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Scrapping Dross: God’s Method for Growth

Gallery September 13, 1998 David

Scrapping Dross: God’s Method for Growth
Septermber 13, 1998	Sermon by DRW	Passage John 6.16-21

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,

17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.

18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.

19 When they had rowed three or three and a half miles,* they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.

* Greek rowed twenty-five or thirty stadia (about 5 or 6 kilometers)

20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

The oriental silversmiths working in the marketplaces do something very lucrative for them and insightful for us. They take coins that Western tourists give them and then melt them down. Then they form them into little silver trinkets, small jewelry and the like. Then they sell them back to the tourists who had given them the money in the first place. You see, very lucrative.

It is done in a primitive way. Normally, there is a small furnace that has a pot set over it containing molten silver. They drop the coins into this and melt it away. Every now and then the silversmith goes back to the pot, looks into it, scrapes a little of the dross off that had risen to the top. He then goes back to work selling and buying things. After a short time if he looks in and finds the silver is ready, he will begin his work of forming the silver in trinkets.

The interesting thing is that he continually looks into the pot even though he knows there will be dross on top. If we were to ask him why, his answer would go something like this:

“I look into the silver until I find that the dross is all gone and the silver purified; I know when the dross is gone, because I can see myself reflected in the silver as in a fine mirror.”

This might help explain Malachi and other Old and New Testament writers.

PRO 25:4 Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes a vessel for the silversmith;

ISA 1:22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. ISA 1:25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities.

EZE 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver.

MAL 3:3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,

This may explain why we go through some much testing, as if by fire. God desires to remove the dross from our life until His image is reflected in us for the world to see.

HEB 12:6 “the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

The principle of refining and purifying for His image to be found in us is seen in John 6.16-21. If you are taking notes, here is the outline

I. Jesus Saw Them in Their Need (Mk 6.48)

II. Jesus Was There in Their Need (Mk 6.48)

III. Jesus Saw Them Through Their Need (Jn 6.21)

Let’s recall the setting:

Jesus had just heard the news that John the Baptist had died, the disciples had come telling stories of their victories over Satan, the multitudes were following after them, He fed the 15,000, twelve baskets of food were left over and He sent the disciples away so He could pray. Now, the odds are that they had taken the twelve baskets on that boat. He dismissed the crowds and went to the mountain overlooking the Sea of Galilee and prayed.

I. Jesus Saw Them in Their Need (Mk 6.48)

Mark 6:44-48 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,

A. Jesus knew what they were getting into

We need to see something about this storm. It wasn’t caused by great black clouds like we feared yesterday at the park, those clouds that sent us running to our cars. I don’t think the disciples would have went if they saw dark and black clouds. This was a storm caused by winds, these were very common on the Sea of Galilee.

The disciples did not see what was on the horizon which made the time through the storm more harsh. The point is that Jesus knew what He was sending them into.

He knew that a gale would come up against them and would drive against them and would overtake them. He knew that after nine hours of striving they would need salvation to come to them or else they would die in a boating accident.

B. Jesus knows what His brothers and sisters are getting into

He knew what Noah was about to get into, Abraham, Job, Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, Wyclif, Zwingli, Luther, Spurgeon, you and me. He knows. He sees what happens to us. He sees how the silver is refined. He keeps looking to see if His image is being reflected.

Have you ever thought that He didn’t see or that He wasn’t there when you went through that harsh time, that time of growth? He was there, looking in to see how you are being refined. How sanctification is coming along, how you are growing.

Have you ever sat down and wondered about 1 Corinthians 10.13? I have. What does Paul mean when he says that God has given us a way out, that we may be able to escape? I believe that question is answered in this text: Jesus sees us in our need, sometimes He sends us there for growth. He knows there will be a point that we need to turn to Him to deliver us from the temptation. We will find that we need to call upon the Lord, as Peter did, and His arm will reach out to us to save us. He will allow us to struggle at times, prayer may seem dry, Bible study boring, our faith dry. He may call us to days of dryness for us to struggle through to work our muscles of faith. He allowed the disciples to row hard for nine hours before He came to them. Jesus told them to go the other side and that He would meet them there. They knew that if they stayed true to His words that they need not fear death nor futility although every circumstance pointed out it was a failure. The believed, but the winds kept blowing and the waves grew higher. They believed but the water kept coming on board faster than they could throw it back. An interesting thing is they didn’t fear the waters but they were afraid because they saw what they thought was a ghost coming to them.

John 6.16-20 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

C. Jesus removes the dross to help purify us

If you remember earlier in Jesus ministry He was really tired and decided to go across this sea and went to sleep in the bottom of the boat. The storms came and Jesus remained asleep. His disciples became very fearful and woke Him up. He told them they had a small faith and then calmed the sea and went back to bed (Mk 4.35-41).

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

They weren’t fearful because of the wind and the waves. They were struggling through to get to the other side. Jesus had already removed that dross and His image became a little clearer in them. I imagine they had a feeling that God would come and rescue them but they were looking for something great and marvelous. When Jesus came to them then they became fearful because they didn’t know who He was. I really don’t think that I would expect God to come to me that way either. I can almost hear their prayers for deliverance: Part the waters oh Lord. Calm the Sea Father. Bring us to shore quickly and safely through Your mighty hand.

God answers their prayers by walking past them on the water. Since He didn’t come the way they expected Him to come, they almost missed Him.

I guess the point of this section is that Jesus sees our needs, knows what struggles we go through and is waiting to come and help us in our need but not always the way we expect Him too.

II. Jesus Was There in Their Need (Mk 6.48)

God is always with us. Never is He away. We are going to see something fascinating here. Something that you may have never seen before concerning this miracle of Jesus. Let me give you a preview by saying: the disciples didn’t realize the power of Jesus until it happened to them.

MAT 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

MAT 10:30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

MAT 10:31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

MAT 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

A. Jesus came but they didn’t recognize Him

1. They thought He was a ghost. The answers to their prayers almost passed them by because they were seeking something great and tumultuous to happen when God had other plans. Jesus was going to walk quietly by and let them call upon Him.

Sometimes God comes to us in quiet unassuming way. Remember He showed Elijah that He comes sometimes in balls of fire, sometimes in great whirlwinds, but most of the time in a still small voice. Allow me to illustrate. A man who works in a lumber mill had lost his watch in all the tailings and saw dust. It was a very valuable and personal watch. He placed a reward for it and dozens of men came to sift through that rubble. After three hours no one had found it. They had used rakes, they had used every machine available to them but to no avail. They left for dinner and a boy came in. Within 10 minutes he came outside with the watch. The other workers asked him how he did it: “I laid down in the sawdust and listened. After a while I heard the ticking and found the watch.”

The disciples had not yet learned to lie down and listen for His voice, His quiet work.

2. We think He is a ghost too. We look for answers to bring us through the storms of life. We too expect God to come in a mighty fashion and deliver us. Most likely He won’t. Allow me to illustrate how God has worked in the past, quietly and if I wasn’t watching I would have missed Him as He walked by.

I have a friend named Kim who has had a bad back for her entire life. She has had a rod in her back for the most part of her life. I have mentioned her before. She was being taken care of by a physician who was in it for the money. He really didn’t care too much for her, except for what the insurance premiums would pay. One day her insurance decided not to pay, so he quit her. Another doctor had heard this and came to her and told her that he was willing to help her out. Her only cost would be hospital time. He told her that he would be willing to pick-up the bill for everything else. When she entered the hospital things started to happen. She was there for some time. The amount of money was mounting and she couldn’t pay it. Something wacky happened with her nurse who came in and told her that if she were truly a Christian God would heal her, so Kim probably wasn’t a Christian. The administration of the hospital learned about this. The next thing Kim knows her hospital bill disappeared.

Did you see Jesus quietly passing by in that situation? I was exasperated with people. I thought that people were all going rotten. Then Jesus shone a little light on the subject and whispered to me, look at the doctor and the hospital. They care for Kim even though she cannot pay. Did you see Jesus walking by, I did.

Allow me another illustration of Jesus passing by. Larry Brown coaches/coached the San Antonio Spurs. One afternoon he spent an afternoon at a clothing store for men in San Antonio. He was scheduled to appear for two hours, but he stayed three, signing autographs, talking, and taking pictures.

He was able to leave the store. As he was getting into his car he saw a boy who was late getting there. He jumped off his bike and pressed his nose against the window to see if Coach Brown was there. He saw that the coach had gone and turned in disappointment. Coach Brown saw this. Turned his car off and walked to the boy. Sign and autograph, bought him a soda, spent lunch with him, and encouraged him. Only one other person had seen this. He showed the boy and the observer that he had the heart of a coach. It wasn’t money and games that day, it was a child and round ball.

Did you see Jesus walking by? That observer did and his day was enriched.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking by in the middle of their storm, they called Him a ghost. A phantom. An hallucination. To them the gentle light was anything but God.

When we see these little lights shining, we often have the same reaction. We dismiss these occasional kindnesses as apparitions, accidents, anomalies, not religious. Anything but God.

When Jesus comes the disciples and we think, He will split open the skies step out and our storm will be over. When Jesus comes all pain will be gone. Life will be easy and all doubt removed.

Because we look for God in the great bonfire, we miss His gentle lights. Because we listen for the shout, we miss His whisper. Someday He will come in great glory and with the shouts of heaven, but today He speaks in a small voice, gently. “When you doubt, look around; I am closer than you think.”

B. When they did recognize Him they worship Him

Jesus came in an unexpected way. He came quietly and was intent upon passing them by unless they recognized Him.

Matthew 14.33, a parallel account of John 6.16-21 gives us some insight into what was going on in the disciples mind. Jesus had just calmed the sea and stepped into the boat. The disciples then did something they had never done before. They never did something as a group. This time they did. A first for the disciples. They all shouted, Truly, You are the Son of God. The worshiped Him. Corporate worship. They all bowed and exalted the name of Jesus.

They didn’t worship Him when He healed the leper. Not even when He forgives the adulterer. Those sermons never led them to corporately worship Him. They were willing to follow, to leave their families, to cast out demons, to be His army as we shall see next week, but they never corporately worshiped Him.

Why?

Simple.

