those who know me know that I like to be in control. I like to be in charge. But when Jesus calls to invite us to follow him, He’s basically asking us to hand over the control of our life to Him. The question is, “Am we willing to let go of control and let God be the Lord of our life?” Really this means to let Him be in charge of our lives.
To respond to this invitation to “follow me” meant they had to let go of their current lifestyle and pattern a new lifestyle after that of Jesus. This is still true today. Jesus’ invitation is secondly a call to a continuous journey with Him rather than a single act toward Him: “Follow me.”
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean just saying the “sinner’s prayer” once, just “walking down the aisle” and getting baptized once, and then never reading the Bible, never praying and hardly ever darkening the doors of the church again. In this passage, Mark describes Jesus’ first approach to evangelism, and it is very interesting that in His invitation, Jesus did not say, “Come, and invite me into your hearts so that you might be saved.” Jesus also did not say, “Come, and I will give you eternal life.” No, Jesus’ invitation was, “Come, follow me, I will turn you into people who win friends and influence people!” Jesus’ invitation to his first disciples was a call not to their own individual salvation, but a promise to empower them to serve and bless others! It was an invitation to live a life of significance that would make a positive impact on the world!
Jesus offers us individual salvation and eternal life - but not just for our own sake.
Who among us does not want to live a life of significance? Who among us does not want to live a life of influence that points others to God? Who among us does not want to live a life that will make a lasting, positive impact that carries on long after we’re gone? The truth of the matter is, God has bigger plans for us than we could ever dream about. But in order for God’s plans to come into fruition, we must be willing to let go of the nets in our lives and let God have control over our lives.
The world’s a better place because throughout history, there have been people who were able to let go and let God.
What if,
Noah said “I don’t do arks and animals.”
Moses said, “I don’t do Pharaohs or mass exoduses.”
David said, “I don’t do giants.”
Mary said, “I don’t do virgin births.”
Paul said “I don’t do letters.”
AND what if Jesus had said, “I don’t do crosses.”
This list reads like a Hall of Fame of the heroes of faith. Some of you might think: “There’s no way that I can attain that level.” But Jesus is not calling you to be the next Moses or David or Mary. Jesus only calls us to be the very best we can be. And the Good News is that Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before. Jesus knows what it was like to let go of the status, prestige, and power that was rightly His. In Philippians, Paul tells the readers of his letter that: “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross”. Philippians 2:5-8 NLT
Jesus also knew what it was like to let God be in control of His life. At the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night when he was betrayed, Jesus prayed “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Mark 14:36). And when Jesus was hanging on the cross, bearing the sins of the world, Luke records Jesus calling out with a loud voice, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” (Luke 23:46). Jesus never calls us to a place where He hasn’t been before.
Okay, so far we’ve seen we need to let go and let God. Many of have seen bumper stickers or church signs with this on them. But that’s not all. For if we were to do just those two things, we might be tempted to sit back passively, letting go of everything and letting God do everything. There is one final thing. In response to Jesus’ invitation, Simon and Andrew, James and John, not only let go and let God, but at the end of this passage, Mark tells us that they basically said, “Let’s go!” and they followed Jesus on a journey of faith.
Can we as a class, as a church - let go, let God and say, “Let’s go!” on a journey of faith with God in the coming months?
A lot of churches today have a “rowing ministry.” This is where the congregation places its ministry “boat” in the water and plots its own course. Taking a firm grip their oars, the congregation then rows in their preffered direction without ever looking to change courses – no matter the direction of the wind, the turbulence of the water, or who gets in or out of the boat. This congregation is living by its own agenda, not God’s. God calls churches and individuals to put down their oars, to let go of them, and hoist up the sails and put them in the path of the wind, the wind of God’s Spirit. Then and only then will the church find God, discover her calling and be able to move toward God’s vision and preferred future.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we let go of our oars and let the wind of God’s Spirit take us where God wants us to go?
Sunday, September 5, 2010
“Flight 313 Now Boarding for Tarshish”
Jonah 1-2
This is the story of Jonah.
But isn’t it also the story of many Christians today?
Perhaps it is YOUR story, because it is a story about running from the Lord.
Verse 2 tells us that the Lord told Jonah to go to Ninevah and proclaim that the Lord was about to destroy that city because of its evil.
Verse 3 tells us that Jonah “ran away from the Lord.” He didn’t want to go to Nineveh! So, he headed for Tarshish.
Tarshish was somewhere in the western Mediterranean. And its exact geographic location is not known. But where ever it was geographically, for Jonah it meant being as far from God as possible. Tarshish is not so much a geographic location for us this morning as it is a spiritual condition. Being in or heading for Tarshish describes the Christians who says “NO” to God’s will for their life.
There are some important lessons to be learned from this book of Jonah and let’s focus on just a few of them this morning.
The Journey away from God will always leads to a life of distress. Verse 4 describes a violent storm that threatened to sink the ship. It is also a description of the Christian who tries to run from God. The storms of life become so violent that our lives are threatened with destruction. At any moment we could be torn apart by the violence of the world.
In verse 7, the sailors describe what has happened to them as a “calamity.” “Calamity” means “distress” or “misery.” No person is more miserable than the Child of God who has decided not to do God’s will for their life.
Have you ever tried to run from God’s will? Then you know the misery that can be experienced. Are you running from God’s will right now? Then you are headed for misery. Because the Journey away from God will ALWAYS lead to a life of distress. The Further you get from God, the Worse your life will become.
Verse 11 - the further he got. “The sea was getting rougher and rougher.”
Verse 13 - the harder they tried. “…the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.”
1 Samuel records the life of Saul, king of Israel. He started out as king and ended up killing himself. Because Saul got further and further from God, his life got worse and worse. And that’s the way it is in the Christian life.
The further you get from God, the worse your life will become. The Predicaments that we get into as we run from the Lord are our fault.
