Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Virtue was not convenient
Title: “Virtue was not convenient”
Text: Acts 14:1-22
Worship Text: James 5:7-8
Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Chess_knight_0965.jpg
Introduction: The fear sets in…
Ever since I was a little kid, there was a simple question I loved to think about. “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Did you ever think about that question? Do you even remember thinking about that question? I know in some way even now that thought passes across my mind, not as much anymore. And I think the reason for that is because when you’re young. You sort of have your whole life to look forward. You get the luxury of dreaming big, because so much of your life is yet to be decided. I remember when I was little, I still remember it to this day there were three things I always wanted to be…
The first was a pilot… yes even in my shortness… Who wouldn’t want to be a pilot… to defy gravity to take people from point a to point b every day and the travel the world almost wherever you wished. But then I got Microsoft flight simulator and tried flying from Hawaii to LA and realized how borring it was so that killed that idea.
The next was a kid actor… and I actually did rather well on this one. Sure I never made it to the big screen, but I picked up a lot of skills and met a lot of great people… Learned how to polish my smile and slate before the camera.
Finally in high school I wanted to be a lawyer, I learned over time that I was graced with the knack of speaking and I thought to myself, if I could persuade a whole classroom to vote in my favor in a debate, then surely I could persuade a jury box with a well worded argument. And that is how my life to become a pastor all got started.
But in all seriousness you have to smile at those dreams… They are so unfettered, so pure, so free. You see as we get older reality begins to set in and we start to realize that there is something called time, there are assignments, there are due dates, there is grade point averages, there are bills to pay, there are mortgages to consolidate, there are car payments, and insurance for almost every single thing that you own and don’t own yet… and of course our dear Uncle Sam, who you pray will never wake up from his slumber and look at you, so you dutifully pay your taxes just to keep him smiling in his sleep. This is all from a bachelor’s perspective; the list is easily five times longer if you are married!
This is a lot to deal with and if not eased into it, it is easy to get overwhelmed like we talked about last time. But one thing we tend to do that worries me the most is that we allow all this pressure to turn into fear. I know I have been there. But not just a little bit of healthy fear, but we turn it into a god of fear. The kind of fear that you worship, the kind of fear that you would literally sacrifice your life for (both physical and spiritual).
You see over time you become so worried about falling “behind” in life, that whatever the world asks you to sacrifice, you do it, for fear that she will spit you out! This fear of the world becomes an idol that takes the place of God in your life, and over time we get so used to paying homage to him over and over again.
Allow what I say next to offend you if need be… if it saves you then it is worth it… but if you allow this to continue for the rest of your life, you are a coward. You’re weakling. There is something about walking with the Lord that tells me that there is something bigger than this world. Walking with Lord I know my God is indeed… bigger than the air I breath. I learn that that there is something called righteousness… that there is something called virtue… that there is something that later on all the world will see… he is my Glorious.
And as faithful as I want to be to the Lord in righteousness there is a battle that goes on within me between a fear of the world… You could look at it as a contest, or even a competition. I believe this is a battle we all fight… (unless you are completely disconnected from this world) while we are not of this world, we are in this world… and called to minister to it like a sick person in need.
Today I would like to…
Outline: Paint a similar type of picture…
First: Setting of Paul’s first story
Second: A problem which was presented to Paul
Third: How he dealt with the issue
Fourth: Finally I will conclude with why this is so important…
Since we have a lot to cover, let’s get right into the text
Starting with the setting…
THT1: In life there will always be the desire to gain the upper hand. In other words, when put to the test, there is always that desire to succeed.
READ: “Acts 14:1-7 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the good news.”
I like to call this a healthy stress, a lasting pressure, a drive. I always try to push myself in the things that I like the most. Whether it is my sermons, my work load, I enjoy keeping it challenging, keepin it real. This “healthy stress” keeps me sharp, on the spot, where I need to be.
Look at the work Paul puts in at v. 3… the NIV claims that it was a “considerable amount of time” and time well spent, preaching and presenting signs and wonders from the Holy Spirit… this “is” hard work… Paul’s virtue to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ does not give him a license to be lazy, but rather it serves as a purposeful motivation to work hard for the Gospel. This is a healthy pressure or a healthy stress, that motivates you to stay sharp, ready always to give an account for the hope that is inside you! What can not be missed is that this motivation is derived from the virtue of faithfulness to the Lord. This is just one of many values you might hold to, but certainly your faithfulness to God ought to trump many any of the other values you might have.
What also catches my eye as I read this passage is v. 4 which states that at the very end, after all the dust settles, the conclusion is that there was a divide between those that believed the Jews and those who believed the Apostles. By now you should be well aware that after Stephen denounced the Jews, in Acts Ch 6 and 7 there has always been considerable animosity between the two groups. It is this same opposition that almost got Peter killed that is until God broke the chains.
Between these two teams one for the gospel, another against… this really is the thrill of the chase. This tension, this kind of stress motivates young guys like me to be a part of the church. You see young people like me want to be a part of a movement… call me a millennial or whatever you like, but if I were to ask myself, why should I wake up in the morning, the truth is there has to be some sort mission in the inbox folder in my walk with Christ. Amen!?!
Fortunately the Bible is full of stories where God goes head to head with powers in this world and the fact of the matter is, God always wins.
Join with me for a second to Matt 16:18, just before Peter is given the keys to the gentiles Jesus affirms a promise that even death, Hell, and Satan himself will NEVER be able to stand against the power of God demonstrated through the church.
READ: “Matthew 16:18 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Isn’t it good to know that you are on a winning team? That was just point number 1, next though we see…
THT2: In the advance (of the Gospel) there will be opportunities for you to compromise on your virtues for fear of failure within the world. Because in the back of your mind a little birdie tells you that “you can’t make it” you say to yourself… I will take a shortcut… there has got to be an easier way.
Here was Paul’s temptation and test…
READ: “Acts 14:8-13 8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”
Now you might think it is crazy… how could one man with one really excellent speech MOVE people to think that they are gods? It seems crazy doesn’t it? Not really. Think about President Obama… whatever you think about his views, he literally moved a nation of young people to his side by the power of his words.
For the people in Lystra that Paul was speaking to, they themselves lived with the expectation that “great people” would show up… you see they lived a life of fear, that if Paul and Barnabas were deities, and they did not show these two the “law of hospitality” that they as a city would be judged as the ancient account of Metamorphoses suggests… We constantly see this “law of hospitality” in the OT. It was the same law that caused Abraham to accept the two angels near Sodom. It was the same law that caused Lot to give up his daughter in order to protect the strangers that he gave an oath to. This was a value that the people of Lystra also held to regardless of the cost or sacrifice…. But it was a value placed on fear… fear of destruction and fear of the world.
