Posted by Chris on February 5, 2006 under Sermons
I will welcome your insights. In whatever ways you have influence in our congregation – and I know you do! – I welcome you to influence others to get involved in this”conversation” whether it is online, in the hallway, or over the dinner table. We have been given this ministry because of God’s mercy! Even though we are cracked and crusty clay jars, we carry a precious treasure! Hey! That’s good news so don’t lose heart!2 Corinthians 4 |
Read 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 4:9.
Relics and Reliquary – The remains of a saint or holy person are called relics. As early as the fourth century, small pieces of bone, blood, or cloth associated with Christ, Mary, the apostles, or various saints were collected and revered. The thought was that these minute pieces ordinary matter could produce miracles through the intercession of the saint. Since they were so cherished and prized, the containers that held them were often decorated. The containers are called reliquaries.
The possession of a relic could make a town famous and attract pilgrims (we call them tourists). Even if you have never heard of relics or reliquaries, you have probably heard of the Shroud of Turin (where the Winter Olympics will be held next week). Soon, relics became an obsession and a matter of jealous rivalry. A rival town could improve its fortunes by acquiring a precious relic, sometimes by bold theft or by making up a relic. (Centuries ago there were other cities claiming to have the true shroud, not just Turin. And legend has it that one town had the skeleton of John the Baptist at age 13). Cities and churches were proud and protective of their relics so they made their reliquaries large and elaborate. They might even be shaped like the object they contained – a cross shaped box to house a splinter of wood from Christ’s cross; an arm of gold containing the finger bone of a local saint.
The odd fact of relics and reliquaries is that the many reliquaries no longer contain the relic they were built to contain. So, the reliquary – that is, the empty container – is now the prized object and treasure.
Treasure in Clay Jars – Paul describes us as containers that hold a priceless treasure. But we are not the gilded and jeweled encrusted fine art boxes that contain decayed and gruesome items like bones, hair, teeth, and dried blood. Paul says that we are more like clay jars – which were the cardboard boxes of his day. Clay jars were ordinary containers like shoeboxes or plastic tubs in which people stored items – even treasures. God has stored the precious and priceless treasure of the gospel in ordinary clay jars like Paul, like me, like you, like us …
Unlike reliquaries the church cannot become a shell that has long ago lost its content – or if there is any content it is meant to be something much more valuable than old bones. In fact, old bones might be a better description of the vessel rather than the treasure, for our fragile forms and our imperfect congregation is the clay jar filled with priceless treasure. We are a Styrofoam cup filled with the finest champagne. We are a paper sack full of rare gems. We are the plain brown wrapper that covers a masterpiece of beauty and art.
Even if we could be perfect and polished, there is enough in life to pressure us, perplex us, and persecute us. In other words, we’re going to take some licks in life and we cannot escape getting scratched, scarred. Yet, just because we are ordinary or even cracked and broken, we are not disqualified from being a useful vessel for carrying the treasure of the gospel …
Broken Jar Parable – An Indian fable tells the story of a water-bearer. Every day he carried two large pots on a yoke across his shoulders every day from river to his master’s house. One pot is perfect and always carries a full measure of water from the river to the house after the long walk. But the other has a crack and it leaks half of its water along the way.
After years of arriving half-empty and feeling guilty for being cracked, the pot apologized to the water-bearer: “I am sorry that I did not accomplish for you what the perfect pot did. Surely I have made more work for you because I am cracked and flawed.”
The water-bearer smiled, “Why do you apologize? Haven’t you noticed the flowers that grow on your side of the path from the river? Because of your flaw you have sprinkled water along the way that nourished the flowers. These flowers pleased me on my long walk to and from the river. The perfect pot delivers a full measure of water, but there are no flowers on its side of the path.”
As individuals and as a congregation, we are tempted to apologize for our flaws. We attempt to hide them or desperately try anything to repair them. Certainly we strive to be perfect and holy as Christ is perfect and holy, but the biblical idea of holiness has more to do with maturity than flawlessness. And the goal of perfection and excellence is to become more like Christ. But we arrive at this perfection as God works through our weakness not when we overcome them ourselves. It matters whether we are concerned with the container or the treasure inside.
We can spend much time and energy on trying to achieve perfection, excellence, and holiness so that we might influence what others think about us! Perhaps we are trying to recruit new members or gain influence or prestige. This can be very tempting because we may even convince ourselves that this is necessary for church growth or evangelism. How many times have Christians looked to the dynamic, successful churches of our age and attempted to imitate them? How often have these churches been willing to share their secrets – for a small price? How often have we been discouraged and disappointed because we just don’t seem to be able to have the same “success” as other groups? We will be disappointed and lose heart when we think that this is all about us, but we will never be crushed, despairing, or destroyed if we live life as a clay jar knowing that the treasure is from God. It matters whether we are concerned with the container or the treasure inside.
It is good to be visionary and creative in seeking opportunities to communicate and to make a good impression on others. But we are resorting to secret or shameful means if we are trying to cover up the reality of who we are lest someone think poorly of us. We are resorting to deception and distortion if we are trying to win people over with our goods and services rather than with good news and salvation. We may be ashamed of our weaknesses, limitations, and liabilities but these may in fact be what God uses to display his treasure and might. When we live life as clay jars showing that we are what we are because of God’s mercy rather than our own efforts, then those who recognize their own humanity(who are not trying to cover up the truth about their own life) will want to share in the treasure too. It matters whether we are concerned with the container or the treasure inside.
This is about evangelism! – The church doesn’t have a mission. The mission has a church. Remember that? We need to remember that if we are going to fix on the precious all-surpassing power of the treasure and not get distracted by our clay jar container life. Too often we think that we have to light the fire of “this little light of mine” and we have to be doing something to be more effective. Maybe what we need to do is start letting God do more and live like he is. Our Scripture says that God who brought light out of darkness makes his light shine in our hearts.
I don’t recall too many stories of people who came to Jesus and had their lives changed because they were attracted to a church with a beautiful building, fantastic programs, a Starbucks in the foyer and a budget in the black. But I know dozens of stories like Tracy’s.
Tracy was a waitress at a local caf? in Lake Jackson. One day she came to visit me in my office. She wanted to ask me something, but first she had something to tell me. She told me that she had been working as a waitress for a few years and that waiters and waitresses hate working on Sunday afternoon. She said that though it seems like the “church crowd” would be the best of customers, they are typically the rudest and all-around worst. They are arrogant, demanding, impatient, picky, and they hardly tip. Then she said, “Now I want you to know that I have been waiting on people from your church for quite a few months.”
I groaned inside. I began thinking that our church is flawed and broken. I began working on how I would apologize to Tracy. And then she spoke again, “Your people have made it a delight to work on Sunday afternoon. They have been polite and thoughtful. They have asked about me and my family. I look for them every week. I know they aren’t perfect people – and a few times they didn’t tip much at all – but every time they have had an attitude and a spirit that I just haven’t seen before. I really want to have that too. And after talking to some of these folks I wanted to ask you – can I be a Christian?”
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Chris Benjamin
West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 5 February 2006
Treasure in Clay Jars Introduction 1 – “Life as a Clay Jar” Discussion Guide February 5, 2006
Objective: This is the first of two introductory discussions. The objective of this introduction is to help the group become familiar with the key image of the “treasure in clay jars.” We will be returning to this image frequently over the course of this series.
Major Themes and General Discussion:
- Take the time with your group to discuss the image. What makes sense? What doesn’t? Don’t feel burdened to answer every question. We will understand the illustration of the Clay Jars in time as we dwell with this text for many weeks.
- Focus on the theme of encouragement in this text. How is this good news? What does it say about God and his work among us? How does it help us “not to lose heart” (v. 4:1)?