Many times we blame God for our circumstances when in reality it is our own disobedience and rebellion that led us into the middle of the storm.
Don’t blame God because the predicaments that we get ourselves into running from the Lord are our own fault.
No matter how far you get from God there is always a way back . . . . . BUT the way back may not be a beautiful, emotional experience.
When we think of a person who returns to the Lord we generally think of the “Prodigal Son” who is given a beautiful banquet upon his return that is filled with tears and gladness.
When a Christian brother walks the aisle and rededicates his life to the Lord, there are tears of happiness and nothing is more beautiful to our eyes.
But according to the book of Jonah, the way back is not always a beautiful, emotional experience.
Jonah set out for Tarshish on a ship. But did he return to the Lord’s service on a ship? No! Rather, he spent three days and nights in the digestive system of a big fish! Then he was vomited up on the seashore.
Now it’s hard to think of a more disgusting picture. We don’t know exactly where he “landed” but at least he now knew where he needed to be.
There is hope in knowing that no matter how far we get from the Lord, there is always a way back. But we must never fool ourselves into believing that the trip back is going to be a beautiful, emotional experience (like the prodigal son).
If you decide that you do want to get out of the storm and back into the center of God’s will, you must go where you didn’t want to go before. The job still needed to be done. Ninevah still needed to be preached to. And Jonah was just the man for the job. Fish vomit and all! (2:10-3:3).
Just because Jonah had gone through the storm; Just because Jonah had spent 3 days and nights in the fish; Just because Jonah was laying in a pool of fish vomit; DIDN’T MEAN he was going to get out of doing what God had originally wanted him to do.
This means God’s will is not always what we like or don’t like. Yet that’s how the average Christian determines God’s will. If they like it, it must be his will (Hog Wash!). God’s will has nothing to do with what we like or don’t like.
The point is that if you decide that you do want to get out of the storm and back into the center of God’s will, you must go where you didn’t want to go before.
Conclusion: There are many of us on the run today. And as a result our lives are miserable. The further we get from God, the worse the misery becomes. And we wonder who to blame.
Jonah teaches us through his experience that it is our fault. And instead of trying to maintain our current course, we can leave all our troubles behind by turning back to the Father. And when we do, we will, as his children walk into his loving arms.
Are you in a storm this morning because you have been running? Then the Lord is calling you back to a place of blessing, a place of service to the King of kings and Lord of lords.
We need to get on with getting to the place he wants us to be.
This is the story of Jonah.
But isn’t it also the story of many Christians today?
Perhaps it is YOUR story, because it is a story about running from the Lord.
Verse 2 tells us that the Lord told Jonah to go to Ninevah and proclaim that the Lord was about to destroy that city because of its evil.
Verse 3 tells us that Jonah “ran away from the Lord.” He didn’t want to go to Nineveh! So, he headed for Tarshish.
Tarshish was somewhere in the western Mediterranean. And its exact geographic location is not known. But where ever it was geographically, for Jonah it meant being as far from God as possible. Tarshish is not so much a geographic location for us this morning as it is a spiritual condition. Being in or heading for Tarshish describes the Christians who says “NO” to God’s will for their life.
There are some important lessons to be learned from this book of Jonah and let’s focus on just a few of them this morning.
The Journey away from God will always leads to a life of distress. Verse 4 describes a violent storm that threatened to sink the ship. It is also a description of the Christian who tries to run from God. The storms of life become so violent that our lives are threatened with destruction. At any moment we could be torn apart by the violence of the world.
In verse 7, the sailors describe what has happened to them as a “calamity.” “Calamity” means “distress” or “misery.” No person is more miserable than the Child of God who has decided not to do God’s will for their life.
Have you ever tried to run from God’s will? Then you know the misery that can be experienced. Are you running from God’s will right now? Then you are headed for misery. Because the Journey away from God will ALWAYS lead to a life of distress. The Further you get from God, the Worse your life will become.
Verse 11 - the further he got. “The sea was getting rougher and rougher.”
Verse 13 - the harder they tried. “…the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.”
1 Samuel records the life of Saul, king of Israel. He started out as king and ended up killing himself. Because Saul got further and further from God, his life got worse and worse. And that’s the way it is in the Christian life.
The further you get from God, the worse your life will become. The Predicaments that we get into as we run from the Lord are our fault.
Many times we blame God for our circumstances when in reality it is our own disobedience and rebellion that led us into the middle of the storm.
Don’t blame God because the predicaments that we get ourselves into running from the Lord are our own fault.
No matter how far you get from God there is always a way back . . . . . BUT the way back may not be a beautiful, emotional experience.
When we think of a person who returns to the Lord we generally think of the “Prodigal Son” who is given a beautiful banquet upon his return that is filled with tears and gladness.
When a Christian brother walks the aisle and rededicates his life to the Lord, there are tears of happiness and nothing is more beautiful to our eyes.
But according to the book of Jonah, the way back is not always a beautiful, emotional experience.
Jonah set out for Tarshish on a ship. But did he return to the Lord’s service on a ship? No! Rather, he spent three days and nights in the digestive system of a big fish! Then he was vomited up on the seashore.
Now it’s hard to think of a more disgusting picture. We don’t know exactly where he “landed” but at least he now knew where he needed to be.
There is hope in knowing that no matter how far we get from the Lord, there is always a way back. But we must never fool ourselves into believing that the trip back is going to be a beautiful, emotional experience (like the prodigal son).
If you decide that you do want to get out of the storm and back into the center of God’s will, you must go where you didn’t want to go before. The job still needed to be done. Ninevah still needed to be preached to. And Jonah was just the man for the job. Fish vomit and all! (2:10-3:3).
Just because Jonah had gone through the storm; Just because Jonah had spent 3 days and nights in the fish; Just because Jonah was laying in a pool of fish vomit; DIDN’T MEAN he was going to get out of doing what God had originally wanted him to do.
