March 23, 2008 -- Easter

"Don’t Hold Back"


[First Service introduction: Perhaps you have heard this one before. The day was blistering hot and muggy. The house was full of guests, and things were not going well. Finally, the hostess got everyone seated for dinner and asked her seven-year-old daughter to offer the blessing. “But mother,” said the child, “I don’t know what to say.” “Yes you do,” said her mother. “Just say the last prayer you heard me use.” Obediently, the child bowed her head and recited hesitantly, “O Lord, why did I invite all these people to dinner on such a hot day?”

Aren’t you glad that God will never regret sending us an invitation to join Him? We have so many here on this glorious day. Welcome to the house of God!

Today’s scripture passage is just one verse. It comes from Isaiah 54:2 "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” (NIV).]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Second Service introduction: A car was involved in an accident. As expected, a large crowd gathered. A newspaper reporter, anxious to get his story, could not get near the car. Being a clever sort, he started shouting loudly, “Let me through! Let me through! I’m the son of the victim!” The crowd made way for him. Lying in front of the car was a donkey!”

Talk about embarrassment! I think he got what he deserved. It never pays to be dishonest. Let us turn to the Bible, the book of Truth, for today’s scripture passage:

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2 NIV).]

Let me share a story about how one man enlarged the place of his tent. It is a modern Easter story.

The church’s pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, the elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

“A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the pacific coast,” he began. “When a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized.

“The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in the story. The aged minister continued with his story. “Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy would he throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son’s friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves.

“As the father yelled out, ‘I love you, son!’ he threw out the life line to his son’s friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of the night. His body was never recovered.

By this time the two teenage boys were sitting straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister’s mouth. “The father,” he continued, “knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into eternity without Jesus. Therefore he sacrificed his son to save the son’s friend. How great is the love of God that should do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed his only begotten son so that we could be saved.

I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and to take a hold of the life line He is throwing out to you in this service.”

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room.

The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man’s side. “That was a nice story,” politely stated one of the boys, “but I don’t think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son’s life in hope that the other boy would become a Christian.”

“Well, you’ve got a point there,” the old man replied, glancing down at his worn bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face; he once again looked up at the boys and said, “It sure isn’t very realistic, is it. But, I’m standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up His Son for me. You see – I was that Father and your pastor is my son’s friend.”

Remember, everything has a purpose; everything happens for a reason – even the most minute detail figures into God’s eternal plan. Some of you have experienced tragedy and suffering – maybe the sort that is even off the scale. Know this, God sent his Son for you. The suffering, as hard as it is, is a reminder that you need a savior.

Some of you doubt – with all that you are – because you can’t believe without seeing. Let me share this, because, someone here today, is at the brink of belief, but you are hung up on someone else’s version of religion.

Frederick Buechner (pronounced Beek-nur) is his book Now and Then, has a section on his comparison of the teachings of Buddha and of Jesus Christ, a topic he wrestled with when he was teaching at Phillips Exeter Academy in southern New Hampshire:

“Finally, lest students of comparative religion be tempted to believe that to compare them is to discover that at their hearts all religions are finally one and that it thus makes no difference which one you choose, you have only to place side by side Buddha and Christ themselves.

“Buddha sits enthroned beneath the Bo tree in the lotus position. His lips are faintly parted in the smile of one who has passed beyond every power in earth or heaven to touch him. ‘He who loves 50 has 50 woes, he who loves 10 has 10 woes, he who loves none has no woes,’ he has said. His eyes are closed.

“Christ, on the other hand, stands in the garden of Gethsemane, distressed, beleaguered. His face is lost in shadows so that you can’t even see his lips… ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’ He has said. His eyes are also closed.

“The difference seems to me this. The suffering that Buddha’s eyes close out is the suffering of the world that Christ’s eyes close in and hallow. It is an extraordinary difference, and even in a bare classroom in Exeter, New Hampshire, I think it was as apparent to everyone as it was to me that before you’re done, you have to make a crucial and extraordinary choice” (James Hewett, ed., Illustrations Unlimited).

