A young man named Sal applied for a job as a signalman on the railroad. He was asked a question by the inspector: "What would you do if you realized two trains were heading for each other on the same track?"
Sal answered, "I would switch the points for one of the trains."
"What if the electronic lever was broken?" asked the inspector.
"Then I'd run down from the tower and use the manual lever by the switch."
"What if that had been struck by lightning?" asked the inspector.
"Then I'd run back into the tower and phone the next tower."
"What if the phone was busy?"
"Well, in that case I'd run up the right of way to the emergency phone at the crossing."
"What if that phone had been vandalized?"
"Oh, well, in that case I would run into the village and get my uncle."
This finally slowed the inspector down a little, and he asked, "Your uncle? Why your uncle?"
Sal answered, "Because my uncle has never seen a train wreck."
How many of you have never seen a train wreck but would like to? It is sad to say, but for Sal, prayer was not even a last resort. I wonder what the inspector would have said if Sal had answered, "I'd call my church and ask them to pray"?
Pray is not magic. At times, the function of prayer is a mystery, but when God moves in response to a person pleading for action, the results are more dynamic than surgery or high rise demolition.
Acts 12
This is Peter's second to last appearance in the book of Acts (15). At this point, James, the half brother of Jesus, takes over the leadership of the Jerusalem church. And Luke, author of the book of Acts, begins to follow the ministry of Paul's mission trips as the focus of the book moves away from the city of Jerusalem to Antioch.
This episode begins with the execution of James - one of the sons of Zebedee. This is the James who came with his brother John to Jesus in order to claim the top two spots in Jesus' new kingdom. He was one of the "inner three." Jesus explained at the time that they had no idea what they were asking - that the Father was in charge of selecting the people for those honors - but that they certainly would go through a similar "baptism by fire" that Jesus was about to experience.
As it turned out James was the first of the Twelve Apostles to be martyred for his faith. Ironically, John was the last of the Twelve to experience martyrdom.
The execution of James so dramatically raised Herod's popularity numbers that he arrested Peter. Unfortunately, the timing was such that he had to wait until the eight day holy period of Passover-Unleaven Bread was concluded. I suspect (hope) that the church prayed for James, but in Peter's case they had more time to organize the prayer meetings. Luke reports that their prayer fervency was especially high the night proceeding the day of execution.
In verse 5 the word for "earnestly" is the same word that describes the level of intensity of Jesus' prayer in the Garden. This word only appears three times in the New Testament. In Jesus' case, his original request to bypass the cross was changed to an uncontaminated willingness to be the sin bearer. The earnestness of His prayer was not a stubborn self will, but an intense desire to line up with the Father's will.
The prayer meeting crowd was praying earnestly for Peter. And Peter was sleeping -- pretty soundly it seems. Some folks suggest he should have been more like Paul and Silas -- singing hymns. However, that was their first night in the stockade. Peter had been in jail several nights. Paul and Silas had already received their punishment. The next day they were going to be escorted out of town. Peter was going to be executed, beheaded. The circumstances were quite different.
I'm impressed that he could sleep at all. Peter's convictions about the impotence of death to separate him from the love of God were real convictions! Peter was not under any illusion that the person who dies with the most toys wins anything. He was comfortable knowing that he was going to a reward -- not leaving anything of value behind that he would never see again!
If your whole life consists of things you've acquired here, and you have made no investments in eternity, then it is a pretty lonely journey through "the valley of the shadow of death." Those earthly assets offer no protection, Peter was sleeping because he had something to look forward to.
He was sleeping so well that when the angel woke him up, he thought he was still dreaming. Angels show up with some frequency in this chapter and the New Testament in general. Some of you may be disappointed to know that none of them looked like Roma Downey. Always they are described with a masculine pronoun although Jesus told us that sexual distinctions are not something angels have to deal with. This spoils nearly everything Hollywood has to say about angels.
The motion picture industry has produced several movies about angels and almost always the plot is some kind of idolizing of human desire. In The City of Angels, Nicolas Cage actually gave up immortality as an angel so that he could love Meg Ryan. In the movie, asked if the switch was worth it, he said, "I would rather have one breath of her hair, one kiss of her lips, one touch of her hand, than an eternity without it."
No disrespect to Meg Ryan, but Cage is an idiot - at least in the movie! Angels, the Bible tells us, have the experience of God's immediate and intimate presence. And he would give that up for a sniff of Meg Ryan's hair? That is the very definition of moral lunacy. Of course, what is really at work here is some producer's idea of how important human pleasure is. This movie turns the pleasures of being human into a rival with God. This is one reason "fasting" has always been a key discipline in heart transformation.
The Bible does not give much systematic teaching about angels. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that God did not share the essence of angels. Instead He took on flesh and blood; not to experience the wonders of humanity, but to rescue us from the horrors of being human. The incarnation never was focused on human pleasure though Jesus was filled with joy.
Angels . . . the Bible's attitude seems to be "oh, by the way angels are real, and on a rare occasion you might have to deal with that fact." The Bible tells us that the best of the angels are servants of God who love doing His will. The worst of them have been defeated by Jesus on the cross.
On the occasion when Peter tried to rescue Jesus from the cross, Jesus said if that was His goal He could've called ten legion of angels who were waiting with swords drawn to demolish Satan and all of creation. Jesus' mission was to overcome the powers of darkness as a man. Colossians tells us that Jesus "disarmed the (dark) powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them by the cross" (2:15). By defeating the rebellious dark powers - in a way humanly impossible to imagine - He was able to make salvation available to the whole world.
The presence of angels in this early history of the church reminds us that the invisible world is no less real than the visible. And at times the two worlds overlap. What we need to do is keep our spiritual bearings about us by reserving our praise for Jesus.
In Acts 12 an angel was sent to rescue Peter from jail. The account does not gloss over the angel's part but the praise goes to God. This is how, on this occasion, God chose to answer fervent prayer. One of the interesting parts of this story is the praying church's response. Clearly they were praying for the best -- and expecting the worst. I don't think this is the part we are supposed to apply, but I do identify with their astonishment. I would hope that they prayed for James. Although the circumstance may not have allowed much time to pray, time is not necessarily the critical problem in prayer. At any rate, they prayed for James but he died. They had seen James beheaded and they were watching Herod strut around bragging about what he was going to do to Peter. Most of the Christians were staying underground. It was not a good time.
But God is not boxed in by arrogant or hate filled enemies. And sometimes He surprises us.
Herb Miller wrote about when a night club opened in a small town on Main Street. The only church in town organized an all-night prayer meeting. The members asked God to burn down the club. Within a few minutes, lightning struck the club, and it burned to the ground. The owner heard about the prayer meeting and sued the church. They denied responsibility.
After hearing both sides, the judge said, "It seems that wherever the guilt may lie, the nightclub owner believes in the power of prayer, while the church does not."
Are you currently praying any prayers that you really don't expect God to answer? Has God ever surprised you with an answer to a specific request? Perhaps this week you could confess your doubts about this old standing prayer and ask God to surprise you.
Now we know that some prayers God has already clued us in on. We know He won't answer a prayer that leads us into an area of disobedience. He has told us that holding on to bitterness and unconfessed sin messes up our prayers. So perhaps it is not a surprise that He has not answered your prayer yet. Pray God's will. Pray with clean hands.
If you do something about the sin in your life, Jesus will take care of the devil in your life. And maybe it is okay to be astonished when He does.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Stephen
February 15, 2004
What is the most damaging lie that has ever been told? I don't suppose there has ever been anything worse than Satan's lie to Eve- that God could not be trusted. Satan couldn't have done more harm if he had chased Eve around the garden with a battle ax.
Politicians have noticed how effective lies can be. As we enter another election year- the whoppers will fly! Many careers inside and outside of politics have been killed and saved by lies.
What's the worst lie someone has told about you? How much damage did it do? Whatever it was, I hope you've gotten over it, or forgotten it.
Two false witnesses spoke up at Jesus' trial. They said Jesus was going to destroy the temple and erect it again in three days. It doesn't seem like such a horrible lie. If you don't think Jesus is capable of such a feat, what is the point? Except that to the Jews the temple was the most sacred building on earth. It would be the equivalent of suggesting that God had rejected them! It would be like threatening to demolish Congress and the Whitehouse!
Early in the book of Acts a man filled with God's Spirit and God's wisdom came to prominence in the church. His insight from God helped him understand some things that the apostles like Peter and James would not understand for a few more years yet. He was ahead of his peers and his leaders in understanding God's plan. Specifically, Stephen saw that Jesus was very serious when He said in Matthew 28, "Go and make disciples of every nation."
Peter and the apostles were still trying to reform Judaism. Stephen understood that the law of Moses was a God given step on the journey back to God, but it was not the final step. He would not undervalue the law, but neither would he worship the law of Moses. In fact, God had done something so powerfully wonderful that the Jewish system of religious rituals have become redundant, even obsolete! As an educational track these traditions could be helpful- like learning to add, subtract, divide and multiply is helpful in knowing Algebra- but the one big concept these small steps of religious law were pointing to had been fulfilled.
Stephen was so persuasive in making this point, that the best minds of Judaism could not defeat his reasoning. So they did what any evil person would do; they did what Satan did; they lied.
Acts 6: 8-15
The Jewish teachers of Jesus' day and Stephen's understood their religion to be static, changeless, immovable, stationary. They held to three eternal pillars of faith. First, the land they were living on was "The Holy Land." Second, the law of Moses was God's complete revealing of how to live right. Third, the temple was the place to perform the rituals needed to bring people back to God. Essentially, God had become a tribal deity, belonging to them alone. They had all the secrets and no reason to share.
Sectarian Christian groups still make these kinds of claims, "We know the true truth. If you don't come to us, you will be lost." This is not an exclusive fault of first century Judaism. A variety of little and large groups in the Christian faith think they have cornered the majority of good stuff about Jesus.
Stephen understood that God was the God of the whole world- not just a tiny pocket of land located on a strip of coast at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean. He understood that God was trying to reconcile every tribe and language and family. Not just one tiny ethnic and cultural group.
This thought was deadly dangerous to those with a vested interest in their religion. If you made a profit off of temple rituals this was not the kind of thing you wanted to hear at Saturday morning Sabbath class. So they arrested him on trumped up charges.
