The Truth About Humanity

September 17, 2000

Genesis 3:1-5

John 14:6

John 8:32

At about eleven o’clock on a Saturday night, as many people were preparing to turn out the lights, the lights of a particular community went out all by themselves. Air conditioners were without power. It seemed strange that this would happen on a night when there were no storms in the area. People of that community wondered what had caused the power outage as their homes grew warm in the July heat and their patience grew thinner.

The power was off most of the night, and it was the next morning before they found out what had caused the problem. A whole community had lost power because a snake had gotten into the powerhouse and fouled things up.

Snakes. The word creates images that evoke fear, disgust, or fascination. I am the father of two boys who, when visiting a zoo, make a beeline for the reptile and snake house when they locate it.

For several years now I have told Jonathon bedtime stories about a boy named “Jon” and his many adventures and moves. Of the stories that I have told of the past two or so years, several have included animals and reptiles, snakes included. And some of the ones that Jonathon begs me to tell over and over include, you guessed it, snakes.

“Daddy,” he will say, “tell me the Jon story about Jon, ah petting the python.” “And, in my increasingly sleepy state, I will again recite, with some variations, the story about Jon petting this python.

Snakes are fascinating creatures. They are mysterious, they are deadly, and they are captivating.

Sounds to me a lot like sin. In fact, the word snake and the word sin sound a lot alike.

Could it be coincidental that of all the creatures in the Garden of Eden, the serpent, the snake is the one who appears as the tempter?

Let’s read Genesis 3:1-5

Last week, we started our study of 9 keys designed to help us focus our vision and hearing on God so that we could begin to ‘see’ Him and ‘hear’ His voice with the goal of become His person in character and conduct.

We started off with a focus on the God the Father and I asked you a very important question, one that I repeat again today, “How much, how bad, do you want God in your life?”

Today, we are going to focus on the reality of something in our lives, something we often either do not want to focus on or we do not take into account, as we seek to solve problems and gain inner strength, healing, and wholeness in our lives and relationships – it is the reality of the human condition – it is sin.

But, we are also going to look at reality of forgiveness that God has made available to us through Jesus Christ and the importance of that truth as stated in the Bible.

The Genesis passage we read a moment ago is a timeless passage. It describes the basic human struggle over the course of human history – the struggle to be self-serving or God serving.

Now, you won’t read about that in any classroom textbook on history or sociology or psychology. But, you will read about the conflicts amongst nations, persons, and groups that this basic struggle has caused. Sin is written into the fabric of human history and human nature.

And there is no economic program, no governmental policy, and no social program, that will manage it, or get it under control, or keep it from ever happening again. . . . Except for one way.

Here is Eve, going about her business in the Garden. Oblivious to the reality of evil that is about to confront her.

The tempter begins with a question, “Did God really say?” Satan uses a question to create doubt about the validity of God and the truth about what he says.

From there we read the full frontal attack on God’s credibility. The tempter, the serpent, creates more and more doubt and uncertainty in Eve’s mind until as verse 6 says, “The woman was convinced.”

From there, it was all downhill. And we deal with the effects of that choice today in our own lives.

Sin begins with a question and ends with a bad fall and a warped soul. You know Satan, in the guise of the serpent, was partially right, ‘you will know everything, both good and evil.’ But, he was also dead wrong, Adam and Eve would not become like God.

Stanford Research Institute was studying the differences in vocational perceptions. They devised a short but succinct test. The first to be tested was an engineer. The researchers asked him: “What does two plus two make?” The engineer simply said, “In absolute terms: four.” The researchers made their notes and dismissed him. They called in an architect. They asked him the same question, and he said, “Well, there are several possibilities: two and two make four, but so do three and one – or two and one-half and one and one-half – they also make four. So, it is all a matter of choosing the right option.” The researchers thanked him and made their notes. The last of the three to come in was an attorney. They said to him, “What does two and two make?” The attorney looked around furtively, asked if he could close the door for privacy, and then came over close, leaned toward them and said, “Well, tell me, what would you like it to be?”

Truth takes a beating these days. No matter what the subject politics or Bob Knight or Irish football, the truth about a situation always seems to be up for grabs.

We have seen how Satan takes the truth and creates a question about it. How then is it possible for us to overcome this tendency in our own lives and live for God?

Jesus makes two important statements that John records in His book about the life and ministry of Christ. We find them in John 8:32 and John 14:6.

