“God, It Hurts!”

Posted by David on November 23, 2003 under Sermons

What I now share with you is not intended as a slam or a condemnation. I offer it only as an insight to be shared with you. We American people are terribly spoiled and do not know it.

Our philosophy as a culture may be summed up in this manner: we are for success and against pain and inconvenience. When we turn on a light switch, we expect light–and expect it immediately. When we turn on a water faucet, we expect pure water–and we expect it immediately. When we turn an ignition switch, we expect the motor to start–and we expect it immediately. When we go to a doctor because we are sick or in pain, we expect our medical problem to be solved–and we expect results immediately. When we go to a restaurant, we expect food cooked just exactly like we like it–and we expect to be served promptly.

Our motto is: “If it is broke, fix it, and do it fast!” Most of us live our lives fast and most of us expect nothing to break. However, the older we get the more we learn that simply is not the way life works–not even in America!

Let me share with you two vivid memories. The first came from the first campaign group I traveled with. Coming home after three weeks in West Africa, the thirteen of us had a layover in Paris, France. This was 1969 when an airline paid for layovers and meals. We were having supper. One man who was part of the group was demanding–he wanted more than the airline authorized. A French waiter tried to explain he could have a choice, not one of each; but his words fell on a deaf ear. Finally, in exasperation the French waiter gave the campaigner what he wanted. As the waiter turned and walked away, I heard another waiter say, “He is American.” That was all the explanation needed to understand the situation.

When Joyce and I returned from West Africa on our only leave, I was anxious to share our slides with my family. After Mom and Dad saw those pictures, my Dad made this comment: “I would not live that way. I’d get me a hammer and some nails and make something different.” I asked, “What if no one had a hammer, and there were no nails?”

We think we can fix anything, but we prove frequently we cannot. We do not intend our confident expectations to be arrogance. But the rest of the world sees it as arrogance. And I am afraid that God frequently sees it as arrogance as well.

This confidence that anything can be fixed quickly without pain or personal inconvenience often deceives us in our relationship with God.
1. It is much too easy for us to act like we have God on a retainer.
  1. Often in business we put a specialized professional on retainer.
  2. That means if we need him/her we will call him/her to come take care of a special need that has arisen.
    1. It is much too easy for us to treat God that way: “God, we are placing You on a retainer–if I ever need You, I will call You.”
    2. Too often we use prayer only to call God when we have a special need.
    3. When we “call” God, we expect immediate results.
      1. “God, come right now!”
      2. “God, fix my problem right now!”
      3. “God, I don’t want any more pain!”
      4. “God, I could do so much better if You would just fix this like I want it fixed right now!”
  3. If God does not fix it “right now” precisely the way we have decided it should be fixed, then frequently we cry out. “God, where are You? Why have You not answered me?”
2. Where did we ever get the idea that God works in very visible ways, that He adopts our solutions so He can solve problems in precisely the way we want, and He always acts quickly?
  1. The Bible abounds with illustrations of God at work when no one thought God was working.
  2. The Bible abounds with illustrations of God being at work in ways that were not a human approach.
  3. The very fact that our salvation exists illustrates that God’s time table is not our time table.
Let me share with you two illustrations from the Bible.
1. One of the continuing problems in Israel was idolatry–Israel had a long, long history of worshipping gods other than Jehovah God.
  1. Before Israel crossed the wilderness the first time, they built and worshipped a golden calf (Exodus 32).
  2. When Israel finally was established in Canaan, they worshipped the Baals.
  3. Judges records how Israel repeated the same cycle of failure and rescue over and over, and frequently a part of the failure was worshipping idols.
  4. No matter what consequences they suffered as a result of idol worship, the nation always returned to idols.
  5. While idolatry was common in Israel in the Old Testament, there was a deep aversion to idolatry in Israel in the New Testament.
    1. Why?
    2. Israel finally learned their lesson.
    3. God finally “got through” to them once and for all.
    4. How?
    5. One of the things God accomplished through the Babylonian captivity was this: He cured Israel once and for all from worshipping idols.
    6. Israel finally learned and understood that there was one God, and idols were never to be considered as representing gods, never worship them.
  6. Was Babylonian captivity:
    1. Fast? I do not consider seventy years fast!
    2. Painless? That captivity caused lots of pain!
    3. Did God use the idolatrous Babylonians to punish the Israelites? God told the prophet Habukkuk He did!
  7. And Israel learned an extremely hard, painful lesson–the slow, hard way.
  8. The point I would like you to consider is this: it was very difficult for Israel to grasp that God worked through the Babylonian captivity, but He did!
2. I would like to take the second illustration from Paul’s life as a Christian.
  1. Read with me 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
    Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
  2. There are several truly fascinating revelations found in this statement.
    1. God allowed a specific stress to existing in Paul’s life that Paul called a thorn in the flesh.
    2. God did not send the thorn; the thorn came from Satan.
    3. The thorn caused Paul pain–Paul said it tormented him.
    4. While God did not send the thorn, God used the thorn to protect Paul from a specific problem: arrogance.
    5. Paul did not like the thorn–this miracle worker begged God three times to take it away.
    6. God caused Paul to understand that he was to stop looking at the thorn and instead look at God’s grace.
    7. Why? Because God’s power is revealed in human weakness.
    8. Paul finally understood!
    9. If the means of God’s power living in him was his human weakness that endured a thorn, he would be content to be weak so God could be powerful in him.
    10. The key: just like us, Paul had to learn to depend on God’s grace instead of his accomplishments.
  3. What was the thorn?
    1. I do not know–Paul never identified the thorn.
    2. Let me speculate [and this is truly speculation, not fact!]
    3. Let’s speculate that the thorn was the Judaizing teachers who gave Paul enormous problems.
    4. Paul would go to a community, teach people who were not Jews about Jesus Christ, and begin a congregation.
    5. These Jewish Christians would come to town after Paul left and tell non-Jewish Christians that they were not saved–if they were going to be saved, first they had to learn and accept Jewish ways.
    6. I can almost hear a frustrated Paul scream.
      1. “God, why don’t you stop them from doing this?”
      2. “Because of what they are doing, I have to keep cleaning up messes they make!”
      3. “My life would be so much simpler if I could just evangelize new places and not clean up the messes they make.”
      4. “Lord, make it stop! Make this problem go away!”
  4. And God said:
    1. “I am using this to help you Paul, not hurt you.”
    2. “It is too easy for you to feel arrogant–that does not serve My purpose.”
    3. “If you want Me to be powerful in your life, learn to trust My grace instead of your ability.”
Allow me to illustrate from my own life the truth that God works through even painful circumstances.
1. When I was six years old, I almost died from respiratory problems.
  1. At that time my family lived in the new community of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
  2. A doctor told my Mother and Father that if I was not moved out of that climate, I would die. That suggestion was a major difficulty in those days!
  3. In the summer I was seven, we moved near Crossville, Tennessee–fifty miles from Dad’s work.
  4. That move created major inconveniences for everyone.
    1. We moved from a well equipped house in a city to a poorly equipped house in the country–the only appliance we had was a refrigerator.
    2. For the first time in her life, Mom learned how to live on a farm–her whole life had been in a city environment.
    3. For months, the only way Dad had to commute to work was to catch a bus at 3:30 a.m.; he literally traveled down the mountain, and there were no interstate highways.
    4. I changed school systems, changed the way I dressed, felt very out of place, and fit in about like a sore thumb.
    5. I easily could make a case for it being a difficult experience for everyone!
  5. However, that move resulted in some major blessings.
    1. I outgrew my respiratory problems and in time become a healthy person.
    2. I learned a way of life that blessed the rest of my life.
    3. In the second grade I met Joyce, we were sweethearts in the 6th grade, we dated through high school and three years of college, and we married in 1961–she is one of the great gifts God has given me.
    4. I also met an adult by the name of Ray Cope who had a dream.
      1. There were thirteen congregations in the county, one full time preacher, and two part time preachers.
      2. His dream was to take teen boys from our congregation to congregations that had no one to teach or preach and fill a need.
      3. I was one of those teens.
2. In a real way, I can say that I have the life I have and the wife and children I have because I almost died when I was six years old.
  1. I am convinced God used my sickness to bring me great blessings.
  2. Never think that because there is pain and inconvenience that God is not at work!

