God: “How Could I Say That?”

Posted by David on April 30, 2000 under Sermons

The time is the 1950’s. The place is a British colony near the equator. As in most colonies near the equator, making cement is an important enterprise. Buildings built with cement last. There termites do not eat cement.

Remember: near the equator, you have two seasons. One is wet season when it rains almost constantly for a few months. The other is dry season when there is no rain for a few months.

At a major cement plant in this British colony, every dry season the British administrator formed a work detail to sweep the cement dust off the roof at the end of the day. It was hot, filthy, hated work. Every week he told the work detail, “Your job is the most important job we have.”

No one liked that job. No one wanted to do that job. And no one thought that job was important.

Now the time is the 1960’s. That British colony is now an independent nation. The cement plant is still a very important enterprise. The first dry season begins, and no one wants the job of sweeping the roof. So that job is eliminated. Everyone is certain that it is not important. And through the dry months cement dust builds up on the roof to a depth of several inches.

Rainy season begins. With the first rains the dust turns to stone, and the roof collapses. Sweeping the dust off the roof during dry season was important.

1. Israel had been delivered from Egyptian slavery.
   1. While they were in the wilderness, God gave them laws through Moses.
      1. In that law God said in Leviticus 19:18
         Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
      2. In that law, God also said in Deuteronomy 6:4,5
         Deuteronomy 6:4,5 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
      3. These are two of the over 600 laws in the law of Moses.
      4. But they are God’s two basic laws.
         1. If you examine the ten commandments that God gave Israel (Exodus 20:1-17), something is very obvious.
         2. The first four focus on loving God.
         3. The last six focus on loving your neighbor.
   2. Approximately 1500 years later God sent His son to live as the man Jesus.
      1. In Luke 10:25-29 an expert in the Jewish law tested Jesus.
         1. The expert asked Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
         2. Jesus answered, “From your knowledge of the law, tell me what it says.”
         3. The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and might; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
         4. Jesus said, “That is correct. Do that and you will live.”
         5. Remember that the question was, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
         6. Remember the correct answer was, “Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself.”
      2. Mark 12 discusses some events in Jesus’ last week of life.
         1. In that week he was tested by every kind of religious leader in Jerusalem.
            1. These leaders despised the fact that Jesus was so popular with the people.
            2. They tried in every way possible to publicly disgrace Jesus as a teacher and a leader.
         2. A scribe, who also was an expert in the scriptures, listened to all the other experts argue with Jesus and heard Jesus give correct, biblical answers.
            1. So the scribe asked Jesus what was God’s most important commandment.
            2. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4,5 and Leviticus 19:18, Love God and love your neighbor.
            3. Jesus said no other commandment was greater than these.
            4. The scribe said, “You are right; those two commands are more important than all offerings or sacrifices.”
            5. Jesus said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
   3. After Jesus was executed and resurrected from the dead, after Jesus was made Lord and Christ, after Christianity and the church began, these continued to be God’s most important commands.
      1. Paul wrote these instructions to the Christians in Rome:
         Romans 12:9,10 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…
         Romans 13:8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
         Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
      2. Paul’s letter to non-Jewish Christians in the Roman province of Galatia declared,
         Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
      3. Paul told the Christians at Corinth,
         1 Corinthians 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
2. I fully believe that the judgment day will occur; I do not know exactly how God will carry out the judgment day.
   1. Let’s assume that a common view accurately pictures what happens.
      1. The great separation occurs, and we are standing on the left side.
         1. We are standing with people that the Lord does not know.
         2. Being naturally intelligent and very observant, we realize that we are on the left side.
         3. With a great sense of urgency, we want the Lord to know that there has been a horrible mistake.
         4. WE KNOW THE LORD, AND WE ARE CERTAIN THE LORD KNOWS US.
         5. We succeed in getting the Lord’s attention, and with great reverence and profound respect we call His attention to the horrible mistake.
         6. That begins our conversation with God.
      2. God explains, “What you must understand is that everyone on the right side loves me and loved their neighbor as themselves.”
         1. We protest, “But, Lord, WE obeyed Your commandments.”
         2. God: “So did they; in fact, their obedience began by obeying My two greatest commandments.”
         3. “But, Lord, consider all the commands we obeyed.”
            1. “We believed that You sent Jesus–in fact when the preacher asked us if we believed that Jesus was the Christ [before we were baptized], we said yes just like we were supposed to.”
            2. “And we were baptized just like we were supposed to be.”
            3. “And we attended church–almost every week.”
            4. “And we observed the Lord’s supper every Sunday morning.”
            5. “And we sang in worship without musical instruments.”
            6. “And we used the name Christians.”
            7. “And we called the church the Church of Christ.”
            8. And we give a long list of those things we call commands that we were very careful to obey.
         4. And God said, “But you didn’t love me, and you did not love anyone who did not love you.”
            1. Now we are really beginning to feel a sense of panic.
            2. “But, Lord, we obeyed your commandments!”
            3. And the Lord says, “You did not even attempt to obey my number one command and my number two command.”
            4. “But we were baptized!”
            5. “That is not number one or number two.”
            6. “But we took communion!”
            7. “That is not number one or number two.”
            8. “But we gave!”
            9. “That is not number one and number two.”
         5. In real desperation, we cry out, “But, Lord, Jesus said, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments’ (John 14:21).”
            1. And then God did not have to say a word, because suddenly we understood.
            2. People that love Jesus obey God.
            3. But people can obey Jesus and never love God.
   2. Feeling really desperate, we cry out, “Lord, we did not realize the importance of loving you and loving people.”
      1. And God replies, “I made it very plain from the beginning of Israel that God’s people love God and love people.”
         1. “I made it very plain in the prophets that God’s people love God and love people.”
         2. “I made it very plain in Jesus’ teachings that God’s people love God and love people.”
         3. “I made it very plain in the first century church that the most important quality in the lives of Christians is love.”
      2. And we reply, “You mean that You meant that? When Moses, the prophets, and Jesus all said the most important commands were to love God and love people, You meant it?”
         1. “You mean those really are the number one and number two commandments?”
         2. “Lord, we just did not understand that is what you meant.”
      3. And God answered, “How could I say it any clearer? Why didn’t you understand? If My own son said the number one command was loving Me and the number two command was loving people, how could I make it any plainer?”
3. So you say, “Wait a minute, David. I don’t understand what that means.”
   1. Let Peter tell us what it means to love God with all our being.
      1 Peter 1:13-16 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
      1. Get serious about being godly.
      2. Place your hope in God’s grace.
      3. Obey God by making your behavior holy.
      4. Because there is no evil in God, be committed to resisting evil in your life.
   2. Let Jesus tell us what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.
      Matthew 7:12 In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
      1. Treat your friends like you want to be treated.
      2. Treat the people you are with like you want to be treated.
      3. Treat the person you marry like you want to be treated.
      4. Treat your children like you want to be treated.
      5. Treat people you do not like as you want to be treated.
      6. Treat people you despise like you want to be treated.
      7. Why? Because people are the creation of the God you love.

[Prayer: Teach us how to love You and love people. Help us understand the importance of love.]

“David, do you believe it is important to obey God’s commands?” Absolutely! I also believe God meant what He said. Obedience begins by obeying God’s two greatest commandments: loving God, and loving people.

If Christian obedience is not based on loving God and expressed in loving people, the roof falls in.

Thank You, Sam Roberts!

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

The summer of 1996 the elder who called me was Sam Roberts. After visiting on the telephone, he asked me to send a resume for the elders to consider. From that time, Sam was my “contact.” He worked with me as Joyce and I made arrangements for our visits to West-Ark. He was personally and directly involved in our decision and arrangements to move to Fort Smith.

Sam was a pleasant discovery when I began to work with you. He was the first full-time elder I had known who had an office at the church building. When Joyce and I moved to Fort Smith, Sam’s health was good. He was able to do the things he enjoyed doing, and he was in his office, as a volunteer, for at least part of the day Monday through Friday.

Sam cared for many matters and details that typically fall in a preacher’s lap. So many situations that come to the church office by telephone or personal visit need immediate attention and consideration. It was wonderful to have Sam care for details and make necessary decisions. He had the ability to say yes and no in the spirit of Christ.

