Pastor Marty Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 12:45PM July 12, 2015--Luke 18:35-43
This sermon was preached by Pastor Nick Hauenstein. Please click the audio link in order to listen to it.
Email Article | Print Article | Share Article | tagged Blindness, Faith, Healing, Jesus, Mercy, Praise Pastor Marty Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 12:02PM July 5, 2015--Luke 18:31-34
This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner. The following is only a summary of it. Please click the audio link at the end of the article to listen to it.
This weekend we are celebrating 239 years since our declaration of independence from King George of the British Empire in A.D. 1776. Looking back, we can see how that freedom has been tested in many different ways over the centuries. First it was tested by the War of Independence itself. Once that test had been passed we were tested on whether or not we could govern ourselves. This gave rise to the constitution in 1789. Of course other tests involved the Civil War in the 1800's, our rise as a global economic power since WWII, and throughout the last 70 years the test of our spiritual and moral fortitude. Freedom is not a right we can demand. It is a condition we can enjoy, but will always be tested. Our founding fathers believed that it was the right of all men to be free simply because they are created by God and He intends them to be free. Do we still believe that?
The story of the Bible is one of the enslavement of men and God’s consequent work to free men from it. It is not God who enslaves us. We are enslaved by our own sins to do the will of the devil. Jesus in John 8:36 tells us, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We also see in the Bible, 2 Cor 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Whether or not America will pass the tests of today and remain free, every believer in Jesus needs to recognize that, regardless of society, they can remain free as individuals who have embraced Jesus, the only true source of freedom.
In Luke 18:31-34 we see that the disciples did not really understand the plan and purposes of God in Jesus. In retrospect we can see it is all about freedom, but for them it looked like Jesus was refusing to free them. The interaction of Jesus with the rich man earlier in this chapter is ultimately about a man enslaved by trust in his wealth, rather than God. Thus Jesus calls this man to embrace freedom and let go of his slavery. Of course he walks away sad because he is not sure he wants to be free from what enslaves him. He would rather have both. I want to have my cake and eat it too. However, freedom often requires us to choose what we want more.
The call to freedom comes from Jesus to whoever will listen. Leave everything else behind and follow me. Peter recognizes that they had done that in verse 28. The disciples had successfully navigated the test that the rich man failed (at least in this moment). Jesus of course recognized that what Peter says is true. In fact the things they have lost have been replaced with something that is more and yet different, as Pastor Nick shared with us last week. Though they left their families and jobs behind, Jesus had made them part of a new family with a new job. They had trusted God and wanted Him more than their previous lives.
Yet something else needed to happen. Jesus is not just a way of looking at the world and living life. He had to do a real work of freeing us from the guilt and judgment of our sins. Thus Jesus takes the 12 aside in order to remind them where he was headed, that is the cross. Our sins keep us from freedom by leading us off the path of trusting God’s way. No matter how much we want to be with God the desires of our flesh continually pull us away from God and separate us from Him. They also keep us from freedom by the guilt and judgment that stands in the way of getting back on God’s path. Jesus is not just our great example. He is that and much more. He is also our Sin Remover; our Punishment Surrogate; our Willing Scapegoat. He sacrificed himself for our freedom. Thus, it is one thing to embrace Jesus as a means of having a wonderful life. It is quite another to follow Him through the cross and to the other side.
Once having been given freedom it is important to hold on to it. Your flesh, the world, & the devil fight against that freedom. The only way to retain freedom is to keep trusting God. "He who endures until the end shall be saved." The endurance here is not about human strength, but about faith. If we hold our faith in God and His Son, Jesus, we will remain in His freedom.
