tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52927260894454909312024-03-19T01:47:02.103-07:00Dakota PastorA blog about faith by a United Methodist pastor in the Dakotas Conference.Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.comBlogger1392125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-75885837993375906842024-03-18T14:22:00.000-07:002024-03-18T14:22:17.679-07:00What Greatness Is<p><i>The Wednesday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 20, 2024. The Bible verses used are Mark 9:30-37.</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Jesus was called a lot of things while he was on
this earth. He was called Rabbi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was called Immanuel, God with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
often called Himself Son of Man. But one of the things He was often
called was “Teacher”.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That is, of
course, one of the reasons Jesus came to earth--to teach us. It’s not the
only reason, obviously. Jesus came to save us from having to take the
punishment for our sins. But Jesus also came to teach us. He taught
us with words and He taught us by his example. Jesus was the greatest
teacher who ever walked on the earth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of the things
about being a teacher—and if you’ve ever tried to teach anyone anything you know
this—one of the things about being a teacher is that a teacher has to have a
ton of patience. A teacher has to go over stuff, and then go over it
again, and then go over it again. A teacher has to present the same stuff
in different ways, at different times, hoping desperately that one of these
approaches will get through and the student will finally get it. And
then, just when the teacher thinks maybe the student really is starting to get
it, the student does something or says something and the teacher’s heart just
sinks, because the teacher knows the student still really does not have a clue.
It takes a ton of patience to be a teacher.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I suspect that
sort of thing happened to Jesus a lot. He’d tell the disciples something,
and then he’d tell them again, and then he’d show them, and then he’d go over
it one more time just to make sure, and he’d think they were getting it, and
then they’d do something or say something that showed that they were nowhere
near getting it. It had to be very frustrating for the divine Teacher to
have to work with students as dull as the disciples.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our reading tonight described one of those
times. It starts with the disciples having an argument. Now, that
in and of itself is not so bad. Even the best of friends will get into an
argument once in a while. But here, we’re told that the disciples were
arguing about which of them was the greatest.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When Jesus found
that out, he must have just shaken his head. Of all the things for Jesus’
disciples to argue about. He’d told them so many times about needing to
be servants. He’d told them so many times about how they needed to be
humble and how they needed to put others ahead of themselves. And there
they are, arguing about which one of them is the greatest.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But, Jesus was a
teacher. He had patience. And so, Jesus tries to teach them again.
He tells them, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and
the servant of all.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And then, the way this is written, you can just see
Jesus thinking, “Telling these guys is not going to be enough. I have to
show them. I have to give them an illustration, or an example, or
something.” So, he takes a little kid who’s there, he picks him up and he
says to the disciples, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my
name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who
sent me.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We’re not told
how the disciples reacted to that. Mark leaves the story there and moves
on to talk about something else. Did they get it, do you think? Do
you think this time they really understood what Jesus was telling them?
For that matter, do we?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We understand
that Jesus tells us to be humble. But there’s more to it than that.
Let’s think about this for a minute.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What are little children? Little children,
by definition, are people who can do nothing for you. I mean, that’s not
their fault. They cannot help being little kids. They’ll grow, and
they’ll learn, and they’ll be able to do stuff. But a little kid, one or
two or three years old, cannot do anything for you. I mean, yes, we can
get love and affection from them, and that can make us feel good. But
from a practical, real-world standpoint, a little kid cannot do anything for
you. There’s no advantage to be gained by being kind to a little kid.
They cannot help you financially, they cannot help you socially, they
cannot help you accomplish anything. And this was especially true in the
society in which Jesus lived, where little kids were not considered of any
value at all until they got old enough to work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, when we
welcome a child, when we’re kind to a child, when we help a child, we’re doing
something for someone who cannot return the favor. We’re acting with no
selfish motives whatsoever. We’re acting simply and purely out of
selflessness and love.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s what Jesus
was trying to tell his disciples to do. It’s what he tells us to do, too.
To act with no selfish motives. To do things for people with no
thought about whether they can do anything for us. To act simply and
purely out of selflessness and love.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But Jesus does not just leave it there. He
goes on to say, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name
welcomes me.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we see a
little child, we are seeing Jesus. When we look into the face of a little
child, we’re looking into Jesus’ face.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Now, if you have
to deal with little kids every day, you may be a little skeptical of this.
Because we all know that little kids do not always appear to us to be
like Jesus. Little kids don’t always do what they’re told. Little
kids misbehave sometimes. In fact, sometimes little kids can get into big
trouble.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But you know,
that might not be so unlike Jesus after all. You know, Jesus was a little
kid once, too. We’re not told much about what Jesus was like when he was
a little kid, but I would not be surprised if, when he was two or three years
old, Jesus did not always do what Joseph and Mary told him to. I would
not be surprised if Jesus misbehaved sometimes. I’m not saying Jesus
sinned, because he was the divine Son of God, but a two- or three-year-old kid
misbehaving is not sinning. They’re just doing what two- or
three-year-old kids do. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus said that when we do something for a
little kid, we’re doing it for Him. But that’s not all. Jesus went
on to say that we’re not just doing it for Him. When we do something for
a little kid, we’re also doing it for God the Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s pretty
awesome, because you know, it usually seems like there’s really nothing we can
do for God. I mean, God is all-powerful. God is all-mighty.
God sees everything and knows everything and can do anything. What
can we do for God?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, this is
what we can do for God. Love people. Especially love people who
cannot do anything for us in return. That’s how we do something for God.
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, God can love them, too, and God does, but
God asks us to love them as well. And when you think about it in this
context, this is an honor from God. We are given the honor of being
allowed to do something for God. God could do it without us, but God
chooses to do it with us. That’s a privilege! That’s an honor!
The all-powerful, all-mighty God who sees everything and knows everything
and can do anything allows us to do this for God. That’s an awesome
thing, when you think about it. God does not need our help, but God
allows us to help. What an incredible honor that is. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The disciples wanted to become great. And
Jesus said yes, you can become great. Here’s how. You can become
great by taking advantage of the opportunity God gives you to serve God by
loving the people God created. And you can especially become great by
loving the people God created who cannot do anything for you in return.
Those are the people God especially wants you to love and to help and to
welcome among you. Jesus said, whenever you do that, you’re doing it for
me. And when you do it for me, you’re doing it for God the Father, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We don’t know how the disciples reacted.
Maybe, this time, they finally got it. More likely, they again did
not understand. Or, if they did understand, it was just for a little
while, and then they went back to being who they were before. Because
that’s what usually happened with the disciples. No matter how many times
the Teacher tried to explain things to them, they never really seemed to
understand.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And so often, we don’t understand, either.
But the Teacher keeps working with us, just like he worked with the
disciples. We’re allowed to read and re-read the Bible, so that
eventually we can get the message. And the Holy Spirit works on our
hearts, too, so that we truly can understand and be changed people, God’s people,
people who accept the honor of doing things for God the Son and for God the
Father.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When we look into the face of someone who cannot
do anything for us, we’re looking into the face of God. When we do
something for someone who cannot do anything for us, we’re doing something for
God. When we love someone who cannot do anything for us, we’re loving
God. And when we do that, then we truly become great in the eyes of God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-26304417064267689682024-03-16T14:08:00.000-07:002024-03-16T14:08:18.380-07:00The Body<p><i>The print version of the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church. The Bible verses used are 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>There’s an old story about how all the different parts of the
body started arguing about which one of them should be the leader. The
brain started out and said, “Well, all the thoughts, all the ideas for what we
do come from me, so clearly I should be the leader.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">The heart
said, “Yeah, but I’m the one who gives us all our emotions, all our
feelings. All of our good motivations come from me, so clearly I should
be the leader.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">The eyes
said, “Well, but I’m the one who provides the vision, who makes sure we know
where we’re going, so clearly I should be the leader.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">And one by
one, all the various parts of the body made their arguments why they should be
the leader. Finally, the neck started to say why it should be the leader,
but before it could even get started, all the other body parts started making
fun of it. They said, “You, the leader? The neck? What good are
you? All you do is hold the head up. Why in the world would we make
you the leader?”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Well, the neck got really mad at that, so it tightened all its muscles
and constricted all its blood vessels, and pretty soon the brain began to feel
a pounding, and the heart was having to work a lot harder to pump blood, and
everything in the body was feeling really bad. And so all the body parts
said to the neck, “Okay, okay, you can be the leader.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">The moral of this story is that being a leader really does not require
brains or heart or vision. Sometimes all you need to do to be a leader is
to be a pain in the neck.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">In our bible reading for tonight, the Apostle Paul compares the people
of Christ to a body. He says that we are all one body. Yet, he
says, the body is not made up of just one part. It takes many parts to
make a body.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">He goes on
to explain that each part of the body has a role to play, and it is important
that each part plays the role that it has. If any one part of the body
does not do its job, the entire body will be less. If any one part of the
body is suffering, the entire body will suffer. Everything about the body
is interconnected, and it all has to function properly for the body as a whole
to be what it should be.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">I found that
out three and a half years ago, when I was diagnosed with bulging discs in my
back. The physical therapist gave me a bunch of exercises to do to
strengthen my back, and what I found out was that when you strengthen your back
you don’t just strengthen your back. You work on your upper body, your
stomach, your legs, everything, because it’s all connected. If one part
of your body hurts, everything hurts. And if you want one part of your
body to get stronger, you have to make your entire body stronger.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">The
Apostle Paul, of course, was not a physical therapist. He was making an
analogy to the church, the body of Christ. He was saying that each person
has a role to play in the church, and it is important that each person plays
the role that he or she has. If any one person in the church does not
participate, the entire church will be less. If any one person in the
church is suffering, the entire church suffers. And if we want the church
to be stronger in following God, every person in the church needs to be
stronger in following God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Now, we say
that, and it makes sense. And people tend to nod their heads in
agreement. But we don’t look at it that way, do we? We have certain
people that we consider to be more important than others, certain people that
we consider the leaders of the church. And that’s true of any
organization–there are always people who are considered to be more important,
people who are considered to be the leaders.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Some people
might consider me, as the pastor, to be a leader of the church. And maybe
there’s some sense in which I am. But if there’s nobody here to hear what
I say, if there’s nobody watching the livestream, if no one reads the church
newsletter or looks at the things I say on facebook, then I’m not the leader of
anything. I’m just sending words out into the void. Because again,
one part of the body can do nothing unless the other parts of the body are
doing their jobs. The entire body needs to be working toward the same
goal.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">And in fact,
it goes a step farther than that. If people are listening and watching
and reading, but they’re not doing anything about what I say, then I’m still
not the leader of anything. Because words are meaningless without
action. That’s one of the things the Apostle James meant when he said,
“Faith without works is dead.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Now, don’t
take that the wrong way. I am not saying everyone should listen to me and
do exactly as I say. What I’m saying is that all of us–the pastor, the
church council, the trustees, the United Methodist Women, people who are not
part of any committee or church group–we all need to be on the same page.
We all need to be working together. We all need to be working toward a
common goal of serving the Lord.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">To once again use the analogy of a body,
if one foot goes forward and the other foot goes backward, the body won’t get
anyplace. If the legs want to go to the left but the arms want to go to
the right, we won’t get anywhere. In fact, we’ll fall down. Again,
we all need to be working together, toward a common goal of serving the Lord.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">And the only way we can work toward a
common goal is if we’re all working. Because again, each part of the body
has a role to play. As Paul also says, one part of the body cannot say to
another part, “I don’t need you.” Every part of the body is not just
important, but necessary, for the body to function properly. If there’s a
part of the body that’s not used, it will atrophy. It will wither
away. And before long, it will be useless. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">As Paul also points out, every part of
the body does not do the same thing. Each part of the body has a gift,
and it needs to use the gift it has. That’s true of the church,
too. Everyone does not have the ability to lead worship, although I suspect
there are some people who have that gift and simply don’t use it.
Everyone does not have the ability to sing or to play an instrument.
Everyone does not have the ability to lead a Bible study. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Everyone may
not have those gifts–but everyone does have some gift. And it’s up to us,
with God’s help, to figure out how we can use the gifts God has given us to
serve Him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Because I’ll guarantee you that there is
a way. That’s why God gave us the gift–to use it in His service.
And that’s true no matter what the gift is. Including some things we may
not think of as gifts. Being able to be organized is a gift. Being
an optimistic, cheerful person is a gift. Being a good driver is a
gift. Anything that you are good at–or even anything that you’re just
half-way decent at–is a gift that can be used to serve God. It’s just
that sometimes the ways those gifts can be used to serve God may not be
obvious.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">And so, I encourage you to think about
it. And I encourage you to pray about it. Think about the things
you are good at. Think about the things you’re just kind of good
at. Think about the things that maybe you don’t think you’re all that
good at, but that you just enjoy doing. In fact, what I’m really saying
is, think about the things that make you, you.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">And then ask God, how can I use those
things to serve You? And then–and this is the really important part–be
open to hearing God’s answer.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">Because my experience is that whenever
we say to God, “Show me how I can serve you,” God answers that prayer.
And usually God answers it pretty quickly. But the answer may not be what
we were looking for. The answer may be something that we were not
thinking about at all. And the answer might not come from a person or
place we were expecting it to come from.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">I don’t say that to scare you off from
this. But this is not something to be done lightly, either. We need
to be serious about this. Again, when we ask God to show us ways to
serve, God takes us up on it. So we need to be ready to do what God shows
us to do.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">All parts of the body are
important. If one part suffers, the entire body suffers. If one
part of the body does not do its job, the entire body is less. So let’s
move together as a body. Let’s move together as a church. Let’s
strengthen each other in our faith. Let’s all use the gifts God has given
us to serve God. When we do, the entire church will be stronger.
And our community and our world will be better, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-15590636027303737512024-03-16T14:03:00.000-07:002024-03-16T14:03:12.974-07:00Love Never Fails<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on March 17, 2024. The Bible verses used are 1 Corinthians 12:27--13:13.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The Bible verses we read tonight are among the most popular
in the Bible. In fact, some surveys say they’re the most
popular. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It’s easy to understand why. It’s about love, and who
does not want to hear about love? Everyone wants to hear about
love. Everyone wants to feel love. Everyone wants to be
loved. That’s why Hallmark Channel movies are so popular. That’s
why so many popular songs are love songs. After all, whether we’re
talking about movies or songs or Bible passages, things become popular for a
reason. They speak to us somehow. They have a message that’s
important, or that appeals to us, or that makes us think or feel or something.
All scripture is useful, as the Apostle Paul told his young friend
Timothy, but we still have certain passages that speak to us more at certain
times. That’s perfectly natural.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But the thing that can happen about our favorite Bible
passages is that sometimes, because we’ve read or heard them a number of times,
we stop thinking about it. We take it for granted. And that can be
true of pretty much anything, too. For example, how many times have you
heard the National Anthem? If you go to sports events, you’ve probably
heard it hundreds of times, maybe thousands of times. How often do you
really think about what the words mean? Probably not very often.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">What we read was the end of First Corinthians Chapter
Twelve and all of Chapter Thirteen. Chapter thirteen is often called “the
love chapter.” It gets used at weddings a lot. It gets used at
funerals occasionally, too. Again, as you heard, it talks about love,
what love is and what love is not. And you’ve heard sermons preached on
that before, and you will again. But today, I want to talk about the rest
of this passage, too. And I want to start with the part of chapter twelve
we included.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">In chapter twelve, Paul writes about gifts of the spirit.
He says that we all have different spiritual gifts, and that they’re all
important. He compares it to the parts of the body. He says that
all parts of the body are important: the feet, the hands, the ears, the
eyes, all of it. He lists some of the gifts of the Spirit, such as
teaching, prophesying, working miracles, healing, helping, guidance, all sorts
of things. He says we should work together to develop the gifts we’ve
been given so we can serve God. But then he says this: “And yet I
will show you the most excellent way.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, if you were listening when we read today’s Bible
verses, you know what comes next. But pretend you don’t. Imagine
that you’re one of the people in the town of Corinth that this letter was
written to. You’re reading his letter, or more likely someone is reading
it to you. And you’ve heard Paul say that all these spiritual gifts are
important and that we need to work together to develop them so we can serve
God. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And then you hear: “And
yet I will show you the most excellent way.” What would you think?
I’d be thinking, “Most excellent way? What could be more excellent
than working together to develop our spiritual gifts to serve God?”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Paul tells us. The more
excellent way is love. Paul says it does not matter how awesome our
spiritual gifts are, or how hard we’ve worked to develop them, if we don’t have
love. Someone could be the greatest speaker in the world, they could be
the greatest prophet ever known, they could have so much faith that they could
literally move mountains, and none of it would matter. None of it matters
without love.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Did you ever wonder why that is? I
mean, we just kind of take it for granted sometimes, don’t we? We hear
that, and we think, well, of course none of that matters without love.
But why not? Why do prophecy or evangelism or even faith not matter
without love? </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">I mean, suppose that I was a
really great speaker and evangelist. I know that’s quite a stretch, but
just suppose it. And suppose I was also a real jerk. Maybe that’s
not as much of a stretch, but again, just suppose it. If, by my great
speaking ability, I was able to bring people to Christ, why would it matter
that I was a jerk? Why would it matter that I was doing it for personal
glory or for fame or for whatever reason? As long as I was able to get
someone to accept Jesus as their Savior, why would it matter what my motivation
was for doing it?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Paul answers that question. He says, basically, that
that’s the way children think. And he’s right. Kids will say, well,
as long as I do what I’m supposed to, it does not matter why I’m doing it.
But parents, you know better, right? You’ve told your kids to do
something and seen that look on their face. You’ve seen them trudge
slowly out to do what their supposed to do, like a condemned person walking the
last mile. And you don’t like it very much, do you? And you say
something, and the kid says, “What’s wrong? I’m doing what you told me to
do.” Children think that our motivation does not matter. Adults
know that it does.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Paul also answers the question
in another way. He answers it by saying that love is the only thing that
will never pass away. It’s the only thing that will never fail.
There will come a time when all the great prophecies will cease and pass
away. There will come a time when all the collected knowledge of mankind
will cease and pass away. There will come a time when all the greatest
speakers will pass away and their words will be gone forever. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And besides, while we’re
on earth, none of our prophecies, none of our knowledge, none of our speeches,
will really be full and complete the way they’re supposed to be. He says
that, while we’re trying to see God’s kingdom, but we can only see a reflection
of it in a dim and cloudy mirror. We can only get a vague glimpse of
God’s kingdom while we’re on earth, and that’s going to show up in all of our
prophecies, and all of our knowledge, and all of our speeches. None of
them are going to be accurate or true. The only time they will become
accurate and true is when completeness comes, when the Lord returns and, as
Paul says, we can see clearly, face to face.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">The gifts of the spirit that
we’re given are important. I’m not saying they’re not, and Paul did not
say that, either. And as Paul says, we should work together to develop
them as much as we can to serve God. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But no matter what gifts we’re
given, and no matter how hard we work to develop them, they’ll never be quite
right. We will never be able to develop them completely while we’re on
earth. And ultimately, they will all cease and pass away, just as we,
ourselves, will all cease and pass away from the earth someday. The only
thing that will remain, the only thing that will never fail, is love.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Think of it this way.
Think of a teacher or coach you really liked. Do you remember
specific lessons they taught you? Or do you remember that they cared
about you and wanted to help you do the best you could? Think of a pastor
or a Sunday school teacher who made an impression on you. Do you remember
specific things they taught you? Or do you remember that they cared about
you and were there for you whenever you needed them? If you grew up in a
loving home, think of your parents and grandparents. Do you remember
specific things they taught you? Or do you remember that they loved you
and cared about you and that they’d be there for you no matter what happened?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Love never fails. The
things we do without love eventually will always, inevitably, fail. But
the things we do with love will live on. In fact, when we do things out
of love, the love we show will love on long after the specific thing we did has
been forgotten.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">That’s why the gospels, and the
letters, and all of the New Testament emphasize so much that God is love, and
that what we’re supposed to do is love God and love other people. We talk
sometimes about the things God has done, and God has done great things.
God created the world out of nothing. God created everything we
see, every tree, every rock, every plant, every animal, every bird, every
insect. God created you. God created me. And God is still
creating. And it’s awesome what God has done and what God continues to do.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But imagine if God had created
all that without love. Can you even imagine that? I’m not sure I
can. What would the world be like without love? What would God be
like without love? What would you and I be like without love? It’d
be terrible. No one would want to live in a world like that, and no one
would want to worship a God like that. I really cannot imagine it and I
really don’t want to even try to imagine it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And praise God, we don’t have
to. Because God did create us with love. And God created the world
with love. Because God is love. And when we show love to someone,
we are behaving in as much of a God-like manner as it is possible for humans to
behave.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">It’s important for us to work
together to develop the spiritual gifts God has given us. But it’s more
important for us to use them with love. Love is the most excellent way.
