Who will roll away the stone?

 Read Mark 16

Think this morning about this verse from Isaiah.

Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

The Sabbath had ended. Actually, it ended in the darkness of the evening before, but these women who were headed to the tomb where Jesus had been placed would need sunlight.

Joseph of Arimathea donated his tomb.  Actually, revisionists think that it might not have been a donation. As it was just a short weekend stay, it might have just been an Air BnB rental.

But in any case, Jesus was placed in the tomb with some hasty preparation by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus the Pharisee who had come to see Jesus at night. It was a best-effort job that had to be done before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath.

Obviously, the hasty job by the men did not satisfy the women’s standards so at sunrise they are headed to the tomb in which Jesus was placed. It had been a long and fearful Sabbath. The disciples were afraid and gathered together. What would they do?

For the women, there was no discussion. Before anything could be done, the body of Jesus had to be given proper preparation, and two women named Mary and one named Salome were headed to the tomb. One Mary is Mary Magdalene and the other is likely the mother of Jesus though she is identified as the mother of James—who was the half-brother of Jesus.

Salome was probably Zebedee’s wife. In any case, three women fully equipped with spices, were headed to do things the right way as far as the body of Jesus was concerned.

Then it hit one of them.  Who will move the stone away? It’s a big stone and takes several men. Who will do this?

Who will roll the stone away?

So, the women turned back and went to round up some men for that job. Not!

They kept going and found the stone had already been removed. We will continue with the story. It’s a good one for sure, but let’s stop and consider these women.

They know that they have to do right by their Master when it comes to his final preparations. They know what to do. They don’t know how they are going to get into the tomb, but they keep heading that way. They know their part and they keep moving forward.

There is saving faith—the for God so loved the world stuff—and there is healing faith. Jesus talked about the faith of the mustard seed and about moving mountains.

These gals just needed a big rock moved. They didn’t know how that would happen but they continued on their mission to do what they knew to do. They continued forward expecting to do their part.

That’s faith.

I know what my part is. I don’t know how the rest of this will fall into place. I will move forward to do my part.

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.

The men are all back at their Air BnB in a terrible funk but the women are doing what they know to do.

Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

Were these women led by faith? Was it ignorance? Did they just have to get out of that house full of brooding men who didn’t know hat to do next?

Any might be the case. I’m going with faith—plain and simple faith. This is how I live my life every day faith.  I say it was faith.

The women did not fully understand, but they knew their part.

Sometimes, we just need to pay attention to our parts. Sometimes we need to know less about the big picture and just keep our eyes fixed on what God wants us to do.

Sometimes we just pick up our spices and head to the tomb. I know my part.

I think the women knew Proverbs 3:5-6. I think they were just trusting in the Lord and going to that tomb took a lot of trust—the with all of your heart sort of trust.

Now, let’s get to the part that got you up and in here early this morning. The women see the stone rolled away and a young man in a white robe sitting by the entrance.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

I will talk more about Peter and some other nuances of this morning at the next service, but for now, be affirmed by these words.

He has risen! He is not here.

He is not here. Jesus of Nazareth is not in this tomb. You won’t be needing those spices after all.

He has risen! He is not here.

Those are our words of affirmation this Resurrection Sunday. Our words of discipleship—our challenge or our charge is this.

Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

God has good plans for us. We need to trust him enough to just do our part and not to worry about the rest. It’s ok to be afraid, but know that the spirit of fear did not come from God.

God will help you deal with your fear. Your part—our part is faith. Just keep the faith. We keep on stepping out in faith and doing our part and trusting God to do the rest.

He has risen! He is not here.

There is your affirmation.

Step out in faith. There is your challenge.

Celebrate today like no other day.

Step out from this place in faith, not fear!

Amen.

 

Who will cry out JESUS IS LORD if not us?

 Read Mark 1:1-11

Luke 19:28-44

Jesus knew that his hour had come. He had healed Lazarus. Many believed but many decided it was time to kill Jesus. He was disrupting the status quo.  Things had to get back to normal. By normal, I mean that the life of faith that people lived needed to return to the compromise that the people had made with the world.

