Scripture Passage –John 21:1-19

Description – Final thoughts about Peter, Jesus, and the Call of God

(Slide 1) This morning we begin with our text for today, John 21 verses one through nineteen. Let us hear the word of the Lord this morning:

Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn’t see who he was. He called out, “Friends, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of fish!” So they did, and they couldn’t draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only out about three hundred feet. When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread.

“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

“Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. And no one dared ask him if he really was the Lord because they were sure of it. Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

Once more he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

Here we have Jesus and Peter with a lake (the Sea of Galilee) and a boat together again. It is a scene that we are now very familiar with these past two months having spent time in Matthew 14.

But it is different this time.

This time it is quiet on the lake. Some of the disciples are fishing, and have been, all night long.

There is no raging water. There is no terror or fear. There is no storm.

Jesus is present in this story, too.

But, He is not walking on the water this time. He is on shore, with feet planted firmly on terra firma. He is also the cook in our story and, perhaps to the frustration of the fishing professionals, a critic of their fishing patterns.

But there is water, a boat, Peter, and Jesus… together again in the same story.

Another thing about this story is that it takes place after Christ’s resurrection, as John makes clear in our text. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Much has changed since that dark and fearful night on the lake perhaps two or so years earlier. Jesus had been arrested, judged, crucified, and rose from the dead as He said that He would be.

Peter is different, too. Perhaps wiser (perhaps). Perhaps quieter. Perhaps less sure of many things than he once was.

Since that ‘out of the boat’ water walking night, Peter had failed in his commitment to Jesus. A fear driven denial, not once, not, twice, but three times, had come from his lips as Jesus said it would.

He wept and probably fled, into the night… and, as we have read this morning, eventually returned to what he knew best – fishing.

But, Jesus is not done with Peter. He still has a plan and a purpose for Peter… and some unfinished business.

Once Jesus is recognized by John and the recognition dawns on Peter, Peter puts his clothes on and gets out of the boat. But this time, there is no walking on the water. Peter swims to shore.

The smell of cooking fish hits Peter’s nostrils, because Jesus is frying up some fish for breakfast.

(Where did He get that fish? How did he get that fish? “We have been slaving out here all night long to get some fish and there He sits on the shore cooking some… How dare He…”)

It was not enough fish and so Jesus asks for more fish to be brought from what could be labeled a ‘miracle’ catch. So Peter goes back into the water and hauls the very full net to shore.

I wonder what Peter did while he waited on the others to come to shore before Jesus asked for more fish. Did he look at Jesus or stand a ways off trying to decide what to say, what to do? Did he jump into the water and swim to shore because he wanted to be with Jesus? Or did compulsively respond to John’s observation?

There is some tension in this story. There is unfinished business.

But,… breakfast first, please… Of bread and fish… (Remind you of another time when loaves of bread and fish were on the menu?)

Finally, Jesus broaches the subject…

“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs..”.

“Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,”

Once more he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

Over the years, much has been made of the words translated love in this passage. Using different Greek words have been interpreted to indicate a progressive deepening of the commitment Jesus is seeking as He focuses on a deeper and more sacrificial love with a change of terms.

Others have talked about the progression from feeding lambs to caring for sheep to feeding sheep as another important progression. A progression that says Jesus is calling Peter to a new level of commitment and leadership in the Kingdom.

Then, the emphasis of the three questions has also been highlighted as a parallel to the three emphatic denials that Peter had made not long ago.

But, the whole context of our story is very important. Peter had gone back to fishing. He seemed to be done as a Jesus follower. That chapter in life was over… and this after Christ’s resurrection.

Jesus had other plans for Peter… and He still loved him.

He had to bring Peter to the place where he would be in touch with buried grief, and love, before any more progress is made in his life and faith. It would take three rounds of questioning to get there.

Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time.

Grief indicates sorrow, unhappiness, pain, and misery. Peter cannot move forward until he finally grieves not just his actions but also again feels the love for Jesus and others still present, and buried, within himself.

Once Jesus gets down to the bottom of Peter’s heart, He again says to Peter something that He said once before, “Follow me.”

This is a familiar setting for Peter and some of the others. For it was along this same lake shore, perhaps in the very same spot, three years earlier, that Jesus jumped in a boat and had Peter row Him away from shore so that He could teach a growing crowd of people.

Here is Luke’ account of what happened next as we read in chapter 5 and starting with verse 4:

“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.” And this time their nets were so full they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.”

Jesus now brings Peter back to a place where something can happen. And I think that Peter’s memory was jarred with this large catch and these very familiar words.

(Slide 2) So what does this mean for us? How do we get to the place where we follow Jesus in spite of our failings and flaws?

It requires us to do the following:

(Slide 3) We recognize Jesus for who Jesus is – the pure and perfect Son of God; our savior and redeemer.

He died on the cross for our sins. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

This is a very important recognition and statement of faith.

Many people recognize Jesus as a great man and person. (And He was and still is.) Many believed in the passionate revolutionary nature of what He proclaimed. (Revolutionary, He was in His statements and actions.)

But, unless we choose to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, perfect and without sin and who died on the cross for our sins and then rose again, we will have a flawed view of Christ and hence a flawed view of what it means to follow Jesus. To follow Jesus is to follow the Son of God who calls us to a journey of faith, hope, love, and commitment that will take us, as it would Peter, where we often do not want to go.

And there is more…

(Slide 4)We must also let God dig down into our hearts and souls and bring up that which has dammed up within us the love for God and others.

As I think about my own life and journey, I recall that when I have allowed God, through the Holy Spirit, to dig within me, there has been spiritual progress that has included uprooting grief, anger, jealousy, and a host of other things that has dammed up love for God and others within me. Only when God has brought these things up, and I have faced them honestly, have I begun to live again. Just as Peter could not return to the place the Lord desired for him to be until Jesus did His digging and prodding, so too with us we cannot move forward until we allow God, when it is necessary, to do the same for us.

In Jesus’ command to Peter again to ‘follow me,’ Jesus is calling Peter back to the life of following that we are called to as well. However, as Peter (and the others) would be told in a short time, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5, NLT)… we too, are reminded the Holy Spirit is vital in our journey.

(Slide 5) So, we ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to follow Him.

We need the Holy Spirit to help us make the choices and do the things that in our own strength we cannot do. Like walking on the water or facing our inner pain and failures that holds us up and hold us back.

As we conclude this morning, I want us to remember this:

In our life journey with God, there are moments when we are to get out of the boat because our faith and trust in the Lord needs to grow. But, there are also moments when we need to get back in the boat because we need to rest and be renewed.

In both situations, we must listen to and for the Lord’s direction.

What are you needing to do this day? Get out or get in? Listen to and for the Lord. Then respond in faith and love.

Let us continue to walk by faith and not by sight. Amen.

Text: Psalm 119: 5, 10, and 11

Main Point: What does your life say about God?

A true story is told of a Ford Motor Company machinist in Detroit who became a Christian. In light of that experience he became a devout follower of God and desired to right his many wrongs.

He had been stealing parts and tools from Ford for many years. The morning after his conversion, he acted out his public confession of Christ by taking all of the stolen tools and parts back to his employer. He explained his situation and recent conversion to his foreman and asked for his forgiveness.

This response by an employee was without precedent. Mr. Ford, who was visiting a European plant, was cabled concerning all the details of this matter with a request for his response.

Mr. Ford immediately replied with his decision: “Dam up the Detroit River and baptize the whole city.”

A commentator noted, “Baptism is a public proclamation; our lives should be the same.”

In light of today’s sermon title, I ask, “What does your life say about God?”

Henry and Richard Blackaby have written, “Why is it that some Christians seem to go much deeper in their walk with God than others? It is because these individuals have committed themselves to pursue God until his presence is powerfully real in their lives.”

For the remaining Sundays of this month, we are going to spend time in the longest chapter of the Bible – Psalm 119.

Now Psalm 119 is 176 verses long and to give you an idea of just how long 176 verses are, if I were to preach a verse of Psalm 119 every Sunday, it would take me, minus vacation, Easter, and Christmas Sundays, (5 Sundays/year), almost 3 and 3/4 years to preach it. But, I am not going to do that, unless I felt led to.

Some have suggested that this Psalm was written not by David or Solomon but by someone well after their time – Ezra. Even though the book bearing his name appears toward the middle of the Old Testament, chronologically it comes toward the end, well after David and Solomon and the time of Israel’s kings, because Ezra is a part of the return from Exile that took place in the latter part of Old Testament history.

Chuck Swindoll informs us in his introduction to the book of Ezra, that Ezra was a part of the second group of Jewish refugees who returned to Jerusalem 80 years after the first group, led by Zerubbabel, returned to rebuild the temple.

The second group, led by Ezra, came to reestablish worship. The third group came around a decade and a half later and was led by Nehemiah. Their mission was to rebuild the walls around the city.

One of the characteristics about Ezra that Swindoll notes indicates a link to Psalm 119 and also allows us to understand portions of it, especially those which speak of enemies and those who do not follow God. In Ezra 7:10 we read, “Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of the LORD and to teach those laws and regulations to the people of Israel.” Ezra, in addition to teaching the laws, the ways of faith, to the people also encountered a problem during his tenure in Jerusalem.

Many of the Jewish leaders had taken up the practice of intermarriage with the various groups that lived in and around the Jewish remnant. This was forbidden by the Jewish law and caused Ezra, as we read in chapter 9, to weep and mourn before God and to, as we read in chapter 10, demand public confession and repentance of those who were guilty. And that is what happened.

Ezra was committed to following God no matter what. He was passionate about God and living for God and he devoted himself to studying, applying, and following God’s word.

I think that it is very plausible that Ezra wrote Psalm 119 because of both his desire to follow God and his disappointment and frustration with those who did not. I think that we could say with some assurance that this Psalm is Ezra’s “Spiritual Autobiography.”

But, this wonderful Psalm describes any one of us who desires to follow hard after God. It can be our spiritual autobiography as well.

There are three verses that express the heart, the desire, and the passion of a person who seeks God and the security of a personal relationship with God. They reveal three characteristics, three qualities, which are essential for living a life in which God is evident.

All three verses appear in the first two sections of Psalm 119. Now I say sections because some of you might have a Bible that has section titles for Psalm 119. That is because Psalm 119 is divided into 22 sections and the first verse of each section begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This structure perhaps was used to enable this Psalm to be used in corporate worship, like a liturgy or responsive reading.