Love never fails because God never fails. And God is love.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-41593325244858130172024-03-02T16:49:00.000-08:002024-03-02T16:49:51.102-08:00God Knows Best<p><i>The Sunday night message in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 3, 2024. The Bible verses used are Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The comedienne Lily Tomlin once said that humans developed
language to satisfy our deep inner need to complain.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">There may be truth in that, because it’s undeniable that
human beings love to complain. It does seem to be part of our
nature. No matter what’s going on, we’re never satisfied. Things
are never quite right. They’re never quite good enough. We always
want more. We always want better. It’s just the way we are.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, it could be argued that there’s an upside to
that. After all, much of what we call progress has come out of a desire
to want more, or to want better. Many of our greatest inventions have
come because we wanted a better, easier way to do things.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But there’s a downside to it, too. This feeling that
things are never right, that they’re never good enough, can keep us from
appreciating what we have. We cannot just be happy to be what we are and
to have what we have. We always feel like we’re missing something, like
there has to be something better out there, and that we cannot be happy until
we get whatever that something is.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s one of the lessons we can take from our reading from
Genesis tonight. God had put human beings in paradise. Literally,
paradise. Adam and Eve had everything they could ever need. They
had peace. They had joy. They had happiness. They had each
other. What else could anyone want?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, what they wanted was the one thing God had told them
they were not supposed to have. And is that not just like human
beings? If we’re told we cannot have one thing, that one thing is the
only thing we want. It’s the only thing we can think about. It’s
sort of like if you told me I cannot have pork chops. I don’t eat pork
chops very often, but if you told me I could never have them again, all of a
sudden they’d be all I could think about. I’d want them all the time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And
that’s how Adam and Eve were with the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. Now, maybe you say, hey, wait a minute. They did not get
tempted to eat from the fruit of that tree until the serpent started telling
them about it. And there’s truth in that. But at the same time, if
they had not been thinking about that tree, if they had not been thinking about
how cool it would be to eat some of that fruit, what the serpent said would’ve
had no effect on them, right? I mean, no matter how great you told me
life would be if I started eating Brussels sprouts regularly, I would not be
tempted to do it, because I don’t like Brussels sprouts. You can only
tempt someone to do something if they’re already thinking it’d be cool to do
it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s how the serpent was with Adam and Eve. And
that’s how evil attacks us, too. It hits us at our weak points. It
hits us on things that, on some level, we’d really like to do anyway. And
it tells us, oh, go ahead. It won’t hurt anybody. Nobody’s going to
know. And if they did, nobody’s going to care. It’s not really
bad. Just go ahead and do it. Whatever “it” happens to be.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s what the serpent said to Adam and Eve. Go
ahead. Eat the fruit. It won’t hurt anybody. Nobody will
know. It’s not really bad. Just go ahead and do it. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Adam and Eve had everything
they needed. But they were not satisfied with it. They wanted
more. And by wanting more, they ended up losing what they had.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But think about this: why did Adam and Eve want
more? Why were they not satisfied with what they had? Why did they
desire the one thing that God had told them they could not have, rather than
being grateful for the hundreds and thousands of things that God had given
them?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It comes down to a matter of trust, really. Adam and
Eve did not understand why God would tell them they could not have this one
thing. And when the serpent gave them a reason, they accepted that
reason.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Think about what that reason was. The serpent basically
told Adam and Eve that the reason God would not let them have that one thing
was because God was trying to keep something from them. God was trying to
keep them down. God was preventing them from being what they could
be. If they just stopped listening to God, and did whatever they wanted
to do, they’d be so much better off.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And they believed it. That’s sad, isn’t it? God
had given them so much. Again, God had given them everything they would
ever need. But despite that, they could not trust God. They could
not believe that God must have a good reason for not wanting them to eat the
fruit of that one tree. When the serpent told them God’s reasons were not
good at all, they believed him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And that’s just like human beings, too, isn’t it? God
gives us so much. God gives us everything we could ever need. And
yet, if God tells us we’re not supposed to have something, we have a hard time
trusting God. We have a hard time believing that God must have a good
reason for telling us we’re not supposed to have things. And when someone
tells us, or when we tell ourselves, that God’s reasons are not good at all, we
believe it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">You know, contrary to popular belief, there are not a whole
lot of things in the Bible that God has told us not to do. And when God
does tell us not to do certain things, there are reasons. It’s not
because God is trying to keep something from us. It’s not because God is
trying to keep us down or keep us from being what we could be. It’s
because God understands life better than we do. And God knows we’ll be
happier if we live our lives God’s way rather than living them our own way.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I said that it comes down to trust, and it does, but it
comes down to something else, too. Why do we have trouble trusting
God? Because of our arrogance. We don’t want to accept that God
knows better than we do. We don’t want to accept that anyone knows better
than we do. After all, nobody has a right to tell ME what to do.
I’ll do whatever I want. And we do.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I suspect you’ve done that at times. I know I
have. When you did, how’d it work out for you? It sure has never
worked out for me. It may have seemed like it did, for a little
while. When Adam and Eve first ate the fruit, they probably thought it
was going to work out for them, too. Hey, we know all this stuff we did
not know before! It was only later, when they had to accept the
consequences for what they’d done, that they found out that doing things their
own way was not going to work out for them at all.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">You know, arrogance is one of those sins we don’t talk
about a whole lot. And yet it’s all over the Bible. It may be the
sin that the Bible talks about the most. The desire to do things our own
way. The belief that--whether we’d ever put it this way or not--that we
know more than God. The feeling that God’s rules are old-fashioned, that
they’re a relic of the past. Those rules were written thousands of years
ago--they don’t apply today. They certainly don’t apply to ME. I’m
a free human being. I can do whatever I want. Who is God to tell me
what to do? Who is <i>anybody </i>to tell me what to do?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And the thing is, God will let us do that. God will
let us act out of our arrogance. God will allow us to ignore God and do
things our own way. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But think how God must feel when we do. I don’t have
any children, of course, but I often think that one of the hardest things about
being a parent is when you see your child making decisions, going down a road,
and you just know that it’s not going to work out well for them. You know
that the decisions they’re making, the road they’re going down, is only going
to lead to sadness. And yet, there’s nothing you can do about it.
All you can do is let them know you still love them, and be there to pick up
the pieces when it falls apart as you know that it’s going to.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I suspect that’s how God feels about us, many, many
times. God sees the decisions we make. God sees the road we’re
going down. And God knows that what we’re doing is not going to work out
well for us. But God does not stop us. What God does, though, is
continue to love us. And God will be there to pick up the pieces when
things fall apart.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But how much easier, how much better our lives would be if
we just listened to God in the first place? How much easier, how much
better our lives would be if we put aside our arrogance? How much easier,
how much better our lives would be if we stopped insisting on doing things our
way and instead started doing things God’s way?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Yes, God has given us rules for living. But not
because God is trying to keep us down or keep anything from us. God gave
us rules for living because God loves us. So let’s put aside our
arrogance and start living our lives God’s way. Let’s trust God, because
God always knows best.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-22085027325839447072024-03-02T16:46:00.000-08:002024-03-02T16:46:02.335-08:00Life in the Spirit<p><i>The Sunday morning message in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on March 3, 2024. The Bible verses used are Romans 8:5-11.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="color: black;">[<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></b><span style="color: black;">“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind
governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” The Apostle Paul, who wrote
the letter the Romans, made that distinction between the flesh and the Spirit
pretty often. So did Jesus, for that matter. In Galatians Paul
tells us about the acts of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit. As
Christians, we are supposed to live our lives according to the ways of the
Spirit, not the ways of the flesh.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And we hear that, and we kind of nod our heads. It
sounds good. Live by the ways of God. Live as God would have us
live. Set aside our human concerns and focus on divine concerns.
Sounds logical. Makes sense, if you’re a Christian.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It sounds good, but actually living it is a lot
trickier. Because those ways of the flesh are pretty important to
us. And it’s perfectly understandable why. I mean, this flesh thing
is the only thing you and I have ever lived in, right? And this world is
the only world you and I have ever lived in. It’s our entire reality, in
a lot of ways. It’s our only frame of reference. It’s all we’ve
ever known.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And so we get pretty protective of this flesh we live
in. We do what we can to keep it going. Most of us try to eat
right. We try to get some exercise. We try to get enough
rest. We don’t always succeed at those things, but even when we don’t we
feel like we should. That’s why nobody ever lost money promoting a diet
or exercise program. We’re all trying to keep this flesh we live in going
as long as we can.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s also why so many people get so scared when something
like COVID comes along. And don’t get me wrong, this is not a criticism
of anyone. I’m not saying we should not be concerned illnesses or that we
should not take precautions to prevent them. My point is simply to
emphasize how important this human body is to each of us and how much it scares
us when our human body is threatened.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And again, that’s understandable. I’m not saying it’s
wrong. But here’s the thing: each of us, at some point, is going to
die. No matter how much we eat right and exercise and get our rest and
get physical check-ups and get screened and everything else, at some point each
of us is going to die. This human body was only designed to last for so
long. Maybe eighty years, maybe ninety, maybe even a hundred or
more. But no matter how hard we try to prevent it, each of us is
eventually going to reach our expiration date.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, again, obviously, I’m not saying that we should do
anything to make that date come sooner. God put us here for
reasons. There are things we’re supposed to do while we’re here.
And in fact, as long as we are here that means there are still things God wants
us to do. But the fact remains that, at some point, we’ll run out of time
to do those things. It will be time to leave here, move on, and find out
what comes next.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And so, while this flesh we live in is very important, our
Spirit is even more important. And so, as the Apostle Paul says, you and
I need to live in the realm of the Spirit. That’s the only way we can
please God. We need to have our minds governed by the Spirit. That’s
the only way we can have life and peace. We need to have God’s Holy
Spirit living in each of us. That’s the only way we can truly belong to
Christ.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So, here’s the question--how can we do that? How can
we get past the importance of our flesh and get to where we truly live in the
realm of the Spirit, so that we can please God? How can we get to where
our minds are governed by the Spirit, so we can have life and peace? How
can we have God’s Holy Spirit living in us, so we can truly belong to Christ?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, I think it starts with a decision on our part.
I say that because God has already made His decision. We know God wants
us to live in the realm of the Spirit. We know God wants our minds to be
governed by the Spirit. But God’s not going to force it on us. We
have to make the decision that we want that. We have to make the decision
that we want to live in the realm of the Spirit, that we want our minds to be
governed by the Spirit, that we want to have God’s Holy Spirit live in us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, maybe it seems like it’s obvious that we should want
that, but think about it. If we really want that, then the chances are
that we’re going to need to make some changes in our lives. And I don’t
mean to imply that we’re all bad or evil or sinful or anything like that.
I mean, yes, as Paul writes in the letter to the Romans, we have all sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">What I’m talking about is that any time we want anything,
at least anything that’s important, the chances are that we’re going to have to
give up some things to get it. When Wanda and I decided that I’d become a
pastor, that meant I had to give up some things. So did Wanda. We
both had to be willing to give up our employment. I had to be willing to
go back to school for three years. We had to be willing to leave a town
that we really liked, and leave friends who we really cared about. Now,
don’t get me wrong, it’s all been worth it. I have never spent one minute
regretting the choice we made. But still, there were things we had to
give up to get to where we are. And there still are. That’s just
the way it works.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And the things Wanda and I had to give up were not bad
things. There was nothing inherently wrong with the jobs we had.
There was nothing wrong with the town we lived in--we still like going back to
visit there. There was nothing wrong with the people--we still keep in
touch with some of them. But still, we had to give them up, because God
had something different in mind for us. It was a great place to live,
with great people--but it was not the place God wanted us to be. It was
for a while, but then it was not. And we had to give it up.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I’m sure you can think of examples like that in your life,
too. Times when you knew you needed to make a change in your life, but
you knew you would have to give up some things to do it. There may have
been nothing inherently wrong with those things, but you had to give them up
anyway. Because anything worth having requires giving something up to get
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, it’s just the way life
works. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And God’s Holy Spirit requires us to give things up,
too. There may not be anything inherently wrong or bad about those
things. There may be nothing wrong or bad about the way we’re living our
lives. But even so, there is probably something, probably more than one
thing, that we need to give up. Because God has something different in
mind for us. And if we want to live in the realm of the Spirit, if we
want to have God’s Holy Spirit living in us, we need to give up those things in
order to have that.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So it starts with a decision on our part that we really
want God’s Holy Spirit living in us. But it does not end there.
Because, this is not something you and I can do by ourselves. We have to
do our part, but we cannot do it by ourselves. Because giving up things,
things that we like, people that we like, a way of life that we like, is
hard. Even if we fully believe it’ll be worth it, it’s still hard.
And if we try to do it on our own, the chances are we’ll slip back. No
matter how good our intentions are, we will probably slip back. We are
not strong enough.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So that brings us to the other thing we need to do.
If we want to live in the realm of the Spirit, if we want God’s Holy Spirit
living in us, we need to pray. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Because, as I said earlier, God wants this for us.
God wants us to live in the realm of the Spirit. God wants us to have our
minds governed by the Spirit. And so, when we pray, when we ask God to
help us do this, God will give us that help. God will strengthen our
resolve. God will help us resist the temptation to slip back. God’s
Holy Spirit will show us what God wants for us, and God’s Holy Spirit will help
us get it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But here’s the thing. And this may be the best thing
of all. What do we get for all this? Paul tells us. We get
peace.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And is that not what we all need right now? Would you
not like to feel at peace with everything that’s going on? When it feels
like so many things in the world have gone sideways, it would be awesome to
feel peace.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But what is peace? It’s not things going the way we
want them to. It’s knowing that we’ll be okay no matter how things
go. It’s still okay to want things. It’s still okay to ask God for
things. But if we’re living in the realm of the Spirit, we’ll have
confidence that we’ll be okay whether God does those things or not. We’ll
truly mean it when we say, “Thy will be done.” We’ll trust that God is in
control, whether it’s obvious or not. We’ll know that God is taking care
of things, even if we cannot see God working right now. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But we don’t just get peace. We get life. Life
in the realm of the Spirit. And that helps us have peace, too.
Because we know that there is another life after this one. We still want
to keep our lives here, of course, and that’s okay. We should want
that. Again, God has things for us to do while we’re here. But we
know that, even under the best circumstances, this flesh we live in is still
only temporary. And no matter how long we live, it’s not very long
compared to eternity. But when we live in the realm of the Spirit, we
know this life in the flesh is not the only life. We know we will go on
to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So, will we make that decision? Will we decide that
we want to have our minds governed by the Spirit? Will we decide we want
to live in the realm of the Spirit? And will we pray and ask God to help
us make that decision a reality?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Life in the flesh is important, but life in the Spirit is
more important. Let’s make the right decision, and find the life and
peace that comes from living in the realm of God’s Holy Spirit.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-31998927869842894132024-02-27T04:29:00.000-08:002024-02-27T04:29:14.511-08:00Forgiving Jesus<p><i>The Wednesday night Lent message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on February 28, 2024. The Bible verses used are Mark 3:20-35.</i></p><p></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Jesus’ first
miracle came at a wedding in Cana, when He turned water into wine. This
was a pretty unmistakable sign that it was time for Jesus to leave Nazareth and
start his ministry on earth.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Jesus’
leaving must have been hard on His mother, Mary. She knew it had to be
this way, of course. She remembered what the angel Gabriel had told
her. She knew who Jesus was. Still, it was hard. Jesus had
been a part of her life for thirty years, more or less. And now, he was
not there anymore.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>There
probably was not a day that went by that she did not think of him. She
wondered where he was. She wondered what he was doing. She wondered
if he was all right, if he was eating properly, if he was getting enough
rest. She wondered all the things that a mother wonders when her son is
away from home, out on his own.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Once in a
while, of course, Jesus would come back to Nazareth. And I’m sure he looked
in on Mary, to see how she was doing. It would sure be interesting to
know how those conversations went, don’t you think? Did Jesus tell Mary
about all the things he’d done? Did he tell her about being tempted in
the desert? Did he tell her about healing people? Did he tell her
about taking on demons? If so, how would Mary react to that? Would
she be proud of Jesus? Would she be worried about him? Did she ever
try to get him to come back home, to come back to the carpenter shop?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Well, we
don’t know any of that, of course. But if she ever did try to get him to
come back home, it did not work. Jesus was never there very long.
He’d be there for a little while, and then he’d be gone again, back to his
ministry. And Mary would be alone again, left to wonder and worry about
him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Obviously, communication
back then was not what it is now. It’s not like Jesus had a cell phone
Mary could call. She could not send him a text or an email. She
could not even contact him on facebook. Still, though, I’m sure she heard
things. Probably lots of things. Maybe she heard about the time he
fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Maybe
she heard about the huge crowds he was drawing to hear him preach. Maybe
she even heard about him walking on the water and calming the storm.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>If she
did, she must have been really proud of him. I mean, think about
it. Think about if your son or your daughter could do stuff like
that. Most parents are proud of their children anyway, but this would be
something really incredible right. To think that your child was doing
that. It’d be incredible.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>But she
probably heard some other things, too. She probably heard about the times
Jesus broke the Sabbath law. She probably heard about the times he argued
with the Pharisees. She probably heard about the times he got into
trouble with the authorities. And you just know that there were some
people eager to tell her about stuff like that, right? After all, it’s
not like gossip is a recent invention. People did it back then,
too. There were probably people who just could not wait to tell Mary when
they heard something critical of Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>So we come to our Bible reading for tonight.
We’re told that Jesus and his disciples go to a house, and there’s a huge crowd
there, so big that Jesus could not even eat. Then we’re told, “When his
family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is
out of his mind.’”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Now, we
don’t know who this “family” was that thought Jesus was out of his mind.
Some people think it was not actually his family at all, at least not in the
sense of blood relatives. And that does kind of make sense, because
people sometimes gave “family” a broader meaning back then. People who
were family friends were sometimes referred to as uncles or cousins, even
though they were not actually related. Whoever it was, though, it must
not have been Mary, and it must not have been Jesus’ brothers, because we’re
told later in the passage, “Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>And that’s the part I want to focus on. Jesus
is talking to the people, and he’s telling them things about God and about
their faith. And the things he’s telling them, the way he’s interpreting
scripture and telling them who God is, are things they’ve never heard
before. They’ve certainly never heard them from the Pharisees. And
Jesus is saying it like he’s someone in authority, like he knows this stuff and
has no doubt that it’s true.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>And
because of that, some people think Jesus has gone nuts. And other people
think he’s possessed by demons. And in the middle of all this chaos and
confusion, Mary and Jesus’ brothers show up. They cannot even get in the
door because of the crowd. So they send a message to Jesus to tell him
that they’re there and want to talk to him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>And here’s Jesus’ response. He says, “Who
are my mother and my brothers?” Then he looks at the people around him,
the people who believe in him and trust him, and he says, “Here are my mother
and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and
mother.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Can you
imagine Mary’s reaction, when she heard that response? She was worried
about Jesus. She’d heard he might be in trouble. She came down to
check on him, to see if he could help. And Jesus sends a response that
basically is a rejection of both Mary and of his brothers.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Now, I don’t
think Jesus really intended it that way. It’s hard for me to believe that
Jesus would’ve deliberately hurt his mother. I think he was more making a
point about how we are all brothers and sisters if we follow God. Or, he
may have been afraid that Mary and his brothers were going to try to make him
stop his ministry. Or there may have been other reasons Jesus said what
he said. But still, think of this from Mary’s point of view. Mary
has come all this way because she loves Jesus and is worried about him, and
Jesus refuses to even see her. Can you imagine how she must have felt?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>We don’t
know what happened after that. Mark drops the story at that point and
moves on to something else. So do Matthew and Luke in their versions of
the story. We’d like to think, of course, that maybe after the meal was
over and the people had left, Jesus went to see Mary and explained things to
her. But for all we know, that may not have happened until much later or
it may not have happened at all. For all we know, Mary and her sons may
have simply turned around and gone home, feeling like Jesus did not even care
about them anymore.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Have you ever had someone you love hurt you like
that? Have you ever felt rejected by someone you were really close
to? Someone you were just trying to help? If so, then maybe you
have some idea how Mary felt here. To have her own son, a son whom she’d
been through a lot to have and to raise, and who, after all, was supposed to be
the Son of God, reject her, and in a really public way. It had to hurt.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>But here’s
the thing. Somehow, Mary got over it. Somehow, Mary got past the
hurt. I don’t suppose it was easy. It probably took some
time. It probably took some prayer. Maybe it took talking to Jesus
at some point, we don’t know. But somehow, Mary got over it. We
know she got over it because we see her with Jesus later in the gospels.
In fact, we see her at the cross when Jesus is dying, and we see her going to
prepare Jesus’ body for burial. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>In other
words, Mary forgave Jesus. Does that sound odd to you? That Mary
would forgive Jesus? After all, Jesus is the divine Son. Jesus is
without sin. And yet Mary forgave Jesus. Did Jesus sin, that Mary
had to forgive him?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>No, I
don’t think so. I believe that Jesus did not sin while he was on
earth. He was tempted to, but he did not. But I still think that
Mary forgave him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>You see, I don’t think we have to sin, necessarily,
to hurt people. We can hurt people by accident. We can hurt people
with the best of intentions. We can hurt people by things we say or do
when we don’t even realize how they’re going to take what we say.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>And that
can happen to us, too. We can be hurt by people who have no intention of
hurting us. But despite their intentions, we’re still hurt. And we
have to find a way to get past it. And that way past it is to forgive
them. We need to forgive them for hurting us even if they don’t know they
hurt us. We don’t forgive them to help them. We forgive them to
help us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>I don’t
think Jesus intended to hurt Mary. But I suspect Mary was hurt. And
I suspect Mary needed to forgive Jesus. Not because Jesus needed to
receive forgiveness. But because Mary needed to give it. She needed
to forgive Jesus so she could get past the hurt and have a relationship with
her son again.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Who do you
need to forgive? I suspect there’s someone. I suspect we all have
someone we need to forgive. I’d encourage you to think about who it
is. I’d encourage you to pray about it. And I’d encourage you to
find a way to forgive them. It won’t be easy. It may take some
time. It may take lots of time and lots of prayer. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> But
keep trying. This period we’re in right now, this period of Lent, is a
time for forgiveness. We usually think of that as us asking for
forgiveness from God, and that is a major part of it. But Jesus said
several times that the amount of forgiveness we received is related to the
amount of forgiveness we give. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">So again,
keep trying to forgive them. Even if they don’t think they need
forgiveness, keep trying to forgive them. Even if they’re not interested
in receiving your forgiveness, keep trying to forgive them. Keep trying
until you can do it. Because you’re not forgiving them because they need
to receive forgiveness. You’re forgiving them because you need to give
forgiveness. You’re forgiving them so you can get past the hurt.
That’s the only way we can ever be free of it. And it’s only when we’re
free of that hurt that we can truly be the people God wants us to be.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-66333433553260146452024-02-24T04:51:00.000-08:002024-02-24T04:51:09.421-08:00The Righteous and the Sinners<p><i>The Sunday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church. The Bible verses used are Mark 2:13-17.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Who did Jesus come to save?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, it’s a silly question, right? Jesus came to
save everybody. That’s one of the basic beliefs we have as Christians.