Remember, that Jesus had come to save a broken world. Our hearts were not right. People sought everything but the one true God.  Sure, God was part of their lives. It was as much a part as going to Walmart or picking stickers out of your socks.

But God was not first in the lives of so many.

He was an afterthought or something to be worked in.

God was the author of so many rules. Who could keep them all?

Rules became more important to us than the relationship with our Creator. The rules were good, but God desired and desires relationship with the crown of his creation.

And so, the final scene is set. Jesus is headed to torture, death—an atoning death for which we are beneficiaries, and resurrection.  Again, we are beneficiaries of his resurrection as in it is the promise of our own.

Passover is on the doorstep and Jesus needed to ride into town on a young donkey to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy. To do that, he needed a ride.

He sent two disciples to retrieve a young donkey from the field of a nearby farm. He told them that if the owner wanted to know what was going on, just tell him that the Lord needs it.

The Lord needs it.

How many of you would be confident taking someone’s animal without knowing the person?  What about without a receipt for the animal?

How would you be as the farmer?  If someone that you didn’t know came and loaded up a steer out of your pasture and all they gave you was a casual, the Lord needs it?

Something was very much in the works. God was about to reconcile the entire creation to himself. Jesus had been saying that his time had not yet come, but now his time had come and he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey—a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Things were coming together.

The excitement in Jerusalem had to be reaching a frenzy. Jesus was coming!

Many were not really sure who this Jesus was but he was coming and people were excited.

Some surely knew that he was the Messiah. All surely knew he was a very powerful teacher—a rabbi. This one was different. He taught with an authority that the Scribes and Pharisees had never possessed.

Something was happening here.

Jesus was saddened as he rode into town for he knew what was ahead for this city. It would suffer for its apostacy.  The town would be sacked by the Romans who already ruled over them.

The temple would be torn to the ground.

Jerusalem was already conquered by the Romans. Now it would be torn to the ground.

As Jesus rode into town, some Pharisees confronted him asking him to have his disciples tone it down a bit. 

C’mon, Jesus. We know that you are a popular guy with the people, but this Hosanna business is a little much, don’t you think?

Jesus rebuked them.

Can’t you see that the entire creatin longs to be reconciled to God?  If you make the people be quiet, the rocks themselves will cry out.

What would the rocks say? That’s easy.

Save us! God in the highest heaven, save us!

The whole creation is longing for reconciliation with its Creator, and you guys don’t get it. You are missing the boat. Noah is pulling away and you are still in the bar having one more round of your favorite drink:  My own understanding. Was that frozen or on the rocks?

What am I saying?

You are missing the boat!

Even the farmer got with the program and he had a donkey at risk. He had some skin in the game. But those anchored to their own understanding were blinded to what was happening before their eyes.

The very people who should have recognized the Savior first were the last to accept him. He was cutting in on their turf and the people seemed to love him. It seemed that Jesus got them. He understood them.

People loved Jesus. He was sticking it to the man—at least to the self-righteous religious leaders. Let’s just go with sticking it to the man.

In a few hours, they will be crying crucify him, but for now, Jesus is a rock star and they are glad to see him. So, what about us?

That’s cool. We know the story. Let’s move on to resurrection.

This whole John the Baptist business was to prepare the way for the Savior.  This prepare the way culminated into the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a young donkey.

The way has been established. It is prepared from the Lord’s perspective but are we ready to receive Jesus as Lord?

We are all too happy to receive Jesus as Savior. This whole death and hell and separation from God business isn’t for us. We like having a savior, but do we also like having a Lord?

We will get excited at least once a year that Christ died the atoning death that took away our sins so we could be with God forever. We are so glad to have a Savior.

Can we be just as joyful to have a Lord?

How would we know? What would we look for?

How about this one...

We put the words of our Lord and Master into practice. We do it with a smile on our faces and joy in our hearts.

We prepare ourselves for God to dwell within us by putting his words into practice.  If the Pharisees of our age think we are too robust in our discipleship, remind them that even the rocks long for reconciliation with God.

