A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE

#141                                                        A FAILURE THAT IS ADDICTIVE                                                                               

Scripture Romans 10:1-21 NIV                                                                                                                        Orig. 9/23/62

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 7/25/85 

Passage: Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”^[a] 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’”^[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”^[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”^[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”^[e] 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”^[f]

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”^[g]

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”^[h] 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.”^[i]

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”^[j]

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”^[k]

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”^[l]

Purpose: Continuing a series from Romans, showing Israel’s failure to understand their relationship to God and faith.

Keywords:          Bible Study                         Law                       

Series, Romans

Introduction

                Quest is a major factor in one’s concept of dedication.  Do we envision a great task entrusted to us?  Do we apply ourselves to its success?

                It is said that the ship’s log used by Christopher Columbus on his first crossing of the  Atlantic repeats, “This day we sailed westward!” day after day.  When Cyrus Field was preparing to put in place the very first Atlantic cable, he first  made fifty trips across that great ocean to prepare for it.  Gibbon, the historian, wrote his autobiography nine times before he was satisfied with it, and spent twenty years on his greatest work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 

                More recently, this week’s news tells of treasure hunter Mel Fisher.  For sixteen years he has searched the waters off of Key West, Florida, for a sunken Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank in a hurricane in 1622 with millions in silver and gold.  The search cost Mr. Fisher the lives of a son, daughter-in-law, and another diver.  He is said to have greeted his divers every day for years with the statement, “Today’s the day!”  Last Saturday morning was the day.

                But the Jews, instead of seeing their relationship with God as a quest of faith, saw it as an endowment of merit.  As long as they were the guardians of the law, they were special.  Paul shows them that this is not so.  Faith must be the target of Jew and Gentile.

I.             The First Consideration Is Their Judicial Failure.  V4 “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

                We need a right picture about failure.  It  was not a failure of the law.  Romans 4:4f “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes . . ., his faith is accounted for righteousness.”  Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

                It was  certainly not God’s failure. Isaiah 1:9  “Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a . . . remnant, we would have become like Sodom.”  Clearly, it was their failure.  Three times (Luke 12:56, 19:44, 21:24): “How is it you do not  discern this present time?”

                They were not without urgency.  There was will, determination, even excitement, but all in error.  Paul prays for their salvation.  He tells us that they are not.  He tells us that they can be:  II Corinthians 3:16 “When one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.”  He tells us that they will be: Romans 11:26  ”All Israel will be saved.” 

Their failure is that they are looking to their  Jewishness, not grace, to save.  We are not saved by our Baptistness.  Others are not saved by their Methodistness, etc.  We are not saved by our churchiness.

II.            Next, We Look at Their Spiritual Failure.  V9 “If you confess with  your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that  God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  It speaks of grace, of God doing what we cannot, of appropriating the sin-covering function of Jesus’ death for our sin.  John 1:12 “As many as receive Him, to them God gives the power to become His children.”

                Apart from Jesus we are cut off from God.  So also were the Jews.  It is a terrible risk to assume someone may have attained the spirit of obedience.  It speaks too clearly of  confession. It localizes that confession in Christ Jesus. It did the Jew no good to confess his Jewishness.  It does no good to confess our churchiness.  V10 “With the mouth confession is made.”

                How long has  it been since we talked to someone about Christ?  Sunday School teachers need to talk to their pupils.

III.           It Speaks of Their Social Failure.  V14f “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And  how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”

                They chose what they could not save.  When the law is not passing out punishment for wrong it is failing.  One of our social concerns today is that the law is not always fair.  We don’t need a law that lets people get by with more; we don’t need a law that, as someone said, “you can get out of if you have money.”

                Mercy is a bestowal of grace. V4 “Christ is the end of the law,” the “termination,” the final reckoning.  It will  never go beyond this.  It is God’s last word on the subject.

                The Jew still has not learned that law and grace are antagonistic.  Romans 4:4 “To him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.”  Romans 11:6, “If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace.”

IV.          Paul Adds a Concluding Note of Proof of Their Failure.  Deuteronomy 32:21, God said to  Moses, “I will provoke them to jealousy.”  Isaiah 65:1 “I was found by those who did not seek me.”  Isaiah 65:2 “I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Conclusion

                The last entry in the diary of David Livingstone was: “Jesus, my Saviour, my king, my God, I rededicate my all to thee to be and to do for thee  the best that I can until the day is done.”  There is GRACE.  There is BELIEF.  There is CONFESSION.

                Dare any of us think that we can get by on less?  Jesus died for my sin, and it behooves me to daily honor that reality as it if were a badge on  the sleeves of my clothing, telling all of my fealty to Him.

IN THE WAY

#140                                                                          IN THE WAY                                                                                                 

Matthew 19:13-15 NIV                                                                                                                         Orig. 7-11-65 (9-73)

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 8-25-88 

Passage:  ¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Purpose: Approaching the new church year, to remind my people of our need to offer ourselves in service to the needs around us.

Keywords:          Christ the Saviour                             Heritage               Hunger

                                Children                               Home                    Special Day        

Timeline/Series:               New Church Year

Introduction

                Both of the presidential candidates are talking about things important to all of us: childcare, education, patriotism.  Private education has become a felt need for many parents.  We are reading more and more about parents who are being allowed to educate their children at home.

                Problems in the schools, public and private, are rife.  One is put in mind again of the Baltimore woman who brought suit against her county school board.  She claimed that her son, in choosing not to participate in what she called religious exercises, was being unduly ostracized.  At that time, the schools opened with scripture, and with the recitation of  the Lord’s prayer.  Children who did not wish to participate were allowed to excuse themselves  and leave the room.

                Two hundred years ago, and many of the years since, every school of higher education in this country was connected with some church denomination.  Except for the joint effort of Christian people, there would have been  no higher education on this continent.  Most of those colleges and universities are still around: Colgate, Bucknell, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, and many others.  They are, however, no longer denominationally aligned.  Then, the terms, “education” and “Christian education,” were synonymous. 

                In light of what is happening in education today, it  is no longer remotely conceivable that our children will not be challenged by spiritual things in public or private education.  We must be sure that our churches do our utmost to provide this vital service.  Every Christian is obliged to offer himself/herself in this essential kingdom service.

I.             First, There Must Be Education.  The words of Matthew are that Jesus “blessed them.”  It is a heritage of Judeo/Christian conviction.  Every person in this land is better off because of our heritage.  Many do not acknowledge it.  Yet, they feast on what these religious imperatives have given.  It is one God, living, loving, working through the evils of satanic influence.  Adam was warned after his compromise: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread.” 

                This life knows no true good that comes without cost. There is a truism: “There’s no free lunch.”

                Our heritage is not only Judeo-Christian, but set in a free republic.  Whatever your genetic origins, what would life be in those origins?  At once remembering the price paid by our forefathers for this, we are not that far removed from forebears who tilled the ground behind hand-forged plows, and unrelenting oxen, carrying a blunderbuss for protection.  You worry about the cost of living:  They paid dearly for meat and potatoes.

                The blessing is  that the Kingdom of God has come among us.  It is as near as breathing and sunshine.  It does not come with little children, but from little children who are brought to Him.

                True prosperity is not material but conditional.  The need of the hour is in the Kingdom of God.  So we are not the answer.  These, our children, are not the answer.  All of us become the KINGDOM.  That’s the answer.