In Sam the congregation enjoyed a special blessing. He spent most of his career as a personnel manager for major companies. He developed his “people” skills to help people and to resolve misunderstandings. He used those skills to bless this congregation. In my years with Sam, he used a good attitude, a warm smile and spirit, and a listening ear to encourage and help many. Even when he disagreed, he was pleasant.

Sam’s health was good but not excellent when I came to be part of you. Several months ago health problems increasingly caused him a lot of discomfort. Those problems continued, and he was able to serve less and less in the ways he so enjoyed. In recent months, health problems prevented him from being active. He and Lucy also anticipate a move to Tennessee in the near future.

Sunday Sam resigned from serving West-Ark as an elder.

Sam, I miss our frequent visits and discussions. I miss your smile, your pleasant disposition, and your sense of humor. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for all the personal help you gave me. On behalf of the congregation, thank you for the many ways you served God’s purposes among us.

May God continue with, bless, and guide you and Lucy. May your lives be renewed with joy as you find strength in your faith. May your move to Tennessee bring you many blessings. May your memories of West-Ark warm your hearts and bring you smiles.

Jesus Is Relevant To Life

Posted by David on April 26, 2000 under Sermons

“I’m a teenager. I am surrounded by teens who cheat, or lie, or drink, or experiment with drugs, or are sexually active. I feel enormous stress and pressure, and I feel very alone. Sometimes I think my parents don’t have a clue about my everyday world. Can Jesus really help me?”

“I’m a single adult. I have been out of college for two years. I am now working in my third job. I learned fast that you cannot depend on people’s promises. My parents divorced, and marriage scares me. It is so hard to meet anyone that you can really trust. I desperately need to make some decisions about who I am and where I am going. Can Jesus really help me?”

“I married about a year ago. I had no idea that marriage could be so hard. There are so many adjustments, and money is always a problem. There are good days, but there are more days that I wish I had not married. Can Jesus really help me?”

“I’m married, and we have kids–one is l5, one is 8, and our surprise is 4. I never knew life could be so complicated. There is never enough time. Our family seems to move from crisis to crisis. I do not think one person in our family is happy. I do not allow myself think about the next ten years–that scares me to death! Can Jesus really help me?”

“My career crashed and I have to start over.” “I am divorced.” “I’m a single parent.” “I am a widow.” “I have cancer.” Can Jesus really help us?

1. In the first four books of the New Testament, how would the Pharisees answer the question, “Can Jesus really help us?
   1. “You are asking the wrong question! ”
      1. “Being religious is not about God helping you.”
      2. “Being religious is about you serving God.”
      3. “Being religious is about:
         1. “Doing what you are supposed to do.”
         2. “And doing it in exactly the right way.”
         3. “And doing all that you are supposed to do.”
      4. “If you want God to accept you, there is only one question to ask and answer.”
         1. “This is the question: ‘Am I doing all that God wants me to do in exactly the way that God wants me to do it?'”
         2. “That is all that matters to God.”
         3. “The question is never about you; the question is about what you do.”
   2. “And, whatever you do, do NOT let Jesus answer your question!”
      1. “Jesus ate with the tax collectors, and they were dishonest people. That is bad for God’s image!”
      2. “Jesus had close, personal association with sinners, with people that the whole community knew were ungodly. That gives people the wrong idea about religion!”
      3. “On the Sabbath day Jesus let his disciples strip raw grain off unharvested stalks and eat it. That was an act of work, and that violated the Sabbath!”
      4. “Jesus let his disciples eat their meals without practicing the religious ceremony of washing their hands. That violated long accepted tradition!”
      5. “Jesus told the most undesirable people you can imagine, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ That is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
      6. “Jesus showed compassion to prostitutes. A person who belongs to God simply cannot do that! Prostitution was her choice! Her suffering was her fault! If she suffered, God was punishing her!”
      7. “Jesus healed the blind, the crippled, the lepers, the demon possessed–all the people that God was punishing for being evil. He did not understand that he was interfering with God’s justice.”
      8. “When you ask Jesus for help, you violate the whole purpose for being religious!”
2. Let’s ask Jesus. “Jesus, what do you say? Can you help?”
   1. Consider Jesus’ answer in Matthew 11.
      1. Context:
         1. John the baptizer was in prison and obviously could not preach and baptize.
         2. From prison he sent some disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus was the person God wanted John to introduce to Israel.
         3. Jesus answered him by quoting a prophesy from Isaiah 35 that declared what would happen when God’s salvation came: the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
         4. Then Jesus told the multitude that no one ever born was greater than John, but the most insignificant person in the kingdom of heaven would be greater than John.
         5. Jesus then condemned the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum and declared that if the city of Sodom had seen and heard what they saw and heard, Sodom would have repented.
      2. At the end of the chapter, Jesus issued this invitation:
         Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
         1. Can Jesus help? Yes!
   2. Consider Jesus’ answer in Luke 5:27-32.
      1. Context:
         1. Jesus invited Levi, a tax collector, to be one of his followers.
         2. Levi immediately left his job and followed Jesus.
         3. He gave a big banquet in his house, and a huge number of tax collectors came the to banquet.
      2. The Pharisees and the scribes who worked with the Pharisees complained to Jesus’ disciples.
         1. They wanted to know why Jesus and the disciples ate with tax collectors and sinners.
         2. If Jesus and his disciples were doing God’s work, why were they associating with such ungodly, undesirable people?
      3. Jesus answered their complaint.
         Luke 5:31,32 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
      4. Can Jesus help? Yes!
   3. Consider Jesus’ answer in Matthew 23.
      1. Context:
         1. Jerusalem’s religious leaders made every attempt to discredit Jesus during the last week of his life.
         2. The Pharisees followed and verbally attacked Jesus most of his ministry.
         3. Jesus, knowing his death was close, renounced the Pharisees.
         4. Commonly, when the Pharisees attacked him, Jesus tried to teach them, but now he renounced them.
      2. Jesus’ renunciation is most insightful and very revealing.
         1. He stated that they were experts in the scriptures and taught God’s instructions correctly when they taught scripture (verses 1,2).
         2. But, Jesus cautioned, whatever you do, never follow their example because they refuse to live by their teachings (verse 2).
         3. Their emphasis increased the hardships of others (verse 3)
         4. They used religion to gain position and honor for themselves (verses 4-6).
         5. They deliberately blinded people to God’s work (verse 13).
         6. They took advantage of helpless people and thought long prayers made up for it (verse 14).
         7. They went to extreme measures to convert people, but their emphasis made converts twice as evil (verse 15).
         8. They were spiritually blind; the things they emphasized were not the things God emphasized (verses 16-22).
         9. They were very strict in keeping small details, but they showed little concern for the important matters that God stressed (verses 23,24).
         10. They were very concerned about appearance (how things looked), but they had no concern about how their hearts looked to God (verses 27,28).
         11. They condemned their ancestors for refusing to listen to God’s voice, and then they refused to listen to God (verse 29-36).
      3. Listen to Jesus’ grief because these religious experts misunderstood God, His concerns, and His emphasis.
         Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ “

Monday night Jim Boatright made an excellent point: the world has changed, but the need for Jesus has not changed. Tuesday night David Banks declared Christians need a restoration of their hearts. There was a time in the last fifty years when people were interested in what we had to say. But not any more. There was a time in the last fifty years, in the South, that we could say, “Y’all come!” and people came. But not any more. There was a time in the last fifty years that being a Christian was considered a plus by people who were not religious. But not any more.

Why? There are a lot of reasons. But two should shake us to our souls. People today do not trust organized religion. That means they don’t trust churches. That means they don’t trust us. Why? (1) We have not allowed Jesus to make us good people who bless and encourage other people. (2) We have used the words of Jesus and Peter and Paul to hurt people, not to help people.

I do not want to forget some of the people I have studied with. Let me introduce you to two ladies from years ago. One tried to destroy herself. She was used in so many ways by so many people she did not trust anyone. We began some special classes on a weekday night for people who wanted recovery. She wanted to come. About 30 minutes before the first class a friend told me she was standing outside crying and shaking. I went out to ask her what was wrong. She wanted to come in, but she could not open the door and walk in. In the past she had some horrible experiences with churches. Church buildings were where you went to be hurt.

