BIBLE SERMONS ONLINE FOR YOU!

ATTITUDES AND ACTIONS -- WHICH IS BETTER?

2012-01-23T19:34:00.001-07:00

HE DID WHAT I ASKED . . . WITH A BIG FROWN ON HIS FACE THE WHOLE DERN TIME!

He did what I asked
with a frown for the task
he set forth to work in the field.
I watched him frown
as he went to the ground
and sharp shovel the earth did yield.
He was covered with dirt
from his hands to his shirt
as he finished the work that was there.
But a smile crossed his face
as he stared into space
for he'd found that he really did care.

[FROM the "Big Book of Best Loved 'Pomes' for Fambly and Friends"]

If you have a bad attitude then Jesus
sez that ain't the worst thing you could
have . . . You could be a lazy bum!

Has anyone ever said to you, "Gene (or Mary, or Bill, Elaine) you have a bad attitude!" or "I don't like your attitude!"
Maybe so. And I heard this from my wife (more than once!) Usually though we hear it either from someone real close to us; or from someone who is about to beat us up! (So if it's the latter case, when you hear that, you better run far and fast!)

"I don't like your attitude!" You know who else says that? Another somebody who loves us: Jesus Himself. He says this to the people that belong to Him; even the people He loves. Maybe, especially the people that He loves! I think He says it, but while saying it and thinking it, He still puts up with us, and He still loves us. That's because He knows, and He taught that there is something far better than a good attitude and a smiling face and a nodding head. What's better than a nice attitude? Committed, obedient action! That's better. He still looks for that. Always.

The story Jesus told (which we call the parable of Two Sons) reveals bad attitudes, but it emphasizes right actions! That's right: it is about right actions! And it's about what kind of action God prefers and approves of. It's an obscure parable that only appears in Matthew's Gospel, probably because it uniquely serves Matthew's purpose. What's his main purpose? Matthew's Gospel exalts the authority of Jesus Christ: "he taught them as one who had authority" (Matthew 7:29). "I will not tell you by what authority I do these things" (he said in the

Matthew writes to make the case
for the authority of Jesus,
so you will know how to
respond to that authority.

previous passage); and then at the end Jesus says, "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me," (from Matt. 28:18). Matthew's point is once you've accepted the authority of Jesus, the only thing left is to do what the Master, or what the Father says to do. He's all about authority here on His part; and obedience on ours.

And that's what this weird little story Jesus told is about too. There are two sons in the story (who might just as well today be two sisters!). There's one father of both. And in that day and time, just because you were the father meant you had the authority (my how times have changed!).
So the Dad orders them both to go to work in his vineyard, one at a time. He orders the first one out there, and the son (he might be the older son, since Jesus refers to him as the first son) says, "No! I'm not going to do it!" He says that to his father.

Okay. Fine. The dad doesn't force him to go. That son is probably just as big as his father, and maybe even stronger. But then just a little bit later on, and with little warning, the guy changes his mind! The Greek word makes it clear that the guy sort of repented; he thought better of it. He had a change of will. So suddenly he decides to follow his father's command and go work in the field anyway. And he does.

You know of course the other son said he would go to work, but in fact he did not. And everybody in Jesus' audience back then knew that this was wrong. They just had trouble applying this teaching to themselves. That second son was what we call a "yes man". He talks a good talk, but his walk leaves much to be desired. We've all traveled down his path,

There were two brothers. The first one
walked the walk; the second one
just talked the talk

and we know where it leads: broken relationships, lost jobs, and inward despair.

But this evening let's focus on that first son. He's a lot like you and me. He said one thing, but later on he ended up doing another. And the other thing he is doing is the right thing! The thing that he first said to his dad was insolent, rude, and it sounded disobedient; but then he changes his mind, and then goes and does the right thing. And the right thing is doing what his father said to do in the first place. I am belaboring the obvious because of this:

Doing the right thing is always doing what God, your Heavenly Father tells you, personally and specifically, to do. And doing what He tells you to do, whatever that is, is to acknowledge and love Him and to love His authority over you.
Now, I'm not going to dwell on what specifically that might mean for you (and you, and you, and you!). I'm not going to do that, because chances are you already know exactly what God wants you to do! You therefore already know the right thing to do. And I bet many of you know it in great detail.

So I'll repeat: doing what Christ Jesus your Lord says to do is always the right thing! Your response to his command might work itself out just the way it does in that first son's life: you'll start out by saying you are not going to do it; and so at first you don't do what He asked of you; but then later on you have a change of heart, and you do it! And I just bet tonight that is a shoe that fits all of us. I have found that this very scenario occurs over and over again in the life of any Christian who is really listening to God!

If you do what Jesus asks you to
do it is always the right thing!

How many of us here recall a time when God was telling us to do something, but our first reaction was to answer God, and say, "No! I will not!" I've said that to Him too many times. (More than I can count.) Years ago, I heard God clearly telling me, "I want you to be a preacher and the pastor of a church." I spent weeks telling Him, "I will not! I don't want to do that, and I'm not going to do it!" And I got no peace for all those weeks. And finally I got a little humble, and I said, "all right I'll do it, just tell me what's involved?" He said, "I want you to do this full time. So you'll have to quit your job, go to seminary, and get some training," and I said, "I will not! I'm not going to do that! I'll be a preacher and a pastor, but I don't want to give up this good job, and I don't want to do it full time, and I don't want to go to seminary." Just like the first son in the story.

And like him I changed my mind, and I ended up doing it anyway. And now years have gone by, and I cannot even count how many times I played the part of the older son, saying, "I know you want me to do this, or I suspect you want me to do this, but I don't want to do it; and I have no intention of doing it!" But later on there was a change of heart, and I ended up doing it. Maybe that happened because it is very difficult to live in a state of disobedience to God. It's the best way I know of to be a Christian and to be absolutely miserable.

On a related noted, my wife is a born teacher. She got a job at the St. Paul's preschool teaching 4 and 5 year old people, and she loves her work, and the kids love her. But noticing some of the difficulties that came with managing the place, she would come home and tell

She was a very good preschool
teacher and loved her work.

me, "boy I am glad I do not have the director's job at that pre-school! All that administration! All that record keeping; all that financial computer software. But I ain't ever going to do that no-how!"

God must have a really sick sense of humor! And we all know He has lots of patience! Because two weeks ago, my wife accepted the position of Interim Director of the St. Paul's child development center. And I'm just laughing to myself and thanking God it ain't me this time!

In fact I'm reminded of the story of the Methodist preacher who liked preaching, but he very much disliked the pastoral ministry side of being a preacher (and this used to be me -- I used to be like this guy that I am telling you about!). So whenever someone got sick or had to go to the hospital, he would call one of his lay ministers and ask them to go and see the sick person. And this guy -- lets call him John -- didn't like praying for sick people either, because he was sort of a liberal, and he didn't believe in miracles, frankly! The idea that Jesus would still heal people today like the old stories in the Bible -- John just didn't go along with that sort of stone-age stuff. If it happened at all, that was long ago, and this was now . . . .

But one day he got a call from a church member who's church-member-mother was in the hospital with a very serious and terminal illness. The daughter asked, "will you go please, Pastor John, and visit my mother; and will you pray for her and ask that Jesus will heal her."
Pastor John did not want to do this, so he said, "Charlene: I'll see that this gets done some time this month!"
"No, Pastor John, please! She may not be alive later in the month. Please would you go today and you, the preacher, please pray for her."

Pastor John didn't like
visiting in hospitals.

"Thanks, Ma'am, for your confidence in me," he said. "I will see that this gets done today." And he ended the call.

But it was the middle of July. And when Pastor John started going down his list of lay ministers, they were all out of town, or busy, or on vacation. They could not go to the hospital on that day. So he huffed and puffed, and breathed deeply, and counted to ten -- and made a decision. He would go to the hospital himself. He didn't want to. He had told himself he wouldn't. But now, he was.

Sort of like John Wesley. John Wesley went very unwillingly to a society meeting on Aldersgate street in London, during the Spring of 1738. He felt he was supposed to go, but he didn't want to go.

As for John he hadn't been in this hospital in over two years, but he found his way around, and with the help of a nurse he found the room of Charlene's mother, Julia. When he saw her and looked at her chart, he was sure the daughter had told him the truth: that Julia was not long for this world. He chatted with her a bit, made some small talk, and then picked up his hat and got ready to leave. "Oh, wait, Pastor John, please! Would you pray for me? And please ask God to heal me of this terrible disease."

He didn't want to. But he shrugged, huffed and puffed, and began to pray. And he was pretty rusty since he hadn't prayed for anybody who was sick in a long, long time. "Lord God. Uh, here is Julia, your servant, sick and in this hospital. She feels bad, she looks worse, and she is so sick it looks like she is just going to die very soon. But Lord, we're asking you that, if it be in your will, you please don't let her die. Instead make her well, and let her go home. But,

Pastor John thought only Jesus could
heal people and no one else.

of course, if it isn't your will that she gets better, then please just help her to accept the condition in which she now finds herself. Thank you God. Amen."

He nodded to the woman, picked up his hat again, and headed for the door of the hospital room. But before he got there, he heard a voice -- Julia's voice: she sat up in bed and said, "you know, Pastor John, I feel funny. I feel different. I feel better!" She swung her two strong legs around over the edge of the bed and sat up straight and tall. "I feel -- man, I feel well! I believe I am well. You prayed for me, and God has answered your prayer and healed me! Hallelujah, I am well!"

With all the commotion a nurse came into the room, and asked if there was something wrong. "No, nothing wrong!" answered Julia. "I am well. I am healed of my sickness. God has healed me. Get your thermometer and your blood pressure thing and check me out. I believe I'm going to be okay now." The nurse paged a doctor and got out her stethoscope and thermometer. By this time Julia was walking back and forth across the room, as far as her IV tubes would let her. "Thank you, Pastor. Thank you, Jesus, I am well!" And the nurse, and the doctor soon found out she was!

But Pastor John had not stayed around for all this confirmation. Instead he spoke to no one. He

Julia felt better. And she was
better!

walked down the hall silent and fuming. He walked out the door of the hospital, and crossed the street to the parking lot. By the time he got to the car he was so angry he was glowing red. Pastor John put the key in the door of his car and opened the door. But before he got inside, he looked up into the sky, and he said, "Don't you ever do that again!"

And obedience to Jesus Christ -- no matter when it comes, sooner preferably than later -- obedience always brings forth these unimagined, surprising, grace-filled moments, and amazing, and even miraculous results.

I like to think that's what happened to that first son: I have a vivid imagination, so I believe that in the details of the rest of the story, he went into the vineyard and worked, and later? The harvest of grapes was so abundant that season; and the wine that came from those grapes was the best in all of Israel for that year! But even if that didn't happen, that son had shown love for the authority of the Father. And that is always a very big thing!

And John Wesley, what about him. He wrote that "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in

John Wesley didn't want to go to
the meeting at Aldersgate Street.
But he went anyway, and the rest
is history.

Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

And today, you're that first son in the parable from Matthew 21. Maybe you're like John Wesley. You already know perfectly well what Jesus is asking you to do. What happens next depends on how you view the authority of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: And Lord Jesus, this evening at least we say to you that we acknowledge your authority -- all of it in heaven and on earth, and in our lives. It's because of that that we are together this evening obeying your summons to come to this feast of grace that is Holy Communion. In your name we pray. Amen.

BIBLE TEXT TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!
Matthew 21:23-44 (with a focus on 28-32).

23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”
And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’
29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.
30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.
37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’
39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘ The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

LBC

SIMEON'S 'BUCKET LIST'

2011-12-09T11:57:00.002-07:00

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DO OR SEE BEFORE YOU DIE?

SOME HAVE. THEIR STORY IS TOLD IN A MOVIE . . . .

Perhaps you saw several years ago the movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman

. . . It's all you want to do
before you kick the bucket!

called "The Bucket List". These two older men meet in a hospital room, and though they are very different in their backgrounds, and in their careers, they find that they do have one thing in common: they both have unfinished business. They both want to take a step away from their former lives, and then go and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die. That is, they want to check off the items that are on their respective bucket lists. For those who don't know, a "bucket list" is everything you really want to do or accomplish before you die, or "kick the bucket."

In the movie by the same name, these two men heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life. One of them is wealthy, so he can afford to pay for all of the unusual and outlandish things that the two decide to do.

Now, that you have the concept squarely in mind, think about that for yourself on this new year's day: whatever your age might be, whether you think you are close to dying or not, are there a few things you want to make sure you have or do before you die?
Some might say, "well I want to be a millionaire before I die. Because that will enable me to take care of my surviving family after I'm gone, and it will enable me to be a blessing and a benefit to the church I attend. It will enable me to establish ongoing financial support for these Christian charities that I have always liked. I'll include them in my will, and I'll be able to help them in this life and after I'm gone."

God could empty your bucket
and add His opportunity in it.

Some want something more exciting or adventurous than that: she wants to sail around the world in her own sail boat. He wants to climb Mount Everest before he kicks the bucket. He wants to photograph Big Foot just once before he dies (that one's on my list!). That's what is on some people's "bucket list"? What's on yours?

The old man in the Bible named Simeon might have been like you. He probably had a bucket list too. Sometime perhaps around the age of 40 Simeon probably realized, "I have outlived most of the men of my generation." He might think that because the average life expectancy back then was about 32 years of age. He might thing of a list of things he would like to do, or maybe do one more time before he died:
"Well, I'd like to see my oldest daughter and her family one more time. But they live all the way over in Timnah. That's fifteen miles away. Who in the world am I going to find that will give me a ride over there?"
Or Simeon might say, "I'd like to get somebody to drive me in a cart up to the top of the Mount of Olives in the spring time. I'd have supper up there. Then I'd watch the sun go down in the west with the sunset behind God's City, Jerusalem. Ah, that would be so fine!"
Or he might think, "You know on a clear day you can see Mount Hermon from here. It's over nine thousand feet high. I would love to go visit Mt. Hermon, climb up a little ways, and see the snow. I've heard they have snow there most of the year."

Or he might think, "I go to synagogue every week, and I listen to our learned Rabbi. But I wish just once I knew how to read. Then I could go and sit with the rabbis and read the holy scipture all by myself. And I could join in the discussion during the week. I would add my two

Perhaps Simeon once thought,
"If I could just see Mt. Hermon up close
and touch the snow . . ."

cents worth. That would be so very fine. And they would sit there respectfully and listen. Ah, that would be soooo fine!"

That might be what was on Simeon's bucket list. Originally.
But some time during his adult life, all of that changed. God brushed all those things off the table, and replaced them with only one thing. But it was a very big thing. It was a very big, divine opportunity. On this one special day the Holy Spirit came to Simeon and told him, "Simeon, I have seen your pious life, and your expectant, hopeful, positive life. I know the desires of your heart. For your faithfulness to me, you are going to get to do something that only a few people in the world will ever get to do. What's more: when it happens, you are going to get to understand the meaning of His coming: you are going to get to see the Messiah Himself in his infancy. You will get to see him before you die. I have singled you out for this very purpose."

And after God told Simeon that, as you can well imagine, NOTHING ELSE WAS IMPORTANT! Simeon knew he was going to get to see, to have this one great visitation from God before he died. And nothing else really mattered except that. This became the one important thing on his bucket list. After this message from God, however the message came, Simeon no longer cared if he was going to live long enough to climb Mount Herman, or swim

Whatever else might have been
important to Simeon, this took its
place: getting to see and
touch the Messiah!

across the Sea of Galilee, or become the richest man in Palestine! Things like that just didn't matter. Luke tells the story this way:

READ

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

And then, because that was a promise from God, it had to come true. So one great day perhaps months after that first revelation, perhaps some time in the spring of that year, just a few days after Jesus had been born his parents Joseph and Mary brought him to the Temple to be presented and to be circumcised in accord with Jewish Law. Here is how Luke tells the story of God fulfilling His great promise:

READ
27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against

"And a sword will pierce your life as well,"
Simeon added to Mary.

35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own life also), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

SIMEON GOT TO SEE JESUS, THE MESSIAH, IN THE FLESH!

He got to touch and hold Jesus. He got to pray a prayer and utter a saying about Jesus. And he got to know something vital about the meaning of Jesus' life. What did Simeon get to see and know?
That in the baby Jesus God was sending major consolation, befriending, support, and advocacy for His own people of promise, Israel. That was first and foremost and it still is!

WHAT ELSE DID SIMEON GET TO SEE?
He got to see and know that for the first time the Gentiles would also receive the light of God and the favor of God; and that somehow mysteriously God would use this Jesus to bring Jews and Gentiles together into a common faith. (That's why you and I are here today: The Messiah of Simeon brought us into the fold and into the faith for right here and right now!)

WHAT ELSE DID SIMEON GET TO SEE?
He got to see and know that Jesus' life would be filled with controversy in the Israel that He was sent to help. Some would rise, others would fall at his coming. He would reveal the thoughts of many. He would be spoken against. And His own mother would come to great grief over this Son. Simeon, in other words, was given some insight into the fact that this tiny Messiah would grow up and die by a terrible, non-normal death.

Many would be glad in Israel at the Messiah's
coming. But others were not.

Now, if God came to you, perhaps in a moment of conversion, and looked at your spiritual table or saw your present bucket list, WHAT IF HE DIDN'T LIKE WHAT HE SAW?
What if he just swept everything that you are wanting or planning off that table and on to the floor? What if He took your bucket list, and turned it upside down, and emptied everything on the floor, swept it up and threw it all away. (So that, just like the apostle Paul, whatever was to your gain, you would now have to count as complete loss, compared with the gift of knowing Jesus Christ and His resurrection.)

