Counting Our Blessings

[The following was delivered at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, Locust, NC, on Sunday, September 19, 2010.]

Old Testament reading:

1. The proverbs of Solomon:
   A wise son brings joy to his father,
   but a foolish son grief to his mother.
   
   
2. Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,
   but righteousness delivers from death.
   
   
3. The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry
   but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
   
   
4. Lazy hands make a man poor,
   but diligent hands bring wealth.
   
   
5. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,
   but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
   
   
6. Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
   but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
   
   
7. The memory of the righteous will be a blessing,
   but the name of the wicked will rot.
   
   
8. The wise in heart accept commands,
   but a chattering fool comes to ruin.
   
   
9. The man of integrity walks securely,
   but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.
   
   
10. He who winks maliciously causes grief,
    and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
    
    
11. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
    but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
    
    
12. Hatred stirs up dissension,
    but love covers over all wrongs.
    

-- Proverbs 10:1-12 (New International Version)


New Testament reading and Message scripture:

The Beatitudes


1. Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
   
   
2. and he began to teach them saying:
   
   
3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
   
   
4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
   
   
5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
   
   
6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
   
   
7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
   
   
8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
   
   
9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
   
   
10. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    
    
11. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
    
    
12. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
    

-- Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version)

Back in the 1950's, a little movie came out called “White Christmas”. Have you ever heard of it? It was full of music by Irving Berlin, including the title song, and some pretty good musical talent of the day, namely Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen. Bing and Rosemary teamed up to perform a tune that came to mind as I pondered the message to deliver today: “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep”. The song opens with a remedy for insomnia: “When I'm worried and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep and I fall asleep counting my blessings.” We've all heard the admonishment, “Count your blessings”, especially if we ever complained about something we think bad happened to us and a parent or favorite aunt or friend wanted to remind us that maybe what befell us wasn't really all that bad in the grand scheme of things. So I thought we could do that today, count a few of our blessings.

First we should probably decide just what constitutes a blessing. Would you think it a blessing if you won the mega bucks lottery and received millions of dollars as a prize? Or perhaps some long forgotten relative passed away and left their house to the third child of their fifth second cousin on their mother's side, and end result of that sequence turned out to be you. Would that be a blessing? How about if the Panthers have a winning season? Would that be a blessing? Some might consider that more in the realm of miracles. But would we really consider any of these events blessings?

Going back to our song for a moment, Bing sings about one blessing as, “When my bankroll is getting small, I think of when I had none at all and I fall asleep counting my blessings.” This little piece of advice may be quite applicable today, nearly sixty years after it debuted. In our current economic environment, with so many out of work and struggling to make ends meet, I am sure a lot of folks suffer through sleepless nights, worrying about their shrinking resources. Could putting their troubles in the hands of Jesus and remembering when they had nothing at all help them fall asleep?

One repeated phrase in the song involves thinking of the nursery and counting the curly heads there, slumbering in their beds. Our children are indeed one of our greatest blessings. Sure, there are times when we consider this particular blessing to be of the mixed variety, like when our little angel throws a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, or when our teenage son calls and says, “Dad, I've wrecked the car. No one's hurt but the car is totaled.”, or our adult daughter comes through the door sobbing, “Mom, he's left me for some other woman!”. Children are a blessing, even if they are not ours. We learn from them, we grow because of them, we do things because of them we would never dream of doing for ourselves. When we pay taxes, we think about building schools to educate future generations. When we step into the voting booth we consider how our cast ballot may affect those who will follow years down the road. We know how dear and precious children are. And so did Jesus, as He showed when He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”, as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

So children are a blessing, but what are some others? I consider each new morning a blessing. We are all blessed to live in this great land of ours, where we are to come in here and worship Jesus Christ as our risen Savior without fear of soldiers rushing through the doors to haul us outside and execute us, like the early Christians suffered. And I see a wonderful blessing in all the beauty in this world God has given us for a home, this beautiful garden we live in. Do we really need color in order to live and see things? Does food need to taste good to nourish our bodies? Do birds have to sing so sweetly just to attract a mate? No, no, and no. These are just a few examples of the beauty all around us, the beauty provided by God's hand, the beauty given to us simply for our enjoyment, the beauty that makes our lives a little easier to live and gives us more meaning. We can turn to our New Testament scripture reading for even more blessings.

