If it takes the place of God, sell it, give it away, or cast it off. Just do it.

 

Read Mark 10:13-22

 

So, let’s get to it.

Jesus did not say that the wise man puts his words into conversation. He did not say that the one who put his words into the most posts gets the most points.  He said that the one who puts his words into practice is the one who builds his house on solid rock.

I realize that sometimes my assessments are unique and not shared by many others. I am glad I made the Spring Presbytery in Fort Worth this year.

A theme among the denominational representatives prevailed through many reports. It was to repent.

Repent for what?  I repented. I’m saved. So, repent for what?  Repent for talk without action. Across so many functional areas, the message at the last meeting of the Red River Presbytery was the same.

We as Christians in general, and I can talk specifically as Cumberland Presbyterians talk a lot but do little. We need to repent of that, and repentance requires action.

Repentance is more than just turning away from the ways of the world. It is turning away and leaving all of the worldly junk behind, without getting a claim ticket to come back for it later.

The denomination is on the precipice of fully embracing that faith without works is dead.

We are at what could be the tipping point of the next great awakening. But to embrace that faith without works is dead requires some action from us, from us all, or it’s just more talk.

The rich young man went away sad because Jesus told him to sell all that he had, give the proceeds to the poor, pick up his cross, and follow him.

To which we often retreat to the position that this was just about this one rich man. It doesn’t apply to everyone, not to us regular folks in any case.

You would be correct. It does not apply to everyone, but it very much applies to you and just about everyone who lives in this country.

You may not have a lot of money in the bank, but you are richer than the young man in this account in so many ways. The first and perhaps most important way is comfort.

For all the money this young man had, he couldn’t turn on the bathroom light with the flick of a switch.

He couldn’t turn on a faucet and step into a hot shower whenever he wanted.

He couldn’t kill the afternoon watching Netflix or reels on his phone.

He never knew the thrills of Taco Tuesday or Throwback Thursday, or watching a grandchild smack a ball into the outfield on his phone while the kid is in another town.

Make no mistake that we who live in this country are as rich as this young man who had many possessions. We are rich and the words of Jesus that we find in Mark 10 apply to us.

Before Jesus told this rich young man to sell everything he owned and give the proceeds to the poor, we find these words. They are among my favorite words, and we see them in verse 21.

Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Jesus saw that the man practiced the big-ticket items of the Law but that something was in the way of him being complete—perfected if you will.

In modern vernacular, this young man made it to services, even stayed awake for the message, only got up to go to the bathroom twice and once was during a song he didn’t like, and surely made the required trips to the temple with the required offering or sacrifice. He checked the blocks but never knew the heart of the God of love who was behind his directives.

Something was in his way. That something was his possessions—his stuff—and evidently, he had a bunch of it.

Do we need to sell everything we own? Yes! If our possessions, our comfort, our anything has equal status with God in our lives, it’s got to go.

More than likely, it is not money or stuff that is in our way, but our reluctance, complacency, or hesitation to put God’s words into practice.  What we need to get rid of in our lives is our complacency and desire to live unchanged by the gospel—our desires to make the words of Jesus fit into our comfort zones.

I was blessed to watch the movie, “A Great Awakening.” It is the story of George Whitfield coming to America and spiritually awakening its people—our forefathers—a few decades before our independence and the writing of our Constitution.

Just over 47 years ago I received my degree in Political Science from the Oklahoma State University, but I learned a couple of things about Benjamin Franklin that I didn’t know before, trusting the film was faithful to the facts in most matters.

I also took to heart this story related by Whitfield as his own, but there was a little license with that as the historical documents note that Whitfield attributed it to someone else.

I'll tell you a story. The Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 1675 was acquainted with Mr. Butterton the actor. One day the Archbishop . . . said to Butterton . . . 'pray inform me Mr. Butterton, what is the reason you actors on stage can affect your congregations with speaking of things imaginary, as if they were real, while we in church speak of things real, which our congregations only receive as if they were imaginary?'

'Why my Lord,' says Butterton, 'the reason is very plain. We actors on stage speak of things imaginary, as if they were real and you in the pulpit speak of things real as if they were imaginary.'

 

On our 90^th anniversary of Fake News—Google George Orwell and the Spanish Civil War—let’s commit to speaking the truth. That truth resides in God’s word.

