Faster Unto Thee

Sermon Synopses - "Shirk the Shame" - Romans 1:16-17

Here is another sermon synopsis from my current series on the book of Romans. These synopses, as always, are presented minus the bulk of the sermon material, illustrations, etc.

This letter continues to be life-changing for me, and I hope it is the same for my congregation.

"Shirk the Shame"

Romans 1:16-17

June 21, 2009

Introduction

            Shame is an painful and powerfully motivating thing.

            Imagine the following scenarios. You marry into a family, and for your first Christmas with your new in-laws you are informed that this family draws names out of a hat at Thanksgiving time to decide who is buying Christmas gifts for whom. The family does this because it is large and it is just too expensive for everyone to buy gifts for everyone else. So you draw Uncle Fred's name and file it away. Fast forward ahead to Christmas Day. The family is all gathered together at Grandma's house, who by the way, never follows the name drawing thing but buys gifts for everyone, and it is time for everyone to exchange gifts. As you open up your gift, a sense of dread hits you because the gift you just opened costs way more than the gift you got for Uncle Fred. You hope that the person that bought you your gift just got carried away, but as you look around the room, everyone else's gift is about the same value as the one you are holding, except for the gift you bought for Uncle Fred, which is less than half that value. What happened? They all have an understanding among themselves that the gifts will all have about a such-and-such value, but they never told you about that. Nevertheless, your face is beat red, you want to slide under the couch and die and everyone wonders how such a cheapskate got into the family.

            I remember the kid in high school who, when he was asked a question in math class, did everything he could to divert attention away from himself because he still did not know his multiplication tables and he was embarrassed; Or the kid whose dad was in jail and got mocked for it all the time by the other kids – you could see the shame all over his face.

            Sometimes shame is simple and brief, sometimes it is crippling, sometimes it dominates a person's life and they never shake it.

            Amazingly, Christians sometimes feel ashamed of the gospel, the good news message of Jesus Christ. There are times when a believer walks into certain circles of people and the last thing that believer wants is to be identified as a believer in Christ. There are times and situations where the social fallout is so great, whether it be in school, or the workplace, or the neighborhood, that Christians do their best to live very quiet, wallflower Christian lives. We have the best news in the world and sometimes we are afraid to let it out around the very people who need it most because they might mock us or ridicule us or snicker at us, or think we are real simpletons for believing that religious stuff.

            The Apostle Paul, in this wonderful letter of his to the Romans, deals with this issue of being ashamed of the gospel with only two verses. That is all he needs to make it clear why he is not ashamed of the gospel, and the reasons that drove shame from him can drive shame from us as well. And so the thrust of today's sermon is this:

            Don't be ashamed of the gospel message! Let's look at the two reasons why in these verses.

I.  Because through it salvation comes (v. 16).

            ......

            Now back to my point about not being ashamed. Like Paul, we can say, "I'm not going to be ashamed of this gospel message, because through it God definitely changes people. It is God's means of bringing about transformation. This is how it works. I am not ashamed of it because when it is truly believed, people are transformed. To put it even shorter, I'm not ashamed of it because it is the truth, and those who mock it are fools and they believe a lie.

II. Because through it God's righteousness is revealed (v. 17).

            Now, second reason. Don't be ashamed of the gospel because through it God's righteousness is revealed. Verse 17 again: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith."

           It appears at first glance that God is in a dilemma. Human beings are terrible sinners, defying his commands and laws and will, living without praise to their creator, choosing to put their wills above his, worshiping other so-called gods, and living generally corrupt lives. That 's the Bible's depiction of human beings – sinful hearts and sinful lives. And the Bible depiction of God is that he is perfectly holy – without sin in any way – and that his wrath burns hot against sin. But God wants to forgive – he loves – it is in his nature to forgive. But his subjects deserve severe punishment and he has said that he condemns their sin and that the penalty for sin is death. And so he can't just wave his hand and forgive them without compromising his justice. For if he just said, "Aw, don't worry about it, I'll let it go", it would be the same as saying sin is no big deal and he  was just kidding about his standards and his holiness is not such a big deal, either. He cannot maintain his integrity as ruler if he does not take law breaking seriously and punish it appropriately. And then he would not be worthy of respect, much less worship. Like children who know their parents' warnings of punishment are empty threats, we would not respect God.

             The gospel is intellectually, emotionally, and relationally satisfying.

Sermon Synopsis - Untitled on Romans 1:24-27

I continue to work through a sermon series from the book of Romans on Sunday morning. This past Sunday I preached from 1:24-27 on Paul's understanding of homosexuality. I wrestled with a clear thesis for this sermon, but one did come out while preaching (better late than never!), and it has to do with standing firm on a biblical understanding of homosexuality amidst the societal pressure to do otherwise.  Here is the sermon outline, minus most illustrations, applications, transitions, etc., that make up a full sermon. I leave such things out so that people do not try to copy my sermons without engaging in real preparation themselves.

I. It is impure 9v. 24).

One term Paul uses to describe homosexuality is impure. In biblical thinking, a good thing is impure when it is twisted for sinful purposes and reflects humanity's fallen nature. Paul frequently uses this term in his letters when speaking of sexual sin (see 2 Cor. 2:21, Gal. 5:19, Eph. 4:19, 5:3, and more). Something impure is sinful, dirty, morally grimy in God's eyes. It is not whole.

Applying this to the issue of homosexuality is easy. With examples such as Bishop Gene Robinson, other "Christian" churches and denominations that have given the OK to homosexual practice and even unions, it was easy to come up with examples of people who speak as though the union of two persons of the same sex could be holy. But, biblically speaking, there is not such thing as "Holy Matrimony" if both persons are of the same sex. The union of two such people, no matter how much they love each other, not matter how much they claim what have is good and right in the eyes of God, no matter how stable a home they are able to build, will always be impure. Goodness has everything to do with conforming to God's standards and character, and is not present when God's Word is disobeyed.

