"Always Reforming"

Next year will mark five hundred years of the Protestant Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany. With this document, he sparked the Protestant Reformation, insisting that Scripture alone is the sole guide to faith, and that faith in Christ alone is sufficient for salvation. Since then, new Protestant denominations continue to spring up. Sometimes they do so out of fractious dissent, but other times it’s simply because Christians realize the truth of a statement made by Hans Kung and Karl Barth, “Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda.” In English, that is, “The Church reformed, always reforming.” Thinking Christians realize that faith is not a static thing, and that in order for it to stay relevant to every believer of every generation, it must always be active and reforming.

In 2 Kings 23, young King Josiah brings reform not only his own faith, but the faith of his people. If you find yourself in need of personal revival, maybe it’s a good idea to consider Josiah’s reforms, which began with a revival of scripture. Verse 2[i] says that “he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.” God’s renewal in your life must get started with a renewed commitment to reading God’s Word.

Next, verse 3 indicates a return to sincerity. “The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul…” Too many people make rash spiritual decisions, and only give God half of their heart or part of their soul. As Josiah determines to give God his whole self, holding nothing back in his commitment to the Lord, renewed Christians need to do the same.

Then, Josiah proceeds to restore the sanctuary that has been defiled by idolatry. Verses 4b-5a say that Josiah commands the priest to “bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. He did away with the idolatrous priests.” Since the Bible says that YOU are the new temple of God, then it’s clear that spiritual renewal comes with a restoration of physical health. Is there anything that’s unhealthy in your life that you need to get rid of? A habit or behavior that is displeasing to God? Restoring the sanctuary of your body leads to spiritual health.

Part of this involves renewed sexuality. Verse 7 says, “He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah.” Both men and women were involved on cult prostitution. Here, the males were prostitutes and the females were in charge of the hangings and other decorations for the temples. Josiah understood that for real spiritual reform, the people needed to renew their commitment to only engaging in the kind of sexuality that pleases God. As you seek God’s renewal, ask God about how you should renew your sexuality.

In verses 13-14, 19-20, Josiah removes strongholds from the land. He tears down altars to foreign gods, not just in the temple, but throughout the country. He puts to death the priests of idols who are corrupting the people. In verse 24, Josiah retires the sorcerers who practice divination and magic. What spiritual strongholds exist in your life, that may be impeding the gift of God’s blessing and grace? How can you tear down the false gods in your life in order to let God’s revival flow?

Finally, verses 21-22 say, “Then the king commanded all the people saying, ‘Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this book of the covenant.’ Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah.” Josiah isn’t just re-establishing Passover, but all the Jewish festivals that had fallen by the wayside. He is restoring the seasons to their proper place. Sometimes our lives can get out of whack. Our seasons and rhythms can get out of balance, and need to be restored. If you want spiritual renewal, then maybe it’s time to get back to church, return to your daily quiet time, take a Sabbath rest, and let your rhythms be restored.

Just like Josiah, the reformers of the past five hundred years have known that the church must be reformed, but that it also must be always reforming. When people have rejected God, they need to turn back. And even when things are going well, it’s best to avoid getting into a spiritual rut. On a grand level and on a personal level, the spiritual life means reformation. I pray that you’ll have the courage to create your own 95 Theses, to topple your own idols, and to cleanse the temple that is YOU.

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[i] All scriptures taken from the NASB.

"No Fear"

When I was a kid, I was afraid of lots of things. I was afraid of monsters in my closet, shadows under my bed, and noises in the wind. I remember when it was my job to carry the table scraps to the edge of the woods after dinner, how sometimes if it was dark, my imagination would get the best of me and I would go running at the sound of a squirrel in the leaves. I was sure some terror of the night was after me. Some of my fears I outgrew, but some have persisted since childhood. When I go to the beach, I’m constantly scanning the water for a dorsal fin—and I never even saw Jaws! I have to remind myself that it’s actually more dangerous driving to the beach, than being at the beach, and that most of the things we fear never happen anyway.