So then, God, after emptying your bucket, replaced all of those wishes of yours with this one precious thing: a chance to see the Messiah in the flesh, to touch Him and hug Him, and to understand fully who He was for you and the world. What if God did for you what He did for Simeon and put the sight of this one child on your bucket list? And then fulfilled it? Well, my friend, if God ever did that to you or for you, then that would be ENOUGH!

If you were in your right, Christian frame of mind, you would respond like Simeon: you would say to God the Father, "Thank you, Father! I now know that this is all I need.

OUR RESPONSE IS AND SHOULD BE: FATHER, HE IS ALL I NEED!

He is all I need to see, touch, and understand, even the Messiah Jesus. I want nothing

Only a small number of people in world
history got to see the real Messiah
in His infancy . . . .

more. I will expect and look for nothing more, for the rest of my life. Again, I say thanks!"

That should be your response and mine.

But wait a minute: consider the times in which we live. Simeon was alive at the time of Jesus' birth. He was an older contemporary of Jesus Christ; we are not. We live in a time after Jesus' birth, His death, His resurrection, His many resurrection appearances, and His ascension to reign with God the Father. We know, we've been taught, the Messiah does not need to come again for us as He did 2000 years ago, because what He did then, He did once for all!

So wait a minute. Could it be? Have I possibly already seen the Messiah? And maybe I just didn't think about it deeply at the time?
Perhaps we see and experience and touch the Messiah at our conversion: that special day when we trust in Jesus Christ, He comes into our lives, and suddenly we are never quite ourselves again, but He is present, living within us, and we know it. Maybe that is the fulfillment of God's bucket list for us. Because if it is, then that is enough!

So what's on yer bucket list now?
What -- or Who -- will God put
on it?

Or maybe some great day in worship, something happens, something is said, or preached, or sung, or someone speaks to us personally, or like today, we receive communion, and out of that experience we hear Jesus telling us, "I love you, I am with you, and I have come to stay with you always!"
And I hope that has been your experience here in the worship at St. Paul's because it certainly has been mine. And I have only been a part of our worship for just over a year and a half, but numerous times, I have experienced God meeting me here, filling my life, answering prayer, and moving me even to sing or shout with joy! And was that it? Was that God showing me Jesus Christ, and filling up completely my bucket list? I believe it was!

Or maybe for some few select ones of us, this Jesus will come to us in a vision or in a dream. And we will know it's Him, because He will speak the same words that He spoke to us in the Bible. And when the vision ends, we will say something like Cleopas said in Luke 24, "“Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Of course Cleopas and his friend did not see a vision but met the real, resurrected Jesus in the flesh. And that has not happened to most of us yet.
I offer these possibilities to get you to look hard today at your life with Jesus Christ; the scripture leads us to all to ask ourselves, "how well do I really know Him? Have I really and truly met Him?"

The truth is you and I cannot have the same experience that Simeon had. There were only a small handful of people who saw Jesus at his birth and in his infancy. But we can let God put something similar on our bucket list: the opportunity of knowing I have truly met this Messiah

In Holy Communion you can meet
and experience the real
Messiah Jesus . . . .

before I die. He was Simeon's greatest hope and expectation. He can be yours today. And what better time, than the start of a new year, to have within your heart and mind the sure and divine knowledge that you will meet this Jesus, touch, and understand His meaning for you before you die.
Because meeting Jesus Christ while we are alive is and should be a great expectation for all of us. It may be that any day now we will feel completely comfortable praying Simeon's great prayer:

29 “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

In anticipation of that we observe Holy Communion this day. And we do so in expectation of the visit of Jesus the Messiah to each one of us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Bible Text to Read, Use, and Love!

Luke 2:25-35 (for the eighth day of Christmas, and the second Sunday in Christmas; communion Sunday)

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

LBC

KEEP YOURSELVES FREE . . .

2011-11-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF EVIL . . . .


Because we are by nature selfish, we will find ourselves wanting more cash: the means to get what we want . . . .

We are often warned that "money is the root of all evil." This is not true. Money, as a medium of exchange, is a gift of God. It enables a man to trade a small amount of material (a check, credit card, or sum of easy-to-carry cash) for a large object. So instead of trading a horse for a cart, we can use money, or credit, to do this.

The Bible talks instead about the love of money as being the root of evil. That makes sense too! The above is actually found in another passage of scripture: 1 Timonty 6:10, with a similar warning found in 2 Timonty 3:2. For the love of money to be the root of evil it means we are by nature evil, sinful people. To get more of what we do not need, or should not have, we will find ourselves desiring money as a medium of exchange to get what we want. We will long for, covet, and desire money so that we can get what (we think) will satisfy us, whether that be material objects or power over the lives of others.

The final chapter of Hebrews ends with the usual series of exortations on a variety of subjects; as if the writer (perhaps Silas/Silvanus, the friend of Paul) wanted to make sure he did not leave out anything essential in his directions to and encouragement of this congregation. So it is no surprise to see this writer warn about the love of money with these famous words:

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

The last part of verse 6 is a quote from Psalm 118:6. The fuller form of that passage is this:

The great contrast is of us
trying to care for ourselves, versus
God caring for us.

6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (NKJV)

Thus both the psalmist and the writer juxtapose this great contrast: man's desire to gain and use a God-given medium of exchange to take care of himself versus our trust in God always to care for us. The admonition in verse five invites us to consider in more detail how precisely we might "keep our lives free from the love of money". To do this we should know that God calls forth from us three things

And first there is, there must be

MY EFFORT.

This is what God says I can and should do. He has left some things within my grasp and ability to accomplish, and He obligates me to do them.

So if I am to keep myself free of the love of money, then this is something that involves my intentional and deliberate action. One example my pastor offered recently was to isolate our credit cards. That is, to remove the credit card(s) from our wallets and purses, and to put them away in a much less
convenient place. One suggestion was to freeze your credit cards inside a small block of ice. If there becomes something you really want to buy with the credit card, you will be forced to

Some people find that they have
to destroy their credit cards
to keep from going deeply
into debt.

wait until the ice melts before you can get to the card. The time it takes to wait, may give you time to think about whether you really need that particular item. I needed to do something like this more than my frugal spouse, since she was carrying the same credit card, but never used it.

So I collected both cards, and put them away in an old pouch, stored away in a distant drawer. We both agreed to use just the debit card for now, and see how that went (or possibly write checks). I anticipate that if we travel together some time, we will need to make use of the card again. But the point is, this was something I could do, and with God's help, I did it. This becomes a first step for keeping ourselves free from the love of money. If you reduce the possibilities for bing spending and impulse binding, then the desire to do so begins to diminish!

But human effort is seldom ever enough all by itself. Even when that effort is directed toward obeying the instructions of God. So second, there must be

MY FAITH.

Faith in God is implied in chapter 13: to believe
that He will take care of us. The author's
kind of faith is explicitly stated and illustrated
in his chapter 11.

God says to us in effect, "My child: where you cannot act, accomplish or do, then I invite you to believe." For when we believe we place our trust in God. And in the case of keeping our lives free from the love of money we trust God to assist us with what we find beyond ourselves to accomplish. For those who truly have difficulty in controlling their spending (and therefore practicing their saving), we must be open first to God intervening to let us know we have a problem, or possibly, an addiction. This requires a measure of faith. It is in fact the kind of faith that this writer describes:
11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So we believe God exists and that He is willing to reward us as we seek Him for confession and help. It is this God who is the Father of Jesus who informs me by whatever means that I have a problem with spending too much on things I do not need; but I also believe He will reward me by helping me. We think of "rewards" as goods or services given to us for being


This poor man needs to know God is His Helper when it comes to ALL MONEY MATTERS. . . .

good, or accomplishing something extra. With God though, His reward to us can simply be alerting us that we have a problem, and that it is one with which He can help. When we believe that about God then we open ourselves to His divine powers of forbearance and resistance, so that we will not spend, and so we will save and give. Our faith in Jesus opens us up to the power of God for all such things. He also can work within our minds to show us what are the greatest and most essential priorities in our lives with regard to spending.

But even these two elements of the Christian life do not take us to the Heart of the matter. There is then thirdly, the all important matter of

MY HELP.

The writer himself says that God is our Help, or our Helper, and therefore what can any man
do to me? He wrote this in the context of a church that was already facing persecution.

If you know that God is your source of Help
then you tion

Pagan men and disbelievers from the Jewish communities were in fact trying to "do something to" the believers of this faith community. But the writer is saying two things here: first God your helper will supply your every need (financially) so as to assist you in remaining free from the love of money. But also God being your Helper means He will assist you through the Savior to enable you to endure whatever men might do to you by various instruments of persecution. God's help for us is thus all-encompassing! The words of Psalm 46 are recalled here, which also emphasize this:

1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

We are all soldiers of Jesus Christ. He is our
Rock and our Help for all occasions.

5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

These are points to consider in evaluating our status as earning, saving, giving believers. God declares that your own effort is required to "keep your life free"; He also invites your faith in Him, so to believe where you discover you are unable to act, or when the action required is greater than your powers or resources. And in all these things, your life is oriented toward God is your eternal Helper through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer: Father God, by grace we accept the good definition of faith that you have provided for us in this your Holy Word. Help us exercise faith and action to keep our lives free from the love of money. Help us know from within that you are our God and our Help, both in ages past and for all the years to come, and for all eternity.

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

Hebrews 13 (with the total context of 13:1-9)

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”

LBC

THE THING ABOUT WEALTH

2011-10-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

HE HAD SUCH BIG PLANS FOR ALL OF HIS MONEY . . . BUT SOMEONE ELSE, BIGGER THAN HIM, HAD OTHER,

The police are doing their best to teach
these bums the rules of the city, but
the bums are too dumb to learn! (Don't
tell me they been to college!)

MUCH BIGGER PLANS . . . .

As I write this the movement called “Occupy Wall Street” still goes on. And it occurred to me right now that in the midst of this multifaceted protest, we are missing a grand opportunity to discuss politely and rationally a very important question. It is the question, “where does wealth come from? How do people get wealthy?” Most of the people who are out there camping out and beating drums appear to be against very wealthy people, such as have ample funds to invest at places like Wall Street where the New York Stock Exchange sits. But these same people curiously do not appear to be interested in hearing some very real and serious answers to that question. Indeed they do not appear to be interested in learning very much truth at all!

The bible actually answers that question in broad strokes and in smaller details. The short, big answer is, "All wealth comes directly or indirectly from God Himself. AND (the corollary) All ability to earn wealth, or take a little and transform it into a lot also comes from God.

God says as much in Deuteronomy chapter 8:11-18 (where the ability to produce wealth is said to come from God). Also Jesus in his parable of the ten talents refers to the power of industrious individuals to be given only a little, and then be able to generate a lot more by spending, investing, etc. Jesus understood God's gift to humans, made in the likeness of His Father, to be productive with what they have.
There are also the "detail stories" like the one before us from Luke chapter 12. There Jesus speaks (not at all for the last time) about wealth that is tied up with personal property.
Quite often, now, as in Jesus’ day, wealth is inherited. One family member received an estate or purchased one at some time in the past, or worked hard to save the money or resources to trade for an estate or farm of some sort. Then, the estate, over time began to increase in value. And when the owner died, he passed it on to his children or other nearest relative.

But go back to the beginning of it all: where did that landed property come from originally? Often in the ancient world, the King of the country owned all of the property. And as a reward to a faithful noble, prince, or general, the King would apportion a section of land to that faithful noble. Then the noble would pass it down through his family.

In ancient Israel, wealth in property came about in a different way. For the first time in history,

Israel's occupation of ancient Canaan
represents the first time in history
God intervened to give ordinary citizens
the right of private property.

Israel was given both permission and orders by God to wipe out the wicked Canaanites and to occupy that land, take possession of it, and then divide it up among all of the families in all of the tribes of Israel. Some of those new land owners were good stewards and good farmers, and their property grew in value, as their agricultural produce increased, and as their flocks and their herds did well. And those people created their own wealth from the land which was God’s gift to them. And they generated wealth primarily through all facets of agriculture, but also through mining copper and iron (as the book of Deuteronomy tells us).

That Bible story of ancient Israel answers the question “where does wealth come from” in two ways: it comes to us when it is given as a gift by someone else more powerful than us; and it can come to those who work hard to make the most of what they have been given. But above all, first and foremost, God is the giver of wealth! He gives it to people, and He expects them to use it to honor Him. Wealth, money, -- it all comes from God.

The story in Luke’s Gospel is founded upon this fundamental truth. A man in the crowd recognizes Jesus’ authority. So he comes to Jesus and demands that Jesus order his brother to divide the property with him. It is the same kind of request the prodigal son makes in the story that Jesus tells over in chapter 15 of this book. So this man comes to Jesus and he demands: “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance between him and me. (And to do it right now!)”
They had property. Property was and is a very good thing to have. But it was held jointly; this brother wanted it to be divided – perhaps so that he could sell his half and turn it into cash. That’s possible.

It is possible to be rich, and be a blithering
moral idiot. Just look at Georgie Porgy "Sour
Puss" "Sore (at) us". The dastard!

Jesus, as he often does in the presence of human disputes, admonishes the quarrelsome man, and uses this as an opportunity to teach the entire crowd something about what to do with what we have. And that is why He teaches what many have come to call the parable of the rich fool.

It’s another story of Jesus with a very bad ending for the main character. After the man has a successful harvest on his very fruitful land, he decides to tear down his existing barns, build bigger barns for his increased crops; then have a life of parties and enjoy himself for years to come.

That’s when the bad news comes. God speaks to his very soul as follows:
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ Note what God did not say: He did not say that the man was going to hell for all eternity. Luke has a term for hell, and he doesn’t use it here. Jesus merely indicates the man is going to die suddenly, and he won’t be able to keep his plans to enjoy his wealth all by himself.

I want to tell you something personal about this story and others like it. Whenever I find one like this, in which a main character ends up getting the bad news, I always feel an impulse to re-write the story. To rewrite it so that it has a different, happier ending.

The guy had plenty of money.
But he would not decide to
share it on his own.
And boom!!

So in re-writing the parable, mine would go something like this: a certain rich man had a field which was very productive. In fact it was more productive at harvest time than he had expected. He made enough grain and fruit off of it, to meet all of his expenses, pay all of his bills, pay for seed for the next growing season, and pay all of his workers. But the harvest was so successful that he even had a surplus of crops – more than he could sell at the present. He thought about this as he looked at the size of his existing barn. Thinking things over he said, “You know I could build another barn or a bigger barn, and store the extra grain there. But I really don’t need the extra grain. So instead, I think I will just give it away. I’m going to donate it to the local soup kitchen and food pantry. And they can turn it into bread to serve many other people for a long time to come. Yes. Yes! That is what I will do!” And Jesus commended that man for his freely chosen act of generosity.

And that’s how I would make this story end. And I bet you would too, if you were given the same assignment. If I gave you the assignment that said, “Rewrite this story so that the rich man comes out good in the end”, you would know what to do. That’s because deep down, we all know what Jesus means by the last phrase he uses in this story: “being rich toward God.” We know what that means. Let me read again that ending,

21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

We know exactly what it means to be rich toward God! To spell it out, richness toward God, or wealth with respect to God means, that when I know good and well God has given me enough to take care of me, I take what’s left, and I freely share it with those whom I know can use it. I don’t do that because another human being is threatening me or forcing me. I do it because I love pleasing God!”

That, my friends, is being rich toward God. And we know that also because of another real story about a rich man in Luke’s Gospel. (Remember: this rich man appeared in a story; this

Both Jesus and Luke, the Gospel writer,
knew it was possible to be wealthy
and also generous in positive
and productive ways.

later story in Luke has a real life rich man wanting to meet Jesus.) That’s the famous story of the short guy named Zacchaeus. You remember Zacchaeus – that wee, little man . . . . Zacchaeus was wealthy. And after Jesus decided to spend the day with him, Zacchaeus voluntarily decided to give half of his wealth to the poor, and then to pay off anybody whom he had cheated four times over.

That guy was, or he became RICH TOWARD GOD!

But there’s something unspoken here that needs in our time to be shouted out loud. It is the fact that the rich man in Luke chapter 12 had a chance to be generous by his own free will, and he blew it. He decided on his own to go in the opposite direction, and hoard his money for himself. But Zacchaeus met with Jesus one day, talked with him, and then just decided on his own after that meeting to be generous. And Jesus says at the end of that story, “. . . today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.” Do you see what’s happening there? Do you see what Jesus is affirming? It’s generosity! Generosity practiced under a human’s free will is part and parcel of what it means to be RICH TOWARD GOD!

Think about it: generosity comes from the heart, as it must come. You cannot force someone to be generous! If you do, you have robbed the word of its meaning. I say that as God’s Word in great contrast to what some of our nation’s own leaders are saying: “the rich haven’t been generous enough to help us create jobs. Therefore we are going to tax them even more, and

"Demon Krauts" believe the power to
tax is necessary in order to force
wealthy people to be generous
in the ways the government
dictates. This is very, very evil!!

force them to do what they ought to do of their own free will. We are not encouraging them to be generous on their own. Oh, No. Instead we must tax them; because if we tax them, then we can control where that money goes, and not them!”
These are terrible, devilish, twisted arguments.

No, today Christians learn from Luke 12, and indeed his entire Gospel that being rich toward God means to share freely and of my own volition what I have with others, once I know that God has met my needs. (REPEAT).