- What is Paul’s philosophy of proclamation and evangelism? Is he more interested in what he says or what others think? Why does this matter? Is Paul’s philosophy still relevant for us?
Discussion Starters [Use the ones that will suit your group discussion]:
- Name a product or service in which the hype, marketing, or advertising is actually better than the product itself. (If your group was watching the SuperBowl, you will probably have quite a few examples.)
- As a contrast you might want to think of examples of good products or services that do not have the best packaging or marketing. What might these be?
- Recall the illustration of ancient reliquaries from the morning sermon – reliquaries are elaborate containers for “ordinary” (maybe even gross or fake) items. What is something mundane or ordinary that comes in a special package? What are examples of ordinary items dressed up in special containers?
- Now think of examples of special, priceless, and/or treasured items that we place in cheap, ordinary, or disposable containers (i.e. Styrofoam, paper sacks, cardboard, etc.)
Read 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 4:9 and Discuss
- How does Paul view his ministry? How does he “package and present” the gospel?
- What does he mean when he describes himself and his fellow missionaries as “clay jars”? What is the treasure above all that his “clay jar” life contains?
- Why is this encouragement not to lose heart? (See 4:1.) How does it give us encouragement when it is difficult to live out our faith? (See 4:8.)
Life as a Clay Jar [Application and Commitment]
- In what ways are churches and Christians pressured to “dress up their packaging, programs, and presentation”? How is this different from or the same as honest communication and making a good impression?
- What might be the characteristics of a church that has “renounced secret and shameful ways; does not use deception, and does not distort the word of God”? (See 4:2.)
- What do you think it would mean for us (as individuals and as a congregation) to “set forth the truth plainly”? Does this mean we are going to have to be rude and insensitive? What does it say about the way we should live?
- What are some ways we might preach ourselves rather than preach Jesus Christ? (See 4:5.) What are we missing when we do this?
- What is the treasure that we carry within our “clay jar” lives and our “clay jar” congregation? [Note: Move beyond simple answers like “the gospel.” Press the group to explain how the “treasure” is experienced in Western Arkansas in 2006.]
Looking Ahead
- Paul spoke of his ministry in the first century world. How is our ministry in our region in the early 21st century similar to and different from Paul’s? How is it different from and similar to thirty years ago?
- Our ministry is rooted in what God is doing – His mission. It is because of his mercy. Even though “the times are changing” we need not lose heart. Our life as a clay jar is meaningful up against any worldview when the treasure is from God and not us.
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Posted by Chris on January 29, 2006 under Sermons
sing “Footprints of Jesus”
[Matthew 19:16-30] – When the young man comes to Jesus, the Lord doesn’t challenge his question: “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” In fact Jesus obliges his question and urges him to keep the commandments. Jesus had been teaching that he did not come to abolish the commandments, but to fulfill them. When you read through Matthew’s gospel and what Jesus teaches you find that Jesus is very serious about doing good. He intends for his teachings and the commandments of God to be lived out and put into practice. He concludes the Sermon on the Mount with the parable of the wise and foolish builders. The foolish builder builds on loose soil and his house collapses, but the wise builder builds on the rock and the house stands even during a storm. The wise person is the one who takes what Jesus says and puts it into practice!
This is what disappoints the young man who wanted to inherit eternal life. He wasn’t expecting that the inheritance of eternal life would so radically change his life. When Jesus lists the commandments, it is easy for this fine young fellow to state – even modestly – that he has kept the commandments since he hasn’t broken any of the rules. But if he is going to follow Jesus into the Kingdom of Heaven he has to do more than follow the rules. He has to do more than “keep” the commandments (that is, not violate them), he has to do them. The good work we are called to is more than “not bad” it is active. Jesus wants us to take his teachings and put them into practice. That is good work!
Jesus calls his disciples to a righteousness that surpasses the scribes and Pharisees. [Matthew 5:20] Now they were the ultimate rule-keepers – how could we ever surpass their righteousness? Simple – you rediscover the meaning of righteousness. Righteousness isn’t about “not doing bad,” rather it is about actively “doing good.” The scribes and the Pharisees followed the rules, but the disciples of Jesus follow the Lord. Jesus warns us to do what they teach but not what they do because they do not practice what they preach!
What are we supposed to do with Jesus teaching? What’s the best way to understand it and teaching it to others? Jesus concludes one of his better known teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, with a fairly simple answer to these questions: do what I told you. [Matthew 7:24] The wise person is like the builder who builds on a good foundation. The house built on the rock will stand. Putting Jesus’ teachings into practice is building on a good foundation.
The reason that churches, households, and individual lives collapse is sometimes because people want to follow Jesus but only so they can have a little insurance for the future or for the bad times. We need religion in our lives because it helps us over our bad feelings or it might make the kids behave or keep them out of trouble. We want the insurance but we want to build our house on the edge of a cliff looking over the ocean. We want to build our lives on our own plot and according to our own plan. But Jesus isn’t interested in selling insurance. He’s a carpenter and he knows how to build a good life, a good home, and a good church.
Doing Good Works
Look at the banners in this auditorium and notice that we recognize this. We understand that disciples of Jesus should be eager to serve other. We strive to prepare for works of service to build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). We intend to excite one another to Love and Good Deeds (Hebrews 10:24). We know that following Christ involves baptizing and teaching others so that they too can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 16:15-16). Finally we recognize that God made us in Christ to do Good Works (Ephesians 2:10).
This text is good for us to reflect on for a moment. We are God’s work – his creation. He crafted us and designed us. Most craftsmen and creators have a purpose for their works. So it is with God. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul says that we are created in Christ Jesus – suggesting that we have been re-created – to do good works which God has already prepared for us. We are supposed to “walk” in these good works. What does that mean? It means we get with it and get active doing what God designed us to do and what he prepared for us to do. We “walk” behind Jesus following in his steps. We are God’s work (creation) to do good work (deeds). That is what it means to be human, that is what it means to be a disciple. What are the good works God has prepared for us to do? We will discuss this in more detail tonight but I want to briefly demonstrate how the teaching of God’s Word has everything to do with good works …
Iglesia de Cristo – In 1987 in Fort Smith, the Latino school population was half of a single percent (0.05%). Today, it is almost 20 percent. But according to one report, the Latinos who are new to America do not always consider us a friendly people. Sometimes that’s because we, as a people, say things like: “If they come to our country, they ought to learn English!” That’s well and good, but who will teach them? I think God wants us to be friendly and hospitable. He wants us to do more than just wish our neighbors all the best. For three years now we have encouraged a ministry that meets on Johnson Street. Oscar Nolasco has been baptizing and teaching. We need to pray for leaders in that congregation. We can help them by building a place of worship (they are renting right now). If we follow Jesus, don’t you think his footsteps will lead us to the growing Latino section of our town? In Matthew 25 the Lord praises those who were righteous: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me?”
Hope Chest, CURE – Last year as we were searching for property to serve as a building for Iglesia de Cristo we found a building from which we could serve the poor. Now the number of those seeking assistance at the Hope Chest is increasing everyday. Poverty and disaster create different needs but when they combine the problem is truly staggering. This happened last year on the Gulf Coast. The disaster from the hurricanes magnified the problems of poverty. Through CURE, we have been partnering with other disciples to help the disciples on the Gulf Coast to do good works.
If you listen to Christ’s teaching then you know as well as I do that there is no excuse for not helping the poor. But we still find excuses and perhaps that is because the problem is so large. So we hesitate wondering if our efforts make any real difference. We begin to feel that unless we can unleash government-sized, military backed aid on the problem then we will never make a dent in the problem. So we call our efforts a drop in the bucket or twig on the pile. And then we question if God will go with us in our efforts. Will God go with us when we go “to the hungry hopeless side of town?” We can quit worrying about that. The truth is that God has been waiting for us to meet him there. If we follow the footsteps of Jesus don’t you think his path will lead us to the poor, sick, and hungry? “I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, hungry and you fed me.”