Living without fear is a challenge for most of us. We find our lives troubled by the pain of loss, giving up of our desires, ignorance, impatience, desperation, despair, sickness, loneliness, death, and so many other things that threaten us. Yet even with all of this, the psalmist makes a bold statement. “We will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling (Psalm 46:2-3 ESV).” How can this be so? Because, as verse 1 states, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” This seems like an overly-simple solution to fear, so let’s see how it works. Verses 4-7 say:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

What is this river that makes God’s home (that means YOU) glad? It’s the River of Life, that’s found in Revelation 22.1-2 (ESV):

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

This river isn't simply a water feature in some faraway Heaven. It flows from the altar, from the very Temple of God in the New Jerusalem. As the Bible says that you are God's Temple (1 Cor 6.19), this also applies not only to an otherworldly landscape, but to the soul of the believer. Jesus said of the believer: Jesus said, "The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life...Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (Jn 4.14; 7.38 ESV).’”

This River of Life is the flow of Holy Spirit within you. Like the ebb and flow of breath within your lungs, this Life moves through your soul, gladdening the heart and giving peace to your spirit. When you become sensitive to the Spirit's flow within you, peace overwhelms the fear that threatens. God is at your center, and your center is in God; you shall not be moved.

Psalm 46.5 says, "God will help her when morning dawns." The morning the psalmist speaks of is God's illumination within the heart of the person who prays. By centering yourself in God, practicing His presence in the River of Life that flows through your soul, you find yourself strangely calm, though the nations rage and the kingdoms totter around you. The morning dawning reminds us that: God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV)."

So the light of God (illumination of dawn) and the life of God (river whose streams make glad the city of God) keep the believer in perfect peace, even when surrounded by natural and human disaster. In verse 9 we learn that God is the bringer of peace. How can we know God's peace, even as the world rages around us? “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth (v. 10)!"

Practicing the presence of God, allowing His light to dawn on you, feeling His living water flow through you, knowing God's peace that conquers fear--all these things are accomplished by one simple act: Be still, and know that God is God.

Yet, as simple as that seems, how rarely do God's people avail themselves of this peace! In contemplative prayer, we do not rehearse our fears and then ask God to take our fears away. Instead, we simply rest in God. As we find the word "Selah" (Hebrew: "Pause and reflect") three times in these eleven verses, the believer must get still, get quiet, and listen to God. In meditation, we repeat God's words of assurance to our hearts, until His promises become a reality in our souls. When it becomes a reality, our fear is replaced with the courage that comes from a heart filled with God’s love.

Fear is a dangerous thing. It can stifle, cripple, and destroy the spirit. It can rob you of the joy of the Lord, and “the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).” Fear is a robber that can terrorize your soul.

Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard.[i]

In contrast, the Bible say that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4;8).” Perfect love teaches you that, as the Veggie Tales song says, “God is bigger than the boogeyman.” He’s also bigger than Black Bart or your bills, legal or health problems, broken relationships, educational issues, or anything else that comes against you. When you get quiet and know that God is God, you can know God as perfect love, as your refuge and strength, as your River of Life. You find God when you practice Selah, when you pause and reflect. I pray that this summer on vacation, this Sabbath rest, this day, you will be still and know.

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[i] Today in the Word, August 8, 1992.  http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/fear.htm.  June 20, 2016.

"Fresh Fruit"

It’s the season of the year when gardeners are bringing in their fresh produce. Those without green thumbs stop by farmer’s markets and roadside stands, eager to buy farm-fresh fruit and vegetables. There’s just something about a fresh summertime peach dripping with juices, snaps that were snapped just that evening, or ripe strawberries on shortcake. I don’t gardening, but already many people have stopped by the parsonage and brought me gifts from their abundance. Though it’s good to get homemade canned vegetables or frozen fruit from somebody’s tree, there’s just nothing like fresh-picked.