And that raises a closing question: how do I know when my own needs have been met? . . . . You know it by creating a budget and with the help of your Savior Jesus Christ, sticking to that budget. (Hand out).
Now this isn’t perfect. It wasn’t lowered from heaven. But if you don’t start with something like this, you’ll never know when God has actually met your basic present needs; and you won’t know precisely when in your life to start practicing the kind of generosity that makes you rich toward God.

And the reason I’m sharing these hand-outs from Adam Hamilton and Dave Ramsey with you today is because your life story isn’t over. Do you see how we re-wrote the story of the other rich man in the Bible. I have news for you: your story isn’t over yet. I think perhaps all of us here have some re-writing to do.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

Luke 12:
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness,[b] for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

LBC

DODGE CITY CHAPTER 1: Hungry and Hiding

2011-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

WHAT KIND OF LIFE WAS THIS? HE KNEW THE ANSWER. IT WAS THE ONLY LIFE HE COULD BE SURE OF THAT WAS FREE . . . .

Tom was hungry again. This was nothing new. He was always hungry and had been for over ten years now. But every three or four days his hunger reached a peak point; it was then that he had to do something about it. He had determined years before that after so many hours, he would need to exert himself in some extraordinary way to obtain food. And that if he waited much beyond that point then he might well be too weak to do anything about it. The guys who waited too long were all dead now. Or they had been captured; or had simply turned themselves in.

He had a premonition about that. He had been tempted to turn himself in too; it might mean free food, regular meals, and plenty of food. That’s what all the digital marquees said. Tom was pretty some of them were directed right at him. But he was careful to stay far from them during the day, and move on past them quickly at night(there were “eyes” everywhere). Besides, something deep within him, a kind of sixth sense that had developed over the last decade, told him, “no, don’t do it.” As long as he had been listening to that voice, he had remained free – and managed to eke out a living.

So he had not reason not to continue listening to that inner voice. Tonight, he wasn’t sure what there was precisely to be afraid of, except for one really big thing. Tom would lose his freedom.

But then there was always the chance, he might anyway. He was standing in the dark by a barn-like building. The moon had just gone down, as it was now very late (or perhaps even very early in the morning). He was risking being caught any time he tried something daring like this; but hunger made him not care. And the night time was still better for drastic measures than the day. It was a funny think about night. His night time vision had improved over the years immensely. He supposed his moving around so much during that time had sharpened it. So though the moon was down, he could see fairly well across the field; perhaps also there was a residual moon glow about.

He spotted what he was looking for: a tall pole-like stanchion not more than twenty meters away. He checked carefully to make sure there wasn’t a closer one. Then scanning the field from side to side, he saw none of the moving creatures. For the corporate farms always deployed a few of the mobile units at night. They were there to shoe away any night creatures, and of course, also to guard the fields from larger predators like himself.

Mobile units. Well, they were robots of course. Networked to communicate with each other on the farm unit, but also with the central computer; and also with the law enforcement and “indoctrination” centers. The latter where, he believed, the captured humans were taken to prepare them for life in the “new world.” By new, Tom meant, the world – Earth itself -- that had been overrun by the machines.

The mobile units were slow and easy to outrun – if they noticed you at all. He suspected that would one day change, as the machines were always evolving, growing smarter, better, and more alert. They were slower than a human because they had to be designed not only to walk, but to step along and across dirt-filled furrows and irrigation ditches. At 27 years of age (as nearly as he could guess his age), he still had wits and energy enough to elude all such units. It was the hover craft which gave him pause: they were swifter and more relentless. But a quick scan of the skies above showed no sign of such a device. He began his crawl.

The crawl was something between a real crawl and a crouching run. For this, when on farm fields, he would stay in the irrigation ditches if they were handy for his destination. They weren’t this time. Tom had learned to do this as noiselessly as possible, and while dragging most of his supplies with him. Before long he was within a stone’s throw of the observation tower. That was important as it enabled him to deploy one of his most important “supplies”.

As he caught his breath and drew out a stone, he again scanned the dark horizon for signs of anything in motion. And, odds would have it that it would be any thing and not anyone. There were so few humans roaming free now, that it would be highly unlikely to find any two of them scouring from the same field. Before he prepared to throw his lumpy, jagged rock, he smiled to himself. If he was caught he would be charged with stealing from the government farms. If he gave up his freedom – at least as he’d been led to believe – he would be served an abundance of such crops free of charge.

Tom took two or three deep breaths, hefted the stone in his gloved hand, eye-balled the observation tower, and let fly the stone. In two seconds there was a crash and a tinkle of glass. Almost immediately an alarm went off from within the device, but also from the barn he had just left, echoed, perhaps by other tower-stations off in the distance. He gave one last glance across the field in all directions. “Shit!” he muttered to himself. Over to the left, not fifty yards away, he saw something taller than him rise up out of the field and start to head towards the tower he had just damaged. He rolled over into an irrigation ditch, and began a crouching run off in a completely different direction. He paused seconds later and heard nothing in pursuit. He had succeeded in creating a diversion, and in drawing all “eyes” (non-human ones of course) toward a place where he was not to be found. Meanwhile, hearing nothing nearby, he crawled back out of the ditch, and made his way to some furrows that were leafy, on his hands and knees he found what he was looking for: truck crops, especially cantaloupes and squash. He loaded a few in the empty sack hanging over the other shelter, then worked his way swiftly back to the edge of the field. There was open space for a bit between the edge of th field and the nearest shelter: a large abandoned underground sewer tunnel which fortunately had an opening at a distant end; and which, even more fortunately, it was an exit he knew well and had used before.

Before he got to the edge the field something rose up right out of the field, not more than 40 feet in front of him. “Shit!” he hissed to himself again. He crouched low again, and reached deep within his weapons sack. At this range he couldn’t miss; besides, he wasn’t sure he had been spotted. No alarm had sounded from this mobile unit. It took a long step toward him, but before it had taken another, he had found and loaded a very primitive weapon. Pulling back on an elastic band with a leather pouch in the center, Tom took a quick but careful aim, and let fly a stone half the size of his hand straight at the vision glass of the creature. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the crash of glass. The creature took another halting step and raised an arm toward its head.

Good, he thought. The projectile had done its work, confusing the unit’s internal direction finder. Tom quickly reloaded, and fired a shot – a larger stone this time – straight at one of the joints that served as a human-type knee. A clicking sound came from the unit’s head as the knee completely buckled. Maybe these were still made from cheap materials it thought. He had no time for another thought as it lost its balance and fell with a great crash in his direction, reaching for him with both long arms.

But the arms weren’t nearly long enough, and Tom dodged off to the side, ran in a crouch, leaping across the furrows, then found another ditch heading off in the direction he preferred. He could feel his heart pounding as he did this, but the extra adrenalin rush pushed him on to the edge of the field and beyond it. He didn’t stop until he was within the shadows of another large culvert. His sack of “tools” was in tact, as well as his prize back of cantaloupes. As his breathing normalized, and his eyes adjusted even more he began to look on the ground for replacement stones.

“I guess I’d better not try this field,” he suddenly heard a voice say further down the tunnel, well in the dark. His eyes squinted to see, as he prepared to run again. But it was a peculiar voice: human, but also female. When was the last time he had even seen a woman? He couldn’t even remember.
“Who are you?”
“A gleaner like you. Come on in. You can share my space,” it said. He was still breathing excitedly as he approached the sound.

LBC

WHEN FAITH GOES FORTH . . .

2011-10-12T20:56:00.003-07:00

WHEN FAITH GOES FORTH . . . . 1 Thesssalonians 1:1-10; for 10/16/11

Two things happened to me when I was twelve years old that served as a turning point in

There it is! That little Bible
changed my life . . . .

my life – only I didn’t realize it at the time. During the spring of that year – 1966 – I was baptized. I actually had to go through the motions of professing my faith in Jesus Christ with about 12 other students in the confirmation class. And then those of us who had not been baptized as infants were baptized together in June of that year.

But the other thing that happened was even bigger. That spring a brand new Bible translation came out. It was called Today’s English Version, published by the American Bible Society. First they came out with the New Testament only, and the name they gave it was Good News For Modern Man. The leaders of First Methodist Church in Crane, Texas had the vision to buy a small truckload of these New Testaments in paper back, and distribute them to every member.

I remember how peculiar looking that Bible was: paperback, and with a cover that showed pictures of the headlines from newspapers all over the world. As if the American Bible Society was saying, “here are some selections of news stories all around the world right now; but none of them offers the best news. Because none of these secular human newspapers offers God’s Good News about Jesus to people of our time – only this little book. That was the impression I got anyway. And I began reading that book – the first Bible I ever really sat down and read. It was the whole idea that what happened in the Bible was news for my life right now! I didn't believe it. It was the most bizarre concept I had ever had to grapple with. So of course I had to read the book to see if it was true!

The entire Good News Bible
is just that. Later the ABS added
the Old Testament.

At first, the thing I liked most, believe it or not, was the pictures – the little line drawings of scenes from the scriptures. And the captions under the pictures were taken from the text of the Bible itself (that also was a novel thing to me). I read through the New Testament, and I savored every picture. It seemed to make God’s story come alive for me. This was especially so with the Gospels and the Book of Acts. There were days when I couldn’t put the thing down!

I got to Paul’s writings, and that was much harder going; but I kept looking for the references to Paul’s activities, his goings and comings. And it is there to be found even in his epistles. When I got to the Thessalonican correspondence I recall in the edition I had back then, there was the picture of a group of people standing on a globe. The caption underneath was, as before, lifted from the text itself of chapter one (which is our text for this morning). It said, “your faith toward God has gone out into every place.”

And I thought to myself, “what could that mean?” What kind of people can do that? To have faith, but to have it go outside of oneself, and even out into the world? Who are those people, and how do they get that way?
And I didn’t have an answer for years. Finally much later on, I began to read a little deeper in Paul’s writings. And finally I received an answer to my question – “how do Christians get that way”; because in the final analysis, we would like for others to be able to say that about the people of St. Paul’s; to say, “their faith goes outside their walls. Why in fact, their faith goes out to many places all over the world.” I want to talk about what that means in the context of this Bible passage.

But first, I want to answer the question about what makes Christians like that – so that

The faith of those people at Thessalonica
would not stay home!

their faith can go out into every place, in the world. God tells us right here in this first chapter: for that to happen and keep on happening, one condition must be met for us today, the same condition that was met for the church at Thessalonica 2000 years ago. Faith like theirs goes out into the world when

1^st, THE WORD GOES IN.

The word must go in. God’s Word about Jesus Christ must come into us, to fill us, nourish us, and change us. We need a steady diet of it to grow a faith that sprouts out beyond ourselves. They knew this in the ancient Macedonian city of Thessalonica.
Paul says that in these verses:

READ 1 THESS. 1
5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

They received the Word (“the Word – the message about Jesus – went into them”); and Paul writes, “the gospel, the good news came with power, along with the Holy Spirit, and with great

The ruins of ancient Thessalonica. Perhaps
Paul and Silas stood here . . . .

conviction or assurance”.

When Paul, Silas, and Timothy came to Thessalonica, they began preaching God’s Word: specifically they preached what Paul wrote here: that Jesus was the Messiah; that he died, was raised on the third day, and that God sent Him to save us from the God's righteous wrath that is to come on the final judgement day (all of which is mentioned either in Acts 17 or in 1 Thess. 1).

Look at that Book of Acts passage for a moment: Luke tells us Paul and his friends started as usual first in the synagogue, among the Jewish people. They preached and discussed things there for several weeks. Here is what Luke says about that visit:

READ: Acts 17
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

Paul was very convincing in his
preaching at the synagogue there.

That was the word that the traveling preachers put into the ears, and into the hearts. That Jesus was the Messiah of the Jews. He had to suffer for our sins, and then rise from the dead to be the Savior from Sin and the Lord of all. He had to do that in order to fulfill God’s plan and save us from the judgement of God to come. This even made sense to the Gentiles who attended that synagogue, and to others in that town.

I can remember when the Word about the Messiah first went into me. Of course it was going in to me during those afternoons when I would get my homework done, then open the window to the south, catch the autumn breeze, and open up my paperback Good News for Modern Man and read. (And by the way: I was nowhere near to being a perfect adolescent! I had lots of problems, but all I can say was it was a part of God’s plan for me to become excited about what was in the Bible at that age; even though I couldn’t even understand most of it.)

But during those same years, I would go to Oklahoma in the summers to visit my grandparents. My grandfather Cornel was a real man of faith. Every morning that I was there he would open up his Bible and the Upper Room. He would read the recommended passage for the day, and then the devotional lesson that went with it. Fairly quickly I began to think the day could not even start normally unless I heard Him read the Bible and then read from the Upper Room. When I got a little older he would shove the Bible across the table to me, and I would take a turn reading. I didn’t know it at the time, but – to use Paul’s words -- God’s Word was coming into my life with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction. And with that

He would read from
the Upper Room each morning
and from the Bible.

experience of several years combined with regular Sunday School attendance and worship, God began to change my life; slowly at first, but then more rapidly later on.

Now that may sound corny, and pretty old-fashioned to some of you younger folk. But all I can say is, it worked for me. So for heaven’s sake, find something that works for you. Find some regular set of disciplines by yourself and with others, by which God has a chance to instill more of His Word into your life.

One more thing comes to mind when we think about the Word going in. We cannot help but think of the words of Jesus Himself, when He told the parable of the Sower:

READ Mark 4 (Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the Sower to His disciples)

(the seed is the Word of God . . . .)
14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

The sower went forth
to sow THE WORD! And some
fell on good soil

And the people in Thessalonica also received the seed of God's Word – but not by itself: power came with it, and the Holy Spirit to stir them to life, and great assurance or conviction also filled their lives. And when that happens in any church today, faith grows, and it doesn’t stay in its container. It moves out into the world. So the Word of Christ comes in; and then

2^nd, FAITH GOES OUT.

That’s the second really big thing I want to focus on this morning. The Word of God goes into His people; and great faith comes out.
But what about that? What specifically happened in that community to make their faith in Jesus so powerful that it travelled out into the rest of southern Europe? You can already imagine that it must have been something so powerful that it really caught the eyes of everybody; it must have been some transformative experience which took those new believers away from the mainstream of their own culture. Maybe it even shocked other people who lived in the neighboring Macedonian towns. So in fact, those neighbors had to sit up and pay attention!

And in fact that is exactly what happened, when their faith went forth.
Paul describes that in these words:

READ

Yep. They
worshipped
these things.

7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.

8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.
9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God . . . .

Did you see the chief way by which their faith was made manifest to others? They turned from idols to serve the living God. And in that day of so much idol worship; in that place where there was an entire family of Greek and Roman gods, they turned away from that to know, believe, and follow Jesus Christ, as the only true God. And when they did that, Man, it caught people’s attention!

They had been worshiping objects; statues. The statues represented the different Greek gods that were known in that day. It probably strikes us as odd today that someone would worship an object that looked like a man or an animal, but it really wasn’t. It probably sounds even more unusual that someone might worship a living animal, like a bull or a deer. But those people back then believed there was divine power in all of life, and they made idols to symbolize that power. The statue became a focal point of their attention and daily observance. They would see things happening in their lives, either good or bad, and attribute it to the favor or disfavor of that false god. It was a vicious cycle and extremely enslaving. So when the Thessalonican Christians turned away from that it was a really big deal! That's because they were turning away from a kind of slavery into a new freedom.

Other things are idols for us today. So when you meet a Christian today with a living faith that goes out into the world, often that is a person who has repented, literally, in a big way. He or she has turned from a modern idol; a false god. That woman or man has turned away from a modern idol to believe in the God of the Scriptures and to follow Jesus in the world.

So what are some of those idols today?

These durned thangs have
become the modern
destructive idol to so many.
It's too, too bad.

When you see the way some people pour over their stock portfolio, or play with their cell phone constantly, or watch several hours of satellite tv every day, you have found the thing that has power over their life. You have found the supreme thing of significance for them. You have found their modern idol.

In connection with that I’ve been very impressed with Adam Hamilton’s little book, Enough. In the opening pages he talks about modern idols and how they have influenced him. (Refer to his story of how he heard about the new i-fone and decided he just had to have one – even late at night before the store closed!).
But like the people at Thessalonica, Adam Hamilton became one more person who turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. (God is not a cell phone, or a cell phone company . . . !)

And that’s one way that faith goes out into the world: when people become Christians, and then sometimes when they get converted all over again, and Jesus has a chance to root out one idol after another. When that happens, others, in other places, find out about it. Faith in Jesus has gone forth. This is what happens when the Word about Jesus Christ truly comes into a person’s life. Faith goes out: others find out that they have turned away from idols to serve the living and the true God.

And maybe your sitting here today, and you say to yourself, you say to God, “You know: I’m
not sure this has ever happened to me. I’m not sure my faith in Jesus Christ is strong enough to travel -- anywhere.”

Let what's written here -- your Word --
go into me, stay there, and take over. Yes, Lord
and Amen.

And if that is your thought this morning, I invite you either here, or in the privacy of your home to say, “Lord Jesus: that’s never happened to me. Your word has never come into my life in such a way as to grow the tree of the Gospel, and produce the fruit of faith that goes far. So, Lord Jesus, today – would you let that happen to me. Send your word in; and let faith go out.”

And in that spirit, let us continue in prayer:
Lord Jesus: this is our collective prayer for us here at St. Paul’s Church. Let your good news of the original, divinely inspired, St. Paul come into us. Let this word come with power, and the holy spirit, and with great conviction. Help us recognize what is an idol in our life, so that we may turn from it, to serve you – the one and only True and Living God. And may our faith in you become known to others. In your name we pray this. Amen.

