On Watch

Posted by Chris on September 4, 2005 under Sermons

A disaster of biblical proportions. The destruction of a city.

Fires breaking out. Destruction of property. Violence on the rise. People making a shelter out of what was once a symbolic building for the city. What started as their safe haven now becoming a place of death. Others flee the destruction only to be lost on the way. It sounds like New Orleans, but it is Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

A war began in Jerusalem in the year 66. Eliezar Ben-Hanaiah, led an assault on the Jewish garrison in Jerusalem. He suspended worship in the Temple. Other resistance movement began in the Northern regions led by other Jewish generals. Many of these claimed to be the Messiah. Civil war broke out among the Jews. Some joined the Zealots and the resistance. And those who did not were executed as traitors – included Jewish followers of Christ who refused to fight. Titus Flavius led the final assault and siege of Jerusalem. Zealots under Eleazar ben-Simon held the Temple, Sicarii led by Simon ben-Giora held the upper city. By the summer of 70 the Romans had breached the walls of Jerusalem, ransacking and burning nearly the entire city.

Forty years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus warned his disciples that it would happen. Mark writes down the words of Jesus in the late 60’s less than five years before the destruction – during the events of the Jewish War with Rome. It was a time of high anxiety and fear.

That generation of Christians needed to hear the definitive word of Jesus about the end of days and God’s will. So do we.

Watch Out!
Jesus’ warning is not meant to give Christians or Jews a secret “script” for future events. In fact it is quite the opposite. Jesus is warning his disciples – in the 30’s, the 60’s, and on into the 21st century not to get distracted by speculations about the end of days.

Jesus indicates that there will be three kinds of events that are what he calls “birth pangs:”

1. People will claim to come in the name of Christ. In the Jewish War, there were leaders who claimed to be the Messiah. There are many in our generation who claim that the Tsunami, the Hurricane, and events like 9/11 and the Gulf War are part of God’s countdown to the end of time. I reject this. Scripture shows that God always informs his people before he acts in a cataclysmic way. He informed Abraham before the destruction of Sodom, he informed Noah before the flood. God informed Jonah before his intended instruction of Ninevah. The purpose of informing his people is so they may warn the world. God has given the definitive word of his involvement in human history. He has revealed it in Jesus Christ. So there’s no reason for any of us to assume that we somehow have to unlock the “bible code” or “DaVinci Code” in order to learn the secrets of the end.
2. Wars and rumors of wars. Every conflict seems to carry the seeds of civilization’s annihilation.
3. Natural disasters. There was a massive earthquake in Pompeii in 62. God tends to get the credit for the disasters.

None of these are signs of the end. Jesus’ warning is not to watch out for these things and predict them. Rather his warning is not to be distracted from their mission by such reports. (13:23 – I have given you a warning so you won’t be surprised, so don’t think I want you busy trying to foretell the future. These things will happen, but WHEN they happen isn’t important. That is on a need-to-know basis. When certain details of information are on a need to know basis and you don’t know, what does that tell you? It tells you that you do not need to know!

“Above all else, the gospel must be preached.”
To say that these are not reliable signs to predict the end of the age does not mean that there will not be difficult days ahead. Quite the opposite – we will face difficult days: Families will turn against one another. Situations will be so desperate that people will be at each other’s throats. Christians will be persecuted and taken before authorities for believing. (Christians in America often ask, “When is this going to happen?” It is already happening – and has already happened around the world. Jesus’s teaching isn’t validated only when it takes place in the USA). Jesus says to all of us – “Watch Out! These things will happen. But endure through it. Stick to your mission and make it your priority to announce the gospel. (Not to the exclusion of good works, rather as the purpose for good works).

Disasters of Biblical Proportions
Jesus admits that there will be some disasters of biblical proportions. There will be some Category 5 abominations of desolation. Sometimes you will have to run for the hills. Whether the wave of destruction is a Roman army or a force named Katrina, there is nothing to do but run. But some cannot run. These will be particularly difficult times – especially for the weak, the poor, those who cannot simply pack and leave. It will be so sad for pregnant mothers and their newborn children.

These will be moments when it seems that the world is ending. Worlds do end. The people who fled Jerusalem watched the world they knew come to an end. They lost the house of God. For many people fleeing the Gulf Coast, the world they knew has come to an end. When planes fell out of the sky four years ago, the world we knew ended.

It is during these times that we need to know this:

1. God has already intervened. God is cutting the days short. That is, he is restraining the full effects of the corruption on earth. (This isn’t rapture).
2. The Word of God will endure. He keeps his promises and he is faithful even if it seems our world is falling apart. God created the world with words, and he doesn’t have to have the resources of this world to deliver on his promises. All he needs is his enduring word.
3. The Son of Man will come back. No power on earth can delay that. And every day, both good and bad, is one day closer to his return. When the Son of Man comes our watch is over. That is the last world changing event. But until then – keep watch.

What we do not need to know is the exact date, time and place, of the return. There seems to be a real hang-up in the history of the world and even the church of being fixated on prediction. Why get obsessed over knowing something that Jesus says even he doesn’t know. If anyone does figure it out I would say the first thing to do is get in touch with Jesus and clue him in. And then perhaps you will let him clue you in! Well he has clued us in. And he has told us what to do. He tells us to watch – watch out for rumor, false info, and hysterical anxiety. And then also to watch – as in keep our watch.

Even as we witness the destruction of a city, we see the creation of a city on the outskirts of our own. Fort Chaffee has received over 9,000 evacuees. We need to do our duty and serve them in the name of Christ. Let’s be on watch. There is much frustration in our nation right now because people do not know what they need to know. We can get frustrated thinking we need to know more but in truth we know all we need to know. We know our mission. Our mission remains the same …

We are needed – to be the church, to be Christians, to share the good news.
We are needed – to do whatever we do in the name of Christ. Let doctors, nurses, ministers, van drivers, bankers, teachers, listeners, counselors, food servers, bed makers, all serve in the name of Christ.

Watch Out vs. Keep Your Watch (Do Your Duty) – [explain the difference between the two Greek terms for watch in this chapter: blepete and gregoreite.] Be the church! Watch out so you will not be distracted and keep your watch – do your duty.

The end of this age and the return of the Son of Man is like this . . . a householder takes off on a trip and puts all of his servants on guard and instructs them to keep their daily duties. He promises to return but doesn’t tell them exactly when. Now what should they do between his leaving and his return. Exactly what he told them to do. What if they get distracted trying to find out when the boss is coming back? They will ignore their duty and leave their post.
I saw this at Fort Chaffee on Friday. They set up an EOC and had MP’s and other soldiers ready to register the evacuees. I asked one of them, “When are they going to get here?” He said “We have been told in the next 15 minutes.” That fit with what I had heard at the briefing. But 15 minutes became 30 minutes. 30 minutes became 60 and the time stretched on. I left and went home – I wasn’t any help anyway – and when I tuned into the news at 10 the buses still hadn’t arrived. And I thought of the MP. He would be doing the same thing at 10 pm that he was at 5 pm. For him the arrival was always just 15 minutes away. He kept his watch and did his duty.