From Genesis to Revelation, God’s Word makes a big deal of fresh fruit. In Eden, humanity sinned by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As a result, we were cast out of the garden and forbidden from eating of the Tree of Life. Yet the Bible’s final chapter describes the River of Life flowing from the throne of God, on either side of which grows “the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree [are] for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22.2[i]).” Not only does the New Covenant with Christ restore our ability to eat from the tree of life, to be nourished and healed—but God desires all Christians to become fruit-bearing believers. Psalm 52:8 says, “I am like a green olive tree in the house of my God.” Every believer should bear fruit like that! In God’s creation, fruit-bearing is expected. In John 15:1-6, Jesus says,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit….Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide I me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

It’s clear that not only does God expect fruit-bearing, but God actually has no use for plants and trees that bear no fruit. Though non-fruit-bearing believers may have all the outward appearance of Christianity, God will know a true Christ-follower by the fruit he or she bears in life. Keith Copley writes about useless Christians who bear no fruit.

In the Greek Islands, one can seek out the home of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. In the area, one can also find an olive tree, supposedly dating from his time. If this is so, this tree would then be some 2400 years old. The trunk of this tree is very large but completely hollow. The tree is little more than thick bark. There are a few long, straggling branches, but they are supported by sturdy wooden poles every few feet. It has an occasional leaf here and there and might produce a few olives each year. In the fields around, however, are olive groves in many directions. The strong, healthy, young trees with narrow trunks are covered with a thick canopy of leaves, under which masses of olives can be found each year. The tree of Hippocrates can still be called an olive by nature, in that it still shows the essential unique characteristics, but it has long since ceased to fulfill an olive's function. Tourists file up to inspect this ancient relic, having some link to a dim history, but the job of the olive tree passed long ago to many successions of replanted trees. Do you know any churches (or even people) like the tree of Hippocrates? The form is there, but the function is not. They have stopped reproducing and are satisfied just being big, or having a noble history.[ii]

What is the fruit that Christians are supposed to bear? Christians are supposed to not be known as keepers of the Law, but as followers of the Spirit. Galatians 5:18-23a says:

If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalires, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Too often, people think that a Christian will be known by being a rule-follower. But Christians aren’t rule-followers; they’re Christ-followers. Instead of being consumed with the works of the flesh, true believers ought to bear the fruit of the spirit. Churches that operate in fleshly ways are full of these works of the flesh, but churches that follow the spirit reproduce with bountiful harvests of new believers, because they operate in these fruits and gifts of the Spirit. In Jeremiah 17:5-8, the Lord says:

Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is in the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.

I’ve heard people say that while we’re not supposed to judge one another, we are called to be fruit-inspectors. But the last time I read the Bible, that was still Jesus’ job, not ours. God plants the seeds of the gospel in the heart of every believer so that we can bear much fruit. In John 15, Jesus says that it is God who prunes us so that we can bear fruit, and God who decides which branches or trees are fit for the fire. Our job is not to judge one another’s harvest, but to abide in Christ, so that we can produce fresh fruit for the Lord.

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[i] All scriptures are taken from the ESV.

[ii] http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/c/church.htm.  July 16, 2016.

"Just As I Am"

Evangelist Billy Graham employed the hymn “Just As I Am,” as the invitational song at nearly all of his crusades, where, according to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.”[i] The hymn writer, Charlotte Elliott, suffered from a weakened physical condition, and knew that Jesus took her just as she was. She also knew that the Savior takes everyone who comes to God just as they are. In His ministry, Jesus proved it time and time again.

In Mark 2, when Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) the tax collector to be a disciple, the Master knows what kind of man he is. He knows how hated Levi is by his own people, due to his position with the Roman government and his tendency to overcharge in order to make a profit. Backed by military power, Levi extorts money from his own people—yet it is Levi that Jesus wants, just as he is. Without telling him first to pay anything back, without making him publicly apologize or even telling him that he has to quit his job, Jesus simply says, “Follow me!” And Levi does.

God’s grace will go anywhere and do anything in order to make people whole. God’s grace reminds me of an “advertisement on the side of a plumber's van in South Africa: There is no place too deep, too dark or too dirty for us to handle. What a wonderful explanation of the Gospel![ii]” Jesus calls us, just as we are. Even though he has to go down into the dark and dirty places to call us, He does so, because He’s a redeeming kind of God.