Verse 5 is the first verse that I want to examine as evidence of a life that is in passionate pursuit of God. “Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your principles!”

In this verse the Psalmist says it is my intention that my life reflect God’s intention by illustrating His principles in my actions. This is intention of desire.

That little word “Oh!” says a lot about intention doesn’t it?

We often say:

“Oh, how I wish that . . “

“Oh, nuts, I messed up . . .”

“Oh, I forgot to call so and so. .  “

Our daily life is filled with intentions:

“Today, I am going to clean out the garage.”

“Tomorrow, I am going to visit Aunt Alice.”

But what is meant here is that the speaker has a deeper intention in mind. It is an intention to live out God’s way in every single action of every single day.

Now we are aware that our best intentions some times go unfulfilled for a variety of reasons such as unseen interruptions or a last minute change in plans. But once again this not what the Psalmist speaks of.

He is speaking of a character issue. He speaking of an internal desire to do what is right to live the right way, and to make the right choices. Choices that reflect the very character of God in a person’s life.

In thinking of intentions, I am reminded of the story of the lady who found out that she had a skunk in her basement. Confounded as to how to get rid of it, she called the local police for help.

Their advice was to lay a trail of breadcrumbs from the cellar door entrance into the yard so as to lead the skunk out of the basement. She followed their advice.

A few days later she called the police again asking for help. For now she had two skunks in her cellar.

The woman’s and the police’s, intentions were good. But, the outcome was not what anyone expected or wanted. The same holds true for us. Sometimes we act with all the right motives, all the right intentions. But, the outcome is, shall we say, “stinky.”

In our intention to live for God sometimes the outcomes are not what we planned. But, that does not mean we give up. It means that we continue to act in a manner that reflects God’s principles.

Nor does it mean that God has given up on us. For He truly knows when our intentions are right even we the outcome is not what it should have been.

But, again the Psalmist speaks of an intention of desire that consistently, day in and day out, indicates in his actions a reflection of God Himself.

If you were to write your spiritual autobiography, would this intention of desire be a theme in your story?

In verse 10 the Psalmist says, “I have tried my best to find you-don’t let me wander from your commands.” This is a statement about intention of direction.

God is sometimes hard to find. Sometimes God hides. Why? Maybe He wants to determine how serious we are about following Him.

As I reflect on this aspect of following God [intention of direction], I recall a tactic that I sometimes use with my boys. When I am ready to leave a location, a room, the house, even here at the church, and they are not following me because they are procrastinating or do not want to leave. I simply say, “Okay see you later!” and head out for the door.

Whoosh! They are right behind me! “Wait, wait daddy!” I hear in a voice filled with almost panic and they follow me where we need to go.

Now the Psalmist is not saying that God is playing a trick on us. What he is saying is that he has tried to find, and follow, God as best as he can but he does not want to wonder away.

There are times when parents, allow their  kids to wander away, within reason, to help them gain the internal ability to stop and say, “Wait, I need to find mom and dad and get back with them or I will be lost.”

When I said a moment ago God sometimes hides on us, it may also be due to the fact that we are in danger of taking our relationship with God for granted and thus become vulnerable to temptation because as we have so often heard, “familiarity breeds contempt.” But, there is another reason.

God is God. He is wholly other. And there is a mystery to God that we cannot penetrate or should not penetrate.

The Psalmist knew this. To him, worship was awe struck worship. It reflected the tremendous mystery and majesty of God that drove someone like Isaiah to his knees as he confessed that he was unclean in the midst of holy and righteous God.

If we assume that Ezra wrote this Psalm, then we could certainly understand these feelings expressed in verse 10 as he surveyed the spiritual condition of the Jewish exiles and the challenges they faced from those who opposed their return and the re-establishment of their faith and places of worship.

Ezra faced moments when he was not sure what to do. He was not sure whom he could trust. He was not clear as to the outcome of decisions made.

But Ezra, in his study and in his leadership, searched diligently for God’s direction and presence in the face of times of uncertainty about what to do next. However, because of his study, because of the intent desire to “consistently reflect God’s principles in his actions,” Ezra had the confidence that God would help him not to wander away. He had developed the internal controls of faith and obedience.

This verse gives us a picture of a person who was seeking God with all of himself in spite of the gray and uncertain areas of life that he faced. He knew that God was somewhere and he desired to make sure that God would not let him get away.

Every once in a while Susan and I hear Jonathon talking about something related to the past and he will say, “you know mom, you know dad, back in the old days when everything was in black and white.” We know that there are many things that are black and white. But, we also live in a world where there is a lot of gray when it comes to choices and decision and we are not sure what direction to go.

In those moments we need to be like the Psalmist and plead with God to keep us from wandering from his commands. We need this intention of direction as part of our daily lives if we want to live passionately with God and for God.

In your story, how would you describe this intention of direction?

Finally, we move to the next verse, verse 11 where we read, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” This is an intention of commitment.

Now the previous two verses also speak of commitment with regard to desire and direction. But, verse 11 speaks of an intention of the heart and soul that goes very, very deep.

The Psalmist basically says, “I have incorporated your word, your law, your ways, God into the core of my being so that I will not intentionally do or say something that separates me from you. It is my commitment to hold deep within me your word to me so that I will not act disobediently.

Quite frankly, now days such a commitment seems almost fanatical. But, does it have to be? Is it fanaticism? No and no.

As I read through this Psalm this past week, I came to a very modern verse, verse 143: “As pressure and stress bare down on me, I find joy in your commands.” Speaks to us today doesn’t it?

As pressure and stress bear down on us in this time and place, where does joy come from? For some, it comes from power. For others it is wealth. Yet for others it comes drugs or alcohol.

By hiding, by concealing, God’s word in his heart, the Psalmist meets the pressure and stress of life with joy in God’s directives as he allows it to shape his actions and his intentions (motives).

The picture of verse 11 is of someone who has intentionally read, studied, and meditated upon God’s word so thoroughly that he goes to it automatically in verse 143 during times of stress and pressure because during those moments of stress and pressure our character is most revealed.

In the writing of your spiritual autobiography, is there a theme, an indication, of steady and sure commitment to God and His ways and word? In moments of stress and pressure do you find relief, do you find joy in the commands and directives of God?

CONCLUSION:

At the end of Ezra 7:9 we read this interesting statement “ for the gracious hand of His God was on him.” Then in verse 10 we read “This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of the Lord and to teach those laws and regulations to the people of Israel.”

Before Ezra set out to Jerusalem to provide spiritual leadership to his people, he came to a place of decision. And his decision was the answer to a question regarding his relationship to God and either he was going to have a relationship with God or he wasn’t.

He made the choice to have one; one that was not casual or convenient, but one that was complete. He made the decision to follow God wholeheartedly and that is made clear in verse 10 as it is stated that Ezra determined to study and obey the law of the Lord.

What about you? What does your spiritual autobiography say about your relationship with God? What about us? What does our congregational autobiography say about our relationship with God?

Ezra made the right decision well before he made the hazardous journey to Jerusalem. And in the making of that decision, he kept remaking that decision over and over and over again because he kept deciding to passionately and wholeheartedly follow God.

Two questions to close: 1. How much of you does God have? 2. How much of us does God have? There is only one correct and final answer – all of us. Do our lives say that? Amen.

Text: Psalm 119:33-35

Main Point: How do you experience God’s way in life?

This is the time of year when as we travel, we see people wearing bright orange vests, standing on or near the roads that we travel on. In their hands are poles, also stripped in bright orange, some of which are on tripods surrounded by cones of orange, and special devices they look through. What are they doing? Are they looking for something that has been lost?

No, they are surveying property for a project of some kind – highway reconstruction or construction, a new housing development, or a new business. They are looking for boundaries. They are attempting to determine where one property line ends and another begins.

In the past 10 years other kinds of boundaries have been written about. Boundaries between people. Two such books are Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend and Margin by Swenson. All three men are Christian counselors and physicians who basically say that part of spiritual health and maturity is learning how to be responsible for your own life by having healthy and responsible boundaries in your life that make healthy and responsible relationships possible.

A third book speaks of boundaries in a slightly different way. The best selling book, The Prayer of Jabez, written by Bruce Wilkinson, is based on I Chronicles 4:10, that is the record of Jabez’s prayer in which he asks God to “enlarge his territory.” As Wilkinson writes, “the word territory can also be translated coast or borders.” Might we also say “boundaries?”

Now, the boundaries or the borders for which Jabez prays to God to enlarge deal with a larger influence for God through his life. Wilkinson calls it “living large for God.”

It is this third idea of boundaries that I wish to have us keep in mind this day as we come to our text in Psalm 119 and this question: How do you experience God’s ways in life? How do we identify and stay within the boundaries of life that God has put in place?

Last week it was suggested that Ezra wrote Psalm 119 and if he did, we need to also remember that the Jewish refugees in Jerusalem to whom he went after the God-imposed exile of 70 years was completed were people who needed to rediscover and reapply the boundaries of their faith. Ezra, I would remind us, went to restore the practice of worship and obedience to God to the refugees. However, as we read the story of Ezra’s mission in the Old Testament book by his name, we are also reminded that many leaders had exceeded the boundaries set by God in the law because of intermarriage and public confession and repentance was required.

Today we are going to look a segment of Psalm 119 that describes the boundaries of God’s way, verses 33-35.

I am going to read it a second time this morning to keep it fresh in our thinking:

Teach me, O Lord to follow every one of your principles. Give me understanding and I will obey your law; I will put it into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. “

We learn to live within the boundaries of God’s way when we:

Follow every one of God’s principles.

Understand and obey God’s law by putting it wholeheartedly into practice.

Walk along the path of God’s commands.

The boundaries of God’s way are to help us live like Jabez prayed and the first way we learn to live this way is by following every one of God’s principles. As I prepared this sermon, I spent some time looking up the nouns and verbs of this segment to have a clearer understanding of it. The first word I studied was follow that appears in verse 33.

An interesting definition of follow is “to engage in as a way of life.” And if we use this definition of follow then what the Psalmist is saying in these verses is, “I want to engage in your way of life, God. I want to do what I need to do to live life your way.”

To follow someone or something implies loyalty to that someone or something. For example, what would you say two explosives experts are loyal to when their motto is, “If you see us running, you had better catch up?” What are they loyal to? LIVING!!!

As we examine verse 33 we notice that the way of engagement (the way of loyalty?) for the Psalmist is through following not just a few, but every one of God’s principles. Now, what are principles? What does it mean to follow principles?