When Matthew opens his fifth chapter, Jesus has begun His ministry. Filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism by His cousin John and having resisted the temptations of Satan, He travels the countryside teaching the people and healing their ills. Crowds follow Him everywhere, forming ahead in hopes of His passing, reaching out for His touch. On this occasion, seeing the crowd awaiting Him, Jesus retreats “up into the hills” and His disciples follow Him. From here He delivers the Sermon on the Mount, recorded only by Matthew. We should look at this as a teaching tool, not a proclamation. In the first section, Christ talks about the citizens of heaven. We call this section The Beatitudes, and it describes the character and the blessings of the citizens of heaven.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Would we consider being poor, whether financially or spiritually, to be a blessing? Jesus does. For when we are poor, in any manner, then we have no other resource to turn to for help but to God. When we turn to Him for our help, then we will receive His blessings. Maybe not in this life, but definitely in the next, when we enter heaven. This is very much like what Paul wrote when talking about his “thorn in the flesh”. He suffered an affliction and asked God to remove it from him. But then he realized when he was weakest, God was strongest. When we have nothing left, nowhere else to turn, God will always be there for us. When we place our dependence on God, He will not let us down.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” When we think of mourning, our thoughts turn to those grieving over the loss of loved ones. In our earlier prayer, we asked for comfort for those suffering that loss today. But we can also mourn the seeming loss of justice in this world ruled over by the Evil One. In Revelation John tells us those who died for the Word of God and their testimony, the martyrs, cry out for judgment and justice. For now, we can expect to be blessed by God's comfort in our losses. When heaven comes to earth, the martyrs will be avenged.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” It is a bit of a misconception in our society when we equate meekness with cowardice and weakness. To be meek really means to be humble and respectful. These are the people who don't try to have their own way in all situations, who tend to care more about others than about themselves, who are not pushy or flashy or pretentious. Indeed, to be meek pretty much requires also being courageous and strong, because you may have to stand against injustice alone, you may be assailed from all sides, you may suffer at the hands of those who consider God their enemy. But know that God is watching and taking note, and your reward will be great.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.” Again, it may seem odd to consider hunger and thirst to be blessings. But in this case, just as if our hunger and thirst were for food and water, our needs can drive us to greater lengths to secure what we seek. If we are hungry enough for the Word of God, thirsty enough for the Water of Life, then we will surely be blessed as we seek fulfillment in our Lord and Savior.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.” Finally, we find a blessing that makes sense. If we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us. And believe me, being born into sin and living sinful lives, we will need this blessing of mercy. In fact, it is by God's grace alone that we are worthy to enter heaven.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Is this even possible? Can a human, a fallible, sinful mortal human being ever attain pureness of heart? No, not on our own. But that is where the blessing comes in. God loves us so much, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. By the blood Jesus shed on the cross we are washed clean, our hearts made pure, and by His side we will be allowed to see God. This is the greatest blessing of all.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Like meekness, don't mistake making peace to be synonymous with not waging war. Sometimes making and keeping the peace requires first waging war. But it does mean not making unnecessary or unjust war. Seeking personal gain by force is an example of unnecessary war. Keeping that from happening, making peace between the combatants in a case like this, would be a peacemaker. Peacemakers are those who have no selfish ambitions, no hidden agendas. How great and humbling a blessing to be called a son of God, a brother of Jesus.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Being righteous describes being morally upright, and can be defined by living a life dedicated to God. Notice that being sinless is not a requirement. We are all sinners, we cannot help but sin. But given that we confess our sin, repent, seek forgiveness, and strive to not repeat that sin, we can live our lives in such a way as to serve as an example to others, by dedicating ourselves to God. Our blessing, our kingdom, will be in heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” Now, really... Does this sound like a blessing to you? To be insulted, to be lied about, to suffer persecution are not occurrences we would associate as being good and desirable. In fact, we'd rather avoid such if at all possible. But the last three words give all the rest meaning: “Because of Me”. If because of how we live, if because of the example we set, if because of our testimony or our words we show others what it means to be a Christian and the great hope and promise that our Savior holds for us, if because of this we suffer the injustices listed here, then indeed we will be blessed by God in heaven. The last line in our reading confirms this. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Christ is putting us in the same league as the saints and martyrs when we suffer for Him. And promises us just as great a reward.

So even though we might not consider all of the Beatitudes to describe blessings at first glance, we can see that Jesus will bless us with rewards greater than any physical wealth the world can offer. But each of these blessings comes with a certain cost. Living a life dedicated to Jesus may not be easy or popular. It may not even pay the bills. And there is another price that is implied here and demonstrated elsewhere in our wonderful Bible.

In our Old Testament reading, the wise King Solomon said that “Blessings crown the head of the righteous” and that “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing”. (Proverbs 10:6a and 7a (NIV)) One way to interpret this is that a righteous person lives their life in such a way as to serve as an example to others, to be remembered by others as good and upright, and to make others want to live the same type of life. In other words, just thinking about a righteous person can make us want to be better ourselves. And that is a blessing, both to the righteous person and to us as well.

Paul took his role assigned by Christ very seriously. He suffered possibly more than any other Apostle for his service to the Lord. He endured shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, illnesses, and finally execution. Yet all the while he rejoiced in being able to do the Lord's bidding. He considered it a blessing to be able to share the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, with others. In hist first letter to the Corinthians, chapter nine verses 19 through 24, and here I am reading from The Message, Paul proclaims, “Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized — whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ — but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Gospel. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.”

Paul relates that he makes himself to be like a person so he can win that person to Christ, but without becoming as that person is. In a like manner, we do not have to become convicted criminals to be able to go into prison and witness to convicted criminals to bring them to Christ. Paul lives and works within the world, without becoming of the world. He never loses sight of God or of living his life dedicated to God. But just in case you missed it, look again at two sentences near the end. “I did all this because of the Gospel. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” He did all this, and suffered all he suffered, because he wanted to share in the blessings the Gospel made evident, the blessings Jesus promises.

John opens his book of Revelation in chapter one verses one through three by teaching us that, “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show His servants what must soon happen. And Jesus sent His angel to show it to His servant John, who has told everything he has seen. It is the word of God; it is the message from Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of God's message, and blessed are the people who hear this message and do what is written in it. The time is near when all of this will happen.” (New Century Version) More blessings, but they require action on our part. We are blessed if we read the message, but for others to hear the words and be blessed themselves, someone else must repeat the message to them. The message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The blessing is salvation and eternal life. The messenger is us.

As I said earlier, our greatest blessing is the sacrifice God and Jesus made for us, and the grace of God that gave this blessing to an unworthy world. An unsharpened pencil can describe life without God: it has no point. But when you sharpen that pencil, it can be used for a purpose. God has blessed us, now we need to put that blessing to good use. If we receive a blessing, how can we make use of it but to share it with others? In that regard, winning the lottery could indeed be a blessing from God, if we use the winnings to help others in need. When we receive a blessing, we should use it to bless others.

You have been greatly blessed. You will receive even greater blessings in heaven. Now go from here and be a blessing to others.

Amen.

Every Day Is Father's Day!

