Gert Behanna was fifty three years old when she discovered God. The shock and wonder of that discovery hasn't worn off after twenty years.
Gert had another shock the very next Sunday when she went to church. She says, "I'd never been to church in my life and I remember how eagerly I awaited that first Sunday. I'd just had a glimpse of God Almighty- me, an alcoholic, a drug addict, rich, lonely, and miserable- already I was beginning to know what joy really was."
Gert was a new Christian. She was eager to attend church to meet and talk with persons who had known the love of God for many years. "What ecstatic people these long-time Christians will be!" she thought. Even though becoming a Christian was probably the happiest day of her life, she was somewhat hesitant about going to church that first Sunday. "I was afraid they would embarrass me with their love and enthusiasm," she said.
Gert did not find the church people as loving and enthusiastic as she thought. What she discovered was, "bowed heads, long faces, mournful singing and funeral whispers." She expected people to shower her with love and affection for making the right choice and wanting to be part of the church. No one welcomed her. No one even spoke to her the first Sunday she went to church.
"As time went on and I attended other churches," Gert writes, "in various parts of the country, I made a bewildering discovery. These long-faced, listless people were present in every congregation." Then she asked a very good question: "How could they come into God's presence Sunday after Sunday without breathing in the joy that danced in the very air?
To be fair I would like to share another side of the issue. This isn't an attempt to balance the scales because I think Gert Behanna's observations are accurate enough. But to be fair, I must tell you I have found Christian joy in some strange places: I've found it in hospital rooms where patients are physically weak and have heard bad news. I've heard of it existing around a dinner table where the family has gathered to hear the news of the father being laid off of work. I've heard of joy living with a house full of active children with laundry and dishes to be done and bills to be paid.
These situations are seldom fun, but they've been occasions where joy has sneaked out. In fact many situations are clearly unsuited to the quality of joy, but it is there almost in spite of the circumstances. The only good explanation is that it is the product of a living partnership with the Holy Spirit.
Read Galatians 5:16-24.
Joy is the second element in this descriptive vision of what the Spirit filled life looks like. We will have to be careful as we study the "fruit of the Spirit" to keep in mind that it is not called the fruits of the Spirit. This vision describes a unified product that requires every element in place- no picking and choosing! In fact, some believe every element of the fruit, after the first (love) is an amplification of Christian love. In that case, "joy is love singing or whistling or delighting." The important thing to remember is that Paul is describing an undisectable unit.
Joy has been on the top of most people's agendas from the beginning. Thomas Jefferson was so convinced that "the pursuit of happiness" was an inalienable human right that he wrote it into the Declaration of Independence and called it a "self evident truth." Unfortunately all that can be guaranteed is the right to pursue happiness. No one (president, supreme court, rich father) can guarantee you'll catch it. In fact, the Bible indicates if you pursue happiness itself, for its own sake, you will never find it for very long. Joy is not a thing that can be caught like a cow that has gotten out of the pasture. Joy is a by-product of intimacy with God. Joy is found- not when you pursue it, but when you pursue Him.
This is why a basically unhappy Christian is a contradiction. A Christian by definition is one who is following Jesus. Joy is meant for the journey. However, we must be careful to not define unhappiness as sorrow or grief. The opposite of joy is not sorrow, but gloom. Grief has its appropriate times, but even there, as we'll see, at least for some, joy is an underlying element.
If this is true then Lloyd Ogilivie asks a good question: "Why are there so many dogged, joyless, do-it-yourself Christians?" If joy is a by-product of pursuing God- why are so many not experiencing the by-product?
Let's look at some obstacles to joy...first, we have to consider the possibility that Jesus isn't a part of their life. In John 15:5 Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit," and then a few moments later in verse 11 He said, "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
The old Gospel chorus has it right, "If you want joy, real joy, let Jesus come into your heart."
Another obstacle to joy is a personal philosophy against it. Some believe (without thinking it through completely) that "self-rejection" is a Christian virtue. They would never wear potato sack shirts and sleep on a bed of nails, but they can stifle any instinct toward joy as a way of regretting their sin, or doing penance. Self-rejection is not self-denial! It is no different than a potato sack route, but it feels more right. So they say, "No joy until I'm morally perfect!"
Confusion can be an obstacle for others. Nowhere does the Bible say joy is a spiritual ecstasy that is especially passionate when all our problems are solved even momentarily. These people tend to think of joy as a reward for working all their problems out before new problems pile up! So they focus on their circumstances instead of the Spirit's companionship.
Joy is a quality independent of circumstances precisely because it is a product of "who" is inside you rather than "what" is happening outside of you. As Paul reminded the Thessalonians, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" (Thessalonians 1:6).
Joy is a product of the presence of the Spirit within. Perhaps a brief review of who the Holy Spirit is would be helpful. The Holy Spirit is the Biblical name of the third person of the God-head, but as a name it is not especially descriptive. He is not a spirit or holy in any sense that the Father and Son are not. Their spirituality and holiness are all the same quality. A descriptive name might be "God the Helper."
In the book Healing the Masculine Soul, Gordon Dalbey says that when Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the helper, he uses a Greek word, paraclete, that was an ancient warrior's term.
"Greek Soldiers went into battle in pairs," says Dalbey, "so when the enemy attacked, they could draw together back-to-back, covering each other's blind side. One's battle partner was the paraclete."
Our Lord does not send us to fight the good fight alone. The Holy Spirit is our battle partner who covers our blind side and fights for our well being. "God the Helper."
"Helper" also helps us see that we are not mere tools of God's spirit. We are voluntary servants or even co-workers. This passage says "walk by the Spirit" or "be lead by the Spirit," which describes a carefully maintained relationship. You might picture two people walking side by side down a trail together. One is the Spirit, one is you. This passage is saying conduct your journey under the guidance and with the assistance of this powerful Helper. As you journey together the Spirit will not intimidate or overpower. He is a gentleman.
Now the main difference between this picture and reality is that the Spirit journeys within us. Some would object that if the Spirit of God really moved into our spirit, that it would overwhelm our true self or personality. We'd become like people in cults- zombies. But think abut this: God took special care to make you unique from everyone else. He is not going to counteract that creative effort destroying your unique personality and turning you into some kind of cookie-cutter-produced-Holy-Spirit-person. In fact, the Holy Spirit heals and then enriches your true self.
It is kind of like the affect marriage had on me. Before I married, I was a selfish, shallow, small person. My interests were very narrow. Marrying Penny didn't stifle my personality; if anything this new relationship stretched and challenged and grew me much closer to what a "real" person should be. Coming into a relationship with Jesus amplifies this process a thousand times over.
Because this vision is describing a relationship, many times it is experienced against a backdrop of adversity: Whether it is Job saying, "Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him" (13:15), or the prophet Habakkuk saying, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior" (3:17, 18). Adversity, but joy!
Two words: "Saved alone" was the message Horatio Spafford received from his wife after the ship sank that was taking her and their four children to England in November, 1873. After reuniting with his grieving wife at sea, the boat came near the area where his children had drowned. It is speculated that at that time he wrote the words that vividly described his own grief and faith:
When sorrows like sea billows roll-
whatever my lot
Thou has taught me to say,
It is well with my soul.
Adversity, but joy! The Gospel is a message of joy. It says God has come to the rescue. Jesus Himself told us there is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. God knows no greater joy than when we let Him love us.
What is your greatest joy? Remember the parable of the talents. Three men were given varying amounts of talents. Two multiplied their investments. The result was they were invited, "Come and share your master's happiness."
The key here is understanding what the talent represents. It is investments in the Kingdom of God. As far as God is concerned the only thing worth taking to heaven is people. These two invested their lives in people. Is there anything that gives you greater joy than leading someone to Jesus? Truly, when you've done that you have "entered into the joy of your Master."
Remember the one talent person? He was afraid to risk, so he didn't. His punishment was severe. Who is alive in Jesus because of you? Does the answer to that question correlate to the quality of your joy?
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A New Future
January 5, 2003
At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers' new year's resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren't my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher's first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the new year!