“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” “Jesus told them, I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Notice Jesus did not say you will think about the truth and the truth will then set you free. Nor did He say ‘you will find the way, the truth, and they life through me.’

Jesus said ‘You will know the truth,’ and I am the way, the truth, and the life.’

At a critical moment in the trial of Jesus, Pilate asks Jesus a very important question, “What is truth?”

Good question!

“What is truth?” Is it merely a statement about some physical event that can be verified by some experiment? Is it some view or perspective that is proven to be true over a period of time? Or is truth about the very nature of reality – about life, about humanity, about purpose?

When Jesus said the truth will set you free and that he is the truth, he took truth and placed in on a different level. You see, the Pharisees and Sadducees and others that Jesus argued with looked at truth much the same way we look at truth – as a statement of claims about beliefs.

Jesus made truth a relational issue. Truth as Jesus talks about it deals with our relationship with God. Yes there is correct belief involved in the Christian faith. But the correct beliefs written in the Bible point us to a correct relationship with the God of the Bible.

Our sin, our self-centeredness, our agenda, keeps us from seeing and hearing God clearly and then trusting and obeying Him. Our sin affects our relationship with God and with others.

The truth is that until we are willing to face our sin, our fallness in our thought life, in our behavior and lifestyle, in our values and priorities, and make our own personal decision to follow God in these areas, God will be hard to see, hard to hear, and in short, hard to experience his love, grace, and mercy.

If we want to see, hear, and experience God. If we want to be free from guilt and shame and the past, then we must know, we must experience the truth that will set us free.

I want to conclude this morning with reading the temptation of Christ in Matthew 4:1-11. (Read)

Notice that when Jesus was tempted He replied with “The Scriptures say.”

Do you want to resist temptation and become the victorious Christian that God wants you to be?

Two things you must do. You must come to the honest truth about your own human nature and seek the forgiveness of God. Second, you must make a conscious and daily choice to read the Bible because not only is truth revealed in a person – Jesus, God has also given us the truth in writing – the Bible.

This morning I ask two additional questions, ‘Are you ready to be free from the inside out?’ and “Are you ready to study, understand, and apply the Bible to your life and situation?’

In reading the Bible and in confessing our sins – we are able to gain a clearer vision of God and hear Him when He speaks to us because we open ourselves up to His working in our lives. Amen.

A Love That Forgets and Forgives

Scripture Passage – Luke 6:27-28

Description – The fifth sermon of a post-Easter series on Love.

(Slide 1) It was a conversation that has stuck with me over the years. I was not a part of the conversation, per se, but I was a part of the audience that listened. I think that it took place in 1986 but I cannot remember. It was, I remember, a Sunday night at the church where I was serving as a youth pastor.

A woman who had grown up in the church was now, along with her husband and children, returning not just to the church but the Christian faith. They had joined a cult and as they found out more and more about the cult, they realized that it was not true Christianity and began the journey back to the faith.

A retired pastor whose daughter attended our church stood to ask a question. ‘Did something happen that caused you to leave this church?’ I remember the woman’s expression changed and she quietly, almost sheepishly, said ‘yes.’ It turns out that a disagreement or misunderstanding with a high school friend (and current church member) had taken place surrounding a wedding.

I cannot remember the details but I remember that it had to do with a conflict over who was going to be what, in that particular wedding. Yet whatever it was had caused a good friendship to facture and a young women (then) had left the church. When this conversation ended, the two friends embraced in our presence and were reconciled.

The other day one of my on-line friends, who I think was having a tough day wrote, “I’m pro “go to bed angry.” You can’t force agreement/restoration. Things look different after some time.” Is she right?

As we near the end of our post-Easter series on love, we have to address the issue of forgiveness. Our main text for this morning is Luke 6:27-28: (Slide 2) “But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

Rick Warren offered his congregation this true/false test. (Slide 3) Forgiveness Quiz

• T or F A person should not be forgiven until they ask for it.

• T or F Forgiveness includes minimizing the offense and the pain was caused.

• T or F Forgiveness includes restoring trust and reuniting a relationship.

• T or F You really haven’t forgiven others until you have forgotten the offense.

How do you answer those? Let’s take a few moments to examine these statements.