We want not only salvation—saved from sin and death. We want to rejoice in the Lord. We want to be excited that God is with us and within us and is for us, not against us.

When the world tells us to hold it down with all of this Jesus stuff, we are not going to do it. If the rocks are ready to cry out for God to save them and to be reconciled to God, I think I will too.

In fact, I am giving the world the finger.  I am giving them the upward pointing index finger pointing to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, and I’m not putting it away because the godless culture of our world is offended.

If you who believe so much don’t cry out with the message of salvation that we know comes with Jesus, who will?

The pagans?

The atheists?

The agnostics?

Muslims?

Jews?

Others who have no inclination or obligation to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ?

Who will cry out that Jesus is Lord?  Everyone will, but until the end of the age, it’s just us.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Don’t be timid about crying out to God or proclaiming the good news that comes through Christ Jesus.

Don’t be shy. Proclaim life in Christ Jesus!

So here’s your cheat sheet for this morning’s message.

·       Prepare your hearts to receive the Lord as Lord.

·       Reach out whenever and wherever you can with the good news.

·       Put the words of our Lord into practice.

We can keep those in the forefront of our minds.

Amen. 

Getting down to business in Mark's gospel

 Read Mark 1:1-11

Luke 19:28-44

You have to love Mark’s gospel. He gets right down to business.

There is no Christmas story. There are no angelic visits to Mary and Joseph.

There is no heavenly host singing glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and God’s favor on men.

We don’t see Jesus teaching in the temple when he was 12 or going to Egypt as a kid.

Had we only had access to Mark’s gospel, no one would have thought to write pa rum pa pum pum.  Mark jumps right to the heart of the matter: Messiah is coming.  In fact, he is here.

It is right to the mission given the Messiah.

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,

    who will prepare your way”—

“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

    make straight paths for him.’”

Mark begins with a man whom we call John the Baptist or the Baptizer.  He had a unique wardrobe and diet.

And women today pick on men for our clothing and diet choices.  John was my kind of guy. He didn’t have to decide what to wear each day. He knew what he was going to eat. What can I say, he was my kind of guy.

And we get picked on for eating over the sink and wearing the same shirt for 8 days in a row. Hey! We didn’t mess up any dishes and we kept our shirt clean. Might get a dozen days out of it this time.

Einstein did it so he didn’t have to spend any energy thinking about what to wear. So ladies, the next time your husband is eating over the sink in the same thing he has been wearing for the last 19 days, don’t be disgusted with him.

Just say these words…

He’s my Einstein!

Or, he’s my John the Batist, at least when it comes to diet and wardrobe.

I like John’s style.

So, at the beginning of this gospel, we find John—a cousin to Jesus—in a camel hair outfit with a leather belt. You have to go to the book of Second Opinions to find this, but it reveals to us that John might have practiced pyrography.

What?

Yes, he had burned the letters JTB on the back of his leather belt. OK, that’s a little tongue in cheek. It happens.

He ate locusts and wild honey. Mark takes care to note that this was wild honey, not something from one of those mega honey farms.

We don’t know if those were free-range locusts or not. Yes, I am having a little fun at John’s expense, but he really was something of an icon of that age and people were coming from all over to see him.

Maybe, they wanted to see this character in his camel hair outfit. Maybe they wanted to hear his message. Maybe they were just curious or just following the crowd. Realize that the distance between Jerusalem and the Jordan is just over 20 miles.

It was a day’s walk to get there and another to get home. People came from other places, but many were making the trip from Jerusalem.

Why is any of this important?

God, through the prophet Isaiah, told his people that this day would come. The Messiah was coming, but first God sent a messenger to prepare the way.

How do you prepare the way?

You fill in the pot holes in the roads. You pick up the trash dumped along the way. You run up your flag and polish all the brass plating on the truck on top of the pole.

You get everything that you have been neglecting fixed.

That’s what you would do in those days for an earthly king. But what about one from Heaven. What about the King of Kings? What about the Lord of Lords?

We do the same thing except that we are fixing things in our hearts instead of along the road. We are still addressing things that need some fixing, they just happen to belong to our souls, our spirits, our hearts, and our countenance.