Tutoring, KFC, Children’s Worship, Nursery, FLOCK, GATEWAY – [Matthew 19:13-15] None of us would ever want to keep children away from Jesus. One of our strengths as a congregation is reflected in the ministries we have devoted to young people – from nursery to young adults. No, we would never say we want to keep children or young adults from Jesus, but do we really take to heart what Jesus said when he said “the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these?” What does that mean? Does this congregation offer “services for young people” or do we serve young people? Serving children is difficult – especially when their parents don’t come here. It can get frustrating when children act like children.
Teens and LFC – Like Jesus we can invite them to follow. They are ready. Notice that Jesus says, “Don’t stop them!” Young people don’t know “not to come” to Jesus unless an adult stops them. Jesus’ disciples thought that he should spend a little more time with adults and that the kids ought to stop bothering Jesus – he had a long day and was awfully tired. But if we follow the footsteps of Jesus, I think we will find ourselves walking alongside children, teens, and young adults who are eager to follow Christ. Maybe we should cheer them on. We need each other on this journey as we follow Christ – young and old need each other; women need one another; men needs one another; women and men need each other. We too often isolate, but Christ calls us to be one!
Men’s Ministry and Family Ministries – Paul Shirley and Mat Griffin have a marriage class starting soon. The women of this congregation have a retreat planned this weekend. Some of the young women, one of them is one of our newest members, have taken the initiative to organize this. I am pleased to see the spiritual maturity of our women – whether it is on the retreat or in their WINGS classes, or study classes, or other fellowships. They show it in their dedication to spend time with their Lord and Creator and in their fellowship with one another. They are encouraging each other to love and good works. They are preparing for works of service. They are putting Christ’s words into practice.Brothers, when will we have a men’s retreat? (Someone will say, “When you plan it preacher.” Isn’t it great that the women don’t have that excuse!) We have a Men’s class starting in February. No, that won’t fit everyone’s schedule, but we have as many options as we have men who will lead. We can do this, brothers! If we follow the footsteps of Jesus I think he will lead us to a quiet place where we can pray and rest with him.
Connections – In a family the size of West-Ark it is easy to think that someone else is available to do the good works. But that’s not really how a big family works. Have you seen the news on the Duggar family in Springdale. They have 16 kids. How does a family that large manage? They assume that everyone can help somewhere because they know that everyone is needed. In our church family, each one of you is needed somewhere. More than that, God has prepared something for you to do.
Following Jesus is joyous and adventurous. So why is it that some will give up anything to follow Jesus and others find that hard to do. I think it is because those who are unwilling to sacrifice confuse following Jesus with following the rules. No one wants to give up something just to follow the rules. There’s no reward or adventure in that. But following Jesus goes somewhere! There’s a destination and journey worth taking. Following Jesus is a quest that is fulfilling and meaningful. There is a lost verse to the song we sang before this sermon (“Footprints of Jesus”) that expresses this idea:
Then at last, when on high He sees us,
Our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus,
End at His throne.
Posted by Chris on January 22, 2006 under Sermons
Read John 8:31-38
As it was in the first century, the institution of slavery in America created complex domestic relationships. Owners and slaves sometimes inhabited the same house, but the areas inhabited by the slaves were distinctly marked out. Slaves may have been intimately connected with the household and their master’s family, yet as slaves they could never fully assert their autonomy.
A vivid reminder of how slaves and their masters were, as one writer puts it, “intimate strangers,” may be seen at the Cane Ridge Meeting House in Paris, Kentucky.
The Cane Ridge Meeting House is a sort of historic landmark for all of us. It is part of our American heritage. It was built in 1791 and served as the meeting place for Scots-Irish Presbyterians. This was a little church house on the wild western frontier. In 1801, the minister, Barton Stone, organized what came to be known as “The Great Revival.” As many as 20,000 or more gathered at the camp meeting for nine days of worship. Stone and his colleague were so moved by the spirit of unity and the outpouring of the spirit that they began to call for the unity of all Christians. This is one of the deep roots of the Restoration Movement in America – the effort to restore simple New Testament Christianity. Stone and his colleagues wrote the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery in 1804. Thereafter they strove simply to be Christians.
Yet, for a people so filled with the Holy Spirit and so close to God’s Word, there is evidence of a way in which they were still bound to the spirit of their culture rather than the spirit of God. The Cane Ridge Meeting House was built with a “slave gallery.” This is the upper balcony where the “intimate strangers” would gather for worship. How could a people who were striving to be freed by the spirit of God from the boundaries that separated them, regard their brothers and sisters as less free than they were? How could a people who resolved to simply follow the word of God rather than the traditions of men build the institution of slavery into their community? (Especially when such distinctions in worship are discussed in James 2? Think for a moment – who are the slaves in the Cane Ridge Meeting House? Those in the gallery? Or those enslaved to the sin and they don’t even acknowledge it?
Let’s consider this, but let’s resist the temptation to be critical of the Christians at Cane Ridge or the Jews who followed Jesus without some self-examination. Yes, both these groups thought of themselves as free without realizing how they were enslaved to the powers of sin deeply embedded in their culture, customs, and tradition. Yes, they read the Scriptures of God and considered themselves blessed because they had access to the house of God. But their access to the house was limited. They read like slaves rather than children who will inherit the house. But enough said of those groups …
Although I should mention and we ought to commend the Cane Ridge congregation. Some years after the Revival and their pledge to simply be Christians, the slaves’ gallery was removed from the meeting house and taken to a barn in another county where it was used as a hay loft for over a hundred years. The gallery was reinstalled during a renovation project in 1932.
How do we read God’s word? Do we read it as ancient instructions left to us from long ago by an absentee landlord who we’ve never met? How do we live in the household of God? As slaves who remain in the house part of the time but then we return to our different yet separate ways? Do we hear God’s word as the instructions of a demanding master or a serious boss?
When this is the case, we may think ourselves free but we are still enslaved to sin. Slaves and captives often lose the ability to imagine that there can be another way of living. In American slavery there are many stories of slaves who could be legally set free yet they opted to remain slaves because they were unable to imagine any other sort of life. That is the way of slavery. It erodes humanity and hope. That is the case with slavery in the first century, the nineteenth, and the twenty-first. (And yes, the institution of slavery still exists in the world today).
In order to be free, slaves and captives often have to draw from another the ability to re-imagine what it means to live as free indeed … In “Blue Like Jazz,” Donald Miller tells a story he heard: A group of Navy SEALS were performing a covert operation to rescue hostages from a compound where they had been imprisoned for months. They stormed the room and found the hostages. The room was filthy and dark. The hostages gasped in fear when the SEALS broke open the door. They huddled in the corner in fear. Even though the SEALS stood at the open door and called to the hostages to come to them and reassured them that they were Americans, the hostages were too afraid to move. They kept their heads down afraid to look up. The hostages had been so mistreated that they were not sure if they could believe the men at the door.
The SEALS were at a loss as to what they should do. Finally, one of them took off his helmet and put down his weapon. He huddled up in the midst of the hostages. He put his arms around them and did everything he could to act as if he were one of the hostages. (The hostage takers would never had done this). While he was in the midst of them, some of the hostages looked up at him. Their eyes met his eyes. The soldier whispered to them that he and his team were Americans. They were sent to rescue them. “Will you follow us?” he asked. After a moment, the rescuer stood up and one of the hostages stood up with him. Then another until they were all standing and they all followed their rescuers to safety.
