Love With Skin On

Please read John 3:11-21 and I John 4:7-21.

Who Are You, Lord?

This short homily on Acts 9:1-22 leads into a video of SM Lockridge's sermon, "That's My King." There are several versions on YouTube. I used the 6:50 version with no music. Everytime I see hear it I clap my hands and want to shout.

Thankful

In last week's sermon, we were challenged with several questions inviting reflection on our own lives and histories and how God has been at work.
So I've decided to share some of my own thanks. I'm thankful for the Body of Christ. Recently I've been blessed to hear how I've been used by God in the lives of others through cards and letters, and these words in turn are used in my life to encourage me.
I'm working with a clergy group reflecting on ecclesiology, and I remember with thanks the Church fathers who delved into these issues in past years and left us Confessions and creeds.
I remember with thanks my grandmother, who faithfully studied the Bible and followed Jesus, whose commentary collection I have and use now.
I'm thankful for a loving family and for the sweetest husband in the world.
I remember with thanks those past and present who have courage to stand for the gospel in the misdt of the most difficult and trying of circumstances.
I'm thankful for God's abundant forgiveness for the times that same courage fails within me.
I'm thankful for eternal life in Christ that I can live even now by the help and presence of the Holy Spirit.
I'm thankful for the Scriptures and the easy access we have to them.
I remember with thanks that our unknowable God has chosen to make Himself known, even to the point of coming to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, who lived, died, rose, and ascended so that we can be in full Communion with God.
I'm thankful for things that can so easily be taken for granted--good health, enough money to pay all bills, give some away, and still save a little, plenty of food and a great variety of it, reliable transportation, a warm and safe house, clean water, the convenience of a washer and dryer, air to breath...
This is the mere beginning of my thankful list.

Remember with Thanks

Please read Isaiah 12 and click on the title to listen.
This Sunday was not only Stewardship Commitment Sunday, but also the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Earlier in the service, we watched a video and learned that in 52 countries, the gospel is illegal. Please go to www.persecution.org to see videos or learn more.
My thoughts about the fact that 52 countries feel the need to outlaw the gospel demonstrate that the gospel is powerful--powerful to not only to transform individual lives, but to transform governments and social systems.
I also think that as long as anticonversion laws exist, some human rights will never be recognized.
I also thought about our God. Though it is commanded in Scripture, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." God isn't threatened when we "go awhoring" (as Scripture puts it) after other gods. And if we are honest, we will admit to idolatry in ourselves. Looking at Scripture, what does God do to those that chase after other gods? God punishes and blesses in turn. God sends prophets and teachers. God refuses to answer prayers and performs miracles. God does whatever God can to restore people back to Himself. And God always accepts and receives with welcome and rejoicing those who turn and return to God. The Godhead is totally secure in personhood and identity. God is jealous, angry, and grieving when people turn away from God, but God doesn't need followers enforcing anticonversion lawsin order to maintain Lordship. He is Lord or Lords and King of Kings regardless of what people do, and that will never change.
How insecure are followers who must use anticonversion laws and prevent exposure to the gospel in order to maintain religious order? How does that reflect upon the god(s) being worshipped?

It Just So Happens...or Does It? (Acts 8:26-40)

I recently read a fiction book with a plot line that centered around the significance of so-called coincidences in our lives. The main character in the book was learning to find meaning in seemingly random encounters, realizing that everything was happening to him for some greater purpose.
We also believe that nothing is really random. God puts things in our lives to bring about His intended goal. We may go wandering off God’s path, but God brings us back to His path. The ultimate outcome is settled. We call God’s interference in our lives through seemingly random events acts of Providence. Our Acts passage this morning has God’s providential hand all over it.
When we last left off, we had the completion of Jesus’ command to preach to all Samaria. And so we begin the final phase of Jesus’ commission to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Philip doesn’t have to go that far. An angel directs Philip where to go. “Arise and go south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” It sounds like Philip had accompanied Peter and John back through Samaria preaching with them and returning to Jerusalem once again. Now he is sent south.
It just so happens that he passes a chariot with an Ethiopian man sitting in it. And it just so happens that this man is a high official under the Candace of Ethiopia, being in charge of the treasury. Candace isn’t a name, it’s a title for the Queen Mother, particularly the Queen Mother of an underage king. If the king died, and the new king was still a child, the Queen Mother acted as regent of the nation. She really held the power, until the new king came of age. She always retains respect and even some authority, even after her son becomes king.
But we have this man, a man from another country all together, an influential man from another country. And it just so happens that he had been in Jerusalem to celebrate the festivals. He believed in Yahweh. He was a eunuch and thus was prohibited from receiving baptism into the Jewish faith, but he believed and worshipped as a god-fearer.
And it just so happens that he is reading out loud. This was the most common way to read. People rarely, if ever, read silently. If you really want to hide God’s word in your heart, I would encourage you to read it aloud. It’s amazing how much more you retain. I used to memorize verses just by reading them out loud 5 times in a row before going to bed. If I did this on 3 occasions, it would usually move from short term to long term memory, and it worked for school work and music as well.
One commentator pointed out that another benefit of the eunuch’s reading aloud was that his charioteer heard it. Here is another hearer of the gospel. We don’t know how this impacted that man. He’s not even really mentioned in the story, but we trust in God’s promise that God’s word doesn’t return void. This unnamed charioteer is about to witness God’s amazing transformative power.
It just so happens that this Ethiopian man is reading from the scroll of Isaiah. And it just so happens that he is reading a passage that clearly points to Messiah Jesus.
Prompted by the Holy Spirit, Philip approaches the chariot and asks the man if he understands what he is reading.
For the Ethiopian, it just so happens that a man is walking by his chariot who is familiar with this passage and can interpret it to him. He invites Philip up into the chariot to teach him the meaning of the words he had read. And Philip preaches Jesus to him. Our text says, “And beginning with this Scripture.” I’m sure Philip went on from there to point to more Scriptures that pointed to Jesus. Philip preaches Jesus—the only subject really worth preaching.
As Philip finishes preaching, it just so happens that they come across some water, perhaps a pond or stream. Today is Reformation Sunday, so I can’t resist quoting from Jean Calvin, who says:
Christ, who calls freely whom he wishes, now uses Philip, who was not
thinking about any such thing, to unexpectedly instruct and baptize the eunuch, and by this means extends the limits of his kingdom even into Ethiopia.
Those things which seem to come most by chance or fortune (as men term it)
are governed by the secret providence of God.

The eunuch asks Philip if there’s any reason he can’t be baptized. This man, who wasn’t allowed to be baptized into Judaism, puts Philip’s faith to the test. Philip says that the only requirement is belief. Jesus breaks down the barriers raised by the Law. One of those barriers was that disfigured people, disabled people, sick people, etc. could not fully enter into worship. They could only get so far. They were kept away from the most sacred places, events, festivals, etc. But Jesus allows all to come to Him. When the veil was torn in 2 at the crucifixion, it symbolized the destruction of the barriers between the people and God. This baptism and conversion is very significant to show that physical conditions are no longer hindrances to a relationship with God or usefulness to God. Jesus gives direct access to all to the throne of God. The access is granted through faith in Christ. No one who believes is to be barred from worship, and that includes the sacraments. I don’t even think we should bar not yet believers from worship, for it is often through worship that Christ reveals Himself.
As soon as the baptism is finished, Philip is whisked away by the Holy Spirit to another place. The eunuch doesn’t stand there wondering what has happened to his unexpected friend. Instead, full of joy, he praises God and goes on his way. His focus is on Jesus, not on Philip. His unexpected encounter has left him a changed man, and he returns home to Ethiopia, to the service of the Candace, carrying the Good News of Jesus Christ with him. Who knows how many came to know the Lord through his witness. I wonder if he used unexpected encounters as opportunities to share about Jesus. And thus the first
Philip ends up at Azotus and preaches from town to town until he lands in Caesarea. No doubt Philip continued to pay attention to seeming coincidences and unexpected encounters, seeing them as opportunities for Jesus.
In our own lives there may be things that "just so happen". They just so happen because they are ordained of God. Sometimes, like the eunuch, we are the beneficiaries of these divine encounters. God puts people or circumstances in our paths to bless us. God has something He wants us to know, and He uses various means, sometimes coincidental things, to tell us. We can miss these blessings if we aren’t tuned in. Other times God is placing opportunities in our paths to witness of Him. Again, Calvin says, “The only thing that hinders us being used of God is our own slothfulness in prayer.” We can easily miss those encounters and opportunities, getting distracted by the business of life, but if we begin our days asking God to open our eyes to what He has for us, to see people as He sees them, and to actually pray that God would give us such encounters so that He might be glorified in and through us, we are less likely to miss them. Our passage speaks several times of Philip being guided by the Holy Spirit. Philip knew how to discern the Spirit’s voice because he was in regular communication with the Spirit. Prayer is our connection to the Spirit and not only how we communicate with God, but one of the ways that God communicates with us. May we be faithful in prayer so that we don’t miss the wonderful divine encounters that God puts in our paths, both to be a blessing and a witness and to be blessed and receive God’s Word for us.

Using God

Scripture is Acts 8:1-25.

The Mark of a True Witness

The Scripture reading is included with this message. This message was given on World Communion Sunday.

Failure or Success--Acts 5:27-42

Listen by clicking on the title.

