According to John 1:1-14 [NLTse]

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God. ³ God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. ⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

⁶ God sent a man, John the Baptist, ⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. ⁸ John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. ⁹ The One Who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. ¹¹ He came to His Own people, and even they rejected Him. ¹² But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The Hebrew people became the “People of God” when the Lord God elected – chose – to enter into a covenant with a man named Abram (later changing his name to “Abraham”). And Abraham had a son named “Isaac”, and Isaac had a son named “Jacob”, and Jacob had twelve sons, each the head of what have come to be called “the Twelve Tribes of Israel”. So the most frequently used name across the Old Testament Scriptures for a member of the Jewish people was “brother” reflecting their historical roots of all being related to one another through common ancestry to the “Patriarchs” (the Fathers): Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As the divine head of their national family, and as the source of their life and the good things they enjoyed as a nation together, God was their “father”, the same way that a king is a “father” to his citizens. And yet Abraham was also their “father” because he, too, was their source: All the Jews had come from him; and, it was through him – Abraham – that the Lord God made the covenant with them that the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be the Lord’s people and the Lord would be their god. Of course, each Jew had their own earthly fathers, as well, their “daddy’s” who raised them and sheltered them and protected them and provided for them each day.

In a similar way that the Jews spoke (and speak) of themselves as members of one family because they all trace their ancestry back to Abraham, you can hear many voices around our society today speak about the “brotherhood of Mankind”: That because God made the first humans so then God has made all of us; which means that all human beings are “brothers and sisters” because God is our “Father” – our Maker, the Creator of all.

And wherever there is any kind of social unity you can hear words and expressions that speak of brotherhood: Because you like the Yankees you’re “My brother!” If you drive a Jeep you’re “My brother!” [Ask] Does anyone here like chocolate ice cream? My brothers! When people are like us in whatever way we will often talk about each other in terms of family, “My brother!”

Jesus has once and for all changed all that.

In the beginning when God created the Heavens and the Earth, the Bible tells us that God lived in close proximity, and in close mental, emotional, and spiritual intimacy with humanity. But there came a time when our first ancestors decided they liked what the Devil had to offer more than they liked what God had to offer. And so the close proximity and the close mental, emotional, and spiritual intimacy we once enjoyed with God was broken, and so human beings lived separated from God’s presence and our close intimate relationship with Him was broken.

Even so, across the generations communities of men and women have teamed up and built great “towers of Babel” and “wonders of the world” in great acts and exhibitions of community and brotherhood. But even in our greatness these have always been “brotherhood’s” of our own making: Brotherhoods we established ourselves on account of our common ties or common goals…

And as we’ve said, God called Himself together a people through Abraham: A people with a common ancestry and a common way of living in the world and a common purpose for their lives together. And, as we’ve said, the Jews knew themselves to be “brothers” and they knew God to be their “Father”, even if in a very formal way, like the way a grandfather might be the family “patriarch” – the family “father” – or the way a king or governor or clan leader might be looked up to as “the great father”…

But Jesus’ attitude towards God changed all that. Whenever the Lord Jesus spoke to God He always used the direct, intimate Abba – “Daddy” – to refer to God, rather than the customary Jewish title of respect, “My Father”. And although we can read of the Lord Jesus speaking about God as “the Almighty” and the “the Most High”… whenever the Lord spoke to God He addressed Him as “Abba, My Daddy”. Jesus’ unique revelation to us of God as “Abba, Daddy, Father” came directly from His Own personal knowledge and relationship with God as His Abba, His Daddy, His Father.

What Jesus has shown us is that God has chosen us to be His children: Not because He bore us, because He didn’t; not because we’re all related, because we’re not; not because we have so much in common, because, although we may have much in common with other Christians living here in the United States and in this Milford area, we have brothers and sisters whom God has also chosen to be His children who are vastly different from us. As a matter of fact the only thing we might have in common with many among the worldwide family of God – our true brothers and sisters – is our shared belief and trust in Jesus Christ!

Because Jesus is the key to our brotherhood (and sisterhood), dear saints. Because Jesus is the key to our Father! In the cross Jesus bridged the separation. Because Jesus always chose God, when we choose Jesus, we’re brought over the bridge and back into the close proximity and close mental, emotional, and spiritual intimacy that was lost so long ago.

Now some religions pretend there’s no such thing as sin and so don’t think we need the cross. And other religions teach that you can work really hard at being good and doing good and get across the chasm without the cross. But the Scriptures make absolutely clear that there is no way to bridge our separation from God other than by trusting in the cross of Christ. There is no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved. And that’s why God is our Daddy, because the Lord God Almighty has chosen us to be His children and because Jesus Christ our Savior has died for us and brought us back to Him.