John Three Sixteen tells us that whoever believes in Jesus shall have salvation
and eternal life. And that thought appears all throughout the New
Testament. Salvation and eternal life are available to everyone who
believes in Jesus Christ as the Savior.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But with that in mind, let’s look at our Bible reading for
today. Jesus is walking along the lake. There’s a crowd there, and
Jesus is talking to them, teaching them as he walks along. Eventually,
they come near a booth. It’s the booth of a man named Levi, who’s a tax
collector.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, we’ve talked about this in the past, but it’s
important that we remember what a tax collector was back then. The Roman
government’s tax system was completely different from the tax season we’re
familiar with in the United States.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The way it worked is that, if you were hired as a tax
collector, the Roman government told you that you were responsible for turning
X dollars over the Roman government. That was all. The Romans did
not care where you got the money. They did not care how you got the
money. They just cared that you turned the right amount over to them when
you were supposed to. As long as you did that, the Roman government did
not care about anything else.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And the Roman government did not pay you for doing
this. The way you got paid is, whatever you could collect over the amount
the Roman government wanted was yours to keep. So, obviously, tax
collectors had a reason to try to collect as much money as they could.
And because the Romans did not care where they got the money, there were
literally no legal boundaries to what tax collectors could do. They would
take as much money as they could, and they were not concerned about fairness or
morality or anything else. All this meant that tax collectors were, by
and large, quite rich. But it also meant that tax collectors were, by and
large, very much disliked by the people.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So that’s who Levi was. That’s the guy Jesus saw at
the tax collection booth. And the way it’s written, Jesus says to words
to him. “Follow me”. And were told that Levi got up and followed
him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s an amazing thing, don’t you think? It’s
amazing on two levels. One of them is that Jesus would choose to call
this man, Levi, a man who had gotten rich by taking other people’s money, with
no regard to fairness or morality, to follow him. And the other is that
Levi, this man who had gotten rich by taking other people’s money, with no
regard to fairness or morality, would actually get up and follow Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And then, listen to this next sentence. This is an
amazing thing, too. “<span style="background: white;">While Jesus was
having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with
him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.”</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">In other words, Levi was not a
fluke. Levi was not the one remarkable tax collector who had a change of
heart and followed Jesus. There were a whole bunch of tax collectors who
followed. All these people, who again had gotten rich by taking other
people’s money with no regard to fairness or morality, all started following
Jesus. That’s incredible.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And of
course, it was noticed. Among those who noticed was the teachers of the law,
who were also Pharisees. And they asked about it. Now, notice, they
apparently did not have the courage to go to Jesus directly and ask him about
it. No, they went to the disciples. And they asked the disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And by the way, this was not just an
innocent question. They were not just asking for information. The
Pharisees were already opposed to Jesus. They already looked at him as an
enemy. They thought this was a put down. They thought they could
give Jesus a bad reputation. They were going for guilt by
association. “Look at the kind of people Jesus spends time with.
What does that say about him, that he spends time with these lowlifes?
After all, a man is known by the company he keeps, right? If Jesus hangs
out with that kind of person, well, I guess we know what kind of person he is.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Jesus hears what they’re saying, of
course. And he answers them, even though they did not ask him
directly. And what does he say? “It is not the healthy who need a
doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">That response must have stunned the
Pharisees. I mean, they considered themselves “the righteous”. And
they had no doubt about that, either. And they were sure that if and when
the Messiah came, they’d be the ones he came to. The righteous
Pharisees. Not these riffraff. Not these thieves and
cheaters. Not the “tax collectors and sinners”. The Messiah would
come to the best of the best. And of course, that’s who the Pharisees
thought they were.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">So, which do you think you are? And
which do I think I am? Are we among the righteous? Or are we among
the “tax collectors and sinners”?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Now, let’s not answer this right
away. Let’s think about it a little. Because the easy answer, the
churchy answer, is to quote Romans Three, Twenty-three and say “All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.” We say, therefore, that we’re all
sinners.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And that’s true, of course. We all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But here’s the
thing. Do we really believe that?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">I know we say it. And I know that,
in our heads, we know it’s true. But do we really believe it in our
hearts? Do we really believe it in a way that affects the way we think
and speak and live our lives?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Each of us has to answer that for himself
or herself. I cannot answer it for you. I would not presume to
try. It’s not my place to judge you. But I ask you to really think
about it. In fact, I ask you to pray about it. Do you consider
yourself among the righteous? Or do you consider yourself one of the “tax
collectors and sinners”?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">The reason I ask you to really think about
it, and to pray about it, is that I know how easy it is for us human beings to
justify ourselves to ourselves. It’s human nature. We can excuse
almost anything we do if we want to badly enough. In fact, we can
convince ourselves that almost anything we do is good, is right, is exactly what
we should be doing, if we want to badly enough.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And you know another thing we human beings
are good at? We’re really good at not thinking about things we don’t want
to think about. That’s human nature, too. We’re really good at
doing something and just not allowing ourselves to think about the consequences
of it. We just don’t think about how what we’ve done affects other
people. We compartmentalize it and ignore it and pretend that it did not
even happen.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And there’s one other thing we human
beings are good at. We compare ourselves to other people. We may
realize we’re not perfect, but we think, well, I’m not all that bad. Look
at all these other people. I’m a lot better than they are. So, I
must be pretty good.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And because of all this, it’s very easy
for us to excuse our sins. It’s very easy for us to pretend that our sins
are not really sins. It’s very easy for us to think that we’re better
than someone else, and so we must be okay. In fact, we’re better than
okay. We’re just fine. Maybe we’re not perfect, but we really don’t
need to change much of anything, either.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Again, this is not aimed at anyone in
particular. This is simply human nature. I’m as subject to it as
anyone. The reason I can talk about all these things is because I do all
these things. And I do them repeatedly. That’s why I can talk about
them--I’m intimately acquainted with all these things.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Because of all this, even though we say
we’re all sinners, it is very easy for us to consider ourselves among the
righteous. And so, we come back to Jesus’ statement. “I have not
come to call the righteous, but sinners.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">That does not mean that what we said at
the start of this message was wrong. Jesus did come to save
everybody. But we cannot hear Jesus’ call, we cannot truly accept it, if
we consider ourselves righteous. We can only hear Jesus’ call, and we can
only truly accept the salvation that Jesus offers, if we truly realize we are
sinners. Not just realize it in our heads. Not just say the
words. But know it in our hearts.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">The reason for that is that we can only
accept salvation by repenting of our sins and asking for forgiveness. And
we can only do that if we truly know, in our hearts, that we are sinners.
We can only do that if we stop justifying ourselves to ourselves. We can
only do that if we acknowledge and understand how the things we do affect other
people. We can only do that if we stop comparing ourselves to others and
start comparing ourselves to Jesus. Because if we truly compare ourselves
to Jesus, we’ll understand what sinners we really are.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">When we understand that, we can come to
Jesus humbly. We can come to Jesus repenting of our sins and asking
forgiveness. And when we come to Jesus that way, we can hear Jesus say to
us, as he did to Levi, “Follow me.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And we can
follow, knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we truly do have salvation
and eternal life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-36884860894752604392024-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:002024-02-23T14:39:45.452-08:00Sin and Grace<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish. The Bible verses used are Romans 6:1-18.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>We are saved, not by our good works, but by faith in Jesus
Christ as the Savior. If we believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior, it
does not matter what we have done. God, by God’s grace, will forgive all
of our sins. More than that, it will be like our sins never
happened. Even though we are not truly righteous, God’s grace will cover
our sins. We will be treated as righteous, and we will receive salvation and
eternal life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, all that is absolutely true, and in fact it’s the
basis of Christian faith. So, then, why do we talk so much in church
about the things God calls us to do? Why do we talk so much about loving
our neighbor? Why do we talk so much about treating others as we would
like to be treated? Why do we talk so much about needing to forgive
others? If God’s grace covers all of our sins, if it does not matter what
we have done as long as we believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior, then what
difference does all this other stuff make?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s one of the questions the Apostle Paul was facing
when he wrote his letter to the Romans. People basically said, well, if
God’s grace is going to cover our sins, why can we not just go on sinning and
depend on God’s grace? In fact, we can sin all the more, because all that
does is give God more chances to use God’s grace. What could be wrong
with giving God the chance to use His grace?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, you say it like that, and maybe it sounds kind of
silly. But people were seriously making that argument. And in fact,
we still make that argument, or at least a variation of it. No one puts
it that bluntly, of course. And in fact, we may not even say it at
all. But you can tell it by the way we live. If our Christian faith
does not make us change our behavior, if our lives are not particularly
different from what they would be if we were not Christians, then we’re
basically saying what people were saying in Paul’s time. We’re saying it
does not really matter what we do. God will forgive us, God’s grace will
cover us, and we’ll be fine. So we don’t need to change anything.
We’ll just keep living the way we have been living.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Paul says it does not work that way. In fact, Paul
says that if we truly believe in Jesus Christ, we have been set free from
sin. We should no longer have any desire to sin, because sin no longer
has any control over us. Paul says that before we knew Jesus, we were
slaves to sin. But now we’re not. Our faith in Jesus sets us free
from that.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It’s simple, right? Well, yeah, it is simple.
But that does not make it easy. Because I know a lot of people who
believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior, but I don’t know anyone who is totally
free from sin. I don’t know anyone who no longer has any desire to sin,
because of their faith in Jesus. Most definitely including me.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">We are all tempted to sin. Each and every one of
us. Even Jesus was tempted to sin–you may remember in Matthew Chapter
Four how Jesus was tempted by Satan. Now Jesus did not give in to that
temptation. But he was Jesus. He was the divine Son of God.
I’m not Jesus. And neither are you. We’re tempted to sin,
too. But, because we are weak, fallible, imperfect human beings, who have
a sinful nature, we sometimes give in to that temptation.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s why repentance is so important. That’s another
argument the people of Paul’s time were making, and it’s an argument we make
sometimes, too. If we believe in Jesus as the Savior, our sins are
forgiven and we go on to salvation and eternal life, so why do we need to
repent of our sins? After all, God knows we’re weak. God knows
we’re imperfect. God knows that better than we do, because God made
us. Because God knows us so well, God will forgive our sins, so we don’t
need to repent of them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It does not work that way, either. Why? Well,
for one thing, Jesus told us to repent. In fact, it was the first thing
Jesus said when he started His ministry. In Matthew Chapter Four, right
after Jesus is tempted by Satan, we’re told, “From that time on, Jesus began to
preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” Again, when
Jesus started His ministry, the first thing he did was tell people to repent.
So I think repentance must be pretty important.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The thing is, I think sometimes we don’t really understand
what repentance is. It’s more than just asking for forgiveness of our
sins. Repentance is a turning away. It’s a turning away from sin,
but it’s even more than that. It’s a turning away from ourselves, and
instead turning to God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">When you think about it, most of our sins–maybe all of our
sins–are rooted in our selves. Selfishness.
Self-centeredness. Self-righteousness. Doing what we want to do,
saying what we want to say, regardless of how that might affect someone else
and even regardless of how, long-term, it will affect ourselves. Wanting
to have our way, regardless of the consequences. Convincing ourselves
that we are always right, and that anyone who disagrees is not only wrong but
stupid and/or evil. That’s where pretty much all of our sins come
from–focusing on ourselves rather than focusing on others or focusing on God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Paul says that, when we do that, we are slaves to
sin. And, he says, when we are slaves to sin, that leads to
death. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">You see, if we truly believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior,
if we truly believe He was and is the divine Son of God, then we need to live
our lives the way He told us to live them. If we don’t, we cannot really
say that we believe in Him, can we? I mean, how can we honestly say we
believe in Jesus if we feel free to just ignore what he told us? If we
believe in Jesus, we need to do the things Jesus told us to do.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Paul says we are either slaves to sin or slaves to
righteousness. He does not seem to leave room for any middle
ground. He does not allow for us to do both. We are either slaves
to sin or slaves to righteousness. As Bob Dylan put it, you’re gonna have
to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re
gonna have to serve somebody.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">When we give our lives to Christ, when we say we believe in
Jesus as the Savior, we are saying we will become slaves to righteousness.
Not because we’re trying to earn our way into heaven. But because that is
what God deserves from us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Think about what God did for us. God saw human
beings. God saw human beings living only for the self. He saw human
beings living in destructive ways, destructive of others and destructive of
themselves. God had offered to bless human beings. God had offered
to take care of them and give them everything they needed. And human
beings refused His offer and went their own way. And the result was that
human beings were living in selfishness and sin. And that left human
beings in misery.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">God could have just turned His back on humanity. But
instead, God offered us a way out. God offered us the chance for
salvation and eternal life through belief in the divine Son, Jesus
Christ. God sent His Son to earth to teach us the right way to
live. To show us the right way to live. And to take the punishment
we should receive for our sins, so that we can have the chance to go to heaven
for eternity.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s an incredible gift God has given us. It’s a
gift we don’t deserve. It’s a gift we could never earn. Because of
that gift, we should want to serve God. We should want to be slaves to
God’s righteousness. God deserves that from us. For all that God
has done for us, God deserves to have us be faithful to Him. God deserves
to have us serve Him. God deserves to have us show love to Him.
Again, it’s not that we’re trying to earn our way into heaven–our faith does that.
But our faith also requires us to show our gratitude to God for all God has
done for us. Our faith requires us to serve God’s righteousness because
God deserves that from us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Again, we will not do it perfectly. We remain
imperfect, flawed human beings with a sinful nature. Even if we determine
to be slaves to righteousness, even slaves make mistakes sometimes. But
when we do make mistakes, when we do sin, we need to repent of our sins and
start again. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">We are saved by faith in Jesus
Christ and by God’s incredible, loving grace. That grace truly does cover
our sins. But it does not give us a license to go on sinning.
Instead, God’s grace sets us free from slavery to sin, and allows us to be
slaves to righteousness. It allows us to stop focusing on ourselves, and
instead focus on others and on God. Not because we’re trying to earn our
way into heaven. Because that’s what God deserves from us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">The holy, righteous, perfect
God has blessed us. He has offered us the incredible gift of salvation and
eternal life. Let’s accept that gift, and humbly give God the faith and
love God deserves.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-70387577764855284582024-02-17T17:26:00.000-08:002024-02-17T17:26:47.426-08:00Jesus' Prayer For You<p><i>The print version of the Sunday night message in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on February 18, 2024. The Bible verses used are John 17:1-26.</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Every Sunday morning, we have a time where we ask for
prayer requests. Lots of churches do that. It’s called “Joys and
Concerns” or something similar. It’s a time for people to express what
they would like the church, and the people in it, to pray about.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s a good
thing. We should pray for each other. In fact, the Bible tells us
many times that we should do that. But in our Bible reading tonight, we
have an example of Jesus himself praying for us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That’s a pretty awesome thing, don’t you
think? That Jesus Christ, the Savior, the divine Son of God, would pray
for you? And for me? It’s another example of how much Jesus loves
us. After all, at the time of our Bible reading, Jesus had a lot on his
mind. The prayer we read tonight is, according to the gospel of John, the
last thing Jesus said before he went to the garden of Gethsemane. And of
course, that is where he would be arrested, an arrest that would lead to his
death on a cross.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus could
certainly have been excused if, at that point, his thoughts were all on
himself. But they were not. A little, yes, but not that much.
His thoughts were mainly on God and on his disciples and followers.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So, what does Jesus pray? First, he prays that
God the Father will be pleased with what Jesus has done. He says, “I have
brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And
now, Father, glorify me in Your presence with the glory I had with you before
the world began.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You know, when we
talk about the sacrifice Jesus made, we immediately think of his death on the
cross. And of course that was a tremendous sacrifice that Jesus
made. But it’s not the only sacrifice Jesus made. Jesus’ statement
reminds us that Jesus gave up a lot just to come to earth in the first place.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Glorify me in
Your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
Jesus, as God the Son, was with God the Father in heaven. He always had
been. God the Son had glory with God the Father before the universe was
ever created.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus gave up
that glory to come to earth. And he had a specific job to do while he was
here. Now, his work on earth is nearly finished, and he prays that God
will be pleased with what he has done and will return that glory to him again.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But again, Jesus
does not spend much time on himself. He goes on to pray for the
disciples. And it’s interesting, I think, to note that Jesus specifically
says he is not praying for the world. He is simply praying for those who
are his, who follow him.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>What does he pray for them? Maybe not what we’d
expect. Jesus does not pray that God the Father will make things easy for
them. He does not pray that they will have anything material. He
does not even pray that God will keep them from harm. Instead, he prays
that God would protect them from the evil one. And he prays that God would
sanctify them with God’s word, which is truth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Protect them from
the evil one, and sanctify them with God’s word, which is truth. What
does that mean? Why would Jesus pray that way?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus knows that now the disciples have a job to
do, just as Jesus had a job to do while he was on earth. They are going
to have to carry on the ministry that Jesus has started, spreading the good
news of salvation. And Jesus knows it’s going to be a tough job.
He’s already told them they’re going to have all kinds of trouble. In
fact, he’s told them that the world is going to hate them because of him.
And he knows he’s not going to be there any more to protect them.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Jesus wanted the disciples to look at this
the way he looked at it. Jesus knew that, if he stayed firm, if he stayed
with God the Father and with God’s truth, nothing the world could do could
touch him. Yes, they could kill his earthly body. But they could
not do anything to his eternal life. If he stayed with God the Father, he
would, as he said, return to his glory in heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And that’s what he wanted the disciples to
do. Stay firm. Stay with God the Father and with God the Son.
Stay with God’s truth. And so, he prays that God the Father will protect
them from the evil one. Protect them from the temptation to compromise.
Protect them from the temptation to back off, to get along. Protect them
from the temptation to soften God’s truth to satisfy what the world wants to
hear. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Again, Jesus knows that, if they stand firm,
they will get into trouble. But he knows that, if they stay with God’s
truth, there’s nothing the world can do to them. Yes, the world could
kill their earthly bodies. But the world could not do anything to their
eternal lives. If they stayed firm, if they stayed with God’s truth, they
would be sanctified. They would be set apart, and they would go to heaven
to be with the Lord.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I thought about that, I realized that we
don’t pray that way for each other nearly enough. We pray for others’
good health all the time, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.
We should do that. We pray, sometimes, for protection from storms.
We pray for favorable weather or for safe travels. We pray for lots of
things. But we rarely pray that God would keep us strong in our faith.
We rarely pray that God will help us stand firm and stand with God. We
rarely pray that God would help us stay with God’s word and God’s truth.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s wrong. And it’s at least partly my
fault, as the pastor, that we don’t pray that way more. I’m not saying
every prayer we ever pray needs to be that, but we should pray that way more
than we do. And I’m going to try to do my part to correct that.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because that’s something we all need. You
and I are every bit as tempted to compromise as the disciples were, if not
more. We’re every bit as tempted to back off, to get along. We’re
every bit as tempted to soften God’s truth to satisfy what the world wants to
hear. And we’re also tempted to convince ourselves that the “softened”
version of God’s truth is the right one, because sometimes it’s what we want to
hear, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Jesus did not stop there. Jesus
continued, praying for all who will come to believe. That includes you
and me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What was his prayer for us? It’s a prayer
for unity, but not in the way we might have expected. Yes, he’d like us
to be united, but united because we have God’s Holy Spirit in us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Listen to what he says. He prays “that all
of them might be one, Father, <i>just as you are in me and I am in you<u>.</u></i>”
A little later he says something similar, “that they may be one as we are
one--I in them and you in me.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Again, Jesus does not pray for the whole
world. He prays for believers. Jesus knows that there can be no
unity between believers and non-believers. We should love them,
yes. We should pray for them. We should treat them as we would like
to be treated. But we cannot be unified with them. As Jesus said
earlier, his disciples are not of this world, just as Jesus himself was not of
this world. Trying to be unified with the world is what leads to the
compromises that Jesus prayed his disciples would avoid.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As believers, we are to be unified with
Jesus. That’s our goal. To live as Jesus told us to live. To
treat others as Jesus told us to treat them. To believe as Jesus
believed. To think as Jesus thought. To love as Jesus loved.
To have the courage and trust in God the Father that Jesus had. We’ll do
it imperfectly, of course, because we’re imperfect people. Even the disciples
did it imperfectly. But they did it, and we can, too. And if we’re
unified with Jesus, we can be unified with each other, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And Jesus prayed for one more thing for
us. He prayed, “Father, I want those you have given me to be where I am,
and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before
the creation of the world.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus wants us to be with him. To be in
heaven. To be with God the Father. To see His glory.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And when that
happens, we truly will be unified with Jesus. We will be perfect, just as
God intended in the beginning. Not because of anything we’ve done, but
because the death of Jesus, and our belief in him, washes away our sins.