Acts 7
Stephen makes his point by recounting the history of Israel- which they were all familiar with. Their own history teaches them that God is not restricted by territorial boundaries or buildings. He spoke to Abraham in Mesopotamia. He worked powerfully through Joseph in Egypt. And the one person most responsible for the Jewish people and their faith (the person more significant that the patriarchs, the kings, and the prophets) -- Moses -- never set foot in the promised land. But wherever God would meet him, that place was holy ground.
Furthermore, they had a history-long habit of rejecting God's anointed means of rescue. How long did it take before they recognized that Joseph was God's plan to save them? How many times did they try to reject Moses? How many of God's prophets had they killed? "Are we seeing a pattern yet?", Stephen seems to be asking.
Furthermore, they had invested far too much value in the going-nowhere temple. God's plan, in fact, His literal blue print, was not for a temple, but a tabernacle. The tabernacle was a symbol that gave rise to a far more accurate picture of God and His people than the temple could. The temple was immobile and fixed to one spot on earth. The tabernacle was a structure ready to go.
Images are basic. They determine how we live. Our mental image of God (no idols forcing us to stay in the realm of ideas a little longer) must be as close to true as possible for limited thinkers like ourselves. Otherwise our spiritual lives will be lived in terminal confusion. Some things are OK to be confused about...hockey rules and geometry to name a few. Accepting a false idea of God gets you into the same kind of trouble, however, that Eve found herself in...basically the trouble we all experience.
It was no accident that Jesus arranged for one of the strongest images connected to His work to be the cross! The cross reveals God's broken body and poured out blood freely given as an act of atonement. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "but God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The cross is not confined to a place or time, a language or a people. It speaks more of what God has done for us than what we must do for God. The cross is a picture of a bridge or the symbol of a door. Too often religion communicates the image of walls- keeping people out. The cross is an invitation that says, "Dear (you), I want you with me this much! Love, God!"
When you don't want to listen to someone, what is your preferred way of shutting them up? What if that person is God? With God, you can't go to another room and close the door. I hope you know that...but you can stay busy, so busy that you don't notice God. You can play the radio and read magazines, or go sky diving. Or you may join the church choir, lead a Bible study, and raise money for a new sanctuary. That is kind of what the Jews of Jesus' day were doing. They heard enough of Jesus and Stephen that they knew they didn't like it. So they became very busy -- busy saving their religion. They did a bunch of religious stuff so that they couldn't hear God. They even held a religious trial.
Religion has a long history of helping people close their ears and minds to the voice of God. When was the last time you heard the voice of God? Do you know your personal "sin that so easily entangles?" In other words, where are you most inclined to resist the Spirit's voice? What's the thing that tempts you to cover your ears and run?
The Jewish people of the first century would've gladly listened to God- if He would've consented to remain confined with in their system...if He would have stayed in His box. God won't do that! For them or for us! He won't honor your homemade ideas of a god who looks more like a Santa Claus or a beloved grandmother. He won't play along with your wrong religious convictions.
God has revealed Himself in Jesus and His written word. Jesus will be Lord or Judge. He is right now at the right hand of the Father, giving access to God, whether you are Jew or Gentile; rich or poor; man or woman; strong or weak. The door has been opened for you by Jesus!
Wherever you find Jesus, you can know that that is holy ground; that is the Kingdom of God. If Jesus is not at the core of your life, no matter how religious you are, no matter how influential or attractive your place of worship, you are on worldly ground.
If Jesus is in charge at the core place of your life, you can have the assurance that whatever happens to you in this life -- perhaps you experience the same things as Stephen -- the unimaginable happiness of eternal life is yours. In John 11: 25 "Jesus said to (Martha), I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." When your physical life is over, will you see the Son of Man at the right hand of the Father?
What is the most damaging lie that has ever been told? I don't suppose there has ever been anything worse than Satan's lie to Eve- that God could not be trusted. Satan couldn't have done more harm if he had chased Eve around the garden with a battle ax.
Politicians have noticed how effective lies can be. As we enter another election year- the whoppers will fly! Many careers inside and outside of politics have been killed and saved by lies.
What's the worst lie someone has told about you? How much damage did it do? Whatever it was, I hope you've gotten over it, or forgotten it.
Two false witnesses spoke up at Jesus' trial. They said Jesus was going to destroy the temple and erect it again in three days. It doesn't seem like such a horrible lie. If you don't think Jesus is capable of such a feat, what is the point? Except that to the Jews the temple was the most sacred building on earth. It would be the equivalent of suggesting that God had rejected them! It would be like threatening to demolish Congress and the Whitehouse!
Early in the book of Acts a man filled with God's Spirit and God's wisdom came to prominence in the church. His insight from God helped him understand some things that the apostles like Peter and James would not understand for a few more years yet. He was ahead of his peers and his leaders in understanding God's plan. Specifically, Stephen saw that Jesus was very serious when He said in Matthew 28, "Go and make disciples of every nation."
Peter and the apostles were still trying to reform Judaism. Stephen understood that the law of Moses was a God given step on the journey back to God, but it was not the final step. He would not undervalue the law, but neither would he worship the law of Moses. In fact, God had done something so powerfully wonderful that the Jewish system of religious rituals have become redundant, even obsolete! As an educational track these traditions could be helpful- like learning to add, subtract, divide and multiply is helpful in knowing Algebra- but the one big concept these small steps of religious law were pointing to had been fulfilled.
Stephen was so persuasive in making this point, that the best minds of Judaism could not defeat his reasoning. So they did what any evil person would do; they did what Satan did; they lied.
Acts 6: 8-15
The Jewish teachers of Jesus' day and Stephen's understood their religion to be static, changeless, immovable, stationary. They held to three eternal pillars of faith. First, the land they were living on was "The Holy Land." Second, the law of Moses was God's complete revealing of how to live right. Third, the temple was the place to perform the rituals needed to bring people back to God. Essentially, God had become a tribal deity, belonging to them alone. They had all the secrets and no reason to share.
Sectarian Christian groups still make these kinds of claims, "We know the true truth. If you don't come to us, you will be lost." This is not an exclusive fault of first century Judaism. A variety of little and large groups in the Christian faith think they have cornered the majority of good stuff about Jesus.
Stephen understood that God was the God of the whole world- not just a tiny pocket of land located on a strip of coast at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean. He understood that God was trying to reconcile every tribe and language and family. Not just one tiny ethnic and cultural group.
This thought was deadly dangerous to those with a vested interest in their religion. If you made a profit off of temple rituals this was not the kind of thing you wanted to hear at Saturday morning Sabbath class. So they arrested him on trumped up charges.
Acts 7
Stephen makes his point by recounting the history of Israel- which they were all familiar with. Their own history teaches them that God is not restricted by territorial boundaries or buildings. He spoke to Abraham in Mesopotamia. He worked powerfully through Joseph in Egypt. And the one person most responsible for the Jewish people and their faith (the person more significant that the patriarchs, the kings, and the prophets) -- Moses -- never set foot in the promised land. But wherever God would meet him, that place was holy ground.
Furthermore, they had a history-long habit of rejecting God's anointed means of rescue. How long did it take before they recognized that Joseph was God's plan to save them? How many times did they try to reject Moses? How many of God's prophets had they killed? "Are we seeing a pattern yet?", Stephen seems to be asking.
Furthermore, they had invested far too much value in the going-nowhere temple. God's plan, in fact, His literal blue print, was not for a temple, but a tabernacle. The tabernacle was a symbol that gave rise to a far more accurate picture of God and His people than the temple could. The temple was immobile and fixed to one spot on earth. The tabernacle was a structure ready to go.
Images are basic. They determine how we live. Our mental image of God (no idols forcing us to stay in the realm of ideas a little longer) must be as close to true as possible for limited thinkers like ourselves. Otherwise our spiritual lives will be lived in terminal confusion. Some things are OK to be confused about...hockey rules and geometry to name a few. Accepting a false idea of God gets you into the same kind of trouble, however, that Eve found herself in...basically the trouble we all experience.
It was no accident that Jesus arranged for one of the strongest images connected to His work to be the cross! The cross reveals God's broken body and poured out blood freely given as an act of atonement. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "but God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The cross is not confined to a place or time, a language or a people. It speaks more of what God has done for us than what we must do for God. The cross is a picture of a bridge or the symbol of a door. Too often religion communicates the image of walls- keeping people out. The cross is an invitation that says, "Dear (you), I want you with me this much! Love, God!"
When you don't want to listen to someone, what is your preferred way of shutting them up? What if that person is God? With God, you can't go to another room and close the door. I hope you know that...but you can stay busy, so busy that you don't notice God. You can play the radio and read magazines, or go sky diving. Or you may join the church choir, lead a Bible study, and raise money for a new sanctuary. That is kind of what the Jews of Jesus' day were doing. They heard enough of Jesus and Stephen that they knew they didn't like it. So they became very busy -- busy saving their religion. They did a bunch of religious stuff so that they couldn't hear God. They even held a religious trial.
Religion has a long history of helping people close their ears and minds to the voice of God. When was the last time you heard the voice of God? Do you know your personal "sin that so easily entangles?" In other words, where are you most inclined to resist the Spirit's voice? What's the thing that tempts you to cover your ears and run?
The Jewish people of the first century would've gladly listened to God- if He would've consented to remain confined with in their system...if He would have stayed in His box. God won't do that! For them or for us! He won't honor your homemade ideas of a god who looks more like a Santa Claus or a beloved grandmother. He won't play along with your wrong religious convictions.
God has revealed Himself in Jesus and His written word. Jesus will be Lord or Judge. He is right now at the right hand of the Father, giving access to God, whether you are Jew or Gentile; rich or poor; man or woman; strong or weak. The door has been opened for you by Jesus!
Wherever you find Jesus, you can know that that is holy ground; that is the Kingdom of God. If Jesus is not at the core of your life, no matter how religious you are, no matter how influential or attractive your place of worship, you are on worldly ground.
If Jesus is in charge at the core place of your life, you can have the assurance that whatever happens to you in this life -- perhaps you experience the same things as Stephen -- the unimaginable happiness of eternal life is yours. In John 11: 25 "Jesus said to (Martha), I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." When your physical life is over, will you see the Son of Man at the right hand of the Father?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Daniel
February 8, 2004
Words can be powerful -- ideas have influence. Anyone who has been the target of a gossip campaign knows this.