We are in a season that today’s church calls Lent. Lent wasn’t around in its present form back when Noah or Moses or Jesus or Paul walked the earth.

Fasting was given so that those seeking God might find him when neglecting the incessant call of our bodies for food. Today, fasting also helps the Christian grow closer to God but what we call Lent didn’t come into being until almost 4 centuries after the death and resurrection of the Christ.

Fasting can still be a big part of Lent. Limiting our food intake by type or duration is still common. Preparing our hearts to be in concert with the Lord is our true objective.

Jesus didn’t do Lent because there wasn’t such a thing. Jesus fasted for 40 days so we understand 40 days of fasting or lifting the burdens of others or sacrificial giving.  Whatever it is that we do should draw us closer to God.

We are about to celebrate resurrection but we had better take notice that the man who died to take away our sins was God, man, the King of kings, the Lamb of God, and the Lord of Lords.

Lent—our preparations for celebrating resurrection—found its name in Germanic roots. Lent comes from lengthening, or more specifically, the days growing longer. After the twenty-first day of December, the days grow a little longer each day.

We begin to notice as spring approaches, so Lent in its secular roots, means springtime. The days grow longer.

But as the days grow longer and sometimes more pleasant, we need to think about the pain, agony, sacrifice, and love Jesus and his Father in heaven poured out on us. We need to prepare the way for the King as we celebrate his resurrection from the dead.

And not only his resurrection but the one promised to you as well.

In our belief—in our profession of faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior—we are saved from sin and death.

In our practice of doing what Jesus told us to do, we are saved from an ordinary life. We are not going to hell, but are we waiting for the age to come to truly live?

My grace is enough for you can carry us through many tough situations, but we are meant to fully live not just wait for the age to come.

Now is the time to consider:

God loves you.

God is with you.

God is for you.

God has good plans for you.

God will never leave or forsake you.

God made a way for us to live, live this life to the full, and live in right standing with God forever.

What should we do?

For the one who has already professed Jesus is Lord, make room for him in your heart. Prepare the way for the Lord to live in your heart, every moment going forward.

John proclaimed repentance and culminated the penitent one’s trip with baptism.

We have repented of our sins. We have professed Jesus is Lord.

Now it’s time for God to live completely within us. His Spirit is already there. We just need to prepare ourselves to hear him.

And we need to prepare the way for his return. We should be reaching out to as many people as we can with the good news of life in Christ Jesus.

We are to prepare the way for him to live fully in our own hearts.

We are to prepare the way for others to rejoice at his return.

Let us prepare the way.

Amen. 

Boasting in my Weakness

 Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Life is good. Life is tough.

Life is rewarding. Life is challenging.

I can see clearly. I don’t know the next step.

I’m on top of the world. I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.

I am strong. I am weak.  And at my age, my mind says strong and my body says ouch!

I am running the good race. I am down for the count.

I am beaming with confidence in the Lord. I had better keep a low profile today.

I trust in the Lord with all my heart. But I am still swayed by my own understanding.

I am in great health. I ache from my afflictions.

Today’s message begins in Philippians 3.  It was a letter to another church but very much in tune with this part of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, though time and geography separated the two epistles.

What is the common thread?  Paul said that he had good reason to boast in the things that this world counts as important. Those who opposed Paul were looking to discredit him. Paul said, ok, let’s have a measuring contest.  We will start with resumes.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;  as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

In his life before professing Jesus and becoming his apostle, Paul—then known mostly by Saul—was a go-getter. He was a rising star. He had been granted authority and his bloodline was established.

He had the inside track on rising to the top.

Even then—at the time he wrote to the church in Corinth—he was an icon in the Christian world and in the Hebrew world alike.  Some might say famous and others might say infamous depending upon where you stood on all this Christ, the Law, and traditions business.

Paul had a resume that boasted for itself. Paul was the man!  You da man, Paul.

Paul didn’t need to bolster his resume. What do I mean?

A week ago, I added the following statement to my resume. It’s good to keep it current.

Assisted government and private entities in profitability.

