Matthew 23:1-12

Matthew 23:1-12

“What Do They See?”

November 1, 2009

Read Scripture

I am sure most of you were aware that last night was Halloween — a night we usually associate with ghosts and goblins — with trick or treaters and witches and vampires – and maybe churches might have carnivals or festivals – but we usually associate Halloween with things that are not “churchy”.

So – if yesterday was Halloween – what does that make today?

The day after Halloween for sure – but it is really a special day in the Church year.

Last night was the night for ghosts and goblins — trick or treaters and witches and vampires – but today is the day for saints.

Yea — that’s right — saints.

Today is All Saints Day.

And without All Saints Day there would be no Halloween.

You see — it all began when the church instituted the day of November 1 as the Feast Day Of All Saints.  This was a day to honor all the saints who did not have their own Feast Days — and it became a day to remember and lift up prayers for friends and family who had died.  In keeping with the tradition of remembering departed friends and loved ones, people used November 1 as a good day to visit the graves and possibly put flowers on graves.

Well — people being like they are — some decided that if saints – or Godly people — could have their day — then not so saintly or not so Godly things should have theirs, also.  And if All Saints Day was going to be a time to visit the graves of loved ones, then the other graves needed some attention also. The tradition began of making the night before November 1 — All Saints Day Eve –  All Hallowed’s Eve — a night for the opposite of All Saints Day – with mischievous things in cemeteries instead of Godly things.   And — people being as they are — the All Hallowed’s Eve — or Halloween — focus soon became more important than the All Saints Day focus.

Maybe we need to recapture that All Saints Day focus.

When you think of a Saint — what do you think of?

Someone who is so good that no one can ever be as good as they are?

Someone we all want to be like — but can’t ever do it?

Someone who prays for hours every day?

What do you think of when you hear the word “Saint”?

Someone that you are not?

The pianist at a Church I used to serve and I were discussing plans for the Church music around this time of year when I mentioned that the first Sunday in November was All Saints Day.  She laughed and said:

“That’s not a day for me – I’m no saint!”

Is that what you think of when you think of “saint” – and All Saints Day?

I want to offer you a thought on this All Saints Day.

A Saint is a person who tries to serve God in the very best way they can.

Not perfect.

Not constantly praying.

Just doing the best they can.

And maybe that’s something we all can strive to be.

A young girl was visiting a church one Sunday and was impressed with the stained glass windows of the Saints that were along the walls of the church.  The windows were particularly beautiful that day as the sun shone brightly through them — making their colors brilliant.  She asked about who these people were in these beautiful windows — and was told these were some of the Saints of the church. That morning in Sunday School she was asked if she knew what a Saint was.  Thinking back on the bright, colorful windows that had impressed her so — and the fact that she was told these were of the Saints –  she replied:

“A Saint is someone who lets the light shine through.”

Maybe not a dictionary definition of a saint, but a good one none the less — someone who lets God’s light shine through them.

Do you do that?

Do you let the light of God shine through you?

Do people see the light of God shining through you when they look at you – or is it something  else they see – something not very Godly – something that seems to shine through when you least expect it or when you are trying to hide it?

You may be familiar with the story of the Emperors New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson.  The emperor thought that he was important — and ordered that a special suit of clothes be made for him that would match his importance.  The tailor, however, saw through the emperor’s self-importance — and made it possible for everyone to see the emperor as he really was!  He presented the “new clothes” to the emperor — but actually there were no clothes at all.  The emperor was too proud to ask the tailor why there were no clothes — and he paraded around town thinking that he was so grand in his new clothes — not stopping to think that people were seeing that he actually had no clothes at all — and that what they were seeing him as he really was — naked — not as important as he thought he was — not as important as he wanted others to think he was.

That’s the thing about self-importance — isn’t it?  It usually leads to the revealing of no importance at all.

It is a truth that — sooner of later — people will be able to see through what you do and see why it is that you do it.  Many times you are like a window — people can see through you to see your true motives — why you do what you do — regardless of how well you try to hide our motives or why we do things.

When people look through your window —

when they look past what you do to why you do it —

What do they see?

When they look past your actions and see your true motives — what do they see?

What do they see?

What do they see?

Do they see a false self-importance and pride — like the emperor — or are they able to see God’s love and compassion that gives your life meaning and that inspires you to live as you do?

Do they see your true self — like the emperor — or do they see the light of God — like the stain glass windows that impressed the girl on her first visit to the church?

People can see your motives — they can see what motivates us to do what we do.  What do they see when they look through your “window”?

In our scripture passage for today, Jesus has just been in a heated debate with some of the Scribes and the Pharisees.  Now He wants to warn His disciples against becoming like some of them were.

They loved to force people into obeying the minutest parts of the law — but when it came to their own obedience to them — well, that was a different story all together.

They loved to be considered pious and religious — showing off how pious they were with their large phylacteries — pouches that devout Jews used to strap parts of scripture to their bodies so they could carry it with them — and long fringes on their prayer shawls — so people could see just how pious and holy they were to have such large phylacteries and long prayer shawls — but actually it was all for show.  And they loved to be treated with honor – but again – it was all for show.

Now — not all Scribes and Pharisees were like this — but some were.  They did what they did — they lived as they lived — for show — not out of a real commitment to God.  And many — including Jesus — saw through their actions to their attitudes.  Their piety was something like the emperors new clothes — there was nothing to it at all.  Their “window” showed false purpose — no real sense of love for God or others — but only for themselves.

Before we are too quick to condemn these folks — we can’t afford to say: “How terrible these people were!”  without looking at ourselves. You know the problem with pointing fingers at others is that when you do it you have several fingers pointing back at you!

So — what do others see in you when you do all the “good” and “right” things that you do?  You are like a window – and you reflect what is in you to the world.  Are you a window of love for self — bringing attention to yourself — or a window that let God’s love and compassion shines through you?

This is a hard question — but we all need to consdier.

Do you do what you do to truly be a servant of God — and to bring glory to God — and to bring God’s love into the world — or to bring glory to yourself?

For example — when you come to Church — do you come to truly worship God or to be seen by others?

Or — why do you reach out to others — to show God’s love and compassion or to bring credit to yourself?

These are hard questions — but questions that need to be answered.

You can be a window of self-service — reflecting your own will to the world — or you can be a window of God’s love and compassion — reflecting God and God’s will to the world.

The attitude you have when you do things is important.

Is your attitude one of serving Christ – and showing Christ to others – or is it one of serving yourself and making yourself look good?

When others look at you — what you do and why you do it —

What do they see?

What do they see?

Jesus calls you to be a window of God’s love and compassion — to reflect God’s love that is in you to the world.

Jesus calls you to show His love to the world because you are committed to Him — not because you want others to see how “good” or “holy” you are.

Jesus wants you to be a window of God’s compassion and love.

Jesus wants you to reflect God’s love and compassion to the world.

Let it be God’s love and compassion others see when they look at you.

When others look at you and what you do – - what do they see?

Let it be God’s love and compassion — and not your own pious self-importance and pride.

But – here’s another question — how can you reflect God’s love and compassion — and not your own self-importance and pride — to the world?

It takes developing your relationship with God through worship — prayer — fellowship — and service — and letting that relationship change your life.

Let God change you to such an extent that God’s compassion shines through you — and you are truly a “window” of God’s compassion to the world.  Let God guide you into true service to God and others.  Let God develop such a relationship with you that God can truly be seen through what you do — and God’s compassion can truly shine through you.  Let it be God’s love and compassion others see when they look at you — not your own will or your own self-importance.

Ask yourself – every day –

“How are Jesus and I doing – right now?”

“What is my relationship with Christ like?”

“Am I showing Christ to others?”

“Is Christ shining though me?”

Be a window of God’s compassion.

During World War II the town of Coventry, England was leveled by German bombers.  The centuries-old Cathedral was destroyed.  Some years later, a new Cathedral was built around the ruins of the old.  A remarkable statement is made in the hallway that leads to the courtyard where the ruins of the old Cathedral now lie.  On one end of the hallway is a giant tapestry the size of a Tennis Court of Christ ruling the universe.  On the other end of the hallway the entire wall is clear glass — with pictures of the Saints etched into the glass.  On the other side of this glass wall is the courtyard with the ruins of the bombed Cathedral.  The Tapestry of Christ shines through the Saints etched into the glass into the bombed-out ruins of the original Coventry Cathedral.

What a powerful statement indeed.

When others see your true motives –

What do they see?

What do they see?

As Christians, we are to let Christ shine through us to the world — so others can see Christ — just as the tapestry of Christ in Coventry Cathedral shines through the Saints etched into the glass wall to the ruins of what the world has done to the old Cathedral.

You can be so formed in Christ that — like the Saints etched into that glass wall – you reflect Christ to those in need and hurting in the Church and the community. You can be a “window” of the compassion of Christ – letting the love of Christ shine through what you say and what you do.

When others see you —

What do they see?

What do they see?

Let others see God shining in what you say and what you do — like the stain glass windows of the Saints that impressed the young girl as the light shone through them — or the glass wall at Coventry — and not your own sense of self importance or false piety — like some of the Pharisees — or the Emperor with the new clothes.

If you truly let God work in your life, we can reflect His love and compassion to the world — so that is what others see when they see what we do.

Let’s all strive to be saints – folks who let God’s light shine through.

Folks who may not be perfect – but who strive to show God to the world in the best way they can.

I believe that is what it means to be a saint.

Happy All Saints Day. Amen.

Matthew 6:1-18

Matthew 6:1-18

Why Do It?

Part 5 (Final) in “touch Jesus” series

October 11 2009

We are in the midst of a busy fall season here at Hopewell – and are “doing” many things!

This is truly an exciting time to be part of Hopewell Presbyterian!

But – even though we have a lot to celebrate and are doing a lot of things – we are also looking at ways that we can grow – spiritually.   As we get involved in and get excited about doing more things we are also growing in our relationship with God.

Our new prayer groups are giving us excellent opportunities to grow in our faith – and the adult study on Wednesday nights of Richard Fosters book Celebration of Discipline gives us an opportunity to explore some of the ways we can grow in our relationship with Christ.

On Sundays we are looking at “touching Jesus” – coming into contact with Jesus – and letting Jesus change our lives.  We’re looking at different ways we can “touch Jesus” – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.  We have seen the need to “touch Jesus” by looking at the story of a woman who reached out from a crowd of folks and touched Jesus – and had her life changed by Him –we have looked at the Lord’s Prayer and how we can touch Jesus when we pray – we have looked at how we can follow and listen to Jesus – and how we touch Jesus when we serve Him and others.

We’re concluding this series today – and I want us to look at why we serve Jesus and others – or why we pray – or why we might follow some of the other spiritual disciplines we’ve been looking  at on Wednesday nights – such as fasting.  We put ourselves in a position where we can touch Jesus and let Him touch us – change our lives – and make a difference through us when we pray serve,  and do some of these other disciplines we have looked at the past few Sundays –  but our reasons for doing these things must be sincere.

We need to look at why we do these things.

Our question for today is:  Why Do It?

Listen to how Jesus called His followers to do these things – but for the right reasons – as we look at Matthew 6:1-18. (Read Scripture)

Why do it?

Why give to others –

Why pray –

Why do other things that are parts of the “spiritual disciplines” – such as fasting?

Do we do these things so we will be spiritual people?

Richard Foster writes that practicing the spiritual disciplines does not make us spiritual people.  Practicing the spiritual disciplines does, however, put us in a position where God can touch us – change us – and make a difference in our lives.  In other words, it is not the disciplines themselves that make us spiritual people – the disciplines put us in a position where God where work in our lives – and God can make us more spiritual.

In our passage for today, Jesus is asking us –

Why do it?

Why serve others – pray – or do some of the other spiritual disciplines?

Jesus seems to be saying that our spirituality – the things we do because we are thankful for what God has done for us – need to be done quietly, without great fanfare, without drawing undo attention to us — but giving the glory to God.

Why do it?

Why give to others – pray – or do some ot the other disciplines that make the Christians life?

Jesus seems to be saying that we do these things to give glory to God – and so God can work in our lives and through us. We don’t do them to bring credit to ourselves or make ourselves look good – or spiritual – or holy.

So – why do it?

There are 3 things that we can do as Christians – 3 of the spiritual disciplines — that Jesus discusses in this passage – 3 things that God wants us to do — but He wants us to do them without fanfare and without congratulating ourselves.

Let’s take a closer look at each one so we can have a better understanding of why Jesus wants us to do these things.

First – we have giving to others in verses 1-4:

1“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2″So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus is talking about giving to the poor and needy.

Why do it?

For the first century Jew, charitable giving and righteousness were one and the same. In fact, the same Hebrew word was is used for both almsgiving and righteousness. To be generous was to be righteous — to be righteous was to be generous. However, it became the habit of some to publicize their giving – and therefore their righteousness.

They were doing it so others could see how righteous they were – and give them praise.

For example — in ancient days in the Eastern world, water was so scarce that it had to be bought. When a man wanted to do good and be seen as being righteous he would purchase water and tell the water carrier to give a drink to all who were thirsty. The water carrier would cry out, “All who are thirsty, come and drink.” As the poor came to receive water, the man who had purchased the water would stand near by and say, “Bless me, who gave you this drink.” Today, thousands of years later, some people are no less subtle in their generosity. When some of the super-rich decide to let go of some of their fortune, they often announce it with press releases and media interviews. And drawing attention to what we give for others is not limited to the very rich.

Why do it?

Jesus is telling us that the purpose of giving is not to build up ourselves, but to serve God – and serve them. Listen again to His words…

(v. 2) So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Have you ever received public recognition for your generosity? It feels good, there’s no question about it. It feels good to hear someone say, “Without you, this never would have been possible.” There is an emotional reward for conspicuous generosity. But, Jesus says there is an even greater reward for those who give quietly.

(v. 3) When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Why do it?

Here are three principles of giving that we need to keep in mind.

First — you’re never too poor to give.

If you’re struggling to get by, and you give to God’s work, or you give to someone who is struggling more than you, other people might not notice, but God will—and he will bless your generosity. You may not have much, but you have something to give.

Second — giving is to be sacrificial.

There’s no set amount that people have to give in order to be spiritual. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote that the safest rule for giving is to give more than we can spare.  If our lifestyle is identical to others in our same income level, we are probably giving too little.

Lewis wrote:

“If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

Another way this rule has been expressed is “Give until it hurts.” The problem, however, is that, when it comes to giving, some people have a very low threshold for pain!

The third principle for giving is: giving is to be self-determined .