                Since the Bible is taken from the school, we must pinpoint its value as never before.  We need sixty-seventy people involved in Christian education.  We have no more than half.  Church Training is an eight-cylinder engine beating on two.  Missions and music are hanging on the hope and whisper of half-a-dozen.

                We start next week.  What will you as a Christian be doing between morning worship services from one Sunday to the next?

II.            Secondly, We Must Grasp the True Vitality of the Home.  “Then there were brought to Him little children.”  The event here described is simply that of caring mothers bringing a child to some distinguished rabbi for a blessing.  It was a common occurrence.  It happened on the child’s first birthday.

                A question of responsibility is put forth.  What is the bottom-line charge?  It is, of course, parental.  The best thing the church can do for parents is to convince them.  Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  III John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

                In an age that seeks liberation from all strictures, some demands are to be put in place.  There is little efficacy in marriage.  The license doesn’t prove God is in it.  Being a biological parent is no proof of Christian manhood or womanhood.  The mystery content is found in commitment: commitment to God; commitment to each other forever; commitment that children will be reared in an atmosphere of love and trust.

                “My parents forced me” say the uncaring and the uncommitted.  “I will not force religion down them.”  Would you force air if suffocating? If cancer attacked, would you force treatment? Would you advise seat belts, helmets? 

                If they were hungry, would you not force food for them?  During the noon meal in this country, 1200 children worldwide will starve to death.  30,000 will die today. 12-18 million people will die this year.  Check the label to see where a gift was made.

III.           And Three, Certainly not the Least Important, Is to Encourage Them to Faith in Christ.  “Suffer the little children and forbid them not.  We  have long heard of parallelism in Hebrew prose.  Something uniquely important is repeated.  And as if to add further meaning, he repeats the concept positively then negatively.  “Permit” is followed by “do not forbid.”

                Perhaps we need to review some of the marvelous characteristics of childhood.  Trust is the first essence of children. They readily forgive even to the threshold of abuse.  They approach life with an eye for wonder.  Obedience is natural to them.  But disobedience is a learned ruse.  Childlike faith is to live in trust of God, to think first of obedience, to desire to be forgiving, to contemplate the wonder of God’s care.

                The best way to such faith is development over time, to so touch the lives of our children, to see other children whose lives can only be touched for good by the gospel.  No matter what the age of need, it is still this child-like faith offering opportunity—not childish, but childlike.

                And Jesus instructs us.  We are not to be negative influences. But more, we are to be positive motivators urging spiritual children of all ages to the gospel: to Jesus.

Conclusion

                We have approved our Nominating Committee report, and we have a full slate of workers.  Next, the Finance Committee gets to work on the budget.  It will need to be between $100,000 and $120,000.  Peter spoke for the early church: “Silver and gold, have I none; but such as I have give I thee.  In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.”   Such as we have also.                                              

IN THE ARMS OF JESUS

#136                                                               IN THE ARMS OF JESUS                                                                                      

Scripture  Mark 10:13-16 NIV                                                                                                                          Orig. 6-23-78

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 6-24-88 

Passage:  ¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Purpose:  Dedicated to the cause of the spiritual education of boys and girls through the church.

Keywords:          Christ the Saviour                             Education            Christian Education         Heritage               VBS

Introduction

                A few years ago, late in the year, I was working with a young couple who were soon to be married.  It happened to be one of those occasions where both participants were doing everything humanly possible to effect a sensitively done ceremony.  And I was eager to help them. 

                They felt that this was the only way that they could look back upon their wedding day and rejoice in a day that had been commemorative to their faith in Christ as well as to their love. 

                Two days before the wedding, the newspapers told of another wedding.  In fact, it was on the front page.  The wedding thus described took place  in New Roads, La.  The bride/groom were dressed in the attire of witch/warlock.  Their attendants were decked out as ghouls and southern belles.

                The media would never have written up the wedding we were planning.  They were all too eager to describe in full measure the frenetic energy of a society that has lost its way.  It is this effort to expedite the abnormal that allows a sideshow to become acceptable, and the abnormal to become normal.

                It is thus, with fear in our hearts, that we undertake a program of Christian education.  If we do not teach others of Jesus, and His waiting arms, however will they learn?  The paranormal, the abnormal, is the word  the world passes on.  Our word is spirit, and it is life.  To that end, VBS is a vital part of our effort.  We must teach our children, and all others whom we can, of Jesus, and of his waiting “arms” of blessing.

I.             His Arms Speak First of Substance.  V16 “And He took them up in His arms, put hands upon them and blessed them.”  The substance here is seen in our Judeo-Christian heritage of family. One God: all living, all loving, working against the influence of Satan,  who, by the way, is having a field day primarily on  the back of religious organizers—TV entrepreneurs, denominational controversies, a New York preacher playing leapfrog with lies.  If we don’t tell or show them what God is really like, who will?  At Summer Theater in New Orleans, dissidents placarded Anita Bryant in the late 70’s: “Jesus may have died for sin, but not for mine.”

                God has chosen to work through His church in accomplishment of His purpose.  Satan is pleased to work through the ungodly.  He takes greater pleasure in magnifying faithlessness of so-called believers.  Did you notice the recent write up of dedication of the national headquarters of Atheists? Organized, they’re no threat.  The threat is when we can’t muster interest in doing what we need.  What have you invested in VBS? A lady in town called. She wanted her three daughters in VBS.  She called back, “What can I do?” People ought to be standing in line to help.  Are you?

                Substance is also seen in our purpose.  That  purpose is to guide people in redemptive choices.  Jesus’ parable of the prodigal was to make the point of the difference of life’s values, and difficulty of life’s choices.  The pulse he came to eat was a cheap substitute.  Your children,  your neighbor’s  children, are going to get wrapped up in something.  Why not Jesus? The Greek for “took”—enagkalisamenos—means “folding in his arms.”  If you’ve never “folded” a child in your arms, my heart bleeds for you. 

                The Kingdom of God is mentioned twice.  It belongs to those who, like these children, are receptive.  Jesus did not say it consisted of little children,  he said it happens when those of simple spirit find true substance in Him.  And it’s never been easy.  Our forefathers tilled behind a hand forged plow, and unrelenting oxen, with blunderbuss for protection.  They would have found it easy to live for Jesus in an air-conditioned home with a late model car,  microwaves, and the like.

II.            In This Light, His Arms Speak of Significance.  V13 “And they brought young children to Him that He  should touch them.”  It is undoubtedly true that many parents have no interest in children coming to Jesus.  In many instances, but not all, there is something we can do.  Those who are grandparents, do you sacrifice your witness as an infringement?

                To be  truly redemptive, genuine  parental responsibility must be proclaimed.  It is never a problem to lead a child to faith whose parents are believers.  It is a hundred times more difficult if one or both are not.  The home must exercise responsibility.  Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go.”  3 John 4: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

                Some deny that the home can be what it once was, a vine-covered cottage down a quiet lane with happy,  unthreatened children.  But ours is a drug-sated, alcohol-scarred abused community of unconcern. 

A father took a job in a distant city.  He  moved the family into a motel. Several weeks passed.  A motel employee asked, “Little boy, don’t you have a home? I see you here all the time.”  “Sure, we just haven’t found a house to put it in yet.”  After we get settled, as believers, is when we need to do all we can to help other people to have a home to put in a house somewhere.