Our faith is never more tested than when we have to walk a difficult path and endure the hostility of sinners. Jesus takes time to point them to the hostilities and difficulties that lie ahead. This is the 3rd time Luke records Jesus telling them about the difficult death ahead of him. Yes, we are tested in just taking hold of the call to freedom. But we are also tested in the holding on to it. Difficult paths can cause us to shrink away from freedom and retreat back into the slavery of self-life. Jesus warned his disciples that to follow him, they would need to pick up their own cross. Difficult times lay ahead. In fact he would be mocked, insulted, spit upon, scourged, and killed. They would not stand by him in his darkest hour, which would become a guilt and shame hanging over their head. These things would test them severely. What are we willing to endure in order to retain freedom as an individual? As a nation? The Israelites of the first century A.D. had a choice to make. They could cling to the hope of national freedom of Israel, or they could let go of it and obtain the freedom that no dictator or terrorist can take away; freedom in Jesus. Is there a hope for freedom of America in the days ahead? As long as there is a God there is hope. However, even nations can cross lines that bring about the judgment of God. Yet, even if this nation is without hope of turning back, we as individuals must stand with Joshua and say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." We cannot lose the greater in trying to keep the lesser. Perhaps the time has come for American Christians to make a choice. Is your love for this country greater than your love for Jesus? It is easy to conflate the two.
So how can one remain free when faced with such choices? Ultimately freedom was won by the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. In a similar manner, the natural freedom of our nation was won by the sacrifice of men and women who put their lives on the line. This principle cannot be avoided: freedom is only maintained by sacrifice. As Christians we follow a Lord who sacrificed earthly glory in order to give us true freedom. So how can I put my life on the line for this nation? Yes we can join militaries and police forces and fight against evil. But even that finds a dead end when whole nations embrace wickedness and reject God. The way of the cross has never been about saving the body of a man or the body politic of a nation. Jesus and his disciples are our model. They did not shrink back because the path was difficult. Rather, they pushed ahead even to the point of laying down their lives as fishermen and Israelites. They did this for themselves but also for the sake of those who would follow behind them. They wanted others to be free.
When you trust God it does not mean the path will be easy. But God has always aided His people against the forces of tyranny. Even when those forces seem invincible. He has pledged to free the world from this age of the darkness of man’s rebellion and the tyranny that forever chases us like a howling wolf. We must trust that. We must pick up our cross and follow Him. Let’s be the light in this dark and perverse generation so that some may believe and find freedom.
Email Article | Print Article | Share Article | tagged Discipleship, Freedom, Gospel, Jesus, Tests, Trials Pastor Marty Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 11:31AM June 28, 2015-Luke 18:9-30.
This sermon was preached by Pastor Nick Hauenstein. The following is only a summary of it. Please click the audio link at the end of the article to listen.
Today we are going to look at 3 stories: Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector, Jesus with the children, and the story of the rich man. Although these are three very different stories the same spiritual issues lie at the heart of them all. Thus, Jesus helps us to see through varying circumstances that our approach to God is critical. If we approach trusting ourselves we will not be successful. But, if we approach trusting Him then we will.
Jesus tells a parable of a Pharisee who is in the temple praying at the same time a tax collector is doing the same. He basically gives us a look at what each of them prays and commentary on why one is acceptable and the other isn’t.
First we have the Pharisee. He spends a lot of time thanking God that he is righteous and not like that rotten tax collector. This begs the question, how righteous is this Pharisee? Well he fasted twice a week, which is way more than the Law of Moses required and most people want to do. Next he tithed on everything he had even down to the spices he acquired. He had a very meticulous and exacting ability to do what the Law of Moses required. No one would question his righteousness by the measures of that day.
Now this is compared to the tax collector who won’t even look up to heaven. He admits he is a sinner and cries out for mercy from God. Notice that his posture before God is very different. He makes no claim upon God. He has nothing to offer God and makes no negotiation. Now Jesus explains to us that the Pharisee was not justified by God, but the tax collector was. In the society of that day, this statement would have radically blown the minds of the people. Why would God justify the tax collector over the top of the Pharisee? His answer is this: those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. So God is not looking for pompous people who come before him reciting their spiritual resume, and believe they are acceptable. Rather, he is looking for people who know that they are not acceptable and ask for mercy. If you had the choice, who would you choose to represent you in court, yourself or a famous lawyer like Johnnie Cochran? Only Jesus can make us righteous. Thus it is a dangerous thing to try and justify yourself in front of the only one who can make you righteous. The apostle Paul points this out in Romans 3:9-10. Just as this Pharisee was not more righteous than the tax collector, so the Jews were no more righteous than the Gentiles. No one is righteous, not even one! Let’s move to the next story.