Before the leper was healed, not them; the adulterer was forgiven, not them. But here they were the ones who were saved. This time they were the ones whom God reached out and touched. They plucked them from certain doom. They worshiped as only those who have been given a pardon, a reprieve from the Great God of Heaven could.

We say all too often, and it is true, that God is the Creator of the Heavens and the earth. And we stand back and admire His work. We see His wisdom and learn from Him. We understand His strength and we rely on it. But only until He saves you will you worship Him.

I have gone through some storms of my life in which I almost missed God quietly coming to me; but I did see Him. He came in and at that moment, He was no longer a deity to be admired, no longer a teacher to listen and observe, no longer a master to obey. He became a Saviour to be worshiped.

Allow me to illustrate this. Remember the scenario: The disciples were rowing hard against the wind for about nine hours and their boat was about to go down. Jesus came and saved them and they worshiped Him. About 1900 years later a similar incident occurred. John was his name. His father had trained him to be a sailor for her majesty’s royal fleet. He was a great sailor but lacked discipline and moral integrity. Instead of promotions he was flogged and discharged. He became a sailor on a slave ship. One day on a journey from Africa to the America’s a storm hit that ship. For nine hours the shipped was tossed. The hull gave way. The ship would normally have sunk but because of the buoyant cargo it didn’t. John climbed from the belly of the ship to the deck and cried out to God to save him. God did. The entire crew was safe in harbor in a moment of time. No one else from that ship saw God’s hand in their deliverance, but John did.

He was so profoundly effected by that nine hours in the storm that he gave himself over to God and His work on earth. He became a preacher and wrote a few songs. You may recognize one of them: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. Through many dangers toils and snares, I have already come. Twas grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home. When we’ve been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun, we’ll no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.

He experienced God’s salvation personally and had to worship.

Have you been driven to worship God in your life because of what He has done? Before we continue let’s take time now to praise God in prayer and worship Him there.

III. Jesus Saw Them Through Their Need (Jn 6.21)

There is one more point I’d like to show. Jesus not only saw their storm, not only came to their storm, He saw them through their storm.

A. He saw Peter through his ordeal.

1. Peter stepped out in faith and failed, but he stepped out in faith and until this time he was an ordinary man.

a. God was cleaning the dross from the life of Peter. Peter had said many great things and many stupid things to this point in his life. This was no exception. It was a great statement of faith and of fear. He was in a boat about to go down. He saw Jesus walking safely on the water. He chose to be with the one who seemed safe despite how it looked. Up to this point in Peter’s life, he was mostly talk; here is where he finally puts some of that talk to action. The image of Christ in him became a little clearer.

b. Peter walked on the water to Jesus. He cried out to come from desperation, he came in faith to his Saviour. He realized the rowing wasn’t working. He knew Jesus was powerful, he went. He was surprised, he actually walked on the water. Death is disarmed. I can come to Jesus and not worry about this storm. He could see God. No more worry or frets. He walked wobbly and slowly. Then he saw the storm out of the corner of his eye. He turned away from the Saviour to see the big bad waves consuming him and his faith failed. He was worse now than before. Before he had a boat and friends, now he has nothing. Nothing except a faith in a God who he can see. Peter finds something great about God right here. Not only is God within sight but within reach. The story shows us that Peter was a great distance from Jesus. But when Peter called to Jesus to save him He was there instantaneously.

After this Peter wasn’t a normal person, he was a man who personally knew the salvation of God from a great storm in life. He was a man who had faith, failed and was restored to new life. Later in this chapter he cries out that he would follow Jesus only because Jesus was life to him.

Jesus looked into the pot and scraped off some more dross, His image in Peter was getting clearer.

2. Noah, Abraham, Job, etc and before they did they were ordinary men.

Allow me to illustrate this through some ordinary men in history who were not ordinary after they took what they believed about God and acted upon it, that is after they lived by faith.

Noah was told by his God to build a boat. Imagine the ridicule, the storm that he went through as he built a boat in a landlocked area that had never known rain. I imagine he felt the pain and testing, he felt the dross being taken away, the refiners fire purifying him through these 120 years of building and stocking that ark. Yet he did what God had told him because he had heard the small voice and he reacted in faith. He was not ordinary after this.

Abraham was told to leave his home and go far away to a land he had never heard of before. Imagine the ridicule, the storm that he went through as he packed his family up and left Ur to go to who knows where. I imagine he felt the pain and testing, he felt the dross being taken away, the refiners fire purifying him until God’s image was seen in him as he walked aimlessly for 40 years and never actually lived in this new country. He failed but still reacted in faith to that small voice that told him to go. He was not ordinary after this.

Moses was told to go back to a land that was to execute him and take 3 million people who didn’t want to leave that land to a land they had never seen nor known. Imagine the ridicule, the storm that he went through as he told Pharaoh the Israelites were leaving and the Israelites were saying no way Moses. I imagine he felt the pain and testing, he felt the dross being taken away, the refiner’s fire purifying him through those years of deliverance, walking, and frustration and never being able to live in that land he was taking these people to. He failed but his faith grew because of it and he continually listened to that voice of God. He was not ordinary after this.

Luther was told to go against the establishment by telling them they were wrong. Each person before him who had done this was sent to death as a heretic. He had grown up and lived and breathed Catholicism. Imagine the ridicule, the storm that he went through as he told the church they were wrong about who God was and that grace was God’s method of salvation not works. I imagine he felt the pain and testing, he felt the dross being taken away, the refiner’s fire purifying him through those years of turmoil we know as the Great Reformation. Yet he continually listen to the voice of God. He was not ordinary after this.

3. Until we do we will be ordinary Christians.

You may not be a Noah, an Abraham, a Moses, a Peter, a Luther but neither were they until they listened to God and did His will. Until they allowed Him to work within them removing the dross and allowing His image to be seen through them.

They followed the will of God for their lives. God had a personal plan for each of them and He has one for each one of us. Many people ask what that will of God for their life is. I respond to them, He will let you know. Until that time take a step out in faith and do what He has shown you to be His will so far:

ROM 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

EPH 6:6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

1TH 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;

1TH 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

HEB 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

1PE 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

1PE 4:2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

1PE 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

1JO 2:17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Jesus will see you through when He calls you to do the task. After that, after you have allowed Him to come and scrape the dross you will not be the ordinary you will be the supernatural for God will be at work within you to do His perfect will.

B. He saw the rest of the disciples through their storm.

C. He will see you through your storms.

PSA 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.

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Matthew, New Testament, Sermons

What Happens When Christians Pray?

Gallery June 28, 1998 David

What Happens When Christians Pray?
June 28, 1998	Sermon by DRW	Passage Matthew 6.9-13

I am pleased to see that this is a church that prays. We prayed before the service, we have prayed in the service, and there are prayer meetings during the week. It is pleasing because prayer is essential to our worship of and fellowship with God.

Today, my desire is for you to realize the importance and power of prayer in our daily lives. It is my desire for each one of us to understand five concepts of powerful, effective prayers. We need to realize that great things happen when Christians decide to pray. All that God does in this world is through the prayers of His children. People like us praying brings change into this world. Before we begin, let us pray: He is sovereign, He is in control of the meeting, He can fill our needs today, He can cleanse our sins, He is able to change us.

1. Prayer is Talking with God (Matthew 6.9)

∙ Prayer is not a natural activity.

1. It shows us we are not in control but God is.

2. It shows us we are not as independent as we would like to be.

2. Concepts of Prayer (Matthew 6.9-13)

a. Prayer includes worship (9)

1. It is telling God we recognize Him as holy, pure, and sovereign.

2. It is telling God we are thankful and grateful to Him for who He is and for what He has done.

3. It is telling God we appreciate the fact that we are His children.

a. Adoption

b. Chosen by Him to be loved by Him

4. We are asking our Father

b. It is a picture of a child seeking from the Father the good and best for self and others that the Father has for the life and mission in this world. Jesus shows us that a father would not give snakes to his child when he asks for food. We need to pray to our Heavenly Father and not be satisfied with the prayer until it has been answered. The answers of our Father are: Yes, No, Not now, you are not ready yet.

c. It is a picture of asking the Father based on relationship not some other basis.

1. It is not on the basis of a faith principle.

2. It is not on the basis of our taking authority.

3. It is not on the basis of our speaking to the spirit world.

4. It is our trusting and resting on God the Father and our relationship with Him as His children. It is resting in the knowledge that He will keep His promises.

b. Prayer includes submission (10)

1. It is telling God we acquiesce our will for His.

a. We are living in relationship with God (1 John 5.14)

b. We are living in a commitment to obedience (1 John 3.22)

c. We are living to please Him (1 John 3.22)

d. We are living to know Jesus and make Him known (1 John 3.23)

e. We are living in love with fellow believers (1 John 3.23)

2. It is telling God we want His kingdom established in our lives.

3. It is like when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and proclaimed, “Not My will, but Yours be done.”

4. Or, like John the Baptist who said he was unworthy to untie the sandal of Jesus.

c. Prayer includes requests (11)

1. Prayer is our Life (Philippians 4.6-7)

a) Prayer transcends our self (6)

i. Prayer takes our focus off ourselves and places it upon God.

ii. Peter as he was walking on the water.

b) Bringing God into our situations (7)

i. Prayer asks God into every situation in our lives.

ii. Prayer is trusting God to do what God said He already would do.

∙ Prayer is made in the knowledge of the will of God (as revealed in Scripture), or in the seeking of that will.

i) our daily needs

ii) the enjoyment of our work

iii) Jesus is our Saviour

iv) our purity

v) our ability to give sacrificially to His service

2. This doesn’t mean we merely have a shopping list.

3. It implies we come to Him on the basis of our fellowship with Him as His children, with requests.

a) With open hands

b) With honesty

c) Telling our Father to help us with the pains of life (“Father, I need You . . . “)

d) It is going back to points 1 and 2.

d. Prayer includes confession (12)

1. We can never come to God without first confessing to Him that He is holy, that He is sovereign, that He alone can meet my daily needs, and, when we sin, that He is right and we were wrong. This is confession of sin.

