Is God Angry?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 31st of January, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Is God angry at me?”  “Have I finally done something bad enough to make Him really mad?”  “My whole world is falling apart so He must be punishing me, right?”  I’ve known some folks to ask that and follow it up with the excuse, “But I see other people doing the same thing all the time, and they’re making out just fine.”  So they are judging the actions of others while doing the same thing and then wondering if God is angry.

Well, the Apostle Paul has something to say about this.  Please listen and follow along to the message Paul sent to the church in Rome in chapter 2 of his letter to the Romans, verses 1 through 11, and I’ll be reading this from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. 2 We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. 3 Do you really think God won’t punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? 4 You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of His patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because He wants you to turn to Him?

5 But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when He will show how angry He is and will judge the world with fairness. 6 God will reward each of us for what we have done. 7 He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. 8 But He will show how angry and furious He can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. 9 All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn’t matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. 10 But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 11 God doesn’t have any favorites!

--Romans 2:1-11 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for being so patient with us, for putting up with all our foolishness for as long as You have.  We know that someday the world will experience Your full wrath again, when You show Your full anger to all who reject the truth, who reject Your Son Jesus and do evil.  Please help us turn from our disobedient ways so we can avoid Your anger.  Help us be more obedient to Your commands.  And Father, please shield us from Satan and those who do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us remain ever faithful and true to You and Jesus.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

One of the authors for the Reader's Digest magazine once wrote how he had studied the Amish people in preparation for an article on them.  In his observation at an Amish school yard, he noted that the children never screamed or yelled.  This amazed him, so he spoke to the schoolmaster.  He remarked how he had not once heard an Amish child yell, and asked why the schoolmaster thought that was so.  The schoolmaster replied, "Well, have you ever heard an Amish adult yell?"

Most of us would say that we’re not teachers.  Yet we constantly teach those around us, especially the young.  We teach by the example we set, by how we do things, by how we react to given situations.  When we believe an injustice has been done, do we react with shouts of indignation and acts of violence?  Then we teach the children to scream and be violent.  When we are tolerant and forgiving of others and their flaws and their ways of doing things, we teach the children to be tolerant and forgiving.

If we want to change the world, we need to change how we ourselves react to it.

Paul says a lot in those few verses this morning.  Jesus said that we should not judge other people because we will be judged by the same measure.  Paul confirms that and adds that we actually condemn ourselves if we judge others for the wrongs they do because we do wrongs ourselves!  And if we are so stubborn we continue to keep on doing wrong, keep on disobeying God and not turning from our sinful ways, then we’re just making it worse for ourselves when that final judgment comes.

Because here’s the thing: God will judge the entire world with fairness.  He will be impartial.  He will show no favoritism.  Last week we saw how judgment includes punishment, and that God's punishment is consistent and fair.  Well, His judgment is also consistent and fair, with fair meaning impartial and just.

If we have done wrong we will be punished, and if we have done good we will be rewarded.  If we truly accept Jesus as our Lord, obeying His commands and following His path, then we will be spared the ultimate punishment, the second death.  But then again, if we do fully accept and obey Jesus, we won’t be doing wicked things in the first place, we won’t be selfish people who reject the truth and want to do evil.  Those people will be punished severely, with trouble and suffering, as Paul puts it.  But all who do right will be rewarded with glory and honor and peace when this age ends.

God is impartial.  Jew or Gentile, good at heart or bad, it doesn’t matter – if we do wrong, we will be punished.  And that punishment will certainly come in the next life, but sometimes we see it in this life, too.  Sometimes we see bad people being punished, but it seems good people are suffering right along with them.

Why?  Because the sun shines and the rain falls on all people, both good and bad.  One of those things we’re supposed to do as followers of Christ Jesus is to love all others, including our enemies.  The Apostle Matthew recorded an explanation by Jesus of why we should do so, in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 44 through 46…

44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?"

--Matthew 5:44-46 (NKJV)

God created all of us, and He is impartial in His treatment of all of us.  Good or bad, we all receive His gifts of sunshine and rain, His blessings in our lives.  And He wants us to be impartial, too, to treat everyone with love and respect.  He wants us to not judge others, especially if we’re doing the same sort of things we’re accusing them of.  He wants us to love all others, not just those who love us or look like us or think like us.

