Christians and Undesirable Experiences

Posted by David on September 4, 2005 under Sermons

I want to begin this evening with a reading from 2 Corinthians 11:16-33.
Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also. For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else is bold–I speak in foolishness–I am just as bold myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ?–I speak as if insane–I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

This evening, I want us to do two things. First, I want us to focus on Paul’s obvious frustration in this scripture. Second, I want to call something to your attention.

1. Let’s begin with the context of this reading.
   1. What Paul did in sharing salvation in Jesus Christ with people who were not Jews was very unpopular with many Jewish people which definitely included a number of Jewish Christians.
      1. Other letters that Paul wrote provide us insights into tactics his Jewish Christian opponents used in an attempt to destroy his work and influence.
         1. The book of Galatians is such a letter.
         2. First, Paul evangelized the area and began congregations in many of the cities.
         3. Second, Paul left the area.
         4. Third, some Jewish Christian teachers (known as Judaizing teachers) visited the congregations Paul started.
            1. To paraphrase, they basically said, “Let us tell you what Paul failed to tell you.”
            2. “You should trust us instead of Paul because we come from the first congregation, the mother church in Jerusalem.”
            3. “We represent the 12 apostles, and Paul was not even part of the 12.”
         5. Fourth, Paul was astounded at how quickly these gentile Christians left the gospel (good news) of grace in Christ for the message these new comers brought.
         6. Fifth, the new comers were so convincing and so effective that they forced Paul to defend his credentials as a missionary for Jesus Christ.
         7. If you read Galatians 1, the situation I just called to your attention is evident.
      2. The same type of thing had happened among the converts at Corinth.
         1. The standard attack seemed to be this:
         2. Discredit Paul as Jesus Christ’s messenger.
         3. Discredit Paul’s message as inadequate.
         4. Replace Paul’s teachings with their teachings.
         5. The conflict between Paul and these other Jewish Christians is evident in 2 Corinthians 10, 11.
   2. Some common attempts to discredit Paul (of which Paul is aware) are seen in 10:10.
      1. “He is a great writer, but he is quite unimpressive in person.”
      2. “He is a horrible speaker.”
      3. Paul did not deny the attacks on his person; instead he discussed motives.
      4. People were so impacted by physical appearance and physical ability (like we are!) that such attacks forced Paul to resort to their reasoning to counter their arguments.
         1. He challenged Corinthian Christians to think as they evaluated the situation.
         2. He made it quite evident that his “measuring stick” was distinctly different from his opponents “measuring stick”.
   3. In the NAS (New American Standard) translation which I commonly use, a word is used that we do not often use in the way Paul did.
      1. The word is “boasting”.
      2. To us, it is a negative word with little or no positive use–it has the “flavor” of arrogance.
      3. Paul likely used sarcasm as he basically said, “Allow me to use the approach and the reasoning my opponents use.”
      4. He did not say this because it was his typical way of reasoning, but because it was the way his opponents argued which influenced the Corinthian Christians’ thinking.
         1. Even if I was an unskilled speaker, was I wrong to refuse to make my message about me? (11:7)
         2. Was I wrong not to charge you anything for my work among you? (11:8,9)
         3. Was I wrong to be motivated by love for you? (11:8)
         4. Should it not be evident that those who serve Satan’s purposes are as deceitful as Satan is? You dare not go only on the basis of appearance! (11:13-15)

2. Let’s focus on the reading at the first of this lesson.
   1. Paul, using sarcasm several times, basically said, “Allow me to reason like my opponents reason.”
      1. “I know, because you have such wisdom, you will allow me to do this” (sarcasm).
         1. “You let those who abuse you say what they want.”
         2. “Certainly you will let me talk to you like they talk to you” (sarcasm).
      2. First, I have all the basic credentials they do. I measure up to their credentials.”
         1. I am a devout Jew just like they are.
         2. I am from the nation of Israel just like they are.
         3. Abraham is my forefather also.
         4. I serve Christ just as they claim to.
      3. Second, let me share some additional credentials I have and let you determine if they measure up to my credentials.
         1. I have worked harder than they work.
         2. I have been to prison for Christ more than they.
         3. Take note of my countless beatings!
         4. Take note of the fact of the number of times I faced death!
         5. Take note of the fact that five times the Jews whipped me with 39 lashes!
         6. Take note of the fact that I was three times beaten with rods!
         7. Take note of the fact I was stoned once!
         8. Take note of the fact I have been in three shipwrecks!
         9. Then consider my many journeys, my trips up rivers, and the dangers I faced with robbers, with irate Jews, with irate gentiles, with city life, with wilderness experiences, with the sea, and with false brethren.
         10. Consider my hardships: sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, starvation, cold, exposure.
         11. On top of those things is the pressure of my constant concern for the congregations I started.
         12. I know what it is like to share weakness with the weak, and to be concerned about Christians who sin.
         13. If my opponents force me to boast, then I will boast about all the things that declare my weakness.
         14. You Corinthians know that what I am saying about my experiences is the truth!

3. This is the thing I want to call to your attention.
   1. Does not Paul’s life sound like fun? Are not those the experiences you would enjoy having?
      1. Would you not love it if belonging to Christ meant you worked so hard?
      2. Would you not like to go to prison for Christ so many times?
      3. Would you not like to face death so many ways?
      4. Would you not like to be publicly humiliated by enduring pain in so may beatings?
      5. Would you not like to live in circumstances in which you had more people who wished to harm you than you had friends?
      6. Would you not like to be as physically deprived as Paul voluntarily was?
      7. Would you not enjoy knowing the stresses on so many other congregations?
   2. One of the things that frequently distresses me about expressions of believing in Christ in this culture is the “health and wealth” gospel declared by so many.
      1. Many believe that if a person places his or her faith in Jesus Christ, all of life is going to be okay.
      2. Okay means no suffering, no pain, no want, and a very pleasant physical existence.
      3. Do I believe in the power of prayer? Certainly!
      4. Do I believe in God’s blessings? Certainly!
      5. I also understand we have Savior because an innocent man was willing to die in devotion to God’s will.
         1. I also know Jesus who was made the Christ by God said in Matthew 16:24
            Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
         2. He also said in Matthew 10:38:
            And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
      6. How does that all fit together?
         1. I do not know!
         2. The God who far exceeds our imagination fits it together!
         3. In some way it is involved in this enormous conflict between good and evil!
         4. In some way it involves Satan’s attacks on those who dare belong to God!

Never, never be deceived! We are Christians because we trust the God of resurrection! We do not follow Jesus Christ because of the temporary rewards of this life. We follow Jesus Christ to receive the eternal rewards after this life!

We seek the eternal, not the temporary!

This Congregation “Shakes Me Up”!

Posted by David on September 1, 2005 under Bulletin Articles

All evening the pager vibrated until I turned it off at 10:30 p.m. A little after 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, I turned it on. Five prayers were uttered for me prior to my turning it on, and it went off in my hand! (I jumped again!) I knew I would never get my work done if I jumped every time it went off, so when I got to work I placed it close by. I hear it every time it vibrates-which is often!

I find it very humbling to realize so many offer prayers in my behalf! I never doubted that fact, but the pager surely puts an underline beneath that fact! Thank you so much for constantly reminding me (1) of your relationship with God and (2) your loving concern for us.