Slide 4) ‘A person should not be forgiven until they ask for it.’ First of all, can anyone tell me if this view is supported in the Bible? I cannot recall anywhere in the Bible that this view is supported.

In fact, in Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus makes clear the necessity of forgiveness without delay. “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

That is a very pointed statement and, I don’t know about you, but it makes me uncomfortable sometimes. If forces me to ask, “Have I forgiven those that have ‘sinned against me?’” Have I forgiven those that have offended me and hurt me? Or do I still hold _______ against them? Let’s go to the next statement.

(Slide 4a) ‘Forgiveness includes minimizing the offense and the pain that was caused.’ Again, is there Biblical support for this? In Colossians 3:13 we read, “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

But are we to stuff our pain and minimize the offense? And by offense, I am not talking about those minor irritations that we all get and give to others. I am talking about the ones that really hurt from the words of a friend or family member that wound us to the actions of someone that threatens or harms us.

A few weeks ago, we were told that one important way to love God with our hearts was to tell God how we feel. That is nevermore true than when we are struggling to forgive someone who has deeply hurt or wounded us.

What about the next statement? (Slide 4b)

Forgiveness includes restoring trust and reuniting a relationship.

Is there Biblical support for this? Certainly there is!

In Matthew 5:22 and 23 we read, “So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” I want to read this passage again.

What is Jesus’ point? It is conflict resolution. It is immediate and thorough conflict resolution.

In the verses prior to this passage, Jesus talks about anger being just as devastating to a person as murder. The kind of anger that He is talking about here isn’t the mild irritation we deal with on a daily basis that comes and goes. It is about a deep and seething rage and resentment that causes us to withdraw…brood… and plot to hurt the other person.

Left unchecked and not Biblically dealt with, it can lead to murder. It becomes a motive for murder. Physical murder and the murder of someone’s reputation.

What about the last statement Warren gave his congregation?

(Slide 4c) You really haven’t forgiven others until you have forgotten the offense. Is there Biblical support for this view? Is ‘forgive and forget’ a Biblical truth? This is the attitude of some. “Forgive and forget!” “Let it roll off your back like water like off a duck.” But we have trouble with forgiving and forgetting don’t we?

Anger is a normal part of life. We have angry moments. There is a normal and proper purpose to anger! It can help us resist threatening situations and cause us to stand up for someone else’s rights and concern.

I think that when we hear the phrase ‘forgive and forget’ we perhaps think of the ‘sea of forgetfulness’ which is not, as far as I was able to determine, in the Bible. This is in reference to Micah 7:19, ‘Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!”

And while God will forgive our sins, as we confess them to Him, and throw them into the depths of the ocean, is this the same as ‘forgive and forget?’ Let me suggest this morning that to forgive and forget is to first forgive as Jesus has told us to forgive and then to continuously make the choice to not hold out for revenge or keep allowing bitterness in our heart. There is no room in our hearts for both forgiveness and bitterness. It also means that forgiveness cannot be switched on and then everything is, as they use to say, ‘hunkey-dorey.’

So which of these statements is the Biblically correct one? (Slide 4d) I think that this one is. I believe that this is the goal for us as followers of God. He wants us to be reconciled with others in a manner that begins to rebuild trust.

(Slide 5) So What?

“So what Jim that this is what Jesus said to do, I am having trouble doing it. I am not quite willing or ready to seek to kiss up to so and so. Not until they make the first move!” “Jim, do you know what I have had to put up with over the years with so and so? The words, the actions, the attitudes?

I find forgiveness very hard to do.” I do, too. I remember a friend who I felt betrayed me at one point. It took a while, a long while for me to be able to no longer harbor feelings of resentment or ill will toward him. So, I know that forgiveness is not easy.

But Jesus clearly requires us, as His people, to forgive. He calls us, very clearly to love our enemies and to do good to those who hurt us. And it is not in our power that we can do this but it is in His power that we can.

Tom Holladay makes this clear as he talks about breaking the cycle of hurtful words (something very much related to forgiveness). “You must change the focus of your heart – and Jesus tells you how to do it. Jesus often taught about a broad reality that points the way to a change of heart.” Holladay goes on to write about who tries to ‘wear the crown’ in any conversation (or relationship.)

What he means is that there is a tug-of-war for who is going to rule the roost; who is going to be right; who is going to win no matter what the cost. And he makes clear one thing will make us stop trying to wear the crown – a change of heart that requires us to recognize ‘God is the only rightful wearer of the crown. He is the only king.’