Remember what the elder John said at the beginning of his gospel … 1:12 – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” This is why the word became flesh and dwelled among us. He huddled up in our midst and put his arms around us and whispered the truth to us so that we might finally stand on our feet and follow him.
“If you remain in my word, then truly you are my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will free you.”
Do we simply read God word, or do we remain in it? When we go to the word “on occasion” to make sure we are not transgressing a rule that will get us “thrown out of the house” then we are living like slaves, not as children. But when we “remain” in the word, then we are living like children. The Word became Flesh dwells in us and among us and the word is not just something we have heard, but as John says in his first letter – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
Going back to the Gospel of John, Jesus describes it from his perspective like this …
That which I myself see with (by the side of) the Father I speak; but then that which you have heard from the Father you do.
Slaves take orders, but children speak with their Father. Christ is ruling by the Father’s side. Jesus has an inside track with the Father. This is the difference that makes us free indeed. This is the truth that sets us free.
Here at the West-Ark meeting house, we have emblazoned a statement of freedom on our upper gallery. “Making Disciples for Jesus Who are Eager to Serve Others.” Making disciples means being a disciple. So the disciples we are making are also you and me.
“If you remain in my words, then truly you are my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Jesus invites us into the “house” so that we can live as children, not as slaves.
Posted by Chris on January 15, 2006 under Sermons
Last week as I was looking for a lost book in this building I looked through the “lost and found” section of this church. Most of the items in our Lost and Found are books. And most of those books are Bibles. That makes sense. We bring one of our many Bibles, we leave it in the pew, it is picked up and placed in the Lost and Found, and then we always remember that we need to check the Lost and Found when we are halfway home, right?
2 Kings records the story of lost Scripture. In the case, the loss happened for very different reasons – and it was found for different reasons. However, at the beginning of our resolution to read and listen to God’s Word in the next 90 days (or less), I think it is good for us to notice the impact of the loss and rediscovery of God’s Word in the life of his people.
We will pick up the story in 2 Kings 22. But before we read, some background: Josiah became king of Judah when he was eight. His father, King Amon, had been assassinated by some of his own officials. Josiah’s grandfather, King Manasseh, left of legacy that of sin and corruption that eventually led to the nation’s downfall. Josiah assumes the throne of his forefathers with the sense that things must be changed. One of his works to reverse his nations’ future involves destroying shrines to false gods and restoring the Temple of God to purity. In doing so, he learns just how much things need to change … read 2 Kings 22:1-13
What Was Lost?
What Was Found?
- They found their Calling – Josiah hears the Word of God and is convicted that his generation and the generations of his forefathers have not done what they were supposed to. They did not do what God wanted them to do because they had not become what God wanted them to be. Too often we go to the Word of God to learn what we shouldn’t do. “Is there anything against that?” we ask. “Is it prohibited or forbidden?” I don’t know that this is the best way to read and hear the Word of God. The Word of God is fundamentally positive, not negative. It is trying to restore our identity and personality – not limit it. Our calling is not to avoid mistakes. Our calling in Christ Jesus is to live a new life – the life modeled by Christ and given to us through baptism and supported in the spiritual community called church. Like the nation of Israel under Josiah, our calling comes from our covenant with God …
- They found the Covenant – The discovery of the book of the covenant started with a project to restore the Temple. But God’s spirit does not dwell in a building – it dwells in us. What started as a contracted project with carpenters, masons, and builders to restore the Temple became a restoration of the people … (2 Kings 23:1-3) Then the king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the Temple of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and the priests, and the prophets–all the people from the least to the greatest. There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the LORD’s Temple. The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the LORD’s presence. He pledged to obey the LORD by keeping all his commands, regulations, and laws with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant. As we read the New Covenant over the next few months, let’s pledge ourselves to keep the covenant. Like Israel, we will be blessed to do so. They were blessed because …
- They found Ceremony and Celebration – Now that they had God’s instruction, they celebrated the Passover again. They are not merely keeping new rules that they had lost. They have found a heritage and a ceremony that enables them to experience joy and renewal. King Josiah then issued this order to all the people: “You must celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in the Book of the Covenant.” There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. (2 Kings 23) This experience of joy and celebration is shared with young and old. It is to be shared and kept by each generation.
- They found their Children – After Josiah found the law he set about removing the symbols of his nations decline – the ungodly shrines to other powers. Among those was the altar to Molech: Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire as an offering to Molech. Israel had invited this power that destroyed the life of their children into their country. But after hearing the Word of God, that power is sent away. Molech is still worshipped today – (not literally of course) – but many parents offer their children up to powers such as success, beauty, popularity, and family violence. When we influence our children to conform to a power other than God’s spirit, we are sacrificing them at the altar of a false god.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 – Passing on the word of God from one generation to the next. What could be more important? What else is worthy of shaping their Identity? Of shaping our identity?
Posted by Chris on January 8, 2006 under Sermons
Have you ever waited eagerly for a dramatization of a book you read?Maybe there’s talk about a movie or mini-series based on one of yourfavorite stories. (This May all the talk will be about the “DaVinciCode” which will be the dramatization of a best-selling novel. A bookthat claims to reveal the truth about Christ.)
Why are we so eager to see stories dramatized? Perhaps it is becausewe want to see them fleshed-out and made real? We want to experiencethe story with more of our senses. Even listening to a reading of theNew Testament with different voices and sound effects “rounds out” theexperience somewhat.
Drama is the embodiment of story. Since we are embodied creatures, wehave a desire to experience story and truth in more than just words.God knows that. That is why the Word became Flesh and dwelled amongus. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and theword was God. But the word did not remain disembodied or far away anduntouchable. The word became a man and lived among us. He attendedweddings and contributed to the celebration by helping out when therewas a need. He stayed up late and grew tired teaching those whowanted to know the truth. He walked great distances and even venturedacross the “wrong side of the tracks” to meet people where they livedand worked. And he got thirsty. But he spoke to people and they notonly heard the word – they saw the word and touched the word.
The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. And he became hungry. Heknew that the people starving for truth were also physically hungryand he bothered to provide them with food. He knew what it felt liketo be threatened and misunderstood, but he showed us what it meant tobe brave and resolved to stand up for the truth. The Word becameflesh and had hands – hands that wrote in the dirt when an angry mobbrought a sinful woman to him to be killed brutally. He must havefelt the tension when he risked his own safety for the sake ofeveryone. They heard the truth when he said, “Whoever is without sinlet him cast the first stone.” But you know, some fool very wellcould have lobbed a rock at him. The Word became flesh and livedamong us – and like us he knew pain.
Jesus did not just deliver a message. He was the message. He did notsimply speak truth. He was truth. He did the truth. On the nightthat he is betrayed, when he celebrates the Passover (an embodiedworship celebrated by God’s people for centuries), Jesus does thetruth. He serves. He shows the disciples what it means to be great.He shows them what it means to lead. He shows them what it means todo the truth. And he asks them, “Do you understand what I have done?” In other words, “Do you get it?”
Jesus goes on to teach his disciples many things. And thanks to thewitness of the apostles we have this teaching in the form ofScripture — God’s Word. What are we to do with that word? If weunderstand it, then what? In his teaching on the night of thePassover and betrayal, Jesus says, “If you love me, then keep mycommandments.” Notice that he doesn’t simply say “agree to mycommandments” or “defend my commandments” or “study my commandments.”He says “keep them.” He is calling us to embody the commandments. Hewants us to “dramatize” them – but not as if we are pretending or donot mean it. We “act them out” because we are acting on them. TheWord became flesh and dwelled among us. And so we as fleshlycreatures need to dwell in the Word.