I read about a woman who told her pastor:

“I think it’s wrong for someone to live in a $200,000 home. A $100,000 should be sufficient, and the rest could be given to the poor.” Her pastor found that to be an interesting observation, because, based on the neighborhood she lived in, he knew that she probably paid $100,000 for her home. In other words, she seemed to be saying, “Every one who lives better than I do should come down to my level and give away the rest.” But then, those who live in $50,000 homes could say the same about her standard of living. And those who can’t afford to buy a home could say the same thing about the others. The point is this: instead of worrying about how much those who are more affluent than you give, you need to focus on how much you yourself give. There will always be people who are richer than you, but give less than you. Don’t worry about them, just worry about yourself. The Apostle Paul said…

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Giving is a private matter. It’s not for others to judge you or reward you – and it’s not up to you to judge or reward others. It’s between you and God. It’s between them and God.

So – the first discipline Jesus addresses is giving – which we are never too poor to do, should be sacrificially, and is a matter between us and God.

Why do it?

The second spiritual discipline Jesus addresses is prayer.

Jesus said:

(v. 5) And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corner to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Imagine that you were in a crowded room – maybe in a meeting — when, at a set time, someone drops to his knees and begins praying out loud. This is uncommon today, but in the first century, it wasn’t unusual at all. The Jews had a high standard for ritualized for prayer, and they took it very seriously. In the process, however, many of them missed the point of prayer. The purpose of prayer is not to impress others with your own spirituality; the purpose of prayer is to connect with God. Instead of being a private act of worship, prayer became a public demonstration of piety. Prayer became, in many ways, a performance.

Why pray?

Why do it?

The attitude Jesus warns against has spilled over into the church today. Some people feel awkward about praying out loud, because they feel like their prayers should be profound and eloquent – and they feel they can’t pray profoundly enough or eloquently enough. I read about something that happened to a new Christian who went out to eat with some of his Church friends.  He was asked to bless the meal, and being a new Christian and new to the group, he thought he needed to impress them with his profound spirituality, so he prayed, and he prayed, and he prayed. He thanked God for the flowers and the trees. He thanked God for the missionaries. He thanked God for Noah. He thanked God for everything…almost. When he finally said, “Amen,” one of his new friends added in  “P.S. Lord, bless the food.” He had waxed eloquent about everything except the one thing he was asked to pray about— the meal, and in the process did not impress any of his new friends — but he probably amused them. He was probably not asked to ask the blessing again.

So – why do it?

Jesus is saying that prayer is not about being eloquent, but it’s about sharing privately with God what is in your heart.

(v. 6) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Jesus goes on to say…

(v. 7) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Prayer is a private matter. If the only time you pray is at church, then you’re missing out on the real purpose of prayer. We pray to connect with God – to speak to God – and have God speak to us.  We pray so God can touch us – make a difference in our lives – and strengthen us to make difference for God in the world.

In verses 9-13 Jesus teaches a “model” prayer — what we refer to as the “Lord’s Prayer.” The power of this prayer is not in the words themselves, but in the attitude of the heart that it conveys. This is not a complex prayer, because prayer is not a complex matter. I once attended a weekend seminar that featured hours of teaching on the Lord’s Prayer. While there, it occurred to me that Jesus didn’t take an entire weekend to teach this prayer to his followers; He taught it to them in just a few minutes. You don’t have to go to seminary to learn to pray. No matter who you are or where you are in your spiritual life, you can pray to God.

The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to pray. Here is a five step process Jesus gives us:

• Begin with Praise and Adoration . “Hallowed be thy name.” Jesus prays.

• Pray for God’s will in your life, and throughout the world .  Jesus prayed: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done.”

• Pray for your needs and the needs of others. Jesus prayed: “Give us this day our daily bread.”

• Pray for forgiveness of your sins, and the ability to forgive others. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” Jesus prayed.

• Pray for strength to live a holy life. Jesus prayed: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

So – that’s some suggestions on how to do it.

But – why do it?

Prayer is not a performance. Don’t pray to try to impress God or others with your lofty words – pray so God can touch you – make a difference in your life – and through you make a difference in the lives of others.

Why do it?

Why do the spiritual disciplines?

Jesus says we give and pray so that God can change us and use us for His will in the world.

But what about that third discipline Jesus talks about?

What about fasting?

We don’t talk a lot about fasting – do we?  We might not — but it is clear that Jesus expected His disciples to do it –  and us to do it. He said, “When you fast…” – not “If you fast..” But again, as with prayer and giving, the purpose of fasting is not to draw attention to yourself  or to impress others. The purpose of fasting is to bring you closer to God – and put you in a position where God can touch you – make a difference in your life – and through you make a difference in the  lives of others.

So – why fast?

Why do it?

Jesus says:

(v. 16) When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Jesus goes on to say,

(v. 17-18) But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Fasting has it’s benefits:

• Fasting teaches self-discipline.

I don’t think I have to convince you that we have a tendency to indulge ourselves with food. Fasting prevents us from becoming slaves to our appetites. It teaches us that – contrary to what we might think — we are not powerless over pizza – or any other food. Fating can help us remember that there are more important things in life than the next meal.

• Fasting proves that we mean business .

In the Old Testament, fasting often accompanied repentance. When David repented of the sin of adultery he had committed with Bethsheba, he demonstrated his repentance through fasting. When Daniel was praying for the forgiveness of the people of Israel, he demonstrated the sincerity of his prayer by fasting. When the people of Ninevah heard Jonah’s preaching, they demonstrated their repentance by fasting. Fasting is an act of sacrifice that says, “Lord, I’m serious about this. I mean business.”

• Fasting helps us straighten out our priorities .

When we experience hunger, we become more compassionate toward those who are hungry.

In the Bible, fasting is always linked with prayer. The purpose of fasting is not to hear our stomach growl, it is to give us an opportunity to draw closer to God – an opportunity for us to put ourselves in a position where God can touch us – change us – and work in our lives.

So – why do it?

Why give?

Why pray?

Why fast?

Three times in this passage, Jesus says that if you do your “spiritual things” to impress people, “you have your reward in full.” The purpose of spiritual discipline is not impress the public – or even to impress God.  The purpose is to become closer to God. The purpose is to put ourselves in a position where God can work in our lives.

Giving, praying, and – yes –even fasting — are not things to make a big deal about – they are not to be performances — but they are to be responses to God for all that God has done for you – and ways to let Jesus touch you and change your life so you can touch others with His love.

We don’t have to broadcast every good thing we do. We don’t have to send God our latest press release. When we offer our service to Him, without any motive of public recognition, He sees us, and He touches us and changes us.

So – why do it?

So we can be changed by God – and be the people God has called us to be.

That’s why we do it. Amen.

John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17

October 4, 2009

Communion Meditation

Part 4 in “Touch Jesus” series

We are in the midst of a busy fall season here at Hopewell – and are “doing” many things!

This is truly an exciting time to be part of Hopewell Presbyterian!

But – even though we have a lot to celebrate and are doing a lot of things – we are also looking at ways that we can grow – spiritually.   As we get involved in and get excited about doing more things we are also growing in our relationship with God.

Our new prayer groups are giving us excellent opportunities to grow in our faith – and the adult study on Wednesday nights of Richard Fosters book Celebration of Discipline gives us an opportunity to explore some of the ways we can grow in our relationship with Christ.

On Sundays we are looking at “touching Jesus” – coming into contact with Jesus – and letting Jesus change our lives.  We’re looking at different ways we can “touch Jesus” – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.  We have seen the need to “touch Jesus” by looking at the story of a woman who reached out from a crowd of folks and touched Jesus – and had her life changed by Him –we have looked at the Lord’s Prayer and how we can touch Jesus when we pray – and we have looked at how we can follow and listen to Jesus.

Today I want us to look at another way we can “touch Jesus” – reach out to Him – and let Him touch us and change our lives — that being serving Him and serving others.

Listen to God’s Word as we read from John 13:1-17:

Jesus and his friends had gathered for the Passover Feast – the most special feast of the year for Jews — the feast where they celebrated God giving their ancestors freedom from slavery in Egypt. As they gathered for this special feast, none of the disciples considered a menial – but important – task – washing the dust, dirt, and mud from the streets off their feet. They all knew that it needed to be done – but none of them wanted to do this menial task. They were too busy arguing about which of them was the greatest in the group – and no one dared assume the role of servant and carry out the courtesy of washing feet.

So – what does Jesus do?

Jesus – the one many had proclaimed to be King – the one many hoped would lead them to freedom from the Romans much as Moses had lead them to freedom over the Egyptians – put a towel around Himself and washed the disciple’s feet.

Yes — Jesus was the king – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – and yet – He was the one  washing the dirty feet of his disciples and drying them with a towel. Here is the king – but His  scepter — His symbol of authority and power — is a towel.

At least four truths are taught by Jesus’ use of the towel that night.

The first is that the towel dramatizes the whole of Jesus’ ministry on earth.  Washing His disciples’ feet was not an isolated event. In fact, what He did that night in the upper room vividly portrayed the whole journey He made from the Father into the world and back to the Father.

John says that Jesus rose from supper, just as He had risen from his eternal throne.

Jesus laid aside His garments — just as He had laid aside His glory in heaven — just as He had chosen to lay aside His privileges as the Son of God.

Jesus wrapped a towel around Himself — just as He wrapped around Himself our humanity.

Jesus then washed his disciples’ feet — performing the most menial act of service — just as the next day He would die the degrading death of a common criminal.

When Jesus finished washing their feet, John says Jesus took up his garments and returned to his place of honor, just as He returned to God the Father after His ministry – death – and resurrection for our salvation.

Jesus’ use of the towel illustrated what the early church later would sing in the hymn the Apostle Paul records in Philippians 2:5-11:

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

In the room that night, the eternal Son of God, the King of all creation, stripped off His garments and got on his knees to wash the dirt from the feet of men who should have been serving Him.

That act was nothing new, for it symbolizes the whole of his career.

That brings us to the second truth taught in Jesus’ use of the towel.

The towel revealed the King’s own concept of royalty.

From our human perspective, washing feet is beneath the dignity of the King of Kings. Peter is horrified by Jesus’ actions: “You shall never wash my feet.”

In the upper room, Peter still has in his mind the things of men and not of God. In the upper room, Peter wanted Jesus to fit into human ideas of royalty and divinity:

“You, the divine King, you shall never wash my feet.”

In this foot-washing scene, Jesus is shattering our concept of divine royalty. We live with the idea that to be God is to be exalted, to be sitting on a throne, surrounded by willing servants. In His use of the towel, Jesus is revealing the God has of divine royalty –

Being God means coming down from that throne and giving Himself to serve.

Lesslie Newbigin writes a profound observation:

“This is not just an active lesson in humility. Peter could have understood that. The foot washing is a sign of that ultimate subversion of all human authority which took place when Jesus was crucified by the decision of the powers that rule this present age. In that act, the wisdom of this world was shown to be folly, and the powers of this world were disarmed. But flesh and blood—ordinary human nature — is in principle incapable of understanding this. It is to the Jew a scandal, to the Greek, folly. Only those whom the risen Christ will call and to whom the Holy Spirit will be given will know that this folly is the wisdom of God, and this weakness is the power of God. At that moment, as the man he is, Peter cannot understand. The natural man makes gods in his own image.      A supreme God will be the one who stands at the summit of the chain of command. How can the natural man recognize this supreme God in the stooping figure of a slave clad only with a loincloth?”

The fact is, Peter would have been perfectly comfortable washing Jesus’ feet. That would be normal, according to human ideas. But to see Jesus, the great I AM, stoop before Peter and begin to  reach for his dirty feet is not normal. Jesus is teaching Peter and us that such a posture and spirit are normal for the true and living God.

The truth is that the eternal King above All Kings serves us, and we will never be able to outserve Him.

How do you react to all of this?

If you are like me, you have a mixed reaction. On the one hand, I am touched by such a king. On the other hand, like Peter, I am disturbed.

As I have thought about this, I have discovered that a God on His knees before me humbles me and strangely makes me more God-centered.

If my only view of God is that of a supreme king at the summit of the chain of command, a King on the top rung of the ladder then I’m always wondering how I can get to Him – how I can ascend the ladder and “make my way to heaven” — and worrying about how I am doing.

Am I doing better than those around me?

Am I going to make it to heaven?

In the name of religion, I would become preoccupied with myself.

But – when I consider that – actually — God kneels in front of me – and serves me – I cannot help but be preoccupied with Him and with others.

This type of view of God knocks us off our throne and puts Jesus on his throne.

He becomes the center.

Jesus was helping Peter – and us — understand that we can only meet God at the bottom rung of the ladder, for this is where God is. Jesus was revealing the King’s own idea about what it means to be King — for this King finds His royal dignity in serving.

This leads us to the third truth taught by Jesus’ use of the towel that night.

The towel points to the King’s great action on behalf of His subjects. Jesus’ use of the towel that night points to His death on the Cross. John tells us that Jesus’ hour had come. John also mentions Judas’s betrayal of Jesus so that we will associate the foot washing and the Crucifixion.

John uses two words to describe Jesus’ actions: lay down (or lay aside) and take up.

Those two words are used earlier in the Gospel of John to refer to Jesus’ death. Jesus says in John 10: “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one has taken it from me. I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

Only the ultimate act of service, only the ultimate stooping down, can cleanse us from sin.

And there’s a fourth truth taught in Jesus’ use of the towel.

The towel now identifies those who have allowed the King to serve them. The towel marks those who know and follow the servant King.

After washing their feet, Jesus says to His disciples:

“Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘ Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet.”

When he washed his disciples’ feet, Jesus was saying:

“I lay down my life for you. I will go to the Cross for you.”

Newbigin makes another observation – one that might change our whole idea of human relationships. Listen to what Newbigin says:

“Jesus has laid aside his life for us all, and the debt which we owe to Him is to be discharged by our subjection to our neighbors in loving service. Our neighbor is the appointed agent authorized to receive what we owe the Master.”

I owe Jesus Christ for what he has done for me.

My neighbor is now the appointed agent authorized to receive what I owe the Master.

The mark of a life touched and filled with the spirit of King Jesus is a willingness to serve others – just as Jesus has served us.

Your spouse is the appointed agent authorized to receive what you owe Jesus Christ the King.

Your children are the appointed agents authorized to receive what you owe the King.

Your friends – co workers – everyone you meet every day – are the appointed agent authorized to receive what you owe Jesus Christ the King.

Jesus’ new order turns everything upside down for us.

He changes our whole concept of power, authority, and status.

