The Presence of Hope - December 1, 2019 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A man is driving along a road when his car breaks down near a monastery.  He goes to the main gate, knocks on the door, and says, "My car broke down.  Do you think I could stay the night?"  The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, even fix his car.  That night, as the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound.  The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, "We can't tell you.  You're not a monk.”  The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way.

Some years later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery.  The monks again accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.  That night, he hears the same strange noise that he had heard years earlier.  The next morning, he again asks what it is, but the monks still reply, "We can't tell you. You're not a monk."  Frustrated, the man says, "Fine. I'm dying to know.  If the only way I can discover the source of that sound is to become a monk, then, how do I become a monk?"  They reply, "You must count the number of pebbles surrounding the courtyard fountain.  When you find this number, you will become a monk."

Five years later, the man stumbles back inside and declares, "1 have counted 26,263,968 pebbles around the fountain."  And the monks reply, "Congratulations.  You are now a monk.  We shall now show you the way to the sound."

The monks lead the man to a wooden door, but as he reaches for the knob, he discovers it is locked. "Real funny,” he says. “May I have the key?"  So, the monks give him the key, and he opens the door only to discover another one made of stone.  It too is locked, and he is given a key.  This process continues through doors of brass, doors of iron, and doors of steel.  Eventually they approach a door of gold.  At last the monks announce, “Behind this golden door is the source of the sound you heard during the night.  They hand him the key.  Trembling with anticipation, the man unlocks the door, turns the knob, and is amazed to find the source of that strange sound.

But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.

From the look on your face I can tell you’re upset.  Some of you are disappointed at the punch line, but most are disappointed that I have just wasted 3 minutes of your life.  Don’t feel bad; I hate disappointments as well.  And I apologize if I’ve let you down, but it’s just a fact of life; eventually someone in your life will disappoint you.  And If you’ve not yet experienced this, consider yourself fortunate.  The rest of us, however, attempt live a normal life with a heart betrayed and broken because of what someone did or said (or didn’t do or didn’t say). 

Chances are someone has lied to you, which is why it is difficult for you to trust the promises of others.  Maybe someone yelled at you and called you hurtful names, which is why you feel threatened when people raise their voice.  Or perhaps someone called you worthless, which is why you do not feel valuable; you have come to believe that you are unlovable.  You want to trust again; you want to love and be loved, but you limp through life with a heart and soul that has been broken; you are the walking wounded.

Have you ever met someone like this?  Does this describe you?  And I ask this question because I am concerned this brokenness may have affected your relationship with the Lord.  Because of broken promises and hurtful words from others, you struggle to believe the promises made by God.  When you hear of God’s love, you figure it applies to everyone else, but not you; you’ve been called worthless.  People have turned their backs to you, and you assume God would do the same. 

Let me read you a passage from Hebrews chapter six.  And be honest about your reaction to these words. The author says, ¹⁸ “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. ¹⁹ This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. ²⁰ Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek”^[1] (Hebrews 6:18-20).  Hearing the author mention God’s promise and oath, do you struggle to believe they apply to you?

The author of Hebrews is trying to draw our focus back to what God promised in the past and how He faithfully fulfilled that promise through the birth of Jesus.  At the birth of Jesus, God demonstrated that His promises are trustworthy; He said He would “raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line” (Jeremiah 33:15), and in Jesus this promise was fulfilled.  The author’s point here is that since God demonstrated His trustworthiness through that promise, then all His promises extended toward Christians are just as trustworthy; they should become an anchor for our souls.  Everything God promised in the Old Testament is fulfilled through Jesus: a non-Jewish person could be adopted into God’s special family (Romans 8:17), death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54), a person can receive everlasting life (John 3:16), sins can be forgiven, and an individual can be welcomed into Heaven with open arms (Revelation 19:9).

These are just a few of the promises God made to those who trust Jesus to be their Savior.  But I am aware that some don’t feel worthy of this promise.  Because they were disappointed or wounded in the past, some folks struggle to believe that God actually loves them.  There are far too many people who choose to believe what some person said about them rather than accept what God has said about them.  And this concerns me.

Here’s something I want you to know about God and His promises; you don’t have to be a perfect person (or a monk) to receive these promises.  The Bible tells us that the promise of everlasting life was spoken to a man who had doubts (Nicodemus).  Jesus laid down His life for a bunch of men (Peter and the other Apostles) who turned their backs during that crucial moment in His life.  Jesus accepted a man (Paul) who was persecuting Christians, and even called this man to share the message of Salvation.  In fact, it is Paul who reminds us that, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” ^[2] (Romans 5:8).  And, it is Paul who reminds us that the “nobody’s” in this world are the very people God accepts.  In his first letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul writes, ²⁶ “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. ²⁷ Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. ²⁸ God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important”^[3] (1 Corinthians 1:26-28).

