What’s holding you back?

Sometimes we talk about ‘great’ Christians, you know,

• people who are totally committed to God
• people who have given their whole lives to serve God
• people who have suffered for their commitment

What names come to mind for you, either from the New Testament or church history?

The book – The Martyr’s Mirror contains thousands of stories of ‘great’ Christians. Two of my favorites are Dirk Willems and Anneken Heyndricks, both of whom died for their faith. And there are other similar books with such stories.

It will be interesting to see on the final day who are honored. I think so many will be people we have never heard of, thousands and thousands of faithful ones that lived without recognition or human honor. Just ordinary people like you and me.

We are celebrating the Lord’s supper today. It symbolically portrays the fact that Jesus was totally committed to God and gave everything to serve God. Right? Here is a picture of his broken body and his blood poured out for us. He gave all for God and the kingdom.

Today I want you to think about yourself, and ask – What’s holding you back from being a ‘great’ Christian?  What’s keeping you from being like Jesus in giving yourself fully to God?

I’m not talking about in a dream world, you know, in a different and easier set of life circumstances. So that you could say, “If this were different, if I didn’t have these obligations, boy I could really serve God!” I mean in your current situation in life.

And I don’t mean being well known for your faith or famous. I just mean being faithful to do what God has called you to do in your place in life, with the gifts he has given you.

What’s holding you back from being all that God wants you to be and doing all that God wants you to do?

If we are indeed going to be like Jesus; if we are going to be a ‘great Christian,’ what I want to say today is that -

We have to make sacrifices

This is the bottom line. We want what is peaceful, comfortable and easy. Its just human nature. But often God does not call us to this, but just the opposite; to what is hard and what that takes us out of where we are comfortable and stretches us.

And it is because of this that we shy away from full commitment; from giving ourselves fully to God. We hold back.

Let’s look at some examples of sacrifice: 1) You might have your life reordered by God; that is your plans changed around.

Jesus didn’t have a ‘normal’ life. He forsook marriage and kids and had no home. He was a traveling teacher, preaching the message of the kingdom. And all this is what God asked him to do.

Are you willing to let God reorder your life? You have your own plans for your life, if or where you go to school, career, if you will marry, who you marry, family, a normal peaceful life. But what if God wants you to move overseas to serve him? What if God asks you to change your career? To lower your standard of living?

We want what is peaceful, comfortable and easy. But God doesn’t always call us to this.

2) You will be asked to minister to people’s needs. That’s because God loves people and wants to touch lives through us.

Jesus worked with people day in and day out. He dealt with people who had desperate needs and problems. Those that needed healing, freedom from demons, the poor and oppressed, those that didn’t know God’s way. He could barely get any rest since so many looked to him for help.

Are you willing to minister to people’s needs? To give up your privacy and get involved in other people’s lives and concerns and problems? To give of yourself to meet the needs of others?

We want what is peaceful, comfortable and easy. But God doesn’t always call us to this.

3) You might experience opposition and rejection. This is the opposite of having peace.

Jesus had his share of this. He was criticized unfairly. Even as he healed people who suffered their whole lives, some could only see it as a chance to pick at him – ‘Why are you doing work on the Sabbath?’ Others sought to test and trap him. ‘Hey Jesus, should we pay taxes to the Romans?’ hoping he would say something that would get him  in trouble as the Roman soldiers looked on. And apart from all this his own family thought he was crazy (Mark 3:21).

Are you willing to accept opposition and rejection? To be hassled? To have people push you away and think less of you?

We want what is peaceful, comfortable and easy. But God doesn’t always call us to this.

4) You might lose your reputation. Nobody wants this.

Jesus was called a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of sinners (Luke 17:34) all because he spent time with those who were looked down on as failures and rejects. Those whom others said had their chance and failed, but Jesus didn’t give up on them. He was also called possessed by Satan (Mark 3:22). How would you like that?

Are you willing to lose your reputation? To be slandered, intentionally misrepresented or called names?

We want what is peaceful, comfortable and easy. But God doesn’t always call us to this.

5) You will suffer.

Jesus suffered. He was let down by Peter and betrayed by Judas which must have really hurt. He was mocked, humiliated, beaten and killed.

Are you willing to suffer? You may well not suffer physically, but you will suffer if you want to be like Jesus.

We want what is peaceful, comfortable and easy. But God doesn’t always call us to this.

It is just as Jesus said in Mark 8:35, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” We try to save our earthly lives, we cling to them, when we:

• don’t let God reorder our lives
• refuse to minister to people’s needs
• hold back because we don’t want to be rejected
• are afraid to lose our reputation
• run from suffering

We lose our lives when put all this on the altar; when give it all up to God; when we sacrifice it all.

Jesus lost his life, and he saved it. God raised him from the dead and gave him so much more than he gave up.

If we lose our lives; if we sacrifice in all these ways; if we don’t allow these things to hold us back – we also will save our lives and we will be like Jesus. We will be great in our faithfulness and blessed by God.

William Higgins

Jesus Speaks to the Church in Smyrna: Revelation 2:8-11

We are looking at the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. Today we look at what Jesus says by the Spirit to the church in Smyrna, and also to us.

Introduction

This the shortest letter of the seven, only 4 verses, and it is one of two that has no negative word from Jesus (the other is Philadelphia).

Smyrna was 40 miles north of Ephesus. It still exists today as Izmir, Turkey. It was a well to do city. It had a harbor and was on a major road. It had been a loyal Roman ally from way back. It had several temples to Rome and promoted worship of the Roman emperors, as we will see below.

They were suffering persecution

In 2:9-10 Jesus says, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation.”

Jesus acknowledges their persecution or “tribulation.” He also acknowledges their poverty. This is most likely connected to their persecution. It would have been hard for them to earn a good living due to their faith; being looked down on and discriminated against. Yet despite this Jesus says, “you are rich,” that is, in the things that really count.

He also tells them they will suffer more! How would you like to receive a message from Jesus, only to tell you that you will suffer more? He speaks of “what you are about to suffer;” and that some will be thrown into prison; and how “for ten days you will have tribulation,” most likely symbolic for a short or limited time of trial.

To understand what’s going on we need to be aware of some background. Worship of the Roman emperor was prevalent in Asia Minor and in the cities of the seven churches at this time. Everyone was supposed to participate.  From time to time you had to light incense and say something like, “Caesar is Lord.”