What an awesome thing. What an amazing thing. What an incredibly
loving thing. To be one with each other and one with Jesus in the
presence of God in heaven.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We should pray for each other. But when
you get down, when you get discouraged, when it seems like things are not going
the way they should, remember this: Jesus has prayed for you. Jesus
is still praying for you. With Jesus on our side, there is nothing we
cannot overcome. We can stand firm in our faith. The world may not
love us for that. But if we stand firm in our faith, we can be unified
with Jesus, on earth and in heaven.</span><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-12239244765488374362024-02-17T17:21:00.000-08:002024-02-17T17:21:57.236-08:00Riding the Roller Coaster<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on February 18, 2024. The Bible verses used are Philippians 2:1-11.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">When you look at Jesus’ life, he had a lot of ups and
downs. He had the highs of the crowds praising Him, and the lows of
Pharisees and Sadducees always trying to stop him. We have the highs of
thousands of people following Him to, ultimately, everyone abandoning
Him. In the last week of His life on earth, we have the high of Palm
Sunday to the low of the Garden of Gethsemane, with Jesus being arrested and
beaten, to Jesus being killed on the cross. But then, we go up, higher
than we’ve ever been, as the tomb is empty and Christ is risen!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And yet, when you look at that incredible roller-coaster,
Jesus remains pretty much the same. Jesus does not get overly excited
when he enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and hears the cheers of the
crowd. And Jesus does not get overly depressed when he arrested and
beaten. Not that he liked it, obviously--it was a really hard thing to go
through. But Jesus does not complain, he does not get mad, he does not
say, “Why me?” Jesus accepts everything that happens, the good and the
bad, and stays on an even keel. Maybe that’s part of what the author of
the letter to the Hebrews meant when he wrote that Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I think that tells us a lot about Jesus. It tells us
who we was, and it tells us who he is. And that’s what our reading from
the book of Philippians tells us, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It starts by telling us that Jesus was, in his very nature,
God. And we know that, of course. And the thing is, Jesus knew it,
too. Jesus, at least once he was baptized and started his ministry, knew
exactly who he was. He knew that he was, in fact, the divine Son of
God. He knew that he was, in fact, God--God the Son, part of the Trinity.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">We say that, and we kind of nod our heads in agreement with
it, but think about what that really means. Think about the incredible
power Jesus had while he was on earth. And think about how tempting it
must have been for him to use that power. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Really think about it. What would you do, if you had
Jesus’ power? Would you use it for your own benefit? Would you use
it to acquire money and control and power for yourself? Would you use it
to let you just sit back, take life easy, and not have to do much of
anything? Or, would you try to use it for good? Would you heal
everyone, and feed everyone, and get rid of injustice and oppression and all the
other bad things in the world?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I don’t know. I don’t know what I would do, if I had
Jesus’ power. There are so many options, more options than we can
imagine, really. But there’s one thing that I <i>don’t</i> think I would
do. I don’t think I would let that power go unused when someone betrayed
me. I don’t think I would let that power go dormant while I was arrested
for no real reason. I don’t think I would just allow that power to lapse
while I was being beaten and mocked. And I’m pretty sure I would not
allow that power to go unused while I was being killed in a very painful way.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But Jesus did. That’s what the Apostle Paul is
talking about when he says Jesus “did not consider equality with God something
to be used to his own advantage. Jesus could’ve used his power for
himself in so many ways. Certainly he could’ve used it to avoid
death. But he did not. Jesus purposely and deliberately refused to
use his power, and instead allowed himself to be killed on the cross.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Why? Paul tells us that, too. He says, “R<span style="background: white;">ather, he made himself nothing by taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in
appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even
death on a cross!”</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Jesus was obedient. He was obedient
to God the Father. That’s why Jesus was able to stay on an even keel
throughout everything that happened. Jesus knew who he was, but he also
knew what he was supposed to do. Jesus knew that everything that was
happening, was happening because God was allowing it to happen. And Jesus
knew that if he stayed obedient to God, God would see him through
everything. Jesus was able to stay calm, to handle everything, to stay on
such an even keel, because he trusted that, no matter how hard things got for
him, God was in control. He trusted that God had good reasons for
allowing things to be the way they were, and that God would use it all for
God’s glory.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And we think, well, but Jesus knew he was
going to be resurrected. And he did. He told the disciples
that. But that did not make the pain any less. It did not make what
he went through any easier. That’s why Jesus prayed so hard in the garden
of Gethsemane. He was begging God, please, if there’s any other way to do
this, do it that way. If there’s any other way to save human beings other
than me having to go through this, do it that way. Jesus knew how hard
this was going to be. But ultimately, Jesus was still obedient to God the
Father.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">It was because of Jesus’ obedience to the
Father that Jesus was ultimately raised to sit at the right hand of the
Father. It’s not me saying that, it’s Paul. After he says Jesus was
obedient even to death on a cross, he says this: “Therefore God exalted
him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Jesus had incredible power while he was on
earth. And he knew it. And he was tempted to use it for his own
good. That’s what Satan was trying to do when Jesus was fasting in the
wilderness--trying to get Jesus to use his power for himself. But Jesus
refused. And that refusal was good for his entire life on earth. No
matter how much he was tempted--and he was, all his life--Jesus refused to use
his power for himself. He was humble. He was obedient. He trusted
God the Father. And his obedience and trust resulted in our salvation and
in Jesus being exalted to the highest place and being acknowledged as Lord.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">That, of course, was what people were
doing on that first Palm Sunday--acknowledging Jesus as Lord. But they
did not have Jesus’ humility or obedience. They wanted Jesus to use his
power. They wanted him to use his power for them, of course. They
wanted him to use it to take control and establish a kingdom on earth.
And, of course, they thought that when he did that, they’d get the benefit of
his power. They did not want Jesus to be obedient to God the Father--they
wanted him to be obedient to them. They wanted Jesus to do things their
way, rather than trusting him to do things the way God the Father wanted him to
do them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And are we really all that
different? We pray to God. And many times, we pray for God to use
God’s power. And we want God to use God’s power for us. We might
not think about it that way. We might truly believe that what we’re asking
God to do would be the best for everybody. We might honestly think that
all we’re asking God to do is what’s just and right. But, no matter how
honest and sincere we may be, when we pray that way, we’re not trying to be
obedient to God. No matter how well-intentioned we might convince
ourselves that we are, the truth is that many times, we’re trying to get God to
be obedient to us, rather than the other way around.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s okay
to ask God for things. Again, Jesus asked for God to do things
differently when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. But ultimately, we
need to be obedient to God. And that means accepting what God
wants. Accepting it even when it’s not what we want. Accepting it
even when it’s going to be really hard. Accepting it even when it does
not make sense to us. Being able to pray, under all circumstances, “Thy
will be done.” And trusting that, no matter what God’s will may be, God
will stay with us, and God will see us through it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Our lives can
be a roller coaster, too. We try to deal with it, and we do, but it’s not
always easy. We go up and down, back and forth. We have some high
highs, and we have some low lows. Sometimes we wish things would just
even out. We don’t necessarily demand high highs, we just wish we could
avoid the low lows. Sometimes we’d settle for normal, even boring.
And sometimes, we get that, for a while, but not for long. Eventually, we
go back on the roller coaster, with the high highs and the low lows again. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">The only way
we can deal with that is to do what Jesus did: be obedient to God.
Trusting that, no matter what happens, it’s happening because God is allowing
it to happen. Trusting that, if we stay obedient to God, God will see us
through everything. Trusting that, no matter how hard things get, God is
still in control. And trusting that God is going to use it all for God’s
glory.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And if we do
that, God will exalt us, too. If we can stay faithful, and continue to
love God and trust God, God will bless what we do. God will bless
us. And by our faith in Jesus as the Savior, we will receive our reward
in heaven.</span><o:p></o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-66883158323149472752024-02-10T04:38:00.000-08:002024-02-10T04:38:48.619-08:00Do It for the Lord<p><i>The Sunday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on February 11, 2024. The Bible verses used are Romans 14:1-18.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Sometimes it seems like everywhere you look in the world,
you have disagreements and arguments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You certainly have it all over the news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You have it in a variety of social issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have it in a lot of families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, you even have a lot of disagreement
within Christian churches.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But </span></span><span style="color: black;">one thing we need to remember, as we think about this, is
that there’s nothing new about it. There have been disagreements within
Christian churches since Christianity started. That’s why the Apostle
Paul wrote the things he did in our Bible reading for today.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The things people disagreed about back then may not seem
important to us now, but they were hugely important at the time. “One
person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another…eats only
vegetables.” The Jewish dietary laws were very important at the
time. There were things religious Jews simply could not eat, under any
circumstances. As Christianity began to spread beyond the Jewish
community, the question of whether non-Jewish Christians had to follow those
dietary laws became a major controversy.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">“One person considers one day more sacred than another;
another considers every day alike.” We’ve talked about this before, but
keeping the Sabbath was also really important at that time. You probably
remember the times Jesus got into trouble with the Pharisees for breaking the
Sabbath laws. So again, as Christianity spread beyond the Jewish
community, the question of whether non-Jewish Christians had to follow the Sabbath
laws also became a major controversy.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And Paul responds to these controversies. He says two
things about them. First, he says, look, this is not stuff we need to be
arguing about. If one person says he’s only going to eat vegetables, that
it helps him feel closer to God to do that, then fine. Let him.
He’s not hurting you. If someone else says he’s going to eat whatever he
wants, that he can feel close to God without limiting his diet, then
fine. Let him. He’s not hurting you. You’re not supposed to
judge each other that way. Let people eat whatever will get them closer
to God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">He says the same thing about the days. He does not
specifically reference the Sabbath day, but he says, look, if one person thinks
some days are more sacred than others, if it helps them feel closer to God to
make some days more sacred, then fine. Let him do that. He’s not
hurting you. And if someone else says all days are equally sacred, if
that helps them feel closer to God, Paul says, let him do that. He’s not
hurting you. Again, Paul says we’re not supposed to judge each other that
way. Let people treat the days in whatever way will get them closer to
God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So that’s the first thing. We’re not supposed to
judge each other for what we need to do to get closer to God. Now, don’t
get me wrong. Paul was not saying “anything goes”. Paul was not
saying anything anybody wants to do is okay. What Paul was saying is,
look, you don’t need to be paying attention to what other people do. You
need to be paying attention to what you do. You need to make sure you
have your own life in order. It gets back to what Jesus said: Don’t
look at the speck in someone else’s eye until you get rid of the plank in your
own eye.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And that gets to the most
important point Paul was making here. He says, <span style="background: white;">“Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever
eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever
abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.”</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Paul says that whatever we do, we need to
do it for the Lord. Wherever we eat, do it for the Lord. Whatever
we think about the sacredness of days, do it for the Lord. Whatever we do
about anything, do it for the Lord. Everything about our lives is to be
done for the Lord.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">In other words, Paul is saying that it’s
not so much what we do that’s important. It’s why we do it. It’s
our attitude toward it. If we do things, even good things, to bring glory
and honor to ourselves, God is not going to be impressed by that. If we
do things, even good things, to impress others and try to get them to think
well of us, God is not going to be impressed by that. If we do things,
again, even good things, for any purpose other than to bring honor and glory to
God, it is no credit to us at all.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And Paul applies this to everything we
do. From the time we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed at
night. It’s all supposed to be done to bring honor and glory to God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">The work we do, regardless of what our job
may be, should bring honor and glory to God. Our time with friends and
family should bring honor and glory to God. The time we spend just
relaxing and having fun should bring honor and glory to God. The meals we
eat, the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the place we live–everything about
our lives should bring honor and glory to God in some way.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Now, two things about that. One is
that you may be sitting there thinking, how can all those things bring honor
and glory to God? And certainly, sometimes the way something can bring
honor and glory to God is more obvious than it is at other times. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">But there is
some way in which everything we do can bring honor and glory to God.
Because everything about our lives involves choices we make. Choices
about how we’re going to spend our money. Choices about how we’re going
to spend our time. Choices about who we’re going to spend our time
with. Choices about where we’re going to be and what we’re going to do
while we’re there. And all of those things affect our ability to bring
honor and glory to God. Sometimes they affect it positively.
Sometimes they affect it negatively. But they all affect our ability to
bring honor and glory to God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">The second
thing about that is that I’m not standing here telling you that everything
about my life brings honor and glory to God. It does not, and you know me
well enough to know that. This is something I need to work on. This
is something we all need to work on.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And in saying
we need to work on it, I’m not saying that we need to earn our way into
heaven. We cannot do that. It’s impossible. No one could ever
be good enough to get to heaven. As Jesus said, no one is good except God
alone. If we have to be good to get to heaven, God would be the only one
there. We get into heaven by our faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior, not
by being good.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">But Paul is
not writing about how to get into heaven. Paul is writing about how to
live out our faith. If we believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior, the way
we live our lives should show that. And that means, again, that
everything we do should be done for the Lord. Everything about our lives
should bring honor and glory to God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">So take a look at your life. And I
need to take a look at my life, too. Let’s think about the things we do
every day. Do we do those things for the Lord? Do those things
bring honor and glory to God?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">For most of us, I suspect, the answer is,
well, sometimes. There are times we do things for the Lord. There
are times we do things that bring honor and glory to God. I know some of
the things you do that do that. This church would not be here if not for
the dedication of many, many people who are here.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">But, for most of us, I suspect there are
times when the things we do are not done for the Lord. There are times
when the things we do don’t bring honor and glory to God. And it’s not
because we’re horrible people. But we are people, and that means we’re
imperfect.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Now, we need to acknowledge that we are
imperfect. But we also should not use that as an excuse. We should
not say, well, I’m not perfect, and just continue to do what we’ve been
doing. The attitude we need to have is, I’m not perfect, but I’m going to
get as close as I can. I’m going to do as much as I can to see that
everything I do is done for the Lord. I’m going to do as much as I can to
see that the things I do bring honor and glory to God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">That’s not easy. But look at what
Paul says at the end of our reading for today. “The Kingdom of God is not
a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the
Holy Spirit.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">That’s how we do this. That’s how we
do everything for the Lord. That’s how we do everything for the honor and
glory of God. By praying for God’s Holy Spirit to come into our
hearts. By praying for God’s Holy Spirit to bring us peace and joy and
righteousness.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">It probably won’t happen overnight.
It could–nothing is beyond the power of God’s Holy Spirit. But for most
of us, I suspect it will be a process. Some of us have probably already
started that process. And in that process, we’ll move forward sometimes,
and we’ll slide backward sometimes. We’ll do better, and then we’ll slip
back.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">But if we keep praying for God’s Holy
Spirit, I think we’ll find that we do make progress. We’ll move farther
forward than we move backward. And when we do slip back, the slipback
period will be shorter. We’ll get ourselves headed in the right direction
again, with the help of God’s Holy Spirit. It will happen, if we
consistently and frequently pray for God’s Holy Spirit to help us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Let’s live our lives for the Lord.
Let’s live our lives to bring honor and glory to God. And let’s pray for
God’s Holy Spirit to help us. And feel that peace and joy and
righteousness that God’s Holy Spirit will give us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-15606781648112758672024-02-10T04:27:00.000-08:002024-02-10T04:27:21.881-08:00Who Do We Say He Is?<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on February 11, 2024. The Bible verses used are Matthew 16:13-20.</i></p><p> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>One of the things that can be frustrating when we read the
words of Jesus is the number of times that he seems to be almost deliberately
mysterious about what he means. Jesus would use parables. He would
use figures of speech. He would make analogies. Sometimes you’d
like to be able to go to Jesus and say, “Would you just come out and say what
you mean?” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">In fact, at one point, the
disciples kind of did that. In John Sixteen, when Jesus is making what
has been called his Farewell Address to the disciples, right before he goes out
to the Garden of Gethsemane to be arrested, the disciples say, “Now you are
speaking clearly and without figures of speech.” You can just hear the
relief in their voices, that finally, after all this time, Jesus is just coming
out and saying what he has to say.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And yet, for all the figures of speech and parables and all
the other things Jesus used, he could cut right to the heart of the matter when
he wanted to. That’s clear from our reading for today. Jesus first
asks his disciples who the public is saying he is. And they tell him,
some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, some say Jeremiah, some say one of
the other prophets.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And then Jesus asks the big question. “What about
you?...Who do you say I am?”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s the big question. It was the big question for
the disciples. It’s the big question for us. Who do we say Jesus
is?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, we’d like to think, in a Christian church, that we
would all say what Peter said. Jesus is the Messiah. The
Savior. The divine Son of the living God. The one who can give us
salvation and eternal life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And maybe all of us here today would say that. Maybe
everyone watching the livestream would say that, too. I hope so.
But maybe not. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">A recent survey of people who claim to be born again
Christians--now again, these are not just people who claim a vague, general
belief in God, these are people who claim to be born again Christians--a recent
survey said that nearly seventy percent of those people say that belief in
Jesus is not the only way to heaven. They said that belief in Muhammed or
in Buddha is just as valid a belief, and just as able to get you to heaven, as
belief in Jesus Christ.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Well, if you believe that, then
you don’t agree with Peter. You don’t actually believe that Jesus is the
Savior. You don’t believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God. Not
because I say so, but because Jesus said so. Jesus said, “I am the way
and the truth and the life.” Jesus did not say “I am one of several
ways.” Jesus said “I am <i>the </i>way.” Jesus did not say, “I am
one of several truths.” Jesus said, “I am <i>the </i>truth.” Jesus
did not say there are lots of people who can lead you to God the Father.
Jesus said, “No one can come to the Father except through Me.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">People say, well, that sounds awfully exclusionary.
You’re saying that people who don’t believe in Jesus as the Savior don’t go to
heaven. Well, again, I’m not saying anything. Jesus is the one who
said that. What I say makes no difference to anything. I have no
ability to get someone into heaven or to keep them out. And I’m very glad
of that, by the way. All I’m doing is repeating what Jesus said.
People can believe it or not believe it. It’s their choice. But
anyone who does not believe it does so at their peril. And anyone who
does not believe it does not agree with Peter about who Jesus is.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Another recent survey said that about half of American
Christians say that we get into heaven by our good deeds. And again, if
you believe that, you don’t agree with Peter. You don’t actually believe
that Jesus is the Savior. Because if we could get into heaven by our good
deeds, we would not need a Savior, right? We could earn our way into
heaven. All we’d need to do is be good enough, do enough good things, and
we’ll get to heaven. We don’t need Jesus for it. We can do it
ourselves.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">People say, well, are you saying bad people can go to
heaven? Yes. Yes I am. In fact, those are the only people who
can go to heaven. Because, compared to God, there are no “good
people”. Jesus said that, too. In Mark, Chapter Ten, someone referred
to Jesus as “Good teacher” and Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good?
No one is good except God alone.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Only God is good. Jesus
said that even he is not good--unless you accept the fact that He is the divine
Son of God. So unless you know someone who’s as good as God--and I
certainly don’t--there are no “good people” in heaven. There are only bad
people--sinners, who are saved by their belief in the divine Son of God as the
Savior.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And again, none of this is true
because I say it. I’m just repeating what Jesus said. And again,
people can believe it or not believe it. It’s their choice. But
again, anyone who does not believe it does so at their peril. And anyone
who does not believe it does not really agree with Peter about who Jesus is.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So, I ask the question again. Who do we say Jesus
is? Do we agree with Peter that Jesus is the Messiah, the divine Son of
the living God? Or do we believe Jesus is something or someone
else? Do we believe Jesus is who He said He is? Or do we make Jesus
whatever we want Him to be?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It is tempting to make Jesus whatever we want Him to
be. Because if belief in Jesus is the only way to heaven, that means
there are people I know, people I care about, who will not go to heaven.
That may be true for you, too. I don’t like to think about that. I
don’t want those people to not go to heaven. But if we believe what Jesus
said, then unless those people change their minds and come to faith, that’s the
way it’s going to be. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But the story does not end there. Because after Peter
says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” Jesus says that Peter
is the rock on which He will build His church, “and the gates of Hades will not
overcome it.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Jesus did not say this because Peter was so smart, or so
holy, or had such a great personality, or because of any of the things humans
tend to think of as important. Jesus said this because Peter had shown
his faith in Jesus. It was Peter’s faith that made him the strong rock on
which Jesus could build His church. It was Peter’s faith that would help
make that church so strong that the gates of Hades would not overcome it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And that’s what our faith can do. Our faith in Jesus
can make us a strong rock as well. You and I can be a rock Jesus can
build on, just like Peter was.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">We hear that, and we think, well, but Peter was one of the
greatest heroes of the Bible. I could never be Peter. My faith
could never be that strong.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But it can be. Who was Peter? He was an
ordinary fisherman when he met Jesus. He made all kinds of
mistakes. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">In fact, the next thing that
happens after the Bible verses we read tonight is that Peter starts arguing
with Jesus and Jesus calls him Satan. When Jesus was arrested, Peter
three times denied knowing that he’d ever been with Jesus. After Jesus
was killed, Peter was so confused and scared that he decided to go fishing.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Jesus knew who Peter was, of
course. He knew Peter was far from a perfect person. And yet,
because Peter knew who Jesus was, Peter became the rock on which Jesus built
his church. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Jesus could deal with
Peter’s failings because He knew Peter’s faith. Jesus can deal with our
failings because Jesus knows our faith. It’s like a saying I read on
facebook: “When God put a calling on your life, He already factored in
your stupidity.” That’s funny, but it’s also true. The Lord knows
everything about us, the good and the bad. And yet the Lord still calls you
and me to serve Him, just as the Lord called Peter. The Lord calls us,
not because we’re so smart or so holy or have such great personalities, but
because of our faith.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">That faith can make you and
me a rock Jesus can build on, just as Peter was a rock Jesus could build
on. But it all comes back to the question. Who do we say Jesus
is? Do we say, as Peter said, that He is the Messiah, the Son of the living
God? Or do we say he’s something else, something a little more
comfortable, something a little less exclusionary? Do we say that Jesus
is <i>a </i>Savior, but not <i>the </i>Savior? Do we say that Jesus is
one of many ways to heaven? Or do we believe what Jesus said, that He is <i>the
</i>way to eternal life, and that no one can come to the Father except through
Him? Will we be the solid rock Jesus can build on? Or will we be,
as the old hymn says, sinking sand, something that nothing solid could ever be
built on?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Who do we say He is? Our
eternal life, and the eternal life of others, may depend on our answer.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-81719943626293889272024-02-03T16:53:00.000-08:002024-02-03T16:53:36.398-08:00Sharing the Proof<p><i>The Sunday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on February 4, 2024. The Bible verses used are 2 Timothy 2:8-19.</i></p><p></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The Apostle Paul did a lot of writing. Most of the
New Testament is the letters of Paul to various churches or, as in this case,
to individuals. There are thirteen of Paul’s letters in the New
Testament, some of them pretty long. And I have no doubt that Paul wrote
a lot of other letters which, for whatever reason, are not included in the
Bible.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> And
yet, for all of his writing, Paul never lost sight of his essential
message. He states it time and time again. It’s the very first
sentence of our reading for tonight. “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from
the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> For all of the things Jesus did while he was
on the earth–for all of his teaching and healing and miracles and driving out
demons and all that–for Paul, these were the essential things to know about
Jesus. He was descended from David, and he was raised from the dead.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> Why
is that? Why would Paul not focus on the love of Jesus? Why would
Paul not focus on the power of Jesus? Why would Paul not focus on the
wisdom of Jesus? Why are those two facts–that Jesus was descended from
David, and that he was raised from the dead–why are those two things the
essentials of Christian faith, according to Paul?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> The
reason is because those two things–that Jesus was descended from David, and
that he was raised from the dead–are the two things that prove Jesus actually
is the Messiah. He actually is the Savior. He actually is the
divine Son of God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> After
all, there have been lots of people who have talked about the importance of
love, and lots of people who have shown love. There have been lots of
people who had power. There have been lots of people who have
wisdom. And don’t get me wrong, those are all good things. I’m not
criticizing them. But if those things are all that you know about
Jesus–that he loved people, that he had power, that he was wise–you would not
recognize him as the divine Son of God. He might be a great guy. He
might be a great teacher. He might even be a prophet. But you would
not know he was the Savior. You would not know he was the divine Son of
God. To know that, you need to know that Jesus was descended from David
and that he was raised from the dead.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> Now, today, we sometimes think, what’s the big
deal about being descended from David? But it was a big deal, and really
it still is, because of the Old Testament prophecies. The Old Testament
prophets had said the Messiah would be descended from David. We read in
Jeremiah Twenty-three, Verse Five, “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign
wisely and do what is just and right in the land.’” That’s why the
gospels of Matthew and Luke both give us lengthy genealogies of Jesus, showing
that he was, in fact, descended from David. That Jesus is descended from
David was and is proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the divine Son of God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> But
of course, there had been lots of people who had been descended from David,
too. After all, King David lived somewhere around one thousand B. C.