One of the most encouraging, heartening things for me in my “prayer pager experience” is this: receiving specific evidence of how prayerful this congregation is! Things happen because God acts, not because we are powerful. God uses us for His eternal purposes! We do not use God for our momentary purposes!

Hopefully you understand that Joyce and I do not care who knows about my health challenges. While the cause has not yet been determined, we understand (1) the conditions likely will slowly progress; (2) therapy should help symptoms; and (3) I must have considerable training/learning. Though the situation has just been discovered, it possibly has been progressing for a long time. It is unlikely anything will happen quickly (which is one reason we have not wanted to give my situation a high profile).

In your prayers, I have three requests. (1) Pray the progression will not rob me of my personality. (2) Pray I will respond well to therapy. (3) Pray God’s purposes will be served in ways that honor Him.

Thank you for your many kindnesses and thoughtfulness! Joyce and I are overwhelmed by the caring and love of so many here and elsewhere! Every day we are surrounded by so many blessings! Be patient with us-this is a marathon race, not a hundred yard dash!

If I just will not fall again; I hope to cease providing you visual reminders! Slings tend to attract attention! Slow movement does not mean I am worse-just that I am trying to be more deliberate in my actions. Joyce and I both deeply appreciate the prayers and encouragements! Being in Christ with you is a wonderful experience!

What Is the “Why”?

Posted by David on August 28, 2005 under Sermons

This evening I want to begin our thinking with a “what if” situation.

Here is the situation: you have a friend that you have had for years and years. Though you are very close to your friend, you have never discussed religious concepts with him or her. He or she has never given you an opening for such a discussion. In fact he or she has made it quite clear in the past that he or she does not want you to talk about religious concepts with him or her.

Since this has been clearly established, you have honored his or her wishes. The two of you have a lot in common. You relate to each other easily. And it is obvious that he or she cares about you deeply as a friend.

One day, quite unexpectedly, he or she talks to you about religion. He or she says, “I have been watching you as a religious person for a long, long time. I do not want you to make an effort to convert me. But I do have a question I want to ask you. It is a religious question. If it is okay to ask you this question, just answer the question.”

You assure him or her that it is quite all right for him or her to ask you a question. You have no idea of what might be asked, but it is okay for him or her to ask anything.

Here is the question: “What is the bottom line, basic objective of being a Christian? What is the basic answer to “why” in seeking to be a religious person? I think I have figured out why you follow Jesus Christ. That is not what I am asking. I am asking that if you go to the most fundamental reason for being religious, why are you religious?”

What would you say? What answer would you give your friend? If you wanted in a truly biblical way to explain to him or her why you choose to be a religious person, what would you say?

Before Israel existed, there were religious people. Israel existed as a religious nation. Christians should exist as religious people–not just a people who have religious habits one day a week. There always have been people who choose to be religious. You choose to be religious.

The question that concerns him or her is why you made that choice. Obviously, your answer will be quite important.

I want to call your attention to three scriptures.

1. The first scripture I call to your attention is Exodus 32:9-14.
   The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
   1. Consider the context of the situation.
      1. In Exodus 20 God gave these slaves He led out of Egypt His core laws which we commonly refer to as the Ten Commandments.
      2. In Egypt, these slaves existed for generations under the Egyptian influence of the wrong concept of deity.
      3. The entire experience of securing Israel’s release from Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, and sustaining them in the wilderness was to change their concept of deity.
      4. Yet, they clung to the old idolatrous concept and felt comfortable with old concept instead of learning the reality about Who God truly is, and interpreted everything on the basis of old comfortable error rather than the newly understood reality.
      5. As a result, when Moses was absent from them for just over a month, they asked Aaron (Moses’ brother) to make them a god (the golden calf) to lead them.
      6. When Aaron presented the calf to the people, the people received the calf with these words: “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4).
   2. The impact of their idolatrous behavior:
      1. God was insulted in a fundamental way.
         1. He had done many mighty things to demonstrate that the Creator God is basically different from the idolatrous concept of deity.
         2. Yet, these people failed miserably to see the difference.
         3. God was deeply angered by their rejection!
         4. He wanted to destroy them and keep His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by building a nation from Moses.
      2. In essence, Moses declared to God that such an action would be very unwise in His desired influence on wicked, ignorant people.
   3. Consider thoughtfully and carefully Moses’ reasoning.
      1. “God, Your just anger against these people who worshipped an idol, who gave the idol credit for Your deeds, and credited the idol with their deliverance will not accomplish Your purposes.”
      2. “Your enemy, the Egyptians, will declare You to be a powerless, evil God.”
         1. “They will declare You had an evil intent in Your deliverance.”
         2. “They will say You delivered Israel to kill them.”
         3. “Why should You provide them opportunity to say these things about You?”
      3. Please note the fact that Moses said that God’s enemies would further misrepresent God.
         1. Do not help Your enemies misrepresent You!
         2. Do not be misunderstood by Your enemies!
         3. Understanding You correctly is more important than the mistakes of Israel!
      4. Focus on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob instead of focusing on the evil of their descendants.
         1. Let Your actions be determined by Your promise to them, not the evil of these people!
         2. Do not forget what You do is more about Who You are, not about the wickedness of these people
   4. The result: God did not do harm to these people who horribly insulted Him.
   5. The key point I would like to stress: Moses said the important concern is Your name, Your greatness, and Your power–not the wicked insults of Israel.

2. The second scripture I wish to call to your attention is Numbers 14:13-19.
   But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for You, O Lord, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
   1. Again, consider the context of the situation.
      1. About a year from the time Israel left Egypt, they are on the border of Canaan (the land God promised them) ready to invade.
      2. The people who prepared to invade were the same people who wanted an idol in Exodus 32.
      3. Twelve spies were selected from the twelve tribes (leaders from the tribes).
         1. They were to see what the land was like, if the people were weak or strong, and if the people were few in number or many in number.
         2. They were also to report if the land was desirable, and if people lived in camps or fortified cities.
         3. They were to see if there were trees there and to bring back samples of the fruitfulness of the land.
      4. When the twelve men returned:
         1. Ten deliberately discouraged the people by declaring Israel could not possibly take the land.
         2. Two of the men said if God said we can take the land, we can take it.
   2. The impact of the false report:
      1. The people cried all night.
         1. The people grumbled toward Moses and declared they wish they had died in Egypt or the wilderness.
         2. The men said their wives and children would become slaves.
         3. There was even a movement among the people to return to Egypt!
      2. Again, God was rejected and insulted.
         1. “How long will these people keep rejecting Me?”
         2. “How long will they refuse to believe Me in spite of all I have done for them?”
         3. “I will kill them and make you, Moses, a nation greater and mightier than they are!”
   3. Consider carefully and thoughtfully Moses appeal to God.
      1. The Egyptians will hear the You killed these people.
      2. They will inform the inhabitants of Canaan (God’s enemies–see Deuteronomy 9:5– It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.)
      3. Everyone knows how You have led and cared for Israel.
      4. If you now kill these people, Your enemies will say You were unable to do what You promised You would do.
      5. Moses pled, “Use these circumstances to verify Who You are–that is by far more important than justly giving consequences to people who have insulted You.”
   4. The result: God pardoned the nation for that insult, but He gave them their wish as a consequence.
      1. God pardoned them so that all the earth would be filled with His glory.
      2. However, instead of killing everyone all at once, this would happen:
         1. They would wander in the wilderness one year for every day the spies were in Canaan.
         2. In that time, every adult (except Joshua and Caleb) who left Egypt would die–they would get their wish to die before entering Canaan!
         3. Their children, instead of being prey to the Canaanites, would inherit the land their parents rejected.
   5. The key point: God’s actions were based on God’s presentation of His character even to his enemies.