Three notorious atheists from the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century Germany unleashed a firestorm on Christians in the later parts of the Twentieth Century. All they had were ideas! Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx were the least hateful. They considered religious belief a mere fantasy, a delusion to help the grief of death. Of course, Marx' influence on communism indirectly lead to the martyrdom of millions of Christians.
But the worst of the three Germans was philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He considered Christianity to be something much worse than a fairy tale. He wrote, "I call Christianity the one great curse, the one enormous . . . perversion -- I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind" (from The Twilight of the Idols, 1888). Physically, he was sickly, unimpressive, but he continues to have a powerful influence on philosophers and university professors to this day with his ideas. With Marx and Freud he would have to take much of the credit for more Christians being killed for their faith in the Twentieth Century than in the previous nineteen combined.
Nietzsche continues to impact us through main stream media types and academics who have been educated by university professors enamored with him. This helps explain how Dan Rather could write in the April 1994 issue of The Nation, "Gays and lesbians are beaten to death in the streets with increasing frequency in part due to irrational fear of AIDS but also because of hate mongers . . . of the Christian right."
I see no evidence of what he has written and what he continues on a regular basis to imply, but none of his peers have suggested he was even a little biased. Instead they join the chorus, as did the editor of the Washington Post who wrote that Christians are "largely poor, uneducated and easy to command." This is typical of what media and entertainment celebrities think. If they said the same thing about any other minority group or ethnic class they would be publicly castigated and lose their jobs. We live in an age when most leaders consider it helpful to the culture to fire on Christians. It is not the first time people of God have been hated. If you have your Bible turn with me to Daniel.
The book of Daniel is a record of Israel/Judah in exile. Exile is an important event or concept to understand in terms of the impact it had on the Jews. The people of Israel-Jacob were formed into a nation with a theocratic constitution at Sinai (Exodus). God had been growing and preparing some of the offspring of Abraham for this event. After rescuing them from Egypt they were officially organized by God to be a "kingdom of priests." Bridge builders.
In Moses' last message, he reminded them of their privilege and responsibility as God's priests. In Deuteronomy 29 he reviews the terms of their covenant - including God's promise of blessings for faithfulness and curses for infidelity.
As a nation they struggled with faithfulness. They consequently went through a long cyclic period of degenerated paganism, followed by judgement, followed by revival. Around 922 BC the kingdom divided. The northern ten tribes experienced almost continuous rebellion until 722 BC when Assyria destroyed them - in a way that they would never recover.
The southern two tribes escaped this disaster with Assyria, but they also degenerated spiritually to a place where God was forced to bring judgement. It started in 605 BC (after the Battle of Carcamesh). God spoke through Jeremiah to say - don't depend on Egypt! Babylon began to dominate and control Judah. In the first siege Daniel and his three friends were taken into exile. By 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the Temple built by Solomon and its furnishings, and all Jews were taken to Babylon.
The southern kingdom maintained its religious and ethnic integrity - even in exile - through the ministry of men like Ezekiel and Daniel. Ultimately a small percentage of the exiled Jews were allowed to return under the liberal policies of Cyrus the Persian ruler who defeated the Babylonians in 515 BC.
However the exile marks an important bridge for the Jews. Never again would they be a fully independent nation with their religious rituals as the core of their life. In fact the rebuilt temple was so uninspiring it caused weeping at the completion of its foundation. The Ark of the Covenant was lost forever (Day of Atonement - blood) and the Spirit of God never filled the Holy of Holies (Exodus 40; I Kings 8).
Yet exile for Judah was not totally destructive in the way it had been for Israel. The Jews seemed to have learned their lesson, in terms of compromising with paganism and idolatry. When they did return - unlike the ten tribes, much smaller and weaker - they were purer in their faith.
Some of this change can be credited to the example of Daniel. Daniel was part of a hated minority, initially with very little influence. But he and his friends determined to be faithful to God whatever the circumstances and whatever the consequences. The first six chapters of Daniel recount six moral challenges to this determination.
The challenge in the first chapter was to maintain faith in God while being encouraged with everything desirable to become Babylonian pagans. He was given a new name, a new status. He was given an extensive Babylonian education in writing, math and the sciences, making him equal to a magi. But he drew the line at a new diet. This seems strange to us, but accepting the diet was the same as accepting the Babylonian religion. The food and drink was only consumable after going through a worship service to the pagan gods, and by consuming it you were accepting the spirit of these gods! Daniel was asking for a simple diet untainted by pagan rituals. He maintained his loyalty to God. And because of that God blessed him with significant influence - even as a minority - in his new land. He was beginning to be a priest to the world!
When we come to chapter six a historical change has occurred. Chapter five records the fall of Babylon and the rise of Persia. Daniel is now a very old man, essentially working for a new empire. He is respected as intelligent and a person of integrity -- two qualities hard to find an any bureaucracy. Yet he is at the mercy of the majority people-- those in charge. And a few significant "wanna be" leaders are filled with malicious jealousy.
Remember that Daniel is about Caleb's age when Caleb asked Joshua for his mountain, not the time to begin a career fighting lions. It is also important to notice that Daniel never went out looking for trouble, but when it came he never let it chase him away from God.
Daniel 6
Would it come as a shock to you if I suggested that American culture does not belong to Christians? If you want proof I would suggest as exhibit A: Super Bowl commercials. So many of them were grossly stupid in a pagan sort of way. The half time entertainment was appropriate to a pagan ceremony of ritual prostitution; and that was long before the Janet Jackson climax. That episode was only shocking if you missed what the entertainers were trying to suggest in the scenes leading up to it. Apparently this is typical of everyday programming for MTV -- a kind of Baal worship for agnostics. The whole Super Bowl experience - outside of the game itself - was of such a nature that "a degenerate could be proud."
But please don't get distracted by the current state of entertainment. In so many far more critical areas our culture is experiencing spiritual death tremors. The horrors of abortion are getting worse as one of the Democratic candidates suggests that babies have no right to life until the mother gives the okay. Wesley Clark told the Manchester, NH, Union Leader, "Life begins with the mother's decision." This potentially advances abortion to the level of infanticide! Then there is the rewriting of history and politics to take God out of government and education. And as of today we are witnessing the collapse of the basic trans-cultural concept of marriage. I refuse to modify marriage by hyphenating it as hetero-sexual marriage.
Followers of Jesus live in a darker world today than the one we were born into. Many of the academic elite consider "us" the enemy. And the culture is becoming more comfortable disposing of unwanted life in all forms. We must wonder -- where will this attitude leave us?
Among the very last written words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3: 12-13 were, "everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse."
Most of you have avoided the lions den. Yet we can sense the restlessness of "our enemy the devil . . .." If this "roaring lion" were to try to eat you tomorrow, where would he attack first? At school? At work? In your neighborhood? At home?
What are your resources for defense? Do you try to blend in so that you're not noticed as a Christian? Or do you run off in a panic and try to bring the Kingdom of God in by human effort? Or do you depend on the resources of Jesus?
Daniel continued to be faithful to prayer and his time alone with God. He found resources of grace in his relationship with God. He continued to abstain from compromise with a godless lifestyle, and he lived a life of integrity to the point that his enemies could not arrest him for anything hinting of scandal. They could only attack him for his faithfulness to God. And God rescued him. One way or the other God always takes care of His faithful followers.
The final words of Paul written from his cell on death row may someday be important to us: "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen" (2 Timothy 4:18).
Words can be powerful -- ideas have influence. Anyone who has been the target of a gossip campaign knows this.
Three notorious atheists from the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century Germany unleashed a firestorm on Christians in the later parts of the Twentieth Century. All they had were ideas! Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx were the least hateful. They considered religious belief a mere fantasy, a delusion to help the grief of death. Of course, Marx' influence on communism indirectly lead to the martyrdom of millions of Christians.
But the worst of the three Germans was philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. He considered Christianity to be something much worse than a fairy tale. He wrote, "I call Christianity the one great curse, the one enormous . . . perversion -- I call it the one immortal blemish of mankind" (from The Twilight of the Idols, 1888). Physically, he was sickly, unimpressive, but he continues to have a powerful influence on philosophers and university professors to this day with his ideas. With Marx and Freud he would have to take much of the credit for more Christians being killed for their faith in the Twentieth Century than in the previous nineteen combined.
Nietzsche continues to impact us through main stream media types and academics who have been educated by university professors enamored with him. This helps explain how Dan Rather could write in the April 1994 issue of The Nation, "Gays and lesbians are beaten to death in the streets with increasing frequency in part due to irrational fear of AIDS but also because of hate mongers . . . of the Christian right."
I see no evidence of what he has written and what he continues on a regular basis to imply, but none of his peers have suggested he was even a little biased. Instead they join the chorus, as did the editor of the Washington Post who wrote that Christians are "largely poor, uneducated and easy to command." This is typical of what media and entertainment celebrities think. If they said the same thing about any other minority group or ethnic class they would be publicly castigated and lose their jobs. We live in an age when most leaders consider it helpful to the culture to fire on Christians. It is not the first time people of God have been hated. If you have your Bible turn with me to Daniel.
The book of Daniel is a record of Israel/Judah in exile. Exile is an important event or concept to understand in terms of the impact it had on the Jews. The people of Israel-Jacob were formed into a nation with a theocratic constitution at Sinai (Exodus). God had been growing and preparing some of the offspring of Abraham for this event. After rescuing them from Egypt they were officially organized by God to be a "kingdom of priests." Bridge builders.
In Moses' last message, he reminded them of their privilege and responsibility as God's priests. In Deuteronomy 29 he reviews the terms of their covenant - including God's promise of blessings for faithfulness and curses for infidelity.
As a nation they struggled with faithfulness. They consequently went through a long cyclic period of degenerated paganism, followed by judgement, followed by revival. Around 922 BC the kingdom divided. The northern ten tribes experienced almost continuous rebellion until 722 BC when Assyria destroyed them - in a way that they would never recover.
The southern two tribes escaped this disaster with Assyria, but they also degenerated spiritually to a place where God was forced to bring judgement. It started in 605 BC (after the Battle of Carcamesh). God spoke through Jeremiah to say - don't depend on Egypt! Babylon began to dominate and control Judah. In the first siege Daniel and his three friends were taken into exile. By 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the Temple built by Solomon and its furnishings, and all Jews were taken to Babylon.