Remember what he said to his disciples when they were arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in this kingdom of God? Calling them to himself, he said,

“You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.” Note the preposition over. “They lord it over, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not so, among you. Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be number one shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.”

The King who is a servant is inaugurating a kingdom of servants.

In the world – where people are clamoring for power – folks are distinguished by climbing over each other to get to the top. In the Kingdom of God – folks are distinguishes by the self-emptying love of the King – a willingness to serve Him – and to serve others.

Serve Jesus – Serve Others.

As we touch Jesus and serve Him we are blessed – and our lives are changed.

As we touch others and serve them in the name of Jesus we are blessed – and our lives are changed.

Serve Jesus – Serve Others.

Jesus calls us to serve – and when we respond to that call – we find Him – and others find Him through us.

The young people and adults who went to Athens, GA this past summer to serve others can relate to this idea. Every night when we returned to the High School where we were staying we would gather for worship and praise.  Part of that time was sharing “God sightings” – times we had seen God that day.  Many times they would share of how they had seen God in the eyes of the folks they were serving that day.  Their sincere appreciation for what the young people and adults were doing radiated from them – and those serving them saw God in how they related to them. But – here’s the thing – when those being served were asked how they were “seeing God” that week – every one of them responded: “I saw God in the energy – the excitement – and the willingness of those who came to serve me this week.”

As we touch Jesus and serve Him we are blessed – and our lives are changed.

As we touch others and serve them in the name of Jesus we are blessed – and our lives are changed.

Serve Jesus – Serve Others.

Jesus calls us to serve – and when we respond to that call – we find Him – and others find Him through us.

Jesus is the King who serves us.

Jesus commands us – as His followers – to serve Him.

Jesus commands us to serve others.

Touch Jesus – have your life changed by Him.

Serve Jesus – and serve others.   Amen.

John 10:1-6

John 10:1-6

“Listen – And Follow”

September 27, 2009

3^rd in fall 2009 “Touch Jesus” series

We are in the midst of a busy fall season here at Hopewell – and are “doing” many things!

This is truly an exciting time to be part of Hopewell Presbyterian!

But – even though we have a lot to celebrate and are doing a lot of things – we are also looking at ways that we can grow – spiritually.   As we get involved in and get excited about doing more things we are also growing in our relationship with God.

Our new prayer groups are giving us excellent opportunities to grow in our faith – and the adult study on Wednesday nights of Richard Fosters book Celebration of Discipline gives us an opportunity to explore some of the ways we can grow in our relationship with Christ.

On Sundays we are looking at “touching Jesus” – coming into contact with Jesus – and letting Jesus change our lives.  We’re looking at different ways we can “touch Jesus” – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.  We have seen the need to “touch Jesus” by looking at the story of a woman who reached out from a crowd of folks and touched Jesus – and had her life changed by Him – and we have looked at the Lord’s Prayer and how we can touch Jesus when we pray.

Today I want us to look at another way we can “touch Jesus” – reach out to Him – and let Him touch us and change our lives — that being listening to Jesus and following Jesus.

Listen to God’s Word as we read from John 10:1-6:

I read of a father who was reading the paper and decided to share what he’d been reading with his teenage son. The article said that children today are lazy, have little concentration and barely possess any listening skills at all. When he was finished reading the article he turned to his  son and asked: “Well, son what do you think about that study?”

The boy halfheartedly lifted his head and said, “What was that again, Dad?”

Sometimes we just don’t listen, do we?

We do that with our parents – with our spouse – with our children – with our friends – at work – or wherever we may be – sometimes we just don’t listen.

Sometimes we do that to God and Jesus, our Shepherd, too.

Sometimes we’re just content to be in the presence of the Shepherd — and that’s OK – sometimes. But sometimes we get so absorbed in what we’re doing, what we’re thinking, with ourselves, that we don’t listen.

Kind of like the guy in a commercial that used to be on TV – I believe it was for Geico – who is watching a game on TV, eating popcorn, having a great time – when his very attractive wife walks into room  and asks: “Honey, does this dress make me look fat?” His team just scored a touchdown, and without even looking her way he says: “YESS!” Of course, that’s the wrong answer. And the guy’s in big trouble because he didn’t listen. He recognized his wife’s voice — but he didn’t listen to it!

If we are going to be the Church – and the Christians – God wants us to be, we are going to have to learn to listen to – and follow – Jesus.

Listen – and follow – Jesus.

Our passage for today — John 10:1-6 – has some things we need to hear – to listen to – as Jesus talks about listening and following the voice of the Shepherd.  This passage teaches us several things about the voice of the shepherd. It teaches us that:

The voice of the Shepherd goes before us,

The voice of the Shepherd guides us,

The voice of the Shepherd protects us and

The voice of the Shepherd tells us who we are.

We need to listen to – and follow – the shepherd.

We need to listen to – and follow – Jesus.

First — The voice of the Shepherd goes before us:

Hugh Redwood was a celebrated lay preacher in  England and was in great demand as a speaker. During one period of his life, Redwood passed through a difficult time. He had some very hard decisions to make and wasn’t sure what he should do. He was tempted to just give it all up, to run. He asked God for guidance, but as sometimes happens, it seemed that no guidance was given. The heavens were silent.  One evening he went to have dinner with some friends before going on to address a large public gathering. When the meal was over his hostess suggested he go to the study, put his feet up, and relax beside the fire. Redwood was glad for a little bit of peace and quiet, so that’s what he did. As promised, he found a fire burning. As he sat down in one of the chairs, he noticed that a Bible on the table beside the chair. Picking it up, he discovered it was open to Psalm 59, and began to read.  He came to the tenth verse, where he found these words underlined: “The God of my mercy shall go before me.” Someone had written a paraphrase of the text in the margin: “My God, in His loving-kindness, shall meet me at every corner.” Those words were so powerful and became like a lamp turning on for Hugh Redwood. Later he made his hard decisions, and they proved to be wise ones. He didn’t run away but went on to accomplish great things and to live a useful and fulfilled life.

“The God of my mercy shall go before me.”

“My God, in His loving-kindness, shall meet me at every corner.” Or as the twenty-third psalm puts it,

“The Lord is my Shepherd.”

I personally find great comfort in that idea. The Good Shepherd goes before us to prepare the way, which means there is no place that we go that the Shepherd hasn’t already been. He’s already made sure the path is clear and safe. There may be hardships, there may be mishaps, there may be struggles but the Good Shepherd has already seen those and knows how to help us negotiate through the treacherous territory. He has already prepared a way for us to get through. All we have to do is continue to listen to His voice.

The voice of the Shepherd goes before us.

We need to listen to – and follow – Jesus – who goes before us and prepares our way.

Listen to – and follow – Jesus.

The second thing we can learn from this passage is that the voice of the Shepherd guides us.

When we prepare ourselves,  we are able to listen to the vice of the Shepherd.

And when we listen, Jesus – the Shepherd – will guide us.

At the age of forty-seven, Nick Thomas found himself unemployed and under tremendous financial pressure. He had had a successful career in the Air Force and the insurance business, but a series of financial reversals had set him back and the failure of his own consulting business had left him with no place to turn. He didn’t know what to do.  Frustrated and seeing no way out, Nick’s wife, Liz turned to prayer. She found a church that was opened for prayer every day – and every morning she’d be go and pray that something good would happen to change their fortune. She was in church one morning, praying about their dilemma, when she thought she could almost hear the words, “Make the mustard.” Her family had a mustard recipe from Russia, and every Christmas she made this special mustard and gave it to her family and friends as a special gift. At first she ignored the words. But they kept coming more and more persistent. Reluctantly she told Nick – who — of course — thought she was out of her mind. Liz had no idea from where or whom the voice came. But after considerable discussion and prayer Nick and Liz decided to listen to the voice. She prepared a substantial amount of the mustard – they packaged it — and called on a local cheese shop. The manager tasted it and immediately bought out their entire inventory. Within three months they had one the hottest selling items in the highly competitive New York major deli market.  The Thomases  committed their troubles to God in prayer and looked expectantly to God for guidance — and listened for the voice of the Shepherd.

They listened – and God guided.

Listen to – and be guided by – Jesus.

The third thing we can learn from this passage from John 10 is that the voice of the Shepherd protects us.

Listening to the voice of the shepherd – listening to Jesus — helps us in making hard choices — choices about who we are and what we believe and what is really important to us. The voice of the Shepherd protects us — and by listening to the voice of the Shepherd, He helps us choose.

About 4 years ago, Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, offered WGN Chicago Radio sports-talk host David Kaplan $50,000 to change his name legally to “Dallas Maverick.” When Kaplan politely declined, Cuban sweetened the offer. Cuban would pay Kaplan $100,000 and donate $100,000 to Kaplan’s favorite charity if he took the name for one year. After some soul searching, and being bombarded by e-mails from listeners who said he was crazy to turn down the money, Kaplan held firm and told Cuban no.  Kaplan explained: “I’d be saying I’d do anything for money, and that bothers me. My name is my birthright. I’d like to preserve my integrity and credibility.”

Friends — the name “Christian” is our birthright. From the moment of our baptism and our birth into the Kingdom of God, the Good Shepherd promises to lead us to green pastures and beside the still waters. He promises to restore our souls and leads us through the valley of the shadow of Death. The voice of the Shepherd protects us.  Don’t “sell out” by following other voices – regardless of how tempting they may be.

You have to make sure, however, that the voice you are listening is the right voice. There are a lot of voices out there vying for your attention and loyalty – and a lot of voices that want you to think they are the voice of the Shepherd — when in reality they are the thief Jesus describes in verse 1.

Bob’s Famous Ice Cream Parlor in Bethesda, Maryland, was robbed, but manager Nathan Peabody was warned in time. Moments before the robbery he was contacted by telephone. The voice said, “Are you the manager? Listen carefully; don’t panic. This is the police. You are going to be robbed. Do NOT resist. Let the robber have your money. We will be waiting right outside your store and we need to catch him with the money on him. Thank you for your cooperation.” Sure enough, a man with a scruffy beard and a knife came in demanding money. Mr. Peabody took all of his cash out of the drawer and gave it to him. Peabody watched as the robber left the store, waiting for the cops to close in. Instead, the robber just got in his car and drove away. And as he saw the taillights disappear in the distance he realized what had just happened. He realized that the call hadn’t come from police headquarters after all — but from the thief.

Listen to – be guided by – and protected by — Jesus.

There’s a fourth thing we can learn about following Jesus – the Shepherd – from this passage.

The voice of the Shepherd tells us who we are.

Phillip Keller, in his book A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23, tells us that sheep are very fearful creatures. They simply won’t lie down unless they sense the shepherd is very near. They need to know that he’s present. We’re like that. Jesus was right when he said we are like sheep without a shepherd. Not all of us but some of us. And we’re fearful when we don’t feel we belong.

I once read about a young girl who lived in an apartment in a big city.  Her parents didn’t really care for her – they were too interested in drugs and alcohol to be bothered by her. After supper in the summer the children on the block gathered in the streets to play. But after a while one would say that she had to go home because her mother told her to be in before eight o’clock. Or a father would whistle and a boy would have to leave. A mother would call and others would have to go. The girl said, “They would all go. It would get dark and I would be there all alone, waiting for my father or my mother to call me in. They never did.”

What a sad story that is. There are children who don’t know the voice of a caring parent, who never get called in or called home. They can do whatever they want as long as they don’t inconvenience the parents. Actually, they really want and need someone to care. They really want and need someone to call their name with love — not filled with derision. They really want someone to reach out and let them know they matter.

Some adults — even after hearing all the promises of the God who loves us, who calls us by name, and gave His life for us — still persist in living outside the flock. They question the voice of the Shepherd or the sincerity of the voice. They question the other sheep in the flock, whether they will accept them or not. Or worse, they don’t think they can be worthy of that love, even after the Shepherd has rescued them and has bent down to give them refreshing water.

But that’s why Jesus came. That’s why He gave His life on the cross. He loves you.

Jesus — the Shepherd – even loves those who don’t want to have anything to do with Him. He even loves those sheep who wander away, who are distracted by the little clump of enticing greenery and suddenly find themselves separated from the rest of the flock. That’s when the Shepherd comes searching for them and brings them back into the fold and reminds them where they belong and to whom they belong.

Why? Because the voice of the Shepherd tells us who we are.

We are beloved of God – called by God – and should follow God.

Listen to – be guided by – and protected by Jesus – and let Jesus tell you who you are.

Jesus said:

[3] “the sheep hear the Shepherd’s voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

My Dad and I saw this played in right before our very eyes one afternoon on a trip we took with members of my home Church to Israel. It was a beautiful fall day and after lunch we went to the roof of the restaurant to see the view. As we looked out over the city we noticed a large patch of pasture – probably 3-5 acres. All of a sudden, from opposite directions, we saw a couple of shepherds bringing their flocks. Both had about 25 or 30 sheep apiece. The sheep went into the pasture to graze and the two shepherds stood at the gate exchanging greetings and smoking a cigarette. We wandered around to the other side of the roof and looked and then wandered back.

Just about the time we got there, one of the shepherds opened the gate and hollered something. I don’t know what it was but the sheep sure did. All the heads of the sheep in his flock came up. He hollered something else, and here they came. There was the truth of this passage right before our very eyes!

Here’s the thing we have to remember:

Jesus calls us – and we need to listen – and follow.

The voice of the Shepherd is whispering His love for us — calling us — and wooing us into an ongoing relationship.

The voice of the Shepherd goes before us, guides us, protects us and tells us who we are.

Jesus  goes before us, guides us, protects us and tells us who we are.

All we have to do is listen – and follow.

Jesus calls — but He’s not as annoying as the Verizon guy. You won’t hear Jesus say: “Can you hear me now?” But if your heart and soul and ears are tuned to Christ, you will hear.

Are you listening?

Are you following?

Touch Jesus – let Jesus touch you – and let Jesus touch your life.

Listen to Jesus – and follow!   Amen

Matthew 6:5-15

Matthew 6:5-15

Touch Jesus – Pray

September 20, 2009

Part 2 of “Touch Jesus” series

We have begun our new fall schedule here at Hopewell with new youth activities on Sunday nights,  new Wednesday night fellowship times and classes, prayer groups, and so many other activities and programs.  We are reaching a lot of people – and doing a lot of things – and many things we are considering doing to touch others with God’s love are still in the planning process and not ready to be done yet.

This is truly an exciting time to be part of Hopewell Presbyterian!

But – here’s something we have to ask ourselves –

Even though we have a lot to celebrate and are doing a lot of things — how are we doing – spiritually?