All that I did was pay for my post office box for another year, but Assisted government and private entities in profitability sounds way better on the resume.

Paul didn’t need to bolster his resume, but God added to it with a preview of heaven—not the sky, not where the stars are, but the highest heaven.

Paul hesitated to share this information because some might think him conceited, but he wasn’t. He counted all of his personal accolades as trash, junk, or manure.

He said that he had no confidence in the flesh, but sometimes your flesh hurts. Sometimes your bones hurt. Sometimes your eyes hurt. Sometimes that arthritis hurts and hurts and hurts. Does anyone have something where the pain or discomfort or uneasiness is just the gift that keeps on giving?

Eventually, we all have something that we think could use some fixin’. Some hurt more than others. Some are constant annoyances. Some come and go but all of us have asked God to fix something or take away our pan at some point.

Sometimes, it seems like God would take away my affliction so I could go about his business. I want to be known as his disciple by my love, just without the aches in my knees or my back or my shoulder, or other parts that hurt from time to time.

I want to be a light unto the world, but I would like to be able to stand up straight and not have to deal with my lower back pain.

I want to take the gospel to this community and to the world, but it would be so much easier without these allergies.

Sometimes, we get the same answers to our requests that Paul did. My grace is sufficient for you. The fact that we are saved from our sins and live in the Lord’s favor is just going to have to be enough in some cases.

Great—well it really is. I’m saved from sin and death. I will be with the Lord for all eternity. Any suffering that I am going through now will be nothing compared to the glory that is to come.

One day we will realize that waiting on God to do things in his time was so worth it.

OK, I get it.  When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing it will be. I get that, I do, but sometimes I need some help in the moment.

Paul’s response to his present suffering—and we can only speculate as to what his affliction was—was unique but applicable to us. The fact that the lack of specifics of the ailment makes it easier to apply across a broader spectrum of trials and challenges in our lives.

He said my resume is like few others—it's top shelf—but I don’t boast in it. I do boast in my weakness. I will say it with a smile on my face and joy in my heart, I am weak.

What kind of mantra is that?  Paul was never going to coach a football team. Hey! Look at me. I am weak. That doesn’t intimidate the opposing team.

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What is Paul saying?  We are not in this alone. God is not a vending machine that dispenses goodies, including healing. He is our companion in this thing called life and sometimes what hurts is just going to keep on hurting so we can get to know our Savior better.

Sometimes, we have to deal with hurt—physical and emotional, pain—mental and physical, separation—physical and spiritual, and stuff that just doesn’t make sense to us.

The stoic would just press on and do his best to ignore the suffering. My observation is that men more often than women are more stoic.  It’s not that men experience combat more than women. It’s that we have to contend with this thing called the man cold. We just tough it out with three or four days in bed and 14 bottles of Nyquil.

God tells us, don’t be the stoic. Be my partner in this thing called life.

God says, watch me work through your weaknesses. In our weakness, we will know God’s strength all the more.

The less that we can do ourselves, the more we rely on God. At least that is the message here.

Some choose hopelessness when it seems that God is not answering your prayers. Understand that God does hear and answer our prayers and sometimes the answer is that his grace is enough.

Sometimes God’s answer is not what we wanted. Sometimes, it’s not even close.  C’mon, God, that wasn’t even close. You are God. How could you miss by so much? Sometimes we don’t get the answer that we wanted.

Why?  Why would God not simply remove this pain or remove this cancer or take care of those payments or restore my vision?

Why?

Let’s understand our premises and foundation for this answer.

1.    God loves you.

2.    God will never leave or forsake you.

3.    God has good plans for you.

Children of God, understand this. When we ask and don’t receive what we asked for, expect God to work in your weakness, situation, or circumstance to bring you where you need to be.

God works in our weakness.

When we feel great, we should boast in the Lord. When something is working against us, we should boast in the Lord.

Sometimes, God removes the pain. Sometimes he works with us in the pain.

Sometimes, God removes the affliction. Sometimes he works with us in our affliction.

Sometimes, God changes the circumstances. Sometimes, he works with us through those circumstances.