We need to quit acting like God’s word is just one proposal among many to consider or that it might be true.

We need to repent of knowing what God tells us to do and doing nothing.

We need to repent of thinking if we build it, they will come—not to knock that movie—and embrace, go and make disciples.

We need to speak the truth as if it were the truth for it is the truth. We speak the truth in a spirit of love, not worried that the truth might offend someone. It’s the truth.

Know it.

Speak it.

Live it.

Your measure of faith was sufficient to receive the gift of salvation. It’s all from God. You just had to receive it by faith.

We like that part, and we should, because we could never receive salvation by the way we live, yet having received grace by faith, so many have parked their faith on the shelf.

Faith is not a one-and-done deal. Salvation is a done deal, and if you are content in having received grace by faith and having your faith parked on the shelf for the rest of this life, why are you listening today?

If you are listening today and have no intention of putting our Lord’s words into practice, what’s the point?  It’s just a placebo. Well, it felt good.

I am preaching mostly to the saints—to the saved. I’m not trying to get most of you to the radio or internet altar to profess your faith. You have been there. I am talking about picking up your cross daily and following Jesus.

That’s a whole ‘nuther deal.

I’m not talking about doing all the right things so you can get into heaven. I’m talking about doing things—the right things--the right way because heaven has already been gifted to you.

I’m not talking about talking about the words of Jesus—thought they are worth discussing when you awaken, go to sleep, go to work, or in anything else you do. I’m talking about putting his words into practice.

In so doing, you never have to worry about:

·       Integrity

·       Fidelity

·       Speaking the truth in a spirit of love

·       Living in the light

I am talking about never thinking, I’m doing too much church stuff. I’m doing too much for the Lord.

I’m not talking about getting sucked into every activity on the church calendar—though for some, that's their daily bread. I’m talking about feeling the gentle nudge from the Spirit or the still small voice of the Lord leading you, and you saying, I’m already doing enough. I hear you, Lord, but would you recheck your metrics? I think you will see that I’ve done my fair share and more.

If that’s your situation, go buy a cross, a crucifix like the Roman Catholics have with Jesus hanging on the cross. I love our cross without Jesus nailed to it.

He is not there. He is risen. He is risen indeed. He is not on the cross or in the tomb. He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you and for me.

Amen! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

But go get you one of those crosses and keep it handy for those times you are ready to dismiss the calling of the Lord upon your life, and you want to say, I think I’m doing enough already.

When that time comes, say those words to Jesus hanging on the cross and tell him how much you are doing for him and how that surely must be enough. I want you to devalue what Jesus did for you on the cross in your conversation with the image of him hanging there. See if that doesn’t change your perspective.

You might be doing a lot to bring glory to God’s name, but do you remember the precondition to the directions of Jesus to this rich young man? If you want to be perfect, if you want to be complete, if you really want some life out of life, then…

If the saints are too busy or burdened to put our Master’s words into practice, how do we expect the lost to hear our words, or believe them because our lives belie the words of our Master?

Remember these words quoted earlier.

We actors on stage speak of things imaginary, as if they were real and you in the pulpit speak of things real as if they were imaginary.

It’s not just the preachers that need to treat the truth as the truth, but every disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How do we do that? We put his words into practice.

How do we do that? We sell everything that we own—or discard everything that supplants the place of God.

We cast off everything that hinders and run our race of faith fully for him.

We pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus.

Do we act like Jesus Christ is the most important person, relationship, and entity in our lives? No!

I say emphatically, no! Do not act like Jesus is at the very top of the list of what matters in your life.

Live like it! There is no acting, just fidelity, for he is the One who is most important in your life. Everything else that we love must be no closer to the number one spot in our lives than a distant, a very distant second.

But, but, but we know this. So, what do we do?

I go to the words of Jesus to the church at Sardis and to the church universal.

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.

The church that we know in our time has unfinished work. You have unfinish work. We have unfinished work.

What do we do?

“Wake up, sleeper,

    rise from the dead,

    and Christ will shine on you.”

Go all the way back to Isaiah and see how long God has been calling his people to awaken.

Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the Lord will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.

And Paul has something to say on the matter as well.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Take all these commands to awaken in the context of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Do not go through life with a business-as-usual attitude. You know the truth. Now is the time to live it.

Cast off everything that hinders, and complacency needs to go first.