Flat out if you were to seen the priest of v. 13 sacrifice his offering to Paul no matter what he might have thought, it would of looked pathetic. But an opportunity for Paul to capitalize on the situation. To compromise his own faithfulness to God and MAKE the people in Lystra BELIVE without a shadow of a doubt that the two of them were gods… and by being gods they would be forced to believe in the gospel out of fear in the world.
The real test is whether you can maintain the values and virtues you choose to live by from the very beginning. This is why your promise your commitment to the Lord FIRST is so important because there will be circumstances in life that will tempt you to compromise on the core of who you are and you better have some sort of foundation there or else you will crumble and look pathetic. Now I am not trying to motivate you out of fear but I am trying to tell you why you should care about the kingdom of God coming… it is because it will test your 1) choices, 2) reasons, 3) motivations, and finally 4) foundation in Christ. This foundation is built on your values… Look at what we find in v. 14-17 where Paul refuses to compromise because he lives for the Lord. This ends up being our mandate to…
THT3: Always live for the Lord and do not make fear your god.
READ: “Acts 14:14-17 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."”
All glory all honor, all power goes back to HIM. It is always like that, it will always be like that… Paul was so close in making the same mistake Herod almost made… but in this case he passed with flying colors. Paul knows that the reason he lives is to point people back to Jesus. It is not to have a good time, it is not to teach your kids, it is not to make money, it is not to have a family… the point in life is to point everyone back to HIM! By the way we live, by the way we talk, by the way we think, by the way we pray…. Daily we give up our lives to God so that we might truly live. We do this of course… regardless of what happens…
THT4: Regardless of the consequences.
READ: “Acts 14:18-19 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”
Say it with me… “I am not afraid…” say it again “I am not afraid” Say one last time, “I am not afraid” why??? Because Psalm 27:1… the verse I was baptized under… “Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?”
Do a little dance… do little jig because you know come what may… come what may you are free to say it is all about HIM! You can say this with a clear conscience, you can say this with a clear heart… because you held to your values…. Because you hanged in there when it was tough…. Because you did not compromise with your faithfulness to God even though you REEEEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYYY wanted to take the shortcut…. It is good to smile with the Lord is it not… It is good to be a peace in your soul…. You see regardless of what transpires… regardless of the consequences… regardless of who you might have offended because you are humbly protected in the character of God you have no fear… and THIS is your testimony…. This is the story you will be able to tell over and over again to your kids and grandkids and their grandkids…. And both you and they will LOVE it!!!
THT5: For this is your testimony.
READ: “Acts 14:20-22 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. 21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.”
Look at how v. 27 finishes our section up… there was “strengthening” there was “encouragement” and both were intended to build on their pre-set value to stand true in the “faith.” Paul closes with a side note that it will not be easy, nor was it meant to be easy. For many of us including myself, we need a kick in the pants. When it comes to our family, good, friendships, good, work good, mortgage, good, kids, good, but our faith… lazy… pathetic… This is a bad sign because it shows you worship a god of fear, a fear of this world. And I know for a fact that God hates laziness in all aspects of life but what gave us the bright idea that we could be lazy in our faith… is it because we will not see the consequences until the very end when our spiritual lives will merit zero eternal rewards?
I love the words of the King of France that we started with today. He said “A king migh move a man, yes… but your soul is in your keeping alone. When you go before God you can not say that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that!”
Allow me to close with this story.
I used to live is a cul-de-sac in Arcadia. If you do not know what that is, it is basically a dead end street, one way in, one way out. Everyday I would walk home from my high-school, there was a man named Bill who would be always raking leaves on his lawn. Now I don’t know if you guys know old people, but when they talk they can go on and on and on. Bill was no different from this, and there were days that I tried to sneak by him… true story. But in most days being so stressed from school I look forward to be drowned in the stories of other people. And every time I listened to Bill day after day hour after hour I learned so much from him, because these were his stories, his testimonies, these were the “greatest hits albumn” of his life. And I really liked it, it kept me interested to learn more.
As we close today ask yourself whether you are willing to faithful to your values because you do live for the Lord. That regardless of how things turned out, because your were faithful, this would be your testimony, you story to strengthen and encourage others to focus on Christ. Think about this as Donald plays and I encourage you to get lost in a sea of memories in order to pick out your very own “greatest hits album”
Text: Acts 14:1-22
Worship Text: James 5:7-8
Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Chess_knight_0965.jpg
Introduction: The fear sets in…
Ever since I was a little kid, there was a simple question I loved to think about. “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Did you ever think about that question? Do you even remember thinking about that question? I know in some way even now that thought passes across my mind, not as much anymore. And I think the reason for that is because when you’re young. You sort of have your whole life to look forward. You get the luxury of dreaming big, because so much of your life is yet to be decided. I remember when I was little, I still remember it to this day there were three things I always wanted to be…
The first was a pilot… yes even in my shortness… Who wouldn’t want to be a pilot… to defy gravity to take people from point a to point b every day and the travel the world almost wherever you wished. But then I got Microsoft flight simulator and tried flying from Hawaii to LA and realized how borring it was so that killed that idea.
The next was a kid actor… and I actually did rather well on this one. Sure I never made it to the big screen, but I picked up a lot of skills and met a lot of great people… Learned how to polish my smile and slate before the camera.
Finally in high school I wanted to be a lawyer, I learned over time that I was graced with the knack of speaking and I thought to myself, if I could persuade a whole classroom to vote in my favor in a debate, then surely I could persuade a jury box with a well worded argument. And that is how my life to become a pastor all got started.
But in all seriousness you have to smile at those dreams… They are so unfettered, so pure, so free. You see as we get older reality begins to set in and we start to realize that there is something called time, there are assignments, there are due dates, there is grade point averages, there are bills to pay, there are mortgages to consolidate, there are car payments, and insurance for almost every single thing that you own and don’t own yet… and of course our dear Uncle Sam, who you pray will never wake up from his slumber and look at you, so you dutifully pay your taxes just to keep him smiling in his sleep. This is all from a bachelor’s perspective; the list is easily five times longer if you are married!
This is a lot to deal with and if not eased into it, it is easy to get overwhelmed like we talked about last time. But one thing we tend to do that worries me the most is that we allow all this pressure to turn into fear. I know I have been there. But not just a little bit of healthy fear, but we turn it into a god of fear. The kind of fear that you worship, the kind of fear that you would literally sacrifice your life for (both physical and spiritual).
You see over time you become so worried about falling “behind” in life, that whatever the world asks you to sacrifice, you do it, for fear that she will spit you out! This fear of the world becomes an idol that takes the place of God in your life, and over time we get so used to paying homage to him over and over again.
Allow what I say next to offend you if need be… if it saves you then it is worth it… but if you allow this to continue for the rest of your life, you are a coward. You’re weakling. There is something about walking with the Lord that tells me that there is something bigger than this world. Walking with Lord I know my God is indeed… bigger than the air I breath. I learn that that there is something called righteousness… that there is something called virtue… that there is something that later on all the world will see… he is my Glorious.
