Victory

I am a writer.  Writing is therapy. It helps me process my feelings.  

So permit me for a moment to work through something that has been gnawing away at my heart. I can't quite tell what it is, but I know something is there, chewing away at my hope; my joy.

The idea of victory and triumph over the world seems much more distant today than it did yesterday.  The feeling that God is still in control seems foreign to me.  I look at our world and feel the battle for truth and righteousness has turned in favor of the world.  I see fewer victories over sin.

The lusts of the flesh are everywhere.  It seems no one wants to do what is right.  And the church doesn't seems to care.  Sometimes it seems that the church even agrees with the world.  No wonder I am losing hope.

Sometimes it feels like a losing battle, and lately I've begun to ask myself if it is worth the struggle.  I work so hard to bring people to Christ, but it feels like I am the only person on my side of this great tug-of-war for the heart and soul of the lost; the rest of the world is on the other side of the rope.  It seems I am battling alone, and it gets exhausting; depressing, sometimes.

"I cry out to God; yes, I shout."

"I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for His help"

(Psalm 77: 1,3)

That's how I feel.  I work so hard to bring people to holiness and righteousness.  I desire that the church not just survive but thrive!  But it seems the Spirit is far too quiet among us; sometimes even silent.

And I lose hope.  I find no joy.  And little by little, these tiny failures are gnawing away at my heart.

I need a victory.

Oh, I know that when Asaph wrote this Psalm he reminded us to look back at all God had done; to remember His wonderful deeds from long ago (Psalm 77:11).  But today, that's just not working for me.  I want to see Him do something great today.

Maybe part of my problem can be attributed to a few families who stopped attending the church I serve.  They came.  They seemed interested.  I visited.  I did everything in my power to make them feel welcomed and valued.  Yet they did not return, and I blame myself.  I lost the tug-of-war.  I feel like I have failed in some way.

Or maybe it's because I share Jesus with so many people, but I see no changes - no fruit from my labors.  I mean, I've been faithful.  I talk to them about hope and peace and love found only in the Lord Jesus.  But they still seem handcuffed to their life of sin.  I can't seem to wrestle them away from the world.  I feel like I'm doing something wrong.  I feel like I have failed the Lord in my evangelism efforts.

Maybe that's true.  Maybe I did fail in some way.  But, then again, maybe I didn't.  Maybe their choices have nothing to do with me, this church, or my witness.  And if that's the case, why does it bother me?

Because it reminds me just how difficult it is to thrive as a church in today's world.

Over the years, I have become deeply concerned for others.  I desire to see other people come to Christ.  I desire to see people become committed to serving Christ.  Now, I'm not looking to increase numbers, rather, I want to see people become faithful disciples of Jesus.  But I can't do this alone.  I simply cannot continue to be the only one pulling.  I desperately need more hands; more believers who are deeply passionate about rescuing the lost. I want to see others on this side of the rope pulling people out of the world and into the Kingdom of God.

Maybe then my joy would return.

A Pebble Off the Old Flintstone - June 18, 2017 sermon

          You know, since it is Father’s Day and since I am a father, I would like to take this opportunity to let my family know what I desire on this special day.  Rather than share the entire list in detail, I thought I would condense it down to a manageable size.  At the nearest Lowes, all tools in isle # 4.  At the Ford dealership, stock # B39J – the red one.  And at Best Buy, just look under my name in the gift registry near the service desk.  Oh.  And you better bring the pickup. 

What?  You think that sounds selfish?  I’m just trying to give them a more specific list this year.  Last year I told them to get me a gift we all could get something out of; they bought me a wallet.

          OK.  So, we all laugh and make fun of Father’s Day gifts.  (“Gee mom, do you think dad would like this battery-operated shoe polisher?”)  But in all seriousness, the one thing I desire most from my children is for them to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind.  I would like to see them become more like Jesus every day.  Sure, that’s what I desire.  The only problem is that I see them becoming more like me. Every now and then I catch a glimpse of myself when I am around my daughters, and that’s scary.  They’re a chip off the old block, or, a Pebble off the old Flintstone (which is how Pebbles Flintstone got her name, by the way).
Watch a clip from "The Blessed Event" aired February 22, 1963 
          I know that I am not the only one who desires to see godliness in his children.  Even the Father in Heaven desires this.  God desires this in us today, and He desired it in those who followed Jesus long ago.

          As Jesus spoke to His followers on the hillside, He called these men and women to “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 5:16).  Meaning, a follower of Jesus should reflect the holiness of God through the words of their mouth and the deeds of their hands.  In this way, God is glorified.  To a watching world, a Christian becomes a “Chip off the old block.”  Unfortunately, these followers of Jesus had a hard time honoring God.  Their words and deeds did not reflect the holiness of God.  It was difficult to tell them apart from the rest of the world.  For example, James and John spoke harshly about others (Luke 9:54); Peter cut off a soldier’s ear the night Jesus was arrested (John 18:10).  Their light did not shine too brightly.  We see more of the world and less of the Lord in these disciples.