Sell everything that is taking the place of God.

Discharge your doubt.

Wake up! The time of his coming draws near.

And one last thing, for now…

Remind your pastors that you don’t need to be coddled. Tell your shepherd to:

1.    Preach the word. Don’t try to see what we like. Just preach the truth. Don’t sugar coat it. If I need to sell all my stuff, then tell me.

2.    Disciple us. Don’t coddle us. Don’t find the lowest common denominator. Don’t lower the bar. We might have to put more steps in a dicipling process but don’t forsake it. Disciple us. Challenge us to be complete.

3.    Try to keep up. That’s right, challenge your pastor, whom you love dearly, to keep up. You are on your way to being overcomers. Look around you. We are on our way to another Great Awakening. Don’t give that up for anything, especially comfort or complacency.

If it is in the way of your discipleship and evangelism, get it out of the way. Sell it. Discard it. Give it away.

What might be in your way of keeping God in first place in your lives might just help someone else make it through the day or week.

Probably more than our money and stuff is our comfort. We so value our comfort in this nation.

Paul said that he could be content in all circumstances, and so can we. That’s not the same as being comfortable or complacent in every situation. We are content if we have a little or a lot, but we don’t do complacency. We don’t do slothfulness.

When the Spirit moves us or we hear that still small voice leading us, failure to act in the way God is leading us is sin for us.

Pick up your cross every day and do the things that we know God wants us to do. No excuses.

You can’t do too much for God.  You can’t out give God. And when he prompts us to act, we don’t go away sad because we might have to give up something in this world—of this temporary lodging facility—to give up something that is not eternal.

We respond with great joy in putting his words into practice.

When you next talk to your pastor, tell him or her to challenge you because you want to be a part—a big part in a small Oklahoma town—of the next Great Awakening.

If we will get off of our behinds and put his words into action, we might see this next Great Awakening in our time.

The times ahead may look dark but light is coming. Help bring that light, the truth, and faith in God through Christ Jesus to everyone you know.

Whatever you have to give up—money, things, comfort, status, or anything else that is encroaching on that number one spot—will seem like nothing compared to what is in store for us.

I’m going to add one thing here at the end. Let’s give up our self-pity.

Get in the fight!

Amen.  

Systemic Inspections

    

Read Romans 7:7

Deuteronomy 10

 

What do we do with the law?

The law is good and given to us for our own good. Let’s go to Deuteronomy 10.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

Let’s try this in the dynamic language of The Message.

So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today—live a good life.

What do we do with the law?

God is good.

The law is good and given to us for our own good.

The law does not bring us to salvation but to life.

Christ alone brings salvation. The law can’t do that part, but it is excellent to bring life to our salvation.

How?

Let me introduce you to systemic inspections.  We have all been a part of inspections. I’m not talking just military inspections. You may have seen the memes about not understanding buying socks and underwear never to ever use them or even intend to use them. Those who have done a Junk on the Bunk know this.

Businesses and education undergo inspections from which they derive metrics that sometimes influence decision-makers' decisions, whoever they may be.

Football teams watch tape and grade individual performance. Sometimes this performance review impacts who starts next Saturday or Sunday.

I remember the days of vehicle inspections. You not only needed a license and registration to drive. Your vehicle had to be certified as drivable, according to the standards of the state.

During my time in the Corps, I did one major systemic inspection. It might have been the first one the Marine Corps had done. It was on the transition assistance program—the processes we use to transition a Marine from his time on active duty to civilian life.

We missed the mark big time here. The reason—the root cause is that we were and are so fixated on accomplishing the mission that making sure Marines have a good transition out of the Corps got lost in the take the hill mentality so necessary to the Corps.

Marines only saw they were losing a Marine, not that this young man or woman might be the best recruiter ever if we treated these Marines well when they left. A well done good and faithful servant goes a long ways even in this life.

Understand that to do a systemic inspection, you first must have compliance standards. You must do this. Do not do that.  That’s a compliance standard.

Only then can you inspect systems. Not only what works and doesn’t work, but why. Why doesn’t it work?

That’s when you get to root cause analysis for those things that don’t work or in which the person or organization is noncompliant. Root cause analysis is simple once you know the compliance standard.

If someone—a person or group—is noncompliant, the why normally resides in one of three areas.

