Did you ever feel like a misfit because of your faith? That’s okay. God’s people have always felt like misfits, because this world is not our true home.
HEBREWS 11:8-11, 13-14, 16: THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME
INTRODUCTION
An American tourist visited the 19th century Polish rabbi, Hofetz Chaim. Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room, filled with books, plus a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?”
“Where is yours?” replied the rabbi.
“Mine?” asked the puzzled American. “But I’m a visitor here. I’m only passing through.”
“So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim.
Christian believers have also often felt like they were only visitors on this earth. Surrounded by unbelievers, we just don’t fit in.
Just like in the old gospel song:
“This world is not my home;
I’m just a-passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me
From Heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”
My grandfather was an immigrant.
He came from Russia as a young man.
He told me about arriving in Kansas with no job and no money and no knowledge of the English language.
He was a stranger in a strange land.
He told me that he had gotten to a small town in Kansas and was sitting in the town square by the well, still wearing his embroidered peasant’s shirt, wondering what to do next.
A man named Weber, who knew his language, befriended him and helped him find work.
It must have been scary to be an immigrant in those days. It still is—scary and dangerous.
I. A story about Abraham
A. Hebrews 11:8-10: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.”
Abraham’s original country was Ur, of the Chaldeans.
I read about Ur in a book by a famous archeologist. Ur was in what we call Iraq; then it was called Sumeria.
It was one of the most civilized and advanced cities in the world 4000 years ago when Abraham was born there.
The archeologist wrote that they even had flush toilets. Flush toilets are something Charlotte didn’t have on the farm, even when she left home to go to college 65 years ago.
The Bible says that Abraham’s family moved the family to another famous city, Haran, where his father died.
Tradition tells us that Abraham’s father was a maker of idols.
Joshua 24.2 tells us that Terah, Abraham’s father, worshiped pagan gods.
Historians tell us that Haran was a center for worship of the moon god.
We don’t know whether Abraham, in his younger days worshiped idols or the moon, but the Bible tells us that it was at Haran that God spoke to Abraham and told him to take his family and go to a land that God would show him.
So Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going, except that God was going with him.
When Abraham arrived at Canaan, the land that would later be Israel, God promised that Abraham’s descendents would become a great nation, and in his descendents all the world would be blessed.
But, as the text I read you from Hebrews tells us, Abraham dwelt in the Land of Promise as a sojourner in a foreign land—we would call him an immigrant.
Abraham had servants and flocks and herds. The Bible says he was rich. But he was still a sojourner.
He never lived in a house.
He never owned a farm.
Abraham was always a stranger in the land in which he dwelt.
That is why the writer of Hebrews uses him as an illustration of how we disciples of Jesus are in our world.
B. Continuing to read in Hebrews of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their families: “These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland….they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13-14, 16).
The writer of Hebrews uses Abraham as an example of how followers of Jesus were in the world in his day.
They lived in a world surrounded by unbelievers—who were often hostile to them.
They didn’t fit in.
They often suffered abuse from those around them.
They had a different values, hopes and loyalties.
In a sense, they even spoke a different language—the language of faith in God.
Their lord wasn’t Caesar, but Jesus.
Sometimes when people come to Jesus and begin to live for him, they find that their old friends lose interest in them.
We don’t share the same ideas about what constitutes pleasure—or success.
II. So the Bible often calls God’s people strangers or sojourners or exiles.
A. A psalmist writes: “I am a sojourner on earth; hide not thy commandments from me” (Psalm 119:19).
Another psalmist addresses God this way: “I am thy passing guest, a sojourner like all my fathers” (Psalm 39:12).
St. Peter addressed his first letter to scattered believers in some of the lands we now call Turkey as “the exiles of the Dispersion” (1 Peter 1:1).
St Paul wrote to his friends in the city of Philippi, reminding them that their citizenship was not on this earth. He wrote, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation to that it will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20).
Someone said of Abraham: “He went, not knowing where he was going, but only that he was going with God.”
So it is with us. We go through life—sometimes walking in the dark—but knowing that we are going with God.
And God will bring us safely home.
B. The passage I read from Hebrews says of Abraham: “He looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (v10).
Abraham never found that “City that had foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
He had to be content with viewing it from afar.
Just so, we view our eternal home from afar.
Maybe we are close to it now, and we are looking forward to our arrival.
We read in the last book of the Bible about the Holy City, New Jerusalem that comes down from Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
People wonder, will we know one another in Heaven?
Surely we’ll have plenty of company— it will be a great reunion.
Yes, we’ll know one another and we will enjoy the companionship of our Lord Jesus and his family forever.
CONCLUSION
Dorotha told you a story at the beginning of our service. Now I have a story for you. It’s not a true story—although it could be. It is a parable.
In his book A Light Shines Bright in Babylon: A Handbook for Christian Business Owners, Buck Jacobs tells “The Parable of the Janitor and the CEO.” Following is a summary of his story.
A janitor had worked for the same company for 40 years. He did good work.
When people asked him why he did so much more than was necessary he would tell them that he was doing his work for Jesus, his best friend. Some laughed and just passed on but others were curious and let the janitor explain.
In the same company another man had also worked for 40 years. He had risen from salesman to CEO. The CEO was often asked to tell the story of his success to groups and organizations. His story emphasized that in our wonderful country success came from hard work, believing in yourself, and giving your all.
The CEO was active in civic organizations and government advisory panels. He was a member of the board of regents of the university and a member of his church, which he attended regularly, always sitting near the front. But church was not a major interest in his life. He remembered his father’s advice: “Son, two things you cannot mix with your business: politics and religion. They are like oil and water.” The CEO never gave it much thought because he was so busy with his business, his cottage at the beach, his golf and tennis clubs, board meetings and ski trips that there wasn’t much time left for much else, and the time flew by.
It happened that both men died the same day. And, as the scripture promises, each man in turn went to stand before the Lord Jesus and give an account his life.
The CEO went first. The Lord said to him, “My son, you have done well with your life. I gave you intelligence and opportunity. You worked hard and you took advantage of all that I set before you. You accomplished much. But son, all that you built must remain behind. Your homes and cars, your company and clubs were good, but they are not a part of my kingdom. The university you loved and served refused to honor me and it will burn up and be destroyed. Your money is not needed here. My son, you labored long and hard, but unwisely. You have gained the good, but missed the best.”
The janitor was downcast, fearful and in awe. If a CEO could receive no commendation from the Lord, what were his chances?
Then the Lord put his hands on the janitor’s shoulders. “Son, lift your eyes,” he said.
The janitor looked into the face of the Lord.
The smile on Jesus’s face gladdened his heart. “Look around,” said the Lord, “and tell me what you see.”
The janitor turned. To his amazement, he saw crowds of jubilant people coming toward him. Their expressions reflected a pure love and joy that astonished him. He turned to the Lord. “Lord, I recognize only a few. Who are the others?”
The Lord said, “Those you recognize are the ones you told of my love. The others are those they told. They are here now to thank you. Enter into the joy prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Nearby, angels sang “Glory to God and to the Lamb” as the janitor was reunited with his friends and stepped into Paradise.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Experiencing God’s Love: Psalm 139: God Knows Me Better than I Know Myself
Is the thought that God knows you better than you know yourself scary or comforting? An ancient believer found great comfort in the idea that he was perfectly known by God.
PSALM 139: GOD KNOWS ME BETTER THAN I KNOW MYSELF
INTRODUCTION
How would you feel if you knew that your best friend could read your mind and know what you were thinking at every moment?
That might be very uncomfortable for many of us because we know that we have thoughts that we would be ashamed for others to know.
Many of us take great care to present our “best selves” to each other.
We are so anxious to have other people think well of us that we make every effort to hide our faults and display our virtues.
The only trouble with this effort is that none of us really knows ourselves very well.
Parts of me are hidden from myself.
People spend good money with psychiatrists and psychologists to have them tell them about their deepest thoughts and desires.
But maybe if we knew all about ourselves we would be even more depressed because then we would be confronted with the sin we keep buried within.
Long ago an ancient believer wrote a psalm in which he rejoices because God knows him inside and out—even better than he knows himself.
Read Psalm 139.1-6
I. The writer of this psalm finds great comfort in the knowledge that God knows his every thought.
A. I have read that in Victorian times parents would sometimes put on the wall of their child’s room a picture of a big eye with this Bible verse under it: “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16.13 KJV).
This was supposed to remind the child that whatever he or she did, God was watching.
The parent hoped the picture of God’s watching eye would lead to good behavior, even when the parent wasn’t looking.
That eye probably frightened more children than it helped.
I remember that that one of the first memory verses I learned in Sunday school was that verse from Genesis: “Thou God seest me.”
I don’t know whether it improved my behavior or not.
B. Theologians explain to us that God is omniscient and omnipresent.
Omniscient means that God knows everything.
Omnipresent means that God is everywhere.
Our psalmist isn’t concerned that God knows everything or that God is everywhere.
What thrills him is that God knows him—inside and out.
What thrills him is that God is here, with him—right now, and always.
C. When I read this psalm, I think about a story of Jesus.
One day Jesus sat down on a well near the Samaritan city of Sychar. He was all alone.
A woman came to draw water.
They had a conversation and Jesus told her about the living water that he would give her that would gush up within her to eternal life.
In their conversation, as recorded in John 4, the woman confessed to Jesus that she had had five husbands, and that she was living now with a man who wasn’t her husband.
Then they talked about worship and Jesus explained that God is worshiped in spirit and in truth.
We don’t have all the conversation, but in the end the woman was so impressed that Jesus loved her, even though he knew all that she had ever done, that she left her water pot and ran into the town to tell her neighbors: “Come see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”
Even though we might think she had a lot to hide, she is excited and happy to meet a man who knew her so intimately.
I think that what gave her such comfort is that she knew that—even though he knew all the faults and mistakes and sins of her past life—he loved her anyway.
This woman had not known that kind of forgiving love before.
The ancient believer who wrote Psalm 139 was comforted to know that his God was so great and wise that nothing about him escaped God’s attention.
He was glad that he was so important to God that God had made a study of him, and God knew him better than he knew himself.
Maybe we have thoughts and actions in our life that we are ashamed of, and we know we can’t hide those thoughts and actions from God, but the great thing is that God loves us anyway.
II. Let’s look more closely at the psalm.
A. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me…” (v1).
Our psalmist realized, as we do, that he didn’t know himself very well at all.
Sometimes we may even lie to ourselves—and sometimes we may even believe our lies.