To keep the commandments, we must know them. To do them, we mustdwell in them. This is why we need to become familiar with theteaching of our Lord and the Bible. This is why we need to read itand hear it every day – privately, with others, and let it become ourlanguage. Jesus gave us an example – to do the truth. To embody thetruth.
Baptism is an embodied act of faith. We don’t simply love God withour mind, or heart – but with our whole self. If you have beenbaptized, then your life has been submerged into the life of the Wordmade Flesh. He also was baptized to please the Father. If you havebeen baptized then you are made new to live out that Christ-life. Asthe apostle Paul says it, “I have been crucified with Christ, but Istill live. But it is not I that lives, but now Christ lives in me.”The Word is still flesh living among us.
If you haven’t been baptized you can be. God welcomes all who believeand repent and want to live an abundant life in Christ.
Posted by Chris on January 1, 2006 under Sermons
Our lives are full of questions. As we move through the years we find ourselves confronted with questions great and small. But no matter the importance of these questions they shape our lives:
“Is she the one for me?” “Will this be on the test?” “What sort of career should I go into?” “Where will I get the money to pay the bills?” “What neighborhood should we live move to?” “Should we go to the doctor?” “Who are you going with?” “Adjustable or fixed rate?” “Where will we go to church?” “What if it is cancer?” “How should I vote this time?” “Am I getting enough exercise?” “Did I take my medicine this morning?” “What if they find out?” “Will God forgive me?”
Most of the questions we ask seek truth. We want to know. [Yesterday – CNN featured The Amazing Kreskin. Why is a mentalist interesting to us? Because he lets us know answers to our questions.] We can respond to the questions we ask with particular truths, but even if we could know everything or be in a position to always make the right decision, we would still ache and hunger for the truth.
That’s because knowing particular truths is not the same as knowing THE truth. Particular truths are simple facts, or gossip, they may even be personal admissions or beliefs or statements about faith.
The speed of light is 186,281 miles per second. Green tea aids in digestion. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are dating. The resale in that neighborhood is very low. Admitting to being an alcoholic. If I give all I possess to the poor, but I do not have love, I gain nothing.
Knowing these may be important but they never satisfy. We can drink water to satisfy our thirst, but we will get thirsty again. The Truth is different. This is the truth that Pilate is asking about. “What is THE truth?”
Pontius Pilate’s life was full of questions. “How could he rise in the ranks and win favor with the emperor?” “Was his wife crazy or were her dreams really divine revelation?” Pilate was a military man, a government man. He very likely confronted questions with discipline and creativity. “Should he release Jesus or Barabbas?” Jesus is the innocent one, but Barabbas is the popular choice. Pilate answers his question my removing himself from the choice. He washes his hands of the responsibility.
Confronting the questions of life as he did, Pilate gained a position of authority. He was the representative of the Roman Emperor in Judea. Which raised a question that may have been on Pilate’s mind: “Was this an honor or a punishment?” Everyday he was confronted with questions from others. He is asked to make a decision on behalf of the government. “How should these criminals be punished?” “How do we respond to the lack of funds to support works projects in Jerusalem?” “The Jews do not want the official symbol of the Emperor near their temple.” “What is to be done about the Galilean rebels who worship in open defiance to the Emperor?”
When the bruised and bleeding man from the hill country up north is brought in chains before the authorities, Pilate, whose life is just as full of questions as any of our lives, does what he had done so many times before. Dealing with a bandit who claimed to the new Jewish liberator was getting to be routine. (And there’s something comforting about routine. It can serve as the truth we create in the midst of our nagging questions.)
It really doesn’t seem possible that this beaten up carpenter with the thick accent could be a king. That just doesn’t seem like it could be true. Nevertheless, Pilate starts there because that is the basis of the legal charge – treason against the rule of the Roman Emperor. He was weary of the doublespeak of the Jewish leaders who avoided his direct questions (“If he weren’t a criminal we wouldn’t have brought him to you.”) So he gets to the facts with Jesus – “Are you King of the Jews?”
Jesus has a question of his own. He wants to know why Pilate is asking this. Pilate however is into his routine. He is not a Jew and he has no interest in their internal politics. He just wants to know of Jesus, “What is it that you have done?”
Perhaps Pilate expects a simple plea of guilty or not guilty. That would simplify things. He has a full schedule today and he has no time to waste on this schoolyard fight. So when Jesus tells him that his kingdom is from another place, Pilate is still trying to cinch up the whole deal. “You are a king then!” says Pilate. That’s good enough for him. Claiming to be the king is enough to convict.
Pilate doesn’t expect the reply of Jesus: “You say I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Don’t we all want to be on the side of truth? In our lives full of questions don’t we all want to know THE truth. Pilate expects a humbled prisoner to beg for mercy or spit at him in angry defiance. Something that he can use to discern the truth and answer the question “What do I do with him?” But instead he encounters a man who had purpose and mission. A man who can reveal the truth. Not a mentalist or soothsayer who can reveal particular truths that are hidden, but a man who testifies to THE truth with his words and deeds.
Pilate has no answer. Just another question! But it may be the most honest question he has ever asked – “What is truth?”
Why doesn’t Jesus answer that question? Why doesn’t he extend the invitation or tell Pilate THE truth? Why is Jesus silent?” Why? Because the truth that Jesus bears witness to isn’t a proposition or a proverb or a plan. It isn’t a particular truth that is easily converted to a slogan. Jesus does answer Pilate’s question, but it cannot be answered with a word spoken. It can only be answered with a Word made flesh.
Back when the slogan “Jesus is the answer” was popular (before WWJD [“What Would Jesus Do”]) it became even more popular to ridicule this Christian slogan by saying “If Jesus is the answer, what was the question.” Maybe people stopped using that slogan because of the ridicule. Pilate has the question. You and I have the question. “What is Truth?” Jesus is the answer. He is the Word made Flesh.
In our lives full of questions, do you know the truth? As another old saying goes, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” The gospel invitation is not to know a secret, but to know God. To know Jesus and listen to his voice – then you will find yourself on the side of the truth.
Posted by Chris on December 25, 2005 under Sermons
In Central America, setting up the Nativity is the center piece of the Christmas holiday. Households collect figures of Joseph, Mary, Jesus, shepherds, wise men, angels, and assorted animals. There is even a sort of competition when it comes to putting up a display.
Our brother Oscar Nolasco, minister for the Iglesia de Cristo on Johnson Street, told me about a time his family in Honduras was setting up their Nativity. He and his brothers were teenagers and his mother sent his brother to find animals to put in the display. His brother traveled to a shop 30 minutes from their home to find just the right figures. He gave his mother the first animal, a chicken. Then the second, another chicken. But the third was also a chicken. In fact all the animals for the nativity were chickens. “Why did you get nothing but chickens?” his mother asked. “That’s all they had,” Oscar’s brother replied. So that year, the nativity looked like it took place in a chicken coop rather than a stable.
The Nolasco nativity was not really any better or worse than any other nativity. There’s a lot about the traditional nativity presentation of the birth of Jesus that just doesn’t jibe with the biblical stories in Matthew and Luke. We can get distracted over too many details – such as how many chickens were there – and miss the significance of birth. Matthew and Luke are the only gospels that mention how the birth of Jesus took place. Each gospel focuses on a different set of details. But they agree on the significance of the birth. In John’s gospel, the apostle balances the nativity scene. He wants us to know that no birth story or postcard image can contain the whole story of Christ’s beginnings. The story of Christ’s birth is more than a sentimental memory. It is not even aimed at establishing a celebration. The birth is a gospel proclamation in the sense that it proclaims something good and something new.