·       Don’t know

·       Can’t comply

·       Won’t comply

Under don’t know we find three main reasons for noncompliance:

·       Never knew

·       Forgot

·       Tasks implied

Under Can’t comply we find three main reasons for noncompliance:

·       Scarce resources

·       Don’t know how

·       Impossibility

Finally, under the category of won’t comply, we find these three:

·       No reward

·       No penalty

·       Disagree

Some may be thinking, “Thanks, Tom, for the trip down memory lane experiences as Inspector General and Private Consultant, but where’s the biblical lesson?”

To answer that, I must take you to Merida, Mexico. I went on my first recreational cruise in 2014. I had about a year at sea in my 20 years in the Corps, but this was my first fun cruise.

We ported in Progresso and boarded a bus for our excursion. The guide on the bus said that Progresso means progress and as you can see, there is no progress in Progresso. It was mostly an industrial port, but you could catch a ride and see cool stuff elsewhere.

We went to Merida, the capital of the Yucatan. We saw some churches, places to eat, and places to shop where they made some unique things.

While my wife was watching a demonstration, I casually walked around the rest of the store. A very short man came up to me and said, “My friend, let me show you something special.”

He showed me a box of 5 Cuban cigars, still illegal to buy in the United States, but not in Mexico.

He gave me a deal at about $100 plus or minus. I wasn’t interested. I had smoked parts of 4 or 5 cigars in my whole life.

He saw my lack of interest and the price dropped to $50, then $40.

I said, “I don’t even smoke.”

That got the price to $25. Ok, for that price, how could I not buy such a coveted item?

A couple of days later, I am packing our luggage and am down to these cigars. I couldn’t pack them.

It wasn’t because they were illegal to bring into the United States. I was because I couldn’t fit anything else in my suitcase without crushing them.

But Sharman ‘s suitcase still had room.

The next day as we went through customs and immigration, Sharman asked me if we needed to declare anything.

I said, “I don’t.”

I did not know what sin was until the law said, “Thou shalt not have a Cuban cigar.”

Paul’s example was “I did not know what sin was until the law said, ‘Thou shalt not covet.’”

Here’s the seminary example. I thought that I had come up with this on my own until I went to preacher’s school. I prefer a preacher's school to a seminary, as too many people like to substitute the word "cemetery," and sometimes the analogy is too apt

I saw the neighborhood cat every morning before I went into the office. Never once did I think about kicking the cat until someone said, “Don’t kick the cat.”

From that point forward, how could I not think about kicking the cat? I was just told that I couldn’t do it.

Back to the cigars. I got home and smoked one. I should not have done that. I should have kept the pack intact and sold it as vintage because those cigars predated Castro’s regime in Cuba.

He came to power three years before I was born and these cigars had not been kept in a humidor or any other form of preservation.

They tasted like skubalon. That’s dung for those not familiar with the Greek term. I have never smoked skubalon, but I’m confident that what it would taste like.

They were terrible, but the law said I couldn’t have one. The law—man’s law in this case—created in me a desire for what I was prohibited from having.

It also gave me awareness of a compliance standard.

The law, if we know it, creates in us an awareness of the dos and don’ts. If we don’t know God through Christ, we probably don’t know the law very well.

While the law points out the need for Christ, some are ignorant of that need. Most people have heard of the Ten Commandments and can remember a few of them.  Many ignore the first ones that are about God being number one, having no other gods, taking God’s name in vain, and that includes Christians, but most who know Christ know a good part about the Decalogue and other directives.

Sometimes we best remember those most controversial in our time.

For those who know Christ, the law in its fullness is a systemic inspection begging to begin. If we want to fully live, we need this self-analysis.

We are all going to miss the mark at some point and though we are saved, we still struggle with compliance with the law.

The law can’t get us to salvation. Only the blood of Jesus does that in our profession of faith, but the law can show us if we have areas that displease God—the God who created us and the God who saved us from sin and death.

Salvation is not our motivation. We who believe that Jesus is Lord have been saved. Salvation is not our motivation.

Responsive love is our motivation. How do we respond to this unfathomable love?

Mostly by loving one another, but even there we slip up. If we take the time to conduct a systemic inspection, we will see every reason for our non-compliance.

Didn’t know. Well, let’s do more Bible study and study groups.

Can’t comply because I don’t know how. That’s addressed with education and practice.