As we get involved in and get excited about doing more things it’s easy for us forget about the spiritual aspects of our lives.

The truth is that if we are going to grow as a Church – if we are going to grow as Christians – we are going to have to not just be busy “doing things” – we are going to have to grow spiritually also.

We are going to have to grow in our relationship with God.

Don’t get me wrong – “doing things” is not bad – in fact it is good – and we have to do things to be the Church God wants us to be – but if all we are doing is “doing things” – and if we are not growing in our relationship with God – then we are not really being the Church God wants us to be.

Too many times we get so excited about “doing things” and “looking for something else to be doing” that we forget about growing –we forget about growing in our relationships with God.

This fall we are not only going to be “doing things” here at Hopewell – even though we certainly will be doing a lot of things — we are also going to have opportunities for us to grow in our faith as well.  Our new prayer groups that are beginning to meet are excellent opportunities for us to grow in our faith – and the adult study on Wednesday nights of Richard Fosters book Celebration of Discipline gives us an opportunity to explore some of the ways we can grow in our relationship with Christ.

So – we are not only “doing things” – we are also learning about how to grow spiritually – and taking opportunities to practice the discipline of prayer that will help us grow spiritually.

“Doing things” is important – but only if we are also doing the things that help us grow as God’s people.

Last Sunday we began looking at “touching Jesus” – coming into contact with Jesus – and letting Jesus change our lives.  We’re looking at different ways we can “touch Jesus” – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.  Last Sunday we began by looking at the story of a woman who reached out from a crowd of folks and touched Jesus – and had her life changed by Him – and we looked at whether we were “crowding Jesus” or “touching Jesus”.

Today I want us to look at one of the ways we can “touch Jesus” – reach out to Him – and let Him touch us and change our lives.  One of the ways we can do this is through prayer.

Listen to what Jesus teaches about prayer as we look at Matthew 6:5-15:

Read Scripture

My truck had a dead battery the other day.

I’ve already made a note to myself that the next time I buy a used vehicle – especially from my brother in law – I need to make sure the battery is good!

Well – I knew what I had to do – I had to get out the jumper cables – jump start the battery – and take it to town to get a new battery.

I was hoping that when I went to the store that morning in Sally’s car and explained that mine had a dead battery and I was going to have to “jump it off” that someone would volunteer to help.

No such luck.

I was going to have to do it.

When I got back from the store I pulled Sally’s Explorer up to the tuck – and pulled to lever to raise the hood.

Now – I know that you have to pull a lever on the inside of a vehicle to raise the hood – then pull a lever under the hood to get it up the rest of the way.

I know that much about cars.

The problem was that I couldn’t figure out how to pull the lever under the hood of the Explorer.

What was I going to do?

I did what some men would never do – called Sally on my cell phone (she was in the house and I was out in the yard) – and asked her to come and help me.

When she took over, she couldn’t figure out how to get the hood up either.

So what did we do?

Again – what some men would never do – we got out the manual and read how to raise the hood.  It turned out that on most cars you push up on the lever under the hood – on the Explorer you push the lever to the left.  Once we did that, the hood went up nicely.

So – we got the hoods on the Explorer and my truck raised – put the jumper cables on the batteries – red to red and black to black (I know that much about it!) — cranked the Explorer – then cranked the truck.  I then drove it to town – got a new battery – and – as they say – I was “good to go”.

It took some instruction – it took reading the manual – for me to figure out how to get the hood up on the Explorer.

Now I know.

The point I’m making is this:

Sometimes we have to have some instructions before we can figure out how to do something.

You can probably think of situations where you needed some instructions on how to do something – but once you got the instructions you could figure it out. A little instruction can make a huge difference. Even if we have a lot to learn, just knowing where to begin can be a big help.

In our text this morning, Jesus gives us some instructions about prayer.

Prayer is one of the ways we touch Jesus – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.
Prayer is one of the spiritual disciplines we need to incorporate into our lives if we are going to grow in our faith – grow in our relationship with God – and put ourselves in a position where God can change us.

We touch Jesus as we pray.

But – here’s a question – how do we pray?

How are we supposed to pray?

I don’t know about you, but I still feel like a kindergartner when it comes to prayer.

I still feel I have so much to learn.

But I don’t draw back from prayer because I at least know where to begin.

In Matthew 6 Jesus gives us some fundamental and important instructions on prayer.

We all want our prayers to count.

We want to pray effectively.

Here we find the essential basics for that to happen.

Here we find some instructions on how to touch Jesus through prayer.

“And when you pray…” Jesus begins –

“when you pray” –

What should we do when we pray?

What should we keep in mind?

How should we begin and what should our attitude be?

Jesus’ first point is:

1. Be Sincere!

Don’t be like the hypocrites.

They pray out of the wrong motive.

They pray to be seen by others.

They are missing the most essential dynamic of prayer – prayer is a conversation with God, not a show. The word Matthew uses for hypocrite is the same word used in Greek for actor, showman.

Jesus is saying –when you pray — don’t put on a show — just talk with God.

Hypocrisy is something we all face. It’s a danger because we have made a public statement that we are followers of Jesus — but we are tempted to not truly follow Christ – but keep up the appearance that we are doing so. The temptation is to continue to go through the outward form of religion hoping no one will notice the change that’s occurred in our hearts.

Am I in secret the same way that I am in public?

Our true spiritual condition is reflected in what we do when nobody is looking. When we are in a state of trying to decide between two opinions — on the one hand wanting to serve the Lord — and on the other hand wanting to have our own way — it is hard not to be hypocritical.

Actually the solution is quite simple.

The solution is to follow God – reach out to God – and touch God.
That doesn’t mean we won’t have struggles – but there is a lot of difference between a person who is trying to do the right thing and having some difficulties in the process and a person who has resolutely chosen to do the wrong thing and tries to justify it.

Failure doesn’t make you a hypocrite — pretense and insincerity does.

The key to Matthew 6:5 is the Greek word, hopoos. The word means – purpose. The purpose of those being hypocrites is “to be seen of men”. It’s not public prayer that Jesus is condemning. It’s praying out of a motive “to be seen of men” that Jesus is condemning.

When you pray – Jesus says – be sincere.

Be real, be sincere, come to God to talk to God – let God talk to you – let God touch you – and let God change your life.

Don’t think you’re going to somehow manipulate God by saying just the right words or saying so many words that He finally wears down and gives you what you want.

In verse 7 Jesus says:

“when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

Prayer is about a relationship between you and God.

You’re simply coming to God and talking with Him about what’s going on in your life.

It is a complete misunderstanding to think that you can say some magical formula enough times and your prayer will be heard. That’s the mentality the pagans had.

Jesus said, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt 6:8).

Prayer is not informing God of what we need. Prayer is discussing what we feel we need with Him — and the conversation should be two way. We talk to God– but we also listen to what He has to say to us.

Pray sincerely.

Touch Jesus – pray.

The first point Jesus makes about prayer is to be sincere.

The next point is –

2. Be Personal!

Now we come to what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”.

In this prayer we have several major requests – which can be broken down into two categories.    The first two requests are about God – and the last three requests are about us. The pronoun “your” dominates in the first two. The pronouns “us” and “our” dominate in the last three.

Notice the priority of the requests.

What is usually on our mind most when we come to God?

We’re usually thinking about what we need God to do for us.

If we were designing this prayer, most of us would begin in the middle of it — “Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts…”

In other words — take care of me God.

That’s a valid part of prayer – but it is not the first priority of prayer.

Where do we begin when praying?

We begin with God.

Touch Jesus
Let Jesus touch you.

Pray

Prayer needs to be made in the context of a wonderful relationship we can have with God — not a mechanical parroting of words or a ritualistic religious exercise.  Prayer needs to be made in the context of a conversation.

Jesus tells us to begin our prayers as if we were having a conversation with a person:

Begin here – Jesus says – begin by saying: “Our Father”.
That’s very personal.

That is the most important part of prayer.

Too many conferences on prayer tell you how to “name it and claim it” – how to “rebuke the devil and praise God” and do this and do that. But – the thing is — God is not fooled by good technique. The foundation for prayer is a relationship with God.

It’s amazing how life begins to come into perspective with those two words. There may not be money to pay the rent. There may be health problems — relationship problems — money problems — but we can — by the grace of God – reach out and touch Jesus and have our lives changed by Him when we pray – and we can begin with those two words, “Our Father.”

It is that relationship that gives us the boldness to even come to God. It is that relationship that gives us confidence to make our requests known to Him. It is that relationship that provides us the assurance that the prayer will make a difference.

Our faith rests upon our relationship with God as our heavenly Father – and our prayers need to begin with that relationship. In prayer, we ask things of God believing we will receive what He wills for us because He is our Father and His heart is filled with love toward us.

Touch Jesus
Let Jesus touch you.

Pray

Let your prayer be sincere and personal.

Thirdly – Jesus teaches us to:

3. Be Respectful!

That may initially seem contradictory to being personal — but it isn’t.

There is a beautiful balance taught in Scripture concerning our relationship with God.  On the one hand, we have full acceptance and favor through Christ with the Eternal God. That is a great source of comfort and assurance. On the other hand, we never forget just how awesome our Father God is. He is our Father “in heaven”.

Even earthly fathers are to be respected. How much more our heavenly Father.

We need to enjoy the comfort of knowing the grace of God and our Father’s love toward us and at the same time honor Him for who He is.

“Hallowed be your name” – Jesus teaches us to pray.

It’s our prayer that God would receive the glory and honor due Him. When we pray the words  “Hallowed be your name” we are considering the greatness of God Almighty.  He is the Lord of heaven and earth. This is the time to set your heart on His glory. This is where true worship begins.

Do you see how Jesus is teaching us the right attitude in prayer?

Before we ever make one petition concerning our needs, we get our hearts right toward God. We get our priorities right before Him as well. When we say “Hallowed be your name.” we are saying — up front –

“I don’t want any prayer answered that doesn’t glorify You. Your glory is far more important to me than my person comfort. Your honor is much more important than my promotion.”

Our attitude toward God and His place in our lives has much more to do with the effectiveness of our prayers than the techniques we may learn. So far we have seen that Jesus is teaching us to be sincere, be personal, be reverent — and now we come to another point of instruction.

4. Be Submissive

Jesus teaches us to pray:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

How is God’s will done in heaven?

It is done in perfect obedience.

That’s how it should be done on earth also.
The kingdom of God has to do with the rulership of the King. We are again saying up front, before any petition is made for our own needs –

“I am committed to Your will, God, even if it runs counter to what I think I want you to do.”

It is recognition of God’s wisdom, God’s sovereignty, and God’s right to rule – our lives and  everything else.

We long for the day when Jesus will return in His glorified body and put down all opposition on the earth even as it is now in heaven. We pray for the final eschatological rule of God when righteousness is uncontested and every knee bows. But in the mean time we apply that to our current situation as well. We want God’s will in everything now because there is absolutely nothing better for us than His will.

The key to effectual prayer has to do with attitudes of heart — attitudes of sincerity and personal intimacy with God — attitudes of respect and submission to the authority of God.

These are some of Jesus’ instructions about prayer.

Prayer is one of the ways we touch Jesus – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.
Prayer is one of the spiritual disciplines we need to incorporate into our lives if we are going to grow in our faith – grow in our relationship with God – and put ourselves in a position where God can change us.

Indeed – let’s learn to touch Jesus.

Let’s learn to pray. Amen

Mark 5:24b-34

Mark 5:24b-34

Am I Touching Jesus – Or Crowding Him?

First in fall 2009 series on touching Jesus

September 13, 2009

We certainly have a lot to celebrate on this Rally Day!

Our Christian Education program is growing – we are reaching more young people and adults as we branch out and do new things on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights.  We celebrated new Sunday School classes this morning — we are staring 2 new youth groups tonight – and Wednesday night begins our Wednesday night suppers and programs for the fall with a lot of opportunities for everyone to fellowship and learn.

We truly have a lot to celebrate today!  I am excited – and I pray that you are also and ready to join us in all the things we are doing!

In the midst of all this celebration and activity, though, I believe that there is a basic question we must ask ourselves –

Even though we have a lot to celebrate and are doing a lot of things — how are we doing – spiritually?

As we get involved in and get excited about doing more things it’s easy for us forget about the spiritual aspects of our lives.

The truth is that if we are going to grow as a Church – if we are going to grow as Christians – we are going to have to not just be busy “doing things” – we are going to have to grow spiritually also.

We are going to have to grow in our relationship with God.

Don’t get me wrong – “doing things” is not bad – in fact it is good – and we have to do things to be the Church God wants us to be – but if all we are doing is “doing things” – and if we are not growing in our relationship with God – then we are not really being the Church God wants us to be.

Too many times we get so excited about “doing things” and “looking for something else to be doing” that we forget about growing –we forget about growing in our relationships with God.

This fall we are not only going to be “doing things” here at Hopewell – even though we certainly will be doing a lot of things — we are also going to have opportunities for us to grow in our faith as well.

One opportunity to grow in our faith we will have is our new prayer groups.

Each member of the Session will be leading a group of congregation members in times of prayer for each other and others – and for the Church.  As these groups pray for the Church, God will bless us with a vision for how we can do His will at Hopewell.

Another opportunity is the study the adults will have on Wednesday nights. They will be  studying Richard Foster’s book Celebration of Discipline.   For over 30 years Christians have used this book to help them grow in their relationships with God.

So – we will not only have opportunities to “do things” – we will have opportunities to learn about how to grow spiritually – and opportunities to practice the discipline of prayer that will help us grow spiritually.

“Doing things” is important – but only if we are also doing the things that help us grow as God’s people.

For the next few Sundays we are going to be looking at “touching Jesus” – coming into contact with Jesus – and letting Jesus change our lives.  We’re going to be looking at different ways we can “touch Jesus” – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives.

We’re beginning today with the story of a woman who reached out from a crowd of folks and touched Jesus – and had her life changed by Him.

The question we need to ask ourselves today is:

Am I touching Jesus – or crowding Him?

Am I toughing Jesus – or crowding Him?

Keep that question in mind as we hear God’s word in Mark 5:24(b)-34

Read scripture

The passage we’re looking at today is really a “story within a story” – the bigger story being Mark 5:21-43.  In the “bigger story” Mark brings us face to face with two stories of God’s amazing healing power. We find a woman who had been sick with an incurable condition for 12 years, and a little girl who had been well for 12 years, but was dieing.  You know – everyone can come to Jesus with their needs – those with needs they have had for awhile and those with needs that are more urgent and pressing.  All can come – and receive the help Jesus gives

Today, we’re going to focus on the woman with the issue of blood – and as we look at her I want us to look at the different ways this passage shows us that people responded to the presence of Jesus.