Without getting into the details of the event, John understands the significance of the birth of Jesus and this is how he begins his gospel … (Read John 1:1-14)
John takes us where no gospel has gone before. We do not start with Mary or Joseph. We begin with creation. “In the beginning was the Word.” Remember the story in Genesis 1. God creates the world and all that is in it with spoken words. God says “Let there be light.” And it is so.
Unlike creation myths that tell us that what we see in creation is an accident, Genesis asserts that God made the world intentionally. God spoke and there was light. God spoke and there was life. This is the Word that was with God and was God. Because of God’s word there is a good creation. What was once empty and dark is now good – it is full of light and life.
This alone is good, but now something new has happened with the birth of Jesus. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” This is the concept of incarnation. And in a culture that is more familiar with “reincarnation” we would do well to understand again how the incarnation of God is good news.
Among the Christmas cards we received this week was one from Brad and Yvonne and their children. The saying on the front of the card says, “The Word did not become a philosophy, a theory, or a concept to be discussed, debated, or pondered. But the Word became a person to be followed, enjoyed, and loved.”
Very simply stated, this is the meaning of incarnation. The Word becomes flesh bone just like you and me so that we can get to know each other. Creation and creator are brought together in covenant. The glory of God is not far off. God is not unapproachable. He approached us.
This is news because God has become like us. There are any number of stories and examples of humans who claim to become gods. The emperors of Japan, the pharaohs of Egypt, and the Roman Caesars claimed to be divine. (In fact one of them, Vespasian, wasn’t much of a believer in the claim. On his death bed joked that he was becoming a god). What is news is that God would become a human. That seems to cut against the grain. This is what inspired what may be one of the earliest hymns of the church found in Philippians 2 … 5Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.
Why is this good news? God knows what it is like to live like us. He knows what it is like to be poor and hungry. He knows what it is like to be betrayed by friends and family. He knows what it is like to grieve the loss of a loved one. He knows what it is like to be afraid and to feel pain.
And think about the ministry of the Word made flesh. His first miracle was to bring joy to a wedding party. There was no crime as detestable as being a traitor or an adulterer in Judah, but when the Word made flesh dwelt among us and extended forgiveness he didn’t simply say “I forgive you.” He ate a meal with them. He didn’t stand behind a line or put on a surgical mask and gloves to heal lepers. He embraced them. When the crowd starving for truth got hungry he didn’t leave them on their own but he provided food.
This week we received a call from a brother who has moved back to this area. He is in the hospital with a staph infection worsened by diabetes. He has been in the hospital for quite some time. He simply called asking to study the Word. We talked on the phone for a while and it became clear that what he wanted was not only a study, but a visit. He could pick up a book and study. He could watch a preacher on TV and “study.” But visits from people who come to the hospital bringing their presence and prayers are something more than study.
And I don’t have to explain that to you, do I? Maybe because we are flesh and blood creatures we understand that there is something important about “being present.” So does God. That’s why, as Petersen says in the Message translation, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”
Posted by Chris on December 18, 2005 under Sermons
CALL TO WORSHIP
Today is not typical. We are a hurting family today. I want to say that, because I want to affirm that this congregation is not a congregation that dismisses suffering. We do not ask anyone to leave their cares and worries outside the worship – as if that is even possible. We are a congregation that wants to hold out hope in the midst of suffering and light in the midst of darkness.
And if you are visiting with us, do not think you have chosen the wrong day to visit. Not at all. In fact, we welcome you to share in our hope and if you have experienced pain, worry, or sin then you are in a safe place. We welcome you to bring this, like all of us, before God in worship.
George Thompson (1930-2005) |
Praise and suffering do not typically go together in our experience. They just do not seem to reconcile. I want to state very plainly that this is not true. Throughout the stories of the Bible, God’s people praise Him from the depths of despair. They cry out to Him in the context of worship. Even on the cross Jesus utters the words of Psalm 22 – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” And no one ever says that this isn’t appropriate.
My minister taught me that hope and praise can exist even in the midst of much suffering. And today I am sad because I will not be able to visit with my minister anymore. Since I have been in Fort Smith one of my ministers has been George Thompson, and he passed away this weekend. I have enjoyed conversations with George, shared interests with him, my mother attended the church where he preached (though I didn’t know this until recently), I have prayed for George and prayed with him. And in the last few days when he suffered much he was still praising God. I know he had days of frustration and he even told me that he agonized and wept at times. But my minister George Thompson taught me that I could worship, give thanks, or just call on God even when I am suffering.
So, it is okay today to lift our voices – and it is also okay to let the tears fall.
HONESTY AND HOPE
I have just finished teaching Philosophy at University of Arkansas Fort Smith. During the course of the semester we talked about God. With the help of Anselm of Canterbury we discussed the ontological argument for the existence of God – “That than which nothing greater exists does exist in our mind; but real existence is a perfection; therefore God must exist.” With the help of Thomas Aquinas we discussed five ways that show that the existence of God is necessary to explain our world – “God is the first cause, the prime mover, the necessary being, the greatest good, and the designer of purpose.”
But then we discussed the problem of evil. In the calculus of philosophy the problem goes something like this: “If there is a God then why is there evil in the world?” The logical responses would state that either God is willing to overcome all evil, pain, and suffering but is somehow unable. Or that God is able to overcome all evil, pain, and suffering but is for some reason unwilling. And there’s a third option which is to say that there is no problem if there is no God.
That’s philosophy. And though we find some help in proving God exists from Anselm and Aquinas, there are not many in the Western tradition of philosophy to help with the problem of evil.
I looked back over the sermons I preached this year and I realize that it hasn’t been the easiest of all the years I remember. The first sermon I preached in 2005 remarked on the Tsunami that devastated Asia. That seemed like a world away but now after Katrina, Rita, and Wilma we feel very close to the devastation. Our world, our nation, is hurting. Then there are the ways that each of you and every family here have in some way been touched by pain, loss, or worry. Even if you are simply grieving with a friend, you feel the hurt also.
At times like this philosophy fails us. God is not a logical argument. His presence and purpose is more than an ontological or cosmological argument. And though I appreciate philosophy I also know its limits.
I also know that if our religion and faith is nothing more than rules, explanations, and “answers” then that too will fail us at times like this. For when we are worried about the future or grieving about the past; when we are concerned for our loved ones or mired in our own pain there are no “rules” or “answers” that seem to apply. Answers without emotion and intellect without intimacy are no better than labels slapped onto specimen bottles (Peterson). In times this, we know that God is not a doctrine that we have all figured out. No, he is mysterious and supreme.
The road of pain, suffering, and spiritual frustration may seem uncharted or off-limits for Christians. That’s understandable in a culture in which the best-sellers in Christian bookstores offer help on how to be successful, how to gain blessings, how to be happy. Those road maps don’t describe the territory of life when it seems like we are in a pit, or wandering alone, or stuck in the wilderness. A map is no good when you cannot even find yourself on it. (And if you have ever tried to read some of these Christian or non-Christian self-help books and haven’t had much luck don’t instantly assume that the problem is you – as I said, a map isn’t much good if you cannot find yourself on it.)
In the bargain box of a bookstore of faith are some stories where we might find ourselves. There are Psalms that speak of an intimate relationship with God – but like any relationship there are also quarrels. And so the Psalms say “Come let us sing for joy to the Lord!” But they also say “My God, My God why did you forsake me?” The Psalms proclaim boldly that God is our salvation but they also ask “where were you Lord?”
Psalms are not an attempt to fix the hurt. They are the perfect honesty of God’s people who are experiencing grief, fear, doubt. They are a proclamation that those who hurt are not alone. We have seen how each psalmist pours out his heart in anguish and despair. He doesn’t express it simply for one verse or two verses or three verses, he goes on and on and on with his grief. The Psalms are perfectly honest before God.