II.  It is unnatural (vs. 26-27).

Paul explains that sexual relations between two persons of the same sex is unnatural. What is his reference point here for determining what is natural and unnatural? It is the pattern God set forth in creation. He looks to Genesis 1 and 2 to define what is normal. He looks there for God's intention, which can be seen there before the Fall distorted man's heart. There we see one man and one woman brought together by God himself. So to go against the creator's plan is to rebel agaist the creator himself.

Frequently, homosexuals will say, "I was born this way. I have had these urges since I was a child. It is natural for me. I do not have a choice." Our answer needs to include this: "Your urges and inclinations do not determine what is natural and right in God's eyes. God does. His pattern is a man and woman together. Your urges, like the urges of every other human being, are corrupted by sin. They are not reliable and will led you astray." The Bible is to be our moral compass, not our urges.

III. It is penal (v. 27).

There is a curious phrase at the end of verse 27: "in themselves the due pentalty for their error" (ESV). The error is rejecting the true God, the penalty is the existence of homosexuality and other sins. To put it another way, the penalty is God removing his restraining grace and allowing us humans to run full speed into all kinds of destructive sins. To say it another way, the fact that God permits such things as homosexuality to take place reveals that we are already under the judgment of God. He has "given us up."

Let me explain what I mean. I think of a child learning to ride his or her fist two-wheeled bicycle. The tricycle is done with and it is time for a big boy or big girl bike. The child is chafing at the bit to get on that bike. So dad holds the bike steady while Jr. gets on. The bike wobbles a bit as he mounts it and dad and son begin to move down the sidewalk. Dad has one hand on the seat and the other on the handlebars as they start. He can tell that the child does not have the feel for it yet – as soon as dad loosens his grip the bike starts to tip over. So they keep moving together down the sidewalk, with dad waiting for the magic moment when he can tell his child is starting to get a feel for how to balance the bike. But suddenly, the child says, "Let go! Let me try!" Dad knows it is way too early to let go and he is pretty sure they are out of band-aids so he does not let go. But the child pleads over and over, "Let me try! I can do it!" The child is rejecting his dad's judgment. Finally, dad says, "Okay, but your mom will kill me," and he lets go. The child gets about two feet before he turns the handlebars too sharply and ends up crashing hard resulting in two bloody knees.

What did the dad do? He let the child go – he withdrew his restraint on the child's behavior and let the child experience the consequences of his impulse to go it alone.

Sometimes people say, "Look at how society is going? Do you think God will judge us?" Folks, he already has. The fact that he permits such behavior to take place means that he has "given us up" to the sinful impulses of our hearts. Homosexuality reflects the judgment of God, so do not take it lightly.

Sermon Synopses - "Seeking a Harvest" - Romans 1:18-25

I have begun a new sermon series from the letter of Paul to the Romans. Almost 6 years ago I did a Wednesday night Bible study which covered Romans and lasted about a year. It was very rich, and I have been waiting for the right time to work through the letter in sermonic form on Sunday mornings in which I will have a wider audience than on Wednesday nights.

Here are some notes from the second sermon - minus, as always, introductions, most illustrations, transitions, most applications, etc. - all things that make a sermon complete.

"Seeking a Harvest"
Romans 1:8-15

After the introduction came this paragraph:

How can I become more mission-minded?  Certainly, the words and example of fiery guy like Paul can give us some insights. There are two insights in this passage that can help us answer that question of how can I, how we, can become more mission-minded. Now, verses 16 and 17 give us big motivators for sharing the gospel, but that's next week's sermon!

I.  Seek mutual encouragement.

The point I made here is that Paul wants to be with other mission-minded believers. He wants to spend time with some other believers who are dead serious about living for Christ and sharing the good news with others. Some of the other churches he wrote different letters to that we have in our Bible he did not write to because they were wonderful, but because they were messed up in their thinking and living. But here – he is hungry to visit Rome because he knows that the relationship will not be merely one-way with him encouraging them and they being a drain on him, but that their zeal and love for God and heart for evangelism will stir him up all the more.

II.  Seek expansion of influence (vs. 13-15).

Paul wants to go to Rome to give and receive encouragement. But he also wants to go there because he wants to expand his influence for the gospel.

Look again at verse 13 and following: "I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles." He hopes that when he visits Rome he can win some people to Christ in that region, too. He is assigned by God to reach Gentile people (a gentile is anyone who is not a Jew), and he is always looking to expand his influence in the world. He is not content to just be faithful in one neighborhood, or one part of a city or even in one country, but his mind and heart are always looking for new territory, new connections, new regions to explore and plant the gospel. He is always looking to expand.

Sermon Synopsis - The Greatest Is Love

Sunday I preached a sermon from 1 Corinthians 13. The text naturally falls into three divisions, which made it easy to expound. This synopsis will be like the rest, notes from my sermon minus most illustrations, transitions, most applications, introuction, conclusion, etc. But it will be different as well, since I will mostly provide thoughts on point #2.

I.  The High Priority of Love (vs. 1-3). Here Paul asserts that love has a higher value than spiritual gifts and personal sacrifice apart from love. Sandwhiched between two chapters which focus on the use and abuse of spiritual gifts by the Corinthian believers, Paul shows them "a better way." Those folks to emulate are not necessarily those with the flashiest spiritual gifts, but those who demonstrate the greatest love.

II. The Costly Definition of Love (vs. 4-7). Here I labored over the different affirmations and denials Paul makes about love, showing that the common theme among them all is self-denial. A couple of examples:

"Love is patient and kind." To be patient, one has to set aside one's own timetable for when something should be completed. It means to fully live in the moment, not be itching to get on to something else. I find that when I am impatient in teaching my daughter something, it is because I think she "should just get this by now." And then if I peel back the layers of my heart a bit deeper I find that I really want to get his lesson over with so I can get on to something else I'd rather be doing. In other words, my impatience reveals my own selfishness. Deep down, sometimes I want life to be all about me. But if I am focused on her and her needs and set aside my own, it seems like I have all time in the world. Love is all about self-denial. Love gives time for committee or board members to come around to a good idea. Love is patient.