          However, when you read through the Book of Acts, there is something noticeably different in these same disciples.  Their light begins to shine.  They begin to reflect the Lord in their lives.  They start to resemble their Father.  Take Peter, for example.  Rather than denying Jesus, he takes a bold stand for Jesus (Acts 4:19-20).  Even his heart has changed.  And one significant example is seen during a conflict that threatened to divide the Church.

          Tensions were high within the early church because the new Christians didn’t practice the religion in the same way as the older Christians.  You get the idea; some people were upset because these new Christians were doing things differently.  However, in the middle of this tense situation, Peter – hot-headed Peter – stood and addressed the crowd.  But listen to what came out of his mouth.  ⁶ So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. ⁷ At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. ⁸ God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. ⁹ He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. ¹⁰ So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? ¹¹ We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

¹² Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles (Acts 15:6-12).

There is no doubt that something changed.  You can almost hear Jesus speaking through Peter.  It seems the whole assembly calmed down after Peter spoke (Acts 15:22).  So, what changed?  What did the Father do to change the hearts of the disciples?  He gave them exactly what they needed; He gave them His Spirit (Acts 2:3).  In other words, the Father knew what His children needed to reflect Jesus in their life, so He gave them a portion of Himself.  Only then did these disciples become the “Light of the World.”

If I desire my children to reflect Jesus in their life, it goes without saying that I will need to first reflect Him in mine.  I mean, if I fall short of being like Jesus, can I expect anything less of my children?  An earthly father can teach his children about faith and salvation.  An earthly father can point his children to Jesus.  That much, we can do.  An earthly father can reflect the Lord by way he lives, but only our Heavenly Father can give a child the Holy Spirit.

The point is, if I want my children to become loving, patient, and kind, then I must give them what they need.  I must reflect these things in my own life and trust that God will faithfully do as He has promised; He will give them His Spirit.

           

I sometimes struggle knowing that I need to represent God to my children.  It gets discouraging at times because of my failures.  After all, I am not perfect.  So, I am concerned about my children becoming a chip off of this block.  However, I cannot hide this light out of fear.  I cannot make excuses because their spiritual development is my responsibility.  I must faithfully demonstrate Jesus to my children by the way that I live and through the words of my mouth.  If I do my part, the Father in Heaven will do His. 

Reflecting Jesus in our own life is no guarantee that our children will turn to Jesus, but it certainly can’t hurt.  We father’s must simply live in faith; convinced that He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him until the day our children accept Him as Lord (see 2 Timothy 1:12).

Our deepest desire is to see Jesus in the lives of our children, and I think God knows this.  Fathers, we need to reflect Jesus in our own life; we need to point our children to Jesus.  If we desire our children to become a chip off the SOLID rock, they’ll need someone to introduce them to Jesus.  And to have our children learn to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind would be the greatest Father’s Day gift indeed.

Anger - June 11, 2017 sermon

By Pastor Greg.  

My pastor friend put sanitary hot air hand dryers in the restrooms at his church, but after two weeks he took them out.   I asked him why and he confessed that they worked fine, but when he went in there he saw a sign that read, "For a sample of this week's sermon, push the button."

I hope what I say today is more than just a bunch of hot air.

For the past few weeks, we have been studying the story of Jonah.  But rather than focus on the famous miracle, we’ve been looking at several destructive attitudes exhibited by Jonah.  He was a man filled with fear, with indifference, hatred, and anger.  And his story becomes a mirror; by exploring Jonah’s life, we can examine our own.

If you’ll recall, Jonah eventually did travel through Nineveh and the surrounding towns, preaching the message God had given him.  Surprisingly, the people repent … even the king!  Because of this, God changed His mind.  But …

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. ² So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. ³ Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”  ⁴ The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

⁵ Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

⁷ But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. ⁸ And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. ⁹ Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?” “Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. ¹¹ But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” ^[1]

Look at his words in verse 3.  “Just kill me now.”  Wow, that’s harsh.  Jonah would rather die than see these people receive grace.  And he knew that’s what God was about to do; extend mercy to these individuals who have just repented.

This, of course, caused Jonah to become angry.[i]  But who was he angry with?  Jonah was angry with God because He changed His mind.  He would not destroy the people of Nineveh … which is what Jonah knew would happen.  That’s part of the reason he refused to obey the Lord’s command – why he jumped on a boat headed in the opposite direction.  Jonah knew God very well.  He knew that God was merciful and compassionate.  He was aware that God was filled with unfailing love and that He was slow to anger.  Jonah knew this, but he did not want these people to know how merciful and gracious God can be.

