How to Spot a Christian

Sermon 7
May 5, 2013

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.  “All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.  I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. --John 14:23-29

We honor our high school seniors today. One of them is mine, so bear with me if my emotions creep into my voice.

At different milestones in your life, you become strangely aware of the passage of time. For the high school seniors, it seems like you’ve been in school forever. But for the parents, it seems that you packed up that backpack and sent them into the school by themselves for the first time just yesterday.

And this is true for other events in life also. The concept of time is difficult for us to wrap our little human minds around. 

For example, many doubt that God really created the heavens and the earth in only 6 days. They point to scientific data that has led to “proof” that our world is millions of years old and started with one big bang. Yet, they fail to recognize and understand that our God, an eternal being who is not bound by time, created time.

Listen to Genesis 1:1-2:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 

Hmmm…any mention of time. Any indication that “time” is passing yet? Let’s look at the next couple of verses:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 

Aha…now I can see time. Was the universe there BEFORE time began? Can we even grasp such a concept? I don’t have the ability to know. Neither do you. Neither do scientists.

But I do know this, we are bound by time. Once we have lived a moment, we can never go back and live that moment again. Even if we just slept through it. Once we have lived a moment, it becomes part of our history…a history that is unchangeable. Because the time that we are bound to is linear. Once we have lived a moment, there are consequences.

Think of it this way…here is a moment.

And it’s effects.

But other people also live the same moment…and their choices during that moment have effects--

effects that may affect your future moments. Like this!

Although none of us know how much time will be given to us, we do know that each moment of time that we have is a gift. So…what are we going to do with this gift?

Let me tell you something that you should know. It’s a little secret that I didn’t learn as early in my life as I would’ve liked…so I want to share it with you.

What you DO comes from who you ARE. Doing comes out of being.

This is such an important concept to understand. If your actions (your “doing”) doesn’t come from who you truly are (your “being”), eventually your “being” will betray, and destroy, your “doing”. In other words…your actions will show who you truly are. Don’t waste time developing a reputation…invest time in developing your character.

Don’t get me wrong, you will mess up. You will do things that you regret. You will hurt people. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  But if your “being” is in Christ, you will recognize your mistakes, repent from them, and learn from them. However, If your being is NOT in Christ, when you do hurt others you will be angry that you got caught, blame as many other people as you can, and be sure to be much sneakier the next time.

Ground your life in the Word of God. This takes effort. Any relationship takes effort.

Each one of our graduates is planning to attend college next year. No two are going to the same place. They’ll be in all over Kansas, in Missouri, and in Georgia. In a few months, our seniors will enter into the most selfish time of their lives. It’s true.

For the first time ever, dad and mom won’t know where they are, what they are doing, and who they are with every moment of the day. For the first time ever they will be responsible to and for nobody but themselves. For the first time ever they will be free from past mistakes, past accomplishments, and past reputations in a sea of young people who are all experiencing the exact same freedom.

Who will you be? Notice—I didn’t ask “What will you be?” or “What will you do?” Who will you be? Let me warn you, there is some awfully rotten fruit that is going to look very fresh, sweet, and tasty in your new little garden.

You are going to hear and see many different world views. You are going to witness people belittle faith in God. You may even have instructors that ask you how you can base your beliefs and opinions on a book that was written thousands of years ago in a different time and place…a book of myths and fairytales...of legends and superstitions.

Did you know that one of the biggest obstacles to students maintaining their Christian faith is their inability to reconcile their faith with science? Students learn about science and hear that it is incompatible with Christianity. I brought up evolution for a reason—it’s one of the biggest factors that young people cite for abandoning their faith in God. They have more faith in the theories of man.

Science seeks to understand the world around us through exploration. Any provable “truths” that are discovered through science should not be feared. We believe in the truth. We believe that Christ IS the Truth. All truths will lead to Christ.

Did you know that there are theories that humans believed for centuries that were eventually proven false? Do you think that all of our scientific theories now are correct? That somehow we are much smarter than the humans of the past? That’s laughable!

Ever heart of Mozart? Leonardo DaVinci? Socrates? Galileo? Know anybody living now who can compare in their brilliance? C.S. Lewis calls this “chronological snobbery.”

Oh, I would never have eaten from the fruit of that tree in Eden.