[The following was delivered at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, Locust, NC, on Sunday, June 20, 2010.]

Old Testament reading:

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." 

-- Genesis 22:1-12 (New International Version)

New Testament reading:


So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

--Romans 8:1-4, 12-19 (New Living Translation)

Message scripture:


“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

-- John 14:1-21 (New Living Translation)

We all remember the story of Abraham. Originally named Abram, he and his wife Sarai lived out their lives with his extended family, having no children of their own. God speaks to Abram one day, telling him to pack up Sarai and his belonging and go to a place He'll tell them about later. Abram says “Sure thing, Lord.” and they head out for Canaan, accompanied by a nephew by the name of Lot and his wife, who later will become a real pillar of the community. No arguments, no questions, no recorded concerns, this couple in their mid-seventies simply did what God told them. Maybe the promise of a son, and an entire nation for that matter, helped persuade this childless couple. Along the way, God gives them new names and the promised son, Isaac. By that time, Abraham and Sarah had passed the century mark. Could you even imagine being a new parent at a hundred years of age? While Isaac was still a boy, God ordered Abraham to take the lad and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Again, with no protestations recorded in Genesis, Abraham started out to do as he was told. Just as he raised the knife to take the life of his son, the son he had waited a hundred years for, the angel of the Lord stopped him. “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

So was Abraham a good father? That he loved Isaac is evident in the Bible. But he was so readily willing to kill his son, seemingly without any questions or protest. How many of us fathers, if we heard a voice say, “Kill your son.”, would reply, “OK”, and go about the business of doing just that, no questions asked? The answer is that Abraham loved God even more than his own son. Just as promised, God rewarded Abraham's love and loyalty, making him the father of his nation, the father of an entire people, for that matter. We call George Washington the father of our nation, but Abraham was the father of a race and a religion.

And that nephew Lot mentioned earlier was also a father, of two daughters whom he obviously loved. Yet he offered these two virgin girls to an unruly mob that demanded to have sex with two visiting angels of the Lord. Lot loved his daughters, but he loved God more and wanted to protect His messengers in any way possible. Was Lot a good father?

Being a father is a tough job, one filled with many dangers and bearing tremendous responsibility. A father is supposed to be a provider, a protector, a leader, a guide, a teacher, a role model, and the Biblical foundation for the family, among other things. But a father must not be prideful or pretentious. His leadership must be one of sacrifice, not of force. He must know when to be gentle and when to be firm. He must be able to deal with small, developing children without being condescending. And like mothers, he must be able to figure all this out on his own because there are no instruction manuals.

The Old Testament relates many stories of men whose paternal skills leave a bit to be desired. Isaac fathered twins and let one fool him into giving his blessing and birthright to the younger rather than the older. That wily son, Jacob, fathered twelve sons of his own. He favored one over the others so much that they turned on the one and sold him into slavery, breaking old Jacob's heart. And a couple of mighty King David's sons tried to take the throne a little early, one by force and the other by trickery.

Fathers fare a little better in the New Testament, where they are often shown trying to get help for their children, taking them to Christ for healing. The little we know about Jesus' own earthly father, Joseph, indicates he was a good father, teaching Jesus the law and the scripture as well as a trade. What we do know about Joseph is that he was an exemplary husband, a very good man. His initial reaction to Mary's declaration of being with child not from a man but from the Holy Spirit was fairly typical: skepticism. But he loved God and relented when an angel came to him and explained the truth of the situation. And he indeed served well as Jesus' surrogate father.

We can all relate to these Biblical fathers, because we have all seen or heard of similar examples in our experiences. We know of great fathers and those that are downright terrible. Some perhaps dote too much over their offspring, others walked out of their child's life at a very early age and never looked back. Sadly, too many children don't even know who their father might be. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul assures us that whether our earthly father has been present and active in our life or completely absent, we all have a Father in heaven who has willingly adopted us and calls us His children.

In Romans chapter 8 verses 1 through 4, Paul tells us that the law handed down through Moses could not save us from our own sinful nature, so God did what the law could not do. He sent His Son to save us. The Apostle John, in his chapter 3 verse 17, tells us that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved. He accomplished this by sending Jesus not as an invincible warrior, not as God Himself in all His radiant glory, but as a man, in the fragile, destructible body of a man, a body just like the one that you and I wear. In this way Jesus was one of us. I can only imagine He knew all about growing pains, indigestion, insomnia, even heartbreak. God did this so that His law could still be fulfilled for us, if not by us.

Paul continues in verses 12 through 19 with a truly wonderful message, that of our adoption by God. He assures us that the sacrifice God and Jesus made on our behalf can free us from our sinful nature. We no longer have to give in to the urgings of Satan, we can resist them. For when Christ returned to the Father, He sent down the Holy Spirit to live within us and guide us just as Jesus did while He walked this earth. Paul further says that if we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, then we are the children of God; the adoption is complete. Now we can call God “Abba, Father”. “Abba” is the familiar form of “father” in the Aramaic language of that day. It is like our endearments Daddy, Pop, Poppa, Dad. I personally have a little trouble calling the Lord of All Creation, the Maker of the universe and everything in it, Daddy, but that is what He wants. Why? He loves us, and wants us to love Him in return. He wants us to be comfortable with Him, to truly understand and realize that He cares for us as His own.

Now if God is our Father, what is Jesus but our Brother! As the Son of God, Jesus followed His role model's example. In John, chapter 5, verses 19b through 20a, our Savior says, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does.” Of course, Jesus took that a little further. Our Brother was beaten and suffered for us. Our Brother died and defeated death for us. Our Brother bodily rose from the grave for us. Our Brother took all our sins upon Himself and washed us clean with His blood so that we might be able to stand beside Him as together we face our Father on our day of judgment.