Worth the Risk--Acts 5:12-26

How many of you are on Facebook? As you know, Facebook has tons of apps, and they can get addicting. I used to like taking quizzes. One of the many Facebook quizzes you can take is “For what are you most likely to be arrested?” And there are 6 or so answer choices and descriptions with which you could end up. For example, I guessed my cousin’s would be for “Disturbing the Peace”. Because she’s good at being a rabble rouser--not that she’s at all criminal, but she is opinionated and loves to speak her mind, and is not going to back down easily.
My quiz answer is “Civil Disobedience”. Like my cousin, I too am stubborn and opinionated, but I also have a passion for social justice. For example, when I was teaching at Robbins Elementary School, I had a student with behavior and emotional problems who was constantly getting suspended off the bus for fighting. This kid had an assigned seat and knew it, so if someone was in his seat, he would act out inappropriately. The problem was when he was suspended from the bus, he was suspended from school. So here is a child who needs to be in school the most—he’s behind academically, there’s no one home to supervise him, so he’s more likely to get in more serious trouble home alone, and the reason the bus seating was a problem was because the bus was too crowded. This was a bus that went into a poorer neighborhood where a good portion of parents spoke limited English or were ignorant of their rights. I said to my student’s primary teacher one day that if this kid got suspended one more time because of overcrowding, I was going to get her, myself, the bus driver, who was also sympathetic, and the parents to picket the central office until they gave us another bus. I don’t know if I was overheard or if it was just glaring that this bus overall had problems, but we did get another bus not too long after that.
What about you? If you took the Facebook quiz, for what would you be most likely to end up in jail? Well, the apostles were arrested for continuing to preach and teach and heal in the name of Jesus. It was religious disobedience—they were clearly and blatantly opposing the command they were given by the religious authority in Acts 4. They were rabble rousing—they were gathering larger and larger groups of people together. They were arrested for doing what the Holy Spirit compelled them to do. They had already weighed the risk, and decided obeying God came first. Jesus was worth the risk.
Think about a time in your life when you had to weigh risk… What was it that made you go ahead or back out? Are you satisfied with the decision you made, or do you have regrets? Now what if Jesus asked you do something risky…how would you respond? David Bruce likes to contemplate this when he’s struggling in his ministry. Pastor Bruce says, “If God asked you to preach to a wall, would you do it?” He thinks of the Old Testament prophets and what they went through. Isaiah was told directly by God that the people were not going to listen to him. Jeremiah was told the same thing. Jeremiah even tried not to preach, but the Spirit compelled him. He says that the Word of God was like a fire shut up in his bones. Hosea had to marry a prostitute. I think he did fall in love with her, but she left him for other men more than once, and yet he kept taking her back. Ezekial had to lay on his side and eat barley cakes baked with dung. Our tame Bibles say, “baked on dung,” but the way they baked was to put the food in the coals—in this case cow patties. I’m glad I’m not an Old Testament prophet!
But we are challenged when God asks us to do something and we can’t see the point or the effect, and it’s just so hard. We aren’t challenged with the same things as the prophets or even the same things that our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world are challenged with, but we might be someday. And even in the meantime, Jesus asks us, “What will you risk for Me? Am I worth the risk?” Are we faithful even in those small things? Do we boldly move forward in the confidence of Christ, or do we cave to our own desires?
About a month ago, we examined the disciples’ prayer for boldness, knowing that persecution was coming. Well, now the persecution has started, and once again, they end up in jail. It’s not just Peter and John; it says, “the apostles.” For some of them this was their first time in prison, and yet, look at what they did. What do the apostles do when they get released? My husband pointed out that they do what many criminals do—they go right back and do the same thing again. They continue to preach and perform miracles in Jesus’s Name. It shouldn’t surprise us then that persecuted believers in China or India or Afghanistan have such compulsion and boldness to continue to preach the gospel even with continued threats of harsher imprisonments or death. No, it shouldn’t surprise us, but it should give us pause. Are we as passionate about the gospel? Is it as compelling for me? Am I convinced of its power and of the power of Jesus Christ?
I’ll never forget Dr. Helen Roseveare, medical missionary to the Congo, telling us when we were in Thailand how she was being dragged down the hall by her hair by a soldier knowing she was going to be beaten and gang raped thinking with her work flashing through her head thinking “Is it worth it? Is it worth it?” As she was saying “No,” the Holy Spirit showed her she was asking the wrong question. The new question that kept repeating was, “Is He worthy? Is Christ worthy?” And the resounding answer was, “Yes!” Her “Yes” was strong enough that less than two years after she was released from captivity, she returned to the Congo to help in the rebuilding of the nation and to continue her medical work. Jesus was worth it, because He is worthy!
How much do you value Jesus? Is He asking you to take a risk for Him? Is Jesus worth the risk?

Reasons for Giving--Acts 4:36-5:11

Almost all of us are guilty of lying. We use “little white lies,” thinking it’s much easier or less painful than telling the truth. But even lies that seem to be little white lies can be deadly when we are lying to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks only truth, and the unity of the church, which we talked about last Sunday, is founded upon Truth.
VS. 3 literally says, “Why have you allowed Satan to fill your heart?” which goes along well with verse 4, “Why have you conceived this deed in your heart.” Too many people want to blame the devil for their own choices. Satan has no power over the believer but that which we give him. Why is what this couple did so closely linked with the actions of Satan? Because their motivation for giving was self-glory. Self is always opposed to Spirit, and Satan is the Opposer.
As graphic as this story is, sometimes death is merciful for those who continue willfully in sin and try to involve others in their sin. Sapphira was given the opportunity to repent and tell the truth, but she continued in the lie. They had “played Christian” but had hardened themselves against the conviction of the Holy Spirit as described in Hebrews 6. They were pretending to be something that they were not.
I wonder if the problem with Ananias and Sapphira was that they had wrong motivations for giving. Certainly their sin was that they lied to the Holy Spirit, but in what way? Was it really because they didn’t give all their money to the apostles for the good of the community? It was promising something to God and going back on it. They said they were giving all, but they only gave part, claiming that it was all. They were under no obligation to give all, but they made a false claim and a false vow. Also, their giving wasn’t about contributing to the good of the community to the glory of God, but about making a name for themselves so they might be as appreciated as Barnabas, not realizing that it was many other things that Barnabas did that earned him his nickname, and that his giving the money from his land wasn’t the most important thing that he did. They gave in order to get. It was out of self-gain, self-interest that they gave. Selfishness and trying to outdo your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ harms the unity of the Body.
I wonder if the lie to the apostles and the lie to the Holy Spirit was not about the amount of money they received for their land, but the self-importance they placed on their so-called gift, and the credit they took for themselves instead of recognizing that the land belonged to God in the first place and God was the one behind the orchestration of the sale. Ananias and Sapphira had a form of godliness but denied God’s power. They didn’t trust that God would provide for them. They didn’t believe that the Spirit would reveal the truth. They didn’t take the holiness of God seriously. They tried to serve 2 masters.
When we lie to God’s body, we lie to God, and when we withhold from God’s body, we rob God. It’s always difficult for me when people give to something that they can put a plaque on but never give to the general budget of the church. Or people who “give” to the church but want substantial control over “their” money. This is a conversation that has come up in pastors’ meetings on a few occasions. It demonstrates not really generosity but selfishness in giving. People want to be able to say look what I did, not look what God is doing in and through His Church. Certainly it is great to have dedicated restricted funds and generous donations for special projects. In fact, the session has been discussing beginning a capital campaign for our roof. But some of the most generous, truest, joyful givers I know don’t necessarily want a plaque on things they’ve given. It still often happens, many times after those people are deceased, and memorials are done for them out of appreciation, but these folks don’t give to brag about themselves. They give because they know they’ve been blessed by God, and they find joy in contributing to God’s work. They tend to give broadly, but carefully, learning about the projects and causes they are supporting. They look for accountability but not control of their gifts. It’s about being part of something greater and developing relationships.
When we contribute our bits to the offering, whether big or small, it’s about something greater. The gifts combine into a whole to support the work and ministry of Grace Presbyterian Church. It’s not just about paying utility bills and salaries, it’s about providing a place in the community where we can gather for worship and go out in witness. It’s about enhancing our individual worship experiences corporately through quality music and a well-kept facility that glorifies God. It’s about providing space for groups to meet and praying that somehow they might encounter God. It is about raising our children to know and love the Lord. It’s about the Word of God preached and the Sacraments rightly administered. It is about us being discipled and equipped to carry out God’s work in the world. It’s about contributing to works of mercy in our local community and around the world in the name of Jesus. It’s a symbol of our unity. It’s about being part of something we couldn’t do on our own.
Ulitmately, what should be our motivation for giving? Love of God and love for neighbor—the same motivator that we should have for everything. Certainly, we all fall short, sin, every day, multiple times a day, but do we repent or do we try to come across as better than we are?
On the back of your bulletin on the bottom it says “sermon notes”. There are some application questions for you to consider—reasons for why you give or don’t give. What are your motivations for giving? Tax credits? To feel good? To leave a legacy? Out of duty? Out of obligation? Out of guilt? To participate in Christ’s mission in the world? Out of gratitude toward God?
What are your motivations for not giving? Don’t care? Wonder what the church has done for you? Don’t think you can afford to give? Don’t think God’s work is being carried out through the church? Don’t think your contributions are needed or appreciated?
Take an honest inventory of these questions. The Holy Spirit already knows the truth.