Someone has written that when a man says he approves of something in principle, it means that he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it into practice. Is this what principles means in this verse?

NO! Keeping in mind the first part of verse 33, teach me, O Lord, the Psalmist is describing more of what we would call ethics or “the code of conduct or behavior governing an individual or a group.”

The Israelite code of conduct was the Law given to Moses by God for the Israelites to follow. And God gave it for two specific reasons: 1. To help the Israelites live for Him among people who believed in many gods. 2. It was the first step in God’s plan of salvation for all humanity. It is this code of conduct that the writer willingly desires to follow.

When you look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 what is the first commandment? “Do not worship any other gods besides me.” The first part of the Israelite code of conduct is therefore one of loyalty and obedience to only one God. The references to God in our Bibles is always singular not plural. There are not many gods there is only one God.

But the Psalmist indicates that he desires to follow, to be loyal to, all ten, not just some, of the Commandments. In fact he desires to follow, to be loyal to all, not a portion, but to all of the Law given to Moses by God! It is all of these principles; this entire code of conduct, the Psalmist seeks to follow. He is passionate about the whole guidance and help of God not just a portion of it. He wants God to teach him everyone one of them.

If we hold to the belief of some that Ezra wrote this Psalm, we can understand this very precise desire as we again review the circumstances that Ezra found himself in. The people to whom he was going lacked the more complete understanding of what God required of them. They needed to be taught what God had given their ancestors hundreds of years earlier. They needed to understand that God expected some things from them if they were to be His people. And the only way that Ezra, with the direction and help of God, could do this, is if he were taught by God to follow every one of the principles that God had given to Ezra and his people. But there is more to living within God’s boundaries than merely following these principles, these codes of conduct.

As we move to verse 34, I recall a speed-reading class that I took in high school. I enjoyed it very much because I thought it was great to learn a new way of reading that took less time. But just because I could read faster, did not mean I could read better.

A key part of the class required me to understand what I was reading. That required quizzes after reading a certain item or portion of something to see if, in my quest for speed, I understood what I read.

I am also reminded of the value of understanding illustrated in the story of the vagrant who stopped at a church shortly before Christmas and told the pastor that he was tired of floating around and wanted to settle down and join the church.

The pastor was pleased with this desire but first wanted to know how much of the Christian faith the man understood. So, with the Christmas season in mind he asked the vagrant, “Where was Jesus born?”

The man paused, “In Pittsburgh!” The pastor shook his head no. “In Philadelphia!” the man said enthusiastically.

Wishing not to further embarrass the man, the pastor simply said, “He was born in Bethlehem.” “Oh yeah!” replied the man, “I knew it was somewhere in Pennsylvania.”

The word understand is used as both a noun and a verse. But in verse 34, the Psalmist speaks of understanding as an action of obedience. One way we engage in this action of obedience is in learning.

When we learn we move from being exposed to information, to understanding the meaning of that information, and then to putting that information and it’s meaning into practice. Learning to follow God and live within His boundaries requires this same approach to learning.

The Psalmist moves beyond being taught the principles, the code of conduct, to understanding that code of conduct and then putting into wholehearted practice in the form of obeying it, of doing what the Law says to do.

Now what is the Law? Here is an excellent definition “the revelation of the divine will set forth in the Old Testament.” The Law of which the Psalmist speaks is God revealing His will, His way of life, to the Israelites. And it is this law, this way of life, this code of conduct that the Psalmist wants to obey and “put into practice with all my heart.”

For us today, the Bible is the written revelation of the divine will for us. It contains the Christian code of conduct. How well do we understand it?

What grabs me as I read this verse is the passion, the enthusiasm for God’s way. The Psalmist does not look at the Law as something to be feared but something that that gives life, that gives direction, gives hope to him and those around him.

Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem and the situation he had to deal with once he got there, illustrates this passion for God’s way quite well. Granted, it is a dark circumstance because the code of conduct has been broken and the very public mourning and agony over the spiritual condition of the people would seem to be a negative thing. But, it isn’t. It is the heart cry of a person who wants God to live in the lives of those he cares about. And verse 35 gives us a hint why that is.

Like a lot of other words, command is both a noun and a verb. In verse 35, the image is one of a person who is under someone’s orders like a recruit or an athlete in training. The commands given in these situations are directives that are for the purpose of developing certain skills and abilities as well as attitudes of respect and obedience.

Those here today who have served in the military understand what I am saying. Those of us who have participated in organized athletics understand this as well.

In fact the words commandment and commands are very closely related terms aren’t they? They can both mean “orders.” Which reminds me of the third grade Sunday School class whose teacher was teaching a lesson on the commandment “Honor Thy Father and Mother.” She asked, “Does anyone know a commandment for brothers and sisters?” One very perceptive student replied, “Thou shalt not kill!”

In our scripture passage for today, we have a person who says to God, “Help me to walk your way. Help me to walk the right direction, the right path that your directives, your way requires.” And it is not a forced obedience it is a willing obedience.

God honors and blesses our willing obedience. He wants us to follow Him willingly and joyfully.

Why is the Psalmist this way? The last part of verse 35, the hint that I mentioned a moment ago is the reason: “for that is where my happiness is found.” The Psalmist speaks of a relationship a faith in which there is joy and happiness not boredom or drudgery.

How does this compare with our societal view of happiness? Happiness is often defined as “no limits, no boundaries. I am happy when I can do what I want to do, when I want to do it.” But what happens when the limits are exceeded?

The Psalmist says different. Happiness is found on the path of God’s commands. A narrower way. But, is it really?

CONCLUSION:

So how do we experience God’s ways in life? How do we live joyfully and contentedly within His boundaries? Three key words from this passage give us directions: follow, obey, and walk.

As I reflected on these three words I drew this diagram to help us understand the “movement” required for us to live within God’s boundaries. (Overhead 1)

We learn to live within the boundaries of God’s way when we:

Follow every one of God’s principles.

Understand and obey God’s law by putting it wholeheartedly into practice.

Walk joyfully along the path of God’s commands.

What are you, as God’s person, following these days? Do you understand the Bible, do you understand, as God’s person, what it means and are you willing to walk along the path of God’s directives for you life?

What about us as the people of God in this community at this point in history? What we are using to discern God’s voice and follow Him obediently? Do we understand His directives for us? And are we willing to walk in His paths? The paths of his commands, his directives for us?

In Jeremiah 18 we read of a trip to a potter’s house where Jeremiah observed a potter at work. That passage may have inspired Pollard and Stebbins to write the hymn “Have Thy Own Way, Lord!” nearly a century ago. It is hymn 400 in our brown hymnbook and I would like for us to turn to it, as it will be our closing hymn today.

As you locate the hymn, take a look at the scripture verse under the title. What is it? Psalm 119:34. The hymn came to mind as I prepared for this morning but until I turned to it in the hymnbook, I had no idea that part of our text for this morning was the verse for this great hymn.

We are like clay. We have the capacity to be just about anything. The question is who or what is shaping our lives? It is us or is it God? If we choose to live life within the boundaries of God then it means that God must shape us. And He will shape us and our lives as we follow Him, obey Him, and walk with Him

I believe that God has so much that He wants to give us. More than we can imagine! I believe that the riches of Christ that Paul speaks of are beyond our wildest dreams. And I also believe that some of them are for us now, in this life. What are some of those riches? How about peace, joy, patience, and contentment for starters?

But, they require us to surrender and live within the boundaries of God. Obey the Spirit this day and give up, give up, give up and live! Amen.

I Corinthians 13

Main point – Love, Biblical Love, is a major way our commitment to God is measured!

In the book of Amos, chapter 7, we read these words: “Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight. ⁸And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I answered, “A plumb line.”

And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. ⁹The pagan shrines of your ancestors and the temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”

What is a plumb line? It is a line that is used to measure the straightness of a wall. Now, I am not sure how much these are used these days with computer technology and laser equipped items and such, but in days past this tool was a critical tool to insure that walls were built straight. Otherwise they could collapse with devastating consequences. (Tie to microphone stem on pulpit).

In this prophetic passage, the Lord is saying to Amos, “I am measuring the Israelites to see if they measure up to my standards.” It was a very high standard and they failed God’s “measurement.”

This morning as we continue our series “Classic Chapters of the Bible,” we come to a chapter in the New Testament that we need to consider a plumb line chapter for us, I Corinthians 13 – the “Love Chapter.”

In your worship folders this morning is a short piece of yarn that you are to take home, hang in a prominent place, and ask God on a regular basis, “How am I measuring up, Lord in loving as I should?” There is also a second piece for a friend or family member.

As we begin our study of this chapter it is important that we notice the contexts in which it appears and there are two important parts to this context:

First, this chapter is written in the context of conflict. From the very start of this book, conflict is the norm, unfortunately, in this congregation.

For example, in chapter 3, Paul addresses the cliques that have formed around himself and Apollos, another Christian leader. Paul says to them, “Who is Apollos and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why, we’re only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.”

Then in later chapters he addresses conflicts regarding lawsuits between members of the church, sexual immorality, proper dress for worship, and how to correctly celebrate communion. And when we come to chapter 12, he begins his discourse on service and worship and spiritual maturity that he will continue to discuss in chapter 14. And in the middle of this discourse he reminds them that the greatest gift is the gift of love that serves as a plumb line regarding spiritual maturity because it addresses the place of motives and attitudes in a believer’s life.

The second context that this chapter is written in is the context of possibility because conflict always contains the seeds of what might be possible. For example, consider the possibilities in the conflict between two golfers:

Man hit with golf ball; “I’ll sue you for five thousand dollars.”

Other golfer: “I said, “fore!”

Injured golfer: “I’ll take it!”

The possibilities are endless for the church at Corinth. They have the capability for a great and effective ministry. Conflict can be a sign that spiritual growth and maturity are possible. But, they need the plumb line of love to help them move in the direction of a fuller and deeper and more mature Christian experience and life. And Paul gives them some important suggestions in our chapter of the morning on how that comes about.

The first suggestion Paul gives them is let love shape your motives for ministry and service. We find this in verses 1 – 3.

First, love is a plumb line for the words we use as we “tell the gospel story.” And while eloquent speech is one thing, words backed by love are something else.

How well do we speak with love in our words throughout the day? We have heard and seen and felt throughout our lifetimes words from eloquent speakers, that have moved us to action and greater faith and trust only to have them turn sour and bitter in our hearts and souls when anything but love and respect have come out of their mouths at another point.