2. We need to learn to say to God and others, “I was wrong, I am sorry, please forgive me.”

e. Prayer includes humility (13)

1. We need to learn that we cannot live this Christian life on our own. We need God’s help in every corner of our life.

2. We need to acknowledge this to Him and before others.

3. Prayer is placing our confidence in God and nothing else.

∙ Pray as if you need God always for everything.

∙ Go from prayer as if you have God already for everything.

Conclusion: Pray this week not just for food or in front of people, but pray this week, privately and with intensity. Things happen when Christians truly pray. So, please pray. There is much that can happen when we do.

Luke, New Testament, Sermons

What Stands in Your Way?

Gallery August 10, 1997 David

What Stands in Your Way?
August 10, 1997	Sermon by DRW	Passage Luke 14.25-35

Luke 14.25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

Luke 14.26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14.27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14.28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

Luke 14.29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

Luke 14.30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

Luke 14.31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

Luke 14.32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

Luke 14.33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14.34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

Luke 14.35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Introduction

While the Lord Jesus was on this earth, many people desired to be identified with Him. In fact, in the height of His popularity, it was difficult for Him to travel without great crowds following Him.

People came from everywhere to see Him perform the miracles that He did, such as heal the sick, cast out demons, multiply food, and so forth. They marveled at His stand against the established religion of the day; they were attracted to Him by His love; and some followed just to be part of the crowd. And Jesus knew that many of these people, if not most, were hoping that He could do what others had failed to do: liberate them from their oppressors, and establish a new kingdom, here and now, of which they could be part.

Many people follow Jesus today for the same reasons that people 2000 years ago followed Him. They want to see the miracles; they want to rule in a kingdom; they want to get what they can from Christianity.

Our churches are full of those who were eager to make professions of faith. They are full of those who desire to get something from the church because they are members of it. And it is sad that some people join the church for social reasons or loneliness.

What I want to ask you this morning is the same thing that Jesus asked a crowd 2000 years ago: Have you counted the cost of discipleship, of following Him?

In verses 28-30 Jesus uses the story of building a tower to illustrate the need to carefully analyze all that is involved in being a disciple of Christ. When a person goes about the task of building a structure, he first needs a plan. He then analyzes his plan, and divides up the different tasks that must be performed in order to complete the building. Next, a list is made up of all the materials that will be required to build the structure, and then this list is priced. The decision is then made whether to go ahead and attempt to build the structure or not. [House on Calle Mayor]

We have His plan-the Bible. We must analyze the plan by reading all of the different things that are required of us by the Lord in order to be His disciples. Here Jesus is telling us to count the cost. The Lord Jesus has given us a list of materials, and we must determine if we are willing to pay the price. We must determine whether it is worth it or not to follow Him.

We must consider, what stands in our way of being His disciples?

Pastor Hui has told me that your church has been going through the concept of discipleship this year. It is to be commended. I will not bore you with the details of a definition of being a disciple, except to give you my definition:

Someone who follows the teachings of another through adhering to the teaching and imitating the teacher. For us the Teacher is Jesus and the teaching is the Bible.

Today I will take you through Luke 14.25-35 to show you what is demanded of each one of us in becoming a disciple and then I want you to leave here answering the question: What Stands in the Way of my becoming a Disciple?

Let us pray:

“Father, teach us through Your Word today what You would have us know about being Your disciple. Speak to us today. In Jesus name, amen.”

I. Total Commitment (26)

Our text reads: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple.

Jesus stood before a rather large crowd and didn’t ask them to come and follow. He asked them to count the cost of following so they may be sure later when times get tough that they made the right decision. He wanted total commitment from them. Jesus wasn’t asking for a promise of following or believing what He said. It isn’t enough just to give our word in order to become totally committed to Him. What He is telling us is that we must LOVE Him more than anything else in our lives. If we do this, total commitment will naturally follow.

Each person here today needs to ask him or herself this question: Is there anything in this world that I love more than the Lord Jesus? You see, Jesus cannot be our Master if there is another to whom we have a stronger allegiance.

Our love towards Him must be stronger than the love for our mothers, or our fathers, or our sisters and brothers. It must be stronger than our love for our husband or wife. It must be stronger than our love for our children. Finally, it must be stronger than our love for our own lives.

You cannot follow Christ without learning to despise your old ambitions. Jesus wants you to learn to love every member of your family. But He’s realistic. Family members have ambitions for your life, what it should look like, what you should bring them. Hate those competing desires. Give up expecting the approval of family members for your decision to follow Jesus.

You also have competing desires. Jesus says, “Hate … even your own life.” When your soul’s deepest longings — who you want to be, how you want others to see you, what you want to do with your life — conflict with Christ’s, you must hate them.

Every self-centered agenda and every ambition that competes with God’s ambition for your life must be challenged.

We must put Jesus above everything else that we love in life. It is that position Christ desires to occupy in our lives.

That’s asking a lot, isn’t it? How much do you love your mother? You must love Him more! How must do you love your husband? You must love Him more! How much do you love your children? You MUST love Him even more! How much do you love yourself? You MUST love Him more!!!

Jesus demands total commitment to Him know or when the times get tough, we will want out. This is the truth of

Revelation 2.4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.

They didn’t count the cost of total commitment. [swimming pool story???] And when difficult times came, they walked.

II. Taking your Cross (27)

Our text reads: And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Have you ever thought what it means to bear your own cross? Some think it means putting up with all the aches and pains of living: getting old, getting sick, turning gray, working for a living.

But I think the meaning becomes very clear when we stop and realize that the cross is an instrument of death. It is designed to kill. It is designed to put an end to your character before Christ. It is meant to put aside the lust of the flesh and produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5).

And Jesus says if we don’t carry our own cross, like He did, then we can’t be His disciples. Our Lord carried His cross to His death, and then was crucified on it. In the same way, we are expected to put ourselves upon our cross, and allow ourselves to be crucified and with the Apostle Paul say: “I die daily.” But Jesus also needed help carrying His cross. We will need the fellowship of other believers to help us as well.

What about you? What have you crucified on your cross lately? Maybe your ego? Maybe your dignity? Maybe a habit, a sin or your reputation?

When we crucify ourselves, we allow the Lord to live through us and to use us. We become the instruments that glorify Him!

Let your light so shine before men that they glorify your Father in Heaven.

Is that what you want? Then you must take up your cross daily and die to self!

To some, bearing the cross means their very life. In some countries, it is death to be known as a Christian.

2 Timothy 3.12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

How fortunate we are that we have it so easy in this country to be a Christian as compared to some. Our cross must seem very light to one who has lost his home, family, and is fleeing for his life because of his love for Christ.

You cannot follow Christ without expecting to experience alienation and rejection from others. Are you willing?

Serious rebellion against the Roman state was punished on the cross. It was very public, very humiliating — the whole focus was to deter others from treason. This is why it is so important to understand was is means to become a Christian, a disciple demanded all of the person. It was a high cost to count-it could mean your very life. The decision to follow Christ, to devote yourself to His purpose, will be viewed by the rest of the world as treason against their standards and lifestyle. Expect a very public humiliation and rejection. Take up a life that is unacceptable and expect to pay a price.

Therefore, count the cost.

The two illustrations that follow ask, “Do I have what it takes to see this through to the end?”

III. Take Into Account the Cost (33)

Our Text Reads In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

How attached are you to your home? Your car? You toys? How about your job or career? What about your dreams for your future? Or, your money?

If the Lord said to you, “Follow me, but take nothing with you except the clothes on your back,” could you do it?

If the Lord said to you, “Give all that you have to the poor,” could you do it?

If the Lord said to you, “Give your children to My service,” could you do it?

The apostle Paul had a godly perspective concerning worldly possessions: we can read about it in Phil.3:7-8.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

Paul’s chief object in life was to possess the Lord Jesus. His relationship with Christ was the most prized treasure that he could possibly have. He was willing to give up a place to call home in order to have that relationship. He was willing to give up all material possessions, his freedom, and his very life rather than lose his treasure.

Paul estimated the cost of being a disciple of Christ. And he calculated that it wouldn’t cost him 20 per cent of what he owned, not 50 per cent, but 100 per cent. You cannot follow Christ without losing control over your finances. Following Christ will cost your material possessions — i.e., your money, your means of getting it — your stuff! The disciple has a new life orientation and for him it doesn’t matter. Things in this world are resources to be used up in order to draw people into Christ’s kingdom.
The word “give up” does not mean “get rid of” — that’s easy. The word means “arrange or set aside, make ready for use.” That is harder. It implies marking something — making it available for use as the need arises. The disciple creates an inventory of money, things, and the means of getting them — each with a tag that reads “AVAILABLE FOR HIS USE.”

My question to you this morning is this: Do you consider your relationship with Jesus to be worth giving up everything that you have? Does He mean that much to you?

The cost may seem high, but the rewards are eternal!

IV. The Gain (34-35)

Our Text Reads “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus does promise us a worthwhile life if we become His disciples.

If you follow Jesus Christ…

1. He will change your understanding of God. He is God. His perfect obedience to the Father shows us how to relate to God. Godliness means becoming more like Christ. To be a disciple, again, is to be one who learns and adheres to the teachings of Jesus and imitates Jesus in life. 1 John 1.1-4 promises us joy as we get to know Him and make Him known. Only disciples have this.

2. He will expose your sinful nature. Jesus is the light: If your heart is open you will want to be around Him. If your heart is closed you will hate who He is and what He stands for. As we learn of His teaching, we begin to see how far we are from Him and will want to rid ourselves of things to be closer to Him. We will be willing to lose all for the sake of gaining Christ.

3. He will provide for your continued growth. He died and rose from the dead for you. He constantly prays for you. He gives every resource you need to be productive in your pursuit of God’s purposes. We must keep this in mind: the cross was never the goal but only the means to the goal. Death was not God’s goal but the Resurrection that all might have life was the goal (Hebrews 12.1-2). When we follow Him we may feel bad or that it is too hard, but seen in the light of the life that we gain (after time) we will count it all as worth it [sin is almost always easy, it is only in struggle we can gain].

4. He will call you to make disciples. This is God’s clear, authoritative purpose for your life. You are not following Christ if you are not joining with Him. He wants you to give your life so that others might grow in their relationship with Him. One of the great benefits of following Him is that He uses us to reproduce in others the same desire to follow. We become the salt of the earth.