3. Lest you think this is only an Old Testament emphasis, I call your attention to 1 Peter 2:9,10.
   But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
   1. We are Christians to help people understand Who God truly is.
      1. The primary reason for being a Christian is not about us.
         1. Our hope in Christ is real.
         2. Our forgiveness in Christ is real.
         3. Our home with God is real.
         4. The grace and mercy God provided us in Jesus Christ is real
         5. Yet, all those things exist because God is God.
         6. All of those things are secondary.
      2. We exist to be God’s own possession, to declare the excellencies of God, because we who were not the people of God are now God’s people who receive mercy because of Who God is.
         1. We have the Christ because God the Father sent him.
         2. We have salvation because God the Father promised a blessing to all through Abraham (Genesis 12:3).
         3. We have a home in heaven because of what God the Father did in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Back to the question we first asked. Why are we religious? Because we want to reflect the true nature and character of God! It has never been about “us.” It always has been about God!

God Works Through the Imperfect

Posted by David on August 22, 2005 under Bulletin Articles

Humans often reason that “God works through the best.” Therefore, those who follow God can be deceived into trying to become/be “the best” in a human attempt to obligate God to accept them and to work through them. Certainly, those who belong to God seek to learn and to embrace God’s higher level of morality declared through their behavior. They willingly accept God’s moral views as the standards for their motives and their behavior.

However, those who follow God have no illusions about their personal dependence on God. It is God’s grace that allows them to belong to God, not their own personal goodness. Following God is not an attempt to obligate God, but an acknowledgement of one’s own unworthiness. The person who belongs to God can come boldly to God’s throne confidently seeking God’s grace (Hebrews 4:16) not because of his or her worthiness, but because of God’s goodness. Those who belong to God seek to be a good example, but they do so to reflect God’s true goodness, not their own pseudo goodness (Matthew 5:16).

One important realization Christians need to grasp is this: it always has been about God’s greatness and His honorable Name, not about elevating the status of bad humans into incredible humans. In the context of each situation, consider these statements: Exodus 32:9-14; Numbers 14:13-19; Psalm 25:11; and Jeremiah 14:7, 21. God acts because of Who God is to reveal His honorable nature. Christians exist to declare Who God is (Acts 17:16-31; 1 Peter 2:9, 10).

Jacob was not God’s ideal “poster boy.” Jacob was a liar, a deceiver, and an untrustworthy schemer. Consider Genesis 27:9-29; 30:27-42; and 31:17-28. He often schemed deceptively to achieve his purposes. He lived up to his birth name in Genesis 25:21-26 — the one who takes by the heel or surplants.

However, he suffered and endured many things because of his untrustworhy character. He endured the hatred of his twin brother; separation from his immediate family; being deceived by his father-in-law; being married to two wives who were jealous sisters; the rivalry of his sons; the horrible judgment of his sons; and deception by some sons concerning their declaration that the son he most loved died. Jacob’s life was a life of distress and unpleasantness throughout most of his adult years.

Late in his adult life Jacob was introduced to the ruler of Egypt. The ruler of Egypt was impressed by Jacob’s long life. When the ruler inquired how old Jacob was, Jacob responded with these words:
“The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant [literally, evil] have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning” (Genesis 47:9, NAS).

Jacob lived a long life, but not an enjoyable life.

God used Jacob to accomplish His purposes and fulfill His promises. Jacob was not the ideal follower of God nor a wonderful example of moral integrity. God achieved His purposes through Jacob because of who God is, not because Jacob was an incredible man of righteousness.

May God achieve His purposes through you with your full cooperation and devotion, not in spite of your weakness and poor character.

What’s the Point?

Posted by David on August 21, 2005 under Sermons

To those of us who are older, the American society and culture is very confusing. We have things today that are an everyday part of existence that older people just one generation ago did not dream of existing, let alone becoming common place in the lives of people. To some of us it seems as if young adults of today have everything, and often they are discouraged as if they have nothing. It is not unusual to encounter people today who are deeply depressed or deeply discouraged or deeply frustrated, and who have basically decided that life is pointless. To some of us, that is quite confusing.

Joyce’s Mom and Dad did not have an indoor bathroom until Joyce was in college. Would any of us consider buying a house without a bathroom today? I remember when my Mom cooked on two kerosene eyes (no oven), and that was advanced technology–we knew people who cooked on a wood stove. Would we consider living permanently without ovens and a microwave today? Joyce and I both were in the eighth grade before our homes had just one party line telephone. How many people today think they cannot live without a personal cell phone?

Joyce and I grew up in an area where religion was a serious matter. By and large, religion is not a serious matter today.

Why? How can our society experience so many advances, and life become increasingly without point at the same time? How can our society experience so many advances, and being religious become increasingly unimportant at the same time?

Why? I do not conclude there is just one reason. Conditions among people in our society are caused by a number of factors. Among the important factors, there is one we should note, understand, and take quite seriously. Increasingly, as we make advances, more and more of life is viewed as pointless.

More and more it becomes a matter of going through the motions without understanding the point of what you are doing or making any application of what you are doing. Get a college education! Why? That is what your are supposed to do! Get a job with benefits! Why? That is what you are supposed to do! Get married! Why? That is what you are supposed to do! Go to church! Why? That is what you are supposed to do.

1. Allow me to call your attention to a statement Jesus made the last night of his earthly life.
   John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
   1. Context:
      1. In less than 24 hours Jesus was not going to be with the 12 in the same manner (physically) that he has been with them throughout his ministry.
         1. This initially will be a very traumatic experience for them.
         2. He wanted to reassure them that it was going to be okay.
      2. Thomas said, “We do not know where you are going and we do not know the way there.”
         1. Thomas’ response increases Jesus’ distress for them.
         2. Yet, Jesus still seeks to encourage them.
      3. Philip says, “Just let us see the Father and everything will be okay.”
         1. This further distresses Jesus.
         2. However, he still tries to encourage the 12.
   2. It is in this context that Jesus made the statement that he was the way, truth, and life to the 12, and declared that he is the only way to the Father.
      1. If I understand Jesus’ statement correctly, it is by examining and understanding Jesus’ teachings and earthly life that they were given insights into God’s character, purposes, values, and priorities.
      2. It was only by understanding Jesus that they would correctly understand God.
      3. Jesus is the key to understanding the nature and desires of God the Father–that is an incredible statement!