Do you want God to work in any way necessary to make you His son or daughter in judgment? Even if it includes pain or inconvenience now?

If you wish to be His child in judgment, see Him in your pain and inconvenience now!

A Journey, Not A Destination

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

In a country in West Africa, Joyce and I were second generation missionaries. [Please understand I fully realize that mission efforts in different cultures and societies are unique — we must be cautious when we are tempted to form universal mission principles from single culture experiences.] We really wanted to do mission work!

I was on campaign to that area about a year prior to our move. Four missionary families had all details arranged for the thirteen campaigners to visit for three weeks. Villages received us enthusiastically! Excited crowds listened and discussed for hours! Many were baptized! Evening meetings with missionary families were enthusiastic events! Four families and thirteen visitors are a big crowd in any home!

Before we moved, I envisioned lots of evangelistic activity. About thirty congregations existed when we arrived. Shortly there were fifty. In less than two years, there were eighty. At “leave time,” there were one hundred ten known congregations. They sprang up spontaneously through neighbor, family, and friendship evangelism.

Never were there more than six missionary families (and that rarely!). Some did not have one convert who read or understood worship. Few Bibles, no printed lessons, and no study aids existed. Virtually every congregation was composed of spiritual infants. Immediately the overwhelming need was stabilization of infant converts and congregations. How do a maximum of six missionary men with no preacher training school stabilize fifty-plus congregations? Baptisms were easy, but nurturing spiritual infants was demanding! To allow Christians and congregations to die is failure, not success. If the mortality rate almost equals the birth rate, little is accomplished!

Spiritual maturity is a journey, not a destination! From believing in Jesus to a determination to repent is a journey. From both to the desire to enter a covenant relationship with God through baptism is a journey. Faith, repentance, and baptism merely produce a spiritual infant. At that point the journey truly begins!

The path to spiritual maturity is marked by “Jesus-guided” changes in behavior. Victory is not achieved by sitting down on baptism’s banks, but by walking the path of godly living 24/7. A Christian man or woman never stops walking that path!

Did you view your baptism as a destination, or beginning a journey? Did you sit down on baptism’s banks, or did you start walking the path of godly living? Is your spiritual goal maturity in Christ, or do you plan always to be a spiritual infant?

Baptizing is simple! Nurturing is demanding! Sitting is easy! Following a rock-filled path is hard! Do not sit down! Help others! Convert, but encourage believers to live godly lives!

Always Growing; Always Maturing

Posted by David on November 9, 2003 under Bulletin Articles

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

How do you react to Paul being “disqualified”? Unthinkable? Not to Paul! Paul understood the distinction between “knowing” and “being.” Unfortunately, it is not difficult to encounter Christians who do not understand that distinction.

“Knowing” enables us to do many things. We can judge–declare others lacking, inferior, deficient, pathetic, ungodly, unrighteous, or outcasts. We can teach–“here is how you need to change!” We can criticize–“you need to know, to realize, to focus, to redirect!” If we are not extremely careful, we allow what we “know” to serve as the foundation of an “authoritarian complex.” That complex frequently declares decisions God did not declare or establishes criteria that God did not present.

Paul frequently challenged Christians to evaluate their lives and their motives. However, Paul also did two other things. (1) He made it quite clear that he genuinely loved those he challenged. (2) He was very open about his own weaknesses and struggles. Paul “knew” in order that he might “be.”

He did not say, “You need to run with God’s goal clearly in mind.” He said, “I need to run with God’s goal clearly in mind.” He did not say, “You need to stop fighting the air and calling it boxing.” He said, “I must not flail at the air and call it boxing.” He did not say, “You must discipline your body!” He said, “I must discipline my body.”

Why that emphasis? He understood he could present a needed message to others and experience no personal benefit. Paul “knew” in order to “be.” Regardless of what he knew, if he did not use “what he knew” to “be,” his knowledge did not profit him.

Never forget you do not “know” to teach, but to “be.” The foundation of what we teach must arise from what we are instead of what we know. When we belong to God, we never “arrive.” Instead, we always mature and grow toward God’s nature and character.

Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

Why did Jesus Christ “lay hold on you”? Are you pressing on?

God’s Solution To Our Unholiness

Posted by David on November 2, 2003 under Sermons

The lesson this evening is shared with you as the result of a request. I was requested to share with all of you the concepts I shared with a class last Sunday morning. The request was made because the class provided some understanding and helped eliminate some personal confusion.

I will share these understandings this evening by using some diagrams. I hope by both seeing and hearing, we all will deepen our insights and understandings.

Let’s consider the basic problem that exists in humans establishing a relationship with God.
1. The basic problem is stated by acknowledging a basic dilemma:
  1. How can a Holy God enter a relationship with unholy people?
  2. We will not understand the dilemma unless we understand the basic character of God in terms of His holiness.
2. What should we understand about God being a Holy God?
  1. We should understand that God is the total opposite of evil (sin).
  2. There is no evil in God. God is holy by character.
    1. It is not a matter that God chooses not to be evil.
    2. Instead, it is a matter that God by divine nature and character is not evil.
    3. No form of evil has any appeal to God; God cannot be tempted (James 1:13).
    4. Evil is completely incapable of deceiving God! (Galatians 6:7)
    5. In fact, God finds evil in any form repulsive.
  3. Humanity is in total contrast to the Holy God.
    1. Everyone of us can be deceived by evil.
    2. Some form of evil appeals to each of us.
    3. We are temptable, and we will never cease to be temptable.
    4. We are always by human nature and human character susceptible to evil.
      1. Evil can pervert and corrupt our attitudes.
      2. Evil can pervert and corrupt our emotions.
      3. Evil can pervert and corrupt our motives.
      4. Evil can pervert and corrupt our intentions.
      5. Evil can pervert and corrupt our behaviors.
    5. We are so susceptible to temptation and deception that we can be perverted and corrupted in fundamental aspects of life and never know it!
    6. We can actually think we are acting for God when we are acting for evil!
3. The basic problem is created by the fact that God is holy and we are not!
  1. There will never be an occasion when God’s basic nature or our basic nature changes.
  2. God always will be by divine nature holy.
  3. We always will be by human nature unholy.
  4. Therein lies the basic problem: how can He Who is by divine nature holy associate with us who are by human nature unholy? How can He Who is repulsed by evil associate with us who are by human nature unholy?
  5. In some way the Holy God must allow us to be holy in order for Him to associate with us.
In the consideration of holiness, it is given to us by God’s act and not as an achievement of ourselves.
1. “What do you mean by that statement?”
  1. There is nothing any one of us can do of ourselves to make us holy apart from the involvement and action of God.
    1. We are 100% incapable of making ourselves holy.
    2. There is nothing that we can cause to happen in our hearts, our minds, or our bodies (apart from God’s involvement) that can make us holy through the power of humanity.
    3. We are human; we always will be human on this earth.
    4. We, on earth, will never be beyond temptability or deception.
  2. If God makes us holy:
    1. It will have to happen through God’s action and power.
    2. It will have to be a gift–under no circumstance will we deserve it.
2. That is why our holiness is totally dependent on God’s forgiveness.
  1. Divine forgiveness comes from God to us as a gift.
  2. We do not deserve it; we cannot deserve it; it is never granted to us because we merit or deserve forgiveness.
  3. Forgiveness exists because of God, because of God’s mercy, because of God’s grace, because of God’s love.
  4. Forgiveness is extended to us because of Who God is, not because of who we are.
    1. Forgiveness exists because of what God did in Jesus, not because of what we do in response to Jesus.
    2. Basically forgiveness is God’s gift.
    3. We responsively can accept and appreciate it, but we can never deserve it.
    4. All we can do is accept forgiveness; we can never deserve forgiveness.
The Holy God acts in righteousness.
1. People who accept the Holy God’s forgiveness respond to God in righteous attitudes, emotions, and behavior.
  1. There are some basic understandings we must have regarding human righteousness.
    1. We must understand that our righteousness is inferior–it will never be on par with God’s righteousness.
    2. We must understand that we can learn what is righteous only by learning the character and nature of God.
    3. We cannot know what is righteous without God informing us of what is righteous.
  2. The only way we can appreciate the gift of God’s forgiveness is by demonstrating our appreciation through righteous behavior.
    1. Growing and maturing spiritually is basically learning how to imitate the character and nature of God.
    2. That is both positive and negative.
    3. In the positive, we develop the attitudes and motives of God and reflect them in our emotions and our behavior.
    4. In the negative, we refuse to think, feel, or do those things which oppose God.
    5. A person cannot appreciate God’s gift of forgiveness while knowingly, deliberately, by choice yielding to emotions or actions that oppose God.
    6. That simply means that we always are struggling against our human natures that either accept evil or are pulled toward evil.
2. The only way the Holy God can extend to us holiness, forgiveness, and righteousness is through Jesus. Consider some scriptures:
  1. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing [God’s] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.
  2. 2 Corinthians 5:20,21 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
  3. Colossians 1:26-28 That is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
  4. Colossians 1:13,14 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
  5. Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

God can give us the gift and can accept the inferior expression of our righteousness because God gave us a Savior. Only because we have a perfect Savior can God be in relationship with us unholy humans.

Your Goal: To Be Indispensable or Useful?

Posted by David on under Sermons

Our American culture uses victory in a competition as an extremely important measure of success. It seems everything is a matter of competition. It seems the goal of competition always is to be # 1. Which of your children is the most significant achiever? Does your child “out achieve” other children? Which of your parents is the most aggressive? Is your aggressive parent more aggressive than other aggressive parents? What kind of grades does your child make? Who is the top student in your class? Who is on track to be the valedictorian? Is your sports team in the top ten ranking in the state? Does your sports team have a national ranking in the top ten? Has it ever won a national championship? Is your company in the Fortune 500? Where do you personally rank in your company?

In what neighborhood do you live? Do you have the biggest house in that neighborhood? Is your house furnished better than other houses? What do you drive? How many cars do you have? How much do you earn? How much money do you have? What are you worth?

Our society constantly bombards us with the suggestion that we can measure our significance by our possessions or our achievements. We are so accustomed to this type of evaluation that we naturally think in these terms without realizing it.