As a child, the other lady was an abuse and incest victim. By age ten, she was an alcoholic. Her father thought it was funny to watch a drunk child. But, he insisted that she go to church. One day she and a Sunday school classmate were talking to each other after class. Her teacher rushed up, grabbed her daughter, and said, “I told you not to talk to people like her.” That devastated her. From that day forward she was terrified of God, of people who called themselves Christians, and of churches.

Christ’s kingdom will never die. The gospel will never die. Jesus will never stop being the powerful Savior of the world. But, if we do not get out of our isolation, if we do not work with Jesus to help hurting people, we will die.

Jesus came to save sinners, not to destroy them. Jesus came to forgive sinners, not to increase their guilt. Jesus came to give hope to the hopeless, not to bury them.

We have fought the wrong war. People are not the enemy; Satan is the enemy. The objective is to oppose evil, not to oppose people who are the victims of evil. God destroys sin through forgiveness, not by destroying people.

If we continue to fight the wrong war, we will die. Why? Because our war is not Jesus’ war.

Until people see Jesus making us better people, better neighbors, better husbands and wives, and better parents, they will not care what we believe.

Jesus has always been relevant to the real world and real life. We cannot believe how many people will come to Jesus when they understand that Jesus can help.

“Jesus Didn’t! Did He?”

Posted by David on April 23, 2000 under Sermons

For a few minutes, this morning I encourage you to have a “rubber neck.” I actually want you to scan the audience. Go ahead. I am serious. If you need to turn, turn; if you need to look back, look back. Don’t just look in front of you. Look at the people you do not ordinarily see.

Do you see folks you do not know? Do you see folks you are acquainted with but do not have much in common with? Do you see folks whose lifestyle is totally different from your lifestyle? Do you see folks who “are really into” something that just does not interest you?

Do you see anyone whom Jesus did not die for? Do you see anyone that Jesus does not want to forgive? Do you see anyone that Jesus excludes from his mercy and grace? Do you see anyone that Jesus does not want to live in heaven?

1. Jesus expressed incredible love and mercy for people.
   1. When you honestly study what the gospels say about Jesus, Jesus’ concern for people astounds us.
      1. In Matthew 8:3 he touched and healed a person who had leprosy.
      2. In Matthew 8:5-13 he healed the servant of a Roman army officer and said the officer had more faith than any Jewish person he ever met.
      3. In Matthew 8:24-34 he cast devils out of two violent man who could not be controlled by anyone.
      4. In Matthew 9:2 he forgave a paralyzed man of his sin.
      5. In Luke 7:48 he told a woman guilty of sexual sin that her sins were forgiven.
      6. In Luke 23:43 he told a thief dying beside him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
      7. In Luke 23:34 he prayed for all of those who contributed to and rejoiced in his death, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
   2. Israel’s religious leaders resented Jesus’ compassion and kindness directed toward the people that they classified as undesirables.
      1. In Matthew 9:10,11 they denounced Jesus because he ate meals with tax collectors, who were known to be dishonest, and sinners, people the whole community knew were ungodly.
      2. In Matthew 10:19 they said Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard.
      3. In Matthew 12:24 they said Jesus had power over demons because the devil gave him that power.
   3. Yet, astoundingly, Jesus would as quickly forgive and save those who resented, rejected, and killed him as he would anyone else.
      1. It was Paul, the man who arrested Christians and voted for their executions (Acts 26:9,10); it was Paul who helped and encouraged those who executed Stephen (Acts 7:58;8:1); it was Paul who conducted a house to house search in Jerusalem to arrest and imprison men and women who believed in Christ (Acts 8:3); it was this Paul, who after conversion wrote:
         Romans 5:6-9 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
      2. Paul, are you certain that you know what you are talking about?
         1 Timothy 1:12-16 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

   In Jesus, God did what no human will do. In Jesus, God will forgive and restore any person who will accept God’s gift, no matter how evil he or she has been, no matter how undeserving he or she is.

   Now we want to focus our hearts, our thoughts, and our emotions on the death of Jesus the Christ who died for us while we were yet sinners.

   [Communion song]

   [Lord’s Supper]

   [Giving]

   Jesus once asked James and John if they could drink the cup that he drank. I want to ask all of us if we can handle what God handles. People who believe in Christ have a history of questioning and rejecting things that never concern God.

   Let me give you an example. See if this sounds familiar. This was the objection to some vocal music introduced in the worship. The specific objections:

   1. It is a new way, an unknown tongue.
   2. It is not as melodious as the usual way.
   3. There are so many tunes we shall never be able to learn them.
   4. The practice creates disturbances and causes people to behave indecently and disorderly.
   5. It is Quakerish and Popish and introductive of instrumental music.
   6. The names given to the notes (do, re, mi, etc.) are bawdy and blasphemous.
   7. It is a needless way since our fathers got into heaven without it.
   8. It is a contrivance to get money.
   9. People spend too much time learning it; they stay out late at night disorderly.
   10. Those promoting it are a company of young upstarts, and some of them are lewd, loose persons.

   These objections were raised in 1700 in New England when singing schools introduced three and four part harmony in worship songs.

2. As a general rule, people who belong to God can never handle what God can.
   1. The book of Acts contains several specific illustrations.
      1. The good news of salvation in the resurrected Jesus who was Lord and Christ was preached for the first time in Acts 2 to Israelites, some of whom lived in Palestine and some of whom lived in various places in the Roman empire.
         1. Every person baptized that day was either a Jew or a person who had converted to Judaism. But…
            1. They did not speak the same language.
            2. They did not live the same lifestyle.
            3. Worship in Palestine’s synagogues and worship in synagogues throughout the Roman empire did things differently.
         2. The baptized Jews who visited Jerusalem for the Jewish holy day of Pentecost stayed in Jerusalem instead of going home.
         3. God was not bothered by the fact that they spoke different languages, followed different cultures, and did things differently in their synagogues–God could handle it.
         4. But the baptized people could not handled it.
            1. That is why the Jerusalem congregation had a major crisis in Acts 6
            2. The dividing line separating the sides in the problem was between the Jews from Palestine and the Jews from the rest of the Roman empire.
      2. In Acts 10 God had a difficulty convincing Peter to go preach to the first non-Jews who were not converts to Judaism.
         1. Finally God got Peter to go to Caesarea to talk to Cornelius.
         2. When Peter began to teach Cornelius, his family, and some of his friends, Peter said, “I got it! I finally understand! God does not care what nationality you are! God welcomes any person from any nation if that person reverences him and does what is righteous” (Acts 10:34,35)
         3. Peter taught them about Jesus and ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus.
         4. That did not create a problem for God–God could handle people who were not Jews becoming Christians.
         5. But the congregation in Jerusalem could not handle it.
         6. Acts 11 makes it is very plain that they were very upset at Peter for baptizing non-Jews who had never been converted to Judaism.
      3. In Acts 15 some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem went to the large non-Jewish congregation at Antioch.
         1. They told these baptized believers, “Because you have not submitted to the religious rite of Jewish circumcision and do not follow the teachings of Moses, you are not saved.”
         2. An emotional debate erupted.
         3. The issue was referred to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
         4. The converted Pharisees said, “They must be circumcised and they must obey the law of Moses.”
         5. A big debate followed.
         6. Finally James said, “We should not put this burden on non-Jewish believers who have been baptized.”
         7. Not all agreed, and it continued to be a major debate in the church.
         8. It did not bother God–God could handle it.
         9. It bothered the church–Jewish Christians could not handle it.
   2. In some ways, nothing has changed.
      1. Christians still struggle with matters that never bother God.
      2. We divide ourselves in camps, and we fight each other over matters the Bible says nothing about.
         1. And Satan loves it!
         2. Why? The more we struggle against each other the more we leave Satan alone.
      3. Will God save the man or woman who is in Jesus Christ, who keeps his or her heart right, who is devoted to godliness, and who loves fellow Christians? Absolutely. What if:
         1. He or she is conservative? God can handle it.
         2. He or she is progressive? God can handle it.
         3. He or she takes position X on issue A? God can handle it.
         4. He or she takes position Y on issue A? God can handle it.
         5. He or she studies only the King James Version? God can handle it.
         6. He or she studies any translation? God can handle it.
      4. “Oh, David, you are wrong about that! If we cannot handle it, God cannot handle it.”
         1. Let me challenge you to study Romans 14 in context.
         2. Let me challenge you to study the problem in context.
         3. Let me challenge you to see Paul’s desire in context.
         4. After understanding the context and the situation, carefully examine and think about Roman 14:4.

Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One of God’s richest blessings to me is the blessing of being a part of you. I deeply, genuinely appreciate the 60 plus group. They have a great attitude, a great heart, and are so involved. They are a positive asset to this church. I love the family units. They are in the spiritual trenches fighting the war, and they are growing in understanding what the war is about. I love the teens. At the same time, I grieve for you. Many times I feel very uncomfortable for you. But you also challenge me. You make me realize that if Jesus is not relevant to your battles, there is no future.

Jesus connected people to God. Jesus’ church connects people to God. If we do not help people connect to God, we are not Jesus’ church. Let me tell you about the congregation I want to be part of before I die. In that congregation, those 60+ are doing everything they can to help teens connect to God, and teens are doing everything they can to help the 60+ connect to God. And families are doing everything they can to help the divorced connect to God. And the divorced are doing everything they can to help families connect to God. And those who are burdened are doing everything they can to help those who are not burdened to connect to God. And those who are not burdened are doing everything they can to help the burdened connect to God. It is a totally unselfish congregation that focuses on helping others connect to God.

As Paul said, “Let each one of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Philippians 2:3).

[Prayer: God, work in our hearts so that we all will help each other connect to You.]

If you need to connect to God, we invite you to the resurrected Jesus Christ.

“I’m Here. Make It Happen!”

Posted by David on April 16, 2000 under Sermons

I have a ninety-eight year old uncle who loved to coon hunt. To say that this uncle is and was an individualist is an understatement. As long as age and strength permitted, he did things his way.

I remember a family reunion at my parents’ home. I was a young adult at the time. The family reunion included aunts, uncles, and their families as well as my immediate family. Everyone knew this uncle would not be there. At that time in his life, he did not attend family reunions. He loved the family; he just did not care for family reunions.

Just as we started eating, to everyone’s astonishment, he and a friend came driving down the drive way. In joy and astonishment, we all greeted him. He, in stunned amazement, asked why so many of the family was there.

He wanted to buy a coon dog. He had driven over a hundred miles [before the time of interstate highways] to see if my brother might know where he could find a good coon dog.

He came to the family reunion, but it was an accident.

1. How would you personally react if you saw God?
   1. “David, that is absolutely a ridiculous question! People don’t see God!”
      1. So you did not come to worship this morning to see God?
      2. “Of course not!”
      3. Does God have anything to do with your being here?
      4. “What does God have to do with coming to church?”
         1. ” It is Sunday morning.”
         2. “You are supposed to come to church on Sunday morning.”
         3. “All good Southerners know that you go to church on Sunday morning…when it is convenient.”
   2. For some who attend church, “going to church” has nothing to do with seeing God.
      1. If in the literal sense, we knew before we came God would enable us to physically see His presence [and I know that the Bible says that it is impossible for a human to see God–Exodus 33:20; John 1:18], I would predict that we would have a small attendance.
      2. When it comes right down to it, I don’t think that most of us are curious enough to see God’s actual presence.
      3. The truth is simple: anytime a godly human comes into the immediate presence of God, it is a devastating experience for the godly human.
      4. Coming close to God is an awesome experience that literally takes you apart and makes you see yourself in detail as you actually are.
   3. Isaiah shared with us his initial encounter with God at the time that God commissioned him to be a prophet.
      1. Isaiah 6:2-4 says that Isaiah was allowed to see the scene and the holiness that surrounded the Lord sitting on the throne.
         1. Isaiah saw the glory.
         2. Isaiah heard the praise.
      2. How did he react to what he saw and heard?
         Isaiah 6:5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
         1. Note these facts.
         2. When Isaiah saw the glory and heard the praise of God, he was filled with a personal sense of ruin. “Why?” When you see God, you also see yourself in contrast to God.
         3. The second thing I want you to notice is that Isaiah immediately realized that he was completely unfit to be in God’s presence–in fact he realized that no one in Judah was fit to be in God’s presence. Seeing God made him realize that he was filthy, dirty, spiritually unclean.
      3. Isaiah was purified for his prophetic work when an angel took a coal from God’s altar and touched his lips to destroy the evil in him.
         1. You have to realize how unfit you are to stand before God before you appreciate the goodness and grace of God.
         2. God made Isaiah fit to serve Him by purifying Isaiah, by making him clean.
         3. So the man who felt ruined in God’s presence now had the courage of appreciation to speak to God.
            1. God said, “I have a job that needs to be done. To whom shall I give the job?”
            2. Without hesitation, Isaiah said, “I am here! Let me do it!”
            3. God gave Isaiah a really tough job: “Go preach to Judah and Jerusalem until they become totally indifferent and insensitive.”
            4. Isaiah asked, “How long do you want me to do this?”
            5. God answered, “Until total devastation comes.”
2. I challenge us all, including myself, to examine our motives for being here.
   1. Don’t misunderstand me: I am glad you chose to be here.
      1. I am glad that we are together right here right now.
      2. I want God to be glad that we are here.
      3. My being glad that you are here is no big deal.
      4. God being glad that you are here is everything.
   2. Let me ask us some questions.
      1. If something biblical happens that you really do not like, will you continue to come?
         1. “No. If I really don’t like it, I will not be back.”
         2. Does that mean that being here has more to do with your comfort than with your God?
      2. If something biblical happens that is very different to what you have always practiced, will you continue to come?
         1. “No. If it is really different to what I have known and practiced, I will not be back.”
         2. Does that mean that being here has more to do with the experiences that give you good feelings than it has to do with your God?
      3. If something biblical happens that increases heart response to God while taking emphasis away from standard procedures, will you continue to come?
         1. “No. If it really expresses emotion, I will not be back.”
         2. Does that mean that being here has more to do with long established procedure than it has to do with your God?
   3. I did not ask these questions to excite anyone–I don’t know of any radical differences that are planned.
      1. I asked us those questions for the purpose of illustration.
      2. Look at your answers and notice something: our “worship assemblies” have more to do with us than they have to do with God.
      3. The primary worship issues that most concern us are NOT:
         1. How do we come closer to God?
         2. How do we praise God?
         3. How do we show appreciation to God?
         4. How do we glorify God?
         5. How do we humble ourselves before God?
         6. How do we repent before God?
         7. How do we prepare our hearts and minds to live for God next week?
         8. How do we prepare our hearts and minds to represent God as His ambassadors?
      4. The primary worship issues that DO concern us are:
         1. What do I like.
         2. What do I want.
         3. What do I feel.
         4. What do I enjoy.
         5. What do I think is appropriate.
         6. What makes me feel good.
         7. What will not cause me to feel awkward.
      5. If we honestly examine our primary worship concerns, do our concerns focus primarily on us and our desires or on God and His desires?
      6. Is worship primarily about us or about God? That is the key question; that is the biblical concern.
3. To renew ourselves spiritually in our lives, our service, and our worship we must stop practicing magic in the attempt to manipulate God.
   1. Allow me to make clear what I am saying.
      1. Your initial reaction is, “David, you have lost your mind! The Church of Christ does not and never has practiced magic!”
         1. “People cannot manipulate God!”
         2. “How dare you suggest such an outlandish, stupid, ridiculous thought!”
      2. First, by magic I am not speaking of illusions performed for entertainment.
         1. I am speaking of spiritual magic like was practiced by Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8.
         2. I am speaking of the belief that you can obligate God to do what you want done if you just do the right things in the right order and the right way.
            1. “If I follow correct procedure and do the right things God has to forgive me.”
            2. “If I follow the correct procedure that includes the right things at the right moments, God has to hear my prayer and give me the answer I want.”
            3. “If I follow correct procedure and do the right things at the right time, God has to take care of me.”
      3. Second, by manipulating God I mean that we believe that the key to getting God to do what we want Him to do is a matter of doing right things.
         1. “I do not like to waste Sunday morning at the church building, but if I go God has to protect my family.”
         2. “I do not enjoy reading the Bible, but if I will read it a little occasionally God has to help me be successful.”
         3. “Praying seems so unnatural, and I feel foolish when I pray, but we pray when the family has a meal together. Then God has to keep evil away from us.”
   2. We have encouraged Christians to believe that salvation and spirituality is all a matter of rational decision and correct procedure.
      1. It has very little to with God.
         1. Are you a Christian? I was baptized.
         2. Will you be saved? I will be if I live a good enough life.
         3. Will God hear your prayers? My prayers are heard if I pray in Jesus’ name.
         4. Is God pleased with your worship? My worship pleases God if I am at the right place doing the right things.
      2. Do you hear what I am talking about? “I,” “I,” “I.”
         1. What role does God have?
         2. “Well, He resurrected Jesus, sat down on His throne, and left it all up to me.”
         3. If that is our view of God and of Christianity, it could not be more unbiblical.
         4. From the first chapter of Matthew to the last chapter of Revelation the emphasis is on God’s active involvement in our salvation.
   3. We will never experience renewal as God’s people until worship starts being about God instead of being about us.