According to an old legend, a man became lost in his travels and wandered into a bed of quicksand. Confucius saw the man’s predicament and said, “It is evident that men should stay out of places such as this.” Next, Buddha observed the situation and said, “Let that man’s plight be a lesson to the rest of the world.” Then Muhammad came by and said to the sinking man, “Alas, it is the will of God.” Finally, Jesus appeared. “Take my hand, brother,” he said, “and I will save you.”

Jesus, as he appeared before Pilate on Good Friday said this, "In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37 NIV).

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. Receive what God has intended for you to have – everlasting life. “Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Mal 3:10 NIV).

Either you are in the tent or you are out of it. If you have one foot inside and one outside, it is the same as being out. Don’t hold back. Go for it with all that you’ve got. Eternity weighs in the balance. The choice is yours.

How to pray to be saved:

God, I need you. Come into my life. I ask Jesus, right now, to come into my heart. I trust that he is life. Forgive me of my shortcomings, and help me to live my life for you. Amen.

March 16, 2008 -- Palm Sunday

Scripture: John 9:35-38

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

36"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

37Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

38Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

A little old lady answered a knock on her door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner. “Good morning,” said the young man. “If I could take a couple minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.

“Go away!” said the old lady. “I haven’t got any money!” and she proceeded to close the door. Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.

“Don’t be too hasty!” he said, “not until you have a least seen my demonstration.” And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her hallway carpet. “If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder.”

The old lady stepped back and said, “Well I hope that you got a darned good appetite, because they cut off my electricity this morning!”

Putting your faith in your product can be very costly! The same is true for putting your faith in a person. The blind man found that out. He was excommunicated from church and very possibly ostracized by his supposed friends. He was persecuted by the religious leaders and in some ways his status after his healing was worse than before his healing. But having his sight was worth it – not just his physical sight; more importantly, he had his spiritual sight. And this new found trust in Christ led very naturally to worship.

Worship is a natural progression of belief.

On his son’s 21st birthday, a father gave his son a beautiful gold pocket watch. His presentation speech, in full, was as follows: “Son, we had always planned to give you this watch when you reached the age of wisdom; we’ve decided it’s better not to wait.” Do you have a child or children in whom you wonder if they are going to ever get it? Remember, faith is a journey. We don’t all get it at the same time or in the same way.

Look at the blind man (I kind of hate calling him the blind man. Now he sees. I will call him the sight man!) The sight man first acknowledged Jesus as “the man,” then “prophet,” then “from God,” then “son of Man,” and finally, “Lord!” It took a little while, at least, to get from man to Lord. The same is true for us. But once we get it, really believing it, the next natural step is worship.

So, let’s define worship. The easiest way to define worship is with two little words: “glorifying God.” That involves praise, adoration, and honor. It can be done anywhere. There are more components to worship, but this is the best starting place. People, being different, glorify God in different ways. Some do so in a traditional manner. Others, in a more contemporary way. And that is ok. I kind of like Billy Graham’s take on different denominations. He said that God knew we all were not the same, so he allowed different means of faith expression. The important thing is that we, who are different, glorify the same God.

The second point here, and I have already alluded to it, is this: worship is not necessarily tied to a place. There is importance in place, but place is not imperative. You can have a worshipful experience in your car, in your church, by the campfire, in jail. Jesus qualified this when he talked to the woman at the well: true worshipers worship God in spirit and in truth. Place can and does enhance worship, but we must not fall into the pit of worshiping in one and only one place. If we do that, we segment our lives, compartmentalizing the faith to the extent that our faith does not influence all the areas of our lives.

Last, worship is tied to a person and to a people. Worship gains its fullest expression as we praise God for his amazing gift – Christ the Lord. He, the one who saved us with himself, made religion about a relationship, not rules. And the natural progression from a relationship with Jesus is a relationship with others. This makes corporate worship absolutely vital to our spiritual maturity.