The only exception was if you were Jewish. They were recognized by the Romans as an ancient religion that only had one God. So they didn’t have to do this. The early Christians saw themselves (rightly) as simply a form of Judaism; a form of Messianic Judaism. Thus they should be exempt from persecution for refusing emperor worship as well.

But at this very time Christians were being rejected by Jewish communities. They were being put out of synagogues and in general were not viewed as real Jews by the Jewish majority. And some non-Christian Jews became informants and denounced Christians to the Roman authorities. They outed them. ‘Hey, this person isn’t really a Jew.’ This is what the word “slander” means in v. 9.

The result was that Christians were arrested and, if they refused to offer worship to Caesar, some were executed. Sixty years or so after Revelation, Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna was denounced in this way and executed.

This all sounds very much like what Jesus talked about in John 16:2, “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” This is what was going on.

Next let me say that we need to -

Be careful with this strong language!

Jesus speaks of “Those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” – v. 9. Jesus is taking the accusation made against Christians, ‘they say they are Jews and are not’, and turning this back on the accusers, ‘they say they are Jews and are not.’ His point is that instead of being true Jews, which means that you are on God’s side, they show themselves to be of Satan, God’s adversary in denouncing Christians and causing persecution. In other words, they are a synagogue of Satan because contrary to their claim to be Jews they are acting as informers for the Romans.

But throughout the course of history this strong language has been misused to put down Jews in general and so we have to be careful to keep it in its right context. It is only spoken about those who sought to have Christians killed. This language certainly does not apply to other Jewish communities.

Now, with this background in place, lets look at what -

Jesus speaks to the church in Smyrna

1. He knows about their situation. V. 9 – “I know your tribulation and your poverty.” As chapter one symbolically portrays, Jesus is the one who walks amidst the seven lampstands, that is, the seven churches. So, Jesus knows all about their situation. They were not alone, forgotten or abandoned. Jesus is with them.

2. Jesus tells them not to be afraid. V. 10 – “Do not fear what you are about to suffer.” And this includes the threat of death, for Jesus also says in v. 10, “Be faithful unto death.”

There is a real death and life theme throughout this letter to Smyrna:

• 2:8 – “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”
• 2:10 – “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
• 2:11 – “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death,” a reference to resurrection.

The point is that they need not fear even death, much less the suffering of imprisonment and torture. For Jesus has overcome death, as v. 8 says, Jesus is the one who has “died and came to life.”

This is why they can be faithful unto death. Death is not the end, but the beginning of the Christian’s true life. As v. 11 says, “they will not be hurt by the second death.”

3. Jesus tells them that they will be rewarded. He encourages them by telling them this. He says in v. 9 – “I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich.” This hearkens back to Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven . . ..”

He also says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” – v. 10. They are promised an eternal life of joy and peace in the resurrection that is to come.

Jesus speaks to us

V. 11 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Notice again the plural. Jesus’ words to the church in Smyrna go beyond just Smyrna. They are also words for us. And we need to have ears that hear his words.

1. Jesus knows our situation. We are not in the same kind of situation as the Christians in Smyrna, and persecution is rare and certainly not as intense, but we too should hear this word of Jesus.

We too go through times of suffering and times of trial. And sometimes this includes being rejected or looked down on for our faith in Jesus.

And so we need to hear and understand that Jesus knows about our suffering. That he hasn’t abandoned us or forgotten about us. He knows all about what is going on in our lives and is indeed with us, to help us.

2. We too should not be afraid. If Jesus has overcome the worst possible thing that can happen to us – death, then we need not fear anything. Everything else pales in comparison to death – our relationship problems, our economic struggles, our experiences of being looked down on for our faith in Jesus.

Since we know that Jesus has overcome death, we know that he can cause us to overcome in these areas as well. We need not fear.

3. We too will be rewarded for faithfulness. Jesus told them to be faithful unto death, and he calls us to be faithful too.

What we need to know is that anything we give up – whether small or big (like our lives); anything we give up out of faithfulness to Jesus will be more than made up for in the rewards that are to come.

____________

Lets end with Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness in v. 11 – “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” We will have life eternal.

William Higgins

Jesus Speaks to the Church in Ephesus: Revelation 2:1-7

We are beginning a series on the seven letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. I want us to see what Jesus says by the Spirit to these churches and also what he might be saying to us.

Today we begin with the church in Ephesus. But before we get to this, a bit of . . .

Introduction

John the prophet is in exile on the island of Patmos, as a punishment for his faith. While he is there he has an amazing set of visions of Jesus and his return. And as a part of this revelation, he is told to write letters to seven churches, which is found in Revelation  2-3

Each letter has five sections: 1. the address; 2. a description of Jesus; 3. Jesus’ review of the church; 4. a call to hear; and 5. a description of the reward for faithfulness. We will be focusing on section 3 of each letter.

Ephesus was the most prominent city in the Roman province of Asia and it was the seat of Roman government in this area. It was a real commercial hub and a part of this was its prominent sea port. It was also known for its temple of Artemis, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Ephesus was also one of the most important cities in early Christianity. Paul spent three years there and helped establish the church. Ephesians and I Timothy were written to this church. Paul also wrote 1 Corinthians while he was in Ephesus. Also, the gospel and letters of John are traditionally associated with Ephesus.

Coming to the message in these verses, first of all we see that . . .

Jesus encourages the church

Verses 2-3 form an inverted outline:

A. “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance”

B. “and how you cannot bear with those who are evil but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”

`A. “I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.”

In the A sections the emphasis is on hard work and especially endurance. In the B section the focus is on opposing false teaching. Both sections seem to be talking about the same situation - opposing false teachers and enduring the conflicts this must have generated.

First of all, these verses tell us that they worked hard at exposing false teachers. Given their prominence as a church and as a city, with numerous travelers coming through, they would have had many itinerant teachers coming around looking for disciples. And they would also have had resident false teachers. V. 6 gives an example of their encounter with false teachers – “Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” We will encounter this group again in later letters.

Secondly, their opposition to false teachers may have caused much contention, which they had to endure. They may have been slandered as false by the false teachers, and so they experienced a measure of persecution for speaking up for the truth.

So Jesus commends them for enduring and holding on to right teaching. But next . . .

Jesus admonishes the church

v. 4 – “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” This doesn’t seem to be a problem with loving God. They have a zeal for the truth and have accepted persecution for the name of Jesus.