Michael Watson was a promising boxer when his career, and almost his life, was cut short by a blood clot in his brain. He collapsed after fighting for the world super-middleweight championship. He was in a coma for 40 days, which left him partially paralyzed. 12 years later, he completed the London marathon. It took him 6 days. But, he was assisted by, his opponent in that fateful match.

He goes on to say this,” Before the accident, I was not a committed Christian. I believed but I was too busy, rushing this way and that, with no time to reflect. Yet I was a loveable person in society and I was doing well. My ultimate goal was to be World Champion. After the accident, it took me a long time to face up to reality. One minute I was a top celebrity, in the ring going for the ultimate prize. The next minute, blank… I woke up in a hospital ward with strange people all around me. I was totally confused and terribly frustrated. Before my accident, even though I believed in God I didn’t go to Church because it didn’t suit my image. I was too wrapped up in the pleasures of the world – fast cars, expensive clothes, girls. But from the moment I regained consciousness in hospital I took refuge in God.

Could he have blamed his opponent for his misfortune? Absolutely!

But he said this about his opponent, Chris Eubank, in the ring that day. “I prayed for Chris Eubank. I knew he was suffering. If you’ve got a heart – and he has – you can never be the same after something like this happens. I didn’t feel any anger toward him because it could have happened either way. You have to let bygones be bygones. Getting angry won’t correct the past. Instead, I knew I had to concentrate on the future and look to starting a new life. If I had animosity about what Chris had done to me, I’d be breaking myself down mentally as well as physically. How could I then move on?”

If we want to love as Jesus calls us to love, then we have to do at least two things: 1. We have to let God be our leader and allow His power, to change our heart from one controlled by bitterness, resentment, and even a hateful spite and rage. 2. We have to start doing some forgiving. We have to start clearing away that pain and that hurt and rage that is still within us because we have not forgiven. Until we do, we are going to be miserable. This leads me to our assignment for the week.

(Slide 6)Who do you need to start forgiving and what is the first step you need to take? While forgiveness is a requirement of God to live obediently for Him, it is also takes time in some instances. The greater the wound and the pain, the longer it may take. Yet don’t we get tired of carrying this monkey on our back? Don’t we get weary of stepping around this 500-pound elephant in our midst?

The first step is to ask God to help you have a change of heart toward the person or persons that you are in conflict with. The person(s) that you are needing to forgive. It is only by this change of heart that forgiveness can begin to freely flow. It is this kind of heart change that will allow us, through the power of God, to do what Jesus said for us to do in our main text. “…love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”

Obey God this morning as you need to and let Him have His way in your heart and life today. Amen.

Tom Holladay, The Relationship Principles of Jesus. Michael Watson’s story can be found at the http://www.forgivenessproject.com

Peacemaking: An Inside Out Job

(This is the final sermon in the first part of a two part series, ’2 Things 2 B in 09.’ It dealt with being a peacemaker. The second part will feature being a missionary and the missional aspect of the church. The text for today was Matthew 7:1-5)

(Slide 1) Almost three decades ago, Christine Tolbert Norman watched as her father, the president of Liberia, and 16 members of his cabinet, get tied up and machine-gunned to death by a group of drunken solders. Then, along with her mother and rest of her family, they were placed under house arrest for a period until they escaped to another county.

After she was married, she and her husband began attending a Bible Study and was introduced to a ministry that taught her how to truly be free from sin and hatred and other soul binding powers. It helped her begin the process of forgiveness toward those who had murdered her father.

While this was going on, the leaders of her native Liberia, concluded that the problems of their county needed more than a political or military solution, it needed a spiritual solution. Christine felt that what she had learned was the answer.

So a process was begun and nearly 15 years after the brutal murder of their President, Christian believers as well as national leaders at all levels of government and society came together and confessed and repented of their role and complicity in the murders that had been committed.

As I read and pondered this story, one thought was, ‘I cannot relate to Christine. I have never personally experienced such violence and hatred in my life. I am not sure if I would have the desire to make peace with those who did this to my father and family.’

Another thought was, ‘Christine is a much greater believer than I could ever be. She is a saint.’ A third thought was, ‘Only God could make such a reconciliation happen, not me. Look what God can do if we allow Him to have His way!’