One of my prayers is that God will show me the sins that I am blind to, so that I come to him for forgiveness and cleansing.
One of my prayers comes from a hymn by Charles Wesley. It goes like this:
“Show me, as my soul can bear,
The depth of inbred sin;
All the unbelief declare,
The pride that lurks within;
Take me, whom thyself hast bought,
Bring into captivity
Every high aspiring thought
That would not stoop to thee.”
But I think there is something else going on here.
Maybe the psalmist has been misjudged and criticized and accused by others.
He finds comfort in knowing that God does not judge him so harshly, because God knows his heart, and God knows his limitations and God knows how much he loves his Lord and how earnestly he wants to please him.
B. “You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (v3).
God knows our past, and he knows where we are going.
He understands the road we are on.
He understands the difficulties we have faced and the difficulties we will face in the future.
And our Lord will be with us to the end of the road.
C. “Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely...” (v4).
Sometimes words come out of my mouth that I don’t intend.
They just seem to jump out to embarrass me.
But God knows me better than I know myself.
I never surprise him.
I have secrets from other people, and even from myself.
But I have no secrets from God.
D. “You hem me in behind and before, and lay your hand upon me…” (v5).
God has been with me all the way, watching me, hemming me in, keeping me from danger, and guiding me along life’s road.
When the psalmist says, “He lays his hand upon me,” This is what I think he means:
God chose me, he draws me to himself, he makes me his own, he is by my side forever, and when I wander, he will bring me back.
E. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it” (v6).
The psalmist trembles at the wisdom of God.
But he is not terrified; he is filled with wonder and gratitude because he knows that God loves him.
Toward the end of the psalm the psalmist says,
“How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you” (vv17-18).
As a dear child is always in the thoughts of his or her mother, so we are always in the thoughts of our God.
God always keeps us in mind and is always caring and feeling what we are feeling.
Recently a friend said to me, “I don’t like to pray for myself. I figure that God has more important things to attend to.”
No, God has you in mind as if you were the only person in the world.
God is infinite. He has each of us in his mind as if each of us were the only person in the world.
And God remembers me, even when I am forgetting him.
I may feel myself to be far from God, but he is near to me.
CONCLUSION
Finally, at the very end of the psalm, the ancient believer looks into his heart.
He welcomes God’s searching gaze and says,
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv17-18).
Why does he invite God to search him and know him, when he has already professed the certainty that God already knows him so thoroughly?
I think that in these last lines our believer is asking God to show him his heart as God sees it.
We really know ourselves only as we look at ourselves from God’s point of view.
Boldly he asks God to show him any wickedness lurking within and lead him in the ways of God—the way everlasting.”
In these last lines, the psalmist is in a humble mood.
He doesn’t shrink from God’s gaze. He longs for it.
He knows that his only hope is that God will keep his eye upon him and that God will reveal God’s self to himself and lead him to his glorious destiny, which he calls “the way everlasting.”
St. Paul wrote in one of his letters:
“Now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then we will see face-to-face.
Now I know only in part;
then I will know fully,
even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13.12)
It is sad for the unbeliever to come to the end of life and think, “It is almost over; life will end soon.”
It is not sad for the believer to come to the end of life and think, “This temporary part of life is almost over; real life will begin soon.”
PSALM 139: GOD KNOWS ME BETTER THAN I KNOW MYSELF
INTRODUCTION
How would you feel if you knew that your best friend could read your mind and know what you were thinking at every moment?
That might be very uncomfortable for many of us because we know that we have thoughts that we would be ashamed for others to know.
Many of us take great care to present our “best selves” to each other.
We are so anxious to have other people think well of us that we make every effort to hide our faults and display our virtues.
The only trouble with this effort is that none of us really knows ourselves very well.
Parts of me are hidden from myself.
People spend good money with psychiatrists and psychologists to have them tell them about their deepest thoughts and desires.
But maybe if we knew all about ourselves we would be even more depressed because then we would be confronted with the sin we keep buried within.
Long ago an ancient believer wrote a psalm in which he rejoices because God knows him inside and out—even better than he knows himself.
Read Psalm 139.1-6
I. The writer of this psalm finds great comfort in the knowledge that God knows his every thought.
A. I have read that in Victorian times parents would sometimes put on the wall of their child’s room a picture of a big eye with this Bible verse under it: “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16.13 KJV).
This was supposed to remind the child that whatever he or she did, God was watching.
The parent hoped the picture of God’s watching eye would lead to good behavior, even when the parent wasn’t looking.
That eye probably frightened more children than it helped.
I remember that that one of the first memory verses I learned in Sunday school was that verse from Genesis: “Thou God seest me.”
I don’t know whether it improved my behavior or not.
B. Theologians explain to us that God is omniscient and omnipresent.
Omniscient means that God knows everything.
Omnipresent means that God is everywhere.
Our psalmist isn’t concerned that God knows everything or that God is everywhere.
What thrills him is that God knows him—inside and out.
What thrills him is that God is here, with him—right now, and always.
C. When I read this psalm, I think about a story of Jesus.
One day Jesus sat down on a well near the Samaritan city of Sychar. He was all alone.
A woman came to draw water.
They had a conversation and Jesus told her about the living water that he would give her that would gush up within her to eternal life.
In their conversation, as recorded in John 4, the woman confessed to Jesus that she had had five husbands, and that she was living now with a man who wasn’t her husband.
Then they talked about worship and Jesus explained that God is worshiped in spirit and in truth.
We don’t have all the conversation, but in the end the woman was so impressed that Jesus loved her, even though he knew all that she had ever done, that she left her water pot and ran into the town to tell her neighbors: “Come see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”
Even though we might think she had a lot to hide, she is excited and happy to meet a man who knew her so intimately.
I think that what gave her such comfort is that she knew that—even though he knew all the faults and mistakes and sins of her past life—he loved her anyway.
This woman had not known that kind of forgiving love before.
The ancient believer who wrote Psalm 139 was comforted to know that his God was so great and wise that nothing about him escaped God’s attention.
He was glad that he was so important to God that God had made a study of him, and God knew him better than he knew himself.
Maybe we have thoughts and actions in our life that we are ashamed of, and we know we can’t hide those thoughts and actions from God, but the great thing is that God loves us anyway.
II. Let’s look more closely at the psalm.
A. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me…” (v1).
Our psalmist realized, as we do, that he didn’t know himself very well at all.
Sometimes we may even lie to ourselves—and sometimes we may even believe our lies.
One of my prayers is that God will show me the sins that I am blind to, so that I come to him for forgiveness and cleansing.
One of my prayers comes from a hymn by Charles Wesley. It goes like this:
“Show me, as my soul can bear,
The depth of inbred sin;
All the unbelief declare,
The pride that lurks within;
Take me, whom thyself hast bought,
Bring into captivity
Every high aspiring thought
That would not stoop to thee.”
But I think there is something else going on here.
Maybe the psalmist has been misjudged and criticized and accused by others.
He finds comfort in knowing that God does not judge him so harshly, because God knows his heart, and God knows his limitations and God knows how much he loves his Lord and how earnestly he wants to please him.
B. “You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (v3).
God knows our past, and he knows where we are going.
He understands the road we are on.
He understands the difficulties we have faced and the difficulties we will face in the future.
And our Lord will be with us to the end of the road.
C. “Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely...” (v4).
Sometimes words come out of my mouth that I don’t intend.
They just seem to jump out to embarrass me.
But God knows me better than I know myself.
I never surprise him.
I have secrets from other people, and even from myself.
But I have no secrets from God.
D. “You hem me in behind and before, and lay your hand upon me…” (v5).
God has been with me all the way, watching me, hemming me in, keeping me from danger, and guiding me along life’s road.
When the psalmist says, “He lays his hand upon me,” This is what I think he means:
God chose me, he draws me to himself, he makes me his own, he is by my side forever, and when I wander, he will bring me back.
E. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it” (v6).
The psalmist trembles at the wisdom of God.
But he is not terrified; he is filled with wonder and gratitude because he knows that God loves him.
Toward the end of the psalm the psalmist says,
“How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you” (vv17-18).
As a dear child is always in the thoughts of his or her mother, so we are always in the thoughts of our God.
God always keeps us in mind and is always caring and feeling what we are feeling.
Recently a friend said to me, “I don’t like to pray for myself. I figure that God has more important things to attend to.”
No, God has you in mind as if you were the only person in the world.
God is infinite. He has each of us in his mind as if each of us were the only person in the world.
And God remembers me, even when I am forgetting him.
I may feel myself to be far from God, but he is near to me.
CONCLUSION
Finally, at the very end of the psalm, the ancient believer looks into his heart.
He welcomes God’s searching gaze and says,
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv17-18).
Why does he invite God to search him and know him, when he has already professed the certainty that God already knows him so thoroughly?
I think that in these last lines our believer is asking God to show him his heart as God sees it.
We really know ourselves only as we look at ourselves from God’s point of view.
Boldly he asks God to show him any wickedness lurking within and lead him in the ways of God—the way everlasting.”
In these last lines, the psalmist is in a humble mood.
He doesn’t shrink from God’s gaze. He longs for it.
He knows that his only hope is that God will keep his eye upon him and that God will reveal God’s self to himself and lead him to his glorious destiny, which he calls “the way everlasting.”
St. Paul wrote in one of his letters:
“Now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then we will see face-to-face.
Now I know only in part;
then I will know fully,
even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13.12)
It is sad for the unbeliever to come to the end of life and think, “It is almost over; life will end soon.”
It is not sad for the believer to come to the end of life and think, “This temporary part of life is almost over; real life will begin soon.”
Connecting with God in Prayer: John 13:13 & 15:7-8
We all know we should pray, but for many of us praying is hard. It is like picking up a telephone and talking to someone who is silent.
JOHN 14:13 & 15:7-8: WHAT GOD PROMISES ABOUT PRAYER
INTRODUCTION
Sometimes I come to you because I think I have the answers. This time I come mostly with questions.
I am going to talk to you about prayer—something I’m not very good at.
The Bible tells us that prayer is powerful in its effects.
Jesus told us that if we pray with faith, we will receive.
St. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing.
But for me prayer is hard.
It is hard to keep up a one-sided conversation—because I don’t hear God’s voice answering me.
A lot of my praying is more from a sense of duty than a joy.
I suspect that when I get to heaven and find out what my prayers have accomplished, I will wish I had prayed more.
So this message is as much for myself as much as it is for you.
I. Here are two promises from John’s Gospel: John 14:13 and John 15:7-8.
John 14:13:
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
John 15:7-8:
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples.”