Paul saw both the conflict and the potential of words that could shape the life and spiritual health of the Corinthian Christians. Words spoken with love as a motive are words that can bring divergent opinions together in such a manner that God is honored and His work moves forward. Words that are laced with love can help both individual believers as well as congregations build credibility with those seeking to understand and even embrace the Christian faith. Words empowered by love are words that can make a difference in the home, classroom, workplace, and front porch because God is honored by such words. (Swing the line and ask, “How do you measure up?)

Second, love is a plumb line for the attitudes toward the knowledge of faith that we share in our journey.

Some of the most humble people I know are well educated. Some of the most arrogant people I know are well educated. The Bible has some interesting things to say about knowledge and learning.

For example, the writer of Ecclesiastes, says in chapter 12 and verse 12, “There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!” And in the opening chapters of I Corinthians Paul speaks of the foolishness of humanity and the wisdom of God.

Yet God gave us a mind to learn. Paul will go on to later tell Timothy, a younger church leader, “ fan into flames the spiritual gifts God gave you;” “correctly handle the word of truth.” Our minds are both avenues and tools for the faith. We use our minds to serve as we think, study, plan, and decide and these same minds are used by the Spirit to guide us into all truth.

But, without love, our knowledge can lead us to condescending actions and attitudes that do not help build up both individuals and the body of Christ. Something that was very evident in the Corinthian congregation as we read prior to this chapter. It also has something important to say about faith. (Our next stop is Hebrews 11).

What is the connection between faith and love? Good question!

I would suggest this morning that if we have faith in something or someone we have a strong affection for that something or someone, wouldn’t we?

As I reflect on this link I am reminded of a relationship that Tom Brokaw recounts in his book, The Greatest Generation, a book about the sacrifices and service of those who served our nation during the Second World War.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944 a 31-year-old Army doctor, Captain Charles Van Gorder was aboard a glider as a volunteer and as part of the 101^st Airborne Division that was inbound behind enemy lines. His job that day would pave the way for what would later be known as a MASH unit (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) because he would be part of an experimental two-person surgical team that would treat combat wounds nearer the front line than further to the rear.

6 months later during the Battle of the Bulge, he was operating in a tent while German fire was going through it that resulted in being wounded and captured as a POW. A friend and colleague, Dr John Rodda, helped Van Gorder stay on his feet as they were marched into Germany. Van Gorder was convinced that Rodda’s assistance kept him from being shot as a straggler. He had to place faith in Rodda in order to stay alive. And later on, when Rodda became ill, he returned the favor. (Swing the line again: How are you measuring up?)

A third way that Love acts as a plumb line is in the measurement of our motives as we serve.

In a book that I am currently reading, Co-Leaders: The Power of Great Partnerships, a late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi is quoted as saying, “There are two kinds of people: Those do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group: there is less competition there.”

How true that is, isn’t it? I have no doubt that I could ask each of you this morning to give me an example of both kinds of people. And you could also tell us how you feel about both groups of people: Respect for the one. Disgust for the second.

This past Friday night, we concluded an excellent VBS program. As part of the closing, Susan Kane, our VBS director handed out certificates to all the teens and adults involved in making possible this past week of ministry. They stood before us last Sunday morning as we prayed for them.

I cannot take credit, I will not either, for the work that Susan and all the others did to make last week an excellent ministry. But, why did we do it? We did it as a team, used by God to make a difference in a child’s life. We did it out of love – of children who need to know and experience God’s great salvation and love.

Pride was a problem at the church in ancient Corinth. Pride is a problem in our lives today. We serve, quite frankly for a lot of reasons, and some of them are not all successful.

In a recent article, “God Doesn’t Bless Big Heads,” excerpted from his book Reckless Abandon, Larry Tomczak shared a painful moment in his life.

“I want to thank my Dad and Mom…,” he began, smiling while trying to choke back the tears that were trickling down his face. My “son in the faith,” was standing before the congregation that Sunday morning more than 20 years ago, about to be ordained. While he was honoring his parents, I couldn’t help feeling a little fatherly pride over the man I had spent years mentoring, and with whom I shared a wonderful friendship.

“I’m grateful to my family members…,” he continued. Just the day before, I had officiated at his wedding. “I also want to honor the men who have poured their lives into mine.” He began listing the godly people — none nearly as close to him as I was — while throwing in remnants of stories and describing their unique contributions to his life.

Sitting on the front row, my thoughts began to drift. I wonder what he’ll say when he gets to me? Sniffling a little and straightening my posture in my chair, I readied myself for the “big” moment when Ché would single me out as the spiritual father who had brought him to this hallowed place.

Ché concluded naming the various people, and the applause subsided. Then he stepped back from the microphone and said quietly, “There is one more man I want to honor today.” His eyes scanned the hundreds present as I gathered my thoughts.

“I thank God for his role in the plan of God for my life.” I cleared my throat, preparing to share a few words.

“Lastly, I…I…want to honor … Charles Schmitt [a wonderful Bible teacher whose teaching had influenced Ché]. Please stand.” The crowd broke into applause as I sat there, stunned.

God had pulled a fast one on me!

As I concluded my clapping and made my way alongside the other leaders to lay hands on Ché in prayer, I did my best to conceal my sadness in being forgotten.

How could he overlook me? I thought. After all the years, all the time. No one had given to him as I had.

An hour later I drove home feeling physically spent and emotionally hurt. As the inevitable “Why?” circulated in my mind, I sensed the fingertip of God on my spirit. “I let this happen on purpose, My son,” He said, “to reveal what was in your heart.”

Sound familiar? We’ve all experienced the same situation whether it is in the church or in the factory or in the classroom. The best kind of service is the service that is given in love. Long will I remember a nursing home scene sometime back of a husband tenderly feeding and loving his wife who could not respond to him because of her physical and mental condition. He sat there holding her hand. (Swing the line, “How do you measure up?”)

The second suggestion this morning, is that love is a character issue. We see this in verses 4 through 7.  I am going to read this segment aloud and where love or it is read, I want each of us to mentally insert our first name in place of it.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Patience and kindness, boastfulness and pride, these are character issues. And there were plenty of character issues in the church at Corinth. In chapter 4 Paul says in verse 6 says this, “If you pay attention to the Scriptures, you won’t brag about one of your leaders at the expense of another. What makes you better than anyone else? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?” OUCH!

In Galatians 5 we read this, “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Notice the list starts with love because throughout the New Testament, love is a central characteristic of those who will call themselves Christian. (Swing the string.)

And this brings me to the final suggestion. Love is the enduring reality of life because God is love. Love is a sustaining force. Eloquence fades, knowledge has limits, faith will be replaced by face-to-face experience, but love will remain.

Time and time again it has been said that many will lie on their deathbed with the regret that they did not spend more time with those that really mattered and less on the things that did not matter. “Love,” we read in the New Testament, “covers a multitude of sins.” And to underscore the importance of love Paul begins chapter 14 with the statement, “Let love be your highest goal.”

There is more to the story of Charles Van Gorder and John Rodda that we need to hear this morning as we conclude. After the war, Van Gorder, headed for a prestigious New York practice in reconstructive surgery, visited his parents who had moved from Tennessee to the hamlet of Andrews, North Carolina.

“After the turmoil of war. . . it looked like a little piece of heaven to Dr. Van Gorder,” writes Brokaw. “The people were plain and friendly, the village was serene and tranquil-and there were no doctors. He decided to stay in Andrews and open a practice.”

He would also call his friend John Rodda to join him, which he did, and the two of them spent the rest of their professional lives working to provide healthcare to an area that was in dire need of it. I would call that love wouldn’t you?

God’s love is a love that empowers us to do things that can change lives. How do we open ourselves to this power? Several things:

1. 1. We open ourselves to God Himself through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. 2. We ask God to help us change our attitudes from self-centered to God-centered ones.
3. 3. We find a place to serve God and love people and we start doing just that – love.

And when a group of people gets together to do this in Christ’s name, it’s called the church. And when this church loves and loves and loves some more, it sets in motion a power and a force that can transform people’s lives from despair to possibility; from hopelessness to potential; from fear to certainty. I stand before you this day and say, “I want to be a part of this kind of church, this kind of faith, this kind of hope, this kind of life! How about you?” (Swing the line) Amen.

Passage: Psalm 119:54

Main point: The best score for life is God’s commands.

Last week I commented that you sounded wonderful as you sang and how I wish that all of us present this morning could have heard the children sing this past week at VBS. One of the songs we sang last week however gave us a bit of a challenge. It was pitched a bit high.

With our digital keyboard we have the capability to change keys at the push of a button. And for that song, I cannot recall which one it was; it was raised two steps too high. I apologize for that as I normally try to lower a song 2 steps so that all of us can sing it.

To access this key change function on the keyboard I push a certain button on that reveals a key change function screen. On this same screen appears the number 440.

440 means 440 vibrations per second. It is the standard measurement for tuning the piano. In fact, it is often referred to as A 440 because it refers to the key of “A” above middle “C.”

Writes Robert G Lee,” The 440 vibrations of A has been recognized by the US Bureau of Standards. It is a global pitch, so basic that radio and television stations as well as electric companies use it for power calibration.”

But Lee goes on to state, “two of the nation’s top symphony orchestras have given “A” a slightly sharper edge. They are tuning their instruments from not at 440 vibrations per second but at 442 vibrations per second, simply to achieve more “brilliance” in stereo and high-fidelity production.”

But piano tuners, Lee claims, believe that the added stress to the strings and piano with the higher setting could cause older pianos to explode and put them at risk. By the way, at the regular A 440 setting, the tension of a piano’s 220 strings builds up to 22 tons of pressure.

I want to play a familiar hymn, Amazing Grace, which is page 303 in our red hymn book, first at the 440 setting and then at the 442 setting. Let’s see if we can hear a difference. (Play the hymn).

Could you hear a difference? I could. A slightly crisper, clearer, sound.

One of the other things about music that makes it so wonderful is its mixture of various notes. Some of the keys are major notes, written in a major key, and some of them are minor notes, written in a minor key.

Keep your hymnbooks open to 303 because I have asked Phyllis’ grandson Ron to help me illustrate this by playing Amazing Grace one time. As he plays, listen to the music and hear the changes in the tune. (Amazing Grace is played) Did you hear them? Thanks Ron.