In the Gospels, Jesus is always getting himself in trouble for choosing the “wrong” kind of people. After Levi follows Jesus, he invites his friends to a party at his house, to meet the Master. Perhaps peeking through the windows, the fundamentalist Pharisees ask, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners (v. 16)?” Jesus replies, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (v. 17).” Even though He has a right to, Jesus doesn’t think He is better than anybody. Instead, he is willing to get his hands dirty, and to even soil his reputation, by hanging out with the people everyone else rejects as unworthy. They’re no unworthy to Jesus. To Him, they are friends.

Too often, we are afraid of encouraging people, for fear we’ll be seen as advocating their actions. Yet sometimes God calls us to celebrate even mistakes that people make it, if those mistakes indicate that they are learning. In Tell Me All About It, Jeffrey Zaslow writes:

Years ago, my father coached a team of eight-year-olds. He had a few excellent players, and some who just couldn't get the hang of the game. Dad's team didn't win once all season. But in the last inning of the last game, his team was only down by a run. There was one boy who had never been able to hit the ball--or catch it. With two outs, it was his turn to bat. He surprised the world and got a single!
The next batter was the team slugger. Finally, Dad's players might win a game. The slugger connected, and as the boy who hit the single ran to second, he saw the ball coming toward him. Not so certain of baseball's rules, he caught it. Final out! Dad's team lost! Quickly, my father told his team to cheer. The boy beamed. It never occurred to him that he lost the game. All he knew was he had hit the ball and caught it--both for the first time. His parents later thanked my dad. Their child had never even gotten in a game before that season.
We never told the boy exactly what happened. We didn't want to ruin it for him. And till this day, I'm proud of what my father did that afternoon.[iii]

Rather than worrying that we’ll be seen as supporting the wrong behavior, God’s people need to be more concerned with supporting people. If you’re concerned that by showing compassion, we’ll be seen as too permissive, then listen to the words of Robert Farrar in Between Noon and Three:

You're worried about permissiveness--about the way the preaching of grace seems to say it's okay to do all kinds of terrible things as long as you just walk in afterward and take the free gift of God's forgiveness. . .While you and I may be worried about seeming to give permission, Jesus apparently wasn't. He wasn't afraid of giving the prodigal son a kiss instead of a lecture, a party instead of probation; and he proved that by bringing in the elder brother at the end of the story and having him raise pretty much the same objections you do. He's angry about the party. He complains that his father is lowering standards and ignoring virtue--that music, dancing, and a fatted calf are, in effect , just so many permissions to break the law. And to that, Jesus has the father say only one thing: "Cut that out! We're not playing good boys and bad boys any more. Your brother was dead and he's alive again. The name of the game from now on is resurrection, not bookkeeping.[iv]

In order for Christianity to truly embrace this concept of radical grace, we need a change of heart and mind. Jesus addresses this needed change in verses 21-22, when He says, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” In the case of the patch, it must first be pre-shrunk so that the fabric will accept it. In the case of the old wineskin, it must first be treated and made suppler before it can be used again. Jesus says it’s impossible to accept new ideas without a renewed mind. First, like the wineskin, God has to prepare your mind to accommodate the new idea. Then, like the preshrunk patch, the idea has to be put in such a way that you can accept it. So what’s the new idea we need to receive? Jesus says it in Mark 2:17b: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Let that one soak in for a while—I hope you have a new wineskin to accept it—that God calls people “Just as I Am.”

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[i] Barry M. Horstmann (June 27, 2002). "Billy Graham: A Man With A Mission Impossible.(Special Ssection)". Cincinnati Post. Retrieved August 18, 2007.

[ii] https://bible.org/illustration/sign-plumbers-van.  June 15, 2016.

[iii] Jeffrey Zaslow, "Tell Me All About It," 1990.  http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/grace.htm.  June 15, 2016.

[iv] Robert Farrar Capon, Between Noon and Three.  http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/grace_gods.htm.  June 15, 2016.