A new year does not necessarily mean a new future, but you are never going to stop living. There is nothing you can do about that fact. All you can do is prepare for the kind of future you want. You have a future and it will last longer than the year 2003. One of the issues you have to consider is: how much of your past are you going to drag with you into 2003 and the future?
Some of us, as we look at our past, see repeated cycles of defeat. Our fear is that these habits of failure will take up the majority of our future. We have this fear because we have learned that human effort is not enough to break out of deep patterns of spiritual breakdown.
How often have you resolved to get out of debt and before another month has passed, you have used a credit card to soothe an emotional disturbance? How many times have you decided to diet...after the next holiday? Ever determined to avoid degrading entertainment, only to find it has more power than you do? Then if you add booze or drugs or porn or gambling addictions to the mix, you really know what repeated cycles of defeat feel like. Some this morning may have reason to believe your future looks like your past and that thought is frustrating you.
The people of Israel had their own history of cyclical defeat and revival...repentance followed by backsliding. They started with Joshua in the Promised Land, determined to obey God. Then the allure of the sensual and impious and corrupting would lead to backsliding. God, in mercy, would bring them back - then the next cycle of temptation and sin would start in.
Ultimately the warning for unfaithfulness to God spelled out in Deuteronomy came to pass. Israel was defeated and scattered to the four winds. Even then God had mercy. In the closing chapters of Isaiah a small remnant of Israel is celebrating a kind of second exodus out of captivity in Babylon. No Moses, no miracles, but they were coming home! They were to be brought back to the land of promise. This would be a great chance for a new beginning. They could celebrate the miracle of a new future.
But as chapter 65 opens, God reminds those who are coming back of their history of failure. It is kind of like being reminded that you have a history of defeat with pornography, drugs, or your temper. It is a reminder that human resolve is no match for sin. It is a reminder that every time I've started over I've fallen again.
God is bringing Israel and us to a place where we can admit we are powerless over sin. Because of sin our lives are unmanageable. This is bad news. But once it is acknowledged a new door into the future is available. We can now begin to look for a power greater than human resolve. When we realize we can not help ourselves we can start looking for outside help. At this point the lavish love of God can be allowed to have an influence.
Read Isaiah 65: 17-25
God provides the possibilities of a new beginning- without the burden of lurking cycles of defeat. Memories of those failures will be healed. It is a miracle of a new future. Three blessings are a part of your future, if you chose to put your confidence in God's Messiah: joy, abundance, and peace.
First, let me say the beginning of the new future (new heavens and new earth) was established when Jesus the Messiah defeated death. It will be fully achieved at His Second Coming. In the mean time, we live between the day after D-Day and V-Day. Because of the resurrection, Satan and sin and evil are doomed. Followers of Jesus share in the confidence of ultimate victory while we continue the battle.
The consummation of the promised blessings is still coming- but living in the mean time (between the beginning of the end and the end itself) - those blessings can touch us in ways that provide significant nourishment. Isaiah 65 talks about the new heavens and the new earth being a place of (1) joy and delight; (2) a place of abundance and long life; and (3) a place of peace. It is a kind of living that starts with faith in Jesus. The Bible says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a New Creation; the old is gone, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
In this life we can begin to experience joy, abundance, and peace. Jesus reiterated each of these promises for His followers. In John 17:13 He prayed that His followers would "have the full measure of my joy within them."
Peter spoke to people like us when he said, "though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." (1 Peter 1:8)
If you know Jesus you can know the flavor of the joy of Heaven. On that day when you see Him face to face, that familiar joy will engulf and saturate you.
Isaiah also promised abundance. Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). When you become a follower of Jesus, you immediately become a student of the undying life. In John 8:51 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word (like a good student would), he will never see death." He told Martha, "whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:26).
Isaiah also promised peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
If you and I are going to live effectively in the joy, abundance, and peace of God, our distant future must make sense to us. Is your ultimate future a time beyond your physical demise- something real enough that you can make decisions today based on those plans?
For the follower of Jesus, abundant life is always growing on our horizon. This present universe is just one component in our long life in the Kingdom of God. The resurrected Son of God Himself said, in my Father's home are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am" (14:2-3).
Isaiah and Peter and John in Revelation describe this place as a new heaven and a new earth- the miracle of a new future! You are never going to stop existing. There is nothing you can do about that fact. You can do something about what kind of future you will have, however.
Those who do not enter the joy, peace, and abundance of God, through confidence in Jesus will still experience eternal existence. Because we've been created in the image of God we are everlasting. But the Bible describes that everlasting existence as isolated and a place without hope.
This is possible because these people have chosen to be their own ultimate source of authority (god) and disregarded the one legitimate authority (God). Obviously that posture can only be sustained at a distance from God- a place isolated from real hope.
The invitation to you in the mean time is to enter the new heavens and the new earth. To experience this prophetic promise it takes more than a kinda-sorta faith in a vague higher power. It requires a focused confidence in the person of Jesus - the one who died for you! Don't diminish the sacrifices of the Son of God. You have a future. Will it be a repeat of past defeats stretching into eternal hopelessness, or a life of joy and abundance and peace provided by the eternal and intimate presence of Jesus?
At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers' new year's resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren't my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher's first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the new year!
A new year does not necessarily mean a new future, but you are never going to stop living. There is nothing you can do about that fact. All you can do is prepare for the kind of future you want. You have a future and it will last longer than the year 2003. One of the issues you have to consider is: how much of your past are you going to drag with you into 2003 and the future?
Some of us, as we look at our past, see repeated cycles of defeat. Our fear is that these habits of failure will take up the majority of our future. We have this fear because we have learned that human effort is not enough to break out of deep patterns of spiritual breakdown.
How often have you resolved to get out of debt and before another month has passed, you have used a credit card to soothe an emotional disturbance? How many times have you decided to diet...after the next holiday? Ever determined to avoid degrading entertainment, only to find it has more power than you do? Then if you add booze or drugs or porn or gambling addictions to the mix, you really know what repeated cycles of defeat feel like. Some this morning may have reason to believe your future looks like your past and that thought is frustrating you.
The people of Israel had their own history of cyclical defeat and revival...repentance followed by backsliding. They started with Joshua in the Promised Land, determined to obey God. Then the allure of the sensual and impious and corrupting would lead to backsliding. God, in mercy, would bring them back - then the next cycle of temptation and sin would start in.
Ultimately the warning for unfaithfulness to God spelled out in Deuteronomy came to pass. Israel was defeated and scattered to the four winds. Even then God had mercy. In the closing chapters of Isaiah a small remnant of Israel is celebrating a kind of second exodus out of captivity in Babylon. No Moses, no miracles, but they were coming home! They were to be brought back to the land of promise. This would be a great chance for a new beginning. They could celebrate the miracle of a new future.
But as chapter 65 opens, God reminds those who are coming back of their history of failure. It is kind of like being reminded that you have a history of defeat with pornography, drugs, or your temper. It is a reminder that human resolve is no match for sin. It is a reminder that every time I've started over I've fallen again.
God is bringing Israel and us to a place where we can admit we are powerless over sin. Because of sin our lives are unmanageable. This is bad news. But once it is acknowledged a new door into the future is available. We can now begin to look for a power greater than human resolve. When we realize we can not help ourselves we can start looking for outside help. At this point the lavish love of God can be allowed to have an influence.
Read Isaiah 65: 17-25
God provides the possibilities of a new beginning- without the burden of lurking cycles of defeat. Memories of those failures will be healed. It is a miracle of a new future. Three blessings are a part of your future, if you chose to put your confidence in God's Messiah: joy, abundance, and peace.
First, let me say the beginning of the new future (new heavens and new earth) was established when Jesus the Messiah defeated death. It will be fully achieved at His Second Coming. In the mean time, we live between the day after D-Day and V-Day. Because of the resurrection, Satan and sin and evil are doomed. Followers of Jesus share in the confidence of ultimate victory while we continue the battle.