While it is sadly true that not all fathers care what fate may befall their children, most of us, even if we aren't perfect Dads, only want what is best for our offspring and will make any sacrifice trying to ensure their lives are better than ours. Jesus knew this sentiment even if He never experienced it personally. As we said, by all indications, Joseph was a good father to the young Jesus and probably did everything he could to ensure the lad's success in life. How tough a job would that be, trying to prepare God for the future? Jesus shows us He understands when in Matthew chapter 7 verse 11 He tells us, “Even though you are bad [sinful], you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him!”. So if you think you're a great Dad, just wait until you see what our heavenly Father has in store for us.

A good father will try to give his child what he is asked for, within reason, Jesus tells us our heavenly Father will do just that also. But a really great father will anticipate and plan for his child's needs. He will start a savings fund or a college fund when the child is still a baby. He'll get presents ahead of time for birthdays and Christmas. He will even get the family auto insurance upgraded before the kid gets a drivers license. He'll surprise his child with little things, pleasing things. God is a really great Father. We know if for no other reason than that Jesus tells us so. When He teaches us how to pray to God, He begins by telling us why we should pray. It isn't for the obvious reason, so that God will know what we need. In Matthew chapter 6 verse 8b, Jesus assures us that “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” No, like any other father, God just wants us to talk to Him, to build a relationship with Him, to spend time with Him, to get to know and understand Him better. God doesn't need us to tell Him anything; He already knows. The need to pray to God isn't His, it is ours. We need to talk to Him, to share our daily lives with Him, to grow in our love for Him. And unlike many earthly fathers, our heavenly Father is never too busy to stop and listen to our problems, our cares, our concerns. We wants nothing more than to hear about our triumphs and our defeats, our gains and our losses, our loves and our heartbreaks.

As for the great things our Father has in store for us, John offers a little insight in his first letter, chapter 3, verses 1 and 2: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” How wonderful to see God as He really is! Even His servant Moses had to hide in the cleft of the rock as He passed. As His children, He will reveal Himself to us in all His glory. Jesus adds to this as related by John in chapter 14 verse 21 of his Gospel: “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and will reveal Myself to him. I will let myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.” Now this isn't so much a matter of seeing what God and Jesus physically look like, although that in itself would be truly awesome. No, it is more about seeing the inner being of God and His Son, their essence, their thought processes, their reasons for doing what they do. It is all about fully knowing our triune God.

“Don't let your hearts be troubled.”, Jesus comforts us in John 14. “Trust in God, and trust also in Me.” There is more than enough room in our Father's house, in His heart, for all of us, and when all is ready Jesus will come and take us home. We may often note how a child looks or acts just like their father. Jesus remarked on this also. By knowing the Son, we know the Father. And by loving Jesus, we find our way to our Father. There is no other way to our heavenly home than through Him. Christ goes on to say something remarkable: “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” (vs. 10 and 11) In this He says that He is not just following some example His Father set, but that He is actually following the instructions of His Father that is within Him. Now we know that we are children of God and a brother of Jesus, and we know that we have the Holy Spirit within us. So just like Jesus, we have the Father in us and we are in the Father! Praise the Lord, God is within each of us! Anything we ask in His name, He will do it so that the Son can bring Glory to the Father. But this gives us a certain responsibility as well. “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” (vs 12) This isn't to imply that Jesus expects more of us than He was able to perform, but that He will do great works through us if we love Him, backed by the extra strength and power of God our Father.

Jesus ends his message to us in John 14 by assuring us He will return to take us home. Unlike earthly fathers may do, our heavenly Father will not abandon us or leave us orphaned. Then He promises His love. “Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them.”

Every child needs love. Studies have proven how development is delayed and a child may well become emotionally disturbed when they are not given love. Every child longs for the love of their father. Good fathers love their children without reservation, under any and all circumstances, regardless of what the child does or turns out to be. Unconditional love is a mark of a good father. Our heavenly Father is a great father. He loves us even when we ignore him, turn against Him, sin against Him. All He asks is that we love Him, and our brother Jesus, in return. What greater reward than to be loved by God.

There is a church choir tenor I know who, without fail every Mother's Day, when the preacher would proclaim Happy Mother's Day, would remark rather sarcastically, “Every day is Mother's Day”, referring to the special treatment he seemed to think women, and mothers especially, afforded themselves. After many years of this, one Father's Day he took his seat only to see a small hand-lettered sign taped to the back of the chair in front of him that read, “Every Day Is Father's Day!”. When the preacher welcomed us with a hearty Happy Father's Day, the three sopranos in front of my tenor friend turned, smiled sweetly, and intoned in perfect unison “Every day is Father's Day”.

Those words came to me as I considered what message to deliver today, when I wondered what God might want you to hear. “Every day is Father's Day” echoed in my head as clearly as if those lovely ladies were singing it in front of me. When we love our Lord and Savior, when we remember God is our Father and Jesus our Brother, when we hold Their commandments in our hearts and love Them with all that is within us and love our earthly brothers and sisters as much as we love ourselves, then every day is indeed Father's Day. Happy Father's Day, Lord! Happy Father's Day!

Amen.

Who Loves Ya, Baby?

[The following was delivered at Christ Community Church, Monroe, NC, on Sunday, May 16, 2010.]

Old Testament reading:


O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His presence. Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before Him. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise, for the Lord is coming to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.

-- 1 Chronicles 16:28-34 (New Living Translation)


New Testament reading:

Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that
blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory. We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts. He gave us His love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

When we were unable to help ourselves, at the right time, Christ died for us, although we were living against God. Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good person someone might possibly die. But God shows His great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God's anger, because we have been made right with God by the blood of Christ's death.