Caring for the Whole, Acts 2:44-47, Acts 4:32-37

Every day at Baobab Blast we had a different critter. Today’s critter is Wilma Wildebeest. She lives in a large herd. Some of her friends are Wilbur, Wally, Wanda, Juanita, Greg, Herbert, George, Gail, Glenda, Bob, and Francis. Wildebeests are also called “gnus.” They are actually more closely related to antelope than they are cows even though they are so big.
Wildebeests live in smaller groups of 30-500 for a good bit of their lives. But every year, they join the herd for the great migration. 1.5 million wildebeests gather together to cross Africa. Wildebeests often travel with herds of zebra. They live in groups to protect each other because they are a wonderful food source for lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. They get along well with zebra because they can help protect one another, and they don’t fight over food. Zebra eat tall grass, and wildebeests eat shorter grasses. Because of their ability to come together and act as one and because they get along and cooperate with those who are different from them, like traveling with the zebras, wildebeests teach us about unity. So today’s word is unity.
Our key verse is Eph. 4:3 Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit…Repeat many times.
What is unity? Unity is oneness, agreeing together without division. When something is united, it doesn’t lack anything. When God’s people are united, they also lack nothing because Jesus made us into His body and the Holy Spirit has gifted each of us with different gifts. When we are unified, all those gifts are working like they are supposed to, so that with the Spirit in our lives and Christ as our head, we don’t need anything. God has provided it all.
Some of you visitors today belong to different churches. And we probably do some things differently than you so. And we don’t have services quite like this every Sunday either. I know there are some members here who are very glad we don’t have services like this every Sunday! But it’s okay that it’s different because there is still unity. It’s more important to celebrate Jesus and worship together. That’s what is important. One of the early church fathers, Origen, describes the unity we should have like a properly tuned stringed instrument. The strings are in harmony without discord. The strings aren’t the same. They are different lengths and have different pitches, but they are played to create beautiful music.
When people have Jesus in common, we should have unity. We’re not always good about that though. Sometimes we let things divide us. That’s why in our memory verse it says make every effort. Sometimes unity can be an effort. But when we think about Jesus first and others second, it makes it a lot easier. I heard someone say that’s what joy is. J-O-Y Jesus, others, you. Think of Jesus first, others second, and yourself last. Our memory verse says, make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit’s unity. If you try to think of others first without the Holy Spirit’s help, then you just get tired and grumpy or you start thinking about how great you are. It takes the Holy Spirit’s power to maintain unity.
The early church described in our Bible passages today did what our Bible verse tells us to do. They made every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit. They shared. That was our word on Friday. Not only did these believers share their faith with others, they also shared their things. It says they had all things in common. We had to share things this week--scissors, crayons and markers, glue, magnets. The Christians in our story this morning shared everything. Like Sam the Meerkat shares his house, these Christians shared their homes with others. They had each other over for dinner. They didn’t think of the things they had like they were their own. If they had something someone else needed, they gave it away or let them borrow it. They would even sell things they didn’t need and give the money to those who did need it. They understood stewardship. Stewardship is kind of a big word. But think of a very rich man or a king. The king has to travel far away to another country and will be gone a long time, so he appoints a steward. The steward takes care of the kings things. He lives in the palace and makes sure it is run right. He takes care of the king’s money. He takes care of everything. But even though the steward can use and manage anything the king has, those things still belong to the king. They don’t belong to the steward.
Well, Jesus is our King. He made everything. He lives in heaven now and has left His people to care for His things—we are called to care for each other, for God’s creation, and for everything. We need to recognize that even though we can use and manage lots of things, it all belongs to King Jesus, and some day Jesus will come back and take His throne on earth. Because these Christians we read about today understood this, it was easy for them to share and care for each other.
You know what else it takes to be that generous? Trust! Trust was our word on Monday. The king has to trust the steward to take care of his things. Jesus trusts us to take care of His things. Sometimes we break that trust and have to tell Jesus we’re sorry. But Jesus is so good, He forgives us and still gives us jobs to do for Him. We also have to trust each other. These early Christians had to trust each other that someone wouldn’t take advantage of someone else. Have you ever had someone use you? It doesn’t feel good at all. It makes you not want to trust not only that person but other people. It can take awhile to build trust again with the person who broke yours. We do need to forgive people who have broken our trust, and we should strive to be trustworthy people.
Sharing and caring for each other helps maintain unity. Unity involves caring for the whole. It takes trust, and of course lots of love. When we follow Jesus, He will fill us with His love that we can pass along to others. Unity pretty much sums up everything we talked about this week at Baobab Blast.
There are a lot of benefits to being unified. One is that God answers the prayers of those who are unified. If we are praying for something and yet carry a spirit of division in our hearts, it shouldn’t surprise us when God says, “No” to our prayers. We’ve already talked about not lacking anything when we are unified. Not only is everyone cared for, but God is pleased. In fact when we are unified, we imitate God—the three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are never divided. Unity also witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Professor F. Scott Spencer says, “From the start, the risen Jesus charged his witnesses to share the good news of his resurrection with the world. The resurrection forges new communities of light and life. Only in such fellowship (koinonia) is the meaning of the resurrection progressively discerned and demonstrated, learned and lived out.” So remember today’s key verse, Eph. 4:3, and, “Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit.”

Standing Together in Boldness--Psalm 2, Acts 4:23-37

Today’s New Testament reading continues from last week. Remember the Sanhedrin said that Peter and John could go free, but they most not teach or preach anymore in the name of Jesus or there would be consequences! John said that they had to obey God first and foremost. Interestingly enough, the opposition to preaching about Jesus and in the authority of Jesus isn’t coming from the Roman government; it’s coming from the religious leaders.
Our church today is also being challenged from the inside out. Satan loves to destroy churches this way. Get Christians fighting among themselves and destroy their witness. We made it through another General Assembly. While there was much controversy leading up to the Assembly. The Assembly went remarkably well. Debates were brief, and some positive things were accomplished, but the church always remains under attack. After all, we’ve been arguing over the same things for 30 years! There are always those who will try to destroy it from the inside out. Will we give in to culture, or will we stand on the Rock, that is Christ Jesus?
The church in Acts chose to stand with Jesus. First of all, they prayed. They prayed the promises found in Scripture. Jesus was obviously a good teacher. I’m amazed at how much Scripture the disciples memorized in such a short time. Now obviously they had learned quite a bit before Jesus. Last week Peter quoted from Isaiah. Here in his prayer, He quotes from Psalm 2, our other reading today. You have to know God’s word in order to speak God’s word. One of our biggest problems, one of the reasons we have difficulty discerning the will of God is biblical illiteracy. I was blessed in that I memorized lots of Scripture as a kid—4 or 5 verses a week. But I don’t see as much of that happening these days. Most of my generation and the one following are unchurched or minimally churched, not growing up in Christian homes and only coming to church later in life. We must be intentional about teaching the Scriptures, teaching the faith and discipleship. And we must as individuals embrace the spiritual disciplines. If you’ve never done it or don’t make it a practice, I would encourage you to pray the Scriptures. These are prayers that God will answer.
The apostles knew that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Messiah’s kingdom. Psalm 2 says that God will give Jesus the nations for His inheritance. Jesus will always win. In knowing that promise and yet also knowing the opposition they faced, they prayed for boldness to speak God’s word. They didn’t pray for deliverance from persecution—this was the first persecution they faced, and they sensed rightly that it was about to get a whole lot worse. They prayed for boldness. Remember when Henry was here, and he said he was struggling with how to pray for his friends who were new believers, and whose lives were being threatened? As much as he hates seeing his friends suffer, Henry knows that persecution can actually strengthen and grow the Church. We need to pray for boldness for the believers in Andrapradesh.
Last week in our affirmation of faith, we affirmed that the Church can’t go wrong as long as it stands on the foundation Christ the Rock. Psalm 2 reminds us that it is really Christ who is under attack, but Christ will win. Just as the early church was gearing up for a more intense persecution, I don’t think our world is going to change any time soon. It won’t change until Christ returns, and His kingly reign is made visible. We need to receive boldness to stand firm. It doesn’t matter about our size as long as we hold on to Jesus.
It doesn’t help to try to run away and hide. There are places in the Middle East—Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Iran, that are actually worse off and more difficult than years ago, because the Christians chose to emigrate out of those areas instead of standing firm. Christians were a huge minority group in Lebanon for many years. It wasn’t majority Christian, but it was a large enough minority to have rights and privileges, but when those things began to be challenged, many Christians bailed. Now it is very difficult for Lebanese Christians. Egypt has a similar story. Now contrast China where the Christians face intense persecution regularly, yet if they are not already, China is about to become the world's largest Christian nation. The church is growing rapidly even in the midst of persecution because the believers pray for boldness to stand firm in and for Christ.
There are always going to be challenges for the church. We are called to stand firm in boldness with and for Christ. As Charles Erdman reminds us, “If we surrender to Christ with a whole-hearted desire to do His will in spite of opposition, peril, and hatred, we will have new courage and power in service brought about when believers come together to read Scripture, sing, and unite our hearts together in prayer.” And as long as we exist, God has a plan and mission for us.
Growing God’s church Deep and Wide is our denominational theme. For the past 4 years we’ve been working on the deep part and will continue to do so. I hope that over the next 4 years we will also begin to grow wider as we have begun to step out in faith in ministry.
If you try to grow wide without being deep, then people fall away or the church becomes a social club. Willow Creek realized this a few years ago when they realized that they had a large church, but few mature disciples. People weren’t able to articulate their faith or share their faith with others even after years of attendance. Instead of transitioning into discipleship groups, the majority of new folks dropped out. New ones always cycled in, so it took awhile before the leaders realized that spiritual growth wasn’t happening. The church seemingly made converts without making disciples, but the commission that Christ gave was to make disciples. In fact, Jesus criticized the religious leaders of His day for making only converts. He said, “You travel over land and sea to make 1 convert, but I tell you that you have made him twice the child of hell as you are.” Those are pretty strong words! Discipleship is key. This is what the Riverside church did. Instead of bringing in neighbors to a Christmas Eve service so the pastor could share a message, church members were able to share their faith with their neighbors themselves, because they had been discipled. This was the fruit of the first church plant I worked with in Japan. At the end of the 3 year church planting cycle, we had several mature believers who were sharing their faith with their contacts. I especially think of Mrs. Kazumata and her daughters. Mrs. Kazumata has a gift of evangelism. But before she started working with the church planting team, her practice was to bring people to the church so the pastor could talk to them. She became a chaplain for one of the English classes. We met in the church, so it was a safe place for Mrs. Kazumata to practice sharing her faith. You could see the deep joy she had in sharing her faith with the class. She would share personal stories of what the Scriptures she had chosen meant to her. Then she realized that she didn't have to be in the church to share her faith with people. She gained boldness to share her faith outside of the church walls. Now when she brings people to church, it is because she has already shared with them herself.
The pastor's daughter-in-law was one of the other chaplains. She is a gifted church leader. When I left, she decided to continue the ministry she had with the children, forming a Kids Club. She recruited and discipled Mrs. Kazumata's daughter's to help her. They in turn began discipling children in a variety of ways. These church members grew deep, and then their church began to grow wide.
Notice that the churches in the videos were able to step out in faith because they came together in unity. This happened after they prayed together. Prayer itself is a unifying factor. This is why praying together as families and married couples is so powerful. Prayer strengthens unity. The church in Acts received almost a second Pentecost, and the believers were filled afresh with the Holy Spirit. The command in Scripture to be filled with the Holy Spirit is in the continuous tense. We constantly need to be filled with the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit isn’t to attain personal holiness, but for power to be witnesses for Christ in the world. We then move in our Acts passage from the believers being empowered to speak God’s word with boldness to a narrative of how they came together in unity and held all things in common so that the needs of the believers were met. The church that welcomed the Liberian family gave up the way that they typically did worship to grow. The Greystone folks gave up their building. I like the way that at the end of that video, it quotes from our Book of Order that, “The church is called to undertake its mission at the risk of losing its own life.” That reflects the words of Jesus, who said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Our God is a God of resurrection. God delights in giving new life to the dead.
Jesus is still at work in the PC(USA), and Jesus is still at work in Grace Presbyterian Church. If we will remain faithful to Him, He will remain faithful to us. Will we stand together in boldness in and for Jesus Christ?