I don’t have much of a green thumb. What I’ve learned about plants I’ve learned the hard way. I know that a plant is limited in its size by the size of the pot it is planted in. If we don’t give a plant enough room to grow, its growth will be stunted. The same is true for us. To worship alone is to stunt our growth. We were meant to celebrate our faith in community. It is where we get comfortable with heaven. It is where the life events of others encourage us. It is where we hear God most, because God speaks to us through others. Don’t fall prey to limiting your worship to nature or to your prayer closet. It will stunt your growth.

Sooner or later, you will find a challenge to your desire to be in corporate worship. How do I know this? Because our membership is 504 and our attendance is 192. We have a good 150 people that we never see – people who took the vows of membership, pledging their attendance, among other things, and yet, they are not here. Don’t fall prey to that being ok – for yourself or for others. It is an unholy scheme perpetuated from below. Instead, step into the full light of God’s presence – and seek His will above all others – including our own. Seek Him publicly and seek Him privately. Glorify Him! That is worship.

March 9, 2008 -- "Self-Righteousness"
Scripture: John 9:13 - 34

13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.

15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."

16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.

17Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet."

18The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

26Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

28Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."

30The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

First Service introduction:
[Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, must have been a pretty direct fellow. A Boston businessman well known for his ruthlessness once announced to the writer, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top."

"I have a better idea," replied Twain. "You could stay in Boston and keep them." Moody Bible Institute's Today in the Word, September, 1991, p. 32.

There is a flipside to this little story. The Pharisees were strict keepers of the 10 commandments plus another 603, but their strict observances left little room for compassion and mercy. They were obsessed with rules and regulations – to the point of separating themselves from the general populace. They became very hawkish, and they did not offer much grace.]

Second Service introduction:
[On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.

“One for you; one for me. One for you; one for me,” said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence. Another boy came riding along the road with his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, “One for you; one for me. One for you; one for me.”

He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the corner he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. “Come here quick,” said the boy, “you won’t believe what I heard. The devil and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls.”

The man said, “Beat it, kid; can’t you see it’s hard for me to walk.” When the boy insisted, the man hobbled to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, “One for you; one for me. One for you; one for me.” The old man whispered, “Boy, you’ve been tellin’ the truth. Let’s see if we can see the Lord.” Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything.

The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord. At last, they heard, “One for you; one for me. That’s all. Now let’s get those nuts by the fence and we’ll be done.”

They say that the old man made it back to town a full five minutes ahead of the boy on the bike.

The blind man must have realized that he was dealing with some nutty people. The problem he encountered, though, was self-righteousness.]

A self righteous stance tends to see things based on law rather than grace (verse 16).

Law is about dos and don’ts
Grace is about mercy and forgiveness

A self-righteous stance tends to call a good thing a bad thing (verses 18 and 24).

My way is better or best
A compromise is rarely offered
Belittling and demeaning and criticizing are often committed
Denial becomes a mindset
Borders on blasphemy (blasphemy is calling a work of the Holy Spirit
evil (Mark 3)

A self-righteous stance tends to see oneself better than others (verse 34).

This is the ultimate perversion
The classic example is how the Pharisees treated the blind-man.
A self-righteous person does not need the help of a savior

Who was really blind here? Will the real blind man please stand up! The Pharisees were blind. The blind man could now see. The law prevented the Pharisees from seeing good; the law created a holier-than thou attitude.

Let’s hear what Paul had to say about this theme. He wrote about it in Galatians chapter three:
(Gal 3:1 - 6 NIV) You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing?
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Preacher and author Frederick Buechner commented: The trouble oftentimes with religious people is that they try to be more spiritual than God himself. There is not place for self-righteousness in Christianity. “Self” implies that we can be good enough on our own. Jesus came because it is impossible to be good enough. He knew we needed a Savior. How about you – do you know you need a Savior?