The point is this: although people and circumstances in this world might make you feel unvaluable or unlovable, the actions of God do not echo that sentiment.  In fact, the actions of God prove otherwise.  God valued you so much that He sent His Son to earth on that first Christmas day to die in your place.  Think about that for a moment; God loved you so much that He sent Jesus to be your Savior.  As Jesus looked at you, He saw someone of value and worth… someone worth dying for.  Sure, He knew about your weaknesses and shortcoming, but He still offered to die in your place – in my place – so you and I could receive all the promises of God.  Let that sink in.  And when this truth begins to take root in your heart, it will become a strong and trustworthy anchor for your soul.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Heb 6:18–20). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 5:8). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Co 1:26–28). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

He Will Do It - October 20, 2019 sermon

October 20 - Pastor Greg Jones from Frederick COB on Vimeo.

By Pastor Greg

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white standing out in contrast to her brunette hair.  She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Mommy, why are some of your hairs white?"  Her mother replied, "Well, every time you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."  The little girl was silent for a while, and then said, "Poor Grandma. You must have been very, very hard to raise."

By the way, you should have seen my father’s hair. “♫Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow…♫” 

Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t a mean kid, I just had a tendency to get into trouble.  I didn’t try to exasperate my parents; I simply didn’t know you had to pay for the candy at the drug store.  Hey, I was only 6.

It seems I have spent a great deal of my life trying to do the right thing, but I keep messing up.  And it gets frustrating from time to time.  Do you know what I’m talking about?  Doesn’t it frustrate you that no matter how hard you try, you end up behaving in a way that would make God’s hair turn white?  I’ve been on this Christian journey for 36 years; you would think I would have been able to stop making God unhappy with my behavior.  I mean, I’ve read through the Bible more times than I can remember; I’ve sat through sermons without falling asleep, payed attention during Sunday school class and during Bible studies.  But no matter how hard I try, I end up doing the very things I know are wrong.

Can anyone else identify with this?  I know a first-century evangelist who does.  The Apostle Paul once wrote, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.”  He exclaims, ²⁴ “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death”^[1] (Romans 7:15, 24)?

Paul wrote those words even though he had given his life to Jesus.  He was one of the first Christians to take the message of Jesus out into the world.  He and his traveling companions planted churches all across the Roman Empire.  He healed the sick, cast out demons, wrote most of the books found in your Bible’s New Testament.  And yet he confessed to struggling with sin.  Is there any hope for sinful people like myself?  If dutiful obedience to Christian teachings and active participation in Christian gatherings do not overcome sin in our life, then what will?  Paul’s answer is in Jesus Christ the Lord.

Now, most Christians understand that, on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for their sin.  That moment of salvation – being saved from the penalty of sin – is the beginning of a Christian journey.  But Paul isn’t talking about that moment; he is speaking about trying to live as a Christian in this world without stumbling or falling away; to overcome sin’s power.  Where do we turn when we fail to be obedient to the teachings of God?  The answer is still in Jesus Christ the Lord.

In a letter written to another church, Paul says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus^[2]” (Philippians 1:6).  Notice that Paul stresses that He will perfect it.  God will bring about the necessary transformation.  He will complete it; we will not.

This is where the faithfulness of God becomes evident.  He knew that, on our own, we would not be able to overcome our sinful nature nor have the strength of will to resist the temptations of a sinful world.  So, in an act of amazing grace, God pours His Spirit into everyone who calls Jesus their Savior.  God gives us what we need to be transformed.  He is the one who works in you to bring you to perfection; to completion.  He will overcome sin’s power; we will not.

I remember a situation where I was deeply offended by the actions of another person.  For two days I replayed the event over and over in my mind.  I talked to others about how I had been wronged; they joined me in my rant because they too had been wronged.  And then, one evening as I was mulling this over in my mind, the Spirit gently spoke and said, “How is your attitude honoring God.  Are you not to pray for this person?”  And in that moment I realized that without the presence of the Spirit within me, my attitude would never have been questioned; I would have continued to foster anger and hatred for this person.  But because God was at work in me (through His Holy Spirit), I reached out to make amends.  And it occurred to me that it was God who was at work in me.  Even though I had attended countless seminars and retreats, my heart fell into hatred all too easily.  God was working to help me overcome sin’s power in my life.