Let me try to define “home” for you.  It is a place where individuality is happy to  play second-fiddle to family.  It is a  place where neither children nor spouses have to play guessing games about love.  It is a place where God’s Word and work are reverenced.  It is a place where there are no distractions between the way one lives and what one says or teaches.  The church, as an extended family, carries a correlation to the home.

III.           His Arms Testify Ultimately of Salvation.  V14b “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.”  I see this as a positive admonition of need.  The three verses just prior stress the sanctity of the home.  Jesus is instructing the parents to take the lead in their children’s well-being (paidua). The word means “earliest childhood.”

                I am reading salvation into this, of course.  The parent expresses faith in the bringing.  The child discovers faith as what was brought.  There is a parenthetical warning here.  Yes, some bring their children.  Some merely avoid standing in the way, at least by intent.  Some, thoughtlessly, prevent them.  The spirit of Jesus is clearly seen in response to these variant attitudes.  V14 “When Jesus saw this, He was much indignant”—NIV. The King James reads “displeased.”  My Greek dictionary doesn’t describe “indignant.” It refers to “anger.”  In this instance He was angry with the disciples.  Be reminded, He was angry because they stood in the way.

Conclusion

                “Nobody Said It Was Easy” is a term that all of us have used, or have had used on us.  The book of which it is the title happens to be a book on parenting.  It isn’t easy at home, or at church, but it must be done, and you ought to help.

A MIND TO WORK

#125                                                                    A MIND TO WORK                                                                                           

Scripture Nehemiah 4:1-6, 15 NIV                                                                                                    Orig. 3-10-63 (1-79)

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 4-12-88 

Passage: ^{[a] 1}When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, ² and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”  ³ Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!” ⁴ Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. ⁵ Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of^[b] the builders.  ⁶ So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
¹⁵ When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.

Purpose:   Using the occasion of the resettlement of Jerusalem to remind my people of the need to resettle our communities with the exercise of faith.

Keywords:          Dedication                          God’s Purpose                  Work                     Energy

Introduction

                We are watching with interest the proceedings in Panama.  We know that for some of our countrymen the stakes are high indeed.  Some Americans have invested everything they have in the country that tenuously oversees the great Panama Canal.

                Just a few years ago there was a similar circumstance in Iran.  Because of our oil interest, there were many Americans, and Louisianans, who had made that Middle East, Muslim country, their home.  Almost overnight they  had to leave.  Some  interviewed in the media indicated they were leaving behind everything they owned:  homes, cars, furniture, even bank accounts.  Those possessions were no longer worth the risk of holding on to them.  Most of these same people had taken those jobs years before, precisely because they promised lucrative material return.

                The departure of the Hebrews from Babylon was similar.  Though it was 2500 years earlier, it was from a site perhaps no more than 300 miles away.  They too had to decide about pulling up stakes and departing.  They had to walk away from many evidences of material prosperity.

                It was in Babylon that the Jews discovered what excellent tradesmen they were.  A few had become so wealthy that they refused to leave.  Many, most actually, remembered that they were the guardians of faith in the one holy and living God.  They must leave all and return to Jerusalem, because to its environs the Messiah would return.  Thus, with such a mind they set themselves to the tasks of return.  They had “a mind to work.”

I.             It Is with a Mind to Work That Hardships Must Be Faced.  V2:17 “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire; come, let us build up the walls of Jerusalem.”  2:19 [their enemies] “laughed . . . to scorn, and despised [them] . . . and said, ‘will ye rebel against the king?’”

                4:8 “And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.”

                Where there is this intent to serve, limitations do not distract.  Success does not rest upon numbers alone.  There were some Jews still in the country from before captivity.  According to Ezra 2, 49,697 returned, including servants. Only 245 mules returned, but  more than 6,000 donkeys.  Others of their people would join them from time to time.  Ezra was a priest, a religious leader who led in law and building the temple.  The Temple was 20 years in building.  A half century later Nehemiah would discover it still without unanimity. 

                There must be distinction between Jew and Samaritan for this unique national character to emerge.  There was going to be opposition.  They had to know who they were, and how the will of God related to them.

                I knew a young man in seminary with a serious physical disability.  He wanted to be a pastor.  Much stood in the way.  Would a church of “whole” people call him as pastor?  He became a pastor in Fort Worth of a church of people with disabilities.  He knew himself, and how he fit into the will of God.

                Today, also, whatever the  hardship is, commitment in the Lord is the solution.  Nehemiah was given the key to the king’s storehouse.  2:8 “A letter unto Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest that he may give me timber.“ But by hard work this resource was used.  2:18b “So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”

                If I could always choose my church hardship, it would be financial every time. People with a love for the Lord will rally around financial need.  Big budgets don’t necessarily go with compassionate hearts.  We are always better off with people who  have little to give besides love, because they have “a mind to work.”  People who give of their possessions are not easily led to give of themselves.  It would do all of us well to consider how advantaged we are.

How to live on $100 a year:  Get rid of all your furniture except one chair and one table.  Throw out all TV sets, lamps and radios.  Dispose of all of your clothing but your oldest dress or suit; one pair of shoes may be kept for the head of the family.  Shut off the water, gas, electricity.  Remove all appliances from the kitchen, keep . . . a small bag of flour, some sugar, salt, a few moldy potatoes, a handful of onion, some dried beans.  Take away the house and move the family into the toolshed.  Your neighborhood will be a shantytown.  Move the nearest medical help ten miles away . . .a midwife.  Get rid of your car.  Forget about newspapers, magazines, books. You won’t miss them because you must also give up literacy.  Count your emergency fund at $5. . . .  No bank books, pension plans, insurance policies.  Cultivate three acres as a tenant farmer.  You can expect $100 to $300 a year in good years for cash crops.  Pay a third to the landlord, at least a tenth to the money lender.  Plan to take off 20 to 30 years in life expectancy.  Millions do. . . , in fact, half of the people in our world actually live on $100 a year.”  (Pulpit Helps – January 1979)

                If you had to get by on less, could you still exercise your faith at your present level?

II.            It Is with a Mind to Work That We Accomplish the Purpose of God.  4:6 “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half  thereof: for the people had a mind to work.”

                Up to now, theirs  had been a work of furious futility.  They knew too little of themselves.  They discounted God as a viable presence.  They were intimidated by the godlessness around them.

                But in responding to the vocal challenges around them they were victorious.  Ezra 6:14 “And the elders of the Jews builded and prospered, through the prophesy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.”  Haggai 2:9  “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace.”

                We also must deal with our extremities in coming to terms with the purpose of God.  Our most basic excuse is “I don’t have time!”  We find time for what we want.  We waste huge segments on things that do not profit:  Fill out a timesheet sometime; how much TV you watch might surprise you.

                We also claim not to know how as an excuse.  Some of the things that we take great pleasure in were first devised by people who didn’t know how.  Some of the things that we are singularly competent in now, we once knew nothing about.  Edison knew nothing of electricity.  Bell knew not about telephones.  Wilbur and Orville couldn’t fly no matter how hard they flapped their arms.

                When God’s purpose becomes our purpose, we are no longer hindered by human weakness, but instead we are stimulated by divine strength.  The best beginning place is in salvation.  The Psalmist’s question was asked in 116:12 “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?”  His answer, 116:13 “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.