This means God’s will is not always what we like or don’t like. Yet that’s how the average Christian determines God’s will. If they like it, it must be his will (Hog Wash!). God’s will has nothing to do with what we like or don’t like.
The point is that if you decide that you do want to get out of the storm and back into the center of God’s will, you must go where you didn’t want to go before.
Conclusion: There are many of us on the run today. And as a result our lives are miserable. The further we get from God, the worse the misery becomes. And we wonder who to blame.
Jonah teaches us through his experience that it is our fault. And instead of trying to maintain our current course, we can leave all our troubles behind by turning back to the Father. And when we do, we will, as his children walk into his loving arms.
Are you in a storm this morning because you have been running? Then the Lord is calling you back to a place of blessing, a place of service to the King of kings and Lord of lords.
We need to get on with getting to the place he wants us to be.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
PLU or What About the Gentiles?
Talk of change is in the air in many churches today. The issues can be small or large, common to all churches or unique to one congregation. Despite this variety, however, change is seldom viewed as easy in churches. It takes careful, patient effort, because people can have strong feelings about what is at stake. So it has always been. Today let’s look at the church, down through the ages, when it has sought to be sincere, faithful and honest, has frequently come back to times of reflection on who we are and who we ought to be. To help you appreciate this, let’s consider this morning the most sensitive issue to face the early church: what to do about the Gentile converts to Christianity.
We don’t always appreciate that the Church, when it first came into being, was composed exclusively of Jews. The Messiah was to be their King. His coming was foretold by their prophets. They simply assumed that Christ was an extension of their traditional Jewish faith. As a result, it wouldn’t occur to them to wonder about the Jewish law or their traditional days of celebration. These first Jewish Christians worshipped in the Temple and they still attended the synagogue. But then, as the Church, they met in homes for worship the first day of the week. In many ways, Christ and Christianity was simply added onto the faith of their fathers.
But then changes started to happen. God gave Peter a vision to tell him that the Jewish food laws no longer held for Christians. Then, right after that, he witnessed the first conversions of Gentiles to the Christian faith. Seeing the power of God now extended to Gentiles, he accepted this as God’s will, baptized the converts, and stayed and ate with them for several days (Acts 10). The Jewish purity laws forbade this kind of consorting with Gentiles, but Peter sensed that God was bringing about something new and unexpected. When Peter returned to Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians there were horrified that Peter would actually stay and eat with Gentiles. But after hearing Peter’s story, the Jewish Christians sat silently stunned in amazement, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life!" (Acts 11.19 HCSB). News flash - Jesus was not just for the Jews after all!
This change was something the Jewish Christians accepted in principle, but in time the implications began to surface. The growing numbers of Gentile Christians began to add issue after issue after issue. Jews generally saw the Gentiles as an immoral lot: both in simple human terms, but also in the fact that the Jews followed a rigorous ethical code laid out in the Torah (the first 5 books of what we know as the OT. These were the “books” of Moses.). Gentiles weren’t concerned with food laws, like the Jews were, or Sabbath (our Saturday) worship, like the Jews were. The history of the Jews, which shaped Jewish worship and life, was irrelevant to the Gentiles. It was all very well for Paul and Barnabas to forge ahead with evangelizing the Gentiles, but it was beginning to look like two different Gospels were coming into being: a Gospel of freedom in Christ preached by Paul, and what was essentially a Jewish Gospel. Oh, no, two different denominations!
This growing unsettledness in the church came to a head when some Jewish Christians arrived one day in Antioch (a Roman city), and taught the Gentile Christians there that salvation in Christ required circumcision. From Abraham on down, for 1,800 years, circumcision was the sign that you were a member of God’s people. "Of course we would still practice this" Jewish Christians assumed. Some who were leaders in the church in Jerusalem had previously been Pharisees – scriptural and legal experts in the Jewish faith.
What was happening at that time, in their struggle to define "what the church should be", has been common in congregations ever since. People divided into different camps. People entrenched in their positions, trying to win, rather than work together to seek out God’s will and achieve what was best for all. Powerful, intimidating coalitions were formed, significant enough to intimidate even the likes of Peter. (We will discuss this more in the NOTE below.) Leaders swung back and forth in which side they were on, adding to the confusion. Something had to be done.
So the church in Antioch commissioned Paul and Barnabus to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and church leaders there, in the hope of resolving the situation.
The believers who had been Pharisees stood up and stated firmly that “The Gentile converts must ......... be required to follow the law of Moses.”. (Acts 15.5 NLT) But at this time Peter, Paul, and Barnabus stood firm on not making the Gentiles follow Jewish laws and James went out on a limb and said. “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God." (Acts 15:19) What a unique concept – to not make it difficult for folks turning to God.
In the end they agreed that circumcision and other Jewish practices would not be binding on Gentile Christians. Christians, whether Jew or Gentile, would be encouraged to share together in one common fellowship and faith. But the church leaders asked the Gentiles for one concession: please respect three of the Jewish food restrictions. If the Gentiles accommodated the Jews in this way, fellowship together would be made so much easier. Don’t quite understand this part but maybe both sides had to give a little to solve the issue.
Note: Later on it gets more confusing when Peter and Barnabus – who first felt free to socialize with Gentiles – began to back off from that sense of freedom. Paul writes in Galatians the following: But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. (Galatians 2.11-14).