The consummation of the promised blessings is still coming- but living in the mean time (between the beginning of the end and the end itself) - those blessings can touch us in ways that provide significant nourishment. Isaiah 65 talks about the new heavens and the new earth being a place of (1) joy and delight; (2) a place of abundance and long life; and (3) a place of peace. It is a kind of living that starts with faith in Jesus. The Bible says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a New Creation; the old is gone, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
In this life we can begin to experience joy, abundance, and peace. Jesus reiterated each of these promises for His followers. In John 17:13 He prayed that His followers would "have the full measure of my joy within them."
Peter spoke to people like us when he said, "though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." (1 Peter 1:8)
If you know Jesus you can know the flavor of the joy of Heaven. On that day when you see Him face to face, that familiar joy will engulf and saturate you.
Isaiah also promised abundance. Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). When you become a follower of Jesus, you immediately become a student of the undying life. In John 8:51 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word (like a good student would), he will never see death." He told Martha, "whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:26).
Isaiah also promised peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
If you and I are going to live effectively in the joy, abundance, and peace of God, our distant future must make sense to us. Is your ultimate future a time beyond your physical demise- something real enough that you can make decisions today based on those plans?
For the follower of Jesus, abundant life is always growing on our horizon. This present universe is just one component in our long life in the Kingdom of God. The resurrected Son of God Himself said, in my Father's home are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am" (14:2-3).
Isaiah and Peter and John in Revelation describe this place as a new heaven and a new earth- the miracle of a new future! You are never going to stop existing. There is nothing you can do about that fact. You can do something about what kind of future you will have, however.
Those who do not enter the joy, peace, and abundance of God, through confidence in Jesus will still experience eternal existence. Because we've been created in the image of God we are everlasting. But the Bible describes that everlasting existence as isolated and a place without hope.
This is possible because these people have chosen to be their own ultimate source of authority (god) and disregarded the one legitimate authority (God). Obviously that posture can only be sustained at a distance from God- a place isolated from real hope.
The invitation to you in the mean time is to enter the new heavens and the new earth. To experience this prophetic promise it takes more than a kinda-sorta faith in a vague higher power. It requires a focused confidence in the person of Jesus - the one who died for you! Don't diminish the sacrifices of the Son of God. You have a future. Will it be a repeat of past defeats stretching into eternal hopelessness, or a life of joy and abundance and peace provided by the eternal and intimate presence of Jesus?
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Man, that's living!
December 12, 1998
Lloyd Ogilvie, chaplain of the US senate retells an old joke with fresh humor. It is a story about two gravediggers who were responsible for digging the largest grave they had ever been told to dig. The dimensions of the grave were six feet wide and 15 feet long.
As they grumbled and complained about digging such a large grave, they questioned as to what kind of casket would go into it. Just as they finished shoveling, a hearse drove up carrying the casket, funeral director, and the attendants. No one else attended: no family, no friends.
The gravediggers were bewildered why they had been told to dig such a large grave for such an ordinary casket. Suddenly a trailer for transporting cars pulled up beside the grave. Fastened securely to the transporter was a magnificent gold plated Rolls Royce.
The gravediggers' surprise turned to downright astonishment as the funeral attendants placed the casket next to the Rolls Royce, opened the lid, and slid the fully embalmed, neatly dressed corpse out and put him behind the wheel on the driver's side of the car. The funeral director came over to the corpse and wrapped his cold, dead fingers around the steering wheel, and then molded his lifeless, expressionless mouth into a big smile. His finishing touch was to open the dead man's eyes, which looked out onto the world with a blank stare.
As the door was shut, the crane swung into position and hooked its metal cable to the top of the car. It carried the dead man and his gold Rolls Royce to the grave and lowered it all to the bottom with a gentle thud!
One of the gravediggers glanced at the other, looked at the Rolls Royce, and blurted out, "Man, that's living!"
The story becomes a parable of those without a spiritual life. The spiritually dead seldom slow down long enough to recognize their own deadness. Think how often we say, "That's really living," about lifeless kinds of popularity or prosperity or power.
Does your life have a vitality, a positive intensity mixed with rich solitude? Is it cheerfulness mixed with a spark - a little passion and some pizazz? When you stop to rest, do you become restless with your wooden existence and lackluster survival? Or is there contentment in your calm times?
Jesus said, "I have come that (you) may have life and have it to the full." Advent is the time to remember Jesus' coming and ask, "Why did He come?" Advent means "coming." Some apply the word exclusively to His second coming - the Seventh Day Adventist, for example - but it is appropriate to celebrate His first advent as we wait for His second advent/coming.
In John 10:10 Jesus gives one very clear reason for His first advent: to offer abundant life. In the gospel of John the life that Jesus offers is unique. Usually it is called eternal life. However, the reference to eternal, has less to do with quantity than it does with quality. The Bible gives us reason to believe that God has already given everyone immortality; originally the gift of endless life would not have involved a disruptive moment we call death. Unfortunately, our rebellion brought that about. Jesus did not come to extend our lives into eternity. That is already going to happen, either in heaven or hell. Jesus came to change our quality of life, both now and the quality of our eternity.
In some ways this quality is a by-product of a restored relationship with God through Jesus. Think of the best friendship you've ever had, perhaps with your spouse. Then suppose in one of your stubborn or greedy or lustful moments you did something to damage that friendship. Perhaps you still live together or work together, but there is friction and relational pain where there used to be harmony.
Then suppose that your friend, in a lavish demonstration of love, let you know that you were totally forgiven. You knew it was not a trick or illusion- you really were forgiven and loved. What has that forgiveness done for your quality of life? Doesn't it make all the difference in the world? Jesus has come to bring that quality of acceptance and love into your life, along with His power to live a joy filled life.
Today we will be reading from John 10. The immediate context is all of chapter nine. That chapter opens with Jesus and His disciples on a Sabbath stroll through the streets of Jerusalem. They see a man that is so well known that everyone knows he was born blind. The disciples ask whose sin caused this blindness. Jesus said sin had nothing to do with this tragedy, directly.
Furthermore, Jesus made a mixture of saliva and dirt, rubbed the mud on the man's eyes and sent him to a specific pool to wash. The man did, and was healed. The healing was so remarkable that those who knew him best couldn't believe it was really him. They asked the obvious questions: how did this happen? He told them about the mud and the trip to the pool and Jesus.
Such a remarkable miracle deserved to be investigated, so the friends took the formerly blind man to the religious leaders. The Pharisees were immediately suspect - not because the miracle itself seemed fraudulent, but because Jesus had made the mud on the Sabbath. The Pharisees had a bad case of something we all battle with: we prefer to limit God to act in ways that we can approve of!
Because Jesus did not heal with the approved sort of methods, he was branded an evil person. To shorten the story, the healed man endorsed Jesus methods, he did not understand how they violated any of God's laws. Consequently he was excommunicated. He was healed of blindness and then kicked out of his congregation by those born with good eyes!
When Jesus heard that this had happened, he found the formerly blind man and some of his accusers. Chapter 10 is Jesus' verbal whipping administered to the Pharisees, and words of encouragement to the outcast.
Read John 10.
Jesus explains who it is who has the real authority to "let in" and to "cast out." To the outcast this must've been music to his ears. To the religious leaders and wanna-be authorities it was another reason to do away with Jesus.
Wanna-be leaders are in for themselves. They use their followers for selfish reasons. Jesus came in order to lay down His life for anyone who would follow Him. He came to lay down His life and to give life.
When we get ready for Christmas we make our homes as fancy as they will be all year. We dress up the outside and inside and sometimes we even get dressed up - decked out. When God got ready for Christmas, He laid aside His scepter, took off His crown and came as a naked baby. There wasn't much gloriousness about His first advent. A baby was born - that is very impressive, but it also meant other stuff: meconium, squalling, a desperate need for mother's milk. God was naked and vulnerable.
This beginning is an interesting comparison to the end of His life where he hung on the cross, naked and vulnerable. God chose to live in the same flesh you and I live in, the same flesh we die in. His pain does not erase our pain, but it can redeem it and transform it.