Now, I am sure that you did not expect to have a music appreciation lesson this morning, did you? There is a point to all of this. Take a look 303. The top line of notes is the melody line. It is the line that, when we hear it, we know that it is Amazing Grace. (Play the melody line) The other three provide the harmony to the song. (Play the top two notes.)

In Psalm 119:54 the Psalmist says, “Your principles have been the music of my life throughout the years of my pilgrimage.” What does he mean by music?

In the Revised Standard Version, this verse is translated from the original Hebrew as, “Thy statues have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.” In the New International Version it reads, “Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.” And in the New American Standard version it is translated, “Thy statues are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.”

Let me suggest the word “score.” A score is “the music of a composition or arrangement with different parts indicated.” The score is a collection of different notes , which are different in key, tempo, and style. Much like chapters in a book. Much like the chapters of our lives.

We have times in our lives in which our lives are fast and peppy and upbeat. Then we have times or chapters when things are slow, maybe even sad or frustrating and the key is not bright but cloudy.

Those who wrote the book of Psalms had those times as well. They wrote about them and we read them in this wonderful book of the Bible. But, there is a common theme that runs through this musical score of scripture – the faithfulness and presence of God.

And it is this great faithfulness and this abiding presence that the writer of this Psalm speaks of in this verse that comes through the principles of God; the code of conduct that he knew as the Law. Which leads me to ask, “What are the themes of life that people choose to live by these days?”

A good place to look for these themes is in TV shows. There are two TV characters I can think of that express a very common view. One is Tommy Smothers of the Smothers’ brothers and the other comes from a TV sister, the middle Brady sister, Jan on the show “The Brady Bunch.”

Do you remember Tommy Smothers’ line, “Mom always liked you best?” And regarding Jan, she was always in the shadow of “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.” Both of these characters exhibit this attitude that everything is fixed, nobody likes me, I can’t do anything right.

What kind of theme is this? A theme of despair? Such a theme indicates a life that is hard and gloomy and out of control. A life lived in this theme contains a belief, “That nothing I do will make a difference. Everything is fixed, life is set and it is set against me and I can’t change a thing.”

Another theme that people choose to live their lives by is the opposite theme – a theme of naive optimism that either ignores or minimizes the darker moments of life. Again two TV characters come to mind: Mallory Keaton of “Family Ties,” and Georgette Baxter from the “Mary Tyler Moore” show.

Now some would argue that these two characters were, shall we say, “scatterbrained” at times and failed to realize a more “serious” of life. And yet, at least in the case of Georgette, there were moments when her “scatterbrained naiveté” contributed a penetrating insight in contrast to her self-consumed TV husband, Ted Baxter.

The music of such people sometimes seems to be almost all melody and very little harmony or disharmony. Granted, we need to have a certain level of optimism in life. God is indeed good. But, we must also reckon with the darker times.

Now, what am I saying? Am I saying that the score of life is both good and bad? Yes, that is exactly what I am saying.

Jesus knew this. He knew, as the gospel writer noted, that the heart of humanity was deceitful. But, he also knew, as in the case of the Roman Centurion would knew that Jesus only had to say the word and his son would be healed or the physically afflicted woman who sought to touch his garment to be held of her affliction, that there was great faith and trust in the human heart as well.

I believe that the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 119 that we have spent some time in the past three weeks had some acquaintance with someone who experienced both the major and minor “keys” of life – Job.

Very quickly, Job is a righteous man who God allows Satan to afflict through the tragic loss of his family and possessions and by a serve case of boils from head to toe. Three men come to be with Job in his suffering and loss. And, because they do not see what God sees and because they do not know what God knows, they begin to question Job and his character and wonder what sin he has committed that has caused this tragedy.

Most of the book is taken up with the dialogue between Job and his three friends. However, God finally confronts Job and as we read in chapters 38 – 41 asks Job as tremendous series of questions that Job cannot answer. In the end God rebukes the friends and comforts Job, as Chuck Swindoll says, not by giving him “answers to all of his questions,” but by giving Job “Himself.”

The book of Job raises a lot of questions. It has been studied and discussed and debated. Some people like to read it and others want to stay as far away from it as possible.

The reason I mention the story of Job is because Job is a Biblical illustration of Psalm 119:54. The principles of God, expressed in the reality that Job lived his life by, was the music of his life. Granted, this particular part of Job’s life, was not pleasant. It was a minor key time of life. But, Job was a person of great faith whose life choices demonstrated a life characterized by an unshakable faith and trust God. This faith and trust was the music by which Job lived his life. A faith and trust that was based on the principles of God that are rooted in the character of God.

The parable is told a reed flute, which was passed down from the time of Moses. Crudely made, the instrument nevertheless produced wonderful music that inspired thousands over the years. Then the priests of the temple decided such an heirloom should be decorated with fine gold to reflect the majesty of its music. But after the gold was applied, the flute produced only flat, metallic tones.

That reed flute is us. God has made it possible for us to live a wonderful life. But we like to add gold, to add things thinking that we will “sound” better but the opposite happens. And the music we set our lives to sounds flat.

CONLCUSION:

This past week the children who attended our Vacation Bible School learned some important “notes” about God that I hope and pray will be written into the score of their lives.

Our VBS was called “Bug Safari.” And a stick bug, an ant, a bee, a butterfly, and a firefly were used to help the kids learn that “God knows us,” “God helps us,” “God is our friend,” God forgives us,” and “God shows us how to love others.”

Come to think of it, these five themes are a part of the music of God’s principles for us. God does know us. He knows who we are. He knows us inside and out. Nobody knows us like God does. As we read in Psalm 139:1 “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.”

God does help us in doing what is right. Psalm 121:1-2 was the Bible verse for this important tune: “I look up to the mountains-does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth.” In moments of stress and pressure, to quote Psalm 119: 143, God can be relied upon to help us.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need,” wrote David. Do our lives include the theme of friendship because is God our friend? Jesus noted this change in status in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants, because a master doesn’t confide in his servants. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” God’s friendship with us is a sustaining help during difficult times.

Now what is it about a butterfly that can help us understand the main theme of God’s commands – salvation? A butterfly changes from a long, slow caterpillar to a beautiful and radiant, high-flying butterfly! It is a profound change. So is God’s salvation. “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.” We experience God’s music when we allow Him to change the music of our hearts and souls through forgiveness of our sins.

Music is designed to be shared. Good music spreads quickly. The music of God’s commands is given depth and beauty as our lives live it out. The great commandment to love and the great commission to make disciples is a way of expressing God’s love to others. Why? Because God is patiently waiting to love and forgive. Again the Psalms provide us with this theme in Psalm 145:8 “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love.”

As we conclude this morning, a well-known and well-loved song speaks eloquently of living a life in tune with God.

(Lyrics of the Song Touch of the Master’s Hand were shared)

© 1976 Paragon Music Corporation (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc., 741 Coolsprings Blvd., Franklin TN 3706

Is the way of God the music of your life? Are you in tune with God? Does both the melody of love and the harmony of grace flow out of you? And what about us as the people of God? Does the same hold true for us corporately regarding love and grace? Are we in tune with God?

Let’s let the Master apply His touch on our lives individually and corporately as His people so that others can hear the song of hope, love, and forgiveness in the music of our lives. Amen.

Taped to my desk are these words from Thomas Merton:

The mature person realizes that life affirms itself most, not in acquiring things, but in giving time, efforts, strength, intelligence, and love to others.

As hard as it is to admit to, I am now in the season of life where the word ‘mature’ is the “new normal.” (I am not giving up rollercoaster riding, though!)

I admit that while, I am somewhat “media savvy” these days, my TV tastes have become less MTV (which I have not watched for a long time!) and more Public Television. (Did you see the wonderful The American Experience episode on the Civilian Conservation Corp this past Monday night?)

I also have fewer years to work than I used to but also think that “retirement” will be much later for me.

It is easy to sink into despair these days and feel that I have nothing to offer. But this is not true for two reasons:

1. I am still following the Lord and His purposes and plans are paramount in my thinking.
2. I am not dead yet… J

But what Merton says resonates with me because these are things that I can give because I have lived life for a while and I have the right and the responsibility to give these things…

I have time to give to others especially my two boys, my niece and nephew and their generation… (as long as I don’t act “too weird!”) It is the best commodity to give these days.

Through giving my time, I also give some effort in my work and service to God and the community that I live in. I have a responsibility here.

And as I give my time and effort to someone or a cause, I give strength to others as well. (Just as others in their “maturity,” gave their time, effort, and strength to me.) Not just physical strength, though, but mental and moral strength as well.

Andy Andrews’ wonderful book The Noticer,  (see my review here:   http://jimkane.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/review-of-andy-andrew%e2%80%99s-the-noticer/) reminds us that our intelligence (and wisdom) is vital in helping others who often need a kind and challenging word of encouragement. Our experiences, even the painful one, when appropriately shared, can provide a fresh perspective (a key theme in Andrews book) to others.

What then about love? There is God’s love through Christ but, I think that as I give, you give, we give, time, effort, strength, intelligence… love is given as well.

Now, back to giving….

As I continue to read Graham Standish’s Becoming A Blessed Church, I was reminded again that I believe in what really is a Trinitarian Faith. I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But it is one of the hardest concepts to explain to others and and Standish reminds his readers that therein lies the problem.

“Because we too seldom ground our understanding of God in a relationship with God, we don’t truly understand the teachings of the Christian faith. The odd thing about Christian beliefs and doctrines is that they don’t really make sense until we experience their truth through an encounter with God.”

This holds true, he says, with regard to the Trinity and that there is a challenge to creating a community of faith rooted in the Trinity of the Godhead that is hard to do because the “Trinity makes no rational sense.” The only way that it does make sense is “because we’ve experienced it, not merely because someone taught us that it is true.”

And, subsequently, I am reminded all over again that learning about God is one thing but what I really need to is to experience God regularly… God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The same holds true for His love… but that’s another post!

Text: Matthew 26 James 4:1-3

What comes to mind when you hear the word “conflict?” Anger? Fear? Anxiety? A person’s name or face? A memory of a past event or a word spoken that you want to forget but can’t?

Some of us fear conflict, like the grass in the African proverb, “when bull elephants fight, the grass always loses.”

Others of us dread conflict much like opening the proverbial can of worms without knowing how to get them back in.

Others of us, however, seem to deal with it quite well like the Pastor who solved the squabbles between two members of the pastoral staff by telling them to “step into the hallway and hash it out. If you cannot reach an agreement in fifteen minutes, I’ll have to let one of you go.” In five minutes they were back. Both were smiling.