It is quite a story. While circumcision is not much of a topic for debate anymore at a meeting of the Session, the debates of our current age can take on the same form and experience the same tensions. Just as one example, it is common for churches to say in principle, "we need to support our youth, for they are the future of the church". But then the congregation goes on to expect teens and young adults to conform to worship styles and church organizations which are many decades old – practices which hold little meaning for the emerging generation in this day and age. The churches say that there is a need to reach out to the people that are the most unchurched in the United States – 25 to 35 year olds. BUT, we would like for them to be “like us”! How much that sounds like what the Jewish Christians were doing with the Gentile ones. No point in spending the rest of today discussing music and song selection and how much controversy this causes in today’s churches! :)
While the topics may have changed, the debates remain the same. But what we can take away from this passage is the approach the church leaders used in resolving this issue. Their starting point was a question: "What is God’s will for the Church? What are we called to be?" This is a vastly different starting point than, "What do I want?" In the meeting they considered the experiences of people: they thought again about God’s vision to Peter, they listened to Paul talk about how the Holy Spirit was moving and bringing great numbers of Gentiles to Christ. They considered the word of Scripture – James read from Amos and Jeremiah. And, finally, they demonstrated respect for everyone – for the needs of the Jews as well as the Gentiles.
If it worked then maybe this approach is a good blueprint for us to keep in mind in the midst of the talk of change which is so common in today’s churches. Rather than get too tightly caught up in "what I want" or too trapped within the walls of the church building in our discussions, we need to remember the bigger picture as a context for our specific issues. What does God call the church to be? How do we live as this kind of church in a society that is so different today than it was even 40 years ago? What do we hope our congregation will be 20 years from now? What do we have to begin to do today to make that dream a reality? And, as we talk about these things, how do we as individuals demonstrate our respect for different people with different thoughts and ideas? How do we meet different needs while still setting one single direction for our church?
If we focus on our calling, if we bear each others burdens, if we remember that we are the people who will make tomorrow’s church (either by action or default), and then, in this context…. If we are diligent to resolve our issues, the church will become more settled, more confident, more determined, and we will know that we are becoming more and more the Body of Christ. And that, at the end of the day, is what God wants.
Oh yeah! Do you now know what the title of lesson, PLU, means? Look down the page a little further:
People Like Us! We tend to want people to be like us!
We don’t always appreciate that the Church, when it first came into being, was composed exclusively of Jews. The Messiah was to be their King. His coming was foretold by their prophets. They simply assumed that Christ was an extension of their traditional Jewish faith. As a result, it wouldn’t occur to them to wonder about the Jewish law or their traditional days of celebration. These first Jewish Christians worshipped in the Temple and they still attended the synagogue. But then, as the Church, they met in homes for worship the first day of the week. In many ways, Christ and Christianity was simply added onto the faith of their fathers.
But then changes started to happen. God gave Peter a vision to tell him that the Jewish food laws no longer held for Christians. Then, right after that, he witnessed the first conversions of Gentiles to the Christian faith. Seeing the power of God now extended to Gentiles, he accepted this as God’s will, baptized the converts, and stayed and ate with them for several days (Acts 10). The Jewish purity laws forbade this kind of consorting with Gentiles, but Peter sensed that God was bringing about something new and unexpected. When Peter returned to Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians there were horrified that Peter would actually stay and eat with Gentiles. But after hearing Peter’s story, the Jewish Christians sat silently stunned in amazement, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life!" (Acts 11.19 HCSB). News flash - Jesus was not just for the Jews after all!
This change was something the Jewish Christians accepted in principle, but in time the implications began to surface. The growing numbers of Gentile Christians began to add issue after issue after issue. Jews generally saw the Gentiles as an immoral lot: both in simple human terms, but also in the fact that the Jews followed a rigorous ethical code laid out in the Torah (the first 5 books of what we know as the OT. These were the “books” of Moses.). Gentiles weren’t concerned with food laws, like the Jews were, or Sabbath (our Saturday) worship, like the Jews were. The history of the Jews, which shaped Jewish worship and life, was irrelevant to the Gentiles. It was all very well for Paul and Barnabas to forge ahead with evangelizing the Gentiles, but it was beginning to look like two different Gospels were coming into being: a Gospel of freedom in Christ preached by Paul, and what was essentially a Jewish Gospel. Oh, no, two different denominations!
This growing unsettledness in the church came to a head when some Jewish Christians arrived one day in Antioch (a Roman city), and taught the Gentile Christians there that salvation in Christ required circumcision. From Abraham on down, for 1,800 years, circumcision was the sign that you were a member of God’s people. "Of course we would still practice this" Jewish Christians assumed. Some who were leaders in the church in Jerusalem had previously been Pharisees – scriptural and legal experts in the Jewish faith.
What was happening at that time, in their struggle to define "what the church should be", has been common in congregations ever since. People divided into different camps. People entrenched in their positions, trying to win, rather than work together to seek out God’s will and achieve what was best for all. Powerful, intimidating coalitions were formed, significant enough to intimidate even the likes of Peter. (We will discuss this more in the NOTE below.) Leaders swung back and forth in which side they were on, adding to the confusion. Something had to be done.
So the church in Antioch commissioned Paul and Barnabus to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and church leaders there, in the hope of resolving the situation.
The believers who had been Pharisees stood up and stated firmly that “The Gentile converts must ......... be required to follow the law of Moses.”. (Acts 15.5 NLT) But at this time Peter, Paul, and Barnabus stood firm on not making the Gentiles follow Jewish laws and James went out on a limb and said. “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God." (Acts 15:19) What a unique concept – to not make it difficult for folks turning to God.
In the end they agreed that circumcision and other Jewish practices would not be binding on Gentile Christians. Christians, whether Jew or Gentile, would be encouraged to share together in one common fellowship and faith. But the church leaders asked the Gentiles for one concession: please respect three of the Jewish food restrictions. If the Gentiles accommodated the Jews in this way, fellowship together would be made so much easier. Don’t quite understand this part but maybe both sides had to give a little to solve the issue.
Note: Later on it gets more confusing when Peter and Barnabus – who first felt free to socialize with Gentiles – began to back off from that sense of freedom. Paul writes in Galatians the following: But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. (Galatians 2.11-14).