So God is impartial in His judgment and punishment, but He is also impartial in His resurrections.  At the last, God will raise both the just and the unjust back to life, as attested by Paul to Felix, the governor, when Paul was defending himself against charges brought by the Jews.  The Apostle Luke recorded this defense in his Book of the Acts of the Apostles, in chapter 24, verse 15, when Paul proclaimed…

15 "I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."

--Acts 24:15 (NKJV)

There will be a resurrection of the dead, both those who were just in this life, and the unjust, the good and the bad.  We will all be resurrected, impartially.  We will all be judged, impartially.  And God’s punishment will be consistent and fair.

We need to make sure we are among the just, the good, and not be stubborn and reject the truth by rejecting Jesus.  We may say we believe in Jesus, but if we do not follow His commands, if we fail to do what He tells us to do, then we are, in effect, rejecting Him by rejecting His authority over us.  That is a no-no that will be severely punished.

Getting back to that question, “Is God angry?”  Are we seeing God’s anger and wrath right now, in our nation, in the world around us?  I think yes, we are.  I think we have thumbed our nose at God and given only lip-service to Jesus long enough now and God is punishing us.  Just like He often punished the Jews, His chosen people, even to the extent of allowing them to be conquered and carried off into slavery.  And I think He is punishing us for the same reason as He did them: to humble us and bring us back to Himself.

As a people, we need to get down on our knees and humble ourselves before God Almighty.  We need to stop just saying we believe in Jesus and start actually acting like it.  We need to turn from our sinful, disobedient ways and turn back to God.  Maybe then His anger will dissipate and we will again see His smile in our lives and feel the warmth of His love.

Let us love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind, and love all others, even our enemies.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the Truth.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for being so patient with us, for giving us so many opportunities to turn back to You and stop being so  disobedient.  We can read in our Bible of time after time when You displayed Your anger, even toward Your chosen people, because of wickedness and evil ways.  Thank You, Father, for giving us every chance to do good.  We know You are impartial and we want to be on Your good side.  Father, please help us be more just.  Help us be more righteous in Your sight.  Help us be less judgmental and more loving to all.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, we say we believe in You, but we don’t always act like it.  Too often we fail to do as You have commanded us, not truly accepting You as our Master.  Please, Lord, help us follow Your voice, follow the path You set for us.  Help us love as You would have us love.  Help us show the world that our Father in heaven is angry with us so that they might see the truth and turn back to God.  And Jesus, please help us keep our focus on the needs of others rather than on anything this life has to offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Judgment

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 24th of January, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

While Jesus still walked this earth, He kept telling His followers what would soon happen, how He would be sacrificed for our sins, die and be buried, but then rise again from the dead before ascending back into heaven, with the promise of returning someday to take His church home.  He also told them of the judgment to follow, judgment for the whole world.  But the disciples didn’t really understand what Jesus was trying to impart, not until after He died and was resurrected and they saw with their own eyes the truth of His words.

Perhaps most notable of those who had trouble grasping what Jesus told him was Peter.  But he finally did get it, he finally saw the truth, and then tried to share it with everyone else.  Please listen and follow along to the words the Apostle Peter wrote in his 2nd letter to the early church, from chapter 1 verse 19 through chapter 2 verse 17, and I’ll be reading from the Living Bible this morning…

1:19 So we have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true. You will do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, for, like lights shining into dark corners, their words help us to understand many things that otherwise would be dark and difficult. But when you consider the wonderful truth of the prophets’ words, then the light will dawn in your souls and Christ the Morning Star will shine in your hearts. 20-21 For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God.

2:1 But there were false prophets, too, in those days, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly tell their lies about God, turning against even their Master who bought them; but theirs will be a swift and terrible end. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching that there is nothing wrong with sexual sin. And because of them Christ and His way will be scoffed at.