Are we guilty of doing the same thing?

Part of the reason I wanted us to look at the life of Jonah is that there are tremendous parallels in our world today.  Today, there are people we hate.  Their actions make us cry out to God and beg Him to strike them down.  We think the world would be a better place without them.  Yet we are faced with the reality that God is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love; that He is eager to turn back from destroying people.  And we know this is God’s character because we have seen it in Jesus.

Jesus knew there was no one beyond the grace of God.  On the other hand, Jonah did not want these people to receive the grace of God.  I wonder if we do the same thing.  Are we are convinced that certain people should never have their sin forgiven?  Do we believe their crimes should be beyond God’s grace?  Do we want their sins to be held against them?  We have repented, but are there certain people we do not want to repent?   Do we become angry with God when He shows them unfailing love?  Do we wish calamity would strike these people?  Do we rejoice when bad things happen to those we hate?

When our enemy hears the message of Jesus, all it takes is for them to repent of their sin, and bang!  God offers grace.  He shows them mercy.  They become adopted into the family of God just. like. us.  Does it seem fair?  I guess that all depends on how selfish we are with God’s grace. 

But see, that’s the whole point.  It’s God’s grace, not my grace.  I don’t possess the power to forgive someone of their sins.  Only God can do that.  So, if He chooses to show a person mercy, that is His prerogative.  After all, they may have wronged me, but they sinned against God.  So, He is the One who must choose between justice and grace.  I, on the other hand, am merely a messenger.  We are messengers.  And sometimes God asks us to take the message to those we hate.

If we know that God is merciful and loving; if we know God is slow to anger, why would we withhold this news from others?  Is it because we are afraid of them?  Is it because we don’t care about them; because we hate them?  Maybe it’s because we don’t want our enemies to receive the same forgiveness we received.  Like Jonah, we try to impose our will upon God.  When Jonah became angry at God for showing grace to the people of Nineveh, God asked, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”  In other words, what right did Jonah have to force God to comply?

Jonah had no answer.

I doubt we would be able to answer as well.

¹⁷ Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; ¹⁸ or the Lord will see it and be displeased ^[2] (Proverbs 24:17-18).  In God’s eyes, it is evil to rejoice when bad things happen to your enemy – to those whom you hate.  However, we should rejoice when those, whom we hate, discover the grace and mercy of God. Our enemy has become our brother.

Let me ask you this: are you okay with God loving your enemies?  That’s the real lesson here.  We need to realize that God loves our enemies.  And as Christians, we need to be transformed into people who love them as well.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jon 4:1–11). Carol Stream, IL.

^[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Pr 24:17–18). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

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[i] Part of Jonah’s problem may stem from God’s actions in the past.  In the early years of Israel, God actually promised to attack her enemies.  As Israel crossed the Jordan River and traveled into the land of Canaan, God stepped in and overpowered Israel’s enemies (Joshua 11:8; Judges 6:9; 2 Chronicles 20:24).  Even after this incident with Nineveh, God intervened in Jerusalem, killing 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35).  So, Jonah may have been thinking God would do the same with these people from Nineveh, however, God must have clearly indicated his plans to Jonah – that He was going to offer mercy before judgment.  In Jonah 4:2 it’s apparent the prophet knew this.  He knew what God planned to do in this particular situation, but His plan made Jonah angry.

Through the lesson of the plant and the worm, God caused Jonah to see the people of Nineveh from a different perspective (Yes, Jonah changed his attitude in the end, which is why he wrote this book).  God reminds Jonah that the people of Nineveh did not know the difference between right and wrong.  They didn’t know their behavior was wrong in God’s eyes.  Thankfully, a man of God delivered the message, and they repented.  They recognized that they had been acting in evil and wicked ways.  And they stopped.  It’s true.  The people of Nineveh changed their wicked ways for at least two generations.  Unfortunately, this repentance will not last.  In just two generations, the people will return to their wicked ways.  King Ashur-dan and his son lived changed lives, but Ashur -dan’s grandson returned the nation to their wicked ways.  Tiglath-Pileser III began attacking neighboring nations about 10 years after his grandfather died.  150 years after Jonah preached, Nineveh will be destroyed.

Hatred - June 4, 2017 sermon

By Pastor Greg.  

A not-so-bright man goes into an ice cream parlor and says, "I'd like two scoops of chocolate ice cream, please."  The girl behind the counter says, "I'm very sorry sir, but our delivery truck broke down this morning.  We're out of chocolate."  "In that case," the man says, "I'll have two scoops of chocolate ice cream."  "You don't understand, sir," the girl says.  "We have no chocolate."  Again, the man replies, "Then just give me some chocolate."