I can’t believe people were stupid enough to think the world was flat?

I would not have fallen for the idea that the earth was the center of the universe.

Never, would I have EVER, worn my hair like THAT!

We think we are so much smarter than those who came before us. You just wait until your kids and grandkids laugh at your clothes, music, language, and yes…hairstyles, in a few short decades.

But God’s Word always remains true. That doesn’t mean we quit seeking answers, that we quit exploring, that we discontinue the development of theories.  It just means that we need to keep things in perspective. 

So how do you spot a Christian?

Well…our culture tells us that they look like this.

Those of you in my generation will remember this.

And there are others who believe that they look like this.

There are some big name popular preachers who will tell you they look like this.

But I will tell you that you cannot spot a Christian in a picture because in any given moment of time any person in the world could be doing something that we value as Christians. A Christian isn’t defined in a moment…but in a lifetime of ripples.

You cannot just do; you must be.

You cannot just do things that we view as Christ-like without knowing Christ…without being a Christian and expect to maintain it.

So every day, every single day, get to know Christ a little better. Read about him. Talk to him. Talk about him with others. Think about him. Worship him. BE in him. And if you do, He will also be in you.

Let’s go back to our gospel reading for today, I want to re-read for you a few of the verses. “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

Did you hear that? You will never have to be alone. Through the Holy Spirit, our Father God and his Son Jesus will make their home with you. The Holy Spirit will teach you and will remind you…granted, sometimes when you least want to be taught or reminded.

It’s not always going to be fun. It’s not always going to be easy. You are not guaranteed health and wealth and happiness in this life. But you are guaranteed that God will use every experience you go through for His good…for His purposes.

So, although life is getting ready to change, although you are about to embark on a grand adventure, although your family and friends may not always be with you, your Father in heaven always will be.

Remain in Him and show the world what a Christian looks like.

Father, we realizing that doing is so much easier than being. We can hide who we ARE by what we DO from others, but we can’t hide it from you. Nor can we maintain that charade for long. Work in our lives, Lord, to guide us in our efforts to remain in you so that our actions will just flow naturally from our being…our being that is defined in You. We ask for your blessing on our graduates, Father. Guide their steps, guide their minds, and guide their hearts as they prepare for this new freedom that they will experience soon…a freedom they many never experience again in their lives once work, spouses, and/or children come along. It is a special, special time for them…and we pray that they will remain in You. Give them that longing, Lord. Give them that courage. Amen.

A New Commandment

Sermon 6

April 28, 2013

When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:31-35)

Love one another.

In Leviticus when God gives his commands to the people through Moses, he says, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

It’s repeated by Paul in his letters to the Romans and Galatians where he says that this command sums up all the others.

It’s repeated by James—thought to be the brother of Jesus but certainly the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. He says that it’s the “Royal” law—Love your neighbor as yourself.

You may remember that in the book of Matthew, a story is recounted where the Sadducees and Pharisees tried to test Jesus with a trick question—“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” To which Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’“ He goes on to say, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Love one another.

Said in the Old Testament and now said again in this new commandment. So is this a new commandment? Hmmm…

How is this a NEW command when the Israelites were told to love one another thousands of years prior. Let’s look at this more closely. In Leviticus...and in John.

Maybe this IS a new command.

Jesus’ love for us and our love for ourselves are not equal. In fact, I don’t know about you all, but sometimes I don’t love myself very much…and certainly don’t always treat myself with love. It seems to me that Jesus is telling us that our love for ourselves and for our neighbor has fallen short so he has modeled for us a new kind of love. His love. Our love falters…but his never does.

You may not have noticed this about the gospel reading, but the first few words were “When he was gone, Jesus said….” When I read that, did you wonder…when WHO was gone? Well, let me tell you who. Judas. You see, this scripture reading comes from the upper room on the night of Jesus’ arrest – a night when Jesus models just exactly what it looks like to love others as He loves us.

On this evening, Jesus got up during the meal, removed his outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist,
filled a basin with water, washed each of the disciples’ feet, and dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him. Twelve men…twenty-four filthy, callused, crusty feet. Jesus set an example. Not only are we called to love one another, but we are called to do so with humility…with the attitude of a servant.