It is quite a story. While circumcision is not much of a topic for debate anymore at a meeting of the Session, the debates of our current age can take on the same form and experience the same tensions. Just as one example, it is common for churches to say in principle, "we need to support our youth, for they are the future of the church". But then the congregation goes on to expect teens and young adults to conform to worship styles and church organizations which are many decades old – practices which hold little meaning for the emerging generation in this day and age. The churches say that there is a need to reach out to the people that are the most unchurched in the United States – 25 to 35 year olds. BUT, we would like for them to be “like us”! How much that sounds like what the Jewish Christians were doing with the Gentile ones. No point in spending the rest of today discussing music and song selection and how much controversy this causes in today’s churches! :)
While the topics may have changed, the debates remain the same. But what we can take away from this passage is the approach the church leaders used in resolving this issue. Their starting point was a question: "What is God’s will for the Church? What are we called to be?" This is a vastly different starting point than, "What do I want?" In the meeting they considered the experiences of people: they thought again about God’s vision to Peter, they listened to Paul talk about how the Holy Spirit was moving and bringing great numbers of Gentiles to Christ. They considered the word of Scripture – James read from Amos and Jeremiah. And, finally, they demonstrated respect for everyone – for the needs of the Jews as well as the Gentiles.
If it worked then maybe this approach is a good blueprint for us to keep in mind in the midst of the talk of change which is so common in today’s churches. Rather than get too tightly caught up in "what I want" or too trapped within the walls of the church building in our discussions, we need to remember the bigger picture as a context for our specific issues. What does God call the church to be? How do we live as this kind of church in a society that is so different today than it was even 40 years ago? What do we hope our congregation will be 20 years from now? What do we have to begin to do today to make that dream a reality? And, as we talk about these things, how do we as individuals demonstrate our respect for different people with different thoughts and ideas? How do we meet different needs while still setting one single direction for our church?
If we focus on our calling, if we bear each others burdens, if we remember that we are the people who will make tomorrow’s church (either by action or default), and then, in this context…. If we are diligent to resolve our issues, the church will become more settled, more confident, more determined, and we will know that we are becoming more and more the Body of Christ. And that, at the end of the day, is what God wants.
Oh yeah! Do you now know what the title of lesson, PLU, means? Look down the page a little further:
People Like Us! We tend to want people to be like us!
A Divine Intervention
Sometimes love has to be tough. It has to tell the truth, even when that truth is jarring, even when that truth is uncomfortable, even when that truth hurts. Because sometimes, to not be tough or even harsh with someone is to be unloving as we let them continue down the path of self-destruction.
It is such tough love that Jesus showed to a congregation in ancient Greece. To the congregation of believers in Laodicea he dictated a harsh letter through the Apostle John. But he rebuked his people out of love, to jar them out of their apathy and to help them overcome the temptations and struggles of their sinful nature that they might win the final victory in him.
And we do well to listen to this and apply these truths to ourselves and rejoice even in the tough love that Jesus gives us. For it is love for us that prompts him to make a divine intervention.
Let’s look at some seemingly harsh words to this body of Believers:
14 “Write this letter to the angel (leader) of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 NLT
What's worse ignorance or apathy? (Webster defines apathy as lack of interest or concern, or lack of emotion or feeling.) Most of us have heard the ironic answer, "I don't know and I don't care." But Jesus gives a different answer to that question: Ignorance is better than apathy by far! Being cold to the gospel, ignorant, or even hostile to it is better than those who know the truth but are apathetic to it.
Laodicea was a wealthy well-known for three things: 1) for their finances, 2) for their fashion, and 3) for their pharmaceuticals. There was no doubt about it: the Laodiceans had been very blessed by God. Maybe too blessed. The health and wealth that God had given to them led to their complacency. They had all they needed: Enough money to live comfortably, fine clothes, good food, and good health. Life was good...or so they thought. But their wealth led them to be stingy toward God. They were growing more and more apathetic toward him and toward spiritual matters. And they were in danger of losing their faith (if they hadn't already).
But God loved them too much to let that happen. So he would intervene. With a divine intervention, Jesus rebuked them. Through John and through their pastor he showed them some tough love: " But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!.... you are wretched and miserable..." and those so proud of their wealth, their medical skills that could restore sight, and their fine and fashionable clothes, Jesus called, "poor, blind and naked."
Though they thought they were doing just fine -- great, really -- the Laodiceans were anything but. They were wretched in their apathy. Pitiful in their sin! They were impoverished, dirt poor, with no righteousness before God at all. Even though they thought they were doing pretty good, they made Jesus sick -- so sick he was ready to spit them out, literally, to vomit them up.
Wow! Harsh, huh? But why did he do it? He tells them: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." (Revelation 3:19 NIV) The most un-loving thing Jesus could do to them would have been to ignore the situation, leave things alone, and let them continue on their path. But in love, he couldn't do that. He had to intervene. He had to rebuke them and discipline them to lead them to repent and turn to him.
And we know that God loves us enough to the same for us. He will not leave us to our own destruction, but must intervene to rebuke and discipline us.
Notice that Jesus addressed the angel or pastor not the congregation. And while I am certainly not the pastor, I am the leader of this class. So I have to ask, have we lost our zeal for the gospel? Are we still hot? Enthusiastic about serving our Savior? Or have the blessings that he's given to us, the great wealth with which we've all been blessed (as even the poorest among us have so much more than most in this world), has that wealth distracted us from what's most important? Have the comforts and conveniences and pleasures of this life led us to treat our Bibles with apathy and neglect?
Have we lost our zeal to reach the lost? Have we lost the zeal to help others? Have we lost our desire to grow in our faith? Have we become complacent and apathetic in our Christian living thinking, 'I'm just fine. I've come a long way in my faith. I need not grow anymore. Now it's time for a break. Now it's me time.'? Have we lost our desire to grow, to serve, to love Jesus by loving others?"
If we have then we need to watch out! We don't need to let our lukewarm attitudes sicken Jesus to the point that he will spit us out of his mouth! Harsh? Maybe. But that's Jesus’ tough love. He still rebukes and disciplines those he loves. We have an ear! So hear what the Spirit says to us! Be earnest! Repent! Hear his voice! Listen to it and open the door!