Remember our question:

Am I touching Jesus – or crowding Him?

As we look at the people in this passage, we can see several responses the people made to Jesus – and several types of responses people still make to Jesus here and now.

The first response we see people make to Jesus is that some people crowded Jesus.

Some people crowded Him.

We get the picture of a very large crowd of people packed into a narrow street. It must have been bedlam! Folks from all backgrounds and of all ages bumping into Him and rubbing shoulders with the Him!

It’s quite amazing when you think of it – isn’t it?

The crowd jostling and bumping into Jesus – the Son of God – the Savior – the one who could change their lives and give them salvation!

Yet – in this crowd of folks — no one received a miracle or had their lives changed by Jesus – except this one woman.

Certainly many people touched Him and crowded Him – but only one was changed by Him.

Why is that?

I believe that no one else received a miracle – or had their lives changed by Jesus – in that great crowd of folks because no one else came expecting a miracle.

No one else expected a miracle – or asked for a miracle – so no one else was blessed with one in that crowd of folks around Jesus.

No one else expected to have their lives changed – or asked Jesus to change their lives – so no one else had their lives changed by Jesus in that crowd of folks around Jesus.

They were simply curious onlookers – a crowd of folks – but folks who were merely  crowding Jesus instead of letting Him really touch and change their lives.

They were crowding Jesus instead of touching Jesus.

Are you crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

Ask yourself –

Am I touching Jesus – or crowding Him?

I am afraid that many of us are “crowding Jesus” instead of “touching Him”.

On Sunday mornings – if we come to the Fellowship Time before Sunday School – we might enjoy drinking coffee and discussing sports, the weather, or the weeks events with our friends – but we don’t expect anything dramatic to happen.

I’m just as guilty of that as anyone!

We enjoy each other’s company – but don’t expect much more than that!

Then – if we come to Sunday School – we might expect to learn something about God – something we can “file away” in our minds so we can pull it out later if we need it – but we don’t really expect anything much more than that to happen.  We don’t come to Sunday School really expecting God to touch us and change us – so – like the crowd around Jesus in our passage for today – we miss an opportunity to be blessed because we don’t expect it or ask for it.

And what about Worship?

Too often we are only around Jesus but not really expecting Him to touch us or make a difference in our lives.  We might like to walk into church, sing a few hymns, pray – while all the while not really paying attention to what’s going on – not really participating in the service – not really listening that what God says to us as we gather in His name – and then when it’s over  we might shake hands with our friends and go out the door unchanged. Another ho-hum Sunday – nothing different – nothing changed.

“Crowding Jesus” – but not “touching Him” – and letting Him touch us and change us!

And what about the other opportunities we offer here at Hopewell?

Too many times we’re just “part of the crowd” – “crowding Jesus” — like those in our passage that “crowded Jesus” but got nothing from Him.

It amazes me that we can be in the very presence of Chris and be so unaware of His mighty power to change our lives! Too often we are too pre-occupied to notice that maybe God wants to speak to us or touch us or make a difference in our lives when we gather here!

So many times we can “crowd Jesus” – but not “touch Him” – or let Him touch us!

So — are you crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

Ask yourself –

Am I crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

A second response we see people making to Jesus in this passage is that some rushed Him.

“Come on Jesus! Got to get to Jairus’ house, fast!” some must have been saying.

Yes – it was an urgent visit He was making and time was of the essence!

In one sense it was an was an admirable thing to rush Jesus. Jairus’ daughter needed to be healed! At times like this, someone needs to get Jesus involved!
What the crowd didn’t know was that Jesus wanted to do something right here, right now, to any of them who asked – and do something for Jairus and his daughter.

Sometimes God puts our plans  and what we think He needs to do in a holding pattern while He focuses our attention on what He wants to do in our lives.

You can’t push God around — give Him directions — or a time limit on  God.

There is a great temptation to consider prayer as the art of bossing God around. The sooner we give up trying to fit God into our own agenda, placing Him where we think He should be or trying to convince Him of what is important and what is not, the better off we’ll be!

God will not be relegated to a program or a schedule.

The best we can do is be sensitive to what He is doing here and now – and let ourselves be blessed by His plan for us – whether it our plan or not. This is not easy – but it’s necessary – as we strive to be God’s people.

Don’t try to “crowd Jesus” – or “hurry Jesus “ – but reach out to Jesus – touch Jesus – let Jesus touch you – and change your life!

Are you crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

The third response we see people making to Jesus in this passage is one really touched Him.

One really touched Him.

Out from this crowd that was pushing – jostling – “crowding” – and rushing Jesus comes a hopeless, discouraged woman. She had been sick for 12 years – had tried everything to become well —  but her hard-earned money was wasted on the medical help available at the time. In fact, she became worse.

Her condition – this “flow of blood” – was common enough, but hard to deal with. Not only did this condition affect this woman’s health, it also made her “unclean”. According to the Law of Moses, she was to keep her distance and shout, “Unclean” whenever anyone came close. She was cut off from worship and fellowship with her friends. She probably felt hopeless and unworthy, lonely, isolated, hurt, angry and alienated from God.

When Jesus appeared on the scene, something began to well up within her. There was something about Him – He talked of God’s love — He seemed so kind and approachable! Although the Law said “Stay Back!”, this He seemed to say, “if you are weary, come to Me!” Perhaps this woman had listened to Him teach and wondered if this Teacher could help her in her hopeless situation.

So – what does she do?

She touches Him!

Yes – it was  just the fringe of His garment – but it was enough to make a difference – enough to change her – enough for a miracle to happen!

The difference between this woman and the rest of the crowd was that she came to Jesus hoping – praying – and asking for Him to make a difference in her life.

The rest of the crowd didn’t.  They were “just there”.

She realized that Jesus could make a difference in her life –  hoped that Jesus could make a difference in her life – touched Him – and yes – He made a difference!

Some of the rest of the crowd were just crowding Jesus – others were hurrying Jesus – but she was touching Jesus – and she was the one whose life was changed.

So — are you crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

Ask yourself –

Am I crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

Jesus wants to make a difference in this Church!

Jesus wants to make a difference in your life!

Jesus wants you to touch Him – and wants to change your life.

The question is – will you let Him?

He can’t do it if you’re just “crowding Him” – if you’re just “part of the crowd” – coming here on Sundays and other times but not really expecting anything to happen.

If you’re “crowding Jesus” – just being a part of the crowd that gathers here but not expecting anything different to happen or not expecting God to work in your life – I pray that you will change your attitude and change your mind.  We don’t need folks who are just “part of the crowd” – Jesus doesn’t need folks who are just “part of the crowd” – we need – and Jesus needs – folks who are willing to reach out Him – and have their lives changed by Him.

If you’re  trying to “rush Jesus” – trying to make Him fit your schedule or your plan for what you think He needs to be doing — I pray that you will change your attitude and change your mind. We don’t need folks with pre conceived notions of what God wants us to be doing – we need folks who are willing to be open to God’s leading and God’s direction.  Jesus doesn’t need folks who want to “tell Him what to do” – He needs folks who are willing to listen to what He tells them to do!

But – if you are “touching Jesus” – if you are coming to Him – expecting Him to change your life – expecting Him to make a difference in your life and through you make a difference in the Church and the world – then you who we need – and who Jesus needs.

Don’t “crowd Jesus” – but “touch Jesus”.

For the next few Sundays we’re going to be looking at some ways was can “touch Jesus” – ways we can let Jesus make a difference in our lives and the Church – ways that Jesus can change us. But – for today – I want you to ask yourself the question:

Am I crowding Jesus – or touching Jesus?

I’m very excited about all the things we have going on here at Hopewell – all the things we have to celebrate.  Let’s take advantage of all the opportunities we have before us – but not see them as “doing things” or “things to do” – but as opportunities to come to Jesus – touch Jesus – and have Him change us!

Let’s not “crowd Jesus” – let’s “touch Jesus”!    Amen.

Luke 8:4-15

Luke 8:4-15

Getting Out The Big Digger
August 23, 2009

Last in summer series on “You’ve Got Questions – God Has Answers”

Life is filled with things that bother us and that are problems for us – questions we might wish we had answers for.  These things can range from how to deal with the economy and the way it affects our daily living to how to be a Christian parent to how to deal with “difficult people” to how to deal with emotions such as anger to how to keep from saying things that we know are not things God would have us be saying to how to respond when things are moving a lot slower that we would like for them to to how to deal with feelings of loneliness and the questions of how we can be sure of God’s love to questions about if God hears our prayers to questions about why we don’t seem to be growing in our faith.

The Bible is our guide to living life in God’s ways – and contains God’s answers to our questions in life. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that:

^“16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This summer we’re looking at some of the issues and questions we may face in our lives – and how God would have us deal with them.  Today we are going to end this series as we look at an issue that many people deal with – the question of why we don’t seem to be able to grow in our faith.

I don’t know about you – but there seems to be times in my life that I just can’t seem to grow in my faith.  Yes – it’s true – even ministers have times when their faith seems to be stagnant.

What do we do at times like that?

Sometimes what we have to do is inspect our lives – our hearts – and see what’s in there that may be choking out the growth God wants us to have.

Jesus told a parable about a farmer who sowed some seeds – and what happened to them.

Listen to God’s word as Luke records this parable in Luke 8:4-15:   Read Scripture

When I graduated from Seminary I began serving a two church field in North Carolina.  Sally and I moved from the big city of Atlanta to rural North Carolina – and were at a loss as to how to do things like farm, have gardens, or what to do with vegetables people gave us.  Both of us had grown up in towns – all we know about fresh vegetables was that we ate them.  We had no idea what “blanching” meant – or what it meant to “put up” vegetables.  We still don’t know a whole lot – but we know more now than we did then!

The first spring I got the bright idea that I would be like the rest of the folks in the community and grow a garden.

Not the brightest idea I ever had – but I was determined that I was going to plant some corn, beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  I ended up with a pretty good size garden.  Folks said that the fact that it was planted where a horse stable had been years before and the ground was well fertilized didn’t hurt!

When I decided I was going to plant my garden, I asked one of the church members if he could come and plow up the ground with his tractor.  He did – and I thought it looked pretty good.  He, however, had also brought another tool with him I was not familiar with.

“What’s that?”

I asked him.

“Some folks call it a mattock – but we call it a big digger”.

“What do you do with it?” I asked.

“You dig.”

“Oh”  I responded.

I finally began to understand that I was supposed to go through the plowed garden plot with the big digger and break up clots, get out weeds and rocks, and get out grass.  This had to be done before the seeds and plants could be planted.

So I started digging. And digging. And digging.

I began to wonder why I had wanted a garden in the first place.

As the spring and summer wore on I continued to be a reluctant user of the big digger.  It seemed that every day I would have to get out the big digger and dig up weeds – more rocks – and more grass.

Sally even found jobs for me to do with the big digger.

Flower beds needed to be created in places where there were no flower beds – and she would call out “Bill – get out the big digger.”

Trees needed to be planted where there were no holes for them – and she would call out “Bill – get out the big digger.”

Plants would need to be planted – and she would call out —- well, you get the picture.

The big digger and I became weekend companions.  Try as I might, I could not get away from it on most Saturdays.

My friend let me borrow his big digger – but before long he gave it to me and got himself a new one.  His wife had grown up on a farm – and said that every spring her dad would have to go to town and buy a new big digger because he had worn the old one out.

I must admit that the big digger I still have is almost 25 years old – and not worn out yet!

Big diggers – or mattocks – are great tools to have around.  They can help you clear ground, get up weeds, get up rocks, dig holes – a number of things can be done with a big digger.

But – here’s the thing – sometimes we need to take a big digger to our hearts – our souls.

Sometimes there can be weeds – rocks – and thorns in our souls that we need to get out  because they are choking out our spiritual growth.

The Parable of the Sower that Jesus tells in our passage for today is a very familiar portion of scripture. It can be very tempting to think to yourself, “I’ve heard this story a hundred times and there is nothing new for me to hear.” It’s possible for us to think that we know this story so well that we close our ears to what the Lord wants to say to us. In fact, that is one of the points of the parable. Right after Jesus told the parable He called out:

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

You know — how we listen and respond to God — as He speaks to us — will determine the amount of growth and spiritual fruit we will have.

Another way to say it is this: the condition of your heart will determine what God’s Word can do in your life.

The condition of your heart will determine what happens to God’s Word in your life – and determine what God can do in your life.

I believe that your heart can take on one of the four characteristics Jesus talks about in this parable.

First of all — you can have a hard heart.

You can hear God’s word – but not respond – not let it take root and not let God work in your life.

One example of this is that when other people attack you, malign you, abuse you, gossip about you, slander you, or hurt you, the natural response is to protect yourself. You will either rise up and lash back, recoil and put up a wall to shield yourself from continued attack or you will run in order to escape. Whether you rise up, recoil or run, you will have a tendency to hold on to the hurt and play back in your mind the scenes of attack and hear over and over again the hurtful words that were spoken. As you harbor those images and words, if you do not allow God to bring you healing and help, you can become hardened by bitterness. Through unforgiveness and resentment, you can become so hard that your heart is unresponsive to God’s Word and your life never changes.

Yea – one way to respond to God’s Word in your life – and what God is trying to do in your life – is to be hard hearted and not allow God’s Word to take took in your life – not let God work in your life.

For God’s Word to take root in your life and for God to make a difference in your life, sometimes you have to get out the big digger  and soften up your hard heart so God’s Word can take root.

Secondly – your heart can be like the stony ground.

This is when God’s Word comes to you but it does not have a lasting impact — for there is no root that goes deep into your heart.

An example of this might be if you come to church looking for an emotional lift – and you hear the Word of God and accept it with joy — but you don’t do anything more with it after you leave the Church.

Jesus says about this type:

“They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.”(v.13)

A lot of times people complain  church is no longer meeting their needs and they feel empty. But if you ask them if they are reading their Bible or praying, not many would say that they were. You see — if you are only fed or expect to only be fed on Sunday mornings, you will starve spiritually. You can’t feed your sinful nature six days a week and expect to hear from God and receive all you need to grow spiritually from a one hour service. You might feel emotionally uplifted for awhile because God’s Word is good every time you hear it, but you cannot grow as a Christian without getting rooted in God’s Word.