The focus seems to be on loving other people. They have abandoned their acts of love for others. They are not caring for the needs of others. Or perhaps they are not caring for each other’s needs, helping the weak among them.

1 John 3:16-18 talks about the necessity of this kind of love. “By this we know love, that he (Jesus) laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Perhaps a part of this is that, because of their bad experiences with false apostles, they aren’t giving any support or hospitality to true teachers who come through. This is kind of support is called “love” in 3 John 5-6. (If this is the case, their strength – weeding out false teachers – also leads to their weakness – not receiving any teachers.)

Whatever the case, next comes . . .

Jesus’ strong call to repentance

v. 5 – “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” They are to think back and remember how they used to love others, and then they are to have a change of heart and mind, and do what they used to do.

“If not, (Jesus says) I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” In Revelation 1:20 we see that the lampstand represents the church. So what this means is that Jesus will extinguish their life as a church. This is a powerful warning and certainly a motivation to repent and make things right.

Jesus speaks to us

V. 7 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Notice the plural. Jesus’ words to the church in Ephesus go beyond just Ephesus. They are also words for us. And, as he says, we need to listen to his words.

1. It is good to test teachers (vs. 2, 6). Jesus was pleased that they did not bear with false teachers, but tested them and that they hated the works of the Nicolaitans.

Testing teachers is a common theme in Scripture:

• We are to test their moral lives. Jesus says in Matthew 7:20, “you will recognize them by their fruit.” False teachers will act in wrong ways.
• We are to test their words. Jesus says in Matthew 12:34 to the Pharisees, “How can you speak good, when you are evil?” False teachers will speak and teach wrong things.

The lesson here is that, just as with the Ephesian Christians, Jesus is also pleased with us when we test teachers and expose the false ones.

2. Jesus can be offended by our behavior (v. 4). Jesus had a serious concern with them. He said, “I have this against you.”

Do we recognize that Jesus can be upset with us? That Jesus can have a problem with us? That he can have something “against us” or against me?

This goes against the popular picture of Jesus as always being warm and fuzzy, and completely accepting. But the truth is that Jesus can be unhappy or angry with us.

And we are no better than these Ephesian believers. We too will be judged if we as a church or as individuals allow sin in our lives.

3. You can’t live off of yesterday’s faithfulness (vs. 4-5). They used to have acts of love. The phrase “at first,” is repeated two times. This is referring to when they first believed and were founded as a church. But they don’t practice such love anymore.

And the point is that their previous faithfulness doesn’t cancel out their current unfaithfulness, which is why they are warned to change or be judged.

The same is true with us. If we used to be faithful in an area, and then cease, our previous faithfulness will not cancel out our current unfaithfulness. We too will be subject to judgment from Jesus.

4. It’s not enough to have right teaching, you have to have love others (v. 4). They had a love for the truth, but not a love for others – which is to miss the point. I Corinthians 13 says, “If I have . . . all knowledge . . . but don’t have love I gain nothing.” Right knowledge or teaching is inadequate by itself. And besides, right teaching is supposed to lead us to love!

Do we love each other? Or do we focus on what is easier – thinking about truth, arguing about the Bible, things that are not connected to people. Jesus calls us to love one another, to care for one another, to sacrifice for one another, and also those who are not a part of our church. Do we love other people?

___________

Lets end with Jesus’ words of encouragement for faithfulness in v. 7 – “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

William Higgins

Despair and Hope: Psalm 77

We are looking at Psalm 77 today and the themes of despair and hope. [Let me say at the beginning that there are some issues of translation in this Psalm, especially v. 10 which can be rendered in several different ways. I won’t get into any of this. For today I will simply use the NIV version of Psalm 77.]

Let’s jump right into the first part of the Psalm. Here we note that . . .

The psalmist is really struggling

There are several indications of this.

1. He is desperately calling on God. He says in v. 1, “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.”
2. He refuses to stop. V. 2 – “When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.” Stretched out hands is a posture of prayer. He is, as it were, lifting your prayers up to God. Yet, despite this, his prayers are unanswered. There is no relief.
3. When he thinks of God, instead of being encouraged, he is dejected. V. 3 – “I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.”
4. He is unable to sleep. V. 4a – “You kept my eyes from closing.” Here he addresses God directly and says, ‘you are the reason I can’t sleep.’
5. He is so upset he can’t talk. V. 4b – “I was too troubled to speak.”

He is definitely going through a hard time. He is distressed – v. 2; without comfort – v. 2; groaning – v. 3; faint of spirit – v. 3; sleepless – v. 4; troubled – v. 4; and speechless – v. 4.

Lets look now at . . .

The source of his distress

Vs. 5-6a – “I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night.” He is thinking about a time in his life when things were better. When he used to sing joyful songs. When all was well. It isn’t like this anymore. Now he’s overwhelmed by difficulties.

This leads him to deep thought. V. 6b – “My heart mused and my spirit inquired.” And from this pondering he is able to articulate his inner struggle. This comes in the form of six questions:

• “Will the Lord reject forever?
• Will he never show his favor again?
• Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
• Has his promise failed for all time?
• Has God forgotten to be merciful?
• Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (vs. 7-9)

It’s obvious from these that he feels rejected by God, uncared for, and forgotten. God is not answering prayer and seems entirely absent.

All seems hopeless, which is highlighted by his language – “forever, never again, for all time.” It’s never gonna get better.

This is a crisis of faith. He has the expectation that, if God is truly God, things should be a certain way, like they were before his troubles. So there is a gap between what should be and what is.

This leads him to question God’s character. Exodus 34:6 gives a foundational statement of who God is in the Old Testament. It says, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” It is this very description that the Psalmist is struggling with in his questions, using some of these very terms. Is God really like this? Has God changed?

Now, his actual circumstances aren’t made clear. From the questions, and the Psalm as a whole, it seems that it is not just something in his individual life. The problem involves the whole people of God, Israel.

And it has gone on for a long time without resolution. It could be that he is speaking from exile in Babylon wondering if God will ever remember and deliver them.

Remembering the deeds of the Lord

This brings us to v. 10 which is the turning point in this Psalm. “Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High.’” He decides to look back at when God was very active among Israel; when God’s favor was abundantly evident in the days of Moses.