God & Country? (Romans 13:1-7)

The Scouts have a program called, “God and Country.” It’s a pretty good program, and even for some Scouts, their first introduction to faith. But what happens when God and country become too blurred? We begin to confuse the state with the Kingdom of God and often the values of the two are in direct conflict with one another. We use the God’s name to justify acts of oppression, aggression, and even terror. We tell people who aren’t patriotic that they aren’t good Christians. We exalt one culture over another, even degrading other cultures and peoples. We even exalt one party over another, saying one is more godly than the other and dividing the church over issues of politics that have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God.
On the other hand, we have a call for separation of church and state. Interestingly enough, this phrase is not part of the Constitution. It comes from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote referring to the First Amendment. What the First Amendment to the Constitution actually says is, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” What happens when God and country become too separated? We become apathetic and even antagonistic regarding government. We stop engaging in society and instead place ourselves above others or simply withdraw from them. We forget that although this world is not the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God has broken through in this world and it is our job to show it.
Our Romans 13 passage tells us how we are to interact with civil authorities. Paul begins by saying let every person submit him/herself to the higher powers. No one is exempt. And when Paul was writing this, we must remember that Israel was under an oppressive and hostile Roman empire. Yet Paul goes on to say that the reason we are to submit is because it is God who holds all power and who gives power. Regardless of what we think of our governing officials, they are where they are by the grace and power of God. They may abuse the power given to them, but they will be held accountable for that. Paul goes on to say that whoever resists power resists God and that God will judge those who resist authority. This stands in contrast to what we will see in Acts in a couple of weeks. Peter and John will not resist civil authorities, but religious authority. How do we reconcile resistance and obedience? When it comes to laws not in conflict with the Scriptures, we are to obey, but if a government practices or acts in ways that are unlawful according to God’s law, then we must obey God over human authorities. One of the positive things about our form of national government is that we can interact. We can work with and within the system instead of against it. Paul would never be for anarchy. We can write letters and make phone calls to help encourage officials to make laws in accordance with God’s Law and to the best of our ability and with the help of the Holy Spirit, vote against those who oppose God’s Law and vote for those who align themselves with God’s Law. This isn’t always easy because people deceive with flattering words. I find myself these days voting mostly against rather than for. Do we ask God what we can do to make our nation better? Rarely a week goes by when I’m not writing an email to one or more of our government officials or signing a petition—things from the democratic party, republican party or nonpartisan groups. Because it’s not about parties—everything must be weighed against Scripture.
In the same way that God judges those who resist authority, God will judge those who abuse their powers and positions of authority. Paul says that the purpose of civil authorities is not to be a terror to good works, but to curtail evil. Sometimes governments forget what they are for and try to meddle in other areas that they weren’t created and installed to do. They may be well-intentioned but misguided or only have short term eyesight and don’t consider long term consequences. And then I need to support actions that benefit the well-being of my neighbor and demonstrate good stewardship of all the resources we have been given by God. We also need to own up that part of the meddling in other affairs is our fault. If we believers did what God called us to do, the government wouldn’t have to. In our laziness and disobedience to God, we’ve neglected widows and orphans, immigrants, the poor, and the oppressed and allowed these things to become government issues. We’ve forgotten that the first hospitals, schools, and benevolence institutions were created by Christians, not by the government. If you are working in these fields today, good for you! These are important areas where Christians should be involved.
We are called to submit to civil authorities not out of fear of them and what they can do but out of obedience to God. Don’t let yourself be manipulated by fear. It’s what the world tries to do all the time. Governments are guilty. The news media is guilty, political groups are guilty, and even religious groups are guilty, forgetting that we are only called to fear God and nothing or no one else. We were talking in our Sacred Marriage class this week about words of encouragement, which led into a discussion of love languages. One of mine is definitely words. This is why it’s not too hard for me to be an encourager. At the same time, it’s made me very sensitive to hurtful words. Even if I agree with the basic premise of what someone is saying or the underlying principle, I refuse to support or endorse an issue or statement or participate in a discussion in which fear is being used as a tool of manipulation or personal attacks and straw man arguments are being made to enforce a point. I’ll either get angry or defensive or walk away or a combination of the above. My reactions aren’t always without sin either, but seeing people being manipulated by fear or intimidation does not sit well with me.
Both Jesus and Paul tell us we are to pay taxes. We need to support public affairs. However, again we are free to lobby against oppressive taxes, but when April 15 comes around, it’s time to pay up.
As believers in Christ, we are first citizens of the New Jerusalem. Our loyalty and allegiance is to God, and we are His ambassadors to the world. We are called to be in the world, but not of it. Being in the world means engaging our world. William Wilberforce considered leaving Parliament to become a priest. John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace” encouraged Wilberforce to stay where he was, and that God could use him to do God’s work in that arena. We know that God used Wilberforce to help abolish the overseas slave trade and eliminate slavery in the British empire. Being an ambassor for God means carrying out His will in the world, working for justice and peace and righteousness. Do we pray for the presidents and government officials we don’t like as much as we do the ones we do like? I’m guilty. We have to remember that God is the one who ultimately places people in positions of authority, and God does so for a reason. .James Edwards in his commentary of Romans sums it up like this:
"Paul approached the relation of church and state not as a Sadducee, who lived from the advantages of the state, nor as a Zealot, who lived to overthrow the state, nor as a Pharisee, who divorced religion from the state, nor as a Roman citizen, who saw the state as an end in itself, but as a free man in Christ who appeals to the church to be equally free in obedience to the state, but not conformed to it."

