Forgive Someone - January 25th, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Debby punched in her boyfriend's new phone number -- and a woman answered. "Is Mike there?" asked Debby, confused. "Umm, he's in the shower," the woman responded. "Well, please tell him his girlfriend called," Debby said, and hung up. When he didn't return the call, Debby called again. This time a man answered. "This is Mike," he said. "You're not my boyfriend!" exclaimed Debby. "I know," he replied. "That's what I've been trying to tell my wife for the past half-hour."

Picture this husband and wife.  For half an hour there were accusations and denials.  And in the end it all came down to a simple misunderstanding.  No one was in the wrong here, except maybe Debby who didn’t have the correct phone number.

Sometimes people hurt us unintentionally.  A careless word might be spoken or a commitment forgotten.  Sometimes it is simply confusion.  In these cases I remind the individuals of what Paul said to the Colossian Christians.  “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13).  Yes, we must forgive when someone offends us, but sometimes we are the one doing the hurting.  Sometimes we are the one who has broken a relationship.  Sometimes our words or our deeds drive a wedge between others.  But Jesus says that when we drive wedge between someone else we also drive a wedge between ourselves and God. 

As Jesus continues to teach His disciples on the mountainside, He changes His focus in this next section.  From Matthew 5:21 and to the end of the chapter, Jesus talks about our relationships with others.  According to God’s laws of conduct toward one another (to love others as we love ourselves), He says that we dare not disregard the feelings of others.  We dare not treat others as worthless trash.  We dare not elevate ourselves above others.  The least we should do is treat them as an equal.  So if we desire a closer walk with God we must first learn to get along with one another.  We must learn to see the value and worth of others.  You see, to God, personal relationships are far more important than personal rights.  To God, our relationships are greater than our hurts, which makes it quite difficult to walk closely with God while being angry or holding onto a grudge.

In this first section, Jesus says that if we desire to walk closely with God, then we will need to do something about our anger.  We need to realize how our angry words, either spoken or written, destroy our relationships with one another.

²¹ “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ ²² But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. ²³ “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, ²⁴ leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. ²⁵ When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:21-26).

To develop a closer walk with God Jesus says we must forgive someone or, in this case, that we ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt. Jesus commands that we restore what has been broken.  Unfortunately, too many Christians feel they can walk closely with God regardless of how they treat others.  But here Jesus clearly ties the two together.  As we eagerly reach for His hand God will remind us of who we have hurt; of broken relationships and those wounded by our callousness.

The whole point Jesus is making here is that we must hold the feelings of others close to our own heart.  As a Christian, we must become “other” focused.  We must learn to live through the eyes of others.  We must consider the weight of our words.  Do they build up others or do they tear them down?  “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them”, says Paul in Ephesians 4:29.  And by the way, foul language is not using certain words.  It is saying things in a way that hurts or destroys the person God has been trying to strengthen and comfort.  Don’t miss what Jesus has just said here.  Our attitude toward others either helps or hinders our worship of God and our relationship with God.

Present on that hillside as Jesus taught was a young man named John.  John had a thunderous temper (Mark 3:17).  Disregarding the feelings of others, he fought for a position of honor among the apostles (Mark 10:37).  He wanted to call down fire from heaven when a group of people told them to leave town (Luke 9:54).  Yes, John the Apostle needed to hear the words Jesus spoke on this hillside.  If John was to be a faithful apostle, he needed to change his attitude.  He needed to develop a forgiving and loving heart in order to walk closely with God.

Later in his life, John would write, ⁹ If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness” (1 John 2:9-11).  Gone is the thunderous temper.  Gone is the disregard for the feelings of others.  Gone is the selfish attitude.  These have been replaced by an attitude of genuine love and concern for those around him. We need to make this change as well.