This attitude of being “the best” seeps into the pores of our souls. Because “being the best” is such an important measurement of success in our society, it easily is carried over into the church. Who is the best preacher you ever heard? Who is the best elder you ever knew? Who is the best Bible teacher you ever encountered? Who is the best song leader you ever followed? What was the best congregation you were ever in?

If we are not quite aware and extremely careful, even Christians as the church measure success in terms of competition. It is an ancient problem. Jesus often caught his twelve disciples arguing about who among them was the most important.

This morning I want to take a devotional thought Martha Walker shared in a WINGS devotional last year and expand on it a little.

We are either told or have implied to us that the key to success is being indispensable.
1. It is a relatively simple concept.
  1. “Do what you do better than anyone else does it.”
  2. “Do it so well that no one can do it better.”
  3. “If you do what you do better than anyone else, others always will be forced to depend on you–getting rid of you is never an option!”
  4. “Be indispensable! That is the key to security and success!”
2. If you have not yet learned this lesson, you likely will learn it before you die.
  1. No one is indispensable.
  2. Take any one of us out of the picture, and the world keeps on going.
  3. Jesus said the key to being spiritual, the key to eternal success is being a servant, not being indispensable.
May I direct your attention to two examples.
1. Early in the book of Acts we read about a Christian whose name was Stephen.
  1. He was a very prominent Christian in the first congregation.
  2. The church in Jerusalem began with about 3000 converts.
    1. From that congregation’s beginning, we are told they had daily conversions (Acts 2:47).
    2. By Acts 4:4 we are told that the men converts numbered about 5000.
    3. Acts 5:14 says that multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number.
  3. By Acts 6 this Jerusalem church numbered in the thousands, and they encountered their first major problem.
    1. In essence the twelve apostles said that it was not in Jesus Christ best interest to put them in charge of ending the problem.
    2. Instead these thousands of believers were to select seven men of good reputation who were full of the Spirit and wisdom.
    3. These seven men were to see the situation properly addressed.
    4. One of these seven men selected by these thousands of men and women who believed Jesus is the Christ was Stephen.
  4. But Stephen was not content just to help solve the first major problem confronting Jerusalem believers.
    1. He was useful in other ways also.
    2. Acts 6:8 says he was full of grace and power, he was a miracle worker among the people, and he did astounding things.
    3. Acts 6:9 says some specific people did not like what Stephen was doing and saying, so they started a public argument with him.
    4. But these people were not able to cope with Stephen’s wisdom and God’s Spirit in him.
    5. So these enemies secretly convinced some others to be false witnesses and tell lies about Stephen.
    6. The end result was that Stephen was executed.
    7. That began an open persecution of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, and that resulted in many Christians leaving that city.
2. I want you to notice the reaction by Christians to Stephen’s death.
  1. This was the reaction: (Acts 8:2)
    1. There was an enormous outpouring of grief at the burial of Stephen.
    2. The very public, emotional execution did not make them ashamed to express their enormous loss.
  2. This was not the reaction:
    1. “This church will never be the same!”
    2. “Stephen was indispensable!”
    3. “The church in Jerusalem will surely go into great decline now!”
    4. “What will we ever do?”
  3. In Acts 15 the Jerusalem church continued to be quite strong and was regarded as being the center of Christianity.
  4. Acts 21:20 says those living in Jerusalem who believed in Jesus Christ then numbered in the tens of thousands.
  5. Was Stephen extremely useful to Christianity in Jerusalem? Without question!
  6. Was Stephen indispensable? Absolutely not! Useful? Yes! Indispensable? No!
3. I also want to call your attention to Paul’s death (he anticipates his death in 2 Timothy).
  1. It would be difficult to exaggerate the impact of Paul’s travels and teachings on the spread of Christianity.
  2. Was Paul the only person to evangelize for Jesus Christ in areas that knew nothing about Christ? No! Today we know there were others.
    1. There was the scattering of Jerusalem Christians in Acts 8.
    2. There was the evangelism of the apostles.
    3. There was also the work of men like Apollos, Barnabas, and Mark.
  3. We know more about Paul’s work as an evangelist because he wrote so much of the New Testament, and we know his work was extensive.
  4. When Paul told Timothy about the nearness of his execution, how much of the letter did he devote to discussing how indispensable he was? None!
    1. He concentrated his attention on encouraging and challenging Timothy.
    2. He did not say, “When I am dead, everything will collapse!”
    3. He said, “Timothy, you do the same thing for others I did for you–pass the message on, and do not let trying times stop you.”
    4. Was Paul useful? Extremely!
    5. Was Paul indispensable? No!
4. God Himself sustains and continues His kingdom!
  1. Everyone of us can be useful to God’s purposes.
  2. None of us are indispensable to God’s purposes.
We are dependent on God, but God is not dependent on us.
1. There are many, many motivations for working in God’s kingdom.
  1. Some are God-centered motivations, and God-centered motivations are good.
  2. Some are me-centered motivations, and me-centered motivations commonly completely miss the point of service.
  3. For all of us (me included), serving in God’s kingdom is about God, not about us.
  4. The objective is to be God’s servant, not to attempt to make God my servant.
2. Jesus made a statement in Matthew 6:1 that often rings in my ears as I reflect on my motives.
  Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
  1. Jesus used much of what we know as Matthew 6 to illustrate a simple truth: to God, motives are as important as deeds.
  2. When people do correct religious things for the wrong motives, God is offended.
  3. To me that understanding is very sobering
    1. If my motive for doing something that is right is a desire to receive people’s admiration, when people give me that admiration, I got what I wanted.
    2. Since I got what I wanted, God owes me nothing.
    3. I have been paid in full because I did not do it for God; I did it for me.
Years ago I was privileged to be part of a unique friendship shared by three men.
1. One day one of this trio of friends died at a relatively young age, and quite unexpectedly.
  1. The two of us left were in shock; it was difficult to believe it had happened.
  2. The first morning after the unexpected death, the remaining friend called me.
  3. On his way to work he drove by our dead friend’s house and on through town to his office.
  4. Very soberly he said, “I drove through town, and nothing has changed; everything is going on like nothing happened.”