[Prayer: God, forgive us for failing to see You and Your Son. Forgive us for thinking salvation is nothing more than our doing the right things at the right time. Forgive us for closing You out of our lives.]

When you come to the family reunion on Sunday morning, are you looking for something besides God? If you actually worship when you come, is it by accident?

Come to worship God! Come as close to God as you can get!

God’s “Comfort Zone”

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

Our “comfort zone” is the area in which we feel comfortable. It has boundaries. We cross a boundary when we “feel” uncomfortable. Anything that or anyone who makes us uncomfortable violates our comfort zone. Anything making us uncomfortable is resisted.

Comfort zones do not declare good or bad, measure right or wrong, or define the “God approved” or “God condemned.” Comfort zones protect personal comfort. They vary radically. What is comfortable to one is uncomfortable to another. Comfort zones more likely involve personal preferences than God’s teachings.

Can comfort zones include standards, practices, convictions, or behaviors that are ungodly? Certainly! When a Christian is comfortable with something ungodly, does his or her comfort make it innocent or good? No! A classic objective of Satan’s deceit is to make us comfortable with evil. We perceive no danger or threat from the comfortable.

Can comfort zones exclude standards, practices, convictions, or behaviors that are godly? Certainly! When a Christian is uncomfortable with something godly, does his or her discomfort make it evil? No! Another classic objective of Satan’s deceit is to make us uncomfortable with the godly. The deceit: “If I find it uncomfortable, God cannot like it!” We are less likely to open our hearts and minds to God if that openness creates personal discomfort. When Satan makes us uncomfortable with an avenue to greater spirituality, we close our hearts to God.

Many crises in Christ’s body incorporate the “theology of personal comfort zones” in their foundation. We individually assume that “my” comfort zone is “God’s” comfort zone. We assume if “I don’t like it,” God does not like it. We assume “my comfort zone came from God.” Therefore, “I” impose “my” comfort zone on other Christians as “God’s truth.” “I” transform “my” conscience’s reactions [that must be respected] into God’s will.

No one’s comfort zone dictates God’s methods or comfort level. No Christian would passively allow a group to unjustly execute his or her son, regardless of how much good the death could achieve. No Christian would demand that a preacher marry a prostitute in order to be a living parable to the congregation (Hosea).

Our objective: do not allow “my” comfort to restrict God’s work and purposes. Our objective: allow God to change us so that our comfort zones will include everything that comes from God and expresses itself in Jesus Christ.

The question never is, “Am I comfortable?” The question always is, “Am I growing into the image of Christ?” Spiritual growth specializes in violating comfort zones. Godliness makes us uncomfortable. Evil, not godliness, places a premium on comfort.

Ladies’ Night

Posted by David on April 9, 2000 under Sermons

My last lesson in this series could easily have been called “Men’s Night.” It focused on pornography. While pornography is not exclusively a man’s problem, it is primarily a man’s problem. For most men, the primary sexual stimulus is visual. For most women, the primary sexual stimulus is relational. What men “see” “turn them on.” What women receive through relationship interaction “turns them on.”

Consider this illustration. A husband and wife have argued and swapped criticisms all evening. Both are silently getting ready for bed. The husband sees his wife, is excited by what he sees, and becomes very romantic. The wife responds by saying, “You must be out of your mind!”

The same husband comes home from work a few days later. He immediately realizes that his wife had a horrible day. Without a word, he immediately does everything he can to help her. He sets the table while she cooks. He straightens up the house while she cleans the kitchen. He takes the garbage out and gives their son a bath. All evening he is busy helping without being told. When they go to bed, she is very affectionate. And he thinks to himself, “What did I do that was so romantic?”

Tonight I want to share with you the most difficult lesson in this series. Two things make it difficult. First, it is so easy to be misunderstood. It will be so easy for you to react instead of listen. Second, the Christian woman who does not accept the reality and the power of the male sex drive will not understand my message.