Can’t comply because of scarce resources. Well, allocate your resources to the work of the Lord first.

How about won’t comply? We don’t see the immediate reward or punishment. There is eternal reward and punishment, but most of our bad decisions stem from being myopic and seeing only the now.

And sometimes, Christians just disagree. There is more of that than you might think. We justify in our own minds that God just missed that one.

But if we have the courage to examine ourselves, we will see trends, systems, and areas where we need the most work. It takes courage. Those in recovery know the Twelve Steps. Step four is to make a searching and fearless moral inventory. That’s tough stuff for people without addictions.

How about laziness when it come to the things of God. How about our comfort zones. I think I’ve done enough for the Lord today or this week or this year. I need some me time.

I will put what I would have tithed to good use. The Lord knows that my kids can’t play their best ball without a $450 bat. Besides, there’s a BOGO—buy one, get one half off.

 Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. That’s outdated. This is a 24/7/365 ¼ world. The work six and rest one—a day holy unto the Lord—is still the optimal way to live for most people.

You can conduct a systematic inspection of yourself and see where you need the most work, the most help, or a swift kick from a real friend. The law stands ready to assist.

A systemic inspection itself won’t accomplish much. It is a step.

You can do everything in compliance with directives and still not please God. Consider the Pharisees. They knew and kept the rules but didn’t know the Rule Maker well at all.

You can have the worst compliance batting average ever, and still please God if you seek him with everything you have.

So why even bring up this systemic inspection stuff?

Because when we consider the law, the Law Giver packed something into the law that human law can’t.

God’s word judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. His word does what human law can’t.  You know the verse.

 

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Almost every culture and religion has some aspect that deals with self-improvement or self-actualization, or both. The one who seeks God, knows Christ as Lord and Savior, and desires to please him has the tools to become more Christlike.

The question is will the law be a scorecard or a gameplan?

Will our treatment of the law just bring us disappointment at falling short again and again, or will we treat it as the best consultant on the planet?

Companies would pay top dollar or Yen or Euro to have a consultant so well versed in business skills as the Law of Moses and the entire word of God are in our personal development.

Businesses covet a 24-hour-a-day consultant who is available every day and as sharp at zero dark thirty as at 9 am. They’re hoping AI will get them there, and it may help. We have such a consultant but how often does it sit on the shelf or our dashboard or where did I put that thing...

What are we to do with the law now that Christ is our everything?

Put it to use as what the Hebrew people knew it was all along, a guide to good living, a model for living God’s way, or divine words that should be written on our hearts.

Those who think the law is useless miss the all-encompassing love of God. He is evident in the creation itself. He is present in his directives.  His Spirt dwells within us.

We know his fullness in Christ Jesus but we should not dismiss the value of the law.

Some misread the second chapter of Colossians and say that the law was nailed to the cross. It was not the law nailed to the cross but the invoice for our indebtedness—our sin—that Paul says was taken from us and nailed to the cross.

Paul also tells us that the law is without efficacy when it comes to salvation. You can’t get there from here. Only Jesus gets us there.

But having arrived at this condition of salvation, we should concurrently be in the state of living by the law and such living not be a burden.

The law was not given as a scorecard by which we might obtain salvation, but for our own good, especially after we have received the gift of salvation.

We are purposed to bring glory to God’s name and blessed to enjoy him very much. That’s a Presbyterian thing. We get to enjoy God as we glorify his name.

Jesus called us friends because we were more than servants. We knew the will of the Father.

We are servants, but we also enter the realm of friendship with our Lord. We enjoy God as we serve him.

That means that we should also enjoy living by the law in our salvation.

There is another whole line of discourse concerning grace and the law that I will save for another day.  For now, know that the law is your friend and the best consultant you will find on the planet today.

Break out the law and hold a systemic inspection on yourself. The blood of Jesus made us right with God. The law’s counsel will help us live up to that righteousness the best that we can.

Amen.     

Mission Creep: Pastor, Building, or Mission?

 

In my ten years as an ordained elder, eighteen years as an ordained minister, serving on denominational and presbyterial boards and committees, not to mention numerous meetings of the Presbytery and as many General Assembly meetings as I could manage, one theme is recurring in the modern church.  What’s that?

Our discussions center so much on pastor salaries and building funds and expenses. That’s part of the deal, right?

