God and the Cross Are Still There

Posted by David on October 3, 2004 under Sermons

For a moment, let me take you back to the months preceding the Babylonian captivity of Israel in the latter part of the Old Testament.

First, I call to your attention physical conditions. The Jewish people were living a secure, good life. The temple Solomon built was standing in Jerusalem. The priests were doing “the right things” in “the right way” as they conducted sacrificial worship. Business was great! Money flowed and people lived “the good life.” Situations were so prosperous and opportunities for business so abundant that successful people struggled to endure “doing nothing” on the Sabbath. They could not wait for the Sabbath to be over so they could get back to making money. It was increasingly profitable to be dishonest. Lying and cheating were just a part of “doing business.” The more they made they more they wanted to make. Life’s number one priority was to support a good lifestyle. As far as they were concerned, they had a powerful king who successfully made good alliances. Life was good, and nothing was going to change that!

Second, I call your attention to the prophets. Basically, there were two kinds. The first kind told people what they wanted to hear. “Life is good! Life will continue to be good! God is happy with us the way things are! Anyone who tells you differently is a liar! Nothing will change!” The second kind told people everything they enjoyed was coming to an abrupt end. “Jerusalem will fall! The temple will be destroyed! Your “correct” worship makes God sick! Your personal values are totally distorted! You love things and use people! Soon you will be slaves and your ‘good life’ will be just a memory.” These prophets were deeply resented by the leaders, the king, and those who lived the “good life.”

Third, I call your attention to what happened. Jerusalem fell. Their powerful alliances with other nations proved ineffective. The temple was looted and destroyed. The priest had nowhere to conduct sacrificial worship. Starting with the powerful and the influential, the surviving Jewish people became slaves. The more they tried to improve conditions, the worse conditions became.

Fourth, I call your attention to the question. The question: “What happened?” That question was expressed in many ways. “How could God let this happen to us?” “How could God let His temple be destroyed?” “Did not God know the priest would not have a place to offer sacrifices?” “How could God desert His people and let them suffer such deplorable conditions?” “Sure, we made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of things wrong, but we are not as evil as the people who conquered us. How could God let people who are more wicked than we are destroy us?”

Listen to a comment made by Paul to the Christians at Corinth.
1 Corinthians 10:1-6 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

My paraphrase of Paul’s point would be this: “Never think that God has so much invested in us that He will ignore the evil of rebellion.”

Last week Joyce and I visited the San Francisco area.
1. We had a wonderful time for many reasons.
   1. The temperatures were wonderful, and the sun shone every day.
   2. The flowers were breath-taking.
   3. Seeing family and friends again was wonderful.
   4. And we also thoroughly enjoyed playing tourist again.
   5. People were friendly and helpful everywhere we went.
2. But as is true with me virtually everywhere I visit, there were some things that captured my attention and overwhelmed me.
   1. There were some things that overwhelmed me with the church.
      1. Joyce and I visited that area seven years ago, and on this visit we worshipped with the same congregation.
      2. Seven years ago there were two congregations within a mile of each other; now there is one (I have no comment to make on what that means because I do not know the circumstances).
      3. Because of difficulty locating our bus, we were a little late for Bible class.
         1. We were graciously welcomed (this is a very friendly congregation!).
         2. We went to the auditorium class (the auditorium seats approximately 500 people) to join four (4) people in Bible study; last time the auditorium was about 1/3 full for class.
         3. For worship, the auditorium was approximately 1/3 full with the majority of people assembled above retirement age; on our last visit it was well over 1/2 full with a more diverse mixture of ages.
      4. These observations are in no way intended as a judgmental evaluation (and they may not even be an accurate assessment), but merely an observation that changes are visible in our culture and in the church.
1. To me, there are two major, visible groups within the church: those who see our world through the eyes of loyalty to an institution, and those who regard institutions as dangerous.
   1. First, consider Christians who view our culture primarily through eyes of loyalty to institutions (which likely includes at least 50% of those assembled here this evening).
      1. Consider the institutional view of the world:
         1. Bottom line: “people should respect authority.”
         2. Government may go in the wrong direction, but people must respect the government as an institution.
         3. A corporation may be misguided, but people must show loyalty to a corporation (don’t bite the hand that feeds you).
         4. Marriage should be preserved even if you are miserable in your marriage because you need to preserve the institution of the home.
         5. The church needs to be respected and supported as an institution; do nothing that would weaken the institution.
      2. There was a time when institutions were basically good, were basically people focused, and basically had the best interest of people at heart.
         1. When World War II began, there was no exodus to Canada to avoid the draft.
         2. If the government said it, it was to be obeyed and trusted.
         3. A person could spend his entire work life with one company and retire with confidence that the company would take care of him.
         4. No matter how bad a marriage was, rarely would divorce occur.
         5. Whatever it took to protect the institution of the church, you did it; faith in Jesus Christ could not and must not be separated from the institutional aspects of the church.
   2. Do you realize that Christians under the age of 40 never consciously lived in a period of time when institutions were good?
      1. Just think about it.
         1. The older of them remember the Watergate break-in (1972), the resignation of Spiro Agnew (73), and the resignation of Richard Nixon (74).
         2. Their war of reference is Vietnam, not World War II–and they remember that war in critical views.
         3. Their parents lived through the collapse of some of the great corporations (like the telephone company) at a time when jobs stopped existing for a lifetime.
         4. Their skepticism became cynicism with fiascoes like Enron when corporate greed ruined the lives of many people.
         5. Whereas their grandparents endured almost any degree of dysfunction in marriages or any abuse or neglect in a home, their parents would not tolerate suffering in a marriage or home–so the divorce rate rose and many of them were children in single-parent families or blended families.
         6. The combination of birth control becoming easily available and the hurt of failed homes made living together arrangements attractive.
         7. The decline of Christian morals and values in the American society reinterpreted the understanding of what was acceptable and good.
         8. They have seen all the divisions in the church, all the control tactics in congregations, and all the stances that were more about theological issues than about God’s interaction with people.
            1. They have seen the suffering caused in the name of “being faithful to the church.”
            2. They have seen the ungodly attitudes in the power plays in the church.
            3. They have witnessed godly men and women subjected to hurt.
            4. Often to them the institutional aspects of today’s church are a symbol of what is wrong with the church.
      2. To many of those under 40, institutions are the symbol of all that is wrong and dangerous in our culture and in our world.
         1. This group is looking for meaningful relationships–which have been in short supply in their life experiences.
         2. Their concept of relationship and the institutional concept of relationship are distinctly different.