Give What You Have--Acts 3

How many times have you looked at your lack of resources and thought, “It’s simply impossible to do what I need to do. There’s just no way this is every going to work. If only I had…” My guess is that there have been multiple times that this has happened in some form or another. We’re very good at noticing our lack, and fairly poor at recognizing our assets.
First, sometimes what we think we need isn’t what we really need. This man was trying to survive. That’s as far as he could think. He was in survival mode. He wasn’t asking much. Just a little bit of money to buy food. He wasn’t being greedy. He just wanted his daily needs met. He had no vision.
We get stuck in survival mode. We don’t ask for much. We only ask for what we think we need, but it never moves us forward. We have no vision. We don’t look for what God wants to give us.
God wanted this man to have much more than money to buy food for the day. God wanted this man to thrive! To be able to provide for himself and to be able to not only serve himself, but to serve others, and to glorify God in and through his life.
Second, God doesn’t want us to merely survive. God wants us to thrive. God doesn’t want us just to be able to provide for ourselves, but to serve others and to glorify God in and through our lives.
In addition, it doesn’t take money to do the work of God. Peter and John were broke. They didn’t have even spare change to give to this man, but that didn’t stop them from reaching out and serving and being involved in God’s work. Peter says, “I don’t possess silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you: In the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!”
I’ve heard over and over lately that it doesn’t take money to do the work of God. I heard it in every workshop I attended at the Linking for Ministry conference that Jim and I attended in South Carolina. I heard Rev. Brown say it when we went on our field trip to observe the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at First Baptist in Jacksonville. Instead, I’ve heard as the Scriptures also say, “God equips those whom God calls.” And the resources are already there.
When we were strategizing on how this church could serve the community, we knew we didn’t have much by way of financial resources, so what do we have that we can share with the community? We have land. We could start a garden. Yes, it eventually did take some funds to improve our land, but when we stepped out in faith, those funds were there. What else do we have to offer to our community? We have a facility. We open it up to the scouts; we’ve hosted Pre-K registration for the past 3 years, and now we have opportunity to open it up for respite care ministry. We can give what we have.
It doesn’t take money necessarily to do the work of God, but it does take commitment, perseverance, and faith. It’s fueled by prayer, and empowered by God.
Fourth point, Peter knew the value of what he had to give. He didn’t bemoan the fact that he was poor. He had something much greater to give. He had the power of Jesus. He wasn’t Jesus. Let’s note that Peter doesn’t forgive this man’s sins as Jesus did when He healed the paralytic. Peter is not God. He doesn’t have the power to forgive sins. But he gives the gift of healing in Jesus’ Name. This lame man was meant to thrive. Now he can not only provide for himself, but contribute to society. He has the ability to help others and to become a giver as well.
Too often we don’t know the value of what we do have. We possess the most valuable thing in all the universe. We carry the Name of Jesus. The value of what we have is only made evident when we give it away. We were meant to carry this power, this Person, into the world, as Henry Sofley talked about a couple of weeks ago. If we knew the value of what we do have, we wouldn’t be complaining so much about the things we don’t have, and we’d be much more eager to give what we have away. We need to know the value of what we have.
Jim’s brother, Joey, said something with which I wholeheartedly agree. He said this, worship, was intended to be Base Camp. The time when we come together to be reminded of our common mission, inspired and bound together by a common vision, and empowered to carry out that mission in the world. It’s where we share reports on how the mission is progressing. What’s happening? What’s going on? Not just to sing some songs, listen to some words, and put a check on our list.
Notice too, that an act of service isn’t an end in itself. Peter’s act of service doesn’t stop with the healing of this man. It’s actually a jumping off point for something much, much greater. This event is witnessed by many people, and the act of service becomes an opportunity to give Jesus away multiple times. Peter preaches to the crowd and gives them opportunity to repent and turn to Jesus. Again, it isn’t Peter who forgives, but he points to the One who can and will forgive sins. And still the story doesn’t stop. It will continue into Acts chapter 4 as we will see in a few weeks when some of our younger folk will be helping me out with the service.
Don’t think that God’s work and mission stops with individual acts of service. That garden out there isn’t just a garden. It’s a jumping off point for something much bigger. It’s an opportunity for people to find spiritual healing, as we are already seeing. The produce we take to the food pantry doesn’t stop there. It’s passed out into the community in the name of Jesus. Opening up our building doesn’t stop there. It provides opportunities for men like Greg Patterson and Brad Drury and Philip Clarke and Kathy Russell and others to demonstrate the love of Jesus by mentoring girls and boys and instilling in them virtues, so that as they grow like Stephen Tankard, who became an Eagle Scout a week ago Saturday, will live out those virtues in the world and lead others.
My sister-in-law had the following quotation from Howard Snyder on her Facebook page: "Church people think about how to get people into the church; Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world. Church people worry that the world might change the church; kingdom people work to see the church change the
world." I added to the following to the quotation, “Church people are worried about the number of people they have in worship. Kingdom people rejoice over each person who comes to Christ whether they join their particular church or not." It’s never about church attendance. It’s about the growth of God’s kingdom. That’s not to say that worship isn’t important. It’s not just important, but vital. We’ve already established that. We all need to return to the Base Camp. In fact, Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray when all this happened. If Christian gatherings and worship are indeed meant to be our Base Camp, then we do need attend, and not just attend, but participate.
So what are we called to do? Proclaim the gospel for the salvation of humankind and to preserve and pass on the Truth, as Peter did when he preached. To shelter, nurture, and be in fellowship with one another—Base Camp meetings. To worship—our highest end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. To work for social justice—Peter’s act of service in healing was an act of social justice, working for the improvement of the welfare of his fellowman. And finally to show the world what the Kingdom of God is like. May we be empowered today to carry out our mission when we leave this place and not to worry about what we can’t give, but instead to give what we have.

Trinity Sunday 2010, Acts 2:37-47

I reread part of last week’s Scripture because someone I was reading that week had pointed out that this is a Trinitarian passage. I don’t remember who made the observation, but since today is Trinity Sunday, I thought we could look at it again.
Today is also Presbyterian Heritage Sunday, so I decided to include a bit of what Jean Calvin has to say regarding the Trinity. One of the things Calvin says also goes with this passage.
Once again hear verses 38-39. (READ) Notice all 3 Persons of the Trinity are mentioned— be baptized in Name of Jesus, receive the promise of the Holy Spirit, and this promise if for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him—the Father.
Referring to the book of Ephesians, Jean Calvin says, “Paul connects together these three, God, Faith, and Baptism, and reasons from the one to the other—viz. because there is one faith he infers that there is one God; and because there is one baptism he infers that there is one faith. Therefore, if by baptism we are initiated into the faith and worship of one God, we must of necessity believe that he into whose name we are baptised is the true God. And there cannot be a doubt that our Saviour wished to testify, by a solemn rehearsal, that the perfect light of faith is now exhibited, when he said, “Go and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” (Mt. 28:19), since this is the same thing as to be baptised into the name of the one God, who has been fully manifested in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Hence it plainly appears, that the three persons, in whom alone God is known, subsist in the Divine essence. Then, as the baptism of faith is a sacrament, its unity assures us of the unity of God. Hence also it is proved that it is lawful only to be baptised into one God, because we make a profession of faith in him in whose name we are baptised. What, then, is our Saviour’s meaning in commanding baptism to be administered in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, if it be not that we are to believe with one faith in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit?98 But is this any thing else than to declare that the Father, Son, and Spirit, are one God? Wherefore, since it must be held certain that there is one God, not more than one, we conclude that the Word and Spirit are of the very essence of God.”
Peter is making a similar connection here in Acts. God, faith and baptism are connected. Peter, in saying to his audience, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus,” is emphasizing Jesus because this is the Person of the Trinity that his audience had not grasped until now. They had not until this sermon understood that Jesus really is the Messiah. And Peter had used the quotation from Psalms to prove that Jesus is also Divine. Being baptized always involved being baptized by the Divine name. With Jesus included, it shows that Jesus is God.
Calvin goes on to elaborate on the distinctions of the members of the Trinity. “The Scriptures demonstrate that there is some distinction between the Father and the Word, the Word and the Spirit; but the magnitude of the mystery reminds us of the great reverence and soberness which ought to be employed in discussing it. Therefore, let us beware of imagining such a Trinity of persons as will distract our thoughts, instead of bringing them instantly back to the unity. The words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, certainly indicate a real distinction, not allowing us to suppose that they are merely epithets by which God is variously designated from His works. Still they indicate distinction only, not division. For example, John 1 shows that the Son has a distinct subsistence from the Father, because the Word could not have been with God unless he were distinct from the Father; nor but for this could he have had his glory with the Father. In like manner, Christ distinguishes the Father from himself when he says that there is another who bears witness of him (John 5:32; 8:16). To the same effect is it elsewhere said, that the Father made all things by the Word. This could not be, if he were not in some respect distinct from Him. Besides, it was not the Father that descended to the earth, but He who came forth from the Father; nor was it the Father that died and rose again, but He whom the Father had sent. This distinction did not take its beginning at the incarnation: for it is clear that the only begotten Son previously existed from the beginning. Christ intimates the distinction between the Holy Spirit and the Father, when he says that the Spirit proceeds from the Father, and between the Holy Spirit and Himself, when He speaks of him as another as he does when he declares that he will send another Comforter; and in many other passages besides (John 14:6; 15:26; 14:16).
Moreover, this distinction is so far from interfering with the most perfect unity of God, that the Son may thereby be proved to be one God with the Father, inasmuch as he constitutes one Spirit with him, and that the Spirit is not different from the Father and the Son, inasmuch as he is the Spirit of the Father and the Son.”
The church fathers use a big theological word to describe the Trinity—hypostatis. This word is found in Hebrews 1:3, where it is translated, “exact representation” or “exact imprint.” “He, the Son, is the reflection of God’s glory and the hypostatis, the exact imprint, of God’s very being. Hypostatis denotes being. The Father is a being; the Son is a being, and yet they are the same. I don’t really understand how it works either. Someone said to think of persons like “persona”. You can take on a persona, a different character. The difference with the Godhead is that the character part is what is exactly the same. It is the roles that differ; although they also overlap.
Calvin explains it this way…”In each hypostasis the whole nature is understood. The only difference being that each has his own peculiar subsistence. The whole Father is in the Son, and the whole Son in the Father, as the Son himself also declares (John 14:10), “I am in the Father, and the Father in me;” nor do ecclesiastical writers admit that the one is separated from the other by any difference of essence.”
Augustine explains it this way…“By those names which denote distinctions is meant the relation which they mutually bear to each other, not the very substance by which they are one.” For example, “Christ, as to himself, is called God, as in relation to the Father he is called Son.” And again, “The Father, as to himself, is called God, as to the Son he is called Father. He who, as to the Son, is called Father, is not Son; and he who, as to himself, is called Father, and he who, as to himself, is called Son, is the same God.”
Calvin goes on. “In this way, the sentiments of the Fathers, which might sometimes appear to be at variance with each other, are to be reconciled. At one time they teach that the Father is the beginning of the Son, at another they assert that the Son has both divinity and essence from Himself, and therefore is one beginning with the Father. Therefore, when we speak of the Son simply, without reference to the Father, we truly and properly affirm that he is of himself, and, accordingly, call him the only beginning; but when we denote the relation which he bears to the Father, we correctly make the Father the beginning of the Son. It is far safer to rest contented with the relation as taught by Augustine, than get bewildered in vain speculation by subtle prying into a sublime mystery.”
Even Calvin doesn’t understand it and says that it can get bewildering if we think about it too much, and yet the doctrine of the Trinity is important and even useful. Cavlin concludes, “Let those, then, who love soberness, and are contented with the measure of faith, briefly receive what is useful to be known. It is as follows:—When we profess to believe in one God, by the name God is understood the one simple essence, comprehending three persons or hypostases; and, accordingly, whenever the name of God is used indefinitely, the Son and Spirit, not less than the Father, is meant. But when the Son is joined with the Father, relation comes into view, and so we distinguish between the Persons. But as the Personal subsistence carry an order with them, the principle and origin being in the Father, whenever mention is made of the Father and Son, or of the Father and Spirit together, the name of God is specially given to the Father. In this way the unity of essence is retained, and respect is had to the order, which, however derogates in no respect from the divinity of the Son and Spirit.”
Returning again to Peter’s sermon, Calvin points out, “Paul besought the Lord in the same sense in which Peter quotes the passage of Joel, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” (Acts 2:21; Joel 2:28). And nothing prevents us from holding that the Holy Spirit is the entire spiritual essence of God, in which are comprehended Father, Son, and Spirit. This is plain from Scripture. For as God is there called a Spirit, so the Holy Spirit also, in so far as he is a hypostasis of the whole essence, is said to be both of God and from God.”