Representing the Unknown God

Posted by Chris on August 21, 2005 under Sermons

Call to Worship
Read Acts 17:16-34

[SERMON]

Scenes of culture shock:
Surely we have all heard of culture shock. Maybe some of you have experienced it. It describes the feelings and reactions that one has when one is suddenly thrust into an unknown and unfamiliar culture.

1. Paul is disturbed by the culture of Athens –
   Paul is experiencing a certain amount of culture shock while he is in Athens waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him. He is in a land that isn’t at all like his homeland. Sure there was diversity and a variety of languages in Tarsus and Judea, and Paul himself had been to many different locations – but this is Athens. If Jerusalem was the center of Judeo-Christian culture, then Athens was the center of Gentile-pagan culture – even more so than Rome.
   As Paul walks the streets of Athens he notices idols to pagan Gods everywhere. And not only are the signs of idolatry everywhere but also immorality. Some of these idols are pornographic and some of them depict certain body parts best kept private – but they are on public display in Athens. It’s a different culture. This is culture shock.
   So Paul goes to the synagogue – perhaps to get a little taste of home but also to share the message that is the reason for his mission. Paul is shocked, but he’s no prude; notice that he even overcomes his culture shock by preaching in the public square right alongside the philosophers of Athens. He moves out rather than withdraws …

2. The Athenians are startled by Paul’s message
   And now there’s a bit of reverse culture shock. Paul stands out as something unusual in this culture. There’s something very unique in what Paul is saying. When Paul talks about Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection the people are amazed. This is something new. This is news. So, he is invited rather eagerly to the Council of Philosophers at Mars Hill (The Areopagus). They want to know more. There is inquiry. They are asking questions.

3. Are we startled by the good news?
   Paul preaches a God that created us and rules in his creation.
   Paul preaches a God that we cannot manage or contain. A God whom we turn to with our needs, but not a God who has needs that we can meet.
   Paul preaches a God that has a purpose and he will judge all creation according to that purpose. He has made his purpose known in Jesus Christ.
   Paul preaches a Savior, Lord, and Judge – Jesus Christ who is God revealed and risen from the dead. Resurrection! How shocking and unnatural.
   Now how can we not be amazed and startled by such mysteries? Paul never seems to have lost the wonder. It never became commonplace or routine for him. He witnessed the risen Jesus – resurrection from the dead is not “natural” or “logical.” It introduces a new hope into a hopeless world. It opens up a closed universe.

   There’s a connection between Paul’s culture shock in Athens and the shocking news his preaches. If we are not shocked and amazed by the good news, then we probably will not be shocked by the idolatry and immorality of our culture.

   Vice versa, if we aren’t shocked by the idolatry and immorality in our Athenian America then we probably aren’t shocked and amazed by the presence of God and the mystery of the resurrection.

   Do we live move breathe and have our being in our culture – or in God? A God who has made himself known to us, but one who is still so Unknown to so many … even in our America, and maybe even to some of us …

4. Will we represent the Unknown God to our culture?
   If we cannot recover the scandal and shock of the message about Jesus Christ then we won’t recognize or understand the sort of questions that our culture is asking. Our culture is becoming more diverse and pluralistic. Old standards and commonly held beliefs that we once all assumed are crumbling. But there is a renewed quest for answers. Our culture is more spiritual than ever before. Like the Athenians our culture is very religious, even if they are setting up temples to Unknown Gods.
   And so, what do we do about it? Do we really believe the gospel is for the entire world? Sure, we might believe it is for far away place with strange sounding names, but what about the folks next door. Do we recognize the need to name the Unknown God in our own culture?

   Star Wars director George Lucas said in Time: (May 9, 2005 issue of Time) “I put the Force in the movie (Star Wars) in order to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people-more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system. I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery. Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask the question, ‘Is there a God or is there not a God?’-this is for me the worst thing that can happen. I think you should have an opinion about that. Or you should be saying, ‘I’m looking. I’m very curious about this and am going to continue to look until I can find an answer, and if I can’t find an answer then I’ll die trying.’ I think it’s important to have a belief system and to have a faith.”

   The most recognized spiritual leader of the 21st century in America is Oprah Winfrey. (People question that and yet who did the city of NY call upon to lead the prayer service for 9/11?) Oprah Winfrey has said that Jesus can’t possibly be the only way to the truth. When audience members expressed their convictions in Christ, Oprah said that she couldn’t get into a religious argument. (Source: http://www.watchman.org/oprah.htm)

   The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA is conducting a major new program of research to track the spiritual growth of students during their college years (http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu). Building on an abundance of anecdotal evidence suggesting that there is growing interest on college campuses to reassert the significance of religion and spirituality as a core component of a liberal arts education, the study employs a multi-institutional and longitudinal design to identify trends, patterns, and principles of spirituality and religiousness among college students. (This is why we have a Lions for Christ ministry!) http://www.lionsforchrist.org

   Yes, our culture is becoming increasingly immoral. Yes, we are becoming religious in every way, but before we criticize the culture around us and poke fun at their ridiculous idols and their vain quests for God and spiritual fulfillment, let’s seriously ask why no one wants to include the church in the quest. Why doesn’t Oprah want to have a religious discussion, but a spiritual discussion is okay? Why does George Lucas want young people to have belief in God but not a religious system (i.e. church). Why is there a return to spirituality on the college campus but a decline in mainstream church attendance?
   The church isn’t trusted and isn’t regarded as the place where one will find spirituality. It is viewed as a religious institution and not a place of mystery. Before you react defensively let’s ask: Why is that?

   Maybe it is because we have withdrawn ourselves. . . Too often we want to find a safe harbor in our land and hide out there. We assume that our mission is to circle the wagons and protect the women and children from savages. But that’s never the mission in Scripture. We are never commanded to circle up or settle in to safe harbor. We are sent. A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. Who will risk being disturbed and annoyed by the idolatrous displays of our culture so we can find the opportunity to name the unknown God.

   Maybe it is because we have boiled down the raw mystery and awe of the gospel and we are serving people the stain in the bottom of the cup. Hungry people aren’t concerned with how neatly we’ve typed our menu, or how pretty we’ve laid out our silverware and napkins. They want something to sustain them.