And as faithful as I want to be to the Lord in righteousness there is a battle that goes on within me between a fear of the world… You could look at it as a contest, or even a competition. I believe this is a battle we all fight… (unless you are completely disconnected from this world) while we are not of this world, we are in this world… and called to minister to it like a sick person in need.
Today I would like to…
Outline: Paint a similar type of picture…
First: Setting of Paul’s first story
Second: A problem which was presented to Paul
Third: How he dealt with the issue
Fourth: Finally I will conclude with why this is so important…
Since we have a lot to cover, let’s get right into the text
Starting with the setting…
THT1: In life there will always be the desire to gain the upper hand. In other words, when put to the test, there is always that desire to succeed.
READ: “Acts 14:1-7 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the good news.”
I like to call this a healthy stress, a lasting pressure, a drive. I always try to push myself in the things that I like the most. Whether it is my sermons, my work load, I enjoy keeping it challenging, keepin it real. This “healthy stress” keeps me sharp, on the spot, where I need to be.
Look at the work Paul puts in at v. 3… the NIV claims that it was a “considerable amount of time” and time well spent, preaching and presenting signs and wonders from the Holy Spirit… this “is” hard work… Paul’s virtue to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ does not give him a license to be lazy, but rather it serves as a purposeful motivation to work hard for the Gospel. This is a healthy pressure or a healthy stress, that motivates you to stay sharp, ready always to give an account for the hope that is inside you! What can not be missed is that this motivation is derived from the virtue of faithfulness to the Lord. This is just one of many values you might hold to, but certainly your faithfulness to God ought to trump many any of the other values you might have.
What also catches my eye as I read this passage is v. 4 which states that at the very end, after all the dust settles, the conclusion is that there was a divide between those that believed the Jews and those who believed the Apostles. By now you should be well aware that after Stephen denounced the Jews, in Acts Ch 6 and 7 there has always been considerable animosity between the two groups. It is this same opposition that almost got Peter killed that is until God broke the chains.
Between these two teams one for the gospel, another against… this really is the thrill of the chase. This tension, this kind of stress motivates young guys like me to be a part of the church. You see young people like me want to be a part of a movement… call me a millennial or whatever you like, but if I were to ask myself, why should I wake up in the morning, the truth is there has to be some sort mission in the inbox folder in my walk with Christ. Amen!?!
Fortunately the Bible is full of stories where God goes head to head with powers in this world and the fact of the matter is, God always wins.
Join with me for a second to Matt 16:18, just before Peter is given the keys to the gentiles Jesus affirms a promise that even death, Hell, and Satan himself will NEVER be able to stand against the power of God demonstrated through the church.
READ: “Matthew 16:18 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Isn’t it good to know that you are on a winning team? That was just point number 1, next though we see…
THT2: In the advance (of the Gospel) there will be opportunities for you to compromise on your virtues for fear of failure within the world. Because in the back of your mind a little birdie tells you that “you can’t make it” you say to yourself… I will take a shortcut… there has got to be an easier way.
Here was Paul’s temptation and test…
READ: “Acts 14:8-13 8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”
Now you might think it is crazy… how could one man with one really excellent speech MOVE people to think that they are gods? It seems crazy doesn’t it? Not really. Think about President Obama… whatever you think about his views, he literally moved a nation of young people to his side by the power of his words.
For the people in Lystra that Paul was speaking to, they themselves lived with the expectation that “great people” would show up… you see they lived a life of fear, that if Paul and Barnabas were deities, and they did not show these two the “law of hospitality” that they as a city would be judged as the ancient account of Metamorphoses suggests… We constantly see this “law of hospitality” in the OT. It was the same law that caused Abraham to accept the two angels near Sodom. It was the same law that caused Lot to give up his daughter in order to protect the strangers that he gave an oath to. This was a value that the people of Lystra also held to regardless of the cost or sacrifice…. But it was a value placed on fear… fear of destruction and fear of the world.
Flat out if you were to seen the priest of v. 13 sacrifice his offering to Paul no matter what he might have thought, it would of looked pathetic. But an opportunity for Paul to capitalize on the situation. To compromise his own faithfulness to God and MAKE the people in Lystra BELIVE without a shadow of a doubt that the two of them were gods… and by being gods they would be forced to believe in the gospel out of fear in the world.
The real test is whether you can maintain the values and virtues you choose to live by from the very beginning. This is why your promise your commitment to the Lord FIRST is so important because there will be circumstances in life that will tempt you to compromise on the core of who you are and you better have some sort of foundation there or else you will crumble and look pathetic. Now I am not trying to motivate you out of fear but I am trying to tell you why you should care about the kingdom of God coming… it is because it will test your 1) choices, 2) reasons, 3) motivations, and finally 4) foundation in Christ. This foundation is built on your values… Look at what we find in v. 14-17 where Paul refuses to compromise because he lives for the Lord. This ends up being our mandate to…
THT3: Always live for the Lord and do not make fear your god.
READ: “Acts 14:14-17 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."”
All glory all honor, all power goes back to HIM. It is always like that, it will always be like that… Paul was so close in making the same mistake Herod almost made… but in this case he passed with flying colors. Paul knows that the reason he lives is to point people back to Jesus. It is not to have a good time, it is not to teach your kids, it is not to make money, it is not to have a family… the point in life is to point everyone back to HIM! By the way we live, by the way we talk, by the way we think, by the way we pray…. Daily we give up our lives to God so that we might truly live. We do this of course… regardless of what happens…
THT4: Regardless of the consequences.
READ: “Acts 14:18-19 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”
Say it with me… “I am not afraid…” say it again “I am not afraid” Say one last time, “I am not afraid” why??? Because Psalm 27:1… the verse I was baptized under… “Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?”
Do a little dance… do little jig because you know come what may… come what may you are free to say it is all about HIM! You can say this with a clear conscience, you can say this with a clear heart… because you held to your values…. Because you hanged in there when it was tough…. Because you did not compromise with your faithfulness to God even though you REEEEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYYY wanted to take the shortcut…. It is good to smile with the Lord is it not… It is good to be a peace in your soul…. You see regardless of what transpires… regardless of the consequences… regardless of who you might have offended because you are humbly protected in the character of God you have no fear… and THIS is your testimony…. This is the story you will be able to tell over and over again to your kids and grandkids and their grandkids…. And both you and they will LOVE it!!!
THT5: For this is your testimony.
READ: “Acts 14:20-22 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. 21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.”
Look at how v. 27 finishes our section up… there was “strengthening” there was “encouragement” and both were intended to build on their pre-set value to stand true in the “faith.” Paul closes with a side note that it will not be easy, nor was it meant to be easy. For many of us including myself, we need a kick in the pants. When it comes to our family, good, friendships, good, work good, mortgage, good, kids, good, but our faith… lazy… pathetic… This is a bad sign because it shows you worship a god of fear, a fear of this world. And I know for a fact that God hates laziness in all aspects of life but what gave us the bright idea that we could be lazy in our faith… is it because we will not see the consequences until the very end when our spiritual lives will merit zero eternal rewards?