2. Let me challenge you to see what an incredible statement that is by calling your attention to some statements Jesus made in Matthew 5:21-48 and Matthew 6:1-18.
   1. In Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus discussed the subjects of murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, justice, and concepts of compassion, and the neighbor-enemy concept in the Jewish society among the Jewish people.
      1. In the discussion of each area, Jesus drew a contrast.
      2. The contrast is between their religious society’s position and God’s position.
      3. To me we could summarize the entire discussion in this manner: “You missed God’s point!”
         1. “Your emphasis and God’s emphasis are not the same.”
         2. “Your values and God’s values are not the same.”
         3. “The religious stance your leaders and society take is just that–a religious stance; it is not godlike.”
   2. In Matthew 6:1-18 Jesus addressed three very common religious acts in first century Jewish religious society: benevolence to the poor and disabled (alms); praying; fasting.
      1. The simple, basic point he made in all three was the same: motives matter!
      2. “If your motive is to attract attention to yourself and win the praise of people, when that occurs you got what you wanted.”
      3. “Do not expect anything from God!”
      4. “You did not do it for God!”
      5. “God owes you nothing!” (This is not endorsing an attempt to place God in one’s debt, but simply acknowledged the act was not about God, so God was not a factor in rewards received.)
      6. You practice benevolence, prayer, and fasting to honor God, not to win people’s praise for yourself.
   3. Though Jesus represented God the Father as no one else has or ever will, Jesus’ observations were neither appreciated by religious leaders nor popular with the general religious population.
      1. People are very emotional about their personal convictions.
      2. They feel deeply about their convictions.
      3. They had rather allow what they feel determine their convictions rather than sound information determine their convictions.
      4. Too often people listen to agree or disagree, not to learn.
      5. Quite often people did not like what Jesus said and responded by thinking, “Surely that is not what God thinks or wants!”

3. I have spent my life teaching under an assumption that I now wonder if it is correct.
   1. All of my life I have studied scripture and people in a genuine effort to understand each.
      1. I genuinely believed that anything I understood I could help someone else understand.
      2. I studied to understand in the conviction that if I understood I could help others understand.
      3. The result would be that people would not base their trust on me but on God.
   2. Here is the assumption I now question.
      1. I thought if I made information available to people through my teaching, they would understand and in understanding they would make application.
      2. To me the sequence was this: (1) sound information; (2) understanding; (3) application to oneself.
      3. The assumption I now question is the application.

4. Allow me to illustrate my point.
   1. There is not a person here that would go to one of our hospitals, walk into a sick stranger’s room, and kick him or her.
      1. Why not?
         1. “That would be a very unchristian thing to do!”
         2. Why?
         3. “A Christian is supposed to show compassion and treat other people like he or she wants to be treated.”
      2. Absolutely true!
         1. Being a Christian forbids you to go into a hospital and kick a sick stranger.
         2. However, many Christians do not think being a Christian forbids him or her to go home and make your spouse or your children miserable.
      3. Application!
   2. There is not a person in this audience that would walk up and take a sandwich away from an obviously hungry person.
      1. Why not?
         1. That would be a very unchristian thing to do!”
         2. Why?
         3. “A Christian is supposed to show compassion and treat other people like he or she wants to be treated.”
      2. Absolutely true!
         1. Being a Christian forbids you from taking a sandwich away from a hungry person.
         2. However, many Christians do not think being a Christian forbids him or her from abusing his or her employer!
      3. Application!
   3. I hope there is not a person in this audience who would walk up to a guest at one of our fellowships and criticize him or her.
      1. A person visiting with us at a fellowship has never seen so much home cooked food and does not know how to act.
         1. His or her actions might offend you, but you likely will not say a word.
         2. In fact, most if not all of you will probably be kind and helpful.
      2. Why will you act that way?
         1. It is the Christian thing to do!
         2. We need to treat them like we would want to be treated in the same situation!
      3. Absolutely true!
         1. Being a Christian in that situation means showing kindness, not voicing criticism.
         2. However, we often will treat a stranger with more kindness than we will show another Christian who does not agree with us!
      4. Application!

5. I want you to go home thinking about something and I want you to think about it all this week.
   1. Being a Christian involves the way I treat everyone all seven days of each week.
      1. Why?
      2. Simply because being a Christian is about who I am, not just what I do.
      3. If anyone should receive the benefit of my relationship to God through Jesus Christ, it should be those who are closest to me.
      4. It is my relationship with God that defines who and what I am as a husband, a wife, a child, a sibling, an employee, an employer, a neighbor, and a stranger
   2. After declaring the deeds of the flesh (which oppose God and His influence in us), Paul declared the contrasting fruit of the Spirit with these words in Galatians 5:22-26.
      But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
      1. Allow me to use an old analogy.
         1. The fruit surrounds the seed.
         2. It is the fruit that attracts a person to the seed and make that person want to plant that seed.
         3. Few people would want to plant a peach pit if he or she did not see and taste the peach!
      2. Live the kind of life, treat the people around you in a manner that attracts people to the gospel that makes you who you are!

May nowhere your Christianity be more evident than in the way you treat your family! May they see “the point” in the way you live and the way you treat others!

Personal Desire and Conversion

Posted by David on August 7, 2005 under Sermons

I want to begin tonight with a sports analogy that is not specific to any particular sport. I wish to refer to a particular statement all of you have heard if you have ever watched in sporting event in which the teams were tied.

The sporting event may involve two competing teams or two competing athletes. If it is a significant event, it is broadcast either by television or by radio or by both. If it is a broadcast event, it has one or more sports commentators. One will tell the audience what is happening, and one will speak to add “color” to the happenings.

In this event the athletes are in superb physical condition. Each side has excellent coaches. It is late in the competition, and the competition is tied. The competition has not been decided. Both sides have a legitimate chance to win the competition. The conditioning of the athletes is amazing! The coaching staffs have made all the right decisions! The score is tied!

Here is the comment we all have heard a number of times: “It is just a matter of which side wants to win the most (or has the greatest desire to win).”

This is the fact I wish to call to your attention: We understand that even in something as temporary as victory in a sporting event, desire is a key element. There can be success in nothing without the element of desire.

This evening I want to focus your attention on the importance of the converted’s desire if conversion is to occur. An individual must be a Christian because he or she wishes to be a Christian. Stated negatively: a person who does not wish to be a Christian will not be a Christian because you desire him or her to become a Christian.

1. Allow me to state this truth in a number of ways.
   1. First, let me state my understanding from scripture of conversion.
      1. Conversion is the result of a person who is not a Christian who makes the decision to enter Jesus Christ–he or she realizes he or she is out of Christ, and he or she chooses to let God place him or her in Christ.
      2. The unconverted person places confidence in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
         1. He or she accepts the fact that Jesus died for his or her sins.
         2. He or she accepts the fact that God raised Jesus from death.
      3. The converted person realizes he or she must redirect his or her life, or repent.
         1. That basically is the awareness that God has not been in control of who he or she was or in how he or she lived.
         2. Now he or she wants God to be in complete control of who he or she is or how he or she lives.
      4. This person begins the process of confessing his or her acceptance of Jesus’ identity and role in his or her life.
         1. He or she is not ashamed to verbally declare his or her acceptance of Jesus.
         2. He or she will continue to declare his or her acceptance of Jesus.
      5. This person not only agrees to be baptized into Christ, but is baptized because he or she wants to be baptized.
         1. He or she wants to be baptized because that is what people in the New Testament did.
         2. He or she wants God to use the same power to raise him or her from death to sin just like He resurrected Jesus from physical death.
   2. Let me now challenge you to consider what to me seems obvious.
      1. If a person repents, he or she has to realize he or she is in sin.
      2. If a person is to enter hope, he or she has to realize that life prior to Christ was without hope.
      3. If a person is redeemed, he or she realizes he or she needed to be rescued.
      4. If a person is forgiven, he or she realizes he or she needs forgiveness.
      5. Stated simply, the person understands there is a need to be addressed, and he or she wants that need addressed.
      6. Conversion is much more that the willingness to become part of a religious organization.
      7. Conversion is much more than church attendance.
      8. Conversion is much more than being in a directory.
      9. Conversion in the most basic manner is about me; it is about who I am and what I choose to be.