Did Jesus know at this point that Judas would betray him? Yes, the bible makes it clear that he did know. In fact, he indicated that the disciples had not ALL been made clean by the washing of their feet. If we were to list Jesus’ enemies, I am fairly confident that Judas would make the list. Judas…the “treasurer” of the disciples who stole from the common purse. Judas…the betrayer. Yet, Jesus did wash his feet. In fact, Jesus loved Judas. He loved all of his disciples.

Imagine yourself in Jesus’ shoes. You are surrounded by your dearest friends and companions…the people that you trust the most in the world. Yet, you know that one of them will trade your life for about 4 months worth of pay.

How would that last dinner together with your friends have gone down? Would you have verbally attacked him and tried to turn the others against him? Would you have physically restrained him so that he couldn’t carry out his plan? Would you have punched him in the face? But you know what Jesus did. He loved him. He allowed him to betray him with a ….kiss. Would you let your enemy kiss you?

He washed his feet, gave him the opportunity to leave without a scene, and allowed him the freedom to act on his own free will. In the other gospels we are told that he warned him, “Woe to the man who betrays me.” Yet, he didn’t prevent him from doing so.

Oh…free will. That is one of the beautiful things about this country. Our freedoms allow us to exercise our free will whereas in many countries, people lack this freedom. Free will/freedom is a blessing and a curse. Some use it responsibly and with respect toward God and others as it was intended. While others use it against God and others.

We can’t change that…that’s freedom! And people have been abusing freedom/free will since time began. “Woe to those who betray our God.”

But did Jesus have the power to keep Judas from betraying him? Well, of course. Does Jesus have the power to stop evil now? Certainly! Yet, just as he modeled at that table back then…he allows people to live out their free will now. And he loves them.

Could you do this? If your enemies were outside these doors, could you refrain from verbally attacking them? Refrain from physically attacking them? Could you serve them? That’s what Jesus calls us to do. That’s what Jesus modeled for us to do. But, again I say, woe to those who betray our God.

Friends, Jesus’ heart was heavy that Judas, his friend, was following the voice of Satan rather than the voice of the Father. We live in the middle of a battlefield, a battlefield that we cannot even see, but one in which spiritual forces are fighting daily for our very souls. John tells us when talking about Judas that “Satan entered into him.” Well, folks, Satan still “enters in” to people now. There are people in this world who have been hijacked by evil.

What should our response be to those people who spew hate? Sorrow. Compassion. Love. Their souls are compromised and they don’t even realize it. “Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Earlier you saw a preview for next week’s Lifetree Café’. You may remember a few years back when a man entered a one-room Amish school house and murdered 10 young girls before killing himself. But, you know what, those people of faith…those Christ-followers, didn’t react according to the culture of this world. They responded in love…with forgiveness. One of the fathers said of the killer, “He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he’s standing before a just God.” You see, the Amish understood that this man had been led astray by evil. They surrounded his family with love…and they knew “woe be to this man who betrayed God.”

But how can we do this? It must take superhuman strength! Well the Amish affected by this tragedy would be the first to admit that the love they have exhibited was not their own, but the love of Christ.

If we read a little deeper into the book of John (Chapter 15) Jesus is continues this speech, the longest speech that is recorded in the bible of Jesus speaking to his disciples. And he uses a parable…an illustration that we could understand thousands of years later as we continue to study his words.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Who is God in this parable? Why, He’s the gardener! Jesus goes on to say, “As the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9)

But how do we “remain” in his love?? In the next verse he tell us,“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love…” (John 15:10) But what command is Jesus talking about? “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) Repeated in John 15 just as the command was given in John 13.

We must stay connected to that vine. It’s our life source…our love source! But how do we do that? How do we stay connected to that vine…to Jesus Christ.

Through spiritual disciplines. Prayer, fasting, meditation, study, and worship. Things we are told to do throughout the bible. Timeless disciplines that God has given us to help us stay connected to him.


Is this kind of love risky? Yes. And it was for Jesus also. Just as Jesus’ love ended in a sacrifice for all, our love also entails risk. Will we be criticized? Avoided? Mocked? Most certainly. Will we be killed? I pray against such horrible persecution. But, you know what, in countries where there is the threat of death, they don’t pray for the persecution to end. In fact, they feel that this persecution forces them to make a REAL decision about their faith. Only a true believer would face death rather than deny Christ.