He says in vs. 11-12, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.” The focus is now on God’s actions in the past: “deeds,” “miracles,” “works,” and “mighty deeds.” These, the psalmist will “remember” (2x), “meditate on,” and “consider.”

When he looks back at what God has done for Israel in the past, he can see God’s greatness. Vs. 13-15 – “Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.”

This refers to the Red sea crossing and even uses some of the language of Exodus 15:11-14 where Moses’ talks about this. God performed miracles and did deeds of power. God rescued his people.

From this the psalmist remembers that God is holy; that is, better and greater than all other gods. God is in a class all his own.

Finally, the psalmist describes . . .

The great Red sea deliverance

. . . in more poetic detail. We need to remember here the symbolic meaning of “the waters” as chaotic, evil and in opposition to God. The waters were blocking Israel from escaping the chariots of Egypt. But God confronts the waters, who are afraid of him. v. 16 – “The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed.”

Vs. 17-18 picture God coming as a warrior on the storm clouds. “The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked.”

Vs. 19-20 speak of the Red sea crossing. “Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” God defeated the waters of the Red Sea and saved his people by making a way through for them. And he did this without leaving any footprints.

The message is clear. God will also act to deliver the Psalmist and the people of Israel in their current situation. This is who God is, and this is what God does.

So by looking back, he takes heart. He can’t see God at work in his present circumstances, but by seeing who God is in the past, he can have hope even in his difficult circumstances.

Lessons

1. You will go through times of despair. When we are young in years or new in faith, we may not think so. I didn’t. But Your faith will tested. It will be tried so thoroughly that you will have deep inner struggles and doubts about God and God’s faithfulness. The psalmist certainly went through this.

And the point here is that this is normal. It’s a part of walking by faith. So, don’t be surprised when it happens.

2. It is good to bring your doubts and complaints to God. Just as the psalmist does here.

It should be done with respect, for sure. But we can be honest with God. God already knows our thoughts and feelings. So pour out your heart. ‘God, this is my distress. This is how I feel. This is what I don’t understand. These are my questions.’

When we do this, then God can help us to gain a right perspective. We can both by honest and also look to God for help in dealing with our situation.

3. When we are despairing of God’s purpose, promises it helps us to see the bigger picture. In the smaller picture of our current crises perhaps all we can see is cause for despair. This was true for the psalmist.

But when we step back and see the bigger picture, when we remember who God is and what God has done in the past to deliver, this gives us something to hang on to; it gives us some hope.

William Higgins

Covenant Renewal

We are beginning our time of Covenant renewal this morning. Leading up to today, we have been looking at spiritual renewal for the past few weeks, specifically . . .

Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal

This is what we have covered:

1. Instead of compromise, sin, excuses and apathy – we are honest with ourselves, see our failures and yield every part of our lives to God.

2. Instead of a damaged and broken relationship with God – we ask for forgiveness for our sins and find renewed relationship with God.

3. Instead of damaged and broken relationships with others – we find renewed relationships with others when we make things right with those we have wronged, and forgive those who have sinned against us.

4. Instead of grieving and quenching the Spirit, shutting the Spirit out of our lives – we invite the Spirit to work in us so that we are strengthened to do God’s will and bear the fruit of the Spirit.

5. Again, instead of grieving and quenching the Spirit – we invite the Spirit to work through us to minister to the needs of others with the power and abilities that the Spirit provides.

The reason I have shared on this leading up to our time of recovenanting is that this is meant to be a time of spiritual renewal.

This is certainly the way it worked in Israel. There are a number of examples of recovenanting in the Old Testament. For today, we’ll look at . . .

Joshua’s covenant renewals

He was a part of the original time of covenanting at Mt Sinai with Moses. But beyond this he was a part of three other recovenantings (at least as far as we know, there may have been more.)

1. Just before Israel entered the promised land – Deuteronomy 29. Israel had failed in the wilderness and most of that generation had died off. Moses gathered the people together on the plains of Moab.

• He recounted to them the story of God’s salvation.
• He repeated the Law of God in their hearing and expounded on it (which is where the name Deuteronomy comes from – the second giving of the Law).
• All the people committed to obey and serve God

This was time for them to be reconstituted as a people. The earlier generation had failed, and now the new generation was coming forward. This new generation was reminded of God’s Law and called to commit to this.

2. After the failure at Ai – Joshua 8:30-35. Because of Achan’s sin Israel was defeated before its enemies. And then, after they recovered from this Joshua gathered the people of Israel.

• They offered up sacrifices
• They wrote the Law in stone
• All Israel stood before the ark of the covenant
• They recounted the blessings and curses in the Law
• The Law was read before everyone

So this recovenanting came after deep failure on Israel’s part. It was a way for them to get back on track and recommit themselves to serving and obeying God.

3. Near the end of Joshua’s life – Joshua 24 he led the people in a covenant renewal.

• He gathered all the people together
• He recounted the story of Abraham, the deliverance from Egypt, and their victories over their enemies
• Joshua charged Israel to be faithful
• The people responded, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey” – v. 24

There was no failure here. The recovenanting was simply a part of the people being called to full commitment to God.

What we can learn from this

In each of these cases, covenant renewal was an aspect of their overall spiritual renewal.

• When there was failure, it was a time to regroup and repent
• When there wasn’t failure, it was a time to refocus and remember their commitment to obey and serve God.

Similarly for us recovenanting is an opportunity to

1. Honestly examine our lives and deal with our issues. One of the themes I have tried to highlight is that we have to be honest with ourselves. If we can’t do this, we won’t see the areas in our lives where we are failing. And if we can’t see where we are failing, we can’t act to make things right through repentance. We get stuck in the same rut of failure and compromise.

But if we are honest, we can make progress in our Christian lives.

Recovenanting is also an opportunity for us to 2. Reaffirm of our Christian commitment to God and each other. Whether we are struggling or not, it gives us a chance to remember and refocus. And this is what we want to do this morning.

William Higgins

Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal: #4 The Spirit Comes to Work in Us and #5 Through Us

We are looking at Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal trying to see what our Christian lives should look like, so that we can examine ourselves and see how we are actually doing. I suspect we already know where we are failing. But it is good to be encouraged to deal with what we already know about.

The first mark is Complete Yieldedness to God. And, as we saw last week, it is the key to all the rest. Because when we deal with our sins, then we are able to experience all that God has for us. And as we’ll see today it is the key that releases the Spirit to work in our own hearts, and then also to work through us to touch other people’s lives.