   Before we criticize, let’s notice that the people of our culture are seeking. (Maybe even more so than those of us who take God’s truth for granted.) Religion and spirituality are on the rise. We see it in movies. We see it in the news. We see it in music and politics. Does this mean that all of it is correct? Does this mean it is all good? Well no. But how should we respond? We can withdraw into our little Christian safe haven, we can condemn the culture for its ignorance and immorality, or we can do like Paul and take the opportunity to speak – I see that you happen to be quite religious! And if people are going to sneer and send us away – let it be because of the amazing news and mystery of our Almighty God and our Risen Savior. Better they should reject us for the startling truth than for our lockstep logic.

   Can we find a point of connection? Can we find an opportunity to represent the unknown God that our culture is looking for?

   Let’s not be cowards or prudes. Some will sneer, but some will want to hear more. Dionysius, Damaris, and a few others are waiting for us to introduce them to the Unknown God …

Whoever Welcomes Me

Posted by Chris on August 14, 2005 under Sermons

Intro Transition:

Who Do You Say I Am?

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Text: Mark 8:27-9:1
Focus: True fulfillment is found in following Christ who, ironically, denied himself.
Function: To describe the futility of trying to “save” our lives and to describe the way of the cross as the life that leads to resurrection.

Part 1 – What does it mean to be the Christ?I remember that Sunday night at Winslow we were singing “Just As I Am – without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me.” It was August and over 20 years ago and I had decided to be baptized. Of course I waited until the second verse – not that I was shy, I just thought it good form – the first verse is just warm-up – the thinker verse. But I had been thinking about this for some time. So I would step out into the aisle when we sang …”Just As I am and waiting not …” well that wasn’t quite true. I had waited all through the sermon for this moment. I knew before the sermon that I would be doing this, but I thought it good form to listen. I thought the preacher might like to think someone responded to his sermon. So in the second stanza I stepped out into the aisle. It was like stepping out into space! You’re just out there by yourself. I was ready to ease back into the comfortable block of pews – even if I was on the front pew – always reserved for this purpose.

After our song, the minister and I stood before the congregation. He talked a bit and then placed his hand and my shoulder and asked “Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?” I know my response was positive, but I don’t remember my exact words, whether I just said “yes,” or “I do” or if I got fancy and said “I do believe Jesus is the Son of God.” But after I answered I heard an Amen and we went off behind the baptistery to put on our baptism clothes as someone started singing “Trust and Obey.”

Do you remember your “good confession?” However your baptism took place – at camp, at church, in a river – at some point someone asked you “Do you believe Jesus is the Song of God?” And because of that confession of faith you were baptized. That’s a common story share. And I wonder if any of us really understood the gravity of that confession? Did we grasp the significance of what we were affirming? Did we realize that when we agreed that Jesus was who he said he was, we also agreed that we were who he said we were? When we gave our good confession, we weren’t just making statement about who Jesus was – we were making a statement about who we were, and whose we were? Did you know that then?

I don’t think this undoes my confession or anyone else’s, but I am sure I didn’t grasp the full significance of what I said that Sunday night in August. Oh I believed it for sure – and that’s important, very important. Without belief there is no confession. And I knew it was right – but as much as I had thought about it, I had no idea of the total implication of what I had just confessed – and how that confession would change my life forever. And if that is true in your case, then we’re in good company. Peter was one of the first to give the good confession, and even he did not understand the full meaning of what he was saying…

Read Mark 8:27-33

When Jesus asked his disciples “But who do you say that I am?” Peter must have thought, “I know this one.” He spoke up – “You’re the Christ!” Peter was right – wasn’t he? Well of course he was. Jesus was the Christ. Peter understood that Jesus was who he said he was. But he didn’t understand what that meant – for Jesus and for him.

That’s clear when Jesus begins to get very clear about what it means to be Christ. That it is a path of suffering, rejection, execution and then – and only then – resurrection. This doesn’t seem right to Peter, so he attempts to debate Jesus on the meaning of Christ. Peter has stepped out into space. He’s out there all alone and he needs to get back into the block of disciples that are following behind Jesus – not standing out in front of him trying to tell him which way to go.

I remember back at Winslow how one of our ministers used to respond to the confession folks gave. Bro. Parrish called it the “good confession.” And he always blessed the one who made that confession and would say “They crucified Jesus for saying that, but you say it that you may receive eternal life.” I always wondered “Why does Jesus get crucified for saying that, but not us?” Well, I was probably thinking too hard about something very beautiful and poetic that our preacher was saying for the moment – but according to Jesus we all get crucified for confessing that Jesus is Christ.Part 2 – What does it mean to be a Christian?
Jesus has our usual order of worship turned around. We offer the invitation, and then those who respond are asked to give confession. But here Jesus has just asked for a confession, and then he offers the invitation.

Read Mark 8:34-38

“Who wants to follow me?” he asks. He wants those who accept this invitation to follow to know what they can expect. If being the Christ means taking up a cross, then so does being a Christian. If you don’t understand that, then you have stepped out of line behind me and you are not thinking the way God thinks.

Following after Jesus means denying self & taking up the cross as a way of life.
The Paradox: Whoever wants to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. This is why there’s a cross. Our lives have to be lost so that they might be saved. When I hear this verse I often wonder if I am doing enough to lose my life. Do you ever think about that? I wonder if I need to sell my possessions or leave my comfort and go to the mission fields. Do you ever think about that? I admit I’m not sure I understand that burden of losing my life. I don’t know what it means to be threatened with persecution for my faith.

But I think we all know something about the burden of trying to save our lives – From our earliest years we are trained to provide for our future – to save our lives. We must obtain the best education and seek opportunities. We should invest what we have wisely. Like a precise chemical formula, we must be careful to add the appropriate amount of risk to the appropriate amount of stability to achieve maximum benefit. The years we spend in school and business are our only opportunity to provide for our future as well as the future for our family. The prize is retirement. But even in retirement we know something about the burden of saving our lives. Health becomes more of a concern. Are we eating right? Do we exercise like we should? Did we elect the right people to secure our benefits? Are we seeing the right doctors? And this is not unlike the burden of saving life that parents feel concerning their children. Are we doing all we can to ensure the health and education of our children? Are they safe? Are they being taught right? If the children are our future, then are they capable of saving it?

And what if we give ourselves completely to our children or spouses? Perhaps this is what it means to lose our lives and yet save it? What if we give ourselves so completely to the needy and the church? What if we live for others? Unfortunately, we may discover that the emptiness remains. Spouse, children and even church work can fail and disappoint us. Here is a most horrible emptiness, for we thought that the emptying of ourselves would result in fulfillment through the lives of others, but we may find we just feel sucked dry. Indeed, we know something about trying to save our lives.

Pre-occupation with saving life is a sure way to lose it. Fulfillment is found in denial. Why? Because we must lose that which distracts and deceives. In order to truly live we must be who Jesus says we are, not who we want to say we are. And the only way to be who Jesus says we are is to say who Jesus is.