And when we do, he will not abandon us. He will come in and will help us to overcome! Jesus will do an intervention.
Even though Jesus didn't offer a single word of praise for this sad congregation, the letter he had John write to them was not without comfort. It wasn't all quite as tough, but was full of gospel promise! In spite of their apathy, Jesus didn't spit them out, but continued to hold out his gracious offer...
So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.... If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
Ironically, the Laodiceans, well-known for their finances, their fashion, and their pharmaceuticals, were poor before God, naked without his righteousness to cover them, and blind to their spiritual condition. But Jesus didn't just intervene to point out their condition. He also intervened to save them.
He also intervened on Calvary before God to become the solution that they and all us need.
He is the perfect substitute who took the place of every sinner in hell. He intervened by taking our apathy toward his Word on himself. He took our lackluster attitudes toward his sacrifice on himself on that cross. And so now, he is offering the Laodiceans true wealth: the gold of the gospel. He offered them the robes of his righteousness that would never go out of fashion. He offered them a salve that would give them spiritual sight and save their souls. And Jesus offers the same to us still!
Now he pleads with us, "Turn to me! Trust in the forgiveness I won for you! Listen to my Word! Listen to what the Spirit says of your sin and of my grace that he might heal your blindness with the salve of the Word, that you might see the truth clearly again! Don't lock me out! Let me in that we might dine together and share the close intimacy we once had! Let me restore your zeal for my Word and your zeal in serving me and others! Let my gospel fire you up again so you're not lukewarm any more, but hot!"
And finally, even to this lukewarm church that was close to being spit out, Jesus offered the promise of heaven with him: Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
After he overcame all sin by his sacrifice, Jesus was rewarded with his heavenly throne. And now, he rewards those who claim his victory through him. That victory is ours!
It is such tough love that Jesus showed to a congregation in ancient Greece. To the congregation of believers in Laodicea he dictated a harsh letter through the Apostle John. But he rebuked his people out of love, to jar them out of their apathy and to help them overcome the temptations and struggles of their sinful nature that they might win the final victory in him.
And we do well to listen to this and apply these truths to ourselves and rejoice even in the tough love that Jesus gives us. For it is love for us that prompts him to make a divine intervention.
Let’s look at some seemingly harsh words to this body of Believers:
14 “Write this letter to the angel (leader) of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:14-22 NLT
What's worse ignorance or apathy? (Webster defines apathy as lack of interest or concern, or lack of emotion or feeling.) Most of us have heard the ironic answer, "I don't know and I don't care." But Jesus gives a different answer to that question: Ignorance is better than apathy by far! Being cold to the gospel, ignorant, or even hostile to it is better than those who know the truth but are apathetic to it.
Laodicea was a wealthy well-known for three things: 1) for their finances, 2) for their fashion, and 3) for their pharmaceuticals. There was no doubt about it: the Laodiceans had been very blessed by God. Maybe too blessed. The health and wealth that God had given to them led to their complacency. They had all they needed: Enough money to live comfortably, fine clothes, good food, and good health. Life was good...or so they thought. But their wealth led them to be stingy toward God. They were growing more and more apathetic toward him and toward spiritual matters. And they were in danger of losing their faith (if they hadn't already).
But God loved them too much to let that happen. So he would intervene. With a divine intervention, Jesus rebuked them. Through John and through their pastor he showed them some tough love: " But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!.... you are wretched and miserable..." and those so proud of their wealth, their medical skills that could restore sight, and their fine and fashionable clothes, Jesus called, "poor, blind and naked."
Though they thought they were doing just fine -- great, really -- the Laodiceans were anything but. They were wretched in their apathy. Pitiful in their sin! They were impoverished, dirt poor, with no righteousness before God at all. Even though they thought they were doing pretty good, they made Jesus sick -- so sick he was ready to spit them out, literally, to vomit them up.
Wow! Harsh, huh? But why did he do it? He tells them: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." (Revelation 3:19 NIV) The most un-loving thing Jesus could do to them would have been to ignore the situation, leave things alone, and let them continue on their path. But in love, he couldn't do that. He had to intervene. He had to rebuke them and discipline them to lead them to repent and turn to him.
And we know that God loves us enough to the same for us. He will not leave us to our own destruction, but must intervene to rebuke and discipline us.
Notice that Jesus addressed the angel or pastor not the congregation. And while I am certainly not the pastor, I am the leader of this class. So I have to ask, have we lost our zeal for the gospel? Are we still hot? Enthusiastic about serving our Savior? Or have the blessings that he's given to us, the great wealth with which we've all been blessed (as even the poorest among us have so much more than most in this world), has that wealth distracted us from what's most important? Have the comforts and conveniences and pleasures of this life led us to treat our Bibles with apathy and neglect?
Have we lost our zeal to reach the lost? Have we lost the zeal to help others? Have we lost our desire to grow in our faith? Have we become complacent and apathetic in our Christian living thinking, 'I'm just fine. I've come a long way in my faith. I need not grow anymore. Now it's time for a break. Now it's me time.'? Have we lost our desire to grow, to serve, to love Jesus by loving others?"
If we have then we need to watch out! We don't need to let our lukewarm attitudes sicken Jesus to the point that he will spit us out of his mouth! Harsh? Maybe. But that's Jesus’ tough love. He still rebukes and disciplines those he loves. We have an ear! So hear what the Spirit says to us! Be earnest! Repent! Hear his voice! Listen to it and open the door!
And when we do, he will not abandon us. He will come in and will help us to overcome! Jesus will do an intervention.
Even though Jesus didn't offer a single word of praise for this sad congregation, the letter he had John write to them was not without comfort. It wasn't all quite as tough, but was full of gospel promise! In spite of their apathy, Jesus didn't spit them out, but continued to hold out his gracious offer...