Years ago a missionary was serving the Lord in Korea. A young Korean woman was expecting a baby, and on Christmas Eve she went into labor. There was a major storm in progress, but the woman knew if she could just get to the home of the missionary she would have the help she needed. She put on her winter wraps and started out alone, on foot. She was several miles from home when her labor pains grew in frequency and intensity, and she knew she could not make it to her destination.
She got beneath an old bridge that provided some shelter. There alone, in the middle of the night, she gave birth to a baby boy. She immediately removed her coat and then, piece by piece, the rest of her clothing. Carefully, she wound every item around her baby until he looked like a cumbersome little cocoon. Then she fell asleep, too exhausted to do anything else.
The next morning dawned, the missionary awoke with a song in her heart. It was Christmas day, and there were so many people she wanted to see. She packed the car and started on her way. A few miles down the road the engine sputtered and the car finally stopped on top of an old bridge. As the missionary opened the door to go for help, she thought she heard a baby crying. Following the sound, she went under the bridge where she found a tiny baby boy- very hungry, but very much alive. Next to the infant, lay his mother - frozen.
The missionary picked up the baby and took him to her home. In time, she was permitted to adopt the boy. As the years passed she told him how his biological mother had given her life that he might live. The son never tired of hearing the story and he asked her to repeat it often.
On his twelfth birthday he asked the missionary to take him to the burial place of his mother. When they arrived, there was snow on the ground, and he asked his missionary mother to wait while he went to the grave alone. She watched her son as he trudged through the snow, tears streaming down his cheeks. In amazement, she saw him slowly unbutton his coat, remove it, and gently lay it on the snowy grave. Next he removed his shirt, pants, shoes, and socks and carefully placed each item on the grave of the mother who had given her all for him.
The missionary could take it no longer and went to her son, placing her coat around his bare, shivering shoulders. Through his tears, she heard him as he asked, "Were you colder than this for me, mother? Were you colder than this?" And he knew that she was.
When people doubt or even mock Jesus' promise of abundant life, by pointing to the evidence of pain and suffering still with us, they fail to see Jesus Himself, coming into that same suffering voluntarily. They also have not tried living with Jesus to discover the abundance of that life. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life, abundant life."
If you have felt touched by The Spirit or His Word I invite you to come forward for prayer. (Editor's note: If you are a blogger we invite you contact us thru the comment section or Facebook and we will talk to you about the life change that is available to you thru Jesus.)
Lloyd Ogilvie, chaplain of the US senate retells an old joke with fresh humor. It is a story about two gravediggers who were responsible for digging the largest grave they had ever been told to dig. The dimensions of the grave were six feet wide and 15 feet long.
As they grumbled and complained about digging such a large grave, they questioned as to what kind of casket would go into it. Just as they finished shoveling, a hearse drove up carrying the casket, funeral director, and the attendants. No one else attended: no family, no friends.
The gravediggers were bewildered why they had been told to dig such a large grave for such an ordinary casket. Suddenly a trailer for transporting cars pulled up beside the grave. Fastened securely to the transporter was a magnificent gold plated Rolls Royce.
The gravediggers' surprise turned to downright astonishment as the funeral attendants placed the casket next to the Rolls Royce, opened the lid, and slid the fully embalmed, neatly dressed corpse out and put him behind the wheel on the driver's side of the car. The funeral director came over to the corpse and wrapped his cold, dead fingers around the steering wheel, and then molded his lifeless, expressionless mouth into a big smile. His finishing touch was to open the dead man's eyes, which looked out onto the world with a blank stare.
As the door was shut, the crane swung into position and hooked its metal cable to the top of the car. It carried the dead man and his gold Rolls Royce to the grave and lowered it all to the bottom with a gentle thud!
One of the gravediggers glanced at the other, looked at the Rolls Royce, and blurted out, "Man, that's living!"
The story becomes a parable of those without a spiritual life. The spiritually dead seldom slow down long enough to recognize their own deadness. Think how often we say, "That's really living," about lifeless kinds of popularity or prosperity or power.
Does your life have a vitality, a positive intensity mixed with rich solitude? Is it cheerfulness mixed with a spark - a little passion and some pizazz? When you stop to rest, do you become restless with your wooden existence and lackluster survival? Or is there contentment in your calm times?
Jesus said, "I have come that (you) may have life and have it to the full." Advent is the time to remember Jesus' coming and ask, "Why did He come?" Advent means "coming." Some apply the word exclusively to His second coming - the Seventh Day Adventist, for example - but it is appropriate to celebrate His first advent as we wait for His second advent/coming.
In John 10:10 Jesus gives one very clear reason for His first advent: to offer abundant life. In the gospel of John the life that Jesus offers is unique. Usually it is called eternal life. However, the reference to eternal, has less to do with quantity than it does with quality. The Bible gives us reason to believe that God has already given everyone immortality; originally the gift of endless life would not have involved a disruptive moment we call death. Unfortunately, our rebellion brought that about. Jesus did not come to extend our lives into eternity. That is already going to happen, either in heaven or hell. Jesus came to change our quality of life, both now and the quality of our eternity.
In some ways this quality is a by-product of a restored relationship with God through Jesus. Think of the best friendship you've ever had, perhaps with your spouse. Then suppose in one of your stubborn or greedy or lustful moments you did something to damage that friendship. Perhaps you still live together or work together, but there is friction and relational pain where there used to be harmony.
Then suppose that your friend, in a lavish demonstration of love, let you know that you were totally forgiven. You knew it was not a trick or illusion- you really were forgiven and loved. What has that forgiveness done for your quality of life? Doesn't it make all the difference in the world? Jesus has come to bring that quality of acceptance and love into your life, along with His power to live a joy filled life.
Today we will be reading from John 10. The immediate context is all of chapter nine. That chapter opens with Jesus and His disciples on a Sabbath stroll through the streets of Jerusalem. They see a man that is so well known that everyone knows he was born blind. The disciples ask whose sin caused this blindness. Jesus said sin had nothing to do with this tragedy, directly.
Furthermore, Jesus made a mixture of saliva and dirt, rubbed the mud on the man's eyes and sent him to a specific pool to wash. The man did, and was healed. The healing was so remarkable that those who knew him best couldn't believe it was really him. They asked the obvious questions: how did this happen? He told them about the mud and the trip to the pool and Jesus.
Such a remarkable miracle deserved to be investigated, so the friends took the formerly blind man to the religious leaders. The Pharisees were immediately suspect - not because the miracle itself seemed fraudulent, but because Jesus had made the mud on the Sabbath. The Pharisees had a bad case of something we all battle with: we prefer to limit God to act in ways that we can approve of!
Because Jesus did not heal with the approved sort of methods, he was branded an evil person. To shorten the story, the healed man endorsed Jesus methods, he did not understand how they violated any of God's laws. Consequently he was excommunicated. He was healed of blindness and then kicked out of his congregation by those born with good eyes!
When Jesus heard that this had happened, he found the formerly blind man and some of his accusers. Chapter 10 is Jesus' verbal whipping administered to the Pharisees, and words of encouragement to the outcast.
Read John 10.
Jesus explains who it is who has the real authority to "let in" and to "cast out." To the outcast this must've been music to his ears. To the religious leaders and wanna-be authorities it was another reason to do away with Jesus.
Wanna-be leaders are in for themselves. They use their followers for selfish reasons. Jesus came in order to lay down His life for anyone who would follow Him. He came to lay down His life and to give life.
When we get ready for Christmas we make our homes as fancy as they will be all year. We dress up the outside and inside and sometimes we even get dressed up - decked out. When God got ready for Christmas, He laid aside His scepter, took off His crown and came as a naked baby. There wasn't much gloriousness about His first advent. A baby was born - that is very impressive, but it also meant other stuff: meconium, squalling, a desperate need for mother's milk. God was naked and vulnerable.