[I remember trying to work in my Father’s garage and he would try to be patient and show me how to paint and saw and do other things. But I was there just to have fun, I didn’t want to mature and so I would get ahead of him and start doing my own thing. My Father said, “How can I show you the right way if you want to do things your way?”]

There’s a cross in the way to becoming who we truly are because we often aren’t mature enough to do things the right way. We are only interested in doing things our way.

The cross is tough for people who’ve been conditioned to glory in individual excellence and self-satisfaction. We are permitted to think that the world can be custom made to fit everyone of us. In a land where you can even copyright your personal, unique cell-phone ring the language of a cross and denial is tough to hear.

Yet, how will find our life, how will we save it even if we could adjust the entire world to suit our preferences? I recently heard of a minister who was fired. I thought it was sudden, but I found out that he didn’t meet with his elders for over a year. He felt that they had nothing to offer him. I can’t imagine such a way – but then again, I can, for it is the way of self. That way leads to worse than being fired. It can lead to loneliness, despair, estrangement, isolation. But the way of the cross, as difficult as it seems, leads also to resurrection. Before there can be a resurrection, there must be a death. The way of the cross does lead to the tomb – but it is the empty tomb.

Our attempts to “save” our lives – to preserve them, to immortalize them and give them meaning are futile because we just cannot control life to that degree. In Eden we were tempted to be God and we found out we aren’t qualified. (v. 36-37) – we just cannot come up with the means to secure our lives. Not as individuals, not as a nation, not as a race.

We need an alternative way. We need to step out of God’s way. We need to get behind him and see where he’s going. Looks like he’s going to a cross!

Conclusion:
We find meaning and fulfillment – We learn who we are only by discovering who Jesus is. Our response to the invitation must match our confession. (Galatians 2:20)

For Such a Reply

Posted by Chris on August 7, 2005 under Sermons

Read Text: Mark 7:24-30
Theme: Blessed are those who trust in Jesus regardless of the obstacles, for they shall be saved.

        There’s no suffering that compares to watching your children suffer. When my first son was born I got to cradle him and walk him into the newborn room. I got to dress him and put the little hat on him. But when my second son was born they took him away into a room where I couldn’t go. He was born just a few weeks premature and the nurses were concerned about the way he was breathing. To save his life, they whisked him into the neonatal room and placed him on oxygen.
        I had no idea what was going on. So I followed and asked questions. I was demanding explanations as we stormed out the door of the delivery room. We went across the hall and I kept my eyes on my son.
        They took him into a room that I couldn’t go in. When I approached, it did not open. I waited, and the moment that the door opened into the area I wasn’t supposed to go – I went in. I wanted to see my son.
        I must someday apologize to those fine nurses. I made their job hard that day because I did not respect the boundaries. Very sternly and very politely, the nurse told me that I wasn’t supposed to be in this room. I knew that. But my problem wasn’t a lack of knowledge. I wasn’t supposed to go in that room – but for a parent whose child is suffering, barriers just don’t matter.
        That’s why I understand what this Syrophonecian woman did – she ignored the barriers. Jesus has come to Tyre to be alone. But she crosses that barrier and intrudes on his solitude. In the ancient world it was improper for a woman to directly address a man, but she crosses that barrier as well – since she has no man who can go to Jesus for her, she simply does the improper thing. And then there’s the two-ply barrier of race and religion. She is gentile, he is an Israelite. In the culture of her people there are many powers and spirits at work – some of them good, many of them evil. But she pushes and dodges her way through every obstacle because there is no suffering like that of watching your child suffer – and there’s nothing she can do but ask questions and pray.
        She’s seen her daughter suffer the torment of the unclean spirit. That’s not a familiar condition to us. There were other parents who came to Jesus because of the suffering of their children. One of them was a man whose boy had an unclean spirit. The spirit would throw the child into fire and water. Why? It wanted to destroy the child. Now there’s a particularly horrible condition – an invisible force that threatens to destroy your child. Something you can’t fight, something you can’t shoot or strangle. Powerless to stop the torment. If the daughter of this Greek woman is being tortured by such a force, it is no wonder she ripped down the “Do Not Disturb Sign” and ignored the glances and gasps to seek out this man known for having authority over evil. Wouldn’t you if it was your child?
        Of course I understand Jesus’ answer. I’ve been there too when the desperate, needy people come for help and sometimes your hands are tied. “We don’t have what you need.” “There’s just not enough.” “We’ve hired all we can.” “We can’t help you until you respect yourself.” Sometimes you’re not able, sometimes it just wouldn’t be right. No one wants children to suffer, but sometimes we are overwhelmed. Helping one means turning your back on others. Sometimes we cannot help because we have made a commitment to help others. This is where Jesus finds himself. He came to Tyre to rest, and now he’s overwhelmed. His commitment to Israel means that he has little to spare for the gentiles. And I know this statement sounds more like an American tourist in a third world country than it does Jesus – but there it is and he says it: “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” That’s just the way it is. It would be nice to imagine otherwise, but sometimes that just the way it is. “They were here in line before you ma’am.” These are the rules. That’s just the way it is.
        Now, do you think this woman who intruded on Jesus privacy, who ignored social customs and ignored matters as serious as race and religion is going to be turned aside by an answer like that? When I stormed that hospital door in September of 1998, I was not persuaded by the argument “You’re not supposed to be back here.” I knew that! And this woman knows that she’s not supposed to be there. She knows she’s not worthy to sit at the table. But that’s not going to persuade her. And being compared to a dog will not move her either. She’s probably endured much worse than that. She’s probably used to taking what she can. No amount of suffering you can heap on her compares to the suffering of watching her child suffer. So she challenges Jesus’ “matter-of-fact/that’s just the way it is” pronouncement of how things are:
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” It’s a reply worthy of the sharpest Rabbi – but Jesus knew Rabbis, he was called a Rabbi and she’s no Rabbi – she is a Greek woman who has intruded on the privacy of a Jewish man. She crossed all the barriers and now she must have wondered if she crossed the line.

She probably expects the first part of Jesus’ statement: “For such a reply, you may go.” Of course, why not? Why not be dismissed. Maybe it was just like she had been from all the other healers and authorities. Not even an offer to try or to examine the patient. Not even the offer of a prayer of consolation. Perhaps she did need to accept the way things were – It’s not fair! It’s not right. She is late in line. “For such a reply, you may go.”

But the second part of Jesus’ response is unexpected good news: “The demon has left your daughter.” Like the women on Resurrection morning, they expected a tomb, but they did not expect it to be empty. We want a happy ending, so we look forward to this part, but do you see how unexpected it is for the woman? Jesus doesn’t agree to go with her to see the girl. There’s no “maybe later.” There’s no instruction for a remedy. Instead it is the promise that the healing is already done. The only wait she will go through is the journey home – and when she gets there, her daughter’s suffering – and her suffering – will be over. The demon has left her daughter – “for such a reply!”