I love the words of the King of France that we started with today. He said “A king migh move a man, yes… but your soul is in your keeping alone. When you go before God you can not say that virtue was not convenient at the time. This will not suffice. Remember that!”
Allow me to close with this story.
I used to live is a cul-de-sac in Arcadia. If you do not know what that is, it is basically a dead end street, one way in, one way out. Everyday I would walk home from my high-school, there was a man named Bill who would be always raking leaves on his lawn. Now I don’t know if you guys know old people, but when they talk they can go on and on and on. Bill was no different from this, and there were days that I tried to sneak by him… true story. But in most days being so stressed from school I look forward to be drowned in the stories of other people. And every time I listened to Bill day after day hour after hour I learned so much from him, because these were his stories, his testimonies, these were the “greatest hits albumn” of his life. And I really liked it, it kept me interested to learn more.
As we close today ask yourself whether you are willing to faithful to your values because you do live for the Lord. That regardless of how things turned out, because your were faithful, this would be your testimony, you story to strengthen and encourage others to focus on Christ. Think about this as Donald plays and I encourage you to get lost in a sea of memories in order to pick out your very own “greatest hits album”
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Last Hour
Sermon Title: “The Last Hour”
Sermon Text: Acts 12:1-25
Sermon Date: May 30th, 2010
Worship Scripture: Rom 8:38-39
Introduction:
(Opposition that we face…) Movie Clip from CNN
Background:
Over the course of these past months we have sort of taken your hand and walked you chapter by chapter through the book of Acts… You have seen quite a bit, and I can’t help but wonder if after all these sermons… you are a bit overwhelmed by all the content and sort of lost in what is going on with this book…
So before we go forward lets do something that I love to do… and that is review where we are at… while I walk with you through these chapters… watch the progression of the gospel of Christ, like a snowball that first gets rolled down a hill… it gets bigger and bigger as it goes down…
Lets start in Acts Ch 2… Right after the ascension of Jesus the Holy Spirit poured out to believers at Pentecost
Following this event, all the way to the end of chapter 4 there are a succession of three speeches made by Peter all centered on Christ and all focused on the spread of the Gospel
Chapters 5-6 deal with the protection and building of the church, while in Chapter 7 Stephen calls out the Jews for missing Jesus as their Messiah altogether..
By the time we reach ch 8, we speed up quite bit and Gospel begins to grow… from Jerusalem to the rest of the world.
In Acts chapter 8 Gospel going to the Samaria ,
In Acts chapter 9 Paul is converted and given the mission to preach to the Gentiles,
In Acts chapter 10 and 11 the conversion of the Roman centurion and the dream that results from this event gives the key to Gentiles to Peter…
And finally the church in Antioch established in the latter section of chapter 11 which we will see next week as the launching point of team Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.
Now if you remember last week there was a main character that was in constant contact with Cornelius… Who was that? (Peter) Now Pastor Chan made a comment and reference that Peter was given the keys to the gentiles in Matt 16:19 could be a reference to the dreams of chapters 10 and 11. Regardless if there is a connection or not, No one would disagree that there is a movement in the Gospel and it only can be the power of God which is propelling it…
Yet all of a sudden there is a stall in the plan... (a time out you could say) and as it happens the main leader… the main preacher up until this point is put in prison. Today’s sermon will directly deal with this event and passage!
What we will do today is very simple. We will first…
Outline:
Introduce you to a reality in our lives… (Then we deal with…)
What this reality can actually do to us… (Then refreshingly look at…)
What God can do… (And finally…)
How is this possible…
One more time… we will be…
Introduce you to a reality in our lives…
What this reality can actually do to us…
What God can do…
How is this possible…
Ultimately it is my purpose and mission to solve the dilema
THQ: How should I react when facing opposition in my life?
In other words, what should I be reminded of when facing that which is dead set against me in this world?
To start us off lets flush out the reality of the opposition that is out there in the world…
The reality is simply this…
THT 1: There are people and circumstances bent on opposing you for their own personal gain.
In other words, there are good people just like you that are facing trouble within this world to which the reason for that opposition could not care nor about the outcome of his or her victim.
Call it a parasite, call it chaos, call it evil, even call it sin… it is out there today in a fallen world.
Trip to the beach…
READ with me Acts 12:1-2, Acts 12:1-2
“Acts 12:1-2 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.”
What we know about this situation is that this is not crazy Herod the Great, rather this is his grandson, born and raised in Rome, good friends with the crazy Roman Emperor Caligula. Now while it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly why Herod went after the apostle James, it is fair to say that the praise he received from the Jews spurned his motivation to execute more Christian leaders. The reason for this praise though from the part of the Jews is sort of understandable. Only ten years ago Stephen gave his condemning speech to the Jews which got him stoned, and it would seem that the Jews even after ten years do not care much for Christians at all…
The reality is that a large part of being in a world fallen in sin is that there are people and circumstances bent on opposing the good for their own gain or accomplishment….
In this case it was persecution… it could be sickness… it could be death… or even loss… In all of these cases it would be naïve for you to think that you are above this world, that somehow bad things could never happen to you… No matter how much insurance, equity, stocks, or securities you might have, life has a way of catching up to people… and some of you here in this room know exactly what I mean.
Point number two…. The reality is that…
THT 2: There will be instances when this opposition may reach you and overwhelm you. No matter how paranoid you might be, no matter how strong your castle, fortress or home is, sin and evil has a way of sneaking into the cracks. Some of the most unhappy people I know seem to have it all, and some of the satisfied people that I ever met in college seem like they don’t have anything compared to myself.
READ Acts 12:3-5… v. 3-5
“Acts 12:3-5 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
If every story has a problem, this is certainly the problem for Peter. With the response that the Jews gave to Herod with the execution of James, it was almost a green light and open season to strike against Peter as well. It made sense that since Herod had grown up in Rome and had crazy Roman friends, that he would arrest and hold Peter for execution in a very Roman way. In Herod’s mind he wanted there to be absolutely NO WAY for Peter escape! Look at v. 4 how there were four shifts of four soldiers. Traditionally two soldiers would be shackled to either side of the prisoner, and the two other soldiers in six hour shifts would be guarding the entrance. This all takes place for just one prisoner and is equivalent to maximum security prison Roman style. Finally in v. 5 you can’t help but notice that the church was “earnestly” praying for Peter. This word “earnestly” probably represents one of two things… the first, is that they are in utter desperation. They know that there is no way for Peter on his own to “break out” of prison. The second suggests that the church might have thought that Peter was already dead. Their prayers in that sense were cries of grief rather than pleas for escape.