"Chasing Shadows"

Do you remember that great old movie, Singing in the Rain, with Gene Kelly? Falling so hard in love that he just doesn’t care that it’s pouring outside, he dances in the street with complete joyful abandon. His umbrella becomes a dancing prop, light posts and puddles dancing partners, so enraptured is he with the freedom and joy of love. Until, of course, a police officer silently saunters into the scene, arms folded in judgment. This puts a damper on his enthusiasm. When he finds himself beneath the judgment of the law, he quiets down, quits dancing, and walks away. Jesus came to set us free from the power of the law that binds our spirits. Our natural response should be one of overflowing joy. Yet, when we are reminded of the presence of the law, so many Christians once again become bottled up, giving up their newfound freedom in exchange for the burden of legalism.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul writes to the church about the importance of freedom from legalism. Referring to the Law, he says, “For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (v. 6).”[i] Even in the Corinthian church, which was known for its problems with immorality—Paul emphasized freedom in the Spirit over following the letter of the law. The law he calls “the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone (v. 7).” It had a purpose, a glory of its own, in that it guided Moses’ people and helped them to establish themselves as a God-fearing nation. Yet by the time of Jesus, that law had become something that condemned people more than it liberated them. Paul says, “For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it (vv. 9-10).” So Jesus came, setting free those who were captive to legalism, and introducing new freedom in the Spirit.

Yet early on, believers forgot that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).” If the Old Testament was full of rules that they couldn’t follow, they simply added a book called the New Testament to give them even more rules. Then they started adding even to that. Here is one dialogue that dates back to ancient Christianity:

"I am in earnest about forsaking 'the world' and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?" a young man asks. "Colored clothes, for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and don't eat any more white bread. You cannot, if you are sincere about obeying Christ, take warm baths or shave your beard. To shave is to lie against Him who created us, to attempt to improve on His Work."

Elizabeth Elliot comments on the above dialogue, "Does this answer sound absurd? It is the answer given in the most celebrated Christian schools of the second century! Is it possible that the rules that have been adopted by many [modern] Christians will sound as absurd to earnest followers of Christ a few years hence?"[ii]

Paul dealt with Christians who felt that even though they were freed, they were still obligated to the law. Yet, Jesus gives us hope. Paul writes:

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed (vv. 12-16).

I used to think that this mean that Paul was comparing Christians with Jewish people, and saying that Hebrew hearts were hardened. Then I realized that Christians can have hardened hearts too—that whenever the Law is emphasized, a veil seems to come over us and darken our eyes. Yet when the freedom of Christ is exalted, the veil is taken away. Why would a Christian, once having been set free from the power of the law, keep chasing after the law anyway? David Dykes, the pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, writes about his childhood dog Rex:

Sometimes when a bird or a flock of birds flew over on a sunny day, Rex often chased their shadows on the ground. I can recall watching as one bird flew around in a circle with Rex chasing the circling shadow on the ground, barking the whole time. Poor, dumb, bird-brained Rex–he never figured out the shadow wasn’t real. Sadly, there are many well-meaning Christians who are doing the same thing. They are chasing shadows: They are still trying to please God by keeping religious rules and observing religious rituals.[iii]

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” When we are saved, when we receive the Spirit of the Lord, we receive freedom. The darkness is removed, and we enter the light of His glory. Why then would we choose to remain in the darkness of the Law? This past week at Vacation Bible School, our kids learned that following rules can’t make you closer to God, but following Jesus will, because He is the Light of the World. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “I have found, in my own spiritual life, that the more rules I lay down for myself, the more sins I commit.”[iv] Rules may shine a little light in the darkness, but Jesus is brighter than the sun. Nobody who fumbles around with a flashlight or glow stick for a while, who then emerges into the sunlight, chooses to return to the darkness and dim lamp light. So why should Christians who have been set free, return to legalism, after Jesus has set us free? Why should we chase shadows that way? Psalm 118:27a says, “The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.” Jesus is the light—let us walk in His light, and never return to darkness or lamplight again.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures are from the ESV.

[ii] Elizabeth Elliot, The Liberty of Obedience, Nashville, Abingdon, 1968, pp. 45-46.

http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/l/legalism.htm.  June 13, 2016.