                Whatever it is to which we put our hand, if it is of value, we seek to accomplish it in God’s purpose. It was God’s wall.  He would see to it. Thou must be of the mind to work.

ON TO JERUSALEM

#121                                                                   ON TO JERUSALEM                                                                                          

Scripture Luke 9:51-62 NIV                                                                                                            Orig. October 12, 1985

Passage:  ⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[a]?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Purpose:  Continuing a series from Luke, declaring the way of discipleship

Keywords:          Bible Study         Discipleship

Timeline/Series:               Luke

Introduction

                As Luke opens the door for Jesus to begin His  journey to Jerusalem, he opens a whole new segment of the story  that he intends to tell.  Not only that, he begins accounting what is not otherwise told of the life of Jesus.

                Through Luke 9:50, Luke’s account is a parallel account with Matthew and Mark.  From here on to chapter 19 he will tell vignettes of the life of Jesus which are told only by Luke.  Perhaps as much as 90% of these ten chapters do not otherwise appear.

                This phase of Jesus’ life is called the Perean Ministry of Jesus.  Up to now, it has been the Galilean ministry.  Perea was across the Jordan River from Samaria.  Its name comes from the Greek word for “across,” peran.  It was the ancient name for what is now called Transjordan

                As Jesus started for Jerusalem, He determined to take the shortest route which would have been straight through Samaria.  He sent messengers on ahead to arrange lodging for them.  However, when the Samaritans with whom they talked discovered that they were Jews on their way to Jerusalem, they refused to accommodate Jesus and His disciples.  We have heard much of this bad blood between Jews and Samaritans.  Jesus intends a kindness, which they quietly  rebuff. 

                We talked of John recently and his change from “son of thunder”  to “disciple whom Jesus loved.”   We see evidence here of what he was originally.  He and James wanted to call down “fire” from heaven on these wretched Samaritans for daring such a discourtesy.

                This detour is not the way convention dictates but the way conscience demands.

I.             A Brief Look at Old Prejudice and New Anger.  V 53 “But they did not receive Him because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.”  We should not read into this any sentiment against Christ.  They probably knew little. They opposed these Jews expecting lodging.  All of us need to learn to be careful in what we shut out of our lives.

                Jesus used the opportunity to teach.  First note that the believers were as misguided as the unbelievers.  The Samaritans concluded that Jesus was a typical Jew.  The disciples concluded that Jesus shared their anger at such intemperance. Perhaps they were recalling II Kings 1:10-12, when Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume messengers of King Ahaziah. 

Jesus’ advice to them is to examine their spirit.  V55 “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.”  This is not contained in the Greek.  Could it express their strongly negative approach to the Samaritans?  He rebuked their discipleship.  Lincoln said, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

II.            Here Jesus Begins a Segment of Teaching About the “Way.”  These are Three Tests of Discipleship.

 First is the test of consecration.  V57 Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.”  He has already addressed this in 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let  him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”  The word “follow” is the verb form of “attendant.”  Now one spontaneously responds.  Wherever you go, I will go.  Have you ever  thought about your response to Jesus?  Jesus reminds him of the variables.  He has observed popularity. He has seen the crowds, hoopla.  What happens when the fun is gone? John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.”

                Second is the test of obedience.  V 59 “Follow me.”  “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  We need to examine the picture that forms.  Is it of a man whose father is in a coffin, a man who wants to attend the funeral?  Look again! The oldest son had the responsibility of funeral arrangements.  He wanted to postpone Jesus’ invitation until a more convenient time.

                William Barclay tells of a brilliant young Arab who was offered a scholarship at Oxford/Cambridge, whose response was “I will take it after I have buried my father.” His father was forty, and in excellent health.  The heart of the question to all of us is “What are we doing that is more important than the Kingdom?”  Discipleship demands obedience.  Soldiers are called to make sacrifices.

                Third is the test of authenticity.  V62 “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.”  Following Jesus is for “keeps,” as someone says.  It calls for  sincerity of purpose.  But one must give up his family? No, but his priority must be the Kingdom.  The ancient Oriental “farewell” might last for weeks.  In Genesis 24:55, after Abraham’s servant identified Rebekah as God’s chosen for Isaac, her mother and brother asked for her to stay 10  days. But the servant said, “do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way.”  And Rebekah went with him.

                Too many people say “I will follow…

                …but…”

                …when…”

                …if…”

                Too many Southern Baptists say “You can’t be my friend unless…

                …you believe in inerrancy.”  The  inerrancy card is inflammatory.

                …you deny ordination of women.”

                …you went to an unconventional seminary.”

Conclusion

                Jesus advised His disciples to understand of  what spirit they were.  When the sermon is five minutes over; or the special message didn’t gel;  or someone you don’t care for shares your pew; or you are reminded of some little deed done, or big deed not done.  “What spirit are you of?”

                When the Scottish Presbyterians first came to Northern Ireland, their faith was unacceptable. Their ministers were considered dissenters and were not allowed.  These people  of faith chose to row the miles back to Scotland on each Lord’s Day to take Communion and to worship.  What spirit are we of?

THE EXCELLENCE OF GOD

#120                                                             THE EXCELLENCE OF GOD                                                                                    

Scripture  Psalm 8, NIV                                                                                                                                       Orig. 2-28-62

                                                                                                                                                                                Rewr. 12-22-76 

Passage:  ¹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
² Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.
³ When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?^[c]

⁵ You have made them^[d] a little lower than the angels^[e]
    and crowned them^[f] with glory and honor.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their^[g] feet:
⁷ all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
⁸ the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

⁹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Introduction

                Psalm is a Christmas Cantata and Easter program rolled into one.  It is the highest expression of all that the Psalmist feels.  The entire congregation seems suddenly to have been made aware of what God is really about.

                It is the wonder of the shepherds as they become aware, not just of the angels, but of the message being proclaimed.  It is the wise men, who, having for weeks followed a star, suddenly discovered that it was leading to more than they ever imagined.  It is a young Hebrew man and his wife, who believed in each other when no one else did, and who now reap the reward of their trust.

                It is that marvelous discovery of what Christmas is all about.  The realization that something wonderful has happened, and that it has happened at a time and place when my life is affected by it.

I.             His Excellence is Seen in His Divine Imperative.  O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth.  (Thy glory is recognized as far above the heavens as the heavens are above the earth.)  He brings to the earth a being not strange to himself, with the potential to deliver personality, character, and integrity.  The world is waiting for these signs of life to be communicated. 

                Elton Trueblood writes in The New Man for Our Time “The Christian faith cannot perform a redemptive role in the modern world unless it gives strong leadership on the central issue of faith.  If the members of the church are primarily interested in erecting a new building or buying a new piano, they will not even begin to meet the need that modern seekers so deeply feel."

                Additionally, it is the purpose of God to transmit His own holiness into the being of His creation.  There is one irrefutable argument for our faith—a life lived in holiness.

II.            His Excellence is Seen in the Majesty of His Creation.  When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him?  We do not project the image of something in mass production, but that which is carefully, tenderly made.  How many of us remember those simplistic toys of childhood that meant the more because they were turned out by the loving hands of a parent?

                The concept of visitation is messianic, as in “visiteth” or “care for.”  Christmas was the literal visiting of God to the things of earth.  Luke 1:68 “At the birth of John, Zechariah prophesied ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people.’” Vv. 78-79 “The dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness.”  Acts 6:3 “(Look ye out) among you seven men of honest report.”