None of us are indispensable. Enduring success is not found in being number one. All of us can be useful. Success is surrendering your life to God. Be useful to His purposes.

Hope In a Hopeless World

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

1 Peter 3:14-16 “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”

In the past we were able to live in the isolation of “nothing bad will happen to me (us)” mindset. “Bad things” happened to others, but not “me” (“us”). “I” am protected! Being a Christian, or an American, or a Southerner, or a “law abiding citizen,” or an asset to the community protects “me.” “Our security is provided by ‘who we are’!”

When we felt a sense of security in the past’s “isolation,” our worlds were pretty simple. Every family in our neighborhood knew each other. Life was confined to work [always local], home, church, and community. Some even remember when little was locked, sharing was common, and most everyone knew the name of every family in the community. You were not afraid to invite a stranger in your home, pick up a hitchhiker [or be one!], and trust [without questioning] that someone was “down on his luck.”

Times have changed! Drugs and alcohol invade all our extended families. Laughable “pranks” were exchanged for deadly incidents of rage, hate, and greed. Businesses open in late night or early morning hours increasingly are robbery targets. Robbery easily escalates to murder. Jobs unexpectedly end. Careers are quickly redirected. A loved one has a life-threatening illness, or loses a job, or faces difficult times, or has his/her “personal world cave in.”

Seemingly the world gets smaller daily. American deaths in Iraq are on our morning news programs. Details of a suicide bomber’s moment of horror in the Mid-East are on at 5:30 p.m. Europe’s natural disasters are our headlines. Our loss of jobs is related to the economies of third world countries. Much of what we consume comes from places we have not visited — and never intend to!

Our hope is not some imaginary shield built by isolation. It is not based on the false confidence that “bad things” never happen to us. It is not obvious to our circumstances. It is produced by a risen Savior who teaches us that “now” is temporary but “after death” is permanent. We endure “bad things” when they happen to us with the assurance of hope and the patience most are unaccustomed to seeing.

From Christianity’s beginning, those who caused suffering were amazed. After the suffering, they asked, “How did you do that?” The Christian patiently, gently, respectfully explained Jesus Christ gave, nurtured, and sustained his/her hope.

Be ready to explain! Without doubt, we will have many opportunities!

We Travel to Our Future by Walking Through the Past

Posted by David on October 26, 2003 under Sermons

God did something powerful and unique in Jesus’ death and in Jesus’ resurrection. In Jesus’ death God gave us powerful gifts: forgiveness, redemption, atonement, sanctification, justification. In Jesus’ resurrection God showed us that He is more powerful than death. Not only can He reverse the effects of death, but He can use physical death as our door to eternal life.

This morning I want to begin by calling your attention to this statement in Acts 2:43-47.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

I would like to challenge you to form even deeper insights into this scripture.
1. If the only insights we develop are taken from a search that seeks to determine what is and is not a command, we miss the key lesson, the key point.
  1. The first thing we must remember is that the church in Jerusalem began with highly religious, very devout people.
    1. The vast majority of the “about 3000” people who were baptized because they believed in Jesus’ identity were pilgrims who came to Jerusalem to observe one of the national holy days Israel observed by God’s command for centuries.
    2. All of them were either devout Jews or devout Jewish converts (proselytes).
    3. The church did not begin with a group of people who did not know God and who were not committed to God–these people prior to conversion were so devoted to God that they made a pilgrimage to praise God on a national festival day!
    4. Acts 2 tells us that those who heard this first sermon came from throughout the Roman world–for many of these people the pilgrimage was an expensive, time consuming trip.
    5. My point is quite specific–the first converts to Jesus as the resurrected Christ were very religious, very devout, and likely very knowledgeable people.
  2. Carefully notice that even though they were highly religious people prior to conversion, there is a remarkable difference in them after conversion.
    1. One reason they were different: they wanted to belong to Jesus Christ because they knew that God worked in his life, his death, and his resurrection.
    2. Remember: the difference is not explained by declaring that non-religious people became religious, but that religious people were obviously different.
    3. Another reason for the difference: they saw God at work in Jesus.
  3. Look at the differences:
    1. There was this continual sense of awe among them.
    2. They saw the impact of the apostles’ miracles, they saw the impact of this new spiritual community on Jerusalem, they saw God at work in Jesus Christ, and they were overwhelmed with what they saw.
    3. They shared with each other.
    4. They sacrificed to help those in need.
    5. They worshipped every day.
    6. They had daily fellowship with each other.
    7. There was a sense of gladness, a sense of heart devotion among them that was new.
  4. There were three things that resulted from these powerful changes.
    1. They were continually praising God.
    2. They were respected by other people.
    3. The Lord was adding believers to them every day–people could look at them and see God at work in Jesus Christ!
2. Let’s ask a question that should be asked: what was happening?
  1. God placed a tremendous emphasis in Israel on helping the poor and the helpless.
    1. Allow me to share with you just two examples.
    2. The first example is a series of emphases on what Israel should do for its poor found in Deuteronomy 15.
      1. At the end of every seven years they were to forgive debts.
      2. If an Israelite among them was in such poverty that he could not meet his responsibilities, they were to allow him to be a servant for six years.
        