In Psalm 77, the perfect honesty of the hurting soul gets right to the core of matter – Has God turned against me? Read Psalm 77:1-10God is supposed to be watching over us with his strong right hand of power. He is the Most High – the ultimate power. But it seems like all that has changed. That’s not right. It seems disrespectful, we ought to know our place – but the question is “Is God in his place?”
Strangely, false humility cannot do what perfect honesty does: the honest admission – the anger and disappointment with God opens a door to a new hope. It is as if there is a breakthrough in the relationship.
It begins with memory of what the Lord has done. (Read Psalm 77:11-20.)
As we think of our past, our personal history and our Christian history. We see the Lord’s faithfulness. I know that there must have been services like this in the early church. Maybe even more than what we are used to! For the first 200 or 300 years of the church’s life there must have been times when a congregation gathered weekly and they noticed that some of their brothers and sisters were not there. As the little flock gathered they spoke of what they had heard – “They were taken by the authorities” “He was forced to worship the emperor.” “Her master disowned her and she was killed publicly.” “It was too much for him. He just doesn’t want to commune with us.” “She lied. She turned her back on Christ.”
I am sure that when our brothers and sisters gathered they remembered the past. They were encouraged by the faith of those who went before them and the faithfulness of God who sent his son. They took courage from the gospel and were convinced that Christ shared in their sufferings and they share in his.
Yet they also had hope. They were not only faithful to the past but also to the future. Read Revelation 22 (Note when Jesus speaks – end the service here!)
Job
Where we find Job, read Job 1 – not the person we would expect to suffer.
Why Job questions/His friends and their worthless counsel
What God says – Job 40
How Job responds – Job 42
How dare I try to give you all the answers to life’s questions in 30 minutes or less. I have learned that God’s ways are too wonderful for us to reduce to nicely packaged words. We try so hard to fit God into our lives; maybe it is time we tried to fit ourselves into God’s life.
Posted by Chris on December 11, 2005 under Sermons
Wouldn’t we all like to have more self-control? As the holidays approach and we will be tempted by various and sundry high calorie foods wouldn’t we all like to have more self-control? Well then, just wait until after Christmas and there will be a plethora of vendors ready to equip you with the tools to make 2006 the most self-controlled year of your life. Devices, books, and diets to help you eat less and exercise more. Plans, programs, and patches to help you quit smoking. Consultants, counselors, and connections to help you spend less and save more. Whatever area of your life needs more control, there is someone somewhere ready to show you the path to self-control. Wait and you will see as many paths to self-control as you could imagine. How then is self-control a fruit of the spirit? How is it different from the self-control we are being offered from so many?
The eight virtues we have discussed so far have all been connected somehow to the character of God. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. God demonstrates all of these. But does God demonstrate self-control? Self-control is a virtue that humans who too often give into their lesser nature have to achieve. God doesn’t have a problem with the works of the flesh. He does not struggle with lesser desires. So it isn’t logical to think that God demonstrates self-control. How then is self-control a fruit of the spirit? Maybe the question we really need to ask is: What is self-control? What do we mean when we discuss self-control?
The Greek philosophers regarded self-discipline and self-control as the highest virtue. It was the top rung of the ladder in terms of moral development. The morally superior person was the one who had achieved mastery over one’s desires, faults, and lusts. It is a high standard, but seems a little impossible. Hundreds of years before the New Testament, Plato recognized that there was a certain absurdity about self-control. He asked, “Isn’t the phrase ?self-mastery’ absurd? I mean anyone who is his own master is also his own slave, and vice versa, since it is the same person who is the subject.” (Republic 430-431).
Plato raises an important question: “Who is the self that is in control?” The New Testament answers this in a way that the Greek philosophers could not. Because of the gospel, the New Testament writers can speak about a “new” self that comes about through life in Christ (life on the vine we might say).
Galatians 2:19-20 – For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Three dimensions of self-control: The new self in Christ advances the definition of self-control beyond our typical definition. Like the Greek philosophers we still have a one-dimensional view of what self-control involves.1-D = Control of the self, by the self, for the sake of the self (This is directed entirely on the self; but the fruit of the spirit are directed toward others)2-D = Control of the self, by the self, for the sake of others (Now there is some thought to how self-control benefits others, but the responsibility and power for control remains in the individual)3-D = Control of the new self, by the spirit for the sake of the gospel. (A third dimension is added when we consider that the spirit of God is involved to create a new self guided by the Holy Spirit. And we live out this new life to fulfill the gospel of Christ – which is for the sake of ourselves and the world).
This three-dimensional self-control is consistent with keeping in step with the spirit. But the one-dimensional definition of self-control that keeps the self on center stage is what creates the obstacles to cultivating self-control …
Obstacles
Our Culture of Excess, Extreme, and Addiction: Perhaps because the typical definition of self-control is consumed with self we find that our culture does not celebrate and encourage self-discipline as much as it does indulgence. Indulgence is much easier. We see this in the ways our culture promotes excess. My friend Jeff Christian says that, “Excess has become a sport, a competition where the playing fields are our homes, our schools, our cars, and our grocery carts.”
This encouragement is visible in the way that everything is now described as “extreme.” There are extreme sports, extreme music, extreme soft drinks. Labeling something extreme seems to magnify the experience. Now there is even extreme ironing. People skydive, scuba, or mountain climb with an iron and ironing board and iron their shirts. Everything is going extreme.
Since even the humblest activities and substances can be extreme and excessive we are widening the scope and acceptance of addictions. Addiction was once reserved for drugs and alcohol. And it has probably been a wise thing to recognize that there are other addictions. But there is a trend to accept – and maybe even enjoy – certain acceptable addictions. Think of how many words have been coined that add the suffix “-aholic” or junkie. We understand and even accept that someone is a workaholic, a shop-aholic, a chocoholic, a coffee-holic, or a sports junkie, exercise junkie, news junkie, TV junkie, and Internet junkie, a phone junkie. Just think for a moment – what are we saying about the way we live our lives? What are we saying we depend on to cope or to enjoy life? What about temperance and reliance on God’s spirit. Why are we willing to become slaves to something other than God?
“Moderation in All Things:” Of course we can take the notion of temperance and moderation and apply it too broadly. At the same time our culture encourages indulgence, it also recognizes an opportunity for providing resources for moderation. (The alcohol companies urge us to drink responsibly. Philip Morris claims they are raising kids that don’t smoke. McDonalds gives us Smart Healthy Choices after getting criticized for SuperSizing portions that were already massive.)The motto “Moderation in all things” becomes an excuse for us to indulge but just a little less. I am afraid that in our culture we have applied this maxim so that it becomes “Excess Light.” But there’s no point in opting for the low-cal, light version of some things. Do we really want to take faithfulness in moderation? Are we truly interesting in sinning just a little bit? This is the principle behind certain sexual ethics that claim that immorality is okay as long as we do not go too far with it. In other words – if we take it in moderation. [So, a wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl raises the ire of the FCC, but an hour of Victoria’s Secret models passes because the right sections of the anatomy are covered.] Being moderate is simply backing away from excess, but it doesn’t mean that we have learned self-control. So how do we?
Ways of Cultivating Self-Control
The first step in cultivating self-control is to realize that we cannot do it. Hopeless? No, it is just that our attempts to achieve self-mastery empower the self that is the problem. We are better off is we focus on the other eight virtues of the fruit of the spirit. Cultivating these will lead to self-control which is a sort of by-product of a life that strives to be loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, and gentle.
Of course one thing we can do – all of us together – to help this final virtue bloom among the others is to regard our whole bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 6). By whole body I mean spirit, body, and mind.