I want to begin by pointing out that . .

Our sin blocks the Spirit from working in and through us

When we don’t yield ourselves to God we grieve the Spirit. Did you know that you can do this? Paul says in Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” We can cause the Spirit to be distressed, sorrowful, pained, sad; that’s what the word “grieved” means. We do this when we sin.

In the verses just before and after v. 30, Paul talks about various sins in the lives of Christians:  v. 25 – lying; v. 26 – inappropriate anger; v. 27 – stealing;   v. 29 – corrupt speech; and v. 31 – bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. We grieve the Spirit through these things, and any other sins which we allow to remain in our lives.

Also when we don’t yield ourselves to God we quench the Spirit. Paul talks about this in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.” To “quench” means to suppress, or to extinguish, like putting out a fire. This is what we do when we sin. We put out the fire of the Spirit within us. We put a lid on what the Spirit wants to do. We shut the Spirit out of our lives.

And that’s why David prayed in Psalm 51:11, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” He was repenting of adultery and murder and he knew this would affect the Spirit’s presence in his life. And he didn’t want that to happen.

The result of our sin is that we hinder the work of the Spirit in us and through us. God is not able to do what he wants in us to strengthen and help us. And we are certainly not in a place where the Spirit can work through us to minister to others.

Instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit, we are empty. We are dried up spiritually. We are weak and helpless.

Now, the Spirit doesn’t give up on us. The Spirit still works to convict us of our sin and unrighteousness, as Jesus talks about in John 16:8. The Spirit waits for us to respond to deal with our sin.

And this is exactly what you should do. Yield yourself completely to God. Submit every area of your life to God. Hold nothing back. Deal with all your sins, your failures and your compromises. Remove all the hindrances to the Spirit’s full working in and through you.

And then, ask God for the Spirit to come into your life anew. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Luke 11:9. He goes on to say, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:13

Once we have dealt with our sin and found forgiveness, the Spirit is free to come and work. All we need to do is ask in faith and God will give us of his Spirit.

This brings us to the fourth mark of spiritual renewal . . .

4. The Spirit comes to work in us

When the Spirit comes we come alive again. The Spirit’s presence rejuvenates us. As Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life.” When the Spirit is present, the Spirit brings forth life. Just as we were born of the Spirit when we first became a Christian, so our life is renewed when the presence of the Spirit comes again in fullness.

We are also transformed within. Instead of a heart of stone that is dead to God, as Paul says in Romans 5:5, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit works in us to produce change. Paul speaks of this as fruit in Galatians 5:22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.” Something new and different, happens within us.

And a part of this is that we are enabled to do God’s will. In Romans 8:4 Paul talks about how “the righteous requirement of the law” is “fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

And Jesus said in Mark 14:38, “the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” All of us have weaknesses and brokenness in us; our flesh is weak. And these are sorely tested in times of difficulty and trial. But the Spirit helps us to endure and to overcome despite our weaknesses and times of testing.

The Spirit not only comes into us to make us new, the fifth mark of spiritual renewal is that . .  .

5. The Spirit comes to work through us to minister to others

The Spirit empowers us. Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses . . .” throughout the world.  - Acts 1:8. The word power means also, strength and ability.

The disciples are a good example here. Before the coming of the Spirit, they were fearful. But once the Spirit came they were strengthened to speak with conviction and boldness.

The Spirit gives us words to say. Jesus says that when you are being persecuted and brought before the authorities and you are anxious about what to say, “the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:12). And if God can give us the right words to say under such duress, how much easier in our everyday lives?

The Spirit gives us gifts or abilities. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Each one of us is to receive and use the gifts of the Spirit to minister to the needs of others. Paul mentions things like words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues.

After giving these examples, he says, in 1 Corinthians 12:11, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

So we are not alone, or left to try to serve God in our own strength. The Spirit helps us in all these ways and more.

Let me end by saying that as we minister to others in the power of the Spirit, the cycle starts over. Those we minister to

1. Are convicted to yield themselves completely to God

2. They experience renewed relationships with God, and 3. others

4. The Spirit comes to work in, and 5. through them.

And the cycle continues, again and again. This is how spiritual renewal works.

William Higgins

Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal:#2. Renewed Relationships with God and #3 Others

We are looking at Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal trying to see what our Christian lives should look like, and then, I hope, we will each evaluate how we are actually doing.

Last week we focused on the first mark: Complete Yieldedness to God. I showed you how this has to be at the core of our Christian lives. And that’s because without this we remain stuck in our sins, failures and compromises. But with this we are able to move forward and experience the spiritual renewal that God has for each one of us.

Specifically today, we see how completely yielding ourselves to God is the key to restoring our relationships with God and with others. We begin with the first of these . . .

2. Renewed relationship with God

Our unyieldedness to God damages and eventually destroys our relationship with God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” Our undealt with sin, which we know about and continue to choose, creates an obstacle, a wall, a barrier between us and God.

1 John 1:6 says, “If we say we have fellowship with him (God) while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Its not possible to have a right relationship with God, while there are areas of our life where we choose not to submit to God.

So because of our unyieldedness, our relationship with God becomes distant, stale, and cold. As Paul says, we are “alienated from God” (Ephesians 4:18).

This shows up in different ways:

• We have little if any sense of God’s presence in our lives. You know, God speaking to us, comforting us, guiding us, fellowshipping with us. God is distant.
• We have little if any sense of devotion toward God. I’m talking about that sense of deep emotion that is connected with that which has the most value for us in all of life. Think of the devotion you have to your family. You feel strongly about them. Well, when we choose not to yield to God, we lose this for God.
• We spend little if any time with God, that is, in prayer, reading the Scriptures, Christian fellowship and worship. Oh, we may come to church, but our heart doesn’t enter in. We’re just going through the motions. Its like with a person that you aren’t getting along with. You don’t really want to be around them. And if you see them you just go through the motions.

If this is where you find yourself, here’s . . .

What you should do to renew your relationship with God. As we talked about last week, yield yourself completely to God in every area of your life. And we do this through honest assessment of our lives and making hard choices of repentance.

And then, ask God to forgive your sins, your failures, and your compromises. Jesus’ blood was poured out on the cross “for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). And you are a part of that many. He died for you.