What is standing in the way of your being totally sold out to Him?

Are you willing to count the cost of being His disciple and forsaking that which stands in the way?

If you are, speak with Pastor Hui or myself after service that he may guide and direct you into a better understanding of what should be done.

Let us pray:

“Father, we ask that Your Holy Spirit search our heart and show us what stands in the way of us being totally committed to You. As we leave, Father, I pray Your Spirit does His work in our lives. To the end that Jesus be raised and You be glorified. Amen.”

John, New Testament

He Knows

Gallery November 10, 1996 David

He Knows
November 10, 1996	Sermon by DRW	Passage John 11

Outline

1. Jesus Loved Lazarus (3, 36)

2. Wasn’t Worried (4, 9-11)

3. Jesus Was Compassionate (35)

4. Jesus Was Able (38ff)

Discussion

Introduction Have you ever been in a situation that you thought was too hard for you to handle? Maybe it was a job you sought after and couldn’t get or a helper in ministry that never showed or a helpmate for eternity that remains elusive or a child that you wanted to have that hasn’t come. Maybe it is good grades that are getting harder and harder to maintain, or a relationship with your family that is rough and beyond help. Maybe it is a tomorrow that you are worried over or a past that has caused you grievous guilt. If we are breathing, we each have been in a situation that was too hard to handle (maybe more than once). Think about that as we consider our passage before us. ***** read a portion of the passage. As we continue, we shall read the rest of it. Let us pray:

Father, open our eyes to Your wonderful truth. Allow us for this period of time to worship You in that truth. Father, show us that we are here to give you glory and honour as we worship You. Grant us understanding in how to praise You more as we seek Your Spirit’s insight into this Scripture before us today. Amen.

TRANSITION: I would like for us to notice a few things about this passage before we even begin to discuss it.

1. Jesus Loved Lazarus (3, 36) Repeat that with me. Jesus Loved Lazarus. Again.

2. Jesus Was Not Worried (4, 9-11) Repeat that with me. Jesus Was Not Worried. Again.

3. Jesus Was Compassionate (35) Repeat that with me. Jesus Was Compassionate. Again.

4. Jesus Was Able (38ff) Repeat that with me. Jesus Was Able. Again.

Remember these truths as we continue in our discussion of John 11.

1. Jesus Loved Lazarus (3, 36)

As the story goes, Jesus was somewhere other than Judea (we can guess as to the place: Nazareth; maybe the Samaritan town of John 4; probably about 4 days or so from Bethany). It was here that a man gave a message regarding Lazarus and his sickness. It is of interest to note that the man describes Lazarus as one whom Jesus loved (as did the crowd in John 11.36). I bring this to our attention today because of its significance to us when we beseech the Lord in a matter.

Martha, Lazarus and Mary were part of a family that supported Jesus financially and physically. They provided coins and a house, food and a table; they were a second family to Him. We all know that Martha was a very busy woman. In Luke 10 Martha is complaining to Jesus about Mary’s lack of service. In John 12 she is quietly serving Jesus with no complaints. Something happened between these two dinners that caused her attitude to be transformed and that had to have been what we shall see in John 11. She went from attention to herself to attention to Jesus and John 11 shows why (as we shall see).

Little is know of Lazarus for he is very quiet. His voice is never heard in the Gospels. The only mention of him outside of John 11 is John 12 where the religious leaders were seeking to kill him because of his great witness for Christ (a silent one, but effective due to the life change he had).

Mary is always seen at the feet of Jesus. In Luke 10 she is seated at His feet, in John 11 she runs and falls at His feet, and in John 12 she is wiping His feet with her hair. In her we see a simple trust and faith; a submission to the One who rules over her and a grateful heart for what he has done and (for us) will do on the cross.

So, these three send word to Jesus to heal the man of the household that He loved. Listen to their appeal: “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” They brought their burden to Jesus. They brought it to the only One they knew who could do anything about it. They brought it to Jesus as much as we should bring our to Jesus. We can also see the basis of their appeal is not what they did for Jesus and they did do a lot for Him. Sometimes, we pray that way don’t we: Lord, if I give (or I have given) to the poor, so bless me. Their appeal wasn’t on the basis of their love for Jesus, although they did love Him enough to be like an adopted family to Him. We do this: Lord, I love You so much; bless me for this love. They came to Jesus the only way possible-with request in hand; they came to Jesus for an answer-not because of their works or their love- but because He loved them. Jesus would come to them not out of obligation but out of love for them. Jesus would answer their prayers (and ours) because He loves us, not from a sense of duty or obligation. That is good news. He will hear and act from love and nothing less. Remember: Jesus loved Lazarus and he loves each of us too.

TRANSITION I guess the question must be asked: Why did He wait if He loved them (5-16). The answer is given in verse 4.

2. Jesus Wasn’t Worried (4, 9-11)

Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knows the end from the beginning. He is not limited to time-He is God. He states the sickness will not result in death. God knows. He also waited so God’s glory can be known. As we shall see, the death-life that happened to Lazarus glorified God greatly but not the way Mary and Martha would have had it (in the beginning). The waiting was also for Jesus to be glorified. Jesus publically raised someone from the dead. More than that, this showed that Jesus is able to handle even the toughest situations we can get into. Jesus wasn’t worried.

He wasn’t even worried about His possible death (because He knows the end at the beginning-for Himself as-well-as for us) by traveling through Judea (8-16). Those verses seem peculiar to me (9). Why did He mention that. I believe He meant that if any one has the light of God (not the world) in him, he doesn’t have to worry about what may or may not happen to him. If the light of God is in us (His Word and His fellowship), then we don’t have to worry about stumbling or anything else. If Jesus wasn’t worried, should we????

3. Jesus Was Compassionate (35)

More than once in Scripture we have a picture of Christ’s compassion-the bleeding woman, the woman who’s son had died. Here we can feel the compassion Jesus had. Jesus wept so says our text. Why did Jesus weep? (I think some of us men in this body need to consider whether we would weep or refuse to.) What led up to this famous passage?

Jesus made it to Bethany and Lazarus was in the ground for four days. Was He surprised at this and cried because of the death? No-He already knew this was to happen and wasn’t worried. Could it be because He was upset at their unbelief (Mary nor Martha and certainly not the crowd believed that He could raise the dead). TELL THE STORY AND EMPHASIZE THE FAITHS OF MARTHA AND MARY.

Now, Jesus wept because of the compassion He had for people, especially His people in misery. Jesus had compassion because of their pain, and He does the same for us today.

4. Jesus Was Able (38ff)

DISCUSS THE STORY OF THE RAISING OF LAZARUS FROM LUCADO’S “THUNDER”.

Conclusion: Jesus love doesn’t stop at Lazarus but extends to us; He knows our circumstances as-well-as He knew Lazarus and He wants us to see His love in our circumstances and not to gauge His love by our circumstances; His compassion extends from eternity to us today and tomorrow; His ability never ends, it is the same yesterday, today and forever.

So, if there is a situation that you are finding difficult, remember that Jesus loves you, isn’t worried, has compassion toward you and is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond what we can hope.

Do you believe? I hope so-let’s trust Him.

Jesus, thank You for being in control of all things and working good results in all things even though we may not see it. Thank You for doing what is best despite what we might want from our circumstances. Thank You for loving us and letting us grow through our circumstances. As this week progresses Lord, show us Your hand in our life. We trust You and believe You. Amen

Galatians, Sermons

For Me to Live

Gallery June 28, 1996 David

For Me to Live
June 28, 1996	Sermon by DRW	Passage Galatians 2.20

Introduction

Most of us grew up looking forward to Saturdays. When I was a kid in the 70’s, we had the beginning of many Saturday type things. Things such as: Bay City Rollers and their S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night, Elton John with Saturday Night’s Alright, Michelob was made for weekends, and the infamous Saturday Night Live, to name a few. Saturday was the day for many people. Most of my friends enjoyed it as they looked forward to getting out of school on Friday to party and wake up late on Saturday just to party again. Sundays were made for recuperation and realizing that Monday was coming. For many people in the world, Saturday was the day to live for and in.

For Christians, spiritually speaking, Saturday is probably the worst day to live in and for. The question that I have for you through this message is: What day do you live your faith in?

Follow me as we consider the weekend of our faith.

1. I have been crucified with Christ

The disciples didn’t want this to happen [add Campolo’s Friday part]. There was no victory, no approval. There is guilt here and it will consume you if you live on this day. We don’t know if God accepts us when we have a Friday faith. We ask what must I add to be accepted (like JW).

I realize that Friday and Saturday are needed for a Sunday faith. And Monday is the beginning of the reflection of a Sunday faith.

Why would we want this faith? It lessens who Jesus is, giving us more control and power in our salvation.

Is your God still nailed?

A. Friday Faith

1. Nailed

2. Dead

a. no hope

b. no future

both as viewed from this side of heaven.

B. Friday Failure

1. Nailed

2. Dead

a. no hope if lived here

b. no future if lived here

Is Christianity more than sayings to know and a church to attend? Friday faith says no because we live as if Christ didn’t rise from the dead nor that He is God.

What a waste that a man so young died after doing so much for so little.

1 Corinthians 15.12-19

2. . . . most of us live here

Why would we want to live here? It provides us with an excuse for waffling in our faith, for not living the way we are called to live.

They hid, were afraid, living life like most of us do on a daily basis. They were fearful of being found as followers of Christ. Flopping from a desire to honour Jesus to a desire to be accepted by society (at least not rejected by it). Their’s was a life of mourning and grief.

A. Saturday (synonym for faith)

1. Buried

2. Misery

a. hopeless

b. helpless

B. Saturday (synonym for failure)

1. Buried

2. Misery

a. hopeless

b. helpless

3. Nevertheless, I live

It is only here we taste victory and freedom for the resurrection was God’s stamp of approval for Christ’s death and burial. We stand approved before God because we are in Christ.

Resurrection verses

1 Corinthians 15

Is your God free?

A. Sunday (synonym for faith)

1. Free Galatians 5.1

2. Alive John 8.31

a. hope

b. future

We must realize that Sunday was always Jesus goal.