A final thought is embodied in the title of my sermon, ‘Peacemaking is an inside out job.’ It has to begin within each human being and then move outward into the web and community of relationships each human being is a part of.

We have spent this first month of 2009 looking at the following aspects of Biblical peacemaking. (Slide 2)

• Understand the difference between peacemaking and peacekeeping

(Slide 3)

• Practice the Biblical pattern of reconciliation

(Slide 4)

• Discern the nature of conflict

Today, we conclude this portion of our series with this aspect of peacemaking (Slide 5)

· Accept that peacemaking is an ‘inside out’ process

Our main text for this morning is Matthew 7:1-5: (Slide 6) Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. ²For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.

(Slide 7) And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴How can you think of saying, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?

(Slide eight) ⁵Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Now this is a very well known and oft quoted passage of scripture. It is also part of the ‘inside outness’ of peacemaking.

Now to understand it correctly a couple of observations need to be made. First, Jesus is not telling His audience (and us) to suspend all judgment. What He is telling His audience (and us) to stop is our biting and unfair criticism of others.

Second, Jesus says that if you want to get along, then treat others as you would want to be treated because the measure (or the kind and type) of criticism you use will be used on you in return.

Then Jesus’ gives an exaggerated perspective on unfair and unjust criticism that is designed to help us clarify our own blind spots with regard to our attitudes; our frame of reference. Basically, He says this: ‘Why are you all bent out of shape over this issue? Stop for a moment and take a second look.

What is the issue here? What is it that makes you so upset? Take a look at your heart, do an attitude check first. Is this really so important to get so worked up over? Listen buster, deal with your side of the street first and then help, if you can, the other side of the street.’

Steven Covey illustrates this passage so well with a story that is worth remembering. He recalls riding on the New York subway one Sunday morning. It was a quiet time with many simply reading the paper, resting, or thinking quietly to themselves.

But the quiet was shatter when a man and his children entered the car Covey was sitting in. The man sat down and appeared impervious to the noisy and rambunctious children who began to disturb the other passengers.

After a few moments Covey could take it no longer. He turned to the man and said, ‘Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?’

It brought the man back to consciousness of the situation Covey goes on to say, which caused the father to say, ‘Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital an hour ago where their mother died. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.’ Covey goes onto say that he saw and experienced the situation from an entirely different perspective after than and sought to help the man.

I think this is what Jesus is getting at in our main text this morning. And to me I think that Covey took the log out of his own eye as he tried to make peace on that noisy subway car.

As we work at and toward peacemaking, it requires us to examine our two by fours: our attitudes, our mindset, our prejudices as we begin to try and make peace with another person or group of people.

This important introspection; this critical part of the inside out process of peacemaking, is part of a process called ‘The Four G’s’ by Peacemaker Ministries.

The first ‘G’ is (Slide 9) Glorify God

In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul addresses the issue of conflict when it comes to personal and sensitive issues. In Paul’s writing it deals with an issue, I think we would have trouble relating to these days, the eating of meat that offered to idols. (For us today the equivalent would be something like drinking or not drinking alcohol.)

In the midst of his discussion, Paul drops this important point of reference, chapter 10 verse 31, ‘Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.’

This is a valuable and necessary point of reference because it forces us to examine our motives as to the disagreement or conflict and as to our motive in the peacemaking process. In other words, if we truly seek to glorify God, then we must slow down and prayerfully examine our attitudes and actions and seek to bring them in line with what Christ would have us say and do. We are going to ask ourselves, ‘How am I going to honor God in this situation? How am I going to seek the well being of others so they do not get hung up on this issue as well?’

(Slide 9a) The next ‘G’ is Get the Log Out of Your Own Eye.

Ken Sande writes, ‘There are generally two kinds of “logs” you need to look for when dealing with conflict. First, you need to ask whether you have had a critical, negative, or overly sensitive attitude that has led to unnecessary conflict. One of the best ways to do this is to spend some time meditating on Philippians 4:2-9, which describes the kind of attitude Christians should have even when they are involved in a conflict.’

Here is what Philippians 4:2-9 says, ‘And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. ³ And I ask you, my true teammate,^ to help these women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. And they worked with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

⁴ Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵ Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ⁹ Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.’

Then, Sande writes, ‘The second kind of log you must deal with is actual sinful words and actions. Because you are often blind to your own sins, you may need an honest friend or advisor who will help you to take an objective look at yourself and face up to your contribution to a conflict.’