The promise to us is that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Through what Jesus has done, and our receiving this gift by faith, the walls of our sin are broken down. The barriers are destroyed. We have -

Restored relationship with God:

• We come to know and feel the presence of God in our lives. God is close to us, leading us and helping us.
• We come to feel devotion for God. We have a deep passion and desire for God and to serve God.
• We want to spend time with God; to be in God’s presence, to soak up all that God has for us from the Scriptures, times of prayer and worship and Christian fellowship. We can’t get enough of it.

This is the second mark of a vibrant Christian life. Renewed relationship with God in all these ways.

3. Renewed relationships with others

Our unyieldedness destroys our relationships with others. And this can happen in two different ways:

• Our own wrongdoing can destroy relationships
• Or our unwillingness to love and forgive those who have wronged us can destroy relationships

Either way our relationships with others become distant, stale and cold. They become characterized by things like bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice, as Paul says in Ephesians 4:31. If this is where you are at, here’s -

What you should do to restore these relationships. Again, yield yourself completely to God – here in terms of how you have treated others, and how you have responded to those who have hurt you.

More specifically 1) Make things right with the one you have wronged. Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you (you have wronged them), leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24.

There is no guarantee that they will respond and the relationship will be restored, but do what you can to restore the relationship through repentance and love for them

2) Forgive those who have sinned against you. Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” – Luke 17:3.

Again, there is no guarantee that they will repent and seek forgiveness. And without repentance on their part there can’t be restored relationship. But, do what you can to restore the relationship. Show love for them and be willing to forgive if they repent so that there can be true reconciliation.

I would just note here the seriousness of this. In both of these cases our relationships with others, has a decisive impact on our relationship with God.

Matthew 5:23-34 shows that our unrepentance for hurting others affects our relationship with God. Why do we first seek reconciliation? Because if we have sinned against someone and don’t seek to make it right, our relationship with God is broken. There is no need to try to bring your gift to give to God in worship. You have to first make it right with the other person.

Matthew 6:14-15 teaches us that our unwillingness to forgive others affects our relationship with God. Jesus said, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Our horizontal relationships with each other, affects our vertical relationship with God. This is really important. So if nothing else, this should spur us on to the goal, which is . . .

Restored relationships with others. This is when we set aside hatred and love each other from the heart. This is when we set aside bitterness and find forgiveness. This is when we put away hard-heartedness and find compassion and mercy.

As Paul said, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32.

This is where we love each other and are willing to lay down our lives for each other, to sacrifice for each other. As John says, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters” – 1 John 3:16.

Restored relationships mean that we are humble before each other. As Paul says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” – Philippians 2:3.

And we live in peace with one another – As Jesus said, “Be at peace with one another” – Mark 9:50.

This is the third mark of a healthy and faithful Christian life. I hope that you will look at both of these and evaluate where you are at. Do you have this kind of relationship with God? Do you have these kinds of relationships with others?

William Higgins

Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal: #1. Complete Yieldedness to God

I want to share with you about spiritual renewal for the next few weeks. We are preparing for our time of covenant renewal on October 4th. I would like for this to be a time when we examine our lives and our commitment to God. It should be a time of spiritual reflection on where we are in our life with God.

We’ll focus on Five Marks of Spiritual Renewal. And as we look at these, we will see what our Christian life should look like. And also reflect on what our Christian life often actually looks like. The difference between what should be and what is.

We begin with Complete Yieldedness to God. This mark is foundational, because without it you don’t get anywhere else in terms of faithfulness or renewal.

Another way to say this is that . . .

We are to give ourselves completely to God

• To be totally committed to God.
• To hold nothing back.
• To be obedient in every area of our lives.
• To yield in every way to what God’s will is for us.

Jesus calls us to this in several different ways: 1) He names this as the greatest of God’s commandments to us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30). Every part of us is to love God. And to love God means at its core, that we keep God’s commandments, as I John 5:3 says.

2) Jesus also calls us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). The rule and will of God is to be our first priority in all of life. Think of all the other things there are in life; good things. The kingdom is to be first.

3) Jesus told this parable to tell us what God wants from us – “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44). To be truly submitted to God; to be a part of God’s kingdom and under his rule – it will cost you everything. This man sold all that he had to gain the kingdom. We will have to do the same.

4) A final example is Jesus’ call to take up the cross. He said,  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34). The cross is an instrument of death. We have to deny ourselves; we have to die to ourselves. This is the commitment that is called for; this is the commitment that is required by God.

In all of these different ways, and more, Jesus calls us to complete yieldedness to God.

Now, if we ask, ‘What does this kind of commitment look like?’ The answer is – You just need to look at Jesus.

Jesus is the standard

And he’s the standard because he gave himself completely to God.

• Jesus was totally committed to God
• Jesus held nothing back
• Jesus was obedient in every area of his life
• Jesus yielded to God’s will. At the time of his greatest testing, he prayed, “not my will, but yours (God) be done.”

1)       He loved God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

2)       He sought God’s kingdom first.

3)       He gave up all he had for the kingdom.

4)       He denied himself and took up his cross – literally.

And he is now the standard for us as we seek to do God’s will. For he is the only one who truly and completely did God’s will. So if you want to please God; if you want to do God’s will truly and fully – do what Jesus taught and modeled for us.

This is, in fact, what Jesus calls us to. He said, “Learn from me” – Matthew 11:29. Jesus is our teacher. And so we learn from his teaching how to do exactly what God wants; how to please God in every way.

And Jesus is also our example. As we saw, he said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mark 8:34). What he did, we are to do. Just as he denied himself and took up his cross, we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross.

Jesus is the picture of complete obedience and we are to learn from his teaching and example how to be completely obedient to God ourselves.

Now, this is what we do at baptism. We commit to give ourselves completely to God, like Jesus did. But often it isn’t long until we have gone back on this; we retreat from such total commitment. And that’s because there are many –

Obstacles to complete commitment

And the first obstacle is You. Your own human weakness.

• Your propensity to do what you want, instead of what God wants.
• Your tendency to take the easy way, instead of the way of Jesus.

Jesus speaks of our human weakness in Mark 14:38 when he said, “the flesh is weak.” We are weak when it comes to doing what God wants of us.

And then there is the obstacle of the World – all those who don’t follow Jesus or share his values, who pressure us to go along with them instead of following Jesus. This is peer pressure. This is following the crowd instead of following Jesus.