So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.... If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
Ironically, the Laodiceans, well-known for their finances, their fashion, and their pharmaceuticals, were poor before God, naked without his righteousness to cover them, and blind to their spiritual condition. But Jesus didn't just intervene to point out their condition. He also intervened to save them.
He also intervened on Calvary before God to become the solution that they and all us need.
He is the perfect substitute who took the place of every sinner in hell. He intervened by taking our apathy toward his Word on himself. He took our lackluster attitudes toward his sacrifice on himself on that cross. And so now, he is offering the Laodiceans true wealth: the gold of the gospel. He offered them the robes of his righteousness that would never go out of fashion. He offered them a salve that would give them spiritual sight and save their souls. And Jesus offers the same to us still!
Now he pleads with us, "Turn to me! Trust in the forgiveness I won for you! Listen to my Word! Listen to what the Spirit says of your sin and of my grace that he might heal your blindness with the salve of the Word, that you might see the truth clearly again! Don't lock me out! Let me in that we might dine together and share the close intimacy we once had! Let me restore your zeal for my Word and your zeal in serving me and others! Let my gospel fire you up again so you're not lukewarm any more, but hot!"
And finally, even to this lukewarm church that was close to being spit out, Jesus offered the promise of heaven with him: Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
After he overcame all sin by his sacrifice, Jesus was rewarded with his heavenly throne. And now, he rewards those who claim his victory through him. That victory is ours!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Is God Fair? Maybe Not, but He's Right...
How often have you heard about or maybe been personally involved in a situation that made you say, “That’s really unfair! This shouldn’t have happened to me or him or her.”?
When God Isn’t Fair
In a parable He shared with his disciples, Jesus seemed to suggest the very notion the Heavenly Father does not always deal with his children in a way that seem equitable. In Matthew 20, Jesus paints a picture of the Kingdom of God that looks and sounds so blatantly unjust that were it a reality today, most Christians would scream out at the injustice. The ACLU would probably get involved and sue. But, amazingly, Jesus used this as a picture of how God deals with His children.
Jesus tells the story of a farmer, who represents God. Needing to harvest a record setting crop in his vineyard, he goes into the marketplace and hires a crew of laborers. He promises them a fair day’s wage.
Later in the day, he realizes he’ll need more help. So he again goes to the marketplace and hires a few more men looking for work.
He does this several more times and hires his last crew with just an hour of harvesting remaining. But at the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard gave each worker the same pay, regardless of how long they worked.
In our world this seems extremely unfair. But, when we look at this story through the “glasses” of grace, instead of the unbending scales of justice, we begin to understand the difference between our thinking and God’s. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." (Isaiah 55:8) Jesus made the careful, firm argument that what is fair to man isn’t always right in the eyes of God.
You and I would say those who worked the hardest and longest should be paid or rewarded more. But Jesus saw it differently. Those ungrateful workers might have well been unemployed if not for the opportunity given them by the owner of the vineyard.
Is it their right to question his generosity? Weren’t they paid their promised wage? We would scream at the injustice, but we’d be wrong. This parable illustrates the major theme of Scriptures: God’s grace. Just like the workers waiting for work in the marketplace, we were all in a position of need. They were looking for a job, but we are looking for mercy.
The owner of the vineyard wasn’t concerned with how long the workers were unemployed—He only knew they needed a job. Similarly, God doesn’t see the amount of sin we carry. In His eyes, we are all sinners in need of salvation. We are all in need of grace.
The Heart of God Revealed At the Cross
Random tragedy and heartbreak seem to point to a God who is either detached from humanity or has no control over the world. However, the true heart of God is revealed at the spectacle that took place 2,000 years ago on a hill called Calvary.
First, God’s is very just. And from the Garden of Eden (where He gave Adam and Eve one simple instruction or law) to the present day (we wanted more rules so he gave us the Ten Commandments), all men have sinned and violated God’s law. This is sin. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23). No matter how small, this sin has a penalty—death, separation from God forever (Romans 6:23 says “the wages (payment) of sin is death”).
Yet, while the cross reveals God’s justice, it also reveals His great love. God sent His son, Jesus to take the punishment for man’s sin because man couldn’t possibly redeem himself. (2 Cor 5:21). This was the greatest act of love (John 3:16).
This was the greatest agony for the heart of a holy God wasn’t watching his Son beaten to a pulp and crucified; it was in the knowledge that His perfect Son would take on all the sin of mankind from the beginning of time to the end.
These actions seem to very fair. Why should Jesus have to pay for sins he didn’t commit? The crucifixion was the greatest injustice in the history of the world. And yet, it was allowed by God for the payment of our sin.
What Do We Deserve?
So in light of the cross, what really do we deserve? Anyone who has been redeemed (saved) by God can no longer view themselves as having been treated unfairly by God. The gift salvation through His son was both a gift we never deserved and yet a terrible injustice paid for our debts. The reality is that we are not owed anything by God. Instead we owe Him a debt of love we can never repay.
Grace gives us the proper perspective on life’s seeming injustices. As hard as it is to imagine, the most tragedy-struck Christian has tasted overwhelming amounts of God’s grace. More than any of us deserve.
So if we were to be completely honest, we wouldn’t want God to be fair. If He was, then He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to pay for our sins and we would be bound for a hopeless eternity. And He wouldn’t walk beside us daily, giving us strength. He wouldn’t extend His hand of forgiveness when we fail.
Instead, we should be glad we serve a God who is right.
Because we’re not getting what we deserve. Nobody who walks this earth is. Instead, we’re getting something far greater. His grace.
So, Is God Fair?
So, when we look at some of things that have happened in our lives or in lives of others, maybe we can’t say that God has been “fair” in our sense of the word. But, if we could even come close to seeing the ‘big picture”, He has always been right. And we shouldn’t blame God for the trials that we go through but we need to praise God for walking with us through those dark valleys and giving the grace to carry on.