                There is redemptive purpose in this creation.  There is discovery of praise.  There is the blessing which results.  How many people want the same results from worship that they seek in the marketplace—the most for the least?

III.           The Excellence of God is Seen in the Honor Extended His Creation.  “Yet Thou has made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor.”  We are capable of dominion, of maintenance of physical control over the physical universe.

                We have mental comprehension. Take into consideration what man has been able to understand of outer space.  He had to know what to expect before men would be sent on the moon journey.

                We have spiritual uniqueness. “A little lower than the angels” (Elohim).  Luke 20:36 “For they are equal unto the angels.”

Conclusion

                From Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”:

                “Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid

                                Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire—

                Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed,

                                Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.”

THE COMPONENTS OF GROWTH

#115                                                      THE COMPONENTS OF GROWTH                                                                             

Scripture  Mark 4:1-20 NIV                                                                                                                            Orig. 12/11/83

                                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. 8/19/86 

Passage:  Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” ⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’^[a]”

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Purpose: Continuing a Prayer Meeting series form Mark, sharing with my people the need to commit oneself to the task of learning the Kingdom of God.

Introduction

                Helen Keller once responded to a student’s question about the difficulty of blindness by responding that it was worse to “have eyes and not be able to see.”  She merely wanted to shock the shortsighted into the realization that one must pursue for understanding, even of the Kingdom of God.  The hearer must not only be aware of the words spoken, he must heed them with the intent to understand and believe.

                There is a great host of people, to whom the gospel has been revealed, yet who choose not to believe.  Opportunity may be extended.  Obligation is clearly demanded. Open heartedness is the need of the hour.  But all too often, opinion is allowed to cloud the mind and close the door of faith.

                The issue addressed by Jesus in this parable is simply in determination of whether we hear Him or another.  Matthew 13:15 (context) “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them.”

                Isaiah 6:9-10 “⁹ He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
¹⁰ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes.^[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,  understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”

Mark 4:24 “And He said unto them, ‘Take heed what ye hear.’”

Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear.”

I.             The First Component Is the Seed as the Hearing of Faith.  V4 “. . . as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside . . . v5 other fell on the rocky ground . . . v7 and other fell among the thorns . . . and others fell into the good ground.”

                Recall the occasion of this teaching, somewhere in Galilee with a large crowd, curious, concerned, confused, contentious.  He was positioned to teach effectively (Mark 3:9). They saw also the fields, paths, sower, and birds.

                As the parable revolves around seed, we must briefly examine it.  No distinction is made in the quality of the seed.  Farmers go to great length to compare seed types and their yields, using computer records and magazine recommendations.  Here, the seed stands for “the word of the Kingdom.”  Luke 8:12 “The seed is the word of God.” Mark 4:14 “The sower soweth the word.”

                What we know is that in every instance the right seed is used.  I Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”

II.            The Next Component Is the Soil: The Heart Seeking Fulfillment.  V4f “. . . wayside . . . stony ground . . . among thorns . . . good ground.”

                The wayside hearer has a hard, beaten, worn pathway.  There is good seed, but no soil.  Seeds  roll before the wind, and are scavenged by birds.  The seed does not even germinate.

                The stony ground hearer has good seed, but the soil is poor.  The seed did germinate, but no depth of earth existed to offer moisture.  Without roots it wilted under a hot sun.  This is the hearer who listens but does nothing with what he hears.

                The thorny ground hearer has good seed and good soil, but competition for soil moisture and  nourishment is acute.  For instance, at an athletic contest there are ability and desire; victory often belongs not to ability but to desire.  Player and coach communication are the key.  How preoccupied are we at Bible study or worship or witness opportunities?

                The good ground hearer has good seed and good soil. Growth begins quickly with singlemindedness.

III.           The Final Component Is that the Sower Is God.  V3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.”  Jesus, in Matthew 13:18, calls this the “Parable of the Sower.”  Note that there were  no distinctions in the quality of the seed, nor in the intent of the sower.  The singular difference is the soil.  The sower, however, is not incidental. We perceive that he stands in the place of God.  Little else is known. Mark says, “Listen! Behold!”

                Other scriptural references to sowing are:

                Ezekiel 28:25, “I gathered Israel from the people among whom they were scattered.”

                Amos 9:15, “I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up.”

                Matthew 13:37, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man.”

IV.          Lessons

                No farmer plants his seed minimally.  Farmer Buddy Fairchild replanted with 80% growth.  God will not do less than we.  II Corinthians 9:6 “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he that sows bountifully will reap also bountifully.”

                The responsibility for receptivity is our own.  Keep the components clear, encourage children, influence others.  The end result is judgment on what we do with what we have.  I Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.”  Galatians 6:8, “He that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”

Conclusion

                I remind you that  the land we eagerly wait to plow and to plant in the spring owes us no bountiful crop; it owes us  only the right to get out of it what we can and will.  The schools of the parish owe  no student an education; but he is owed the right to pursue the fullest of which he is capable.  God’s creative genius does not owe the nations peace; He owes us the right to pursue peace and to show that we are worthy of it.

SALUTING THE LIBERATED WOMAN

#108                                                   SALUTING THE LIBERATED WOMAN                                                                          

Scripture Luke 1:46-55; 2:4-7, 33-35, 40 NIV                                                                                             Orig. 5/10/64

                                                                                                                                                                       Rewr. 5-9-86 (5/77) 

Passage: Luke 1 

⁴⁶ And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹     for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 2

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Purpose:  On the occasion of Mother’s Day, to share with my people a particular understanding of the meaning of Women’s Liberation

Keywords:          Dedication          Duty      Liberation            Marriage              Motherhood                      Special Day

Introduction

                Before allowing Mary to testify to us of a truly liberated woman, may I call your attention to her Old Testament counterpart, named Esther.  History paints a rather dim picture of woman’s place during her day.  There were no feminine aspirations to equality, and the men were intent on keeping it that way. Esther and others like her lived in the crucible of inequality.

                Just before Esther makes her timely appearance, the beautiful Vashti was queen.  But now she has been deposed.  She embarrassed her husband and benefactor, the powerful King Ahasuerus, of Media/Persia and “125 other provinces from India to Ethiopia.”  Vashti had been summoned to come and parade her beauty before the lustful eyes of the lesser princes of the realm.  She refused.  Now there is liberation.  However, the menfolks decided that unless the king acted swiftly, this kind of uppitiness was sure to catch on with their wives.  We are not told that she was punished, only that she was deposed, stripped of her royal estate.  My knowledge of the period is limited, but Vashti would have been better off dead.

                Herein steps Esther.  That’s like following Nixon in the White House, or Edwards in the State House.  Esther, did you learn anything?  Esther, did you learn anything?  Do you know to come when you are called? Otherwise, enjoy yourself in the lap of luxury.

                Esther had an older kinsman who saw her in this new role as a standard bearer for Hebrew liberation.  Perhaps a dark-skinned Joan of Arc.  She just wanted her skin left intact.  Don’t forget that it was Mordecai, the kinsman, who was at fault in this mess.  The Jews were in the hotbox they were in because Mordecai would not bow before and reverence one of the king’s princes.  So, Mordecai challenges Esther, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  It is to the truly liberated women who have functioned with queenly honor in a man’s world that this salute is addressed.