A thousand years later, he’d have had lots of descendants. Jesus
being descended from David was still important, but he shared that distinction
with a lot of other people. What distinguished Jesus from all those other
descendants of David is that he was raised from the dead.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> That’s
the proof. Human beings, even great human beings, are not raised from the
dead. When a human being dies, they stay dead, at least in earthly
terms. And when Jesus was killed, everyone expected that to happen to him,
too. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And I mean,
everyone. Even his closest followers. Remember how the women went
out to the tomb on that first Easter morning? They were not going out
there to see if Jesus was in the tomb. They knew he was in the tomb.
They were going out to prepare his body for burial. And when they saw
that he was not there, they did not assume he’d been raised from the
dead. They assumed his body had been moved, and they were trying to
figure out where it had been moved to.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> That
Jesus had actually been raised from the dead was the last thing anyone
expected. It was the ultimate proof that Jesus was who he said he
was. That he was the Savior, the divine Son of God. That’s why,
when the Pharisees found out what had happened, they bribed the guards to say
that they’d fallen asleep and Jesus’ disciples had stolen the body. They
knew that if the truth came out, if people knew Jesus had been raised from the
dead, they would know who Jesus was. They would know that he was, in
fact, the Messiah.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> That’s
why, for all the things Paul wrote in his letters, he made sure this stayed at
the forefront–that Jesus was raised from the dead. No matter what else he
wrote about, no matter what other issues he was dealing with, Paul made sure
not to lose that main point–that Jesus was raised from the dead. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">In fact, he said
that was so important that he was willing to endure anything in order to spread
the word about it. He did not care about what might happen to him as a
result. If he died, he’d be with Jesus. Listen to what he
says: “If we died with Him, we will also live with Him. If we
endure, we will also reign with Him.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">That’s
faith. That’s an incredibly strong faith. To say, if I die for
Jesus, it’s okay, because I’ll go to heaven and live with Jesus. And if I
don’t die, but simply have to endure suffering until Jesus comes again, that’s
okay, too, because then I’ll reign with Jesus. Either way, I win.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">How strong is
your faith? How strong is my faith? Could we say what Paul
said? Could we say that if I die for Jesus, it’s okay, if I have to
endure suffering for Jesus, that’s okay, too, because as long as I have faith
in Jesus, I’ll win?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">If not, why
not? Because we’re not the Apostle Paul? Well, we’re not, but is
that really an excuse? I mean, suppose I’m standing before the Lord, and
the Lord asks why I was not able to endure suffering for Jesus, and I say,
well, come on, I’m not the Apostle Paul. You think that’s going to fly?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Paul goes on to say
this: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker
who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of
truth.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">That phrase,
“do your best”, is important. It’s good news in one sense, because it
says God does not expect perfection from us. God knows we’re going to
slip, we’re going to make mistakes, we’re going to fail. There will be
times when our resolve does not stay firm, when our faith does not stay
strong. God knows perfection is beyond our ability, and God does not
expect it of us. God just wants us to do our best.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But having
said that, it’s also important that we actually do our best. Because it
can be really easy to use that as an excuse, too. “Sure, I’m not as good
as the Apostle Paul, but I’m doing my best.” Now, if that’s actually
true, that’s fine. But here’s the question–are you doing your best?
Are you <i>really</i> doing your best? Am I <i>really </i>doing my
best? Or are we settling for something less? Are we settling for a
mediocre faith, a lukewarm faith, a faith that does not want to make waves or
cause problems for anyone? Including ourselves?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Now, I want to
make clear I’m not saying we need to earn our way into heaven. We go to
heaven by our faith in Jesus Christ, not by the things we do. But if we
have faith, we need to do the things Jesus told us to do. And Jesus told
us to go and make disciples. And to make disciples, we need to make sure
people know who Jesus is. And they cannot know who Jesus is unless they
know Jesus was raised from the dead.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So, we need to do our
best–to <i>truly</i> do our best–to make sure people know who Jesus is.
Not because we’re trying to earn our way into heaven by doing it. But
simply because it’s what Jesus told us to do. Simply because it’s the <i>right</i>
thing to do. Because our goal is to help other people find their way to
faith in Christ. Our goal is to help other people find their way to
heaven.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">“Remember
Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.” That was
Paul’s gospel. It needs to be our gospel, too. And we need to share
it with everyone we can.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-41982270488591279712024-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:002024-02-03T16:49:50.547-08:00Childlike Faith<p><i>The Sunday morning sermon in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on February 4, 2024. The Bible verses used are Mark 10:13-16.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> Do you remember what your life was like when you
were a little kid? How did you feel about life? What was your
attitude toward life?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I’m not talking about when you got old enough to start
working and helping out. I mean, I grew up on a farm, and even though I
could never be a farmer I’m glad that I was a farm kid and had that
upbringing. But I’m talking about when you were little. Three, or
four, or five, or six, something like that. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Remember what the world was like for you back then?
As I think about it, what I remember most is playing games in the back
yard. In my memory, it was a really big back yard. In fact, when I
looked at it as an adult, it was not very big at all. But when I was a
little kid, it was huge. I loved sports, even back then, so that back
yard became a baseball field, a golf course, and a football field. We had
a basketball hoop over the garage, so that area became a basketball
court. I would play games out there for hours, sometimes with my
brothers, but often alone. It shows how little athletic ability I have
that even though I spent all those hours playing sports, I never was any good
at any of them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And I remember too, as a little kid, how much trust I had
in my parents. If Mom or Dad said something, I totally believed it.
Not only did I believe they would always tell me the truth, I also totally
trusted their judgment. For example, if there was bad weather, and Dad
said we should stay home because of it, I had no doubt that he was right.
And if Dad said it wasn’t that bad, that we could make it okay, I had no doubt
that he was right about that, too. Now, as an adult, I realize that Dad
was probably no more sure of what to do in those situations than I am.
But as a little kid, I totally trusted that he was right.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">In our Bible reading for today, Jesus says this: “Let
the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God
belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive
the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s a saying some of have heard many times, of
course. But why did Jesus say that? What did he mean by it?
Why does the kingdom of God belong to little children? Why do we need to
receive the kingdom of God like a little child? What does it even mean,
to receive the kingdom of God like a little child?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">As we think about that, one thing we need to keep in mind
is what a revolutionary statement that was at the time. Today, it’s a
cliché to talk about the importance of children. We hear all the time
that children are our future, that children are our most valuable resource.
Politicians constantly tell us that we need to do things “for the
children”. We constantly hear about how valuable and important children
are. Our actions don’t always live up to our words, but we at least pay
lip service to children being incredibly important.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That was not the way it was in Jesus’ time. Children
were not considered important at all. <i>Having </i>children was
considered important–it was sometimes considered a scandal or a punishment from
God to not have children. But the children themselves, once they were
born, were not particularly valuable. Once they got old enough to work
and contribute, then yes, they were important. But as little kids?
They were a drag on the family. They were, as the saying goes, to be seen
and not heard, and often they were not to be seen, either. That’s why the
disciples were trying to keep the little kids away from Jesus–they did not want
people bothering the Savior with these unimportant little beings.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So when Jesus said the kingdom of God belongs to little
children, and that we need to receive the kingdom of God like little children
in order to enter it, people were really surprised. That was not a
statement that made sense to them. So again, we ask, why did Jesus say
that? What did He mean by it?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s why I asked you to think about what your world was
like when you were little. Because the way we looked at life when we were
little kids is the way God wants us to look at life–with a sense of joy, with a
sense of wonder, and with a sense of trust.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I read a quote recently from Marianne Williamson. She
said, “Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called
‘All the Things That Could Go Wrong.’” It seems to me that there’s a lot
of truth in that.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">When little kids start to do something, they don’t think
about all the things that could go wrong. They just do it. They do
it, and they see what happens. Maybe it works the way they wanted it
to. Maybe it works better. Maybe it doesn’t work at all. When
it doesn’t work, what do they do? They take a minute, then they do
something else. But little kids are not afraid to try things.
They’re not afraid of failing. They live in the moment. They take
joy in the moment.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Little kids live with a sense of wonder. When you’re
a little kid, you think everything in the world exists for you to play
with. Sometimes, of course, that includes things they should not play
with, and parents have to step in and stop them. But for a little kid,
the smallest thing can be amazing. An anthill. Leaves
blowing. A pile of snow. Everything can be wonderful when you’re a
little kid.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Little kids live with a sense of possibility. When
you’re five years old, everything seems possible. You can dream of being
a baseball player, as I did when I was five. You can dream of being an
astronaut and going to the moon. You can dream of owning a candy store
and being able to eat candy every day. When you’re a little kid, you have
dreams, and you believe that your dreams could come true.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And little kids live with a sense of trust. They
trust that their parents will love them and take care of them. If they
have older brothers and sisters, they trust them, too. They believe that
their parents are looking out for them and that their parents will protect them
from anything that might hurt them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Somewhere along the line, we lose all that. We create
that file called “All the Things That Could Go Wrong.” Things like leaves
and snow become a nuisance that we have to deal with. We stop dreaming,
and in fact decide dreams are stupid. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">To an extent, of course, that’s inevitable. And it’s
not all bad, of course. Some of it is necessary. We do have to grow
up. We do have to mature. Little kids are wonderful, but we don’t
put them in charge of things. We need adults to be in charge–adults who
are realistic and can see potential problems and realize that not everyone can
be trusted.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But when it comes to our faith in God, we do need to keep
those traits of children. We need to be willing to follow God, and do the
things Jesus told us to do, without worrying about All the Things That Could Go
Wrong. We need to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, without thinking
about what the reactions of others could be.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And we can do that if we keep that sense of
possibility. We need to have dreams–dreams of a church, of a community,
of a world, in which everyone puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the
Savior. And we need to believe that those dreams can come true. Not
because of our own goodness or greatness, but because of the goodness and
greatness of God. Because in fact, as Jesus told us, with God, all things
really are possible. Incredible, unbelievable things, things that might
have seemed impossible to us, can actually happen with God’s help.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And that brings us to the other thing we need:
trust. We need to trust in God the Father the way I trusted in my Dad
when I was a kid. If God says we should do something, then we should do
it. If God says we should not do something, we should not do it. We
need to trust in God’s judgment. We need to trust in God’s wisdom.
We need to trust God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And we can do that with a sense of wonder. Wonder at
the world God created. Wonder at God’s wisdom. Wonder at how God
takes care of us. Wonder at God’s love.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The kingdom of God belongs to those who approach God like
little children. Those who put their faith in God. Those who do
their best to serve God and love God, no matter how others may react to
that. Those who are willing to dream. Those who truly believe that,
with God, all things are possible.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Let’s be those people. Let’s recapture our childlike
faith. Let’s feel the joy and wonder of God’s world. Let’s close
the file of All the Things That Could Go Wrong. Instead, let’s dream of
all the things that could go right. Let’s live with a sense of
possibility and trust in God. And let’s see what happens. I think
there’s a pretty good chance it’ll be something good.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-45730123508193820472024-01-27T17:02:00.000-08:002024-01-27T17:02:27.358-08:00The King of Glory<p><i>The Sunday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on January 28, 2024. The Bible verses used are Psalm 24.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">There are a lot of names by which we refer to God.
Jehovah. Lord. King of kings. The Almighty. The Holy
One. I’m sure you can think of many others.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But our psalm for today, Psalm Twenty-four, uses a name for
God which we rarely use. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone
use it other than in this psalm. In Psalm Twenty-four, God is referred to
as “The King of Glory”.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The psalm uses that phrase over and over. Five times,
in this psalm, God is referred to as “The King of Glory”. But what does
that mean? What does it mean to call God ‘The King of Glory”? And
what does that phrase tell us about God?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, let’s look at the word “glory”. The first
definition of “glory” is “high renown or honor won by notable
achievements”. And in fact, one of the things our psalm does is go
through some of God’s “notable achievements”. Not all of them, of
course–that would not be possible. But let’s look at what the psalm says
about God’s achievements.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It begins with this: “The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in
it, the world and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and
established it on the waters.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s quite an achievement. The creation of the
world. The seas. The waters. The dry land, too, of
course. And the rocks and the plants and the animals and the birds and
the fish and everything else. I think we’d have to admit that the
creation of all that is a pretty notable achievement.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It goes on to say that the King of Glory is “The Lord,
strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” God is so strong, so
mighty, that God is undefeated. God wins every battle. God may
allow it to look like He’s losing, for a while, but He’s never really
losing. It’s like those old melodramas where there’d be a cliffhanger
where it looked like the hero was really in big trouble and the villain might
be going to win. It might have looked that way, but you knew
better. You knew that, somehow, the hero would have to do something where
he’d defeat the villain and win in the end. That’s how it is with
God. It may look like God could be defeated, but we know better. We
know that, somehow, God is going to win in the end. God is too strong and
too mighty to ever be defeated. Being undefeated is a pretty notable
achievement, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But God’s glory goes beyond notable achievements.
Because the other definition of glory applies to God, too. Glory is
“magnificence or great beauty”.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">God is magnificent. God is magnificent beyond our
ability to understand magnificence. Just look around at God’s
creation. Look at the beauty of it. Look at the colors. Look
at the shapes. Look at the incredible variety of it. There are so
many different kinds of animals. There are so many different kinds of
plants. There are so many different kinds of birds and fish. There
are even so many different kinds of rocks and dirt. I mean, think about
that. God is so magnificent that He created all kinds of different rocks
and all kinds of dirt. I mean, to me, a rock is just a rock. But
not to God. God even made the rocks different and special. That’s
pretty magnificent.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But that’s not the only way God is magnificent, or even the
most important way. God is truly magnificent because of the way God cares
about us. About you, and about me. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It’s been estimated that there have been around a hundred
seventeen billion people who have lived on earth since God created it.
And God has known everything about each one of those one hundred seventeen
billion people. God has known their names. God has known their
addresses. God has known their height and their weight. God has
known the color of their hair and the color of their eyes. God has known
the number of hairs on their heads. For every single one of those hundred
seventeen billion people. Including you. And including me.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But that’s not all God has known. God has known the
talents and abilities of each of those hundred seventeen billion people.
God has known the likes and dislikes of each of them. God has known the
personality of each one of them. God has known what makes each of them
laugh and what makes each of them cry. God has known the goals and
desires of each of them. God has known the hopes and fears of each of
them. God has known the loves and the hates of each of them. And
God has known the faith–or lack of faith–of each of them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But here’s the most important thing. God has loved
each one of those one hundred seventeen billion people. And God continues
to love each one of those one hundred seventeen billion people. And if
the world lasts long enough for there to be a hundred seventeen billion more
people, or two hundred billion more people, or a trillion more people, God will
love each and every one of them, too. In fact, God already does love
them, because God already knows them before they are even born.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that God
approves of what each one those one hundred seventeen billion people do or
did. I am also not saying that all of those one hundred seventeen billion
people are going to heaven. But even if people choose not to believe in
Jesus Christ as the Savior, and so choose not to go to heaven, God still loves
them. There has never been and there never will be a person whom God does
not love. That’s magnificent. That’s incredibly magnificent.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">God is glory. God has more glory than anyone else
ever will have or ever could have. God is the king of glory, just as the
author of Psalm Twenty-four says.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But why does the author say it? Why does the author
make such a big deal out of it? I mean, it’s true. But why is it
important? Why does the author of psalm twenty-four go to such lengths to make
sure we know God is the king of glory?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, life, quite often, is not an easy thing. As you
know, I’ve prepared a lot of funerals lately. And I’ve learned about the
lives of a lot of people. And one of the things that strikes me about
that is all the things people have to go through and have to overcome in their
lives. Lack of money. Health problems. Family strife.
Losing loved ones, sometimes at a young age. Going to war.
Isolation. Most of us go through an awful lot of things in our lives.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And if we try to get through them by ourselves, on our own
power, by our own wisdom and strength, we won’t make it. Sometimes we
might, but a lot of times we won’t. We need someone we can rely on.
Someone who’s powerful. Someone who’s strong. Someone who cares
about us. Someone who will always be there for us. Someone who will
always love us, no matter what may happen.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s who the King of Glory is. He is that strong,
powerful one we can rely on. He is that one who always cares about us and
will always be there for us and will always love us. And if we put our
faith and trust in Him, the King of Glory will see us through all of the hard
things life can throw at us. He may not just make all the hard things
magically disappear. But He will be with us as we go through them, and He
will lead us through to the other side of them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Listen to what the psalm says: “The one who has clean
hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false
god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God
their Savior.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">When it refers to “clean hands and a pure heart”, that does
not mean we need to be perfect. It means that we put our faith and trust
in God and nowhere else. It means we do our best to serve God and be
faithful to God. If we do that, the psalm says, we will receive blessings
and vindication from the Lord. Again, that does not mean we get
everything we want and our troubles all disappear. It means that God will
see us through whatever we’re going through, and God will help us triumph over
them in the end.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">“Who is he, this King of Glory? The Lord Almighty–he
is the King of Glory.” If we trust in God and put our faith in God, God
will always be there for us. God is strong and mighty. God is
magnificent. And God is the King of Glory.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-27122366903699095672024-01-27T17:00:00.000-08:002024-01-27T17:02:36.945-08:00How Deep Is God's Love<p><i>The Sunday morning message in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on January 28, 2024. The Bible verses used are John 3:11-21.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Today’s Bible reading includes one of the most popular
Bible verses. John Three, Sixteen. “<span style="background: white;">For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Every time there’s a survey of favorite
Bible verses, this one is at or near the top. When I ask my confirmation
classes to choose a favorite Bible verse, some of them always choose this
one. It’s one that almost everyone knows, and almost everyone loves.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And it’s easy to see why. We like
hearing that God loves us. We like hearing that God loves us so much that
He would sacrifice the earthly life of the divine Son, Jesus Christ, for
us. We like hearing that if we believe in Jesus, we will have eternal
life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And if we read a little farther, we really
like the next verse, too. “For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We like hearing
that Jesus did not come to condemn us. We like hearing that Jesus came to
save us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">But too often, we stop there. And
that’s too bad. I mean, all those things we’ve just said are
awesome. They’re great to hear, they’re great to know. They’re all
true. But if we stop there, we cheat ourselves. We don’t realize
the true depth of the love God has for us. And we don’t understand how
awesome the salvation and eternal life we can get by that love really is.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">So let’s look at it. Jesus said:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life. <b> </b>For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. <b> </b>Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">“Whoever does
not believe stands condemned already, because they have not believed in the
name of God’s one and only Son.” Think about what that really says.
Without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, you and I and everyone would all be
condemned. None of us would be saved. Not one. Not the best,
the most giving, the most caring person you can think of. Not Mother
Teresa. Not Billy Graham. Not Martin Luther King, Jr. Not one
of us would be saved if God did not love the world so much, that God gave his
one and only Son. If Jesus Christ had not died for our sins, each and every
one of us would be condemned.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">In fact, it’s
not that each one of us would be condemned. It’s that each of us is
already condemned. That’s what it says: whoever does not believe
stands condemned already. But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and our belief
in Him as the Savior, takes away that condemnation. We are people given a
death sentence. We’re just waiting for it to be carried out. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And the thing
is, it’s a death sentence we deserve. Because none of us is good enough
to get into heaven. Maybe you say, well, but I know some really good
people. And you probably do. Maybe you’re even one of them.
But to be good enough to get into heaven, we’d have to be as good as God.
And we cannot be as good as God, because God is perfect. That’s what Jesus
meant in Mark Ten, Eighteen when he said no one is good but God. God is
perfectly good. You and I, no matter how hard we try and no matter how
many good things we do, cannot be perfectly good. And so none of us is
good enough to go to heaven. Again, we are condemned people, just waiting
for that death sentence to be carried out.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And then, at the last minute, we’re given a pardon by God. That
pardon is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Think of the love God has for us
to do that. To allow the divine Son to die, in a cruel and painful way,
just to save each of us. Each of us sinners. Each of us undeserving
people.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">I mean, really
think about that. God did that just to allow each of us to get into
heaven and have eternal life. Why? Why does God even want us in
heaven? Why does God want us fallen, bumbling, sinful, ungrateful people
messing up heaven? Why does God want us around at all? We don’t
belong there. We don’t deserve to be there. And yet, God wants us
there. God invites us in. God is eager for us to come. God is
so eager for us to come that God sent His divine Son to die, to take the
punishment we should get for our sins, so that you and I can go to heaven and
have eternal life. Why?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">It’s
love. That’s the only answer there can be. When we say, “God so
loved the world”, what we’re really saying is God so loved you. God loved
you, and me, so much that he gave his one and only Son, that if we believe in
Him we will not be condemned, even though we deserve to be. Instead, we
will have eternal life. That’s amazing. That’s an amazing
love. That’s how much God loves you. And it’s how much God loves
me.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">In
explaining this, Jesus said that we should look to him for salvation in the
same way that looked at a snake that Moses lifted up in the wilderness.
That’s a story the people listening to Jesus would’ve known. Maybe some
of you know it, too, but maybe some of you don’t. It’s a story from the
book of Numbers, Chapter Twenty-one. This is while the people of Israel
are still out in the wilderness, before they get to the Promised Land.
The people of Israel are plagued by poisonous snakes. A lot of them are
dying. Moses prays to God, and God answers. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And in
answering, God gives the people of Israel a way out. God says, you know,
the way the people of Israel have complained about me, the way they’ve rebelled
against me, they really do deserve to die. But, because the people of
Israel are my chosen people, I will give them a chance to be saved. So
here’s what you do. Make a bronze snake. Put it on a pole.