Sometimes—no, all the time—we need to embrace the Spirit of God that lives within us in our victories and in our trials and afflictions. Understand:

1.    God loves us.

2.    God is with us.

3.    God is for us.

Keep on asking God to remove the pain or the affliction or the thing causing disruption in your lives, but be ready to put a smile on your face and joy in your heart and press on towards the goal when he says my grace is sufficient for you.

When we ask God to help with our pain or affliction, remember:

1.    God loves you.

2.    All affliction is healed in the age to come.

3.    God will show his strength in our weakness in this present age.

God answers our prayers. Sometimes that answer is my grace is sufficient for you.

We need to be good with my grace is sufficient for you and expect God to work in our weakness. This is a paradox but it is also a divine dynamic that is so powerful when we embrace it.

We need to embrace this divine dynamic. God works in our weakness as he continues to shape us like him.

Sometimes, trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts gets tough. It’s not that we are tougher, but our God is and he is with us and he is for us and he is working in our weakness.

Sometimes, my grace is sufficient for you seems like God doesn’t care, but he does. He loves us and has good plans for us.  We might only be able to see the next step but God sees all the way to whatever light is at the end of the tunnel.

That could be an hour or a day or the rest of our earthly lifetimes, but he knows what we need.  Who would have thought that God would explain this through Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometimes, well, you might find

You get what you need

Paul had reason to boast in his own resume. He was da man.

Paul chose to boast in his weakness for God was demonstrating his strength through Paul’s affliction.

How about us?

Can we boast, celebrate, seek his kingdom, and know how much God loves us in our strengths and in our weaknesses.

My prayer and my hope is that we can.

I am confident that we can trust the Lord enough for him to work in our weaknesses.

Amen.

 

My Grace is All that You Need!

 Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

I don’t wear many tee shirts.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t have quite the collection.  I think I have 10-15 VBS shirts. Coming in close behind my VBS shirts are my Marine Corps shirts.

I have one that says pain is weakness leaving the body. That’s a good macho shirt that conveys the mindset of an overcomer. We like victory. We like to win.

It’s a corollary of the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.   We understand pain is weakness leaving the body. It helps us press on when our bodies say that’s enough.

I embraced this mantra for years but these days I still have pain but I don’t think pressing on using my own devices got rid of the weakness or trouble or hardship.

It seems like I still have the pain and the weakness.  What kind of deal is that?

Let’s go straight to verse 10.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul wanted some pain or condition or affliction removed. He asked God, repeatedly and God’s answer was one that we know well.

My grace is sufficient for you.

That was not the answer Paul hoped for, but his response revealed that God does work with us in this world as we go through:

·       Weakness

·       Insults

·       Hardship

·       Persecution

·       Other difficulties

When you made your to-do list for today or tomorrow or Thursday next week, I am confident that none of you put insults or hardship or pain on your list.

When you made your bucket list for this life, who put persecution on it?

Last week we talked about doing what God told us to do even when we don’t like it. Today, we look at dealing with our personal circumstances when God tells us that he is not answering our prayer in the way we want.

How do we deal with my grace is enough? How did Paul?

He delighted in his weakness and in the insults hurled his way and in whatever difficulties confronted him for when he was weak, God’s strength came to dwell in him.

Can we delight in our difficulties?  Really, can we do what James proffered when we face trials of all kinds.  Can we consider these attacks and affliction and difficulties as pure joy in a world hat sees things differently?

·       The world says a good life is one without trouble. It’s walking on the sunny side of the street.

·       The world says that you can do without God. Be the numero uno in your own life.

·       The world says moan, groan, and cry unfair when things don’t go your way.

·       We know that there will be trouble in this world but that Christ has overcome the world for us.

·       We know that trouble will come and go but we cannot move forward into real growth without God.

·       We know not to complain about everything that seems to be going wrong, but to rejoice in it for it is but another opportunity to see God’s strength.

So where does that leave us?

·       If you are alive, you will have pain.

·       If you still have a heartbeat, you will have trouble in the world.

·       If you are doing what God told you to do, you will have some persecution.

·       If you speak the truth in love, you will receive insults in return on some occasions.