3 These teachers in their greed will tell you anything to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago and their destruction is on the way. 4 For God did not spare even the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, chained in gloomy caves and darkness until the judgment day. 5 And He did not spare any of the people who lived in ancient times before the flood except Noah, the one man who spoke up for God, and his family of seven. At that time God completely destroyed the whole world of ungodly men with the vast flood. 6 Later, He turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into heaps of ashes and blotted them off the face of the earth, making them an example for all the ungodly in the future to look back upon and fear.

7-8 But at the same time the Lord rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a good man, sick of the terrible wickedness he saw everywhere around him day after day. 9 So also the Lord can rescue you and me from the temptations that surround us, and continue to punish the ungodly until the day of final judgment comes. 10 He is especially hard on those who follow their own evil, lustful thoughts, and those who are proud and willful, daring even to scoff at the Glorious Ones without so much as trembling, 11 although the angels in heaven who stand in the very presence of the Lord, and are far greater in power and strength than these false teachers, never speak out disrespectfully against these evil Mighty Ones.

12 But false teachers are fools — no better than animals. They do whatever they feel like; born only to be caught and killed, they laugh at the terrifying powers of the underworld which they know so little about; and they will be destroyed along with all the demons and powers of hell.

13 That is the pay these teachers will have for their sin. For they live in evil pleasures day after day. They are a disgrace and a stain among you, deceiving you by living in foul sin on the side while they join your love feasts as though they were honest men. 14 No woman can escape their sinful stare, and of adultery they never have enough. They make a game of luring unstable women. They train themselves to be greedy; and are doomed and cursed. 15 They have gone off the road and become lost like Balaam, the son of Beor, who fell in love with the money he could make by doing wrong; 16 but Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey spoke to him with a human voice, scolding and rebuking him.

17 These men are as useless as dried-up springs of water, promising much and delivering nothing; they are as unstable as clouds driven by the storm winds. They are doomed to the eternal pits of darkness.

--2 Peter 1:19-2:17 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for giving our early church leaders insight into Your truth.  Even the men who walked with Your Son for three years had trouble understanding everything until You opened their eyes.  Please help us understand as well.  Thank You for giving us Your words in our Bible, so that we can better understand.  And Father, please protect us from those who work for the devil and who would lead us away from Your Son Jesus.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us spend more time in our Bibles so that we can better grasp the truth You have given us.  Teach us all we need to know.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In South Africa, naturist club owner Beau Brummell was irked by accusations from morals watchdogs that a shriveling Transvaal drought was brought on by the "sin" of nude togetherness at his 1000-acre farm.  So he asked his 370 visitors to get dressed.  And, for the first time in two months, it poured rain.  "It's enough to make me become a monk!", Brummell grumbled.

You’ve probably heard of Beau Brummell, usually associated with clothing rather than nudity.  But there he was, owner of a club where guests could run around nude all the time.  And the land was experiencing a horrible drought.  The locals complained that the drought was God’s punishment for the sin being allowed to continue at Brummell’s club.  Finally, Brummell asked his guests to get dressed, and just like that it started to rain and the drought ended.  It’s like God had passed judgment on the entire Transvaal region because of the sin of Brummell’s club.  Sort of like Sodom and Gomorrah, maybe?

A gentleman by the name of John Endsley once said, "It is not the severity of punishment that acts as a deterrent.  It is its inevitability."  Well, when it comes to the punishment God dispenses, it can be both very severe and entirely consistent.

Yet we tend to ignore what He has done in the past, or think He would never do that to us.  Perhaps we're beginning to see how wrong that line of thinking truly is.

And that should have been evident to us all along.  As Peter noted, we have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true.  Everything Jesus said has come true.  What the apostles saved for us in their Gospel accounts and their letters has come true.  So we would do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, everything saved in our Bibles for us.  Their words are like lights shining into dark corners, showing us what might otherwise be kept dark and hidden, difficult to understand.