This beginning is an interesting comparison to the end of His life where he hung on the cross, naked and vulnerable. God chose to live in the same flesh you and I live in, the same flesh we die in. His pain does not erase our pain, but it can redeem it and transform it.
Years ago a missionary was serving the Lord in Korea. A young Korean woman was expecting a baby, and on Christmas Eve she went into labor. There was a major storm in progress, but the woman knew if she could just get to the home of the missionary she would have the help she needed. She put on her winter wraps and started out alone, on foot. She was several miles from home when her labor pains grew in frequency and intensity, and she knew she could not make it to her destination.
She got beneath an old bridge that provided some shelter. There alone, in the middle of the night, she gave birth to a baby boy. She immediately removed her coat and then, piece by piece, the rest of her clothing. Carefully, she wound every item around her baby until he looked like a cumbersome little cocoon. Then she fell asleep, too exhausted to do anything else.
The next morning dawned, the missionary awoke with a song in her heart. It was Christmas day, and there were so many people she wanted to see. She packed the car and started on her way. A few miles down the road the engine sputtered and the car finally stopped on top of an old bridge. As the missionary opened the door to go for help, she thought she heard a baby crying. Following the sound, she went under the bridge where she found a tiny baby boy- very hungry, but very much alive. Next to the infant, lay his mother - frozen.
The missionary picked up the baby and took him to her home. In time, she was permitted to adopt the boy. As the years passed she told him how his biological mother had given her life that he might live. The son never tired of hearing the story and he asked her to repeat it often.
On his twelfth birthday he asked the missionary to take him to the burial place of his mother. When they arrived, there was snow on the ground, and he asked his missionary mother to wait while he went to the grave alone. She watched her son as he trudged through the snow, tears streaming down his cheeks. In amazement, she saw him slowly unbutton his coat, remove it, and gently lay it on the snowy grave. Next he removed his shirt, pants, shoes, and socks and carefully placed each item on the grave of the mother who had given her all for him.
The missionary could take it no longer and went to her son, placing her coat around his bare, shivering shoulders. Through his tears, she heard him as he asked, "Were you colder than this for me, mother? Were you colder than this?" And he knew that she was.
When people doubt or even mock Jesus' promise of abundant life, by pointing to the evidence of pain and suffering still with us, they fail to see Jesus Himself, coming into that same suffering voluntarily. They also have not tried living with Jesus to discover the abundance of that life. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life, abundant life."
If you have felt touched by The Spirit or His Word I invite you to come forward for prayer. (Editor's note: If you are a blogger we invite you contact us thru the comment section or Facebook and we will talk to you about the life change that is available to you thru Jesus.)
Thursday, November 25, 2010
True Love is Extravagant
(Editor's note: This sermon was first preached in Sheridan, OR in 1988, and reworked to be presented in Ceres, CA on November 25, 2001. The interesting thing is that the opening illustration is about a young couple in Patterson, CA just 25 miles from Ceres. Nobody stepped forward to say they knew this couple, but different ones did remember the newspaper coverage of the story.)
Young people know more about real love that most of us old timers will give them credit for. What we know that they sometimes don't is that even strong affections can be fickle. And when the worst happens, most of the time we stand a good chance for recovery.
This pattern of young love began as Felipe Garza started dating Donna Ashlock. Felipe was 15; Donna was 14. They dated steadily until Donna cooled the romance and began dating other boys. Even though Donna had ended the relationship -- for six months Felipe could not let his feelings fade.
While at work one day Donna doubled over in pain. Doctors soon discovered that she was dying of degenerative heart disease and desperately needed a heart transplant. Felipe heard about Donna's condition and told his mother, "I'm going to die, and I'm going to give my heart to Donna." Now, young people have been known to say "irrational" things from time to time, especially when they're in love. At any rate Felipe appeared to his mom to be in perfect health.
Three weeks later, however, Felipe woke up and complained of pain on the left side of his head. He began losing his breath and couldn't walk. He was taken to a hospital where it was discovered that a blood vessel in his brain had burst, soon leaving him brain dead!
Felipe's sudden death mystified his doctors. While he remained on a respirator, his family decided to let surgeons remove his heart for Donna and his kidneys and eyes for others.
Life is filled with mystery and Donna received Felipe's heart! After the transplant, Donna's father told her about Felipe's sudden death. In the following moments of silence, Donna, unsure until just then said, "And I have his heart." Her father said, "Yes, that is what he and his parents wanted."
Several days later, a funeral procession seemed to roll on forever through the orchards and fields of Patterson. The procession was so long it might have been for a senator or a prince, but instead it was for the young man who gave away his heart.
In John 12 we read of a young lover with a similar spirit (12:1-9).
As a young lover did you ever experience the impulse of "climb the highest mountain or swim the wildest river" or do something totally out of character like write poetry or a song? I hope you have felt those urges -- they are the spice and romance of life. But more to the point are you occasionally struck by an impulse to lavishly express your love for Jesus? Or is your spiritual life more of a business arrangement? Are you one of those who believes that religion should be "reasonable"? You are aware of the drawbacks and benefits, and it only makes sense to avoid the negatives as far as possible.
In this passage you and I discover that true love, whether it is romantic or spiritual, is smothered in a coldly calculating world of weights and measures, accountants and record keepers. By following the example of Mary, we can discover the joy of wasteful love.
From the accountant's perspective, Mary qualifies for the title of "The Prodigal Daughter" -- prodigal meaning "squanderer" or "one who is extravagantly wasteful." Judas saw a years wages spilled on the ground. Mary was the type who wouldn't even balance her checkbook until after the holidays. It might hamper her giving!
For well over a year Jesus had been predicting His own death. On His previous journey to Bethany for the purpose of raising Lazarus from the grave, Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." Jesus had told them in detail that He would "be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests . . . they would mock him . . . flog Him and kill Him" (Mark 10:33).
For whatever reason (we may never know) the majority of disciples did not get it. However, John gives clues that Mary was one disciple who did get it! In verse seven Jesus hints that Mary has believed Jesus' prediction of His death and had been saving this ointment for His burial. As the last week of Jesus' life was about to begin, He was, again, preparing His followers for the days of crisis. Unfortunately His teaching was not sinking in any better than it had before. But Mary could see that the time had come. In her heart now, she began to search for an expression of her loyalty and love.
Remembering the ointment for His burial, she acted on her desire to glorify Jesus before He died. For those without her insight, and from a human view, she was extravagant, overly generous, reckless and perhaps a little foolish. Yet when she looked at the person who was going to lay down His life for everyone, she knew that calculating how much devotion to show was not possible.
It was an outlandish display. But it was all love -- without an ounce of self interest. The Pharisees knew how to worship so that men were impressed. They gave their alms, and said their prayers and did their fasting with extravagant public appeal. But Mary's act of worship lacked any interest in her public image. It was all, it was only for Jesus.
In Palestine no respectable woman appeared in public with her hair unbound -- it would be comparable to an Afghan lady being without her burka. Mary was not thinking about herself. She was not concerned with what they might think of her love for Jesus. Why she used her hair, I don't know, but I'm sure this powerful aroma would cling to Jesus for several days, and now to Mary as well. She would for some time bear a reminder of her Master's sacrifice.
Regardless of "why", the principle she models is that true love is heedless of the crowd. Michal despised David's elaborate display of love for God. Job's friends came to detest his stubborn love for God. And Judas hated Mary. But Mary never gave their opinion a thought. Her focus was on Jesus, not the crowd or a set of regulations. True love does not diminish because of opposing opinions.
A second principle she models is that true love is sacrificial. By nature it is extravagant, generous and occasionally reckless. You might just dive into that wild river! Yet how many enter into the Christian faith like they would another business deal? They calculate the negatives: It might require some time, extra energy and perhaps some money. On the positive side, most of the people are friendly and there just might be a heaven and what if there really is a hell?
These kinds of Christians are not necessarily easy to spot. Remember that Judas kept his cover very well. But in their heart, they complain about how much money it takes to keep missionaries on the field. They get upset at the cost of adequate facilities for worship and training. Some even ask, "Why does a worship service have to interrupt the beginning of the football game?" For that matter, "Why does Sunday come once a week? Why not once a month?" After a while it does -- for them. These folks don't get real excited about letting their neighbors know they are Christians.