For God’s Word to take root in your life and for God to do something in your life your  heart has to be fertile and deep — not shallow and rocky under the surface.

For God’s Word to take root in your life and for God to make a difference in your life, sometimes you have to get out the big digger – and remove the things that are blocking your growth – blocking God’s Word from really working in your life.

Thirdly – your heart can be like the thorny ground.

This can happen if you are distracted and anxious.

Instead of having your mind and heart devoted to pleasing God and pursuing righteousness, your heart might be divided.

Remember that Satan’s battle cry is, “Divide and conquer.” A divided mind and heart will always prevent God’s Word from producing a bumper crop in your life.

Maybe you need to ask yourself:

“What is it that I’m really living for?”

“Am I living for myself or for God?”

“Am I in control or is God?”

“Will I strive to meet my own needs or will I let God take control?”

“Do I really trust God when trouble comes?”

If your focus is on worldly wisdom, earthy pleasures and personal ambitions, then your heart will be full of thorns and God’s word might be choked out.

For God’s Word to take root in your life and for God to make a difference in your life, sometimes you have to get out the big digger and remove the thorns that are choking your growth – choking out God’s Word from really working in your life.

Fourth — your heart can be good soil where God’s Word can grow and God can make a difference in your life.

If your heart is good soil where God’s Word can grow and God can make a difference in your life you’ll hear God’s Word, apply it to your life and receive a harvest of spiritual fruit. Your heart will be like good soil — fertile ground for God to use.

God wants to see His Word produce fruit in your life.

God wants to produce change in your life — and desires to make your life fruitful and Christlike.

It all depends on the condition of your heart.

Every time God’s Word comes to you, the condition of your heart will dictate how you will respond. Since God wants you to have a heart that is good soil for him to use – the question is how can you  cultivate a ready and rich heart—a heart that is rich soil for God’s Word to grow in and produce fruit?

In other words, how can you  have a good heart for God to plant His Word in?

Sometimes you have to get out the big digger – so to speak – loosen up the hard heart – taking out the stones that can block the roots from going deep – and taking out the thorns that can choke out the growth.

Sometimes you have to get out the big digger.

I’m going to suggest four steps here – four ways to “get out the big digger” and have your heart ready for God’s Word to take root in your life and God to make a difference in your life.

The first thing you might have to do is to turn your heart over.

Like new ground has to be turned over with a plow – or a big digger – before you can plant – your heart has to be turned over before God’s Word can take root and God can make a difference in your life.

How do you do this?

You have to repent of any known sin.

It is no mistake that the word repent means, “to turn.” Repentance means to turn away from sin and pursue righteousness. To repent means that you make a 180 degree change in your direction. You don’t say that you are sorry and you will try to do better, you confess that you have sinned and you need God’s forgiveness and grace. In order to cultivate a heart that is good soil for God to plant His Word and for it to grow in, you need to plow up your heart and mind and turn control over to God. Ask God to break up the hard rocky surface of your heart and turn over the bitterness and unforgiveness that has made you unproductive and useless in the past.

Get out the big digger – and turn your heart over.

Next – you have to fertilize the soil of your heart.

Like you have to work in fertilizer into the soil – using the big digger to work the fertilizer into the soil before you can plant seeds and expect a crop – sometimes you have to fertilize the soil of your heart so God’s Word can take root in it and grow.

You can do this by spending time in God’s Word so that the life-giving truth of scripture can soak deep into your heart.

You can allow the Bible to fill your heart and mind so that it permeates your thoughts.

As you do this, you are literally washing away the negative, deadly ingredients that result in doubt, fear and defeat — and they are replaced with faith, confidence and victory.

Sally uses bottles of Cheer in her pottery work – but before she can use then she has t get all the Cheer out. The only way to do that is to run fresh water continuously into the bottle and dump it out until the Cheer is gone. Sometimes you have to continually run God’s Word into your heart and dump out everything else that’s in it so God’s Word can take root in your life and God can mae a difference in your life.

Get out the big digger – and fertilize your heart.

Next – you need to sow God’s Word into the situations of your life.

Like you might use the big digger to sow the seed into the soil – you need to sow God’s Word into the situations of your life.

Jesus tells us to not just be hearers of God’s Word — but doers as well.

If you want God to be able to reap a harvest from your life, you have to apply the truth of the Bible into your life and do what it says.

You need to apply God’s Word to the things you face everyday.

You need to look for what the Bible says about the situations you face and follow the principals of scripture.

In other words, you need to put your faith into practice and live what scripture teaches.

Don’t just say you believe it — live it.

Paul Harvey once said:

“If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.”

How true that is!

Get out the big digger – and work God’s Word into the situations of your life.

Lastly – you need to weed the garden of your heart.

Like you have to use the big digger every day in your garden to keep the weeds out, you need to keep weeds out of the garden of your heart that will keep God’s Word from growing and producing fruit – keep God’s Word from making a difference in your life.

Weed out from your heart the thorns of anxiety, worry and the cares of the world.

Don’t allow weeds of evil to grow, but remove them from your heart and life.

Be careful what you watch, listen to and read. Don’t let weeds take root in your heart.

Protect your heart and your relationship with God – and keep the standard of holiness and purity always before you. With your eyes on God and your trust in Him, live to please and love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Get out the big digger – and weed the garden of your heart.

Friends — God wants to produce change in your life — and desires to make your life fruitful and Christlike – but it all depends on the condition of your heart.

Every time God’s Word comes to you, the condition of your heart will dictate how you will respond. God wants you to have a heart that is good soil for Him to use – but you need cultivate a ready and rich heart — a heart that is rich soil for God’s Word to grow in and produce fruit.

If you will get out the big digger – and turn your heart over, fertilize the soil of your heart with God’s word – sow God’s word into the situations of your life – and weed the garden of your life – your heart will be ready soil – soil that is good for God to use –and with good soil that is daily cultivated and ready to receive His Word God will produce a harvest and your life will be changed. Amen.

Matthew 7:7-12

Matthew 7:7-12

“Keep On Praying”

August 16 2009

7^th in “You’ve Got Questions – God Has Answers” Series

Life is filled with things that bother us and that are problems for us – questions we might wish we had answers for.  These things can range from how to deal with the economy and the way it affects our daily living to how to be a Christian parent to how to deal with “difficult people” to how to deal with emotions such as anger to how to keep from saying things that we know are not things God would have us be saying to how to respond when things are moving a lot slower that we would like for them to to how to deal with feelings of loneliness and the questions of how we can be sure of God’s love to questions about God hears our prayers.

The Bible is our guide to living life in God’s ways – and contains God’s answers to our questions in life. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that:

^“16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This summer we’re looking at some of the issues and questions we may face in our lives – and how God would have us deal with them.  Today we are looking at an issue that most of us face from time to time – the issue of God’s answering our prayers.  Sometimes it may seem that God is not listening to us – but despite how it feels – God says to us:

Keep on praying!

Prayer is a vital part of our lives as Christians – we know that God wants us to pray – but – how do we know when to keep praying – and when to give up?  We might believe that God wants us to pray – then find ourselves in specific situations where our prayers don’t seem to do a bit of good.

There may be times when we all may wonder:

Should I keep on praying?

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 7:7-12.  Listen to what Jesus says about the fact that God answers prayers.  Read Scripture

You know — there is nothing that reveals more about how you feel about God than your prayer life. How you approach God and what you’re willing to ask for reveals how you view God.

When we ask people for things we tend to frame our requests with what we know about them in mind.  For example, if  a child knows their father loves and cares for them they may not fear to calmly ask him for things – having the assurance that the father has greater wisdom and experience than they and would not give them anything that would be harmful to them. However, a child with extravagant but uncaring father might arrogantly lay down their demand — knowing their every desire will be met. On the other hand, a child with the stingy, ill-tempered, or abusive father might not dare to ask for anything — fearing it would bring on another emotional explosion from the father.

This is also true spiritually.

When we pray we make our prayers with our understanding of God in mind. I think sometimes our view of God can be influenced by the kind of earthly father we have had. An individual that believes God is arbitrary will be fearful and on guard. The individual who believes that God is vengeful will be fearful. But the individual who believes that God is gracious will come boldly.

Jesus gives us some guidelines about how to come to God in prayer. Listen again to what He says in verses 7-11:

⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be      opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who  knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

All three verbs in verse seven, Ask, Seek, Knock are commands. These are not only commands to do these things – to ask – seek – and knock – but they are also commands to not stop doing these things!  We are told to ask and keep on asking, — to seek and keep on seeking – to knock and keep on knocking. In fact, the words: ask, seek and knock seem to suggest an ever increasing intensity in prayer.

1.Asking. There are some things that we must ask for.

2.Seeking. Seeking is a deeper level of  prayer than just asking. Sometimes we may not know exactly what to pray for and we many need to first seek God’s will before we know what to pray for. But God has made provision for us even in such times.  In Romans 8:26-27 Paul writes:

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what  we      ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

3. Knocking. The knocking here illustrates seeking entrance, or desiring fellowship.

Keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying.

Keep on praying!

Within this command to pray I think we can see four general principles about prayer.

1. 1. We are expected to ask for the things God has promised.

“ask and it shall be given.”  Jesus says.

This same principle is stated in the negative in James 4:2

“… you do not have because you do not ask.”

I’m afraid this principle describes many of us. It has bee said that we do not live in a praying age – and that is true.  We live in an age of hustle and bustle, where we depend on our own efforts and determination and have too much confidence in ourselves and our own power to achieve things.  We believe too strongly in our ability to organize and get things done — and if we can’t get things done we believe that we have the technology to help us figure out how to get things done – or do things for us.  We believe too much in our own abilities  and our own achievements.  We don’t think to ask God for anything – because we think we have – or can get – or can create – anything we need.  But Jesus makes it clear – we are expected to ask for the things God has promised – and if we do so will be blessed in ways we never imagined.

Too many times we don’t accomplish things for God because we don’t ask God to help us accomplish things for Him! W need to ask God for the things He has promised – the ability to reach others for His glory – the ability to do His will – instead of just sit in idle mode and wonder why we can’t seem to get things done for God!

James is right – we don’t have because we don’t ask.

Jesus is right – if we ask it will be given.

If we ask – God will richly bless us with abilities to serve Him and grow into the people He wants us to be.

But – we have to ask.

That’s the first principle we need to understand about prayer.  We are expected to ask for the things God has promised us.

Keep on praying!

Keep on praying!

The second principle is:

1. 2. God hears and answers every prayer.

In verse 8 Jesus says:

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will     be opened.”

There are two certainties when we pray. One is that God hears every prayer.  The other certainty is that God always answers. This verse says for ‘everyone who asks receives,” Maybe you’re wondering if you heard that right – but yes – it says that everyone receives! But here’s a problem — we have the misconception that the only possible answer to prayer is yes. There are two other possibilities. God can say, No or he can say, Not Yet.

However God answers, God hears and answers every prayer  – so keep on praying!

Keep on praying!

This leads to the third principle about prayer:

1. 3. Sometimes God gives us what we need — and not what we ask for.

In verses 9-11 Jesus says:
“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?     (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? (11) If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

Even earthly fathers give good things to their children. We wouldn’t give a child a red-hot chili pepper just because they ask for it. Well – some might think it would be funny – but not many!

I did hear of a father who got their child to hold on to a spark plug of a lawn mower so he could see if it was firing. It was firing alright —  it knocked the fire right out of child.

Generally speaking, though, we do not give things to our children that we know will really harm them. And if this true of us — how much more true it must be of God!

I’ve heard it put this way: “If we ask for God for good things, He grants them —  if we ask for thins which are not good (either not good in themselves, or not good for us or for others, directly or indirectly, immediately or ultimately) He denies them — and many times only He knows the difference.”

Maybe you’ve heard this saying:

“I asked for strength that I might achieve; he made me weak that I might obey.                                I asked for health that I might do great things: he gave grace that I might do better things.    I asked for riches that I might be happy; he did not give them so that I might be wise.            I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel a need of God.                                                                                                                                     I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;                                                                                                      I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.                                                                                                    I received very few of the things I asked for; but I received the things I had hoped for.”

Yea — sometimes God gives us what we need and not what we ask for…

Keep on praying!

Keep on praying!

So – we have 3 principles about prayer:

We are expected to ask for the things God has promised

God hears and answers every prayer.

Sometimes God gives us what we need — and not what we ask for

Here’s a fourth principle about prayer we need to remember:

1. 4. No prayer is ever wasted.

The underlying principle behind the significance of persistent prayer has to be the truth that no prayer is ever wasted effort. Howard Hendricks a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, relates this story about how now prayer is ever wasted. Dr Hendricks writes:

“The phone rang and I greeted a young pastor friend from Arlington, Virginia. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Studying,” I replied. “Nothing special.” “Are you sitting down?” “Yes, why?” “Your father just trusted Christ this evening.” “He what? You’ve got to be kidding!” I blurted out. Such an inappropriate response grew out of long detours in our father-son journey. Ever since I received Christ as a boy my concern has been for the salvation of my family and loved ones. On repeated occasions I had broached the subject of the gospel with dad, but his response was less than excited.
My father has always been a very important person to me. Not that I approved of everything he said or did or that I imitated him consciously in any way. We weren’t really close friends, either. But he was important in my life because of the indirect impact he made upon me.
Dad was a military man. He had seen action around the world. During the periods when he was embroiled in battle, I would become very sensitive to his spiritual need. I and my family prayed for him, but at times I’m afraid my faith sputtered. His response was always the same: Son, don’t worry about me. I’ll work it out with God (as if God could be manipulated like a Pentagon official). God brought a man into my life, a man with a passion for men. His name was Butch Hardman. One day before we knew each other Butch was boarding a plane in Detroit when a friend handed him a cassette tape. “Ever hear Hendricks? Here’s a tape you should listen to.” On that tape I related my father’s spiritual need. Butch listened and something about the anecdote reminded him of his own father with whom he had shared Christ shortly before he died. He began to pray for this unknown man, George Hendricks.
Some months later Butch attended a pastors’ conference in Philadelphia where I was the speaker. He shook my hand afterward. That was the only time our paths crossed before a remarkable incident in Arlington.
Butch was driving the church bus down the street, having discharged all his passengers. He saw a man standing on the corner who reminded him uncannily of Howard Hendricks. Could it possibly be…? He backed up the bus, stopped, got off, and went over to the man. “Are you by any chance Howard Hendricks’ father?” It is easy to imagine the startled response. “Er-ah (I can envision my father’s critical once-over with his steely blue eyes) yeah—you a student of my son?”
“No, I’m not, but he sure has helped me. Got time for a cup of coffee?”
That encounter began a friendship, skillfully engineered by the Spirit of God. Butch undoubtedly sensed dad’s hesitancy when he discovered he had met a preacher. For a long time Butch did not invite him to attend his church. He simply suggested that dad drop by the office for coffee. Patiently he endured dad’s cigars and his endless repertoire of war stories. Before long he also learned that dad had been diagnosed as having a terminal throat cancer.
Months later Butch was at his bedside. “Mr. Hendricks, I’ll be leaving shortly for a Holy Land trip. Instead of my listening to you tonight, would you let me tell you a story?”
Butch had earned his hearing and he began simply to relate the interview of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus as recorded by the Apostle John. At the conclusion dad accepted Butch’s invitation to receive Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. Then dad got up out of bed, stood, and saluted with a smile. “Now I’m under a new Commander-in-Chief!” That night Butch called Dallas.
The last time I saw dad alive I could not believe he was the same man I had known. His frame was wasted, but his spirit was more virile than I had ever known.
In accordance with dad’s specific provision in his will, Butch Hardman conducted the crisp military funeral in Arlington cemetery where the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented to the small group of family and military attendants. As the guns saluted their final farewell, I knew God had vindicated forty-two years of prayer.
[Howard & Jeanne Hendricks. FootPrints. (Multnomah Press, 1981) pp. 16-19 –

You see — no prayer is ever wasted

Keep on praying!