[iii] http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-david-dykes-stories-basicsofchristianity-29263.asp.  June 13, 2016. http://www.sermoncentral.com/contributors/david-dykes-sermons-105.asp. 

[iv] Charles Spurgeon, in Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 235.  http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/l/legalism.htm.  June 13, 2016.

"From Woe to Wow!"

            I am eternally fascinated with the origins of words.  Recently, I came across the word “woe” repeatedly when Jesus proclaims his eight woes upon the Pharisees.  Online Etymology Dictionary gives the origin of the word “woe” as “late 12c., from the interjection, Old English wa!, a common exclamation of lament in many languages (compare Latin væ, Greek oa, German weh, Lettish wai, Old Irish fe, Welsh gwae, Armenian vay).”  Today, we don’t use the word “woe,” but perhaps the best approximation we have might be “woah!”  A “woe” is something that stops us in our tracks and makes us drop our jaws—in a negative way.  Recently when reading Matthew 23 it struck me that just as many people have problems with the church, Jesus gave eight complaints against the religious establishment of his own day.  Yes, if you have problems with the church, you’re in good company.  Let me see if I can sum up Jesus’ complaints, and then let me re-frame these “woes” into “what-ifs.”

            In verse 13[i], Jesus says, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”  What the Lord is saying is, What if the church were less exclusive and judgmental, and more inclusively demonstrated God’s grace?  If Jesus could say “Neither do I condemn you,”[ii] then why can’t we?  We could turn the church into a welcoming place rather than one that makes people feel like they will be rejected by the holier than thou.

            In verse 14, Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.”  What if the church were less concerned with receiving endowments than sharing its wealth with the poor?  I’ve known many churches with overflowing accounts that did nobody any good because they refused to use the gifts God gave them to help those in need.  Instead, of being righteous, they were content to look righteous by their show of piety.

            In verse 15, Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”  It’s important to share our faith and lead people to a relationship with God through Christ.  But What if church members were more concerned with helping people to be like Jesus than forcing them to be like us?  Jesus knew that the Pharisees’ goal of making converts was to reproduce little Pharisees.    It should be our goal to produce more Christ-followers, not to produce people who look and act like we do.

            In verses 16-22, Jesus pronounces a woe upon nitpicky people who are bound up in their own customs and rules that they want to impose on other people.  “If you’re going to make an oath, you have to say the words my way,” they would say.  What Jesus was really saying is, “What if the church were less interested in words and formulas, and more interested in the heart?”  Last night I watched a comedian who made fun of his own awkwardness when attending a church where he didn’t know the proper response to the liturgy.  While he made a funny routine of it, what’s not funny is the way we make people feel when we make them feel like outsiders or tell them that they’re doing it wrong.

            In verses 23-24, Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.  You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!”  The Old Testament Law required tithing real produce, but the Pharisees were so over-scrupulous that they tithed even their kitchen spices.  Similarly, many in the church are so stuck on legalism that they neglect the weightier matters of mercy and faithfulness.  So, what if the church was more interested in the spirit of the Law than the letter? 

            In verses 25-26, Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.”  Jesus might have asked, “What if the church cared more about getting its heart right than appearing righteous?”  What if it didn’t even care about how it appeared on the outside, as long as the inside was clean?  God might do a lot with a church like that. 

            Jesus’ next woe is much like the last.  But in verses 27-28, He says it even more offensively: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”  I’ve been to cemeteries with whitewashed tombs just like Jesus talked about—beautiful on the outside but rotten on the inside.  What if the church were more interested in being alive than in looking alive?  What if it cared more about beautiful souls than it did about beautiful buildings?

            In verses 29-30, Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’”  Jesus is telling the legalists of his day that they wouldn’t have been any less legalistic had they lived in another time.  We tend to glorify another time, to remember some golden era or to look forward to some glorious future when things can be better.  What if the church cared more about the here and now than either the good old days or the sweet by and by?