   (Transition: I want to call your attention to some situations in scripture to challenge you to think about yourself as well as others.)

2. The first situation I call your attention to is found in all of the gospels; I ask you to consider Mark 1:16-20.
   As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
   1. There are many correct points that could be made from this brief incident, and many points have been made from it.
   2. I want to call your attention to just one point which I will place in the form of a question.
      1. Scripture says Peter was married–he had a mother-in-law living in Capernaum; he was fishing to support his family.
      2. James and John were actively involved in the family fishing business which must have been profitable since it notes their father had servants.
      3. The question: why did Peter, Andrew, James, and John go with Jesus when he extended to them an invitation?
         1. Not only did he not offer them employment, but he took them from their jobs.
         2. Did they know everything involved in being followers of Jesus? No!
         3. Did they have a correct understanding of the point of Jesus’ ministry? No!
         4. Did they have a lot of growing to do? Absolutely!
         5. Would following Jesus be a simple thing to do? No!
         6. Then why did these men go?
         7. Very simple answer: because they wanted to!
         8. Their desire was to be followers of Jesus–so they grew in understanding and endured difficulty!
      4. I want you to see and hear their desire–they did not have to go with Jesus, they wanted to go with Jesus.

3. Next I call your attention to one of the most best known chapters in the New Testament to many members of the Church of Christ: Acts 2.
   1. The Spirit comes upon the apostles.
      1. The noise of the coming of the Spirit attracts a huge crowd in Jerusalem on one of the three holiest occasions in Israel.
      2. All of the apostles, whose dialect was obviously Galilean, spoke without the aid of interpreters, and every person present heard what he was saying in the language of the person’s birth–even though the people were from many different places.
         1. To say this created enormous curiosity is truly an understatement.
         2. Some suggested they were a bunch of drunk men, but that was not a credible explanation.
      3. Peter took charge and told the crowd that what they observed was the fulfillment of something the Jewish prophet Joel wrote centuries before.
         1. He said all this was happening because of Jesus and his resurrection.
         2. He even used statements from King David to declare that the Jesus they crucified was now Lord and Christ.
      4. I want you to listen to the reaction of three thousand people recorded in Acts 2:37.
         Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
         1. They were pierced to the heart–their consciences responded and reacted to Peter’s words.
         2. The declaration, “Brethren, what shall we do?” was not a casual remark–it was an urgent plea!”
      5. Do you hear the desire of these people?
         1. Why were 3000 people baptized on that occasion?
         2. Why? Because that is what they wanted–they wanted to respond to God and all He did in Jesus Christ in order that their sins might be destroyed!

4. Thirdly I call your attention a statement from Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
   And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
   1. Paul wrote to a congregation who had lots of problems including the problem of division.
   2. As he began his letter in response to a letter they sent him, he wanted to remind them of something extremely important.
      1. Remember how I came to you.
         1. I did not come as an exceptional orator.
         2. I did not come as a renowned philosopher.
         3. I did not come to you as the invincible man.
         4. I did not come to you with persuasive wisdom.
      2. Instead:
         1. I refused to attract attention to myself–I only attracted attention to Jesus Christ.
         2. I came in weakness, fear, and trembling.
         3. I came demonstrating the spirit and power, not my own power.
      3. Why?
         1. I did not want the foundation of your faith to be based on a man.
         2. I wanted your faith to be based on the power of God.
      4. Do you hear their desire in their conversion?
         1. They were not Christians because of Paul’s determination.
         2. They were Christians because that is what they wanted to be!
   3. I could show you this same reality in other passages, but I hope this is enough to make you think and encourage you to study.
      1. People who were converted wanted to follow Jesus.
      2. They were not fooled into conversion!
      3. They wanted to be Christians!

It is in that truth that we find understanding of one of the great problems among Christians today. Too many Christians did not decide they wanted to be Christians prior to conversion, they do not live like Christians after baptism. They had no desire to live the Christian life. They just wanted to be safe. They believed and repented because that is what they had to do, not because that is what they wanted to do! They were baptized because that is what they had to do, not because that is what they wanted to do.

What is the most powerful evangelistic thing you can do? Teach? Certainly we must teach others about forgiveness in Christ. But teaching is not the most powerful thing you can do. Worship? Certainly we must praise our God, but that is not the most powerful thing you can do. Be involved in a ministry? Certainly every Christian needs to serve, but that is not the most powerful thing you can do.

Then what is the most powerful thing I can do? BE a Christian in your entire lifestyle. If BEING a Christian is your desire, that will add power and effectiveness to your teaching, your praise of God, and your service to Christ.

Different But Necessary

Posted by David on August 4, 2005 under Bulletin Articles

Recently I have been involved in two occasions in this congregation that profoundly touched me-Vacation Bible School and Community Outreach Day. What deeply touched me was the sight of so many different members (from teens to elderly!) who were involved. In a real way, the success of each occasion was the result of so many members being involved.

This is in no way a derogatory comment on our many other ministries. I feel more than confident that every ministry leader quickly would say the effectiveness of the ministry depends on a broad-based involvement and the contributions of many members willing to do what they can. In the two mentioned, the involvement of many members with differing abilities was quite visible. Always, it is a matter of function-not competition!

I am always amazed to note how much is accomplished when members do what they are capable of doing–with no thought about who is and is not visible. Yet, why should that be amazing? That is what scripture said 2,000 years ago.

First, Christians need the Lord’s concept of church. While the word “church” is a specific religious word now, that was not so in the first century. The word “church” existed before Jesus Christ was born or the Christian movement began. It simply meant those “called out” to fulfill a specific purpose. Christians are God’s “called out” dedicated to God’s objectives in righteous lifestyles through Jesus Christ. They do good works, not to exalt themselves, but to give glory to God (Matthew 5:16).

The church is not a building. It is not a location. It is not a collection of programs existing “because that is what a church does.” It is not an organizational chart declaring who has the right to control. It is a group of people who serve together because, in a common love for Jesus Christ, they are committed to God’s purposes and each other.

Second, Christians need to realize no Christian can do everything, but every Christian can do something. Wise is the congregation that makes it natural for all its members to be involved in ways they are capable of serving! The key to congregational success is not letting someone we consider a “superior Christian with extraordinary abilities” carry everyone else, but the key is encouraging all of us ordinary folks in Christ to do what we are able to do.

We are a body! In a body fingernails and eyelashes serve important roles to hands and eyes!

The Faith Journey

Posted by David on July 24, 2005 under Sermons

This evening I want to emphasize that living by faith in God is a journey, not a destination. Faith is a walk with God, not a place that we arrive. Someone sees that we have faith in God by how we act on an everyday basis. They do not see that we have faith because we declare we have arrived at faith.

How you refer to having this faith in God basically does not matter. You can call this faith journey salvation. You can call this faith journey being a part of Christ’s church. You can call this faith journey forgiveness of sins. You can call this faith journey being in Christ. However you refer to it, you basically are talking about a journey, not a destination.