And the devil would much prefer we not see and understand that there are those among us who would mislead us.  There are men and women standing in their pulpits this very morning telling lies about God and Jesus, saying that everything in our Bible is subject to our own interpretation, twisting God’s words to meet their own personal agendas.  There are those in positions of authority, even in our seminaries, who say there are no absolute truths, that there are many ways to heaven other than through Jesus alone, that there is nothing sinful about having sex with whoever, or whatever, you want, that we can treat anyone anyway we want as long as we “believe”.

Sadly, many people will be led astray because of them.  Many people will step off the straight and narrow path and follow the road of personal pleasure and gain.  And worst of all, this will cause Jesus and His way of truth, and those who follow Him, to be scoffed at and ridiculed.

Those who do follow Jesus, who try to stay on His path, should remember that God has promised that this sort of misbehavior will not go unpunished.  These false prophets, false teachers, will be severely punished for they are already condemned.  After all, God did not spare the angels who rebelled against Him, nor the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, nor all the world’s people except for Noah and his family when He brought forth the great flood.

God’s punishment is severe and inevitable.  As Peter notes, He is especially hard on those who follow their own evil, lustful thoughts, on those who are proud and willful, on those who spread their lies.

We need to understand that everyone will be judged at the last, but the fate of the wicked will be horrible.  To avoid their fate, we must do as Peter warns and be very wary those who teach anything counter to what our Bible says.

The Apostle Jude very closely echoed the words of Peter in his own letter to the early church, holding to the same truth that the wicked will be punished.  Listen to what Jude wrote in the opening chapter of his letter, verses 3 through 11…

3 Dearly loved friends, I had been planning to write you some thoughts about the salvation God has given us, but now I find I must write of something else instead, urging you to stoutly defend the truth that God gave once for all to His people to keep without change through the years. 4 I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God’s punishment. The fate of such people was written long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 My answer to them is: Remember this fact — which you know already — that the Lord saved a whole nation of people out of the land of Egypt and then killed every one of them who did not trust and obey Him. 6 And I remind you of those angels who were once pure and holy but turned to a life of sin. Now God has them chained up in prisons of darkness, waiting for the judgment day. 7 And don’t forget the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, all full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities were destroyed by fire and continue to be a warning to us that there is a hell in which sinners are punished.

8 Yet these false teachers carelessly go right on living their evil, immoral lives, degrading their bodies and laughing at those in authority over them, even scoffing at the Glorious Ones. 9 Yet Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, when he was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body, did not dare to accuse even Satan, or jeer at him, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these men mock and curse at anything they do not understand, and like animals, they do whatever they feel like, thereby ruining their souls.

11 Woe upon them! For they follow the example of Cain who killed his brother; and like Balaam, they will do anything for money; and like Korah, they have disobeyed God and will die under his curse.

--Jude 1:3-11 (TLB)

Jude felt the great need to “stoutly defend the truth that God gave once for all to His people to keep without change through the years”.  Why?  Because there were too many false teachers going around spreading untruths, or interpreting things in a way God did not intend.

God’s word is forever, constant, unchanging.  It does not “evolve” with the times, as some people might want us to think.  To teach otherwise, to get people to believe otherwise, will bring condemnation and God’s punishment.

Jude warns that just because we now accept Jesus as our Lord, that doesn’t mean we can go back to doing whatever we want without worrying about being punished for what God has said is wrong!  Anyone who says differently is a false teacher, and they will be punished.

These false prophets, false teachers, remain disobedient to God.  They carelessly, disdainfully go right on living their evil, immoral lives, degrading their bodies and laughing at those in authority over them.  Woe upon them!  Woe upon them, for they have disobeyed God and will die under His condemnation.

Family, we need to heed the warnings Peter and Jude give.  We must beware those who would tell us that what our Bible says is not strictly true, or that it only applies to ancient times or to certain people or in particular circumstances.  We must avoid false prophets and their teachings, but to do so, we need to better understand just what it is that our Bible tells us.

Too many people spend no time at all reading their Bible.  We need to sit down, open our Bible and read it.  And if we can’t easily understand what we’re reading, then we need to get a different version or even invest a little in a good Study Bible.  Of course, there are some parts that still won’t be very easy to grasp, even with repeated reading and much study.  That’s where prayer comes in - prayer for clarity, insight, and vision.