BIBLE TEXT FOR U TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,
3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
4 knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.
8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.
9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

LBC

"I'M GIVING YOU A PIECE OF MY MIND! . ." (saith the Lord)

2011-09-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU . . . .

Our panel discussion was not going well. WE
COULD NOT AGREE ON MUCH!

Have you ever been asked to serve on a committee, and when you got on the committee you suddenly found out that nobody else thought like you. And that left you feeling very uncomfortable . . . .

Well, that has happened to me more than once. But the first really big time it happened was in the summer of 1980 when I was just starting my seminary education.

Having said that, please excuse me for a moment while I do this. This won't take long . . . . (points at audience and counts): "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven -- please remember your number so i can put you into the right group -- one two three four five six seven . . . ."
In that first class on Christian education in June of 1980, that is how our professor numbered us off and put us into different presentation and study groups.
"Okay, I want all the number ones over here in the corner . . . , and all the number fours get over here." That's what Dr. Burgess said.

Our attempts to paint a clear picture
of the Theology of Christian Education
remained very fuzzy . . . .

I found myself standing by three other odd-looking young men -- like myself in other words! The teacher's assignment to all such groups was to prepare a presentation for the class on "Theological Foundations for Christian Education in a Local Church". 30% of the course grade would be based on our written and oral presentation, and all members of the study committee had to participate.
"Now, each group, please make sure you work together. I'll give you some time in class to do some work. But you're also going to need to get together after class on your own, and put some thought into this. Here's the bibliography. You all have a Bible. Let's get started!" said Dr. Burgess.

I found myself working with three men whose personality types were quite other than mine.
1. One guy was analytical. He wanted to discover the main emphases of Christian Education from the course text book and place them in a weighted list, in ascending order. The more he talked, the sleepier I got.

2. Another guy was the actor in the group. He was very dramatic: "Hey, guys, lets work up a dramatic skit featuring the operations of a real live children's sunday school class in a typical church. We can perform what Sundays Schools should do. I will be happy to play the lead role of course . . . ." The rest of us just stared at him. A long time.
3. The other guy was the idea man. He said, "let's not do the assignment literally like the teacher proposed. Instead let's revise the assignment! We'll come up with a few biblical texts that have to do

Perhaps Paul stood on these steps and
preached to a congregation that one day
would become divided . . . .

with Christian education, we'll explain each passage in a short paragraph, and then we'll turn it over to the class to supply all the details. We want the class to have to work at this out loud. Let's let them fill in the blanks and try to figure out how it all fits. That way they will have a chance to learn on the run . . . ." We stared at him too.

4. Then there's me -- the goal-oriented personality. I'm the guy in the group who wants to do the bare minimum of what's required for a passing grade, get it all down on paper, read it aloud a few times, then hand it in -- and then move on to something else as quickly as possible.

I think you can easily believe me when I tell you we did not get along. Our initial attempts to put together a this class project ended in chaos! We could not move forward because we

Churches are composed of volunteers. They do not
have to get along, and so often, they don't!

could not agree. And we couldn't agree because we didn't think alike. We were all of a different mind. We all had a different idea about how to do this, and no one was willing to compromise or give up his idea.

The problem we had back then turns out to be fairly common in the history of the church. Churches are institutions composed primarily of free people who are all volunteers, and with very few employees, by ratio. That makes it a little harder to reach agreement even on some really important issues.

As I said, the problem isn't new. In fact, finding common points of agreement for ministry has been a difficulty since the beginning of the church. We have the Book of Acts as a witness to that, but also especially this letter from the Apostle Paul to the Philippians.

Paul learned the church he had founded at Philippi was having major difficulties among its leaders with finding common ground for ministry. That is why he wrote to them about their mind-set. Believe it or not, Paul was asking from them something very, very big: he was writing to get them all to think about the questions, "What goes into your mind? What are you bringing to the table to share with others? And above all are you bringing a cooperative spirit that is Christian?" He was asking them that; but he was also urging them to reach agreement about major goals of ministry.

Another way to describe the Philippian church's problem is to call it what it was: DIVISION. Division is what you have if you cannot reach a point of agreement. Paul even singles out two church-leading women by name, Euodia and Syntuche and strongly urges them to agree with each

There are churches today which, like Philippi,
have become divided
over issues that seem big.

other (4:2)! Euodia was perhaps the owner of the house where the church met. Syntuche may have been one of their chief pastors. They didn't agree about something really important, so Paul, who was a friend of both, begs them to agree.
"I exhort you to agree, to have the same mind, to think the same way," are various translations of his words to them.

Don't get me wrong: the church at Philippi had many wonderful people in it. Paul could find a lot of things to say about them.
But the leaders were unable to reach agreement on some very basic issues of Christian ministry. So throughout this letter, and especially here in chapter two, Paul uses a verb that can be translated variously, as "thinking the same together; having the same mind; sharing the same opinion." He often uses an active verbal tense with that word. And what he means is finding a common point of agreement, and sticking to it long enough to get some positive things done.

LET ME REPEAT THAT: The word he uses means finding a common point of agreement or opinion, and then sticking to it long enough to get some positive things done. Like I said: Paul is asking a great deal from that congregation.

He's asking for a big thing from them, because in real life common ground and the same mind is not a simple thing to achieve in a large organization like this one. (Remember: we are composed mostly of volunteers.)

Personalities, personal histories, wide and narrow views of things, all get in the way of finding that workable common ground.

Paul is asking for such a big thing for them all, that he knows the only way to accomplish it is to invoke the life and example of the Son of God Jesus Christ. Paul knows, and we know, that it takes God Himself to bring people together in unity like that. It takes God to give us some

If Jesus takes over your mind
that is a very good thing . . . .

common, basic opinions and do it to the extent that we can function effectively together. It takes God, and it is a work of God.

ONLY GOD HIMSELF CAN HELP CHRISTIANS AGREE TOGETHER FOR THE LONG HAUL.

Paul knew the Philippian Church needed divine intervention in order to get on the same page, and stay on it. He describes that intervention as "having the mind of Christ" (repeat).

THEY NEEDED, AND WE NEED TODAY THE MIND OF JESUS CHRIST.

READ
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

With the mind of Jesus, Syntuche and Euodia
would be able to cooperate. Hurray!

The Humbled and Exalted Christ
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . . .

1. WE NEED THE MIND OF CHRIST FOR GODLY COOPERATION.

We need God to perform some kind of elective brain surgery within all of us to help us reach and hold that common ground and that like-mindedness.
I illustrated at the beginning the kinds of things that can keep a church committee from cooperating together.
The mind of Christ which grants the ability to cooperate is described in these verses: don't look to your own interests quite so much, but esteem others as better than yourself, and think and look more on their interests.

How does anyone get to that place? By having special elective surgery, performed by the good doctor Himself -- Jesus Christ. We are to have his own humble mind in us. We are to think and see the world like Him. We are to be as submissive to the Father as He was. He wants to give us a piece of His mind, and we must open our minds to receive it.

WE NEED A PIECE OF HIS MIND! A BIG ONE!

The mind of Jesus Christ
gives to us a submissive spirit.

That's why Paul goes on, using this old Christian hymn to describe the mindset of Jesus Himself as one of submission to God, complete obedience, and humility as He carried out God's main mission:

READ
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death by way of a cross.

If I have a piece of His mind, then I will be able to see someone else's point of view is as important as or maybe even more important than my own. Jesus gives us a piece of His mind, and all of a sudden what we used to think was important no longer is. Now we think of others more than ourselves. So, in the words of the apostle we "let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Christ teaches us to "look out not only for (our) own interests, but also for the interests of others."

I can remember several years ago going into a church missions committee meeting with a certain agenda in mind. There was one big thing I wanted to accomplish in that meeting. I

had thought it through; I believed it was the best thing for the church. I wanted to see that it

God gets the credit for helping our missions
committee agree on one project.

got done. So I came prepared with supportive documentation and several good arguments in order to drive this idea home.

But when I got to the meeting quite to my surprise there were several people there who had different ideas about missionary projects and how to fund them. They came up with things I hadn't thought about. And suddenly within the first few minutes of my friend's sharing of his idea, I felt as if God was saying to me: save your ideas for another time. It'll be easier to get everybody to do this instead. And after all it's one of my ideas."
I decided in that moment to be submissive. To speak and act as if that new idea was better than mine. So we all got on board with my friend's plan. And it worked out amazingly! (But then, God's ideas always do!)

I know now what happened in those moments. Jesus Christ gave me a piece of His mind!
We need that in our church to find common ground and loving, unified cooperation.

2. But we also need THE MIND OF CHRIST FOR GODLY MOTIVATION.

By this we mean learning to want the things that God wants. Learning to WANT -- TRULY TO WANT -- THE THINGS THAT GOD WANTS FOR US AND OTHERS.
READ
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

We get the best things done
when Jesus Christ motivates us!

If we let Jesus give us a piece of His mind, then we are given godly fuel to work out our own salvation. That Bible phrase means, we simply lean forward into our lives and live into our lives with Jesus Christ as our guide.
It's like being on the swim team, and deciding to get up on the starting stand, and then wilfully diving into the pool of your life that God has placed in front of you.

But we're not alone in swimming that path. Remember Christ is giving us a piece of His mind! And once He has done that, we start wanting what He wants for us. We start wanting and even willing what is pleasing to Him. It is truly an amazing thing that He works within us. And in the course of His doing that, our mind changes about many things. And He makes us open to consider things that in the past we might never even have been interested in before.

I remember when we were first married, my wife tactfully suggested that we ought grow a garden. She meant mainly flowers, but also an occasional vegetable here and there. But I wasn't interested in that. I didn't want to spend any money on garden stuff, and I didn't like

When I saw how the children enjoyed their garden
in the church courtyard, I felt as if God was
preparing me to grow one too.

yard work anyway. Finally I grudgingly gave in to having a cactus garden. We lived in west

Texas, so the plants were free, and cactus require almost no care or attention.

Life went on and if our parsonage had a garden we took care of it, but it mainly fell to her to see that it amounted to anything. Finally we moved here and I got to see the church children plant their very own garden over in the courtyard area. They had lots of help: our youth group hauled in some sand and spread it around. Other adults came and assisted with watering. And before too long our children were able to go out in the garden area and harvest their own watermelons, squash, tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers.

I got to see all of that done, or hear about it over a period of time, and it was transforming to me: AND THAT'S WHEN CHRIST GAVE ME A PIECE OF HIS MIND! He began to work in my mind to want what He wants. And now all of a sudden that suggestion of my wife's from years ago not only makes sense, but it seems to be very desirable. The Lord has seen fit to provide us with a backyard, a garden section already in place, and good soil. Perhaps he
wants us to grow a garden not just for us but to have extra to share with others. But the experience of seeing these young ones enjoy grow their own garden, is something God has

Nobody, but nobody motivates us like Jesus
Christ. He has a plan for us, and He works
in us to want His plan!

used to change my outlook.

AND I SAY, THANKS LORD, FOR GIVING ME ANOTHER PIECE OF YOUR MIND!

And that lets you know something: Jesus can give you a piece of His mind at any time of your life. He may have done it years ago; but He is not finished. You're still working out your own salvation in fear and trembling. If He has changed your opinions and your very motivation once, He can do it again. And He likely will! For, as Paul wrote, "13 . . . it is God who works in you both to will and to act for His good pleasure.

I hope today you'll ask Jesus for another piece of His mind. When I was about 12 years old I kept hearing about people who had changed their mind. And I asked, "where exactly is our mind located?" And I decided the mind is up here in our heads, right where our brains are. So to ask for the mind of Christ, is to ask for a form of voluntary brain surgery: I let Him take out whatever is necessary; and I let Him add back in whatever He wants you to have that wasn't there before.
And when He does this, my friend, this is the path to godly cooperation; and godly motivation.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

Philippians 2:1-13
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
The Humbled and Exalted Christ
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

LBC

THE MASTER'S MANAGER

2011-08-19T11:01:00.019-07:00

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE YOUR JOB? . . .

Recently I was handed a written prayer request from a young man who was going through some hard times. He indicated he was about to lose his job, and he was asking for prayer

A guy came to us with a prayer request . . . .

for himself. He didn't want to go into details, and I never found out if losing his job was a sure thing, or maybe not so much. But our prayer team did pray for him -- that he would keep the job he had, and that God would make things work for him the way they needed.

The man in the Bible story loses his job too. But he was fortunate to be given a few days' notice about that. So he has time to prepare for what comes next and where he will live next. In the Bible he is making plans for what will happen in his life after his job as an estate manager comes to an end. He does that because he is looking ahead to his own security. Jesus told the story because He knew that that was the kind of motivation we can all appreciate!

I can identify with that experience. During the winter and spring of this year I contemplated returning soon to some form of pastoral ministry; but in the interim, I still had to pay bills. So I got a job working for a call center located not far from here. I was there for over four months, and toward the end of that time I too was given notice that if my customer relations scores did not improve, then I could expect to be fired. The company I worked for was Volt VMC, and they even let me know exactly how much time I had to get my service

When I got notice of being fired from Volt VMC
I was very bitter because I knew
I had worked hard and had
helped many customers . . . .

scores up.
Sure enough I didn't make the grade in time; and true to their word, I was fired: I got a phone call on the afternoon of May 25 from one of the human resources bosses, asking me not to bother to come in to work; and please would I turn in the company's equipment as soon as possible.

But because I knew this was coming, I, like the man in Jesus' story, had began to make preparations. I started looking around at what else I could do. I updated my resume; I inquired around, and I applied at several places. I even heard from several of them before I began to work at a local church.

Getting back to the Bible though, it is important to notice that Jesus told the parable in Luke 16 to his disciples. The parable speaks to our times and says a lot about the unpredictability and instability of the present; but in this parable Jesus is primarily speaking about the very certain promises or our future with Him.

The boss heard the manager was accused
of cooking the books, and that was enough
for him to dismiss the guy . . .

You might want to think of the parable as has having two over-arching themes. The first one I call

1. THE MANAGER'S PROSPECTS.

The steward or administrator begins to look at his prospects, at what he will do next, after he loses the job he now has. His current position was that of estate administrator; sort of like a company CFO or business manager. His self-reflection in the story is found in these verses:

3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.

The guy that was fired said, "I ain't
strong enough to dig. Got to do
something else . . . BUT WHAT??

4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
"I know what I will do . . . ," he says. He is thinking aloud, and exploring his prospects. He's reviewing his resume . . . .

This leads us to ask, "What is going to happen to me in the future, and what can I do to get ready for it?"

Answer: you can be God's good manager. You can act with shrewdness, cleverness, and wisdom with everything that God has placed in your hands right now: that is, you can plan ahead with what he has given you. You can be generous to others who are dependent on you. You can use God's material goods to make life easier for others. Notice how the manager in the story does that. He uses someone's else's wealth to plan for his future:

READ
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.

Talk about planning ahead,
did you plan your retirement
. . . or not?

The whole idea of planning ahead is not and should not be all that foreign. We hear tv commercials from investment companies like Prudential asking us to plan for our retirement. Retirement represents some part of our future in this life, assuming we live long enough to retire.

But Christians specifically have some unique opportunities when it comes to planning ahead. We believe in eternal life. We do not believe that this life is all that there is. So when we think about planning for the future we do so with this saying of Jesus in mind:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (from Matthew 6)

Let me give you an example of some church people here at St. Paul's who have practiced this kind of shrewd planning and management. Some church members here have done this when they created a gift annuity. In a gift annuity, an individual or a family hands over a large amount of money to an investment foundation (like our own NM Methodist Foundation). You get a big tax break in the year the gift was made; and you get

Your future with God is coming.
You can do some things right now
to get ready for it . . . .

some retirement income from the gift for later on. And you get to decide in advance where the money goes after you pass away. Certainly that is acting shrewdly and planning ahead for different aspects of our future.

What are the manager's prospects? What are our prospects? What can we do to prepare for God's future for us? We can act shrewdly with everything he has placed in our hands.

I thought of another example of this kind of shrewd planning and use of resources. This example comes from a ministry here at St. Paul's. It is a collective ministry, but I think it gives you a good idea of the kind of clever management that Jesus talks about in this parable.

A few months ago the United Methodist Women had something called a silent auction (some of you remember that). They did this in conjunction with a salad luncheon. Now, I think that by itself is pretty clever! They lure you in the door with the promise of great food, and then they dangle the attic treasures in front of you. At that time we lived in an apartment, and we didn't have a lot of room for extra things. So I told myself beforehand, well, I'll buy a ticket for mom and me, and I'll just eat there, and go right home.

They were raising money to send church children
and others to a fun Christian camp.

But I got here, and saw all the stuff laid out in the Commons area, and I couldn't help myself. I got curious. So I walked over and began to look at the tables of goods.
Now, one of my hobbies is that I buy and sell stuff on ebay, amazon.com, and craigslist. And I saw lots of items that I could have sold on any of those venues for a lot of money. But these women and their families chose to be unselfish! They chose to donate these nice items to a common pool and sell them fairly cheaply in a silent auction to other church and community members.

This was not only an unselfish act it was a clever work of stewardship for missions. The former owners could have made some money for themselves; instead they were making money to fund the camping scholarships for our church children. This money enables children from here to go to summer camp who might not be able to afford it otherwise. So if your children or grandchildren went to Sacramento Assembly this summer, likely you benefited directly from this act of clever stewardship.

They were all making a
sacrifice for children to attend
summer Christian camp!