There is a specific reason that I want you to consider these thoughts. Too often among Christians we encounter the attitude, “If I understand X fact, then I have spiritually arrived at having faith,” or “If I believe Y, then I am a person of faith.” Stated in the negative, “All people who do not understand X fact have not spiritually arrived at having faith,” or, “All Christians who do not believe Y are not people of faith.”

I do not want any of us to be that kind of person. I do not want any of us to think of faith in terms of being a destination we achieve in this life, but as a journey that takes us to God in the life to come.

I do not want you to accept my word for the nature of faith as a journey. I want you to think about and struggle with the revelation of scripture.

1. I would like to begin our thoughts with a familiar statement Paul made to the Philippian Christians:
   Philippians 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
   1. Context:
      1. To whom is Paul writing these words?
         1. To Christians at Phillippi: 1:1 says he is writing “to all the saints in Christ Jesus in Philippi” including their leaders.
         2. The statement itself refers to these people as Paul’s beloved.
      2. There were things they needed to learn about how to be a Christian.
         1. They especially needed to learn those things in their daily lives and actions.
         2. Believing in Jesus Christ is more than accepting a fact.
         3. It involves accepting a life altering fact.
         4. If there is no alteration in the way the person lives and acts, accepting the fact has no significance.
      3. The work of salvation is not complete because one accepts as fact that Jesus is the Christ or accepts as fact that God raised Jesus from death.
         1. That is merely the beginning of the journey, not the conclusion of the journey.
         2. Forgiveness of sins is the beginning of the journey.
         3. Redemption is the beginning of the journey.
         4. Being placed by God into Christ is the beginning of the journey.
         5. Being cleansed by God through Jesus’ blood is the beginning of the journey.
         6. True, faith lets us come to God, but also true we come to God in order to walk with God.
      4. Had these people to whom Paul wrote received forgiveness of sins? Certainly!
         1. Were they in Christ? Without doubt!
         2. Were they under God’s rule rather than Satan’s rule? Absolutely!
         3. Were they in Christ? Without question!
         4. Were they cleansed by the blood of Jesus? Definitely!
   2. Now they needed to accept full responsibility for those things!
      1. It is a major responsibility to live and to act like a person who belongs to God through Jesus Christ.
      2. That responsibility is not to be taken lightly!
      3. Paul said accept that responsibility whether I am there or not.
      4. “Because you in faith and repentance have been baptized into Christ does not mean salvation matters have concluded!”
      5. “The salvation journey merely has begun!”

   (Transition: now I want you to consider a contrast. The contrast is between a person who was not a Christian but became a Christian and a person who was an apostle but learned something he had never known.)

2. First, I want you to consider the person who was not a Christian but became a Christian: the man, Paul.
   1. Before he became a Christian, he believed two things with TOTAL conviction: (1) he believed he was doing exactly what God wanted him to do; (2) he believed that Jesus was NOT the Christ, but a dangerous impostor who was a threat to God’s purposes.
      1. He was so totally convinced Jesus was a fraud, a threat to God’s purposes that he guarded the clothing of those who executed the Christian Stephen (Acts 7:58; 8:1).
      2. He was so totally convinced Jesus was a grave threat to God’s purposes in Israel that he did his best to destroy Jewish believers in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1).
      3. He was so totally convinced that Jesus was a major threat to God’s purposes that he was willing to go to other nations, arrest Jewish Christians, and bring them for trial to Jerusalem.
      4. Listen to Paul’s own words in Acts 26:9-11:
         So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.
   2. The driving force behind Paul’s conviction was his total confidence that Jesus was not the Messiah, not God’s son.
      1. When he learned in a powerful, immediate, undeniable way that Jesus was the Christ, was God’s son (Acts 9:1-19), he was in complete crisis.
      2. If Jesus was the Christ, then everything he did in faith in God was the wrong thing to do.
      3. This committed man remained a committed man, but was truly a changed person.
         1. Whereas he had been hard and uncaring about people, he became gentle and sensitive (1 Thessalonians 2:10-12).
         2. Whereas he had been inflexible, he became highly adaptable (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
   3. The Paul most Christians know and respect as the most recorded writer in the New Testament existed because a new understanding made him a totally different person on his faith journey.
      1. He was a man of faith when he killed people who believed Jesus is the Messiah.
      2. He was a man of faith when he understood that Jesus is the Messiah.
      3. Obviously, for him faith was a journey.

3. The second man I call your attention to is the man Peter.
   1. Remind yourself of who Peter was.
      1. He was personally called by Jesus to be his disciple.
      2. He was one of the twelve.
      3. He was one of the three people who were closest to Jesus.
      4. He was the first disciple who knew Jesus was the Messiah.
      5. He was willing to die fighting to try to protect Jesus.
      6. He preached the first sermon when Jesus was raised from the dead.
      7. For a while, he was the most popular Christian in Jerusalem.
      8. From our perspective, this man was a truly important man.
   2. Yet, there was a truth as old as Abraham that Peter did not understand: God wanted both Jews and gentiles to have salvation in Christ.
      1. Acts 10 records the incident that revealed God’s full purposes to Peter.
         1. Three times he had a vision that confused and bewildered him.
         2. He received specific instructions from the Holy Spirit.
         3. He traveled to Cornelius’ home even though he did not understand why he was going to a gentile’s house (Acts 10:29).
      2. Peter literally went to Cornelius’ house not knowing why he was going.
         1. All he understood was God wanted him to go.
         2. He heard but did not fully understand that what God had cleansed he should not call unclean.
      3. Listen to the moment when Peter finally understood, realized something he never known before:
         Acts 10:34,35 Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
      4. The apostle Peter had never known this before!
      5. You and I as gentiles directly are blessed by Peter’s faith journey!

4. If you are a person of faith, you are never too old or too knowledgeable to stop learning!
   1. None of us ever arrive at a point that we know it all!
      1. Be a student, not a judge!
      2. Beware of placing your confidence in your knowledge!
   2. None of us ever arrive at a point that there is nothing new and significant to understand!
      1. If a new understanding turns your life around, so be it if the driving force is faith in God and His purposes!
      2. If a new understanding means you have to rethink something you thought could not possibly be correct, so be it if the driving force is faith in God and His purposes.
      3. If a new understanding means old friends think you are spiritually nuts, so be it if the driving force is faith in God and His purposes.
   3. Faith in God does not mean that we exist to protect God–God does not need protecting.
      1. God wants us to use Jesus Christ to share Him!
      2. God cares about people, and if we have faith in God, so do we!

Is this easy? NO! It is as demanding on us as it was the Philippian Christians, or on Paul, or on Peter. It begins with the awareness that faith is a journey that lasts a life time. Faith is not a place to settle in.

The Personal Tension Faith Produces

Posted by David on July 17, 2005 under Sermons

Having faith in God through His son Jesus Christ solves many tensions in a typical life. It solves those tensions in numerous ways. It gives a person’s life both an immediate focus and an eternal focus–the whole of life is not focused on the here and the now. It gives meaning and significance to a thought, or a motive, or an act that goes far beyond the moment. It magnifies the significance of purpose and intent. It measures the significance of life in factors that far surpass physical achievements. It provides purpose when physical existence is totally inadequate in insufficient.