A. First we will consider John 14:13: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
We learn from this saying that when we ask, we are to ask in Jesus’s name.
To ask in Jesus’s name is to ask as his representative.
It is to ask, not for my sake, but for Jesus’s sake.
It is to ask only for things that I have reason to believe Jesus wants.
When I went to college my father put his name on a check.
When I got to the registrar, I filled out the check and put in the amount and handed it to the clerk.
She accepted it—even though I didn’t have a checking account—because my father’s name was on it.
My father trusted me to make it out to the University of Kansas and for the proper amount.
This is kind of like how prayer works.
God gives us a book of checks with Jesus’s name on the signature line, for us to fill out and cash.
But it is very important that what we write on that check is according to God’s will.
Another thing we learn from this verse is that the purpose of prayer is to glorify the Father.
This isn’t because God is vain and proud and craves our admiration.
It’s because only when the Father is honored in my life, can I be in right relationship to God.
And my happiness depends on my being in close fellowship with God our Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
When we want something very much, it is easy to fool ourselves by thinking that what we want so much must be what God wants us to have.
So we have to be open to the idea that sometimes—often—we will pray for things that we will not receive.
Could it be that we might pray for healing—or for the pain to go away—but God intends that we prove our faith by the way we handle our adversity?
Peter writes of our rejoicing in our hope of resurrection but adds: “…though now you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
How we handle suffering proves to us and to others that our faith is genuine.
Sometimes pain can make us cling closer to God.
Sometimes affliction can help us understand the afflictions of others, so that we can comfort them.
Sometimes troubles can make us long for heaven, and suffering can prepare us for our homecoming.
These are some ways God uses suffering in our lives.
B. The second saying I want us to consider is John 15:7-8: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.”
Here again we are invited to ask “whatever we will.” But here again, there are conditions.
The first condition: “If you abide in me…”
Jesus has compared his Father to the gardener, himself to a grapevine, and his people to the branches in the vine.
Only as the branches remain attached to the vine can they make fruit.
He expresses the union of the branches and the vine by saying that the branches “abide in the vine.”
He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
The idea is that we are made to live our lives in union with Jesus, our Savior.
I pray that whatever it Christ wants will be what I want.
When people are very much in love with one another, they have one will because they both desire the same things.
Jesus knows best and he always has my good at heart, so my aim is to have his mind in me.
The Bible speaks of having “the mind of Christ.” That is our aim.
When our mind is one with the mind of Christ we are ready to pray with confidence.
The second condition: “…and my words abide in you…”
It is by having Jesus’s words constantly in mind that we truly “abide in Christ.”
His commandments are constantly in our minds—especially the commandments to trust and to love.
We go to the Bible to find Christ’s words to us.
To live in union with Jesus we need constantly to be meditating on the words of Christ and the words of the holy writers of our Bible.
It’s not just the words we remember. It’s the words that we do—the words that live with us.
Again in this saying, Jesus tells us that our purpose is that the Father may be glorified: “By this the Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
II. So much for the promises. But it is the problems that sometimes make us lose heart when we pray.
A. What about faith? The Bible says we have to have faith. But how can we have faith when we’ve been disappointed so many times?
I don’t know the entire answer to that question.
I know that it’s impossible to make ourselves have faith.
I know also that sometimes we have faith and pray and are still disappointed.
But there’s one kind of faith we can all have.
We can all have faith that when we pray, God hears us.
And if you don’t have faith, pray anyway. Faith will come.
One of my favorite prayers in the Bible is the prayer of the father of the epileptic boy in Mark 9. Jesus tells him that if he has faith all things are possible. The poor man cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Think of it this way. Just tell God what’s on your mind and let him sort it out.
Keep praying, keep talking to God, keep crying out to him—and leave the results to him.
The important thing is to be in communication.
We don’t have to be always talking. Sometimes I just like to rest in Jesus.
I read about an old woman who lived alone.
Someone asked her what she did with her time.
She said, “I take my Bible and I let God talk to me. Then I pray and talk to God. And when I’ve talked to God and let God talk to me, I just sit still and let God love me.”
I heard about an old peasant in France. His priest noticed that he would often come to church and just sit—seemingly doing nothing.
His priest asked him: “What are you doing here, day after day?”
“Well,” he said, “I look at God and God looks at me—and we’re happy together.” This man had learned to pray without words.
B. Another problem: Sometimes I am quite sure that the thing I am praying for is God’s will, but God does not grant my request.
Suppose a friend is suffering dreadfully, and her suffering is destroying her faith. You beg God to deliver her from her affliction, but she continues to suffer.
These are things that I can’t understand, but we have to accept that we don’t always know what’s best.
Sometimes God’s ways are dark. Some of God’s children walk in darkness. The psalm calls it “the Valley of the Shadow of Death.”
Sometimes we pray for a loved one that he will come to God, but he keeps wandering far away.
Let us remember that God can draw a soul to himself, but a person has to make a choice.
God wants lovers not slaves. He forces nobody. He respects our free will.
So keep praying for that one, that God will bring into his life good influences and draw him to himself. But remember, each of us must choose God for himself.
C. There are many things that we know God wants for us. These we can ask for without any doubts.
One of my most frequent prayers is for stronger faith.
Another is that God will make me useful.
God wants us to overcome the sins that stumble us up and hurt the people around us.
We can pray against our sins—anger, pride, selfishness, envy, complaining, superiority.
And we can pray for the character traits that should replace our sins—kindness, courtesy, humility, gentleness, thoughtfulness, thankfulness.
We need not doubt that these prayers are God’s will for us.
So let’s pray that God will make us holy, useful, fruitful Christians—a blessing to those around us and worthy of our Lord Jesus.
CONCLUSION
The story is told of a man who ordered something from a catalog.
On the order form were the words: “If we haven’t the article you order in stock, may we substitute?”
He wrote “yes.”
When the order came, found that what had ordered was not in stock, so they had sent something worth double what he had paid.
Ever after that, he would always answer the question at the bottom of the form—“If we haven’t the article you order, may we substitute?”—with a big “YES” so bold that they couldn’t miss it.
As I look back over my life I can remember many times when I didn’t receive what I asked for in prayer.
But as I look back I also see that things worked out.
Even though I didn’t get what I asked for, something good happened—sometimes better than what I asked for.
So let us pray, confident that God hears us, that he loves us, and that he will work through all the circumstances of our lives for our good and for our happiness.
After all, he has all eternity to make it up to us for the disappointments and afflictions of our life on earth.
So keep praying and don’t be discouraged.
And if you are discouraged, tell God about your discouragement.
But, above all, keep taking to God.
JOHN 14:13 & 15:7-8: WHAT GOD PROMISES ABOUT PRAYER
INTRODUCTION
Sometimes I come to you because I think I have the answers. This time I come mostly with questions.
I am going to talk to you about prayer—something I’m not very good at.
The Bible tells us that prayer is powerful in its effects.
Jesus told us that if we pray with faith, we will receive.
St. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing.
But for me prayer is hard.
It is hard to keep up a one-sided conversation—because I don’t hear God’s voice answering me.
A lot of my praying is more from a sense of duty than a joy.
I suspect that when I get to heaven and find out what my prayers have accomplished, I will wish I had prayed more.
So this message is as much for myself as much as it is for you.
I. Here are two promises from John’s Gospel: John 14:13 and John 15:7-8.
John 14:13:
“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
John 15:7-8:
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit,
and so prove to be my disciples.”
A. First we will consider John 14:13: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
We learn from this saying that when we ask, we are to ask in Jesus’s name.
To ask in Jesus’s name is to ask as his representative.
It is to ask, not for my sake, but for Jesus’s sake.
It is to ask only for things that I have reason to believe Jesus wants.
When I went to college my father put his name on a check.
When I got to the registrar, I filled out the check and put in the amount and handed it to the clerk.
She accepted it—even though I didn’t have a checking account—because my father’s name was on it.
My father trusted me to make it out to the University of Kansas and for the proper amount.
This is kind of like how prayer works.
God gives us a book of checks with Jesus’s name on the signature line, for us to fill out and cash.
But it is very important that what we write on that check is according to God’s will.
Another thing we learn from this verse is that the purpose of prayer is to glorify the Father.
This isn’t because God is vain and proud and craves our admiration.
It’s because only when the Father is honored in my life, can I be in right relationship to God.
And my happiness depends on my being in close fellowship with God our Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
When we want something very much, it is easy to fool ourselves by thinking that what we want so much must be what God wants us to have.
So we have to be open to the idea that sometimes—often—we will pray for things that we will not receive.
Could it be that we might pray for healing—or for the pain to go away—but God intends that we prove our faith by the way we handle our adversity?
Peter writes of our rejoicing in our hope of resurrection but adds: “…though now you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
How we handle suffering proves to us and to others that our faith is genuine.
Sometimes pain can make us cling closer to God.
Sometimes affliction can help us understand the afflictions of others, so that we can comfort them.
Sometimes troubles can make us long for heaven, and suffering can prepare us for our homecoming.
These are some ways God uses suffering in our lives.
B. The second saying I want us to consider is John 15:7-8: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.”
Here again we are invited to ask “whatever we will.” But here again, there are conditions.
The first condition: “If you abide in me…”
Jesus has compared his Father to the gardener, himself to a grapevine, and his people to the branches in the vine.
Only as the branches remain attached to the vine can they make fruit.
He expresses the union of the branches and the vine by saying that the branches “abide in the vine.”
He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
The idea is that we are made to live our lives in union with Jesus, our Savior.
I pray that whatever it Christ wants will be what I want.
When people are very much in love with one another, they have one will because they both desire the same things.
Jesus knows best and he always has my good at heart, so my aim is to have his mind in me.
The Bible speaks of having “the mind of Christ.” That is our aim.
When our mind is one with the mind of Christ we are ready to pray with confidence.
The second condition: “…and my words abide in you…”
It is by having Jesus’s words constantly in mind that we truly “abide in Christ.”
His commandments are constantly in our minds—especially the commandments to trust and to love.
We go to the Bible to find Christ’s words to us.
To live in union with Jesus we need constantly to be meditating on the words of Christ and the words of the holy writers of our Bible.
It’s not just the words we remember. It’s the words that we do—the words that live with us.
Again in this saying, Jesus tells us that our purpose is that the Father may be glorified: “By this the Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
II. So much for the promises. But it is the problems that sometimes make us lose heart when we pray.
A. What about faith? The Bible says we have to have faith. But how can we have faith when we’ve been disappointed so many times?
I don’t know the entire answer to that question.