C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite theologians and the writer of the Narnia series, said this: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

If you know that faith in God and a risen Christ means you could suffer and die, you aren’t going to make this decision lightly. You are either going to be all in—HOT, or all out—COLD. The book of Revelations, God says through Paul’s vision, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

I worry that the church in America is becoming the church of the lukewarm. I’ll praise God when it’s convenient and revel in my sin when it is not. I’ll follow Christ when his teachings agree with my convictions and I’ll disregard him when they don’t. But Jesus was certainly not cold. His life, his LOVE, was fully given for God’s will. Fully given. The very next verse in John 15 says this…“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) He laid down his life! For you, for me, and for them.

We have been called to love one another—not simply as we love ourselves, but according to Christ’s new commandment. We are called to love one another as Christ has loved us.

• With humility as a servant. 
• Even when we perceive others as enemies. 
• And to the extent that we are willing to lay down our lives for one another. 

Lord, we thank you for your love. We thank you for the gift of free will. Father, we confess that we sometimes find it difficult to love others and even ourselves. We confess that sometimes we abuse our free will and use it to hurt others. Lord, give us your love to pass on to our brothers and sisters. Give us empathy for others and an awareness of the spiritual war that is going on around us. Give us the courage to confess and ask for forgiveness when we abuse our free will and hurt those around us. Surround us with your love. Amen.

Tough Issues: Why do bad things happen?

The problem of "Evil" confronts many Christians suddenly and in a very emotional way.  Often we have to address this issue with the loss or devastation of ourselves or someone we love.  This seems to often have a polarizing effect...either pulling one toward God or pushing one away from God.  I am, however, a firm believer that Christians who struggle with this issue will find their way back to the God who loves them. (Romans 8:38-39)

God created man and woman, giving them a beautiful garden, food, companionship with Him, and dominion over all things created.  It was perfect!  However, God also wanted to give them something else--free will.

It was important for God to give us free will.  He did not want his creation to love, worship, and obey him because that was the only thing they could do.  He was very capable of making us His puppets with no ability to reason or option to rebel.  But that was not His plan.  God wanted His people to have the ability to obey Him...or not.

With this in mind, the Garden of Eden had to contain an option to rebel.  Without an option to rebel, there could be no free will because every option would be God's will.  So, a tree was included in this paradise, just one tree (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) from which Adam and Eve were not to eat.

We were not the only creatures that God created and gave free will.  Angels were also given this opportunity to choose.  The only creatures that are mentioned in the Bible as being made in God's image, however, are men and women.  Just as we experience envy, it seems very likely that these other creatures with the ability to reason would feel the sting of this emotion on occasion.  This probably made it especially tempting to entice us to rebel against our maker.  And Satan, a fallen angel, did just that.

I am not particularly mad at Adam and Eve for doing something as stupid as eating the one fruit that God forbid them to eat.  It is my belief that I would have done the same.  In fact, those who would criticize the decisions of our first parents are suffering from what C.S. Lewis refers to as chronological snobbery.  After all, how many choices have I made in my life that are in direct violation of the commandments of God?  And I will also add that you can't blame only Eve.  Read the verses for yourself to see just where Adam was.  (Genesis 3:6)  That's right.  He was right there with her...not off gallivanting through the Garden as is often depicted when this act is recreated in artistic works.

We chose to rebel.  Just as God knew we would.  Yes, of course He knew we would.  He knows everything.

Could God have chosen to stop Adam and Eve from eating the fruit?  As I mentioned earlier, the tree was necessary to provide an option for us to exercise our free will.  Stopping Eve from taking that first bite would have done likewise.

So why didn't God just kill the serpent (Satan)?  Didn't Satan's interference unfairly affect Eve's ability to make a rational choice?

God will not (and cannot) contradict Himself.  As Paul tells Titus, God cannot lie.  (Titus 1:1-4)  Since the angels have free will, God would/could not interfere with Satan's plan.  Since we have free will, God would/could not interfere in Eve and Adam's decision.  If He had interfered in any of the evil events that happened at that time, He would have stripped his creations of free will.