For in fact, this is the kind of shrewdness that Jesus is talking about for all of his disciples in Luke 16. We must simply look at our lives today and what God has given us, and do the same thing as individuals that these ladies did as a group.

He is saying to us today, "If you will act with this kind of unselfishness and careful planning with whatever I have placed in your hands, and do it in your own everyday, individual life, you will have planned for your future home very well."

Which leads to the second big emphasis of this parable. I call it

2. THE MASTER'S PRAISE.

This leads us to ask, "What can I do to earn the praise of my Master Jesus Christ?"
The answer is what we've already covered: do what the servant-administrator did in this parable, and you can expect to earn the Master's praise. Jesus is looking for cleverness and wisdom in the use of all of His possessions.

Let me tell you why it is such a big thing to earn the master's praise. In the New Testament the word for praise here usually refers to human beings praising God. But it also means one human being in authority approving another human being. Like the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 telling his friends, "I do approve of this conduct, but I do not approve of the other thing you are doing" (which he says in 11:2 and 17).

In Luke 16 the Master represents God. And we see in the story God offers this praise or approval when He sees clever management

Believe me, you want the Master's approval . . .
and not the other thing!

of His resources on our part.

This is the kind of praise or commendation that a parent offers a child when he sees that child does what he's supposed to without being asked.
I was over in the pre-school area earlier this week putting up a set of hanging folders. On that particular day, the teachers were lining up the students to go down the hallway to lunch. A couple of children had learned the routine, and got in line without even being asked! And one of them was asked to turn off the lights as they were leaving the room, and she remembered to get both light switches. These are four-years old persons.
No wonder their teachers praised them: "That was very good, Megan!"
And Jesus, the Son of God always stands ready to approve of us and commend us when he sees careful, loving, unselfish stewardship.

So what are you doing to prepare for your future home? Look again at what the manager did for his own prospects. And expect the Master's praise.

We're all stewards and managers. Jesus' words teach us once again to make sure we are

To secure your future home you
need to visit this Realtor.
His name is Jesus Christ.

the Master's Manager. And if we are that, then this becomes another new way of saying what the Church has professed from the very beginning: that Jesus Christ is Lord!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

BIBLE TEXT TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

Luke 16:1-13

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.
4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

LBC

THE ROAD TO RECONCILIATION . . . .

2011-07-10T15:49:00.125-07:00

ARE YOU CARRYING A HEAVY LOAD?
IS A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP PART OF THAT LOAD?

Those backpacks can get really heavy.
And I should know

GOD KNOWS HOW TO REPAIR WHAT'S BROKEN AND LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD! HE SHOWED IT TO JOSEPH FIRST, AND JOSEPH PASSED IT ON . . . .

I thought since we're talking about backpacks today, I should give you a little history on the subject. Personal history, of course!
When I was a boy we did not have back packs! Only people in the military or boy scouts had them. The equivalent of a backpack for me was this satchel bag (or one just like this).

(Plops it down on the floor for display). This thing holds a lot of stuff, and I remember it being filled full most mornings and very, very heavy. I often got a ride to school with my mother who worked in the school cafeteria for a couple of years, but everyday I had to walk home -- over half a mile. And carry this satchel case (the equivalent of a modern backpack).

Some days it felt like I was carrying a bunch
of these in my school tote bag . . . .

I remember them being so heavy. What did we put in there? Well, school books, text books, note books, and sometimes even a sack lunch. And on the way home? You would think they might be a little bit lighter, but they weren't. The teachers all sent us home with tons of homework. I have it on good authority that they wrapped each assignment around one of these big (lifts from bag) BRICKS!
And I would trudge home with all of that heavy home work, and I would open my bag, and I would take out my home work, and I would study those bricks so carefully. (So that today, I really know a lot about bricks!)

But I was reading the bible story and it made me think of all the other heavy luggage and baggage we carry around. It's invisible, because it's spiritual, emotional, and psychological. But man is it heavy. Like these objects here

BROKEN DREAMS (pulls out sign)
And here's something even heavier:

We must all walk down this road if we want to be
completely whole and well . . . .

BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS (sign). Yeah, that one is really heavy. Joseph and his brothers carried this one around for years. But over time, Joseph found a way to get rid of that heavy load.

You might say he found the

ROAD TO RECONCILIATION.
(THE PATHWAY FOR LIGHTER LOADS)

Remember that Joe's own brothers did something horrendous to damage their relationship with Joe: they allowed him to be kidnapped and sold into slavery. Of course, Joseph played a part in that falling out too: back when he was a teenager, he was a show-off and a know-it-all. He could interpret people's dreams, and some people didn't like that: especially when Joseph is the guy who always seemed to come out ahead.

Now, THAT was a broken relationship. Chances are you've done something like that too, to someone. Well, hopefully not something quite as bad as what Simeon, Reuben, and Gad did to Joseph, but anyway, I'm sure you get the picture.

So how do you take the Road to Reconciliation? How do you fix what's wrong between you, and God, and all those other people?

What they did to Joseph
was a shameful, dastardly
thing . . .
and they all knew it too!

Take a look again at what his brothers did to Joseph. Some thirteen years prior to the meeting recorded in chapter 45, they had seen young Joseph coming from a distance. When he got close they through him in a dry well, and then spent the next hour arguing about what to do with him. Then, when their back was turned some some Midianite traders passed by, pulled Joseph out, then sold him to some Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites took Joe to Egypt and sold him as a slave to Potiphar.

Now, I don't know about you, but if you are intent on maintaining a healthy relationship with a loved one in your family, this is not the best way to do that!

So when Joseph identified himself on that fateful day in Egypt, he began to repair all the damage that they had done!
Did you get that? When two or more people have a major disagreement between themselves, it only takes one of those persons for God to begin His special work of healing.

From Joseph we learn the first mile on the road to reconciliation is for the injured party to say,

1. I AM THE ONE YOU HAVE WRONGED.

Believe it or not, that declaration will take you a long way on the road to reconciliation.
After Joseph heard his brother Judah tell the long, sad story of their family over the past 13 years, Joseph basically says this. He claims, "it is I, Joseph. I am your brother.

READ:
4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. (I am the one you have wronged . . .)
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Joseph is saying, "I am the one you sold into slavery in Egypt. And today here I am standing before you.

But I also am the one who lives to forgive you!"

Joseph makes his forgiveness clear when he tells his brothers not to be aggrieved or angry with themselves; and not to be dismayed or afraid.

The simple announcement of Joseph is like the one that our Lord Jesus said we must

Forgiveness is costly. It cost the Son of God
His very life!

learn. Remember his words? "Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother."

We tend not to want to do this. We say to ourselves, "no, I'll just let it go. I don't want any of this confrontation. I don't think I can handle that." Jesus says, "Oh, yes, you can, and yes you must."
Is there someone who has wronged you? It may be recent, or even a long time ago. It is high time you called that person up, or (even better) go to him or her, and let them know, "I am the one you have wronged." Offer them the chance, without compulsion, to apologize. And, if the person is receptive, do what Joseph did: offer forgiveness and reconciliation.

The above advice is necessary for healthy human relationships. But it is absolutely necessary when it comes to our relationship with the God of Joseph. Today, it is God who stands in the place of Joseph and announces to all the world, "The buck stops with me. And I am the one that you have wronged. I am the gracious and forgiving God who must confront you with your sin, and let you know that first and foremost you have offended me. And I stand ready to forgive you for what you have done no matter what it might be, if you will but call upon me in Jesus' name."

This is the first mile in the road to reconciliation with God or anyone. The second mile is related to it. We learn from Joseph to say and to believe

2. GOD IS THE ONE WHO HAS WORKED.

That's a declaration that takes us even further down the Road . . . . It is a divine assertion that Jesus Christ our Lord uses to change our entire outlook and attitude. In fact this is Joseph's own assertion to his brothers. And it is such an important one that he says it more than once in the book of Genesis.

To be able to know and say
that God has been at work
through your misfortunes is
a sign of maturity in Christ.

READ:
5 But now, do not . . . be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. (GOD IS THE ONE WHO HAS WORKED).
6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Now wouldn't you like to be able to say that about yourself, and believe it? I hope your answer is yes, because this attitude of Joseph's is a mark of maturity in Jesus Christ. To say back to God and to others: these bad things happened to me, and put me in a real jam for awhile, but now I can see clearly! And I see this is God's way of working in my life to bring glory to Himself. This is God's way of working so that He could put me in a position to be of help to others.

In fact, we can go further: no matter what has happened in your life up to the present, you CAN SAY, "God is the One who was working through all of this. He did this to put me in a position to be a blessing to others!"

Someone stole your backsack?
Maybe God has a plan to do something
good with that incident!

So maybe you were at school last semester, and someone stole your backpack. So what did you do? You went to the school office, and reported that your back pack was stolen, and then something else happened: first you got to know the nice lady in the office. That woman was feeling sad on that particular day; but for some reason, you came inside with your typical, wonderful perky spirit, and your presence, your Christian presence was something she noticed, and it was something she needed. She ended up telling you what her problem was, and you were in the right place at the right time to pick up her spirits.

There's just one thing: like Joseph said, it wasn't you. It was God at work through the bad thing that had happened to you. He put you in a place at the right moment where you could do the most good for Him. And you did. Just like Joseph.

And I've been around here at St. Paul's long enough to have met a number of young people who have a wonderful, giving, mission-minded, Christian spirit. And I can imagine such persons using the combination of their unfortunate circumstances and their sunny, godly personality to be a blessing to someone else in need. I can see you doing that.
But this is wonderful concept to get a hold of, and we must get a hold of it: that if I have suffered injustice, or wrong, if I have been greatly inconvenienced, it could well be Joseph's God working in my life to bring help to others.

Once you have internalized this simple
message, you will find the path away
from the land of shame

Paul the apostle grasped this concept so wonderfully well, that he gave to us one of the most memorable passages of scripture ever. After suffering for years for preaching the gospel, after knowing privation, torture, and treachery, he could still write near the end of his life:

". . . we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

And even moreso, the story of Jesus spells out the very same lesson in large letters: He, out of love for us, suffered the inconvenience and hardship of the cross so that God could bless and save countless others for His sake. Jesus can say, "God the Father was working in my life to rescue you." He can say that; because in fact He did say that several times, in John's Gospel.

GOD IS THE ONE WHO HAS WORKED.
And to be able to say and believe that takes you a little further down the road of reconciliation. But the third mile is also necessary.
That's where Joseph gives his brothers a message to carry back to Canaan. He tells them in effect:

3. WE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL WITNESS.

. . . or to come closer to the Bible's point, Joseph says this to his brothers: "you are the ones who will witness!"

This declaration (which is what God says to all of us) will take you the rest of the way down God's road of reconciliation. That's because when you witness, God uses you to bring others into connection with Him. That's the best relationship of all.

And Joseph did say that, didn't he? Remember in this story Joseph gives his brothers an assignment: they are to go back to Canaan and bring his report to their father. That's a word of witness! He was sending them right back to Canaan Land to tell their father some incredibly good news. It was a word of witness:

READ:
9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.
10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.

In those moments of our greatest joy,
often God is giving us a story to share with
others. That's witness!

11 There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.”’
12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
13 So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”

YOU ARE THE ONES WHO WILL WITNESS!
Joseph is telling his brothers: go back to Canaan, and get Dad! Bring Dad and the rest of the family back down here to Land of Goshen, where they and their flocks will be safe, and close to the food supply.
And by the way, Judah, Simeon, Reuben, and you other guys, to get Dad to come down (since he's kind of set in his ways), you are going to have to give him a personal message from me, and show him some proof: so tell him this is Joseph; take note of Benjamin who has seen me in the flesh, and listen to the report of the other brothers. They're not all bad!"

AND TODAY if you can accept this declaration for yourselves it will take you the rest YOU ARE THE ONES WHO WILL WITNESS! (I INCLUDE MYSELF AND SAY) WE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL WITNESS!

Joseph sent his brothers back to familiar territory and familiar people. And today Jesus sends us back to our own personal land of Canaan -- familiar places and peoples to witness for Him; to deliver that report that He has uniquely given to each one of us.

And in those familiar places of our personal Canaan, we have already met, we already know people who need to hear God's report of Good News. Joseph's brothers were to go and tell the extended family where the best place of safety was. Today, we in the church go and tell others of God's best place of safety: not the land of Goshen, but the land of the Gospel; the Shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ; and eternal life through faith in Him.

And today at St. Paul's to help people make that journey of reconciliation we are witnessing to others that we have found a place of safety and rescue for all the years of spiritual drought and famine that are left! No, we're not just telling them to come to a building. We are inviting the people we've met to a place and a time of Christian


We are the ones who will witness! To a new generation of needy folk who need to hear Jesus' saving message in new and powerful ways.

fellowship. Folks, we are inviting them to come into that same fellowship that God has used to build us up and strengthen and encourage us over the last year.

We are witnessing to the powerful love of the risen Savior Jesus Christ. I know I and my wife have felt the positive witness of St. Paul's ministries over the past year!
And so today we are the ones who will witness.

We will go and tell them about the Jesus we have met on our personal road to Damascus. A Jesus who is alive, and who loves us; who will forgive every sin, and restore us to our proper place in God's extended family. We are the ones who will witness.

We'll tell folk now, and next month as together we all Rethink Church that even through some very hard times, this God, our Jesus was working through us to save and help so many people. He has preserved us alive at this time for that very purpose.
That's what we'll go and tell our extended family members, our neighbors, our friends who came to Panda-Mania Bible School, our contacts in the pre-school.

The road to reconciliation with God and God's people can be a long one. It sort of twists and turns a little through the scenery of God's world. But it's always the right path.
On it we learn to say,
I AM THE ONE YOU HAVE WRONGED.
We internalize the truth that
GOD IS THE ONE WHO HAS WORKED;
and we wear the sign-board that says,
WE ARE THE ONES WHO WILL WITNESS.

Let us pray:

HOLY FATHER, OUR LOVING GOD. It's hard to believe you told this story for us in Joseph's life so many centuries ago. By telling it to us again today, you prove you are the Living God, and that your Son Jesus is full of grace and truth. Some of us here need your directions to find our way back to you. Others need to acknowledge your working in their lives and share that as a witness. Grant us the power of the Holy Spirit to do these things.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

BIBLE TEXT TO READ, USE, AND LOVE.Genesis 45:1-15

1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.
3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.
4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.
10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.
11 There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.”’
12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
13 So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”
14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

LBC

HE WENT AWAY IN PERSON, AND GAVE TO US HIS POWER (THE ASCENSION)

2011-06-02T13:40:00.042-07:00

HE ASCENDED TO GIVE
WE REMAIN TO RECEIVE . . .

This morning we began a brand new week, and we did so in the right way. (Give yourself a big pat on the back!) So that whatever else

We began this time of worship
the right way: in the only way
that Christians can: with this profession!

happens this week, and whatever else we do, at least we made a very good beginning: in our prayers, our confessions, and in our litany we confessed together that Jesus Christ is Lord. We did it more than once! And when we did it, we spoke the truth in the presence of God!

But there's a problem with that -- a problem for you (and me)! For as soon as we make such a profession of faith, then immediately some things will remain true for us and others not so. The Bible itself implies that a great dividing line passes through our lives when that profession of faith becomes our own. Jesus Himself says as much in places like this passage from the Sermon on the Mount: “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24).

When we confess and believe Jesus the Son of God to be Lord of all, then there will always be some things we may do; and others we may not (because Jesus Christ is Lord!)
And with the profession of faith, it also means there are going to be some things we may have and hold, and use, and manage as stewards of God; and other things we may not have, or use, or manage. (And all because Jesus Christ is Lord!)

If Jesus is Lord there are some things
we may no longer do!

Likewise there are some things we may seek out and search out and know; but other things we may never know. Again, because Jesus Christ is Lord.

And his own first disciples learned that right on the spot of His ascension up to the sky. They asked the question that any good Jewish disciple of the Messiah would ask:

“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And in asking that they all ran smack dab into one of those things which a believer in Jesus may not know. For the Lord’s answer to them was this:

7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority."

1. And that remains true today.
Because Jesus is Lord, we may not know what I call

THE ‘WHEN’ OF THE KINGDOM!

And to me it is incredible that this kind of thing should still preoccupy so many Christians and yet it does so in every generation. In our own time here comes another, with his recent pronouncement that NOW is the time when Jesus is going to establish the Kingdom of God for the people of Israel. We all just lived through May 21 mostly with our limbs and lives in tact, and quite apparently the only thing accomplished by such an announcement was the further discrediting of the Christian church as a whole by a hostile secular media.

But too many ordinary believers like you and me are also, tragically, over-preoccupied with the “when of the kingdom”! If we put the word ‘kingdom’ in the lower case, look at what we do several times a year: we ask life itself if not God about “when” all the time:

When will I get a job; when will I get a promotion; when will I get a raise; when will I get to retire! When will I get sick again; when will I get well? When do I get to have elective surgery? So many other things; so many other goals become a sort of lesser kingdom for us. And we ask in our own way as they did: Lord, is it now that you will establish the Kingdom to Israel?”

If you live in the present, then
you get His 'present'!
The Kingdom of God.

And we commit the sin of living far too much in the future, when the One whom we have just named Lord of all has said so clearly to live in present, even one day at a time. To quote our Lord from the Sermon On the Mount:

Matt. 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

No: with our profession that Jesus is Lord we do not get to know “the when of the Kingdom.” But we do get to live for this Lord in the present!

So with His Lordship there are some things we cannot know; but there are some very big and important things which we get to receive.