I know that it’s impossible to make ourselves have faith.
I know also that sometimes we have faith and pray and are still disappointed.
But there’s one kind of faith we can all have.
We can all have faith that when we pray, God hears us.
And if you don’t have faith, pray anyway. Faith will come.
One of my favorite prayers in the Bible is the prayer of the father of the epileptic boy in Mark 9. Jesus tells him that if he has faith all things are possible. The poor man cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
Think of it this way. Just tell God what’s on your mind and let him sort it out.
Keep praying, keep talking to God, keep crying out to him—and leave the results to him.
The important thing is to be in communication.
We don’t have to be always talking. Sometimes I just like to rest in Jesus.
I read about an old woman who lived alone.
Someone asked her what she did with her time.
She said, “I take my Bible and I let God talk to me. Then I pray and talk to God. And when I’ve talked to God and let God talk to me, I just sit still and let God love me.”
I heard about an old peasant in France. His priest noticed that he would often come to church and just sit—seemingly doing nothing.
His priest asked him: “What are you doing here, day after day?”
“Well,” he said, “I look at God and God looks at me—and we’re happy together.” This man had learned to pray without words.
B. Another problem: Sometimes I am quite sure that the thing I am praying for is God’s will, but God does not grant my request.
Suppose a friend is suffering dreadfully, and her suffering is destroying her faith. You beg God to deliver her from her affliction, but she continues to suffer.
These are things that I can’t understand, but we have to accept that we don’t always know what’s best.
Sometimes God’s ways are dark. Some of God’s children walk in darkness. The psalm calls it “the Valley of the Shadow of Death.”
Sometimes we pray for a loved one that he will come to God, but he keeps wandering far away.
Let us remember that God can draw a soul to himself, but a person has to make a choice.
God wants lovers not slaves. He forces nobody. He respects our free will.
So keep praying for that one, that God will bring into his life good influences and draw him to himself. But remember, each of us must choose God for himself.
C. There are many things that we know God wants for us. These we can ask for without any doubts.
One of my most frequent prayers is for stronger faith.
Another is that God will make me useful.
God wants us to overcome the sins that stumble us up and hurt the people around us.
We can pray against our sins—anger, pride, selfishness, envy, complaining, superiority.
And we can pray for the character traits that should replace our sins—kindness, courtesy, humility, gentleness, thoughtfulness, thankfulness.
We need not doubt that these prayers are God’s will for us.
So let’s pray that God will make us holy, useful, fruitful Christians—a blessing to those around us and worthy of our Lord Jesus.
CONCLUSION
The story is told of a man who ordered something from a catalog.
On the order form were the words: “If we haven’t the article you order in stock, may we substitute?”
He wrote “yes.”
When the order came, found that what had ordered was not in stock, so they had sent something worth double what he had paid.
Ever after that, he would always answer the question at the bottom of the form—“If we haven’t the article you order, may we substitute?”—with a big “YES” so bold that they couldn’t miss it.
As I look back over my life I can remember many times when I didn’t receive what I asked for in prayer.
But as I look back I also see that things worked out.
Even though I didn’t get what I asked for, something good happened—sometimes better than what I asked for.
So let us pray, confident that God hears us, that he loves us, and that he will work through all the circumstances of our lives for our good and for our happiness.
After all, he has all eternity to make it up to us for the disappointments and afflictions of our life on earth.
So keep praying and don’t be discouraged.
And if you are discouraged, tell God about your discouragement.
But, above all, keep taking to God.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Christmas: Luke 2:25-38: They Saw God’s Salvation from Afar
You may have seen pictures of Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus in the temple. In these pictures an old man is holding Jesus and an old woman is looking on. So what were these two doing? And why are they important in the Christmas story?
LUKE 2:25-38: THEY SAW GOD’S SALVATION FROM AFAR
INTRODUCTION
Today we are going to talk about something that happened after Christmas.
Mary and Joseph were devoted to their spiritual heritage. Eight days after Jesus was born they had a priest come to circumcise him.
In this way they dedicated him to God, according to the requirements of the law of the Old Testament.
At that time they gave him his name. It was a name of great significance. It was not a name they chose.
It was the name the angel gave to Mary, when the angel came to her, and then to Joseph, when the angel visited Joseph in a dream.
The angel told Joseph, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The name, in the Hebrew language, was Joshua—or “Yehoshuah” which means “The Lord Saves.”
But there were two other important rituals
And that is our story for today.
Read: Luke 25-38.
I. Forty days after the child’s birth the family would come to the Temple for the redemption of the firstborn and the purification of the mother.
A. Do you remember the story of the Exodus—how the Angel of Death killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians?
Ever after that the Israelites redeemed their firstborn sons with a gift of 5 shekels of silver.
This was to keep the story of their liberation from slavery in their memories.
B. The ritual they called the Purification of the Mother involved a sacrifice of a lamb or—if the family was poor—two pigeons or turtledoves.
Joseph and Mary were poor, so their offering was two turtledoves or pigeons.
C. Picture what we are talking about when we say, “They went to the Temple.”
Ordinary people didn’t go into the Temple building; only priests entered the building.
But around the Temple was a great courtyard—30 acres of courtyard.
All around the courtyard was a colonnade, covered porches under which people could assemble and where the rabbis taught.
II. After Joseph and Mary had given their gift of 5 shekels and offered the two birds, something unexpected happened—
A. An old man approached the little family and took the baby Jesus into his arms. His name was Simeon.
Simeon was a righteous and godly man who for years had meditated on the promises God had made to his people long ago.
Even when the people of Judah were captives in faraway Babylon, God had sent a prophet to promise that God would visit his people and deliver them from captivity and from all evil.
We can read the promise in the book of Isaiah:
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-5).
And again, God is speaking to Israel…
“Listen! your watchmen lift up their voice,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion,
Break forth together into singing…
for the Lord has comforted his people…
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:8-10).
Simeon was one of those Jews who had kept this hope alive in his heart, meditating on the promise of God to send his Messiah into the world and fulfill these prophecies.
Evidently he understood that God had appointed him as the watchman Isaiah spoke of.
God had promised him that he would see God’s Salvation before he died.
That explains his words,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Notice that Simeon says, “My eyes have seen your salvation.”
When Simeon looked at that baby in his arms, he saw in the little baby Jesus, God’s salvation!
Jesus would become the Savior, not only for Israel, but also for the whole world.
How excited Mary and Joseph must have been to hear this pronouncement of the destiny of their precious baby boy—a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to God’s people Israel.
Then before handing Mary back her baby, he had another prophecy to make—words that prepared Mary for the cost to her of bearing the Savior of the world. He said,
“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel,
and for a sign that is spoken against
(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),
that thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
B. But Simeon had a counterpart, another prophet named Anna, to whom God had also revealed the destiny of this little baby boy.
Anna, we read, was an old woman who had been a widow most of her life.
Anna was a familiar figure to all who came to worship in the Temple.
We read that day and night she was there worshiping and fasting and praying.
As a prophetess, that is where Anna would be, praising the Lord.
When people went home after worship, they would remember this old woman who was a fixture at the temple, constantly praying and praising God.
Anna saw Mary and Joseph and Simeon with the baby, and she joined them, taking the baby into her arms.
It doesn’t say she took him into her arms, but I know that is what she did, because that is what women do.
And when she got the baby Jesus into her arms she blessed him, and she praised God like she never had before.
And “She spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
APPLICATION
Have we seen God’s salvation? Or do we, like most of the world, just see a baby?
This time of year we are surrounded by images of the baby Jesus. Maybe we forget why he came.
Some people, at Christmastime, think only about the baby in the manger, but that was just the beginning. We should think more of what that baby did with his life--
Jesus didn’t come to be a baby. The Bible tells us hardly anything about the baby.
Jesus came to live among poor and needy, sick and suffering people, and, in the end, to be rejected by those he loved and to give his life.
Jesus came to be our Savior. That is what thrilled Anna and Simeon.
Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and to rise again to give us life.
Jesus came to be our constant companion and friend of all who love him.
That’s what we mean when we say, “Jesus is my Savior.”
Simeon and Anna, when they had welcomed the Savior, were ready to go to God.
And so we—when we have welcomed Jesus as our Savior and Lord—are ready to go to God.
In one of his most beautiful cantatas (BWV 82), the great composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, places himself in the place of Simeon. He gives the baritone soloist these words:
“For me, it is enough.
I have taken the Savior, the faithful one, into my arms.
For me, it is enough!
I have seen him.
My faith has clasped Jesus to my heart.
Now I desire this very day joyfully to depart this earth.
For me it is enough.”
LUKE 2:25-38: THEY SAW GOD’S SALVATION FROM AFAR
INTRODUCTION
Today we are going to talk about something that happened after Christmas.
Mary and Joseph were devoted to their spiritual heritage. Eight days after Jesus was born they had a priest come to circumcise him.
In this way they dedicated him to God, according to the requirements of the law of the Old Testament.
At that time they gave him his name. It was a name of great significance. It was not a name they chose.
It was the name the angel gave to Mary, when the angel came to her, and then to Joseph, when the angel visited Joseph in a dream.
The angel told Joseph, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The name, in the Hebrew language, was Joshua—or “Yehoshuah” which means “The Lord Saves.”
But there were two other important rituals
And that is our story for today.
Read: Luke 25-38.
I. Forty days after the child’s birth the family would come to the Temple for the redemption of the firstborn and the purification of the mother.
A. Do you remember the story of the Exodus—how the Angel of Death killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians?
Ever after that the Israelites redeemed their firstborn sons with a gift of 5 shekels of silver.
This was to keep the story of their liberation from slavery in their memories.
B. The ritual they called the Purification of the Mother involved a sacrifice of a lamb or—if the family was poor—two pigeons or turtledoves.
Joseph and Mary were poor, so their offering was two turtledoves or pigeons.
C. Picture what we are talking about when we say, “They went to the Temple.”
Ordinary people didn’t go into the Temple building; only priests entered the building.
But around the Temple was a great courtyard—30 acres of courtyard.
All around the courtyard was a colonnade, covered porches under which people could assemble and where the rabbis taught.
II. After Joseph and Mary had given their gift of 5 shekels and offered the two birds, something unexpected happened—
A. An old man approached the little family and took the baby Jesus into his arms. His name was Simeon.
Simeon was a righteous and godly man who for years had meditated on the promises God had made to his people long ago.
Even when the people of Judah were captives in faraway Babylon, God had sent a prophet to promise that God would visit his people and deliver them from captivity and from all evil.