(Slide 9b) Gently Restore is the third ‘G.’ What does it mean to gently restore someone? An example is given in the books of 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul addresses the issue of an incestuous relationship in the church. Halfway through verse 1 and following we read:

‘I am told that you have a man in your church who is living in sin with his father’s wife. ²And you are so proud of yourselves! Why aren’t you mourning in sorrow and shame? And why haven’t you removed this man from your fellowship? ³Even though I am not there with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. Concerning the one who has done this, I have already passed judgment ⁴in the name of the Lord Jesus. You are to call a meeting of the church,^ and I will be there in spirit, and the power of the Lord Jesus will be with you as you meet. ⁵ Then you must cast this man out of the church and into Satan’s hands, so that his sinful nature will be destroyed^ and he himself^ will be saved when the Lord returns.

Are they not pretty strong words? They make us cringe. They seem harsh and judgmental and they are. Paul minces no words.

‘Call a church meeting. Deal with the issue. Get this man out of the church.’

Some of the most public and damaging news against the church in the past 21 years has come from sexual sin. It was an issue over 2 years ago when a prominent pastor out west was revealed to have sexual sin in his life.

‘Well pastor, men will be men.’ NO! That is an excuse and is unacceptable to a holy God. We are all called, clergy and laity alike, to a life of holiness in this area.

Unfortunately, when this painful and tragic sin is revealed, there is often no restorative process and, the lives of men and women who God still loves and wants to redeem, are left in the wake of the tragedy.

Do you know that there was ‘a rest of the story’ to this man mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5? Please walk with me to 2 Corinthians 2 and verses 5 through 11: ‘I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt your entire church more than he hurt me. ⁶He was punished enough when most of you were united in your judgment against him. ⁷Now it is time to forgive him and comfort him. Otherwise he may become so discouraged that he won’t be able to recover. ⁸Now show him that you still love him.

⁹I wrote to you as I did to find out how far you would go in obeying me. ¹⁰When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive him (for whatever is to be forgiven), I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, ¹¹ so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are very familiar with his evil schemes.

Now some Bible scholars point out that this passage may refer to the man in 1 Corinthians 5 or someone else that had caused trouble. I believe that it points to this man and that restoration was possible because, as implied in this text, there was a change and a repentance of heart. This has paved the way for restoration.

In Galatians 6:1-3 Paul wrote, ‘Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ²Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ³If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.’

We have a responsibility to other believers who have fallen away, to help them get back up and we are to do so very gently and humbly. This is part of peacemaking. I have no doubt that all of us here know at least one person who once walked closely with God but now does not care. I believe that when this happens, God is truly honored and people take notice.

Now, I mention at this point, an important qualification. The Bible makes clear that we are to overlook a ‘minor offense.’ And we need to carefully discern (part of the gently part) our spirit and our role in the conflict and make sure that we have truly taken out the log before we go further and also (very important here) determine, prayerfully and carefully, the seriousness of the offense before proceeding further. Some issues are not worth addressing; others are and they need addressing.

The fourth and final ‘G’ is (Slide 9c) Go and be reconciled.

Ken Sande says it best when he says, ‘[God] forgives you totally and opens the way for genuine reconciliation. He calls you to forgive others in exactly the same way (Slide 10): “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

(Slide 11) ‘Forgive as the Lord forgave you.’ Forgiveness is at the heart of peacemaking. Peace is possible when forgiveness is extended and accepted.

Where are you at with all of what has been presented this month? Is there some reconciliation that you need to pursue? Is there some forgiveness you need to extend, verbally and perhaps face-to-face? Is there a relationship that you really want to see redeemed with a friend, a family member, someone here? Let’s pray about these things right now….

We began this series just out of Christmas and New Year’s and a few weeks ago I read an internet post that gave me a link with Christmas and peacemaking.

(Slide 12) It was written by Howard Thurman and is entitled, The Work of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among brothers,
to make music in the heart.

Let us now resolve to continue this work of Christmas, to bring peace not just among brother but among all of those we love. Amen.

Sources:

Tolbert-Norman story is from “Blessed Are the Peacemakers” by Neil T. Anderson and Charles Mylander;

Covey story is from his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People;”

Thurman poem was shared by Mike Todd at his blog: http://miketodd.typepad.com/waving_or_drowning/2008/12/index.html

It was referenced in the work, ‘The Work of Christmas: A Grateful Heart.’