The southern kingdom maintained its religious and ethnic integrity - even in exile - through the ministry of men like Ezekiel and Daniel. Ultimately a small percentage of the exiled Jews were allowed to return under the liberal policies of Cyrus the Persian ruler who defeated the Babylonians in 515 BC.
However the exile marks an important bridge for the Jews. Never again would they be a fully independent nation with their religious rituals as the core of their life. In fact the rebuilt temple was so uninspiring it caused weeping at the completion of its foundation. The Ark of the Covenant was lost forever (Day of Atonement - blood) and the Spirit of God never filled the Holy of Holies (Exodus 40; I Kings 8).
Yet exile for Judah was not totally destructive in the way it had been for Israel. The Jews seemed to have learned their lesson, in terms of compromising with paganism and idolatry. When they did return - unlike the ten tribes, much smaller and weaker - they were purer in their faith.
Some of this change can be credited to the example of Daniel. Daniel was part of a hated minority, initially with very little influence. But he and his friends determined to be faithful to God whatever the circumstances and whatever the consequences. The first six chapters of Daniel recount six moral challenges to this determination.
The challenge in the first chapter was to maintain faith in God while being encouraged with everything desirable to become Babylonian pagans. He was given a new name, a new status. He was given an extensive Babylonian education in writing, math and the sciences, making him equal to a magi. But he drew the line at a new diet. This seems strange to us, but accepting the diet was the same as accepting the Babylonian religion. The food and drink was only consumable after going through a worship service to the pagan gods, and by consuming it you were accepting the spirit of these gods! Daniel was asking for a simple diet untainted by pagan rituals. He maintained his loyalty to God. And because of that God blessed him with significant influence - even as a minority - in his new land. He was beginning to be a priest to the world!
When we come to chapter six a historical change has occurred. Chapter five records the fall of Babylon and the rise of Persia. Daniel is now a very old man, essentially working for a new empire. He is respected as intelligent and a person of integrity -- two qualities hard to find an any bureaucracy. Yet he is at the mercy of the majority people-- those in charge. And a few significant "wanna be" leaders are filled with malicious jealousy.
Remember that Daniel is about Caleb's age when Caleb asked Joshua for his mountain, not the time to begin a career fighting lions. It is also important to notice that Daniel never went out looking for trouble, but when it came he never let it chase him away from God.
Daniel 6
Would it come as a shock to you if I suggested that American culture does not belong to Christians? If you want proof I would suggest as exhibit A: Super Bowl commercials. So many of them were grossly stupid in a pagan sort of way. The half time entertainment was appropriate to a pagan ceremony of ritual prostitution; and that was long before the Janet Jackson climax. That episode was only shocking if you missed what the entertainers were trying to suggest in the scenes leading up to it. Apparently this is typical of everyday programming for MTV -- a kind of Baal worship for agnostics. The whole Super Bowl experience - outside of the game itself - was of such a nature that "a degenerate could be proud."
But please don't get distracted by the current state of entertainment. In so many far more critical areas our culture is experiencing spiritual death tremors. The horrors of abortion are getting worse as one of the Democratic candidates suggests that babies have no right to life until the mother gives the okay. Wesley Clark told the Manchester, NH, Union Leader, "Life begins with the mother's decision." This potentially advances abortion to the level of infanticide! Then there is the rewriting of history and politics to take God out of government and education. And as of today we are witnessing the collapse of the basic trans-cultural concept of marriage. I refuse to modify marriage by hyphenating it as hetero-sexual marriage.
Followers of Jesus live in a darker world today than the one we were born into. Many of the academic elite consider "us" the enemy. And the culture is becoming more comfortable disposing of unwanted life in all forms. We must wonder -- where will this attitude leave us?
Among the very last written words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3: 12-13 were, "everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse."
Most of you have avoided the lions den. Yet we can sense the restlessness of "our enemy the devil . . .." If this "roaring lion" were to try to eat you tomorrow, where would he attack first? At school? At work? In your neighborhood? At home?
What are your resources for defense? Do you try to blend in so that you're not noticed as a Christian? Or do you run off in a panic and try to bring the Kingdom of God in by human effort? Or do you depend on the resources of Jesus?
Daniel continued to be faithful to prayer and his time alone with God. He found resources of grace in his relationship with God. He continued to abstain from compromise with a godless lifestyle, and he lived a life of integrity to the point that his enemies could not arrest him for anything hinting of scandal. They could only attack him for his faithfulness to God. And God rescued him. One way or the other God always takes care of His faithful followers.
The final words of Paul written from his cell on death row may someday be important to us: "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen" (2 Timothy 4:18).
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Goliath ©
1/18/2004
Remember the story of Sleepy Hollow? In Washington Irving's legend, Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher was wooing the belle of a small New England community...but so was another man. In their community there was a legend about a headless horseman who rode around the countryside at night. Ichabod's rival for the affections of this young woman dressed up as the fabled ghost and late one night lay in wait for Ichabod. As Ichabod rode by, the headless horseman gave pursuit. Poor Ichabod was so frightened he spurred his horse and was never seen again. If only he'd turned and faced the object of his fear rather than fleeing in panic, he would have discovered the truth.
If fear is allowed to have full reign, it can disable a person physically. Panic is an admission of powerlessness...and this is where the people of God found themselves in I Samuel 17.
In this passage Saul is still the king of Israel, but David has already been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next King. Saul has been disobedient to direct instructions from God. They were clear, understandable instructions and easily accomplished. Saul simply decided to do it his way...so God rejected him.
David is an interesting replacement. Even Samuel the prophet of God was a little surprised. He was sent to Jesse's household to select the next King. Jesse brought forth his eldest son and Samuel was very impressed, "Here's my man," he thought.
God spoke an important lesson at that moment. He reminded Samuel that the human way is to evaluate by appearances. People still measure their leaders by their physical attractiveness, by their size, their social rank, and the value of their monetary worth.
God measures the heart. Unfortunately, when men value the wrong things it becomes detestable to God. Jesus said in Luke 16:15, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men (money) is detestable in God's sight." Detestable is a strong word.
This "reverse value system" is what Jesus was trying to get across when he made a comment that so often seemed like a mystery without a key: "The one who is first will be last and the one who is last will be first." If you try to apply that when you are standing in line at a buffet it does not make sense. It has more to do with values and priorities than a place in line. More often than not, what we think is very important is last place on God's priority list...and the issues of high priority to God are of little concern to us!
Even David's father saw only minimal value in "the runt of the family." He gave David the servant's job when a VIP was in the house. Unstated but culturally implied: "Samuel is coming for the most important feast of our life. David, you go take care of the chores so that your brothers can be here for the big event." Even Jesse missed the God stuff going on in David's heart.
Heart transformation is of ultimate concern to God. What does God see in your heart that the rest of us have missed? The prophet Jeremiah said the human heart is "desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). But Peter spoke of hearts that had been "purified by faith" (Acts 15:9). That is a wide open field for your heart to find a home in...and with the importance of a pure heart so high on God's priorities, it makes sense to connect up with a church family that prioritizes growth in Christ's likeness as its top goal.
We get a glimpse into David's heart when we hear the account of how he chased down a lion and a bear to rescue...one lamb. Where did he learn the value of one lamb? Where did he find the courage to tackle a lion? Somewhere in the hills of Bethlehem David was learning to trust God and love the things that mattered to God.
Faith is a battlefield. Should I trust God, depend on my own abilities, or just run screaming into the night like Ichabod? Flesh and blood can not overcome the devil. Goliath is not the devil, but the devil used him to rattle the faith of the people of God. To an outside observer, this could be a humorous scene. For 40 consecutive days this giant comes out and hurls insults at Israel...and the men respond by running back to their tents and crawling under their beds.
The number 40 appears frequently as a period of testing: the flood rains lasted 40 days and nights, there were 40 years of wandering, and 40 days of temptation. These 40 days for Saul's army made it easy for everyone to see the impotence of the King and his army. By the way, where was Saul every morning and evening? Where was Abner? For that matter, where was David's older brother? He could've collected the reward of wealth, the king's daughter, and tax exemption. Of course you have to live through the battles to collect the rewards.
Another question worth considering is, in the mind of Saul and these other men, "Where is God?" They are, after all,God's covenant people. Why did these men feel they were on their own?
Somehow this "runt of the family" had learned that God's resources were available by faith. Somewhere in his own wilderness, David had learned to walk with God. Chapter 16 indicates that David was already well known as a poet/musician. Perhaps Psalm 23 comes from this period in his life. With the Lord as his shepherd, he learned to face the lion and the bear. Goliath was not his first test of faith.
This does not take away from the powerful presence of God in this scene. Technically this story is not a miracle story. Next weeks is a textbook illustration of a miracle...fire from a clear blue sky. What happened in this David and Goliath story is more what happens to people of faith on a regular basis. God providentially involves Himself in and through the person of faith to accomplish a great feat. Of course the involvement of God is much more obvious because it is a boy defeating the giant, not Samson! Even so, a committed unbeliever (cynic) watching the battle, could say that, "David lucked out!" A normal person with the least bit of objectivity, though, will recognize that God powerfully blessed David's confidence in Him.
When the battle between David and Goliath was over, the men of Israel recognized that once again they were on God's side. God had come to their rescue! David's faith in God became contagious in the reverse way that Goliath's panic had caused before he lost his head.
One of the reasons that God allows adversity into our lives is to teach us to depend on His resources instead of our own. Panic can serve as a reminder that we have recognized our resources are depleted, but that we have not yet turned to God. Panic is a spiritual alarm...it's time to wake up.
From God's perspective and for our character growth, it is more important to experience the power of His Spirit than to live in a neighborhood without a single giant. Do you have any lions or bears in your resume of faith? God is looking for people who would be willing to tackle some Goliaths and take on the challenges over our heads.
All this is to say that God is far more interested in you developing the quality of dependence on Him than confidence in your natural abilities. No matter who you are, your natural abilities have limits. Eventually, you will get in over your head, but be without God. A Goliath will show up and in your panic he will kill you, or chase you under your bed.
The way you and I live is in direct correlation to the size we see God. Are you convinced that you are safe (whether you live or die) in the hands of a fully competent, all knowing, always present God?