We can read the promise in the book of Isaiah:
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-5).
And again, God is speaking to Israel…
“Listen! your watchmen lift up their voice,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion,
Break forth together into singing…
for the Lord has comforted his people…
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isaiah 52:8-10).
Simeon was one of those Jews who had kept this hope alive in his heart, meditating on the promise of God to send his Messiah into the world and fulfill these prophecies.
Evidently he understood that God had appointed him as the watchman Isaiah spoke of.
God had promised him that he would see God’s Salvation before he died.
That explains his words,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Notice that Simeon says, “My eyes have seen your salvation.”
When Simeon looked at that baby in his arms, he saw in the little baby Jesus, God’s salvation!
Jesus would become the Savior, not only for Israel, but also for the whole world.
How excited Mary and Joseph must have been to hear this pronouncement of the destiny of their precious baby boy—a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to God’s people Israel.
Then before handing Mary back her baby, he had another prophecy to make—words that prepared Mary for the cost to her of bearing the Savior of the world. He said,
“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel,
and for a sign that is spoken against
(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),
that thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
B. But Simeon had a counterpart, another prophet named Anna, to whom God had also revealed the destiny of this little baby boy.
Anna, we read, was an old woman who had been a widow most of her life.
Anna was a familiar figure to all who came to worship in the Temple.
We read that day and night she was there worshiping and fasting and praying.
As a prophetess, that is where Anna would be, praising the Lord.
When people went home after worship, they would remember this old woman who was a fixture at the temple, constantly praying and praising God.
Anna saw Mary and Joseph and Simeon with the baby, and she joined them, taking the baby into her arms.
It doesn’t say she took him into her arms, but I know that is what she did, because that is what women do.
And when she got the baby Jesus into her arms she blessed him, and she praised God like she never had before.
And “She spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
APPLICATION
Have we seen God’s salvation? Or do we, like most of the world, just see a baby?
This time of year we are surrounded by images of the baby Jesus. Maybe we forget why he came.
Some people, at Christmastime, think only about the baby in the manger, but that was just the beginning. We should think more of what that baby did with his life--
Jesus didn’t come to be a baby. The Bible tells us hardly anything about the baby.
Jesus came to live among poor and needy, sick and suffering people, and, in the end, to be rejected by those he loved and to give his life.
Jesus came to be our Savior. That is what thrilled Anna and Simeon.
Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and to rise again to give us life.
Jesus came to be our constant companion and friend of all who love him.
That’s what we mean when we say, “Jesus is my Savior.”
Simeon and Anna, when they had welcomed the Savior, were ready to go to God.
And so we—when we have welcomed Jesus as our Savior and Lord—are ready to go to God.
In one of his most beautiful cantatas (BWV 82), the great composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, places himself in the place of Simeon. He gives the baritone soloist these words:
“For me, it is enough.
I have taken the Savior, the faithful one, into my arms.
For me, it is enough!
I have seen him.
My faith has clasped Jesus to my heart.
Now I desire this very day joyfully to depart this earth.
For me it is enough.”
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Christmas: John 8:1 & Matthew 5:14: The Light of the World
One of the most exciting things about Christmas is all the lights. Did you ever wonder why we use so many lights and candles at Christmas?
JOHN 8:1 AND MATTHEW 5:14: THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
INTRODUCTION
We are now in the Christmas season. Everywhere we see the Christmas lights. Lights have been used to celebrate Jesus all through the ages. It used to be candles. Churches were full of candles. I have heard about churches where each worshiper would bring his or her candle into the dark church and when everyone arrived and was seated the church would be ablaze with light.
These candles have a deep spiritual significance. To understand their significance will help us to celebrate Christmas as it ought to be celebrated.
I have two texts for today’s message. The first is John 8:1: Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” And the second is Matthew 5:14: Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”
We will take up each of these ideas in turn and see how they help us understand what God has done for us and what he expects of us.
I hope that these thoughts will help us prepare spiritually to celebrate Christmas as it ought to be celebrated.
I. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”
A. You know that John begins his story of Jesus long before Bethlehem, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men. John begins his story of Jesus before the beginning of time—in the eternity before there was even a world.
Here is how John begins his story of Jesus:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God;
all things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-14).
Just as we express ourselves with words, so God expresses himself with his “Word,” which is Jesus.
Jesus came into the world to show us in a human life the heart of God.
Probably one of the first Bible verses we learned in Sunday school was, “God so loved the world, that he sent his only-begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
When John wrote: “In him was life and the life was the light of men,” he is telling us two most important things about the Lord Jesus.
Jesus is life and Jesus is light: true life, life that never ends, and the light of the knowledge of God.
John is not picturing for us the sunlight that turns the night into day when he says Jesus was “The light shining in the darkness.”
Do you remember when a carnival used to come to town how they would shine those great spotlights into the air?
They didn’t light up the sky, but they pierced the sky with a bright shaft piercing the darkness.
Or imagine yourself on a pitch-dark day out at sea with only the stars above twinkling with a faint light.
And then you see a lighthouse. And the lighthouse cutting a hole in the blackness with its bright bar of light.
B. John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
I can remember as a child being lost in the darkness.
The night was much darker when we were children and we didn’t have lights all around us.
The farm where Charlotte grew up had no electricity. The night was really dark and the outhouse was some distance from the house.
The nights were dark, even in the city, where I lived
I lived in the city, but I remember gazing at the Milky Way from my cot on the sleeping porch.
In ancient cities darkness could be terrifying.
A few days ago I read in a history book about the danger of life in ancient Rome.
Night was a time of great danger. Criminals abounded in the darkness.
When dark came people locked themselves in their houses.
Shops were closed and chains drawn across the doors.
If rich people went outside they took slaves with them carrying torches.
So for John, darkness is a good metaphor for a world full of sin and sorrow and evil and danger.
And the darkness—the Bible tells us—is not only all around us in the world; it is also in our own hearts, if they are without God.
But “light,” in the Bible represents peace and joy and holiness and love.
These are the qualities that Jesus brings into our world and into the life of everyone who receives him as Lord and Savior.
We have experienced this.
Even when we experience disappointments and illness and sadness, God dwells within and cheers us with his light.
So when you see the candles and all the bright lights this Christmas, remember that they represent Jesus, the light in a dark world.
II. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to his followers: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
A. Isn’t that interesting; not only is Jesus the Light of the World, but you and I—if we are followers of Jesus—are also lights in the world.
Jesus is present in our world mainly in the lives of his people.
The people of the world can no longer see Jesus, but they can see you and me.
And our job in the world is to reflect the light of Jesus to those around us.
And Jesus says that the way to do that is by our “good works”—works of kindness and generosity and compassion.
B. We Christians believers need to consider how we can be lights in a dark world.
Here is a conversation a teacher overheard on the playground:
One boy said to another, “None of us ever wants to play with Mike. He’s such a nerd. But whenever the coach asks us to choose a partner for doubles, you always choose to play with Mike. Nobody will play with Mike. Why do you play with him?”
The other boy responded quietly, “That’s why I play with him.”
That boy was reflecting the light of Jesus in the world.
A girl in the seventh grade went to a school party. But nobody greeted her or talked to her. She sat by herself in a corner wishing she hadn’t come. A wise teacher noticed and came over to her and pointed out to her that there were other lonely people at the party just like her. She said, “Why don’t you go over and talk to some of them?”
She spent the rest of the evening seeking out the wall-flowers and offering them her friendship. By the time the party was over she had had a wonderful time.
That girl was serving Jesus. That girl was letting her light shine in the world.
She had begun to come to Sunday school all by herself, but in the end she won her entire family to Christ.
My Aunt Ruth lived to be over 100. She spent the last years in a nursing home in Dallas. In order to share her faith with others in the nursing home she ordered multiple copies of the devotional booklet, The Upper Room. When the housekeeper or nurse aides came into her room, she would offer them a copy. It got so that some of the employees of the home looked forward to receiving these little devotional booklets and would come in and ask for them. This was Aunt Ruth’s way of letting the light of Jesus shine in her life.
In Ephesians 5:8 we read: “Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”
Last week we sang in church a beautiful hymn. It began like this:
“I want to walk as a child of the light;
I want to follow Jesus.”
CONCLUSION
A small girl in a church junior choir was chosen to lead the procession for a Christmas candlelight service. After the service, she said to her mother: “I looked back and saw all those people coming behind me, and I was scared!”
Each of us is in a procession of believers that has been processing through history and will continue until Jesus returns.
Each of us is following a procession. But each of us is also leading a procession—children, younger friends, students, younger friends.
How we live influences the lives and decisions of all who follow us.
Think about how much you owe in your walk with God to those who came before you and taught you by their example. And take seriously your role as a light-bearer for Jesus.
“Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light,
Like a little candle burning in the night.
In this world of darkness so let us shine.
You in your small corner, and I in mine.”
JOHN 8:1 AND MATTHEW 5:14: THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
INTRODUCTION
We are now in the Christmas season. Everywhere we see the Christmas lights. Lights have been used to celebrate Jesus all through the ages. It used to be candles. Churches were full of candles. I have heard about churches where each worshiper would bring his or her candle into the dark church and when everyone arrived and was seated the church would be ablaze with light.
These candles have a deep spiritual significance. To understand their significance will help us to celebrate Christmas as it ought to be celebrated.
I have two texts for today’s message. The first is John 8:1: Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” And the second is Matthew 5:14: Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”
We will take up each of these ideas in turn and see how they help us understand what God has done for us and what he expects of us.
I hope that these thoughts will help us prepare spiritually to celebrate Christmas as it ought to be celebrated.
I. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”
A. You know that John begins his story of Jesus long before Bethlehem, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men. John begins his story of Jesus before the beginning of time—in the eternity before there was even a world.
Here is how John begins his story of Jesus:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God;
all things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-14).
Just as we express ourselves with words, so God expresses himself with his “Word,” which is Jesus.
Jesus came into the world to show us in a human life the heart of God.
Probably one of the first Bible verses we learned in Sunday school was, “God so loved the world, that he sent his only-begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
When John wrote: “In him was life and the life was the light of men,” he is telling us two most important things about the Lord Jesus.
Jesus is life and Jesus is light: true life, life that never ends, and the light of the knowledge of God.
John is not picturing for us the sunlight that turns the night into day when he says Jesus was “The light shining in the darkness.”
Do you remember when a carnival used to come to town how they would shine those great spotlights into the air?
They didn’t light up the sky, but they pierced the sky with a bright shaft piercing the darkness.