While we were God's enemies, He made us His friends through the death of His Son. Surely, now that we are His friends, He will save us through His Son's life. And not only that, but now we are also very happy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we are now God's friends again.

-- Romans 5:1-11 (New Century Version)


Message scripture:

This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:9-11 (New International Version)

In the mid-70s, Telly Savalas starred in the title role in the television crime drama “Kojak”. One of TV's first characters with a completely shaven head, Lt. Theo Kojak had a fondness for lollipops and at least once a show uttered his trademark line, “Who loves ya, baby?”, usually asked of one of his subordinates after solving a case, making an arrest, or doing some other type of favor, and always with the implied answer that Kojak loves you. Someone truly does love us, and it isn't a television character.

Who loves us? God loves us, every one of us. How do we know? Just as it says in the children's hymn: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. The scripture I just read assures us of God's great love for us, His ever faithful love, His enduring love. One translation of Romans has Paul explaining the depth of this love when he notes that Jesus came to us while we were God's enemies to make us God's friends again. Did we become friends of God because of something we did, something we said, maybe our good deeds and acts of kindness to others? No! John reminds us it isn't that we love God that really matters. It's that God loves us! That is what makes all the difference. God loves us, and He loves us so much He sent His one and only Son so that we might live through Him.

Arguably, the best known and most often recited verse in the Christian Bible is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This is what John is referring to in his first letter, this is how God showed His love among us. But how many are familiar with the next verse, John 3:17? This is one of my favorites. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

When talk of a Messiah started spreading out before Jesus as He traveled, preached, taught, healed, performed miracles, the people looked to the prophesies of old and interpreted them to mean a mighty conqueror would come, someone to deliver them from cruel tyranny. Some have conjectured that Judas turned Jesus in to the authorities to get Him to act, to become that great deliverer, the warrior king they anticipated. At any time during His ordeal, Jesus could have called down an overpowering army from heaven, God could have intervened and crushed Rome and all who opposed our Lord. But God did not send a warrior to condemn and conquer the world, He sent a Lamb to love and save the world.

I sometimes worry that we tend to focus too much on punishment, on what happens if we are sinful. Do we usually react to bad behavior with a threat of retribution? Isn't it rather common to hear a parent say, “You just wait until your father gets home!”, or “When I get you home you will regret making a scene in public.”? Sometimes those words come from our own mouths, in one form or another, for one reason or another. It starts when we're young and continues throughout our lives. We don't act up in class so we don't have to sit at our desk during recess. We don't sass our parents to keep from getting grounded. We don't speed so we avoid getting a ticket and having our insurance rates skyrocket. And in his Book of Revelation, John tells us how those who turn their backs on Jesus are punished. We are cautioned about that a lot, aren't we? We are warned to do good and keep God's commandments and obey Christ so we don't end up in that lake of fire for all eternity. The threat of ultimate punishment even comes from the pulpit at times. And that is all well, for sometimes we need those little reminders.

But is that really what God has in mind? I truly feel the main theme running throughout the New Testament is inescapable and is that God loves us! He doesn't want to punish us. He didn't send Jesus to condemn us to eternal damnation. He sent Jesus to save us from just that harsh fate. John 3:16 and 17 say just that, in no uncertain terms. It would take all day to talk about all the verses that reference God's love in the Bible, but let me provide just a few.

From the New International Version, more from John's first letter, chapter three, verses one and two: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Think about that for a moment, about how great an honor it is to be called a child of the Almighty God. Isn't that a sign of His love, that He would call us His children, and want us to call Him by the familiar endearment “Daddy” (Abba)?

From the New King James Version of Romans 8:28, Paul encourages us with this truth: “And we know that all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” That ties it all together. God loves us and will shower us with His grace and goodness when we love Him in return. No matter how bad a situation seems, God will make something good come out of it for us.

John gives a little more definition to this, in chapter 14, verse 21, this time reading the words of our Christ as rendered in the Amplified Bible: “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and will reveal Myself to him. I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.” Is Christ real to you?

And what are Christ's commands? A Pharisee once asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment, an exchange recorded in Matthew chapter 22, verses 34 through 40. Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV)

What does it mean, this word “love”? Paul gives us a solid guide in scripture often read during wedding ceremonies: 1 Corinthians 13, particularly in verses four through eight. “Love is patient.” Is God patient with us? Certainly! He could have crushed us effortlessly when we persecuted His Son. He could destroy all of humanity more easily than we can squish an ant. His patience is evident throughout the Bible, both for nations of people and for individuals. He gives us chance after chance to do what is right, even when we deserve no chances.

“Love is kind.” Think of the many miracles Jesus performed, all the people He healed and helped. All these represent acts of great kindness. Even as He hung upon the cross, gasping for breath, He extended a loving kindness to a convicted criminal by reassuring him that salvation was his.

“Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” What could we possibly have that God, the Creator of all things, could envy us for? What could He want that He could not simply wish into existence? But the point is that God, in the person of Jesus Christ, did not do this. He came as a humble servant, seeing to the needs of others, washing the feet of those who strove to follow Him.

“It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered.” We know from the Bible, and personal experience, that anger is to be expected as a human emotion. For example, Job grew angry at God but God did not hold that against him. He patiently explained that Job was not capable of understanding the reasons for all God did. Even Jesus once showed anger, when He chased the merchants and money changers from the temple, to chastise them for making it a den of thieves. He was not rude, He was direct. And He was not self-seeking, He was doing the work of His Father. So yes, anger can be expected and even understood to a degree. But the point is that it took a great deal to anger Jesus, and He expects us to be patient and cautious, not to let our anger grow too fast or too strong that it overwhelms us and rules our minds. For unbridled anger can destroy lives.