Sometimes I think we need to be reminded of this.  Sometimes I think we forget that “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world”^[3] (1 John 4:4).  And maybe I end up stumbling and failing as a Christian because I tend to rely on myself a bit too much.  Maybe I try to resist sin and evil in my own strength rather than learning to turn to the Lord.  Maybe I struggle to love my enemies because I have not allowed the Holy Spirit to guide and direct my heart.  Maybe I worry about tomorrow because I have not learned to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”^[4] (Matthew 6:33).  Maybe I am so focused on right living that I have forgotten to rightly surrender to the Spirit’s guiding and directing of my heart.  Maybe you and I have forgotten that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

Through Jesus, we have been set free from sin’s penalty; because of the Holy Spirit, we have been set free from sin’s power.  Of course, Paul reminds us here in Philippians that one day we will be freed from sins presence, but until that day – the Day of Christ Jesus – we must learn to rely on the Spirit’s power within us.  This is one of the reasons God has given us His Spirit; He equips us to overcome the power of sin and darkness in this world, and to live a life that bring glory and honor to His name.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 7:15, 24). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Php 1:6). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

^[3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (1 Jn 4:4). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

^[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mt 6:33). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

God’s Promise of Compassion - September 15, 2019 sermon

Micah 7:18-19

A panda walks into a diner, sits down, and orders a sandwich.  He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun, and shoots out the restaurant's windows.  As the panda stands up to leave, the owner shouts, "Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my windows out, and you didn't pay for your sandwich!"  The panda yells back at the owner, "Hey man, I'm a PANDA! Look it up!"  So, the owner opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for "panda": "A tree dwelling marsupial of Asian origin. Eats shoots and leaves."

Okay.  I didn’t know pandas had such a sharp temper.  It’s not the sort of characteristic one associates with pandas.

Out of curiosity, what sort of characteristics do you associate with God?  I’m curious.  What is God’s personality like?  Do you imagine that He is angry all the time?  Do you think God is anxiously waiting to punish us for an offence?  Is He the Divine Policeman who is just waiting to catch us breaking the law?

I think you might be surprised at how God is described in the Bible.

There are several places in the Old Testament where we discover God’s personality – His “Character.”  David, an Old Testament King of Israel knew God’s heart; he experienced God through times of love, grace, mercy, and compassion.  In Psalm 145:8-9 he wrote,  ^8 “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. ⁹ The Lord is good to everyone.  He showers compassion on all his creation.” ^[1] 

The Old Testament Prophet Micah also knew God’s heart.  He knew God was loving, gracious, merciful, and compassionate.  Micah asks, ¹⁸ “Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.  ¹⁹ Once again you will have compassion on us.  You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” ^[2] (Micah 7:18-19).

To be sure, Micah admits people may receive the Lord’s discipline, but it is intended to correct a behavior, not destroy; this is God’s personality – His “Character.”  As Tim Keller points out, “…the God of the Bible is not like the primitive deities who demanded our blood for their wrath to be appeased. Rather, this is a God who becomes human and offers His own lifeblood in order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday He can destroy all evil without destroying us.”[3]  God intends to do something about all the evil and injustice in this world, but before that happens, He provided a way for us to be spared.  He saw our helpless situation and offered to do something to help.  That’s compassion.

The compassion of God is mentioned over 100 times throughout the Bible.  Those who lived in Old Testament times and those who lived in New Testament times spoke of God’s promise of compassion.  And since Jesus is “the visible image of the invisible God” ^[4] (Colossians 1:15) - to know Jesus is to know God – we can easily see the compassion of God through the actions of Jesus.

What does it look like when God is compassionate?  It looks like Jesus kneeling before a crowd of Pharisees who are accusing a woman of adultery.  It looks like Jesus touching a leper, a dead body, or the woman with the bleeding problem.  It looks like Jesus feeding a great crowd of people, healing the blind, or loving the demon-possessed man who lived in the tombs.  It looks like Jesus seated next to a Samaritan woman who has been divorced five times or weeping before the grave of Lazarus.  We see the compassion of God through the compassion of Jesus.

Our Lord and our God not only promises to forgive our sin, but He has compassion for us as we deal with the consequences of our sin.