Or imagine yourself on a pitch-dark day out at sea with only the stars above twinkling with a faint light.
And then you see a lighthouse. And the lighthouse cutting a hole in the blackness with its bright bar of light.
B. John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
I can remember as a child being lost in the darkness.
The night was much darker when we were children and we didn’t have lights all around us.
The farm where Charlotte grew up had no electricity. The night was really dark and the outhouse was some distance from the house.
The nights were dark, even in the city, where I lived
I lived in the city, but I remember gazing at the Milky Way from my cot on the sleeping porch.
In ancient cities darkness could be terrifying.
A few days ago I read in a history book about the danger of life in ancient Rome.
Night was a time of great danger. Criminals abounded in the darkness.
When dark came people locked themselves in their houses.
Shops were closed and chains drawn across the doors.
If rich people went outside they took slaves with them carrying torches.
So for John, darkness is a good metaphor for a world full of sin and sorrow and evil and danger.
And the darkness—the Bible tells us—is not only all around us in the world; it is also in our own hearts, if they are without God.
But “light,” in the Bible represents peace and joy and holiness and love.
These are the qualities that Jesus brings into our world and into the life of everyone who receives him as Lord and Savior.
We have experienced this.
Even when we experience disappointments and illness and sadness, God dwells within and cheers us with his light.
So when you see the candles and all the bright lights this Christmas, remember that they represent Jesus, the light in a dark world.
II. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to his followers: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
A. Isn’t that interesting; not only is Jesus the Light of the World, but you and I—if we are followers of Jesus—are also lights in the world.
Jesus is present in our world mainly in the lives of his people.
The people of the world can no longer see Jesus, but they can see you and me.
And our job in the world is to reflect the light of Jesus to those around us.
And Jesus says that the way to do that is by our “good works”—works of kindness and generosity and compassion.
B. We Christians believers need to consider how we can be lights in a dark world.
Here is a conversation a teacher overheard on the playground:
One boy said to another, “None of us ever wants to play with Mike. He’s such a nerd. But whenever the coach asks us to choose a partner for doubles, you always choose to play with Mike. Nobody will play with Mike. Why do you play with him?”
The other boy responded quietly, “That’s why I play with him.”
That boy was reflecting the light of Jesus in the world.
A girl in the seventh grade went to a school party. But nobody greeted her or talked to her. She sat by herself in a corner wishing she hadn’t come. A wise teacher noticed and came over to her and pointed out to her that there were other lonely people at the party just like her. She said, “Why don’t you go over and talk to some of them?”
She spent the rest of the evening seeking out the wall-flowers and offering them her friendship. By the time the party was over she had had a wonderful time.
That girl was serving Jesus. That girl was letting her light shine in the world.
She had begun to come to Sunday school all by herself, but in the end she won her entire family to Christ.
My Aunt Ruth lived to be over 100. She spent the last years in a nursing home in Dallas. In order to share her faith with others in the nursing home she ordered multiple copies of the devotional booklet, The Upper Room. When the housekeeper or nurse aides came into her room, she would offer them a copy. It got so that some of the employees of the home looked forward to receiving these little devotional booklets and would come in and ask for them. This was Aunt Ruth’s way of letting the light of Jesus shine in her life.
In Ephesians 5:8 we read: “Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”
Last week we sang in church a beautiful hymn. It began like this:
“I want to walk as a child of the light;
I want to follow Jesus.”
CONCLUSION
A small girl in a church junior choir was chosen to lead the procession for a Christmas candlelight service. After the service, she said to her mother: “I looked back and saw all those people coming behind me, and I was scared!”
Each of us is in a procession of believers that has been processing through history and will continue until Jesus returns.
Each of us is following a procession. But each of us is also leading a procession—children, younger friends, students, younger friends.
How we live influences the lives and decisions of all who follow us.
Think about how much you owe in your walk with God to those who came before you and taught you by their example. And take seriously your role as a light-bearer for Jesus.
“Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light,
Like a little candle burning in the night.
In this world of darkness so let us shine.
You in your small corner, and I in mine.”
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Strength for the Journey: 2 Corinthians 4:6-7: Treasure in Earthen Vessels
As we grow older we become more and more aware of our weakness, but the good news is that even in our weak selves, God has hidden a precious jewel.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-7: TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS
INTRODUCTION
This is an earthen vessel, or we could call it a clay pot. It isn’t very valuable. It didn’t cost very much. It is made out of nothing but clay from the ground.
Probably the clay with which this pot is made cost less than a dime. But the potter who made it did a nice job, didn’t he. He made something beautiful and useful.
In Bible times they used earthenware pots for many things.
They used clay jars where we would use cans, bottles, cardboard boxes, and crates.
They stored grain and olive oil, ointment, perfume, and wine in clay jars.
Their lamps were little closed dishes with two openings in the top, one for putting in the oil and one for the wick to come through.
They used clay jars to draw water with and store water in.
The Dead Sea scrolls were stored in large clay jars.
The main things that archeologists dig up as they explore ancient sites are not coins or statues or ornaments, but pieces of pottery. The sites of ancient cities are full of pieces of pottery.
Archeologists date their other findings by the style of the pottery.
In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul used the clay pot—the earthen vessel—to teach us a very important lesson.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7:
For it is God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
I. Why do you think Paul compares us to earthen vessels?
A. Earthen vessels are not very strong. If we drop them, they break.
Even the strongest man or woman on earth, can be made helpless by a little germ, or by falling down the stairs, or by some malfunction of a tiny organ or nerve in our body.
We are like clay pots because we are not strong in ourselves.
We need to depend on God. Only God can give us the strength we need to live.
Do you know why all the heroes in the Bible have serious flaws?
It’s because weak, flawed people are all God has to work with. All the perfect people are in heaven.
B. Another way we are like earthen vessels is that we are made of the same materials as the dirt under our feet.
On the second page of the Bible we read: “The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).
Whenever we get to thinking we’re somebody, we need to remember that we are dust.
In the next chapter, the Lord God tells Adam: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
But if knowing that we come from the dust humbles us, it can also encourage us.
In Psalm 103 we read these comforting words:
“God does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor requite us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the Lord pities those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust” (vv10-14).
It is a comfort to me to know that God knows my weakness. He remembers that I am dust.
C. Earthen vessels aren’t very valuable. A porcelain vase may be valuable, but an earthen vessel is pretty cheap.
The clay they are made of is dug from the earth.
If you have ever seen a potter working at his wheel?
You know how fast they can make a pot. They call it “throwing” and I’ve seen potters make beautiful pots in a five minutes.
That’s why earthenware is usually inexpensive.
Maybe Paul is reminding us that in ourselves we aren’t precious. When God made man, he wasn’t precious until God breathed into him the breath of life. Then he became a living soul.
The important thing isn’t what we’re made of. The important thing is that God breathed into us the breath of life.
Within our bodies---made of clay—is the breath of life.
And that makes us precious, doesn’t it?
II. But that’s not the treasure Paul is telling us about.
A. Look at the first part that I read: “It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
What is so valuable that is held within the little clay pot?
Paul calls it “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.”
In the third sentence in the Bible God says, “Let there be light.” That was the light that gives life to everything on earth.
But there’s another kind of light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, the one who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
To have Jesus in my life is to have light in my life—the light of salvation—and all that that light brings into my life—hope of glory, peace, joy, love…
Our spiritual life is the most precious thing in the world to you and me.
Our spiritual life is like a precious jewel we hold within the clay pot that is our life.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
One day he found one of such beauty and value that he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
To know Jesus and have the assurance of eternal life is of more value than everything else we own, even if we were multi-billionaires.
Never let anything allow you to lose you hold on this most precious possession.
We must give attention to nurturing our spiritual life, so that we can be always close to God and the flame of his love will burn brightly in our lives.
We have talked about these things many times: prayer, fellowship with other believers, church attendance, Bible reading, conversing with others about our faith.
III. But there’s one thing more to learn from our text: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.” Some versions say, “the surpassing greatness of his power,” “this extraordinary power,” “the immensity of the power.”
A. We always need to remember that the power comes from God.
Of all people, we should know our weakness. In ourselves we are weak.
We depend on God for life and strength.
We depend on God for strength to live for him.
In ourselves we are weak and sinful.
It is only by God’s power in us that we can love as we ought to love.
It is only with God’s help that we can live obedient lives, faithful to God’s word.
It is only with God’s help that we can be patient in the midst of trouble.
It is only by leaning on God that we can keep trusting in him through the times of weakness and pain.
It is only by holding God in our hearts that we can keep hope bright.
It is only by God’s love shining in us that we can draw others to Jesus.
B. Paul calls it the “transcendent power” because the power of God goes beyond anything we can experience on our own. God’s power is so great that words cannot express it.
Sometimes young Christians wonder why so many of the most intelligent and learned and powerful people in the world are not believers.
Paul wrote this in one of his letters: “Consider your call, brothers and sisters, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
We must never take credit for what God has done for us.
This teaches us to be humble.
It teaches us to give God the credit.
If you haven’t made some of the mistakes other people have made…
if you aren’t guilty of some of the sins you see around you,
if you begin to see holiness coming into your life…
if you have a sweet sense of God in your life…
remember that all this comes from God.
This should keep us humble, thankful, dependent.
CONCLUSION
There is a legend preachers often use. You may have heard it.
The story is that after Jesus returned to glory after his resurrection on earth, the angel Gabriel approached him and asked, “Master, do they know all about how you loved them and what you did for them?”
“No,” replied Jesus, “not yet. Right now only a few people in Palestine know.”
Gabriel was perplexed: “What have you done to get out the word?”
Jesus said, “I’ve asked Peter and John and Mary and Martha and a bunch of others to tell about me. They will tell some, and the ones they tell will pass the word to others, and eventually the whole world will hear.
Gabriel looked skeptical. He knew about what poor stuff men and women were made of. He said, “What if Peter denies you again? What if they all run away again when danger comes? What if they grow weary? Do you have another plan?”
Jesus answered, “No, I don’t have another plan. I’m counting on them.”
And Jesus is counting on you and me too.
We have a treasure, the gospel of the glory of God.
As we live for Jesus, the light of the gospel shines out and others can see the gift.
Let’s make sure they do.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-7: TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS
INTRODUCTION
This is an earthen vessel, or we could call it a clay pot. It isn’t very valuable. It didn’t cost very much. It is made out of nothing but clay from the ground.
Probably the clay with which this pot is made cost less than a dime. But the potter who made it did a nice job, didn’t he. He made something beautiful and useful.
In Bible times they used earthenware pots for many things.