I.             The Liberated Woman’s Devotion of Faith.  Luke 1:46 “And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.”  It is the devotion to achieve what she can, while she can, where she can, to the glory of God.  You have the privilege of living in the world’s finest hour for women’s rights.  Don’t forget the achievements of your sisters: Sarah, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Mary, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale.  Do those at the forefront today deserve the credit? It was an idea whose time had come.  Many think equality discounts God because He is male.

                The New Orleans Times Picayune printed an article written by a nun about God the Mother.  Did she believe it, or was it cleverness?  We have some right to get away from terms of God’s sexuality.  God the Father still says something that God the Person never will.  He is wholly Other.

                So, we are making peace with old and often outmoded concepts.  There are men who want to keep their women subservient.

Genesis 2:18, King James Version: “I will make him an helpmeet for him.”

Me: “I will make him his counterpart to complement and complete him.”

Society is not dependent on “family as we have known it,” but on family.  In the dimension of faith, if woman chooses equality, she loses uniqueness. 

Statistics show greater equality, also, lung cancer, sclerosis, heart disease. Statistic: Less than 100 of 1000 women between 15-44 are married; babies are having babies; abortion on demand; etc.

Women’s truest liberator and liberation is in the dimension of faith.  Some go for headlines: “Six Woman Basketball Illegal,” “All Boys’ Choir Falls Victim to Women’s Lib.”  But the real discovery is that of Faith: “My soul magnifies the Lord, My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”  Therein she becomes the enabler—the Christian mother.

II.            The Liberated Woman’s Detachment for Her Husband.  Luke 2:4, “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, . . . unto Bethlehem, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.”  The consensus of concern remains that the husband be the provider of sustenance.  It becomes more difficult for one income to suffice.  In either case, the wife becomes the principal enabler.  She is more often the one called upon to make sacrifices to complement her life to that of her husband.  The Biblical record sustains this.

                But the place of authority figure is not the intent.  The first compulsion of God on female or male is faith.  I like what a sainted seminary professor used to say, “The wife submits, not because she has found her master, but because her heart has found its rest.”

III.           The Liberated Woman’s Duty in Motherhood.  Luke 2:7, “She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  She was called upon, as mothers often are, to make fullest use of circumstances.  A cattle stall became a castle under a loving mother’s hand. 

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to begin as early as possible to complement and supplement spiritual instruction. Knowing what they are learning that is potentially harmful is half the battle.  Tipper Gore fought for moral responsibility in popular music. 

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to pray unendingly for God’s sustenance, encouraging them outside the nest while knowing the dangers and counteracting.  Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, . . . in your youth and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that from all these, God will bring you into judgment.”  But, you see, this is a happy eventuality when the child has learned that the judgment of God is to be trusted.

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to challenge to seek and follow God’s will as He reveals it.  Liberation for its own right is a basket of summer fruit, rotten and contaminated.  One can make peace with God’s will.

Driving from Alexandria to Baton Rouge, I met a young man on his way west about twenty miles out of Baton Rouge.  He was a rover.  Across his chest was a guitar.  On his back he carried his backpack, complete with a map of his itinerary.  All of this while he pedaled a monocycle.  He claimed liberation.  Some might claim that he was being victimized by this roving spirit.

Conclusion

                Devotion to Christ!  Detachment for husband and family!  Duty!  These are the clarion calls of true liberation.  Someone has said, “When a woman is possessed by Jesus Christ, something more significant happens to her than could ever happen to a man.”

                Khalil Gibran, in his book, “Jesus, the Son of Man,” includes what he interprets to be the feeling that Mary Magdalene had for Jesus.  “Then Jesus looked at her and said, ‘You have many lovers, yet I alone love you.  Other men love themselves in your nearness, I love you in yourself.  Other men see beauty in you that shall fade away sooner than their own years. I see a beauty in you that shall not fade away, and in the autumn of your days that beauty shall not be afraid to gaze at itself in the mirror, and it shall not be offended.’”

HELPING THE HOME TO HAPPINESS

#105                                                   HELPING THE HOME TO HAPPINESS                                                                          

Scripture                                                                                                                                                      Orig. 5/2/65 (5/77)

Genesis 2:18-24 NIV                                                                                                                                          Rewr. 6/18/87

I Corinthians 7:3-5 NIV                                                                                                                                                                  

Passage:  Genesis 2:18-24 ¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” ¹⁹ Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam^[a] no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^[b] and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[c] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³ The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” ²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

I Corinthians 7:3-5 ³ The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵ Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Purpose:  On the occasion of Father’s Day, urge my people to achieve a renewed understanding of the home as a unique spiritual blessing.

Keywords:          Family                   Marriage              Heritage               Home

Introduction

                We occasionally see stickers on cars identifying those within as participants in some marriage-meaning seminar.  One of these stickers states, “We believe in marriage.”  If one believes in God, and believes that He has spoken in His Word, then marriage is the fundamental human relationship.

                What we read in Genesis 2 as the historic position of scripture, is found virtually unchanged when we read Paul’s interpretation found in I Corinthians 7.  Clearly, Jesus saw it this way, and declared his teaching openly.

                According to many social scientists, marriage is at a low point of esteem.  50% of all marriages end in divorce.  The average span of a marriage is six to nine years, giving vent to what is called the “seven-year itch.”  That’s another name for boredom based on acquired responsibility.

                Don’t lose sight of the fact that in our 20^th Century, sex has become a “sales” technique.  Thus enter our salesperson counselors who advise solutions: “gracious living replaces the life of grace.”  Instead of dealing with the problem, such counselors insist on a change of appearance, or wardrobe.  The psychiatrist seeks the total dismantling of “guilt” insisting, “If it feels good, do it,” which in many cases is what we want to hear anyway.

                The mandate upon the Christian in regard to marriage, is that God is the instigator of marriage, the molder of relationship, the magnifier of trust.

                It is important that those who have weathered the winds of withdrawal, know Who has been their succor.  As well, those who are facing uncertain days of threatened dissolution, need to know that their marriage is worth saving, and to know Him, only, who can.  And, finally, those who look ahead to such a social dilemma, might know that God still honors His Word, for those who are willing to live by it, and for those who do not.

I.             Marriage is Founded upon a Unique Spiritual Heritage.  Genesis 2:24 “. . . he shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” I Corinthians 7:3 “The husband shall give to the wife what is her due as his wife; and so also the wife to the husband.”

                Such marriage is of divine origin.  Living Bible: God took the rib and made the woman, brought her to the man, who responded, “This is it!”  Grace is always getting more than we either expect or deserve.  One is impelled to see intended, physical consummation.  Some say it is the “result of sin.”  Others, that God allows it as an impediment.

                Scripture points to a higher goal of intent.  It was to be creative, intimate, relational—ever so much more than carnal expression.  It is the ultimate proclamation of selflessness.  The Greek has three words expressing love: carnal, familial, selfless.  Proverbs 18:22 “Whoso finds a wife, finds a good thing.” Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled.”

                Such physical consummation becomes spiritual between two people on harmonious spiritual terms. It is the belief that its beginning, and tenure, are of God, and it is the contentment that the relationship is its own ultimate goal.