I'm not suggesting that you start playing with loaded guns or sharp sticks, I'm not saying you should only look one way when you cross the street or stop wearing your seat belt. What the Bible is saying is that when giants of adversity attack, we can face them depending on God. In the mean time, in order to prepare, His word tells us how to behave so that our character is strong enough to face giants. For example, don't be mean, be honest, stick up for the disadvantaged, love your neighbor. That is a lot to work on in one week...maybe you could start with trying not to be mean. Don't use your mean face to get your way!
The Bible also tells us that the struggle or battle belongs to the Lord. If you are fighting "for Goliath" then you can expect to lose your head, at least. But as a follower of Jesus, whether you live or die, you will win. And some of us, just by crawling out from under our beds and getting into the struggle of holiness and evil will win some gigantic victories. I know this because, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27)."
Remember the story of Sleepy Hollow? In Washington Irving's legend, Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher was wooing the belle of a small New England community...but so was another man. In their community there was a legend about a headless horseman who rode around the countryside at night. Ichabod's rival for the affections of this young woman dressed up as the fabled ghost and late one night lay in wait for Ichabod. As Ichabod rode by, the headless horseman gave pursuit. Poor Ichabod was so frightened he spurred his horse and was never seen again. If only he'd turned and faced the object of his fear rather than fleeing in panic, he would have discovered the truth.
If fear is allowed to have full reign, it can disable a person physically. Panic is an admission of powerlessness...and this is where the people of God found themselves in I Samuel 17.
In this passage Saul is still the king of Israel, but David has already been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next King. Saul has been disobedient to direct instructions from God. They were clear, understandable instructions and easily accomplished. Saul simply decided to do it his way...so God rejected him.
David is an interesting replacement. Even Samuel the prophet of God was a little surprised. He was sent to Jesse's household to select the next King. Jesse brought forth his eldest son and Samuel was very impressed, "Here's my man," he thought.
God spoke an important lesson at that moment. He reminded Samuel that the human way is to evaluate by appearances. People still measure their leaders by their physical attractiveness, by their size, their social rank, and the value of their monetary worth.
God measures the heart. Unfortunately, when men value the wrong things it becomes detestable to God. Jesus said in Luke 16:15, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men (money) is detestable in God's sight." Detestable is a strong word.
This "reverse value system" is what Jesus was trying to get across when he made a comment that so often seemed like a mystery without a key: "The one who is first will be last and the one who is last will be first." If you try to apply that when you are standing in line at a buffet it does not make sense. It has more to do with values and priorities than a place in line. More often than not, what we think is very important is last place on God's priority list...and the issues of high priority to God are of little concern to us!
Even David's father saw only minimal value in "the runt of the family." He gave David the servant's job when a VIP was in the house. Unstated but culturally implied: "Samuel is coming for the most important feast of our life. David, you go take care of the chores so that your brothers can be here for the big event." Even Jesse missed the God stuff going on in David's heart.
Heart transformation is of ultimate concern to God. What does God see in your heart that the rest of us have missed? The prophet Jeremiah said the human heart is "desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). But Peter spoke of hearts that had been "purified by faith" (Acts 15:9). That is a wide open field for your heart to find a home in...and with the importance of a pure heart so high on God's priorities, it makes sense to connect up with a church family that prioritizes growth in Christ's likeness as its top goal.
We get a glimpse into David's heart when we hear the account of how he chased down a lion and a bear to rescue...one lamb. Where did he learn the value of one lamb? Where did he find the courage to tackle a lion? Somewhere in the hills of Bethlehem David was learning to trust God and love the things that mattered to God.
Faith is a battlefield. Should I trust God, depend on my own abilities, or just run screaming into the night like Ichabod? Flesh and blood can not overcome the devil. Goliath is not the devil, but the devil used him to rattle the faith of the people of God. To an outside observer, this could be a humorous scene. For 40 consecutive days this giant comes out and hurls insults at Israel...and the men respond by running back to their tents and crawling under their beds.
The number 40 appears frequently as a period of testing: the flood rains lasted 40 days and nights, there were 40 years of wandering, and 40 days of temptation. These 40 days for Saul's army made it easy for everyone to see the impotence of the King and his army. By the way, where was Saul every morning and evening? Where was Abner? For that matter, where was David's older brother? He could've collected the reward of wealth, the king's daughter, and tax exemption. Of course you have to live through the battles to collect the rewards.
Another question worth considering is, in the mind of Saul and these other men, "Where is God?" They are, after all,God's covenant people. Why did these men feel they were on their own?
Somehow this "runt of the family" had learned that God's resources were available by faith. Somewhere in his own wilderness, David had learned to walk with God. Chapter 16 indicates that David was already well known as a poet/musician. Perhaps Psalm 23 comes from this period in his life. With the Lord as his shepherd, he learned to face the lion and the bear. Goliath was not his first test of faith.
This does not take away from the powerful presence of God in this scene. Technically this story is not a miracle story. Next weeks is a textbook illustration of a miracle...fire from a clear blue sky. What happened in this David and Goliath story is more what happens to people of faith on a regular basis. God providentially involves Himself in and through the person of faith to accomplish a great feat. Of course the involvement of God is much more obvious because it is a boy defeating the giant, not Samson! Even so, a committed unbeliever (cynic) watching the battle, could say that, "David lucked out!" A normal person with the least bit of objectivity, though, will recognize that God powerfully blessed David's confidence in Him.
When the battle between David and Goliath was over, the men of Israel recognized that once again they were on God's side. God had come to their rescue! David's faith in God became contagious in the reverse way that Goliath's panic had caused before he lost his head.
One of the reasons that God allows adversity into our lives is to teach us to depend on His resources instead of our own. Panic can serve as a reminder that we have recognized our resources are depleted, but that we have not yet turned to God. Panic is a spiritual alarm...it's time to wake up.
From God's perspective and for our character growth, it is more important to experience the power of His Spirit than to live in a neighborhood without a single giant. Do you have any lions or bears in your resume of faith? God is looking for people who would be willing to tackle some Goliaths and take on the challenges over our heads.
All this is to say that God is far more interested in you developing the quality of dependence on Him than confidence in your natural abilities. No matter who you are, your natural abilities have limits. Eventually, you will get in over your head, but be without God. A Goliath will show up and in your panic he will kill you, or chase you under your bed.
The way you and I live is in direct correlation to the size we see God. Are you convinced that you are safe (whether you live or die) in the hands of a fully competent, all knowing, always present God?
I'm not suggesting that you start playing with loaded guns or sharp sticks, I'm not saying you should only look one way when you cross the street or stop wearing your seat belt. What the Bible is saying is that when giants of adversity attack, we can face them depending on God. In the mean time, in order to prepare, His word tells us how to behave so that our character is strong enough to face giants. For example, don't be mean, be honest, stick up for the disadvantaged, love your neighbor. That is a lot to work on in one week...maybe you could start with trying not to be mean. Don't use your mean face to get your way!
The Bible also tells us that the struggle or battle belongs to the Lord. If you are fighting "for Goliath" then you can expect to lose your head, at least. But as a follower of Jesus, whether you live or die, you will win. And some of us, just by crawling out from under our beds and getting into the struggle of holiness and evil will win some gigantic victories. I know this because, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27)."
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Joseph
January 11, 2004
Annie Dillard writes in her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:
A couple of summers ago I was walking along the edge of the island to see
what I could see in the water, and mainly to scare frogs. Frogs have an
inelegant way of taking off from invisible positions on the bank just ahead
of your feet, in dire panic, emitting a froggy "Yike!" and splashing into the
water. Incredibly, this amused me, and incredibly, it amuses me still. As I
walked along the grassy edge of the island, I got better and better at seeing
frogs both in and out of the water. I learned to recognize, slowing down,
the difference in texture of the light reflected from mud bank, water, grass,
or frog. He was exactly half in and half out of the water, looking like a
schematic diagram of an amphibian, and he didn't jump.
He didn't jump; I crept closer. At last I knelt on the island's winter-killed
grass, lost, dumbstruck, staring at the frog in the creek just four feet away.
He was a very small frog with wide, dull eyes. And just as I looked at him,
he slowly crumpled and began to sag. The spirit vanished from his eyes as
if snuffed. His skin emptied and drooped; his very skull seemed to collapse
and settle like a kicked tent. He was shrinking before my eyes like a
deflating football. I watched the taut, glistening skin on his shoulders tuck,
and rumple, and fall. Soon, part of his skin, formless as a pricked balloon,
lay in floating folds like bright scum on top of the water: It was a
monstrous and terrifying thing. I gaped bewildered, appalled. An oval
shadow hung in the water behind the drained frog; then the shadow glided
away. The frog skin bag started to sink.
I had read about the giant water bug, but never seen one. "Giant water
bug" is really the name of the creature, which is an enormous, heavy-bodied
brown beetle. It eats insects, tadpoles, fish, and frogs. Its grasping forelegs
are mighty and hooked inward. It seizes a victim with these legs, hugs it
tight, and paralyzes it with enzymes injected during a vicious bite. That one
bite is the only bite it ever takes. Through the puncture shoot the poisons
that dissolve the victim's muscles and bones and organs -- all but the
skin -- and through it the giant water bug sucks out the victim's body,
reduced to a juice. The frog I saw was being sucked by a giant water bug.
I have seen the same thing happen, in a different dimension, with people. A young person starts out living for God but runs into adversity and it acts like poison. Obviously, some adversity we deserve. But if you live long enough you will go through some pretty rough times through no fault of your own. It still amazes me, however, when people blame God for their own dopey choices. After a short series of irresponsible choices have created a significant amount of hardship, bitterness - like the water bug's poison - begins to dissolve their soul. And it's God's fault, because they didn't get what they wanted. Instead they got bit.
Of course, adversity also comes through nothing you've done to cause it. You're minding your own business, serving God will all your heart and WHAM out of nowhere your brothers mug you and sell you into slavery. And just when things look like they will improve you are betrayed by the vilest act of slander a courtroom has ever heard.
What do you do now? Resentment could dissolve your soul if you allow it.
Read Genesis 39
Bitterness is part of the air we breathe. Bumper stickers of emotional venom I have seen: Your kid may be an honor student, but you're still an idiot. Or - Some people are only alive because it is illegal to murder.