It occurred to me many years ago that if people can hurt me deeply, then perhaps I have been hurting others as well.  So in my desire to walk closely with God I made a choice to “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:2-4).  So I pass along to you what I have learned in my walk with God.  I have experienced more meaningful worship and have found a deeper relationship with the Father by learning to see others in a whole new way.  And by the way, that change doesn’t happen on its own.  It is a choice we have to make.

Admit Your Weakness - January 18th, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A wife asks her husband, "Please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk and if they have avocados, get 6." A short time later the husband comes back with 6 cartons of milk. The wife asks him, "Why did you buy 6 cartons of milk?" He replied, "They had avocados."

If you're a woman, I'm sure you're going back to read it again. Men will get it the first time.  I can’t speak for the women in the room, but I’m pretty sure the younger men will blame the woman for not communicating clearly.  Older men, however, have learned what it means to really listen.

This is just one example of what it means to mature.  We learn from our mistakes.  We grow.  We admit that there are areas in our life where we are weak.  And this also applies to our Christian Faith.  The writer of Hebrews says, “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding” (Hebrews 6:1).  And what that means is that we do not remain the same.  We are different Christians today than we were yesterday – meaning that our sins from yesterday are not part of our life today.

It’s important we know this lesson on maturity before we read Christ’s words from Matthew chapter 5. ¹⁷ “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. ¹⁹ So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.  ²⁰ “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:17-20).

To understand what Jesus is saying here we need to understand what were the Laws of Moses and what were the writings of the prophets.  The Law was given to the nation of Israel shortly after they left Egypt, and they are much more detailed than the Ten Commandments.  The Laws of Moses, listed in Leviticus and repeated in Deuteronomy, can be broken down into three categories.  Some of these laws spoke about personal conduct toward God.  Some spoke about conduct toward one another.  And some spoke about cleanliness and hygiene.  The other part of the Law gave strict instructions on what to do when someone’s conduct broke the Law and what to do when someone was ceremonially unclean.

The Laws of Moses can be quite confusing.  But a teacher of religious law rightly summarized them by saying “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).  So as Jesus stood on that hillside teaching His apostles, He was reminding them of these two great principles.  God has given commands on how we are to love Him and how we are to love one another.

The second part of what Jesus says in this section of Matthew focuses on the writings of the prophets.  Every prophet of God in the Old Testament spoke about God’s judgment against those who break His Laws.  But many of these prophets also spoke about God’s deliverer; the One who would redeem and ransom those who deserved God’s punishment.  The prophets wrote of a day when God’s anointed One would take upon Himself the wrath they deserved.  He would be “pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins” (Isaiah 53:5).  So as Jesus spoke on that hillside He reminded His followers of what God had said and about what God had promised.  God holds His people to a standard of conduct that is above the world.  He spoke of the consequences for not living up to that standard of conduct.  But God promised that He would send a redeemer and lay on him the sins of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

This brings us to the last part of Matthew 5:17.  Jesus says He has come to accomplish their purpose – the Law and the Prophets.  In other words, Jesus says He is that redeemer.  He is the One who will ransom the world from its sin.

I said all of that so that we might fully understand what Jesus was saying.  However, this leads me to the big question of the day.  Since Jesus came and fulfilled the Law and the Prophets by dying upon the cross, does the Law and do the writings of the Prophets apply to us today?  Did they not achieve what God intended: to drive a person to the foot of the cross in repentance?  See, that’s the important part of all of this.  Since we are already believers and since we (well, hopefully all of us) have turned to Jesus as our Savior, do we really need to spend time reading and learning God’s Laws?  I mean, they can be quite extensive.  And if we are supposed to follow them, which ones apply to us today?  Well, Jesus has already given us the answer.

Jesus says that if we want to develop a closer walk with God then we are going to have to obey these commands (verse 19).  I’m not talking about earning salvation here.  Remember that this has already been accomplished.  Salvation comes through faith and repentance.  But a closer walk with God happens through obedience.