When someone’s bitten by a snake, they should look at this bronze snake.
If they trust me enough to do that, they’ll live. If they don’t, if they
won’t put their faith in Me, then they’ll die.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Each one of us
is dying, too. Not right away, I hope, not the result of having been
bitten by a poisonous snake. But still, we know we’re all going to die at
some point. It’s just the way it is.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">But
God gives us a way out. God says, I know that by the way you live, by the
sins you commit, you really do deserve to die. But because I love you, I
will give you a chance to be saved. So here’s what you do. Look to
Jesus. Repent of your sins. Ask for forgiveness. Truly try to
change. And look to Jesus. Have faith in Jesus. Believe he is
the Savior, the divine Son of God. If you trust Me enough to do that,
you’ll live. If you don’t, if you won’t put your faith in Jesus, then
you’ll die. And you’ll die for eternity.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">This is how
much God loves us. God loves us so much that God does not give us the
death we deserve. Instead, God gives us a way out. God gives us the
chance for salvation and eternal life, a chance that we do not deserve.
But God gives it to us anyway, because God loves us that much.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">But,
God does not force us to accept the way out that God offers. God still
gives us a choice. The way out is there, if we’ll only take it. But
we have to make the decision to take it. It’s our choice.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Do you
suppose, back in Moses’ time, that there were people who were bitten by a
poisonous snake, but refused to look at the bronze snake? I suspect there
were. There were some people who probably thought that was stupid.
What, just looking at a bronze snake is going to make me all well again?
Yeah, right. And so they died, because they did not trust God. They
did not have enough faith to take the way out God offered them. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">And there are
people today who do the same thing. There are people who think faith in
God is stupid. What, I believe in Jesus as the Savior, and that’s going
to give me eternal life? Even though I die here, I’m going to go to
heaven and live with God forever? Yeah, right. And so they
die. They do not receive eternal life, because they do not have enough
faith to take the way out God offers. God allows them to make that
choice.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Some people
wonder why a loving God would allow people to make that choice. If God
loves us, why does God allow people to choose death over life? But to me
that shows just how much God really does love us. Because true love does
not force people to do things.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">God
does all kinds of things to try to persuade us to choose life. God gave
us His Holy Word, the Bible. God gave us the divine Son, Jesus
Christ. God has given us prophets. God’s Holy Spirit works in all
kinds of ways, large and small. God does any number of things to try to
get us to turn to Him, to accept Jesus as the Savior, and choose eternal
life. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">But God does
not force us. Love does not force people. Love allows
choices. But of course, choices come with consequences. God gives
us the chance to choose eternal life. But God allows us to not choose
eternal life, and God allows us to accept the consequences of that choice.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">John Three,
Sixteen is a great verse. But it’s more than just a nice, sweet verse
that makes us feel good. It’s a verse about the awesome love of
God. A love so strong that it gives us sinful, ungrateful, undeserving
people a way to go to heaven and have eternal life. Let’s make the right
choice. Let’s accept that way. Let’s believe in the divine Son of
God. Let’s accept Him as the Savior. And let’s be in awe of the
incredible love of God that allows us to make that choice.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-41435712207166580672024-01-20T05:58:00.000-08:002024-01-20T05:58:33.078-08:00The Come to Jesus Moment<p><i>The Sunday night message in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on January 21, 2024. The Bible verses used are John 1:29-51.</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Jesus is ready to start his ministry on
earth. He’s been baptized. He had the Holy Spirit descend upon him
like a dove. A voice from heaven said, this is my Son, with Him I am well
pleased. All the preliminaries are done. It’s time for Jesus to get
started on what he came to earth to do.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We
generally think of Jesus starting by calling the disciples. And you know,
this shows how sometimes we really need to take a closer look at some of these
Bible passages that we think we know. Because we all have said it that
way: “Jesus called the disciples.” I’ve said it that way, too.
But if you look at John’s account here, which is the first five of Jesus’
disciples being called, Jesus actually only called one of them. He
accepted them all, of course. He wanted them all. But he was not
the one who initiated things with four of the first five disciples.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Look at how this works. John
the Baptist is standing there with two of his disciples. Jesus walks by.
John the Baptist says who Jesus is. And immediately the two
disciples leave John the Baptist and start following Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Those
are the first two of Jesus’ disciples. We’re told that one of them is
Andrew. The other one is not named. We assume it’s the disciple
John, the one who wrote this gospel, and that he simply did not want to use his
own name. There are other places in the gospel of John where he avoids
using his own name, so we assume that’s what’s going on here. But the
point is that these first two disciples were not chosen by Jesus. They
chose to follow Jesus, not the other way around.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> And the third disciple, Simon Peter, was not called
by Jesus, either. He’s Andrew’s brother. We’re told that after
Andrew decided to follow Jesus, the first thing he did was go find his brother
Simon Peter and tell him they’d found the Messiah. Then it says, “and he
brought him to Jesus”. Jesus did not go find Simon Peter. Andrew
brought Simon Peter to Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> The
next disciple is the only one of the first five that Jesus calls. It’s
Philip. We’re told that Jesus “found” Philip, and said to him “Follow
me.” But then, look at what happens. Philip goes and finds
Nathanael and tells him they’ve found the one Moses and the prophets wrote
about. Nathanael is skeptical, but Philip just says, “Come and see”, and
he does.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> So four of the first five disciples were not called
by Jesus at all. Two of them came on their own, after hearing what John
the Baptist said, and the other two came because someone they knew brought them
to Jesus. And maybe you’re thinking, “So what?” What difference
does it make how they got to Jesus as long as they got there? And in one
sense, you’re right. As long as we get to Jesus it really does not matter
how we get there. But I think there are some lessons here for us. Because
I think the way these disciples found Jesus mirrors the way we find Jesus
today.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Some of us are like Philip. Some of
us are just kind of going about our business, living our lives, and suddenly
Jesus comes along and speaks to us. It could be through a direct contact,
actually hearing the voice of Jesus or of an angel. That may seem
far-fetched to some of you, but I’ve talked to enough people and heard enough
stories that I believe it does happen that way sometimes. Or, it could be
the Holy Spirit speaking directly to our hearts and souls somehow. But
that’s one way we find Jesus--through the Lord taking the initiative and
speaking directly to us.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> But
there was only one of the first five disciples who found Jesus that way.
It was not the way it happened for the majority. And I think it’s
not the way it happens for the majority of us, either. It’s great when it
does, don’t get me wrong. But for most of us it happens in another way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> One of the other ways it happens
is the way it happened for Andrew and John. They were already following
John the Baptist. They’d heard John the Baptist’s preaching about
repentance and forgiveness. They’d heard him tell them that he was
preparing the way for when the Savior came. What that means is that
Andrew and John had a background in the faith. They were open to the
message of salvation. And when they found Jesus, the one who could give
them that salvation, they were ready to follow him right then.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Some
of us are like that. Some of us have grown up in the church. We’ve
heard the word preached. We’ve heard about repentance and forgiveness and
God’s love. We’re open to the message of salvation. And when we
find Jesus, the one who can give us that salvation, we’re ready to follow.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> But some of us are like Simon Peter and Nathanael.
Jesus did not send us a direct message. We did not grow up in the
church. We were not looking for the message of salvation. But then,
someone came along and told us about it anyway. And they brought us to
Jesus. Maybe some of us were like Simon Peter, who seems to have come
right away when his brother went to get him. But some of us are like
Nathanael, openly skeptical of what we hear. And someone says to us,
“It’s okay if you’re skeptical. But come and see. Come and see for
yourself.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> What
this shows, I think, is that God has all kinds of ways of calling people to
him. God gives some people a direct message. And that’s awesome
when it happens, but it’s not something in our control. God either does
that or God does not, based on whatever reasons God may have.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> God
calls some people through their parents or others making sure they grow up in
the church and have a background in the church. And that’s a wonderful
thing, too, when it happens. But if you’re an adult now, you either grew
up in the church or you did not. We cannot go back and change the past,
even if we’d like to. However we grew up is how we grew up, for better or
worse.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> But
sometimes, God uses people to call other people. God used Andrew to call
Simon Peter. God used Philip to call Nathanael. And God can use you
and me to call people to God, too.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Now,
notice, God did not have Andrew and Philip call complete strangers.
Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother. Philip and Nathanael don’t appear
to have been related, but from the way it’s written they clearly knew each
other. The people Andrew and Philip went to were people they already had
a relationship with. Simon Peter knew he could trust Andrew.
Nathanael knew he could trust Philip. That relationship had already
been established.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> And notice, too, that Andrew and Philip
did not use any fancy words to persuade Simon Peter and Nathanael. Andrew
simply told Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah”. Philip uses a few
more words, but he basically says the same thing. “We have found the one
Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote.”
And when Nathanael is skeptical, Philip does not argue with him. He
does not go into a big spiel to try to persuade him. He simply says,
“Come and see.” See for yourself. We’ll show you what we’ve found,
and you can decide whether I’m right or not.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b> </b>That’s
all God asks us to do. We don’t have to go onto a street corner and
confront strangers with the gospel. All God asks us to do is to go to people
we know, people we already have some sort of relationship with, people who know
they can trust us. Go to those people, and tell them what we’ve found.
Tell them what our faith means to us. Tell them how important our
faith is to us. Tell them how our faith helps us. Tell them what
this church means to us, how important this church is to us, how this church
helps us. And if they’re skeptical, we don’t need to argue with them or
go into a big spiel to persuade them. All we need to do is say, as Philip
did, “Come and see”. See for yourself. We’ll show you what we have
here, and you can decide for yourself whether we’re right or not.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We
won’t always succeed. For all we know, Andrew and Philip might not have
always succeeded. Maybe they went to some other people and got turned
down, we don’t know. But we’ll succeed sometimes. And when we do,
we’ll have done what Jesus told us to do. We’ll have made disciples of
Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We come to God in
all kinds of ways. Sometimes God brings people to himself directly.
But sometimes, God uses us to bring people to him. May we always be
open to sharing our faith. And when people are skeptical, may we always
invite them to come and see.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-79897968705727185872024-01-20T05:46:00.000-08:002024-01-20T05:46:52.098-08:00Chance Encounter<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on January 21, 2024. The Bible verses used are John 4:1-26.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The story we read today is one of my favorite stories in
the Bible. I mean, I suppose I have a lot of favorite stories in the
Bible, but this is one of them. And one of the things I love about it is
the sheer randomness of it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, when I say randomness, I cannot say whether it was
random from Jesus’ point of view. It’s entirely possible that Jesus had
this all planned out from the beginning. Jesus may have known that there
was this woman in Samaria who always went to this same well at the same
time. He may have deliberately timed his trip to Samaria so that he would
get to the well just before the woman got there, so he could meet and talk to
her. I mean, after all, he’s Jesus. He told Nathanael that he saw
him while he was still sitting under a fig tree, before they’d ever met.
So Jesus can do stuff like this if he wants to.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But that’s not the way John presents the story to us.
The way John presents the story, this was just a chance encounter. It’s
sort of like one of Wanda’s Hallmark Channel or Great movies, where two people
meet by accident and the meeting changes their lives forever. Except that
here, this chance meeting did not just change a life. It led to people
receiving eternal life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And certainly, from the point of view of the Samaritan
woman, it was a chance encounter. She had no idea that she’d be meeting
the Messiah, the Savior, on that day. She probably did not expect to meet
anyone. For her, this was just another day. A day like any other
day. She needed water, this was where the well was, so she went to get
water. Just like she probably did every day at about this time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">She sees a man sitting there. She can tell it’s not a
Samaritan. It’s a Jewish man. As our reading says, Jews did not
associate with Samaritans and vice versa. I’m sure she was quite ready
for this man to ignore her, and she was prepared to ignore him as well.
But then, amazingly enough, he speaks to her. He asks her for a drink of
water. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">She could not believe it. Why is this man, this
stranger, this <i>Jewish </i>stranger, talking to her? She asks him
that. And just to make sure he understands the situation, she goes out of
her way to point out why he should not be speaking to her. She says, “You
are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a
drink?” Like, maybe this guy does not see very well or is just kind of
stupid or something. Maybe he does not realize I’m a Samaritan. I’d
better spell it out for him, so he does not get us both into trouble.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And Jesus answers, </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“</span><span style="background: white; color: black;">If
you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would
have asked him and he would have given you living water.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Do you think the Samaritan woman knew what
that meant? I doubt it. But here’s the surprising thing. She
does not cut him off. She does not walk away. Even though she’s not
supposed to be talking to a Jewish man, there’s something about <i>this </i>Jewish
man that makes her stay and have a conversation with him. She may not
have understood what Jesus meant, but she knew he meant something, and it was
something important. She knew there was something different, something
special, about this Jewish man. And so she asks him, where are you going
to get this living water from? Are you greater than our great father, the
Jacob of the Bible?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And Jesus answers, “Everyone who drinks
this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will
never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of
water welling up to eternal life.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Do you think the Samaritan woman knew what
<i>that</i> meant? It seems obvious to me that she did not. She’s
still thinking of regular water, water to drink. She thinks, man, I don’t
know what that living water is, but I sure wish I had some. To never be
thirsty again? To never have to come back to this stupid well and draw
water <i>every single day</i>, the way I do now? Boy, sign me up for
that! So, she asks Jesus for some living water.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And Jesus says, “Go, call your husband and
come back.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Now, really try to put yourself in this
woman’s place here. You’re talking to this strange Jewish man. You
can tell there’s something different about him, but you really don’t know
what. You don’t understand all this living water stuff, and for all you
know it might not even exist. It might just be a line this Jewish man is
giving you. He might just be trying to make fun of you. But now,
it’s starting to get personal. He’s asking about your husband, and you
don’t have one.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">But then you think, well, he does not know
me. He probably just assumed a woman my age would be married. So
you say, “I have no husband.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And Jesus says, “You are right when you
say you have no husband. <b> </b>The fact is, you have had five husbands,
and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite
true.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Okay, that’s pretty freaky, right? I
mean, here’s this guy you’ve never met, and he knows all this stuff about
you. How’d he do that? I mean, it’s not like he could’ve looked up
your facebook profile. Has he been to town and heard gossip? Are
people really talking about me all over town? Doesn’t seem likely.
But how could he know all this?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And she realizes there’s only one
way. He must be a prophet. And so she asks him a question.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Have you ever thought about what question
you’d ask a prophet, if you could? We could probably think of all kinds
of questions. After all, a prophet knows the will of God. We’d all
like to know the will of God, right? And probably this woman would have,
too. She probably had a lot of questions, too. But she knows she probably
does not have a lot of time, so she asks one question, a theological question
about the proper place to worship God. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And Jesus answers, “You Samaritans worship
what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the
Jews. <b> </b>Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers
will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of
worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in
the Spirit and in truth.” And then, when the woman says someday the
Messiah will come and explain it all, Jesus answers, “I am he.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">That’s the end of the conversation, as far
as we know from the Bible. But then, what does this woman do? She
goes back to town, tells people what happened, a lot of them come out to see
Jesus, and we’re told that many of them came to be believers. Any number
of lives were changed, just because of this one chance encounter between Jesus
and a Samaritan woman. This chance encounter that happened on what, up
until the moment she met Jesus, seemed like just another ordinary day.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">So what’s the point? Well, tomorrow
morning, you’re going to get up. You’re going to go to work, you’re going
to go to school, you’re going to do whatever it is you do. Maybe you have
something special planned for tomorrow, but most of us probably don’t.
For most of us, tomorrow is going to be just another ordinary day.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And maybe it will be. But maybe it
won’t. Maybe something special is going to happen tomorrow. Maybe
something life-changing is going to happen tomorrow. Maybe you’re going
to meet Jesus tomorrow. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">And maybe Jesus is going to come at a time
and in a way you don’t expect him, just as he did for the Samaritan
woman. You probably won’t meet Him at a well. But maybe you’ll see
Him at the convenience store. Maybe you’ll see Him at the cafe.
Maybe you’ll see Him at a ball game. You could be minding your own
business, just doing what you do every day, and all of a sudden, there He
is. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">You
may not recognize Him. You may have no idea that He’s Jesus. It may
appear to be just a chance encounter with some random stranger. You may
wonder why He’s even talking to you. You may wish He’d just mind His own
business and quit bothering you. You may even be tempted to ignore Him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Don’t ignore
Him. See Him. Talk to Him. Hear what He has to say to
you. Trust it. Believe it. And tell others about it, so they
can come and believe.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">Does that
sound far-fetched? Well, maybe it is. But it would’ve sounded
far-fetched to the Samaritan woman, too. She’d have thought there was no
way she would ever meet the Messiah, the Savior. And she’d have kept
thinking that, right up until the moment it happened.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="background: white; color: black;">I’m not saying
you will meet Jesus tomorrow. But you know, with God, all things are
possible. So pay attention. There’s always the chance that
something could happen on your ordinary Monday that will change your
life. And it might change a lot of other people’s lives, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-16439566818342439492024-01-13T06:23:00.000-08:002024-01-13T06:23:25.541-08:00Encourage One Another<p><i>The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on January 14, 2024. The Bible verses used are Hebrews 3:12-19.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>It’s not easy to be a Christian these days. Society
in general does not hold Christianity in very high regard. We may not
notice it here, living in a small town in north-central South Dakota. But
we see it when we watch the news. And while we can pretend that it does
not affect us here, it does.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But you know, things were not that different for the early
Christians. In fact, things were worse. They were subject to
persecution. They were subject to ridicule. Things were not easy at
all for the early Christians.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And in fact, you could make the argument that things are
not supposed to be easy for Christians. A lot of the things Jesus told us
to do go against our instinctive human nature. “If your right eye causes
you to stumble, gauge it out and throw it away.” “If anyone slaps you on
one cheek, turn to them the other also.” “If someone takes your coat, do
not withhold your shirt from them.” “Love your enemies, pray for those
who persecute you.” “Treat others the way you want them to treat
you.” No matter what the circumstances are, it’s not easy to live the
life of a Christian.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">In our reading for tonight, the letter to the Hebrews gives
us some encouragement to live that life. Our reading starts this
way: “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one
another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’, so that none of you may be
hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Let’s look at that, because there’s a lot in it.
First of all, it gives us, as Christians, responsibility for each other.
“See to it…that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart.” Don’t just
see to it that you, personally, don't have a sinful, unbelieving heart.
See to it that none of you does. Each of us is called to do whatever we
can to make sure that none of the Christians around us drifts away. We are
responsible for each other’s faith.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, I’m not saying that my lack of faith in Jesus can keep
you out of heaven. We’re responsible for ourselves, too. But the
point is that, as Christians, we need to keep an eye on the faith of our fellow
believers. If we see someone starting to waver, if we see someone
starting to slip, we should not just sit back and allow it to happen. We
need to do something. Not in a judgmental way, but in a loving way.
In an encouraging way. And it’s not enough to just do this when we happen
to notice it. We need to pay attention to how others are doing, so we can
step in and provide that love and encouragement.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s not something that comes naturally to us. We
tend to think of faith as a private thing. We don’t ask other people
about their faith. And I’m as guilty of that as anyone. I mean,
because I’m a pastor, once in a while someone will initiate a conversation
about faith, and I’m happy to have that conversation. But I don’t
initiate it myself. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">It's just not something we
do. We don’t ask people how their faith is. We don’t even ask, as
John Wesley used to do, “How is it with your soul today?” The closest we
get is to say, “How’s it going?” To which, nine times out of ten, people
will respond “Fine”. And on those rare occasions when someone really does
tell us how it’s going, we’re kind of stunned. We don’t know what to say.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But that’s not the way it’s
supposed to be. Faith is not supposed to be a private thing. Faith
is supposed to be a public thing. We’re supposed to talk about our
faith. We’re especially supposed to talk about faith with our brothers
and sisters in faith. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And in fact, we’re not just
supposed to do that, we need to do it. And we need others to do it with
us. Because, what’s the next thing the letter says? It says we are
to encourage each other daily, as long as it is called “Today”.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">We need that. We need
to encourage each other. But not just encourage each other in our daily
lives. We need to encourage each other in our faith. Because,
again, our society, our popular culture, discourage us in our faith. Our
popular culture mocks and makes fun of God. Oh, they might, sometimes, pay
lip service to the idea of serving God. But even that is becoming less
prevalent than it used to be, and usually it’s used to further some sort of
political agenda. Let someone actually take their faith seriously, let
them actually go public with their faith, and see what happens. They’re
criticized if not totally ostracized. And the rest of us see that, and it
can make us even more reluctant to go public with our faith.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">We need to encourage each other
in our faith. We need to support each other in our faith. We need
to be vocal about our faith with each other. Not just assume that
everyone is “fine”, but really encourage each other in our faith. We need
to know that, no matter what the popular culture says, we are there for each
other and we can trust God to be there for us, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And look at the
reason our reading gives for this. We need to encourage each other “so
that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Sin’s deceitfulness is out
there. It’s everywhere. Again, it’s all over the popular
culture. And it can look very appealing to us. If it did not, we
would not be tempted by it. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And one of the things that
makes sin’s deceitfulness so appealing, and so tempting, is that we see people
who are going along with sin appearing to succeed. And not only do they
appear to succeed, they get praised by society. They’re held up as role
models for us to look up to and to try to be like.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">It is really tempting for us
to, as they say, “go along to get along”. If we see people of faith being
mocked and criticized, and we see people who appear not to have faith lauded
and rewarded, what are we tempted to do? We’re tempted to go along with
the behaviors that are rewarded. We might not agree with them, but we
keep our disagreement to ourselves. Again, we keep our faith private,
rather than being public about it. And by keeping our faith private, we
make it more likely that others–even our brothers and sisters in Christ–will
fall for sin’s deceitfulness. They won’t know that we disagree
privately. All they’ll see is that we’re going along with it publicly.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Again, we need to encourage
each other. We need to encourage our fellow believers. We need to
encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we need them to
encourage us, too. If we don’t, we may all fall for sin’s deceitfulness.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Our reading says that we have
come to share in Christ, “if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to
the very end.” That’s one of our goals as Christians–to stay firm in our
faith until the very end. To resist sin’s deceitfulness. To not
have the sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But as we said at the
beginning, that’s not easy. It never has been easy. It’s not
supposed to be easy. It takes courage. It takes
determination. It takes perseverance. It takes reliance on God, of
course. But it also takes reliance on others. Those of us in the
church, those of us who are believers in Christ, need to encourage each other
to stay strong in our faith. If we do, it’s much more likely that we will
all stay firm in our faith. If we don’t, it’s much more likely that some
of us–maybe all of us–will drift away.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Receiving encouragement from
others to keep our faith strong will bring us closer to God. And giving
encouragement to others will keep their faith strong and bring them closer to
God. And if all of God’s people are closer to God, we might be able to
bring others closer to God, too. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">It is not easy to be a
Christian. But it is worth it. No matter how appealing sin’s
deceitfulness may be, we have a reward that is greater. If we hold our
original conviction, our faith in Jesus Christ, firmly to the end, we will have
salvation and eternal life. And there can be nothing on earth that is
better than that.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So let’s be more vocal about
our faith. Let’s be more public about our faith. Let’s encourage
each other and support each other. Let’s resist sin’s deceitfulness and
hold firm to our faith. Let’s do all we can to make sure we all share in
that reward of salvation and eternal life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-66596305040131512452024-01-12T09:23:00.000-08:002024-01-12T09:23:40.281-08:00Wrath and Repentance<i>The Sunday morning worship service in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on January 14, 2024. The Bible verses used are John 2:13-22.</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>One of the things that shows up a lot in the Bible, but
which is rarely talked about, is the wrath of God. Even a lot of us
pastors don’t like to talk about it very much. Hearing about the wrath of
God--or preaching about the wrath of God--makes us uncomfortable. We like
to think that God is love, that God is forgiveness, that God is
mercy. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And of course, that’s all
true. God is love. God is forgiveness. God is mercy.