Conclusion – Life on the Vine
Posted by Chris on December 4, 2005 under Sermons
Is God Gentle? This is a fair question if we consider how the fruit of the Spirit reflect the nature of God. The term “gentleness” may also be translated as humility, meekness, or lowliness. We do not tend to think of God as humble, meek, or lowly. In fact, the ones who are humble, meek, and lowly depend on the power, might, and authority of Almighty God. God cannot be humble, meek, or lowly like we are because he has promised to be the advocate and defender of those who seek refuge in the Lord. If God is gentle, then how can he be their champion?
The opposite of gentleness is pride, power, and authority. Those who have power and authority often become boastful, prideful, and arrogant. They rely on their own abilities to secure their future. But these are the ones that God opposes because they often oppress those who rely on God to secure their future. How can God be gentle then if he is going to bring down the arrogant and lift up the humble?
The simple answer is that God is humble and he doesn’t change the world through brute force, firepower or coercion. God’s reign, his kingdom is emerging and breaking into this world and it is turning everything over. Everything is reversed in this “upside-down” kingdom.
The Upside-Down Kingdom: Think of how God changes the world. He doesn’t begin with the youthful, strong, powerful and influential. He calls elderly Abraham and his barren wife Sarah. He works with conniving Jacob who swindles his brother. He exalts Joseph, the youngest, weakest, and despised in his family.But what about Saul? What about David? What about Solomon? They are mighty kings. Yes, but read 1 Samuel. How does the story begin? With barren Hannah, Samuel’s mother. His second wife. God builds the upside-down kingdom through her heartfelt prayer.
This is what Mary understands when she bursts into praise following the visitation of the angel (Read Luke 1:46-55.)
Is God gentle? In the upside-down kingdom we go looking for a newborn king born of royal blood but find a baby born to a peasant girl of little importance whose husband is forced to pay taxes. The baby is wrapped in cloths, lying in a feed trough, and admired not by aristocracy, but by unwashed shepherds.
When Jesus’ ministry begin we expect that wild firebrand John the Baptist to bow down and give him allegiance, but Jesus submits to baptism. We wait for Jesus to humble the arrogant leaders of Israel and to overpower the brutal Roman invaders. We stand with the Sons of Thunder when they come to Jesus ready to call down fire on the shameful Samaritans who offended Jesus’ honor by rejecting him. But what does Jesus do? He rebukes us. When we chastise him for being too honest and taking up valuable time blessing kids and babies he rebukes us!
Just when Jesus could have led an army into the holy city, he rides in on a donkey. Just when Jesus could have exerted his authority – at the last supper – and invited loyal men to bleed and die for him in battle, when he could have called out the traitor and made an example of him, Jesus washes their feet (even Judas’) like a common servant.When he could have convinced Pilate to side with him, he remains silent. When he could have crushed the oppressors once and forever he allows himself to be crushed. When we look for the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, we find the Lamb that was slain.
God in Jesus Christ is gentle. This is the way of the “upside-down” kingdom. (Read Philippians 2:5-11.) What we call weakness, God makes strong. What we call failure, God changes to victory. Gentleness thrives in the Upside-Down Kingdom because the gentle experience the good news of relying on God for hope and a future – a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Why is it difficult to cultivate gentleness? Gentleness does not thrive in the kingdoms of this world. There are too many aggressive plants and pests that choke out the growth of the fruit of the Spirit that is gentleness.
Our culture encourages aggression, ambition, and survival. The dominant culture of our age exalts strength and power. Our heroes have always been cowboys – even the ones that are gun-wielding cyborgs or razor-clawed super-heroes. Toby Keith sings that the American way has something to do with a boot. This is not new: one of our nations earliest flags was an image of a rattlesnake with the words “Don’t Tread On Me” written beneath.
We breathe in the air of this culture. For all the Christians that oppose Evolution I am amazed at how many still accept Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest.” Not in biological terms, but in social terms. We accept that this is a “dog eat dog” society and “the early bird gets the worm” and we accept that we need to have a competitive edge and get the advantage. We overlook poverty and oppression by claiming that everyone has equal opportunity. But that’s not Jesus; that’s Darwin.
We may even resort to ridicule and verbal attack to overcome those we perceive as threats. And even in subtle ways we may use sarcasm and gossip to undermine those we do not trust. We may even hold out violence as an option. And we may justify it by calling it self-protection. This is not gentleness. This isn’t the “upside-down” kingdom. But, like me, you find the alternative to self-protection unsettling because it seems like weakness and that is difficult because …
Our culture disdains weakness. Jesus said that if anyone strikes you on the right side of your face, let him hit you on the left side too. If someone sues you and takes your coat, give her your sweater too. If they force you to carry a load one mile, give them two. I so want this teaching to be exaggeration. I try to find ways to say “Well Jesus didn’t mean . . .” Yet, given what I see in the “upside-down” kingdom, I think Jesus did mean what he said. What I have come to realize is that this is a hard saying for people who consider power, influence, and ambition as virtues. Weakness and humility are virtues for wimps in our culture. I don’t want to be a wimp. But if we are all honest we are weak in some way if not many ways. And gentleness is not wimpy-ness in the upside-down kingdom . . . “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are.” (1 Corinthians 1:28-29).
Ways to Cultivate Gentleness. God chose us. He called us to live in ways that show the world what God intends for all of us. It may seem like foolishness, but God’s foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of this age. God’s foolishness in the cross is the power of God to save the world. So let us be resolved to cultivate gentleness not only in our personal character, but in our life together and so become a light to the nations.
The fruit of the Spirit are manifestations of love. It is the same with gentleness. Gentleness is not a character flaw, rather it is a quality of love being actively directed toward others. Think of God in all of his infinite power yet he cares for the little birds that are so humble and common. Think of Jesus who stood resolved before the mob that wanted to stone the adulterous woman, and how he graciously forgave her yet seriously urged her to sin no more. Jesus had no concern for himself but only for the woman and the misled mob. As you will see in these ways of cultivating gentleness, they are directed outward in love toward others and they call on us to be gentle.
Let’s Learn to yield graciously. Have you ever won a fight with someone who won’t fight back? How can you? As Christians we are going to have conflicts with others and even with one another. Having a conflict is neither bad nor good, but how we handle them can be. Our culture motivates us to win the conflict and be competitive. Now gentleness is not the same thing as letting everyone else “win.” In fact, gentleness doesn’t even consider “winning and losing” in the equation. Rather gentleness leaves all things to God. In the “upside-down” kingdom, we have the strength to be wrong and the privilege of deferring to others.
Life in the “upside-down” kingdom also calls on us to Reverse our notions of power and control. It is ingrained in us to go to the authorities in order to get our way. If we cannot be in power then we want people who listen to us to be in power. Even in church life we create hierarchies of power and control. But elders, deacons, and ministers are not “in charge” in the church – not the way the world understands “in charge.” The church is a monarchy – there is a living king who rules. He share his power with all of us and those who are “in charge” are those who have a charge to keep. They are servants. The greatest in the upside-down kingdom is the least. The weak and the ill, the needy and the poor are those who are most exalted and served in the “upside down” kingdom. When Jesus washed the feet of his disciples he asked them, “Do you understand what I am doing?” In the upside down kingdom we do not “lord it over” one another – we serve one another.
Finally, the best way to cultivate gentleness is to humble ourselves before God. Let us Bend our knees, bow our heads and pray. Let us pray for our enemies. Jesus called us to do this not just for their sake, but for our sake. We may pray for our enemies for their whole lives and they don’t change at all – in fact they get worse. But think of how this discipline of gentleness transforms us!
And let us pray for ourselves – and when we do let’s remember our place before God. Read Luke 18:9-14.
Be gentle and let God lift you up! All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted. That’s the way it is in the upside-down kingdom!