• For Such a Reply (Explanation and Application – The “So What”)
  1. Her reply showed the spirit of true discipleship. How?
     • She refused to let the barriers and the suffering stop her. She didn’t approach Jesus as a Syrophonecian, a Greek, a Gentile, a woman, or an unclean dog. All that mattered to her was her daughter’s suffering and Jesus’ power. Social customs and conventions are no substitute for faith.
     • She respected his authority. She believed that Jesus had the final word on “the way things are.” Jesus was saying, “This is the reasonable way to do things. This is the expected way. This is the customary way.” By whose standard? By whose authority? This woman believed that if Jesus had the authority to heal her daughter, he could do it however and whenever he wished and she wasn’t going to hold him to a set of restrictions.
  2. Her reply secures her a place at the table.
     • Jesus identifies with us. Who comes to Christ’s table? The worthy? The noble? The privileged? If that is so, then what about the suffering? What about the oppressed and overwhelmed? Are they disqualified? The rule of table fellowship in Jesus’ day was that “like eats with like.” People of the same class, honor and purity dined together. Jesus has become like us so that we might become like him. The overwhelmed and exasperated Jesus did not identify with a perfect, well-adjusted member of the religious select that day in Tyre. He identified with an overwhelmed, exasperated – yet faithful – mother of a tormented child.
     • Jesus invites us. No one will have to do with crumbs. There are no beggars under the table who can only hope for scraps. There is a portion for all disciples who come and eat in faith and trust. There is always room for one more suffering child. There is room at the table for all that identify with the suffering savior.

There’s no suffering that compares to watching your children suffer. God knows that – his son suffered and he suffered with him. God knows that – his children suffer and he suffers with them. The good news is that the end of the suffering has already been declared – the only wait is the journey home.

[Addendum: Many people have asked me about the health of my second son born in 1998. If you were to see him now as he approaches his seventh birthday you would probably find it hard to believe that he was born a few weeks premature. The nurses at Brazosport Memorial Hospital were attentive and acted quickly when they noted that my son did not seem to be breathing properly. He was on oxygen for a few days but gained strength quickly. Months later he contracted RSV but he recovered from that. As of today, he sometimes suffers from allergies, but for the most part he is big, strong, and healthy. We are blessed! Thanks be to God Almighty!]

The Greatest Un-Miracle Never Performed

Posted by Chris on July 31, 2005 under Sermons

Read Mark 6:1-6

Think about what we have seen along the way as Mark has taken us on the Miracles of Jesus tour. How many places could claim that “Jesus taught here – and with authority.” Capernaum – A home with a hole in the roof testifies to a miracle – “Through this hole four friends lowered their paralyzed companion and Jesus healed him.” A synagogue in Capernaum “On this site Jesus cast out an unclean spirit.” Beside the sea of Galilee “On this site Jesus preached of seeds and the kingdom of God.” Somewhere out in the middle of the sea of Galilee one could float a buoy with a sign reading “It was here that Jesus commanded a storm to silence.” Next stop a graveyard in Gerasa: “On this site, the Son of the Most High God won a victory over a Legion from hell.” Nearby is a marker commemorating the death of 2000 pigs. Back on the other side of the sea are two marker’s: one in the marketplace “Here a woman touched Jesus’ robe and was healed.” The other at Jairus’ house: “On this site, Jesus raised a girl to life with the words Talitha Koum!”
And now we stop in Nazareth. It should be the greatest of all stops on the miracle tour. It should be the site of the most wonderful event yet testifying to the identity of Jesus Christ. But there are no markers except for a rusted one hanging near a carpentry shop that reads in faded print: “Hometown of Jesus, son of Mary.” Our tour guide Mark explains to us that we have stopped here because this is the site of an un-miracle. Nothing happened here. No one in Nazareth was amazed by anything. Except for Jesus. He was amazed by the greatness of their un-faith. As for the people, they could not be amazed because they were too offended.

They were offended by Jesus. Offended by Jesus? How could anyone be offended by Jesus? We wouldn’t be offended by Jesus – would we? No. Certainly not. Jesus is our neighbor, our business partner, our pal. But the folks in Nazareth knew Jesus, just as we claim to know Jesus. He was just as familiar to them as we claim he is to us. And there’s the problem: Jesus’ authoritative teaching didn’t fit with the sort of familiarity the folks in Nazareth had with Jesus and his family. They had heard talk that he might be out of his mind. They knew his history. They knew his family. They knew all about him. And they are offended that he could claim to be more than what they knew.

Now we claim to know Jesus quite well. And we get offended, but we don’t get offended at Jesus do we? We are offended by many other things, but not Jesus. We are offended by song leaders, teachers, and preachers. We are offended by elders and deacons and ministry leaders. We are offended by rude people and false doctrine, but not Jesus.

No, we are not offended by Jesus because we have domesticated and tamed Jesus. He is friend of all, but Lord of none. Sometimes in the church we have reduced Jesus to nothing more than a spiritual Colonel Sanders – his image and memory are everywhere, but we know he’s not running the company. But Jesus isn’t a corporate logo for the church – he is the LOGOS, the living word of God.
Our language betrays us. When we are confronted by the authority and power of Jesus and maybe even intimidated by it. When we consider the implications of his lordship and how that might make us uncomfortable we try to tame Jesus so we can get him on our side. I have heard people say: My Jesus wouldn’t do that. Okay, but what would THE Jesus do? More importantly what IS he doing?

Don’t misunderstand, it is good that we know that “Jesus Is With Us” and it is good to know that he has drawn near. May we ever sing with serious conviction that “Jesus Loves Me This I Know For The Bible Tells Me So.” But if Jesus is so domesticated and tamed that he is only the figurehead of our Christian company, or the rubber stamp signature for our particular church crusade, then he can no longer amaze us. There’s no mystery, there’s no surprise, there’s no faith required.

All of us have seen historical markers that commemorate important events. Sometimes when you stand near one of these and read the description you are aware of a sense of awe that something significant has taken place there and that sense is magnified if there is any hope that it might happen again.
Some of you may have seen one of these novelty markers. They look just like a historical marker but they commemorate the ordinary and mundane. “On this site in 1898, nothing happened.”The closest experience of good news for Nazareth is that they haven’t been totally forgotten. Mark includes them on the tour of important places. “On this site, nothing happened.” Come and see the place where the “un-miracle” happened, or didn’t happen. Why include such a place on the tour Mark? What are you trying to tell us?