“It keeps no record of wrongs.” This is surely God's love in practice. The Bible instructs us that when we sin, when we go against God's wishes and commands, if we realize what we did was truly bad, if we turn from that behavior and not continue along that path, if we hate that we did it, then we need only confess our sin to God and ask His forgiveness. He will not only forgive, He will forget that it ever happened! One definition of “forget” is to purposely ignore. When we repent and humbly seek God's forgiveness, He will forgive us for acting against Him and deliberately ignore that we did so. He loves us that much.

“Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.” God goes to great lengths to give us the truth, to make sure we have the truth in our hands to use as defense against evil. His word in our Holy Bible is the truth. His Son is the truth in the flesh. God hates evil, and despairs when His children fall to evil ways. But He and all heaven rejoice when we turn back to Him and reject the evil one.

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd in John chapter 10. A shepherd protects his flock, guards it from danger, goes to great lengths to find a sheep when it strays. And a shepherd is on duty as long as he is with his flock. Jesus is with us always, as He promised. The Holy Spirit is with us always, inside us. God is with us always, for He is everywhere and exists forever, even before time itself began and after time ends.

“Love never fails.” And this is the ultimate sign of God's love, that it never fails us. His love endures forever. His faithfulness to us knows no boundary. He offers us the greatest love and the most wonderful rewards if we only believe in Him and love Him in return, following the path and the example of His beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus told us, in John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (New American Standard Bible) By loving one another, by obeying this command, we glorify Jesus and our heavenly Father and give others a reason to look into this Christianity thing to see what it is all about. We can be like God in this one way, by loving one another as He loves us.

One more quality we can give to love is that love hurts. Who hasn't had their heart broken by someone they loved? Who hasn't been hurt or felt betrayed when their love wasn't returned? How horribly Jesus must have hurt, in His heart, when the very people He came to save shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” His heart must have broken when they chose to free Barabbas rather than Him, even though He knew that exact sequence of events must transpire. Yes, love can hurt.

And finally, love means sacrifice. When we truly love someone, we are willing to give anything and everything for them, even our lives. God made this sacrifice for us, giving us His only Son that we might be saved by His love. Jesus made this sacrifice for us, taking a beating for our sins, dying a horrible death in our place, defeating death so that we would have the chance to live forever.

Jesus said, “My command is this: Love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:12-14 NIV) Jesus did that for us. He laid down His life for us. Why? Because He loves us and considers us His friends.

No matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we may have done in the past, we can awaken every morning and go to bed every night knowing that we are loved, truly loved. Who loves ya, baby? God loves you.

Amen.

In the words of John from Revelation 1:5c-6 (NKJV): “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Fear!

[The following formed the basis of the sermon delivered at Christ Community Church, Monroe, NC, on Sunday, January 24, 2010.]

Psalm 23 (King James Version)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 56 (New International Version)
1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack.
2 My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.
3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me.
6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life.
7 On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations.
8 Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise-
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
12 I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Fear! Who doesn't face fear at some point? Many people live in fear almost constantly. My father, the last few years of his life on earth, worried constantly about the least little thing. Worry is a form of fear, a fear that eats away at you from the inside and shows itself physically in sleepless nights, shaking hands, tear filled eyes. Even the Bible seems preoccupied with fear, its authors using that word, along with others like terror, panic, and being afraid, enough times to almost make us ... well, afraid. But there are even more times when the simple words “no” or “not” are included. Phrases like “Be not afraid”, “Fear not” and “Have no fear” abound in wonderfully encouraging frequency.

Why can we take comfort and assurance in those words? The prophet Elisha may have put it best. When faced with a vast army of men, horses, and chariots, Elisha remarked, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” -- 2 Kings 6:16 (NKJV) And who is always with us? Who is always on our side? God, of course. And God is definitely more than any number that could be arrayed against us. How do we know this? The Apostle Paul told us so, in his letter to the church in Rome, chapter 8, verse 31: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b KJV)

Music has always played (pun fully intended) a huge role in my life. So I can personally take solace and delight that many songs address this issue of fear, and how to handle it. Are you familiar with the hymn "Spirit of the Living God"? The third verse goes like this:

Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.
Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.
Shield me, free me, call me, lead me.
Holy presence, love divine, cast out my fear.

And how about the contemporary Christian song by the Newsboys, with the chorus:

God is watching over you, as always;
You are loved whatever you go though;
He's right beside you.

Even some of our more contemporary leaders have addressed being afraid, although usually taking a more secular approach. In 1933, during the depths of our country's depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to reassure a worried, fearful nation. In his first inaugural address, he spoke the words that now most are so familiar with: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.

Have you enjoyed all the college football bowl games, and the pros in their play-offs? Are you really looking forward to the Super Bowl? How many of you play or have played football? Football is a great sport. I know it's probably a “guy thing”, but where else can you go and beat up on someone for a couple hours, and not end up in jail? It doesn't matter that you are on one team facing another team, when it gets right down to crunch time, it is just you going up against one other person that is determined to stop you from what you are trying to do. Offense or defense, it is one man battling another. If you manage to get past the one, there will be another, usually, to take his place in the fight. If you are really good at what you do, seemingly unstoppable, they may throw two or three or more against you at a time. You get tired, bruised, maybe even bloodied, but still you keep pushing, you keep driving, you keep fighting. For in the end, if you are stronger and better than your opponent, you will win. But the second you begin to feel a little fear of your adversary, he has you where he wants you and you are defeated, you've lost.