Unless a grain fall to the ground . . . there will not be a greater yield. Dandelion blown creates hundreds more.

B. Sunday Success

1. Free

2. Alive

a. hope

b. future

Why we don’t want a Sunday faith. I must listen to Him; even worse, He must be out there somewhere, loose (and that’s dangerous). He then becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Beuchner on Easter: “we can never nail him down, not even if the nails we use are real and the thing we nail him to is a cross” (The Magnificent Defeat, p 76).

Where is your faith lived? If you want to live abundantly you must live on Sunday. How? By faith in the Son of God who . . . Beleive the great news of . . . (verses on victory through the resurrection).

End with Campolo’s Friday but Sunday’s A-comin (either all or just the Sunday portion)

Matthew, New Testament, Sermons

Why?

Gallery March 12, 1995 David

Why?
March 12, 1995	Sermon by DRW	Passage Matthew 28.18-20

We have all heard messages on missions. Every year at this time we hear the same type of message. A passage like ours, from Matthew 28.18-20, is chosen and we learn to go into the mission field or to support through prayers or finances a missionary. It really isn’t that complicated a thought: Jesus said “Go!” so we should go. Pastor Chen, Vincent, Yasa, and myself have all heard Jesus tell us to “Go!” and we have gone. Pastor Chen to overseas missions and as a pastor; Vincent, Yasa, and myself have gone into a ministry with EFCA. Most of us in this room have heard a similar call into the mission field. This call could either be to actually go, to help someone with finances and/or to pray for someone daily. All these are noble calls. None of them is more nobler than the other. If God calls you to pray, pray; to go, go; to give, give:

Romans 12.4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Whatever God has called you to do, do. This is common sense. However, I see too many of us not willing to do what God has called us to do. We feel that another more qualified will take care of it. We feel that God doesn’t want to use us. This is what we say. We feel that we don’t have to do it. We don’t see the need to go, to pray, to give. If we did the world would be a more Christian community or would reflect more of the values of Christ. The world doesn’t because we don’t go out. We don’t believe the message for us to go out is really for us or there isn’t that great a need to go out (after all someone else will do it). Have we too quickly forgotten:

Matthew 28.18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts 1.8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

These verses are not talking to someone else, they are talking to me and you. This is God telling us to go, to pray, to give.

Allow me to digress. I have read stories in the newspaper that make me wonder what our world is coming to. Not too many years ago a women went for a drive with her kids. She, for some reason, decided to kill them and then commit suicide herself. Her plan was to drive her car into a lake, with the doors locked and drown with her kids. As she approached the lake she had second thoughts. But, instead of stopping the car, she drove the car into the lake and left her car. She didn’t take the kids with her. Her two kids drowned as she stayed in safety. Why? She was hopeless in her world. She felt she couldn’t carry on and didn’t want her kids to go through this torture. But she was also a coward and, after killing her children, she couldn’t kill herself. Bizarre? Not really. Strange? Not really. Rarity? Not really.

I can remember a businessman in Washington, after a hard day at work, coming home and eating dinner. After dinner, in a rather matter-of-fact manner, pulled a gun out and killed his entire family and then killed himself. Why? He was at his end, an end with no hope. He had nothing to help him make it through tomorrow. It was too much for him to bear.

I can remember a wealthy lawyer in Texas who wrote a note to his wife. He told her it was nothing personal but that he was tired and wanted to sleep. He then turned his car on and asphyxiated himself. Why? He couldn’t find rest, no peace; for him life was too busy and there was nothing for his soul.

I can remember a woman who had just gotten married, just purchased a new house, just received a promotion in the Army. Her newlywed husband came home one night to find his wife with a bullet in her head: she shot herself. Why? All her trials and pains of life weighed too heavily upon her. In order to be accepted by her peers she had to do things that made her feel bad. She didn’t feel accepted.

I can remember a man in Torrance that woke up one day just after a bitter divorce and decided that life was too hard for him. He, also, put a bullet through his head. His son found him. The note said: I can’t do it any more. Life is not worth it. Why? He didn’t believe in a loving Creator God but was an evolutionist. Life without God is worthless.

There are countless other stories like this and I would like to include one more. It is the story of two young school girls who gave a note to one of their mutual friends. They told her not to open the note until after school. After giving the girl the note the two left school and went to the desert and killed themselves. That afternoon their friend opened the letter that explained what they were to do but it was too late by then for they were already dead. Why? The note explained: We have given up hope and cannot go on living anymore.

This is why we need to go. There are people in the world without hope, without reason to live; without Jesus. This is why we need to go, give and pray. Jesus said the world is full of people like this:

John 4.31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

There is a need for us to give people a hope to live today. You see a Christian is not simply a person who gets forgiveness, who gets to go to heaven, who gets the Holy Spirit, who gets a new nature. A Christian, in terms of his deepest identity, is a saint, a child born of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being a Christian is not just getting something; it is being someone. Being born is becoming someone who was not there before. What you have isn’t the point. It’s who you are. And who we are gives hope to a hopeless world. It gives people who are not accepted, acceptance. It gives people who are worthless, worth. We need to give people ourselves whether through going, giving, or praying for the mission field. We are not allowed not to participate in God’s work in this world. As His children we are called to do what He has called us to do. This is why we go, pray, and give.

I would like to challenge each one here to consider God’s work in this world. Is there a place you can minister in this world, a ministry you can pray for in this world, an organization you can give to in this world? If there is then go, give, pray. And people there are places we can go as missionaries whether short term or long term. There are ministries like World Vision we can give to. There are organizations and people in the mission field we can pray for. The question for us is: Will we? We know we should go and we know why we should go, but will we.

Matthew, New Testament, Sermons

The Majesty of Christ Series-Who Am I?-Part One

Gallery December 18, 1994 David

The Majesty of Christ Series-Who Am I?-Part One
December 18, 1994	Sermon by DRW	Passage Matthew 16.13-16

Introduction

Location of Caesarea Philippi.

1. The Need to Withdraw (13)

a. For Himself

i. get away from the crowds

(1) when John the Baptist was killed (Matthew 14.1-12) Jesus withdrew (14.13)

(2) at this point His followers were leaving Him (John 6). He saw the weeding out of followers and true disciples.

(3) circumstances caused Him to withdraw

(a) either King or nothing

(b) Jewish power in Jerusalem was becoming more consolidated in their attempts to kill Him (ie, Pharisees and Sadduccees were aligning themselves together)

ii. keen realization of who He was and His mission

(1) Jesus was not seeking popularity (and wasn’t getting it at this point anyway).

(2) Jesus didn’t want to establish an earthly kingdom

(3) He saw the cross before Him and set His face as stone to get to it (Luke 9.51 – this statement followed soon after this retreat).

(4) The Transfiguration occured within days of this retreat.

b. For those who followed Him

i. opinion polls were down

ii. some were leaving and some remained

2. The Need to Question (13)

Background

His name was not Jesus Christ. That was a title. His name was Jesus bar Joseph.

Others called Him Christ the most, then Lord, then last of all (once) Son of Man.

Jesus called Himself (83 times) the Son of Man.

In Matthew we have Son of Man and in Mark and Luke it is merely Who I am. The difference is in the audience, Jews versus Gentiles.

i. Son of Man is historically equal to Son of God

ii. Daniel 7.9

(1) inner court

(2) divine figure (Philippians 2)

(3) descending and ascending (comp Acts 1.9-11)

iii. Deific assertions

(1) Matthew 9.1-8, only God can forgive sins

(2) John 5.1-18, Matthew 12.1-14, Mark 2-God made the Sabbath

* Draw your own conclusions

iv. He is God

b. Who do people say He is?

i. John the Baptist or Elijah

(1) why John the Baptist? He had been executed days earlier and people saw them together.

(2) he was the forerunner of the Messiah. As was Elijah. They may have transferred the work of John as the messenger who announces the Christ (Malachi 3) to Jesus.

(3) People thought Elijah was to return from Heaven for he had never died (2 Kings 2). A few days later James, John, and Peter see Jesus with Elijah and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.

ii. Jeremiah or a prophet

(1) announces the good news

(2) the prophet was thought by some to be the good one who overcomes politically the oppressing nations.

c. Who do you say He is?

i. John 6.66-70 the Holy One of God (=what the others thought of Him, good man)

ii. Matthew 16.16 the Anointed One, the Son of the living God

3. The Need to Respond to the Son of Man (13-16)

a. How do we respond to such an One?

i. John the Baptist Then He was merely a messenger of God bringing good news of a coming king, not much to worship.

ii. Jeremiah Then he was a good man who teaches good morals, not much to worship.

iii. God If He be God, and I believe Him to be, then He must be worshipped and obeyed. We will look into this aspect of Christ over the next few weeks.

b. In light of who Jesus is, what must we do?

i. draw closer through the disciplines

ii. thank Him

iii. tell others

c. Matthew 28.18-20 as benediction.

Old Testament, Psalms, Sermons

Psalm 51-I’m Broken, Now What?

Gallery March 13, 1994 David

Dancing with Broken Bones-A Series on Psalm 51-I’m Broke, Now What?
March 13, 1994	Sermon by DRW	Passage Psalm 51.15-17

Theme: An encounter with Jesus is the cause for His life to be lived in our lives.

INTRODUCTION

In the Winter of 1944, the Allied forces and German forces were face to face in the freezing weather. The Allied forces thought the Germans wouldn’t dare attack during such a cold time so they dug in. The Germans decided it would be a great time to attack, so they did. The Allied forces were being soundly defeated. This was Hitler’s plan to confound the Allied offensive. And it was bloody.

These raw and seasoned recruits were being beaten and killed. We know this as the Battle of the Bulge. Things were not going well. The men didn’t need a lecture on courage or ten-steps to gain ground on the enemy; they needed an example to follow. Out from behind a desk, an eccentric General was called to the front to spur the people on. Instead of a speech, he was an example. Because of this one man’s presence the day was saved. This one General was George S Patton. He was their example to follow.