So let’s get into our Bibles more, and pray for God to open up our eyes and our minds and our hearts to His word, His truth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the Truth.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You so much for our Bible and all the truth and warnings it holds for us.  In it You have saved Your eternal word, so that we might know what is coming and what to expect when this age ends.  Thank You, Father, for providing this for our benefit.  We know we need to spend more time reading it, but sometimes we are confused by what we read.  Father, please help us better understand.  Please give us clarity and insight into Your truth and word.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, when You walked this earth, You told Your followers what to expect, not only in their time but as the age draws to a close.  In turn, they recorded those words, in their accounts of Your life and in their letters to the early church.  Please, Lord, help us better understand what they saved for us.  Help us recognize and beware those who would tell us lies about God’s word.  Help us show the world the truth that comes from God alone.  Let the whole world see that truth so they might believe in You and accept You as Lord.  And Jesus, please help us keep our focus on the needs of others rather than on anything this life might tempt us with.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Good and Faithful Servants

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 17th of January, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The service also included the ordination of a Deacon and the installation of church officers.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

When we select folks to serve as officers for our church, we ask them to represent us in the affairs of the church, both spiritual and physical.  We place a certain amount of trust in their decision making skills.  We entrust into their care the resources of the church.  And we pledge our support, again both spiritual and physical.

In return, they agree to serve the church to the best of their abilities.  This requires setting aside any personal objectives and agendas and seeking only what is best for the entire church family.

I think it never hurts for us all to be reminded of what our Lord Jesus expects of those who would be good and faithful servants.  Please listen and follow along to the words of Jesus that the Apostle Matthew recorded for us in the 25th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 14 through 30, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’"

--Matthew 25:14-30 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for all the blessings You shower upon us and all the resources You entrust into our care.  Please help us be good stewards of those resources so that one day we too might hear those beautiful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  And Father, please protect us from all the devil’s wickedness in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us what You really expect of those who would serve You.  Teach us how to be good and faithful servants.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Craig Brian Larson recounted this little story in his book, Pastoral Grit: the Strength to Stand and to Stay:

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.

And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.'" The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.

So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who quits.

In our scripture reading, Jesus describes three servants of a lord who took some time away for a journey.  Before leaving, he entrusted those servants with some of his resources.  Each servant had their own ability, their own transmitter wattage, if you will.

The first two did great, just like Pioneer 10, maybe even exceeding what the lord expected.  The third, though, basically quit.  He was afraid to do anything, so he did nothing.  He gave up, and did not serve his lord.  He did not give God a chance to work through him.  We need to be more like Pioneer 10.

Now when we look at what the first two servants did to earn their lord’s compliments and reward, we basically see that they increased his personal wealth by making wise investments.  So is that what Jesus wants us to do, is that why He gave us this parable, to increase our wealth or maybe the wealth of His church?  No, I don’t think so, because the Pharisees tried that one and He didn’t take too kindly to it.  So that would lead us to wonder what other types of “resources” might Jesus have entrusted into our care that we can invest and gain an increase.

First we do need to understand that the “lord” in this parable is indeed our Lord Jesus, and the “journey” He went on was back to heaven, to return to earth someday.  So what did Jesus give us, what has He entrusted to us, what has He asked us to do?  Through God, Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, to live within us and guide our actions, our thoughts, our words, our every deed.  Through God, Jesus gives us faith – the faith to believe in Him as the Son of God, the Christ, our Savior.  And most of all, Jesus gave us love.  He asks of us that we love one another and that we go into the world making more disciples for Him.  This is how we return an increase on the investment He made in us, by spreading His love and helping others come to believe in Him as Lord.

Of course, everything we have comes from God.  And He has entrusted certain resources into our care.  To be good servants, we must be good stewards of those resources.

This is also true of those of us who serve as church leaders, for God has entrusted much into our care.  We have financial means to not only keep the church functional and fiscally healthy, but also to serve the community and help those in need.  Being a good and faithful servant requires us to not use this resource only for ourselves or sit on it like the third servant did.  By using it to help others, we return an increase of good will to our Lord.