1. In years past the common ways the church addressed the problems created by sex appeal were inadequate and often misdirected.
   1. Christian men, we are responsible for the ways we use our eyes and control our bodies.
      1. I do not eliminate my responsibility by blaming women.
      2. When I choose to place myself in situations that allow women to stimulate my sex drive, the temptations I experience are primarily the result of my choice.
      3. In Romans 13:13,14, Paul said that we should behave properly, not in carousing, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, sensuality, strife, and jealousy. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.”
   2. Christian women and men, the problem is not solved by a ruler, a tape measure, or by the yards of cloth a woman wears.
      1. In the past, the church said the primary problem existed because of the woman.
         1. That is simply not true.
         2. The problem has always existed because men and women’s natures have been exploited and perverted.
      2. In the past, the church has said that the problem can be addressed effectively by controlling women.
         1. Regulate what they wear.
         2. Regulate how much of their body is exposed.
         3. Regulate what they can and cannot do in public.
      3. The key to controlling the problem existed in rules and regulations.
      4. Much too little emphasis was placed on hearts, minds, emotions, and conversion.
2. I want to begin with marriage. I have a definite reason for this approach. Most of you will relate quickly to what I say about marriage. If you understand what I say about marriage, you are more likely to understand what I say about other matters.
   1. When we men marry, if we do not love the person we marry, if we are attracted only to her body, the marriage will fail.
      1. This marriage may divorce or it may not divorce, but it will fail either way.
      2. “What do you mean, ‘it will fail’?”
         1. If your definition of successful marriage is a marriage that refuses to divorce, your definition is wrong.
         2. If a husband and wife live in the same house, but they sleep in different bedrooms to avoid contact with each other, never share affection, never touch each other, and interact with each other only when it is absolutely necessary, that marriage violates Bible teachings and is a failure.
         3. If a wife refuses to be sexually intimate with her husband, if she is convinced that if she refuses him long enough that he will have an affair, if she believes that she can divorce him then without guilt, she violates Jesus’ teachings and that marriage exists in failure.
         4. If the husband and wife keep the public image of a successful marriage, but despise each other privately, that marriage exists in failure.
      3. “Are you suggesting that the answer to such failures is divorce?” No.
         1. I am saying that a marriage is not successful simply because it avoids the divorce court.
         2. It suffers the pain of failure.
         3. It suffers the misery of failure.
         4. It suffers the humiliation of rejection.
         5. It suffers the emotional roller coaster of depression.
         6. It creates heightened personal struggle for both husband and wife.
         7. It fails!
      4. What is success in marriage?
         1. In a successful marriage, both the husband and the wife make a conscious, serious effort to minister to each other’s physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs.
         2. Success is not ministering to every need perfectly.
         3. Success is consciously accepting the responsibility and making honest, genuine attempts to meet those needs.
      5. Christian men and women, if our marriages are to be successful, men must be attracted to and marry a person, not a sexy body.
   2. So I have a question for you Christian ladies. You may not be conscious of your answer. The question: what is your objective in your physical presentation of yourself?
      1. Many ad campaigns seek to sell products to women by suggesting the use of that product will make you feel like you are a woman. Being a man, I do not know what it means to “feel like a woman.” But, in the same sense these advertisements mean:
         1. Do you select and wear the clothes you wear to feel like you are a woman?
         2. Do you select and wear your makeup to feel like a woman?
         3. Do you select and wear the perfume and body scents that you wear to feel like a woman?
         4. What is that feeling? When do you have it? How do you know you have it?
         5. Is the objective to enhance your sex appeal? Is the objective to appeal to the sex drive of men? Do you know you achieve your objective by the way men look at you?
      2. Is the objective to have men scan your body?
         1. Do you want men to notice you in that way?
         2. Do you feel good about yourself only when your body is presented in a manner that men react to what they see?
   3. Now, before some of you get really mad at me, let me say that I really feel sorry for you.
      1. When you were a child, pretty little girls received the attention.
      2. When you were an adolescent, girls with a developed body were popular and attracted the attention.
      3. When you started dating, it was your body that attracted the dating invitations.
      4. After you marry, there are common dilemmas.
         1. If your husband does not treat you like you are attractive, then it is nice to know that other men find you attractive.
         2. Or, your husband wants to enhance his ego by showing you off.
         3. Or, your husband wants men to look at you but not too much.
   4. Look at the way advertisers market their products to you.
      1. How many ads challenge you to enhance you sex appeal?
      2. How many ads challenge you to measure your person by your sex appeal?
      3. How many ads challenge you to determine your personal significance by the way your body attracts men’s attention?
   5. Your greatest power should be based on the person you are.
      1. Your greatest attractiveness should be seen in your person.
         1. To your husband, the person you are should enhance your sexual desirability.
         2. To your husband, knowing you as a person should create the desire to share total life with you.
      2. Your body should never be used to obscure your person.
      3. When you use the sex appeal of your body in a way that blinds men to your person, you are horribly cheating yourself.
   6. Remembering that men are visually motivated in their sex drive, let me ask you Christian women some questions.
      1. How would you like to know what Christian men think when they look at your body:
         1. In public?
         2. On the beach?
         3. In the church building?
      2. Would you like to know when Christian men cannot concentrate on communion because of your physical appearance?
3. May I share something disturbing with you. This is not a preacher complaint. I am not asking you to scold your teens–that would be a counterproductive course of action. I am just sharing an observation.
   1. Your teenage daughters don’t have a clue.
      1. They think sex appeal is cute and innocent.
      2. They think being sexually provocative has nothing to do with Christian values or Christian morality.
      3. They are horribly ignorant about the nature and power of the male sex drive.
      4. From the time they were small children they have learned to be very comfortably wearing very little clothing.
         1. It is good to use sex appeal to attract the attention of teenage males.
         2. It is funny to tease teenage males with sex appeal.
   2. When I shared the lesson on pornography, Brad and I decided that it would be a positive experience for the teenagers to hear that lesson.
      1. When we showed the interview with Ted Bundy, everyone was rivited–teens and adults.
      2. When I spoke about the doors that opened the way to pornography:
         1. You adult men and women really listened.
         2. Some of the teenage males listened.
         3. Several of the teen females laughed.
      3. They were not being disrespectful to me or what I said.
         1. They were bored.
         2. What I said meant little to them.
   3. And some of them will marry young men who are attracted to their bodies, not their persons.
      1. And every one of them who does will wonder, “What happened?”
      2. When all you are loved for is your body, it does not take long for you to feel unloved and unappreciated.

Let me close by showing you how easy it is to miss the point in matters of sex appeal. About ten years before we moved to West Africa, missionaries of various religious groups made a concerted effort to get the women to wear dresses. They were certain the sexual problems they saw would be reduced if women stopped going bare breasted. They succeeded in changing the clothing women wore.

Do you know what was erotic in their society? Not the breast. It was functional and existed to nurse babies. What was erotic was the arm pit. So the women wore dresses to church, and missionaries congratulated themselves on their success.

But the women carried babies bound to their backs. And they had to adjust the babies when they came in the church building. And they raised their arms repeatedly and “flashed” the audience.

Oh, how we attack the problem and miss the point!

God Can Do It!

Posted by David on under Sermons

A person that you have loved and shared life with for fifty years is in intensive care after a massive heart attack. Your doctor, a caring, honest friend, tells you, “There is nothing we can do.”

Your sixteen-year-old was in a car totally demolished in a wreck. You run down the hall to the emergency room just as the doctor is walking out of intensive care. Frantically, you identify yourself, and she says, “There is nothing we can do.”

You have had your job for twenty years. It is a good job with excellent pay and great benefits. You count on that job. You have two kids in college and have just built a new home. The news comes. The company will not exist the first day of the month. A competitor bought it for the sole purpose of eliminating it. You are told, “There is nothing that we can do.”

As a teen you went to your first “no restrictions” Spring break party. Everybody was having a good time. A friend tells you that you will have the greatest time of your life if you “drink this.” You do, and your body has a terrible reaction to what you drank. You wake up in the hospital. Your left side will not move and you can hardly talk. In a while the doctor comes to see you and says, “I’m sorry. There is nothing we can do.”

Life’s heaviest burden is existing without hope.