Let’s pray!
Lord, if there is anyone here who has not made you their personal Lord and Savior, please help them to pray right now: “Lord, I need a Savior. Please come into my heart and forgive me of my sins. Help me to live for you. Guide and direct me all the days of my life. Amen.”

Be sure to tell someone if you prayed that prayer. And all of us, be sure to share the good news with your kids and grandkids. There is no greater gift.

March 2, 2008 "Faith"

Scripture: John 9:1-11 NRSV
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"

Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him."

He kept saying, "I am the man."

But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"

He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."


Jesus found a way to connect with this blind man. The blind man could not see, but he could feel and he could smell. He would know that Jesus worked a work in his life. This speaks of Jesus’ compassion – and of his power as God.

God is able: that is the first step to faith, and it is the greatest step. God can do anything God wants to do; there is nothing impossible for God!

A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper when the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. "Young man," said the professor, "If you can tell me something God can do, I"ll give you a big, shiny apple." The boy thought for a moment and then replied, "Mister, if you can tell me something God can't do, I"ll give you a whole barrel of apples!" (Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 43.)

Let’s take a walk through the book of Hebrews. It is a very Jewish book, and consequently, it is often difficult to understand in places. One thing that is not difficult to understand is Hebrews use of the word “faith.” “Faith” is used 72 times in the book of Hebrews. It is not a blind faith but a faith that is informed. It has looked at the evidence and has made an informed choice.

(Heb 11:6 KJV) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Some say seeing is believing. I say that believing is seeing. So, let’s define faith:

(Heb 11:1 KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The start of great faith is the belief that God is:
(Heb 11:3 KJV) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

God is so powerful, that even sin is under God’s domination. Here, in this passage, we find the common belief about sin: sin caused deformity and sickness. The disciples asked their teacher, “Whose fault was it that this man could not see – his own sins or the sins of his parents?” Can you see the implication: “Oh, look at him, poor thing. He must have really messed up. My goodness, what a shame; his parents must have been terribly bad.” But Jesus turned that belief on its ear: “His blind so that the work of God would be made known!”

Faith’s final destiny finds itself believing in the Son of God:
(Heb 10:12 KJV) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

(Heb 9:22 KJV) And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

(Heb 4:14 KJV) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

“But again, I can’t see God. I haven’t seen Jesus. How can I believe?” some might ask. Romans makes it clear that God is seen: (Rom 1:20 KJV) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

A twelve year old boy became a Christian at a revival. The next week at school his friends questioned him about the experience. “Did you see a vision?” asked one friend. “Did you hear God speak?” asked another. The youngster answered no to all these questions. “Well, how did you know you were saved?” they asked. The boy searched for an answer and finally he said: “It’s like when you catch a fish, you can’t see the fish or hear the fish; you just feel him tugging on your line. I just felt God tugging on my heart.”

The Ladies Home Journal asked, "In whom do you trust?" Responses were:
Walter Cronkite 40% of the vote
Pope John Paul 26%
Billy Graham 6%
God 3% (Ladies Home Journal (Sept, 1981).)

Some surveys have determined that as much as 95% of our society believes in God; while that may be true, it would seem that far less trust God.

Sometimes it is hard to trust when we do not fully see God’s deliverance. But faith speaks to that, like in this story from Robert Schuller. Sweeping across Germany at the end of World War II, Allied forces searched farms and houses looking for snipers. At one abandoned, almost a heap of rubble, searchers with flashlights found their way to the basement. There, on the crumbling wall, a victim of the Holocaust had scratched a star of David. And beneath it, in rough lettering, the message:
I believe in the sun – even when it does not shine.
I believe in love – even when it is not shown.
I believe in God – even when he does not speak. (Robert Schuller).

God is able. And because God is able, God knows exactly what is best. God loves us, and God will do for us and to us that which is necessary to fit in with God’s plan.

Whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is able.