Isn't that a great analogy of our mortal life? We constantly battle a horrific foe, a terrible opponent, one who is every bit as determined to stop us as we are to escape his clutches. Satan is our adversary and his minions form the team against us. Our family and close friends, our brothers and sisters in the church, all form our team, and a formidable team it is. But no matter how many we may have standing with us, Satan just always seems to have more coming against us. Still we keep driving, we keep fighting. But we MUST NOT show fear. And we should not fear, for we have a secret weapon on our side, we have a player Satan himself once tried to recruit but failed. We have Jesus Christ, the Son of God, against Whom no one and no thing can stand! We have the best coach imaginable, the Holy Spirit within us. And our owner is none other than God Himself. This, my friends, is an unbeatable team! There is absolutely no reason to fear Satan and his followers because they can never defeat us as long as we play on the same team as our star player Jesus, as long as we listen to our Coach, as long as we heed the words of our Owner. “Fear not, for I am with you!” (Genesis 26:24c ESV)

Some pastors try to motivate us by instilling “the fear of the Lord” in us, by preaching about all the pain and suffering we will receive if we are doomed to hell because we are such horrible sinners or don't believe in Christ. But that isn't really what Jesus told us, is it? Didn't He talk about love all the time? When asked by a Pharisee what is the greatest commandment, our Savior replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV) So you see, God doesn't necessarily want you to fear Him, He wants you to love Him. He wants you to love Him so much that you want to be with Him, and He with you, forever and ever, through all eternity. This is heaven: to be embraced within the love of God for eternity. So hell must be the opposite: the complete and utter absence of God's love forever.

John, the beloved of Christ, writes in his first letter: “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:16-19 NIV)

Why fear, when you are loved? Why fear, when you can love? In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul assures us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (NKJV) And we are reminded by God Himself in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Other scripture that deal with fear and the strength and love of God abound.

From Proverbs, the instructions manual for humans: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” -- Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)

In the 34th Psalm, verses 19 and 22 (NIV), David assures us: “19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. 22 The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.” -- Psalm 34:19, 22 (NIV)

Peter, the strong, fiery fisherman, exhorts us: “6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” -- 1 Peter 5:6-11 (NIV)

Amen.

Of Mercy and Gratitude

[The following was submitted to the Ordination Board as a sample sermon.]

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

-- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (NLT)

I find it so easy to relate to Paul, to see my life through his, perhaps because he laid his life completely open for us to read and inspect. He hid nothing from our eyes, exposing all his faults, bringing the skeletons in his closet into plain view in the living room. In his many letters, he listed his weaknesses, his doubts, his failings, his mistakes. And most importantly for all who call themselves Christian, Paul admitted his sins to all the generations to follow who would casually glance through his letters or pore over his words. How many of us would dare to note our transgressions in writing for anyone and everyone to see? Who among us would readily confess to blaspheming the name of our Christ, to persecuting His followers, sending them to prison and even to their deaths? Paul was a courageous man, a man of immeasurable strength of character, a man without fear. Yet you would never know it from his own admissions.

In his Book of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke describes Saul as a young Pharisee, one who watched over the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen. He tells how Saul showed great dedication and zeal while carrying out the plan of stopping this new Way dead in its tracks. Luke puts it quite succinctly: “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:3 NIV) Saul was intent on destroying the Church, with a capital “C”. Not some building somewhere, not one isolated congregation off in the Gentile lands. No, Saul would have liked nothing better than to have been solely responsible for bringing down the Body of Christ left on earth, and trampling it into the dust of history.

But then an amazing thing happened. As Saul headed to Damascus with the goal of taking more Christians prisoner, Jesus came to Him in a blinding flash of light, asking “Why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 9:4b NIV) The next few days proved pivotal for Saul, as he came to know Jesus as the true and trustworthy risen Savior through Christ's words and actions, working through Saul and through others to effect the conversion. Paul emerged from the shattered and broken form of Saul. You might say that Paul was the resurrection of Saul, for through Christ he was reborn, his spiritual life revived from the dead of spirit, his once cold heart softened and revitalized, his closed mind opened to a new truth.

Like many of us today, Paul found it somewhat difficult to accept this beautiful gift of grace. God, in the person of the risen Jesus, could just as easily have struck Saul dead right where he stood on that dirt road to Damascus. The Lord could have ended a major source of persecution with one blow, even making an example of him to his companions. After all, they heard the voice of Jesus even though they could see no one and likely did not really understand the words, like a conversation barely audible from another room. But instead of striking him dead on the spot, Jesus had other plans for Paul, better plans.

Why did God spare him? Haven't we asked ourselves that question at one time or another, maybe in a slightly different form? I certainly have. I can think of at least three definite instances that I should not have survived. One in particular came behind the wheel of an out-of-control truck careening down the highway aimed directly at a flooded section covering about a half-mile over a stream. Each attempt I made to gain control, the rain-slick roadway thwarted. Finally, feeling the weight of my rig shifting to one side and knowing it was about to flip, I gave up. I lifted my hands from the steering wheel, raised them before me, and said “OK, God, it's all yours. There's nothing else I can do.” Since I am still standing you can pretty much assume that I lived through this little event. But you cannot guess what happened next. Did the truck flip and roll down the highway? Did the fuel spill and ignite? Were others injured due to my driving too fast under inclement conditions? Nope. None of the above. As soon as the words left my mouth, the truck righted itself. It stopped sliding and immediately straightened out on the road, slowing to a stop in the middle of the blacktop within yards of where the flooding began. No one was hurt, nothing was damaged. I gave my physical well-being to God and in that instant He spared me. Why?