I. Example

A. Who is your example, the one who spurs you on in difficult times

* whether in spiritual warfare

* or our everyday battle over the bulge

1. I have already told you mine (Joe Muslin—pray for him as he prepares for the transplant)

2. Alcoholics Anonymous has this type of help system

a. The John Loroquette show features this

b. John is an alcoholic and his example is Mitch

(1) Mitch got drunk

(2) crushed John

(3) but because of Mitch’s unswerving (to that point) example John was able to help him recover.

This is the goal of looking to an example: that we might be examples for another.

B. who do you spur on to love and good works (Heb 10. )?

1. Brokenness is never an end in itself, but merely the means to an even greater end

a. being like Jesus

b. be heroic (Matthew 6.33)

(1) throwing your entire life into His kingdom work is an incredible risk in fighting the terrible foe

(a) you will address your sin (as David did), your friendships, your hobbies, your career, your failures, your ambitions, your life in light of the Kingdom

(b) you will address poverty, hunger, pollution

As Elton Trueblood said in The Company of the Committed:

A Christian is a person who confesses that, amidst the manifold and confusing voices heard in the world, there is one Voice which supremely wins his full assent, uniting all his powers, intellectual and emotional, into a single pattern of self-giving. That voice is Jesus Christ. . . . He believes in Him with all his heart and strength and mind. Christ appears to the Christian as the one stable point or fulcrum in all the relativities of history. Once the Christian has made this primary commitment he still has perplexities, but he begins to know the joy of being used for a might purpose by which his little life is dignified [and, I add, made heroic] (23).

(2) The heroic is allowing God’s life to be manifest through you.

(a) An interesting aspect of all history is how people have sought and still seek after a hero.

i) Israel’s literature seeks after the ultimate hero, is written of heroes by heroes

ii) Greek mythology is crowded with the heroic.

(b) those who have studied sociology or anthropology understand the concept of the heroic is embodied in Germany’s Übermann, or as he is called here, “Superman”.

* A god-like person with the possibility of failure (for superman it was kryptonite, some say it was also Lois Lane)

i) God can never be a hero, He would never have the chance of failure.

ii) Man without God could never be heroic, he’d fail all the time.

iii) It is only the one who is wrapped in God’s calling that can be truly called heroic

a) his or her life will never grow stale, nor dull because their eyes are always on Jesus

b) the ultimate satisfaction and purpose in life is knowing that in Jesus I have been called and equipped for the heroic

We were made for more exquisite things than trying to fill our empty days with our own thunder. But we must all choose. Will I go on tinkering on my own agenda and my own kingdom, which will pass away when I do? Or will I tie my life and destiny to His life, His cause, His Kingdom? Only Christ offers the calling whereby we can harness our lives to a source of purpose that lasts forever (96).

Seeking first His Kingdom restores the fervor of the heroic in our lives, knowing we must do the work of God that only a child of His could do. God’s children who follow after Him are always a hero. And a hero always has purpose, life and vigor when he is pursuing the Voice of his Master.

“I knew joy (peace, patience, et al) when I first became a Christian. However, the business of my daily routine caught up with me. I forgot about Christ. Eventually, I became thirsty and discouraged. I remember what other Christians promised would be mine if I became a Christian joy (peace, patience, et al). I don’t think they were telling me the truth. I kept going back to the church but it soon became a burden. Didn’t Jesus say He would ease that burden? After a while left the church because the people were phonies and I had more important things to do. If I were honest, it became disappointed with God, Christianity, and the church—they all promised things like joy (peace, patience, et al) that they didn’t deliver.”

2. If we are broken, it is merely the beginning of our usefulness for God

a. Unless a seed dies, it cannot sprout

b. we’ll explain “brokenness” in a moment

TRANSITION: Anyone who desires to be an example, a hero, must have a personal encounter with God.

II. Encounter

A. Anyone who has ever tried to explain an abstract idea would find it very difficult without an example to illustrate and illuminate it.

B. God is one of those abstracts

1. the only way to fully explain Him is by seeing Him (John 1.14) or having a personal encounter with Him (Acts 9)

2. You have to encounter Jesus (1 John 1.1-3)

C. Any man, woman, or child who has been broken has had an encounter with God, you can see the limp like Jacob or the tear stains like David.

1. I had one last night

* God has been dealing with me for sometime and last night we dealt with it

2. the breaking can be as basic as salvation where God breaks you of your pride ( ) or as harsh as adultery (Psalm 51).

3. in either case, repentance is required

a. my will becomes His

b. defined

(1) not remorse merely for the consequences

(a) Saul wept because

i) he knew his kingdom was to be taken away from him

ii) not because

a) he was sorrowful over attempted murder

b) and idolatry

2. Judas wept and committed suicide because

1. he felt pity for himself and was ashamed that Christ was to die;

2. not because he betrayed his Master and assisted in shedding innocent blood.

2. remorse for the sin itself and the deep rooted passion that set it aflame

To the one who has seen his sin, it is not a casual thing to encounter or write-off, but is intense. This intensity leads to repentance. Remember, its His kindness that leads to repentance and sometimes kindness is found at the end of a whipping post (Hebrews 12.4-11). David’s sorrow came not from a heaven to lose or a hell to gain—for he knew his God would not forsake him—but the sorrow came because in his heart he knew he had grieved God.

* Peter wept because

1. he knew he betrayed his Master

2. his was remorse for the sin and the passion that led to sin

3. this is true repentance

4. Each person who knows Jesus as Saviour has had an encounter with Him, and has been broken

TRANSITION: To answer the question posed in the title: “I’m broke, now what?” Each of us is an example in word and deed that others will follow and imitate

3. Exercise

One question: What type of an example are you?

* PCH house

1. eyesore

2. disgrace (even after it was finished)

3. too many non-believers have seen this picture of Christianity (stench of a burnt offering) and not enough of the broken and contrite

* Dr Battenfield

1. He is a work of God

2. He is a joy to God

3. He volunteers his help, going beyond what is expected just like Jesus

4. our God demands that a man’s life and heart stand plumb with his worship, not contrasting it

5. he walks with a limp from spiritual battles

From our passage we see two things God requires of His broken ones:

1. Teachability (broken and contrite)

2. Teaching (Examples-open my mouth)

2. Teachability

1. What does He want to teach us (Luke 6.40)

1. to be like Him

2. Jesus sole desire is for us to see Him in such a way that we imitate Him.

Sydney Sheldon wrote a classical piece of literature at the turn of the century called In His Steps. He wrote it from a verse in 1 Peter 2.21. He asked us to consider asking this question each time a crisis event came: “What would Jesus do?” But does this mean imitation of Christ? Not necessarily. To truly imitate Christ is to have His character working within you. Paul calls it being conformed to His image (Romans 8.29). It means knowing the Teacher so well that the question, “What would Jesus do?” need not be asked. This is the goal: to be like Jesus in all my ways that in every situation I will know His will for me.

2. How does He want to teach us?

* Study (learn) the Word of God (2 Timothy 2.15)

1. to know Him (John 17.3)

2. do the Word (James 1.21-25)

3. pray the Word (Daniel 9)

3. Teaching/Examples

1. How do we teach?

1. by words

2. by actions

1. You will bear fruit (much fruit) John 15.8;

1. Galatians 5.22,23

2. much fruit is a lifestyle of imitating Christ which causes (intensive learners, ie teachers) others to glorify God (Matthew 5.16)

2. Next quarter we will start a series on the disciplines of the Christian life that will help us in our endeavour to be more like Christ.

4. What is the test of our teaching

1. forgiveness (the most un-natural thing a fallen humanity could do)—the restoration of fellowship

1. accepting it from God and others

1. seeing our own sin as blacker than others

2. accepting that God in Christ has made even them whiter than snow

2. giving it to others

2. You will know you are imitating Him and being an example as you love your brothers on earth as you seek Jesus.

1. John 13.34-35 compare with 1 John 4

1. a love as Jesus loved

1. no greater love than to lay down your life

2. unselfish

2. a love that the world can see

1. glorify God

2. does the world see your love?

2. Accept them where they are (Phil 23.15-16; Romans 15.7)

3. make every effort to get to know your brothers and sisters through

1. Bible study

2. Prayer

3. fellowships

3. dealing with your character and letting God deal with your reputation

1. Neil Anderson

2. Me at EFCSB (?)

CONCLUSION

God has broken you in one manner or another throughout this series. We have one more message to complete our look at Dancing With Broken Bones: Revival. Today He is calling out for those rare lights that shine for Him. He is calling out for those whom He has touched, who have had an encounter with this living God, to be an example for others to follow. We have been designated as God’s ambassador’s on earth, His examples. Are you living up to that high calling?

MINISTRY

Jesus had called out twelve to imitate Him (and the millions of believers after them). He asked twelve to come and follow Him. They stood up and left all to follow Him. I want to ask you if you want to start now, today and do what they did: forget the past and press on as an example of Jesus to people who are dying to see Him.

He calls you to come and follow Him. To seek Him and benefit from your learning from Him. Benefits that will allow you to teach others to come and follow as-well.

I will ask you to come and follow Him today too. If you so desire to commit your every word and action and thought to Christ or to come to Him for the first time I ask you to come forward now for prayer and direction.

BENEDICTION

Jude 24, 25

Old Testament, Psalms, Sermons

Psalm 51-The Audience is Listening

Gallery March 6, 1994 David

Dancing with Broken Bones-A Series on Psalm 51-The Audience is Listening
March 06, 1994	Sermon by DRW	Passage Psalm 51.14-15

Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

Outline:

Introduction

Tourist trap like “Jesus of the Ozarks” (The Ozark’s Passion Play). The parking lot looked like Disneyland’s (huge). I remember when I went there with a friend of mine. The year was 1984, the year of hair and tans. Well, I had both: long hair and beard and brown skin. Any how, when I got out of the car a woman came up to me and asked if I played Jesus in the play because I was so “swarthy” looking. It was a mad house of religiosity. People came in checked shorts and argyles; in flower hats and dresses. It was a spectacle to behold. The message was told but the meaning was gone, for most. Much like church in some parts of the world and in some people’s lives. A place where people come to see where God might have been. Much like the windows with Mary of Jesus face glowing through it, a religious shrine to be visited with Polaroids but not experienced with the heart.