Now we ask our church leaders to be good and trustworthy stewards of these resources.  We ask them to make wise decisions on anything that would impact the church or its place in the community.  And if we ourselves are wise, we will follow the advice of the Apostle Paul when choosing those who would lead us.  In chapter 3 of his 1st letter to his young friend and protégé Timothy, verses 1 through 7, Paul says this of the ideal church leader…

1 It is true that anyone who desires to be a church official wants to be something worthwhile. 2 That’s why officials must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. They must be self-controlled, sensible, well-behaved, friendly to strangers, and able to teach. 3 They must not be heavy drinkers or troublemakers. Instead, they must be kind and gentle and not love money.

4 Church officials must be in control of their own families, and they must see that their children are obedient and always respectful. 5 If they don’t know how to control their own families, how can they look after God’s people?

6 They must not be new followers of the Lord. If they are, they might become proud and be doomed along with the devil. 7 Finally, they must be well-respected by people who are not followers. Then they won’t be trapped and disgraced by the devil.

--1 Timothy 3:1-7 (CEV)

I truly believe the people we have chosen to represent us and lead our church in the days ahead definitely fit the profile Paul laid out.  The one point I think we all need to be very aware of is in verse 7, that our leaders must be “well-respected by people who are not followers”.  This means well-respected by non-believers as well as by believers.

And furthermore, I believe this applies to all of us who follow Jesus as our Lord.  Why?  Because any non-believer will be judging us all on the behavior of any of us they interact with.  To them, we might as well all be leaders of the church.  So in this regard, we all need to meet Paul’s guidelines.

Family, we are the church, the body of Christ Jesus left on this earth to carry out His mission of sharing His love with the world and making new believers for Him.  To the world, we represent the whole church.  Let’s all try our best to be good leaders.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, You chose us to be followers of Your Son Jesus, and to be leaders in the faith.  In turn, we choose those who would see to our needs and lead our family into the future.  Thank You, Father, for giving us our leaders.  Father, please help us all be good leaders, not only among ourselves but in the non-believing world also.  Help us be good stewards of the resources You have entrusted into our care.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be better, more faithful servants, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You not only taught us by Your words but You also led us by Your example.  In this way, and by Paul’s instructions, we know how we should lead, both within the church and within the greater community.  Please, Lord, help us be good servants and faithfully and humbly carry out the mission You gave us.  Help us show the world what a true follower looks like.  Let the world see You through us.  Help us keep our focus on the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Get Rid of the Old Stuff

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 10th of January, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  We also observed Holy Communion this morning.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Our risen and ascended Lord Jesus reached out and touched a man traveling along a dusty road one day and completely changed his life.  The Pharisee named Saul was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christian converts and take them back to stand trial in Jerusalem.  But before he could complete that mission, or really even get it started, his life took a 180-degree turn.  Jesus blinded his eyes and gave sight to his heart, and Paul became a new man.

Now Paul soon realized that since he had been given new life, it was important that he, and all believers, maintain that “newness” and not go back to the old ways of doing things.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote in chapter 3 of his letter to the Colossians, verses 1 through 15, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.

5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming on all who disobey Him. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

--Colossians 3:1-15 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for making us new again when we accept Your Son Jesus as our Lord!  Thank You for giving us new life, another chance to get things right.  Please help us to keep this “newness” in our spirit by truly following Jesus and serving only Him.  And please, Father, protect us from all of Satan’s evil work in this world.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and worship, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Blind our eyes to the faults of others and open our hearts to loving them as You love us.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Frances Ridley Havergal, English religious poet and hymn writer (among others, she wrote, "Take My Life and Let it Be") penned this little poem about the new year:

Another year is dawning,

Dear Father let it be,

In working or in waiting,

Another year with thee.

Another year of progress,

Another year of praise,

Another year of proving

Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies,

Of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness,

The glory of thy face.

Another year of leaning

Upon thy loving breast,

Another year of trusting,

Of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service,

Of witness for thy love,

Another year of training

For holier work above.

Another year is dawning,

Dear Father, let it be,

On earth, or else in heaven,

Another year for thee.