But know that in all of our weaknesses and afflictions, God hears our prayers. Sometimes he removes the problem, accelerates the healing, or comforts us in affliction.

But sometimes, he says my grace is enough. I’m not taking this pain away. I’m not fixing the problem the way you asked. You get to keep that thing you consider hardship for a while longer or maybe all the days of your life.

Sometimes, God says my grace is sufficient. My grace is all that you need.

Are we up to responding as Paul did?

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Think on these words as you approach your life and your world.

My grace is sufficient for you.

Let us learn to rejoice in our weaknesses!

Amen.

 

 

 

Even when I don't want to...

 Read Mark 10:17-31

At last, we get to a person of status in the world coming to Jesus and falling down before him. How do we know the man had status.? If you read the full pericope, we find that the man had great wealth.

And here he was before Jesus, giving proper reverence. Finally!

The man begins the conversation with the words good teacher. It sounds like an appropriate greeting. It least acknowledges that Jesus was a teacher—a rabbi.

But Jesus focused on the word good. Why do you call me good? Only God is good.

Now Jesus had told many that he and his Father were one. Did this man know that talking with Jesus was the same as talking with God?

Jesus did not send the man packing because he called him good. In fact, he heard the man’s question and answered it. What was the question?

It was “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

That question bears some exploration. Let’s consider the infinitive in the sentence: to inherit. He didn’t say earn. It didn’t say win. He didn’t say achieve. He didn’t say to discover.

He said, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

What must I do to inherit eternal life? Inherit is different from earning or winning or achieving. Typically, the inheritance goes to an heir.

Was this man asking to be an heir in God’s kingdom? It is an interesting question, which Jesus goes on to answer.

Don’t murder. No side chicks If it’s not yours, don’t take it. Don’t lie or defraud. Treat your parents right. The list sounded very familiar to this young man.

He said, probably with a mix of relief and excitement, “I’ve done all of those!”

 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I’m in for sure! Yes!

Compliance is good. Obedience is good. Following directions is good and they all put you on a good path to having a relationship with God, but they are not everything.

Jesus said to go sell everything you have and give the proceeds to the poor.  Jesus said that following the rules is good. It is important, but it is not everything.

In Mark’s gospel, we find these words before Jesus told this rich young man—some say ruler—to go sell all that he had, we are told that Jesus looked at the man and loved him.

Ouch! What kind of love is that?

It’s the kind that says you are playing by the rules but missing the relationship.

It’s the kind of love that says God is a jealous God and you can’t have another god on the side. Your wealth is your god.  My Father in Heaven is coming in second place or lower in your life and that dog don’t hunt.

You need to value your relationship with my Father in heaven over the rules for good living. They are not in conflict with each other. In fact, you can’t really understand most of what they are all about if you are not in good relationship with the one true God.

If you want to understand what God is telling you in his word, you need the Sprit of God to guide you.

The rich young man verified the assessment of the Lord. The young man went away sad because he had a big stake in this world. He had much wealth. He had a lot of stuff.

The young man went away sad.  We don’t know if he did what he was told or not. Put that on the list of things to find out in the age to come.

I’ve been working on a proposal for an orientation package in heaven. It would include excursions. One to them would be to talk with this young man to see if he did what he was told.

Did he put the words of his Master into practice? It sounds like he knew that Jesus was from God. He may not have known he was the Messiah, maybe he did, but he knew this man was from God.

And Jesus had told him to do something that he really didn’t want to do. God told him to do something that he really didn’t want to do.

We don’t all need to sell everything we have. This is not a universal call to poverty. We are not taking a vow of poverty in lieu of the hymn of invitation this morning.

We don’t all need to sell everything, but you can bet we all need to do some things that Jesus told us to do that we don’t really want to do.

Such as?

Forgive. How many of us have a person or people that we have not forgiven. Why? Because we don’t want to! Forgive.

Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing when we give.  Sometimes, we want a little acknowledgment when we give or give something extra. God says, that’s something personal between us.

God tells us to keep this between us. You want a personal relationship, this is personal.