        On the seventh year they were to release that man.
        When they released him, they were to give him so many different gifts that he could begin a new life with a fresh start.
    3. The second example had to do with a practice called gleaning commanded in Leviticus 23:22.
      1. Remember they were an agricultural society.
      2. When they harvested their crops, they were not to harvest the entire field.
      3. Certain parts of the field were to be left untouched.
      4. The needy and alien were to be allowed to harvest those areas.
  2. Let me ask you to look at what happened in Acts 2 perhaps in a way you have never considered it before.
    1. These new converts were saying, “At last we understand what You wanted Your people to be from the beginning.”
    2. “You were not merely giving us a bunch of laws in order for us to jump through Your hoops! You were not creating a religious obstacle course!”
    3. “You wanted us to be a specific kind of people, a people who reflected You.”
    4. “Now that we understand who Jesus was and what You are about in Jesus’ life and death, we understand–and we are astounded!”
    5. “There is only one appropriate response–to live the lives of the people You always wanted! We praise You for the opportunity to do that!”
3. That is what I want us to be–a people who are in awe because of the ways God can express Himself in us and use us–all because of what He did in Jesus Christ!
In the past few weeks several close friends have asked me if I was okay or asked about my future, and I deeply appreciate the asking and the concern.
1. Usually when I am asked, it is in the context of Chris and Karen coming to work with us.
  1. There are some things you need to understand.
  2. The first thing you need to understand is that I am looking forward to their being a part of us.
    1. In no way is Chris being a part of our staff a threat to me.
    2. He and I not only want to tell you that; we want to show you that.
    3. There is simply too much to be done in this congregation for Brad and I to be the only two full-time staff members in a congregation of this size.
    4. I think I can speak for Brad as well as myself by saying we both are really happy to have someone else to work full-time with us.
  3. The second thing you need to know is that I talk to Chris every week.
    1. Chris and Karen are going through a very challenging time right now–any time a minister leaves one congregation and goes to another, it is a demanding time.
    2. Believe me, I know from experience, that is the one time in the life of a minister and his family when they do not belong anywhere.
      1. You are leaving friends you love and care about, and that is not easy.
      2. You are excited about meeting new people, making new friends, and falling in love with another congregation, but you are not there yet.
      3. I imagine there are all kinds of emotions in both Chris and Karen as they think about moving back to their home area.
    3. You are nervous because you have a house to sell.
    4. You are a excited because you have new challenges ahead.
    5. It is just plain difficult; they surely need our prayers.
    6. They know more people here now than I knew when I moved here, but they still have a lot of you to meet and get close to.
  4. The third thing you need to know is that I realize my limitations.
    1. No, I have no plans for retiring.
    2. No, I have no plans for moving.
    3. No, I have no sense of someone else taking my place.
    4. I understand something–I could not continue to work much longer at the present level without burning out.
    5. With Chris’ help and involvement, I have every reason to believe that I can live among you and work with you for several years–that is my hope!
  5. The fourth thing you need to know is that I want my relationship with you just to keep on growing.
    1. I try to show in what I am how much I love you and care about you.
    2. I try to live what I share with you–I really try to show you as well as teach you.
    3. I try to teach you what I understand so none of us will face God and say in shame, “I didn’t know that!”
There is something in Acts 2 I want to be true of us.
1. I want God to increasingly open our eyes so that we see the incredible thing God does for us in Jesus Christ.
  1. While I surely want us to see Jesus as Savior, I want us to understand what it means for God to give us a Savior.
  2. I want us to grow out of perspectives that see God’s commands as religious hoops to jump through, or a religious obstacle course to be completed.
  3. I want us to realize that God wants us to be what He has always intended His people to be.
  4. I want us to see God’s purposes in Jesus, and to want God to use us in accomplishing those purposes.
2. I want us to be in awe of what God is doing.
  1. I want us to be filled with a desire to praise God.
  2. I want us not only to feel but to nourish a special bond between us.
  3. I want people to see us as a special blessing from God.
  4. I want the Lord to add to us those who are being saved.

I neither want nor expect any of us to be flawlessly perfect. That cannot be. We are all human and we all will make mistakes. I only want this: I want it to be obvious that God is in charge of our lives.

Chris, Brad, and I all want the same thing. We all want us to be God’s people–no more, and no less. We all have just one request. Put God in charge of your life.

An Encouraging or Discouraging Experience?

Posted by David on under Bulletin Articles

A few days ago I was part of a group conversation. The topic: recent discouraging contacts with retail/service outlets. The focus: frustrations occurring because of unhelpful, unresponsive service personnel. Numerous incidents were used to illustrate frustrations. Why were people frustrated? The reasons included (1) no help was offered; or (2) service personnel showed no interest; or (3) a customer with a specific request was ignored; or (4) there was no awareness of the customer’s time restraints.

Certainly, I realize it is a “two way” problem. Expectations may be unreasonable. One may bring his/her frustrations with him/her. Patience may be in short supply. A legitimate business problem may exist that prohibits the anticipated response. The service personnel may have no “people skills” and interact poorly with people.

I have no interest in debating the problem. I hope we have interest in learning from the problem. When caring people show real concern and appreciation for others, it makes a lasting impression. That impression creates future opportunities.

A congregation is in “the people business.” We are not in that “business” to sell, or to exploit, or to manipulate, or to “fake” concern. We are in that “business” to bring people closer to a caring God. People are touched by God’s caring when they are touched by our caring. When people worship with us, the last thing we should want is to be anonymous. The next to the last thing we should want is for a visitor to leave feeling anonymous.

Chris Benjamin arrives November 3rd, and his family moves later that month. The elders want him to focus on getting acquainted with you. Help him and Karen! Wear your name tag EVERY time you come.

You do not have a name tag? Tell us! We will make you one. You lost your name tag? Tell us! We will make you one. You have not placed membership? We would love to have you! We will wear name tags for you if you will wear one to help us!

We need two things. (1) Names for making tags. (2) Members who wear name tags. This Sunday we will have people stationed at each exit to receive names of those needing tags. If you do not have a name tag, give one of those persons your name. We gladly will make the tag! Please wear it!

Do it for Chris and Karen! Do for each other! Do it to reflect our God who cares!

Great Parallels, Part 3: Exodus and Jesus

Posted by David on October 19, 2003 under Sermons

Think about this biblical concept: first comes trust, then comes service.

I want you to consider why that is true. (1) The quality of service rendered depends on the extent of the person’s trust. (2) The amount of service rendered depends on the depth of the person’s trust. (3) Sacrificial service depends on total trust. We all make sacrifices when there is unquestioning trust. As service increases, trust must increase.

This basic principle always has characterized God’s relationship with humans. The first thing God always has sought to produce in the hearts and minds of those who follow Him is trust. God always has given those who follow Him reason to trust him. God always has devoted His efforts to creating reason for trusting Him before He declared His expectations. God always wanted obedience to be an issue of trusting appreciation rather than a control issue. When we seek to get people to yield to God as a matter of letting God control rather than first helping people create trust in God, we misunderstand God and His purposes. We take a “short cut” God never took. The consequence of that “short cut” is commonly disaster.