                I remember a story (Readers Digest, March 1977), “There Came a Cry of Joy” about an ornithologist and a sparrow hawk.  He trapped it, but instead of penning it at the end of the day, felt impressed to release it.  He opened his hands, and watched as the hawk soared upward.  From far overhead he heard the cry of another bird.  “I was young then, and had seen little of the world, but when I heard that cry, my heart turned over.  It was not the cry of the hawk I had released.  I was now seeing farther up . . . where she had been soaring . . . for untold hours. And from far up, ringing from peak to peak of the summit over us, came a cry of such unutterable and ecstatic joy that it sounds down across the years and tingles among the cups on a quiet breakfast table.”

                To this divine origin is added parenthood. It is lagniappe, not biological, but spiritual, emotional.  Note: Parents, your children are being brainwashed with ideas relating to sex that are promiscuous, unrealistic.  Let them see in your marriage the bases for the divine image.  Youth, when you buy the contemporary garbage of promiscuity as a worthwhile goal, you reduce the chances that you will ever be able to experience what God wills for you.

II.            Uniquely Spiritual, Marriage is also Uniquely Human.  Genesis 2:18 “And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make an helpmeet for him.”  I Corinthians 7:4 “The wife no longer has full rights over her body, but shares them with her husband.  So also, the husband with the wife.”

                The Christian home is a respite of equals.  Matthew 19:6 “They are no longer two, but one flesh.”  These equals work together to define roles.  Indeed, the husband is to be head of wife and home.  Ron used “obey” for the wife, but merited it not written into the companion vow.

                The vulnerable marriages, Christian as well, are those that become power struggles.  Speaking tongue-in-cheek, the husband settles big issues and the wife the little ones: The wife decides where to live, school for children, vacation plans, etc.  The husband decides when to reestablish trade relations with China; whether or not to support the Contras; if PTL really should have sold the doghouse.

                Both must take serious interest in avoiding what brings grief to the other. Watchwords are communication, compromise, commitment.

                A relationship of equals is based on spiritual values.  It is this that is most easily mismanaged.  It is not a question of how much or how deeply we love.  Love is measured in terms of quality.  We must be able to gauge where we ourselves are spiritually, and to find another in spiritual harmony.  The last statistics seen call attention to a much higher level of marital success for those marrying above college age, perhaps twice as high.  It is not the college degree as much as age maturity.  Youth are clearly vulnerable.  All must remember that nothing physical or material will last. 

                Love sonnet: Thomas Moore, 18^th Century Irish poet, was married to beautiful Bessie Dykes, an actress.  In 1811, while away, he found out from a friend that she had been stricken with a skin disease, leaving her disfigured.  She dreaded his return. This poem preceded him:

“Believe me if all those endearing young charms, Which I gaze on so fondly today,

Were to change by tomorrow, and melt in my arms, Like fairy-gifts fading way,

Thou would still be adored, as this moment thou art, Let thy loveliness fade as it will.

And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart Would incline itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own, And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,

That the fervour and faith of a soul may be known, To which time will but make thee more dear!

No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close;

As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets, The same look which she turned when he rose.”

                Others are as well vulnerable.  Among them are those who have lost mates of special harmony.  Marriage is not an end in itself.  The key is always, “What God has joined together.”  The solution is to allow the Spirit to lead.

                The worst mistake in my life…. (***the remainder of this paragraph has been lost***).

                What about the divorced?  There are times when divorce or annulment are the only alternatives.  That person has the right to marital happiness.  The Christian must not ever take the easy way.

                I came to know Wes Jackson in New Orleans. His wife had died, and he was dating a church lady.  A friend, whose wife had walked out on his ministerial career, sympathized with him over the loss of his wife.  “As strange as it may seem to you, I envy you.  Not because your wife died, but because death is so final, while divorce is not.  I know she’s out there somewhere, and I still care for her.”

III.           For the Home to be Uniquely Christian, there Needs to be Grace to Accept Differences in Others’ Lives.  The church performs in the role of extended family.  Christ is the husband, the Church is the bride, and we are participants together in family.

                Units within that family structure are going to differ.  Marriage is the norm: the operating criteria for most of us.  Single people are just as important to God.  Marriage at any cost is not the answer.  Making the most out of marriage is the answer for all married people.  The church must stand ready to open its heart as well to those outside of traditional family, offering companionship, and a full sense of belonging.

Conclusion

                Let me close, however, with a piece called “Practical Rules for a Happy Marriage.” “Never both be angry at the same time.  Never talk at one another, either alone or in company.  Never speak loudly to one another, unless the house is on fire.  Let each one strive to yield most often to the wishes of the other.  Let self-denial be the daily aim and practice of each.  Never taunt with a past mistake.  Neglect the whole world rather than one another.  Never part for a day without loving words to remember.  Never make a mean remark at the expense of the other.  Never meet without a loving welcome.  Never let the sun go down on any anger or grievance.  Never forget the happy hours of early love.  Never forget that marriage is ordained of God and that His blessings alone can make it what it ought to be.  And you will be happy ever after.”

                C.S. Lewis wrote in The Four Loves: “If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one. . . avoid all entanglements.  Lock it up safe in the coffin of your selfishness.  But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. . . .  The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”

THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

#103                                                        THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE                                                                               

Scripture              Jeremiah 2:5-13 NIV                                                                                        Orig. 11/22/64 (11/78)

                                Deuteronomy 1:10-11, 21 NIV                                                                                    Rewr. 11/22/86 

Passage:

Jeremiah 2:5-13

⁵ This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
    and became worthless themselves.
⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
⁷ I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.
⁸ The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
    the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
    following worthless idols.

⁹ “Therefore I bring charges against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
¹⁰ Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
    send to Kedar^[a] and observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
¹¹ Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
    for worthless idols.
¹² Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
¹³ “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
    the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Deuteronomy 1:10-11, 21

¹⁰ The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. ¹¹ May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised! 

 ²¹ See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Purpose:  To call my people to remembrance of blessings of God to His people and that their spiritual prosperity was linked to their obedience

Keywords:          God’s Blessing                   Promises             Hebrew History                 Promises            

                                Thanksgiving                      Thankfulness

Introduction

                The attitude of gratitude is not borne easily.  Not only is its existence a troubled one, bearing it can sometimes be a struggle to those near at hand.

                Anonymity claims the  pen which wrote the verse:

                “Be thankful every day for bread;

                                For clothes and shelter, clean and warm;

                And God’s protection in life’s storm;

                For life and health, and those who care;

                                For peace and quiet, and love and prayer.”

                But in its lines is “the attitude of gratitude.” Without such, there is little to life’s meaning.  There is no maturity, no personhood; certainly, no discipleship.

                Bishop William Quayle, upon hearing of the death of his friend, the naturalist John Burroughs, reflected aloud, “Poor John, he loved the garden, but he never met the gardener.”

                Joyce Kilmer, on the other hand, was unapologetically a believer.  Before he died on a battlefield in France at the age of 32, he wrote,

                “Thank God for the bitter and ceaseless strife

                                And the sting of His chastening rod.

                Thank God for the stress and pains of life

                                And, Oh, thank God for God.”

                The Hebrew people to whom Jeremiah spoke, and around whom Deuteronomy was written, shared a heritage of blessing in the promises of God.  A part of that observance was the Feast of Tabernacles. They knew this celebration as “Sukkot,” and shared together in this feast at the end of the harvest season.  The purpose was to give thankfulness to God for the fulfillment of all His promised blessings to them.  But their history, like ours today, is checkered with those occasions of great blessing, with little or no response from those to whom the blessings are given.