Yes, you heard me correctly; the compassion of God is something He extends to us even though we sin.  What did Micah say?  “Where is another God like you, who pardons our guilt?”  Or, to put it another way, when we commit a sin, God doesn’t tear up the adoption papers; He doesn’t throw us out in the street.  Instead, He shows us compassion.  How do I know this?  I know this because Jesus demonstrated compassion toward those who had sinned and had fallen out of favor with society: Judas, the political revolutionary, Matthew the Tax-collector, Peter, who denied knowing Jesus, or Zacchaeus, the corrupt public servant.  I know God shows compassion because He has been doing this from generation to generation.

It was compassion Jesus demonstrated toward Paul; even though he was killing Christians, the Lord called Paul to take the message of Jesus out into the world.  It was God’s compassion that pointed Peter to the home of Cornelius, a Roman soldier.  It was with God’s compassion Paul and Silas were able to pray with their jailor in Philippi.

On and on I could go, pointing to people who had failed God over and over.  Yet, in His compassion, God, “Trampled their sins under His feet.”  And since God’s character does not change - He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) – we can be convinced that He will be compassionate toward us.

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose,” ^[5] says the LORD God (Exodus 33:19).  Like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24), God has compassion as he sees you struggling under the burden of sin.  You have done things and said things that dishonor God.  You have turned your back to Him.  But He has not turned His back to you.  Living in this world is difficult enough, let alone trying to live a life that honors God.  We will sin from time to time; we will fail to be perfect.  And our Lord knows this.  He knows what it is like to deal with all the temptations that assail us.  He knows how sorrowful life can be; He sees our sadness and our loneliness.  But rather than turn His back to us, “The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  The Lord is near to everyone who prays to him, to every faithful person who prays to him” (Psalm 145:14, 18). ^[6]

God’s compassion toward us is seen at the cross.  Jesus offered to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.  On the cross, Jesus fully demonstrated His compassion toward all who humbly recognize their sinfulness.  His death on the cross becomes God’s greatest demonstration of compassion for all time.  You see, I know God is compassionate because He offered His Son Jesus to die in my place; in your place.  God saw our inability to stop sinning, and chose to “lift those bent beneath their load of sin.”

God is compassionate.  He sees the mistakes we have made in life.  He sees us struggle to live a good and decent life.  But rather than point His finger and condemn, God reaches down into our despair and offers us grace, mercy, and love.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus, God demonstrates His compassionate heart.

I share this with you today because there was a time in my life when I turned my back to God.  I had no love for the Lord.  And when I came wandering back to Him I expected to be punished for my past sins.  But instead, I found grace and mercy; I did not expect God to be so compassionate.  I did not expect Him to celebrate my return.  And according to the Bible, this is exactly what you will experience as well.  When you accept the sacrifice of Jesus, God will trample your sins beneath His feet and throw them into the depth of the ocean.  He will make you feel like a person once again; He will make you feel valuable. 

This is a lesson everyone needs to hear; those who have already accepted God’s act of compassion need to be reminded of this from time to time.  And to those who are still trying to figure out God or are worried about being punished by God, hear this Good News: God is compassionate; He is ready to pardon your guilt.  He delights in showing unfailing love.  Come to Him today and you will find compassion.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ps 145:8–9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mic 7:18–19). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[3] Tim Keller, The Reason for God

^[4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Col 1:15). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[5] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ex 33:19). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[6] GOD’S WORD Translation. (1995). (Ps 145:18). Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group.

Twisting and Wiggling Into Heaven - April 11, 2019 Lenten message

By Pastor Greg @Waynesboro COB...

Are you familiar with the cartoon character Winnie the Pooh?  In the original movie, Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit’s front door.  And poor Pooh ends up trying to wiggle himself the rest of the way out the hole.  Do you happen to recall what Rabbit does to cover up the problem?

It seems it was impossible for a plump, cuddly old bear to pass through a hole the size of a rabbit.

Pooh bears, it seems, are not the only ones trying to squeeze through impossibly small openings.  It seems we humans are quite prone to try what is impossible… a lesson a wealthy religious leader needed to learn one day as he was talking with Jesus.