Sadly, many Christians in America, walk around feeling as though they’ve been cheated. They ask questions like, “Why can’t I be healthy like others?” or “Why does God allow him or her to be married?” or “Why couldn’t have I been born into a wealthy family?”
Unfortunately, the church itself has become an unwitting accomplice in this unbiblical thought process. We’ve tried to market Christianity as the better alternative, where life will be more successful. And sometimes this may be true, but we must realize that Christianity is not about benefiting and taking and getting more of what we want out of a supernatural, vending-machine God. It’s about worshipping a God who has given us far more grace than we deserve. It’s about following the example of Jesus in sacrificing for the good of others.
We should view everything we’ve got in life as a gift from God, not complain when things don’t go our way.
Because thankfully, we don’t have a God who is fair, but a Heavenly Father who is always right.
When God Isn’t Fair
In a parable He shared with his disciples, Jesus seemed to suggest the very notion the Heavenly Father does not always deal with his children in a way that seem equitable. In Matthew 20, Jesus paints a picture of the Kingdom of God that looks and sounds so blatantly unjust that were it a reality today, most Christians would scream out at the injustice. The ACLU would probably get involved and sue. But, amazingly, Jesus used this as a picture of how God deals with His children.
Jesus tells the story of a farmer, who represents God. Needing to harvest a record setting crop in his vineyard, he goes into the marketplace and hires a crew of laborers. He promises them a fair day’s wage.
Later in the day, he realizes he’ll need more help. So he again goes to the marketplace and hires a few more men looking for work.
He does this several more times and hires his last crew with just an hour of harvesting remaining. But at the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard gave each worker the same pay, regardless of how long they worked.
In our world this seems extremely unfair. But, when we look at this story through the “glasses” of grace, instead of the unbending scales of justice, we begin to understand the difference between our thinking and God’s. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." (Isaiah 55:8) Jesus made the careful, firm argument that what is fair to man isn’t always right in the eyes of God.
You and I would say those who worked the hardest and longest should be paid or rewarded more. But Jesus saw it differently. Those ungrateful workers might have well been unemployed if not for the opportunity given them by the owner of the vineyard.
Is it their right to question his generosity? Weren’t they paid their promised wage? We would scream at the injustice, but we’d be wrong. This parable illustrates the major theme of Scriptures: God’s grace. Just like the workers waiting for work in the marketplace, we were all in a position of need. They were looking for a job, but we are looking for mercy.
The owner of the vineyard wasn’t concerned with how long the workers were unemployed—He only knew they needed a job. Similarly, God doesn’t see the amount of sin we carry. In His eyes, we are all sinners in need of salvation. We are all in need of grace.
The Heart of God Revealed At the Cross
Random tragedy and heartbreak seem to point to a God who is either detached from humanity or has no control over the world. However, the true heart of God is revealed at the spectacle that took place 2,000 years ago on a hill called Calvary.
First, God’s is very just. And from the Garden of Eden (where He gave Adam and Eve one simple instruction or law) to the present day (we wanted more rules so he gave us the Ten Commandments), all men have sinned and violated God’s law. This is sin. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23). No matter how small, this sin has a penalty—death, separation from God forever (Romans 6:23 says “the wages (payment) of sin is death”).
Yet, while the cross reveals God’s justice, it also reveals His great love. God sent His son, Jesus to take the punishment for man’s sin because man couldn’t possibly redeem himself. (2 Cor 5:21). This was the greatest act of love (John 3:16).
This was the greatest agony for the heart of a holy God wasn’t watching his Son beaten to a pulp and crucified; it was in the knowledge that His perfect Son would take on all the sin of mankind from the beginning of time to the end.
These actions seem to very fair. Why should Jesus have to pay for sins he didn’t commit? The crucifixion was the greatest injustice in the history of the world. And yet, it was allowed by God for the payment of our sin.
What Do We Deserve?
So in light of the cross, what really do we deserve? Anyone who has been redeemed (saved) by God can no longer view themselves as having been treated unfairly by God. The gift salvation through His son was both a gift we never deserved and yet a terrible injustice paid for our debts. The reality is that we are not owed anything by God. Instead we owe Him a debt of love we can never repay.
Grace gives us the proper perspective on life’s seeming injustices. As hard as it is to imagine, the most tragedy-struck Christian has tasted overwhelming amounts of God’s grace. More than any of us deserve.
So if we were to be completely honest, we wouldn’t want God to be fair. If He was, then He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to pay for our sins and we would be bound for a hopeless eternity. And He wouldn’t walk beside us daily, giving us strength. He wouldn’t extend His hand of forgiveness when we fail.
Instead, we should be glad we serve a God who is right.
Because we’re not getting what we deserve. Nobody who walks this earth is. Instead, we’re getting something far greater. His grace.
So, Is God Fair?
So, when we look at some of things that have happened in our lives or in lives of others, maybe we can’t say that God has been “fair” in our sense of the word. But, if we could even come close to seeing the ‘big picture”, He has always been right. And we shouldn’t blame God for the trials that we go through but we need to praise God for walking with us through those dark valleys and giving the grace to carry on.
Sadly, many Christians in America, walk around feeling as though they’ve been cheated. They ask questions like, “Why can’t I be healthy like others?” or “Why does God allow him or her to be married?” or “Why couldn’t have I been born into a wealthy family?”
Unfortunately, the church itself has become an unwitting accomplice in this unbiblical thought process. We’ve tried to market Christianity as the better alternative, where life will be more successful. And sometimes this may be true, but we must realize that Christianity is not about benefiting and taking and getting more of what we want out of a supernatural, vending-machine God. It’s about worshipping a God who has given us far more grace than we deserve. It’s about following the example of Jesus in sacrificing for the good of others.
We should view everything we’ve got in life as a gift from God, not complain when things don’t go our way.
Because thankfully, we don’t have a God who is fair, but a Heavenly Father who is always right.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