This is not a parable. It is a life event that Jesus uses much like a parable. Parents were bringing their children to Jesus hoping to have him bless them. The disciples were annoyed by this and were telling the parents to leave. We can only guess at what is in their minds. In the first century children were the least and the last. There was a high infant mortality rate and so each child is more of a problem that might never come to maturity. Why bother Jesus with children who may not survive to adulthood when there are others who are adults? I know that we can come up with reasons, but that is more a result of the teaching of Jesus than it is our own goodness. Jesus rebukes his disciples and tells them to let the kids come to him. Why? The answer is that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children. In fact, if you don’t receive the Kingdom of Heaven like a child, you can never enter it. This had to drop the jaws of everyone listening. Think about that last parable. The tax collector didn’t approach as one who had proven his place and warranted something from Jesus. He approached as a child who had nothing to offer and yet begged for mercy. A child does not receive out of their own merit, but out of the mercy of adults. Anyone who is justified is a person who sees themselves as a child before God, rather than an adult who has merited favors from Him. Now let’s look at the last story.
A religious leader approached Jesus and asks him, “Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?” Most likely this is a test question to see what theology Jesus has and from there to know how to attack him. Yet, Jesus stops him with a question back at him. Why do you call me good? No one is good but God. Now clearly we can talk about the goodness of people in relation to others who are not so good. But Jesus goes to the heart of the matter. Do not compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to God and in that case none of us are good. This is important because it is at the heart of the religious leader’s problem. He does not approach God like a child who has nothing to offer. His problem is that he believes he has an abundance of goodness to offer God.
Jesus then goes on to answer the main question by listing 5 of the 10 commandments. Do these. The religious leader responds with the statement that he has done all of these things since he was a child. Of course he does not recognize the trap he has fallen into. Jesus purposefully leaves off coveting because he knows that this is part of the man’s real problem. Jesus tells the man that he is missing one thing: sell your possessions, give the money to the poor, and come follow me. It says that the religious leader went away sad because he was very rich. The implication is that he can’t obey the command Jesus has given him. His heart is too attached to the wealth he had amassed to approach Jesus with the right posture. He wants to hold on to all his wealth and be acceptable to God, even though his heart was full of coveting. Jesus then states that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to be saved. But, with God all things are possible.
Now there were not an abundance of rich people like this man. So when they marvel at the words of Jesus, they do so because they saw his riches as proof that he was acceptable to God. Yet, Jesus is saying that these are the very things he has to give up to be acceptable. His “resume” was the best of the best. He was a rich man and not a poor child. He was a Jew and not a gentile, a male and not a female, obedient to the law and not disobedient. Yet, it is all about exalting himself before God. Look at how great I am, God! Surely you want me on your team. But, God will humble those who exalt themselves, and He is looking for people who know they don’t deserve a spot in His family. Know this, you cannot buy your way into heaven, nor can you merit it by any number of good deeds. This kind of goodness cannot be achieved by any man, no matter how great the distance between him and other men. In reality, acceptance by God must always be preceded by surrender of those things that are in the way. The rich man must sell his possessions. The fishermen must leave their nets. The tax collector must leave his booth. And they all must then follow Jesus as those who have nothing to offer him but themselves- and that of little value. This necessity of surrender in order to follow cannot be avoided because we will not follow Jesus without tossing them aside. In fact we will be like a slave chained to a wall; unable to obey the command to follow.
In verses 23-25, Jesus then brings the point home to his listeners. What is it that firmly attaches you to this world and keeps you from following Jesus? This is no easy command that everyone must sell all their possessions in order to follow Jesus. No it is something much harder than that. He is asking you to surrender precisely what your flesh doesn’t want to surrender. To obtain the things you want in life, you often lose your soul. But to gain your soul, you will have to give up those things that have become idols between you and God. Jesus is asking you to let it go and come follow him.