As I read that lovely verse, it seems to me that Ms. Havergal is making a New Year’s resolution.  But unlike most such resolutions, she doesn’t say a thing about going on a diet, or quitting smoking, or not watching soap operas all day long.  She is kind of promising to do a better job of time management, though.

Everything in that “resolution” is about God – about serving Him, spending more time with Him.  I think this is something we all need to resolve, to spend more time with God.  Wouldn’t you agree?

As I sort of alluded to in the invocation, the start of a new year is a good time to get rid of the old stuff in our life.  That’s pretty much what most New Year’s resolutions focus on: getting rid of old habits, changing one’s lifestyle in some positive way.  Even though we usually think of Spring as a time for a thorough cleaning, I believe the new year’s beginning is a great time to toss out the junk in our lives.

And a lot of our “junk” revolves around “things”, stuff we’ve accumulated.  Now when I say that, I want to be sure we understand that also - maybe mostly – includes our attitude about “things”.  Paul says we should set our sights on the realities of heaven, not the things of earth.  So right there is some of the old stuff we need to get rid of: our obsession with the things of this world.

But Paul goes on to say we need to do away with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, for these are all forms of idolatry.  Toss them out!  Get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language, and don’t lie to each other.  It’s time to strip off our old sinful nature and all its wicked ways and put on the new nature that God has given us through Jesus Christ His Son.

Now when Paul wrote a letter to one of the churches, it was really intended to be passed around and read by all the churches he had started or served.  So this letter to the Colossians would have also been read by the Thessalonians, the Philippians, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, even by the folks in the church in Rome.  The same holds true for the letter he wrote to the church in Ephesus, where, in the 4th chapter, verses 17 through 24, he said this…

17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, Godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19 and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things.

20-21 But that isn’t what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about Him and learned about Him. 22 You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24 and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please Him and be truly holy.

--Ephesians 4:17-24 (CEV)

Paul doesn’t hold back any punches, does he.  He orders all the good members of all those churches to stop living like stupid, Godless people.  And oh, by the way, he orders us, too, because God meant for us to read these letters in our time.

Paul orders us to get rid of our stubbornness and ignorance and greed.  If we don’t toss them out, our foolish desires will destroy us!  We’ve all seen cases where exactly that happened, where someone was utterly destroyed because they gave in to their base desires.

We must give up our old way of life with all its bad habits and let this new life through Christ Jesus take over.  Give way to the Spirit, and let Him change our way of thinking, our way of dealing with others, our way of coping with life.

Family, there’s no better time to get rid of the old stuff than right now.  For in just a few moments we will be partaking of the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus.  Paul tells us not to come to this table with any of that old, bad stuff still in our hearts.  We must be right with God, having forgiven old hurts, tossing out personal pride, flinging off biases and prejudices towards others.

Please take these next few minutes to get rid of that old stuff so we can all come to the table together with a right heart.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, we’ve accumulated so much junk in our life.  Some things we’ve even taken to hoarding, refusing to get rid of them, things like hatreds and distrusts and fear.  Father, sometimes we just forget that You have given us new life through Your Son, and we revert back to our old self.  Thank You, Father, for this new life and please forgive us when we fall back into our old ways.  Please help us maintain that new person You made us.  Help us finally and completely get rid of the old stuff so we can better serve You.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be better, more faithful servants, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You were executed and died, punished for our sins.  But You didn’t stay dead!  You rose to new life so that we too could defeat death.  You were made new again and through You we too are made new!  Please, Lord, help us throw off the old person and truly be new.  Let the world see the new person in us so that they might see You.  Help us get rid of the old stuff that blinds us to God’s power and sovereignty, that causes us to look bad in God’s eyes.  Forgive us, Jesus, when we just won’t let go of the world and all its things.  Forgive us when we can’t release our hatreds and pride, our anger and greed, our distrust for those not like us.  Help us toss all that out so that people can see Your love through our love and service.  Help us be new.  And Jesus, please strengthen us through these very difficult times.  Heal those hurts that separate and divide us, even within Your church family.  Help us remain true and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on what this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.