At the same time, faith in God creates a personal crisis. Pure faith in God is totally unselfish. The goal of having faith in God is to aspire to that unselfishness. Yet, seeking that unselfishness is totally contrary to our physical existence as we understand physical existence. We had rather mask selfishness with “correct appearances” than to destroy selfishness. It is very difficult to realize that faithfulness to God is 100% about devotion to God and 0% about devotion to self.

While faith in God solves many personal crises, faith in God also creates at least one primary crisis in the believer’s life. Faith creates a genuine crisis by producing tension. The tension becomes increasingly obvious as the Christian grows in his or her awareness that serving God is all about God and not at all about me.

This evening, first I wish to fix your attention on the personal tension faith produces. Secondly, I want you to see from Jesus what the solution to that tension or crisis is. As we consider this aspect of faith, I want to remind you again that faith in God is a lifetime journey, not a momentary destination.

1. I want to begin with what I regard to be the first leg of this faith tension in a Christian’s existence: the temptation to put God on trial.
   1. I wish to call your attention to what the gospel of Matthew presents as Jesus’ second temptation when Jesus meets Satan in the wilderness as Jesus prepares to begin his ministry.
      1. This temptation is seen in Matthew 4:5-7.
         Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.'” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'”
      2. The setting was geographically the holiest place on earth for an Israelite.
      3. The request seemed to carry the full weight of God’s authority.
         1. Satan quoted scripture.
         2. He seemingly invoked a divine promise.
         3. He told Jesus that if he had full confidence in his identity as God’s son, he should place unquestioning confidence in God’s promise.
         4. On the surface of the request, it seemed Satan was challenging Jesus to demonstrate his faith in God’s promise to the Messiah.
      4. Jesus quickly saw through Satan’s temptation, perhaps much more quickly than most of us do.
         1. Jesus saw something so obvious that in its prominence it was almost invisible.
         2. (Satan never, never challenges us to get closer to God! With Satan, appearances always will be deceitful!)
         3. Jesus saw the temptation for what it was–a temptation to bolster his feeling of insecurity about his identity by demanding that God perform because he felt insecure.
         4. Thus Jesus responded that the true issue involved was not trusting God, but making God perform like a puppet.
         5. To submit to Satan’s directive would not be a declaration of faith in God, but a demand for God to perform to eliminate Jesus’ feeling of insecurity about his identity and purpose.
      5. The source of Jesus’ rebuttal is more than interesting.
         1. Jesus did not just quote any old scripture regardless of the statement’s context.
            1. He did not take a verse and make it mean what he wanted it to mean.
            2. The context of the verse is as significant to me as the verse itself.
         2. There is an enormous difference between showing confidence in God and putting God on trial.
            1. Jesus seems to be referring to Moses’ statement in Deuteronomy 6:16 which is a reference to Exodus 17:1-7.
            2. Israel was at Rephidim and was thirsty, because there was no water where they camped.
            3. They quarreled with Moses to the point that it was getting dangerous for Moses.
            4. They asked, “Why did you bring us out here to die of thirst?”
            5. God through Moses provided the people water from a rock.
            6. The place was named Massah (which means test) or Meribah (which means quarrel).
            7. They did not express confidence; they expressed doubt.
         3. Jesus said, “If I jump, I do not show confidence in God; I show doubt. I am asking God to perform for my benefit.”

2. To me, the second leg of this faith tension is seen in Mark 9:14-27.
   When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” And He answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
   1. Both Mark and Matthew indicate this incident occurred when Jesus returned with Peter, James, and John following the incident on the Mount of Transfiguration.
      1. These four men returned to a crowd and an argument.
         1. Jesus asked, “What is going on?”
         2. The man who was at the center of the incident spoke up: “I brought my child who is possessed and self destructive, and your disciples could not correct the situation.”
         3. After Jesus expressed personal grief, he asked for the boy to be brought to him.
         4. The father, after already experiencing great faith in coming and perplexing disappointment in the disciples’ inability to help, begged Jesus to do something if he could.
         5. Jesus responded, “If I can? The issue is not my ability but your faith!”
      2. The man’s response always has touched my heart–in every way I identify with his crisis: “I believe; help my unbelief!”
   2. Jesus cast out the spirit, demanded the spirit never return, and proved the child was alive.
   3. The crises involved the father’s faith or confidence, not Jesus’ ability.
      1. It was a matter of confidence, not a matter of trial.
      2. The man knew he had confidence in Jesus, but he also knew he struggled with doubt.
      3. He plainly asked Jesus to work with his doubt to increase his confidence.
      4. Do we not all understand the problem?

3. To me, it is in those two incidents we can understand the tension and crisis faith in God produces in each of us.
   1. The tension: when am I expressing trust in God and when am I demanding that God destroy my doubt by performing in a manner I declare acceptable?
      1. With all of us, there commonly is at least an element of doubt–we all should be able to identify with the father who cried for help with his doubt!
      2. The question: when is my doubt a stepping stool to greater confidence in God, and when is my doubt a demand that God perform in ways I demand?
   2. The heart of the issue is personal motive.
      1. Is my motive a desire to increase my trust in God, or is my motive a desire to use God to meet my needs?
      2. Do I serve God, or does God serve me?
      3. Are God’s purposes more important than my desires?
      4. Can God achieve His objectives in things that I regard objectionable?
      5. Does God have anything to prove to me?

4. That is quite a dilemma! At times what I call faith may in fact be doubt!
   1. To me, the perfect guideline and perfect distinction between faith in God and the demand that God perform for my benefit is seen in the physical Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the last night of his physical life.
      Matthew 26:36-44 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.
      1. In this very familiar incident, we see several things.
         1. We see that Jesus did not wish to die by crucifixion.
         2. We see Jesus’ desire and God’s will in conflict.
         3. We see God’s purpose in conflict with Jesus’ desire.
      2. Also in this we see an astounding solution to an astounding tension.
         1. Jesus begged his Father not to let him die, and that was okay.
         2. Jesus begged, if possible, for God to achieve His purpose in some other manner, and that was okay.
         3. Jesus preferred something different to that which God preferred, and that was alright.
         4. Jesus’ personal desire and God’s purpose were in conflict, and that was okay.
      3. The solution: Jesus surrendered his desire to God’s will.
         1. Did that mean that suddenly Jesus wanted to die by crucifixion? No!
         2. Did that mean that suddenly Jesus preferred identically the same thing God preferred? No!
         3. It simply meant that Jesus understood that God’s purpose was superior to his desire, even if God’s purpose meant a painful, disgraceful death by execution.
      4. There was no question in Jesus mind that God’s purpose was superior to his desire!
   2. Quite often as humans we will find our desires in conflict with God’s purposes, and that is okay.
      1. The issue always is which is superior–my desires or God’s purpose.
      2. The fact that I experience conflict and tension at that moment proves little.
      3. The issue always is human surrender.
      4. The issue always is my understanding that God’s purpose is superior in every way to my desire.

God’s purposes are often achieved by things which happen contrary to my desires. The tension of faith is resolved when I say in genuine surrender, “God, your will be done!”

Fences: Faith or Control? – Part 3

Posted by David on July 10, 2005 under Sermons

All of us have a deep yearning. We yearn for people to accept God and receive His approval. Everyone who is in a saved relationship with God wants someone who is not in a saved relationship with God to be saved.