This causes Peter to pipe up and declare that he and the other disciples have given up their homes (and livelihood for that matter) in order to follow Jesus. Jesus then recognizes this and declares that anyone who gives up something to follow Jesus will be repaid many times over in this life and will also have eternal life. Now Jesus is not promoting a doctrine of “Give $1 and God will give you $100.” He is saying that you will be repaid, but it will be something different. The person who gives $1 in order to get $100 is now in a worse condition. He is using God to get what he really wants, money. This is not only idolatry, but it is using God pursue that love. If you lose money to follow Christ, He promises to take care of all your needs. If you lose family to follow Him then you will receive multitudes of brothers and sisters in the Church. Yes, you are paid back, and it will be more than you had, but it will be different than your flesh would hope. You have to choose between the desires of your flesh and Jesus. You can’t have both.
Let’s bring this to a close. Christianity is a religion that stresses the inability of man to justify himself. We are justified by the grace of God through our faith in Him and Him alone. Paul points this out in Philippians 3:5-9. He lists his resume in the flesh and then says that he counts it all as rubbish in order to have Christ. Next to Jesus all my goodness is like filthy rags. So, which will I chose? Will I cling to my own righteousness and insist on being accepted (exalting myself)? Or, will I let go of it and cling to the righteousness of Jesus? This same issue is explained in Ephesians 2:8-10. No one will be able to stand before God and boast in themselves. They will only be accepted by the grace of God and through faith in His Son, Jesus. Salvation is not a reward because of the good things we have done. It is a gift to those who believe Jesus so that they can then do good things in His name.
May God enable us to let go of the things we take pride in and accept His grace. We can sophisticate ourselves in our religion to the point that we have excluded ourselves from the very God we claim to love. Eternal life has never been achieved by anyone. It is offered to those who can offer nothing in return; those who see themselves as merely a child. Thus the simple prayer of a child says simply, “I did it. I liked it. I am a sinner and beg your forgiveness.” No negotiation; only surrender. Let us hear what Jesus is telling us today and surrender everything that can stand in our way to following Him.
Email Article | Print Article | Share Article | tagged Grace, Justification, Law, Parable, Posture, Righteousness, Surrender Pastor Marty Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 11:25AM June 21, 2015-John 5:19-23
Today we are celebrating Father’s Day and so we are taking a break from the Gospel of Luke this week. Much work goes into the raising of a child and much work goes into keeping them raised. However, one thing is very clear. A child will become an adult regardless of the intention of the parents (short of tragedy). Many parents lack intentionality in the raising of their kids and coast on the sheer momentum of physical and intellectual growth. Yet, God calls us to something much greater than creating a random, accidental generation. Rather, we are to stamp an image upon the lives of our children that is good and points them to their heavenly Father.
Now my dad was a DIY kind of guy. He was a musician, avid outdoorsman, and he loved family. These things have definitely left their imprint upon me. Of course, there are negative things that can leave imprints in the lives of kids as well. It is important for young people to recognize that the imprint of bad qualities in our parents do not have to be bad in us. A child who grows up in a home where love is never expressed can be imprinted passionately towards demonstrating love. Thus kids make choices as they grow up and those choices are just as much a part of the imprint as the actions of the parents.
In today’s passage Jesus gives us insight into the interaction between him and God the Father. The leaders of Israel were angry that Jesus kept comparing himself to God. They called this blasphemy and sought to kill him. Yet, Jesus responds with the truth that it is only natural for a son to be like his father.
The underlying message of these 5 verses is that instead of being blasphemy it is only natural for a son to be like his father. In this context Jesus is talking about himself as being the Son of God. Thus he will demonstrate the same qualities, nature, and activity as his heavenly Father. Although the passage is only about Jesus and the Father, we also know from other passages that the Father is working to make the disciples of Jesus to be like Jesus. In Ephesians 4 the apostle Paul describes why God has given leaders to the Church. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” Notice that the work is “till” we come to the full measure of Christ. He does not mean physical height here, but rather, character height. We are being made over into the image of Jesus who was a perfect representation of the Father in heaven. Thus we will use this passage to remind ourselves as earthly fathers how we ought to be.