The truth is and the simple fact remains that no matter how well you try to protect yourself… some day you will get hurt some day you will feel pain, some day you will get burned. Someday you might even meet your match. We will all face death unless Jesus comes back, and in that day that we meet death… some of us may be able to cheat him, but most of us will not. But the plain fact is that as the world turns opposition can easily become overwhelming and completely out of your control. In your desperation and in your grief… what should you remember? One thing…
THT 3: No matter how strong the opposition, God can break the chains!
No matter how locked up you might be… God can set you free!
READ Acts 12:6-11, v. 6-11
“Acts 12:6-11 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."”
I love this passage because every time I read it, it makes me smile… God seriously has a sense of humor, v. 6 tells us that it was the last night of Peter’s life here on earth, and on that night almost mockingly against the powers of Herod, God sets Peter free. This adds to the saying, that God is never early, God is never late, he is always on time because he is who he is!
V. 7 is the real cool part, even with the bright entrance of the angel in the jail cell, the angel still has to strike Peter to get him to wake up. This is not just a supernatural tap on the shoulder, this is a forceful smack. Now if I was in prison awaiting my execution, I would not be sleeping, I could tell you that right now. I would be tossing and turning, thinking about what I might say or do. Instead Peter is so calm, so relaxed that he is making it a point in enjoying his last night on earth.
This is from the same man that in Matt 16:19 was given the keys to the kingdom… this is from the same man who was standing on the verge of the most evangelistic era of the Early Church. And yet he seems to willfully accept the fact that this is the end.
It reminds me of General Patton who invaded the Palermo in Sicily, but because he smacked a cowardly soldier was put on probation during the invasion of Germany…
Patton who loved war, he loved the thrill of battle and some could argue that is what made him such a great general… but to be on probation… to be put on time out… during the largest invasion in history (D-day), you could understand his pain when he exclaims… “A whole world at war and I am left out of it!” Peter is the exact opposite. Did he probably feel regret, did he feel left out on one of the greatest opportunities of evangelical conquest the early church had yet to see… sure… but Peter knew he was going home… Peter knew he was always with God, and he knew at anytime at any moment God could break those chains if he ever wished. Long story short, Peter had nothing to fear no matter how strong the opposition of Herod actually was.
You have to wonder also, why was Peter so at peace on last day of his life, at the very last hour? He probably knew that just as James was executed so he would also be executed in the morning. In a only a few moments he would “be with God.” No force from this earth could break him out…
Would you be as calm… as Peter was… if you knew you were going to meet God in a couple of hours? Sure Peter knew that God was in control and that he could break the chains as He wished… but there was a sense I think that Peter was satisfied with his spiritual life. There was a sense that he walked with God, he did his best, sure he made mistakes, but all in all he knew he was in good standing with Jesus when it came to following Him.
I would argue many in this church would feel just like Peter if they knew it was the last hour. If they knew that they were dead men and women. While dying is bad, and this life is precious, at the same time they know God is in control and that all in all they follow him and there is nothing to really to worry about.
On the other hand I would assume there are those in this room that may be panicky if they knew it was the last hour. In all honesty there may be many in this room who have not been guarding their hearts like Phil 4:7 encourages us to do, or preparing for the arrival of our Lord, which is the main message of the Book of Revelation… In this panic you realize that you are like a dead man walking towards your execution because the life that you thought you lived wasn’t real and the past was catching up to you…
There is another type of person which I pray is not in this room today, this is person that is neither at peace with the Lord nor in fear… This is the person who does not care either way… apathetic if you might say. To them life is good and because life is so good (for them at least) they could care less either whether or not Jesus is coming, whether by their death or arrival. I would prefer that this message of “the last hour” to either encourage you or warn you… but if it completely flies over your head, if you completely miss out on the importance to be a peace with God trust that he could always break those chains, then there is a veil of deception indeed over your eyes that only the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can break…
But if you rescognize with me that there is sin, evil and chaos… if you will agree that at times opposition can be overwhelming and completely out of our control. If you would agree that with me that evil is evil and while evil revolves within the permissive will of God, it is certainly not something that God desires to be in this worls…
For as my Sunday school class knows all too well that evil is objectionable because it goes against his … Character! Then fortunately I will not leave you with this depression thought of that’s all she wrote, rather, I will say that…
THT 4: Every Christian in this room has a reason to rejoice for none can compare to the power of God! In other words God is indeed the God and your God, and there is none above him otherwise he would not be who he is…
Look at the facts of our narrative… step by step…
In v. 12-17 it is the weak little early church that gets to have the party in the morning not Herod.
In v. 18-19 it is the guards who get executed not Peter for by not protecting their prisoner they would have to share in the fat
Finally in v. 20-25 it is Herod that is struck dead by the hand of God to which Luke only tells us that Herod, “did not give glory to God.”
I can tell you this day based on this one story alone (you have to hold me back from the OT) that truly none can compare to the power of our God.
When I had cancer, I was overwhelmed…
When I was teased at school for my faith, I was overwhelmed…
When I first entered into seminary, I was overwhelmed…
When I realized that the English ministry at my church was headed down a rapid downward spiral, I was overwhelmed…
When I first arrived here, (of course I could literally feel the love and your prayers) but it was tough and at times overwhelming…
In all of these cases I have to trust in God that he was in control and that he could indeed break any and all chains in my life that caused me to fear… I can say now with a clear heart, while at times life is still tough (as it ought to be) Christ has set me free…
Otherwise I would not be here today…
Judging from the countless testimonies we heard almost two months ago… you would not be Christians if God did not break the chains…
This ought to give you a reason to worship… a reason to praise him today!
THT: So… (How should I react when facing overwhelming opposition?) Take courage when the opposition becomes overwhelming, because God can always break the chains and none can compare to his power.
In other words do not be afraid of anything in this world because big daddy has your back! (pardon the modernization of language) but he is not just a God, he is the God and your God… None can stand against him
Application: Why do we need to be reminded of this unobjectionable theological maxim…?
Because whether we live or die from overwhelming opposition we will all be with the Lord forever…
Some of you see a sickness a death, a relationship in you life as an overwhelming event in your life…
Maybe your in the thick of understanding the re-zoning process… and all the hoops that this church will have to jump through, many of you are not sure if we can make it.
You want to move forward for the Lord in your life but all the opposition and chains of this world are holding you back, slowing you down and it is REAL not hypothetical for you…
Now I don’t want to be insensitive… because I know this may take time…
For some of you it may take a week… for some a month… for some a year.