The Promise of the Holy Spirit--Acts 2

The past couple of weeks, we mentioned wisdom as a prayer that God will always answer. Last week we identified the Holy Spirit as the source of wisdom.
The Holy Spirit is a promised gift. Peter lays out for us how we received Jesus’ promised gift. After preaching what is perhaps the most perfect sermon, Peter tells those who have been convicted by the preaching and by seeing God’s mighty acts through the apostles to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. The results of baptism and repentance are the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Peter says, “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” not “you might receive the Spirit.” It’s a given. In fact, Peter goes on to say that this is such a sure gift, that it’s not just for the people present, but for their children, for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Him. That means us. We are ones far away. We are ones whom God has called. As Charles Spurgeon says, “if you have repented of having done wrong because you see that you have sinned against your loving Lord, and if you come to Him repenting and believing, and confess Him as he bids you confess Him in baptism; then you have full remission, and you shall be partakers of the gifts and graces of his Holy Spirit, and henceforth you shall be chosen witnesses for the Christ whom God hath raised from the dead.”
Calvin defines repentance as a person renouncing self and “taking his farewell of the world, then addicting oneself wholly to God.” Repentance is continual, not so much because we have to start over and over, but so that we can continue moving forward. Professor Matt Skinner of Luther Theological Seminary adds, “The resurrection and ascension of Jesus require from ignorant humanity a new understanding of who he is and an embrace of his authority to exercise God's rule within creation.” This new understanding is repentance.
The Spirit marks us as sons of God; thus in Romans 8, He is called the Spirit of Adoption. The Spirit is the seal of our salvation; thus the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Life and the Spirit of Grace. What has been a sign that the Spirit is working in your life? For some it is overflowing joy; for others it is an overwhelming awareness of God’s love. For some it is a dramatically transformed life or liberation from the bondage of a particular sin or consequence of the Fall. For some it is illumination—actually understanding Scripture perhaps for the first time or in a new way. This is why the Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. For others it is awareness of one’s spiritual gift and the ability to operate out of that gift; for others the ability to live the way that God intends. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Holiness. The Holy Spirit does all of this and more. The Spirit reveals the Godhead to us; He is the Spirit of Glory. The Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray; the Spirit is called the Spirit of Supplications.
There is an interesting thing that happens in the grammar in verse 38-39. The call to repentance and baptism is in the singular. In other words, Peter is saying that each individual is called to repent and be baptized to receive forgiveness of sins. But the promise, “You will receive the Holy Spirit,” is in the plural. In other words, the Spirit is given to the community of which an individual is called to be a part. The Holy Spirit is not a power to be used for our own. He is the power we do not have to live. We can do no good apart from the Spirit. We can bear no fruit apart from the Spirit. He empowers the community through individuals. And part of the given work of the Spirit is to make us witnesses to the risen Christ. It is the Spirit Himself who makes us Christian. Without the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ. The Spirit marks us as Christ’s own. It is the Spirit who baptizes us into Christ’s Body. The Holy Spirit separates us from the world and unifies us in the sure hope of an eternal inheritance. It is only as each of us lets the Spirit come to expression in word and deed as a member of the body that the body grows towards the maturity of Christ.
The Holy Spirit has been given to us. No gift of the Spirit is lacking in this body. The Spirit has equipped us fully to do what God is calling us to do. It’s just a matter of whether we are submitting ourselves to His power and His plan. Are we aligning ourselves with His gift, or are we quenching the Holy Spirit? Are we still trying to do things on our own? Sometimes we attend church to keep what we've got and add a little more. We disregard anything in worship that challenges us to cast aside our self-interest and shift our loyalties. Make us feel good the way we are! Patch us up so we can return to the life we've chosen! Perhaps this is why what occurs in Acts 2 doesn't happen in our churches. But it could! The promise and person of the Spirit has been given to us. God has equipped us fully and completely.
The Spirit is analogous to the wind for good reason. The Spirit will not be tied down to definitions or conventions or institutions or formulae that we dream up. The Spirit is free. The Spirit can be unpredictable. We don’t own the Spirit, the Spirit owns us or “possesses” us. We are possessed by the Holy Spirit. But the Spirit is good. If we are willing to surrender to that power, we will experience the freedom that Spirit offers. In being bound to the Spirit, we become truly free to be all that God intended for us to be. Just as we are promised that if we pray for wisdom, God will grant it, we are exhorted in Scripture to be filled with the Holy Spirit. God also loves to do this! Although we have received the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit never leaves us, we can quench the Spirit. If we refuse to submit to the Spirit, the Spirit in humility does not always force us to comply with God’s right to ownership of us. But if we desire to be filled with the Spirit, and led by the Spirit, then God is happy to fill us and lead us.
May we live as Spirit-filled people of God.

Wait on the Lord--Acts 1

“Patience is a virture. Possess it if you can.
It’s seldom found in women, and never found in a man.”

I learned that little rhyme in 8th grade. I can’t remember what it came from, but it was in some piece of literature. It’s not quite true, but it IS hard to be patient. Americans don’t like to wait. We search for the shortest line in the grocery store. We complain that fast food isn’t fast enough. We instant message because email takes to long. We text because it takes too long to write out whole sentences. We speed because 55 is too slow.
I hate the time it takes for my computer to boot up. I think it’s too slow. I can scrub half a bathroom while I’m waiting. I can’t stand to watch regular tv anymore because I’ve gone so long without it. I hate having to put up with commercials. It’s hard to be patient. This impatience has contributed to our sense of entitlement. Delayed gratification means little in today’s American life. This is part of what fueled our recent economic troubles. Everyone was buying on credit, because we want it now. We don’t want to save up until we actually have enough money to buy what we want because the reality is, we might never save up! But the fake money comes to an end at some point, as we have seen.
We aren’t the only ones who have difficulty waiting. It seems the disciples were too. From the Ascension to Pentecost was just 10 days, but the disciples were impatient. Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had been clothed with power from on high, until they received the promise Holy Spirit. They did well at first. They went back to Jerusalem. They devoted themselves to prayer, because waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. To wait upon the Lord is to continue in what He has shown you until He shows you something different.
But Peter starts to get antsy. Judas has committed suicide, and Peter thinks it’s time that Judas was replaced. He uses Scripture to justify his opinion. He suggests 2 very capable, well-qualified men to take Judas’s place. Both of these men, Joseph Barsabbas, aka Justus, and Matthias had been with Jesus and the apostles from the time that Jesus was baptized by John and even witnessed the ascension. They were probably among the 70 that had been sent out. They were faithful. Then it says that the gathered believers, 120 minus the women, because Peter only addresses the men at this point, prayed that the Lord would show them which of these men was to be ordained apostle. This prayer seems rather perfunctory. Again it’s something we’re guilty of. We have a session meeting today. The Book of Order says that every session meeting is to begin and end with prayer, as well they should. But too often prayer becomes an agenda item to check off instead of a time to really listen and align ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Or grace before meals. It can become the same kind of thing, or the Lord’s prayer, or bedtime prayers. Paul, however, will reinforce later in I Corinthians chapter 2 that wisdom comes not through persuasion but from the Spirit and that one receives that wisdom of the Holy Spirit as one waits upon the Lord. In verse I Cor. 2:9 Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Isaiah originally said, “For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear; neither has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” Paul uses the strongest verb for love—agapao—that unconditional, God-given love, and equates it with waiting on God or longing for God. Now it’s not like the disciples didn’t love God, nor that we don’t love God when we are impatient, but we show our deepest love for God when we wait for His wisdom and direction.
Now I know Scripture is abbreviated. Luke can’t give us every detail of every thing that happened. He doesn’t say if they waited hours or days for the Lord’s answer. Regardless of how long they waited, it wasn’t the duration that Jesus had commanded. They had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. Does it mean that they didn’t wait long enough to receive an answer from the Spirit? I don’t know. Certainly the Holy Spirit has been at work all along. The Spirit worked all through the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. The Spirit was in the business of endowing wisdom long before Pentecost, so maybe they did really receive the Spirit’s answer.
And to receive that answer, they cast lots to see which one was God’s pick. Notice that they didn’t hold an election and vote. They really wanted to know the Lord’s will. They appealed to Jesus who knows all men’s hearts. But again, they asked God to bless their actions instead of waiting on God’s timing. And again, it’s something we too are guilty of. “God, show me what you want me to do,” and then go through our own forms of divination—lists, charts, coin flipping, getting our friends opinions, etc. To the apostles’ credit, casting lots was sanctioned by the rabbis as a legitimate form of decision making. It was used by the priests beginning all the way back with Aaron. In Leviticus 16 when God gives the process for observing the Day of Atonement, God says, “Aaron shall take 2 goats and set them before Yahweh at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats—one lot for Yahweh, and the other for Azael or the scapegoat,” which would be sent out into the wilderness.
These are God’s words. He told Aaron to cast lots. It seems like the apostles did the right thing after all. Yet, this is the last time that decisions were made by casting lots by the apostles. This type of activity isn’t recorded in Scripture beyond this incident. The apostles aren’t doing anything obviously wrong or sinful. In the same way, the things we do seem right when we have to make a choice. Sometimes our friends advice can help us see things from a new perspective. Sometimes lists and charts help us to organize our thoughts. But sometimes, God just wants us to wait. Luke himself in recording this incident makes no judgment as to whether or not these were appropriate or inappropriate actions.
Although Jesus personally chooses Saul to be an apostle, Paul never counts himself as one of the twelve; rather Paul compares himself with the twelve. And Paul is clear about his own calling, which was apostle to the Gentiles. And once James, son of Zebedee, one of the inner 3, brother of John, and the first of the 12 to be martyred dies, he is not replaced. James, brother of our Lord, becomes the head of the church at Jerusalem, but he is not considered as being on of the 12. Matthias is never again mentioned by name in Scripture. However, according to the early church father Clement of Alexandria, Matthias went on to serve Christ and teach as an apostle. Whether or not Matthias was rightly ordained apostle by men, he was a follower of Jesus and God used Matthias and served through Matthias, just as God does with anyone who surrenders to Him. And he was indeed counted an apostle. Look at Acts 2:14, “Peter, standing up with the eleven.” Matthias is counted as one of the 11. He too is filled with Spirit on Pentecost and speaks in tongues. Acts 6:2, again this is before Saul’s conversion, “The 12 called together the whole community to elect deacons.” Matthias is considered one of the 12. Perhaps his is one of the names on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. There were far more than 12 apostles in all, but clearly he is considered one of the 12 by the early Christians. Did Peter and the apostles rightly go about filling Judas’s slot or not? Our text doesn’t say or even imply one way or the other. That which seems to be impatience may not have been. We do know that God blessed it anyway, and that God’s will was ultimately accomplished. In reality this text really says more about God’s grace and mercy than about right and wrong ways to make decisions. Remember that this is the Lord who knows the hearts of all people.
In the same way, God is gracious enough to work through even our hastily, impatiently made decisions, working all things out for good—that good being conforming us to Christ. God blesses our perfunctory prayers. God works through our charts, friends, and even coin flips. God is the knower of our hearts as well. One of my favorite songs by Christopher Williams is called “Never Wrong.” Christopher uses the metaphor and imagery of being lost on a dark, back road, trying to get home with people telling him go this way, no go that way. The chorus says, “Am I lost soul? Do You watch me where I go? Is there something I don’t know? Am I right where I belong? Maybe these mistakes are never wrong!” He comes to the realization that he’s really not in control anyway, and if he surrenders the control he thinks he has, then it’s “never wrong”. He says in the bridge, “I’d rather not know where I’m going, and trust that You will show the way.” Seek the Spirit’s wisdom, and wait upon the Lord, and you will never be wrong.

Question: Do you think the disciples were right in choosing Matthias? Does being “right” matter?

3 Responses to the Gospel--Luke 8:26-56

One size rarely fits all. I’ve noticed on clothing nowadays they’ve begun to say “one size fits most” or “free size.” The same is true in following Jesus when it comes to sharing our faith with others. Every believer is called share the gospel with others, but we are not all called to share the gospel in the same way with every person. A couple of years ago, we did the Contagious Christian study in which we looked at ourselves and how we relate to others and then looked at a variety of valid ways to share the gospel, some of which we connect to more readily than others, and also learning how others might more readily connect to the good news so that we might best be able to share with those who have ears to hear, and to present the gospel in such a way that it might be heard. We don’t change the components of the gospel—for example, we need to share that Jesus Christ came to save sinful people, that He is the true, living, way, that He died on the cross and rose from the dead, and that all who believe in Him have eternal life. But how we share can vary. Some people are visual—they like drawings or pictures. Some people connect with personal stories. Some are analytical and like to see the Bible for themselves or ask questions. Some people need to be heard before they can hear. People are different even though there is 1 gospel.
For example, I received a letter last week from some missionary friends in Thailand. Thailand is mainly a Buddhist country. You don’t use John 3:16 as a starting point in sharing the gospel in Thailand, because it is totally incomprehensible to that people group. For God—Buddhists don’t believe in God. So loved the world—love is a passion to be controlled, and why would you love the world? The world is to be escaped. That He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him—Buddhists try to be their own savior; vicarious atonement makes no sense in Theravada Buddhism. Might not perish but have everlasting life—Buddhists believe in reincarnation not a place of punishment and why would you want eternal life? In Buddhism the goal is nonexistence.
However, Buddhists might readily connect with today’s first story. Despite the fact they don’t believe in God, they do believe in demons and have had similar experiences with them. They put large demon statues outside of their temples to keep demons away. They would be curious about Someone who has the power to drive away demons and especially that someone being good and loving. When people can make connections, they are willing to hear more.
In today’s reading we have 3 different miracles by Jesus, and Jesus commands the recipients of these miracles to respond in 3 different ways. In every story there is a crowd as well as the recipients of the miracles. In the first story, we have the healing of the demon possessed man. Here Jesus is ministering among Gentile people. While there are differences among manuscripts as to the particular city, the area as a whole was a Gentile area near the Sea of Galilee. This explains why there were people keeping pigs. Jews wouldn’t have done that.
Let’s look first at the crowd’s reaction. The reaction of the crowd was to ask Jesus to leave. They ask Him to leave because of economic loss, but more than that, it is out of fear. We see a similar incident in Acts 16. Paul heals a demon possessed lady in Philippi who was a slave. She was used by her owners as a fortune teller. Once she was healed, she could no longer tell fortunes. Her owners, upset at their economic loss, started a riot saying that Jesus would cause others to lose money and also caused fear because Jesus has power over demons and false gods. The people already knew what the demons could do. Although they cause trouble, they are somewhat predictable, and therefore manageable. It’s a system of tolerance and maintenance. It’s the same pattern we see with people in abusive relationships. The relationship is one of pain and hurt, but the abused respond with tolerance and maintenance. They try to leave, but often go back because the known is somehow safer and more tolerable than the unknown. When you can’t trust what you already know, how can you trust what you don’t know and don’t understand? It’s scary. And Jesus is scary. Jesus is untamable. Jesus cannot be controlled or manipulated, even though some of us are guilty of trying it! And because of Jesus’s power, the people were afraid. Jesus had messed up their status quo. Will you allow Jesus to mess up your status quo? Are there demons that you have gotten comfortable living with even though you know they bring you pain and trouble? What demons are you trying to control? Will you allow Jesus to deliver you from your demons? Remember that Jesus’s Word is powerful enough to confront whatever powers or forces of evil you may encounter.
The man who is freed, clothed and in his right mind, desires to follow Jesus. But Jesus says no. The best way for this man to serve Jesus is not by following Him from town to town. Instead, Jesus tells him to go back to his own town and tell everyone what God had done for him. The man obeys. He goes back and tells everyone what Jesus had done for him. This man understands that Jesus is divine. He equates Jesus with God. Why did Jesus tell the man to go back to his town? I believe Jesus wanted these people to have a correct fear of Him. He didn’t want them to be terrified of trusting Him. If they could see this man’s transformed life, a person whom they had previously feared, although controlled by chaining him up, they might be able to trust someone more powerful whom they don’t understand, but Someone with the power to destroy evil and create good. Jesus might not be understandable, but He can be known. He might be feared, but He is also to be loved. Yes, He is powerful, but His is power that overcomes evil with good. If the man had left with Jesus, the people wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see the changes in his life. They would be left in terror instead of rejoicing in the one whom even the demons must obey.
In the second incident Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood while on His way to Jairus’s house. This woman was an outsider among her own people because she was perpetually unclean. Anyone who had any dealings with her would have been unclean and had to go through purification rites before being able to worship. This woman would have been barred from worship and fellowship because she could never be considered clean. Why did Jesus make her expose herself after she touched Him? Remember that our faith is personal but not private. Jesus wouldn’t let her be private. He tells her so go in peace and that her faith had made her whole, but He didn’t let her go until she had testified to what had happened. Like the freed man, this woman is called to testify to the crowd. The man is called to go and tell, but this woman is called to tell immediately what the Lord had done for her. Why? If Jesus had let her slip away unnoticed, the people would have not had the responsibility to reach out to her and restore her into the community. Jesus calls her to share both for her sake and for the sake of the crowd. Jesus holds the woman accountable for the part that she has in being restored among her community. The crowd couldn’t respond to an unknown need, but with her testimony, the need for restoration is made evident. Restoration of fellowship is the responsibility of both parties. We are called to be in community with those who profess faith in Christ. Are you neglecting your brother or sister in Christ? How have you been shirking your responsibility to your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you feeling neglected by the family of faith? What is your part in your own restoration to the community? Is Jesus telling you to let someone know how you feel and voice what you are going through?
Jesus calls us to be restored to one another. This woman was to be an outcast no longer. The crowd knowing that she has been purified is challenged by Jesus to accept her back into their midst. Now that they know she is no longer unclean, they must decide what to do about her. The correct thing is that she shows herself to the priest, goes through purification rites, and rejoins the community with all of the rights and privileges as a member. When we are confronted with the truth, we must respond. We cannot claim ignorance. Truth always demands a response.
In our final story, Jairus’s daughter has died while Jesus was “delayed” by the woman. But Jesus goes to the house, and tells the crowd of mourners who have already gathered that the girl is only asleep. They laugh at Jesus. Jesus calls Peter, James, and John, Jairus and his wife into the room where the girl was. Jesus raises her from the dead, tells her parents to feed her, and also tells them to tell no one what happened. In the previous 2 stories, Jesus called for public declaration from those who had been healed, but now He insists on silence. Why? Lazarus’s resurrection would be public, and Jesus raised the widow’s son publicly. Once again, the crowd has something to do with it. The mourners had already mocked Jesus. They had demonstrated their unbelief. If the parents had told, they would have been mocked as well. Will they encounter this young girl again? Of course. Will they believe that maybe she hadn’t really been dead after all? Perhaps. Will some eventually come to believe? Very possibly. But at this point, they did not have ears to hear. Jesus isn’t forbidding the parents to share their faith. He would never do that. We are always called to share the faith. We are even called to share our faith at the risk of losing our lives. But Jesus is forbidding them to share the experience. It would be as Jesus says elsewhere, “Like casting pearls before swine or giving what is sacred to dogs.” We do not always have to share our precious experiences with others. We do not have expose our intimacies with Jesus with those who are unwilling and unable to accept them. This audience was both. There have been things in my own life—personal encounters with Jesus that I have shared selectively. They are not stories for the masses. To share what is sacred with those who are scorners can cause their hearts to become harder. The precious things can become twisted and misused by those who don’t have ears to hear. While this family was not permitted to speak, they weren’t commanded to relocate and live in secrecy. No, they were to live openly. They were to be part of their community. And in living, they might gain the opportunity to speak later. But this was not the time. We too are called to live our lives openly. We are called to live out our faith and to be ready to answer anyone who questions us about the hope that we have within us. To do that, we must live in a way that our hope is evident.
Believers are called to share their faith. Sometimes we are told to go and tell, sometimes we are called to tell immediately, and sometimes we are told to wait and let people observe our lives before we tell. We must listen and obey those promptings of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel for the salvation of humankind.