In verse 19 Jesus points out the activity of God the Father. Jesus has seen the activity of the Father and is now doing the same thing. Notice how the activity of a Father imprints itself upon a child. Now Jesus is a perfect Son and thus he perfectly acts like the Father. But let’s focus on the father side. If my activity is going to leave an imprint upon my child then I should take care what that activity is. Even the lack of activity can leave an imprint in the same way that we recognize failing to plan is planning to fail. Children of this world may intend to avoid becoming like their fathers for good or for bad and a father can’t control it. Yet, a father can fill his life with activity that will impact the child for good regardless of what he chooses. Jesus is the perfect son who only does what he sees his father do and only speaks what he hears his father say (John 12:49). We wouldn’t expect kids to be a perfect copy of their earthly fathers. But that is not where God intends it to go. God intends for us to see this natural tendency and to use it to point our children to their heavenly father. He is the one that we all need to see and become like. Thus God has sent His perfect Son to help us imperfect prodigals and lead us back to right relationship. So fathers, your activity will either point your kids to their heavenly father or it will point only to yourself. When you fill your life with the activity of God, you will point them to something greater than yourself and imprint them for good rather than for bad.
In verse 20 Jesus points out the love that the Father has for him. The Father has shown the Son things because He loves Him. The intentionality of the father is important in a kid’s life and is best when it flows out of a heart of love. If you love your kid then you will not just be active. But that activity will be done in such a way as to intentionally involve them in our activities and point them to God. This is not easy. It always takes longer to do something if you involve someone you are trying to teach. However, the child needs this from their parents.
Next Jesus points out in verse 21 that he has received power to do certain things from the father. In this case it is the power to give life and raise up the dead. No earthly parent can give such power to their children. However, a father can empower his child. You give a child the tools they need to accomplish to accomplish a particular purpose. Thus if we are partnering with God to accomplish His purpose in their life- to make them like Jesus- then we will take time to give them the tools required to accomplish that. How can a child become like Jesus? What tools do they need? First we can give our kids the information that they need to come to know God. We can give them instruction and yet even something as simple as teaching them to read enables them to read and discover God’s Word for themselves. Teaching them how to communicate rather than running away from difficulty is important. Teaching them discipline and control of their emotions and decisions is also important. Other tools that children need are the coping skills of perseverance and the ability to selflessly love another. These kind of things will go a long way to empowering a young person to know God for themselves and to become like Jesus. Too often young people go into life with only a few tools and many of them may be warped and twisted. Praise God that Jesus will help even those who lack the tools to come to know him and be like him, if they are hungry for Truth.
In verse 22, we see that even though God is the righteous judge of all mankind by right of Creation, He has delegated this to the Son. All judgment will be done through Jesus Christ. This ability to delegate can be very challenging for a father. Sometimes we refrain or take back such delegations because of fear of failure. At age appropriate times, it is important to delegate household chores to kids. It teaches them to find their place within the home and work with others. It helps them to have some skin in the game. Plus it teaches them how to accept the things that God has delegated to us through Jesus. Now, not all kids are going to grow up and work alongside their father like Jesus did. However, a father can teach a kid how to work with others. Ultimately your child needs to grow up and become a fellow worker with you and coming alongside the heavenly father. It is we who are helping Him in His business. His work is to point people to Jesus as the answer for their sin and judgment. Jesus delegated this task to his disciples when he ascended to heaven. He said, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all the commands I gave you.” Matthew 28:19-20. This risk of putting the salvation of others in the hands of humans may seem unadvised to us. Yet, God is not absent. He works in us and through us by His Spirit to aid us in bringing others to relationship with Him. Thus fathers should ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in accomplishing this task that has been delegated to them.
Lastly, it is the honor of the son to become like his father. On this earth a child grows up and eventually takes the place of their parents on earth because of death. Of course, our heavenly father never dies. So this is not about replacement. Yet, we see that God wants us to share in the honor that is already His. He invites us to come work alongside Him, all the while, we are becoming like Him. Ultimately we will share in His glory. 1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure.” All believers will stand side by side and experience the joy of recognizing that we are like our Father. As good as this feeling can be with an earthly father, we must make the connection with God the Father. He is sharing His glory with us by making us to look like Him. Thus the apostle John reminds us that if we have this hope in us we will purify ourselves. Fathers, take time to clean up your life. Sometimes we even need to prune off good things so that we can be more fruitful in God’s work. When you live for the honor of God, you will enable your child to understand what it means to live honorably. So don’t give up hope and by all means don’t let failure cause you to quit. It is God Himself who pledges to help you. Blessings!