What is conflict? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines conflict as a “clash between hostile or opposing elements, ideas, or forces.” It used as both a noun and a verb.

Conflicts contain disagreements, issues, arguments, disputes, and quarrels. In fact, those are words that describe conflicts.

Conflict is a part of life; it is a part of human history. A study reported in the Canadian Army Journal regarding the frequency of human conflicts came up with this interesting statistic – since 3600 B.C. the world has only known 292 years of peace. During this period there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which 3,640,000,000 people have been killed.

Conflict is a continuous reality of life that we cannot escape. But, what can we do with conflict? Scripture has much to say about conflict and we will be looking at a significant passage that is filled with conflict. But according to Peacemaker Ministries, a wonderful Christian ministry that provides training and consulting in conflict resolution, there are three main ways of dealing with conflict.

The first option is escape or “peace faking” as they call it. The second option is attack that they call “peace breaking.” The third option is conciliation or “peace making.” This morning I want us to keep these three categories in mind as I share with you this thought: The salvation that Jesus Christ has made possible for us came through conflict resolution.

Our main text for today is Matthew 26 because it describes several conflicts and the resolutions to those conflicts that occur during this tense and tumultuous period of time in which the Son of God both experienced and walked through deep conflict to finally resolve the largest conflict there is: between humankind and God. I will not be reading the entire chapter but referring only to sections of it as we go along.

As we begin at verse 1, we have to go only a short distance to discover conflict resolution at work. As we read in verse 3, there is a meeting of the leading priests and other leaders at Caiaphas’ home. Caiaphas was the high priest who, as we recall in Exodus and Leviticus and other places in the Old Testament, was the only one who could enter the tabernacle and offer the sacrifices of the people to God.

But, Caiaphas and others were not talking about the Passover celebration. They were plotting how to get rid of Jesus! They had enough of Him. They wanted to get rid of Him. Why? They did not believe He was the Messiah! They were also jealous of Him!

John makes an interesting comment in his gospel account. We read in chapter 12 and verse 19 these words, “Then the Pharisees said to each other, “We’ve lost. Look the whole world has gone after him!” They are observing the reaction of the crowd as Jesus enters Jerusalem on what we now call “Palm Sunday.”

This observation causes conflict within them. Jealousy sets in. They are crushed because someone else is getting all of the attention. But, just a few days later, Matthew lets us know they are plotting their comeback. They are not going to lose to some upstart from Nazareth! They are not going to lose to someone who others believe is the long-awaited Messiah! They are going to get rid of Jesus!

They are engaging in conflict resolution. Actually it is murder! But, murder is as one way of resolving conflict. Though I do not recommend it!

But, they are not the only ones who are dealing with conflict and conflict resolution. A few miles away in Bethany the disciples are dealing with a situation as we read in verses 6 through 10. An expensive jar of perfume is poured over Jesus’ head and the disciples are very perturbed about how it was used and they complain, their method of conflict resolution, to Jesus about it.

So here we are only into verse 13 of Matthew 26 and there is plenty of conflict to go around. But, there’s more as we continue.

In fact, the two different scenes are linked by the actions of one man – Judas Iscariot – as we read in verses 14 through 16. Something happens within Judas that makes him go to Jesus’ chief antagonists and provide them with the opportunity they are looking for.

Why did Judas do this? Well the scriptures make it clear that the Messiah would be betrayed. Judas was the one who did it. And Luke states in the 22nd chapter of his account that “Satan entered into Judas Iscariot.” What does that mean?

Can you recall a time in your own life or in the life of someone you know that at a certain point you or they started doing things that you or they looked back at and thought, “What in the world was I thinking?” It was as if you were possessed. As if you were under the influence of something.

I would suggest that something did possess you. Something brought you under its influence – evil. Evil possesses us in the form of jealousy, resentment, anger, rage, lust or fear. I also suggest this idea not to minimize or deny the reality of evil or Satan but to suggest that the same thing happened to Judas for as we read in Matthew 27:3 “When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse.”

Judas experienced some very deep internal conflict that had to do with expectations about Jesus and His work. Over the centuries some scholars have suggested that Judas had a great deal of political hope pinned on Jesus and when he realized that they would not be fulfilled he turned against Jesus. Judas resolved this conflict through betrayal. But, he also resolved his inner conflict through suicide. Something that I also do not recommend.

As we continue to move through Matthew 26 we notice conflict arising during the Last Supper as Jesus’ words about His betrayal create conflict within the twelve. Jesus is not exempt from conflict either. As we read in verses 36 through 46, He wrestles with what He knows is certain death and the doing of His Father’s will.

As we move into verse 47, internal conflicts and behind the scenes resolution plans become external and the arrest of Jesus takes place with violence involved. Conflict is rampant. It seems to be everywhere. There is no escape.

The arrest and trial of Jesus as we continue to read in both chapters 26 and 27 describe a variety of conflicts that are all resolved by a variety of means: In 26:56 flight is the means of conflict resolution by the disciples.  In 26:69-75, Peter uses denial to resolve the conflict within himself out of fear of death as well. In 27:11 – 26 Pilate is not exempt from conflict resolution as he washes his hands of this arrest and trial and gives in to the Jewish demands to crucify Jesus.

I have never looked at this very important time in human history in this manner. Conflict is everywhere, there is no means of escaping it and various means of conflict resolution take place from the violent act of the crucifixion to the tragic death of Judas. Why? It is because good and evil were locked in mortal combat.

God, through Christ, was taking the final steps of reconciliation with humanity and Satan and His forces were fighting back. For God to be successful He had to resolve the conflict with humanity as well as within humanity.

And it was only by death on the cross that Jesus Christ made it possible for the conflict between humanity and God to be resolved once and for all. And as each person seeks forgiveness, a method by the way of conflict resolution, we are also have the means to resolve our conflicts within ourselves and with others the right way because of what Christ has done for us. I say we have the means, because we have to choose to use those means to correctly resolve our conflicts.

The book of James is a book that is blunt. It speaks of a faith that is expressed in action day in and day out. And in the fourth chapter of this blunt book we read these words: “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And the yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t’ ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure.”

Evil is ugly. Evil is terrible. Conflict is rooted, as James says bluntly, in our evil desires. At its core though, evil is self-centeredness. I want my way when I want it and how I want it and don’t you dare get in my way! And conflict abounds like the fires out west.

Let me say this again, the salvation that Jesus Christ has made possible for us came through conflict resolution. And let me add, because it did so, it is the only true basis for conflict resolution because the basis of conflict is self-centeredness.

Jesus became our perfect high priest. He replaced all the Caiaphas’ who have ever lived. And because He is our perfect high priest, He “understands our weaknesses, for he faced the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin,” as we read in Hebrews 4:15.

Jesus did not practice peace faking. He did not run from the conflict of His arrest, crucifixion, and death. Nor did He practice peace breaking by calling down the legions of heaven to rescue Him or by using murder to stop His accusers.

Jesus practiced peace making as He reconciled the world to Himself. And that is our calling as well as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians.

As we partake of communion this morning, as we recall Jesus’ peace making between God the Father and us, I ask you this question, “Are we a peace fakers, who runs from conflict and denies there is a problem? Or a peace breakers who turn to verbal or physical attacks to get your way?  Or a peace makers who chooses to go the hard way and seeks reconciliation as the only way out of conflict?

As followers of Christ, there is only one right answer. Will it be ours?

Text: Colossians 3:18-22

Main Point: God’s conflict resolution plan for the family is centered in relationships of respect.

On his sixteenth birthday a son approached his father and said, “Dad, I’m sixteen now. When I get my license, can I drive the family car?” His dad looked at him and said, “Son, driving the car takes maturity, and first, you must prove that you are responsible enough. And one way you must do that is to bring up your grades. They are not acceptable. Second, you must read the Bible every day. And finally, you must get that hair cut; it looks outrageous.” The son began the task of fulfilling his father’s requirements, knowing that the last might be impossible.

When his grades came out he went to his dad with a big smile. “Look, Dad, all A’s and B’s on my report card. Now can I drive the family car?” “Very good, son. You are one-third of the way there, but have you been reading the Bible?” the father replied. “Yes, Dad, every day,” said the son. “Very good son. You are two-thirds of the way there. Now when are you going to get that hair cut?”

The son, thinking that he could out smart the father, responded, “Well, I don’t see why I should get my hair cut to drive the car. Jesus had long hair, didn’t he?” The father looked at his boy and said, “That’s right, son and Jesus walked everywhere he went.”

Bruce Shelley, in a soon-to-be-published biography of Vernon Grounds, President Emeritus of Denver Seminary, tells of the occasion when an attorney, while working out in a gym, became friends with Dr. Grounds who was there lifting weights. The attorney’s marriage was crumbling. His wife wanted a divorce. And after a while he decided to talk with Vernon.

As the two discussed things, Vernon had him draw up a list of options on a piece of paper: 1. Stay in the marriage. 2. Separate temporarily. 3. Divorce. Then, since desperate events had driven the attorney to consult his new friend, Vernon urged him to add Number 4. Suicide. Then he said matter-of-factly, “And, of course, there is murder.”

Not many things can shock a practicing trial lawyer, but this got his undivided attention. He began to object. “That never entered my mind.” “Come now, Marty. You mean to tell me that a lawyer, who’s spent as much time in the courts as you have, does not know someone who will kill for money? Surely the thought has crossed your mind.”

The attorney said later, “Vernon may as well have clubbed me with a baseball bat. He was right — the name of such a person was instantly in my mind.” “Write it down,” he said. Then Vernon took the list and said, “Can we agree that, as Christians, murder is not a viable choice?” Marty nodded. “Can we also agree as Christians that self-murder, or suicide, is not a viable choice?” They went on to what were Christian alternatives. The whole exchange was so shocking that a decade later the attorney reflected, “I was in dire need of a serious dose of reality, and Vernon knew exactly how to deliver it.”

In the newest issue of Sports Illustrated, Rick Reilly tells of John Elway’s downward spiral after retirement from pro football in 1999. His business ventures failed. His twin-sister, Jana, died of cancer, his father died of a heart attack and his wife of 18 years, Janet moved out of the house with their four children.