Verse 4 also says that love "does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful." It puts the needs of others first. Love does not have to win an argument to feel good. Love does not have to be first in line. Love does not have to be heard first. Irritability is an interesting thing. It is a lot like impatience. Things are not going our way and life has been tough and so we are irritable. Doesn’t the boss know he is supposed to treat us better? Doesn't that kid understand that other people don't want to hear the loud music coming out of his car? Doesn't the world know that my preferences and my way and my needs are supposed to come … first? When we get irritable it is usually because something has not gone our way and we are brooding over it and that mood colors everything else and we start feeling that people should just straighten up or get out of our way. But love says, life is not about me. I gave up my life when I got saved. Now life is all about God and the needs of others. I heard a Christian say that when he comes home from work, no matter how tired or worn out, or no matter how bad a day he has had, a man should enter the house thinking, "How can I bring peace here?" If he walks in and finds one kid screaming, a pan boiling over on the stove, an overwhelmed wife, and the other kid begging for help in the bathroom, love says, "My need to rest will have to wait; I must be a soothing and helpful husband right now." Love is all about self-denial.

Jesus himeslf taught that if anyone wished to follow Him, he must deny himself and take up his cross.

III. The Eternal Value of Love (vs. 8-13). Few things will carry over into the life to come. Riches will not. Neither will spiritual gifts. However, love will, for it has eternal value. It is wise, then, to invest in something that God places eternal value upon, and it is good and pure to pursue love for we ought to desire what God puts a premium on.

Sermon Synopsis: Whenever the Doors Are Open

Here is another sermon synopsis, minus, as always, illustrations, transitions, introduction, conclusion, applications, and more.

Sunday I preached a sermon entitled, "Whenever the Doors Are Open." It addressed the common conception that a person can separate their relationship with the Lord from a relationship with His Church. This notion is prevalent as people today separate "spirituality" from "organized religion," an idea that may young Christians buy into.  I argued that one cannot do this for four reasons.

1. True spirituality obeys God's commands. God commands that we assemble for worship and edification (Hebrews 10:24-25) and we see the assembling of believers in Scripture as an assumed norm for Christian life (Acts 2, I Cor. 12, 14). The point I made here is that if God requires us to assemble for worship and edification and we do not, then we are living in disobedience, and that puts us out of fellowship with God. Spirituality has the legs cut out from under it if disobedience is the norm.

2. True spirituality employs spiritual gifts. God gives spiritual gifts to be used (1 Cor. 12, 14). They are given to a believer for that believer to minister with. To do this best, assembly with other believers is necessary. When I skip church for no good reason, I rob other believers of the benefit of my God-given spiritual gifts. Also when I skip, I rob other believers of the opportunity to exercise their gifts for my benefit. In the end, skipping can be a violation of the love command, not merely a sin of omission in regard to using gifts as God intends. Spirituality that refuses to employ gifts in community and thus be accountable to a community of believers is not biblical spirituality at all.

3. True spirituality fosters a longing for corporate worship (Psalm 84, Acts 2:48). The Bible holds up as spiritual models people who love to be among God's people in worship. There is a craving for God's presence as especially experienced among the assembly of believers and a true recognition that one's spiritual life is dependent upon, to a great degree, relationships with other believers. If that desire to be in the assembly is not there, neither is biblical spirituality. True believers long for the courts of the Lord and love to be among his people.

4. True spirituality persuades the world (John 13:35). True spirituality persuades the world that we belong to Jesus. Jesus said that the love the disciples were to have for one another (modeled for them as Jesus washed their feet) would be the chief identifying mark of a disciple of Jesus. Wow. That tells me that if I am reluctant to be a faithful part of a church community, I am bereft of a key marker of belonging to Jesus. Unbelievers will be far more persuaded of my belonging to Jesus if I am in relationship with other believers and demonstrate love to those other believers. So disconnecting my spirituality from church involvement undercuts my identity with Christ and lessens my impact on unbelievers.

Sermon Synopsis: Homesick for Heaven

Our church buried a dear saint on April 14. Here is the manuscript of my funeral sermon, in need of editing.

Introduction

I have only lived in three different states in my lifetime - Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky – but I have noticed that Christians in different areas of our country talk differently and worship differently. If you grow up in church in one area of the country you will learn certain songs and if you grow up in another area of the country you may learn a very different set of songs, and when believers from two different areas of the country meet and talk about church music sometimes they are shocked that they do not know the same, precious songs! The same is true for our sayings, our expressions in church. Before I came here to Mt. Zion nearly six years ago, I had never before heard the expression, "Homesick for Heaven." And the first time I heard it, I heard it from fiery man who had designed by his actions one of the pews near the sound board back there  as the "Amen Corner." That was Andy Glassburn.

             Over the last few years I've come to understand better what it means to be homesick for heaven. It has to do with a longing for the presence of God. I want to speak to you about that longing this morning as we worship the Lord and thank God for Andy.

 I.  Begins with an encounter with the Lord's converting presence (Acts 9).

             This longing begins with an encounter with Lord's converting presence.

             The story of the Apostle Paul's conversion gives us a great example for this. Paul, or Saul as he was called then, was busy persecuting these pesky believers in Jesus, Acts chapters 8 and 9 say. He was convinced that these followers of Jesus were really messed up, that they were perverting his precious Jewish faith by telling people that Jesus was the Messiah and that he had died and rose again. And so Saul traveled and arrested Jews who had begun to follow this Jesus. He had to stomp this heresy out and talk some sense into his fellow Jews who had gotten caught up in this nonsense.