If  you think you’re not doing what you should for God – keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying. We are expected to pray for the things God has promised.

If  you wonder if God hears your prayers –  keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying. God hears and answers every prayer.

If you’re not sure God has given you what you’ve asked for — keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying – for sometimes God gives us what we need and not what we ask for.

If you feel your prayers are a waste of time — keep on asking – keep on seeking – keep on knocking – keep on praying – for no prayer is ever wasted.

Here’s the truth, friends – we may experience “dry spells” in our prayer lives – but God wants us to keep on asking – keep on seeking – and keep on knocking –

God wants us to on keep praying!

Amen

Hosea 2:14-20

Hosea 2:14-20

God Loves You!

Sixth in summer 2009 series on You’ve Got Questions – God Has Answers

August 9, 2009

Life is filled with things that bother us and that are problems for us – questions we might wish we had answers for.  These things can range from how to deal with the economy and the way it affects our daily living to how to be a Christian parent to how to deal with “difficult people” to how to deal with emotions such as anger to how to keep from saying things that we know are not things God would have us be saying to how to respond when things are moving a lot slower that we would like for them to to how to deal with feelings of loneliness and the questions of how we can be sure of God’s love.

The Bible is our guide to living life in God’s ways – and contains God’s answers to our questions in life. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that:

^“16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This summer we’re looking at some of the issues and questions we may face in our lives – and how God would have us deal with them.  Today we are looking at an issue that most of us face from time to time – how to know that we are loved – important – and cared for.

Knowing that we are loved – important – and cared for is a basic human need.  One of the core things we need to know to survive and thrive in the world is that we are loved – that God loves us – and that someone else loves and cares for us.

If we know that we are loved we are on the way to being the happy, well balanced, loving life God created us to live.  If we know that God loves and cares for us – and that others love and care for us – we are well on the way being a happy person.  However, if we don’t feel that God or anyone else loves and cares for us – we have a hard time in life.

The wonderful truth is that God loves you – and there are probably many others that love you also.  You just have to accept that – know that — celebrate that – and live your life in joy and praise because of that.

But – how can you know that God loves you?

Listen to God’s word in Hosea 2:14-20:

Many of you know that I serve as a volunteer Chaplain at Carolinas’ Hospital. The volunteer Chaplains play a vital role at the hospital as we visit patients and their families – many of whom do not have a minister – and listen to their stories and pray for them.  We are a vital part of the healing team that includes doctors, nurses, therapists, and a whole host of others who make a difference in the lives of the patients and their families.

When Sally and I lived in North Carolina I served as a volunteer Chaplain at 2 community hospitals.  I never will forget an experience I had one week that I was on call at one of them.  One night when I was on call the hospital called me and said they had the body of a man who had committed suicide – and his family was asking if the Chaplain could “bury their brother”.  I felt very sad for the family – they seemed to have no one else to turn to — so I agreed to do the service.  I didn’t know anything about the man whose funeral I would be conducting – but I knew that God loved him.                  For the purpose of this illustration I’ll say his name was John Smith. The service wasn’t held in a church — it was a graveside service.  The family had no Church home. When I arrived for the service, it was raining hard – and before long the rain turned to sleet. The funeral director told me where to stand to lead the service. I said, “That’s fine, but when will the casket get here?” The funeral director pointed to a tiny box and whispered, “There are Mr. Smith’s remains.” The funeral home director couldn’t tell me much about Mr. Smith – except for that he had lived a very hard life, had been in prison, and had committed suicide a few weeks after his release.

When the time came for the service to begin, only four people had showed up. I had planned to offer them words of comfort, but it soon became obvious that none of them were experiencing grief. Instead, they seemed irritated to have been inconvenienced to come out in the sleet for the service.  At one point his sister said, “You know, it’s just like John to do something like this!” I stumbled through the ceremony, and closed with a prayer. On my way home, I couldn’t help but feel sorrow for Mr. John Smith. He had lived a tough but short life that ended as tragically as a life can end, and I didn’t see evidence at the service that anyone in the world even cared. Maybe that’s why he committed suicide — he felt unloved and all alone.

You know — there is no greater feeling in the world than to know that you are absolutely, completely, and unconditionally loved. And there’s no greater emptiness a human can experience than to feel—either rightly or wrongly—that no one loves or cares for them.

Through the years a number of people have expressed this to me, and it doesn’t come from just ex-cons and other down-and-outers. People from all walks of life feel this way. Some are married, some have families, some are surrounded by acquaintances, yet they live with an  emptiness—a loneliness—that cannot be ignored.

Not too long ago I read about a successful entertainer who said:

“In all my fame, I’m all alone. No one really loves me. I provide security for some people, I’m a source of entertainment for others—but if I were ever to become unable to do those things, no one would have any use for me.”

Maybe you feel this way.

Maybe for months or years you’ve been going through motions of life with a nagging sense of emptiness, wondering “Does anyone love me?”

The journal of a noted criminal – someone who seemed to be “tough as nails” and who seemed to hate everyone – was uncovered.  Many times in that journal the words “Somebody, please love me” were written.

People will do just about anything in order to feel loved. Some people think: “If I succeed enough, people will love me” or “If I have a relationship with this person, he or she will love me” or “If I am pitiful enough, people will feel sorry for me and begin to love me” The problem is, none of these strategies work. Those who pursue love by means of success usually end up feeling used and unappreciated. The same can be said for those who try to trade sex for love. Those who use a pity as a means of earning affection usually find that pity soon turns to contempt, and they end up feeling alone and abandoned.

The thing is — most people who feel unloved have a distorted view of reality. They aren’t really completely unloved—they just don’t recognize the love that is in their life. Their emotional pain blinds them to the fact that they have friends and family who love them very much – and a God who loves them.

Here’s a truth I hope every one of you will always remember: If you sometimes feel unloved, or if you are in a position in life where you feel that there is no one at all that loves you – God loves you – and there is hope for you.

God loves you!

If you feel unloved, you are in the right place – because the Church can offer you hope today. This is the hope we can offer you today: The hope that there is someone who loves you, and to Him you matter very, very much — and He has gone to amazing lengths to prove His love for you.

God loves you!

Most of you have heard that statement thousands of times throughout your life–maybe so many times that the statement has lost some of its impact. Some people think:

“Yeah, God loves me. So what? He has to—he loves everybody.”

I want to make something clear: God loves you with all of His heart, and it’s not because He got stuck with you. He doesn’t love you just because you’re part of this big mass of humanity. He loves you individually. He loves you as if you were the only one in the world to love. No matter what you have done, or no matter what your life has been like, God loves you – and He wants to share His love with you.

Our scripture passage for today is a story that illustrates God’s love for you — and it shows to what length He will go to keep on loving you. It’s the story about a man named Hosea. It begins with God telling Hosea to marry an adulteress woman named Gomer. That’s right—her name was Gomer. Don’t get side-tracked by her name. I’m sure she was a very beautiful woman, and I doubt seriously that she looked anything like Jim Neighbors. Who knows, maybe in those days Gomer was considered a beautiful name.

Well — God knew that Gomer would be unfaithful, and yet God wanted Hosea to marry her anyway.

Why?

Because Hosea’s marriage to Gomer symbolizes God’s love for you. God  loves you even though he knows in advance there are going to be times when you are going to be unfaithful to Him.

After Gomer gave birth to three children, she left Hosea and became a prostitute. Hosea  stayed home and raised the children alone, while Gomer traveled throughout the world, selling her body to strangers. Years passed, and Hosea began to search for his wife. He wanted her back. Finally, he found her on an auction block. For a few pieces of silver and a few bushels of barley, Hosea bought back the wife who had deserted him. He took her in his arms and he said to her, “Come home. You’re to live with me now, and I will live with you.”

This story of Hosea’s love for his “runaway bride” is the story of God’s love for you. Whether you feel unloved a little or a lot, some of the time or all of the time, this story has much to tell you about the relationship God wants to have with you. It matters more than any other relationship in your life. Once you grasp God’s love, you will never spend another day feeling unloved — because you will be filled with love from the one who matters most.

God loves you!

Our passage from Hosea 2 describe in more detail the extent of God’s love for you.

1. First of all — God loves you – and directs His love to you — personally.

He doesn’t love you as “part of the crowd” — He loves you as an individual. He knows your name. He knows your needs. He understands your hurts and fears. His relationship with you is based not on what you do for Him, but what He does for you.

Listen to what he says…

(v. 16) In that day…you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’

You see — God doesn’t want to treat you like a slave — He wants to treat you like His loved spouse. God wants a relationship with you based on love — not based on the law.  God wants a relationship with you based on devotion, not based on duty. The relationship isn’t to be one of tyranny, but one of tenderness.

Listen to what he says about Gomer, — and realize that it can be said about you as well…

(v. 14) Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.

You may feel unloved because you have done some things that are unlovely, but God loves you anyway. He wants to have a tender, loving, devoted relationship with you — as a husband should have with his wife. And even if you are the worst spouse in the world, he will buy you back, just as Hosea bought back Gomer.

God loves you with all of His heart, and He directs His love toward you personally, as an individual.

God loves you!

He loves you like you’re the only person in the world — it’s a personal love.

That’s the first thing you can know about God’s love.

The second thing you can know it that:

2. God promises to love you forever.

His love is permanent.

Listen to what he says…

(v. 19) I will betroth you to me forever.

The word “betroth” means engagement — in Hosea’s time it was a binding, unbreakable promise to marry. In fact, in those days it was easier to get out of a marriage than it was to get out of an engagement. So, God uses this phrase: “I will betroth you to me forever.”

God’s love lasts forever. It is permanent. It doesn’t come and go. He loved you as a newborn baby, he loves you today—and he will always love you.

In the seventies there was a song by the band “Pure Prairie League” that went:

Falling in and out of love with you, Falling in and out of love with you, Don’t know what I’m going to do, I keep falling in and out of love with you.(Falling In and Out of Love © 1974 Craig Lee Fuller)

This might describe how we sometimes love one another, but it is not how God loves us. His love lasts forever—it doesn’t get bigger on your good days or smaller on your bad days.

A few years ago there was a Wendy’s commercial that began with a mother saying:

“Kids.  Most days you love them, but other days, well…”

Then the commercial went on to say that Wendy’s was a great reward for good kids, or something to that effect. When I first saw that commercial, I couldn’t believe it. Wendy’s pulled it after a very short run — I guess they realized the message it communicated. Any parent knows that even on their worst days, you don’t stop loving your kids. And even on your worst day, God doesn’t stop loving you. His love is forever. In Jeremiah God says…

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you up with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

God loves you!

God loves you with all his heart–and his love lasts forever.

The third thing you can know about God’s love is this:

3. God gives his love to you without holding anything back.

Have you ever been in a relationship where you were afraid to give 100% of yourself, because you knew you were going to get hurt? Of course, it usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy —  if you can’t give love in a relationship, the relationship cannot last. But if you don’t trust the person you’re in a relationship with, you have to be careful. If you allow yourself to be too vulnerable, you end up getting hurt.

God takes a completely different approach with you and me. He knows from the start that He will be hurt. He knows that we will sin — and our sin will break His heart. And yet He loves you anyway — and He doesn’t hold anything back.

Most people are capable of loving you only half-way. We may try to love others unconditionally, but there is no way we can love one another as perfectly as God loves us — because we’re not perfect. God’s love for you is different than any other love you will ever experience.

Others may love you for what you do — God loves you for who you are.

Others may love you temporarily — God loves you forever.

Others may love you for the things they see on the surface — God loves you even though He knows the deepest, darkest parts of your life.

Others may love you in an on and off manner — God’s love for you is always on. He doesn’t hold anything back. Listen to what he says…

(v. 19-20) I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness…

Righteousness – justice – love – compassion — faithfulness.

God’s not promising Hs eternal love to you because you have these qualities – God’s promising His eternal love because He has these qualities. He is saying, in effect:

“I am completely righteous, and I will put my righteousness on the line for you. I am completely just, and I will put my justice on the line for you. I am always compassionate, and I will make my compassion available to you always. I will forever be faithful to you.”

When God loves you, he holds nothing back. He’s not watching you from a distance with His arms folded, waiting to see if you can become worthy of His love. He already loves you, and He always will– no matter what you have done. No matter what others think of you, and no matter what you think of yourself, God views you with a heart full of love.

You’re not unlovable — not according to the one who matters most.

God loves you!

God loves you with all His heart.

You.

Forever.

Completely.

Without holding anything back.

In fact, 2000 years ago, in a manner far more dramatic than Hosea buying back his wife, God sent His son into the world to die for the sins of the world. He did it for one reason: Love.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son…“

He doesn’t hold anything back.

No matter how alone you may feel, you are not alone. No matter how unlovely you may think you are, you are not unlovable.

God loves you.

There is nothing you can do to deserve that love – all you can do – and all you have to do —  is accept it.

When Hosea found Gomer being auctioned in the town square, she could do nothing to save herself. She couldn’t undo the past and she couldn’t suddenly make herself worthy. All she could do was allow Hosea to pay the price, and then go home with him and start a new life.

That’s all you can do.