Reilly quotes Elway as saying, “My whole life I had a carrot to chase. For 16 years winning the Super Bowl was my carrot. Everything revolved around that. All of a sudden there’s no carrot anymore, and you start wondering what you’re going to do with your life. You play golf or you try business stuff, but it’s not even close. You end up spinning yourself like a tornado. And here was Janet, who sacrificed all those years, thinking she was finally going to get me to herself.”

Conflict in families is a reality in our time. No family is immune to conflict. Some conflict is mild and some of it is serious as we see in these three illustrations. And ironically, one of the places that we need to learn how to effectively resolve conflict is in our families.

As we continue in this series on conflict resolution, we take time this morning to look at several important ways to create an environment in our families that can make effective conflict resolution possible in our families. Family life is essential to our growth and development as responsible adults and as mature Christians. As we read in Genesis God designed us from the start to be raised, to be nurtured, and to be loved in families. The Psalmist backs this up as we read in Psalm 68:6 “God places the lonely in families.”

As God said in Genesis, “It is not good for man to be alone” because it is not good for us to be alone. We were not created to be alone. We have been created for community and family.

But, the reality is that being with family is unfortunately the last place on earth that some people want to be. Instead of being a haven on earth family life has become for some hell on earth either because of another’s actions or attitudes or choices or they have made it that way because of their own actions or attitudes or choices.

Our text for this morning, Colossians 3:18-22 speaks to ways to both prevent and resolve conflict in the family. It is a very important passage because it speaks to every member of the family – father/husband, mother/wife, and children.

But, before we examine this passage, I want to introduce a diagram that I have found to be very helpful in understanding the various options of conflict resolution. It is called the “Slippery Slope” and it is from Peacemaker Ministries.

(To the reader: I cannot give you a copy of this overhead because of copyright issues. It is available in a small business card format and can be viewed on the Web at www.hispeace.org/html/ss.htm)

Notice that there are three colors that represent three main types of responses to conflict. On the far left is a blue segment entitled “Escape Responses” that suggest three ways of escaping conflict – suicide, flight, and denial. All three, as we recall from two weeks ago, were a part of the disciples’ response to the arrest and death of Jesus Christ.

The center segment, in green, contains 6 types of “Conciliation Responses”- overlook, discussion, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and church discipline. These are the best ways to resolve conflict. All of these are mentioned in the Bible in one way or another.

The far right section is highlighted in red. It contains 3 “Attack Responses” – litigation, assault, and murder. All three were a part of the arrest and trial of Christ. All three are very common today.

I am going to keep this overhead before us as we walk through our main text this morning.  (Read the passage) Now I know that this passage always creates debate but instead of looking at it from a power perspective, as is often done, let’s look at it from a conflict resolution perspective.

I read this passage as part of a massive “quiet time” during the recent Promise Keepers gathering in Grand Rapids. Nearly 10,000 men sat quietly for 30 minutes and read this passage as part of one speaker’s presentation on the importance of Bible study. And it was during that reading that I realized that this was the text for this morning.

As I studied this passage I noticed something very interesting- that while the women and children are spoken to only once, the men are spoken to twice – once as husbands in verse 19 and again as fathers in verse 21. Have you ever noticed that? More of this passage is directed to the men than the rest of the family. What does that say to us?

We also need to notice the following actions in each verse:

A. Submit – as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

B. Love – never treat them harshly.

C. Obey – this is what pleases the Lord.

D. Don’t aggravate your children – they will become discouraged and quit trying.

These actions provide us with the ability to create an environment in which conflict can be resolved. Why? Let’s dig deeper.

Until the end of time, verse 18 will always cause conflict because as many persons are painfully aware of the very idea of “submit” is used in all sorts of terrible ways, including domestic violence, to control relationships. But that attitude is not justified by verse 19.

Now, when this passage of scripture is preached, one’s attention is always drawn to the word “submit.” And in our 21st century way of thinking, the whole idea of “submitting” for many people is preposterous. However, we must understand that when Paul tells the wife to “submit” he does not mean a “mindless” submission, but a very intentional giving up “as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.”

What kind of submission is fitting for those who belong to the Lord? One that brings honor and glory to God. One that reflects a love and a respect that creates a relational environment for a positive and Godly relationship to grow between wives and husbands. One that makes a conciliatory response possible during times of conflict. How so? Two words, respect and love.

We need to remember that Paul is writing to believers in the context of how to live out their faith in their community, via their home and workplace, and  their church. What Paul is saying to the husband and wives, the fathers and mothers, and the children of the Christian community in Colossae is this, “Do you want others to see Christ in your life? Make sure they see it at home in your relationships with one another.”

A parallel passage to our text is Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4 in which Paul says the basically the same thing as he says here in Colossians. Now, he clarifies some of his statements made in the Colossian passage to more clearly indicate that a believer’s family life should reflect their commitment to Christ like Christ’s commitment to the church.

In both passages Paul makes it clear that a husband’s love for his wife should reflect Christ’s love of and respect for the church. In Galatians 5:25 we read, “And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ shows the church.” What kind of love is that? Paul continues, “He gave up his life for her.” It is a sacrificial love.

Jesus died for the church. Show me a husband who is willing to sacrifice not just his life but his career, and even his toys, for his family, and I’ll show you a man of God and a family in which conflict most likely is dealt with in the correct fashion because in sacrifice there is love and respect for those being sacrificed for.

When there is mutual respect and honor in the marriage; when a wife gives up her agenda as Jesus gave up himself for the redemption of humanity; when a husband loves his wife as Christ has loved the church, then conflict resolution becomes easier because the resolution grows out of a desire to honor the other and their needs.

Speaking of love and respect, I was a bit frustrated, even appalled, as I reviewed some of my illustration sources about children and felt most of them treated them with disrespect. Granted, kids do get parents and other adults “bent out of shape” from time to time and there are times when our children need firm discipline.

But, as our current headlines state, this is a troubling time in America for children. There is the rash of abductions and murders of children. There is the much-publicized inability of a state child agency to find missing child clients that the media found rather easily. Have we lost our respect for children?

One of the interesting effects of my own salvation experience was that my attitude toward my dad somewhat changed. Now I was only 8 years old when I made a public profession of faith. But I remember that when I encountered my dad afterward, I sensed my attitude changed toward him for the better. And I remember that I wanted to obey him and basically said as much. And over the years by and large I did obey him. But, like any son’s relationship with his dad, we had rocky moments when tension and conflict were present.

But, because I had made the choice to follow God, I knew through this experience and from what I was being taught at church, that I needed to honor and obey my parents. But, I also look back and realize that my “obedience attitude” was not always a good attitude. Much of the problem was due to fear-based obedience instead of love and respect based obedience.

The kind of obedience that Paul speaks of in this passage is based on love and respect not fear. But, how do we get there? How do we help children obey? By respecting them and Jesus illustrated respect for children when he told the disciples, “don’t you dare keep them from coming to me!”

Paul, as we discover in verse 21, also provides us with a way of helping children gain respect for their parents. He tells the dads, “don’t aggravate them. If you do, they will become discouraged and quit trying.”

All of us here have been aggravators and aggravatees. What does aggravate mean? It means to irritate, exasperate, offend, and frustrate. When we aggravate an old injury we stress it to the extent that the injury reoccurs. It can’t take it anymore.

What does relational aggravation look like? Conflict. A relationship has been stressed to the point of breakage. Granted all relationships have moments of stress and strain.

But what Paul is speaking of here is a “going beyond” the breaking point to the extent that a child’s confidence and drive is shattered and he or she gives up. And we know what that looks like don’t we?

We also know what a confidant, not cocky or arrogant, but a confident child looks like as well. Most likely, there is respectful parenting taking place. There is an affirmation, a respect from the parents to the child, in place. And there is the right kind of conflict resolution as well.

When kids respect and obey their parents; when parents, especially fathers, hold their children in high regard and seek to encourage and empower them to be all that God desires for them to be; conflict resolution is more likely effective because of high regard that is going both ways.

So what is the formula for the right kind of conflict resolution in a family? It begins with developing a climate of love and respect toward all family members as a demonstration of Christ’s love toward us. In a family where love and respect is authentically practiced conflict can be more easily resolved.

CONCLUSION:

In your bulletin is an insert that provides us with a memorable way of learning how to negotiate, one of the ways we resolve conflict in a positive way. This is from Peacemaker Ministries and I offer it as a tool for conflict resolution not just in your family but in your life as well.

And by the way, John Elway and his family are back together.  As Reilly writes, “Nobody does comebacks like Elway. He started to change. He’d go the Janet’s rented house and pull weeds in her garden when she wasn’t home. He went to the mall with her. “John hadn’t been to a mall in 16 years!” she says. He sent her roses every week, opened car doors, started hanging out with his kids.”

Notes Reilly, “Sometimes you think that you have to be a god when all you really need to be is human. Within a month the family was back under one roof. “Them leaving kind of woke me up,” John says. “It was like a two-by-four to the heart.”

Wives do you respect your husbands? Husbands do you love and respect your wives? Kids do your respect and appreciate your parents? Dads, and moms, do you respect and seek to honor your children?

As we begin a new school year, I encourage us as individual families and this family of God to demonstrate love and respect toward one another. As we do I believe that we honor and give evidence of God in our lives and that we will also create a climate in which conflict is more easily resolved.

Let us be open to the Holy Spirit on this matter. And let us do what is necessary to change. Amen.

Text: Acts 6:1-7

Main Point: Like conflict in the family, conflict in God’s family, the Church, is resolved through trust, respect, and cooperation.

As a child, what was your favorite story? Was it Little Red Riding Hood? Or Snow White? Or Peter Pan?

As I prepared for this morning, I thought about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Now Goldilocks and the Three Bears was not my favorite childhood story but I thought about all that Goldilocks went through when she encountered the bears’ environment: This porridge was too hot, this porridge was too cold. This bed was too hard, this bed was too soft. Having found the right porridge and right bed, she did not enjoy her stay too long because a situation filled with conflict confronted her in the form of three unhappy and surprised bears and she took off.

I think that it safe to say that sometimes we have the same kind of feelings about the church like Goldilocks had about the bears’ home. On the one hand, we love the church and can’t live without her. On the other hand, we find sermons boring, the music either too old or too new, the people too friendly or too cold and the pastor too old or too young.

On one hand, we turn to the church in times of crisis and need to hear a word of hope. On the other hand, when things are going well church seems to be an interruption and we find her message a bit uncomfortable.

On one hand, we expect the church, to be all things to all people all the time. On the other hand, we sometimes feel inconvenienced when we are asked to help.