These are Christians who have entered into a nicely calculated business arrangement. They identify with Christ, just enough to "make it" - they hope. But, of course, they never know with certainty, so they are not really happy with the arrangement.
I believe the Marys of the faith are easier to pick out. Have you ever noticed how lovers seem to look for ways of sacrificing? They seem to go out of their way to enhance their relationship. They hold hands in public regardless of what other people think. They never feel like they have enough time or money to spend on the other person. Football games don't interfere. Sacrifice is actually fun! Where true love is present, sacrifice is the norm.
O. Henry illustrates this in one of my favorite short stories ever. It is pretty simple, that's why it appeals to me. It is titled "The Gift of the Magi". A young couple, Della and Jim, were very poor but very much in love. Each had one unique possession. Della's was her dazzling long, thick hair. When she let it down it could almost serve as a robe. Jim had a priceless gold watch, which had been his father's and before that his grandfather's. It was the day before Christmas, and Della had exactly $1.87 to buy Jim a present.
Her only option for getting more money was to sell her hair to a wig maker. With the money she bought Jim a platinum fob for his watch. When Jim came home that night and saw Della's cut hair, he stopped and stared in shock. It wasn't that she was less attractive. Part of his surprise was how beautiful she was without her hair.
Della, however, was on the verge of panic, not being able to interpret his stunned look. In her effort to explain, she made Jim open his gift early. Jim now was even more speechless, and to explain his pent up weakness gave Della his gift to her.
It was a set of expensive tortoiseshell combs with jeweled edges for her long hair - a set of combs that Della had been admiring for several months. The irony was . . .. Jim had sold his watch to afford them.
He sold his watch to buy combs for her hair; she sold her hair to buy a fob for his watch. It appears that each of them had sacrificed in vain. But did they? In the process of losing some "things", did they not gain more of each other? Isn't that what matters most with lovers?
Mary's heart recognized Jesus' impending death as an extravagant, lavish display of God's love. She knew what all lovers know by instinct: Heaven is not a place for the stingy economy of a nicely calculated business arrangement.
Nothing is less wasteful or more wonderful than offering Jesus a sacrificial token of loyalty and devotion, however costly that offering may be. Young lovers of Jesus know this; their impulse is to waste their lives for Him. However, it was to a group of old timers that Jesus said, "I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first" (Revelation 2:4,5).
These up coming holy days can be a time to fall in love with Jesus all over again.l Life may not be able to sustain itself in the frenzy of fresh love (except perhaps in Heaven), but there is never room for cold calculations of assets and debits in any kind of real love. How warm is your love for Jesus?
Young people know more about real love that most of us old timers will give them credit for. What we know that they sometimes don't is that even strong affections can be fickle. And when the worst happens, most of the time we stand a good chance for recovery.
This pattern of young love began as Felipe Garza started dating Donna Ashlock. Felipe was 15; Donna was 14. They dated steadily until Donna cooled the romance and began dating other boys. Even though Donna had ended the relationship -- for six months Felipe could not let his feelings fade.
While at work one day Donna doubled over in pain. Doctors soon discovered that she was dying of degenerative heart disease and desperately needed a heart transplant. Felipe heard about Donna's condition and told his mother, "I'm going to die, and I'm going to give my heart to Donna." Now, young people have been known to say "irrational" things from time to time, especially when they're in love. At any rate Felipe appeared to his mom to be in perfect health.
Three weeks later, however, Felipe woke up and complained of pain on the left side of his head. He began losing his breath and couldn't walk. He was taken to a hospital where it was discovered that a blood vessel in his brain had burst, soon leaving him brain dead!
Felipe's sudden death mystified his doctors. While he remained on a respirator, his family decided to let surgeons remove his heart for Donna and his kidneys and eyes for others.
Life is filled with mystery and Donna received Felipe's heart! After the transplant, Donna's father told her about Felipe's sudden death. In the following moments of silence, Donna, unsure until just then said, "And I have his heart." Her father said, "Yes, that is what he and his parents wanted."
Several days later, a funeral procession seemed to roll on forever through the orchards and fields of Patterson. The procession was so long it might have been for a senator or a prince, but instead it was for the young man who gave away his heart.
In John 12 we read of a young lover with a similar spirit (12:1-9).
As a young lover did you ever experience the impulse of "climb the highest mountain or swim the wildest river" or do something totally out of character like write poetry or a song? I hope you have felt those urges -- they are the spice and romance of life. But more to the point are you occasionally struck by an impulse to lavishly express your love for Jesus? Or is your spiritual life more of a business arrangement? Are you one of those who believes that religion should be "reasonable"? You are aware of the drawbacks and benefits, and it only makes sense to avoid the negatives as far as possible.
In this passage you and I discover that true love, whether it is romantic or spiritual, is smothered in a coldly calculating world of weights and measures, accountants and record keepers. By following the example of Mary, we can discover the joy of wasteful love.
From the accountant's perspective, Mary qualifies for the title of "The Prodigal Daughter" -- prodigal meaning "squanderer" or "one who is extravagantly wasteful." Judas saw a years wages spilled on the ground. Mary was the type who wouldn't even balance her checkbook until after the holidays. It might hamper her giving!
For well over a year Jesus had been predicting His own death. On His previous journey to Bethany for the purpose of raising Lazarus from the grave, Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many." Jesus had told them in detail that He would "be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests . . . they would mock him . . . flog Him and kill Him" (Mark 10:33).
For whatever reason (we may never know) the majority of disciples did not get it. However, John gives clues that Mary was one disciple who did get it! In verse seven Jesus hints that Mary has believed Jesus' prediction of His death and had been saving this ointment for His burial. As the last week of Jesus' life was about to begin, He was, again, preparing His followers for the days of crisis. Unfortunately His teaching was not sinking in any better than it had before. But Mary could see that the time had come. In her heart now, she began to search for an expression of her loyalty and love.
Remembering the ointment for His burial, she acted on her desire to glorify Jesus before He died. For those without her insight, and from a human view, she was extravagant, overly generous, reckless and perhaps a little foolish. Yet when she looked at the person who was going to lay down His life for everyone, she knew that calculating how much devotion to show was not possible.
It was an outlandish display. But it was all love -- without an ounce of self interest. The Pharisees knew how to worship so that men were impressed. They gave their alms, and said their prayers and did their fasting with extravagant public appeal. But Mary's act of worship lacked any interest in her public image. It was all, it was only for Jesus.
In Palestine no respectable woman appeared in public with her hair unbound -- it would be comparable to an Afghan lady being without her burka. Mary was not thinking about herself. She was not concerned with what they might think of her love for Jesus. Why she used her hair, I don't know, but I'm sure this powerful aroma would cling to Jesus for several days, and now to Mary as well. She would for some time bear a reminder of her Master's sacrifice.
Regardless of "why", the principle she models is that true love is heedless of the crowd. Michal despised David's elaborate display of love for God. Job's friends came to detest his stubborn love for God. And Judas hated Mary. But Mary never gave their opinion a thought. Her focus was on Jesus, not the crowd or a set of regulations. True love does not diminish because of opposing opinions.
A second principle she models is that true love is sacrificial. By nature it is extravagant, generous and occasionally reckless. You might just dive into that wild river! Yet how many enter into the Christian faith like they would another business deal? They calculate the negatives: It might require some time, extra energy and perhaps some money. On the positive side, most of the people are friendly and there just might be a heaven and what if there really is a hell?
These kinds of Christians are not necessarily easy to spot. Remember that Judas kept his cover very well. But in their heart, they complain about how much money it takes to keep missionaries on the field. They get upset at the cost of adequate facilities for worship and training. Some even ask, "Why does a worship service have to interrupt the beginning of the football game?" For that matter, "Why does Sunday come once a week? Why not once a month?" After a while it does -- for them. These folks don't get real excited about letting their neighbors know they are Christians.