But wrath is also a part of who God is. If you look in the New
International Version of the Bible, you’ll find God’s wrath mentioned one
hundred eighty times. So we cannot honestly deal with the Bible if we
don’t talk about it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But we say, well, the wrath of God is an Old Testament
concept. That all changed when Jesus came. Jesus has a gospel of
love, of caring, of forgiveness, of mercy. Jesus’ message was not a
message of vengeful anger. Jesus’ message was a message of love.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"> <span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>And there is some truth in
that. Of those one hundred eighty mentions of God’s wrath, about a
hundred fifty of them come in the Old Testament. And it’s also true that
Jesus did talk a lot about love and forgiveness. But that does not allow
us to just ignore the subject of God’s wrath, for a few reasons.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">One is that the Old Testament
is still part of the Bible. It is still God’s word to us. If we’re
going to be honest about our faith, we cannot just ignore something on the
grounds that it comes from the Old Testament. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Another is that God does not
change. The Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today, and
forever. Therefore, it cannot be that God used to feel wrath but does not
do so any more. God does not change in that way.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But for me, the thing that
clinches it is that Jesus showed he could feel anger. Jesus, in our Bible
reading for today, showed genuine wrath. Jesus showed extreme
anger. It was a strong, vengeful anger. It’s true that Jesus is
love and forgiveness and mercy, but it’s clear from our reading for today that
that’s not all Jesus is. As the joke goes, when we ask “What would Jesus
do?”, we need to remember that chasing people with a whip is one of the
options.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Now, I don’t want to be
misunderstood. I don’t believe that God is an angry God. I don’t
think God sits in heaven in a bad mood, waiting for a chance to slam
people. The Bible also says God is slow to anger. It says that
several times, and often follows it by saying that God is abounding in
love. We do not worship an angry God. An angry God would’ve wiped
us out a long time ago, with all the stupid things we humans can get up
to. In fact, an angry God would’ve known how frustrating we humans would
be and probably would not have created us in the first place. An angry
God would’ve stopped with dogs or something.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But God can get angry.
And Jesus could get angry. Look at what our Bible reading says.
Jesus wanders into the temple courts shortly before Passover. He sees
people in the temple courts selling cattle, sheep, and doves. The reason
they were doing that was because those were things people needed to make
sacrifices in the temple. Jesus also sees people sitting at tables
exchanging money. The reason they were doing that was because you could
only buy the animals for the sacrifices with a certain type of money, and not
many people had that type of money. So, they needed to exchange it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And the thing is, in both of those
instances, the sellers had a captive market. You could only use animals
bought in the temple courts for sacrifices, and you could only buy those
animals with the money you got from the money changers in the temple courts.
That meant that, to make a sacrifice to God, you’d have to pay whatever the
people in the temple courts required you to pay. Saying it was too much
and walking away was not really an option, either, because these were
sacrifices they were required to make under Jewish law.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">That was what got Jesus so
upset. The people who were in charge of the temple were religious
leaders. These were people who knew the scriptures backward and
forward. They knew what God wanted. These were people who claimed
to be representing God. They claimed to be serving God. And all
they were doing was serving themselves. They knowingly and deliberately
disobeyed God for their own selfish desires.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">When you read the
Bible, that’s the sort of thing that gets God angry. That’s what provokes
God’s wrath. It’s not our mistakes. God knows we’re going to make
mistakes. It’s not our weakness. God knows how weak we are.
It’s not even our sins, necessarily. God knows how prone to sin we
are. After all, the Bible says that we’re all sinners. If our sin
was going to make God angry, God would spend all of His time being angry.
And again, our God is not an angry God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">God knows all about our
mistakes and our weaknesses and our sinful nature. God knows more about
that than we do. After all, God created us, and when you create something
you see the flaws in it better than anyone else. The fact that God knows
everything about us, and loves us anyway, shows that God is not an angry
God. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">None of those things provokes God’s
wrath. What provokes God’s wrath is when we make a conscious decision to
do something we know God does not want. What provokes God’s wrath is when
we understand perfectly well what God wants us to do and how God wants us to
live, and yet we still go ahead and disobey God anyway. And what provokes
God’s wrath is when we do that not out of fear of what could happen, and not
out of a failure to sufficiently trust God, but simply to fulfill our own selfish
desires.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Our Bible reading for today
shows that God’s wrath is real, and that even Jesus could display it. He
overturned the tables and chased people with a whip. That’s a pretty
powerful wrath for someone who’s known as the Prince of Peace.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But here’s the good news. Even in
God’s wrath, there is always the chance for forgiveness. Because those
other things we said about God are all true. God is a God of love and
forgiveness and mercy. Because in all those hundred and eighty times that
the Bible mentions God’s wrath, there’s always more to the story. That
more is that people sincerely repent of their sin. They go to God humbly,
and they ask for forgiveness. And God forgives them. And God
blesses them and gives them another chance. It happens every single time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So what does that mean for our
lives? Well, take a look at your life. And I’ll take a look at my
life. Is there a time when you made a conscious decision to do something
that you knew God did not want? Is there a time when you understood what
God wanted you to do and how God wanted you to live, and yet went ahead and
disobeyed God anyway? And is there a time when you did that just to
fulfill your own selfish desires? And I have to answer those questions,
too, and ask if there are times when I’ve done those things.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Maybe you have not. I
don’t know. It’s not my job to judge you. Judgment is God’s job,
not mine, and I’m quite content to leave it in God’s hands. God knows a
lot more about it than I do. But I encourage you to ask those
questions. And I encourage you to do it seriously. And I need to do
it seriously, too. Because here’s the thing: God already knows the
answers to those questions. We may be able to fool other people. We
may even be able to fool ourselves, if we want to badly enough. But we
cannot fool God. We can never fool God.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So we need to seriously ask
those questions of ourselves. And we need to answer them as honestly as
we can. And if we have any inkling that the answer to any of them might
be yes, we need to do something about that. We need to go to God.
We need to go humbly and sincerely. We need to repent of our sins, and we
need to ask God for forgiveness. If we do, we know God will give us that
forgiveness. God will bless us and God will give us another chance.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And remember, too, that Jesus
told us something else. Jesus said there is incredible rejoicing in
heaven over one sinner who repents. So there’s no need for the idea of
repentance to scare us. If you need to repent--if I need to repent--let’s
do it now. Let’s give heaven a chance to throw a party for us
today. Because after all, a party in our honor beats getting chased with
a whip every time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i></div>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-41607261065703867252024-01-06T17:58:00.000-08:002024-01-06T17:58:17.812-08:00The Most Important Person in the World<p><i>The Sunday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church. The Bible verses used are John 9:1-41.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>When you look at Jesus’ miracles, it’s amazing
to me how many of them don’t seem to have been planned out ahead of time.
Think about it. Jesus just goes to a wedding as a guest, and the next
thing we know he’s turning water into wine. Jesus is trying to get off by
himself, but a bunch of people follow him, he speaks to them, and the next
thing we know he’s feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two
fish. Those are just a couple of examples where Jesus was really just
kind of minding his own business, and all of a sudden circumstances prompt him
to work a miracle.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And our story today is another one. Jesus is walking
down the road, sees a blind man, and decides to heal him. The way it’s
written, it does not sound like Jesus set out that day to heal a blind
man. It does not sound like Jesus had any particular plan, really.
It just says “as he was walking along, he saw a man who was blind since
birth.” The disciples ask him whose fault it was that this many had been
born blind, and Jesus says, “This happened so that the works of God might be
displayed through him.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">You know, as I read this, I have all kinds of
questions. First, how did the disciples know this man had been born
blind? I mean, I can see how they could’ve figured out that he was blind,
but how did they know he was born that way? Was he somebody they
knew? Did Jesus tell them? </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And then, I wonder how the blind man felt when he heard
this conversation between Jesus and the disciples about whose fault it was that
he’d been born blind. I mean, the way it sounds, and they’re having this
conversation right in front of him. Have you ever had that happen, to have
people talk about you like you were not even there, even though you are right
there, right in front of them? Talk about feeling insignificant.
This guy might just as well have been a rock by the side of the road, for all
the disciples noticed him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But then, he’d have heard Jesus say that bit about him
being blind “so that the works of God might be displayed through him.”
What must he have thought about that? He was pretty confused,
probably. We don’t even know if he knew who Jesus was. He’d have
heard the disciples call him “Rabbi”, so he’d have known that much. But
did he know Jesus could work miracles? </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And how was his being blind
going to let the works of God be displayed. What works of God,
anyway? Was Jesus saying his blindness was a work of God? He must
have really wondered what was going on.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So Jesus spits on the ground,
makes some mud, and rubs it on the guy’s eyes. He tells him “Go, wash in
the Pool of Siloam.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">As the story comes to us,
that’s the only thing Jesus said. He did not explain who he was. He
did not explain what he was doing. He did not say what, if anything,
would happen after this guy washed in the Pool of Siloam. He just said to
do it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And the guy did it!
That’s pretty amazing, really. Again, we don’t know that he had any idea
who Jesus was. We don’t know that he had any idea that Jesus had special
healing powers. When he was going to the Pool of Siloam, what was he
thinking? After all, he was blind. Going to the Pool of Siloam,
even if it was not far away, would not have been easy for a blind man.
And the Bible does not say anything about him having any help.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So what do you think he was
thinking? Did he really believe he was going to be healed by washing in
the Pool of Siloam? Or did he think, well, what have I got to lose,
really? </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And it worked! Can you
imagine how he must have felt? Can you imagine what that would be
like? To have been born blind, to never have seen anything, to not even really
understand what it meant to see something. And then, all of a sudden, you
can see! I mean, that had to feel incredible.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And then come the
questions. First from his neighbors. Now, you really cannot blame
them for having questions. I mean, they’d known this guy for years, they
knew he was blind, and now he can see? How’s that work? How’s it
even possible?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But then the Pharisees
question him. He tells them the story, and they refuse to believe
it. So they ask him again. And he tells them again. This
keeps happening, over and over and over. The Pharisees keep asking him
questions, he keeps answering them, and they keep refusing to believe it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But here’s the thing.
Think about this. The day before this--in fact, earlier that same
day--the Pharisees would not have had any interest in this guy at all.
They would’ve walked right past him. I mean, he was a blind man. He
was a beggar. In their world, he was being punished by God, either because
of his own sins or his parents’ sins. He was essentially a non-person in
the eyes of the Pharisees. They would’ve ignored him. They would
not have given him the time of day. They’d have had zero interest in
anything he had to say.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And now, just a few hours
later, this guy is the most important person around. The Pharisees pretty
much demand to talk to him. And they keep talking to him, questioning
him. And as you look at the answers he gives to the Pharisees, it sounds
like this formerly blind man loves the attention he’s getting, and you cannot
blame him. It also sounds like he gives no deference to the Pharisees,
and you cannot blame him for that, either. He tells the Pharisees Jesus
is a prophet. He asks them if they want to be Jesus’ disciples. He
tells them that Jesus could not do what he’d done if he was not from God.
This guy has to know he’s making the Pharisees mad, but he does not care.
And there’s no reason he should care, because he knows he’s telling the truth.
If the Pharisees don’t want to accept it, that’s their problem. But he’s
going to praise God, and praise this prophet who has cured him of his
blindness, because he knows what happened. He knows the truth.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Think about what Jesus did for
this man. When you think about it, Jesus really worked two miracles first
man. Jesus cured him of his blindness, of course, and it would’ve been
awesome enough if Jesus had just stopped there. But Jesus did more than
that. Jesus elevated this man from essentially being a non-person to
being the most important person around. He went from being someone who
people ignored to someone people could not stop talking to. That had to feel
almost as good, maybe even better, as being able to see. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">In the end, of course, the Pharisees
threw him out. But it looks like he did not care, and why should
he? He did not need them anymore. He did not need anyone.
Except for one person. He needed Jesus. When Jesus caught up with
him again, he said to Jesus, tell me who the Son of Man is, so I can believe in
him. And when Jesus told him, he worshiped Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">You see, that’s
what makes Jesus the great healer. It’s not just because of his physical
healing. That’s what we always think of, the miraculous physical healing
he gave so many people. That’s important, but it’s not the most important
way Jesus heals us. Jesus provides spiritual healing. He can take
us from feeling like we’re lost, feeling like we’re not important, feeling like
no one cares about us, to feeling like we’re the most important person
around. Because in Jesus’ eyes, we are. Each one of us, to Jesus,
is the most important person around. No matter who insignificant or
helpless we feel, each one of us is incredibly important to Jesus.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">We’re living in an uncertain
world right now. Some might say it’s a scary world. It’s a world
that seems to be changing every day. Many things we used to depend on are
not there anymore. There are all kinds of new things that we don’t fully
understand. Sometimes we feel kind of lost. We feel
unimportant. We feel like we have no control over anything. That’s
one of the reasons people sometimes start to hoard things--it’s an attempt to
have control over some aspect, any aspect, of our lives in a world that seems
totally out of control.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But it’s not. The world
is not out of control. God is still there. Nothing happens that God
does not allow. And Jesus is still there, and Jesus is still the great
healer. Jesus can heal us physically, and that’s very important.
But Jesus can also heal us spiritually. In a world where we feel totally
insignificant, Jesus can come and make us feel like the most important person
around. Jesus will do that, if we put our faith and trust in him.
If we worship him, like the blind man worshiped him. Because then we will
know the truth, just like the blind man knew the truth.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">You and I are not
insignificant. We are not unimportant. When we experience Jesus’
healing, we’ll know that. Because then, we will know the truth.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-66386327571726057122024-01-06T17:21:00.000-08:002024-01-06T17:21:17.140-08:00Worthy of Our Calling<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on January 7, 2024. The Bible verses used are Ephesians 4:1-16.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>We talk sometimes about how we should live our lives the
way the Lord told us to. Not because we’re trying to earn our way into
heaven, but because God deserves that from us. As I was reading the Bible
this week, I realized that the Apostle Paul had said that much better and much
shorter than I do. He said, “live a life worthy of the calling you have
received.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s an awesome phrase: “a life worthy of the calling
you have received”. You know, pastors love to talk about how they’re
called to be pastors. In fact, one of the things you have to do to become
a pastor is to write your “call statement”, a statement of when and how you
felt God calling you to be a pastor. Actually, you have to write it, and
discuss it, several times, for several different groups of people. You
write it so many times that, after a while, you start to wonder if it’s even
real. It starts to feel like someone else’s call statement, rather than
your own, just because you’ve had to go over it so many times.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But the truth is that calling is not just for
pastors. Each one of us is called by God to do something. Probably
a variety of things, as we go through our lives.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Sometimes we get a little scared of that idea. We
think, what if God calls me to do something I cannot do, or something I don’t
like doing? But it’s not likely that God would do that, because God knows
us better than we know ourselves. God was not going to call me to be a
professional basketball player, because God knows I have no talent for
that. God was not going to call me to be an airline pilot, because God
knows I don’t like to fly. God was not going to call me to go and be a missionary
in Africa, because God knows I would be no good at that. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Now, God may sometimes call us
to stretch ourselves a little bit, to take some risks and try different
things. But if God is calling us to do something, God will provide us
with the means and the ability to actually do it. God would not call us
to do something we simply are not capable of doing.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But God will sometimes call us
to do things we don’t realize we’re capable of doing. Because the only
way we can really find out whether we can do something is to try it. I
did not know if I could be a pastor until I became one. They teach you
some things in seminary, and they’re good things to know, but the fact is that
the only way to learn how to be a pastor is to be one. To jump in, make
some mistakes, hopefully learn from them, and hopefully make fewer mistakes, or
at least different mistakes, as time goes on.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But the point is that each of
us is called to do something. That’s true for all of us, no matter who we
are and no matter what age we are. Everyone, from kids in school to
people in the nursing home to everyone in-between, is called to do
something. What it is may change over the course of our lives, but
everyone is called to do something. If God did not have a purpose for us
to be on earth, we would not be. As long as we’re here, there is a reason
for us to be here.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And when you think about it,
that’s a pretty awesome thing. To think that God, the almighty,
all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-everything God, would call on
us–puny, weak, little old us–to do things for Him. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Because, when you think about
it, there is nothing we can do for God that God could not do without us.
In fact, God could probably do things easier without us. God allows us to
“help”, but the truth is that you and I are probably no help at all for
God. Most of the time, we probably just get in the way and make things
harder and more complicated than they need to be.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">When we think of it that way,
we realize what an honor it is that God would call us to do anything. It
is a privilege to be allowed to serve God in some way. We really should
be kind of humbled to realize that God, as powerful and awesome as God
is, would love us enough to let us serve Him, and in fact would love us enough
to call us to serve Him.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But while a calling is an
honor, and a privilege, it is also a responsibility. Obviously, we have a
responsibility to do what God has called us to do, and to do it to the best of
our ability. But we also have a responsibility to, as Paul says, live a
life that is worthy of the calling we have received.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">How do we do that?
Paul tells us that, too. He says, “be completely humble and gentle; be
patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the
unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">That sounds good, of
course. We probably agree with it. But agreeing with it is one
thing. Doing it is something else.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">The world is in a lot of
conflict right now. Our country is in a lot of conflict right now.
In fact, sometimes it seems like everywhere we look, we see conflict.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And when there is conflict, you
have people who are one side and people who are on the other side. And
that’s not inherently wrong–it’s okay to have opinions. But when we’re
dealing with conflict–when we’re dealing with people who disagree with us,
sometimes quite loudly and strongly–it can be very hard to do Paul tells us to
do. It can be hard to be humble, and gentle, and patient. It can be
hard to bear with others in love. It can be very hard to keep any unity
of Spirit through the bond of peace, especially when it seems like the people
on the other side have no interest in having unity or peace with you. Our
instinct, when we’re challenged, is to fight back. Our instinct is to
give as good as we get. Our instinct is to treat others, not as we would
like them to treat us, but as they actually do treat us.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Paul understands that, but he
does not give us an excuse for it. What he says, basically, is that
that’s what children do. Kids are ruled by their emotions, “tossed by the
waves, blown here and there by every wind.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Paul tells us that, if we
want to live lives worthy of our calling, we need to grow up. And how do
we do that? By speaking the truth in love. If we do that, not only
do we grow up, we become like Christ. Paul says, “speaking the truth in
love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the
head, that is, Christ.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">Speaking the truth in
love. That has two components to it, you know. The first is to
speak the truth. Paul does not say that we should compromise in order to
get along with people. We are to keep the unity of the Spirit and the
bond of peace, but not at the price of truth. And when we speak about
truth, in this context, we’re talking about God’s truth. The truth that
Jesus Christ is the Savior. The truth that Jesus is the divine Son of
God. The truth that Jesus is the only way to heaven, that we cannot come
to God except through Him. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life.” We cannot compromise the truth of Jesus Christ. If we
are to live lives worthy of our calling, we must speak that truth.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">But how we speak that truth is
what makes the difference. If we follow our basic human instincts, if we
fight back when we’re challenged, if we give as good as we get and treat people
the way they’ve treated us, rather than the way we’d like them to treat us,
we’re probably not going to be patient, or gentle, or humble. And we’re
probably not likely to speak the truth in love, the way Paul told us to.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">So, if we’re going to do this,
we need to overcome our basic human instincts. We need to not respond
like children, ruled by our emotions. We need to respond as the mature
body of Christ. Speak the truth, yes–again, we do no one any favors when
we compromise the truth. But speak the truth in love.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">How do we do that? I
think we need to focus on it. We need to put some thought and effort into
it. And we need to do that ahead of time. If we wait until we’re in
a conflict situation, it’ll probably be too late. The only way we can
overcome our basic human instincts is to prepare and get ready ahead of time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">And for me, that means calling
on God’s help. If you can do this without God’s help, more power to you,
but I know I cannot. My emotions will get in my way. I need God to
help me focus on this. I need God to take control. I need God to show
me how I can respond patiently, and gently, and humbly. Again, still
speaking the truth. But speaking it in a patient, gentle, humble way that
shows the maturity of someone who is at least trying to be worthy of the
calling God has given them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: black;">God has given each of us a
calling. And God wants us to live lives worthy of the calling God has
given us. So let’s focus on that. Let’s ask God to help us be
humble, and gentle, and patient. Let’s ask God to help us speak the truth
in love. Then we can, as Paul says, “become mature, attaining to the
whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-73872077621753335542023-12-30T11:39:00.000-08:002023-12-30T11:39:25.433-08:00Confirmation Class<p><i>The Sunday night message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on December 31, 2023. The Bible verses used are Luke 2:21-38.</i></p><p></p><p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Well, it’s New
Year’s Eve. Tomorrow is New Year’s Day. People are celebrating the
coming of the new year, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">But then, it will be January second. And it will be
just another day. Everyone will go back to work. On Wednesday the
kids will be back in school. The Christmas holiday season is over.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">And too often, that’s how we look at it from a faith
standpoint. We drop Christmas as soon as it’s over. We leave the
baby Jesus in the manger and go on to something else.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">But of course, Joseph and Mary could not just go to
something else. They had to deal with the reality of raising this baby,
this divine Son of God that they had responsibility for. That’s quite the
responsibility. So, obviously, they wanted to do it right. So they
presented Jesus at the temple.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;"> First, of course, Jesus was circumcised when he was
eight days old. That was in accordance with the law. Then, we’re
told of Jesus being presented at the temple of the Lord. This happened,
according to Luke, “when the time came for their purification according to the
law of Moses”, which would have been forty days after Jesus was born.