             But then something happened. Acts 9 says that on his way to city of Damascus to round up some more of these deceived followers of Jesus, he met someone, someone he was not looking for, someone he thought was dead. He met a converting presence. He met Jesus on that road. Acts 9:3 reads, "Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' And he said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.'"

             Saul met Jesus and was converted from an enemy of God, a self-righteous man, a deceived man, to a servant of God, a humble man, a truth-filled man. He encountered Jesus, and that changed him forever.

             I love Andy's story of his conversion. I love how he said so many times, "I could walk you out to the spot in the cornfield and show you where it happened." If you know Andy, you know the story. After attending a revival service here at Mt. Zion in 1946 he was under deep conviction from God, but didn't know to call it that. Then on the tractor he caught a vision of his soul dangling over hell and he had to get off the tractor and pray. He prayed his guts out until that heavy sense of conviction of sin left and was replaced by joyful assurance that his sins were forgiven and a new life had begun. And he never lost the desire to tell that story. It stayed fresh in his mind. He had gotten a taste, a big taste, of the presence of God – he really felt the Lord's presence at this conversion – and he was instantly hooked on the Lord. It was not a shallow emotionalism he felt, but he had tasted a bit of heaven and it ruined him for ordinary things. Never again would he be satisfied unless he felt the presence of the Lord. Like the Apostle Paul, he didn't sign up to be a Christian because he liked its beliefs or that he just thought it would be good for him to be a part of a church, but because he had met someone – Jesus. And that presence had converted him.

 II. Leads to a hunger for His constant presence (Psalm 84).

             Now that encounter with his converting presence leads somewhere. It leads to a hunger for the Lord's constant presence.

             I love Psalm 84 because it expresses such a longing for God's presence. The psalmist wants to be in the temple, God's house, because there he meets God in a special way. It is a sacred, holy place where the Lord's praises are sung, sacrifices are offered up, and his people meet. So he says in verses 1-2, "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes faints for the courts of the LORD." Then he writes in verse 10, "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere."

             Those who really know the Lord love church. It's normal. Like the Psalmist who loved to be in the temple because that's where the worship of God happened and that's where he could feel God's presence in a special way, so those who know Jesus love to be with his people. They love church. They love it because that's where they sense the Lord in a special way.

             Andy loved church, this one in particular. After his conversion back in 1946, if it was possible, he was in church. He wanted to sing those songs! He wanted to hear the Word preached! He wanted to be with God's people! He wanted to testify and shout and say Amen! His soul longed for the courts of the Lord. Whenever he and Kate would come back after being gone for a weekend or for months, he would always say, "there's no place like Mt. Zion. This is my home." This is where he was first discipled in the Lord and it had a precious place in his heart. And he came steadily, regularly, because he wanted to maintain that sense of the Lord's presence. He wanted it constant. You see, once you get taste for the Lord, it leaves you thirsty for more.

             That longing for God was why he prayed with passion, too. He showed some enthusiasm when he prayed because he was talking to someone who was right there that he loved. God was not distant to him. Yesterday I told the family the story of one time when my daughter Kiran and I were visiting Kate and Andy in their home. After we talked for a while we went to pray, and we stood in a circle and held hands. Andy, of course prayed with some vigor! And while I was leading out in prayer, he was saying, "Yes, yes!" After a few moments I heard a little three-year-old voice say, "Yes, yes!", mimicking him.  He prayed with passion because he really wanted to engage God and get in touch with the Lord's presence. He wanted to feel like he was really connecting to the Lord as he prayed because the Lord's presence was so precious.

             That longing for his presence showed up in how Andy ministered, too. One time a few of us were visiting someone in the hospital, I don't even remember who, and before we left the room, Andy stopped to talked to the roommate of the person we were visiting. He asked if we could pray for him. The man said yes. Then Andy leaned over and got within three inches of that man's nose and said, "Do you know the Lord?" The man said yes. The way Andy worded the question was very important. He did not ask the man if he was a Christian. He did not ask the man if he believed in Jesus. He asked him if he knew the Lord. You see, that's the way a person who loves the Lord's presence puts it. He put  the question in relational terms, because knowing the person and presence of the Lord was what it is all about for Andy.

             I could go on and on.

 III. Grows to a homesickness for his full presence (Phil. 1:23).

             So that encounter with the Lords' converting presence leads to a hunger for his constant presence. But it does not end there. It grows to a homesickness for his full presence.

             As I said, before I came to Mt. Zion, I was not familiar with the expression, "Homesick for Heaven." How can somebody be homesick for a place they have never been to? But it happens.

             The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians that "to live is Christ and to die is gain." And that, "I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (Phil. 1:21, 23). It was not that Paul only wanted relief from pain and suffering. No, he wanted more of God, and the place to get the most, at least until Jesus returns, is Heaven.

             Believers who love the Lord deeply, who follow hard after the Lord, who pursue his presence in this life develop a hunger for even more. They've tasted of the Lord's goodness, and while they love their families and love serving the Lord, there is a part of their heart that wants to experience the fullness of God's presence. And so they long for heaven. They long to experience God intensely all the time, without interruption. The Apostle Paul had that homesickness; Andy had it. Presently Andy has want he longed for. Someone in church on Sunday commented that they were surprised that they couldn't hear Andy shouting in Heaven all the way down here, because he was homesick no longer.

             When you love the Lord deeply, and walk with him closely for many years, your heart gets more and more attached to a place where you have never been. You long to make that place you've never been, Heaven, your home.

 Conclusion

             All this starts with encountering the Lord's converting presence. It is there, at a church altar rail, or with a friend, at your beside, at a Christian concert, or even in cornfield that you meet the Lord and get a taste of Heaven. That births a hunger for his presence in worship and service. And then inside grows a homesickness for his full presence.