These are Christians who have entered into a nicely calculated business arrangement. They identify with Christ, just enough to "make it" - they hope. But, of course, they never know with certainty, so they are not really happy with the arrangement.
I believe the Marys of the faith are easier to pick out. Have you ever noticed how lovers seem to look for ways of sacrificing? They seem to go out of their way to enhance their relationship. They hold hands in public regardless of what other people think. They never feel like they have enough time or money to spend on the other person. Football games don't interfere. Sacrifice is actually fun! Where true love is present, sacrifice is the norm.
O. Henry illustrates this in one of my favorite short stories ever. It is pretty simple, that's why it appeals to me. It is titled "The Gift of the Magi". A young couple, Della and Jim, were very poor but very much in love. Each had one unique possession. Della's was her dazzling long, thick hair. When she let it down it could almost serve as a robe. Jim had a priceless gold watch, which had been his father's and before that his grandfather's. It was the day before Christmas, and Della had exactly $1.87 to buy Jim a present.
Her only option for getting more money was to sell her hair to a wig maker. With the money she bought Jim a platinum fob for his watch. When Jim came home that night and saw Della's cut hair, he stopped and stared in shock. It wasn't that she was less attractive. Part of his surprise was how beautiful she was without her hair.
Della, however, was on the verge of panic, not being able to interpret his stunned look. In her effort to explain, she made Jim open his gift early. Jim now was even more speechless, and to explain his pent up weakness gave Della his gift to her.
It was a set of expensive tortoiseshell combs with jeweled edges for her long hair - a set of combs that Della had been admiring for several months. The irony was . . .. Jim had sold his watch to afford them.
He sold his watch to buy combs for her hair; she sold her hair to buy a fob for his watch. It appears that each of them had sacrificed in vain. But did they? In the process of losing some "things", did they not gain more of each other? Isn't that what matters most with lovers?
Mary's heart recognized Jesus' impending death as an extravagant, lavish display of God's love. She knew what all lovers know by instinct: Heaven is not a place for the stingy economy of a nicely calculated business arrangement.
Nothing is less wasteful or more wonderful than offering Jesus a sacrificial token of loyalty and devotion, however costly that offering may be. Young lovers of Jesus know this; their impulse is to waste their lives for Him. However, it was to a group of old timers that Jesus said, "I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first" (Revelation 2:4,5).
These up coming holy days can be a time to fall in love with Jesus all over again.l Life may not be able to sustain itself in the frenzy of fresh love (except perhaps in Heaven), but there is never room for cold calculations of assets and debits in any kind of real love. How warm is your love for Jesus?
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Simplicity ©
(Editor's Preface)
C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia were a staple in our home. We have read them together and individually, listened to them via CD's and watched many on film. We wore one set out and had to buy another. We sent them one at a time to Callie in Madagascar when she was in the Peace Corps. One of our favorite lines has been "the first joke!" from The Magician's Nephew. When Aslan created Narnia many animals were selected to become reasoning and therefore talking animals. The Jackdaw, enjoying his new voice for the first time, spoke out and unwittingly created the first joke. Our family byline became, "It's the first __________" (fill in the blank), which always brought a laugh. So, with a Lemont appreciation for all things Narnian, I present . . . The First Sermon. pll
November 25,1979
When I was asked to be here this Sunday, my main concern was, what do I preach on? I asked the advice of a Nazarene pastor who is attending the Moreland church. He said, "Your first sermon should be on the area in your life where you have struggled the hardest to gain victory." It wasn't long after I talked to this pastor that I read the same thing. This was enough to convince me.
Throughout my life, I have always felt the need to do or experience more than just believe in Jesus, His death and resurrection in order to be saved from sin.
At the age of nine, an evangelist conducted services at my church for a two week period. He was an unusual evangelist compared to the ones I have seen and heard since. He preached the entire two weeks on Revelation and the tribulation. He was an artist and photographer along with his gift of evangelism. He used these gifts to produce imagined scenes from the tribulation -- terrible tragedies, broken-hearted people. The thing that put me under the most bondage I have ever known was his sermon that convinced me my parents were going to heaven and I would be left behind to deal with the tribulation and hell. A new and scary idea for a nine year old to consider.
Towards the end of that two week evangelistic campaign, I went forward to beg forgiveness of my sins. The Lord released me from that terrible bondage and blessed me greatly that night. My problem began the next morning.
When I awoke the next day, I remembered the events of the previous night -- how I had been released from a great burden and blessed. That emotional blessing was, in my mind, the proof that Christ had forgiven me. But that morning I had no great emotional feeling, and in fact, I was kind of on the down side.
To me this was proof that I had "lost" Christ. If I had lost that feeling I must have lost Christ. For a while I tried to get the feeling back by doing good deeds and acting the way I thought a Christian should act. That good feeling didn't come back and before long my act was falling apart.
As I grew older I continued to search for an emotional uplift that would ensure me of my salvation. And from time to time, I would try to earn my salvation back by acting like a Christian. Finally, at about the age of nineteen, I gave the whole thing up and decided I couldn't be a Christian at all.
My life went this way for two or three years until I was married and realized that to have a successful marriage, I must try and find Christ. During this time of search, I met someone who told me that I might never have another emotional experience like I had at nine.
He told me that all I needed to do was confess my sins and believe that Jesus' blood made me just as if I had never sinned. As I believed, there would be a peace that emotional highs couldn't give. As I believed, the good deeds would no longer be an act.
The key has always been faith or believing in Jesus as the Christ, the only Son of God.
As we read in John 3:16, God loved the world so much He sent His Son to die for our sins. This simple verse tells us several great things.
1) It tells us that the initiative in all salvation lies with God. Sometimes Christianity is presented in such a way that it sounds like God has to be pacified. Sometimes it seems people draw a picture of a stern, angry, unforgiving God and a gentle, loving, forgiving Jesus. Sometimes men present the Christian message in such a way that it sounds like Jesus did something to God that changed His attitude toward man from condemnation to forgiveness. But this text tells us it was God who initiated the plan and sent His Son because He loved us.
2) It tells us that the mainspring of God's being is love. The tremendous thing about this text is that it shows us God is acting, not for His own sake, but for ours. Not to satisfy His desire for power, but to satisfy His love. God does not smash men into submission. He woos them with love.
3) It tells of the width of God's love. It was (and is) the world that God so loved: It was not a nation,
it was not good people. It was not only the people that loved God (returned his love), it was the world. All are included as Augustine had it, "God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love."
4) It tells us that with salvation comes everlasting life. The word for everlasting is more concerned with quality than quantity. The implication of this is that everlasting life begins when we receive salvation, and that this is a taste of eternity. We believe that death does not end the existence of our soul, no matter what its state. But everlasting life, according to John, begins when we believe, and continues at the point of physical death.
5) It tells us how we come to have this salvation. The verse says whoever believes in Him. According to Webster, believes is a verb which means to have a firm conviction as to the reality of something. This verb does service for two nouns, faith and belief. The difference between faith and belief is the same difference as there is between the two statements believe me and believe on me. We need both faith and belief in Christ. Belief is that part of us that we call our intelligence. We have knowledge in a certain area. This has to come before faith but is not enough by itself. Faith then becomes the decisive action part of believing. It is trusting: It includes understanding, feelings and our will.
Let's go on. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe already stands condemned" (John 3:17-18, NIV). Here we are faced with an interesting contrast: Salvation and condemnation.
First of all this contrast implies that there are two alternatives for the world -- salvation and condemnation. It does not leave room for anything else. Second, we know that salvation is gained by believing and we know that Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn anyone. Now we find out that we merit condemnation through unbelief. In other words, we pass judgement on ourselves. This always happens when man is confronted with greatness. Let me illustrate this:
A visitor was being shown around an art gallery by one of the attendants. In that gallery there were certain masterpieces beyond all price, possessions of eternal beauty and unquestioned genius. At the end of the tour the visitor said, "Well, I don't think much of your old pictures." The attendant answered quietly, "Sir, I would remind you that these pictures are no longer on trial, but those who look at them are." All that man's reaction had done was to show his own blindness.