That means that at some point in those forty days, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus made
the trip from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">That
was not a long trip--it was about six miles. But, of course, Mary and
Joseph would’ve had to walk it, carrying Jesus, so it’s not like it was really
easy. You and I would probably be really upset if we had to walk six
miles carrying a baby. But back then, it was just the way things
were. People were used to walking everywhere they needed to go. It
was probably no big deal to them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">So Mary and Joseph walk the six miles from Bethlehem to
Jerusalem, and then walk some more until they get to the temple. They buy
the required sacrifice. And while they’re there, they meet two people.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">The first was a man named Simeon. Simeon lived in Jerusalem, and
he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the
Savior. This day, this day when Mary and Joseph are presenting Jesus at
the temple, the Holy Spirit told him to go to the temple courts. We don’t
know if the Spirit told him why, but he went there. And he saw
Jesus. And as soon as he saw Jesus, Simeon knew that this was, in fact,
the Savior he had been kept alive to see.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">And as you read what Simeon said, you get the impression
that Simeon understood, far better than most people at that time, just who the
Savior was going to be. Most people at that time thought the Savior would
be a great king, someone who would return Israel to power as a great nation.
But look at how Simeon describes Jesus: “a light for revelation to the
Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” And then he tells
Mary: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of
many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul,
too.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Simeon understood that Jesus was not going to be a
political leader. He was going to bring salvation to both the Gentiles
and the Jews, but that salvation would be spiritual salvation, not a political
salvation. And he would cause “the thoughts of many hearts” to be
revealed, both for better and for worse. Simeon understood exactly what
kind of Savior Jesus was going to be.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">And
then we meet Anna. Anna was a prophet. She was eighty-four years
old. We’re told she had lived with her husband for seven years after
their marriage and had been a widow ever since. Assuming she was married
young, as was often the case at that time, Anna may have been a widow for sixty
years or more. I know there are people in our parish who’ve lost spouses,
but think of that. To be a widow or a widower for sixty years.
That’s a long time to be alone.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">We’re told that she never left the temple, but worshiped
night and day, fasting and praying. We don’t know how long she’d been
doing that. It was not necessarily for the whole sixty or so years she’d
been a widow, or even for most of those years. But it seems like it must
have been a while. And just as Simeon finishes talking, Anna comes up,
gives thanks to God, and starts telling everyone about this child who’s going
to be the Savior.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">So what’s the point? As we’ve asked before, why is
this story in the Bible? Is it just an interesting story, a little piece
of the life of Jesus, or is there more to it? What are we supposed to
learn from this?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Well, I’m sure there’s more than one thing we can learn
from it. There almost always is, when we read the Bible. But here’s
the one I want to focus on today.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Have you ever had a time when you felt like God was
giving you a message? Or, have you ever felt like the Holy Spirit was
leading you to do something, or to say something, or to go somewhere? Or
maybe you did not recognize it as the Holy Spirit, but you just felt like there
was something inside you telling you that you needed to talk to some specific
person, or go to some specific place, or do some specific thing. You did
not know why, but you just had this strong feeling that this was what you were
supposed to do. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Have you ever had that? I think probably most of us
have, at one time or another. And probably most of us have followed that
prompting, at least some of the time.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">But here’s the thing. Sometimes, we get that message,
or we follow that prompting--we do what we’re led to do, we go where we’re led
to go, we say what we’re led to say--and it seems like nothing happens.
And some time goes on, and nothing continues to happen. And we start to
wonder. Did God really give me a message? Was the Holy Spirit
really leading me to do that, or say that, or go there? Or was it
something I made up, something I imagined, something that came out of my own
head or from someone else and I just fooled myself into thinking it was from
God?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">When that happens, we need some confirmation. We
need to get some kind of a signal, some kind of sign. We need something
to encourage us to stay the course, something to let us know that yes, we
really did get that message from God. We really were led by the Holy
Spirit. God really did speak to us, and God really is going to be
faithful and keep the words God said.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">God does not always give us that confirmation, and God
does not promise that God will give it to us. Sometimes we’re asked to
have faith and to trust and to keep believing. But sometimes, God will
give us that confirmation. God will give us that encouragement. God
will give us a signal, a sign, that we really did get that message from God that
we thought we did.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">That’s what happened here. Look at Mary and
Joseph. The angel Gabriel had told them that their child was the divine
Son of God. They’d listened, and they’d believed. They’d gone
everywhere they were supposed to go, they’d done everything they were supposed
to do. But still, they had to wonder. You know, it had been several
months, at least, since they’d heard from Gabriel about who this baby was going
to be. They had to be thinking, you know, our baby looks like any other
baby. He acts like any other baby. Is he really going to be that
special? Are we really going to be raising the Savior of the
world? </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">And then, when they take Jesus to the temple, here come
Simeon and Anna. And they say, yes. Yes, your child is going to be
that special. You really are going to be raising the Savior of the
world. All that stuff that Gabriel said is really true. You really
have received a message from God, and God will be faithful to God’s word.
That had to be a huge relief to them. It had to feel so wonderful, to
have someone come along and confirm that they really had received a message
from God, that things were going the way they were supposed to go, and that
they really could trust God’s promises.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">You and I have been given messages from God, too.
There are places we're supposed to go, words we’re supposed to say, things
we’re supposed to do. That’s true for us as individuals, and that’s true
for us as a church.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">And a lot of us have been doing them. Some of us
have been doing them for a long time. And sometimes, we don’t seem to see
any results. We wish a Simeon, or an Anna, would come and confirm God’s
message for us. We wish they’d come and tell us that we really have
received a message from God, that we really are doing what we’re supposed to
do, that we really are going the way God wants us to go. We wish they’d
say things are going the way they’re supposed to go, that we really can trust
God’s promises.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Well, we may not actually get Simeon and Anna. But
I think there are signs all around us, if we look for them. I can’t speak
to each person’s individual calling, but look at our parish. We have our
kids programs going in both Onida and Gettysburg. In fact, the Faith
Builders program has grown a little. We don’t have as many people
worshiping in person as we’d like, but we’re reaching people on the
livestream. We’re expanding our ministry, reaching people in other towns,
reaching people who would never come here in person. We have a few more people
who are coming to church regularly–not a lot, but a few. There are signs
of good things going on in this parish, if we just look for them.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">Does that mean everything’s perfect? Of course
not. Far from it. We have challenges, of course. But you know
what? We’ll always have challenges. Every church has
challenges. Mary and Joseph had a lot of challenges, too. God never
promised us everything would be smooth and easy. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="color: #222222;">But if we keep doing what we’re supposed to do, if we
keep going where God wants us to go, things will go the way they’re supposed to
go. God will confirm God’s message to us in any number of ways. God
really is speaking to us. And God’s word is always true.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-29540629778072315822023-12-30T11:35:00.000-08:002023-12-30T11:35:09.164-08:00Following God<p><i>The Sunday morning message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on December 31, 2023. The Bible verses used are Matthew 2:1-15.</i></p><p></p><p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, Christmas Day has come and gone. The presents
have all been handed out and unwrapped. Some families ware still having
get-togethers this weekend. Some are even having a late “Christmas”
because of last week’s weather. And of course this is New Year’s Eve,
and we still have New Year’s Day to celebrate. But still, the Big Day is
over. In a couple of days, we’ll settle back into our normal routines
again.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I would think that, after that first Christmas night,
there’s nothing Mary and Joseph would’ve liked more than to settle back into
their normal routine. But they could not. For one thing, they had a
new baby to deal with. Now, I’ve never had children, but I’m pretty sure
that when your child is a few days old you don’t just settle back into your
normal routine. In fact, that normal routine is probably never coming
back again, right? You find a new routine, a new normal, but I’m pretty
sure that a baby changes just about everything in your life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And then, there’s the fact that they were not home.
They were still in Bethlehem. We don’t know how long they were
there. They were still there when the wise men came to see them,
obviously. Some people think they might have been there as long as two
years. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, they obviously did not stay out in the stable that
long. At some point, Joseph and Mary did find a place to live. In
fact, we’re told that the wise men came to “the house” to see the baby.
Whether they built a house, bought a house, rented a house, were living in
someone else’s house, we don’t know. But at least they did have a house
to live in. Still, it was not home. I would think the one thing
they probably wanted most, after all this time, was just to go home and start
living their lives together.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But of course, that’s not what happened, is it? One
night, when Joseph is asleep, an angel appears. We don’t know if it’s the
same angel who told Joseph that Mary was going to have a child. But an
angel came and told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt, because if
they stayed where they were, Herod would have Jesus killed.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, as I’ve said before, we’re never told what Joseph’s
thoughts or feelings are when he’s told to do something. We’re just told
that he did what the angel said. I mean, when an angel comes and tells
you that your child will die unless you leave and go to Egypt, you’re going to
go to Egypt. Any parent would do that for any of their children, never
mind that this is Jesus we’re talking about. When Joseph heard this, he
did not hesitate. He woke up Mary and they took Jesus and headed for
Egypt that same night.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But even though Joseph did not hesitate, I have to think he
was not particularly thrilled with any of this. Neither was Mary, for
that matter. “Egypt? We have to go to Egypt? We don’t want to
go to Egypt. We just want to go home. We want to get back to our
family, to our friends. We want to get back to our old lives. What
are we going to do in Egypt? We don’t know anybody in Egypt. We
don’t even speak the language. Why Egypt? Why can we not go back to
Nazareth? Or how about Jerusalem? In fact, why can God not protect
us somehow so that we don’t have to go anywhere? I mean, He is the
all-powerful God, right? And besides, the angel said our child is God’s
Divine Son. Surely God would not let his Divine Son die.”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now, I want to make clear that this is all
speculation. The Bible does not tell us what was going through Joseph or
Mary’s minds when all this was happening. It just tells us that they went
to Egypt. But it seems logical, don’t you think? Even though they obeyed
God, I would think they still had to wonder sometimes just what God was doing
and what God was getting them into.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">We’ve talked before about this idea that following God
should somehow give us an easy life, and how the Bible makes clear over and over
again that an idea like that is simply not true. It seems to me this is
Exhibit A. Joseph and Mary followed God. They did everything that
was asked of them. There were a lot of times when they did not understand
it. There were a lot of times when it did not make sense to them.
But they still did it. And it certainly did not get them an easy
life. In fact, in the months and years immediately after Jesus’ birth,
following God seemed to get Joseph and Mary nothing but trouble.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Most of us would say that we follow God. Not
perfectly, of course. There are times we go our own way, do our own
thing. We all have those times when we decide we know better, when we
decide we have to do it our way rather than doing things God’s way. But
for the most part, we do try to do the things God wants us to do. We do
try to live our lives the way God wants us to live them. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">How’s that worked out for you? Has it given you an
easy life? Probably not. That’s not to say everyone here is
miserable. Most of us would probably say that our lives are more or less
okay. But I don’t know that any of us are on easy street. Our lives
may be more or less okay, but we still have plenty of problems. And of
course, there are some people in our congregations whose problems are pretty
serious.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And in fact, sometimes, following God seems to make things
worse. Because the thing about following God, about truly following God,
is that sometimes God leads us to places we don’t want to go. Sometimes
God leads us to do things we don’t want to do. Sometimes God leads us to
deal with things we don’t want to deal with.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And sometimes we think, “I don’t want to go there. I
don’t want to do that. I don’t want to have to deal with those
people. I just want to be home. I just want to be with my family
and with my friends. I just want to live my life. Why can God not
just let me stay where I am? I mean, he’s the all-powerful God,
right? Well, then, whatever it is that needs to be done, God can surely
do it without me. Why do I have to do this?”</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">You know, we talk all the time about how we need to trust
God. And of course, we do. But too often, we end the sentence
there. What we don’t ask is, “Trust God to do what?” What is it
that we really need to trust God to do?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Trust God to take care of us? Well, that’s what we’d
like, of course. But as we’ve already said, following God does not
guarantee us an easy life. God will take care of us in the sense that, if
we accept Jesus as the Savior, we’ll have salvation and eternal life. And
it’s impossible to overstate how important that is. But that does not
mean that God will take care of us while we’re on earth. God might, but
God might not. Following God might mean that our lives on earth are a
constant struggle. Following God might mean, as it did sometimes for
Joseph and Mary, that our earthly lives are nothing but trouble.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Trust God to make things work out all right? I think
we can trust God to do that. But here’s the thing: God’s definition
of things working out all right might not be the same as our definition of
things working out all right. And the time at which God makes things work
out all right may not be the time we want them to work out all right.
After all, as we’ve said before, God sees hundreds, thousands, hundreds of
thousands of years into the future, if the world is going to last that
long. God is making things work out all right, but that does not mean
that things will be all right in our lifetimes. It might not happen until
a long time in the future.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Trust God to do what’s right? Now we’re getting
there. God will always do what’s right. And if we follow God, we
will do what’s right, too. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s what Joseph and Mary did. They may not have
understood why they had to go to Egypt. They might not have known what
they were going to do there or how they were going to survive there. They
just knew that going to Egypt was what God wanted them to do. And they
trusted that, if it was what God wanted them to do, then it must be right, even
if they did not understand it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s the kind of faith Joseph and Mary had all their
lives. It’s what led them to agree to be Jesus’ earthly parents.
It’s what led them to go to Bethlehem. It’s what led them to go to
Egypt. It’s what led them to, eventually, go back to Nazareth after Herod
died. There were plenty of times that Joseph and Mary did not understand
what was going on. They did not understand why God was asking them to do
these things. But they knew God wanted them to do it, so they did
it. And they trusted that it must be right, because it was what God
wanted them to do.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">That’s the kind of trust you and I need to have.
Trust that if God wants us to do something, it must be the right thing to
do. Trust that if God wants us to go somewhere, it must be the right
place to go. Trust that whatever God wants us to deal with, it must be
what we’re supposed to deal with. And continue trusting that way, even
when we don’t understand, even when it seems like things are not working out
right, even when it seems like our trust is getting us nothing but trouble.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">It’s not easy to have that kind of trust. It was not
easy for Joseph and Mary, either. But they did it. And if they can
do it, you and I can do it, too. God will always do what’s right.
If we follow God, we’ll always do what’s right, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5292726089445490931.post-5849862801339982922023-12-23T17:48:00.000-08:002023-12-23T17:48:25.868-08:00God Will See You Through<p><i>The Sunday morning message in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on December 24, 2023. The Bible verses used are Luke 2:1-7.</i></p><p class="maintext" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 25px 0px 10px;"></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>What we read this morning was the part of the
story of the first Christmas Eve. At the time, of course, no one knew it
was Christmas Eve. Nobody knew it was anything. It was just another
day, a day just like any other day, as far as anyone knew.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Now for Mary and Joseph, of course, it was not just another
day. It was the day their baby, their first child, was going to be born.
And you know, it’s interesting, considering how big Christmas is for us
today, that the Bible really does not make a big deal out of it. The
gospels of Mark and John don’t even deal with it. We don’t get any of
Jesus’ birth story there. As we talked last week, Matthew just deals with
it very briefly, about eight verses. Luke is the only one of the gospel
writers that goes into any detail at all about that first Christmas. And
when you really look at this story, you realize that there are a lot of things
about it that we don’t know. There are also some things we think we know
that the Bible does not actually say.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">We know that Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to
Bethlehem shortly before Jesus was born. That was a trip of about seventy
or eighty miles. It’s estimated that it would’ve taken them at least four
days, on foot, to make that trip. Of course, Mary was not far from giving
birth, so she may have needed to rest more frequently, which would’ve made the
trip longer. We always illustrate their trip with Mary riding a donkey,
but the Bible does not mention a donkey. For all we know, Mary and Joseph
may have both walked all the way, carrying whatever provisions they could.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The Bible does not say anything about whether they were
traveling with anyone or if they were on their own. It makes sense that
there might have been some others there. The road from Nazareth to
Bethlehem was a dangerous one, with both wild animals and human criminals lying
in wait for travelers. There’d be safety in numbers. Besides, Mary
and Joseph cannot have been the only ones who had to travel to Bethlehem, the
city of David, for the census. It seems like there would have to have
been some others. If so, they probably would’ve traveled together.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">We always imagine Jesus’ birth as having come the first
night after Mary and Joseph got to Bethlehem. And that may be how it
worked out, but the Bible does not say so. Luke simply says, “While they
were there, the time came for the baby to be born.” They may have already
been in Bethlehem for a while, we don’t know. We don’t know that Jesus
was born at night, either. We know the angel appeared the shepherds at
night, but that does not necessarily mean the baby was born then. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">The chances are that Joseph and Mary were not the only ones
who could not find a room, either. Bethlehem was a small town. And
of course, back then there was no such thing as a hotel the way we think of
them now. There were people who had a few rooms they would rent out.
There probably were not a whole lot of rooms available under the best
circumstances, and of course there was no way for people to call ahead and make
a reservation. I would imagine there were lots of other people who took
whatever shelter they could find. Some probably could not find any, and
simply had to camp out in the open. Joseph and Mary may have been among
the lucky ones, really. At least they had shelter.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So why am I going through all this? Well, a couple of
reasons. One of them is to just make the point that when we read the
Bible, we need to be a little bit careful. There are a lot of times when
we assume things that the Bible does not actually say. Sometimes our
assumptions may be justified, but sometimes they’re not. And when they’re
not, when we start thinking that the Bible says things it does not actually
say, we can run into trouble. And I’ve been guilty of that, too,
sometimes. I’m trying to get better about it, but it’s something most of
us do sometimes. And it’s a trap, because it can lead us to think we’re
following God’s word when we’re not.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But the other point is one we’ve made before. When we
read these stories in the Bible, we need to not get bogged down in all the
little details. Instead, we need to always keep a few questions in mind.
Why is this story in the Bible? What am I supposed to learn from
it? What does this story teach me about God and about faith in Jesus
Christ?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">So, what do you think the answers are? Because this
story could easily have been left out of the Bible. As I said, Mark and
John do leave it out. Matthew deals with it very briefly. So why is
the story of Jesus’ birth in the Bible? What are we supposed to learn
from it? What does this story teach us about God and about faith in Jesus
Christ?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">I’m sure I don’t have the whole answer. But here’s
what I think is at least part of the answer.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Jesus truly was born as a human being. He was not an
angel. He was not a supernatural being. Yes, He had some special
powers as the divine Son of God, but he was also fully human. And He was
not born to wealthy people living in a palace. He was not born to people
who were important or well-known or special. He was born to ordinary
people, who lived ordinary lives. And in fact, He was born in conditions
that were not very pleasant at all.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Why is that important? Because all this tells us one
thing about Jesus Christ: He understands. He knows what it’s like
to leave as a human being. He knows what it’s like to live an ordinary
human life. He knows what it’s like to have to work hard. He knows
what it’s like to have to struggle. He knows what it’s like to be a kid.
He knows what it’s like to be an adolescent. He knows what it’s
like to be an adult. Jesus knows what all of that is like, because he
experienced it himself. Jesus understands the things we go through as
human beings.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And because Jesus was human, Jesus also understands our
emotions. He understands our feelings. He knows what it’s like to
be angry or frustrated. He knows what it’s like to be depressed. He
knows what it’s like to feel alone. He also knows what it’s like to be
happy. He knows what it’s like to feel love. He knows what it’s
like to be happy or sad, to laugh or to cry. Jesus knows all those
things, because He went through them all himself. Jesus understands
everything we feel as human beings.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">And because Jesus understands that, we know that God
understands it, too. Because Jesus is God--God the Son. Anything
Jesus knows, God knows. Anything Jesus understands, God understands.
So whatever you’re going through, know that God understands it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But why is that important? I mean, it’s nice, I
guess. It’s nice to know that God understands what we’re going through.
But how does that help? How does God’s understanding change
anything? After all, we still have to go through what we’re going
through. What difference does God understanding it make?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Well, in a sense, we all have to answer that question for
ourselves. Because what our answer is depends on how we see God and on
how much faith we have in God. If we think God really does not care about
us much, if we think God just sits in heaven observing things and not doing
anything about them, if we think God is not involved in our day-to-day lives,
then it probably makes no difference at all. We’ll still think we have to
get through whatever we’re going through on our own.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;">But if we believe that God does care about us, if we
believe that God loves us, and if we believe that God does get involved in our
day-to-day lives, then it makes all the difference in the world. It does
not mean that God will magically take us out of our situation and solve all our
problems. But it does mean that, whatever we’re going through, we can
count on God to help us get through it. God will help us get through and
God will see us through to the other side. It’s like what it says in the
Twenty-third Psalm. “<span style="background: white;">Even though I walk
through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
God does not promise to keep us out of the dark valleys. God just
promises to be with us when we’re in those dark valleys and help us get through
them into the light.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">We think, now, that Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day are supposed to be days of joy. But they were not
completely days of joy for Joseph and Mary. Yes, I’m sure they were happy
that their son was born and that he was okay, but the circumstances of Jesus’
birth were not exactly what first-time parents would have in mind.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Joseph and Mary went through some tough
times. What we read today was only part of it. But through all
their tough times, they knew that God was with them. They knew God would
help them get through their tough times, and that God would ultimately bring
them into the light. And God will do that for you and me, too.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span class="apple-tab-span"><span style="background: white; color: black;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: black;">I hope this Christmas Eve and Christmas
Day are days of joy for you. But if they’re not, know that God
understands. Know that God will be there for you. And know that,
whatever you may be going through, God will see you through it.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p>Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835570556103672858noreply@blogger.com0