Let’s begin our insight with considering Abraham’s direct descendants in Egypt who became the nation of Israel.
1. Let’s begin by considering these people’s spiritual condition in slavery.
  1. Did they practice circumcision as a religious rite?
    1. I would conclude they did.
    2. I base that conclusion on the statement made in Joshua 5:2 when God commanded Joshua to order massive circumcision again.
    3. Joshua 5:4,5 gives the reason for this circumcision: all those who left Egypt were circumcised; all of those born in the wilderness (the past 40 years) were not; and all the adult males who left Egypt died in the wilderness.
  2. Did these people have a good, clearly defined understanding of Who God is and what His nature is before Moses came back to lead them out of slavery?
    1. I conclude they did not.
    2. I base that conclusion on these people’s devotion to idolatry.
    3. I think their worship of the golden calf after their deliverance supports that conclusion: remember what they were told about the image of the calf in Exodus 32:4? “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
    4. The next day was declared to be a “feast to the Lord” (Exodus 32:5).
    5. I think their constant reverting to idol worship in Canaan supports that conclusion.
    6. The freed slaves had a very poor concept of God and His nature when they were free.
  3. Did they have a tabernacle, or a temple, or any form of devoted sanctuary for worshipping God as slaves in Egypt?
    1. There is no mention of such a place.
    2. There is no mention of such activities.
  4. Did they have a set of religious laws and directives they followed?
    1. Aside from the rite of circumcision, there is no mention of religious laws.
    2. Aside from the rite of circumcision, there is no mention of special behavior associated with religious commands.
    3. And it is obvious that they could practice circumcision and worship idols at the same time.
  5. In that period did they have any revelations from God?
    1. There is no record of these people receiving any revelations from God.
    2. In fact, the key revelation from the exodus forward would be, “I am the God who brought you out of Egypt.”
2. God’s self-defining act in the people of Israel, God’s gift to Israel that forever thereafter said they had reason to trust Him, was the exodus from Egypt.
  1. So if these people were asked to declare the nature and character of God in Egypt prior to any influence from Moses, could they do it?
  2. I personally doubt it.
  3. They might identify God with the golden image of a calf–they did later!
  4. They might identify God with the Sun–that was a significant divine force in Egypt.
  5. They might identify God with fertility rites–they did later when they worshipped the Baals!
3. I submit to you that prior to Moses that these people had an extremely poor understanding of God and knew of no reason to either trust or love God.
Note what God did first.
1. God did two things simultaneously.
  1. He gave them clear reasons for trusting Him by benefitting them and punishing their owners.
  2. At the same time, He declared His basic nature, basic character, and basic power of supremacy over all things–from Pharaoh to nature.
2. In this entire period, God had one primary request of these people: trust Me.
  1. “Trust Me enough to follow me.”
  2. “Trust Me enough to know (without doubting) that I can take care of you.”
  3. He declared Who He was by directly addressing the greatest problem they had: slavery.
3. How did God identify Himself, give the people reason to trust Him, and address their problem of slavery? He did this through powerful acts we know as the plagues.
  1. Listen to God’s statement initiating the period of the plagues:
    Exodus 6:6,7 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”
  2. The powerful acts of God:
    1. The water became blood
    2. There were frogs everywhere
    3. The insect infestation was a common as dust
    4. A swarming insect infestation would invade all Egyptian homes, but not any the slave homes in Goshen
    5. Egyptian livestock died, but not the livestock of the slaves
    6. The Egyptian people and animals had sores
    7. A very heavy hail fell and caused death and destruction among the Egyptians, but not among the slaves
    8. A heavy infestation of locusts destroyed remaining crops
    9. There was a three day period of extreme darkness among the Egyptians, but the slaves’ lights worked in their homes.
    10. The death of the firstborn of all the Egyptians.
  3. What was the point?
    1. It declared to Pharaoh Who was God, Who was in control.
    2. It declared to the slaves Who was God, Who was in control.
4. Did God have expectations that would be fulfilled in the attitudes and behavior of the slaves?
  1. Yes!
  2. However, God’s expectations were not declared until He gave Israelites undeniable reason to trust Him.
To me, the parallel to what God did for us in Jesus’ death is overwhelming.
1. Consider:
  1. Just as Israel was victims of a slavery they could not escape by themselves, we were victims of a slavery we could not escape.
  2. Just as the slaves had a very poor concept of God, we had a very poor concept of God.
  3. Just as God acted first to gain their trust, God acted first to gain our trust.
  4. Just as God gave them reason to trust Him, God gave us reason to trust Him.
  5. Just as the only request God made of them at first was to trust Him enough to follow him, the only initial request God made of us at first was to trust Him enough to follow him.
  6. What is the forever proof that God loved/loves Israel? The exodus.
  7. What is the forever proof that God loved/loves us? Jesus’ death.
2. Consider:
  1. Israel abused God’s love and insulted God in their attitude and their behavior, and the God who brought them out of Egypt was forced by them to make Israel suffer the consequences of their rebellion against the God Who delivered them.
  2. Of this we can be certain: in spite of Jesus’ death, if we abuse God’s love and insult Him by the way we think and live, we will force God to allow us to suffer the consequences of our rebellion.
  3. It has nothing to do with how deeply God loves!
  4. It has everything to do with our rebellious lack of appreciation!
In Jesus’ death and resurrection God has given us every reason to trust Him.
1. He has shown us that He is bigger and more powerful than death.
  1. The issue is never how big is God’s love for us.
  2. The issue is always this: do we trust Him?
2. Do we?
  1. If we do, that trust is seen in our attitudes toward God and people.
  2. If we do, that trust is seen in our behavior.
  3. If we do, that trust is seen in our service.

Trust without service is empty and meaningless. Service without trust is empty and meaningless. It is not an issue of control. It is an issue of appreciation based on affection.

God’s Eternal Kingdom

Posted by David on under Sermons

I want to begin this morning with a reading from Daniel.

Daniel 1:8-17 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.