             Sadly, so many believers pursue so little of God. They want just enough to avoid Hell and get a little help with life. But they don't fall in love with God for life. And there are so many non-Christians who walk around with this gaping hole on the inside, longing for someone to fill it. The Lord wants his presence to be real to all of us and he wants us to become captivated with Him.

             Do you know him today? You can encounter the Lord today, if you will kneel humbly before Him, confess your sin and your deep need for forgiveness and a new life that can only come through Jesus Christ. Submit and receive him today and everything will change. If you need someone to talk to about this Savior that Andy loved so much, grab my elbow sometime today or pull some believer aside and share your heart. They'll help you pray through to a new life in Christ and you too will start down the path of becoming homesick for Heaven.

Sermon Synopsis: Coveting and the Good Life

On January 4 I preached a sermon entitled, "Coveting and the Good Life." Here is the basic outline minus most illustrations, transitions, and so forth. The sermon is from Luke 12:13-21.

My thesis was direct: Be on guard, for coveting undercuts the "good life." For this sermon, of course, the "good life" is not the world's definition as I made clear in the sermon, but rather the meaningful, deeply satisfying life of full surrender and devotion to Christ.

The first point: Coveting turns one from trusting God to trusting wealth. Speaking of the farmer in the story who sees the huge harvest come in, I said, "

No, when wagon after wagon came in with his huge crop and his barns got stuffed to the full he coveted; he laid hold of that wealth with all of his might and put his trust in it and what it could do for him instead of trusting in the Lord." And then he lost his soul that night as he stood before a God whom he had recently dismissed.

I illustrated this with a story from the church of my childhood. As one of our church members watched her home burn to the ground with nearly all of her worldly possessions in it, she was at peace, and even shared the gospel with one of the firemen. She was able to do this because her heart was not with her possessions but with God. Certainly she had the "good life," one not dependent upon earthly things and one in which she was ready to stand before God should she suddenly die. Given enough time, this world will disappoint you, or if you die suddenly like the rich farmer your disappointment will be sudden and eternal.

The second point: coveting turns one from servant hood to self-indulgence.

"Notice how the good farmer becomes a man of leisure real fast. He goes from being industrious to perpetual partier in a hearbeat. He finally has the wealth he has craved and he does not have to work for the foreseeable future. He can relax and indulge. Real fast, he becomes self-centered. Life is all about his own pleasure."

The whole of the Christian life is about worship, service to God, surrendering our control, desires, schedules, our very being to God. This is the opposite of self-indulgence; it is self-sacrifice. The point is that Jesus claimed that the best life is found in the cross-life, for those who lose their life for Him will find it. He also claimed that the good life is found in obeying the commandments of Scripture, and that the deepest satisfaction is found in God alone. Thus coveting, in turning one from servanthood to self-indulgence robs one of this aspect of the "good life." Coveting is a lie with a temporary, soothing effect that shows itself wanting in the end. The challenge for those who have not discovered this truth already in their walk with God is to trust Jesus' words and surrender themselves to him without reservation.

The third point: coveting turns one from primary matters to secondary matters. "

The rich fool in the story is so into his accumulated wealth that he neglects something even more important: his relationship with God.  He is so into his stuff that he is distracted from attending to the condition of his soul before God.  And suddenly, his life is over and he is not ready. He let a secondary matter, his wealth, take priority over his salvation! This is what coveting can lead to: spiritual blindness."

To illustrate, I used the testimony of actor Mel Gibson, who in an inteview with Diane Sawyer around the time his movie, The Passion of the Christ was released, explained that he had come back to his Catholic faith after coming to terms with the fact that he was "spiritually bankrupt." Gibson had everything - fame, fortune, great success in his career, and more. And for many years that success enabled him to ignore his deep need for God, until he was brought to a breaking point. Now the secondary matters of success and wealth have taken their proper place in his life.

 

"The man who asked Jesus to straighten out his brother and the matter of his inheritance also had his problems, too. He so coveted his inheritance that he tried to manipulate Jesus into intervening. He has the greatest teacher of spiritual truth ever standing right in front of him speaking the word of God and he wants him to become his lawyer! He covets, and that blinds him to the Savior right in front of him!  He covets, and that turns his eyes from primary matters of the soul to secondary matters of a greedy squabble with his brother. He covets, and he ends up in the Bible as a prime example of what not to do.  Do you see how coveting focuses your attention like a laser on secondary things like money and things and not primary things like getting into heaven and hearing from Jesus? That is not the good life!"

Sermon Synopsis: Post-Election Sermon

Sunday I preached a sermon entitled, "Living Under the Authorities," from Romans 13:1-7 and 1  Timonthy 2:1-7.  Below is a short synopsis of the sermon, omitting illustrations, transitions, most applications, the conclusion, many subpoints, etc., giving you just enough to gain a bird's eye view of the sermon.

In the introduction, I began by talking about the turnover that happened last Tuesday in our government and the very serious concerns a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage presidential and congressional leadership raise for us evangelical Christians.  I also talked about how the Apostle Paul understood far better than we do what it meant to live among and under the authority of heathen people and to have little or no political power.  It was to Christians in that kind of world that the Apostle Paul wrote the letters to the Romans and 1 Timothy.

My thesis was in the form of a question: "How must we Christians live under our governmental leaders?"  This is a question to ask whether one likes the present leaders or does not like them.  I made three points.

I.  We must obey the authorities (Romans 13:1-2).

The command to be subject to the authorities is based on the truth that God himself institutes ruling authorities, therefore to disobey them can amount to disobeying God.