1. Travel with me back about 2000 years ago to an area that we call Turkey.
   1. It was tough to be a Christian in Ephesus. “Why?”
      1. First, Ephesus was a huge city.
         1. In the first century its population ran from over 250,000 to over 300,000.
         2. It was as big or bigger than any city we have in Arkansas.
         3. Ephesus’ location gave it all the advantages.
            1. Besides its huge population, a lot of people passed through Ephesus.
               1. The most traveled caravan route from the east ended in Ephesus.
               2. Ephesus had a wonderful harbor that opened the way to Rome in the west.
               3. Those two things made Ephesus the greatest commercial city in the region.
      2. Second, Ephesus was one of the religious centers of the western world.
         1. Its religious anchor was the temple of Artemis.
            1. The worship of Artemis was a world religion.
            2. The temple itself was one of the seven wonders of the world; it was the largest single structure in the Greek world.
            3. Not only was that temple the home of a world religion, but it was also one of the major financial institutions in the Roman empire.
         2. It was a major center for emperor worship.
            1. This cult worshipped the Roman Caesar as a god.
            2. Three temples in Ephesus was dedicated to emperor worship.
            3. It was simply a matter of good citizenship to worship in those temples.
         3. It was also a center for the magical arts.
            1. We are not talking about an entertainment form; we are talking about a religion (like Simon the sorcerer practiced in Acts 8).
            2. A special kind of magic was practiced in Ephesus (Ephesia grammatta).
         4. A large colony of Jews lived in Ephesus.
   2. That mix created some special problems for Christians.
      1. The emphasis on emperor worship caused special problems.
         1. It created a major crisis for them in establishing their identity as peaceful, law abiding, good citizens.
         2. People did not understand why Christians never visited the temples that honored Caesar; it made them look suspicious.
      2. The commerce made Ephesus what we would call a worldly place.
      3. The other religions did not understand why Christians were exclusive.
         1. It was common for religions to accept each other, not oppose each other.
         2. Christians did not do that.
2. The congregation certainly was not what we would call “the ideal church.”
   1. They had leadership problems in the eldership.
      1. In Acts 20:17-28 when Paul met with the elders from Ephesus, he gave them both a charge and a warning.
         1. He charged them to understand their responsibility as God intended it.
         2. He warned them that the elders themselves would cause division.
      2. 1 Timothy 1:3 states that Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to care for several needs.
         1. According to chapter 3, Timothy was to oversee the appointment of additional elders.
         2. Not just any man could do the work of shepherding.
         3. To provide the flock the type of mature, unselfish shepherding those Christians needed, a specific type of Christian man was needed.
   2. Ephesians 2 acknowledges that a major problem existed between Jewish Christians and Christians who were not Jews.
      1. That was a common, serious problem in congregations where Jews and people who were not Jews became Christians.
      2. These Christians did not understand that God made them one in Christ.
      3. They did not understand what God did in the life of the Christian individual.
   3. Ephesians 4:17-32 acknowledges a major problem existed because they did not understand conversion to Jesus Christ.
      1. Too many Christians lived their every day lives in the same way that the people who did not believe in God lived.
      2. They reduced Christian existence to beliefs and gave no thought to the way they lived.
      3. They did not understand the basic principles of Christian morality.
      4. They did not understand that God’s teachings should change their hearts and behavior.
   4. Ephesians 5 singled out the problem of sexual immorality.
      1. I do not think Paul singled it out because sexual immorality was worse than other forms of immorality.
      2. I think Paul singled it out because the majority thought it was okay.
      3. Many thought sexual behavior had nothing to do with being moral.
   5. Ephesians 5:22-6:9 acknowledges that they had significant relationship problems.
      1. Christian husbands and wives had relationship problems.
      2. Christian parents and their children had relationship problems.
      3. Christian masters had relationship problems with their slaves.
      4. Christian slaves had relationship problems with their masters.
   6. Ephesians 6:10-20 acknowledges that they had not learned the true nature of the war they fought.
      1. They had not grasped the fact that it was a spiritual war.
      2. They needed to learn how to let God protect them.
      3. They needed to wear spiritual armor.
      4. They needed to learn to rely on prayer as God intended.
3. What is your reaction? “They were in trouble! They were making enough ‘hell-bound’ mistakes to be lost for sure!”
   1. That is not my reaction.
      1. That is not my understanding of the message of Ephesians.
      2. If that is your reaction, carefully read Ephesians again.
      3. This time focus on the message, not the problems in the congregation.
   2. Let me focus you as we examine chapter one.
      1. 1:3–They were blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.
         1. God’s spiritual blessings are found only in the heavenly realm–do not look for them anywhere else.
         2. God’s spiritual blessings are found only in Christ–do not look for them anywhere else.
         3. And God had given all of those blessings to these people.
            1. The blessing of holiness before God in the forgiveness of Jesus.
            2. The blessing of sonship with God in Jesus.
            3. The blessing of redemption in Jesus’ blood.
            4. The right to live in God’s grace in Jesus.
            5. God’s inheritance given to them in Jesus.
      2. Notice the powerful, encouraging assurances that Paul gave them:
         1. Verse 4: God chose them (existing reality) in Christ before the creation.
         2. Verse 5: God predestined them to the adoption of sons (existing reality) through Christ.
         3. Verse 7: They have redemption in Christ (existing reality).
         4. Verse 8: God lavished His grace upon them (the fact that they live in God’s grace is an existing reality).
         5. Verse 11: They have obtained an inheritance (existing reality).
         6. Verse 13: They have been sealed in Christ (existing reality) by the Holy Spirit of promise.
      3. Now give careful attention to the prayer that Paul prayed for them (beginning in verse 18).
         1. May God open the eyes of your heart so that you can see what God did for you in Christ.
         2. That is the only way you will know the hope God gives you by calling you in Christ.
         3. That is the only way that you will understand the incredible wealth God gives you in His inheritance.
         4. That is the only way you will grasp the greatness of God’s power that He gives to those who believe in Jesus.
         5. Everything God did for you–choosing you, adopting you, redeeming you, giving you an inheritance, placing the mark of His own seal on you–is in full keeping with the strength of God’s might.
      4. If you doubt God’s power to do those things for you, consider what God did with Jesus whom He made the Christ.
         1. He raised the dead body of Jesus from the tomb.
         2. He seated the resurrected Jesus at His right hand.
         3. He made the dead but resurrected Jesus superior to every existing power.
         4. He gave the dead but resurrected Jesus a name that will never be surpassed.
         5. He placed everything in subjection to the dead but resurrected Jesus.
         6. And that Jesus who is the Christ is your head.
         7. And you are his body.
         8. And God’s purpose for you on earth is to be his fullness.
      5. What is the message? If God could do that with the rejected, forsaken, shamed, executed Jesus, how can you possibly doubt that God in Jesus can make you His chosen people, His adopted children, His redeemed ones, who exist as God’s heirs?
   3. What Paul told them in 3:20,21 was so encouraging to these imperfect people who have been adopted by God.
      Ephesians 3:20,21 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
      1. God can do it! He has the power to do it!
      2. Even with all your problems, all your human imperfections, God can do it!
      3. He is not limited by your ability to ask!
      4. He is not limited by your ability to understand or comprehend!
      5. He is not limited in the power that works in you!
      6. Hope! Incredible hope! Hope founded on the incredible power of the incredible God!
   4. When God opens the eyes of my heart , when I see the grace that God lavishes on me, what will I do as a Christian?
      1. Will I abuse the grace? No!
      2. Will I reject responsibility, sit down, and do nothing? No!
      3. When I see what God did for me in Christ, I am filled with awe; overwhelmed with appreciation; and consumed with a desire to look like Jesus.

To me, the only appropriate way to end these thoughts is by using Paul’s closing words in Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:23,24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

[Prayer: God, help us open the eyes of our hearts and see what you do for us in Jesus.]

Are you struggling? In Jesus there is hope!

Anticipating Heaven

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

Reasons for anticipating life in heaven are too many to list. Even if we collectively pool our reasons, those reasons would quadruple when we live with God in His environment.

May I share a valued anticipation? When I was a young preacher, I anticipated this happening in the church on earth. After a lifetime working for and with Christians, I now understand it cannot happen on earth. The combination of humanity, ignorance, and evil prevents this anticipation from becoming an earthly reality.

I anticipate the time when not one person saved by God through Christ will be troubled by another person saved in Christ. I anticipate the time when we will not stare at each other’s weakness; criticize each other’s faults; doubt each other’s motives; feel threatened by each other; judge each other on the basis of past mistakes; fear love and respect; use negative emotions to justify poor interaction; and determine the faithfulness of others on the basis of their reaction to “my” preferences.

The power of God is incredible. Paul said it exceeds human imagination (Ephesians 3:20,21). Yet, our powerful, capable God watches as His children neglect His purposes. What God did and does in Jesus Christ can change a life, a marriage, a family, a congregation, a community, a nation, and a world. That fundamentally was God’s purpose when He sent His Son to unleash His incredible power and reveal how much He loves all people.

The living God is here. His power is available. The Savior is in place. Forgiveness is perfect. Mercy is more than adequate. Grace exists without limit.

But the Christian is not converted.
But those enslaved by evil are not saved.
But the church is self-absorbed by reactionary Christians.
But the community is held captive by destructive behavior.
But the nation moves in godless directions.
But the world does not know it has a Savior.

This is not written to be crude, but to illustrate a truth. A good friend once said, “The church is too absorbed in staring at its own navel.” The self-absorption of reactionary hearts and minds cannot achieve God’s eternal purposes in an evil world.

Why will wonderful harmony exist in God’s environment? For these reasons. All eyes will be on (1) the incredible God of mercy who saved us and (2) the incredible Lamb of God who died for us. Every saved person will be humbly awed by the unimaginable grace necessary to save him or her. We will be so filled with the praise of God that there will be no room for criticism of anyone or anything. Lord come quickly!

Confident Living Because Christ Called Us

Posted by David on April 4, 2000 under Sermons

A few years ago I was invited to speak in a Russian institute located in Kaliningrad. It was a wonderful, unique opportunity, and it was a powerful experience. That visit touched my life, my mind, and my heart. It provided me an unusual education. The people I met at the institute were extremely kind and generous beyond comprehension.

I received a special blessing because I visited Kaliningrad at a critical moment in their history. During their entire lives, they were told that the only hope for recovery from indescribable poverty was communism. Then communism collapsed. And the Soviet Union ceased to exist. And the people were totally convinced that all hope died.

I had never been among a huge population who had no hope. I could not have been prepared for what I experienced. I was in an ancient city much older than this nation that had a population of several hundred thousand people. These people were totally powerless to change anything. There was nowhere to go. There was nothing different to do. There was nothing that they could make different. They existed with no hope, no promises.

Life’s heaviest burden is existing without hope.