What Kind of God Do You Follow?

(A post-Easter sermon preached on March 30, 2008)

(Slide 1) This morning, we begin with a brief clip of two young men discussing the origins of a popular snack food.

(Slide 2) (Video clip from Bluefish TV ‘Drive-in faith’ is shown)

So: (Slide 3)

• What do you choose to believe about the origins of the Corn Dog? Was it alien in its origins and did some farmer get rich from his encounter of the third kind? Or was it the result of a surprise development in somebody’s kitchen?

• What do you choose to believe about the origins of the universe? Is all of this real or an illusion? Is it merely the end as well as the beginning?

• What do you choose to believe about what is right and what is wrong? Are there absolutes or is right and wrong a matter of ‘it depends?’

• What do you choose to believe?

But more important this morning is the question, (Slide 3a) ‘What kind of a God do you choose to believe in?’

The kind of God you believe in is the kind of God you follow. And are you following the right kind of God? Last week, I showed a video clip of several persons being interviewed as they responded to various questions regarding Easter, the cross, and heaven. Let’s look at it one more time with the question in mind, ‘What kind of God do they believe in?’

(Slide 4) (Video clip from Bluefish TV, “What comes to mind when you think of the cross?’ is shown)

What kind of God do they seem to follow? It seemed to me that there were different kinds of god that people believe in and a few who did not believe in God or a god at all.

We live in a day and age in which there are many faiths and beliefs to choose from and we do choose. Confusion, sometimes, seems the order of the day.

There was confusion after Jesus was resurrected and we walked through Luke 24:36-38 last Sunday and noted the confusion that the disciples and other followers had when Jesus appeared to them. But, they believed and continued to believe and when the Holy Spirit filled them on the day of Pentecost, they began to talk about a God that was worth following.

Before we move to our main text this morning, I want to read 1 Corinthians 15:13-20 about the key importance of the resurrection and as a backdrop to our main text:

For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished! And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world. But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.

What kind of a God would do this? Let’s take a look at our main text of Psalm 103 to see how the Psalmist answers this question:

‘Praise the Lord, I tell myself;

with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, I tell myself,

and never forget the good things he does for me.

He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

He ransoms me from death

and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.

He fills my life with good things.

My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

The Lord gives righteousness

and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

He revealed his character to Moses

and his deeds to the people of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and gracious;

he is slow to get angry and full of unfailing love.

He will not constantly accuse us,

nor remain angry forever.

He has not punished us for all our sins,

nor does he deal with us as we deserve.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

He has removed our rebellious acts

as far away from us as the east is from the west.

The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

For he understands how weak we are;

he knows we are only dust.

Our days on earth are like grass;

like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

The wind blows, and we are gone—

as though we had never been here.

But the love of the Lord remains forever

with those who fear him.

His salvation extends to the children’s children

of those who are faithful to his covenant,

of those who obey his commandments!

The Lord has made the heavens his throne;

from there he rules over everything.

Praise the Lord, you angels of his,

you mighty creatures who carry out his plans,

listening for each of his commands.

Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels

who serve him and do his will!

Praise the Lord, everything he has created,

everywhere in his kingdom.

As for me—I, too, will praise the Lord.

Do you like this kind of God? I do! And I believe, and so have millions of other people down through the centuries, too!

This is the God who sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and failures.

This is the God I choose to follow for the following reasons as stated by the Psalmist:

(Slide 5) He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. The God I choose to follow is one who is forgiving and healing.

This God, my God whom I choose to follow, is in the restoration business. It is His intent, I believe, based on what the Bible says, to change me for the better.

Now, many people don’t like the word ‘change’ and they don’t like changes to take place. But, if I choose to believe in my God, who forgives and heals, then change is not option for me.

In John chapter 5, there is the story of the paralyzed man who was lying near the Pool of Bethesda, a place that was believed to contain miraculous healing powers. He had been sick for 38 years (probably since birth) and someone, based on his statements to Jesus about his lack of help getting into the pool, had brought him to the pool but did not help him get into the pool. Ever wondered why?

Now I heard from somewhere that the waters stirred only at certain times and it was believed that during those times the healing power was released. Why did’nt the person or persons who laid this man there in the first place take the time to get him into the pool? Maybe they did not have the time. Maybe they could not do so because something kept them from doing it. Maybe they just wanted to be rid of him and said, ‘now you’re on your own.’

