Two very different people

Our Lectionary readings for 6/13 covered two very different people, both of whom were recipients of God’s mercy:

In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet addresses King David, after his adultery with Bathsheba and arranging for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle. He was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) that did some very wrong things.

In Luke 7, we read about a sinful woman – possibly but not certainly a prostitute. She worshiped Jesus without concern for the way people thought of her, particularly Simon the Pharisee, the dinner host. Unlike David, she had a “track record” for wrong living.

Neither the quantity of sin, nor the severity of sin, kept them from God’s grace. Both of them received forgiveness and mercy. I elaborated on this more in my sermon from 6/13. The audio is available.

Doug

Gifts for Tough Times

Romans 5:1-2 gives a list of four gifts we receive because of faith in Jesus Christ:

Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

These gifts are justification, peace with God, grace, and hope of God’s glory.

Being justified means having God’s approval, being regarded as innocent, “just as if I’d never sinned”, declared righteous. Justification and Righteousness are adjacent in Strong’s Greek Dictionary, so being righteous means to be in right-standing with God, having the ability to approach God without any feeling of sinfulness.

Being at peace with God means absence of conflict, reconciliation, full relationship, at one with.

Grace is privilege, undeserved favor with God (God is inclined to favor us, do favors for us), “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” (an over-simplification, but it works).

Hope of glory is the confident expectation of God’s manifestation and presence, experiencing God’s glory – both in this life (John 17:22) and eternally.

With these gifts, and God’s love poured out on our hearts (verse 5), we have more than enough capability to get through the tough times – pressure, affliction, hardship, trials or tests – mentioned in verse 3.

This is the basis for my sermon from May 30, 2010. The audio is available on the recent audio sermons page.

Persevere!

Doug

More of the Holy Spirit

Different churches have different doctrines about “when you receive the Holy Spirit”, “how you receive the Holy Spirit”, etc. I could write a book – and far more learned theologians than I have – about this. I do want to bring out this point: However or whenever you first receive the Holy Spirit, you can also receive more of Him.

The disciples received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, as Jesus had promised (Acts 1:8) that they would:

Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

About 4-5 years later in Acts 4, they’ve gathered together to pray after encountering persecution. I find it interesting that they prayed for more boldness and more miracles to happen in the face of these attacks. Let’s see what happened:

Acts 4:29-31 (NLT) And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

These ones – who already received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost – received more of the Holy Spirit a few years after that. That simply says to me, that no matter how much of the Holy Spirit I have working in my life, I can ask for more (Luke 11:9-13).

I spoke more on this topic in my sermon from Sunday 5/23 (Pentecost) on the “Recent Audio Sermons” page.

Doug

Proactive prayer

In Mark 9:14-29, Jesus had just come down from the Transfiguration with Peter, James and John, and encountered a scene – his other disciples had tried to cast a demon out, and couldn’t. Jesus took care of it himself. At the end of the reading we’re told:

Mark 9:28-29 (NKJV) And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

The thing is, Jesus didn’t pray for an hour before he cast the demon out, and he didn’t fast for three days first, either. But other readings in the gospels indicate that Jesus had a full prayer life – he had done his praying well before the crisis hit.

It’s much easier to believe when our prayer life is proactive, before we have an incident that requires Divine intervention. That way, when it comes, we’re more confident and less worried.

Doug

Salvation is not fragile!

I touched on this indirectly in my 5/16 Sunday sermon, but it was an aside to the message, so I wanted to write a bit more about it now.

The view of the “permanency” of salvation is all over the map within Christianity. Some teach “once saved, always saved”. Others teach that acts of sin can remove one from a “state of grace”. Others have a view somewhere in-between. Some of these beliefs are sincerely held, but I can’t help but wonder if some are held as a way to control conduct or enforce dependence on the church.

My take on it: Salvation is not just “forgiveness of sins”. If that’s all there was to salvation, then it stands to reason that sinning again might cause one to question their salvation.

But salvation is more than that:
- It’s receiving eternal life (John 3:16-17, John 17:3)
- It’s becoming a new creation (2 Cor 5:17-21)
- It’s becoming a part of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12)
- It’s being adopted by the Father (Romans 8 )

Yes, sinning is a bad idea, as it affects us in the way we relate to the Father. That’s why we confess it (to God), put it under the blood of Christ, and move on (1 John 1:9-2:2). But salvation is not fragile, and God isn’t looking for ways to keep people out of heaven.

Doug

Don't Let Your Heart be Troubled

Three times in John 14-16, Jesus said for us to not be troubled, dismayed or have our peace disturbed:

John 14:1 (NLT) – Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.

John 14:27 (NLT) – I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 16:33 (NLT) – I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

The key to having this peace is to seek the peace-giver and not the peace itself. Scripture has to lead us to God’s presence, and not just give us principles to follow.

I developed this further in my sermon on 5/9.

Doug

The Love Commandment

Jesus didn’t give us 10 commandments. The great commandment, summed up, is “Love God and love people” (Luke 10:27). He elaborates on this second part in John 15:
[blockquote]
John 15:9-14 (NIV) “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
[/blockquote]
- Jesus loves us as much as the Father loves Him.
- Jesus commanded us to love each other the way He loves us.
- Jesus said we’re His friends if we do his command.
- Jesus said this so that we’d be full of joy.

That was the core of my sermon from 5/2. The audio is available on the Recent Audio Sermons page.

Doug

Three show-stoppers

On Wednesday, April 21st, about 5:30 in the morning, I was laying in bed, thinking about “my sheep hear my voice” (John 10), the gospel reading for Sunday. All of the sudden, down in my spirit, I heard this from the Lord:

Insignificance, intimidation, and fear of failure are holding you and most of the church back.

I ended up using that as the basis for my sermon Sunday. The audio is at http://allsaintsonline.s3.amazonaws.com/dms-2010-04-25.mp3

Doug

It's about the people!

One of the first things I had to come to terms with as a pastor was my need to develop stronger people skills. I’m reminded of what Jesus said just before He was crucified:

John 13:34-35 (NKJV)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

and later

John 14:15 (NKJV)
If you love Me, keep My commandments.

and

John 15:9-12 (NKJV)
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

In other words, the church is about love. Teaching has its place, singing has its place, spiritual gifts have their place (1 Corinthians 14:26), but they have to be in the framework of love for God and love for people (1 Corinthians 13, Luke 10:27).

Today I read this quote today from USA Today:

The first German pope of the modern era took the helm of the Catholic church after 24 years in the backroom of power with a clear design: to make its 1.1 billion member flock more in line with church teaching even at the cost of shedding members and without catering to the mass media.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-04-16-pope-anniversary-abuse_N.htm

I will not criticize the Pope, who has been serving God longer than I’ve been alive. But to see such a goal makes me sad.

Doug