Let’s be clear about one thing he isn’t telling us. It’s the question everyone of us ask the tour guide when we stop here: “Is God refusing to answer my prayers because I don’t have enough faith?” Americans like to ask that question more than anyone. We have heard it said so often that “If you have enough faith, God will … heal you, bless you, save you, make you happy, etc. etc.” And that often leads to another statement that I have heard too often: “The reason you weren’t healed, the reason you are poor, the reason you are unhappy, the reason your marriage fell apart, the reason your loved one died is because YOU didn’t have enough faith.” This isn’t the message. You can only come up with a message like this if you tame Jesus to the point that he is our genie in a bottle who grants all of our wishes. This reduces to Jesus and the Holy Spirit to something like “The Force” and if we can muster up the training and the discipline we can lift mountains – or X-Wing fighters. But faith isn’t will power of wishful thinking. It isn’t the power that resurrects Tinkerbell from the dead if we all clap our hands and believe in fairies. Faith is trust, surrender, suspension of our need to be in control. Faith leads us to give honor to the one we have faith in.
The message that Mark want to impart to us on the stop in Nazareth is this: Jesus was unable to do anything wonderful among his people not because their quantity of faith was lacking, but because they had an abundance of “un-faith.” So much so that it amazed him! They had the opposite of faith: disbelief, dismissal, dispassionate detachment. They were offended and they rejected him. Some thought him insane. Some thought his power came from the devil. And some just thought he was the next-door neighbor.

Now to be fair, there were a few who were healed. Just a few. I am sure for those individuals it was wonderful, but for the city it is a sort of a consolation prize. I would like to think that more could be said of us than this. I don’t want to place a marker among us that says: “Among these people during their worship and ministry, nothing happened.” I don’t think it is worthy of Jesus that we should commemorate the ordinary and mundane. I would like to hope that we can have faith. Not faith so that we can command the power of Jesus, but the sort of faith that allows the power of Jesus to command us.

Thought Question: How might Jesus be involved and leading us into the future he gives? How might He be working more than all we can ask or imagine in our ministries? Will we be amazed or do we want to be in charge? Will we be amazed or will we be offended?

There’s no call for faith in Jesus if we have lost the capacity to be amazed. Why have faith in Jesus if we are convinced he cannot do anything?
We will not trust Jesus if we are too busy being offended by everything that doesn’t meet our expectations – including Jesus.

Invitation:
When a prophet has no honor he leave for another town. Whom do we honor and trust?

What Do You Have to Do With Us, Son of the God Most High?

Posted by Chris on July 24, 2005 under Sermons

Read Mark 5:1-20.

Some of you know what the people of Gerasa have been through . . . You know who you are. It’s not just the graveyard variety of demons one has to deal with to understand. If you ever tried to help others who are possessed by their Legions of evils then you know. If you know what it is like to be awakened at night by the agony of their torture. If you known what it is like to see them break the chains they are bound with for their own protection, then you know. If you have ever felt the frustration of just giving up and learning to cope with it then you know what the people of Gerasa have been through. You know who you are.

Some of you know what the nameless man known only as the demoniac or Legion has been through. You know who you are. Some of you have been there and known the agony of sin in a profound way. You have experienced it to the point that he has oppressed you, dehumanized you, and injured you. And even when others try to help, the power is just too strong. You know who you are.

Whether we identify with the Gerasenes or the demoniac is not the issue. Both groups are met by Jesus, the Son of the God Most High and both must respond to his presence without exception. If those who identify with the demon-possessed man can be described as “possessed by powers” then those of us who identify with the Gerasenes are also pestered by the powers and without Jesus we might be described as ineffective and frustrated when we have to use our own resources to restrain evil …

What Have You to Do With Me Jesus, the Son of the God Most High?
Notice that Jesus isn’t frustrated. Even though he has supposedly lost the “home court advantage” in the war against evil he isn’t staggered. Here he is in a foreign land where evil cannot be contained. He is in an unclean place, a graveyard, surrounded by people who raise unclean animals, swine. The force that opposes him this time isn’t just the lone unclean spirit that wanders into the synagogue one day. Now Jesus faces the Legion of the Strong Man – a scarred up, chain busting nightmare that once resembled a human being.
This one-man army of evil is bold too. He opens the dialogue with threats and name-calling (not nasty names, but using the name of Jesus to force him to do his bidding). He is not at all confused about who Jesus is and the power he commands. So he (or is it they) begins to defend himself and when that fails he/they tries to negotiate for his/their own survival . . .

Jesus’ reaction is swift – “Come out of him and leave him alone!”
What do you have to do with us Jesus Son of the God Most High?”
What’s your name?
Legion! There are many of us (Is he trying to scare Jesus?)
We like it here. Don’t make us leave! (Sympathy?)
You are evil and you must go.
What about the pigs? That’s better than nothing, send us into the pigs! (Is this a ruse?)
Go!

And the outcome is simple – the demons are destroyed and the man is not restrained, much better than that he is released! The outcome is simple, the reactions of the groups we have identified with is not so simple.

The Reaction of the Gerasenes
Jesus didn’t ask the swine herders’ permission when he gave possession right of way to the Legion of Demons. If you think about it, that seems a bit inconsiderate and insensitive. Yes, human beings are more important than swine that were going to be slaughtered anyway, but a lot of human beings’ economic and financial situation was impacted when pork futures took a dive – literally. A herd of 2000 swine is quite a herd and the loss of such goods is an economic disaster. Not to mention the fact that some were probably going to be without food.
So it seems sort of harsh for Jesus to be so bold. We can try to explain it, but there’s only one explanation that sticks – Jesus is what Legion called him – Son of the God Most High! One with such authority, the one who created these swine in the first place, needn’t ask for permission.
Jesus doesn’t negotiate with evil. He isn’t just interested in chaining it up, restraining it, or controlling it – he intends to annihilate it. When Jesus works in our community and our cities to release people from the dehumanizing, humiliating, oppressive work of evil and sin he isn’t squeamish or sympathetic about our “herds of swine.” If he had no hesitation or regret about cashing in 2000 swine for the campaign against evil, do you think Jesus is squeamish or sympathetic about our resources? Is he confounded when he realizes that helping those who we cannot help means that some of our precious resources might end up trashed or broken. Does he back off when he considers that helping the poor, addicted, lost, and demon-possessed might be an economic burden or an inconvenience? I don’t think so, because all the resources of heaven and earth are available to him – he is the Son of the God Most High.

And the fact is, the Gerasenes know this. When they see the man they tried to help all those years fully restored they realize just how powerful this stranger is. Their amazement gives way to fear just as it did with the disciples in the boat when they witnessed Jesus yield unimaginable power. The Gerasenes realize that if they couldn’t restrain and contain the strong man, then they certainly cannot restrain and control, or domesticate the Stronger Man? Like the Demons they too are asking, “What do you have to do with us, Jesus Son of the God Most High?”