2. I want you to consider two of Jesus’ concepts and make one point from each.
   1. Begin by considering this understanding:
      1. Jesus was not what the Jews expected–they regarded a crucified King over a spiritual kingdom as too ridiculous to be seriously considered, and the first century Jewish nation was more isolationist and institutional than we ever dreamed of being.
      2. The pagan environment of the first century world was horrible by Christian standards–homosexual affairs, adulterous affairs, and divorce laden, drunkenness, exploitation of people. Paganism regarded a resurrected Savior and living for a world to come as stupid. They also were very institutional in focus.
      3. These two thoughts from Jesus were extremely unpopular concepts in the first century world, a world that respected power and control.
   2. First, I call your attention to a parable given to help explain the nature of God’s kingdom. It was embedded in a series of parables that illustrated the nature of the kingdom God was to establish–Matthew 13:33.
      He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
      1. The kingdom will spread by contagion.
      2. It will not be quick, but it will be steady.
      3. Point: if the kingdom is to achieve God’s purposes, there is no substitute for Jesus’ cross and God being the focus of the Christian’s personal life.
         1. It is not a matter of the success of the institution.
         2. It is a matter of the personal commitment of the individual.
   3. Second, I call your attention to a parable in this same set of parables on the nature of the kingdom–Matthew 13:47-50.
      Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
      1. The kingdom will contain all kinds of people–any “fish” can be caught by the “net.”
      2. The “sorting” is God’s responsibility, not ours.
      3. Point: the church will never be “perfect” on this earth–that is the reason there will be a “sorting” in judgment.
         1. God did not give us the mission of “keeping the church pure.”
         2. God gave us the mission (1) of personally belonging to Christ and (2) calling others to Christ.

All of us have seen unthinkable changes in this society and culture in the last 60 years. Things those of us above 50 regarded as permanent were clearly not permanent. Now change is occurring more rapidly than ever.

Most of us will live to witness and experience changes we never thought could occur. It is possible many of us will live to see a time when the American church is no longer an institution with buildings, and property, and the structure many are so familiar with today. That is not a prediction, but a statement of possibility.

If what we consider the unthinkable occurs, we desperately need to remember one thing: the cross of Jesus and God still exist. Our faith is in Jesus’ sacrifice and God, not an institution. Our hope is in Jesus’ death and God’s resurrection. No change will ever remove that if it is the focus of our personal existence.

Daily Focusing on Jesus and the Cross – Part 2

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

I want to begin by sharing with you some sad and disappointing information about a certaincongregation of the Lord’s church. I won’t name the congregation, but it is one that most of uswould know …
This congregation in danger going through a major split. Some of the reasons for the split concerncontroversies over worship. Divisions within the membership are playing out in the worship andsome are introducing disruptive practices into the worship. Others are altering the practice of theLord’s Supper.
Of course the problems go beyond worship. There are doctrinal controversies. Some of theleaders in this congregation have been advancing unbiblical views of baptism. The doctrinalcontroversies are closely associated with moral controversies. The congregation has becomewoefully tolerant of certain forms of sexual immorality and their teaching on divorce and marriageis not consistent with biblical teaching.
As one might expect, such a congregation is suffering from people who are separating intofactions. These factions are centered around the teaching and ministries of well-known teachers inthe brotherhood. This conflict is threatening to tear this highly visible congregation asunder.