This is quite a hard pill to swallow for us evangelicals who find Sen. Obama's stances on abortion and marriage to be repugnant and downright evil.  How could God put someone like him in office?  Well, God often puts people who are at odds with Him in office for various reasons.  For example, the great King of Assyria that destroyed the northern Kingdom of Israel was a wicked ruler who was given military and political success by God himself, Isaiah says, because God willed to use that King to raise some nations up and take others down as He steered history and accomplished His purposes in the world.  So by putting someone in office God is not necessarily endorsing that person's beliefs, positions, behavior, etc.  God is simply using that person or persons to steer history the way He wants it to go for his purposes, to discipline people, and more.  But the fact remains, if I have interpreted this passage from Romans correctly, that God has put Obama in the office of President of the USA.

So we must obey the governing authorities because God is the one who puts them in power.  Any exceptions to this rule?  Of course.  For example, we learn from Acts 5 that if governing authorities order believers to do something that is clearly contrary to God's will, they should obey God and not man, as Peter and John concluded.  But in the everyday course of life, obedience is God's mandate.

The other reason given in Romans 13 for obeying the government is simple self-preservation. You can read the text yourself for this point; it is quite clear.

II.  We must pay the authorities (Romans 13:6-7).

Pay in two ways (1) taxes, (2) respect and honor.

The issue of paying taxes all came to a head for me when I read about Senator Obama's promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act if elected president.  The FOCA would sweep away all of the restrictions on abortion - from parental consent to late-term restrictions, partial-birth abortion, and more.  Plus, Obama has said things that indicate he is for using taxpayer money to pay for some abortions.  The thought hit me, "Would this make me an accomplice in murder?  Can I sleep at night knowing that some of my money might be going to tear apart a child in his or her mother's womb?  I think I'm going to be sick."  And then another thought hit me: "It it does come to this, should I not pay my taxes?  I mean, I get upset when the government wastes money, etc., but if it uses it to slaughter the weakest and most vulnerable, babies, I see red and want to vomit at the same time."

But there is Romans 13:8.  And Paul wrote this to believers who lived under a government that most certainly committed unspeakable acts with the money it took up in taxes form its citizens.  And Paul tells those citizens who are believers to pay their taxes.  Sure, it is vital for us to work for reform in our country, but in the meantime, pay your taxes.

Paying respect is another challenge for us, possibly a greater one.  Because those who are power are placed there by God, appropriate honor and respect must be shown to them.  To be sure, this does not mean that we should not advocate for a change in abortion law and more, and that we should not push for life to be cherished in our society.  But we must do it with a tone and with words that demonstrate respect.  This goes for my talk around the water cooler and will be tested each time President Obama signs, if he does, something wicked into law.  Learning to disagree and work for change while doing it in ways that show respect and honor will be a big challenge in the years ahead for Christians.

III.  We must pray for the authorities (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Paul urges prayer for the authorities in this passage.  He does so for two reasons, (1) that the believers may lead a quiet and peaceful life, and (2) because God desires that all people be saved.

We are to pray for our leaders so that they will let us live out a proper Christian life characterized by peace, quietness, godliness and dignity.  To be sure, the Church can thrive under persecution as well, but that is not what Paul instructs us to pray for. 

But the other reason given is a good shock to the system for those of us who are accustomed to demonizing our political enemies.  Paul goes on to explain in this passage that God desires all men to be saved, this comment being placed in the context of God desiring all men to pray for their governmental authorities. 

I do not know if Barack Obama is a genuine Christian.  But I do know this: God loves Barack Obama and wants him in heaven.  And so I plan to pray like this on a regular basis, "God, if President Obama is not saved, I pray that you will make the gospel crystal clear to him and that you will bring him to repentance so that your grace and love will bring about the new birth.  And if he is saved, I pray that you will fix his moral compass so that he will come to love what you love and hate what you hate."

Jesus died for our political enemies just as much as he died for you and me.  Here is a challenge to us believers: for your own spiritual well-being, pray more for God's blessing on the politicians you do not like than for the ones you do. 

Sermon Synopsis - "Two Sinful Christians"

How does one begin a sermon on Acts 5:1-11, the story of Ananias and  Sapphira?  Last week I began my sermon on Josiah by talking about how people name their children, and how, if our daughter had been a boy, we might have named her Josiah.  But we never once considered the names Ananias or Sapphira anymore than we considered names like Ahab or Jezebel or Adolf.

But how does one begin a sermon on a passage like this?  I cam across the mention of sermon series by Pastor C.J. Mahaney called "People God Killed," but that would not set the right tone for this particular sermon, although the title certainly is provocative! 

The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 can be a difficult passage to preach from for various reasons.  My sermon last Sunday dealt with the passage by focusing on the heart condition of this troublesome couple.  The thesis: beware a sinful heart, for it will ruin you spiritually.  Three actions to avoid ...

I.  A sinful heart cooperates with Satan's influence (v. 3)

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira did not begin when they brought the money to the Apostles pretending to have brought the full price.  Their sin did not even begin when the premeditated this deception and planned to present themselves as more generous than they really were.  No, the sin of Ananias and Sapphira began when Satan suggested the idea to Ananias, and Ananias mulled it over, caressed it, pondered the temptation, and gave it time to brew in his heart.  The sin began, you see, when he did not resist the temptation and tempter and tossed it when it first smelled like sin, but took it for a test drive in his heart.  "Ooo...to have people think I am very generous without actually having to sacrifice the full cost of the field.  Yes, the reputation without the cost ... that sounds good.  That will advance me without costing me too much...."

We must remember that the battleground with sin is always first and foremost in the heart.

II.  A sinful heart craves the approval of God's people (vs. 2, 3)

This seems to be core problem with Ananias and Sapphira.  They craved recognition, status.  But not from the world - they wanted it within the church!  They wanted the status of Barnabas in chapter 4 without the sacrifice required to gain it.  Barnabas gave selflessly; Ananias and Sapphira gave selfishly.