2. SO BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST IS LORD WE GET TO RECEIVE THE WITNESS OF THE KING.

For as soon as Jesus told them they were not to know the times and the seasons which the Father had fixed by His own authority, He told them this:

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

To receive the gift of witnessing
that Jesus Christ is Lord
means anywhere at any time.

9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

That’s the other big thing that the Lordship of Jesus Christ must always mean for me:

the WITNESS OF THE KING.

This is both the witness from the King to me that He is alive; and He gives to me, to us, the gift of "telling forth His life story" to others. It is also a witness about the King, as we live and learn to tell others specifically what Jesus has done for us.
That means our personal and corporate witness for the King. And that’s why we all need the gift of the Holy Spirit. In and of ourselves, in our complete weakness, we could not be effective witnesses for the King. We would never quite find the words or the testimony to convince others that Jesus is Alive, that He is the Savior who went to the cross for our sins, and that He is Lord. Let’s be honest: some of us could not even find the courage to do that! We might instead be like those same original disciples. Remember them? A mere few weeks before the Ascension of Jesus, those same disciples were hiding inside of an upper room, locked away, for fear of the Jews.

But when we profess Jesus Christ as Lord, we get to receive the witness of the King. We open ourselves, as we must, to receive the power that comes with the Holy Spirit’s arrival. And suddenly we find ourselves after that unable to sit still in fear and complacency: Jesus becomes our life; the Church becomes our Home; His people become our family and friends; and the world, as another famous Episcopalian once said, “becomes our parish!” (I speak of John Wesley . . . .)

This week that follows the Ascension of Jesus Christ is and must be for us a week of receiving. That’s hard to do isn't it? Hard for you, hard for us all, to learn to receive from God what He so longs to give to us.

Picture yourself receiving with
open hands. Then open
your hands

But this week, make it easier on yourself. Picture yourself with open hands and open minds. Picture yourself receiving something from Jesus that He dearly wants you to have: Tell this Christ the King who died for you and rose again,

“my hands are open, my life is open for the coming of your Spirit. You have said I get to receive the witness of the King. Send then your Spirit to me; and make me into your witness.”

In Jesus' name. Amen and Amen.

BIBLE TEXT TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

ACTS 1:6-14
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

LBC

THE GOSPEL OF SUCCESS (A Short Run in Most Theatres)

2011-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

THEY CAUGHT a great number of fish, and their net was breaking . . . . (Luke 5:6)

They forsook all and followed him . . . .

There was a time back just over a generation ago when people were introduced to the idea of prosperity theology. At the heart of such preaching and teaching was the so-called "Gospel of Success." The Gospel of Success was really a misnomer, since most of the Bible passages

"Tithe your income to me,
and I will make you prosperous!"
(Well, not really . . . but tithe anyway, because 'your
cash' is really all mine.")

which supported a theology of personal success came not from the New Testament or the Gospels of the New Testamnet, but from the Old Testament. Preachers of the Gospel of Success in the 1970s made frequent use of passages like this one from Psalm 37:3-4.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

The idea was that if we put our faith in trust in Jesus Christ we would be saved for all time. That part was and is correct -- for all time. But the Prosperity Preachers and believers went beyond that: they basically preached and believed that along with this God was indeed promising them a "rose garden" when it came to their own personal business. They believed that God would bless them in their business if they asked Him to -- just because they were Christians and because they were asking.

As a preacher myself, who enjoyed hearing this message back in the seventies, it is hard for me to be critical of those preachers of 30 years ago and more. The message they preached was so popular and so "easy on the ears." It drew many people to their churches. These were people who basically wanted what most Americans want: to be successful and prosperous in one's own business. So because of the popularity of that prosperity message, those churches became some of the first "mega-churches" in America. And then something else happened: the preachers would

"'Twas money -- lots of money! -- which built
this magnificent edifice. But where did
all that money come from, Hmmm?

then point to the size of their congregations and the greatness and beauty of their buildings as proof of the truth of 'God's Gospel of Success'!

In thinking about this I felt compelled to comment on one particular passage from the New Testament which appears to support a prosperity theology. It is the story from Luke chapter 5. You know, the one about the calling of the Galilean fishermen. You could actually summarize the passage by saying, "God will make you successful for a time in order to get your attention, and then He will call you to His service. And (one could add) God will put you to work using the skills of your business in His line of work. You'll be working with making disciples for Jesus not out of soil, objects, or fish, but from the people that you meet."

That may not in fact be a hard and fast rule which explains the mysterious workings of Jesus Christ today, but it is a basic way of summarizing what takes place in Luke 5. And therefore it offers us at least one meaningful "chunk" of the truth of the Gospel as a whole.

Note what happens there:
There was a great crowd eager to draw near to Jesus probably primarily for the healing they believed they could obtain from His word or touch. Instead though Jesus was healing them by teaching them from the shore of the Galilean Lake. There was such a big crowd pressing toward Him that Jesus had a great idea: preach from one of the nearby fishing boats and let the shore serve as even more of a natural amphitheatre for the crowd receiving His address. There were two fishing boats to choose from, and Jesus happened to choose the one that belonged to Simon. He asked him to stop washing his nets for the moment and launch out just a bit; that way Jesus would still be within easy hearing of the people who were listening. Peter

Jesus borrowed Peter's boat and
taught from the boat.

complied and Jesus kept on teaching for awhile.

But then He finished and turned to Peter with another request: "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." (vs. 4). See that? Already in Jesus' command there is the anticipation that there will in fact be a "catch" to haul in for the man who obeys this unusual command of the Teacher Jesus.
Peter resists at first claiming their weariness at having striven all night with little to show for it. But then in the very same breath, Peter gives in: "Nevertheless, at your word, Lord, I will let down the net." That's what he says. And that's what he does. He and Jesus go out there, he throws out his nets, and Peter suddenly finds his net it too full to haul in by himself! He calls for the others, they pull out to where he is, and together they hauled fish from nets into both boats. Luke tells us both boats were so full they were close to sinking.

And there you have it! This is the story -- so far -- of how the Son of God made some businessmen successful at their business! They were all fishermen. They caught and sold their fish in the local village markets for a living. And Jesus came into their lives, got them to use their equipment at His beck and call; and He made them successful!

JESUS MADE THEM SUCCESSFUL AT THEIR OWN BUSINESS!

Jesus made Peter very successful . . .
for a little while . . . and for a reason.

That is the headline. But of course most people don't bother to ask why. The rest of the story shows what Luke usually does with such stories: he never really does come out with a clear doctrinal point. Instead he offers or suggests subtle little hints as to why Jesus does what He does, and how it all applies to people like us. And so it is here. Jesus makes them successful, but He does this to get a reaction out of them -- and not just any reaction: THE RIGHT REACTION! This happens here. It happens in Luke 19 with Zacchaeus; and other places.

That is the key: Jesus offered them His "helpful grace", and he did that to "get the right 'rise' out of them". And Peter offers that right reaction. He responds in the right way. He fell down at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, Oh Lord!"

It is a confession which hides within itself a larger more comprehensive confession; for sometimes we say little when we really mean so much. We can hear Peter among us today saying, "Lord, you just did a great thing for me. You taught me stuff about God for free, like I never heard before in any synagogue (not that I go that often). And then you asked me to do something I really didn't want to do. But I did it anyway because I respect you so much. And then, even though I didn't catch anything through those morning hours of working so hard -- even with all of that -- you blessed me just now with a great catch of fish! And when I sell it soon, I will not have to worry about extra money for at least a few days! And Lord: I know

Peter was moved to confession: "Depart
from me for I am a sinful man, Lord!"
Today we all should say, "Lord I too am
a sinner. But please don't leave!"

perfectly well I don't deserve such a blessing because I am a sinful man! I don't even deserve your company."

This confession takes him to the very limit of his particular line of work because this confession, as with all confessions, gives Jesus the chance to reach out with an invitation to discipleship:
Jesus says, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will catch men!"

This is Jesus saying, "I made you prosperous for a moment in order to get your attention. Once I have that, I want to give you an opportunity to use your former skills in a new venue: that of catching people for me." If this is prosperity theology it is prosperity with a purpose! Jesus did that for us -- He made us successful -- in order to grab our attention, seize our confessions, focus our attention on Him as Lord, and then send us out to draw others to Himself.

And if we were prosperous before at the other business, how much more will we be with Him in His business. For the business of Jesus Christ is the saving of souls one at a time; it is, as He Himself said, the making of disciples like His first disciples. It is creating a people who will undergo the sign of baptism, receive His commandments, and learn over time to love those commandments, and do them, for all of this is tantamount to loving Him, the giver of those commandments.

Think about this in terms of your own job right now. Do you like your job or not? If you do, do you wish you could do better at it? Do you find yourself wanting to be successful at your work, more successful than you are now? Have you ever thought or considered that this Jesus could make you successful? He could, and He can. But there's a price involved! The success Jesus brings you is something He offers to grab your attention, to draw forth your

"From now on you'll be catching people --
a whole net-full of them!"

confessions, to move you to obedience, and then to serve Him with all of your business talents -- and all of this in the capture of other persons for Jesus. This is what you must know if you seek His help in becoming successful.

What about the opposite possibility -- that you have a job now, but you don't like it so much. Perhaps there are one or two aspects of your work that you positively do not like, or even detest. Do you wish Jesus would step in and remove them, or that He would simply give you other similar work that was better? In a way I don't blame you because I have been in that kind of work more than once in my life. I have lived in a time when there were some features of my work that I simply did not like at all. I wished that they would cease being a part of the job description or that they would just go away quickly and quietly. I hoped in one place that a particular job requirement would simply become unnoticed by my co-workers and constituency if I just ceased performing it. That's what I wished. But it never happened. And I never actually turned such a wish into a prayer. I don't recall ever bothering God about it. I just floundered away at the job until finally it was taken away from me and given to someone else who would do all of it.

But if one does turn such a wish into a prayer -- that Jesus would improve one's work conditions -- He may indeed answer such a prayer! But if He does, then His answer comes with a price tag: that you would confess your sins to Him on the spot, obey His next commandments, even if they violate your comfort zone, receive the success He gives, and then use skills and gifts to serve Him in the cause of catching people. That's the price tag.

You want success from God?
There's a price to be paid!
It's called discipleship . . . .

But remember one more thing: Peter was in a position to receive all of this from Jesus it was because he was available to Jesus. He was right there on the beach that Jesus chose to speak from. He was there with his boat listening to the teaching of Jesus to the crowd. He was present so to make his own fishing boat available to His Lord at the right time. He was present and available.

And really when it all comes down to the point of the matter, that is the way to open oneself up to the success Christ wants to give to us. being prepared by being close to Him with His Church; listening to His words; being available with our main resources; and then obeying His orders even though they may strike us as strange or out of place. By such means Christ our Lord can make us successul, not for ourselves, but for Himself. And that, my young friend, is a very good thing!

PRAYER: Lord, Jesus: you found Peter ready and available, listening to you, and making Himself and His resources available at the drop of a hat. You tell us that if we will do the same, you will make us successful as "catchers of people" for you. It's hard to admit now that that really is our calling in life. But today we claim it and admit it: make us successful using the gifts and graces you have supplied that we all might honor you as "Fishers of Men". In your name. Amen.

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE:

Luke 5:1-11

1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

There were two fishing boats
drawn up near the shore . . . Business
had been bad.

3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

LBC

SPIRIT FILLED WISHES . . . .

2011-05-17T19:46:00.045-07:00

DID YOU EVER WISH FOR SOMETHING GOOD?

You ever wish for candy to soothe your lively soul?
you ever think you're dandy for cleaning out your bowl?
You ain't such hot stuff no how for wanting the wrong thing.

It's one thing to buy a device like this.
It is another to learn how to use it.
THAT TAKES BRAINS!

You got to do the "low bow" before the Rightful King.
The King himself will love you, 'cause lovings what He do.
The Spirit is within Him, He'll give it to you too.
He never said he'd go away and leave us in the lurch.
Our Lord said He's got spirit plus to give to all the church.
So stop your wishin' for odd things that live below His line
Open hands for the Spirit, it's then you'll be just fine.
'Cause Jesus said He'd give it, who stands by every word,
So pull the plugs out from out yore ears, it's time you finally heard!

[FROM "The Big Book of Best Loved 'Pomes' for Fambly and Friends"]

Have you ever run into some really smart people; and you found yourself wishing for what they had in the way of brains, intelligence, and experience? That's right you wished for what they had! Admit it! You have in fact wished this very thing!
In my own employment my immediate supervisor is a man who has invested his mind in the company and its products. And he has, over the course of years, learned a lot about the various Apple products -- the iphone, the ipods, and now those wondrous ipads. He has learned how they work and how to fix them. Not only that he has learned a lot about our customers -- what they need, what they want, what they want to hear, and how best to help each one of them. He has also learned how to teach everything that he knows, and teach it well.

Sometimes you just wish you could
scoop out somebody else's experience
and drink it right down

And sometimes I wish that all of his intelligence and all of his experience was contained in something like a giant rain barrel. And I could just walk over there with my big dipper spoon (like the one in the picture), and dip down into the barrel of his knowledge, and pull up the dipper and hold it over my head, and pour it all over me! And then do it again and again, until I had fairly baptized myself with all of his knowledge and experience. And I believe that if I could do that, well then I would know -- almost instantaneously -- what he himself knows. That's what I wish.

But alas, that's not going to happen, because that is not the way things work. If I want to get that man's intelligence I will have to do it by doing what he did: by reading the same material he read, practicing with the products themselves, and talking to thousands of customers. It takes years of work, learning, and practice. And there is no other way.

But still, I wish it was otherwise. And that's all right. Because I am wishing for something that is in its own way a genuinely good thing.
And I bring this up because wishing for something that is genuinely good is itself a good thing! (Sounds redundant, doesn't it?) Even the people of God do it. Even God's people in the Bible have done this. And sometimes, God even consents to grant their wish.
This happened with Moses, though it did not happen entirely within his lifetime. Moses wished for something genuinely good. And his was an unselfish wish, because he wished it for other people. He wished for the Holy Spirit to come to more than just a few.

Moses needed help. God said, "Go get
seventy known elders of Israel.
I'll come down and 'fix'em'!"

The story of his wish comes at a time when God's people the Israelites had finally left Mount Sinai and were making their way to the promised land. But they were crossing a huge, hot, thirsty desert, and the people were complaining about the limitations on available food. (Basically they were saying, "Manna ain't enough!")
Their complaints about food led to Moses' own complaint to God: there were so many people and only one of him. There were so many problems, and only one leader to bear the burdens of them all. It was just too much! He needed help, and he didn't mind asking God for that help!
(And by the way, since we're all wishing for good things today, I wish you would do the same: don't ever mind asking God for help when you need it, because He doesn't mind listening to you, and then giving you precisely the help you need!)

Listen to how that story of need developed in Moses' troubled life:

10. Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.
11. He asked the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?
12. Did I conceive all these people, did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nursing mother carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? . . .
14. I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.

15. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me -- if I have found favor in your eyes -- and do not let me face my own ruin."

Moses was carrying a very heavy load.
And he didn't have this guy's nice clothes either!

I know, I know: it seems a rather flowery way of speaking about one's own misery. But you should at least know that Moses does a really great job of conveying to God just exactly how he feels at this point after so many trials of carrying this people, seemingly by himself, and with little help since they all left Egypt. He does not feel good at all about things just now!

But as with every cry of the heart, God the Father hears and He has a ready answer. More than that, where there is need justly stated He has a solution which meets that need. God has a solution for the problem that is presented and that His people themselves present. The following verses combine perhaps several traditions, but together they reveal God making it clear He has a plan which will solve Moses' problem. God wastes no time dithering with Moses or even consoling him in an empathetic way. Instead the Lord goes right to the instruction of what Moses must do next:

16. The Lord said to Moses, "Bring me seventy (70) of Israel's elders who are known by you to be leaders/elders and scribes among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting that they may stand there with you.
17. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you, and I will put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone."

That was God's plan. All Moses had to do was round up the seventy elders. The plan involved God sharing His own Spirit: the very spirit which at that time was resident only in Moses' life. God's plan was taking that same Spirit and making it available to others who could also lead, carry, and assist. That's what God said, and that is what Moses did as told in the rest of the episode:

24. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men from the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle (tent).
25. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was upon him and placed it upon the seventy elders, and they prophesied, although they did

Moses ain't the kind of guy
that I'd ever want to make mad . . .
He might decide to split something . . . .

not do so again.
26. But two of the men had remained in the camp. The name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other was Medad. And the spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tabernacle. Nevertheless they prophesied in the camp.

Thus God's plan is worked out as He had instructed. Moses did his part, recruiting the seventy elders, and God did His. And the Spirit that was on Moses was placed by God on them all.

But, as is so often the case with people and stories in the Bible, God seems to love throwing curve balls at least once each chapter! The curve ball here is the two elders, Eldad and Medad. They evidently got the word, they were on the list of the chosen, but they (for whatever reason) did not go over to the tabernacle, located outside the camp, with all the others.

Now, if you've read the first five books of the Bible at all you might well think that this is the kind of slacking off or outright disobedience to God which could very well cost them their lives! You might well expect the Lord to slay them with fire for not being at the right place and at the right time. Yet God does not do this! Instead He does the very surprising opposite: He gives them His Spirit too, and they behave just like the other sixty eight elders, prophesying within the camp! Perhaps God is telling us that in matters of the Spirit, He permits a degree of freedom which His creative, intelligent people will need if indeed they are going to share in the leadership of others.