Whatever the reason, the man did not make it into the pool… for a long, long, time. But then Jesus showed up one day and healed him without any natural or human help!

What this says to me about the God I choose to follow is that when we hit our limits as to our ability to change, Jesus steps in and makes it happen. I have seen this in my life and the lives of others. But it requires a surrender of our efforts and will to the will of God who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases and as a result, ‘He ransoms me from death

and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.’

(Slide 5a) He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve.

There have been many times in my life when I have sinned and there have been many times when I have asked God, ‘Why am I still here and why am I still a pastor when I am flawed and broken and so imperfect?’

Sometimes, He has responded in ways to affirm His love of and for me. At other times, He has said nothing and that has been hard to take. But, over a period of time, I am able to see how His silence speaks of His love and mercy for me. This aspect of the God I choose to follow is called ‘mercy.’

In one of my sources that I consulted in preparation, it linked mercy, along with compassion and pity to the goodness of God which I remind us this morning is one of the Fruits of the Spirit and thus a key characteristic of us as followers of Christ.

Have you ever been shown mercy? Does a teacher come to mind? How about a time when your parent or parents were compassionate and showed mercy?

I remember 9^th grade geometry and how I struggled through that class and got a D- for the year. I think that it was because of the mercy of my teacher that I got it!

I remember President Gerald Ford’s address to our county 34 years ago when he pardoned Richard Nixon. In his speech he said, ‘I do believe, with all my heart and mind and spirit, that I, not as President but as a humble servant of God, will receive justice without mercy if I fail to show mercy.’ Many believed (and still do) that his actions spared our nation from experiencing a great national conflict.

In Matthew 18 there is the story of two servants that Jesus tells to describe the importance of forgiveness and mercy. He tells it in response to Peter’s question of ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’

It is believed that the teaching of that day was to forgive only three times. Peter brings up the number of perfection, ‘seven’ and Jesus says, ‘seventy times seven’ which according to some translators is really rendered 77 not 490.

But then Jesus tells a very vivid story about the importance of forgiveness as a Kingdom of Heaven value. It is the story of two servants who are deeply in debt.

The punishment for unpaid debts in that day was imprisonment, some times for life. The first servant is given mercy for a very large debt, translated today as millions of dollars, and leaves the presence of the king with deep gratitude… or so it seems.

But in verse 28, he seeks out a man who owed him a few thousand dollars and demands payment. Unable to get the money and impatient, he has the man arrested. This troubles the King’s servants who tell the king who then throws the ungrateful and unmerciful debtor into prison to pay his entire debt.

And Jesus then pointedly says, “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart.”

Mercy and forgiveness is often a very hard thing to do because we are very much like the first servant who seeks ‘to get what is coming to me no matter what.’

How many here this morning watched the Dateline special on Friday night when Matt Lauer interviewed the two Taylor University families whose daughters’ identities were mixed up after the terrible accident in 2006?

What struck me was how grace filled and thankful the Cernak family was to the Van Ryn family for caring for their daughter while the Van Ryn’s thought it was their daughter in that hospital bed. To me their Christian faith shone brightly throughout the interviews even when Lauer asked how the mix up could have taken place. Forgiveness and mercy not bitterness and resentment are part of this moving story. Their God is the God described in Psalm 103. Though they most likely had their moments when grief and its deep pain and hurt created the conditions for anger and bitterness, they asked the Lord for strength to get through those many difficult moments, especially when the terrible reality set it as to Whitney’s identity.

There is more that could be said, but the Psalmist says it well and I invite you to read and re-read and meditate on this Psalm as it has many important things to say about this wonderful God.

But on this first Sunday after Easter, what kind of a God do you choose to follow? Is your God a healing and forgiving God?

Is He able to save you and heal you of not just your physical pain and discomfort; but also your mental and emotional pain and discomfort? Is He a God who is merciful and who has not punished you for all your sins or dealt with you as you really deserve?

To me, this God is the God of Easter Sunday and every Sunday; in fact He is the God of every day of our lives. Where is this God in your life? Is He here (mind) and here (heart)?

Has this wonderful and gracious God made a difference in your life and is He continuing to do so? I pray that it is so. Amen.

Ford speech is quoted from www.Watergate.info