You may have to move through the doubt, the realization, the grief, and eventually the acceptance… it may take time… for you to catch up to Peter’s peacefulness in his relationship with God, but you will get there… No matter where you are in this journey called lif
Sermon Text: Acts 12:1-25
Sermon Date: May 30th, 2010
Worship Scripture: Rom 8:38-39
Introduction:
(Opposition that we face…) Movie Clip from CNN
Background:
Over the course of these past months we have sort of taken your hand and walked you chapter by chapter through the book of Acts… You have seen quite a bit, and I can’t help but wonder if after all these sermons… you are a bit overwhelmed by all the content and sort of lost in what is going on with this book…
So before we go forward lets do something that I love to do… and that is review where we are at… while I walk with you through these chapters… watch the progression of the gospel of Christ, like a snowball that first gets rolled down a hill… it gets bigger and bigger as it goes down…
Lets start in Acts Ch 2… Right after the ascension of Jesus the Holy Spirit poured out to believers at Pentecost
Following this event, all the way to the end of chapter 4 there are a succession of three speeches made by Peter all centered on Christ and all focused on the spread of the Gospel
Chapters 5-6 deal with the protection and building of the church, while in Chapter 7 Stephen calls out the Jews for missing Jesus as their Messiah altogether..
By the time we reach ch 8, we speed up quite bit and Gospel begins to grow… from Jerusalem to the rest of the world.
In Acts chapter 8 Gospel going to the Samaria ,
In Acts chapter 9 Paul is converted and given the mission to preach to the Gentiles,
In Acts chapter 10 and 11 the conversion of the Roman centurion and the dream that results from this event gives the key to Gentiles to Peter…
And finally the church in Antioch established in the latter section of chapter 11 which we will see next week as the launching point of team Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey.
Now if you remember last week there was a main character that was in constant contact with Cornelius… Who was that? (Peter) Now Pastor Chan made a comment and reference that Peter was given the keys to the gentiles in Matt 16:19 could be a reference to the dreams of chapters 10 and 11. Regardless if there is a connection or not, No one would disagree that there is a movement in the Gospel and it only can be the power of God which is propelling it…
Yet all of a sudden there is a stall in the plan... (a time out you could say) and as it happens the main leader… the main preacher up until this point is put in prison. Today’s sermon will directly deal with this event and passage!
What we will do today is very simple. We will first…
Outline:
Introduce you to a reality in our lives… (Then we deal with…)
What this reality can actually do to us… (Then refreshingly look at…)
What God can do… (And finally…)
How is this possible…
One more time… we will be…
Introduce you to a reality in our lives…
What this reality can actually do to us…
What God can do…
How is this possible…
Ultimately it is my purpose and mission to solve the dilema
THQ: How should I react when facing opposition in my life?
In other words, what should I be reminded of when facing that which is dead set against me in this world?
To start us off lets flush out the reality of the opposition that is out there in the world…
The reality is simply this…
THT 1: There are people and circumstances bent on opposing you for their own personal gain.
In other words, there are good people just like you that are facing trouble within this world to which the reason for that opposition could not care nor about the outcome of his or her victim.
Call it a parasite, call it chaos, call it evil, even call it sin… it is out there today in a fallen world.
Trip to the beach…
READ with me Acts 12:1-2, Acts 12:1-2
“Acts 12:1-2 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.”
What we know about this situation is that this is not crazy Herod the Great, rather this is his grandson, born and raised in Rome, good friends with the crazy Roman Emperor Caligula. Now while it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly why Herod went after the apostle James, it is fair to say that the praise he received from the Jews spurned his motivation to execute more Christian leaders. The reason for this praise though from the part of the Jews is sort of understandable. Only ten years ago Stephen gave his condemning speech to the Jews which got him stoned, and it would seem that the Jews even after ten years do not care much for Christians at all…
The reality is that a large part of being in a world fallen in sin is that there are people and circumstances bent on opposing the good for their own gain or accomplishment….
In this case it was persecution… it could be sickness… it could be death… or even loss… In all of these cases it would be naïve for you to think that you are above this world, that somehow bad things could never happen to you… No matter how much insurance, equity, stocks, or securities you might have, life has a way of catching up to people… and some of you here in this room know exactly what I mean.
Point number two…. The reality is that…
THT 2: There will be instances when this opposition may reach you and overwhelm you. No matter how paranoid you might be, no matter how strong your castle, fortress or home is, sin and evil has a way of sneaking into the cracks. Some of the most unhappy people I know seem to have it all, and some of the satisfied people that I ever met in college seem like they don’t have anything compared to myself.
READ Acts 12:3-5… v. 3-5
“Acts 12:3-5 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
If every story has a problem, this is certainly the problem for Peter. With the response that the Jews gave to Herod with the execution of James, it was almost a green light and open season to strike against Peter as well. It made sense that since Herod had grown up in Rome and had crazy Roman friends, that he would arrest and hold Peter for execution in a very Roman way. In Herod’s mind he wanted there to be absolutely NO WAY for Peter escape! Look at v. 4 how there were four shifts of four soldiers. Traditionally two soldiers would be shackled to either side of the prisoner, and the two other soldiers in six hour shifts would be guarding the entrance. This all takes place for just one prisoner and is equivalent to maximum security prison Roman style. Finally in v. 5 you can’t help but notice that the church was “earnestly” praying for Peter. This word “earnestly” probably represents one of two things… the first, is that they are in utter desperation. They know that there is no way for Peter on his own to “break out” of prison. The second suggests that the church might have thought that Peter was already dead. Their prayers in that sense were cries of grief rather than pleas for escape.
The truth is and the simple fact remains that no matter how well you try to protect yourself… some day you will get hurt some day you will feel pain, some day you will get burned. Someday you might even meet your match. We will all face death unless Jesus comes back, and in that day that we meet death… some of us may be able to cheat him, but most of us will not. But the plain fact is that as the world turns opposition can easily become overwhelming and completely out of your control. In your desperation and in your grief… what should you remember? One thing…
THT 3: No matter how strong the opposition, God can break the chains!
No matter how locked up you might be… God can set you free!
READ Acts 12:6-11, v. 6-11
“Acts 12:6-11 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."”
I love this passage because every time I read it, it makes me smile… God seriously has a sense of humor, v. 6 tells us that it was the last night of Peter’s life here on earth, and on that night almost mockingly against the powers of Herod, God sets Peter free. This adds to the saying, that God is never early, God is never late, he is always on time because he is who he is!
V. 7 is the real cool part, even with the bright entrance of the angel in the jail cell, the angel still has to strike Peter to get him to wake up. This is not just a supernatural tap on the shoulder, this is a forceful smack. Now if I was in prison awaiting my execution, I would not be sleeping, I could tell you that right now. I would be tossing and turning, thinking about what I might say or do. Instead Peter is so calm, so relaxed that he is making it a point in enjoying his last night on earth.
This is from the same man that in Matt 16:19 was given the keys to the kingdom… this is from the same man who was standing on the verge of the most evangelistic era of the Early Church. And yet he seems to willfully accept the fact that this is the end.
