Category: Sermon

LIVING LIFE IN REVERSE

On By Pastor TomIn Christianity, Church, Faith, Jesus, Sermon, Uncategorized3 Comments

PART I:  GET YOUR BUT IN LINE

Genesis 29:16-35


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We know that God loves us. We know that through Jesus, we are forgiven. We keep our faith in Him. But where we really struggle, is with ourselves. I’m glad I’m forgiven. And I know that I am. But (notice that pernicious little word!) I wish I didn’t sin so much. I wish my life was easier to live. I wish I didn’t worry. I wish I was more compassionate. I wish I wasn’t so lazy.

I know (or at least I think I do) how God wants me to be. So I try to be more like that, but I often fail. After I fail, I say sorry to God. I know that I have forgiveness in Jesus, and that forgiveness is always available. So I get that forgiveness, and then off I go to try again. Sometimes I even try harder. I might even get it together for awhile, but sooner or later I crash and burn again.

Maybe after awhile, I realize I haven’t been very bright. I think, “Ohhh…Jesus has given me the Holy Spirit to help me!” So I get back on the horse, determined to try harder, and succeed this time with the Spirit’s help. And maybe for awhile it goes better. I stop and consciously ask for God’s help to live the life of a Christian. I ask for help when I am tempted. Maybe I also get connected to other Christians, and seek help and support from them. That helps too, because God has given us each for that very purpose.

Now it goes better. But the truth is, it is still a lot of work. And the truth is, though maybe I fail less frequently, I still fail plenty often.

Whole shelves of books have been dedicated to help people like me pull it together. Some of them are quite helpful. Somehow though, I can’t seem to make the improvements permanent or consistent.

Andrew Murray seems to know what I’m going through. He puts it like this:

“The idea they have of grace is this – that their conversion and pardon are God’s work, but that now, in gratitude to God, it is their work to live as Christians, and follow Jesus. There is always the thought of a work to be done, and even though they pray for help, still the work is theirs. They fail continually, and become hopeless; and the despondency only increases the helplessness.” (Abide in Christ)

We tend of think of it like this: ultimate failure, and the power of death and hell, are defeated through Jesus. Now, once we trust in Jesus we can play the game “safely” so to speak. So we can try and fail and try and fail as much as we need to, without being in danger of going to hell.

But does that really sound like “good news?” We are “free” to pursue a cycle of failure? Andrew Murray adds this:

“Dear souls! How little they know that the abiding in Christ is just meant for the weak, and so beautifully suited to their feebleness. It is not the doing of some great thing, and does not demand that we first lead a very holy and devoted life. No, it is simply weakness entrusting itself to a Mighty One to be kept – the unfaithful one casting self on One who is altogether trustworthy and true. Abiding in him [living the Christian life] is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying his salvation, but a consenting to let Him do all for us, and in us, and through us. It is a work he does for us – the fruit and the power of His redeeming love. Our part is simply to yield, to trust and to wait for what He has engaged to perform.” (Abide in Christ).

Now that sounds like good news. Maybe too good. In order to lay hold of this, we need to begin by talking about your but.

Before you can truly grasp everything that Jesus has done for us; before you can take hold of the riches we have in Christ, you need to get your but straightened out.

I am talking, of course, about your B-U-T, not your b-u-t-t. What were you thinking?

We all have buts in life. (All right, insert whatever joke you like here, and then move on). What I mean is, we all say things like this:

Things are going well now, but who knows what will happen in the future?

I know God promises to take care of me, but things aren’t going well right now.

Generally, I have a good marriage, but sometimes he drives me crazy.

I would love to read my bible more, but I just don’t have the time.

I know God has forgiven me, but I still sin, and I don’t always feel forgiven.

There is something I have noticed – we give the most power, the most credibility, to what we put after the but. What we say after the but is what we think is the dominant thing about our reality. The first thing may be some kind of factor, but what we put after the but is more or less the final word on the subject.

What we need to learn, is to put what God says after the but. This is an act of will, but before that even, it is an act of faith. Nothing you hear this weekend will make sense until you agree to put God’s Word after the but.

I want us to look at the life of someone in the Bible who learned to do this. She is one of the least known, least talked-about heroines of faith in the Bible. Her name is Leah. Leah was the daughter of a man named Laban. Her story picks up in Genesis chapter 29. The bible says Leah had “weak eyes.” We don’t really know what this means, but it seems to mean that she was ugly. Right after this it says: “but her sister Rachel was shapely and beautiful.” Notice the but. It was probably one of the dominant “buts” in Leah’s life.

One day their cousin Jacob, whom they had never met, came from a far country. Jacob ended up working for his uncle Laban (Leah’s father). Jacob fell in love with Rachel, Leah’s sister. He told his uncle he would work for seven years as a dowry, and Laban agreed. Only, when the time came, Laban tricked Jacob. Brides in those days were heavily veiled, and the wedding took place at night – and there was no electricity. So Laban gave his older daughter, Leah, in marriage to Jacob, and Jacob didn’t find out until the light of the next morning. Laban offered to let Jacob marry Rachel too, if he worked another seven years. So after Jacob and Leah had been married just one week, a new wedding took place, and Jacob got Rachel at last. Then he had another seven years to work.

Needless to say, they were not one big happy family. We don’t know if Leah loved Jacob, or wanted to marry him. But we do know that Jacob did not love Leah, and had never wanted to marry her. Almost certainly, the reason her father had tricked Jacob in that way was because he thought it was unlikely that he would ever be able to marry her off. In other words, she was so ugly, her father had to trick someone into marrying her. Almost certainly, Leah knew this. She was ugly, not stupid.

Naturally, Jacob favored Rachel. He loved her, not Leah. Leah’s only consolation was that she had children fairly easily, while Rachel went for a long time with none. When Leah’s first son (Reuben) was born, she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now (Genesis 29:32).” Notice that her focus was on her unhappy situation, and she hopes the fact that she bore him the first child will change it. When her second son (Simeon) came along she said, “The Lord heard I was unloved, and gave me this son also (Genesis 29:33).” Still, her dominant reality is that Jacob doesn’t love her. After her third son was born, she was still focused on her struggles, saying, “at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons (Genesis 29:34).”

Now we know that it takes nine months to make a baby. There was no birth control in those days, but in general, when a woman is breastfeeding, that sometimes helps prevent pregnancy. Back in those days, children were probably breastfed pretty consistently for at least a year. So it reasonable to assume at least two years between each child. When you throw in the fact that Jacob had another wife, and everything that was involved in the family dynamics, it may have been more like three years, or even more between children. So Leah went between six and nine years, while the dominant fact in her life was that her husband did not love her.

But (notice the but) by the time her fourth son arrives, something has changed. There is no evidence that Jacob ever changed his attitude very much toward her. Reasonably, at least eight years might have passed by this point, perhaps a many as twelve or more. Say, a decade; ten long years of realizing her marriage will never be what she dreamed it might be. But listen to what she says when this fourth son, Judah, is born: “This time, I will praise the Lord (29:35).”

Leah is no longer fixated on what she lacks in her life. She isn’t trying to get Jacob to change anymore. Instead, her focus is on the Lord, and his love and favor for her. Her struggle had been with God and with her husband. But when she gave birth to Judah, she has given up the fight – in a positive way. Her troubles have led her to a place where she looks to God to meet her needs, and can receive his love and mercy with joy and thankfulness. I’m sure that Leah still struggled. I think it is only reasonable to assume that emotionally, her situation never changed much. Certainly, the Bible never records that Jacob changed his attitude toward her. But she came to the point where the dominant thing in her life was not her struggle, or her unfilled needs, but rather, God’s awesome love for her.

Genesis 29:31 says that when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb. In other words, the Lord was the one who gave Leah these children; and even more, he gave them to her because he saw that her husband did not love her. Now, at first, her response was basically this: “Good! This child will change my situation. This child will make my husband love me.” But think about it. God gave the children to Leah, not as tools to coerce Jacob’s love – the Lord gave Leah children because the Lord loved her. He was showing her that regardless of what Jacob thought of her, He loved her. She was not unloved. At first she missed the point. She was still putting Jacob’s lack of love after the but. Finally however, she got it. When Judah was born, she praised the Lord. She finally saw that these children would not make her loved – they showed her that she was already loved.

Sometimes when we pray, God changes our situation, and makes it better. Sometimes, he leaves us in the same circumstances. When he does that, his desire is that our lives can be so filled with him, that the negative aspects of our situation pale in comparison. When Kari and I first started dating, I was in job situation that I didn’t like, living in a city I didn’t care for, with few real friends nearby. I remember sitting in a meeting at work, filled with joy. I wasn’t joyful because I was in the meeting. I wasn’t joyful because I liked where I was living, or because I was making much money, or that I liked my work. None of those things were true. But I was joyful because I knew that wherever I was, whatever I was doing, Kari loved me.

Now, I don’t mean to be negative, but the kind of joy that came when I first knew that Kari loved me, does not sustain me in the same way eighteen years later. We still love each other. It is still a big thing in my life that Kari loves me. But no human being has the power to fill you with joy consistently for a long period of time. Only God’s love is that strong.

I think that was the kind of place Leah finally reached. Jacob still didn’t love her. He probably never would. But God did, and the fact that God loved her was more important than the fact that her husband did not.

This is the key to “Living after the But.” Remember, whatever you put after “but” is the dominant reality to you. For many years, Leah probably said something like this: “I know God loves me, but my husband does not. I’m just a third wheel.” Finally, after the birth of Judah, she started thinking this way: “I know Jacob never wanted to marry me. He may never love me the way I want him to. But God loves me and cares for me.” The only thing that really changed for Leah is which thing she put after the “But.” However, I think it transformed everything for her.

I suspect that in the next few messages I have to preach, you might hear some things that cause you to think “but….” I want you to remind yourself to put the correct thing after the but.

The apostle Paul said something very important in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This verse teaches us something important about the nature of reality. Part of reality is seen. That is, we can perceive it with the senses. This part of reality changes. It proceeds through time. It has a beginning and an end. We might call it the “natural realm” or “this world,” Paul says that this part of reality is temporary. That doesn’t mean it is meaningless. In the broad scheme of things, this seen and temporary part of reality is where God works in us and through us for his own glory. What happens in the seen, in the here and now of time, has an effect on where we are in the other part of reality. In this world, we have struggle and change and process and need and growing and sowing and reaping.

The other part of reality is unseen and eternal. It is outside of time. We might call it the eternal realm, or eternity. It is the realm of the uncreated, of ultimate reality, of complete and wholeness where things are settled. This is the ultimate dwelling of God. When God appeared to Moses and Moses asked him his name, God said “I AM.” That is an idea of the eternal realm. There is no time there.

The bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). That is is not true in this world, in the temporary part of reality. Jesus is not walking around Palestine today like he was two thousand years ago. When he was thirty he was physically changed from how he looked and acted when he was three. But in the eternal realm, that is true. Jesus existed before the creation of the earth. He exists now. He always will exist. His eternal spirit never has changed, never will change.

Maybe this is obvious, but these verses in 2 Corinthians show us that the eternal realm is greater, more powerful, and more permanent than the temporary realm of this world. We don’t mean that this world doesn’t matter or is an illusion. God made it. God even entered it himself as a human being, bound in time. So it is important. We are just acknowledging that what the bible says is true: the unseen realm is greater than the seen. We are supposed to focus on the unseen more than on the seen.

Both realms co-exist. They interact with each other. The bible teaches that we live in both at the same time – even as Jesus did. But simply for illustration it may help to think of a line between them. Above the line is the eternal, unseen realm. Below the line is the temporary, seen world.

In these terms, we need to put the truths that exist “above the line” – the eternal unchanging truths – after the but.

We deal with things below the line constantly. That’s what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. His outer person (below the line) was being destroyed. But…BUT his inner person (above the line) was being constantly renewed. His affliction is momentary – but the glory is eternal. He focuses therefore on what is unseen and eternal. He puts those things after the but.

Now, I want the Holy Spirit to make this practical for you. What have you been putting after the but? Has your dominant reality been what God says? Or have you given more power and credence to your circumstances, or how you feel, or what your mind tells you logically? Take a moment to think about it. Let the Lord bring to mind what you have reversed right now.

Your dominant reality might be very negative, and very powerful. Leah spent her whole life thinking, “but I’m ugly.” Long years of marriage only added, “and I’m unwanted, and I’ll never get the chance to be with someone who does want me.” That’s powerful stuff. And it was all true. She never was loved by her husband or anyone else in that way.

But…BUT – there was another thing that was true. It was true that she was made in the image of God. It was true that God loved her. It was true that God wanted her. She let God’s love become her dominant reality. She let his word be the final word.

We need to learn to believe that what God says is more real than what we think or feel.

I am not saying that your struggles aren’t real. I am not saying that you aren’t dealing with things that are truly bad, or difficult or wrong. But I am saying that God’s Word is more true, more powerful. It is an act of faith to believe it.

Closing Potpourri

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, apostle paul, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Faith, Sermon, Uncategorized1 Comment

1 CORINTHIANS PART 29. 1 CORINTHIANS 16:1-24


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1 Corinthians chapter 16 is kind of a potpourri of closing thoughts, some of them apparently even kind of random. Even so, it is important for two reasons.

First, it is a window into the documentary heritage of the bible. There are certain groups of people who claim the bible was made up by people who wanted to control others through religion. They say the New Testament was gathered and edited by people with an agenda; that it was not inspired by God. Personally, if I was making something up, I’d leave 1Corinthians 16 out. It doesn’t look edited or shaped at all. In fact, it shows us what 1 Corinthians actually is: a letter, written by a real person to other real people. I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the letter; I believe that the Holy Spirit has, and will continue to, use the words of this letter to teach God’s people and draw them closer to Jesus. In short, I believe that the ultimate source of the letter is the Spirit of God, and it remains supernaturally meaningful and powerful and authoritative. But that does not change the fact that the means the Holy Spirit used in this instance was one real historical person, writing a letter to other real historical, people.

Very shortly after they were written, the letters of the apostles, and their writings about the life of Jesus (which we call the gospels) were copied and shared with all the churches. Many, many copies of each of these documents were made within a short period of time. Within about two hundred years, these writings had all been gathered together into one group of documents which we call the New Testament. Each document in the New Testament had to have a clear historical connection to a known apostle, and each one had to be in wide use throughout virtually all churches in the known world at the time. Each one also existed in multiple copies, so the copies could be checked against each other for accuracy.

There are other pseudo-Christian documents that survive from the period. Generally, only a few local churches had these, and they cannot be traced back clearly to any apostle. There are very few copies of these, compared to early copies of New Testament writings. Those documents were not included in the New Testament. Every couple years, the National Geographic Society trots one of these out as if it were a major new discovery (bible scholars have known about them for almost a thousand years). They call them “The Lost Gospels” or do some sort of article or TV show about the missing books of the New Testament. This is nothing more than extremely poor scholarship sensationalized to gain readers and viewers, and possibly to push an anti-Christian agenda.

My point is, when we look at 1 Corinthians 16, we see the New Testament for what it is. It is very hard to read this chapter and maintain that it was made up a hundred years after the fact. This passage is far too haphazard and far too personal either to be made up, or to be left in by editors who had a religious agenda.

There is a second reason why I want to look at 1 Corinthians 16. Romans 15:4 says

For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.

When Paul wrote that, he was talking about the Old Testament, but it applies equally to the New Testament. The idea is that even in a chapter like 1 Corinthians 16, there are things that can instruct and encourage us. There are three things I want to pick out of this chapter with that in mind.

Verses one through four are about a collection that was being taken to help out the Christians in Jerusalem. We know that there was a famine that hit Palestine in the mid 40’s. Times were very different then, it may have taken years or even decades for the region to recover, and so other Christians were still trying to help out their brothers and sisters in that area. I want to pay particular attention to something Paul says: “Each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” The entire bible affirms the two principles contained here.

The first principle is that we should give some of our money and resources to God’s work. We learned in 1 Corinthians 9 that an essential part of this work is preaching and teaching His Word , and God intends some people to devote their full time to it. Other people need to give for that to happen (1 Corinthians 9:14). That principle is affirmed many times in the Old Testament as well. In addition, the New Testament encourages churches to provide material help to widows and orphans – that is people who had no options when it came to income. Finally, here we find the principle of helping other believers who are need due to circumstances beyond their control.

The second principle is that of proportional giving. Paul says to set aside an amount in keeping with income. In other words, a percentage. This is both important and useful. It is important, because it means that everyone can and should give. If you only make $100, you can’t afford to give $100. But you can afford $10. However, if you make $1000, you can afford $100.

Jesus affirmed this principle himself. In Mark 12:41-44 he observed a widow who gave two copper pennies. He compared her to others who were giving large amounts. He said:

“I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed — all she had to live on.”

In other words, he wasn’t that impressed by people who gave because they had extra. He was touched by proportional giving. Sometimes we wait and see what we have extra, and decide what we can afford to give after everything else is taken care of. My problem, when I do that, is that I never have extra. But when it comes to giving, the entire bible in many and various ways encourages us to give to God first, and to do it as a percentage of what we get. Paul knows this, and so he tells them to set aside money each week in proportion to their income.

The next thing I want to pick out these verses for our instruction and encouragement is that Paul takes time here to name several leaders. He lists Timothy, Apollos, Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus. He tells them to treat Timothy well, and help him. He says of them all:

…They have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. Submit to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.

…Give recognition to such men..

Remember how this letter began? Paul chastised them for following leaders instead of Jesus, and starting sects based upon the personalities of their leaders. Now, he tells them to recognize leaders, listen to them and give them respect. He doesn’t want them to form cliques around leaders, or to elevate them to cult-status. But he does want them to recognize that God has chosen certain people to teach and lead them, and he wants the Corinthians to be humble enough to learn from those people, and to contribute to the the disciple-making effort under their guidance.

I find two opposite extremes to be quite common among Christians. There are some who venerate leaders and elevate them far beyond what they should be. “Pastor John says this, so that’s the way it is.” I’ve seen people believe things that are unbiblical, simply because a charismatic leader told them it was true. That extreme is wrong. Our faith is in Jesus, not human leaders. But I’ve also seen Christians who have contempt for any kind of spiritual leadership. These people are not humble and teachable. They fail to recognize that some folks  are called to teach the bible and give spiritual guidance to God’s people. So in the first part of this letter, Paul warns them about the first extreme. Now he warns them about the second. There is a place for spiritual leaders. Those who are not called to that ought to be teachable enough to listen to and receive God’s help through those who are called to lead.

The last things I want to point out from this text come from verses 13-14. Paul gives them a rapid fire set of final thoughts: “Be watchful, stand firm in faith, act like men, be brave, act in love. When it says “act like men” I think what Paul really means is, “it is time to grow up in your faith.”

Remember how Paul began this letter. These Corinthians have all that they need – in Jesus Christ. In Jesus they are complete, they are wise, they are spiritually gifted, they have all things. The bulk of the letter, Paul spent pointing out how they were failing to live their lives out of who they are in Christ. Instead they were living out of their own flesh and their own efforts. So now Paul closes by saying, among other things: get steadfast about your faith – it’s time to give up these flesh-patterns and this self life. It’s time to grow up. Growing up means that they should be living out of the fullness that is in Jesus, not the emptiness and vain effort that comes from their flesh.

 it’s time to give up these flesh-patterns and this self life. It’s time to grow up. Growing up means that they should be living out of the fullness that is in Jesus, not the emptiness and vain effort that comes from their flesh.

That’s terrific advice for us too. For each one us, I bet there are areas for each one of us where we need to grow up. It’s time to stop living for ourselves; to stop pretending that life is about us. Instead, let’s grow up. Let’s be steadfast in our faith, be bold, be courageous and live out of who we are in Jesus.

Resurrection of the Body

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Faith, Resurrection, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

1 Corinthians #28

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We have been talking about the resurrection. We have learned that it is central to the Christian faith. We have also learned that it is important to keep in mind that this life on earth is only a small part of the eternity that the Lord has prepared for us. Now, Paul uses 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 to speculate a little bit about what the resurrection will be like.

Paul notes that some people have questions about resurrection: how does it happen? What kind of body will we have? Once we start thinking about resurrection, there are many other questions that come up also. Will we know each other? Do the dead have some sort of consciousness even before the physical resurrection that is to come?

Before we get too far into it, I want to make something quite clear. The bible does not give us detailed answers to questions like these. As we have seen from 1 Corinthians 15, the bible is very positive that there is eternal life through Jesus Christ, and that eternal life includes a physical resurrection. But what exactly we will look like, what exactly we will do for eternity, whether or not our pets will be there – these types of questions are not answered in definitive detail. There are some things in the bible that suggest answers to some of our questions about resurrection and life after death, but a lot of it boils down to what I might call “informed guessing.”

Paul explains part of the problem in verses 36-38

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

We are like seeds, sitting in a seed packet, wondering what happens after we are planted, but having no point of reference. I’m growing zucchini squash in my garden right now. The seeds are smooth and flat, roughly the size of a fingernail, but oval shaped. There is kind of beveled border all around the edge of the seed. The seed is cream colored. Now, that seed is pure zucchini. There is nothing in the seed that is anything other than zucchini. It contains every part of the DNA of a full zucchini plant. And yet, the seed is nothing at all like the whole plant – in fact it isn’t even very much like the zucchini squash. The plant is green. It grows to over two feet tall, and more than four feet around of spreading green stalks and leaves. The flowers are long and yellow or orange. The zucchini “fruit” is a foot long or more, with white flesh and dark green skin. The seeds do not change their essential nature. The DNA of the grown plant is the same as the DNA of the seed that dies to produce the plant. Yet the plant is so much more than the seed. And no matter how long you took, you would never be able to imagine the plant merely from examining the seed.

Another illustration comes from the caterpillar and the butterfly. The caterpillar is nothing at like a butterfly. It is slow and ugly and it must crawl on the ground. The butterfly is pretty. It flies, flitting nimbly from flower to flower. And yet the are the same. The caterpillar becomes the butterfly.

This explains some things. We are like seeds talking to each other about what our mature plants will look like – but there is nothing in our experience or knowledge that will help us understand.

So Jesus said in one place that there will be no marriage in heaven. I’m always a little ambivalent about that. What’s wrong with marriage? We will be resurrected, we will have physical existence, and yet things will be entirely different – as different as a seed from the mature plant. It would kind of like the seeds asking if they get to hang out in the little seed envelope with other seeds, once they are mature plants. It’s as if we are caterpillars, wondering if we’ll still get to eat our favorite leaves after we become butterflies – but we haven’t even dreamed of the possibility of drinking nectar from flowers. The kinds of questions we have probably don’t even apply.

Jesus had a resurrected body. This is just pure speculation now – don’t make a doctrine out of what I’m about to write. But it may be that we can learn something from the records we have of Jesus after his resurrection. His body looked human – it had two arms, two legs and so on. And yet, on multiple occasions, those who had known him well failed to recognize him. (John 20:10-15, 21:4, Luke 24:13-32). In those instances, Jesus said something or did something to open their eyes to who he was. So apparently our bodies don’t have to look like our earthly bodies if we don’t want them to. Maybe we can appear in whatever form we choose. Obviously, the wounds on Jesus’ hands were not visible to the disciples who walked with him for hours on the road to Emmaus, or they would have made some comment. And yet, when he chose, he made those wounds visible to Thomas.

Jesus ate food, made a fire and walked around in his resurrection body. That all sounds pretty normal. He also passed through locked doors and moved instantly to other places far away. That sounds kind of fun to me. My personal feeling is that Jesus’ resurrection body is operating in more dimensions than we can perceive. Our bodies operate in the three dimensions of space, and we also interact with the fourth dimension of time. Respectable scientists have theorized that there as many as ten different dimensions in the universe. My belief is that Jesus’ body operated (and still does) in space and time, but at the same time, it also operates in dimensions that we can’t perceive. Maybe our bodies will be like that.

Paul does tell us one thing one. He says our resurrected bodies will be “imperishable” or “incorruptible.” The word “perishable” or “corruptible” has several nuances of meaning. (In Greek it is phthora; fqora) It can mean something that ultimately decays and rots. But it can also mean moral decay, moral corruption. We all know (and Paul points out) that our present bodies decay. We all know that we are morally corruptible. But, Paul says that will not be the case after the resurrection. Our bodies will not decay and break down. Our moral will, the pure heart that is given to us by Jesus, will not ever be corrupted.

Paul says what we sow now is sown in corruption, dishonor and weakness. He isn’t blind to what’s going on here on earth. But the resurrection will be in incorruptibility, in glory and in power. Our present bodies aren’t suited to live forever. Our present soul suffers the effects of sin. But our future body will be indestructible. In the future, our souls will also be indestructible – safe from sin and corruption.

Verse 44 mentions a “natural body” and a “spiritual body.” Clearly the “natural body” refers to what we have now. But the spiritual body does not mean that it is all spiritual and we won’t have physical existence. We have already seen clearly that the Bible teaches there is a physical resurrection. The term “spiritual body” is almost an oxymoron. But clearly, by using the word body, Paul has something physical in mind – but something spiritual also. I think what he means is this. Our spirit has already been perfect in Jesus Christ. We are already – in spirit – cleansed from our sin, holy, blameless, powerful, righteous and so on. At the resurrection, our bodies and souls will upgraded to match that spiritual condition of perfection.

I have always wondered about some other things. Do we go to be with Jesus as soon as we die, or are we “unconscious” of time, so to speak, until the physical resurrection? I don’t think I can give you an answer beyond all doubt, but there are some things in scripture that seem to point to the idea that as soon as we die, our spirits go be with Jesus (if we trust him) or to hell (if we rejected Jesus).

In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus told a parable about two men who died. The point of the parable is not to describe heaven or hell, so we need to be careful not to be overly dogmatic here. However, the parable reveals an afterlife where those who have faith wait for the end in bliss, while those who reject God suffer torment. Since Jesus told the parable, it seems to me that he does not object to that view of what happens right after someone dies.

Matthew 17:1-8 describes how Jesus was transfigured, and the disciples saw him as he met briefly with Moses and Elijah. Obviously, at that point, Moses and Elijah had been dead for many hundreds of years. Just as obviously, the physical resurrection of Jesus had not yet happened, nor has the physical resurrection at the end of the world. But there are Moses and Elijah – in existence, interacting with Jesus. Now the point is not the continuing awareness of Moses and Elijah – the point is that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. However, it suggests (though it does not prove) that people are spiritually alive and aware even before the resurrection at the end.

The book of Revelation records this scene:

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the people slaughtered because of God’s word and the testimony they had. They cried out with a loud voice: “Lord, the One who is holy and true, how long until You judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth? ”So a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were going to be killed just as they had been. (6:9-11)

Another verse in revelation says this:

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit,” they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”(Rev 14:13)

And finally, one more:

13Then one of the elders asked me, “Who are these people robed in white, and where did they come from? ” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” Then he told me: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary. The One seated on the throne will shelter them: 16They will no longer hunger; they will no longer thirst; the sun will no longer strike them, nor will any heat. 17For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will shepherd them; He will guide them to springs of living waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Rev 7:13-17)

All this seems to come before the final resurrection. I think sometimes we confuse this continuing spiritual existence with the physical resurrection from death. I’m not sure it matters all that much, because it’s all pretty good for those who trust Jesus, and pretty bad for those who don’t.

Peter writes that in the “day of the Lord” the heavens and the earth will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10). Revelation 21:1 affirms that, and declares that God will make a new heaven and a new earth. What is the point of the new earth if we don’t have bodies?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed.I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life.

Paul closes with these thoughts:

Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Father’s Day 2011

On By Pastor TomIn Bible Teaching, Christianity, Faith, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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We are in the middle of a silent crisis. It is one that we have made ourselves.

Father Knows Best is an old TV show that ended in 1960. That year it was #6 in the Nielson ratings. As the title suggests, it centers around family life. In addition to children and a mother, the family also had a father, who was a positive force in the lives of the other family members. At one time most people felt that the show portrayed an idealized American family, one that they could relate to and try to imitate. In the last twenty years, almost every reference I’ve heard to the show has been sarcastic and negative.

Contrast that with almost any other sitcom in the past twenty years. We know how the plot goes nowadays. If there even IS a father, he’s an idiot. He is about as smart as Papa Bear from the Berenstain Bears. He is insensitive and clueless as a husband, uncaring and stupid as a father. I always imagine the writers meetings in Hollywood when they come up with these shows.

FIRST WRITER: “We need a character who is a complete and utter fool, a buffoon we can make fun of, and have the audience think, ‘what a goober.’”

SECOND WRITER: “OK, we’ll put in a dad.”

No one in Hollywood would ever dream of characterizing a woman the way fathers are routinely portrayed in TV and movies. I don’t know if art is imitating culture, or making it, but the fact is fathers don’t get the respect they used to. Even worse, many people believe they aren’t necessary any more. Even worse than that, many men have bought into it, believing that what they do as a dad doesn’t make much difference. Many more men know that it is important, but they don’t know really, how to be a good dad, because there are so few positive role models.

The truth is that there is probably no greater factor in determining a child’s physical and emotional welfare than a positive father. This past week I downloaded seven pages of statistical summary from the Fatherhood Initiative (www.fatherhood.org). This is was just a small sample, distilled for the media, of the social research that has been done on the role and effect of fathers in America. I have distilled it even farther, and just taken some of the high points. Some of these facts come from professional and academic research studies. In addition, much of the data that is summarized here came from official government statistics, like the US Census, and the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. My point is, this wasn’t made up by some conservative organization with an axe to grind. If anything, most the facts were discovered by organizations whom we would normally expect to be either indifferent to, or negative toward, fatherhood.

  • In 1960, only 11% of children lived in father absent homes

  • Today, 1 in three children live apart from their fathers

  • Children in father-absent homes are five times more likely to be poor

  • Infants without a father’s name on the birth certificate are 21/2 times more likely to die within the first year of life, than are those with a father listed at birth.

  • A study of juvenile offenders indicates that family structure significantly predicts delinquency

  • Multiple studies show that drug and alcohol abuse is far more likely among children who do not live with their father.

  • Children who grew up in father-absent homes are far more likely to spend time in prison during their lives. Children who never had a father in the home are the most likely to be incarcerated.

  • Statistics from INTERPOL, taken from 39 countries show that there is a strong correlation between single-parenthood and violent crime.

  • Being raised by a single mother increases the risk of teen pregnancy (and early sexual activity)

  • Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school

  • 10% of students in two-parent families have to repeat a grade at some point; 18% of students from single-mother homes repeat

  • Compared to their peers living in with both parents, children in single-parent homes have:

  •             An 77% greater risk of suffering from being physically abused
  •             An 165% greater risk of notable physical neglect
  •             A 74% greater risk of suffering from emotional neglect
  •             Overall, a 120% greater risk of being endangered by some type of child abuse

  • Obese children are more likely to live in father-absent homes than non-obese children

  • The closer a child is to his or her father, the less likely the child is to have friends who smoke, drink or do drugs.

  • Single mothers are twice as likely to experience depression as married mothers

  • Compared to married mothers, single mothers experience higher levels of stress, fewer contacts with family and friends, less involvement with church or social groups, and overall, less social support

  • Children who live with their fathers in the home typically have more daily time with both their fathers AND their mothers than do children in single parent homes

  • In 2006, the Federal Government spent 100 Billion Dollars in assistance for father-absent homes.

If these things don’t scare you, I don’t know what will. If this doesn’t convince you how important Dads are, nothing will. One third of our population is heading for disaster because dads are absent without leave.

So, what do we do about it?

I think we need to start where we are. If you are not a dad yourself, then start by encouraging and supporting the dads you know. I know I’ve never tried to do anything more important than to be a good father to my children. I also know that it is the most difficult thing I’ve ever attempted. And speaking candidly, there is nothing I’ve worked so hard at that I also have failed so frequently at. So give us a hand. Pray for us. If you see positives in our kids, let us know. Let us share our frustrations with you once awhile, without judging us. Don’t be afraid to interact with our kids and offer your own love, joy and wisdom with them at times.

Maybe you are married to a dad. We don’t say it much these days, because we might get called male chauvinists, but we deeply appreciate it when our wives show us respect both in private and especially in front of the children. If you want to shut down a dad and get him to stop being involved, then just criticize him in front of the kids. Maybe you always don’t agree with our approach to child-rearing. Who am I kidding? Of course you don’t always agree. But God intended children to be raised by both a mother AND a father – the statistics I shared earlier prove this, if nothing else. So, give dad the benefit of the doubt, and if you don’t like how he handled the situation, talk to him about it in private, not in front of the kids. Also, give your husband encouragement in his fathering at every opportunity. Tell him how much you appreciate his role in the lives of your kids. No one else gives him that encouragement. Seriously. Expect your kids to respect their father also, and when possible, enforce that attitude.

And what about you dads? I don’t care if you are an adoptive dad or step dad – you are a dad. Act like one. The first and most important thing a dad does is to stay. You saw the statistics I shared earlier. They are the results of dads bailing out on marriages and children. We’ve talked about divorce before at New Joy Fellowship. As always, I am speaking to you in your current situation. You won’t help matters by divorcing your second wife and leaving the kids you have with her to go back and re-marry your first wife. But if you are married now, then stay. If those statistics tell us anything, it is that you can’t be a real dad if you aren’t there. Man up. To be a good dad, a real dad, you have to be a husband to one woman for the rest of your life. When dads ignore that, we get the chaos that comes from fatherlessness.

Second, be involved with your kids on a daily basis. In 2009 The Fatherhood Initiative completed a national survey of the attitudes of mothers about fatherhood. There are two things I want to point out from that survey that may surprise you. The first is that mothers ranked work responsibilities as the biggest obstacle to good fathering. Sometimes we think work is our primary responsibility as a dad. That’s just not true. Of course we need to work and support our families. But something is very wrong when work regularly takes away from family time. So consider saying “no” to the overtime at times. Consider carefully the difference between how much you want to make and how much you need to make. While the kids are at home, maybe you have settle for a little less money in order to have more time with them. They won’t be there forever.

A second thing mothers said that was fascinating. Here’s a quote from the survey:

Mothers – even those that indicated that they were "not at all religious" – indicated that "churches or communities of faith" are the best places for fathers to learn about fatherhood.

It makes sense. After all, God reveals himself to us as a Father. Maybe he knows a little bit about it. As we dads of faith hang out together, we can encourage each other and learn from one another. We can share joys and frustrations. But even more than that, through the power of the Holy Spirit we can tap into the wisdom and strength of the best Father in the universe. And that, I think is the most important step for being a good dad. We need to admit we need help, and seek it from the Lord. When we do, I am certain he will answer.

RESURRECTION–PART 2

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Easter, Faith, Resurrection, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

1 CORINTHIANS #27. (1 COR 15:12-34)

 

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Sermon from Tom Hilpert on Vimeo.

I want to clear up a little possible confusion about this passage. In our English translations, Paul keeps talking about the resurrection from “the dead.” This makes it sound almost like resurrection from the “world of the dead.” In fact, in Greek, they had a term for that world – they called it Hades. Some people may assume that what Paul is saying is that we aren’t left in “the world of the dead” – Jesus saves us from Hades or hell. This makes the whole thing sound like just a “spiritual” resurrection. We might have the idea that resurrection means we become happy ghosts. But all throughout this passage Paul uses a very specific term for “dead.” The word he uses is pronounced “nekros.” We still use this term in science and medicine – necrosis is the death of living tissue. Necrotic tissue is flesh that has died. So Paul is not talking here about rescue from Hades. He is talking about bringing dead and rotten flesh to life.

We so often misunderstand what the Bible teaches about resurrection. Is there a spiritual resurrection as well? The short answer is, yes, there is also a spiritual resurrection – and if you trust in Jesus, you have already received it. Your spirit will remain alive for eternity. It is already made perfect by Jesus. There is a direction and flow to resurrection – it starts with the spirit, and flows into the soul; ultimately, it is supposed to show up in the way we live our lives.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5;17)

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:20)

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens (Ephesians 2:4-6)

We get all tied up looking for the transformation of the physical. And I think that is why we fail so often to live like Christians. We are starting with the wrong end. God’s plan is ultimately to kill the flesh – to let the whole body become necrotic – so that he can raise it again with a perfection that matches the perfection we already have in spirit. That is the resurrection Paul is talking about here. He has already spoken of the spiritual resurrection earlier. In fact, if you remember, he began the entire letter by talking about how in Christ they were already complete. In Christ, their spirits were already raised in perfection. Their problem has always been that they are not letting that fact dominate their lives. So now Paul ends by speaking about how that perfection will ultimately come to our body as well.

The two resurrections – the spiritual and the physical are connected. Paul’s point here is that the physical resurrection of Jesus proves both of them. If Jesus wasn’t physically raised, then he was just like anyone else. He died, not for our sins, but for his own. He was not vindicated by God. If Jesus wasn’t raised physically then there is no physical resurrection, and there is no spiritual resurrection either.

Paul says two things in this passage that really catch my attention. First, he says this:

If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. (15:19)

And yet, Christian churches and leaders in the United States are increasingly emphasizing this life over and above our eternal future. I understand some of this. Faith is not simply buying a ticket to heaven that we don’t have any use for until we die. Forgiveness of sins starts now. Right now, we are free from condemnation. Right now, we can receive power to live the way were made to, to be fulfilled in our purpose for life. Right now, we have a purpose for this life – to help the Lord in his disciple-making quest. Right now, the power of God is available to us to heal our bodies, our emotions and our relationships. Right now, God answers prayer and works in us and in the world.

But none of it means anything unless there is indeed a resurrection waiting, and an eternal future where both our spirits and our bodies are pure, uncorrupted and indestructible. This life is just the prelude. It is the count-in before the song starts, the ads before the movie, the opening ceremonies before the game. It isn’t the real thing. It is part of it, but it is not the main event.

Brothers and sisters, let us not treat it as the main event. Let us not get distracted. We have all kinds of grace and many blessing from the Lord in this life. But this life is not all there is. And this life is only an infinitesimally small piece of our eternal future. This life is not the point, not the meaning. And if we seek God primarily because we want his blessings in this life, we are to be pitied more than all people.

There is something else Paul says. He writes: “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” The idea is this: “Let’s party hard, because it’s all going to end soon.” Our society, by and large lives by this motto. We look for the short term fix, the short term reward, the short term pleasure. We are used to meals in moments, and fruit out of season. We don’t look beyond the next five minutes.

This “party hard, live in the moment” attitude is a symptom. We live this way, because, by and large, we don’t really believe in resurrection. Christianity has always been more readily accepted by people who live in severe poverty or oppression. That is because they don’t have the option of thinking that life is great, and that everything should be about the here and now. People who are near death, also tend to be more open to the message of Jesus. You may have heard the expression “there are no atheists in foxholes.” I might add “or in cancer wards,” or any number of places where death is very real and possibly imminent. Some folks use that phenomenon to suggest that our faith is mere wishful thinking. I think it is exactly the opposite. When you know death is near, you have to confront the fact that this life always ends. No one gets out alive. There is no room for the wishful thinking that we can just have a good time now and not worry about what comes later. The only wishful thinking is the idea that we can ignore death, that we don’t need a resurrection.

Paul tells the Corinthians, “Come to your senses and stop sinning, for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.”

We need to come to our senses as well. There is so much more to life than this life. Yes, eternal life starts now. Yes God is at work in us and through us and for us right now. But our purpose will not be fulfilled in this life. We are destined for something so much more glorious and amazing. Your physical life began in the womb of your mother. You really were alive there. The way you grew and developed in the womb was important, and it had a profound impact on who you are today. But the womb was just the beginning. Not much of the entire amazing experience that we call “life” can be found inside a uterus.

Today, we are still in the womb. Yes, we are truly alive. Yes, what we do here and the choices we make will shape our future beyond this life. But the real life is still waiting for us out there. Let’s keep our hopes fixed upon Resurrection.

 

RESURRECTION

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Easter, Faith, Jesus, Resurrection, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

1 CORINTHIANS #26 (1 Corinthians 14:35-15:11)

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There is something 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 that I want to deal with briefly. Paul writes:

As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

We have already covered the overall topic of gender relationships in depth when we looked for two weeks at the first part of chapter 11. If you missed that, please go back and read or listen to those two messages. You won’t get the full understanding by only reading this sermon. Even so, I want to cover this passage briefly, because it causes trouble for many modern readers of the bible, especially in Western culture. It also gives us a good practical example of how to interpret the bible, especially when you don’t understand something, or when the bible appears to contradict itself.

Paul has already acknowledged that is appropriate for women to pray and prophesy in church (1 Corinthians 11:1-16). Now he says they should keep silent. What is going on here? First, when we interpret the bible, we give the Holy Spirit the benefit of the doubt. In any other book we read, we start with the assumption that the author will try not to contradict himself. So in general, if a statement appears contradictory, in order to understand it, we try first to see if there is a way to interpret it that is not at odds with what has already been said. Not only should we give the Holy Spirit a chance, but we ought to also give Paul (the human instrument of the Spirit in this case), some credit for being the obviously intelligent person he is. Is he likely to contradict himself so blatantly just a page or so later in the same letter?

Therefore, plain common sense shows us that “women must keep silent” does not apply to absolutely every situation in church. We already know it doesn’t apply to women prophesying and praying. So there must be some specific context that Paul is talking about here, where women should keep silent. What would that context be? (Men, insert the joke of your choice here, but you laugh at your own risk…)

In all seriousness, the context of this statement is Paul’s description of an orderly worship service. We already know that women can pray and prophesy, so it isn’t the worship service in general where women must keep silent. Paul describes a few different people speaking, and then he says: “let the others evaluate what is said.” Remember, at that time, there was no New Testament yet. So it was a more difficult thing to determine if a prophecy or word was really from the Holy Spirit or not. Therefore, after someone spoke, Paul wanted the Corinthians to discuss what was said, and evaluate whether or not it seemed to really come from the Lord.

Reading this statement in context, it seems that this “evaluation discussion” is where Paul would like the women to keep quiet. From chapter 11 we learned that God created men and women to fulfill different roles: like dancers have different parts in a couples’ dance, or players have different positions on a football team. Paul describes those roles in terms of submission (for women) and headship (for men). We already covered what this means in our study of 1 Corinthians 11, but I simply want to remind us that biblical submission doesn’t mean subservience or devaluation, and biblical headship does not mean domination or control.

Paul connects this idea of women being quiet during the “evaluation discussion” to biblical submission. If you remember from chapter 11, God holds men uniquely accountable for the spiritual direction of their churches and families. Even though Eve was the one who took the apple and committed the first sin, Adam was the one who was held responsible for leading the human race into sin. So, when the church was basically deciding theology, it made sense that the ones who would be held responsible (the men) were the ones who ought to make the decision, and provide the final evaluation. When we also consider the word “to keep silent” might also be translated “hold your peace” our picture is more complete. Women indeed may have something to say about doctrine, but men are the ones who will be held responsible. So when it comes to a discussion of doctrine, women should hold their peace. Paul adds that if they have questions or concerns, they should share them with their husband at home. Once again the picture here is of a gender-dance, or a team. Everyone has something to contribute, but it is all done in order and with a recognition of how God made us to be, and what our roles are.

—-

Let’s move on now, to chapter fifteen. This is one of the longest sections in the whole letter, and Paul devotes it all to discussing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Apparently, some of the Christians at Corinth were suggesting that there was no resurrection from the dead. Paul says this in verse 12:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

It isn’t clear exactly what these skeptics were saying. They may not have been denying that Jesus rose – but at the very least they were claiming that there was no resurrection for anyone else. And it is possible that they even scoffed at the idea of Jesus rising from the dead. Remember, these are people who claim to be Christians. Paul spent more time with this church than any other church he started, except in Ephesus. Sometimes when I read his letters to them, I wonder what went wrong.

By the way, this kind of weird heresy has been repeated at various times in history by those who claimed to be Christians. Karl Baarth, one of the most influential Lutheran Theologians of the 20th Century, believed in the resurrection, but claimed it didn’t matter whether or not Jesus was actually raised. His protege, Rudolf Bultman, went the whole way, and claimed that Jesus was not. I always wanted to meet them and ask them, “So why do you call yourself a Christian and what is the point of your faith?”

So Paul goes back to basic Christian doctrine. This is it in a nutshell – Jesus Christ died for our sins. He was buried. And then he was raised from the dead. This is the message given by Paul and all the apostles. It is the bedrock of the Christian faith. Without the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, there is no such thing as Christianity. So he writes to the Corinthians, that this is:

…the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it. You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you — unless you believed for no purpose. (verse 1-2)

Paul is writing to them maybe twenty-five or thirty years after Jesus was raised from the dead. Today (in 2011) it would be as if I wrote to you about the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. Many of us were alive, and we remember hearing about it right after it happened. We could certainly still find and talk to many of the people who were there when it occurred. The man who shot Reagan is still alive. Many of the secret service agents and other government workers who were there, are still alive.

At the time of Paul’s letter, the resurrection of Jesus was similarly recent. Paul says, besides himself, there were more than five hundred people who saw Jesus alive after his death, burial and resurrection. Most of those eye-witnesses to the resurrection were still alive when Paul wrote. The Corinthians had apparently met Peter, who was one of the witnesses.

I think we forget that we have this kind of evidence for the resurrection. Yes, it was a long time ago. But so was Julius Caesar, and Cleopatra, and Alexander the Great – and we believe the events we are told about in their lives.

Jesus’ resurrection changed everything – for us, as well as for those first-century Christians. There is a real hope beyond this world. Our entire faith is based upon it. Any meaning in life depends upon it.

 

RESURRECTION: A MATTER OF DEATH AND LIFE

On By Pastor TomIn Bible Teaching, Christianity, Easter, Gospel of John, Jesus, Resurrection, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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RESURRECTION SUNDAY, 2011

John 11:1-53

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central truth on which all Christian theology depends. If Jesus wasn’t really raised from the dead, then he was a madman or megalomaniac. But if he was truly raised, then what he said was true; and he said he was God the Son, come into the world for our salvation.

I have talked before about the theological implications of the resurrection. I probably will again in the future. I have shared with you substantial evidence that supports the claim that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. I’ll do that again in the future also. But this year, I want to talk about the resurrection in a personal way. To do that, I want to consider a different resurrection: the resurrection of Lazarus, recorded in John chapter 11:1-53. Don’t get me wrong, this is also about the resurrection of Jesus. However, I think by considering what happened in this incident, we can learn some things about Jesus’ resurrection, and the eternal life he offers us.

Jesus was at least two days of traveling from his friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Lazarus became seriously ill, and so the sisters sent word to Jesus. What John says next is pretty strange:

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

John connects two things that don’t seem like they should be connected. He says Jesus loved Lazarus, so when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was. What kind of sense does that make? I can see John writing, “Jesus loved Lazarus, but when he heard he was sick, he stayed where he was anyway.” Or it would make sense to say, “Jesus loved Lazarus, so when he heard he was sick, he hurried to his side.” But John very deliberately connects the fact that Jesus loved Lazarus to the fact that he didn’t go to him, and allowed him to die.

Now, of course, that isn’t the end of the story. Jesus does go back – after Lazarus has died and been in the ground for four days. He speaks to Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This is actually a statement, but implied here is a question: “Why did you let him die? Why didn’t you come when we called?”

Jesus, typically, doesn’t answer her unspoken question. Instead, while their brother is still rotting in the tomb, he asks them to put their faith in him.

You see, Jesus had bigger plans for Lazarus than merely healing him from a deadly disease. He had plans for resurrection.

You can’t fault Martha and Mary and the disciples for failing to see it. It is so much bigger than anything they have thought of hoping for. They are thinking of this life. They are thinking of what seems possible, given their level of interaction with Jesus. But they are not thinking like Jesus.

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:23-27, ESV)

I identify with Martha and the others. I usually hope for what seems somewhat realistic. Considering how they had themselves seen Jesus heal people, it was reasonable for them to hope for healing. But resurrection was outside their experience. It was outside their paradigm. So often, we are like that. We want healing and continuation of this life. Jesus wants to give us resurrection. We want what seems possible, even if unlikely. Jesus wants to give us what we haven’t even thought of yet. We want to restore things as they were. Jesus wants to let things “as they were” die, so that he can resurrect something better in its place.

I have a 16-year old Mercedes-Benz (an upgrade from our previous car, which was 21 years old). Because the car is sixteen years old, the air conditioning doesn’t work, and some of the vents aren’t functional. I can’t control the side mirrors. The horn doesn’t work either. A few of the dashboard lights don’t work as they are supposed to. The only way to lock and unlock the car is through the trunk. Don’t get me wrong, I love the car and the way it drives. It just has its little foibles.

The other day, our car wouldn’t start. Kari and I were pretty disappointed. We had a lot of driving to do the next day, and we both had to go different places. I called a man in our church who is a talented as a mechanic. He came and got it to start. We’re thrilled to have it back. Now, the air still doesn’t work. I still can’t control the side mirrors or use the horn or see the time and temperature. I still have to use the trunk to lock it up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful to our friend and very grateful to have the car working again. But it is still the same car.

But now, suppose for a moment that my friend the mechanic was very rich and generous. Imagine that when he heard the trouble I was having, he decided to buy me a brand new Mercedes-Benz. When I asked him to come fix my old car, he might have said, “No, Tom, I’m not going to do that,” all the while planning to give me a new car, a car in which everything works. I might be disappointed in my friend, not knowing his plan for me. I would be focused on getting my old car back. He would be focused on giving me something much better. I think sometimes this is how we are with Jesus. Our vision is small. Our vision is for a nice life in this imperfect world. His vision for us is for something much more glorious, more real, something far better than has occurred to us.

There is something else about this story that strikes me. In order for resurrection to occur, death must occur first. In other words, Jesus cannot resurrect something unless it dies first. To go back to the point I made earlier: Jesus loved Lazarus, therefore he let him die.

This isn’t necessarily a pleasant thought. Usually, we want to skip the dying part, and go right to the resurrection; but death is a part of the equation. Jesus said:

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24, ESV)

This is an obvious truth when it comes to seeds. When you plant a seed, you destroy it, as a seed. But the destruction of a seed results in something new and wonderful, something that is actually much greater than seed was. In the same way, resurrection requires death. This truth is all over the bible:

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matt 16:24-26, ESV)

When Jesus says “take up his cross” he means quite simply, “be willing to die.”

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:2-3, ESV)

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20, ESV)

Ultimately, this means our physical death. It means that death is not something to fear. It leads to resurrection. But even now, before physical death, there are things that Jesus would like us to let go. There are ambitions, hopes, values, material things, perhaps even relationships, that we need to allow to die. [By the way, when I say “relationships” I don’t mean marriages. As always, we need to consider the whole scripture, and the Lord has made it clear that he considers marriages to be permanent in this life. Please do not interpret this message in any way that contradicts some part of the bible]. We might feel like letting go of our rights, or our dreams or material things is a terrible thing. And it might indeed be very difficult and traumatic. But there is a resurrection waiting, and sometimes the only thing holding up the glorious new life is the death that must come first.

So anyway, if you haven’t heard the story before, Jesus went ahead and raised Lazarus from death. But there is something about this resurrection I that always struck me as odd. Where is Lazarus today? Dead, of course. Jesus ascended to heaven. But Lazarus grew old and died again. In other words, the resurrection of Lazarus was a temporary thing. The real thing didn’t happen until Jesus died on the cross, and became the first one to be raised to eternal life.

I think this is a message for us also. We want Jesus to raise things that will just have to die again anyway. We gets so focused on this life, and the things in it. But the resurrection Jesus offers isn’t just the restoration of our old bodies with our flaws and problems.

Resurrection is not just a restoration of what we have right now. That was Lazarus’ resurrection, but it is not the resurrection that Jesus promises, and ultimately that Jesus himself had. Paul returns to the seed analogy:

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain… (1 Cor 15:35-37)

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ( 1 Cor 15:42-44)

So, in light of these things, let me ask you a few questions:

Are you wanting to fix something workable, but which the Lord wants to die? Perhaps what you are dealing with has already died, or begun to. Do the actions of Jesus puzzle you? Are you wondering why he won’t just fix it? Is your vision too small? Do you want God to do too little for you?

Are you looking for temporary resurrection – something that lasts only this world?

Are you looking for real resurrection, but you want to skip the “death part?”

Ultimately, I want us to deal directly with what Jesus says to Martha:

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you believe this? Do you believe that the resurrection is found only in Jesus? Do you believe that true life is only in him?

If you marry someone who has a vast fortune, that fortune belongs to you, through your spouse. You can use it and enjoy it. But you have it only through your relationship with your spouse. To the extent that you have your spouse, you have that fortune. If your relationship is genuine, then you live as one-flesh, and what you have, you have together.

The resurrection is in Jesus. It comes only through relationship with Him. If you have Jesus, you have the resurrection. It is as simple, and as difficult as that. You can’t get it through religious activity. You can’t get it through being good, or deep meditation. If you want Jesus, he will have you, if only you humble yourself enough to confess your needs, and to ask.

 

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What’s Love Got to do with It? 1 Corinthians #24

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, apostle paul, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Faith, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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1 Corinthians 13:1-13.

1 Corinthians chapter 13 might be the most famous chapter in the Bible. It is often read at weddings, even when the people getting married aren’t really Christians. And truthfully, most people who aren’t believers like this chapter, and they might even feel that they agree with it. Certainly Christians like this passage also. I have used this passage when preaching at weddings. I have heard other preachers read it, and replace the word “love” with the name “Jesus.” Certainly this does tell us about love in marriage. Obviously, it teaches us about God’s love.

However, in order to understand any bible passage thoroughly, we need to pay attention to the context. Because we’ve been going through 1 Corinthians, if you’ve been with us for a while, you know the context here. This was written to the Corinthians. They were dividing over various preachers. They were suing each other. They were accepting flagrant, open, unrepentant sin. They were making a mess of the Lord’s supper. Paul just spent some time trying to make sure that they would not be ignorant of spiritual things. He told them all about prophecies, miracles, healings, tongues, words of knowledge and discernment. He admonished them to see themselves and each other as indispensable members of the body of Christ. And then he says this: “And I will show you a still more excellent way.” And then he writes what many people call “The love chapter.”

What we need to understand therefore, is this: the love chapter was written first and foremost to Christians concerning how they should love each other in the church community. It’s good to apply this to marriage. It isn’t wrong to apply this to loving all people. It’s helpful to understand God’s love in the light of this chapter. But we must understand that the primary application is to understand this and put it into practice in our own church. This is about how we relate to fellow-believers in our church community. I will suggest some other ways that this is relevant, but to really get it, let’s not lose sight of the context.

The New Testament uses three different Greek words that are translated “love.” There is eros (from which we get the English “erotic”) which is romantic or even sexual love. There is also philia which is brotherly love (hence “Philadelphia” is the “city of brotherly love”). But the word which Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 13 is agape (pronounced uh-gah-pay). It means unconditional, unselfish, sacrificial love. This is the word almost always used to describe God’s love for us. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is telling Christians to love each other in this way.

The apostle John writes to fellow Christians:

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 3:11)

John uses the word agape. In fact, throughout 1 John, he reiterates how important it is for Christians to agape (love) one another. He basically says Christianity consists in trusting and loving Jesus, and loving our fellow Christians.

This is not the only place in the New Testament that gives us that command. Jesus said:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Jesus’ word is also agape. Read it carefully. He is saying that it is of prime importance that we love one another. We often jump over this detail, but he makes a distinction between his disciples and the world. He doesn’t say that that others will recognize us as his disciples because we love them – but because we love each other. Of course we should show love to people outside the church. But too often we concentrate on that, and we lose sight of the fact that the command of Jesus to love those inside the church.

We may think this it could hurt our outreach if we are focused on loving each other. However, I suspect that when we are good at loving each other, the church will have a lot more appeal for people who aren’t part of it yet. Who wants to join a church where the members are always talking badly about each other? Who wants to join a church where everyone is cold to each other? And I think that until we do truly practice love for each other within the church, our ability to love those outside it is limited. Love starts at home.

The first point Paul makes is basically this: all the talent and effort in the world is pointless if we don’t engage in genuine love for each other. Paul has just finished talking about prophecy; words of knowledge and wisdom; tongues; and the spiritual gift of faith. He says all of these are worthless without love.

Notice that even things that look like love (giving away your goods and possessions, giving your body to the flames) can be done without actual love. This means that love is not just action. There is an inner commitment that distinguishes love from religious actions. I think if we look at this passage objectively, we can see that love is not just a feeling either. No feeling lasts forever – part of the nature of emotions is that they change. But Paul says agape love perseveres. He says love will still be present after the end of this world. What he is describing here simply just doesn’t fit a mere emotion. I like to define it this way: Love is a decision and commitment to value another person greatly. If it is a decision and a commitment, it doesn’t depend on how we feel. Neither does it depend on what the other person does.

Think of it — Jesus probably did not experience loving feelings while he was being crucified. People were spitting on him and mocking him, yet his death on the cross was the ultimate expression of how much he valued those very same people, as well as us. It didn’t matter what he was feeling. It didn’t matter what the people were doing to him. He was living out his commitment to value us.

Love is a decision and commitment to value another person greatly. This is not how our culture defines it. When I was a youth worker I once asked a group of teenage boys to define love. After a little thought, one of them said “Christie Brinkley.” Unfortunately, he was in tune with our culture. Our movies, our television, our music and to some extent even our books, all seem to offer the unified message that all there is to love is eros – romantic/sexual love. Once in awhile we may catch the hint that there is some other sort of love – philia – friendly, or brotherly love. There is another common expression of love in our culture which I call “selfish” love. In selfish love, I experience feelings of love because what you do for me makes me feel good. With this kind of love, you hang out with someone because generally, you feel good when you are with them. But basically, our culture thinks love is feeling. We have to identify this, and then reject it. Eros love is primarily a feeling. It has its place in marriage. But even marriage can’t be sustained only by sexual feelings. A lasting marriage needs the solid foundation of agape, which is not a feeling, but a commitment to value and honor another.

I won’t spend a lot of time on every aspect of love that Paul lists here, but I want to pick out just a few of the qualities that he names, not necessarily in any particular order:

Love is patient. One thing I’ve noticed about my fellow-Christians is that they aren’t as great as me. I want them to get with the program. I want them to grow and mature. I want them to quit fooling around with their lives and really live entirely for Jesus. I want them to quit swearing, quit getting drunk, quit falling into temptations. I want them read their bibles every day, to be consistent in coming to small groups, to be consistent coming to Sunday worship. But the truth is, God has been so patient with me in all these areas. We can be patient with each other when people don’t seem to change as fast as we want.

Some years ago I counseled with a couple who wanted to get married. There were some obstacles. The timing wasn’t quite right. The woman called me during this time, very anxious. She seemed almost desperate to get married right away. I said, “What are you worried about? If your love won’t last for two years while you wait for these things to get worked out, then you’d be better off not getting married in the first place. But if what you have is real love, you’ll still have it in two years.”

I want to be straightforward with some of the young people who read these sermon notes also. If you are in a relationship and you feel like you can’t wait until you are married until you have sex, then understand, that feeling is not love. Love is patient. If your boyfriend or girlfriend can’t wait, then understand – he or she is not motivated by love. Love is patient!

Paul also says love is not envious. That one nailed me just this week. As a man I sometimes fall into the trap of feeling like I’m validated (or not) by how successful I am. A pastor I know in our area is younger than me. He started a church about the same time as New Joy was started. I just heard again this week about how well his church is doing. I know he’s doing pretty well financially too. But agape love is not envious of the good fortune or success of others. I should be happy that God is using him. Just as I was writing this, I paused to ask the Lord for forgiveness, and to give me agape love for my fellow pastor, and brother in the Lord.

That brings me another point. As a standard of behavior, we cannot possibly hope to obtain agape love through our own human effort. We need the Holy Spirit to give us his love to love others with. He will, if we ask him, and receive it willingly.

Another thing Paul says about love is that it “keeps no record of wrongs.” In other words, love results in true forgiveness. There is no resentment or ongoing bitterness in it. This is very important when it comes to relationships in churches. Because of Jesus, God holds no record of your wrongs. How then can you, who have been so completely forgiven, refuse to let go of the wrongs that have been done to you? If you get close to people – and in church, we are supposed to get close to each other – we will get hurt from time to time. We must learn to forgive, and let those hurts go.

Paul writes in verse 7 that loves endures all things. Looking at the Greek, it might be put like this: “love always perseveres.” We don’t give up on each other. We don’t say “that’s it, I’ve had it with you, we’re done.” No, agape love perseveres through all things. This is related to what Paul says when he writes: “love never fails.” Another way to put it might be this: “love never falls from grace; it never loses its position or compromises its virtue.”

Erotic love, friendly love and selfish love are all real, and they contain parts of what love in general can be (although the Bible makes it clear that the expression of erotic love is to come within marriage only). It is tough going when you love someone who never makes you feel good. It is normal to value people with whom you have positive experiences. It is only natural to seek as a mate someone who is physically attractive to you. But these kinds of love so venerated by our culture, cannot ultimately last without agape, and they can become quite self-oriented. People have divorced their spouses to seek erotic love elsewhere when the glow faded for a time. When the sexual urge is satisfied, or at the very least in those times when the partner somehow becomes less attractive, erotic love is out the window. Others have divorced, or cut off friendships simply because “he didn’t make me feel good any more, and I need to do what is best for me” or because “the spark was gone.” This sort of love only lasts as long as you are able to perform for each other. As soon as you stop doing things that make me feel good, I will no longer feel love for you, and vice versa. In the final analysis, without the rock solid basis of a decision and commitment to value someone, (that is, agape love) all other forms of love are conditional.

Agape love can be hard work – anything that is not self-oriented can be hard work. To value someone when you do not feel particularly fond of them is not the easiest thing in the world. To serve someone when you feel almost as tired as they do, is not always immediately rewarding. But the minute we go back to relying solely on how it feels is the minute we abandon true Biblical love.

True love is not a noun, but a verb. Love is an action word. It is not really about all those nice feelings. When you truly love, you will get those neat feelings from time to time, but the substance of love is not in those feelings. The true stuff of love is in the commitment to value others.

This is the way God loves us. This is how we can be loved, even when we know that we are not loveable. God has made an ultimate commitment to us, to value us above all else. He was willing to die for the sake of that commitment. His love does not depend on us doing things to please Him or make Him feel good. His love does not depend on the attractiveness of our personality, or on any physical beauty. His love depends solely on His own will, and His will eternally is to value us and treat us as of great worth. As the writer of Hebrews says:

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. (Hebrews 6:17-18)

God loves us with an unchanging commitment. The only way we can ever learn to love others in that way is to receive God’s love, and let Him love others through us, and allow Him to make good on our desire to make a commitment to value others.

You are Vitally Important! 1 Corinthians #23

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Church, Faith, Sermon, UncategorizedLeave a comment

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

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John J. Spillane was almost drafted twice. Two major league baseball teams wanted him because of his excellent fielding and throwing ability. But instead, the United States drafted him to fight in the Second World War.

When the U.S. Invaded Tarawa on November 20th 1943, Spillane was a corporal on board one of the few amphibious assault vehicles that made it all the way to the beach in the first wave. More than twenty Marines were inside. Once there, the vehicle stalled against a Japanese defensive wall. The Japanese soldiers began lobbing grenades into the open box of the vehicle. Spillane picked up the first one like a hot ground-ball, and threw it back. He caught the second one in mid-air, and returned that one also. He fielded another, and then another, and then yet one more. The grenades exploded back among the Japanese defenses, injuring and killing the enemies who had thrown them. One of the returned grenades silenced a machine gun. While Spillane played the deadly game of catch like a madman, his fellow Marines leaped out of the vehicle, found cover and continued their assault. A sixth grenade flew into the vehicle, and Spillane caught this one also, but the enemy had delayed before lobbing it, and it went off in Spillane’s hand. Corporal Spillane survived, though he lost his right hand. He received the Navy Cross for his valor.

This is a true story. But I want you to consider the possibilities if Corporal Spillane had chosen to respond differently.

What if Spillane had said, “I know I belong to the Marine Corps, but what I really love is baseball. I don’t see how my skills can help in this invasion. I’ll think about going along, but don’t count on me to be any use.” How wrong he would have been! It was precisely his hand-eye coordination which both made him a great baseball player and ultimately, a hero and a life saver.

What if, when the grenades started flying, he had said, “I’m not a sergeant and I’m not an officer. It’s not my job to catch these grenades. They get paid more than me, let them catch them.” Maybe there was even an officer there who would have been willing to try. It’s doubtful that he would have had enough talent to save those twenty marines that Spillane saved.

How about if Spillane had this attitude: “I know I would be the best one to save the lives of these men in this situation, but no one has ordered me to use my skills.”

What if, instead of catching grenades, he had been checking to make sure the sergeant and lieutenant were doing their jobs and getting the men out of the vehicle?

If Spillane had taken any of these attitudes, twenty men would have died in that vehicle that day. Maybe many, many more would have died because those twenty weren’t alive to carry out their combat tasks.

For almost seventeen centuries, the devil has been lying to the church, telling her that she only needs a pastor, or maybe a pastor plus a couple Sunday School Teachers. And by and large, we have bought into the lie. The result is that our individual congregations are full of talented John Spillanes who sit on their hands, watching the grenades fall while they do nothing about it. Sometimes they don’t know what incredible good they are capable of. Often times, they just think it doesn’t have anything to do with them. Other times, they try and to get others to do what they were born to do. Still others won’t step in and use their gifts unless someone else orders them to. As result, thousands perish who might have been saved.

Paul’s picture in 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 is of a body. The illustration he uses is actually quite ludicrous. Would a foot really say that it doesn’t belong to the body, just because it isn’t a hand? Would an eye say that it doesn’t need any hands? Of course not. Such a body could barely function. The whole idea is silly.

And that is exactly Paul’s point. The idea of Christians who pretend they have nothing to offer the church is plain silly. The thought that the mission of the church can be carried out by just a few individuals like pastors or deacons is just as ludicrous. The whole thing would be as tragic as a baseball player saying he can’t catch grenades and throw them back to save the lives of his friends.

Sometimes it seems like American Church in general is barely functional. At times, even individual churches appear barely functional. If a church is just kind of limping along, maybe that is because they have feet claiming they aren’t part of the body, and eyes claiming that they need no ears in the body. It is because the John Spillanes of the church are doing nothing, believing the lies that they are meant for baseball rather than life-saving.

Paul makes it very clear: each one of us has a role to play. Each one of us has something vital to offer the church, the body of Christ. We all belong. The body cannot get along without each one. The body cannot be healthy if some of its members are acting as if they aren’t needed. The body of Christ is stumbling around in the world, lame, deaf and disabled because many Christians have ignored the fact that each individual believer is called to serve a vital role in the church.

Another important point is this: we don’t all have the same function (1 Corinthians12:14-19). If someone else had tried to catch the grenades that day on Tarawa, more people probably would have died. If Spillane had tried to do the lieutenant’s job, the result would have been disastrous. Problems occur when we try to fill the role that God has given to someone else, instead of trying to live out the calling he has given us. As Paul puts its:

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? (v.17)

I know I am not the only pastor in the world. But I am the only pastor who has my unique gifts, calling and experience. I will not amputate a part of the body of Christ by trying be like every other pastor, or by not fulfilling my call to teach, preach and write. You may not be the only person in the world who has a passion for social gatherings. But you may be the only one in your church with your unique approach to bringing people together for fun and fellowship. There may be someone who will never come to know Jesus except beginning through a gathering that you inspire and organize. You may be one of many people who works with kids. But there may be three or four children who need exactly your unique blend of fun, teaching and love in order to put their faith in Jesus for a lifetime.

Every person in the church is uniquely important and necessary. The body of Christ needs you.

If things had been different for John Spillane, he might have been a great baseball player. He might have been as famous as Babe Ruth, or Cal Ripken. But no matter how many fly balls he caught, no matter how many runners he threw out or home runs he hit, would they ever have amounted to the value of even one of the twenty lives he saved? He could have played a game, or saved lives. He did what was for more serious, and far more important.

My challenge to you is this: Stop playing games. Stop fooling around. Start living out your call and purpose. Your purpose in life isn’t to make money. It isn’t to be comfortable or to be prestigious. You aren’t destined for baseball, but for eternal life-saving. Paul writes this to Timothy:

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:3-7)

Peter says:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.(1 Peter 2:9)

Some of you have never really thought about the call that God has on your life. Maybe you are hearing it for the first time right now. Maybe you don’t really know what your place in the body of Christ is. Maybe you don’t see how you can be used. You will find out only if you first accept that there is a call on your life, surrender to that, and then ask the Lord to reveal it you.

I highly doubt that John Spillane had any idea beforehand what he would do in the battle for Tarawa. But when the time came, he stepped up, because he was willing, and God put into him the perfect situation to use his talents to save lives. He will do the same for you, if you ask him, and let him answer.

Is Prophecy Real Today? How can you tell? 1 Corinthians #22.

On By Pastor TomIn 1 Corinthians, Bible Teaching, Christianity, Church, Faith, Sermon, Uncategorized1 Comment



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Prophecy is one of the more complex “things of the Spirit” that Paul talks about here. Prophecy figures very importantly in the New Testament. Later in 1 Corinthians, Paul says:

So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39)

He lists Prophets alongside Apostles, Pastor-Teachers and Evangelists as special gifts that God has given the church to equip the whole church for ministry.

Most of us tend to think of prophecy as predicting the future. However, there is more to it than that. In fact, there are three distinct variations in the gift of prophecy described in the New Testament.

The first sort of manifestation of prophecy is the traditional “foretelling” gift, wherein God reveals the future to the prophet, and the prophet tells others. I will call this predictive prophecy. One person through whom God gave his people the gift of predictive prophecy was Agabus. In Acts 11:28 we learn that Agabus, through the Spirit of God stood up and predicted a severe famine. Luke notes that the famine did come, during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius. How did this gift build up the Church? First, Christians were encouraged to set aside gifts for the needy during the coming famine (Acts 11:29). Second, when the famine came to pass it must have been a faith strengthening experience for believers everywhere – God still really speaks to and through people! And finally, the fact that the famine was predicted by God must have been a source of comfort as believers realized that God not only knew about their situation, but saw it before they did. They must have felt very much in His hands.

Predictive prophecy is the easiest sort of prophecy to distinguish. The formula is very simple and is given as far back as Deuteronomy 18:21-22. If a predictive prophet’s message does not come to pass, then the Lord has not spoken and believers should not listen to him.

On the other hand, scripture teaches that even if a prophet successfully predicts the future, and yet leads people away from the Lord in some manner, that prophet is not from God (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). Pauls says something like this Galatians 1:8-9

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Therefore we see again the “Lordship test” of 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 at work: if a prophet somehow leads people away from honoring Jesus and his name, then that particular prophecy is not from God.

A second sort of prophecy that the new Testament speaks about is when God reveals his will for a specific situation. I call this present prophecy, because it is something God is saying he wants to do, or begin to do, right now, rather than in the future. The prime example of this in the New Testament is in Acts 13:1-3.

“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”

The prophecy uttered here is not so much a prediction of the future as it is a direction for the present. The Holy Spirit, through the gift of prophecy, revealed his will for the congregation at Antioch. We can see first that this revelation of God’s will was consistent with his Word (that is, the Bible), honored Jesus, and recognized and utilized the variety in the Body of Christ. All that is to indicate that there was good reason to trust this as a genuine prophecy. Results are not always indicative of this sort of prophecy, for I can imagine all sorts of things which might have prevented God from doing what he wanted through Barnabas and Saul (their own potential sin being one of them). In spite of that, however, the results of obedience to this prophecy were pretty spectacular in the long run!

Some of you analytical types may be wondering what the difference is between present prophecy and, say, a word of knowledge or wisdom. Ultimately, if it is a message from God, does it matter which specific name we call it? Of course not. However, it seems to me, for you categorical types, that the primary distinction is that present prophecy implies an instruction which should be followed – like sending out Barnabas and Saul.

The third sort of prophecy described by the New Testament is what Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 14:3

“But everyone who prophecies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.”

This is prophecy of exhortation. This is a potent gift if you hear someone using it. It can come in a variety of styles, and can actually often appear very low key. The essence of prophecy is not how it is delivered, but rather its effect in building up the church. A prophecy of exhortation might sound like this:

I think the Lord wants us to know that we are in the center of his will right now, and that he is pleased with us. He doesn’t want us to give up hope – he wants us to press on, to stay consistent, to keep reading, praying and meeting together. He isn’t done with us yet.

Revelation chapters 2-3 contain basically prophecies of exhortation for the seven churches that John is writing to.

One person you may have heard of. whom I consider to have this sort of prophetic gift is Jack Hayford. Often musicians use their music prophetically – that is, for the strengthening, encouraging and comfort of the body of Christ. I would consider both Michael Card and the group Delirious (especially in The Cutting Edge) to have prophetic ministries through music.

Now, I have no doubt that the Lord wants to continue to use this “spiritual thing” prophecy – in our churches today. Like all of the gifts, one of the best places for it is in a small group.

However, there is a down side to prophecy, and I believe this is why it began to fall into disuse. Because it is a powerful gift, it is also powerfully attacked by the devil, and can be powerfully corrupted by people who lack integrity. Shortly after the time of the apostles some people claiming to prophets, tried to lead Christians astray (they were known as Montanists). They almost destroyed Christianity.

However, the Holy Spirit had anticipated this evil, and before this happened, inspired the writers of the New Testament to say these things:

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies,but test everything; hold fast what is good.Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

So the scripture clearly places a high value on prophecy, but also places a high value on testing potential prophecy, to make sure it really comes from God.

How do we know a false prophet? How do we “test everything?” Well, we just saw that we need to consider if a prediction comes true. If it is present prophecy or a prophecy of exhortation, we need Paul has already us in this passage how to know if it comes from the Holy Spirit. If the effect is to glorify Jesus (not the prophet) if it leads to people allowing Jesus to be Lord of their personal lives more and more, it’s probably from the Lord. If it has the effect of building up the church, it’s probably from God. If the opposite things are true, we should ignore it, or, in some cases, denounce it.

Some of you may be thinking, “well, I’ll probably never hear a prophet, so I don’t need to worry about it.” Don’t be too sure! I’ve heard plenty of preachers on the Television, radio and Internet, who claim to be speaking what God wants them say. Sometimes what they say results in people allowing Jesus to be Lord of their lives more fully. Sometimes they build up the church. Sometimes the main result is that the preacher gets more popular and influential and more wealthy, but there isn’t a clear sign that it really helps anyone, or glorifies God. These people need to be tested, and, as Paul says, we need to hold on to the good.