¹⁷ As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. ¹⁹ But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”  ²⁰ “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”  ²¹ Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  ²² At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” ²⁴ This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. ²⁵ In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”  ²⁶ The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.  ²⁷ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”  ²⁸ Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.  ²⁹ “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, ³⁰ will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. ³¹ But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.” ^[1]

It’s not about the money.  Let’s set that straight right from the beginning.  Nowhere in scripture does the Lord teach that it is wrong to be wealthy.  Dangerous?  Yes.  Does it cause temptation?  Absolutely.  But it is not considered a sin.  Do you want to know what I think?  I think this wealthy religious man came to Jesus looking for affirmation.  I do.  I think he was looking for affirmation from Jesus that he had attained this eternal life that the Lord had mentioned so often in the past.  So, when the Lord starts running down over a list of good things a person should do, I suspect this man was making mental checkmarks; he was looking for assurance that what he was already doing would guarantee eternal life. 

I don’t believe this religious man expected Jesus to add anything more to the list, but He does.  He tells this man to do what his heart was not prepared to do.  And of all the people who came to Jesus, this man was one of the few to walk away sad.  He was so close, so very close.  “Missed it by ‘that’ much,” as Maxwell Smart used to say.

Probably most Christians today would correct this wealthy man.  Most Christians would pull him aside and correct his theology; doing right things does not earn someone eternal life.  You and I would gently remind him that the very foundation of Christianity is based on the fact that, through Jesus, God did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  We can never be good enough to inherit eternal life.  We simply cannot twist and wiggle our way into Heaven.  For this reason, salvation is considered a gift from God; it is given to those who believe that Jesus suffered and died to cleanse them from sin.

As I said earlier, this isn’t about the money.  It can’t be; for, if this man had indeed followed Jesus’ command here, do you feel he would receive eternal life?  Did this religious man need one more item on his checklist that would make him right with God?  Of course not!  This is why Jesus drives the point home with the “Eye of the Needle” reference.  It is impossible to force a camel through the eye of a sewing needle (or a Pooh through a rabbit hole).  It just doesn’t work.  And neither will a man’s attempt at being good be enough earn him eternal life.  Our standard of Good and God’s standard are miles apart.  And the thrust of what Jesus is teaching here is that it’s impossible for a person to do the right things that grant them eternal life.

The hard truth in this story is that it is impossible for any human being, rich or poor, to earn eternal life.  No one can.  And we dare not create our own checklist, thinking our “good Christian behavior” has somehow made us right with God.  We dare not because the moment we come to the Lord with all we have done in His name, He will remind us of what we have not done.

Like the apostles, we ask, “Who then can be saved?” 

Jesus wasn’t trying to drive this rich religious man away.  Instead, He was trying to help him see that even 9 tenths of the way through the needle isn’t good enough.  And, again, it wasn’t about the money.  Jesus was simply trying to help this man realize that eternal life is not a reward for a life well lived; it is a gift from God for turning to Jesus in faith.

Do we need to be reminded of this?  I think we do.  I think many good Christians struggle with the assurance of salvation because there are many times in their lives when they realize just how often they have failed to be good enough … even those who make it nine tenths of the way through the needle!  You and I and many other believers seem to know that our good isn’t good enough, and we get rather uncomfortable when the Lord reveals a new sin in our life.  Like Paul, we cry out to God, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” ^[2]

On those days when we feel unworthy or undeserving of eternal life, maybe we need to simply remind ourselves that eternal life and salvation was never ours to earn.  Maybe, like Paul, we need to exclaim, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” ^[3]  Sure, Jesus is going to point out new areas in our life that need to change; we always have some sin that needs to be addressed, but thank God for the work of Jesus on the cross.  Our eternal life does not depend on being good enough.  It is impossible to be so good that God is obligated to reward you.  We can’t pass through the needle.  But, with God it is possible. 

By His grace, the Lord God covers our sin with the righteousness of Christ.  Because of what Jesus did on the cross, God drapes us with the righteous robes of Jesus.  His blood covers our sin.

Even the part that is stuck dangling from the eye of that needle.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mk 10:17–32). Carol Stream, IL.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 7:24). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 7:25). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Demonstrating Spiritual Fruit - January 20, 2019 sermon

By Pastor Greg ...

For most of my younger years, I grew up surrounded by orchards.  That part of Mainsville (called “Frogtown”) was filled with all kinds of fruit trees.  I spent many summers picking cherries, peaches, pears, and apples.  We had a few apple trees on our property, and so did my grandpa Burkholder.  One spring, when the apple trees began to blossom, grandpa took me out to the trees and started trimming branches; he broke off some of the blossoms as well.  And I remember asking him why he did this; you see, where there was a blossom, an apple would soon begin to form.  I thought it a bit odd; he was keeping some apples from growing.  So, he explained to me that to produce really healthy apples, the tree needed to be thinned.  Too many apples would overload the tree.  He said, the tree might produce more apples, but they would be small and not as sweet.  So, we trimmed in the spring to have better fruit in the fall.