"No Barriers" a sermon based on Luke 9:28-43, II Cor. 3:7-4:6 given on Feb. 14

Jim and I have a saying in our house, “No Barriers.” We use it in many different contexts. Neither of us like barriers, but they are there. And after a lifetime of building up barriers, some of them are hard to remove. Some barriers are stubborn, and we keep running into them. Fear erects barriers. We put barriers into place because we think we are protecting ourselves. Adam and Eve made coverings for themselves and hid from God because they were afraid. But the barriers didn’t help. They weren’t protected. And yet we still do the same thing.
It takes commitment, trust, honesty, and hard work to remove barriers. It takes love. Love overcomes barriers. Love removes barriers. Why? Because as the apostle John says, perfect love casts out fear. God’s is perfect love. When we can tap into that love, and love becomes stronger than our fears, barriers are removed.
In the children’s message, I shared that Jesus is the best Valentine. Jesus is the Valentine sent by the Father to show us his great love for us. And Jesus’s sacrifice of love for us removes the barriers erected between ourselves and God. In our Corinthians passage today, we have the removal of barriers. Jesus removes the barrier of sin. Jesus removed the barrier of curses that were erected because of the failure to keep the Law. To keep God’s commandments brings blessing, but to break God’s commandments brings curses—negative consequences. The Israelites couldn’t free themselves from the curse of the Law, but elsewhere Paul says that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” In removing the curse of the law, Jesus opens us up to the blessings that were promised to Abraham.
We read in Corinthians that the barrier between us and God’s glory has been removed in Christ Jesus. We are familiar with the fact that when Christ was crucified, the curtain in the temple that divided the inner court from the holy of holies was torn in two. With that barrier removed, everyone could see into the most holy place. It symbolized the direct access that anyone has to God through Christ Jesus. When the people saw God’s glory on Moses’s face when he came down from Mt. Sinai, they were afraid because they had broken God’s laws. The presence of God meant God’s judgment. They were afraid and would not come near the tent of meeting when God’s glory filled it. They couldn’t stand in God’s holy presence like we talked about last week. For Moses to veil himself was an act of mercy. But when we repent, when we turn to the Lord, we can witness God’s glory because of Christ. Now, God’s glory doesn’t mean judgment for us but redemption. God’s presence means our salvation.
Paul says that another barrier that is removed in Christ is in our understanding of the Scriptures. Because of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us who brings clarity to hearing of the Word and applies it to our hearts. The Holy Spirit is our teacher. I’m sure, like me, you’ve had the experience of reading a passage of Scripture, and it just didn’t make sense, and then you reread it later, maybe even years later, and it couldn’t be any clearer. That’s the Holy Spirit illuminating God’s Word.
In addition to being Valentine’s Day, today is Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday, and our gospel reading was that incident of Jesus being glorified on the mountaintop in the presence of Peter, James, and John. Paul writes “Now all of us with unveiled faces, seeing as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit not only illuminates the Scriptures to us, but transfigures us with the same glory as Jesus into the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes us more Christlike.
When Moses reflected God’s glory, he had to put a veil over his face because the people were afraid. Now we are called to reflect God’s glory boldly. We aren’t supposed to cover it up. There will be people who don’t get it because their eyes have been blinded, but as we go out into the world, we are to shine brightly, reflecting and revealing Jesus to those around us. And we must live in such a way that we do not erect barriers between God and others, for those barriers have been removed in Christ. Instead we are called to help others see that those barriers are removed, and continue working on tearing down the barriers between each other that we have rebuilt. May the love of Christ in us be greater than our fears.

Jesus at the Heart

Calling…it’s something we all question and want to know. I know that in the 28 years that I’ve known Jesus, I’ve questioned my calling a thousand times or more. The simple answer is: our calling is Jesus Christ—to live by Him, in Him and for Him. So what does that mean?
That’s where my specific calling as Minister of Word and Sacrament comes in. It is my calling to peach Christ and Christ crucified.
In our Revelation Bible study, we’ve been looking at heavenly worship. The sole focus of heavenly worship is Jesus. Everything revolves around and reflects Him, including the faces of the angels. In heaven, there is no more “me”. Everyone and everything is focused on Christ. The elders cast their crowns at His feet. The songs are all in praise of and to Him. Our study asked us how we might make our earthly worship more heavenly. With Jesus at the center of our worship, we can’t go wrong. When I graduated from seminary, our baccalaureate speaker was the Rev. John Wood, who admonished us to make sure that every sermon has something of Jesus in it. And every service should have in it somewhere something that says, “This is the Father. This is the Son. Here is the Holy Spirit. This is the relationship that God wants to have with you.”
There is an unfortunate trend today which promotes a “Christless Christianity.” We become so focused on the next best thing, the newest, hottest programs, desiring to be welcoming, and not wanting to offend that we present a Jesus that is too safe. We want Jesus to be our friend, but forget that He is our Savior. Jim and I went to a lecture a few weeks ago on this very topic. Jesus becomes an add-on instead of our Redeemer. We end up hearing sermons that except for the mention of Jesus name, we could hear at any self-help seminar or humanitarian gathering. It is reflected in our hymnbook, where almost all references to the blood of Jesus have been taken out. It is a theology of glory—bigger and better, as opposed to a theology of the cross—self-denial and sacrifice in exchange for Christ and His life.
But the gospel is offensive. It has and always will be offensive to every human culture, although God has provided ways in every culture through which we can connect to the gospel. Jesus is called a “scandalon”—a Rock of Offense. The blood of Jesus is offensive because it means our sins are worthy of death. The theology of the cross challenges our self-seeking. The cross means we have to die. We don’t want to admit we are that bad and that bad off. The human heart resists that God’s mercy at the cross is also God’s judgment on sin and religion (in the sense of humans trying to get to God versus God coming down to us).
But if we come to the Stumbling Stone and accept the gift that Jesus offers, we realize that the gospel is tremendous news. We don’t have to “do more and try harder.” Instead, we can rejoice, “Look what God has done!”
This is what I strive to say week by week. I know there are weeks when I fail miserably and am aware that I will have to give an account to God for what I preach and teach. But when we can say, “Look what God has done,” we are swept away into God’s new world. Salvation is the transference from one kingdom (the kingdom of the world) into another one (the kingdom of God). Corporate worship is an opportunity for us to realize in which kingdom we truly live and leave the world behind, at least for an hour or so. I hope that as Grace Presbyterian Church we can find more ways to celebrate how God is transforming us.
Jesus is relevant to our lives everyday. In fact, He’s MORE than that. Jesus is the source of our ability to live lives that are pleasing to God. Jesus is the source of our life! Christ is our Transformer—often this occurs bit by bit more than huge dramatic changes, although He does that too. My job is to lead you to a deep intimacy with the Trinity—to introduce you to God and help God to become real to you. My focus is on discipleship, Christian education. Jesus called us to make disciples. Discipleship is hard work. It costs us. Not everyone wants to be a disciple. That’s between God and individuals, but my primary concern is with those who do, whether they are just coming to know Jesus or have been walking with Him for decades.
On the other hand, I was not called to the entertainment business. Nor am I called to use the pulpit for self-promotion. The apostle Paul wrote in II Cor. 4:5, “For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus Christ.”
May God forgive me if I make Jesus boring, for He most certainly is not!