They used clay jars where we would use cans, bottles, cardboard boxes, and crates.
They stored grain and olive oil, ointment, perfume, and wine in clay jars.
Their lamps were little closed dishes with two openings in the top, one for putting in the oil and one for the wick to come through.
They used clay jars to draw water with and store water in.
The Dead Sea scrolls were stored in large clay jars.
The main things that archeologists dig up as they explore ancient sites are not coins or statues or ornaments, but pieces of pottery. The sites of ancient cities are full of pieces of pottery.
Archeologists date their other findings by the style of the pottery.
In his second letter to the Corinthians Paul used the clay pot—the earthen vessel—to teach us a very important lesson.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7:
For it is God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
I. Why do you think Paul compares us to earthen vessels?
A. Earthen vessels are not very strong. If we drop them, they break.
Even the strongest man or woman on earth, can be made helpless by a little germ, or by falling down the stairs, or by some malfunction of a tiny organ or nerve in our body.
We are like clay pots because we are not strong in ourselves.
We need to depend on God. Only God can give us the strength we need to live.
Do you know why all the heroes in the Bible have serious flaws?
It’s because weak, flawed people are all God has to work with. All the perfect people are in heaven.
B. Another way we are like earthen vessels is that we are made of the same materials as the dirt under our feet.
On the second page of the Bible we read: “The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).
Whenever we get to thinking we’re somebody, we need to remember that we are dust.
In the next chapter, the Lord God tells Adam: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
But if knowing that we come from the dust humbles us, it can also encourage us.
In Psalm 103 we read these comforting words:
“God does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor requite us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the Lord pities those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust” (vv10-14).
It is a comfort to me to know that God knows my weakness. He remembers that I am dust.
C. Earthen vessels aren’t very valuable. A porcelain vase may be valuable, but an earthen vessel is pretty cheap.
The clay they are made of is dug from the earth.
If you have ever seen a potter working at his wheel?
You know how fast they can make a pot. They call it “throwing” and I’ve seen potters make beautiful pots in a five minutes.
That’s why earthenware is usually inexpensive.
Maybe Paul is reminding us that in ourselves we aren’t precious. When God made man, he wasn’t precious until God breathed into him the breath of life. Then he became a living soul.
The important thing isn’t what we’re made of. The important thing is that God breathed into us the breath of life.
Within our bodies---made of clay—is the breath of life.
And that makes us precious, doesn’t it?
II. But that’s not the treasure Paul is telling us about.
A. Look at the first part that I read: “It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
What is so valuable that is held within the little clay pot?
Paul calls it “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.”
In the third sentence in the Bible God says, “Let there be light.” That was the light that gives life to everything on earth.
But there’s another kind of light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, the one who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
To have Jesus in my life is to have light in my life—the light of salvation—and all that that light brings into my life—hope of glory, peace, joy, love…
Our spiritual life is the most precious thing in the world to you and me.
Our spiritual life is like a precious jewel we hold within the clay pot that is our life.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
One day he found one of such beauty and value that he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
To know Jesus and have the assurance of eternal life is of more value than everything else we own, even if we were multi-billionaires.
Never let anything allow you to lose you hold on this most precious possession.
We must give attention to nurturing our spiritual life, so that we can be always close to God and the flame of his love will burn brightly in our lives.
We have talked about these things many times: prayer, fellowship with other believers, church attendance, Bible reading, conversing with others about our faith.
III. But there’s one thing more to learn from our text: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.” Some versions say, “the surpassing greatness of his power,” “this extraordinary power,” “the immensity of the power.”
A. We always need to remember that the power comes from God.
Of all people, we should know our weakness. In ourselves we are weak.
We depend on God for life and strength.
We depend on God for strength to live for him.
In ourselves we are weak and sinful.
It is only by God’s power in us that we can love as we ought to love.
It is only with God’s help that we can live obedient lives, faithful to God’s word.
It is only with God’s help that we can be patient in the midst of trouble.
It is only by leaning on God that we can keep trusting in him through the times of weakness and pain.
It is only by holding God in our hearts that we can keep hope bright.
It is only by God’s love shining in us that we can draw others to Jesus.
B. Paul calls it the “transcendent power” because the power of God goes beyond anything we can experience on our own. God’s power is so great that words cannot express it.
Sometimes young Christians wonder why so many of the most intelligent and learned and powerful people in the world are not believers.
Paul wrote this in one of his letters: “Consider your call, brothers and sisters, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
We must never take credit for what God has done for us.
This teaches us to be humble.
It teaches us to give God the credit.
If you haven’t made some of the mistakes other people have made…
if you aren’t guilty of some of the sins you see around you,
if you begin to see holiness coming into your life…
if you have a sweet sense of God in your life…
remember that all this comes from God.
This should keep us humble, thankful, dependent.
CONCLUSION
There is a legend preachers often use. You may have heard it.
The story is that after Jesus returned to glory after his resurrection on earth, the angel Gabriel approached him and asked, “Master, do they know all about how you loved them and what you did for them?”
“No,” replied Jesus, “not yet. Right now only a few people in Palestine know.”
Gabriel was perplexed: “What have you done to get out the word?”
Jesus said, “I’ve asked Peter and John and Mary and Martha and a bunch of others to tell about me. They will tell some, and the ones they tell will pass the word to others, and eventually the whole world will hear.
Gabriel looked skeptical. He knew about what poor stuff men and women were made of. He said, “What if Peter denies you again? What if they all run away again when danger comes? What if they grow weary? Do you have another plan?”
Jesus answered, “No, I don’t have another plan. I’m counting on them.”
And Jesus is counting on you and me too.
We have a treasure, the gospel of the glory of God.
As we live for Jesus, the light of the gospel shines out and others can see the gift.
Let’s make sure they do.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Living for Jesus: Colossians 4:6: Be Careful What You Say.
There is an old proverb: “A bird is known by its note; a man by his talk.” Another old saying is “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But it’s not true: words can hurt—and words can also heal.
COLOSSIANS 4:6: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY
INTRODUCTION
Scientists who have studied the matter tell us that the average adult speaks about 13,500 words each day. Of course there are great differences between us. Teachers, barbers, and salespeople talk much more than farmers, accountants, and bus drivers.
But suppose you speak 13,500 words every day of your life. That would be almost 5 million words per year. In a lifetime of 80 years you might speak nearly 400 million words.
An ordinary novel contains 250 words per page. Think of a book with 250 pages, with 250 words on each page. That would be 60,000 words.
If an average person speaks 13,500 words each day for 80 years, he or she would say enough words to fill 4867 books.
Imagine if all the words you had ever spoken were printed in books and those books were lined up on shelves—that would be quite a roomful of books!
One day, when our son John was a little boy, he told us that someone had said something hurtful to him.
I told him: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
He said, “But Daddy, they do hurt.”
That’s true. Words can hurt, and they can also heal and comfort and encourage.
A little girl knelt beside her bed and said this to Jesus, “Dear Jesus, make all the good people nice.”
Sometimes we forget that being nice is part of being good.
And the main way we have of being “nice” is by kind words.
How we use talk to help one another and to express our faith in God is an important subject in the Bible.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians we read these words:
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,
so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.”
I. How can our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt?
A. Gracious speech is speech that is comforting, encouraging, and full of gratitude.
We speak graciously when we offer a sincere compliment…when we notice something good in another person.
We speak graciously when we thank someone for a little act of kindness—even if it is part of their job.
We speak graciously when we sympathize with one who is hurting. Compassion is feeling the hurt in another person’s heart. Compassion also includes doing something—even if it is just a sympathizing word.
Sometimes speaking graciously might even mean refraining from speech and just listening. For some of us listening is hard to do. I often feel that I just must talk or I will burst. But I won’t burst. I need to discipline my speech and listen more.
Ungracious speech includes ridiculing, correcting and contradicting, gossiping and tale-bearing.
We were in a church once in which the men had a habit of kidding one another. I felt that much of the kidding was unkind, they sometimes hurt each other, pretending it was humor.
In Ephesians Paul wrote this, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, that your words may give grace to those who hear.”
That is gracious talk; talk that builds up the other person, talk that imparts grace to the one who hears.
In the same letter Paul tells us to speak the truth in love. We may say something that is true, but we must also speak in love. That means that some things we might like to say—we don’t. It means that we are always thinking about the other person’s feelings rather than our own.
Do you remember when you said something dumb or unkind and your mother told you: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”?
Someone suggests that everything we say should pass through three sieves: “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?”
If we all followed that rule, the world would be a lot quieter. It would also be happier.
Here are some of the ways we can make love with our voices:
“Let me help you.”
“You’ve been a good friend.”
“Those are the words I needed to hear.”
“You’ve made my day.”
“Here, use mine.”
“Are you comfortable?”
“I’ll wait for you.”
”Thank you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
“What a beautiful sweater!”
“You’re fun to be around.”
”Here’s something just for you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for your visit.”
“You’re a good listener.”
“Something you told me the other day has been an encouragement to me.”
“Tell me about your grandchildren.”
“You seem troubled today; can I help?”
These are examples of gracious speech.
B. But what does the apostle mean when he says our speech should be “seasoned with salt”?
A little salt enhances the flavor in food.
I eat oatmeal for breakfast. If I forget to put about ¼ teaspoon of salt in it, it tastes like the pan.
We make bread at our house. For a loaf of bread we use 1 teaspoon of salt. When we eat the bread we can’t taste that bit of salt, but if we forget to put in the salt, the bread tastes insipid.
Speech seasoned with salt is speech that is interesting or helpful.
That requires thinking before we speak.
We need to learn and think, so that when we open our mouths something useful comes out. But we remember that what’s interesting to us may not be interesting to others.
Someone said, “Ideas are like children; our own are very wonderful.”
That is why it is more important to be good listeners than good talkers.
But for ancient people, salt was more important as a preservative than as a seasoning.
People in Bible times didn’t have canning or freezing.
The only way to keep meat or fish eatable was to salt it.
So people thought of salt as that which preserves.
When Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth,” he means that we are to preserve goodness in society.
If we are to be the salt of the earth, our speech should reflect that goodness that preserves and protects rather than destroying and hurting.
When St. Paul says that our speech is to be “seasoned with salt,” he means that it is to be wholesome and helpful.
II. If we love Jesus, our love for him should show up in our talk.
A. Whatever we love and whatever is important to us, we talk about. Loyalty to our Lord must go beyond being kind and considerate.
It is easy to give the impression that we are “religious.” People see that we go to church. They may see us bow our heads to give thanks for our food; they may see our Bible on our table or the Bible verse on our wall. Those things speak of what is important to us.