It reminds me of General Patton who invaded the Palermo in Sicily, but because he smacked a cowardly soldier was put on probation during the invasion of Germany…
Patton who loved war, he loved the thrill of battle and some could argue that is what made him such a great general… but to be on probation… to be put on time out… during the largest invasion in history (D-day), you could understand his pain when he exclaims… “A whole world at war and I am left out of it!” Peter is the exact opposite. Did he probably feel regret, did he feel left out on one of the greatest opportunities of evangelical conquest the early church had yet to see… sure… but Peter knew he was going home… Peter knew he was always with God, and he knew at anytime at any moment God could break those chains if he ever wished. Long story short, Peter had nothing to fear no matter how strong the opposition of Herod actually was.
You have to wonder also, why was Peter so at peace on last day of his life, at the very last hour? He probably knew that just as James was executed so he would also be executed in the morning. In a only a few moments he would “be with God.” No force from this earth could break him out…
Would you be as calm… as Peter was… if you knew you were going to meet God in a couple of hours? Sure Peter knew that God was in control and that he could break the chains as He wished… but there was a sense I think that Peter was satisfied with his spiritual life. There was a sense that he walked with God, he did his best, sure he made mistakes, but all in all he knew he was in good standing with Jesus when it came to following Him.
I would argue many in this church would feel just like Peter if they knew it was the last hour. If they knew that they were dead men and women. While dying is bad, and this life is precious, at the same time they know God is in control and that all in all they follow him and there is nothing to really to worry about.
On the other hand I would assume there are those in this room that may be panicky if they knew it was the last hour. In all honesty there may be many in this room who have not been guarding their hearts like Phil 4:7 encourages us to do, or preparing for the arrival of our Lord, which is the main message of the Book of Revelation… In this panic you realize that you are like a dead man walking towards your execution because the life that you thought you lived wasn’t real and the past was catching up to you…
There is another type of person which I pray is not in this room today, this is person that is neither at peace with the Lord nor in fear… This is the person who does not care either way… apathetic if you might say. To them life is good and because life is so good (for them at least) they could care less either whether or not Jesus is coming, whether by their death or arrival. I would prefer that this message of “the last hour” to either encourage you or warn you… but if it completely flies over your head, if you completely miss out on the importance to be a peace with God trust that he could always break those chains, then there is a veil of deception indeed over your eyes that only the Holy Spirit and the Word of God can break…
But if you rescognize with me that there is sin, evil and chaos… if you will agree that at times opposition can be overwhelming and completely out of our control. If you would agree that with me that evil is evil and while evil revolves within the permissive will of God, it is certainly not something that God desires to be in this worls…
For as my Sunday school class knows all too well that evil is objectionable because it goes against his … Character! Then fortunately I will not leave you with this depression thought of that’s all she wrote, rather, I will say that…
THT 4: Every Christian in this room has a reason to rejoice for none can compare to the power of God! In other words God is indeed the God and your God, and there is none above him otherwise he would not be who he is…
Look at the facts of our narrative… step by step…
In v. 12-17 it is the weak little early church that gets to have the party in the morning not Herod.
In v. 18-19 it is the guards who get executed not Peter for by not protecting their prisoner they would have to share in the fat
Finally in v. 20-25 it is Herod that is struck dead by the hand of God to which Luke only tells us that Herod, “did not give glory to God.”
I can tell you this day based on this one story alone (you have to hold me back from the OT) that truly none can compare to the power of our God.
When I had cancer, I was overwhelmed…
When I was teased at school for my faith, I was overwhelmed…
When I first entered into seminary, I was overwhelmed…
When I realized that the English ministry at my church was headed down a rapid downward spiral, I was overwhelmed…
When I first arrived here, (of course I could literally feel the love and your prayers) but it was tough and at times overwhelming…
In all of these cases I have to trust in God that he was in control and that he could indeed break any and all chains in my life that caused me to fear… I can say now with a clear heart, while at times life is still tough (as it ought to be) Christ has set me free…
Otherwise I would not be here today…
Judging from the countless testimonies we heard almost two months ago… you would not be Christians if God did not break the chains…
This ought to give you a reason to worship… a reason to praise him today!
THT: So… (How should I react when facing overwhelming opposition?) Take courage when the opposition becomes overwhelming, because God can always break the chains and none can compare to his power.
In other words do not be afraid of anything in this world because big daddy has your back! (pardon the modernization of language) but he is not just a God, he is the God and your God… None can stand against him
Application: Why do we need to be reminded of this unobjectionable theological maxim…?
Because whether we live or die from overwhelming opposition we will all be with the Lord forever…
Some of you see a sickness a death, a relationship in you life as an overwhelming event in your life…
Maybe your in the thick of understanding the re-zoning process… and all the hoops that this church will have to jump through, many of you are not sure if we can make it.
You want to move forward for the Lord in your life but all the opposition and chains of this world are holding you back, slowing you down and it is REAL not hypothetical for you…
Now I don’t want to be insensitive… because I know this may take time…
For some of you it may take a week… for some a month… for some a year.
You may have to move through the doubt, the realization, the grief, and eventually the acceptance… it may take time… for you to catch up to Peter’s peacefulness in his relationship with God, but you will get there… No matter where you are in this journey called lif
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Who is Jesus?
It is late, and I know I should be getting to sleep, but it has has been ages since I have last blogged and I feel now is as good of a time as any.
Today was VERY difficult. Sharing about who is Jesus, something supposed to be so easy, turned out to be extremely challenging. I was forced to think through everything I said today, and even then I know there were plenty of areas where I could be even more clear. During prayer on Friday Pastor Kwan said the simplest of things... Just stick to the Word. It is the Word that transforms lives not me. No matter how crazy complicated today was (even for me) I know I stuck to the Word of God. And if it was the Word that caused the issues in the minds of people, forcing them to stretch their understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ, then so be it, I have done my job well!
My prayer is for our Church. That they would follow Christ and no other. It may take time to lay down the idols that take the place of God in our lives, but that is what Grace is there for. Everyday is a gift, and every Sunday for that matter. I look forward to tomorrow, to know and receive the Word which God has given to Pastor Dean.
Today was VERY difficult. Sharing about who is Jesus, something supposed to be so easy, turned out to be extremely challenging. I was forced to think through everything I said today, and even then I know there were plenty of areas where I could be even more clear. During prayer on Friday Pastor Kwan said the simplest of things... Just stick to the Word. It is the Word that transforms lives not me. No matter how crazy complicated today was (even for me) I know I stuck to the Word of God. And if it was the Word that caused the issues in the minds of people, forcing them to stretch their understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ, then so be it, I have done my job well!
My prayer is for our Church. That they would follow Christ and no other. It may take time to lay down the idols that take the place of God in our lives, but that is what Grace is there for. Everyday is a gift, and every Sunday for that matter. I look forward to tomorrow, to know and receive the Word which God has given to Pastor Dean.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Application to the Heart
Wednesday, May 7, 2009
Isaiah 66
Isaiah 66:17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.”