Yes, but it should not be central.  What then? These two are always staring at us in the face.

How about our mission? How about the very thing that every believer is commissioned to do?

How about taking the good news to the world, making disciples, baptizing, and the continuous education of those who respond to God’s call to seek him through the Lord Jesus Christ?

Most of this narrative has been in the interrogative. Let’s jump headfirst into the indicative mood.

Our mission should be front and center of every congregation’s focus.

 But what about funds for the building or the pastor? Same answer.

Mission should be front and center of every congregation’s focus.

Again, what about the building and pastor?

Do we not trust God to provide if we do the very thing that he commissioned us to do?

Are we too comfortable with those who have already come? We got ours and we are comfortable with that.

Come Lord Jesus, come!  We’ve got everyone we care about.

We do VBS and Sunday School and set up a table at the park for a community event, and there is nothing wrong with those, unless they supplant the mission of going into the world with the gospel.

Does that mean we go door-to-door? Sometimes.

More often, it’s greeting someone at Walmart or the Post Office or the people who moved in the apartment next to yours. Oh, oh, oh, that would be uncomfortable. We would be labeled those Jesus people.

Is that so bad?  At least your neighbors would know where to turn when the weight of the world becomes too much to handle on their own.

Our sin and even death have been taken away from us-amen, hallelujah, and praise the Lord.

But how will we respond to this incredible gift?  Will we live unchanged lives hoping to blend in with the world? Are we not strangers in the world?

Is “Well done good and faithful servant” not worth more than our comfort in a world that at best is an Airbnb in our promised eternity?

Our mission must always be front and center in our lives. Always!

American pastors, be ready for resistance. We have become a people of comfort, so much so that we try to fit our primal mission into the comfort zones we love so much.

Remember Jesus telling the rich young ruler to sell everything that he had and give the proceeds to the poor?  But that wasn’t for everyone!

Correct, but it is very much for us if our comfort zones keep us from our mission.

Do I really need to sell all that I have? Not if you can get out and stay out of your comfort zone that keeps you from going into the world.

Get in a new comfort zone labeled “Growing.” We share and it doesn’t go well. We will try again. Maybe we learn as we go. If you want to please God, he will grant you the wisdom you need to do what he has commissioned you to do. Ask him. He is generous. You will grow as you go into the world.

What about the money for buildings and pastors? Look at the congregations that reach out to the community. They don’t seem to have this problem.

Connection? I think so!

Our mission and our commission must govern. How many times must God tell us to quit being afraid?

Why must the leadership of the church be so anchored  in our own understanding? Where is our trust?

Stewardship and integrity of the funds entrusted to us are surely essentials but trust in the Lord must prevail among the leadership or we should not expect to see such trust in those looking to us for the example of faith. Remember the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen?

What about by faith not sight?

The church has experienced mission creep over the past several decades from evangelism to preserving our comfort zones.

We are blessed to have shepherds and buildings but they have encroached on our mission. God will provide both if we are faithful to what he has called us to do—go into the world with good news.

Trust him.

Focus on the mission.

Stop worrying.

Be strong and courageous.

Get out of the pews and deliver good news.

Amen!

How long is Advent?

 

The countdown is getting close to single digits. I know what you are thinking: Soon we won’t have to endure the dad jokes.

Good, I won’t have to explain them to you. You don’t even know how a joke becomes a dad joke, do you?

It becomes apparent. With that dad joke and included pun, let’s get after it.

Over the years I have wrestled with something that I have yet to discern fully.  I don’t know if it is blessing or burden, or both.

In most things that come upon the horizon of my awareness, I see the time, space, and logistics of the thing. We call it the TSL.

No, that’s not a pun that’s just really hard to discern. The TSL of something appears to me like that buck you see on the edge of the treelined at 200 yards or the 75% off sticker on that outfit you can’t live without.

Enough about me. Let’s do this Advent thing.

God made everything good. That was his day job. He did it day to day.

God pronounced everything very good. That wasn’t quite the end of his week. He modeled rest.

Then it all broke. I guess God overslept. No, he didn’t. All-powerful, all-knowing God, sovereign God was fully aware of what happened. Sin entered the world.

But he was on a roll. Good to very good, and now this brokenness. What would be next?

More brokenness. Sin run rampant was the story of humankind.