That presents the saved person with a genuine problem. What is a saved person to do if he or she is convinced that someone he or she cares about is not saved? Sometimes it a large group of people. Sometimes it is much of the world. Sometimes it is a family member. Sometimes it is a cherished friend. Regardless of whom it is, the genuine problem remains: what is the saved person to do about unsaved people?

For the Christian, there is conversion. The unsaved person is taught to believe and respond to the same things the saved person believes and responds to. That is wonderful when it happens! However, there are lots of people we love who we are unable to convert. They do not want to be taught. Or they think our convictions are silly. Or they have no desire to become what we are. They love us as a person, but they reject us religiously.

When that is the case, what are we to do? In the past, saved people have adopted numerous responses to this problem. (1) We can declare that no matter what a person believes, he or she is saved because of what God had done. (2) We can broaden our definitions of the saved to include the unsaved people we love. (3) We can convince the person to submit to a “magical act” that will make him or her a saved person even without his or her knowledge.

Whatever our solutions are, somewhere in the foundation of the solution is the conviction that a person can enter a saved relationship with God without having faith in what God did in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This evening I challenge you to understand that faith in God’s actions are essential to a salvation relationship with God. We cannot “fence someone into a saved relationship with God” by finding some subtle means of exercising control over that man or woman. The protection that is a part of the forgiveness of sins is not found in control. It is found in faith.

1. I want to call your attention to a number of incidents in Jesus’ ministry.
   1. I would like to begin with some affirmations.
      1. I believe that Jesus cares about people, both saved and unsaved.
      2. I believe that the compassion seen in Jesus is a reflection of God the Father’s mercy for people.
      3. I believe the death and resurrection of Jesus reflect both the genuineness and the depth of divine mercy and compassion for people.
      4. I believe what we see in Jesus’ ministry is a declaration of God’s concern for people.
   2. The first incident I call you attention to is that of the woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years (Matthew 9:20-22).
      1. With incredible courage and in violation of both religious and social rules, this woman decided secretly to turn to Jesus.
      2. She decided if she could just work herself through the crowd close enough to Jesus and touch the bottom part of his clothing (Numbers 15:38), his power could end her medical problem without Jesus knowing what she did.
      3. She did, and she was healed, but Jesus knew what she did.
      4. To me, the amazing thing is what Jesus said to her:
         Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.
   3. The second incident involves two blind men in Matthew 9:27-31.
      1. Two blind men begged Jesus for mercy when Jesus passed them.
      2. They even recognized Jesus as a descendant of King David.
      3. Jesus asked them if they believed he was able to heal them.
      4. They said yes.
      5. Listen to Jesus’ response to them.
         Matthew 9:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.”
   4. The third incident had to do with a woman who is not even a Jew (Matthew 15:21-28).
      1. Remember, Jesus worked only with Jewish people in his ministry (Matthew 10:5, 6).
      2. This was one of the few occasions that he was in a gentile area.
      3. While he was traveling through the area of Tyre and Sidon a Canaanite woman tried to approach Jesus and ask for his help.
      4. Her daughter was demon possessed and she was asking for mercy on her daughter’s behalf.
      5. The woman recognized Jesus as being Lord, and she recognized him as a descendant of King David.
      6. Jesus did not even acknowledge her presence.
      7. Yet, the woman was so persistent that eventually Jesus’ disciples interceded on her behalf requesting Jesus to send her away because she would not quit following them and shouting.
      8. Jesus told the disciples that they knew he was sent only to lost Jewish people (the lost sheep of the house of Israel).
      9. The woman got in front of Jesus, bowed before him, and begged him for help.
      10. For the first time Jesus spoke directly to her and told her it was not appropriate to give her what was intended only for the Jewish people.
      11. With enormous humility and faith, she still plead and said even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.
      12. Listen to Jesus astounding response:
          Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.
   5. The fourth incident is found in Mark 10:46-52 concerning Bartimaeus, a blind beggar sitting on the road side of one of the roads leaving Jericho.
      1. When he heard that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he began to cry out to Jesus.
         1. He asked for Jesus’ mercy.
         2. He recognized Jesus as a descendant of King David.
      2. A number of people sternly tried to quiet him down, but he just continued to cry out to Jesus for mercy.
      3. Jesus stopped and told people to bring him to Jesus.
      4. When he was told that Jesus was calling for him, he threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
      5. Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
      6. He replied, “I want to regain my sight.
      7. Listen to what Jesus said to the man:
         Mark 10:52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.
   6. The fifth incident concerns the Jewish woman, possibly one of the town’s known prostitutes, spoken of in Luke 7:36-50.
      1. Jesus was invited to a meal in the home of a curious Pharisee.
      2. While Jesus ate, a woman who was known as a sinner in the community came in the home uninvited.
      3. She did a number of unacceptable things including washing Jesus’ feet with her tears, drying his feet with her hair, and anointing his feet with perfume.
      4. The Pharisee, the host, found the whole situation entertaining.
      5. He thought to himself, “If this man is a prophet as he claims, he would know what kind of woman she is and he would not allow her to touch him.”
      6. Jesus knew what the Pharisee was thinking and told him that he had something to say to him.
         1. He told the Pharisee the parable about the two debtors who were forgiven their debt.
         2. Jesus asked which debtor loved the lender the most.
         3. The Pharisee answered, “The debtor forgiven the largest amount.”
      7. Jesus then declared why this woman loved him more than the Pharisee loved him–she was forgiven the most.
         1. Jesus dismissed the woman with the statement, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
         2. The other guests began to grumble because Jesus forgave sins.
         3. Then Jesus made this statement:
            Luke 7:50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
   7. The sixth example concerns some men with leprosy in Luke 17:11-19.
      1. There were ten, and all but one were Jews.
      2. Jesus told them to go to the priests to show the priests their bodies (as the law required), and the men were healed on the way to the priests.
      3. Only one turned back to thank Jesus and glorify God, and it was the person who was not a Jew.
      4. Jesus asked why the others did not turn back to glorify God?
      5. Then he made this statement to the man…
         Luke 17:19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

2. There are other examples, but this is more than enough to make the point.
   1. There was an obvious, powerful correlation between believing Jesus could do something and it happening.
      1. Sometimes Jesus said, “Let what you believe can happen occur.”
      2. That is quite a statement!
      3. We (and most people in every age) rather the responsibility be on Jesus ability to perform than on our faith.
      4. We want Jesus to forgive us even if we doubt his ability to forgive us.
   2. The point I wish to make is quite simple: we cannot fool a person into forgiveness and salvation.
      1. If there is to be salvation, there must be confidence in Jesus.
         1. If a person trusts Jesus, he or she will do other things.
         2. However, he or she must trust Jesus or the other things have no meaning.
      2. Just consider Acts 16:31.
         They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
      3. This man had a lot to learn and understand!
      4. When he asked what he needed to do to be saved he knew nothing.
      5. The first thing he needed to know if he was to be saved was Jesus Christ, and he had to believe in Jesus’ power to forgive and God’s power to resurrect.
      6. Did he repent? His actions surely showed repentance!
      7. Was he baptized? Yes!
      8. Why was his repentance and baptism effective? Because he believed!
   3. For there to be salvation there must be faith!

External controls will not provide a person salvation! Internal surrender that begins with belief enters a saved relationship with God.