Bitterness is the poison we swallow, while hoping the other person dies. It's like shooting ourselves in the heart, thinking it will kill the other person. This one episode in Joseph's life is a recipe for bitterness. He did everything God's way and still ended up in prison. But the challenge for Joseph is much larger, even, than this episode. His brothers have already rejected him, nearly killing him. And in prison, after doing a positive service for the king's cup bearer, he is forgotten by the ones who could help. Yet Joseph remains faithful to God. One thing we can say for this young man: Immediate gratification is not his driving force. That would be a good lesson to learn . . . another day!
As horrible as it is, Joesph knew there was someting worse than being rejected by his family. Some of you have experienced that kind of rejection and you're not sure if there is anything worse. Joesph would tell you there is.
As horrible as it is, and none of us have experienced it, there is something worse than being sold into slavery, and slandered into prison, and then forgotten by people who could've helped.
What if your whole life was a meaningless accident? What if God had a few folks He loved, a few He tolerated and the rest He despised? What if God had no concern for you whatsoever?
Early in his life Joseph had been given a vision of God's plan for his life. Based on his understanding of God's character - a holy God, a God of integrity, and his knowledge of God's power - Joseph trusted that God would work that ultimate plan through the worst of hardships.
Satan wants you to believe that hardship is evidence of God's neglect. The Bible says, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children" (Hebrews 12:7). One of His favorites!
The tokens of God's love to Joseph were his early visions. What is our token of God's love? The cross of Jesus. God loves us so much that He allowed His Son to die for our sins. The token of His power is the resurrection of Jesus. These proofs will take us through hardship if we believe them. These proofs helped Peter and Paul and Jim Elliot to die!
Based on his experience with God, Joseph trusted in the wisdom and power of God instead of becoming bitter and filled with resentment.
God, in His wisdom, has goals for our lives. You're not there yet. I'm not there yet. One of His objectives for you is not that you have a trouble-free, untested, happy existence while you wait for heaven. If you think that is His goal for you then at the first taste of hardship you must consider that either God's wisdom or His power has broken down!
Joseph could've bought into that lie while in the cistern waiting for his brothers to kill him. Or on the caravan to Egypt, or in Pharaoh's prison. Instead he continued to trust God's wisdom and God's ability to bring His plan to fruition. Have you ever been in a pit of despair? Or on a journey in the wrong direction? Or forgotten?
The moment you or I give in to resentment or self pity, we have started to act as if Satan has gotten one over on God. He ambushed us when God was sleeping? And if that is the way it is you might think, "It's every man for himself. I'll make my own happiness, if it is with Potipher's wife or the nearest willing partner in some selfish fun. Who is God to tell me how to run my life?"
In order to be faithful to God, even in adversity, you need to know that God values your life. You can be reckless in your love for God, even when the lights go out, because your very existence is the result of omniscient planning. God thinks it is a good thing to be the person you are - with the potential to become the person He plans for you to be.
Joseph overcame the temptation to bitterness, because he believed God had clearly expressed His love. And God's wisdom and power would see that love wins. He never lost sight of this even in his family's rejection, in slavery or in imprisonment. Later he told his brothers, "You intended evil for me, but in that same act, God was able to accomplish great good."
Trusting that God's goal is your ultimate good - even when adversity comes - will help you maintain an inner peace. Being sure of God's good purposes, we can be free to be loyal to Him even in suffering.
This is the foundation of a promise like I Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
"No temptation has seized you . . .." Satan can not ambush you with something special or unique. In fact, temptation is not a supernatural power.. It is only natural. We are all tested by the same basic tests. Joseph. Judah and Jesus. You. Me.
"God is faithful . . .." Hardship, adversity is not a signal that God has left the building. He is as close as ever. Partly to insure that the test does not exceed your stress limits. Every test has boundaries and every test has an exit. Temptation and escape always come in pairs. And every time you choose the exit instead of the temptation your character becomes more like Jesus. And God's ultimate plan for you is getting closer to the finish line.
As hormone driven as our culture is today, a lust inspiring, salacious temptress (or tempter) is not that stress inducing in comparison to the long term impact of self pity and resentment. I don't want to disrespect the power of lust, but the bigger tests are to give in to bitterness, resentment and the lie that God does not value you. Too many are failing the smaller tests and still being bit by resentment. That poison will puree your soul, and Satan will suck it down with a straw. Resentment is a slander of God on the cross! When you give in to the idea that God has forgotten you, any old temptation will do.
"God so loved ___(me)___ that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not die but have life that lasts forever" (John 3:16).
It is a very powerful love...but for it to have its full impact it must be trusted. Is His love enough for your dark times?
Annie Dillard writes in her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek:
A couple of summers ago I was walking along the edge of the island to see
what I could see in the water, and mainly to scare frogs. Frogs have an
inelegant way of taking off from invisible positions on the bank just ahead
of your feet, in dire panic, emitting a froggy "Yike!" and splashing into the
water. Incredibly, this amused me, and incredibly, it amuses me still. As I
walked along the grassy edge of the island, I got better and better at seeing
frogs both in and out of the water. I learned to recognize, slowing down,
the difference in texture of the light reflected from mud bank, water, grass,
or frog. He was exactly half in and half out of the water, looking like a
schematic diagram of an amphibian, and he didn't jump.
He didn't jump; I crept closer. At last I knelt on the island's winter-killed
grass, lost, dumbstruck, staring at the frog in the creek just four feet away.
He was a very small frog with wide, dull eyes. And just as I looked at him,
he slowly crumpled and began to sag. The spirit vanished from his eyes as
if snuffed. His skin emptied and drooped; his very skull seemed to collapse
and settle like a kicked tent. He was shrinking before my eyes like a
deflating football. I watched the taut, glistening skin on his shoulders tuck,
and rumple, and fall. Soon, part of his skin, formless as a pricked balloon,
lay in floating folds like bright scum on top of the water: It was a
monstrous and terrifying thing. I gaped bewildered, appalled. An oval
shadow hung in the water behind the drained frog; then the shadow glided
away. The frog skin bag started to sink.
I had read about the giant water bug, but never seen one. "Giant water
bug" is really the name of the creature, which is an enormous, heavy-bodied
brown beetle. It eats insects, tadpoles, fish, and frogs. Its grasping forelegs
are mighty and hooked inward. It seizes a victim with these legs, hugs it
tight, and paralyzes it with enzymes injected during a vicious bite. That one
bite is the only bite it ever takes. Through the puncture shoot the poisons
that dissolve the victim's muscles and bones and organs -- all but the
skin -- and through it the giant water bug sucks out the victim's body,
reduced to a juice. The frog I saw was being sucked by a giant water bug.
I have seen the same thing happen, in a different dimension, with people. A young person starts out living for God but runs into adversity and it acts like poison. Obviously, some adversity we deserve. But if you live long enough you will go through some pretty rough times through no fault of your own. It still amazes me, however, when people blame God for their own dopey choices. After a short series of irresponsible choices have created a significant amount of hardship, bitterness - like the water bug's poison - begins to dissolve their soul. And it's God's fault, because they didn't get what they wanted. Instead they got bit.
Of course, adversity also comes through nothing you've done to cause it. You're minding your own business, serving God will all your heart and WHAM out of nowhere your brothers mug you and sell you into slavery. And just when things look like they will improve you are betrayed by the vilest act of slander a courtroom has ever heard.
What do you do now? Resentment could dissolve your soul if you allow it.
Read Genesis 39
Bitterness is part of the air we breathe. Bumper stickers of emotional venom I have seen: Your kid may be an honor student, but you're still an idiot. Or - Some people are only alive because it is illegal to murder.
Bitterness is the poison we swallow, while hoping the other person dies. It's like shooting ourselves in the heart, thinking it will kill the other person. This one episode in Joseph's life is a recipe for bitterness. He did everything God's way and still ended up in prison. But the challenge for Joseph is much larger, even, than this episode. His brothers have already rejected him, nearly killing him. And in prison, after doing a positive service for the king's cup bearer, he is forgotten by the ones who could help. Yet Joseph remains faithful to God. One thing we can say for this young man: Immediate gratification is not his driving force. That would be a good lesson to learn . . . another day!
As horrible as it is, Joesph knew there was someting worse than being rejected by his family. Some of you have experienced that kind of rejection and you're not sure if there is anything worse. Joesph would tell you there is.
As horrible as it is, and none of us have experienced it, there is something worse than being sold into slavery, and slandered into prison, and then forgotten by people who could've helped.
What if your whole life was a meaningless accident? What if God had a few folks He loved, a few He tolerated and the rest He despised? What if God had no concern for you whatsoever?
Early in his life Joseph had been given a vision of God's plan for his life. Based on his understanding of God's character - a holy God, a God of integrity, and his knowledge of God's power - Joseph trusted that God would work that ultimate plan through the worst of hardships.
Satan wants you to believe that hardship is evidence of God's neglect. The Bible says, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children" (Hebrews 12:7). One of His favorites!
The tokens of God's love to Joseph were his early visions. What is our token of God's love? The cross of Jesus. God loves us so much that He allowed His Son to die for our sins. The token of His power is the resurrection of Jesus. These proofs will take us through hardship if we believe them. These proofs helped Peter and Paul and Jim Elliot to die!
Based on his experience with God, Joseph trusted in the wisdom and power of God instead of becoming bitter and filled with resentment.
God, in His wisdom, has goals for our lives. You're not there yet. I'm not there yet. One of His objectives for you is not that you have a trouble-free, untested, happy existence while you wait for heaven. If you think that is His goal for you then at the first taste of hardship you must consider that either God's wisdom or His power has broken down!
Joseph could've bought into that lie while in the cistern waiting for his brothers to kill him. Or on the caravan to Egypt, or in Pharaoh's prison. Instead he continued to trust God's wisdom and God's ability to bring His plan to fruition. Have you ever been in a pit of despair? Or on a journey in the wrong direction? Or forgotten?
The moment you or I give in to resentment or self pity, we have started to act as if Satan has gotten one over on God. He ambushed us when God was sleeping? And if that is the way it is you might think, "It's every man for himself. I'll make my own happiness, if it is with Potipher's wife or the nearest willing partner in some selfish fun. Who is God to tell me how to run my life?"
In order to be faithful to God, even in adversity, you need to know that God values your life. You can be reckless in your love for God, even when the lights go out, because your very existence is the result of omniscient planning. God thinks it is a good thing to be the person you are - with the potential to become the person He plans for you to be.