            Jesus didn’t blast the Pharisees in order to condemn them, but to challenge them to be something better.  He wanted them to change the woes to “what if’s.”  If the church can take a little helpful criticism, if we can ask some hard “what if’s” then maybe we can go from “Woe” to “Wow!”  Instead of “Woe is me—our church is declining,” or “Woah—look at where our society’s headed!” we can make some changes and say “Wow!” We can step into the bright and glorious future that God intends for God’s people.

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[i] All scripture taken from the ESV.

[ii] John 8:11

Journey with Joseph # 7 - "Blessing"

Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things Scottish and Irish. I’m a big fan of Irish blessings, which are well-wishes for friends and family. One says, “May God grant you always a sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you, laughter to cheer you, faithful friends near you, and whenever you pray, heaven to year you.” Another famous one says, “May the road rise to meet you; may the wind be at your back; may the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.” One of my favorites says, “May those who love us, love us. And those who don’t love us, may God change their hearts. And if He doesn’t turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we’ll know them by their limping.”

It may seem that these blessings are merely entertaining phrases, but historically and biblically they are supposed to be impartations of divine power and favor. In the book of Genesis, the first blessing was spoken over the animals by God Himself.[i] Then God blessed Adam and Eve and gave them authority over creation.[ii] God blessed Abraham and those who were good to Abraham, affirming that the patriarch would be the father of many nations.[iii] Melchizedek blessed Abraham and shared Communion with him.[iv] When Rebekah left her family to become Isaac’s wife, they blessed her.[v] The fact that a blessing is a real, tangible, valuable thing is evidenced in Genesis 27. When Isaac was old, Jacob (Israel) stole the blessing from his brother Esau. Fearing that the blessing was a limited commodity, Esau begged:

“Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and wept.[vi]

Throughout the Bible, blessings are seen not as mere sentiment, but as the actual impartation of divine protection, providence, and grace. Toward the end of Joseph’s story we read of Israel’s blessings for Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. It is the first time the old man sees his grandsons, and he grants them equal standing among his other sons. Ever notice that in the twelve tribes of Israel, there is no tribe of Joseph? In this blessing, Joseph’s sons each inherit as if they are sons and not grandsons, effectively giving Joseph a double portion. But more than simply granting an inheritance, Isaac prophetically pronounces that the older will be inferior to the younger (a repeat of the theme of Jacob and Esau). Yet both will be blessed, and will be called great.

But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn. He blessed Joseph, and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
And may my name live on in them,
And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth (Genesis 48:14-16 NASB).”

Chapter 49 also records Israel’s blessing for each of his sons. As one who inherited the blessing of his father Isaac, Israel understands the power of positive words spoken to children. They become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some time ago, I read the following story:

At age 16 Andor Foldes was already a skilled pianist, but he was experiencing a troubled year. In the midst of the young Hungarian's personal struggles, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to Budapest. Emil von Sauer was famous not only for his abilities; he was also the last surviving pupil of the great Franz Liszt. Von Sauer requested that Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann.

When he finished, von Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. "My son," he said, "when I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss--it comes from Beethoven, who gave it to me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it."[vii]

Israel had waited for years to pass on this heritage, this blessing from his father Isaac and from his father Abraham. He was someone who knew how to look to the past for inspiration and remember the blessings of those who had gone before him. Yet he also kept an eye on the future, placing his hope in generations to come. He knew that in order to foster good things in the next generation he had to speak blessings and not curses. He had to declare his belief in good things for them and from them. All too often we look with disdain at the generations that follow us. “Kids today!” we say, and lament how things don’t look good for the time when they come to power. Perhaps if we spoke more blessings and affirmation, rather than curses and woe, we’d see them take the mantle of responsibility that God has for them. I pray you’ll be able to see blessing and speak blessing to those who follow you, that you’ll have hope for the future and declare God’s favor for generations to come. In Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV), God gives an injunction to the people of Israel. God gives us the same choice today: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

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[i] Genesis 1:22

[ii] Genesis 1:28

[iii] Genesis 12:1-3; 22:16-18

[iv] Genesis 14:18

[v] Genesis 24:60.

[vi] Genesis 27:36b-38 (NASB)

[vii] Original Source Unknown. http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/b/blessing.htm.  May 18, 2016.