Perhaps it is best that you know the name of the congregation I am speaking about. The church Ihave described is the first-century church in Corinth. We know about it from Paul’s letters. Paulheard about the problems in this congregation from those who were a part of it. In fact, he wasone of the well-known teachers who had a following in this church (and Paul was not supportiveof it). The root of the problem in the Corinthian church was their attempt to adopt and conform toexpectations of their world. Paul’s prescription for the ailing church in danger of destroying itselfin its attempts to conform to the accepted wisdom of the day is to return their focus to Jesus andthe cross. The Word of the Cross gave the Corinthian congregation life and Paul hopes that thepower of the word of the cross will not electrocute the church, but that it will shock their spiritualheart back to life …

1 Corinthians 1:18-31
The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved itis the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence ofthe intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is thephilosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in thewisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him God was pleased through thefoolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs andGreeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews andfoolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ thepower of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Consider your own call, brothers andsisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many wereof noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose theweak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and thedespised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one mayboast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdomfrom God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Letthe one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

The Word of The Cross

1. It is foolishness to those who are perishing(1:18)
   1. It “thwarts” established assumptions – It thwarts our understanding and assumptions. Itnullifies the wisdom of this world. It confounds our best understanding and greatest achievements(Just as God did at Babel — Genesis 11). It sets aside our pretensions and our expectationsbecause they are often flawed and imperfect. And because of this …
   2. It is counterintuitive to our way of knowing the world. Thus, those who are invested in worldlywisdom do not understand the cross. The cross is too risky. It says that those who lose their livesgain it — that is counterintuitive to a world that believes in “survival of the fittest.” The cross istoo humiliating. It says that the greatest is the servant of all and the least shall be first — that iscounter-intuitive to a world that believes that “might makes right” and that it is not “what youknow but who you know.” And those are just some of the ways the Word of the Cross thwartsour knowledge, but it can also upset our deep-seated, gut-level, spiritual convictions …
   3. It also confounds our sensitivities and assumptions. We like to think that God should onlybehave in certain ways, but the Cross shows us that our mysterious God will not be defined byour expectations …
2. To those who want signs and wisdom … (1:22-23)
   1. It is scandalous and offensive — Paul said that Jews demand signs. They want spiritual proof.They believed that the Messiah should come in a display of divine authority, not weakness andshamefulness. God is shamed and defiled? He endures a curse? What will the gentiles think? Butthe cross is not politically correct, it is brutal and not cleaned up. The cross does not conform toour religious sensibilities. When Mel Gibson set out to make The Passion of the Christ, he wasdedicated to being as honest with the scandalous and offensive nature of the crucifixion. Andguess what, people were offended! Not just those who decried it as anti-Semitic, but alsoChristians who believed the display was too gory. For those reasons and many more we mustrecall that the word of the cross is indeed scandalous — a stumbling block. It forces a decision foror against God and his way of salvation. At times the Word of the Cross and the implications ofthat word confront our religious sensibilities and make us decide …
   2. It is moronic and foolish — Paul said the Greeks demand wisdom. They wanted logical proof.They believed in certain categories and criteria and God in Jesus did not fit those. Why wouldGod die? Why would he sacrifice himself to save others? How can the death of a man condemnedas a rebel and bandit save the world? Why do we need saving? Alexandros graffiti – Christianitywas not understood in the first-century. It was viewed as a religion for reprobates and lowerclasses. It was ridiculed.
      
      “Alexandros worships his god”
      First century Roman graffiti.
      Click here to view photo.

   3. In recent times there are many who believe that Christianity is a religion for the unlearned andweak-minded. [Karl Marx — Religion is the Opiate of the masses.] We drain the power from thecross and our gospel when we try to conform it to science or philosophy or the prevailing wisdomof our culture. That doesn’t mean that our faith is unscientific or non-philosophical or that itdoesn’t dialogue with culture — but it does mean that the Word of the Cross tests science andphilosophy and culture, not the other way around …
3. To those being saved it is the power of God (1:18)
   1. It has the power to destroy other powers. The word of the cross reveals something thatshakes the foundations of all other powers. It proclaims and represents a God doing something sounique that every influential power and principle is redefined.
   2. It has the power to create new reality It is redefined because a new reality is created. It hasthe power to transform not only us as individuals — but the world as we know it. All systems ofpower, all structures of relationship, all ways of thinking … And the Word of the Cross recreatesall over again the “new world” created by the event. For like all words …
   3. Words have that power to create and destroy and recreate.
      1. The words “It is terminal” can change life
      2. You’re fired” — (trivialized on Apprentice — it just means you are off the show) — thesewords can change reality for someone
   4. How is it power? It is an apocalyptic event —
      1. Nothing is the same now that this has happened.
      2. There is rhetoric about the political shifts due to 9/11. It has become a decisive event — pre9/11 and post 9/11.
      3. Is it any wonder why our calendar systems used BC and AD — a new rule is in effect!