How about love your enemy? That one is always going to be tough. It’s easier if you pray for your enemies while you are at it.

I don’t know what it is for you, but God is likely calling you to do something outside of your comfort zone. He is calling you to do something that you don’t want to do.

Do you know what it’s called when you do something outside of your comfort zone? It’s called growth, at least 95% of the time.

What about the other 5%?  Those are hold-my-beer moments that usually come with their own lessons learned.

If we are to truly grow, we need to put the words of our Master into practice, and that includes the things that we really don’t want to do.

Let me put it this way. Are you a Christian or a Christian Tourist?

What?

Do you live the words of Jesus or do you just know what he said and like to observe what people do without being on the playing field? The tourist is free to comment and advise but never gets any dirt under his fingernails from being a Christian.

Let me try it this way.  If you were accused of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?

What sort of evidence?  The kind that affirms you have put the words of your Master into practice—that evidence.  It’s hard evidence if it includes you doing what Jesus told you to do even if you don’t like it.

The disciples focused on the money and wealth part of this story which we discussed in the first service.  Today, I ask you to focus on doing those things that God told us to do with a special emphasis on those that we don’t like or don’t want to do or just those things we have been able to ignore before.

Maybe a false god is taking a prominent place in our lives and we need to kick him to the curb in favor of the one true God.

Your charge is to do the things that Jesus told you to do and don’t skip the hard ones. Don’t ignore his commands because you just don’t want to do that.

Your challenge is to put the words of our Master into practice, even those that we have been fighting hard for some time.  We must even do those things where our own understanding says, you get an exemption on that one.

No, we don’t!

The man went away sad because he had great wealth and it had taken the place of the one true God. The man still followed the rules but he was short on relationship with his Creator. He went through his Live the Good Life Checklist but missed the get to know the One who spoke it all into existence experience.

The man was only cheating himself out of abundant life. You have heard the quotes that the good keeps us from our best. There's a variation on this that works both ways, but for now, consider this.

This young man had it good—very good but he was missing out on abundant life in Christ—life in good relationship with God.

The question today is not so much what this rich young man did when he left, maybe he did what Jesus told him, and maybe not. The question is will we walk away sad when God calls us to do something that we don’t want to do?

The question is what will we do when Jesus calls us to do something that we just don’t want to do. Will we too be sad?

I have hated that person for a year now or is it two or ten. I can’t forgive them now.

I give what I give. Don’t be asking me for more, Jesus.

And this whole love your enemy business, that’s just too out there for me.

Let’s go back to the young man just for a moment. Before Jesus commanded him to sell everything, we read: Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Jesus told him to sell everything not as a test or evaluation but out of love.

The man wanted eternal life when he died. Jesus offered eternal life now.  Trade in your god of this world for the real God and follow me.  You have to kick the false god to the curb first—in your case that is your wealth—but then come follow me.

Do we not understand that God has good plans for us?  God has the very best in mind for us and in store for us. When will we let go of our own understanding and take on the yoke of our Master?

God has good plans for you.

God loves you.

If God tells you to do it and you don’t want to, you are fighting against your own best outcomes.  Father really does know best.

And when God calls us to something that we don’t like, we don’t go away sad. We do it with a smile on our faces knowing that God loves us and God has good plans for us.

We don’t go away sad. We step into whatever God has called us to do and we do it knowing it is for our own good and that the God who told us to do this thing also loves us very much.

Jesus looked at him and loved him, and then told him the thing he needed to hear and do the most—get rid of your false god and get to know the real God.

We will all have those moments when Jesus looks at us and loves us and tells us exactly what we need to hear and what we need to do.

Can we say these words with joy in our hearts and a smile on our faces?

Thy will be done!

God desires a wholesale exchange of everything that we seek before him for seeking him first. We can have no other gods that approach the one true God.

Do we not understand that God has good plans for us?  God has the very best in mind for us and in store for us. When will we let go of our own understanding and take on the yoke of our Master?

God has good plans for you.

God loves you.

Let us put his words into practice even when we don’t want to, with joy in our hearts and smiles on our faces for God loves us and has good plans for us.

Amen.