In God’s dealing with man, he seeks to judge those that have compromised in their faith. These are the people who no longer listen to God, instead, they listen to anything that they hear. These are the ones who forsake the revelation of God and now become the epitome of “following one in the midst.” What is evident from the text, with the listing of pig’s flesh and mice, is that it does not seem to matter to them how much of an abomination they become against the Lord. With those who “sanctify and purify themselves to go into the garden” this is not a one time event but suggests an organized cult possibly lead by an elder or leader. As we already know, God is a jealous God, and this outright sin against him will not go unpunished as his hand moves towards judgment.
Recently I was reminded by an old and very popular saying, “a rolling stone catches no moss.” The idea behind it, was that if you keep moving, keep focused, then all those extra things in life that tend to tie people down would not be able to hold you back. Likewise there wouldn’t be enough opportunity for a rolling stone to grow moss upon itself. I tend to think that most of the time when we wander into “whatever” it is because we have lost the focus of God within our life. If we were really focused on the Lord, if we really knew what was at stake, we simply would not have the time or the chance to wander into some strange garden and perform weird ritualistic ceremonies. The problem is that there is an organized front meant to distract us and we are indeed fallen creatures. We must remind ourselves that we are new in him every morning, and pray that the Lord “keeps us from temptation.”
J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah: TDOT, (Downers Grove : IVP, 1999) p. 404-5.
Wednesday, May 7, 2009
Isaiah 66
Isaiah 66:17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.”
In God’s dealing with man, he seeks to judge those that have compromised in their faith. These are the people who no longer listen to God, instead, they listen to anything that they hear. These are the ones who forsake the revelation of God and now become the epitome of “following one in the midst.” What is evident from the text, with the listing of pig’s flesh and mice, is that it does not seem to matter to them how much of an abomination they become against the Lord. With those who “sanctify and purify themselves to go into the garden” this is not a one time event but suggests an organized cult possibly lead by an elder or leader. As we already know, God is a jealous God, and this outright sin against him will not go unpunished as his hand moves towards judgment.
Recently I was reminded by an old and very popular saying, “a rolling stone catches no moss.” The idea behind it, was that if you keep moving, keep focused, then all those extra things in life that tend to tie people down would not be able to hold you back. Likewise there wouldn’t be enough opportunity for a rolling stone to grow moss upon itself. I tend to think that most of the time when we wander into “whatever” it is because we have lost the focus of God within our life. If we were really focused on the Lord, if we really knew what was at stake, we simply would not have the time or the chance to wander into some strange garden and perform weird ritualistic ceremonies. The problem is that there is an organized front meant to distract us and we are indeed fallen creatures. We must remind ourselves that we are new in him every morning, and pray that the Lord “keeps us from temptation.”
J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah: TDOT, (Downers Grove : IVP, 1999) p. 404-5.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The way of the Lord
Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.
Proverbs 19:3 When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.
Psalm 119:1-3 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
I realize that Proverbs 21:31 is right when it says, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD." This has been one of my most favorite proverbs since I started studying wisdom literature. I tend to be the kind of personality that tries to make everything ready before any deadline. With this kind of personality I often become over-prepared and even overly-anxious.
There are times when I realize I become "creative" in the way I handle situations. In today's devotion it made the point, why do we consider any other way when we know that God's way is always the correct answer. True, there are some situations where there could be some possible gray areas, but questions concerning salvation, relationships, work ethics; most major subjects in our life can be easily answered by an understanding from God. The hardest part is doing it.
I try to reason why we doubt. Maybe we doubt the outcome? Maybe we think that the cost is not worth the reward? Maybe we doubt the one who we are supposed to trust? In cases like these we are all forced to bank on the Scriptures. Because the Lord promised, that will be enough for me. When things don't go the way I expect, I will trust the Lord and not have my "heart rage against" Him (Prov 19:3). Saying this is easy, promising this is another story. But our Lord already has, and so must I.
L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1997) p. 179-180.
Proverbs 19:3 When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.
Psalm 119:1-3 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
I realize that Proverbs 21:31 is right when it says, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD." This has been one of my most favorite proverbs since I started studying wisdom literature. I tend to be the kind of personality that tries to make everything ready before any deadline. With this kind of personality I often become over-prepared and even overly-anxious.
There are times when I realize I become "creative" in the way I handle situations. In today's devotion it made the point, why do we consider any other way when we know that God's way is always the correct answer. True, there are some situations where there could be some possible gray areas, but questions concerning salvation, relationships, work ethics; most major subjects in our life can be easily answered by an understanding from God. The hardest part is doing it.
I try to reason why we doubt. Maybe we doubt the outcome? Maybe we think that the cost is not worth the reward? Maybe we doubt the one who we are supposed to trust? In cases like these we are all forced to bank on the Scriptures. Because the Lord promised, that will be enough for me. When things don't go the way I expect, I will trust the Lord and not have my "heart rage against" Him (Prov 19:3). Saying this is easy, promising this is another story. But our Lord already has, and so must I.
L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1997) p. 179-180.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
No pain, no gain
Isaiah 37:31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.
Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I realize that I might be taking the first verse slightly out of context but the idea certainly follows suit. I love today's devotional because it brings back the true meaning to where our life and energy comes from each and every day.
Phil 3:8 teaches that everything is rubbish in comparison to following Christ. This seems like just another "captain obvious" statements but it is completely true. When our lives are separate from Christ, we simply do not live in the best way possible.
So when do we live closest to the Lord? The devotional recommended that it was during the time that we suffer. Say when we are "persecuted," sick, or possibly disabled for a given amount of time. In the "worlds" perspective, this could be considered times of least effectiveness. Yet I know and I am sure you would agree, during times like these (sometimes considered like setbacks), these are the times we grow closest to God and leave with a greater awareness of him. It goes to the idea, "no pain no gain" or as Isa 37:31 puts it, our roots must grow downward for our plants to blossom upwards. God Bless friends!
L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1997) p. 171-172.
Philippians 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I realize that I might be taking the first verse slightly out of context but the idea certainly follows suit. I love today's devotional because it brings back the true meaning to where our life and energy comes from each and every day.
Phil 3:8 teaches that everything is rubbish in comparison to following Christ. This seems like just another "captain obvious" statements but it is completely true. When our lives are separate from Christ, we simply do not live in the best way possible.
So when do we live closest to the Lord? The devotional recommended that it was during the time that we suffer. Say when we are "persecuted," sick, or possibly disabled for a given amount of time. In the "worlds" perspective, this could be considered times of least effectiveness. Yet I know and I am sure you would agree, during times like these (sometimes considered like setbacks), these are the times we grow closest to God and leave with a greater awareness of him. It goes to the idea, "no pain no gain" or as Isa 37:31 puts it, our roots must grow downward for our plants to blossom upwards. God Bless friends!
L.B. Cowman, Streams in the Desert, (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1997) p. 171-172.
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