Guess what?  It really works.

While serving in Iowa, the church provided us a home, and there were two apple trees at that old farmhouse.  When we arrived in August, those two trees looked horrible!  It appeared as if they had never been trimmed.  Folks from the church said they loved those apples; I thought they looked sickly.  So… in the spring I did as my grandfather had taught; I trimmed branches and snipped lots of blossoms.  The folks from the church thought I was killing the trees.  I told them just to wait until next year.  Sure enough, the next year that tree produced incredible Yellow Delicious apples.  I brought them to a church meal, and folks wondered where I had purchased such amazing apples.  They were shocked when I told them they came from the trees at the parsonage. 

A little trimming did a lot of good for those trees; A little trimming is what God does with us.

Last week we talked about how the Holy Spirit reveals things in our life that are unhealthy; He shows us things that need to be removed.  Removing these things from our life will help create a healthier relationship with the Lord.  And the Spirits intent is to help us become more like Jesus.  He is helping us to become transformed.  According to the Apostle Paul, what we permit in our life affects our mind and our spirit… which, in turn, affects our actions and our attitudes (Romans 12:1-2).

According to Jesus, God “prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more”^[1] (John 15:2).  God reveals certain things in our life that are keeping us from maturing as a Christian and become healthier.  In the end, the “fruit” we produce will be abundantly better.  By removing the things in our lives that hinder our spiritual growth, we are transformed from the inside out.  Our thinking is guided by the Spirit, not by the world.  And when we are transformed, what the world sees and hears and feels and tastes from us is the fruit of God, not the fruit of the world.

Now, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering, “What does this fruit look like?  How will I know if I am “bearing fruit?”  Well, the Bible gives us a description of this fruit.  Through the Apostle Paul (a first-century evangelist), God spells it out, plain and simple.  ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!  ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” ^[2] (Galatians 5:22-25).

This is the fruit we gain through a relationship with God.  Because of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us, we receive these attributes from God.  However, if we examine the words of Jesus in John 15, you’ll notice He has instructed Christians to “bear fruit.”  In other words, a mature Christian is to demonstrate this fruit through their actions and attitudes, and this fruit can be seen and heard and felt by the people all around us.  In biblical terms, “bearing fruit” could be described as “The effect we have on others.”

These verses in Galatians 5 provide an opportunity for us to do a “self-evaluation.”  As Christians, we look over this list and need to ask, “what fruit is in my heart,” AND we should also consider what fruit others receive from us.  When someone spends time with us, how do we make them feel?  What do our actions demonstrate?  What effect do our words have in their life?  After all, this is what it means to “bear fruit.”

Looking at the full list from verse 19 and on, we can hold our lives up to these things and examine ourselves, but also evaluate the impact we are having in this world.  As we look at those around us, we need to consider if our presence among friends produces peace or hostility.  Are others moved to gentleness or to quarreling when we are near?  What lasting impact do we have on those around us?

As a Christian grows in the faith, their transformed mind transforms their attitudes and behaviors…which, in turn, helps transform the way they interact with the world around them.  And rather than growing the “fruit of the world” (Galatians 5:19-21), they grow the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23).

This pruning process, or this “transformation” as Paul describes it in Romans 12, is not always easy.  God will challenge us to pluck certain things from our life.  And in our eyes, it will not make sense.  But he is doing this so our fruit – our love, joy, peace, patience, and other traits – fully impact us AND the world around us.  The Lord does this so that as we change, we can change the world around us.

If you are new to the Christian faith, this idea of being an influence in the world can be quite overwhelming.  Actually, it feels overwhelming to all faithful Christians.  I mean, when we look at the world right now, it’s difficult to imagine that our kindness and goodness will make any difference.  How will our “fruit” overcome all the anger, hostility, jealousy, and selfish ambition in this world?

I’m reminded of a story I once heard about a young boy who was walking along the beach one morning, picking up starfish, and tossing them back into the sea.  A man came along and pointed out that the sand stretched for miles.  He asked, “What difference will it make?  There are so many starfish that nothing you do will matter.”  As the boy picked up one more starfish and threw it into the sea, he quietly replied, “It matters to this one.”  The fruit of your transformed life may not change everyone, but it will change someone.  And that’s all God is asking you to do: bear the Fruit of the Spirit so someone might be changed.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 15:2). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ga 5:22–25). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.