Today we will look at two types of worship: The counterfeit and the Real

I. The Counterfeits

A. Dry as Dust

The lifeless assembly looking more like a wax museum than a place where the living God could and should be worshiped. Or as Paul wrote to Timothy: having the form of godliness but denying its power.

1. there is much visible but not much reality

a. lack of depth and fellowship

(1) the motto: “we are here to do, not to be”

(2) appearance of but not really

(a) seen in activities

(b) cordial but not deep

i) saying “hi” to new people but

ii) no depth with the old people

b. true depth and fellowship

(1) fellowship is a group of people with one goal: Jesus Christ

(a) He saved them—and they speak of it

i) Romans 8 He brought them into the family

ii) Ephesians 2 He brought them from darkness to light

iii) Rom 6.23 He brought them from death to life

(b) He is developing them—and they share the truth of what God is doing (as iron sharpens iron, so one friend another)

i) 2 Timothy 3.14-17

a) instruction

b) correction

c) reproof

d) training in righteous

ii) 2 Co 3.18 changed from glory to glory

iii) 2 Co 5.17 transforming into new creation

(2) example of reality in fellowship with Dave Chen and myself

i) spiritual conversations

a) what God is doing

b) what God desires to do

c) evaluation of our services to God

d) topics of import

e) laughter

f) tears

ii) iron sharpening iron

a) honing our beliefs

b) sharing and reshaping our wants and desires

c) sharing our joys and hurts

Another aspect of a dry, lifeless assembly of worship is:

2. conformity without understanding

If the first aspect is due because of the attenders this one comes because of the leadership.

a. lack of knowledge of the spiritual undercurrent of what we do, why we do what we do.

(1) content is done without understanding why

* look at the bulletin

i) why do we do the center page activities?

ii) why do we make a bookmark for you to take with you?

(2) An example: why do we praise—God is worthy

(a) it is because we know what God has done for others (either through His Word, biographies, or fellowship) and what He has done for us and what He promised He’ll do;

(b) more so, as we shall see, it is because of who He is.

(3) worship is not going through the motions of

(a) singing

(b) reading

(c) unless they are directed to our God with full knowledge of who He is and what He has done. Our praise is sweeter the deeper we know Him.

Another counterfeit is

B. That’s Entertainment

1. Intentionally focusing on size and spectacle

a. God isn’t opposed to this when His glory is the focus

(1) Solomon at the Temple

(2) David and the Ark (2 Samuel 6.12f)

(3) Year of Jubilee

b. But today, we leave bedazzled but not deepened in relationship with anybody

(1) when discussion changes with the last song to “where to for food” then worship probably didn’t happen

(2) When God comes in our worship, we don’t worry about what’s next for we are with the God of the universe.

2. WHILE CHURCHES PLAY GAMES, AMERICA DIES!
One author feels that American Christianity is ill, and preaching a shallow gospel to those who desperately need substance and help. Bigness has become a standard for success. Churches have become entertainment centers. Christianity and Christians have never been, and never will be, popular or in the majority. “The job of Christianity is to worship God by the winning of souls.” This does not allow for shallowness or frivolity. The answer to this situation is in the Gospel message (Wells, 1989).

. 1. True Love Outreach is a good example of worship in evangelism

2. Picnic-on-the-Green is a good example of worship in fellowship

We’ve seen the counterfeit, now let’s look at

2. The Real Thing

1. True worship

Far from being a religious ritual, true worship is an individual reflecting a proper value judgment about God. In fact, the English word “worship” comes directly from the word “worth.” Our God is worth praising.

1. It is being dwarfed but drawn to Him

1. Isaiah 6.1-5

1. Worship is not just personal introspection, or we would worship our feelings. Worship is not even a warm glow, or we would worship that. We worship One outside ourselves. We concentrate on Him, we praise Him, we adore Him, we hear his Word for He is announcing it to us. We listen in holy awe to the word of God.

2. It is seeing Him, knowing only in Him are we worthy (“weight”) to be in His presence, attracted to be with Him, even though it could be uncomfortable for us.

1. when we encounter the light our darkness is shown

2. whenever we come into contact with God He changes us

2. Revelation 1.12-17

1. In His holiness we see our shortcomings, our sins;

2. the closer we come to Him in worship, daily living, the more we’ll desire to change to be more like Him for He shines His light on our darkness.

2. Christian worship is no tourist trap, no Polaroid; no desire to leave, time ceases, words are unnecessary, if there are words they are words of praise.

“In a world so polluted with empty, foolish, and hurtful words, let’s fill our hearts and homes, our workplaces and worship houses with a cleansing current of praise.” (Hayford, 2003).

3. Too often we cheapen our praise to a gratuity, a tip. If God performs right we will praise Him. David calls this “bloodguiltiness” and he forsakes it desiring only to truly praise God.

How do we break from tipping God with our church attendance and praises: these three things we need to know and do:

2. Majesty

Def: reverent respect due the splendor of royalty.

1. the American disposition against royalty shows we have an inbred resentment to majesty and must really work on seeing and respecting His majesty

2. When you see God as King you will fall down in worship.

1. When people come to an earthly king, they do not strut in and place demands

2. they bow awaiting commands.

3. Only when the royalty says arise do we.

3. God has called us to come boldly into His throne room.

1. this doesn’t mean to strut in but to have the confidence that He wants us there

2. and if He wants us there, according to 1 John 5, He will speak to us and we with Him

4. We come before Him, willing to wait for His voice, then we respond.

our response is awe:

3. Awe

Def: struck speechless with wonder

1. TV takes it away

1. joy and tragedy are controlled with a push of a button

2. Bangladesh doesn’t matter until it come to Arcadia

1. I was speaking with one of our own the other day. He told me he had never seen a homeless person before

2. until he went to LA

3. no remote control button could remove this reality for him

2. Our “I want it yesterday” mentality is against awe.

1. Awe doesn’t explode but overtakes in time to the point we are soaked in it

2. John 1.16 (waves)

3. look and be awed

1. mountains

2. churning ocean

3. stars

1. I was asked on a personality typing test what I do when I look at the stars

2. to my amazement it had “Stand in wonder of who God is”

3. that was my choice

TRANSITION: I like natural phenomena like rain, thunder and earthquakes … One personal encounter with a power that before was only theoretical can make all the difference. You live differently after that. You respect the power. You live in awe of its presence and tremble to think of its potential. Above all, you live in profound humility because you recognize your inability to control it.

If all this for created phenomena, then what of the Almighty God? I am reminded of the quote from C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” where Mr Beaver describes the might and majesty of Aslan, the lion-God. When he finishes, Lucy asks, “Is-is he safe?” Replies Mr. Beaver: “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. but he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.” This is our God: hardly safe but thoroughly good. We cling to the King in fear, but much too afraid to let go (Ratzlaff, 1991).

Now that’s awe and that’s worship

4. Reverence

1. Mark 4.36-41

1. before the calming of the storm they feared death (natural)–36-38

2. after the calming of the storm they had a greater fear than the fear of death: the fear of the Author of life. (39-41)

2. Do not fear him who can kill just the body but fear Him who can destroy also the soul (Matthew 10.28)

CONCLUSION

Men have an inbred hunger to know God and see His greatness. Even though our more direct, personal glimpses of Him may be few, our response to Him should always be spontaneous and instinctive. David’s praise flowed freely. That’s the way it should be with all of us. The church does not have to wait to sample the exalting chorus of heaven. Rather, we must be willing to be transformed from lifeless assemblies and entertainment centers to the people of God, people who delight in praising the sublime, majestic Author of life. He simply refuses to be imprisoned either in color slides or in a one-hour time slot on Sundays. Rather, He wants our undivided attention, our entire being. When His people gather, He alone is the audience—the audience of One (p 129).

Let’s praise our God. Turn to your neighbour and praise God with them for who He is. I will ask the musicians to come and lead us in some praise songs before we give the closing word of encouragement.

Benediction

1 Chronicles 29.11-13

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, praise Your glorious name.

Be seated in prayer, then you are dismissed.

Old Testament, Psalms, Sermons

Psalm 51-How Does the Kingdom Grow?

Gallery February 27, 1994 David

Dancing with Broken Bones-A Series on Psalm 51-How Does the Kingdom Grow?
February 27, 1994	Sermon by DRW	Passage Psalm 51.10-12

How Does the Kingdom Grow?

After we have turned back to God, after we have repented of our deeds and our ways; when the verbal confession is made complete, we must be about the King’s business. If we return to our former ways we will do our former deeds. We must finalize our verbal confession with the willingness and steadfastness in the Holy Spirit which we spoke of last week; this means, doing the work of God—fulfilling our purpose on earth. Sometimes this obedience is difficult to follow through with because we have been in that rut for so long we naturally tend that way. This is why our next series of sermons will deal with the disciplines of a godly life. Things we can and should do to maintain our purity and not fall back into the same old rut. Today we will look into two areas where we need to focus our attention. Once repentance is made we must seek first His kingdom in quantity and quality; that is, evangelism and discipleship. This is what David said when in verse 13 he writes, “Then.” Let us look at this as we answer: “I have repented and turned from my former ways, what then?” That is, now that I am a disciple of God, what do I need to do?

To put it another way, “What is my purpose in life?” If this question were asked in polite company many different answers would ensue. However, asked late at night over a cup of coffee in a small diner on the outskirts of a town called Lonesome and the truth will come like a piercing arrow. People find it increasingly difficult to find goals and objectives, purpose, worthy of the high calling that God has created in each person, that will sustain them through the heaviness of life and the reality of death. Dostoevski once wrote: “Man’s whole business is to prove that he is a man and not a cog-wheel.. . .” Or as Meatloaf once wrote: “I’m a man! I am not a number.”

To many people, life leaves a bad taste in their mouth. Most people would prefer to be gone (no where in particular, just gone) than have to hear the faint whispers telling them life is merely a cruel joke. This is why it is important for us to listen to David on this point: He was a man who could cry out: Come taste the goodness of the Lord! God doesn’t leave a bad taste. What does David tell us to do in light of the goodness of our God, in light of the high calling of God. After everything has been said and done: “Did you show transgressors God’s way? Did you show sinners how to get back to God?” will be asked of us. David knew that any man or woman or child that wanted to live life with purpose, with the taste of victory, with God’s stamp of approval, had to live a life that called people to God in salvation and discipleship.