Getting angrier by the second, the girl says, "Sir, will you spell VAN, as in vanilla?"  The man says, "V-A-N."  "Now spell STRAW, as in strawberry."  "OK.  S-T-R-A-W."  "Now," the girl says, "spell STINK, as in chocolate."

The man hesitates.  Then he says.  "There is no “stink” in chocolate." 

"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!" she screams.

I’ll give you a minute.

If you’ve ever worked in retail, you understand how frustrating some people can be.  You wonder if they crawled out from under a rock.  Sometimes even the best of us become frustrated with others.  Their actions make us angry.  And if that anger is left unchecked, it can lead to hate.  Hate, of course, leads to suffering.

In our world today there are many whose actions make us angry.  There are people whom we have grown to hate.  But people like this have been around for a long, long time.  King David had to deal with people like this; people who “draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right” (Psalm 37:14).  To keep anger from leading to hate and suffering, David says “⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. ⁸ Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper - it only leads to harm” (Psalm 37:7-8).

Excuse me David, but you want me to do what?  Be still?  Wait on God?  And if David’s words were not enough, Jesus comes along and says, “love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).

  As difficult as these words are to hear, they are, unfortunately, even more difficult to live.  Sure, I don’t want to get angry with people; I don’t want to form biased opinions about them.  But keeping anger in check is very, very difficult, especially when certain people cause so much pain and suffering in the world.  There are times when waiting for God to act is the hardest thing we can do.

So, according to God, a believer has a responsibility to let go of anger and instead learn to love those who hurt them.  But doesn’t it just seem a whole lot easier to ignore God and let anger turn into hate?  I mean, some people hate us; why can’t we hate them back?

Jonah, the Prophet of God, chose to hate instead to obey.  And that hate made his life pretty miserable.  Sure, he hated the people of Nineveh.  And why wouldn’t he hate them?  The people of Nineveh were vile warmongers whose ideology of conquest was in complete contrast to the teachings of God … which Jonah knew very well.  The Prophet Hosea had warned that one day, Nineveh would capture Israel and slaughter its people (Hosea 11:5).  So, it just seems natural that Jonah would hate these people.  However, Jonah’s hatred led to disobedience; he chose to disobey God rather than take the Lord’s message to these people.

But...

Jonah’s hatred of foreigners caused him to run from God, get thrown into a stormy sea, be swallowed by a huge fish then vomited on a beach, and get a dreadful sunburn.  Jonah is the one who suffered here, not the people of Nineveh.  So, tell me again how Jonah’s hatred hurt the people of Nineveh?

Hatred hurts us more than it hurts those whom we hate.  Left unchecked, our anger will lead to hatred, which leads to suffering … our suffering.  It drives us away from God, causes us to be useless to God, puts us in some pretty trying situations, and makes us miserable in the end.

All right.  All right.  That may be true, but are we to believe that God will allow the wicked and evil people in this world to get away with all the suffering they cause?  Is God being fair?  Am I supposed to love a group of individuals who set off a bomb at a crowded concert, killing innocent men, women, and children?  I mean, when will God dispense some judgment?

Like Jonah, we are faced with the harsh reality that God wants these people to repent and be saved BEFORE the judgment.  I know.  I know.  We would rather God pass judgment right now.  But in His wisdom He has delayed that judgment.  He has delayed it because God does not want anyone to die.  “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live” (Ezekiel 33:11).  This is why God sent Jonah to Nineveh BEFORE they were destroyed.

Please take notice what God had Jonah say to these people.  ⁴ On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” ⁵ The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

⁶ When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. ⁷ Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:

“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. ⁸ People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. ⁹ Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”

¹⁰ When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened (Jonah 3:4-10).

In His mercy, God was sending Jonah to Nineveh before the judgment.  God wanted to spare Nineveh, and He wanted a Man of God to take this warning to the people.  If God really hated the people of Nineveh, why warn them about a coming judgment.  Why not smite them on the spot?

It’s this plain and simple: I must not hate those whom God loves.  And it’s pretty hard to determine just who God hates.  I mean, if He loved the people of Nineveh enough to send them this warning to repent, then is there anyone beyond God grace?  His great desire is for all to repent and be saved.  Why else would He send a Man to offer us terms of peace before the Great Day of Judgment.  And just because you or I have responded to His offer does not mean that others in this world will not or should not receive this same offer of grace.

Hatred has made this world a terrible place … which is why I imagine God is calling Christians to take God’s loving message out into the world today.  I know, we would rather not love others as the Lord has first loved us (1 John 4:19).  But before we run away from our responsibility, just remember what Jonah experienced because of his disobedience. 

I wonder how miserable OUR life may become if we allow hatred to grow in our own hearts.