This is a timeless temptation.  Ever find yourself at the tithe box or in the pew as the offering plate is passed trying to be discreet as you put in your offering...but not too discreet?  It is easy to want just couple folks to see you put that envelope in the plate so that folks don't think of you as one of the people who do not give.  In so many ways, we crave the approval, even awe, of God's people, turning an act of worship into an act of sin.  By God's grace, we must learn to rest in God's approval alone.

III.  A sinful heart dares to test God (vs. 4, 9)

Through their actions, Ananias and Sapphira have tested God.  Like the people of ancient Israel who questioned God when things got tough in the wilderness, implicitly indicting his character, power, etc., so this couple acted like they could get away with being deceitful.

Maybe the thought God was distant.  Maybe they thought God was like a parent who does not really pay attention to the kids, and consequently the kids get away with murder.  Thinking this way questions God's love, for a loving God is NOT inattentive.

Maybe the they thought God would just dismiss their sin. Maybe they thought God would be like a parent who just says, "Kids will be kids," and never gets around to correcting behavior.  This way of thinking questions God's holiness and justice.  It is an insult to his character!

Maybe they thought God was incapable of knowing their hearts.  Maybe they thought that God know a lot, but certainly he cannot keep track of every detail in the world.  Surely this one indiscretion will slip by the Lord.  This way of thinking questions God's power, particularly his omniscience.  Again, this insults God and provokes him!

Whatever the cast, Ananias and Sapphira provoked God with their action and his judgment was shift and sure and had a powerful impact on the church.

What do we do with all of this?  We go to the Lord who can change hearts and we plead for transformation that he would help us to have holy desires and to resist the devil.  And we must always, always, take God very seriously.

Sermon Synopsis - "Compelled to Speak"

This sermon synopsis comes from last Sunday's sermon on Acts 4:1-22.  This passage is a powerful text in which the Apostles Peter and John are arrested and thereby given an opportunity to preach the gospel to the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

For the introduction, I began with a question to engage the listener: What can compel a believer to speak up about Jesus in the face of danger?  From there, I moved on to tell the story of Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred in Rome for his faith, and who, while being transported to Rome, wrote seven pastoral letters to churches, preaching Jesus all the way to his death.

After transitioning to the story in Acts, I moved to the proposition for the sermon, which echoed he opening question: "What can compel a believer to speak up about Jesus?"  I explained that there are three sources of conviction that arise from this passage which can compel a believer to speak up about Jesus. 

I.  The power of a personal encounter with Jesus (v. 13)

Verse 13 explains that the religious leaders before whom Peter and John stood could tell that Peter and John were "uneducated, common men ... And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."  From the perspective of the religious leaders, maybe all this meant was that these men got their crazy ideas from that Jesus who had been executed not so long ago.  The leaders did not necessarily see anything all that supernatural about being with Jesus.

But we believers do.  While the religious leaders probably made little more from Peter and John's relationship with Jesus than theological affiliation, we know that spending focused time with Jesus results in transformation.  Their time with Jesus had transformed them, and it is out this transformation that they find the compulsion to speak.  You cannot truly encounter Jesus and not be affected in a profound manner.  A true encounter with Jesus, while not a physical encounter like the Apostles, can make one quite chatty about Jesus.

Examples of conversion stories where people encounter Christ bear this out.

II.  The power of a personal infilling of the Holy Spirit (v. 8)

But Peter and John do not speak solely out of their own power.  They speak as men who have been filled with the Holy Spirit, as men empowered to proclaim (Acts 1:8).

The same power is available to us today.  The gift of the Spirit is for all believers.  We receive the Holy Spirit at conversion, but there are subsequent fillings that can occur to empower us for gospel ministry.  In Ephesians 5:18, the Apostle Paul instructs believers to "be filled with the Holy Spirit."  The wording indicates that volition is required - believers must ask and seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Examples abound of God taking weak, shaky, timid believers, or just those who are concerned about their own skin, and empowering them to speak up for him.  The ability to speak up for Christ is not primarily about trying to ratchet up our own courage, learning some technique, or just being born with an outgoing personality, but it is an issue of learning to rely upon the Holy Spirit who can make us more than we ever could be on our own. Like wind filling a sailboat's sails, so the Holy Spirit can fill us to speak up for Jesus.  This leaves us without excuse and with great excitement for what God can do through us.

III.  The power of a personal belief in the truth about Jesus (v. 12)

The gospel by its very nature is exclusive.  It asserts that there is only one way to God and that way is a person, Jesus Christ.  Verse 12 lays out this truth in emphatic fashion.

Once a believer truly believes the exclusivity of the gospel and begins to grasp the implications of it, a sense of urgency sets in.  For once the conviction grows inside that people without Christ are indeed lost, that God has no Plan B for salvation, that heaven has no backdoor, that no one gets into heaven due to good intentions alone, then evangelism becomes a pressing priority.  Peter and John's boldness in speaking out for Jesus is in part fueled by this truth that there is no other Savior available to people; therefore, their listeners must hear about Christ if they are to avoid hell's flames.

This conviction drives believers to share the faith, even to be confrontational.  Some years ago, I am told, a regular attender in our church was confronted by the pastor about his lack of commitment to Christ.  As you might expect, the man got mad and did not return to church for several weeks.  A member of the church thought such a confrontation was too harsh and confronted the pastor about it.  The pastor replied, "If he is going to go to hell, I would rather it be from home than from the pew of the church."  In other words, he will not be able to say that he never was pressed with the gospel at church.  The pastor had met his responsibility.

This conviction that Jesus is the only way runs counter to our pluralistic society and our churches that have been softened and lulled by such a society.  But if Jesus is the only way, we do no one any favor by giving the impression in our living and preaching that Jesus is just one good option for people.

The conclusion of the sermon reminded listeners that while God provides all that we need to be empowered to speak up for Jesus, he does not force us to speak up for him.  That choice is ours, and thus the responsibility is ours.

Sermon Synopsis - "What Shall We Do?"