I am impressed with this fact: horrible circumstances often were the means for the person who experienced those horrible circumstances to move to greater usefulness for God.
1. There are a number of these situations in scripture:
  1. Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers.
  2. Moses’ mother being forced to abandon him.
  3. Samuel living as a child in strange circumstances.
  4. David fleeing for his life in the wilderness.
  5. Jesus’ execution.
  6. Paul’s struggles as many tried to destroy him.
2. Jesus made this statement to his disciples in Matthew 5:11, 12:
  Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
3. Daniel’s experience is typical of numerous people who faced an enormous crisis in a horrible situation: “Will I turn to God in faith, or will I turn against God in anger?”
  1. One to two situations could have been true of Daniel prior to captivity.
  2. One, he could have been a religious person who was not a godly person.
    1. He could have been one of those people who did “the right” religious things just because that is what a person did and he was required to do them.
    2. He may have just “gone through” the motions.
    3. That certainly would be consistent with conditions in Jerusalem prior to falling to Babylon’s supremacy.
      1. The reason Jerusalem fell was due to its ungodliness.
      2. The people in Daniel’s segment of Jerusalem society were known for their self-indulgence, not their spirituality.
  3. Or, two, he could have been one of the truly few godly people who went into Babylonian exile because of who he was and where he was in Jerusalem’s society.
    1. He could have been a very godly young man who was forced into exile because of the ungodliness of the majority.
    2. Perhaps he was not sent into exile because of his ungodliness, but because of the ungodliness of the majority.
  4. Regardless of which was the situation, he faced an immediate crisis in captivity.
    1. Among a large group of captives, the king had selected him to be prepared for service in the king’s court.
    2. To be in that position, two things were necessary:
      1. Special educational preparation
      2. Becoming fat (the king did not want to look at skinny people)
  5. The king himself prescribed the food and drink for this group.
    1. The king gave a specific officer the responsibility to see that this group ate and drank the prescribed food.
    2. If Daniel ate this food and drank this wine, he violated the religious dietary code he always lived by.
    3. Yet, if he rejected the food and wine, he faced serious consequences.
  6. He had to decide what role God had in his life, and he had to do it as a captive.
4. He approached the man in charge [whose heart God opened toward Daniel] and asked the man to allow him and his three Jewish friends to be vegetarians.
  1. The commander said, “If I do that, I will be executed.”
    1. “You will be skinner that everyone else.”
    2. “When the king sees this and knows why, he will execute me.”
  2. Daniel proposed a test.
    1. “Let us eat vegetables for ten days.”
    2. “Then compare us to those on the king’s food and drink.”
    3. At the end of the 10 days Daniel and his friends were fatter than those who ate the king’s food and drank the king’s wine.
  3. These four Jewish vegetarians were blessed with exceptional intelligence, and Daniel even understood visions and dreams.
Now let us read together Daniel 2:31-35.
You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
1. The king had a dream that really disturbed him.
  1. He had all the interpreters assembled before him.
    1. He said, “I had a dream, and I am really anxious to know its meaning.”
    2. The men assembled said, “May you live forever! Tell us your dream and we will tell you what it means.”
    3. The king said, “No! You tell me both the dream and its meaning or all of you will be killed and your homes destroyed!”
  2. The assembled group were shocked by the request. “Tell us your dream!”
  3. However, the king was not be moved from his demand: “That will not happen! You are buying time. If I tell you the dream, you can deceive me.”
    1. “Tell me both the dream and the meaning and I will give you great reward; if you do not tell me the dream, you will be killed.”
    2. The group protested that the request was unfair, that only a god could respond satisfactorily to the king’s demand.
2. The king was indignant and furious, and issued orders to kill all the wise men of Babylon.
  1. Daniel learned of the king’s plan and asked God to reveal the dream to him.
  2. God revealed the mystery to Daniel, and he requested an audience with the king.
  3. The scripture we read was Daniel revealing the dream to the king.
Read with me Daniel 2:44, 45, which is the final part of the interpretation of the king’s dream.
In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
1. Most of the dream had to do with the great empires that were to come in the future.
  1. The beginning of these great empires was the Babylonian empire with King Nebuchadnezzar as its king.
  2. This is what would happen: the current empire would be swallowed up by the next empire. (Remember these empires were know to them as kingdoms.)
2. The final kingdom would be God’s kingdom.
  1. In the time of the final kingdom in the statue, God’s kingdom would come into existence.
  2. It would be like a stone cut without hands that would crush the statue.
  3. God’s kingdom would never be destroyed; it would endure forever–once God’s kingdom came into existence, it would never cease to exist.
Permit me to share with you some things I learn from this occurrence.
1. The first lesson I learn from this occurrence comes from the fact that Daniel faced a “relationship with God” crisis.
  1. That crisis could have masked itself in many ways: a captivity crisis; a culture crisis; a political crisis; a horrible circumstances crisis; a reality crisis.
  2. But Daniel saw the crisis for what it was–allowing God to determine who and what Daniel was.
2. The second lesson I learn from this occurrence [in fact from Daniel’s life] is found in Daniel’s awareness that God should receive all the credit.
  1. Daniel never approached a situation with the attitude “look what I can do.”
  2. Daniel consistently made it clear to the king that it was God, not Daniel
  3. Daniel 2:20 – Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.”
3. The third lesson I learn from this occurrence is heard in Daniel’s God-given interpretation of the dream: from the moment God’s kingdom became a reality in this world, it never ceased to exist.
  1. It endured and continues to endure because of God’s purposes and intent.
  2. It does not endure because of human accomplishments–the existence of God’s kingdom depends on God, not on us.
4. That leads me to a fourth realization: God’s enduring kingdom began with God’s achievements in Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, not with us 200 years ago.
  1. The key to being a part of God’s enduring kingdom is what God did in Jesus Christ.
  2. The key is not in our achievements in what we perceive to be human correctness.
5. Thus in our personal lives, the key to being a part of God’s kingdom is allowing myself to be ruled by God.
  1. The key is not being more correct than everyone else.
  2. The key is being ruled by God.
  3. I can be correct in my opinion and still be totally removed from God.

I want to close by asking you to read with me a statement given in scripture by Paul to some people who were absolutely certain they were correct, and in their correctness they were sure they were superior to other people.

Romans 2:1-11 Therefore you have no excuse, every one of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

Does God rule you, or do you attempt to rule others?

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