Joseph overcame the temptation to bitterness, because he believed God had clearly expressed His love. And God's wisdom and power would see that love wins. He never lost sight of this even in his family's rejection, in slavery or in imprisonment. Later he told his brothers, "You intended evil for me, but in that same act, God was able to accomplish great good."
Trusting that God's goal is your ultimate good - even when adversity comes - will help you maintain an inner peace. Being sure of God's good purposes, we can be free to be loyal to Him even in suffering.
This is the foundation of a promise like I Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
"No temptation has seized you . . .." Satan can not ambush you with something special or unique. In fact, temptation is not a supernatural power.. It is only natural. We are all tested by the same basic tests. Joseph. Judah and Jesus. You. Me.
"God is faithful . . .." Hardship, adversity is not a signal that God has left the building. He is as close as ever. Partly to insure that the test does not exceed your stress limits. Every test has boundaries and every test has an exit. Temptation and escape always come in pairs. And every time you choose the exit instead of the temptation your character becomes more like Jesus. And God's ultimate plan for you is getting closer to the finish line.
As hormone driven as our culture is today, a lust inspiring, salacious temptress (or tempter) is not that stress inducing in comparison to the long term impact of self pity and resentment. I don't want to disrespect the power of lust, but the bigger tests are to give in to bitterness, resentment and the lie that God does not value you. Too many are failing the smaller tests and still being bit by resentment. That poison will puree your soul, and Satan will suck it down with a straw. Resentment is a slander of God on the cross! When you give in to the idea that God has forgotten you, any old temptation will do.
"God so loved ___(me)___ that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not die but have life that lasts forever" (John 3:16).
It is a very powerful love...but for it to have its full impact it must be trusted. Is His love enough for your dark times?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Caleb ©
1/4/04
Have you ever gotten bored with being the best? After years of being number one would you like to try fifth place for awhile? Would you buy a book with the title How I Achieved Mediocrity or Less? Who among us needs that kind of help? Most of my battles are against mediocrity. Too many people live every day beneath their God-given potential. As Christians, we are in danger of being addicted to a dead-end, status quo, or becoming dependent on "getting by."
Don't get me wrong, I believe it's okay to decide to be mediocre at something- so that you can be better at something else. I myself have decided to be bad at golf... so that I can be better at blood pressure! However, in the core areas of life, God calls you and me to move beyond the gloomy gray existence of mediocrity and go for more. He is inviting us to "reach for the PEAK* (Prayer and Fasting, Evangelism, Abiding in the Word, Koinonia)." This challenge is to focus on the core area of your life- your relationship with God. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, the Bible compares this relationship to a foot race and it says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."
Is there anyone here who hasn't yet decided whether they want to be successful in this core relationship? Do you enjoy the guilt and spiritual failure you let creep into your life? Could it be some of you are tired of Satan putting his foot on your back? It may be that you have watched others gain spiritual victory, but you don't feel you've "got what it takes."
It is time that you heard God's invitation to live on a different level. Perhaps today could be the day- that you begin to claim the abundant life Jesus promised. What stands in the way? For many the problem is that to grow beyond mediocrity requires effort. New Year's resolutions fail for one main reason: the effort or stress or struggle is more than we think we can handle...so we cave in on a good thing.
Or it may be how you look at the problem. Some radio preacher says, "We are 'saved by grace' and we grow by grace," which is true. But, he implies that grace, or faith, is contrasted with the idea of merit or entitlement. On the contrary, 'effort' is very much encouraged throughout the Bible. In Luke 13:24 Jesus said, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." They made an effort once the game was over!
A miracle by its definition is a grace thing, but look at how many of Jesus' miracles required some effort: fill the water pots, catch the fish with the money in its mouth, wash your eyes in the pool on the other side of town, and the list goes on.
But some folks who are not afraid of work when it comes to physical fitness, running their business, or working a con job on their friends, think that effort is out of place in Christianity.
In fact, lack of effort is condemned. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned of a person who heard his words, and even admired and agreed with them, but he made no effort to put them to work. That man was condemned. In the last book of the Bible, Jesus talks to people who won't be hot or cold about their relationship with Him. They just lolie-gag around in the lukewarm area until God decides to vomit them out. Putting effort into your relationship with God is more than ok; it's mandatory.
Let's look at an incident in the life of one man who understood that faith and struggle go together.
Joshua 14:6-14
Caleb's life is an example for anyone who wants to live on the mountain. Before we get to his lesson, let's review the context. Shortly after Israel was rescued from Egypt, God and Moses appointed a commission of 12 explorers to check out the Promised Land. The scouts spent 40 days in the Land of Promise and then came back with their report. It was indeed a "land flowing with milk and honey." It was everything they could've asked for and more. Fertile beyond imagination and the climate was pleasant...but there were powerful enemies in the land...warrior giants.
Now they have to decide: live in the wilderness, or fight the giants. How many of you have to make a decision sometime soon; you sense God's hand on your shoulder. Will you live where God wants you to live? It seems like that is the way it often is. God shows us the possibility of living the abundant life to Israel, and now to you, too. You see other people living close to God. You hear them witness to God's goodness and power, but when you hear a call to step out...you run into giants. You despair over your lack of time, lack of courage, or the disorder that clogs your days and nights.
The 12 spies saw the attractiveness of the land, but they also saw the giants and their hearts melted with fear. Not all 12, though. Joshua and Caleb were the lone exceptions. They were ready to match God with the giants.
You know the rest of the story- how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because they didn't trust God. They chose by not trying their faith. During that time every male 20 years of age and older died. At the end of 40 years Moses died and Israel went into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. For four more years they conquered the land until they had enough control to divide up the land and allot it to the tribes and families to finish the conquest.
Now 45 years after first going into the land as a scout, Caleb stands before Joshua- as an 85 year old- and says, "I am ready to claim my mountain." During that time Caleb has learned some valuable lessons.
Lesson one: He learned that God keeps His promises with those who will trust Him. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses related a promise God had made to Caleb. Because of his courage as a spy, Caleb was to receive the land which he walked through in his scout days. Caleb remembers that promise.
He could've remembered his bitter disappointment at the cowardly response of the ten spies, or the 40 years of grief in the wilderness. He could've remembered that Joshua got all the glory. Instead he chose to remember God's promise and to follow God's wisdom.
If you are going to move up to a higher spiritual plain, you will need to be familiar with God's word and His power to keep His word. Currently the secular world is fascinated with spiritual stuff. There are many voices telling you to get better acquainted with "the god that is in you." Without being too blunt, let me just say that's hogwash. For Christians living on a higher level, that means getting to know the one true God and His best revelation of Himself in Jesus. That does not happen by contemplating the beauty of your belly button. You get to know God and the kind of character He has by reading His word and listening specifically for His voice. Caleb knew what kind of promises God made and kept, and he was ready to depend on God.
Lesson two: Caleb learned that victory is preceded by battle. It does not hurt to let your children engage in a few 'holy struggles' before they become adults. Kids by fallen nature know how to fight for their selfish desires. That does not need to be encouraged. But teaching our children how to struggle with love and integrity for a Godly cause is not something they learn at school.
And mature believers know that every Promised Land is infested with giants. To claim the prize, a struggle must be made! God has not called us to fight from a hot tub, an easy chair, or a table set with a feast. These things come after the battle and rightly so. After every victory there should be a celebration. The Christian is called to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and ...run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1).
Caleb saw the giants on his mountain, but he also knew that God had kept him alive for this battle. He knew God's word and he knew that victory only comes with a battle.
Lesson three: Caleb had also learned the lesson of dependence. In verse 12 he said, "The Lord helping me, I will drive them out." Like Abraham he could say he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. Like Paul he could say, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us" (Romans 8:37).
The ten spies were motivated by fear- Caleb was motivated by God's promises. He knew God could be trusted. Most of Israel did not want to risk taking what God wanted to give. Instead they sat back and wondered, wondered what it would be like to live in the Promised Land, until they all died in the wilderness.
But 45 years later, here is Caleb saying, "I've waited long enough. I'm not going to gaze from a distance any more. I'm tired of standing in a corner or laying in bed dreaming about it. It is time to go up and get it!"
In this sanctuary may be some who have never lived for God...never trusted Jesus...or some who did at one time, but no longer do. I am convinced there isn't one person here who doesn't want to be spiritually successful. There is not one of us who likes a guilty conscience or weak faith. You don't enjoy failing spiritually any better than I do.
Good news: you don't have to stand there and dream and wish you could live on the mountain. There are promises saturating the Word...promising God's help for your decision to face some giants.
You've lived with Satan's food on your back long enough! You're tired of someone besides Jesus being in charge of your life and home and career and finances and family. You are ready to move from the world of 'getting by' to the world of victory.
To keep us from taking the wrong path, the Bible gives us some guidelines. Let me share some of those with you this morning and challenge you to join with others in walking this way for the next ten weeks.
*Editor's Note: This sermon is the first of a ten part series Dad used to challenge the Ceres church to dig deeper. He studied and presented the lives of ten Biblical characters while challenging the church to enter into a time of spiritual development through prayer and fasting, evangelism, study of the word, and fellowship.
Have you ever gotten bored with being the best? After years of being number one would you like to try fifth place for awhile? Would you buy a book with the title How I Achieved Mediocrity or Less? Who among us needs that kind of help? Most of my battles are against mediocrity. Too many people live every day beneath their God-given potential. As Christians, we are in danger of being addicted to a dead-end, status quo, or becoming dependent on "getting by."
Don't get me wrong, I believe it's okay to decide to be mediocre at something- so that you can be better at something else. I myself have decided to be bad at golf... so that I can be better at blood pressure! However, in the core areas of life, God calls you and me to move beyond the gloomy gray existence of mediocrity and go for more. He is inviting us to "reach for the PEAK* (Prayer and Fasting, Evangelism, Abiding in the Word, Koinonia)." This challenge is to focus on the core area of your life- your relationship with God. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, the Bible compares this relationship to a foot race and it says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."
Is there anyone here who hasn't yet decided whether they want to be successful in this core relationship? Do you enjoy the guilt and spiritual failure you let creep into your life? Could it be some of you are tired of Satan putting his foot on your back? It may be that you have watched others gain spiritual victory, but you don't feel you've "got what it takes."