The Apostle Paul, a convert to Christianity and a missionary to Rome, said that the Law was given to convict us of our sin.  “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were” (Romans 5:20).  Yes, the Law fulfilled its purpose.  It demonstrated that we needed a Savior to redeem us.  But the Law also becomes a means to holiness – a way of living which separates us from the sinful ways of this world.

This is the point I am trying to make.  For example, if we learn that lying is a sin (see Revelation 21:8), and we feel convicted that we are a sinner in need of a Savior, and if we turn to Jesus who paid the penalty for our sin, why would we continue to lie AFTER being saved?  Do you see what I am saying?  Yes, the Law did what it was designed to do – to drive us to the cross.  But after the cross there is a whole lot of work to be done.  We need to mature.  We need to admit that we are weak.  There is conduct toward God that needs to change and conduct toward other people that needs to change.  If we want to develop a closer walk with God, then we need to allow the Law to speak to our heart and allow the Holy Spirit to change us; to transform us.

Obeying God’s Law does not grant us the Kingdom of Heaven – it helps us walk closer with God.  That’s what Jesus is saying in verse 19.  Both those who obey and those who do not are part of the Kingdom of Heaven.  But one is least and the other greater.  Convicted to turn to Jesus is one thing.  But convicted to stop sinning is something entirely different.  The one earns us salvation.  The other helps us become holy – to walk closer with God.

As I grow older I have discovered this one truth about myself: I don't need less of Jesus the longer I am a Christian. I need Him more. When I was young in my spiritual life I only knew of a few sins. But as reflect back upon that young man of 23 I see a man quite naive. What the Lord had revealed to me then was but a portion of my sin. And I suspect tomorrow, as I look back upon today, I will realize the same. If you and I can recognize just how spiritually weak we truly are, perhaps this will keep us from being proud. I believe it also will help develop an attitude of meekness - a sense that we have much to learn (that’s what spiritual meekness means). This also keeps us humble; knowing that we do not walk above others but alongside them. It keeps us from looking down upon the unchurched.

So should we read over the Laws of God?  Absolutely!  If you don’t want to tackle Leviticus, read Romans 1:24-32.  1 Corinthians 6:9-10.  Galatians 5:19-21.  Revelation 21:8.  There are lots of sins listed in these verse.   We are not under obligation to follow the Law of Moses (Galatians 5:18), but we should genuinely care what God calls a sin, especially if we want to develop a closer walk with Him.  We will never mature unless we learn how God wants us to conduct ourselves in this world. 

Change Your Attitude - January 11th, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Rothlisburger

Sam I Am

In the Burger Wars there are players and then there are winners.  The Fast-food chains have their burgers.  But in reality they are just the players.  Oh, I know the Wendy’s triple is pretty awesome, but in Charlotte, North Carolina there is a place called Big Daddy’s which serves a burger called the Sam I Am.  Half pound burger.  One egg.  Slice of ham.  On a roll.  An amazing tasting sandwich.  I had two (not at one time, though).  Not to be outdone, a place called Peppi’s out in Pittsburg has a sub called the Roethlisburger.  1 pound of hamburger.  1 pound of spicy sausage.  3 scrambled eggs.  6 slices of cheese.  Grilled onions.  I ate one of these in one setting.  Paid for it the rest of the day.  I saw, but never attempted the Old 96er at Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA.  A six pound cheeseburger.  Yes, six pounds.  I saw, but did not give in.  You have no idea wha

Ye Ol' 96er

t this monster looks like.

This is our society.  We strive for the biggest, the fastest, the priciest, the fanciest, the strongest, and the most powerful.  And we exalt these characteristics in others.  We assume the strongest and most powerful will inherit the earth.  Bigger just has to be better, right?  More is better than less.   Faster is better than slow.  Strong is better than weak. But according to Jesus those statements simply are not true.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:3-16).