• The world offers us many opportunities to fail in our commitment. Jesus said, “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!” (Matthew 18:7)
• The world offers us many distractions to keep us from seeking first the kingdom. Jesus talks about “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19)

The world pressures us to fail and to be distracted, along with everybody else.

And in all this is Satan who puts us in tests where we have to make hard choices and then encourages us in our weakness to give in.

The result

. . . of these obstacles so often is that when hard choices confront us; when we are in difficult tests – we compromise; we choose what is wrong. We want what we want, not what God wants. We want the easy way out, not the way of Jesus. We want to fit in with our friends and peers, not submit to God.

And then we start to make excuses. We rationalize our sin. We think of many good reasons why we should do what we are doing. We think of why its OK in our situation. And we can always find someone else who is worse than us.

And then we become apathetic about our Christian life; we stop doing the hard work of denying ourselves and taking up our cross and dying to ourselves. We begin to coast.

And then we begin excusing this. We put our trust in cheap grace, telling ourselves ‘It’s OK if I allow constant patterns of disobedience in my life. I’ll just shoot a prayer up to God for forgiveness and all is well. We deceive ourselves forgetting that without repentance, there is no forgiveness.

What should you do?

First, be honest. Stop living in denial. Take a hard and rigorously honest look at your life. Stop making excuses – if my life had been different, if I were in different circumstances, if, if, if. And stop comparing yourself to other Christians, so that you come out looking good. Well at least I’m doing better than so and so. Jesus is the standard! Compare yourself to him.

Be honest with yourself and before God. God already knows the truth about you, it’s just a matter if you have the courage to know and acknowledge the truth about yourself.

• Where are you holding out on God?
• Where are you are not fully committed to God?

The second thing you should do is make some hard choices. Where you are compromising, choose to yield to God. Where you are holding out, submit.

1)       Choose to love God fully in every are of your life

2)       Choose to make God’s kingdom first

3)       Choose to give up everything for the kingdom

4)       Choose to deny yourself and take up your cross

And make whatever sacrifices you need to make to keep to this: friends, the approval of others, your privacy by confessing and being accountable to others; access to what leads you to sin. Even though its hard, do what it takes.

Jesus made this point in Matthew 18:8-9 -

“And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.”

Complete yieldedness to God has to be at the core of our Christian lives.

We will still fail. But with this in place we won’t excuse it or tolerate it. We will immediately deal with it.

And with this in place in your life, and in our congregation as a whole, we will be in a place to experience the spiritual renewal that God wants for us.

William Higgins

Dealing with Wrongdoing in Relationships Among God’s People

Today we are looking at a very familiar text – Leviticus 19. This is where the commandment, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” comes from, which Jesus names as the second greatest commandment of all.

But how many of you know that the context of the giving of this commandment is – dealing with wrongdoing in relationships among God’s people? This is our title and focus for today.

Here is the text:

“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of them. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:17-18 (NRSV modified)

Alright, we begin with . . .

Two initial considerations

. . . that will help us to make sense out of these verses.

1. This is talking about relationships among the people of God. There are actually several different terms used in these verses to talk about relationships, but all of them speak to fellow members of the covenant community.

The word “neighbor” used in the love command of v. 18, based on how it is used in the Old Testament, clearly means ‘fellow Israelite.’ [Leviticus 19:34, which repeats the love command, reinforces this point. It calls for love for “aliens” or “strangers” - those who immigrate and become to some degree a part of Israel. This wouldn’t need to clarified, if “neighbor” already covered everyone.]

So, we are dealing with relationships among God’s people.

2. Vs. 17 and 18 parallel each other (Jacob Milgrom). I share this because the two verses help fill out each other’s meaning; they give context to each other. There are three part to both verses, which speak to three themes:

	v. 17	v. 18
What you shouldn’t do	You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin	You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people
What you should do	you shall reprove your neighbor	but you shall love your neighbor as yourself
Why?	lest you incur sin because of them	I am the Lord

This will help us, as we now see what these verses teach us about what to do -

When you are wronged by a neighbor . . .

1. We learn what you shouldn’t do. V. 17 – You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin.” You can see the parallel and the expansion in v. 18, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your.”

The idea is that when you have hatred in your heart (v. 17)

• You have wrong inner attitudes towards the person; you “bear a grudge” – (v. 18). And also,
• It leads you to take wrong actions towards the person; you “take vengeance;” you do them wrong in return (v. 18).

We shouldn’t harbor hatred or grudges in our heart that lead us to wrong actions on our part.

2. We learn what you should do. V. 17 – “you shall reprove your neighbor.” The word reprove is similar to rebuke, admonish, censure, or correct. It means to point out a wrong, specifically here, a wrong done to you. The idea is that you do this, so that the wrong can be righted. Instead of trying to get them back, you go to them to work things out.

The parallel here is really important. V. 18 says, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” So, to reprove your neighbor (v. 17) is to love your neighbor as yourself (v. 18).

Let me say it this way. In context this is what neighbor love means. When wronged:

• Don’t hate them or wrong them in return
• Rather point out the wrong in order to work through it. Come to them with the issue so that things can be made right.

This is what it means to love your neighbor, when they have wronged you.

Now the way these verses are put together makes it clear that the call to reprove, is a call to love. So obviously this is not about venting anger, telling someone off, or saying mean things. It is about loving your neighbor as you love yourself. You are to act for their good, just like you act for your own good. This is what the phrase – “love your neighbor as you love yourself” means. And so it is to be an act of love, done in a loving way.

3. We learn why you should reprove/love instead of hate/take revenge. V. 17 says, “lest you incur sin because of them.” This most likely means, if you harbor hatred it will lead you to act in hatred toward the person; that is to harm them. This is not loving your neighbor. So in this way it leads you to sin.

V. 18 says, “I am the Lord.” This means, because God said so. And God is always right. And we should do what is right and not sin.

So this is the basic teaching. Now lets ask a practical question . . .

How wrong does the wrong have to be before we act to reprove?

Well, we are always going to do things that annoy each other. This even happens among happily married couples. How much more among us!

And there will always be people with different personality types, who most likely aren’t ever gonna be best friends. And this is OK. We are called to love one another, not all be “best friends forever.”

And we will always have misunderstandings or even disagreements and we can work on these.

But these don’t mean that you need to automatically move into “reproving mode.” What I am saying is there is an element of bearing with each other, and overlooking minor things in any community’s relationships.