I.             The Attitude of Gratitude Examines the Record from the Past.  Jeremiah 2:7, “I brought you into a plentiful country to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof.”  So the Lord is the key to time and circumstance.  Dr. Sidlow Baxter teaches an important lesson in the lives of the seven great men of Genesis.  Abel was 1^st, not a man reaching in toward himself as was Cain, but reaching out to the unknown: to God. 2^nd was Enoch, immortalized forever as the man who walked with God.  3^rd was Noah, forever the man of spiritual renewal; he followed his God over the cold water to a new day of hope.  4^th was Abraham; he was a man who walked by faith, was “accounted as righteous” and called “the friend of God.” 5^th, a little later, came Isaac; from him we get our first taste of  sonship; he was of special promise, of special birth, almost a sacrifice for sin. Then, 6^th, came Jacob; in him was the life of service—busy, untiring, blessing, a prince at prayer. Finally, 7^th, came Joseph, a life thrown away, but picked up again, blessed and used. 

                It is not such men that we need today, but people with such a grasp of God, committed to pray, promise, and perform. 

                It was in some similar way that God moved to bring America to the forefront of nations.  The year was not 1492, by the way, nor was the man Columbus.  The year was 1455, and the man was Gutenberg.  If you do not recognize the name, he was a printer.  Printing came alive, the equivalent of the computer.  The Bible, and its vision of men and women in freedom, was only a step away. 

                It was not long before doctrinal integrity replaced Ecclesiastical hierarchy (1517) in Luther’s 95 Theses at Wittenberg.  During that same period. The persecution of Separatists, your spiritual forebears, pointed believers toward a distant wilderness and freedom’s dream.

                God’s concern in America today is not in a land, but in a vision; not in a political entity, but a people.  Isaiah 1:18 “Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall become as wool.”  Colossians 2:2, “God’s secret . . . is Christ himself.  He is the key that opens all the hidden  treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge.

II.            The Attitude of Gratitude Considers Performance of God’s Dealings with His People.  Deuteronomy 1:10 “The Lord your God hath multiplied  you and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.”   The good gifts of God to Israel were a stewardship trust. 

They were gifts clearly from God.  The Ark of the Covenant symbolized God’s presence. 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."  We abuse holy things.

                They were gifts centered for service.  Deuteronomy 26:5, “My father was a homeless Aramean who went down into Egypt with a small company, and lived there until they became a great nation.”  It was clearly their responsibility to use those gifts to the glory of God.  To examine Israel during those years of glory is to be aware of the awe in which others held them.  In the world of nations between 10^th-8^th Centuries BC, they were the rich kid on the block.  Others were jealous, but could do nothing.  Then it was discovered that the mansion of Israel         had roaches and termites just like the shacks by the river.  They had been given a chance to help others.  Their greatest failing was that they did not.  What will our greatest failing be?

                You see, the truth of moral and spiritual responsibility is eternal.  To know God is to be morally and materially responsible for sharing that knowledge persuasively.  Isaiah 62:6 “I have set watchmen upon the walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace, day or night . . . .  Give Him no rest till He establishes, till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

                Not to share that responsibility is soul damning.  Philippians 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

                “O Zion haste, thy mission high fulfilling, to tell to all the world that God is light,

                That He who made all nations is not willing one soul  should perish, lost in shades of night.

                Proclaim to every people, tongue, and nation that God in whom they live and move is love.

                Tell how He stooped to save His lost creation, and died on earth that man might live above.”

III.           The Attitude of Gratitude Speaks Also of Promises in Prospect.  Deuteronomy 1:11 “[May] the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you, as He has promised you.”   

                Let us remember that God is righteous, and our sin is a burden to Him. The world was created and ordered under His perfect hand.  It awaits people of faith and dedication to open the chalices of promise.

                About ¾ century ago Albert Einstein stood before colleagues and wrote an equation that has literally changed the world.  E = MC².  Energy is proportional to mass.  And the atomic age came into being.  Will it always bode evil and war?  Can it not also bring good?

                The fulfilled promise is one in which sin is brought to light in Christ.

                It is the eternal link of blood.  Leviticus 17:11 “For it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”  Hebrews 9:22 “Without the shedding of blood is no remission.”

                It is the building blocks to the universe.  Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.”

                God’s promise is first an invitation.  Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye who labor.”  I Peter 2:9, ‘Ye are a chosen generation called . . . out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  Revelations 22:17 “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”

Conclusion

                The early charters of the colonies that became the United States were treatises dedicated to God through His Son.  Plymouth, Delaware, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, Rhode Island had the stated purpose, “to advance the enlargement of the Christian religion, to the glory of God almighty.”

                The closing words of the Declaration of Independence confessed the nation’s dependence.  Congress appointed a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer in 1776, that the colonies, “through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain His pardon and forgiveness.”  Congress ordered the first Thanksgiving in 1777 asking “the penitent confession of their manifold sins . . . and their  humble earnest supplication, that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to blot out our sins of remembrance.”

Abbreviated version of #103

                When you hear today of someone with “an attitude,” it usually has a negative connotation.  However, if I understand the word aright, it can be used positively as well.  Just as we are able to express strong negative emotions, we are also able to express powerful positive emotions.  It is in that sense that I speak to you this morning on “The Attitude of Gratitude.”

                Anonymity claims the pen which wrote the verse:

                “Be thankful every day for bread,

                                For clothes and shelter, clean and warm;

                And God’s protection in life’s storm.

                                For life and health, and those  who care,

                For peace and quiet, and love and prayer.”

                Such lines as these contain that “attitude of gratitude.”  Without such, life’s meaning is extremely the more complicated.  Bishop William Quayle,  upon hearing of the death of his friend, the world-renowned naturalist, John Burroughs, reflected aloud, “Poor John, he loved the garden but never knew the gardener.”

                Joyce Kilmer, on the other hand, was unapologetically a believer.  Before dying on a battlefield in France at the age of 32, he wrote:

                “Thank God for the bitter and ceaseless strife

                                And the sting of His chastening rod.

                Thank God for the stress and pains of life

                                And, Oh, thank God for God.”    

                The Hebrew people, who were Jeremiah’s audience, and the subject about which Deuteronomy was written, shared a heritage not unlike our Thanksgiving heritage.  It was a celebration called ‘Sukkot.”  It came at the end of the harvest season, and was intended as an expression of thankfulness.  But their history, like ours today, is checkered with manifold evidence of blessing, and little more than token response from those to whom the blessings are given.  The “attitude of gratitude” must examine Past Perceptions, Present Performances, and Promises in Prospect.

                The early charters of the colonies that became the United States were treatises dedicated to God through His Son.  Plymouth, Delaware, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, Rhode Island had the stated purpose, “to advance the enlargement of the Christian religion, to the glory of God almighty.”

                The closing words of the Declaration of Independence confessed the nation’s dependence.  Congress appointed a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer in 1776, that the colonies, “through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, obtain His pardon and forgiveness.”  Congress ordered the first Thanksgiving in 1777 asking “the penitent confession of their manifold sins . . . and their  humble earnest supplication, that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to blot out our sins of remembrance.”