   The Word of the cross like all words has a power to change — but the word of the cross is notbound by our definitions … in fact it confounds and unsettles the definitions we think are soimportant and so stable …

4. It redefines everything
   1. Our past and future: The Corinthians needed to look back at who they were when God calledthem. It is God’s modus operandi to work with those we overlook and reject in our earthlywisdom. Why do we let our past define us when the word of the cross redefines our past? Whoamong us can truly secure our future? All the best planning and work can be undone in seconds.What wisdom secures the perfect future? Why do we let our efforts for the future define us whenthe word of the cross defines our future?
   2. Our worth and identity: The Corinthians were divided. They were finding their identity inhuman leaders and the acceptable things of this world. Their identity was based on theirphilosophies. What about our divisions and categories? [In 1832, Racoon John Smith proposedunity between the Campbell churches and the Stone churches. Mentioning some of the terms andissues that divided them he said, “Let us then, my brethren, be no longer Campbellites orStoneites, New Lights or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights. But let us come to the Bible andthe Bible alone, as the only book in creation that can give us all the Light we need.”] But nowalmost 200 years later, what terms separate us? Is that the Word of the Cross? What about ourbackgrounds and our status? What makes us wise? What gives us power? On what basis do wefind unity — The Mac Pruitt story — There’s a VP at Dow come to visit a union man — Thosewho are being saved have a worth and identity that seems foolish to the world.
   3. Our values and allegiances: Those who are being saved have allegiance to God even when itis risky and seems foolish.
      1. Carl Spain — race and ACU’s policy not to admit African American students pre 1961 — “Dowe fear Jim Crow more than we revere Jesus Christ?”
      2. Jim Elliot — Through the Gates of Splendor “He is no fool who gives up that which he cannotkeep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Having the Mind of Christ (see Jeremiah 9:23-24)
“Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in hisriches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORDwho is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things.” — Jeremiah9:23-24

Believing in the Word of the cross is the first challenge. But conforming to it and living it out isthe greater challenge. Accepting the very different Word of the Cross is the first challenge, havingthat mind of Christ is the next challenge — and both require the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

The Tightrope Walker — A man walked a tightrope across a windy ravine very slowly but madeit. People gathered around and that tightrope walker asked the crowd, “Do you think I can crossthe ravine again?” There was great applause and every one shouted their confidence in the man.Then he asked, “Well, who then will go with me as I carry you on my shoulders?”

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Morning Sermon, 3 October 2004

Can You Help in Cameroon?

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

In 1972-73 Eugene Elangwe was a teenager in preacher training school in Cameroon, West Africa, where I lived and taught. Now Eugene is almost 50 years old with a family of 7 children. After graduating from the preacher training school, he shared the good news of Christ with his people. Of the five students graduating in his class, only two continue to preach.

He lives in a remote area and owns no motorized transportation. Some congregations are too remote to be visited by car. In a typical month he walks 85 kilometers (51 miles) to visit congregations. The number of places with no congregation who request him to come preach is increasing. This is in addition to 13 existing congregations. He has very few books, supplies, or Bibles to use in his work. Viewed from our circumstances, he has almost nothing to use. There is a dire need for medicines and medical supplies. Eugene has witnessed friends die in situations he knows are unnecessary.

To address growing needs, he began a preacher training school which graduated its first class of 5 in September, 2003. He also directs leadership training for men in established congregations (on a regular basis). He is 203 miles from the nearest American missionary. They are able to visit about once a year. This missionary does not have the supplies to address Eugene’s needs. One American preacher goes once every year or two to teach in the preacher training school for three weeks.

For the better part of 5 years, Eugene and I have worked to find a means to supply some of the many needs around him. With the significant help of C.U.R.E., we plan to send a large shipment of medical supplies and Bible study materials (including Bibles) to Wum, Cameroon, in the near future. Dr. Fisher located the lowest possible prices for medicines and medical equipment that C.U.R.E. does not possess. Supplies C.U.R.E. has will be donated. We received the necessary government documents to assure acceptance of this shipment. Now it is a matter of gathering, packing, funding, and shipping the supplies.

How can you help??