From time to time I will post a brief synopsis of one of my sermons.  What you will get is not the full sermon, but a brief outline of the ideas, minus the illustrations, transitions, some of the applications, etc.

In my sermon series through the  book of Acts, last Sunday I preached on 2:37-47, which is the response of the crowd to Peter's Pentecost sermon.

I began by telling the conversion story of a boy at a Christian summer camp and eventually transitioned to my thesis, which was, "A genuine conversion makes a real, observable change in the life of the believer."  To flesh out the thesis, I lifted out from the text three makers of a genuine conversion.  They are as follows:

I.  Brokenness is reached (v. 37).

Brokenness is essential to every genuine conversion.  A person must come to the place in his or her life where the weight of sin and the conviction of the Holy Spirit brings about a desperate state of mind and spirit, where all of our defenses and excuses and pride come crashing down and we are left truly open to God.

Those responding to Peter's powerful sermon were broken, as the text indicates they were "cut to the heart."  They responded to Peter with, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  The impact of the gospel had left them aware they had to respond somehow to the message, but they did not know what the proper response was.

Chuck Colson's conversion story from his recent BreakPoint commentary (June 12, 2008) made for the perfect illustration here.

Genuine brokenness might be experienced in a dramatic, emotional way or it might be a very quiet thing.  What matters is that spiritual need is recognized and the doors of the heart are opened wide to God.

II.  Repentance is made (v. 38).

Peter's response to their question, "Brothers, what shall we do?" is simple: repent and be baptized.  To repent, of course, means to turn and go the other direction.  Repentance involves true remorse over sin and a ending sinful behavior.  Essentially, it involves submitting to God's will in every known way. 

Baptism involves identification with Christ and incorporation into the Body. 

For this point, I used an illustration of a pastor confronting a cohabitating couple who were in the throws of initially responding to the gospel.

III.  Devotion is expressed (vs. 38, 42).

Finally, I made the point that in a genuine conversion, devotion is expressed.  This devotion to God begins with baptism unless the convert was previously baptized, and involves serious commitment to "Church life."  There is serious learning of the teaching of the Apostles (which now have in the Bible), fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers.  All of these activities are natural for a real convert to get into and are biblically mandated.  And none of them can be engaged in successfully apart from a church of some kind. 

Throughout the sermon I kept pressing the congregation to evaluate their own lives in light of these markers, and finally pressed them to consider whether or not they had undergone a genuine conversion. 

The Confrontational Gospel

On June first I preached a sermon from Acts 2:22-36 entitled, "The Confrontational Gospel."  I began by quoting the from Christianity Today's recent article, "Unapologetic Apologist" in their June, 2008 issue, page 34, about Jay Smith.  Smith is a Christian evangelist who regularly and publicly debates Muslims in Hyde Park, London, at the famous Speaker's Corner.  Check him out on YouTube.

The story illustrates the fact the gospel, by its very nature, is confrontative.  It makes truth claims; it calls people to repentance; it condemns other religions.  All this makes the postmodern mind uncomfortable or downright offended, but that is something we must accept as Christians. I then explained that Peter's sermon in Acts 2 is confrontative, as is any faithful presentation of the gospel.  My thesis for this sermon was simple: the gospel of Christ is confrontational.  Here are a just a few thoughts from that sermon.

I.  It confronts us with Jesus' Lordship (v. 36).

Peter concludes his sermon in v. 36 with these words: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (ESV).  Peter's Jewish listeners would have gone wide-eyed at the terms "Lord" and "Christ" as the terms indicate Jesus' divinity and Messiahship.  In a moment, as they accepted the truth of Peter's assertion, they would have made the connection that Jesus' authority meant their personal accountability to Him.  Jesus was someone they had to answer to.  Any faithful proclamation of the gospel asserts Jesus' Lordship, for without a grasp of his authority listeners will not see their accountability, and thus their need to repent.  We live in a day when people do not wish to submit to any authority.  Yet submitting to authority is essential to the gospel.

II.  It confronts listeners with their guilt (vs. 23, 36).

Twice (vs. 23, 36) Peter hits his listeners hard with their complicity in Jesus' death.  Insulting your listeners is not a good way to begin and end a speech, for it kills rapport, but Peter knows that understanding personal guilt is part of conversion, and so he does not shy away from the possibility of turning a crowd into a lynch mob with his words.

Telling people they bear guilt also runs counter to our culture today.  We are constantly told that people are born good, that social problems are not the result of sin, that "we are all winners," etc.  No one wants to feel bad because that is seen as oppressive.  But the gospel is bad news before it is good news, and it confronts listeners with their guilt before a holy God.  If people do not see their sin and its consequent guilt, they will not grasp their need for a Savior.  So Peter presses the point home: you are guilty.

III.  It confronts listeners with God's Word (vs. 25-28, 34)

Peter quotes a lot of Scripture in his sermon as he makes the case for Jesus' Lordship and Messiahship.  In doing so, he makes his appeal on the basis of God's Word.  Sure, most listeners today do not recognize the authority of the Scriptures as Peter's listeners did, yet sharing the Scripture must still be a part our evangelistic efforts because the Word of God is powerful even if listeners do not at first recognize its authority.  Romans 10:17 and Hebrews 4:12 remind us that the Holy Spirit uses the Scripture to work in hearts and stir faith.  This is why every evangelism tool that has lasted any length of time, such as The Bridge, or The Four Spiritual Laws, or whatever, always includes Bible verses, for through the Word God works. 

We cannot escape the confrontative aspect of the gospel in our proclamation of it.  For sure, we must strive to be graceful and loving in our presentation of the truth, but the truth itself is abrasive - it tells us we are a mess spiritually and headed for hell unless someone other than us intervenes.  And so we must accept that rejection will often come as the gospel reaches rebellious postmodern ears, and we must realize that if we are uncomfortable sharing the gospel, it may be because we are too much like this world in our thinking.