The seventy elders started prophesying by the Spirit of God!
(but not for long . . . . Drat!)

We accept this intellectually if we take time to think about it in the context of the whole Bible. But there are some people in all ages who cannot understand this kind of divine exception. There was even then, for instance, near to Eldad and Medad an observant (some would say, "tattle tale") young man who saw they were doing what spirit-filled prophets do, but doing it at the wrong place. It's interesting that it is a young man who sees this and believes it to be wrong.

27. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying within the camp."
28. So Joshua the son of Nun, one of those serving Moses, answered and said, "Lord, make them stop!"
29. Then Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!"
30. So Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

And there it is: Moses being confronted with opposition not over what he was doing, but over what God had done! It is then that Moses expresses his great wish: Oh, that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!"
That was Moses' wish that he expressed some 13 centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. It was a good wish. It was one that God the Father of Jesus overheard. And it is one that God granted through the life and words of His Son Jesus.

Think of what this means: God answered Moses' anguished cry when Moses made it. But He

Eldad and Medad prophesied outside the camp!!
The EPA did not approve, but couldn't
do one danged thing about it!

answered Moses' wish centuries later in the time of the Lord's own choosing. And God showed the importance of fulfilling Moses' wish in passages like this, where His own Son speaks of the high importance of the Holy Spirit:

Luke 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

Says Jesus. And in saying this He underscores the importance of the Spirit more than any material good or need that we might think of or ask for.

But specifically, how did God do this? How did the Leader of Moses and the Father of Jesus fulfill the ancient wish of Moses?
Well, we all know very well the story that Luke tells of that first Pentecost Day after Jesus had risen from the dead (Acts 2:1-40). Yet, Jesus Himself took into His own hands to fulfill Moses' wish in His own way on the very day that His own empty tomb was discovered. He did this in that upper room in Jerusalem with most of his remaining disciples present. The door of that upper room was shut because the disciples were afraid of the Jews. But that did not stop Jesus from appearing among them. He said,

19. . . . "Peace be with you."
20. When he had said this He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. 22. And when He had said this He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive Holy Spirit."
23. "If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any they are retained."

There it is! That is John's version of God working through Jesus and fulfilling the wish of Moses! These ordinary followers received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed upon them. They didn't have to go to the tent of meeting or even the Jerusalem Temple. The Son of God came to them, and simply gave them all the Spirit. This was an important gift because with it they received power and commission to go forth and to forgive as Jesus had forgiven. That is to say, the fulfillment of Moses' wish brought them, and it brings us

THE CALL TO GO FORTH . . .

THE CALL TO GO FORGIVE . . . .
That was a significant gift because following Jesus' death, the disciples might well have been likely to go without forgiving those who had killed Jesus. But now with God's Spirit they could go forth, seek out others, and both preach and offer God's forgiveness to all.

Jesus showed them His hands and His feet.
Then He breathed on them
and showed them His Spirit . . . .

Moses had to wait a long time to see his great wish come true. But he (being alive with all the
saints before God) did live to see it. The Spirit could and would be given to all followers of Jesus who were open to receiving that gift. And God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ would be made available to all!

It raises great questions for us today in the Church. And you are part of the Church so the God of Moses is asking you great questions: What is your wish? In light of what happened to Moses long ago, what do you wish for? Is it something as good, noble, and far-reaching as Moses' wish? Perhaps in light of the challenge we have heard of recently from our own church leaders, this is that special time when God's people at St. Paul's are to ask of Him great and unselfish things -- things that we will need in the days ahead to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ.

And while we pray and think of that, we also accept that God has spoken His Word over us for the present: He had said that we are now at least equipped to plumb the depths of our own heart -- or better -- to let the God of Moses search our hearts, and plough the ground of our souls. God, the Farmer, is seeking to turn over that soil and see what godly, far-reaching wishes might truly be there. And when He does this, you can express them loudly and longingly back to Him. And this you must do with that great wish once He uncovers it!

But regardless of what your great and godly wishes are for God's people now or in the future, you today have the fulfillment of Moses' wish: Jesus says to you also today, "Wish for the Spirit for yourself! And then when you entertain that thought seriously, He says to you, "Receive Holy Spirit. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you! If you forgive the sins of others, they stand forgiven!" You are free, you are released then, and equipped and commissioned to go out in the name of Jesus Christ and forgive.

PRAYER:
Holy Father, our Loving God, we have all dreamed dreams large and small. And we've all made wishes. But today on Pentecost we ask you to direct us to will and want that good gift of Yourself

At Pentecost Day all the disciples
received the Holy Spirit
as Jesus had promised.

that you long to give to us: even the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen.

BIBLE STORY FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

Numbers 11:10-17, 24-30

10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled.
11 He asked the LORD, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?
12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors?
13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.
15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”
16 The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you.
17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.
AND
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent.
25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.
27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”
30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

LBC

MISSING OUT ON THE BEST THINGS OF LIFE . . . .

2011-05-08T06:28:00.001-07:00

A GREAT THING HAPPENED! . . . AND I MISSED IT!

Has this ever happened to you: you showed up at work one day, and everybody all around you was talking and jabbering excitedly. Something wonderful had happened in the lives of all of

Are you crying because you
missed the big party?

them -- but you hadn't been there to experience it with them. Somehow you managed to miss this good thing or this good news. Somehow you had been at the wrong place, at the wrong time, while everybody else was at the right place, at the right time. They got the big prize, but you didn't. And now all that's left is to hear them smile and buzz back and forth about what a wonderful event or experience this was.

It would sort of be like finding out that our military men had killed "Old bent ladle", one week after this occurred. You would be going along wondering why all these happy people were rejoicing and celebrating in Applebee's or McDonald's Restaurants. I mean Americans (and all non-muslims, of course!!) of all ages, everywhere. Embarrassed, you would have to lean over and ask a young man with a cold beer in his hand just what was the deal? He would answer, "haven't you heard? Where you been all week? Our Navy guys killed O. B. L.! Killed him dead! The big, bad, muslim witch is gone, ding dong!! So everybody here is celebrating over this significant victory in the war against muslim based terror!"

And you would respond by picking up someone's ice cold malt from the table, saluting everyone with a smile, and downing the thing in ten seconds flat! Then you would leave very

These Americans are singing, "Ding, Dong, the
wicked muslim witch is dead! OBL gone, gone,
forever, GONE!!

quickly, before others could react, if you knew what was good for you! In reality you would probably just be kicking yourself that you had chosen the previous week to camping out on some state park. You had fun, but you missed the really big news. And now, you feel bad at being left out.

But I don't have to imagine such a scenario for I have lived it. Back in about 1970 something big happened in the world of the church and Christianity, at least in my part of the world. It was something called the Charismatic Movement. It was basically a movement of the Holy Spirit across the nation and indeed the entire world. It affected local churches and youth groups especially where I lived. They youth groups there in Ft. Stockton had even gotten a good dose of this new infusion of God's Spirit. Young people suddenly began to be interested in God's Word, and in Sunday School and worship attendance. They began to be interested in starting small groups and joining bible studies. They were even talking about their cool experiences with Jesus Christ at school during the day. To me it was all very strange.

This affected a lot of people my age -- particularly the ones who went to the Methodist and Presbyterian churches there in town. They had clearly been touched somehow in their respective churches, and touched by God. There was one revival in particular and a lay

They all got revived by Jesus Christ . . .
but not me. I wasn't there!

witness mission which a number of my friends had gone to; but I hadn't. I kept seeing their joy, their love for each other. I could tell something important and big had happened in their lives, but I didn't know precisely what and could not understand it all. What could have happened to get them all so excited? Some of them tried to tell me they had heard some people from other towns talk about Jesus Christ and what He had done in their lives. I kept hearing that this had taken place over the previous weekend over at First Presbyterian Church. They kept saying, "Man it was cool!" And "Man it was really something," and "Man, you should have been there! Man!" and "It was about Jesus, Man!"

But I had not been there. And I had missed it. I could sense their contagious joy; but I did not know it myself. I had missed that moment. I don't even remember what I had been doing instead that previous weekend. Nor do I remember even being invited to this revivalistic event. Perhaps I was not high on the list of the "in-crowd" among those young people whom I regarded as my closest friends. So maybe I never got an invitation. But

Jesus came back to his disciples
as He said He would . . .
but Thomas wasn't there!!

when I saw the change in their lives, I was deeply moved. I wished that I had been where they had been and received what they received.

And I have often wondered if that was some of Thomas' problem. Thomas the disciple also missed out on a really big event during his life time. Namely, he missed out on the first "group appearance" of the risen Jesus Christ to His disciples. They got to see Jesus and hear Him speak. Presumably they also got to talk to Him as well. But not Thomas! This one really big deal that happened to the rest of them had bypassed him, so that he did not experience what they experience. But the story indicates there was something about Thomas that was more important than this: he was apparently the kind of man who needed visual and tactile evidence. He needed it in order to believe that Jesus was alive again. Here is the way John tells that story:

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

Thomas missed what they all got. And because of that he stubbornly refused to believe the testimony of the others. Their second-hand report simply wasn't enough. He needed to have the visual and the tactile evidence as well as the second hand report.

I suppose I would have been like Thomas too if I had known about this story. Back when I was young I suppose I could have said to all of my young friends, "well you may have had an experience of some sort. But I won't believe it was of any use or value, until the same thing happens to me; until the Jesus who became real to you becomes real to me!" If I had

Where was Thomas during
that first big meeting
with Jesus?

said that back in 1970 they would have just looked at me funny or laughed. And it would have served me right!

But go back to the story of Thomas for a moment. He was not present with the other disciples, and he was too stubborn to believe their testimony. I personally wonder why he was not with the others.

The others were there (presumably the other ten), but not Thomas. Why not? Was there some errand that he considered more important than meeting with the others that evening? Perhaps visiting a local relative?
And then note his response to them when they told him what was what. He sounds as if he does not even believe that Jesus will appear -- again! That is, he did not even seem to hold out hope that what had happened once for the others might also still happen to him -- only a little later on. Had Thomas shut out the possibility that he might soon also get to see Jesus just like the others?

Well, of course we don't know the answer to such questions. What we do know is that 8 days later, they were all together again, and this time Thomas was present. It was then that he finally got to see Jesus; but he sure did get more than that! Jesus reprimanded him severely as you can see by reading the lesson below. Thomas also got to respond by bowing low in worship and confessing Jesus Christ as His Lord and God.

The lesson for all of us today is pretty obvious and has been restated best of all by Jesus Himself:

". . . Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

And in some ways today, my doubting friend, this is God's answer to all of those times when we believe we have missed out on something good. We may have actually missed

I don't care what he missed the first time;
I feel sorry for what happened
to that stubborn guy during
that second visit of Jesus Christ!

something big in the way of an event or person or experience. But in the final analysis that does not matter! We have not missed the BIGGEST of all events or experiences. We have not missed Jesus Christ Himsefl. He is alive to see to that.
So at all such times when we are feeling left out, we are still not deprived of the opportunity

to believe in this One whom we have not seen. (At least we have not seen Jesus in the way that those first disciples did). But we openly believe in Him; we profess our faith in Him, and we live out that faith. Jesus is alive and lives in us through faith; He reveals Himself to us in our faith. And as time goes by that faith of ours, weak though it may have begun, becomes vindicated; and one day it becomes strong.

I will not say "think about that" next time you miss out on something that seems really important. I will say instead, simply think on Him! And of course, believe in Him whom you have not seen.

With love.

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!

John 20:19-29

So are you still crying over having missed
something really big?
Stop that right now, you big Cry Baby!
Jesus is alive for you now!

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

LBC

RACING TO THE TOMB . . . .

2011-04-27T20:08:00.001-07:00

SO THEY BOTH RAN TOGETHER . . . AND CAME TO THE TOMB . . . .

Most of us don't think about hurrying to the grave or running to a tomb, the place of the

The two of them were
racing to the tomb.

dead. We usually avoid cemeteries, unless we have a friend or family buried in one; and then we only go there occasionally. But we don't hurry.

In fact, think of that phrase: hurrying to the tomb. Or even racing. We might use that idea to describe someone who lives a carefree and daredevil kind of life. When I was young there was a stunt man called Evil Knievel. He did all kinds of jumping performances with his motorcycle. He lived dangerously, and he got himself hurt a lot over a period of years. Perhaps every young boy goes through that experience of life: of believing they cannot die, and so they live very dangerously and take grave risks. We hope those boys will grow out of that phase soon, and, thank God most of them do.

Maybe you've been to a funeral. I know I have. In my former line of work, I went to lots of funerals. And if you've been to even a few, hopefully you have and paid attention to the people around you. They often have what's known as a grave-side service. People travel -- very slowly -- to the cemetery, usually in a long queue of cars, led by the hearse. Then they park near the tomb, and all the people get out of their cars. And they

Like this person I often
weep at funerals . . . . No, really!

walk slowly to the grave site. Nobody is in a hurry to get to the open pit and look at the casket which sits above it. And usually a good many of the people are weeping.

I know I do. Even when the person who died is very elderly and of no relation to me, I often cry at funerals. That's because death is just a very sad thing! Yes, I know we are Christians. We know there is eternal life, and that life goes beyond death and the grave. We know Jesus was raised, and that we as believers will be raised from death too. But that's later. We don't know when that will happen for us. So in our right minds, we admit to ourselves, and to others that death is a very sad thing, and it makes us sad. Grief is all too real, so we do cry, and rightly so.

I remember one grave side service I was at. I was actually officiating at it. The cemetery was located up on the side of a big hill north from the little town of Des Moines, New Mexico. We all got out of our cars, and walked slowly to the grade side. Most people

actually walked slower than usual, because the ground was rocky and uneven -- the slope was part of the a big mountain actually. We finally all got assembled. And I remember how many of us wept big tears at the loss of this one woman. And there were many other occasions like this one.

It is also true that we normally walk slowly to our own grave. As we grow up we learn not to take foolish chances with our lives. We know deep down, without even thinking about it very much, that life is precious, so we do what we can to preserve our own for as long as

we can. It is a sort of survival instinct. It is the instinct of self-preservation.

Even more: we know that death is a negative thing in many respects: the known aspect of life that we are familiar and comfortable with comes to an end, and is replaced with a large question mark. Death has been called the great unknown, and even with a number of New Testament scriptures which offer some insights into what comes after this life (Philippians 1,

The Des Moines Cemetery was a sad place.

1 Corinthians 15; and Matthew 22:23-33 to name but a few). These passages rightly offer us reassurance, even for people who are not Christians. But they leave much to the imagination and do not answer all of our questions or fill in all of our blanks. So because of this large uncertainty that we know of death to be, we walk very slowly towards our own grave. We are not anxious to get there at all.

So it strikes us as really odd to read about a passage in which people run, even race, to get to the place of burial. Yet that is what Peter and "the disciple whom Jesus loved" did. Probably this is John, and they ran to get back to the place where they were all sure Jesus had been buried following his crucifixion. Why did they do that? And even more what would make you do that?

The answer for the two disciples is that they heard a report about this one grave that was out of the ordinary. It caught them completely by surprise. Here is what their friend Mary Magdalene said to them:

2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

John's Gospel has it that
Mary of Magdala got there first.

3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

What made Peter and John hold a foot race to get to the tomb where Jesus' body had been laid? It was an unusual report from a friend! The report of Mary Magdalene was out of the ordinary. Things like this were not supposed to happen -- especially at graves where the dead were left. Even 2000 years ago in the land of Israel when the dead were placed in cave-tombs, they were not expected to come back to live. Nor was it expected that someone would come along shortly after burial and steal the body out of the grave. Jesus's own tomb had been sealed with a stone, but Mary's first assumption is that someone had stolen his body:
1 Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

This was an unusual report. This got them both up on their feet and headed to the tomb. They were running to the grave, holding a race, and John, the younger, got their first. It was their excitement over this unusual announcement about Jesus that got them up and running. They had watched Him die. They knew He was dead. To hear that He was gone from the tomb, got them running to the crypt. And when they got there they got the vindication that what Mary had told them thus far was true: either Jesus' body had been taken or not, but the stone cover was certainly gone, the tomb was open, and the body of

Would you run back to look at an
empty hole in the ground
where once a body had been?

Jesus was most certainly missing! They had run to see if the strange report was true, and then they saw that it was.

We still wonder about those first disciples, however. Jesus had taught them all that the Son of Man had to suffer at the hands of sinful men and be killed by them. But in the same breath Jesus would also tell them that this same Son of Man (Himself) would rise again on the third day.
Even in John's Gospel the Lord makes reference to his own death and resurrection, though in a veiled way. He did that when he challenged His opponents to "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up!" (John 2:19). The Gospel writer goes on to tell us ". . . He was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore when He had risen from the dead His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the scripture and the word which He had said to them." (2:21-22).

The other Gospels report that He told them such things a number of times over the course of their ministry together. But the disciples appear -- even in John's Gospel -- not to have remembered it or thought about it on the day of the cross itself. So they ran to see if Mary's report was true; they looked in the empty tomb; they went inside. But only one of them believed.

Today, maybe nothing, maybe not even a fabulous report by a friend or family member would get you hurrying back to a cemetery to stare at a hole that was formerly filled by a dead body. But today you and I still get to hear Mary's report: "they have taken away my Lord, and we do not know where they have put Him." We get to hear that report and act on

There really was a cross for Jesus.
And now it really is empty . . . .

it. Oh, we cannot run back to ancient Palestine to find and look at the empty cave-tomb where Jesus' body had been laid. But we can respond with energy and urgency. We can go to look for more evidence that Jesus is alive. We can be open to the other senses we have, and believe and act on the evidence God will give us for those other senses. We could even be like the disciple whom Jesus loved: see the empty tomb and perhaps the folded grave clothing, and come to the conclusion that Jesus His Lord was alive again. His feet got Him there fast, but the evidence of his own eyes helped John turn the corner and move into the realm of faith.