It is time that you heard God's invitation to live on a different level. Perhaps today could be the day- that you begin to claim the abundant life Jesus promised. What stands in the way? For many the problem is that to grow beyond mediocrity requires effort. New Year's resolutions fail for one main reason: the effort or stress or struggle is more than we think we can handle...so we cave in on a good thing.
Or it may be how you look at the problem. Some radio preacher says, "We are 'saved by grace' and we grow by grace," which is true. But, he implies that grace, or faith, is contrasted with the idea of merit or entitlement. On the contrary, 'effort' is very much encouraged throughout the Bible. In Luke 13:24 Jesus said, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." They made an effort once the game was over!
A miracle by its definition is a grace thing, but look at how many of Jesus' miracles required some effort: fill the water pots, catch the fish with the money in its mouth, wash your eyes in the pool on the other side of town, and the list goes on.
But some folks who are not afraid of work when it comes to physical fitness, running their business, or working a con job on their friends, think that effort is out of place in Christianity.
In fact, lack of effort is condemned. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned of a person who heard his words, and even admired and agreed with them, but he made no effort to put them to work. That man was condemned. In the last book of the Bible, Jesus talks to people who won't be hot or cold about their relationship with Him. They just lolie-gag around in the lukewarm area until God decides to vomit them out. Putting effort into your relationship with God is more than ok; it's mandatory.
Let's look at an incident in the life of one man who understood that faith and struggle go together.
Joshua 14:6-14
Caleb's life is an example for anyone who wants to live on the mountain. Before we get to his lesson, let's review the context. Shortly after Israel was rescued from Egypt, God and Moses appointed a commission of 12 explorers to check out the Promised Land. The scouts spent 40 days in the Land of Promise and then came back with their report. It was indeed a "land flowing with milk and honey." It was everything they could've asked for and more. Fertile beyond imagination and the climate was pleasant...but there were powerful enemies in the land...warrior giants.
Now they have to decide: live in the wilderness, or fight the giants. How many of you have to make a decision sometime soon; you sense God's hand on your shoulder. Will you live where God wants you to live? It seems like that is the way it often is. God shows us the possibility of living the abundant life to Israel, and now to you, too. You see other people living close to God. You hear them witness to God's goodness and power, but when you hear a call to step out...you run into giants. You despair over your lack of time, lack of courage, or the disorder that clogs your days and nights.
The 12 spies saw the attractiveness of the land, but they also saw the giants and their hearts melted with fear. Not all 12, though. Joshua and Caleb were the lone exceptions. They were ready to match God with the giants.
You know the rest of the story- how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because they didn't trust God. They chose by not trying their faith. During that time every male 20 years of age and older died. At the end of 40 years Moses died and Israel went into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. For four more years they conquered the land until they had enough control to divide up the land and allot it to the tribes and families to finish the conquest.
Now 45 years after first going into the land as a scout, Caleb stands before Joshua- as an 85 year old- and says, "I am ready to claim my mountain." During that time Caleb has learned some valuable lessons.
Lesson one: He learned that God keeps His promises with those who will trust Him. In Deuteronomy 1, Moses related a promise God had made to Caleb. Because of his courage as a spy, Caleb was to receive the land which he walked through in his scout days. Caleb remembers that promise.
He could've remembered his bitter disappointment at the cowardly response of the ten spies, or the 40 years of grief in the wilderness. He could've remembered that Joshua got all the glory. Instead he chose to remember God's promise and to follow God's wisdom.
If you are going to move up to a higher spiritual plain, you will need to be familiar with God's word and His power to keep His word. Currently the secular world is fascinated with spiritual stuff. There are many voices telling you to get better acquainted with "the god that is in you." Without being too blunt, let me just say that's hogwash. For Christians living on a higher level, that means getting to know the one true God and His best revelation of Himself in Jesus. That does not happen by contemplating the beauty of your belly button. You get to know God and the kind of character He has by reading His word and listening specifically for His voice. Caleb knew what kind of promises God made and kept, and he was ready to depend on God.
Lesson two: Caleb learned that victory is preceded by battle. It does not hurt to let your children engage in a few 'holy struggles' before they become adults. Kids by fallen nature know how to fight for their selfish desires. That does not need to be encouraged. But teaching our children how to struggle with love and integrity for a Godly cause is not something they learn at school.
And mature believers know that every Promised Land is infested with giants. To claim the prize, a struggle must be made! God has not called us to fight from a hot tub, an easy chair, or a table set with a feast. These things come after the battle and rightly so. After every victory there should be a celebration. The Christian is called to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and ...run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1).
Caleb saw the giants on his mountain, but he also knew that God had kept him alive for this battle. He knew God's word and he knew that victory only comes with a battle.
Lesson three: Caleb had also learned the lesson of dependence. In verse 12 he said, "The Lord helping me, I will drive them out." Like Abraham he could say he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. Like Paul he could say, "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us" (Romans 8:37).
The ten spies were motivated by fear- Caleb was motivated by God's promises. He knew God could be trusted. Most of Israel did not want to risk taking what God wanted to give. Instead they sat back and wondered, wondered what it would be like to live in the Promised Land, until they all died in the wilderness.
But 45 years later, here is Caleb saying, "I've waited long enough. I'm not going to gaze from a distance any more. I'm tired of standing in a corner or laying in bed dreaming about it. It is time to go up and get it!"
In this sanctuary may be some who have never lived for God...never trusted Jesus...or some who did at one time, but no longer do. I am convinced there isn't one person here who doesn't want to be spiritually successful. There is not one of us who likes a guilty conscience or weak faith. You don't enjoy failing spiritually any better than I do.
Good news: you don't have to stand there and dream and wish you could live on the mountain. There are promises saturating the Word...promising God's help for your decision to face some giants.
You've lived with Satan's food on your back long enough! You're tired of someone besides Jesus being in charge of your life and home and career and finances and family. You are ready to move from the world of 'getting by' to the world of victory.
To keep us from taking the wrong path, the Bible gives us some guidelines. Let me share some of those with you this morning and challenge you to join with others in walking this way for the next ten weeks.
*Editor's Note: This sermon is the first of a ten part series Dad used to challenge the Ceres church to dig deeper. He studied and presented the lives of ten Biblical characters while challenging the church to enter into a time of spiritual development through prayer and fasting, evangelism, study of the word, and fellowship.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Annie's Story ©
Editor's Note: I wish I could remember exactly when this sermon was first written, but for some reason it's not dated. He preached it for the second time at his parents' 50th wedding anniversary the summer of 2000.
Annie had been impatiently looking forward to her vacation in Greece
A typical cold and rainy day made it easy to say good-bye to Seattle London London Athens
And then the pilot himself was on the public address. The news was not good. He announced that a group with a strange religious name (Allah’s Right Arm of Vengeance) had commandeered the plane. Annie’s flight had been hijacked.
It felt like hours, but in fact a few minutes later the pilot came back on the intercom to say the terrorist group wanted to land on schedule in Athens
Three men with weapons walked back toward the middle of the plane. One began speaking in a loud, angry, ranting voice. A second man held a picture of Jesus, about 2 feet by 3 feet in size. The third man began to translate into English, the angry foreigner’s speech.
The tirade was filled with toxic hate for all Christians. They had contaminated and ruined his homeland. Every disease, industrial accident and criminal event was blamed on missionaries and Christians in general. To make it personal, the speaker’s only daughter had died during surgery performed by a missionary doctor.
Then the translator said non-Christians would be free to depart in Athens
Annie felt a movement and turned to see her neighbor jerk a crucifix from her neck and stuff it in the crack between the seats. Around the plane she heard muffled conversation and a few stifled sobs.
Annie thought she would vomit. Her stomach was so upset she couldn’t think or pray. She had never been so scared. The thought flashed through her mind: No one knows what Jesus looked like. In the picture the hijacker held – Jesus had blue eyes. Annie knew there wasn’t much chance of “the real Jesus” having blue eyes. And after all it was “just a picture”.
It seemed like only a few moments had passed before they landed and were parked in the middle of a runway. One emergency exit had been deployed. And then it began.
Apparently none of the first class passengers were Christians because Annie heard a lot of noise – shouting and crying and people sliding down the chute, but no gun fire.
When they came through the curtain into her section she could see some slobbery spit dripping down the picture. The first person pointed to got up and seemed genuinely glad to spit on the face of “the picture” – Annie had stopped calling it a picture of Jesus.
A few more were not so obviously happy about it. Some had tears, some just looked terrified but they all spit as much as they could muster . . . until a teenage boy was pushed forward. He tried to wipe the saliva off the picture with his sleeve. One of the terrorists clubbed him in the stomach with the butt of a gun. Two others screamed at him to spit. He said very softly, “I choose Jesus.” One of the terrorists shot him above his right ear. Two others dragged his body up to the front of the plane and threw it down to the tarmac. Annie thought she could hear the thud from where she was sitting near the back of the plane. If she hadn't hear it, she was sure she felt it.
The terrorists gave another frenzied speech about how easy it was to get off the plane alive – if they would just spit on Jesus.
Annie began to search her heart – how much action, how much commitment does faith require? What did Jesus mean in Mark 8:35 when He said, “If anyone is ashamed of Me . . . The Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in His Father’s glory.”
Did He mean that to apply in a situation like this? After all, had not Peter expressed real shame for Jesus, when he was afraid for his life?
The context of this passage is the Last Supper. The meal had just concluded when Jesus told them of their coming cowardice. The closeness and affection of this new covenant meal, intended to bond them into a family, was being ruined with talk of disloyalty and betrayal. This was ironic -- focus of the meal was violently spilled blood and broken body of their leader. None of the disciples seemed to hear the good news of Jesus’ rising after His death. The bad news was all they heard. Peter was especially offended.
In a way it was progress. Always before, when Jesus predicted the details of His death – the disciples ignored it. Peter is finally convinced that the crisis will not be avoided. But now he plans to join Jesus in the battle and if need be, die in a heroic death.
Peter does not doubt that others will fail – but he is so convinced of his own loyalty and strength that he declares that even if he is the only one left, he will not fail Jesus! Peter is not blowing smoke. His feelings are sincere. But he is clearly weaker than he knows. And Jesus tries to tell him.
I understand Peter’s protest. How often have you or I been convinced that a particular sin is the farthest thing from us – when it is the closest of all? The things we least anticipate are our sudden failures. Peter sincerely thought his loyalty was stronger than the rest.
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