1. Travel with me back about 2000 years ago to an area that we call Turkey.
   1. It was tough to be a Christian in Ephesus. “Why?”
      1. First, even by today’s standards, Ephesus was a huge city.
         1. In the first century its population ran from over 250,000 to over 300,000.
         2. It was as big or bigger than any city we have in Arkansas or you have in West Virginia.
      2. Ephesus’ location gave it all the advantages.
         1. Besides its huge population, a lot of people passed through Ephesus.
         2. The most traveled caravan route from the east ended in Ephesus (that was their version of a truck route).
         3. Ephesus had a wonderful harbor that opened the way to Rome in the west.
         4. So Ephesus was the greatest commercial city in that region.
            1. The main commercial road that went through the city to the harbor was over 12 feet wide–that is a big road for that age.
            2. The whole route was lined with columns.
      3. Second, Ephesus was one of the religious centers of the western world.
         1. Its religious anchor was the temple of Artemis.
            1. The worship of Artemis was a world religion.
            2. The temple itself was one of the seven wonders of the world; it was the largest single structure in the Greek world.
            3. Not only was that temple the home of a world religion, but it was also one of the major financial institutions in the Roman empire.
         2. It was a major center for emperor worship.
            1. This cult worshipped the Roman Caesar as a god.
            2. Three temples in Ephesus were dedicated to emperor worship.
            3. It was simply a matter of good citizenship to worship in those temples.
         3. It was also a center for the magical arts.
            1. We are not talking about a form of entertainment; we are talking about a religion (such as Simmon the sorcerer practiced in Acts 8).
            2. There was a special kind of religious magic taught in Ephesus (Ephesia grammatta).
         4. A large colony of Jews lived in Ephesus.
   2. The mix created created some special problems for Christians.
      1. The emphasis on emperor worship caused special problems for the Ephesian Christians.
         1. It created a major crisis for them in establishing their identity as peaceful, law abiding, good citizens.
         2. People did not understand why Christians never visited the temples that honored Caesar; it made them look suspicious.
      2. The commerce made Ephesus what we would call a worldly place.
      3. The other religions did not understand why Christians were exclusive.
         1. It was common for religions to accept each other, not oppose each other.
         2. Christians did not do that.
2. The congregation in Ephesus certainly was not what we would call “the ideal congregation.”
   1. They had leadership problems in the eldership.
      1. In Acts 20:17-28 when Paul met with the elders from Ephesus, he gave them both a charge and a warning.
         1. He charged them to understand their responsibility as God intended it.
         2. He warned them that the elders themselves would cause division.
            1. Rivaling elders would act like wolves who used the church to satisfy their own objectives.
            2. Elders would seek their own followers who endorsed their perverse views.
      2. 1 Timothy 1:3 states that Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to care for a number of needs.
         1. According to chapter 3, Timothy was to oversee the appointment of additional elders.
         2. Not just any man could do the work of shepherding.
         3. To provide the flock the type of mature, unselfish shepherding those Christians needed, a specific type of Christian man was needed.
   2. Ephesians 2 acknowledges that a major problem existed between Jewish Christians and Christians who were not Jews.
      1. That was a common, serious problem in congregations where Jews and people who were not Jews became Christians.
      2. These Christians did not understand that God made them one in Christ.
      3. They did not understand what God did in the life of the Christian individual.
   3. Ephesians 4:17-32 acknowledges a major problem existed because they did not understand conversion to Jesus Christ.
      1. Too many Christians lived their every day lives in the same way that the people who did not believe in God lived.
      2. They reduced the Christian life to beliefs with little thought about the life they lived.
      3. They did not understand the basic principles of Christian morality.
      4. They did not understand that God’s teachings should change their hearts and behavior.
   4. Ephesians 5 singled out the problem of sexual immorality.
      1. I do not think Paul singled it out because sexual immorality was worse than other forms of immorality.
      2. I think Paul singled it out because the majority of the people in their societies thought it was okay.
      3. Many thought sexual behavior had nothing to do with being moral.
   5. Ephesians 5:22-6:9 acknowledges that they had significant relationship problems.
      1. Christian husbands and wives had relationship problems.
      2. Christian parents and their children had relationship problems.
      3. Christian masters had relationship problems with their slaves.
      4. Christian slaves had relationship problems with their masters.
   6. Ephesians 6:10-20 acknowledges that they had not learned the true nature of the war they fought.
      1. They had not grasped the fact that it was a spiritual war.
      2. They needed to learn how to let God protect them.
      3. They needed to wear spiritual armor.
      4. They needed to learn to rely on prayer as God intended.
3. What is your reaction? “Those Christians surely were in trouble! They were making enough ‘hell-bound’ mistakes to be lost for sure!”
   1. That is not my reaction.
      1. That is not my understanding of the message of Ephesians.
      2. If you hold that reaction with a sincere, honest heart and mind, take your sincere, honest heart and mind and carefully read Ephesians again.
      3. This time, focus on the message of the book, not the problems that existed in the congregation.
   2. Let me focus you as we examine chapter one.
      1. 1:3–They were blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.
         1. God’s spiritual blessings are found only in the heavenly realm–do not look for them anywhere else.
         2. God’s spiritual blessings are found only in Christ–do no look for them anywhere else.
         3. And God had given all of those blessings to these people.
            1. The blessing of holiness before God in the forgiveness of Jesus.
            2. The blessing of sonship with God in Jesus.
            3. The blessing of redemption in Jesus’ blood.
            4. The right to live in God’s grace in Jesus.
            5. God’s inheritance given to them in Jesus.
      2. Notice the powerful, encouraging assurances that Paul gave them:
         1. Verse 4: God chose them (existing reality) in Christ before the creation.
         2. Verse 5: God predestined them to the adoption of sons (existing reality) through Christ.
         3. Verse 7: They have redemption in Christ (existing reality).
         4. Verse 8: God lavished His grace upon them (the fact that they live in God’s grace is an existing reality).
         5. Verse 11: They have obtained an inheritance (existing reality).
         6. Verse 13: They have been sealed in Christ (existing reality) by the Holy Spirit of promise.
      3. Now give careful attention to the prayer that Paul prayed for them (beginning in verse 18).
         1. May God open the eyes of your heart so that you can see what God did for you in Christ.
         2. That is the only way you will know the hope God gives you by calling you in Christ.
         3. That is the only way that you will understand the incredible wealth God gives you in His inheritance.
         4. That is the only way you will grasp the greatness of God’s power that He gives to those who believe in Jesus.
         5. Everything God did for you–choosing you, adopting you, redeeming you, giving you an inheritance, placing the mark of His own seal on you–is in full keeping with the strength of God’s might.
      4. If you doubt God’s power to do those things for you, consider what God did with Jesus whom He made the Christ.
         1. He raised the dead body of Jesus from the tomb.
         2. He seated the resurrected Jesus at His right hand.
         3. He made the dead but resurrected Jesus superior to every existing power.
         4. He gave the dead but resurrected Jesus a name that will never be surpassed.
         5. He placed everything in subjection to the dead but resurrected Jesus.
         6. And that Jesus who is the Christ is your head.
         7. And you are his body.
         8. And God’s purpose for you on earth is to be his fullness.
      5. What is the message? If God could do that with the rejected, forsaken, shamed, executed Jesus, how can you possibly doubt that God in Jesus can make you His chosen people, His adopted children, His redeemed ones, who exist as God’s heirs?
   3. What Paul told them in 3:20,21 was so encouraging to these imperfect people who have been adopted by God.
      Ephesians 3:20,21 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
      1. God can do it! He has the power to do it!
      2. Even with all your problems, all your human imperfections, God can do it!
      3. He is not limited by your ability to ask!
      4. He is not limited by your ability to understand or comprehend!
      5. He is not limited in the power that works in you!
      6. Hope! Incredible hope! Hope founded on the incredible power of the incredible God!
   4. When God opens the eyes of my heart , when I see the grace that God lavishes on me, what will I do as a Christian?
      1. Will I abuse the grace? No!
      2. Will I reject responsibility, sit down, and do nothing? No!
      3. When I see what God did for me in Christ, I am filled with awe; I am overwhelmed with appreciation; and I am consumed with a desire to look like Jesus.

To me, the only appropriate way to end these thoughts is by using Paul’s closing words in Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:23,24 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

You and I live in a country and in a world starved for hope. May we show them the hope by showing them Jesus Christ!

The message of the gospel must be the good news about what God has done in Jesus for us. If our message is that we are better than brand X church, people will leave us when someone proves to them that brand Y church is better than we are. The message of God’s incredible hope is found in the Savior, not in us.