[Thomas Edison invented the electric bulb, but it was Nikola Tesla who invented the means to deliver the power to light the bulb. Edison was a rival and he gave voice to the concerns about Tesla’s methods to deliver electricity. There were fears that Tesla’s method would broadcast such high voltage energy that the atmosphere would burn away or homes would be destroyed, people’s hearts would stop from electrocution. So many fears and so many people resisted electrical service. But once it was proven that the high voltage power could be domesticated and contained safely, everyone wanted electric light.]

Unlike electricity, the power of God and his Holy Spirit cannot be contained or domesticated. Jesus is the Son of the God Most High and there is no authority to limit his power and his will other than his own. He is good and he is faithful, but don’t try to reduce him to safe! A sad fact of church history is that the mission of God and the active presence of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are often squelched or turned away by fearful disciples. When we become aware of the fact that God’s power cannot be domesticated, contained or bottled, we resist it. We would rather rely on our own weak and ineffective means because we are threatened by the Son of the God Most High.

The Reaction of the Demon-Possessed Man
The man is afraid that he will forever be known by his possessions. No one will recall his family or his name. He will be known only as the ex-demoniac formerly known as Legion. So, he wants to go with Jesus. That risk is less frightening than trying to find his way in a place that remembers what he once was. If prophets have no honor in their hometown, troubled people that everyone tried to help and restrain really have no honor. Jesus gives the man a mission, “Go tell the good news. Tell them what you had to do with the Son of the God Most High.” Jesus knows that the Gerasenes recognize his power but they don’t know of his goodness. This man can represent that. The lives of those who’ve been transformed are a witness. They witness to both the incredible power and authority of the Most High God but also to his goodness. I don’t think we will be so concerned about the power of the Son of the God Most High if he would listen to some of the stories of those who have been made new by that power. If we will then we will hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and take him out of the safety zone we have foolishly tried to force him into and place him at the highest place where he has really been all along.

They Brought the Children to Jesus

Posted by Chris on July 17, 2005 under Sermons

VBS Intro … Why all the effort? Why all the time and expense? Why are we spending our time on children when we have adult issues to deal with?
Why? Because Our Lord taught us that there is always time to bless children … Mark 10:13-16
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

East Kilbride – 1970’s Jack Strachan is trying to reach a culture that has been inoculated on religion and the church. They regard church as a state institution that really doesn’t care. No adult is willing to take the time to sort out state religion and ancient tradition from New Testament faith. No rational argument or impassioned plea can reach the Scots.
Then, he finds interest among the children. Adam Barr & his friends attend. They become the core of the church. Now they and Jack and his wife begin to reach the parents of the children who then reach other parents whose children are involved in something good and positive. They brought the children to Jesus!

Now Just Who Is This Jesus?

Posted by Chris on July 10, 2005 under Sermons

TheSea … We don’t respectthe sea the way the ancients did. With our boats, canoes, party barges, sea doo’s,and water skis we treat the seas, the lakes, and the rivers as God’s gifts forrecreation. Every so often an accident on the water reminds us to becautious. Occasionally, when a hurricane like Dennis comes rolling our way, weare confronted by the terrible power of the sea. But few of us make our livingon the sea and our lifestyle is tied into proximity to the ocean. If it was,we might regard it a little more “spiritually.”

Thereis a good reason why sailors are a superstitious lot. They know that crossingthe sea is dangerous. This is why the ancients made sure not to offend thespirits of the deep as they went cruising over their heads. If the spirits gotmad they could swallow you up into the briny deep in a quick blast.

WhileJesus was teaching by the sea there might have been some indication that badweather was boiling up. The seasoned fishermen of Jesus’ group didn’t knowanything about low pressure fronts, but they were tuned into the signs. Theyalso believed that the forces of the deep might be reeling and squirmingbecause Jesus is crossing over their territory. They have seen the Teachercommand evil spirits, but this was when he had the home court advantage. Darehe trespass on their turf? Why does he insist on crossing over to the otherside?

Reading Mark4:35-41
        Thatday when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the otherside.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took Jesus along, just as he was, in theboat. There were also other boats with him.
        A furious storm came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so thatit was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. Thedisciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Hegot up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”
        Thenthe wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to his disciples, “Why areyou so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
        Theywere terrified and asked each other, “Just who is this? Even the wind and thewaves obey him!”

“Teacher, don’tyou care if we drown?”

• Our questions and our fears: Does He care?
  • The disciples werenervous to begin with crossing over and into the home of the evil spirits. Goingto the other side meant going to place unsafe and risky. (“Thar be monstershere”). Perhaps they were just a bit more bold because Jesus, who had provenhis ability to go head to head with demons, was with them. If he insisted ongoing to the other side shouldn’t he at least be giving them some reassurance? Shouldn’t he be taking the spyglass from the captain to keep a look out for theenemy? Instead, he is sleeping on the job. He’s sawing logs below decks. What sort of leader snoozes during a storm? DoesHe even care?
• We have had anawfully stormy week. Twodemons from the deep named tragedy and terror emerged from the waves. We haveburied people that we love. We are worried for the health of others. Globally, the war on terror is not over. Men and women possessed by demons ofhatred and desperation struck at a city in the midst of celebration (London). Destruction has wakened from the deep and ischarging toward the Gulf Coast. Where is Jesus? Does he care? When a loveddies, does he care? When evil strikes, does he care? When people suffer, doeshe care? When fears increase, does he care? Or is he asleep below decks on acushion?
• Do you hear just a hintof irritation in their voices: Teacher, don’t you care that we allcould die? Or are you just going to sleep through it all?
• Now Just Who isThis Jesus? Well, they call him TEACHER. Isthat how we think of him? Is he the one sent from heaven to straighten outthat fussy Old Testament doctrine? Is he a talented preacher whose realpurpose is to take the hit for us and deflect God’s wrath? Jesus is more thana religious teacher. Jesus is more than a well-timed substitute sacrifice. Histeaching reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. He proclaimed that itwas near. God is not waiting to smite Jesus so he can save us. No, the kingdomrule of God is at work in Jesus.
• O LORD GodAlmighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulnesssurrounds you. You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, youstill them. (Psalm 89:9) Who islike God almighty? Jesus, the son of God. He does not simply teachus about God. He reveals God. Jesus acts just as God acts. He has power overthe turbulent seas and he commands the storm . . .

“Quiet! Bestill!”