I wish I could say that I dedicated my life to Jesus that day. Sadly, it just left me with more questions. Paul, though, faced no such indecision. Once he saw the light, figuratively and literally, he fully gave himself to the service of Christ and His Church. How I would like to have been a witness on the day when Paul first faced the Disciples to tell them of his conversion and commitment. Can you even imagine the tension that must have filled that assembly? The hunter of Christians now humbly standing before his prey. But with God's help, Paul convinced the leaders of the early Church of the honesty of his conversion and his commission to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Paul was also a man of unshakable faith. That truth is easily found in his letters. His amazement at God's mercy and grace comes across vividly in his words, in the stirrings of his heart placed on paper. “How generous and gracious our Lord was!”, he exclaims. “God had mercy on me”, he speaks softly, eyes downturn with the thoughts of just how much he had done against this very God who would forgive him. “I am the worst (sinner) of them all”, he admits, with a tear in his eye. I can almost see him shaking in barely contained grief and self-recrimination. Then his heads lifts slowly, a look of surprise and awe growing over his face. “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me.” Almost as if trying to convince himself that it indeed happened, Paul affirms twice in this short passage that God showed him mercy. Why?

The risen Christ came to Saul on that fateful day, blinded him, and showed him the truth. Once broken, Paul could serve the Lord, just as the two small loaves of bread, once broken, served the Lord in feeding over five thousand people. On that rainy day when God took control of my truck and saved my life, I was shaken, and grateful, but not quite convinced. At that time, I really did not know the extent of my ignorance, did not really understand how Jesus could be my personal savior. That came many years later, when one lonely night, trembling in a darkness of my own making, my life a shambles around me, the light struck me much as it did Paul that day long ago, filling my soul with its radiance, giving me sight rather than blinding me. There on my knees I gave my physical and spiritual life completely to Christ. And suddenly the room seemed to brighten. A tremendous weight lifted from my heart. A moment before, my life had been careening out of control down a slippery highway. I bowed my head and said, “OK, God. I'm all yours.” Immediately the Lord took control and pulled me safely to His side. So like Paul, I stand in awe of our gracious and merciful God who could forgive even the worst of sinners like me. Like Paul, I can affirm to how Christ saved me. Why?

I believe Paul would understand my love for a wonderful Christian hymn, one that so clearly describes how he and I feel when we consider what God has done for us:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
'Twas blind, but now I see.

God in His mercy looked down and saw me in my wretched state, lost and wandering through life like a sheep without a shepherd. Blinded by the bright lights of the world of man, I could not see the truth of the Light of the Son of Man. Then, by His grace, God spared me. Why?

Paul answers this question I've asked so many times now. Why? “So that Christ Jesus could use me”. Paul believed without a shadow of a doubt that God saved him so that Christ could make use of him. While we know from reading of the many works of Paul in Luke's Book of Acts and can gather even more insight into his efforts for our Lord through his letters, he tells us clearly that the primary purpose he could serve for Jesus is as an “example of His great patience with even the worst sinners”. Like Paul. Like me. And what is the result of such an example? “Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life.” How great is that! Isn't that the very best news we could ever spread? Even the worst sinners can believe in Jesus and receive eternal life! We are all sinners, all subject to the original sin and separation from God. Once we realize that God loves us enough to save even sinners like us, then we can show others by our very example that they too can be saved and receive the most wonderful gift of life eternal with our Savior.

Paul fully understood that serving our Lord would not be easy. In the opening verse of our message text he thanks Jesus for the strength he needs to do Christ's work. In this Paul assures us that Jesus knows just how difficult our assignments may be, so He gives us the endurance to persevere and complete our mission. When discussing the saga of Paul, the Book of Acts reads almost like an adventure novel. He faced the greatest adversities imaginable. Standing before the Disciples and elders for the very first time after his conversion might have left Paul nervous, sweating and shaking as he tried to explain how he could possibly now love and follow the very movement he had sought to destroy, but that may well have been the easiest challenge of his remaining years. He traveled all over the countryside on his missionary trips throughout Asia Minor. He was chased, scorned, beaten, shipwrecked, arrested, imprisoned, and executed. You can hear the exhaustion in his voice as he pens his later letters. Yet he seldom complained. He did note that he asked God three times to take away an affliction, his “thorn in the side”. But even that he considered a blessing, thanking God for allowing it. “Pray without ceasing”, Paul said. “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 NKJV) Yes, Paul needed an endless reservoir of strength to withstand all he faced for Christ's sake, to carry out the mission Jesus assigned him. And he never once forgot just where that strength came from, from what source he gained the courage to rise and face each new day: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

For all of this, with everything he has been through and seen, Paul praises God for filling him with the faith and love that comes directly from our Savior. He even tells us the reason why, because Jesus considered him trustworthy and appointed him to serve our Lord. Jesus has also appointed each of us, whether we realize it or not, to serve our Lord in some role. At the very least, we all share the responsibility of representing Jesus by loving each other as He loves us. For some, as it did for Paul, Christ's desires and expectations of us go far beyond this starting point. God has given each of us special gifts, certain talents. We can ignore them, we can employ them to our own benefit, or we can use them to advance the Kingdom of God. As in all areas, the choice is ours; free will is at work. Some have the gift of authentically relating to others, giving them comfort and peace in times of turmoil. Some are given the voice of angels, able to lift praises to God with beautiful singing or playing of musical instruments. Some are endowed with a creative flair, able to turn words into great works of art. Some share a gift of communication and can lift the hearts of man with powerful speeches. Some are drawn to the pulpit, answering the call of God to use the gifts they have so graciously been given, combined with the strength from Jesus, all to serve Him.

Everyone is given a gift, not to hold and treasure but to share with the world so that through us others might see the Light of Christ Jesus. We are given the strength to carry that gift even in the face of adversity, even when those with whom we most need to share it oppose us. And even though we are sinners, we have been deemed trustworthy and appointed by Him who came to serve God's will, to fulfill His commission. Oh, how generous and gracious our God is! He fills us with the faith and love that comes from Jesus our Christ. All honor and glory to God, forever and ever. Amen.