Are these not some of the strangest words spoken?  The gentle will inherit the earth?  In what reality is that statement true?  We have always been told that it is the aggressive, the forceful, and the powerful who will rise to the top (think Donald Trump).  But here Jesus says that is not entirely true.  He looks at that crowd of people and says “The people of this world might look favorably upon the powerful, the forceful, and the aggressive, and your religious leaders might teach you this as well.  But in God’s Kingdom those attitudes are not valued as much as you might think” (my paraphrase).  Those who are blessed have an entirely different attitude.  They have an entirely different outlook on life.

Look at the attitudes mentioned here.  The person who is blessed in God’s Kingdom is the one who continues to depend on God and not themselves (“Poor in Spirit”).  Those who admit their weaknesses and imperfections will be comforted (“mourn”).  The gentle person has the biggest influence in this earth, not the strongest and the most powerful.  Those who desire righteousness will find it.  The merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemaker, and the persecuted are lifted up as those who are blessed.   Jesus demolishes the idea that bigger and stronger and faster and fancier and flashier has the greatest influence in this world.

 But Jesus doesn’t stop there.  Look what He says in the next section.  “You are the salt.  You are the light” (verses 13 and 14).  To whom was He speaking?  He was speaking about those who are meek and humble and serve and who are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus.  Truthfully, this is even more shocking.  It is not the bold, the outspoken, the opinionated, the powerful, or the influential who cause the people of this world to glorify the Father (verse 16).  Those who have the greatest impact in this world (those whose light shines in this dark world), are the meek, the humble, those who serve others, those who give rather than take, those whose gentle words calm a troubled soul.  It is not the King of the Hill whom God blesses.  Rather, those who are blessed are the ones who refuse to play the game in the first place.

So, how does all of this affect our walk with God?  It means that you and I need to change our attitude on what will change this world.  Too often it seems that Christians see this world as something to be conquered.  As if we have to wrestle the world into submission.  But the aggressive, demanding, insensitive form of Christianity will never convict the world of its sin.  This kind of Christianity only causes the world to fight back.  However, according to Jesus the way to be a light in this world follows the path of meekness (not weakness, mind you).  Which means instead of the Church hiring lawyers to battle for Christian values in the courtroom, it looks for ways to serve and care for the people of this world – even those who are enemies of the Church.  Instead of working to discover who is a sinner and who is a saint, perhaps the Church should be spending time learning how to love those who are difficult to love.

As Jesus begins this whole lesson on the Kingdom of Heaven, He addresses the most important factor right up front.  To walk closely with God in His Kingdom, a person needs to approach this world with the right attitudes.  So if we desire to walk closely with God we must choose meekness over assertiveness; humility over selfishness; gentleness over aggression.  These are the attitudes the person of the world will notice.  This how a Christian becomes the salt of the earth; a light in the world; a city on a hill.  King Solomon wisely acknowledged this when he wrote, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city” (Proverbs 16:32).   These words are absolutely true.  The greatest thing we can conquer in this life is our attitudes.  

Becoming Zacchaeus - January 4th, 2015 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Billy Graham had just finished a tour of the Florida East Coast and was taking a limousine to the airport.  Having never driven a limo, he asked the chauffeur if he could drive for a while.  Well, the chauffeur didn't have much of a choice, so he got in the back of the limo and Billy took the wheel.  He turned onto 1-95 and accelerated to about 90 MPH.  WHAM! The blue lights of the State Highway Patrol flashed in his rearview mirror.  He pulled over and a trooper came to his window.  When the trooper saw who it was, he said, “Um, just a moment, please”. The trooper radioed in and asked the chief, "I have a REALLY important person pulled over and I need to know what to do."  The chief replied, "Who is it, not that senator again, is it?"  The trooper said, "No, even more important."  “It isn't the Governor, is it?" asked the chief.  "No, even more important," replied the trooper.  "It isn't the President, is it?"  "No," replied the trooper, "even more important."  "Well, WHO in the WORLD is it?!" screamed the chief.  The trooper responded: "I don't know for sure but I think it might be Jesus, because his chauffeur is Billy Graham!"