• Jesus’ word againstthe powers: SHUT UP! CALMDOWN! Remember how the crowds were amazed at his teaching – he hadauthority. That authority is not limited to teaching.
• His word to thedisciples: What areyou afraid of? Where’s your faith? In other words, don’t youtrust Me?
• Now just who isthis Jesus? Do you hear the anxiety in their question?(What have we gotten into?) Miracles demonstrate the power and authority ofJesus, they can prompt the right question, but by themselves they do not givethe answer. Even after Jesus stills the great storm we are still left in the greatcalm to ask questions. Who is this Jesus? What do you say? More to thepoint, do you trust him? How you answer the question of all gooddisciples (Who is this Jesus, then?) has a lot to do with how much we trusthim. How much power and honor do we give to Jesus?
  • Trusting Jesus when hecalls to us from the shore is not as risky. When his call comes from a breezy,windswept beach on a sunny day, it comes as a pleasant invitation. Almost likean invitation to join a game of volleyball, come on over to the BBQ, or sign upfor a civic club.
  • Trusting Jesus when heasks us to follow him into the eye of the storm, to cross over to the placewhere evil controls the city is much riskier. That’s when the powers rage andfume and spit all their fury. That’s when evil reaches out to swamp our boats.
  • [This churchis headed for “the other side” as part of our mission to make disciples. Justbecause we are faithful to follow Jesus and go where he wants. Just beingChristian is getting more “counter-cultural” and risky every day].
  • Do we trust Jesus enoughto risk our safety and security for the sake of the mission? Do we trust himeven when storms are blowing all around us? When the powers of tragedy,terror, destruction, and desperation storm against us will we lose courage? Willwe lose faith? Will we panic and get angry? Or will we rest easy withJesus?

The Teachings of Jesus: Secrets, Mysteries, and Seedy Characters

Posted by Chris on July 3, 2005 under Sermons

Jesus came preaching and teaching: “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (1:15) The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ teaching because he taught them as one with authority – not like the teachers of the law. We tend to think that this amazement was centered on the displays of miraculous power. But it wasn’t limited to that.

Jesus’ was devoted to the message he had to proclaim. "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

What is the message that Jesus preached? Why did it have such authority? Up to this point in Mark all we know is that it was a message about the Kingdom of God and it was a call to be changed – to repent and believe. It is good news, ad we would do well to ask, why is it good and why is it news? Keep all of this in mind as we hear the parables of Jesus. …

Mark 4:1-34 – Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. "Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. But other seeds fell into the good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."And he said, "Whoever has ears to hear, hear this!"
Then when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you the mystery of the kingdom of God has been given, but for those outside everything is in parables; that is to say …
?seeing they see but do not perceive,
and hearing they hear but do not understand;
For if they did, they would repent and be forgiven.’
And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. They have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, then hear this."
And he said to them, "Watch what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he sends for reapers, for the harvest has come.”
And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

1 – The Sower, the Seed, the Soil

The parable of the sower and the seeds is maybe one of the most familiar. Have you heard this parable and been asked: Which soil are you? Have you heard the parable and been asked: "Are you sowing the seed of the kingdom, brother?" Are we soils or are we the sower? We are not the seed – are we? Well maybe we are if you consider that the good soil yields a harvest. The emphasis seems to be on the crop rather than the soil.

But the seed is the word of God. True. And Jesus is teaching that we are the combination of seed and soil. We become what the seed sown in us is able to become. "Repent and Believe the Good News!" Repentance, or change, is stifled by the powers of this age we live in. If Satan doesn’t snatch the word out at soon it hits our hearts, then it is possible that we will never grow because the word never took root, and even if it does take root and we do grow and mature, it is always possible that thorn will strangle the word growing within us. We participate in the divine nature as we continually repent and believe the good news. When we accept the good news of God’s word we bear fruit, our life counts for something – an increase of hundredfold …

2 – Hidden Lights/Watch what you hear!

Like the Twelve, we need to watch what we hear. The seed by itself is dormant. The soil by itself is just dirt. But combined, the mystery of God is unleashed. So it is with us. Jesus sows the word in parables because they are raw and unprocessed in spiritual power. They lodge in the heart of a person or a people and if the people will accept it, they germinate with wild force. But it is possible to reject the teaching of Jesus. The Scribes had done this. They claimed that Jesus had an evil spirit. Satan had snatched the word out of their heart. Jesus’ family had done this. They didn’t let the word take root. Their worries choked out what might have grown. We need to watch what we hear, we need to listen up because the capacity to close our minds and hearts to the truth is strong – ridiculous, sort of like lighting a lantern and covering it with a ice cooler – but we do it.

The teaching of Jesus sorts us out. It is watershed. Everyone can hear it and see it in action, but the way the respond is something else. ?seeing they see but do not perceive,and hearing they hear but do not understand; For if they did, they would repent and be forgiven.’

3 – Waiting for the Harvest & the Wild Weed of the Kingdom

We get concerned about how to sort people out. We talk about membership and family. Who is in and who is out. To borrow from another parable or two: We are trying to corral the sheep and cut out the goats. We want to pluck the weeds and keep the wheat. But that’s not always good farming, nor is it good discipleship. There’s a lot of work to farming, but also a lot that you just cannot control. A farmer scatters seed and then the mystery of gardening just takes over. Whether he eats, sleeps, or stays awake watching the spouts that garden is going to grow automatically – or it may not. He cannot say it. He has to wait until harvest. [Arkansas is a big poultry state because most of the apple orchards were diseased one year – it just happens] But when it is harvest time – get to work! Send for the workers with their scythes and sickles because the plants are mature. But you cannot rush the process.

So it is with kingdom work. Think about that, we want to baptize say 100 people this year and then have them completely indoctrinated into the mysteries of God in a month. How long has it taken you to mature as a Christian? Are you still maturing? The growth of the kingdom is something we can hinder but when it grows it is automatic. And we are likely to get frustrated because we cannot see how little things matter. Like a mustard seed.

The mustard plant is a weed, not a majestic cedar tree. Though a little seed, when it grows it dominates and it takes over. Mustard would have been well known in Jesus’ day. Perhaps a better plant in the experience of some in the U.S. is kudzu. Kudzu is a plant brought to the southeastern U.S. from Japan in 1876. It was called the miracle vine because it prevented soil erosion and could feed animals. It was a very useful plant. But Kudzu grows and in that climate of the SE USA it grows very well, in some cases it grows a foot in one day. It now covers 7 million acres in the southeast and the people there say "love it or hate it, it grows on you." It has grown so rapidly and so heartily without any real effort from anyone that kudzu is now more than just a plant it is part of environment, part of the culture and way of life.

The Kingdom of God may not be visible or evident, but it grows and it grows wild. Some will welcome it and find it very beneficial, but others will despise it and try to eliminate it. But it grows. And it grows. And it grows. Producing a harvest thrityfold, sixtyfold, and hundred fold.

Listen! A sower went out to sow the seed …
Listen! The light has been lifted up on the lampstand …
Listen! The harvest is near …

Do you have ears to hear? Then hear this!