So read the Gospels! Read them prayerfully. Go back to the story of Jesus' crucifixion and then turn next to the Easter stories. Hear once again the excited, worried report of Mary. Use a bit of inspired imagination. There is evidence there for all the senses. They will get you on your feet and moving quickly to those places where Jesus has been, and where He will appear again (as He did for Mary). I don't necessarily mean for you to travel geographically; but travel spiritually! Get excited in your mind and heart to go and check out the truth about Jesus Christ. Go and look for Him, the Living Jesus, and you will find Him! He is alive, and He lives for you!

BIBLE STORY TO READ, USE, AND LOVE: John 20:1-18

1 Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.
4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,
7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths,

No picture really does justice to what
those first disciples saw . . . .

but folded together in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.
9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

LBC

WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT . . . .

2011-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

DID JESUS KNOW THE FUTURE?

Who knows what will happen? And who knows what will happen next? It is a question people ask everywhere in every age. Many of you have asked that in my life time. On September 11 of 2001 evil muslim terrorists, mostly from Saudi Arabia, attacked our country and killed over 3000 citizens, mostly civilians. We were all asking the question then and afterwards, “what will happen next?”

Some people think they can read the
future in a crystal ball . . . .
But they are dunces!

We meant two things: what will these who have attacked us do to us next now that they have caught us by surprise in such an evil, cowardly, dastardly fashion? But we were also asking that question with regard to our own nation’s response: what will happen next, meaning what will we do in response? What will we do to attack and recompense our enemies? What will we do next to defend ourselves and show these muslim dastards they cannot attack us with impunity? What will we do to them now to discourage such evil audacity in the future?

We ask the same question today in light of our poor economy. When we have a president, his unofficial “zars”, kitchen cabinet members (unelected communist bureaucrats), and democrat “nasties” in Congress, who work hard to weaken the economy and our nation internally and externally, then it is no wonder that indepedent and clear-thinking American citizens will rightly ask the question, “what will happen next?”

But that same phrase can be found in a declarative sentence as well as in one of interrogation. We could say assertively, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is One who knows what will happen next!” And if we said that (as we should say it and must say it) then we

Here are all the President's 'Zars'!
They are mostly very bad people!

would simply be stating the truth: our Lord Jesus knows what will happen next. That is what it means for Him to be Lord. He knows what will happen next in terms of what He will do; He knows what will happen next in our lives if we remain on the course we are now on; and He knows what He wants us to do next – which very plan He reveals intimately to each one of us. He knows what will happen to us if we obey Him and actually do His plan. Jesus even provides us with the ready answers for those who may question us in the midst of our obedience.

How do we know this? Because He, the Son of Man and the Son of God demonstrates this on that all important occasion of His triumphal parade into His own earthly, Holy City of Jerusalem.
Look at that story of the First Palm Sunday, and see two things about your Lord: first that He knows what will happen next, and second that He is in complete control of all of

Jesus was setting the stage
for His final week of teaching
and of trial . . . .

those events. The Gospel writer even demonstrates a divine control over what happens and how, that dates from the dawn of time and not just from that Sunday morning.

1. Jesus knows what His disciples must do.

Matthew helps us know with initial hints why Jesus did what He did. Place and timing were everything. Prior to the events of this twenty-first chapter, Jesus spoke these words to His

disciples (Matthew chapter 20):
18 "Listen," he told them, "we are going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death 19 and then hand him over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, whip him, and crucify him; but three days later he will be raised to life."

Then Matthew tells us this for that first day of the week:

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.

The command of Jesus to His disciples does not surprise us at this stage in our reading of

The point is this:
to trust Jesus means to obey Him.

the Gospels. Nor would it have surprised His disciples; they had been following Him for some three years, and by this time they had certainly become used to hearing and obeying orders that they didn’t always completely understand. Note that there is no hint of them questioning Him at this point. They simply receive His command, and are set to obey it. They even did this when His command would lead them to do something that sounds like it could be objectionable to others: “what’s this? Go and just take someone else’s horse? Without asking?” Yes. When Jesus gives an assignment, He knows it is all right for us to obey in advance. And by faith we must know this too.

Oh, that we could develop that pattern of discipleship, whereby we hear Jesus’ command to us, and obey it immediately without questioning! Perhaps we too need three years of following Jesus as our school for learning this. To become like them in this story means that we will have grown in our trust in the Lord. We will believe He knows what He is doing and why. We will believe He has a plan for Himself, and that it can involve us assisting Him. So we will hear and act on His behalf. Because we are sure that Jesus knows precisely what it is that we must do next.

2. Jesus knows what will happen when His disciples obey Him.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem
many cheered and rejoiced . . . .

An important thing about our relationship with God is revealed right here. Jesus knows what we will face when we do obey Him, and He prepares us for that. Sometimes, as here, He even prepares us for that by anticipating the response of others! Note how Jesus does that right here:
3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” . . . 6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.

The other Gospels tell us that the disciples did in fact encounter the question, “what are you doing?” Matthew does not record that encounter, but he does show Jesus preparing them with an answer in advance of such human encounters. You are probably wondering why Jesus does not prepare you in this way today. I would maintain that He still does this for us! What we lack in our experience is all on our side: often we do not ask or anticipate for what we should do if we encounter some form of human resistance to our witness. Yet, Jesus, in His Spirit, still tries to inform us of this.
In fact this is well in keeping with His other words in this Gospel. Before He sent out His disciples for another mission, He spoke these words:
19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

This is still Jesus’ great word to us in the Church: when we go out in His name to speak, teach, and heal, we have His promise that the Holy Spirit of our Father will speak in us and through us. Jesus knows what will happen when we obey Him; and He prepares us.

3. Jesus knows what people will do.

The reaction of the crowd to Jesus is precisely what Jesus expected. He knew the general

They held an illegal trial for Jesus.
The chief priests had already
made up their minds about
the outcome . . . .

crowd response and the fickle nature of crowds. But in this story their response – no surprise to Jesus – is the familiar one of celebration and welcome:

8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
      “ Hosanna to the Son of David!
      ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’

Their cry of celebration seems sincere as Matthew gives it in this account, since they chose to spread their clothes on the road, cut branches from trees and wave them in the sort of welcome ancient Jews would offer a King in His enthronement ceremony. But Jesus also knew that what was said of Him in the Jewish scriptures had to come true. And that meant that many of those who welcomed Him on Sunday, would be easily roused to anger toward Him on Friday of the same week.
           Jesus has this same understanding of humans and what they will do with His message and person today. He knows that crowds are fickle! One day they may favor a person or idea; but several hours or days later, they are completely against such a person or

Crowds can be fickle!
Just ask that poor
home team quarterback.

thing! We see this crowd response in sporting events, where a few fans will “boo” the quarterback if he makes a couple of mistakes; and their response will trigger the same response by many more in the crowd. We see the same thing with polling. If a news agency finds a clever way to phrase a question – especially one that plays on the fears of the mob – they can often get a majority of that crowd to respond in the way in which their editorial staff approves. But that response might look very different the next week if a different polling organization covers the subject from a different angle.

Crowds are fickle. They might praise the Messiah, in accord with the announcement of an Old Testament prophet (Zechariah 9:9 in this case); but the majority of those involved might have no notion of this scripture. Most of the Jews present outside of Jerusalem were probably completely unaware of the Word of God from Zechariah; they had no idea that what Jesus was doing, and their part in it was an event formulated by God from centuries before.

But Jesus’ awareness of the behavior of crowds was the reason why He preferred always to work with individuals. Yes, He spoke to crowds, but He called individuals to come

The text of Zechariah 9:9
was all around the Lord.

who would serve Him, to cooperate with His plans. Individuals, Jesus knew He could love, control, direct, and use to the glory of His Father in Heaven. But the Son of Man did not create crowds even to have a soul that could be saved. Let alone advised. (Thus those today who speak of “collective salvation” speak with the inspiration of the devil!)
         Jesus could relate to individual disciples always no matter what events might swirl and change around them. But He knew, and He always still knows what people collectively will do.
Above all,

4. Jesus knows what He must do.

This part of Jesus’ life is that directed and driven by God’s Word in scripture, and even, (if half-heartedly or ignorantly) by the crowd who witnessed His passing or joined His parade. We read from Mattew:

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “ Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘ Behold, your King is coming to you,
      Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
(and this)
9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
      “ Hosanna to the Son of David!
      ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

They were more right than they knew. He was the Son of David. He had come in the name of the God of Israel, YHWH. That name was translated as Lord in the Greek version of the

Before they were waved in praise
they grew on palm trees.
Like them let us let
the Son to shine through!

Old Testament. So when the authors and the people in the Gospels call Jesus “Lord” they are acknowledging Him to be One with the God of the Old Testament. When the writer quotes Zechariah and says “your King is coming” He is telling the truth about Jesus’ arrival to the Holy City of Jerusalem. He is the King of the Jews, and Jerusalem is at least (or was) His spiritual capital. Jesus is called the King of the Jews in these later verses found in Matthew 27 at the end of His life: 27:11, where the phrase is used Pontius Pilate in a questoin; 27:29 in mocking by the soldiers; and in 27:37, where we are told the statement of accusation on the cross calls Jesus the King of the Jews. That was more true than anyone then realized). And when the people call “blessed” this One who comes in the name of YHWH, the Lord, they are far more right than they realize.

But Jesus knew all of this within Himself. It is why He chose and directed precisely this moment in time to enter His city. The Lord knew what had to happen next, and He knew what He had to do next.
The good news for you and me is that this sovereign Lord and God became our Savior at the cross. And He now being alive and with His full knowledge of all that must happen, so graciously sweeps all of us into His good plan. He stoops down to speak to us, command us, and invite us to participate with what He knows will – and must – happen next. Will you listen? Will you cooperate? And will you who are united to Jesus Christ by faith

This story also
contains the good news.
Do you believe?

cease your worrying about what might happen next?

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE!
Matthew 21:1-10

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.
3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5 “ Tell the daughter of Zion,
      ‘ Behold, your King is coming to you,
      Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
      A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying,
“ Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
      Hosanna in the highest!”
10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

LBC

YOUR NEXT MEAL . . . .

2011-04-13T11:30:00.001-07:00

LOOKING FOR FOOD . . .

So you're looking for food?

So . . . are you looking for food?

That could be good,
'Cause food will fill your tummy.
But looking for food
a hungry dude
can look like a real dummy.
'Cause food ain't all
we need to stall
the fate of life unfolding.
Hunger ain't fun
but we ain't done
with all that God is doing.
There's spiritual bread
we need instead
of all that other stuff.
So faith in the Lord
is the last word
and always is enough.

[from "The Big Book of Best Loved 'Pomes' for Fambly and Friends"]

So . . . what motivates you, Big Guy?

I bet you remember the story about Jesus feeding five thousand men. It was a great story about the Son of God performing a miracle to meet the needs of thousands of people on one weary evening. But John's Gospel takes the story a step further. It leads us to consider questions of motivation in life. What moves us? What motivates us? What do we look forward to the most?

I actually thought of this story in terms of the problem of human addiction. When a person desires to try certain illegal drugs, he usually gets the "low level" samples, like ordinary "weed" from a pusher he knows. After awhile this no longer gives him a good "rise," so he wants something more. His pusher is there to supply it! And then he keeps on wanting this, so he keeps on coming back for more. You know what happens next: eventually he can no longer be satisfied by that particular drug, and so he has to escalate to something stronger. This cycle continues until the "street customer" is dead. His search for more of the same thing -- or something more powerful -- led to the end of his life.

Reading this story makes me hungry
for a nice fish sandwich!

I thought of that because the people in this story are hungry. Jesus miraculously feeds them. And then they follow Him for the reasons He states: they know they will get hungry again. And since they have already learned that Jesus can feed them with seemingly very little effort on his part, they want to come back to Him for more. Jesus' dialogue in this chapter highlights a problem all of us have in our relationship to God through Jesus Christ. What are we really seeking when we decide to follow Jesus? Consider first,

1. The Reason they followed Jesus.

We all know why they followed Jesus. If there was any doubt, Jesus, in the story, tells them why when they finally catch up to him:

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

Jesus fed 5000 men with just 5 loaves
and 2 fish . . . . And that's what
started this whole big mess!

There it is. Jesus knew they were pursuing him because they knew He had fed them once, could do it again, and might very well do it again when they (huffing and blowing) finally caught up to Him.

We chase after Jesus for the same reasons. We recall that He has helped us in the past. Oh, yes He has! If we know anything at all, we know Jesus Christ has helped us in a really big way by saving us. This He did by dying on the cross for us, and inviting our faith in Him. He invites that still today because He is alive, having risen from the dead, alive to help us and guide us.
But beyond this we may also recall that He has done many things for us in a more material way: maybe Jesus helped us pay for college. He healed us (or our relative) of an illness; he led a kind person to stop along the way when we had car trouble a long way from home. Maybe He also led us to the person who would become our spouse for life. So we know He has done good things for us -- big things that affected our lives in a positive way.

These are material, substantial things by which God, through His Son, may indeed have
helped us. But these things or moments, grace filled as they are, can also have a power similar to that of addictive drugs (see the above crude analogy). They can move us to keep coming back to Jesus over and over again, but only for these same kinds of things, and

The Lord gave me this money. And now I
want more of it!

nothing more! In fact the big thing Jesus did for those Galilean Jewish people had that effect on them. They were happy that they were fed out in the middle of nowhere. They appreciated and enjoyed the delicious food. They were grateful that Jesus had done this for them. Many even made a mental note of the way He had acted on their behalf.

But all they desire from that moment on is more of the same. And only more of the same! We're like that too. We know that Christ has done something good for us. It is good that we attach that good result to His loving care for us. But what do we do with such experiences? We keep coming back to Him for more of the same: more healings, more money, more friends (on Facebook!), more business opportunities, etc. And if we actually go through the work of praying for such things, and then
getting them, then this whole deal becomes self-reinforcing. We keep tripping over obstacles to get back to Jesus -- but only so that He can supply what we believe has now become our greatest immediate need.

That's why we seek Him even today. It is the reason we have gotten into the habit of seeking Him. The trouble is all of those moments of seeking Jesus and asking for something from Him are generated only by the felt needs of the moment. That is to say, the circumstances that roll into our lives are the only things that trigger our communication with Him. They become the only things which shape and direct our relationship with Him.

And Jesus Himself says, that is simply not enough! He intends for us to go beyond that to something deeper, more essential, and certainly more eternal.

People follow Jesus today
for different reasons.

That brings us to the second point:

2. The Reason they should have followed Jesus.

Jesus makes it clear by implication that the first miracle was itself a sign. Like the other signs of John's Gospel, these are works of God which people see and witness. But after seeing them they misunderstand them. They see only the activity which appears on the surface; they do not see any deeper than that.

In John people are supposed to see the miracle of Jesus -- and more! They are supposed to see the work of the Father through Jesus Christ, but then also see in Him their reason for being: the One in whom their faith opens the very gates to God's own eternal life. Jesus says in this story, we are even supposed to see in Christ our own work! That is our own vocation. It is to believe in Him.
That is because the miraculous things He did were (as He Himself says) God the Father on display, and at work in Him. Jesus performed these signs and miracles to reveal God His Father, and to draw those who witnessed them to God in an inseparable, unending, and unbending commitment. This is what the writer of John's Gospel means by the words, "trust" or "belief".
So people were right to follow Jesus. But not just because He fed them once miraculously (a few loaves and fishes into many), but because the miracle of food for many pointed to something greater and more enduring. Hear John tell of it:

27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

Jesus came and worked God's work among us in order to provide a permanent and eternal


We truly thirst for God the Father . . . Living bread and living water . . . The bread and water diet is so very good for you!

nourishment for us -- that which endures to everlasting life. He also brought to us a special work: it is the work of faith; that is, trusting in Jesus with our whole lives, day by day and forever. That is why Jesus said, "this is the work of God . . . ." (that we are to do). It's His way of saying, "this is now the vocation that my Father has for you from this day forward . . . ."
Jesus goes on to say more about the eternal food He has for us:

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

Jesus ties onto their scripture quotation. They made reference to the great stories in the wilderness of Exodus 16 and Numbers 11, where God gave them bread which appeared to come down from the sky, and be found on the ground each morning. Jesus says the true bread does come down from Heaven all right: it is Him. He is the bread God has given all people to eat, as this same God gave the manna to His people centuries before.

WE ARE TO LOOK FOR JESUS, FOLLOW HIM, and BELIEVE IN HIM FOR ALL THINGS!

In this way, we are to consume Him. He is the eternal bread from God. He is always enough, always sufficient. So the miracles Jesus does indeed perform in our lives are there for more than one reason.

This bread is not from heaven! But
it does taste heavenly . . . .

God sends them through Jesus Christ in order to wake us up, get our attention, reveal His love for us, and meet our needs. But He also sends them to us in order to inspire the work of faith, which is to believe in the One who is Eternal Bread: Jesus Christ who came from God the Father to us in the wilderness of our life.

BIBLE TEXT FOR YOU TO READ, USE, AND LOVE:

John 6:24-34
24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got

into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting

He gave them bread from heaven . . .
And Jesus is that bread now.

life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

LBC