So sin entered the world.  With consequences.  God had to banish them from the Garden.  You see, there was another tree there from which God had to save us.  This was the Tree of Life.  Eating from this tree would have made the consequences from the first sin eternal.  Adam and Eve would have lived forever in sin.  God showed them mercy by banishing them.

We all have choices to make.  We are given free will to make our own choices.  And we all have consequences (good and evil) from those choices.  We cannot forget that other people also have free will.  Just as Satan's free will affected Eve's free will, which affected Adam's free will resulting in consequences for all of us, the same cycle happens today.  The sins of others have consequences for them and for us.  Our sins have consequences for us and for others.

We ask things like, "Why did God allow Hitler to kill all those people?"  Hitler had free will.  The people that influenced Hitler had free will.  This doesn't mean that God ordained these things to happen.  St. Augustine's conclusion in his book On Order (386 a.d.) aligns with my view, "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil at all."

The reality of the situation when facing this evil overwhelms us as beings with limited knowledge and power.  We forget when facing the evil on this earth that our time here is very short in the scheme of an eternity.

And next comes the question, "But what about disease?  Why does God allow cancer (or AIDS, M.S., Alzheimer's, etc.) to kill good people?"

I have two thoughts on this; first, we live in a cursed world that is deteriorating.  I have no idea where and how these diseases began, but they may be related to this deterioration...which was caused by our first sin.  Without sin, humans would've lived forever in companionship with God in a perfect world.  Our human lifespans were eternal!  Once sin entered the world, however, we started deteriorating...aging.  In early Bible recordings, the world was still "healthy" enough that humans lived very long lives.  In fact, theologians estimate that it took Noah 120 years to build the ark and he was about 600 when the rain came!  Was he a freak of nature?  No, that's just how it was.  Our lifespans got shorter and shorter until man's knowledge of science allowed us to develop medicines and easier lifestyles through technology.  But the world has continued to decay and we are suffering the consequences.

My second thought is that they may be related more directly to sin itself.  Some diseases may come from the sin of the sufferer or the sufferer's parents.  For example, some diseases can be linked to sinful habits--overeating, sloth, drunkenness, mistreating one's body with drugs and even cigarettes, promiscuity, etc.  But I have to wonder if diseases that seem to have no cause actually started through some mutation that occurred many, many years ago due to a single sinful act.  Let me make it clear, I am NOT blaming the victims of disease for their own suffering.  My thought is simply that this evil had to have an origin.  Sin and deterioration are the only options I see.

Thankfully, as St. Augustine indicates, God uses these things for good.  In fact, Paul says as much in his letter to the Romans.  (Romans 8:28)

There are also philosophical reasons for the presence of evil.  Could there truly be "good" without it? At what points in your life have you drawn closer to God?  Really consider this.  Was it during times of contentment...or times of struggle?  So, is suffering necessary?

I think it is.  And we need to remember that Jesus Christ suffered FOR us in the most brutal of ways without deserving it.  God knows exactly what it means to physically and emotionally suffer.

Peter talks about the trials that we face here throughout his books of the Bible.  He reminds the new Church (the believers--not the people in a specific building) that "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit."  (1 Peter 3:18)

We are promised in Isaiah and reminded again in Revelations, "The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth."  (Isaiah 25:8, Revelations 21:4)

One day the sins will be erased and evil will be gone.  I hope you are back here to enjoy it with me.
_________

Suggested Resources:

CS Lewis:  The Problem of Pain.  (1940)
Mars Hill Church Sermon Series:  Trial
Ravi Zacharias:  How Can a Good God Allow Evil in the World?
RC Sproul:  The Problem with Evil
St. Augustine:  The Confessions of St. Augustine, Book 2: The Anatomy of Evil, multiple translations/editors

Pain and Suffering

Here are some good explanations that I have found to explain the pain and suffering that are in the world.

ChristianAnswers.net:  Why Does God Allow Innocent People to Suffer?

CERC:  Based on C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain

Zacharias, Ravi:  Problem of Evil

Keller, Tim:  The Problem of Evil and Suffering, Part 1
     The Problem of Evil and Suffering, Part 2
     The Problem of Evil and Suffering, Part 3
     The Problem of Evil and Suffering, Part 4
Koukle, Greg:  Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering?