Lets pray…
Please turn in your Bible to Exodus 17: 8-13 and read with me...
—Brothers and sisters, this is a thick passage of Scripture.
—As I was studying and praying and preparing, I found so many lessons in these six verses that really this could be a month long series.
—But I’ve got one shot up here this morning so I’ve got to break it down into a smaller chunk. Even then, though you’ve got to get into this with me. You can’t tune out on me.
— I want you to put yourself into this Scripture, Amen?
— I was praying that God to guide me, to narrow it down and to get to the heart of what He would have us understand from the text today.
—So we are looking at one main point. Here it is:
You, you, you, and all of them, and I are gonna’ be attacked!
— There’s an evangelist and bible teacher named Clayton King who points out that each one of us is either in a battle right now, or we are just getting out of a battle, or things are great and it’s the calm before the storm and a battle is coming.
But today we’re not talking about random acts of violence.
Today we’re not talking about your mean boss.
Today we’re not talking about your husband or wife who betrayed you or let you down. We’re not talking about your parents who just don’t get what it’s like nowadays.
All of those issues are real and I won’t make light of them, but today we are going to talk about sin and the flesh or that old carnal nature.
Lets look again at our text: Exodus 17: 8
—How do I get our battle with the flesh from Israel’s battle with the Amalekites?
— Let’s unpack it.
— If you are a believer, you are the Israelite in this story. Romans 2:28-29. Romans 4: 16-17 point out that we are part of the family of God. We are His chosen people by our faith.
— So it’s always helpful to look at the history of the Israelites and see where we are reflected
— Next we look at the Amalekites to find our flesh, our sin our carnal nature.
• They were decedents of Esau.
• Esau was the twin brother of a guy named Jacob and they fought from the get-go.
Genesis 25: 21-23 tells us that they even fought in the womb. A pre-natal wrestling match.
• Anyway, Esau was first and foremost recognized for his propensity, his habit of doing things to satisfy his fleshly desires despite the horrible consequences that might follow.
• The most famous example is when he gave up his right, as the first born son, to the larger part of his father’s inheritance for a BOWL OF SOUP!
— Seems dumb right?
— Before you make fun of him think back to some of the things you have done that gave you a moment of satisfaction and ended up causing a whole lotta heartache or a whole lotta headache long after that satisfaction was over. Give Examples: sex, gossip, anger, you fill in your own blank here.
• Now, back to Esau. He went on to spawn the Amalekites, who ended up in our passage today.
— And if you didn’t know, Esau’s brother Jacob, who he wrestled with in the womb, Jacob was renamed Israel and it’s his people who were attacked by Esau’s crew.
Now we’re back full circle.
— We are God’s people, and we are going to be (some of you are right now) under attack. An attack of sin on our born again spirit.
And again, I can’t possibly name off every attack you are under, but think internal not external. For you it may be greed. For another it may be jealousy, another self-righteousness, another lust, another rage, another self-pity, another pride, another unforgiveness.
You get what I’m saying. I asked you not to tune out but do think for a moment about where the Spirit of God is trying to do some sanctifying this morning.
Matter of fact lets pray.
Father God, thank you for your presence here today, please quiet our hearts and reveal to us individually and corporately as a body of believers where we are under attack.
Amen.
Okay
So what do we do? What do we do when we’re under attack? Let’s read on… Exodus 17: 9-13
What do we do when we are under attack? We Fight!
We fight it. And, to fight we must prepare for battle.
A soldier came up a few weeks ago and spoke to us about his time in Iraq.
How many people think the national guard soldiers just leave their jobs in the offices and on the farms, just leave the classrooms and just fly out the next day and fight?
No, no they prepare. They know a fight is coming and they so they train for it.
If we know that we are going to do battle with our old sin nature, we must prepare, we must condition ourselves for the fight.
We prepare through prayer and meditation. Not just praying on Sunday morning and at dinner when other Christians are around. We pray — one on one with our Father God and we meditate on his Word.
We prepare by digging into the Scriptures. It’s true that all that is required for salvation is a knowledge and repentance of our sin and a belief that Jesus Christ is our Savior. You don’t really even need a Bible for that.
But, there is so much more that God wants to reveal to us in His word and we prepare for the battle by digging into the Bible.
Finally, we get together with other believers. So that when the battles come we will have someone that can go into battle with us.
Now to the fight. There are two ways that Moses and Joshua and the Israelites did this.
1. Moses got up to a place where his people could see him and he did what we must all do before anything else; he pointed them toward God.
a. We must fix our eyes daily, truly moment to moment on God. On His promises, and on His commandments.
b. Not only did Moses point toward God he did so with the staff that had been a symbol of God’s presence since the day God called His people out of Egypt, out of slavery.
c. We must not only look to the revelation God gave to all of us in the Bible, but we must also look back and honor him and remind ourselves, and our children of the many times that God has already come through for us personally.
i. If you are a new Christian, this may simply mean that you remind yourself and witness to others about who you were before you were saved, what happened and what life is like now.
ii. Others, of you have been heaped with so many blessings that you are beginning to take it for granted. Always look back on that so that you won’t be terrified or hopeless when the trials come.
2. Joshua FOUGHT the flesh.
a. Now, you cannot win without God. He has to come first but with God, who can be against you? No one. Not even your old sin nature.
b. The point is, Joshua didn’t just say, well this is who I am, I’m no good, the Amalekites are stronger, I know I’m gonna loose out anyway.
i. That’s the argument that we use when we blame family history — you might say, well, my parent was an alcoholic, or my parent was abusive, or my parent was a gambler, or a racist or whatever and so I’m gonna end up that way too. What’s the use of trying.
1. No! Be Bold, You are a child of the MOST HIGH GOD! Amen?
2. You may be old and you may be giving into self pity, saying well Ken you don’t understand my pain or my loneliness, or my frustrations.
3. I say you are right. But God does understand, and whether we are 16 or 103, we are servants of God. So, we ask him each morning how we can serve Him and we hop to it. It may be with your writing or your prayers or your or whatever gift you have that you’ve been holding back.
4. If you are here you still have a purpose to fulfill. Don’t let anybody, not even your self say otherwise!
Finally, look to God.
People are taken away, people fail our expectations. That holds true for our spouses, parents, friends and even our pastors.
At the same time whoever is leading is to be followed if they are pointing us to Christ and they need people to Hold up their hands.
Lets pray...
Mar 22, 2009
Mar 19, 2009
Defining Mercy — Series on the Mount #6
Welcome,Let’s Pray…
Why does Jesus teach that people who are the merciful are blessed?
They are blessed because they will be shown mercy.
The first thing we must do when looking at this passage, is to figure out what merciful means.
Merciful is literally “full of Mercy” (Greek el-eh-ay'-mon active form of el-eh-eh-oo) A personal characteristic of care for the needs of others. The biblical concept of mercy always involves help to those who are in need or distress. (Holman Bible Dictionary)
In Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology text, mercy is defined as “God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.” (Page 200 — Chapter 12, 8C)
In Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology text, mercy is defined as “God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.” (Page 200 — Chapter 12, 8C)
We are called to be merciful, or full of mercy, and we are promised that we will find happiness by being merciful because we will be shown mercy.
So, who are we going to get this mercy from, in return for our mercy and what does our mercy look like? I’ll answer those two questions in order.
I’ve often heard the platitude, or empty saying, that you should “have mercy on others so they will have mercy on you.”
You may have heard that one too, if you are like me, you have also seen that concept proved false.
— There are times when I have seen someone show tremendous kindness and compassion for someone else, only to be betrayed or let down by the person who was helped.
— I can’t play innocent, there were many times in my past when others saw that I was in a state of helplessness or powerlessness, and they reached out to help me, and then I let them down. I either continued to go on in my old ways, I turned my back on them, or worse, I took advantage of their mercy and exploited it.
To those of us who are believers, this promise of mercy in response to our mercifulness is not from another person, but from GOD alone.
God’s mercy is not proved false, like it is when it comes from you or me or anyone else.
God’s mercy is one of the great hopes that our faith rests upon.
His mercy is one of the great wonders of His love!
Let’s go back to Grudem’s definition that mercy is God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.
Distress?
Scriptures tell us plainly that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and that what God’s justice demands for that sin, what we have earned is death! (Romans 6:23) That’s beyond us being in distress.
This is basic Gospel preaching. Those are the first two steps on the “Roman Road.”
Many times in an effort to keep from scaring new people away, or to be “Seeker Sensitive” we quickly move from here — we quickly move away from our state apart from Christ — and we move quickly to the fact of God’s mercy and grace to all who put their faith and allegiance in Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
But, this week I feel compelled to stay in the darkness of the truth of God’s wrath for a bit longer.
Even if it makes us squirm, even if it makes us want to retreat to happier pastures.
It is not unless we dwell — at times — in the truth of life apart from God’s mercy that we begin to appreciate the beauty and wonder of that mercy.
And if we as believers don’t remind ourselves of the future — not ours, but the future that is in store for our unbelieving family, our unbelieving friends and our unbelieving neighbors — they will be in danger because of our complacency.
Truly, I pray that this next passage will give you a tug of war on your heart; both gratitude, if you are in Christ and a sense of urgency for those who are not.
Please turn with me to Isaiah 63:1-9 (New International Version)
I think of this as one of the most frightening passages in the Scriptures. If you have always and only thought of Jesus as your buddy and not as our all-powerful ruler then hold on.
This passage is a glimpse of our future including a many times overlooked or ignored role of Jesus, not only as our redeemer, but also the Judge of those who never had the faith.
Isaiah 63:1-9 (New International Version)
1 Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
"It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save."
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
3 "I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and the year of my redemption has come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm worked salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground."
1 Who is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,
striding forward in the greatness of his strength?
"It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save."
2 Why are your garments red,
like those of one treading the winepress?
3 "I have trodden the winepress alone;
from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger
and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my clothing.
4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and the year of my redemption has come.
5 I looked, but there was no one to help,
I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm worked salvation for me,
and my own wrath sustained me.
6 I trampled the nations in my anger;
in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground."
Now, let me stop for a moment. If that passage does not put a sense of urgency in you for your lost loved ones, what will?
Now we will see Isaiah switch into the right response for us who are spared. To those of us who will hear the Lord speak of His actions and not be under His trampling feet:
7 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the LORD has done for us—
yes, the many good things he has done
for the house of Israel,
according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8 He said, "Surely they are my people,
sons who will not be false to me";
and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the LORD has done for us—
yes, the many good things he has done
for the house of Israel,
according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8 He said, "Surely they are my people,
sons who will not be false to me";
and so he became their Savior.
9 In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.
A preacher named Stuart Briscoe used an illustration of when he went to a jeweler to buy his wife’s engagement ring. The jeweler put the rings on a black cloth. The blackness, the darkness of the cloth made the brilliance of the diamonds shine all the clearer.
I’m sorry if that passage made you uncomfortable, it makes me uncomfortable too. And we must see the darkness of wrath before the perfect splendor of his gift of mercy can be seen correctly.
In studying for this sermon, I read a wonderful commentary by Thomas Watson on Matthew 5:7 where he shined a light on the various areas that we as Christians can and should show mercy to our neighbors.
He wrote that we should show mercy:
— To people’s reputations by holding back our pride and envy (We show mercy by biting our tongue when we have gossip in our hearts — when we don’t tear someone down in their moment of praise, when we speak up for one who is being falsely our unjustly slandered);
— To offenses or offenders when we forgive (Don’t forget Stephen who, as he was martyred in a torrent of rocks, still prayed that God would forgive his killers);
— To needs when we give or lend to those who are without the necessities of life
o How many times have you heard it said, “I’m not helping him or her or them, they got themselves into that mess, they deserve what they are getting.” Mercy says, “It doesn’t matter whether they are getting what they deserve or if they happened to be born into unfortunate circumstances, I have been given a better lot in life by God, so I will do what I can for them.
And all of those areas are important. We must reflect God’s light into the world in those areas.
But it is Watson’s admonition for us to show mercy to the souls that held my heart captive this week.
We show them the ultimate form of mercy that any human is capable of by proclaiming the Gospel! By leading them to God! By fulfilling our duty as Christ’s ambassadors in this dark and fallen world!
How many times do I, do you, do we turn our eyes away when we see a neighbor stumbling or left for dead on the side of the road by their sin and do nothing?
There is something to do! There is something we should want to do!
Like the Samaritan in Luke 10, that helped the man who was beaten and left for dead, we must go to those who are dead in their sins and dress their mortal wound with the Word of God.
God heals. Ultimately, it is God’s deal between God and the individual. But we are His means to the end.
Paul puts it this way in
Romans 10:13-14 (New International Version)
13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Brothers and sisters when we look at Matthew 5:7 we are told:
Yes we should show mercy to a neighbor’s distressed living situation, to their distressed emotional state, to their distressed financial hardship, to their distressed relationships, to their distressed upbringing, to their distressed educational and employment opportunities
— We are to show mercy in all of those areas.
But more than anything else, our paramount calling is to show mercy to their distressed spirit; their DEAD spirit that has been killed by sin and can only be reborn, can only be made new — by Christ Jesus!
If we Show Mercy in every other area and neglect their souls, we have failed!
May the Holy Spirit prompt each of our hearts this week and show us
—Who to share the Gospel with,
—When to share it, and
—How to do so effectively
And may He embolden us. May He give each one of us, me and you, the courage to do what we’ve been called by Jesus to do, and show mercy to those who are in darkness.
If you don’t know how to share the gospel, let me tell you it is not as hard or complicated as we Christians sometimes make it.
The neighbor does not need a survey of the entire Bible; they do not need to know all about the meanings and vocabulary of theologians.
Don’t get me wrong, we as Christians should continue in our understanding of doctrine and theology, I’m not bashing it. But lets keep the issue as simple as it needs to be when we encounter an unbeliever, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that He has saved you from your sins?”
Paul didn’t even get that wordy and made it even clearer to the jailer in
Acts 16:27-31 (New international Version) {my emphasis added}.
27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
…That’s Paul showing mercy that’s Paul not wanting the man to die in his sin…
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
And if for some reason, you cannot come to a place where you can walk them through that simple message, if they have more questions than you can answer, tell them what Philip told Nathaniel in John 1: 43-46.
Nathaniel had questions that Philip couldn’t answer, so he just told him “come and see.”
You don’t need all of the answers. You just need to be merciful enough to want to lead them toward Christ.
Just be a witness, tell what God has done in your life and say, “come and see, come to church with me.”
It may be the most merciful thing you can do.
Let’s pray…
Mar 13, 2009
Are You Thirsty? — Series on the Mount #5
Welcome,
Let’s Pray… (Specifically for the family, church family and friends of Senior Pastor Fred Winters, of the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill. Also for the accused gunman Terry J. Sedlacek and his loved ones.)
— I am a man without an off switch. You’ve heard the old Pringles® chip slogan, “Once you pop, you just can’t stop.” That is certainly true for me.
— If I check out a television series on DVD, I’ll start with a plan to watch just one episode and before the night is over, I’ll have watched the whole DVD — hours of time wasted.
— I cannot go to an all you can eat buffet. It would be different if they limited it to all you SHOULD eat but since they don’t, I can’t go in anymore.
— There are many times when I hold my tongue, not because I am so holy and meek and peaceable, instead it is because I am totally unable to stop talking once I begin.
— But, with all of these things and more, I sometimes hunger and thirst so much and I lie to myself, saying that just one _______ will be enough.
• I hunger for food and thirst for drink, those are obvious.
• I also hunger for an opportunity to get the last word, or to get revenge (we talked about that last week in regards to meekness).
• I thirst for compliments and other things that might build up my ego.
• I thirst for anything that can deaden, distract or delay the things that cause pain or discomfort in life.
— I doubt that I am the only one.
— The problem we face is obvious and we talk about it all of the time. The things that we hunger and thirst for, which are of this world:
• Almost always end up costing more than we thought they would
• Almost always end up producing negative consequences that we had underestimated or not planned on at all
• Almost always lead us into a deeper thirst or hunger
• They never satisfy completely. We may get full — but we still feel empty.
• And they almost always lead us away from what our primary focus should be as Christians, that is Christ.
— Now hear me when I say this. I am not telling you that all of the things we hunger for and thirst for and pursue are evil.
— And I’m not saying we are evil for those hungers and thirsts. If you know me at all, if you are a regular here at the Church in the Grass and you have been listening, even a little bit, you know that point is that above all else we are to hunger and thirst for things not of this world, but for what can only be given to us by God!
Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5:6 and read with me
Blessed — Happy, but not happy like the world thinks of happy. Happiness that is found in the unshakable, unchanging, all powerful truth that God loved His children — you and me — so much that He came to earth lived as one of us except without sin, he let the world crucify Him on the cross, dying for our sin. He conquered death and the grave so that we who believe in Him, we who know Him as Savior and Lord, may also conquer death and the grave and walk with Him in Heaven for eternity! That’s the Happy we’re talking about here.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst — That’s everybody, everybody on earth hungers and thirsts for something, maybe lots of things — some good, some bad. Are they blessed for that? No.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness —
—In John 4 Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman about what she should thirst for. Their whole discussion could make up several sermons but we’ll look here at John 4:13-14:
— He’s not saying stop drinking water or stop being thirsty for it. There are a lot of things that we will pursue because it is a natural and normal part of life. This includes food and drink; this includes companionship; this includes shelter and clothing.
— Jesus is saying that’s fine but there is something more than your earthly physical needs. There is more to thirst for than what keeps you going within this broken world. The fresh water He offers leads to eternal life!
— Jesus is the righteousness that we thirst for first because without it we have no place at God’s banquet table. But if you thirst for salvation, for the righteousness of Christ to cover you, and believe He can fill you he makes a promise.
Read Matthew 5:6 again:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
— Jesus doesn’t say here, Blessed are those who hunger, thirst,
•And pay ____ much money to the church,
•And stop cussing,
•And cut their hair,
•And put on a tie,
•And stop watching that questionable tv show,
•And stop hanging out with non-believers,
•And stop letting their kids go to public schools — for they will be filled.
— No, those are the prerequisites we sometimes want to put on salvation. Christ does not put them there.
— Now here’s where it gets tricky. If we see that last statement as a license to sin and we say, "God only requires our hunger and thirst and we NEVER have to walk in His moral will, which He lays out throughout the Scriptures," then the question becomes, “Was that hunger and thirst real”.
— We do not believe or teach that salvation can be lost once it is given. But, as James teaches, if there is no evidence of God in your life it is likely because there is no God in your life. Faith and deeds of righteousness go hand in hand.
— We are going to tackle this deeper in following chapters when Jesus talks about a tree and it’s fruit, but to stay on point, here’s the piece to look at.
• When my hunger for the things of this world grabs hold of me and I satisfy that hunger, my flesh will always go back to that hunger again, whether it’s a hunger for potato chips, compliments, or the next newer bigger TV, that hunger will come back.
• Likewise, when we satisfy that initial hunger and thirst for righteousness, and we accept that Jesus is who He says He is and we go to Him, that will create a new hunger in us too.
–We satisfy the hunger for Salvation by God’s grace and we are given the hunger for Sanctification.
• And that hunger is a seen and felt as a desire to please the One we love most.
–We used to love ourselves most, or another sinful creature, now — if we are truly saved, our love is first and foremost on Him. On God.
— And once we have that hunger — that secondary hunger for righteousness — we ask God for help to satisfy the hunger,
• He gives us the Holy Spirit, He gives us His Word, He gives us one another to lift up in love to satisfy that new hunger.
–To live in a way that reflects His righteousness to the world.
A church in town has a great way of putting it:
They say, “Come as you are, but don’t stay that way.”
One more note, if you have never taken the gift of Christ’s saving righteousness. Know that your bill has already been paid. You are only to come and eat at God’s table.
Read Isaiah 55: 1-2 and meditate on this short passage this week.
Let’s pray…
Let’s Pray… (Specifically for the family, church family and friends of Senior Pastor Fred Winters, of the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill. Also for the accused gunman Terry J. Sedlacek and his loved ones.)
— I am a man without an off switch. You’ve heard the old Pringles® chip slogan, “Once you pop, you just can’t stop.” That is certainly true for me.
— If I check out a television series on DVD, I’ll start with a plan to watch just one episode and before the night is over, I’ll have watched the whole DVD — hours of time wasted.
— I cannot go to an all you can eat buffet. It would be different if they limited it to all you SHOULD eat but since they don’t, I can’t go in anymore.
— There are many times when I hold my tongue, not because I am so holy and meek and peaceable, instead it is because I am totally unable to stop talking once I begin.
— But, with all of these things and more, I sometimes hunger and thirst so much and I lie to myself, saying that just one _______ will be enough.
• I hunger for food and thirst for drink, those are obvious.
• I also hunger for an opportunity to get the last word, or to get revenge (we talked about that last week in regards to meekness).
• I thirst for compliments and other things that might build up my ego.
• I thirst for anything that can deaden, distract or delay the things that cause pain or discomfort in life.
— I doubt that I am the only one.
— The problem we face is obvious and we talk about it all of the time. The things that we hunger and thirst for, which are of this world:
• Almost always end up costing more than we thought they would
• Almost always end up producing negative consequences that we had underestimated or not planned on at all
• Almost always lead us into a deeper thirst or hunger
• They never satisfy completely. We may get full — but we still feel empty.
• And they almost always lead us away from what our primary focus should be as Christians, that is Christ.
— Now hear me when I say this. I am not telling you that all of the things we hunger for and thirst for and pursue are evil.
— And I’m not saying we are evil for those hungers and thirsts. If you know me at all, if you are a regular here at the Church in the Grass and you have been listening, even a little bit, you know that point is that above all else we are to hunger and thirst for things not of this world, but for what can only be given to us by God!
Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5:6 and read with me
Blessed — Happy, but not happy like the world thinks of happy. Happiness that is found in the unshakable, unchanging, all powerful truth that God loved His children — you and me — so much that He came to earth lived as one of us except without sin, he let the world crucify Him on the cross, dying for our sin. He conquered death and the grave so that we who believe in Him, we who know Him as Savior and Lord, may also conquer death and the grave and walk with Him in Heaven for eternity! That’s the Happy we’re talking about here.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst — That’s everybody, everybody on earth hungers and thirsts for something, maybe lots of things — some good, some bad. Are they blessed for that? No.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness —
—In John 4 Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman about what she should thirst for. Their whole discussion could make up several sermons but we’ll look here at John 4:13-14:
— He’s not saying stop drinking water or stop being thirsty for it. There are a lot of things that we will pursue because it is a natural and normal part of life. This includes food and drink; this includes companionship; this includes shelter and clothing.
— Jesus is saying that’s fine but there is something more than your earthly physical needs. There is more to thirst for than what keeps you going within this broken world. The fresh water He offers leads to eternal life!
— Jesus is the righteousness that we thirst for first because without it we have no place at God’s banquet table. But if you thirst for salvation, for the righteousness of Christ to cover you, and believe He can fill you he makes a promise.
Read Matthew 5:6 again:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
— Jesus doesn’t say here, Blessed are those who hunger, thirst,
•And pay ____ much money to the church,
•And stop cussing,
•And cut their hair,
•And put on a tie,
•And stop watching that questionable tv show,
•And stop hanging out with non-believers,
•And stop letting their kids go to public schools — for they will be filled.
— No, those are the prerequisites we sometimes want to put on salvation. Christ does not put them there.
— Now here’s where it gets tricky. If we see that last statement as a license to sin and we say, "God only requires our hunger and thirst and we NEVER have to walk in His moral will, which He lays out throughout the Scriptures," then the question becomes, “Was that hunger and thirst real”.
— We do not believe or teach that salvation can be lost once it is given. But, as James teaches, if there is no evidence of God in your life it is likely because there is no God in your life. Faith and deeds of righteousness go hand in hand.
— We are going to tackle this deeper in following chapters when Jesus talks about a tree and it’s fruit, but to stay on point, here’s the piece to look at.
• When my hunger for the things of this world grabs hold of me and I satisfy that hunger, my flesh will always go back to that hunger again, whether it’s a hunger for potato chips, compliments, or the next newer bigger TV, that hunger will come back.
• Likewise, when we satisfy that initial hunger and thirst for righteousness, and we accept that Jesus is who He says He is and we go to Him, that will create a new hunger in us too.
–We satisfy the hunger for Salvation by God’s grace and we are given the hunger for Sanctification.
• And that hunger is a seen and felt as a desire to please the One we love most.
–We used to love ourselves most, or another sinful creature, now — if we are truly saved, our love is first and foremost on Him. On God.
— And once we have that hunger — that secondary hunger for righteousness — we ask God for help to satisfy the hunger,
• He gives us the Holy Spirit, He gives us His Word, He gives us one another to lift up in love to satisfy that new hunger.
–To live in a way that reflects His righteousness to the world.
A church in town has a great way of putting it:
They say, “Come as you are, but don’t stay that way.”
One more note, if you have never taken the gift of Christ’s saving righteousness. Know that your bill has already been paid. You are only to come and eat at God’s table.
Read Isaiah 55: 1-2 and meditate on this short passage this week.
Let’s pray…
Mar 6, 2009
Are You Moving Forward?
Blogger note: This sermon was written for a guest speaking spot at a different church for a special service. It may find it's way to the Church in the Grass eventually, as it could be a follow up to the sermon on Matthew 5:7.
Lets pray…
Please turn in your Bible to Acts 1: 6-11
Acts 1:6-11 (New International Version)
Between Acts 1:11 and our next passage:
— A lot of time had passed. The Holy Spirit had come to indwell the disciples.
— Many, many new Believers were baptized and began living out their faith.
— The crippled were healed.
— When the Apostles were put in jail an angel came by and set them free, and all seemed fine. All that is, except for the fact that the new Christians had been living out only one of their marching orders from Jesus.
Remember, Jesus told them that they were to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
They were doing great things, but only in Jerusalem.
So what happened? What happened when the Christians failed to carry out their orders?
Please turn now to Acts 7: 59 — 8:1
God allowed one of the new deacons, Stephen, to be brought before the Sanhedrin to answer to false charges of blasphemy.
Stephen was a wonderful example of faith in action. Before an aggressive audience, he laid out the gospel and in the end, it got him killed.
This is not our experience in America today, Thank God. Nowadays the worst reactions we get are name-calling or an occasional lawsuit. Stephen was pummeled with rocks.
It is always good to look back on what Jesus did for us on the Cross during this season of Lent and really throughout the year.
However, I believe we who are in Christ, must daily put in our minds the marching orders He has given us. We must always ask ourselves, what is it you would have me do for the kingdom today? Who is it that I am to reach for you, Lord, with the Gospel?
Let me share a bit of my story to illustrate this point.
I am not a life long Christian. I grew up far from the church. I didn’t know anything about Jesus, or the promises of God. I didn’t know about sin or redemption.
All I knew — even from a very early age — was that I didn’t feel complete. There was an emptiness in me that always seemed to drain the happiness out of me.
When I was 12, I found that I could get away from that void in my life by drinking. When drunk, I thought that I was filling that hole inside me.
Really I was just numbing myself.
Eventually, my drinking stopped producing the desired effect. In the end of my drinking career, I still had that void, but every time I “came to” I found more things to regret. My problems were no longer just my problems. They also were the burden of my wife, my friends and family and my employer.
When I had nothing left in me, my bosses came to me and gave me the option of rehab or the boot.
I chose rehab. I spent a month digging into the wreckage of my past and I was introduced to a program that is designed specifically for alcoholics.
Mind you — I still didn’t have any understanding of God. What I did have was the desperation of a dying man, and that led me to prayer. Even though I didn’t know who or what I was praying to.
In the program, I was taught to search for a “God of my understanding.”
This seemed a bit stupid to me, it was obvious by this time that My understanding of life was what got me into the trouble to begin with.
But, I gave it a try.
— And I began to picture a God of second chances — because I needed that to be true.
— I pictured a God that was in control of the universe and was in charge of what was coming down the pike — I needed to believe that the future was not just a matter of chaos theory.
— I began picturing a God that would guide me in the right direction — I needed this because my compass, if I ever had one was totally out of whack — I almost always chose the wrong path.
— Most importantly, I pictured a God that could do for me what I could not do for myself.
As all of you know I soon discovered that this “God of my understanding” was in fact remarkably similar to our God in the trinity
— God the Father — creator of the Heavens and Earth was absolutely in charge of the universe.
— God the Son — Jesus Christ — Believed so much in the idea of second chances that He descended to Earth, became Man, lived a sinless life even though He was tempted. He was tortured, and hung on the cross in order to absorb the wrath that was due to me and due to all of us for all of the rebellion in our hearts, and all of the stupid and destructive decisions we have made and carried out.
— His death on the cross and His resurrection truly proved that He could do for me what I could not do for myself: He took away my sins and adopted me into His family thus granting me Everlasting life in his presence.
— And God the Holy Spirit now takes me as a believer and guides me on the path to righteousness.
I say all of this, I tell my story in a few minutes, but it is like when we read in the story of Jesus at the pool at Bethesda. We are told that the paralyzed man was there at he edge of the water for 38 years.
We read 38 years and it is hard to take in the scope of the pain and suffering. Similarly, we read the two passages in Acts and we lose sight of the time the disciples were hanging out in Jerusalem.
Time carries on. In the time from my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior to now spans just over eight years. But the beginning was not an overnight, “I SEE THE LIGHT!” experience. It was gradual until one day the light bulb came on. And truly, it was not until about three years ago that I began to see that faith in Jesus was more than a “Get out of Hell free card.”
When the fact finally became clear that we are to take up the Kingdom mission once we are saved, I prayed and asked God to use me however He would.
Circumstances then led me to move back to Madison, I took baby steps in ministerial service and all the time felt God prompting me to do more.
I knew what the “more” was but I was afraid. I was still under the false impression that I was somehow in control and that IF I just walked where I knew the next step was secure I would be okay.
That, I believe was the case for the apostles and disciples in the first 7 1/2 chapters of Acts.
By their actions they demonstrated a desire to live in communion with God, but they only did so where they were comfortable.
It’s true for me, and it is true for them. Is it true for you?
How long have you been a Christian? How many times have you heard the gospel preached from the pulpit?
Have you taken on the call to take the gospel out? Have you done so recently?
We are all subject to the slowly corrupting web of comfort. The danger for most of us as Christians in America is not persecution but security.
— The security of the church walls
— The security of our Christian friends
— The security of Christian schools
— The security of Christian radio and Christian television.
There’s nothing wrong with any of that in and of itself, however all of that security can begin to shut us off from the darkness that we were called to shine the light of God into.
When the Christians in Acts shut themselves up in Jerusalem, our sovereign God allowed Stephen to be killed and He allowed true persecution to come against the believers. It was then that they finally went out to fulfill the marching orders.
Read again from Acts 8:1
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
For me it was reading this that prompted me to finally give in to God’s prompting to become a pastor and then to start a church plant in Madison. But, still I do not have it all figured out. I am comfortable proclaiming the word from up here but I still feel fear in the grocery store or the office, when He would have me share the Good News.
We know that God will allow struggles to happen in order to work out His ultimate plan
— Stephen was stoned.
— Paul was shipwrecked
— JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED!
He has put a call into all of our lives.
— A call to walk in faith
— A call out of our comfort zones
— A call into the darkness as a reflection of His light — a reflection of His mercy, grace, peace, love and hope.
What will it take to move US in His direction?
We can go where He tells us or be dragged along like stubborn children.
Which will it be?
On a final note, if you are here tonight and you are not a Christian, we are glad you are here.
It is not my intention to make the Christian life seem difficult, but I also want you to know that it is not just puppy dogs and rainbows after you are saved.
The truth is there will be trials, but, if you are honest, you have trials as a non-believer too.
The difference is we do not struggle alone, when we are truly living in the grace of God we live without the guilt of our sin. And ultimately, we know that we are part of the winning team.
If you are tired of struggling alone and you are ready to take on the adventure that faith brings — tonight can be your night. After we are done here, I — or any of those in front here — can walk you through what it is to become a believer.
It is the best decision you can ever make.
If you are a believer and, like me, you have still not surrendered your ENTIRE life to Jesus Christ — to be used wherever and however He wills — tonight could be the turning point for you.
Go to God before you leave here and pray that He will show you where He would have you go and what He would have you do. Don’t be afraid that he is going to put it into your heart to move to the other side of the world. He may just tell you to share the gospel to the man or woman or family next door — or to the person across from you at work.
Of course that may be scarier than moving across the planet. Let’s Pray…
Lets pray…
Please turn in your Bible to Acts 1: 6-11
Acts 1:6-11 (New International Version)
Between Acts 1:11 and our next passage:
— A lot of time had passed. The Holy Spirit had come to indwell the disciples.
— Many, many new Believers were baptized and began living out their faith.
— The crippled were healed.
— When the Apostles were put in jail an angel came by and set them free, and all seemed fine. All that is, except for the fact that the new Christians had been living out only one of their marching orders from Jesus.
Remember, Jesus told them that they were to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
They were doing great things, but only in Jerusalem.
So what happened? What happened when the Christians failed to carry out their orders?
Please turn now to Acts 7: 59 — 8:1
God allowed one of the new deacons, Stephen, to be brought before the Sanhedrin to answer to false charges of blasphemy.
Stephen was a wonderful example of faith in action. Before an aggressive audience, he laid out the gospel and in the end, it got him killed.
This is not our experience in America today, Thank God. Nowadays the worst reactions we get are name-calling or an occasional lawsuit. Stephen was pummeled with rocks.
It is always good to look back on what Jesus did for us on the Cross during this season of Lent and really throughout the year.
However, I believe we who are in Christ, must daily put in our minds the marching orders He has given us. We must always ask ourselves, what is it you would have me do for the kingdom today? Who is it that I am to reach for you, Lord, with the Gospel?
Let me share a bit of my story to illustrate this point.
I am not a life long Christian. I grew up far from the church. I didn’t know anything about Jesus, or the promises of God. I didn’t know about sin or redemption.
All I knew — even from a very early age — was that I didn’t feel complete. There was an emptiness in me that always seemed to drain the happiness out of me.
When I was 12, I found that I could get away from that void in my life by drinking. When drunk, I thought that I was filling that hole inside me.
Really I was just numbing myself.
Eventually, my drinking stopped producing the desired effect. In the end of my drinking career, I still had that void, but every time I “came to” I found more things to regret. My problems were no longer just my problems. They also were the burden of my wife, my friends and family and my employer.
When I had nothing left in me, my bosses came to me and gave me the option of rehab or the boot.
I chose rehab. I spent a month digging into the wreckage of my past and I was introduced to a program that is designed specifically for alcoholics.
Mind you — I still didn’t have any understanding of God. What I did have was the desperation of a dying man, and that led me to prayer. Even though I didn’t know who or what I was praying to.
In the program, I was taught to search for a “God of my understanding.”
This seemed a bit stupid to me, it was obvious by this time that My understanding of life was what got me into the trouble to begin with.
But, I gave it a try.
— And I began to picture a God of second chances — because I needed that to be true.
— I pictured a God that was in control of the universe and was in charge of what was coming down the pike — I needed to believe that the future was not just a matter of chaos theory.
— I began picturing a God that would guide me in the right direction — I needed this because my compass, if I ever had one was totally out of whack — I almost always chose the wrong path.
— Most importantly, I pictured a God that could do for me what I could not do for myself.
As all of you know I soon discovered that this “God of my understanding” was in fact remarkably similar to our God in the trinity
— God the Father — creator of the Heavens and Earth was absolutely in charge of the universe.
— God the Son — Jesus Christ — Believed so much in the idea of second chances that He descended to Earth, became Man, lived a sinless life even though He was tempted. He was tortured, and hung on the cross in order to absorb the wrath that was due to me and due to all of us for all of the rebellion in our hearts, and all of the stupid and destructive decisions we have made and carried out.
— His death on the cross and His resurrection truly proved that He could do for me what I could not do for myself: He took away my sins and adopted me into His family thus granting me Everlasting life in his presence.
— And God the Holy Spirit now takes me as a believer and guides me on the path to righteousness.
I say all of this, I tell my story in a few minutes, but it is like when we read in the story of Jesus at the pool at Bethesda. We are told that the paralyzed man was there at he edge of the water for 38 years.
We read 38 years and it is hard to take in the scope of the pain and suffering. Similarly, we read the two passages in Acts and we lose sight of the time the disciples were hanging out in Jerusalem.
Time carries on. In the time from my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior to now spans just over eight years. But the beginning was not an overnight, “I SEE THE LIGHT!” experience. It was gradual until one day the light bulb came on. And truly, it was not until about three years ago that I began to see that faith in Jesus was more than a “Get out of Hell free card.”
When the fact finally became clear that we are to take up the Kingdom mission once we are saved, I prayed and asked God to use me however He would.
Circumstances then led me to move back to Madison, I took baby steps in ministerial service and all the time felt God prompting me to do more.
I knew what the “more” was but I was afraid. I was still under the false impression that I was somehow in control and that IF I just walked where I knew the next step was secure I would be okay.
That, I believe was the case for the apostles and disciples in the first 7 1/2 chapters of Acts.
By their actions they demonstrated a desire to live in communion with God, but they only did so where they were comfortable.
It’s true for me, and it is true for them. Is it true for you?
How long have you been a Christian? How many times have you heard the gospel preached from the pulpit?
Have you taken on the call to take the gospel out? Have you done so recently?
We are all subject to the slowly corrupting web of comfort. The danger for most of us as Christians in America is not persecution but security.
— The security of the church walls
— The security of our Christian friends
— The security of Christian schools
— The security of Christian radio and Christian television.
There’s nothing wrong with any of that in and of itself, however all of that security can begin to shut us off from the darkness that we were called to shine the light of God into.
When the Christians in Acts shut themselves up in Jerusalem, our sovereign God allowed Stephen to be killed and He allowed true persecution to come against the believers. It was then that they finally went out to fulfill the marching orders.
Read again from Acts 8:1
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
For me it was reading this that prompted me to finally give in to God’s prompting to become a pastor and then to start a church plant in Madison. But, still I do not have it all figured out. I am comfortable proclaiming the word from up here but I still feel fear in the grocery store or the office, when He would have me share the Good News.
We know that God will allow struggles to happen in order to work out His ultimate plan
— Stephen was stoned.
— Paul was shipwrecked
— JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED!
He has put a call into all of our lives.
— A call to walk in faith
— A call out of our comfort zones
— A call into the darkness as a reflection of His light — a reflection of His mercy, grace, peace, love and hope.
What will it take to move US in His direction?
We can go where He tells us or be dragged along like stubborn children.
Which will it be?
On a final note, if you are here tonight and you are not a Christian, we are glad you are here.
It is not my intention to make the Christian life seem difficult, but I also want you to know that it is not just puppy dogs and rainbows after you are saved.
The truth is there will be trials, but, if you are honest, you have trials as a non-believer too.
The difference is we do not struggle alone, when we are truly living in the grace of God we live without the guilt of our sin. And ultimately, we know that we are part of the winning team.
If you are tired of struggling alone and you are ready to take on the adventure that faith brings — tonight can be your night. After we are done here, I — or any of those in front here — can walk you through what it is to become a believer.
It is the best decision you can ever make.
If you are a believer and, like me, you have still not surrendered your ENTIRE life to Jesus Christ — to be used wherever and however He wills — tonight could be the turning point for you.
Go to God before you leave here and pray that He will show you where He would have you go and what He would have you do. Don’t be afraid that he is going to put it into your heart to move to the other side of the world. He may just tell you to share the gospel to the man or woman or family next door — or to the person across from you at work.
Of course that may be scarier than moving across the planet. Let’s Pray…
Meek Isn’t Weak — Series on the Mount #4
Let’s Pray…
First a review. We’ve been camping out on the mountain. We’ve been studying the Sermon on the Mount slowly, picking apart the verses as we go, to get to the heart of what Jesus had to say and seeing how His words, from 2,000 years ago, apply to our lives today.
By looking first at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, we saw that Jesus used the word picture of a house that we are building on a firm foundation.
When the rains come, the winds try to blow us down and the streams rise, we will not be moved if we are built on a living, active faith in Jesus Christ.
The house that we are building includes a structure to our life, a worldview that shapes how we respond first to God then to ourselves and then to others.
So far we have covered the first two beatitudes
We are poor in Spirit when we come to terms with our own sinfulness in light of God’s holiness. The key is humility.
We mourn as a response to our impoverished state away from Christ. This mourning leads to repentance in the life of a believer.
But remember, this is a KEY — Once we are humble and repentant, WE WILL BE COMFORTED!
God’s promise will not be taken away from those of us who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
So those beatitudes dealt with our attitude about ourselves, and our relationship with God.
In Matthew 5:5 we will begin looking at how we interact with others.
They say that when you begin a sermon, you should always lead with your own personal experience — from a place where you have been tested in the principle that will be taken from Scripture.
Today that is very hard for me to do because this is one of my most difficult areas to live in.
Matthew 5:5 says:
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
In our Faith, meekness isn’t weakness, but it is submission.
— We first submit to where God has us, where He is leading us and what His ultimate plan is for us.
— Second we reshape our lifestyle to His Scriptures, we do not try to alter His word to fit our lifestyle.
How many times have I seen where God wants me to go and argued? I have too many times to count. How many times have I been Jonah?
How many times have I seen the standard that God had set in Scripture and then wanted to pretend I hadn’t read it or tried to rationalize my sin to fit His word? It would be embarrassing to admit.
But admitting is what we did in the first beatitude, and in response, we mourned and turn away from that old way of doing things, as we were taught in the second Beatitude. Some things have to be turned away from again and again, and that is what we do.
And as new creatures in Christ, we are given the power of God in our lives. We are given the inheritance. We are given the fruit of the Spirit talked about in Galatians 5:22-23, which includes meekness (translated gentleness in the NIV, but the same Greek word prah-ooce or prah-oo'-tace)
In this power from God, in this realization that He wins and we are on his side so ultimately, we win, we submit to God’s will, as Jesus did.
And we don’t only submit to God’s will — God’s word. We also hold back from coming against other people.
A pastor in Texas named Robert Morris said meekness, is “Power that is under control.”
Meekness isn’t weakness. Meekness is:
— Taking offences without returning them in kind
o It’s not being quick to anger
o When anger does come into your heart, it is not holding on to that anger and allowing it to become resentment or malice
o And it s not vengeful.
Put another way, An OLD TIME preacher, Thomas Watson said meekness toward other people, “consists in three things: the bearing of injuries, the forgiving of injuries, the recompensing good for evil.’
I am the opposite way, when someone comes against me, and it is usually with words, I want to cut them down, I want to weaken them so they cannot hurt me.
Watson, from Scripture says take it, forgive it and then smother them with kindness.
For the best example we can look to Jesus who came to redeem His people, but was abandoned, betrayed, mocked, beaten, and killed by those He would save.
HE HAD ALL THE POWER IN THE UNIVERSE! But, He held it back. He took the injuries, He forgave the injuries, and he paid it all back, good for evil.
Why, Because it was the Will of the Father!
How many of us could do the same?
Some make the foolish argument that Jesus is a bad example. How can we hope to live up to Jesus? He was perfect! I won’t argue that now, I’ll just go to a common man as a model. Please turn to
1 Samuel 24:1-19 (We will read and unpack as we go)
...So, if David could do it, and he is just a mortal guy, we too can do it. And it is not because of our own power, but God’s power through us.
Today is the day that we begin reflecting God’s love by loving others even when — especially when — the persecute us.
It takes so much more strength. It takes so much more POWER — to hold our tongues, to hold our fists, to hold back our anger, to give it to God and then to pay back pain with kindness.
Do you have that power? Do you have the strength that is demonstrated by meekness?
If you are a believer, the answer is yes. And as a believer, you and I are called to tap into that power and to do it today.
As we go out this week, I can almost guarantee that we will come into situations when God would have us demonstrate His love through our Meekness, It probably won’t be a king trying to hunt you down; it probably won’t be a mob crying out for your crucifixion. No the slings and arrows that most of us will face will be from the words of others, possibly from the people we love most.
How strong will you be? How strong will any of us be?
You and I will only be as strong as our surrender to the Lord.
Let’s pray…
First a review. We’ve been camping out on the mountain. We’ve been studying the Sermon on the Mount slowly, picking apart the verses as we go, to get to the heart of what Jesus had to say and seeing how His words, from 2,000 years ago, apply to our lives today.
By looking first at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, we saw that Jesus used the word picture of a house that we are building on a firm foundation.
When the rains come, the winds try to blow us down and the streams rise, we will not be moved if we are built on a living, active faith in Jesus Christ.
The house that we are building includes a structure to our life, a worldview that shapes how we respond first to God then to ourselves and then to others.
So far we have covered the first two beatitudes
We are poor in Spirit when we come to terms with our own sinfulness in light of God’s holiness. The key is humility.
We mourn as a response to our impoverished state away from Christ. This mourning leads to repentance in the life of a believer.
But remember, this is a KEY — Once we are humble and repentant, WE WILL BE COMFORTED!
God’s promise will not be taken away from those of us who have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
So those beatitudes dealt with our attitude about ourselves, and our relationship with God.
In Matthew 5:5 we will begin looking at how we interact with others.
They say that when you begin a sermon, you should always lead with your own personal experience — from a place where you have been tested in the principle that will be taken from Scripture.
Today that is very hard for me to do because this is one of my most difficult areas to live in.
Matthew 5:5 says:
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
In our Faith, meekness isn’t weakness, but it is submission.
— We first submit to where God has us, where He is leading us and what His ultimate plan is for us.
— Second we reshape our lifestyle to His Scriptures, we do not try to alter His word to fit our lifestyle.
How many times have I seen where God wants me to go and argued? I have too many times to count. How many times have I been Jonah?
How many times have I seen the standard that God had set in Scripture and then wanted to pretend I hadn’t read it or tried to rationalize my sin to fit His word? It would be embarrassing to admit.
But admitting is what we did in the first beatitude, and in response, we mourned and turn away from that old way of doing things, as we were taught in the second Beatitude. Some things have to be turned away from again and again, and that is what we do.
And as new creatures in Christ, we are given the power of God in our lives. We are given the inheritance. We are given the fruit of the Spirit talked about in Galatians 5:22-23, which includes meekness (translated gentleness in the NIV, but the same Greek word prah-ooce or prah-oo'-tace)
In this power from God, in this realization that He wins and we are on his side so ultimately, we win, we submit to God’s will, as Jesus did.
And we don’t only submit to God’s will — God’s word. We also hold back from coming against other people.
A pastor in Texas named Robert Morris said meekness, is “Power that is under control.”
Meekness isn’t weakness. Meekness is:
— Taking offences without returning them in kind
o It’s not being quick to anger
o When anger does come into your heart, it is not holding on to that anger and allowing it to become resentment or malice
o And it s not vengeful.
Put another way, An OLD TIME preacher, Thomas Watson said meekness toward other people, “consists in three things: the bearing of injuries, the forgiving of injuries, the recompensing good for evil.’
I am the opposite way, when someone comes against me, and it is usually with words, I want to cut them down, I want to weaken them so they cannot hurt me.
Watson, from Scripture says take it, forgive it and then smother them with kindness.
For the best example we can look to Jesus who came to redeem His people, but was abandoned, betrayed, mocked, beaten, and killed by those He would save.
HE HAD ALL THE POWER IN THE UNIVERSE! But, He held it back. He took the injuries, He forgave the injuries, and he paid it all back, good for evil.
Why, Because it was the Will of the Father!
How many of us could do the same?
Some make the foolish argument that Jesus is a bad example. How can we hope to live up to Jesus? He was perfect! I won’t argue that now, I’ll just go to a common man as a model. Please turn to
1 Samuel 24:1-19 (We will read and unpack as we go)
...So, if David could do it, and he is just a mortal guy, we too can do it. And it is not because of our own power, but God’s power through us.
Today is the day that we begin reflecting God’s love by loving others even when — especially when — the persecute us.
It takes so much more strength. It takes so much more POWER — to hold our tongues, to hold our fists, to hold back our anger, to give it to God and then to pay back pain with kindness.
Do you have that power? Do you have the strength that is demonstrated by meekness?
If you are a believer, the answer is yes. And as a believer, you and I are called to tap into that power and to do it today.
As we go out this week, I can almost guarantee that we will come into situations when God would have us demonstrate His love through our Meekness, It probably won’t be a king trying to hunt you down; it probably won’t be a mob crying out for your crucifixion. No the slings and arrows that most of us will face will be from the words of others, possibly from the people we love most.
How strong will you be? How strong will any of us be?
You and I will only be as strong as our surrender to the Lord.
Let’s pray…
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