Wouldn't it be cool to have people associate you with Jesus?  Oh, I’m not saying I want the speeding ticket and all, but how cool would it be for people to see you and think of Jesus.  Now I’m not talking about a person being all religious.  You know, dressing a certain way and always coming to church and doing religious things.  A person can be very religious but still not be close to God.  You know the kind.  They come to church and do all kinds of religious things but you know they don’t walk closely with God.  You don’t look at them and think of Jesus.  You think of the other guy.  The kind of people I’m talking about are the people you know really know God; the kind of person you know is really close to God and who seems like they spend a lot of time with Jesus.  You know what kind of person I’m talking about?  Wouldn’t it be cool to be that kind of person? 

Your answer to that question will determine if you really want to walk with God or would rather keep Him at arm’s length.  And if you are content to keep God distant in your life and never develop an intimate relationship with Him then you’re not going to enjoy this whole sermon series because I’m going to be spending some time talking about how to develop a closer walk with God.  I want to talk to the people like Zacchaeus; people who would climb a tree just to see Jesus.

There was an attitude in Zacchaeus that I’d like to see in myself.  And maybe this describes you as well.  We meet Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19, and the attitude of this wee little man really impresses me.

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. ² There was a

man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. ³ He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” ⁶ Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy [1](Luke 19:1-6).

Did you see that?  Jesus looks up at Zacchaeus and says “Hey buddy.  I need a place to say while I’m in town.  Do you mind if we spend some time together?”  And Zacchaeus gets all excited.  He is filled with Joy.  This Jesus, who everyone came out to see, will be spending the evening with him.  Wow.  I wonder how that must have felt.  I wonder what it would be like for Jesus to stop at my house and say “Mind if we spend the night?”  This isn't the mayor asking.  Not the governor.  Not the president.  It is Jesus, THE Jesus, the Son of God.  The Messiah.  This is the One who knows all about me, who knows my weaknesses and sins.  And here He is knocking on my door wanting to sit in my dining room and share a meal.  Relax on the recliner in the family room and talk about life.  Would I be all excited and filled with Joy?  Probably not.  But I should be.

This is the truth we need to learn, both the believer and the non-believer.  Jesus desires to spend time with you; to walk with you, to sit around the table and dine with you.  He desires this not so that He might get to know you better, but so that you might learn to know Him.  And trust me, the more you get to know Jesus, the more you will be at peace with yourself and with others. 

It is obvious that Zacchaeus did not remain the same man because of the time he spent with Jesus.  Zacchaeus felt convicted about the way he was living and the way he had treated others.  And perhaps Jesus said something to ignite this change of attitude.  I don’t know.   But it’s obvious something changed.  And I ask you, do you think Zacchaeus’ relationship with Jesus was the same after he made those changes?  Do you think he was closer to the Lord before or after he made those sacrifices?  Duh!  Every sacrifice we make, every time we make an effort to live according to God’s commands, we draw closer and closer to God.  And the closer we draw to God the more joy and happiness will be evident in our lives.

The story of Zacchaeus is amazing.  He found what he was looking for by drawing closer to the Lord.  In contrast, the rich young ruler became very sad.  He desired eternal life yet was unwilling to give up what he had in order to walk closely with God (see Luke 18:23).

What I find interesting is that Jesus gave us some instructions in how to walk more closely with Him.  He says that if we want to draw closer to Him and to the Father, there are certain attitudes and behaviors we must change.  And He shares these in the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew chapter five through seven.  There are things we can do to become “Blessed”.  We can learn to walk closely with God; living a life filled with peace and joy.

So here is what I want you to do.  Read Matthew 5:3-16.  Look closely at what Jesus is saying.  If you have questions about these selected verses, write them down and send them to me.  I will try to incorporate them into the sermon next week.  But next week we will begin exploring the many ways we can change in order to walk closely with God.

^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Lk 19:1–6). Carol Stream, IL