For David this was a large step to consider. For us it is as-well. For David to come to the point of verse 13 is dramatic. He needed to admit a lot about himself, as we have seen in the first part of Psalm 51. He had to admit that God is Lord, and not King David. We must admit that too. Who is the master of your life? Are J-E-S-U-S the letters of His name or is it M-E? “David had learned that among all challengers, God alone was a sufficient master. This earthly king no longer needed to dazzle men with his own claims, but now longed for them to know the heavenly King whose grace had cleansed him” (91). This is where God calls us and this is where our text brings us.

1. Who is your Master?

1. It is not a question of if there will be a master; Matthew 6.24 tells us it is a given.

2. A purposeful life is not in what you conquer but really in who you are being mastered or conquered by

1. the test of a worthy goal is whether it is a portal to another worthy goal or a dead end

1. the astronaut who finished his mission only to ask, now what

2. Rockefeller wanting just a little more

2. scientists tend to be mastered by goals and objectives that are worthy to some degree

1. they strive to find new and exciting things and end up making and re-making history

1. Ray (Ira’s dad) committed suicide

2. outside of Christ even the noblest goals are fleeting

2. Joe Muslin

1. Smithsonian, you’ll see some of his work

2. His greatest work though

1. SBBC High school group of the 70’s

2. SBBC adult group of the 90’s

3. Is it possible for us as Christians to have that?

Is it possible to have a goal that reaches out from beyond limits, beyond space and time, drawing us and fulfilling us? Is it possible to have a sense of purpose and meaning, independent of circumstances and levels of achievement, that satisfies us completely? (93)

1. The hint of the infinite in Christ’s voice captured the heart and attention of many people

1. the eternal living water (John 4.10-14)

2. the eternal bread of life (John 6.35)

3. the eternal heavenly treasure (Matthew 19.21)

4. the eternal fruit of being fishers of men (Matthew 4.19)

2. In light of the infinite, the eternal words of Jesus,

1. how tragic that many Christians find themselves mastered by the urgent, the small.

2. we read, study, attend church services and yet nothing tastes as good as David said it should, “good,” for we are mastered by the wrong lord.

If God’s people fail to find an overall principle for integrating every segment of life, they will find themselves fragmented over a host of secular and badly diluted Christian agendas (93).

3. Christ is calling us to the heroic

1. France (WW II)

1. struggled against the Nazi regime

1. average people took incredible risks to fight a terrible evil

2. little old ladies -> pickpockets

3. salesmen and chefs -> explosive experts

2. not a part time affair, something done on the side but something which mastered and transformed them

2. God has called us to be like them, heroic (Matthew 6.33)

1. throwing your entire life into His kingdom work is an incredible risk in fighting the terrible foe

1. you will address your sin (as David did), your friendships, your hobbies, your career, your failures, your ambitions, your life in light of the Kingdom

2. you will address poverty, hunger, pollution

As Elton Trueblood said in The Company of the Committed:

2. The heroic is allowing God’s life to be manifest through you.

1. An interesting aspect of all history is how people have sought and still seek after a hero.

1. Israel’s literature seeks after the ultimate hero, is written of heroes by heroes

2. Greek mythology is crowded with the heroic.

2. those who have studied sociology or anthropology understand the concept of the heroic is embodied in Germany’s Übermann, or as he is called here, “Superman”.

* A god-like person with the possibility of failure (for superman it was kryptonite, some say it was also Lois Lane)

3. When we are mastered by the King of kings and Lord of lords we are heroic.

1. God can never be a hero, He would never have the chance of failure.

2. Man without God could never be heroic, he’d fail all the time.

3. It is only the one who is wrapped in God’s calling that can be truly called heroic

1. his or her life will never grow stale, nor dull because their eyes are always on Jesus

2. the ultimate satisfaction and purpose in life is knowing that in Jesus I have been called and equipped for the heroic

What does that voice cry for us to do?

2. Discipleship

Allow me to illustrate the heroic life that God has called us to. A life of meaning and purpose. What would this life look like? When we bag the old ways and do the God ways, what would we look like? Well, manifesting God to the world. To put it another way, it is essentially evangelism and discipleship.

Let me tell you a story, a tragedy, after the story you will see what is not heroic and understand what God has called us to. It is the story told by Oz. Not “the wonderful wizard of” but one of the first American missionaries to Taiwan. He recounts a true story that went something like this:

1. When China was overrun by Communism many fled to Taiwan

2. Shantytowns were built overnight

1. overcrowding

2. huts built to the very edge of the street

3. Oz feared driving down these streets for he thought he’d run over a child at play

4. he drove by one day

1. saw a boy hit by a truck, dead

2. heard a woman wailing, running to the boy

1. fell on him

2. picked him up sobbing

3. then strangely smiling

3. heard her say, Oh, its all right, it’s not mine.”

Not too heroic, not the Kingdom life, not purposeful. If it were so she would have continued to mourn and weep with the boys mother instead of depersonalizing (“it”) and walking away. We have all done this in one way or another, haven’t we?

What would a disciple of Jesus, one who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good, one who is mastered by Jesus, look like?

2. A concern for all that grows from knowing God

1. we need to know what is going on around us politically, spiritually, economically, globally

2. Did you read the article Joe gave called Kairos. It is interesting and illuminating reading of how God is in the rest of the world.

3. A dreamer of God’s dreams

1. when we see the world through God’s eyes He will provide dreams of how we can participate in His work

1. World Impact (large task only God could do)

2. God never calls us to do things that we could do without Him for it wouldn’t be heroic

And what about you? Your dream should raise important questions in your mind. How will this dream stretch you to trust God in a greater way? Will it galvanize other Christians into a living force for God’s Kingdom? Will it reveal Christ to lost men? Will it help to reverse the fragmentation sin has caused at every level of human existence? (103) If it will, then follow that dream

4. A sacrifice for God not

1. school, work, etc

2. Christian growth costs in ultimate figures. Some tough questions must be stared down if we want to mature God’s way rather than our own. What will it take to solidify your spiritual disciplines? How can you sharpen your spiritual gifts? Will it mean going to school or taking up correspondence study? Are you prepared to view aggravation and pain, both past and present, as finishing tools? What legitimate pursuits and pleasures may have to be foregone in making any of the above happen? Are you willing to work to maintain the primary relationships (God, spouse, kids) during all this? (105). It is indeed a sacrifice.

5. An embracing of the pain of others, even strangers

1. we have become dulled to the needs around us

2. I know a man who reaches out to the homeless despite the pains it cost him

6. A call to the underground, the uncommon way

1. Every area of a Christian’s life, every thought and action, must be evaluated in light of whether it helps or hinders us in fighting for God’s Kingdom. It includes our spare time, the substance of our daydreams, professional advancement, and our relationships with other people (106).

2. Anything that interferes with our fighting for the Kingdom, no matter how innocuous or respectable it may seem, must go (107).

7. A daily reminding of our calling

1. we have all been called

2. we must take orders from God and not give them

3. we are necessary and important

3. Evangelism

1. Churches grow by evangelism and multiply by discipleship

1. Evangelism must happen

1. training is good but incomplete (there are so many Christians trained but don’t witness)

2. motivation is needed

When you’ve been where David has been, the truth about God’s forgiveness doesn’t have to be yanked from your throat like tonsils. It explodes. . . . [it] motivates (112).

2. show them they are sinners (John 16.8-9)

3. show them God wants to take care of that (2 Corinthians 5.17)

1. He works it

2. we live it

2. How?

1. develop a healthy fear of God not man

1. cure for cancer

2. cure for sin

2. develop compassion (as we are concerned our compassion grows)

1. not a four step approach that is memorized, but people to talk with

2. not an argument to be won, but one who needs to be restored

3. realize God wants back what’s His

3. Joy follows

While the New Testament commands the church to evangelize, it doesn’t do so in a negative, critical way. The early Christians never seemed to think of anything else to do with their faith but to give it away. It was the natural overflow of loving Jesus (119)

These men did not spread their message because it was advisable for them to do so, nor because it was the socially responsible thing for them to do. . . . They did it because of the overwhelming experience of the love of God which they had received through Jesus Christ. The discovery that the ultimate force in the universe was Love . . . had an effect on those who believed it which nothing could remove. . . . Conversion and joy are closely related in the Acts of the Apostles, and it remained a characteristics thing about the early Christians which attracted others into their company. Their new faith did not make them miserable. Often outward circumstances were unpleasant enough, but that could not rob them of the joy which was their Christian birthright (Green, 1970).

2. People in Christ who are fulfilling His purpose in life do not have dead eyes. I remember hearing some people discussing this the other day . . . (Robert Lee)

CONCLUSION

One more story to illustrate the purposeful, heroic life that God has called us to.

Arlie and Tommy

2. Arlie poor, Tommy rich

4. orange peels and orange slices

6. teacher saw

8. Christmas time, snow and teacher coming with a bagful of toys and oranges.

10. Arlie peeled and ate the peels, teacher showed him the slice and broke one open

12. Juice squirted, laughter rose, taste buds swelled, air filled with orange perfume

14. tasted and saw it was good

16. we are heroic when we take the gospel that is in our lives and show how fine it tastes to those who have only tasted the rind of this life

More than a few of us have asked that question: “Why am I here, what’s my purpose?”

David reminds us: it is to tell others of God and bring them closer to Him. This is seen in concern and compassion. It is heroic. It is dreaming God’s dream, doing God’s will. It is even failing and growing despite it.

It is saying: Hey, above all else I want to be a disciple, one who repents and turns to God and then desires to tell others of God’s goodness.

If you are interested in being discipled of being trained up in the godly values of life, to understand the basics and live them. I will ask you to fill out this sheet of paper and turn it in as the ushers pick them up. This is not a commitment to be discipled but a commitment to talk with me about what we would do if you decided to follow through with God’s call to discipleship.

Name: ________________________ Date: _____/_____/_____

□ Yes, I am interested in learning about my God and my faith. I am available to talk with you on _____________ about a study.

□ I am currently being discipled by _______________.

□ I am not interested at the moment, but will talk with you when I am.

Scriptural Truths for Today's World