The result of Jesus coming to earth as a man is not a Royal Command in the area of redemption. It confronts man with a moral problem. Faced with the alternatives, life or death, light or darkness, evil or truth, man himself has the responsibility of the choice that determines his destiny. If, when a man is confronted with Jesus, his soul responds to that wonder and beauty, he is on his way to salvation. But, if when he is confronted with Jesus, he sees nothing lovely, he stands condemned.
Let's go back to the beginning now. The reason I chose this text for my first sermon is because it explains the way to salvation in the way that I needed to hear it. Salvation it seems, is almost too simple to find. I found it as a young person with an emotional crisis, as can often be the case. But I got my eyes off of Jesus and started looking for the comfort of a big emotional lift. When that didn't work, I began looking for salvation in the doing of good deeds. It got to the point where I had so complicated the plan of salvation that all I could do was despair and give up the idea of ever being a Christian.
I am wondering this morning if anyone here has ever complicated God's plan of salvation. God said through the words of John that He loved the world so much He gave us a very simple way of coming to Him. We must only believe that Jesus came to earth as a man and was crucified as atonement for our sins. Trusting Jesus to take away our sins is all God asks us to do.
C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia were a staple in our home. We have read them together and individually, listened to them via CD's and watched many on film. We wore one set out and had to buy another. We sent them one at a time to Callie in Madagascar when she was in the Peace Corps. One of our favorite lines has been "the first joke!" from The Magician's Nephew. When Aslan created Narnia many animals were selected to become reasoning and therefore talking animals. The Jackdaw, enjoying his new voice for the first time, spoke out and unwittingly created the first joke. Our family byline became, "It's the first __________" (fill in the blank), which always brought a laugh. So, with a Lemont appreciation for all things Narnian, I present . . . The First Sermon. pll
November 25,1979
When I was asked to be here this Sunday, my main concern was, what do I preach on? I asked the advice of a Nazarene pastor who is attending the Moreland church. He said, "Your first sermon should be on the area in your life where you have struggled the hardest to gain victory." It wasn't long after I talked to this pastor that I read the same thing. This was enough to convince me.
Throughout my life, I have always felt the need to do or experience more than just believe in Jesus, His death and resurrection in order to be saved from sin.
At the age of nine, an evangelist conducted services at my church for a two week period. He was an unusual evangelist compared to the ones I have seen and heard since. He preached the entire two weeks on Revelation and the tribulation. He was an artist and photographer along with his gift of evangelism. He used these gifts to produce imagined scenes from the tribulation -- terrible tragedies, broken-hearted people. The thing that put me under the most bondage I have ever known was his sermon that convinced me my parents were going to heaven and I would be left behind to deal with the tribulation and hell. A new and scary idea for a nine year old to consider.
Towards the end of that two week evangelistic campaign, I went forward to beg forgiveness of my sins. The Lord released me from that terrible bondage and blessed me greatly that night. My problem began the next morning.
When I awoke the next day, I remembered the events of the previous night -- how I had been released from a great burden and blessed. That emotional blessing was, in my mind, the proof that Christ had forgiven me. But that morning I had no great emotional feeling, and in fact, I was kind of on the down side.
To me this was proof that I had "lost" Christ. If I had lost that feeling I must have lost Christ. For a while I tried to get the feeling back by doing good deeds and acting the way I thought a Christian should act. That good feeling didn't come back and before long my act was falling apart.
As I grew older I continued to search for an emotional uplift that would ensure me of my salvation. And from time to time, I would try to earn my salvation back by acting like a Christian. Finally, at about the age of nineteen, I gave the whole thing up and decided I couldn't be a Christian at all.
My life went this way for two or three years until I was married and realized that to have a successful marriage, I must try and find Christ. During this time of search, I met someone who told me that I might never have another emotional experience like I had at nine.
He told me that all I needed to do was confess my sins and believe that Jesus' blood made me just as if I had never sinned. As I believed, there would be a peace that emotional highs couldn't give. As I believed, the good deeds would no longer be an act.
The key has always been faith or believing in Jesus as the Christ, the only Son of God.
As we read in John 3:16, God loved the world so much He sent His Son to die for our sins. This simple verse tells us several great things.
1) It tells us that the initiative in all salvation lies with God. Sometimes Christianity is presented in such a way that it sounds like God has to be pacified. Sometimes it seems people draw a picture of a stern, angry, unforgiving God and a gentle, loving, forgiving Jesus. Sometimes men present the Christian message in such a way that it sounds like Jesus did something to God that changed His attitude toward man from condemnation to forgiveness. But this text tells us it was God who initiated the plan and sent His Son because He loved us.
2) It tells us that the mainspring of God's being is love. The tremendous thing about this text is that it shows us God is acting, not for His own sake, but for ours. Not to satisfy His desire for power, but to satisfy His love. God does not smash men into submission. He woos them with love.
3) It tells of the width of God's love. It was (and is) the world that God so loved: It was not a nation,
it was not good people. It was not only the people that loved God (returned his love), it was the world. All are included as Augustine had it, "God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love."
4) It tells us that with salvation comes everlasting life. The word for everlasting is more concerned with quality than quantity. The implication of this is that everlasting life begins when we receive salvation, and that this is a taste of eternity. We believe that death does not end the existence of our soul, no matter what its state. But everlasting life, according to John, begins when we believe, and continues at the point of physical death.
5) It tells us how we come to have this salvation. The verse says whoever believes in Him. According to Webster, believes is a verb which means to have a firm conviction as to the reality of something. This verb does service for two nouns, faith and belief. The difference between faith and belief is the same difference as there is between the two statements believe me and believe on me. We need both faith and belief in Christ. Belief is that part of us that we call our intelligence. We have knowledge in a certain area. This has to come before faith but is not enough by itself. Faith then becomes the decisive action part of believing. It is trusting: It includes understanding, feelings and our will.
Let's go on. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe already stands condemned" (John 3:17-18, NIV). Here we are faced with an interesting contrast: Salvation and condemnation.
First of all this contrast implies that there are two alternatives for the world -- salvation and condemnation. It does not leave room for anything else. Second, we know that salvation is gained by believing and we know that Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn anyone. Now we find out that we merit condemnation through unbelief. In other words, we pass judgement on ourselves. This always happens when man is confronted with greatness. Let me illustrate this:
A visitor was being shown around an art gallery by one of the attendants. In that gallery there were certain masterpieces beyond all price, possessions of eternal beauty and unquestioned genius. At the end of the tour the visitor said, "Well, I don't think much of your old pictures." The attendant answered quietly, "Sir, I would remind you that these pictures are no longer on trial, but those who look at them are." All that man's reaction had done was to show his own blindness.
The result of Jesus coming to earth as a man is not a Royal Command in the area of redemption. It confronts man with a moral problem. Faced with the alternatives, life or death, light or darkness, evil or truth, man himself has the responsibility of the choice that determines his destiny. If, when a man is confronted with Jesus, his soul responds to that wonder and beauty, he is on his way to salvation. But, if when he is confronted with Jesus, he sees nothing lovely, he stands condemned.
Let's go back to the beginning now. The reason I chose this text for my first sermon is because it explains the way to salvation in the way that I needed to hear it. Salvation it seems, is almost too simple to find. I found it as a young person with an emotional crisis, as can often be the case. But I got my eyes off of Jesus and started looking for the comfort of a big emotional lift. When that didn't work, I began looking for salvation in the doing of good deeds. It got to the point where I had so complicated the plan of salvation that all I could do was despair and give up the idea of ever being a Christian.
I am wondering this morning if anyone here has ever complicated God's plan of salvation. God said through the words of John that He loved the world so much He gave us a very simple way of coming to Him. We must only believe that Jesus came to earth as a man and was crucified as atonement for our sins. Trusting Jesus to take away our sins is all God asks us to do.
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