You can’t change the past, or undo any of the things that caused you to feel unloved.

You can, however, reach out and accept God’s love, and go on your way with Him by your side – knowing that you are loved.

Yea – God loves you! Amen.

James 5:7-12

James 5:7-12

Lord Give Me Patience — Now!

August 2, 2009

Part 5 of summer 2009 series: You’ve Got Questions – God Has Answers

Life is filled with things that bother us and that are problems for us – questions we might wish we had answers for.  These things can range from how to deal with the economy and the way if affects our daily living to how to be a Christian parent to how to deal with “difficult people” to how to deal with emotions such as anger to how to keep from saying things that we know are not things God would have us be saying to how to respond when things are moving a lot slower that we would like for them to.

The Bible is our guide to living life in God’s ways – and contains God’s answers to our questions in life. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that:

^“16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This summer we’re looking at some of the issues and questions we may face in our lives – and how God would have us deal with them.  Today we are looking at an issue that – like controlling our anger and taming our tongues – most of us face –a battle that most of us have to fight – and most of us need help with – the issue of how to have patience.

Patience is indeed a virtue –but one that many folks do not have! I know that there are many times in my life that I become impatient with someone or some situation – and I want to shout out:

“Lord – give me patience – and give it to me now!”

Any of you ever felt like that – like you desperately needed patience – and you desperately needed it – right then?

Lord – give me patience – Now!

What do we do?

How can we build patience – and be more patient?

Good question – especially in today’s instant society where we are used to  getting fast food – can instant message folks on the computer – can send a text message on our cell phones and expect an immediate response – get impatient if someone does not respond to our e-mail in 5 minutes – and expect folks to be waiting for us to call them and return our call in short order if they don’t answer it immediately.

How can we be more patient – and build patience?

Listen to what James writes in James 5:7-12.

A young Dad pushed his son’s stroller down the street as the youngster  howled in rage and displeasure. Folks could hear the father telling himself:

“Please, Bernard, control yourself… Easy there, Bernard, Keep calm! Everything will be alright. “

“Congratulations Sir,” said a woman who had been watching. “You know just how to speak to a child… calmly, gently, and with great patience.”

Then she added, “Did you name little Bernard after a family member? I really like that name.”

“Ma’am, you don’t understand,” the father said, “My son’s name is Jeffery, I’m Bernard.”
All of us — at one time or another — have had to talk to ourselves – trying to convince ourselves to be patient.

The Bible has a lot to say about patience.

There are many references that talk about waiting — and there are over 30 verses that speak specifically about being patient. We know that “Patience is a Virtue.” Yet, because of our hurried up society, many of us seem to pray to God:

“Lord — I need more patience — and I need it now.”
In the passage we just read James emphasizes the virtue of patience. We certainly understand that patience is needed in our daily tasks and our relationships with others — but here in this passage James zero’s in on an area that applies to us all.

James writes that we must develop patience so we can get through hard and trying times.

One of the most challenging times to exercise patience is when life hands out what we feel is unjust, unfair or undeserved treatment – and I’m sure some here today feel life has treat them unfairly. Maybe you’ve lost your jobs – or recently ended a relationship – or are suffering physically — or who are living under great financial stress. Well, God wants to help you by teaching you how to react to suffering – with patience.  So, let’s – patently — study what James has to say because even if you are not going through suffering right now, you will at some point — and we all can use Godly advice on how to be more patient.

First, James explains patience by telling us to do a very difficult thing, in the face of trying times.  In the face of trying times, James says to wait.

Wait?

Yes – James says in verse 7 —

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming..”

Patience — in this context — is simply the ability to stay steadfast under trial.
OK – let’s admit it –we have a difficult time being patient under ordinary circumstances – don’t we? Waiting has probably always been a difficult virtue for people to master — but it is particularly hard in today’s society. We live in a rapid pace culture. We have fax machines, microwaves, the internet, and hands free cell phones. I saw a sign the other day that read: “Ears pierced, while you wait” – as if you could drop your ear off – they’d pierce for you – and you could come back for it!  Indeed, we are a society of fidgety, impatient people – and it is very difficult for us to be patient.

It is no wonder we think that James’ admonition to be patient while suffering is close to impossible for us.  Even our pain medicines promise us “Fast – fast – fast” relief and the various products vie for who can relieve you the fastest. Whether it’s Richard Petty advertising Goody’s headache powder or someone else advertising Tylenol – Advil – Motren – or whatever the product is – they all advertise fast relief from pain.  And if we are seriously ill — emotionally distressed — or under financial pressure — we want a remedy in a hurry.

But James says, “Be patient, endure, persevere.”

There are times in when there is little we can do except wait – and practice patience.

We all know that.

So – we all might want to cry out to God:

Lord – give me patience – Now!

Of course, it might be a little thing to have to wait for a meal when you’re hungry– but it’s a whole different matter when James tells us to exercise patience even in times of severe stress and affliction. But — James adds some encouragement at in vs.7:

“Be patient” – he writes –

To which we might want to ask “Why”

Because the Lord is coming – he replies!

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming:”

Sometimes you have to wait – but what you’re waiting for is worth it!
Let’s say you’re baking a chocolate cake and your 4 year old child is watching for the first time.

You might begin by sifting some flour.

“Uuoo,” they say, “that’s dry and looks yucky.”

You say, “Just wait.”

Then you put in some baking soda and sour milk.

The batter really looks uninviting now.

“I’m not going to eat that!” your child says.

“Be patient,” you tell them.

Then you put in a raw egg.

“That’s gross,” they yell.
You smile and say once again, “Just you wait, you’ll see.”

You know how surprised they’re going to be when later, after all the  ingredients are in and the mix is baked in the oven, they’ll taste a delicious chocolate cake.

The spiritual lesson is obvious isn’t it?

Often in life we encounter “dry stretches” which are tasteless as flour. We also meet with “sour” experiences like the milk and even some “raw dealings” like the egg; but after we have gone through the oven of affliction, many times something beautiful in our character, in our inner soul is the result.

We still might want to cry to God:

Lord – give me patience – Now!

James gives a couple of clues to help us tell when we are not practicing patience. He gives us two evidences of impatience.

The first is – grumbling

James writes in verse 9:

“Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged”

Ever noticed that – when you get impatient – you start grumbling?

It’s natural to grumble when you get impatient!

“Why won’t the Dr. call me with my lab results?”

“Why did God allow this?”

“I can’t believe the Coach picked him to start as QB!”

James says grumbling is a tell-tale sign that we are not practicing patience. In fact, it tells us just the opposite – it tells that we’re on edge — we’re mad. You can even hear it in the word..  “Grrrr-umbling.”
And God considers grumbling or complaining a very serious matte because it is an indication that you really don’t trust Him. Our impatience is an indication that we really don’t believe that He is going to care for us — that He’s going to provide what is ultimately the best for us. That’s why Paul writes in Philippians 2:14:

“Do everything without complaining or grumbling.”

The second indication of impatience is swearing.

Look at vs:12:

“Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.”

As we saw last week, James admonishes us a couple of times to control our tongues. But James is not stressing the absence of profanity here. He is cautioning about oath taking. He is saying that our impatience sometimes we can use something sacred for the purpose of supporting what we’re saying.

“I swear to God, I’ll never do it again.”

“I swear on a stack of Bibles that I won’t do that again.”

James reminds us that we are to simply say,

“I’ll never do it again. “

“I’ll try to not do that again.”

Simply put – James is saying — Mean what you say.
In other words just be so credible in your speech — even when you’re under stress — that you don’t grumble, swear or lash out — or blame God for your plight.

So – instead of saying

God – give me patience – now!

How can we truly acquire patience?
James gives us some help here.

James cites 3 positive examples of patience in this passage — and there are three lessons from these examples that we can learn from.
The first is the faithful farmer.

Look at vs.7:

“See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains”

When Sally and I moved from Seminary I Decatur, GA to rural NC I decided I would plant a garden.  The following year I had a nice garden filled with corn – corn that grew tall.  When our nephews and nieces came to visit that summer, they could not believe that Uncle Bill and Aunt Sally had corn that was 5 feet tall!  As we were looking at the corn we noticed some early sprouting ears and I explained that they were not ready to eat yet. Well, they wanted to know why they couldn’t just take them off the stalk and find out if they were ready or not.   I explained that to do that would kill the ears because they were not ready to be picked.

You know — if you’re going to be a farmer you can’t be impatient. The farmer has to be patient. He plants the seed but depends on the rains to mature the crop that he has planted. And the point here is that the farmer has no control over the rain.
You know – there are a whole lot of circumstances in life that are beyond your control — and there is nothing that we can do about them. The farmer can’t count on the rain, he can only hope for it. It’s the same way with us sometimes. There are times when things happen in our lives that we can’t control. It’s no one’s fault – they just happen. There is no use worrying — there’s no use grumbling — there’s no use swearing — there’s no use making life miserable for all those around you. All you can do is wait, but you can also place your trust in God to take care of it.

So here’s the first lesson: Some suffering is beyond your control.

So, trust God and do what you can.

Don’t just sit and do nothing, that increases your anxiety.

You do what you can.

You go to the Doctor if it’s a physical ailment you’re impatient about – or you take your medicine – if it’s a job you’re impatient about you send out resumes – in almost any case you can  read the Bible and pray.

In other words, you do your part.

But if there are circumstances beyond your control — then turn the matter over to God and trust Him to take care of it.

Psalm 27:14 reads:

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”

Sometimes life deals you blows where you have to be brave and courageous.
But in those times who are you going to trust?

When the Doctor says, “There’s nothing else we can do.”

Or the boss says, “I’m sorry we have to lay you off.”

Or you learn of a loved one’s death –

who you going to depend on then?

Yourself?

This world’s solutions?

James says about farmers:

“they wait for the land to yield its valuable crop or the precious harvest to ripen.”

The farmer knows there are circumstances beyond his control, so he’s patient and trusts the Lord.

So must we.

Instead of saying to God:

Give me patience – now!

We need to learn to be patient – do our part – but also wait for the Lord.

There’s another example Janes gives:
The second example that James gives is the OT prophets

In vs:10 James writes:

“as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”

The prophets were God’s spokesman — the preachers of that day — but they were not exempt from hurting. In fact, the Bible tells us they were right in the middle of it.

The prophet Hosea, had a wife who was unfaithful.

Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet” because his people were so mad at his message to turn from their sin that they beat him up.

So many times when things go wrong we want to cry out-

“Oh, God, why is this happening to me? What have I done wrong? Why are you punishing me like this?”

But these prophets were walking in the will of God —  and yet they suffered.
So, here’s the second lesson we can learn:

We can learn from the things that we get the most upset about – the most impatient about – and learn to not give up on God.

Listen to what Jeremiah said to the people after they were taken by enemies and made slaves in Babylon. Jer.29:5-

“Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce. Get married, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and let your daughters get married so that they can have sons and daughters. Grow in number there; don’t decrease. Work for the good of the city where I’ve taken you as captives, and pray to the Lord for that city. When it prospers, you will also prosper.”

God was saying to them: “I know this is not where you want to be, I know that you would rather be in Jerusalem, I know you want to be free. But you’re going to stay there for awhile so make the best of it.”

Now, maybe you’re not living where you want to live, maybe you don’t have the job you’d like, maybe your situation isn’t ideal. But, more than likely it’s not punishment, it’s just circumstances – so don’t be impatient – make the best of it – and serve God in it.

The important question is — what are you doing until things get better?

What are you doing between the time you’re sick and the time you’re well?

What do you do in the meantime.. between the time you lose your job and the time you get the next one?

What do you do in the meantime.. between the time your daughter announces she’s getting married to the guy you don’t like and the time when she has that grandchild whose the prettiest and smartest child ever born?

The Old Testament prophets remained faithful — even though they were persecuted.  James encourages us to do the same.
One other example of patience that James gives is of Job.

In vs. 11James writes:

You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

Job is an example of a man who endured patiently. From his experience we see how the Lord’s plan finally ended in good. I don’t care how much you’re hurting today, none of you hurt as much as Job did. I don’t care how much you have to be impatient about, none of us have as much as Job did. Job’s cattle alone were estimated to be worth $6 million and in one day he lost, not only his cattle but all of his possessions. And then a worse blow came. Job had 10 children and one day they were feasting in the oldest son’s home and a wind storm came and killed them all! And then his health broke to the point where he would try to scrape boils off his skin. Anything to get rid of them. But Job stayed faithful. He asked a lot of questions – he was not exactly sure what God was doing — but he didn’t lose his trust. In the end God blessed Job.

So, here’s the final lesson about patience. All suffering – everything we can get impatient about — is temporary — the best is yet to come. God has promised that no matter how bad it gets God has the ultimate reward.

James says you are blessed if you persevere.

You’ve seen what the Lord did for Job and He is full of compassion and mercy.

You may have heard the story about the woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live. She was getting her things “in order” – and contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her funeral. After discussing what she wanted for her service she then said:

“There’s one more thing, this is very important. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”

The pastor looked at the woman — not knowing quite what to say.

“Does my request surprise you?” the woman asked. “

“yeah,” said the Pastor, “I’m very puzzled.”

The woman explained:

“In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the main course dishes were being cleared, someone would often say, ’Folks, keep your fork.’

It was my favorite part because I knew something better was coming… like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!

So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder ’What’s with the fork?’

Then I want you to tell them: ’Keep your fork…the best is yet to come.’ ”

God promises that he will reward those who persevere through pain – through problems – through the things we many times become impatient about.  That’s not my promise — that’s His — and you can trust it.

So – when you feel like screaming:

“God give me patience – and give it now!”

Remember these three lessons:

Some things are beyond your control, so trust God and do what you can about it.

Most things we become impatient about are just the way life is sometimes – and in the midst of them we can still be faithful to God.

And – all things we become impatient about are temporary — the best is yet to come.
When Napoleon fought Wellington of England, all England waited patiently for word of the decisive battle at Waterloo. When the message came to London it was relayed by the flags on top of the Winchester cathedral. The flags on the cathedral began to spell it out: “Wellington defeated…” But before the message could be completed, a heavy fog moved in. Gloom filled the hearts of the people as the fragmentary news spread throughout the surrounding countryside. But when the mists began to lift, it became evident that the signals of Winchester Cathedral had really spelled out the triumphant message: “Wellington defeated the enemy!”

When you feel defeated and find yourself  a fog of growing impatience– I urge you to look to the clear promises God gives us and see “how the Lord’s plan finally ends in good, for he is full of tenderness and mercy.”  Amen.