• As Colossians 3:12-13 says, – “Put on . . . compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another . . .”
• As Proverbs 19:11 says, – “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is one’s glory to overlook an offense.” Some offenses can be overlooked.

But, how do you know when you should speak to the person? Well, if what was done is causing: resentment, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit, abiding anger, wrong words (like gossip or slander) or wrong actions on your part; in the language of our text – hatred in your heart, a grudge, or actions of vengeance – then you must act! Deal with the issue. Seek to work through it.

Now let me acknowledge that . . .

It can be hard to do deal with such issues in our relationships with each other

As Americans we just as soon break off the relationship, than to honestly deal with things. We are uncomfortable with this kind of stuff.

And as church people we think that we have failed if there is conflict, because we are supposed to be witnesses for love and peace to the world.

So we become conflict avoiders; we push everything under the rug. I mean some churches have so much stuff under the rug that when you walk around your head hurts from scraping the ceiling!

What we need to understand is that we are true witnesses when we work through issues in love, rather than just getting mad or walking away. The world already knows how to do this. When we have problems and pretend like we don’t – we just come off as hypocrites.

We will be true witnesses when they see us love each other enough to work through things in a loving way. This kind of deep love is new and different. This is our witness.

So no matter how hard it is, God calls us to have real relationships with each other. And this means dealing with problems that arise in love.

Let me just say that this is what God does with us. It’s because he loves us that he reproves us:

• Hebrews 12:5-6 (quoting Proverbs 3:11-12) says, Don’t “be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves . . .”
• In Revelation 3:19 Jesus said, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline . . .”

In the same way, if we love the person, we will deal with the issue.

Alright, we could also talk about receiving reproof, forgiveness and reconciliation – but we will stop here for today.

I hope you hear me this morning:

• Let us not be a congregation where resentments build up, where relationships remain strained, where our love for one another is shallow, weak or cold.
• Let us deal with our issues that arise – and is this way love each other as we love our own selves; and in this way live in peace with one another.

William Higgins

God Is Doing Something New! And you can be a part of it

We’re looking at the gospel, that God is doing something new in the world. And how God invites each of us to be a part of it. And the first way to do this is to . . .

1. Believe

Now, it’s obvious enough that something is wrong with the world. We see it every day, evil, injustice, suffering and death. And we don’t just see it, we experience it ourselves. Its in the news headlines all the time: wars, murders, theft, hunger and oppression. Human suffering is all around us.

But Jesus came with good news. God has begun to act through him to make all things new! He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand . . . ” – Mark 1:15. Jesus is saying, its begun; and its begun with my coming.

And God confirmed that he was right:

• God worked through Jesus’ ministry in amazing ways to manifest the kingdom, through healings, the casting out of demons and transformed lives.
• And God raised Jesus up from an unjust death and made him Lord of all things.

God’s kingdom has begun with Jesus – his ministry and especially with his resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection heralds the decisive inbreaking of God’s new creation; of resurrection life.

In Jesus, God has begun to do away with the old – the evil and the suffering of our world, including death, and God has begun to bring in the new – life, joy and peace. And Jesus calls us to “. . . believe the good news” – Mark 1:15.

To be a part of this new thing that God is doing, this new creation, choose to believe that God is making all things new through Jesus.

2. Turn

We not only experience evil in our lives, we also practice evil. We are by nature self-centered. And because of this we often harm others, we practice injustice, we are cruel to others. If we wonder why the world is like it is, we only need to look at ourselves. We are the problem.

So Jesus came to teach us a new way of living.

• He lived a life of love for God, doing what God wanted not what he wanted. He was “God centered” in his attitudes and actions.
• And he lived a life of humble service to others, sacrificially loving everyone, including his enemies who killed him. He was “other oriented” in his attitudes and actions.

And Jesus not only modeled this for us, he calls us to turn from our ways, to learn his new way. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” -Matthew 4:17.  He calls for a change of mind and heart that leads to a change in our attitudes and actions.

To be a part of God’s new creation, turn from your old life and follow the new way of Jesus.

3. Receive

God hates injustice and evil more than anyone; all the pain and suffering that it causes. That’s why God has decreed that the penalty for wrongdoing is death.

But the depth of God’s love for us is beyond understanding. And so as God looks at us, under his judgment, he has taken pity on us. God doesn’t want us to die.

So God sent Jesus to set us free from his own decree of death by dying in our place. Because of this, we are given another chance! Now we can be made new ourselves.

• We are made new by receiving the forgiveness for our sins. All the old is wiped away. This allows us to begin a new relationship with God and to have a new start on life.
• We are also made new by receiving the Spirit of God. The Spirit gives us a new heart and a new power to walk just like Jesus walked. We don’t have to live like we used to. We have new life.

Jesus calls us to receive these gifts of new life when he says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Matthew 7:7

To be a part of God’s new creation, receive God’s gifts of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.

4. Belong

Jesus didn’t just come to make individuals new. Jesus came to gather a new nation; a movement made up of people from all tribes and nations and languages – all made new through him. This community is different from all the nations of the earth because it is under his lordship.

And Jesus called his people to bring others in so they can belong as well. He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus wants everyone to be a part; to be baptized and to learn his ways.

This community is Jesus’ family. We become brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Like any family should, it will strengthen and encourage you as you follow Jesus in your new life.

To be a part of God’s new creation, belong to God’s new community.

5. Wait

That’s because God’s new creation will only be complete when Jesus returns on the final day.

• Then evil, suffering and death will be destroyed forever.
• Then there will be resurrection to eternal life, joy and peace.

Now, no one knows when this will happen. And God’s mercy is such that he delays, waiting for more to receive. And so we need to wait until God is finished. As Jesus said, “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” – Mark 13:13.

As we wait we must continue to be faithful to:

• Believe – for our faith will be tested.
• Turn – from our failures and walk again in the way of Jesus.
• Receive – forgiveness for our sins and the strengthening, renewing presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
• Belong – to be a part and to be strengthened and to strengthen others in the community of Jesus.

If we do this, the Lord Jesus will gladly welcome us into God’s new creation, on that final day.

To be a part of God’s new creation, faithfully wait for Jesus to return.

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This is the gospel, the good news of Jesus. I trust that wherever you are at – whether you need to believe, turn, receive, belong or continue faithfully waiting – that you will receive the word this morning by acting on it and moving forward.

William Higgins