Then there was something of a cleansing, a rebaselining. Yes, we are up to the flood. What next?

How about a plan to get better? God picked a people by which to jump start this. They needed a name.

How about the Picked People. He threw in some instructions to make us better.

He was putting the pieces back together. He was making us better. We might be good as new if we just read the instructions, a least for a while.

Looking back at the Garden of Eden, most of us guys point the finger at the woman. We blame Eve.

God ask Adam, what’s going on here? Didn’t I tell you not to eat that?

The woman that you gave me gave it to me.

The woman said, the serpent tricked me.

And the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on. We know the story, mine’s a little tongue in cheek

The guy blamed the woman.

But after God picked a people, we got instructions downloaded on tablets from the Cloud. Others came later through prophets.

 Okay guys, can we admit that this is mostly on us? Most of us aren’t that good at reading the instructions?

But if we put those instructions into practice, we could be put together once again good as new, at least for a while.

So the story of humankind is that we were made good, very good, were broken, and the ultimate goal is to be put back together.

So, the goal is to end up where we started?

I know that I am supposed to trust God over my own finite understanding, but really, this is the goal?

Okay, maybe we are a little better than just good and very good. Maybe we are the best we can be with what God had to work with.

Some of you know what’s next. That’s right, Maxine Nightengale sumed it up.

 And it’s alright and it’s comin’ on, we gotta get right back where we started from.

Through this whole creation business, this whole life business, this entire experience that we struggle with and sometimes figure out for a while, the finish line is the starting line. Really?

Okay, maybe the spectrum is good, very good, better, and best. That’s it?

The world calls us foolish. I’m thinking they might be right. I guess that’s better than remaining broken.

Better, best, six, seven. That’s it?

Do you know where most of the struggles are on this spectrum?  It’s not between the worst and the best. That’s Occam's razor stuff.

There is no dilemma, just a straightforward decision. Choose the best over the worst. Duh.

Rabbit trail time! Many of you know this. I taught this to Marines and inmates in the course of teaching ethics and standards of conduct, so I know you know or should know it, but…

As I’m already on a rabbit trail, I should tell you that Marines do not know the meaning of the word quit, but we’re Marines. We don’t know the meaning of a lot of words.

Marines and inmates understood this. Choosing between right and wrong, good and evil, moral and immoral are are not ethical dilemmas. They are ethical decisions.

A dilemma is a difficult decision between ethical choices. If one is non-ethical or unethical, there can be no dilemma. You might struggle with the decision, but it’s not a moral or ethical dilemma.

Most decisions that are actually dilemmas are between good and better or better and best.

So, could you have an unethical dilemma between two evils?  No.

What about choosing the lesser of two evils? That’s a decision, but not an ethical dilemma.

If you think you have to choose between two evils or two immoral choices, don’t.

But, but, but…. Don’t.

C’mon, Tom, you must have never had to make any tough choices in your life. Have you never found yourself between a rock and a hard place and neither choice was good?

I have found myself between Iraq and Iran. I wasn’t allowed to enter Iran. I did draw a line in the sand in Iran without stepping into it. It’s a guy thing. Don’t dwell on that one.

Let’s get back to this whole creation, existence, life thing and the spectrum is good, very good, better, and best. That’s it?

We end up where we started, perhaps a little more seasoned for making the trip.

Is it all worth the trip?

Do you remember when I shared about my back and forth with God and starting to use the Bible as our curriculum?

I wanted to start much, much earlier. God showed me that his timing was better, right?

No, it was not better. Okay, his timing was the best, right? No. What did I say it was?

While his timing surely included the good, better, and best; these qualities are necessary and included in God’s choice, but they are not sufficient.

In this whole Bible reading thing, his timing was perfect.

Perfect!

In this whole creation and life stuff, our destination is not right back where we started from. Our destination is perfect. It is perfection.

God’s destination for us is perfection. It is a place that we have never been but to which we are predestined. We are destined for perfection. He will finished the good work that he began in us.

As far as God is concerned, we are as good as there. We still have some experiences to experience. We have lessons to learn. We have some troubles to overcome. We have some missions to accomplish, but make no mistake, that is our destination.

In this morning’s truncated journey through humankind’s experience in the hands of our Creator, we come to this age that gets us to perfection.

Jesus would call it the age to come. We have labeled it the Church Age. Cmon, you must have some doctrinal sounding names.