We have mixed feelings about the church. Why is that?

Well for one reason, the spiritual nature of the church. The church is not a for profit organization. It is the called of God, the ecclesia. The church deals more than just with a financial statements, business matters, and programming issues. It deals with matters of the heart and soul.

And those matters of the heart and soul are all about attitude, about priorities, about thoughts and behaviors. Matters that go to the very core of our humanity. Matters that cannot be redesigned by engineering departments or discussed with human resources.

Another reason that we have mixed feelings about the church has to do with conflict. It seems that when conflict rears its head, we begin to have second thoughts about the church. Why is that?

Perhaps we expect the church to be conflict free. Maybe we assume that once we are saved, then everything is all right and that there is no more conflict. That’s the ideal but not the real.

Or maybe we feel that conflict is “sinful” and that to admit to conflict is to admit that we are not perfect. Not all conflict is wrong. Some conflict is present because of the reality of good and evil in this world. Which very much involves the church.

This morning we conclude our month long look at conflict resolution with a look at how we can resolve conflict in the church. Something that is very important if we are to be effective ministers of Jesus Christ.

The Bible contains several passages, especially in the New Testament, in which conflict is present. In our text for today, Acts 6:1-7 we read of conflict that occurs not because something has gone wrong but because something has gone right. We read from verse 1 that there were “rumblings of discontent” that takes place during a period of rapid growth in the church. This particular rumbling had the Greek speaking believers believing their widows were being discriminated against while the Hebrew speaking widows were being taken care of during the daily food distribution.

So, a conflict arises. Needs are not being met. How is the conflict handled? We hope, in a very mature and Biblical way.

First of all as we read in verse 2, the conflict was acknowledged and addressed in an acceptable setting. The issue was not swept under the rug. “So the twelve called a meeting of all the believers.”

The disciples acknowledged that there was a problem and, this is important, dealt with it in an appropriate setting. I sometimes wonder if part of the challenge of conflict resolution, not just in the church but everywhere, has to do with how and where we deal with the conflict.

Sometimes we seek to solve a conflict at an inappropriate time or place. We get rushed into making a hasty decision or we don’t take time to prepare for a proper way of creating a plan of resolution.

From the text we don’t know how much time passed from the rumblings of verse 1 to the posted meeting notice of verse 2. But, we do know that there was not a knee-jerk reaction to the issue. The conflict was dealt with in an appropriate manner. And it was dealt with in an appropriate manner because a critically important attitude was present. Respect.

The twelve respected those who were upset. They did not label them troublemakers. They did not dismiss their concerns. They respected their need and they understood there was an issue that needed to be addressed. The twelve also respected the entire assembly of believers and valued their input. They had enough wisdom to know this particular issue needed to be brought to a larger group of people for a decision.

Now, not every issue though can be brought and should be brought to a large group. Some issues are best dealt with in a smaller setting. Not every need or issue is going to be completely resolved to the satisfaction of all involved. But the respect held by the leaders toward the people made the resolution of the situation much easier.

This respect benefited the leaders as well. For as we read in the rest of verse 2 and on through verse 4, the Twelve laid out a suggested plan of resolution that, as indicated in the response of the people in verse 5, “this idea pleased the whole group,” made it possible to come up with a suitable solution to the problem.

What was behind this pleasing response? Trust. I am reminded of the story about the sign at the desk of a country inn in England: “Please introduce yourself to your fellow guests since we are one big happy family. Do not leave valuables in your room.”

Trust. Sometimes we wonder if we have the trust of others but when we lose it, we know that we have lost it. Trust is a very fragile thing. Someone has written, “What is more lonely than distrust?”

I would suggest this morning that trust and respect are two sides of the same coin. Respect can lead to trust and trust can deepen respect. But, when one is damaged, the other is affected.

The people trusted the Twelve. There had been a bond of respect, through the Holy Spirit’s work I would add, that developed as the Twelve and the believers worked together for a common purpose and mission. They believed in one another because of their belief and faith in God through Christ and they continuously made the choice to stick together.

The conflict that arose from the issue in this passage could have been serious if it had not been resolved in the way that it was. It could have created serious division in the church and the work of the church would have greatly suffered. The Holy Spirit and the trust and respect of those involved created the environment in which a potentially damaging conflict was properly and Biblically resolved.

Now, how was it resolved?

1. The twelve acknowledged the problem. They did not live in denial. They admitted that there was a problem.

2. They suggested a course of action that was well received by those present and by those affected by the situation.

3. The group followed through on the plan of action. They cooperated with the Twelve.

4. The Twelve affirmed their decision and commissioned the seven men selected.

5. The church moved forward and more persons came to Christ.

Now, I want to stop here for a moment and make a couple of observations:

A. First, cooperation took place. The Twelve cooperated with the believers by acknowledging the problem and calling a meeting to deal with it. The believers cooperated with the Twelve in agreeing to the suggested course of action. Cooperation is a necessary step in conflict resolution. Without it there is no real resolution.

B. Second, communication took place. Communication is critical to conflict resolution. And good communication involves both understanding and being understood. It also means directly communicating with those with whom one is in conflict when possible before the conflict deepens and a face-to-face meeting is not possible.

Indirect communication is one of the worst forms of communication. Some call it triangulation. (Overhead 1) What is it? It is when person B and C have a conflict between themselves and instead of trying to work out the problem between themselves, one or both of them attempt to draw person A into the situation by trying to get A to agree with them. The problem with triangulation is that it does not solve the issue.

Now the text makes it clear that the Greek-speaking believers were discontented and they communicated that discontentment to whom they needed to and the Twelve heard them. The disciples communicated their concerns, regarding their priorities, to whom they need to tell and the Christian community heard them. Then it was possible for the entire group of believers to successfully resolve the conflict because open, respectful, and clear communication was used.

Why then isn’t more conflict resolved this way? Let’s turn to James 4 for some very important reasons.

James chapter 4 opens with a very matter of fact statements about the source of quarrels and fights or conflict among believers. What is said is true in any such situation. But James is writing to professed followers of Jesus Christ, the church.

What does James say? In a nutshell, he tells the believers that the reasons they have conflict is that when they don’t get their way, they get angry and then do things to get their way. Furthermore, they fail to ask God for what they are after but they still don’t get it because they ask for it for all the wrong reasons.

So why do some conflicts never get resolved in the right way? Because, we don’t want them to. We’re mad and we’re angry and we want it our way or no way. Now, I am not speaking of situations in which we need to stand up for what is morally right. I am speaking of situations in which we want our way but don’t get it.

Another reason we do not successfully resolve conflicts is that we don’t know how. I am still learning how to resolve conflicts. Conflict resolution is a learned ability.

Fear of further conflict also keeps us from resolving conflict in the church. We are afraid that we are going to be misunderstood. We are afraid of being yelled at or called something awful or worse. But, if God directs us to resolve a situation with someone else and we know it beyond a shadow of a doubt, then God will give us the strength and aid to move toward resolving the situation. After all He is not pleased by conflict in the church, either.

So how then is conflict resolved in the church? It is resolved through respect, trust, and cooperation. But it also resolved indirectly in a very important way and James 4:7-10 tells what that is. (Read the passage)

Remember what I said about the spiritual nature of the church a moment ago? Conflict resolution is a spiritual matter because it deals with our motives, attitudes, and priorities and how we deal with them in relation to other’s motives, attitudes, and priorities. In this segment of scripture, James tells us that there are some other things that we must do in relation to God to really root out the root causes of conflict:

1. Humble ourselves before God. Pride fuels the fire of conflict.

2. Resist the Devil. Evil is back of conflict. Evil desires. Evil priorities. Evil goals. The greatest battle in the world is in the conflict, political and otherwise, between good and evil in the hearts and souls of humanity. And to resist the Devil is to work toward conflict resolution.

3. Draw close to God. God wants us to help us resolve conflict in the body of Christ. As we ask for the guidance, strength, and help in conflict, God, through His Holy Spirit, will grant it to us.

4. Wash your hands and purify your hearts. The washing of hands was a ceremonial ritual in the Old Testament that symbolized the importance of holiness. Conflict is more fully resolved as we let go of, internally as well as externally, the issues relating to conflict in hearts because as we seek to be more holy, more like Christ, conflict cannot exist is this environment.

5. Truly repent.  I heard the story earlier this summer of a colleague who had a conversation with a parishioner several years ago about the group of people in the church who had forced the previous pastor.  There was still conflict in her heart, in the form of resentment, toward these people. At the time of the conversation, 10 years had passed since that departure.

The residue of conflict stays around. How do we get rid of it? By expressing true and sorrowful repentance over our role and reactions in the matter.  As we do so, God is able to really clean our hearts out.

I love the church.  I wrote an e-mail this week to the man who was my pastor during my teenage years. I recalled all the moments of God’s movement in my life during his ministry. He wrote back and thanked me saying that he sometimes wondered in the 32 years he was at that church, if he made a difference for God’s kingdom.

Last Friday night, I was putting something away in the bedroom closet when I looked up at my father’s color slide collection and thought what is in that slide carousel? I then realized that the boys had never seen a slide show before so I took the tray and the projector down and set it up. Some of the slides from that tray had pictures of various events from that congregation.

I now know, from stories told to me, that there were moments of terrible conflict during that Pastor’s tenure there. I know that some of it has probably never been resolved.

But, I still love that church even though some of those faces are with Lord now. And I still love that pastor even though he was not well liked by everyone. Both were very strategic influences at that point in my life.

As we begin a new year of ministry together, I am going to ask you to do something. (Overhead 2)

In some leadership training materials, I found this communication assessment. Notice what it is called, 10 Rules For Respect.

It is adopted, as it says, from a church, who uses it as covenant signed by all leaders.

Let me read what it says: (Overhead 2 is from the Building Church Leader’s Materials segment 12- Creating Community © 2000 Christianity Today. Go to www.BuildingChurchLeaders.com for more information)

I make a pledge to you this morning, before God, (I signed the overhead copy) to follow this in my dealings with you and others. Will you make a pledge to do the same?

We are the imperfect people of God. We still are learning how to live for God. We are still maturing and growing as followers of God.  So we will continue to deal with conflict. The question is: How and will we will deal with it?

Let us humble ourselves before God this day. Let us love one another. Let us repent of the residue of current and past conflict. Let us resolve to respect one another in word and deed. Let us be God’s imperfect people in an imperfect world. Amen.