But sometimes we will have to say something.
B. Our text says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.”
One answer is appropriate for one person, and another answer is appropriate for another.
For example, if the one I am speaking to is not a fellow believer, or if I don’t know about my friend’s feelings about God, I need to be sensitive.
Some people are frightened by talk about God or salvation.
We need a tender heart and a humble mind when we mention God’s love and our assurance of eternal life.
But when someone shares a sorrow, we listen with sympathy.
Maybe you tell her, “I’ll remember you in my prayers.
Hardly anyone is offended by knowing that we are praying for them—even if they don’t believe in God.
If someone shares a disappointment with you, you may say, “When my world fell apart, it was a comfort to know that God loves me and will never let me go.”
And whenever anyone asks you about your source of contentment, be ready to tell them what God has done for you.
If someone does us a kindness, we might say, “Thank you so much. May God bless you.”
Most people are happy to receive your blessing, and it may help draw them to God.
If our friend is a fellow believer we can be very direct. They will enjoy talking with us about salvation, the blessings in our lives, and our expectation of heaven.
As a believer, to hear someone talk about God in their lives is a great comfort and strength.
All of us struggle with faith sometimes. To hear my friend talk about the reality of God helps me to believe more firmly.
It’s true that we Christian people hold on to one another’s faith.
CONCLUSION
I read a story not long ago that illustrates the healing power of thoughtful words.
Mary Ann Bird was born with multiple birth defects: deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose, lopsided feet. As a child she suffered not only the physical impairments but also the thoughtless comments of other children. “Oh, Mary Ann,” her classmates would say, “what happened to your lip?”
Mary Ann would lie: “I cut it on a piece of glass.”
For Mary Ann one of the worst experiences at school was the day of the annual hearing test. The teacher would call each child to her desk, and the child would cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would whisper something to the child like “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” This was the whisper test”: if the child could repeat the teacher’s whispered sentence, he or she passed the whisper test. To avoid the humiliation of failure, Mary Ann always cheated on the test by secretly cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she could still hear what the teacher said.
One year Mary Ann was in the class of Miss Leonard, one of the most beloved teachers in the school. Every student, including Mary Ann, wanted to be noticed by her, wanted her affection. Then came the day of the dreaded hearing test.
When her turn came, Mary Ann was called to the teacher’s desk. As Mary Ann cupped her hand over her good ear, Miss Leonard leaned forward to whisper. “I waited for those words,” Mary Ann wrote, “which God must have put into her mouth, those seven words which changed my life.” Miss Leonard did not say “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” What she whispered was “I wish you were my little girl.”
Those words changed Mary Ann Bird’s life. She went on to become a teacher herself, a person of inner beauty and great kindness.
That time when her beloved teacher told her “I wish you were my little girl” was so important to Mary Ann Bird that when she wrote the story of her life in her memoir, she titled it “The Whisper Test.” (Thomas G. Long, Testimony, p86)
COLOSSIANS 4:6: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY
INTRODUCTION
Scientists who have studied the matter tell us that the average adult speaks about 13,500 words each day. Of course there are great differences between us. Teachers, barbers, and salespeople talk much more than farmers, accountants, and bus drivers.
But suppose you speak 13,500 words every day of your life. That would be almost 5 million words per year. In a lifetime of 80 years you might speak nearly 400 million words.
An ordinary novel contains 250 words per page. Think of a book with 250 pages, with 250 words on each page. That would be 60,000 words.
If an average person speaks 13,500 words each day for 80 years, he or she would say enough words to fill 4867 books.
Imagine if all the words you had ever spoken were printed in books and those books were lined up on shelves—that would be quite a roomful of books!
One day, when our son John was a little boy, he told us that someone had said something hurtful to him.
I told him: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
He said, “But Daddy, they do hurt.”
That’s true. Words can hurt, and they can also heal and comfort and encourage.
A little girl knelt beside her bed and said this to Jesus, “Dear Jesus, make all the good people nice.”
Sometimes we forget that being nice is part of being good.
And the main way we have of being “nice” is by kind words.
How we use talk to help one another and to express our faith in God is an important subject in the Bible.
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians we read these words:
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,
so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.”
I. How can our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt?
A. Gracious speech is speech that is comforting, encouraging, and full of gratitude.
We speak graciously when we offer a sincere compliment…when we notice something good in another person.
We speak graciously when we thank someone for a little act of kindness—even if it is part of their job.
We speak graciously when we sympathize with one who is hurting. Compassion is feeling the hurt in another person’s heart. Compassion also includes doing something—even if it is just a sympathizing word.
Sometimes speaking graciously might even mean refraining from speech and just listening. For some of us listening is hard to do. I often feel that I just must talk or I will burst. But I won’t burst. I need to discipline my speech and listen more.
Ungracious speech includes ridiculing, correcting and contradicting, gossiping and tale-bearing.
We were in a church once in which the men had a habit of kidding one another. I felt that much of the kidding was unkind, they sometimes hurt each other, pretending it was humor.
In Ephesians Paul wrote this, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, that your words may give grace to those who hear.”
That is gracious talk; talk that builds up the other person, talk that imparts grace to the one who hears.
In the same letter Paul tells us to speak the truth in love. We may say something that is true, but we must also speak in love. That means that some things we might like to say—we don’t. It means that we are always thinking about the other person’s feelings rather than our own.
Do you remember when you said something dumb or unkind and your mother told you: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”?
Someone suggests that everything we say should pass through three sieves: “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?”
If we all followed that rule, the world would be a lot quieter. It would also be happier.
Here are some of the ways we can make love with our voices:
“Let me help you.”
“You’ve been a good friend.”
“Those are the words I needed to hear.”
“You’ve made my day.”
“Here, use mine.”
“Are you comfortable?”
“I’ll wait for you.”
”Thank you.”
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
“What a beautiful sweater!”
“You’re fun to be around.”
”Here’s something just for you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for your visit.”
“You’re a good listener.”
“Something you told me the other day has been an encouragement to me.”
“Tell me about your grandchildren.”
“You seem troubled today; can I help?”
These are examples of gracious speech.
B. But what does the apostle mean when he says our speech should be “seasoned with salt”?
A little salt enhances the flavor in food.
I eat oatmeal for breakfast. If I forget to put about ¼ teaspoon of salt in it, it tastes like the pan.
We make bread at our house. For a loaf of bread we use 1 teaspoon of salt. When we eat the bread we can’t taste that bit of salt, but if we forget to put in the salt, the bread tastes insipid.
Speech seasoned with salt is speech that is interesting or helpful.
That requires thinking before we speak.
We need to learn and think, so that when we open our mouths something useful comes out. But we remember that what’s interesting to us may not be interesting to others.
Someone said, “Ideas are like children; our own are very wonderful.”
That is why it is more important to be good listeners than good talkers.
But for ancient people, salt was more important as a preservative than as a seasoning.
People in Bible times didn’t have canning or freezing.
The only way to keep meat or fish eatable was to salt it.
So people thought of salt as that which preserves.
When Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth,” he means that we are to preserve goodness in society.
If we are to be the salt of the earth, our speech should reflect that goodness that preserves and protects rather than destroying and hurting.
When St. Paul says that our speech is to be “seasoned with salt,” he means that it is to be wholesome and helpful.
II. If we love Jesus, our love for him should show up in our talk.
A. Whatever we love and whatever is important to us, we talk about. Loyalty to our Lord must go beyond being kind and considerate.
It is easy to give the impression that we are “religious.” People see that we go to church. They may see us bow our heads to give thanks for our food; they may see our Bible on our table or the Bible verse on our wall. Those things speak of what is important to us.
But sometimes we will have to say something.
B. Our text says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.”
One answer is appropriate for one person, and another answer is appropriate for another.
For example, if the one I am speaking to is not a fellow believer, or if I don’t know about my friend’s feelings about God, I need to be sensitive.
Some people are frightened by talk about God or salvation.
We need a tender heart and a humble mind when we mention God’s love and our assurance of eternal life.
But when someone shares a sorrow, we listen with sympathy.
Maybe you tell her, “I’ll remember you in my prayers.
Hardly anyone is offended by knowing that we are praying for them—even if they don’t believe in God.
If someone shares a disappointment with you, you may say, “When my world fell apart, it was a comfort to know that God loves me and will never let me go.”
And whenever anyone asks you about your source of contentment, be ready to tell them what God has done for you.
If someone does us a kindness, we might say, “Thank you so much. May God bless you.”
Most people are happy to receive your blessing, and it may help draw them to God.
If our friend is a fellow believer we can be very direct. They will enjoy talking with us about salvation, the blessings in our lives, and our expectation of heaven.
As a believer, to hear someone talk about God in their lives is a great comfort and strength.
All of us struggle with faith sometimes. To hear my friend talk about the reality of God helps me to believe more firmly.
It’s true that we Christian people hold on to one another’s faith.
CONCLUSION
I read a story not long ago that illustrates the healing power of thoughtful words.
Mary Ann Bird was born with multiple birth defects: deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose, lopsided feet. As a child she suffered not only the physical impairments but also the thoughtless comments of other children. “Oh, Mary Ann,” her classmates would say, “what happened to your lip?”
Mary Ann would lie: “I cut it on a piece of glass.”
For Mary Ann one of the worst experiences at school was the day of the annual hearing test. The teacher would call each child to her desk, and the child would cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would whisper something to the child like “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” This was the whisper test”: if the child could repeat the teacher’s whispered sentence, he or she passed the whisper test. To avoid the humiliation of failure, Mary Ann always cheated on the test by secretly cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she could still hear what the teacher said.
One year Mary Ann was in the class of Miss Leonard, one of the most beloved teachers in the school. Every student, including Mary Ann, wanted to be noticed by her, wanted her affection. Then came the day of the dreaded hearing test.
When her turn came, Mary Ann was called to the teacher’s desk. As Mary Ann cupped her hand over her good ear, Miss Leonard leaned forward to whisper. “I waited for those words,” Mary Ann wrote, “which God must have put into her mouth, those seven words which changed my life.” Miss Leonard did not say “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” What she whispered was “I wish you were my little girl.”
Those words changed Mary Ann Bird’s life. She went on to become a teacher herself, a person of inner beauty and great kindness.
That time when her beloved teacher told her “I wish you were my little girl” was so important to Mary Ann Bird that when she wrote the story of her life in her memoir, she titled it “The Whisper Test.” (Thomas G. Long, Testimony, p86)
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