Between the resurrection of the Lord and the age to come, we have Advent. It’s more than four Sudays of lighting extra big candles and some standard readings.

We are preparing the way for the coming of the King.  We are making straight the path.

That explains all the road construction.

We prepare the way in our hearts. Let every heart prepare him room.

As the Hebrew people incorporated a preparation day into their week so they could more fully realize the blessing of the Sabbath; we incorporate this thing we call Advent to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

But he had already come. That’s the whole babe in a manger, silent night, holy night thing, right?

Yes.

So why do we have to get ready if he has already come?

I love the series The Chosen and the actor that plays Jesus. It is very well cast, but for this part, they might want voice over from Arnold.

I’ll be back!

We prepare to celebrate his second coming. It’s sort of like the first one, except we will be singing Worthy is the Lamb more than we sing Silent Night.

And this is just speculation, but it’s a good SWAG—we won’t need words on the wall or hymnals.

We are on our way to perfection. It only comes through Christ Jesus.

Don’t fight it. Embrace it.

Think about both the sequence and confluence of events that get the unborn Savior of the world from Nazareth to the City of David. Many centuries later, the world would call this synchronicity –events and thinking that have obvious connection but no apparent causality.

I believe in coincidence. So, life is just a random sense of events, some of them come together and we see some meaning and purpose in them. We come up with our own theories and we speculate. That’s what the world says.

I believe in coincidence, but don’t universal randomness. I believe in divinely orchestrated coincidence. I believe there is not just a plan, but the plan, and it is rooted in the love of a God who would love us through our sin and rebellion.

Why?  That’s just who he is. God is love. So again, I ask this of you.

Think about both the sequence and confluence of events that get the unborn Savior of the world from Nazareth to the City of David

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The time, space, and logistics of this incredible plan to bring us to perfection and in perfect relationship with God has come together.

Where are we in that plan.

People get ready. Jesus is coming. Soon we’ll be going home.

Today, we prepare a room for him. It’s a place in our hearts.

Jesus has already prepared a place for us. That’s a done deal.

It’s is our turn

Most of the time I remind you what to do once the Spirit of God resides within you—bring glory to God.

Today, I remind you to make sure you are ready for him to come again.

Remember that I said I taught ethics and standards of conduct?  After evaluating the information you know of and you make what you believe to be an ethical decision, wisdom dictates that you apply an after-the-fact filter/mirror/review process.

Is this really ethical? Is this moral?  If the answer is still yes, then look at the best of the ethical options.

If it is no, then you are not done.

Advent acknowledges that we are saved by God in the blood of Jesus and that his Spirit lives within us.

Advent says, run the final checklist.   Make sure everything is ready.

Tom calls this a confirmation brief. I gave and received many of these before major live fire exercises. It’s just what you do.

You might be thinking, “Stick to the Bible, Tom.”

Okay, how about this. Jesus and those in his inner circle went up on a mountain and Jesus was transfigured so they saw a glimpse of him in his glory. Do you remember who else was there?

Moses and Elijah. We believe they represented the law and the prophets. This was the confirmation brief for our salvation and the redemption of the world.

Had everything that was required by law and prophecy been accomplished.  Jesus was not going have to burn a time out right before the Romans hoisted him up on that cross.

Everything had to be ready. Jesus held a confirmation brief.

So too, we need to look inside ourselves, at each other—iron sharpens iron, and just be still so that we know we are ready for the return of the King.

Take this very short mini season of Advent as a provocation, inspiration, or the motivation to get ready for his return.

Don’t get wrapped up in the name. We have been doing Advent for two millennia.  We have been getting ready.

Get ready. Jesus is coming.

When? Soon.

Get ready!

When Jesus comes to claim us, I want not only to be ready for myself and my family, I am going to stand before him without sin because he washed it away, but I will say, Mission Accomplished.

I might not look like the prettiest redeemed man he created, but I will say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, not because I can rightly divide the word of God or throw in both Greek and Hebrew words in a sermon here and there; but because I did what I was commissioned to do from the day I professed Jesus is Lord.

Get ready not just for the rescue coming our way but to be able to say we took hold of our commission, put his words into practice, and took love and salvation to the world.

If you are not ready, get ready. Jesus is coming, and he is coming soon.

Get ready. That’s Advent.

Amen.