It is of the utmost importance we understand that God is not looking to be our Lord or our Master or our King. The Lord God is not looking to be our Teacher or our Savior or even our Friend. (Even though He is all of those things.) What the Most High God is looking for is for us to know Him and live with Him and trust Him as our Father. Not the formality of, “Yes, Father; no, Father; thank You, Father.” No, He sent the Law and the Prophets, and in the fullness of Time He sent His One and only-begotten Son, giving us His Holy Spirit in order to be our “Daddy”.

No other faith is so intimate with their god. And yet the fuller truth is that no other faith has a god Who has revealed Himself to want to be so intimate with us; the God and Daddy of our Lord Jesus Christ; our Daddy in Heaven…

Matthew 5:13-20 [NLTse]

¹³ “You are the salt of the Earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

¹⁷ “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s Law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. ¹⁹ So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s Laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁰ “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious Law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

[Put the hermit crab on display.] This is my son Caleb’s hermit crab. His name is “Spidercrab” (because his shell is painted like Spiderman’s outfit). Sometimes I walk into Caleb’s room and just watch Spidercrab. Hermit crabs are mostly nocturnal, so I mostly get to watch him just before bedtime. They not only like to walk around their territory and explore, but they are also great climbers. He’ll be moving and climbing around, so much of him out of his shell! They are fascinating-looking little creatures, but I only get to watch Spidercrab when he doesn’t know I’m watching, because as soon as he sees me he disappears inside his shell until I’m gone.

Watching Spidercrab gets me thinking about some comments that friends and acquaintances have made to me recently.

One fella, who worshiped here for a time before moving away, told me he’d seen me walking around town, reading while I walked, and he thought it was neat how peaceful and content I looked to him as I strolled along on my way… Another lady who attends another church in the area came to me and said she’d seen me out on the church’s sidewalk giving my wife Amy a kiss, and how much she appreciated seeing me be so publicly affectionate towards her… And just this past Friday the UPS guy came in for a delivery, letting me know he’d seen me walking home up Route 6. (My car was in the shop that day so I was walking back and forth…)

It has all got me realizing that people are watching me: People are watching us! Whether we think they are or not; whether we want them to or not; and whether we like them watching us or not: People are watching us.

Jesus likens it to our being like a city on a hilltop. Many of you have heard me or my wife or kids tell stories about summer vacations at my mom and her sister’s house on an island off the coast of Acadia National Park in Maine. It can get pretty dark around Milford at night, but there’s enough light around us – even sky glow from New York City so far away – that it’s never absolutely dark. But on Sutton Island in Maine it gets pitch. And yet when you stand on the porch late at night, so dark you can’t differentiate between the darkness of the water before you and the shore of the Mt. Desert Island mainland in the distance, the lights from docks or houses scattered across Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor across from us shine brightly like a constellation of stars!

“You are the light of the world,” the Lord Jesus teaches us, “like a city on a hilltop (or the lights of Mt. Desert Island) that – no matter how dark – cannot be hidden.”

And yet I know that sometimes we can be like Spidercrab: We can behave one way when we think nobody’s watching but behave very differently once we’re aware of others staring around us. Depending on who we’re with, sometimes we’re quiet – about Jesus and about spiritual things – when given great opportunities to speak! There’s so much pressure on us to go along with the crowd, and when we’re surrounded by a Christian crowd we go along with them, yet when we’re with a non-Christian crowd sometimes we go along with them, as well. Sometimes we can get into conversations with others about religious things and when they bring up Jesus we can downplay our connection to Him, all but denying Him because of those who are watching us. Many Christians don’t take the sin in our lives very seriously, allowing bad habits or harmful ways of thinking remain, even though the habits and ways dim our light. Of course, oftentimes people around us will recognize our light and ask us why we’re different. And, of course, sometimes we can end up pointing to ourselves or that we’re just having a good day instead of pointing them to Christ. And in our greedy, self-centered, control-fiend filled communities, sometimes just ignoring the hurting and suffering and needs of those around us is all we need to do to have people not see us as being different, shining bright, standing out…

When people watch us, what do they see? Do they see us sometimes putting on Christ and sometimes taking Him off again, behaving differently depending upon who we’re around? We’ve been baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! We’ve been born again and made new creations through our faith in Christ. He has claimed our lives and we have freely given ourselves to Him! The Lord has given us His Holy Spirit so that those watching us might see what it looks like to live centered on Christ, our words and our deeds – like a city on a hill, like the night-lights on the other shore – bringing glory to God?

People are looking for love (in all the wrong places, perhaps, but clearly people are looking for love). And people are looking for joy and peace. (Not just happy times that come and go, but true, lasting joy. And the skyrocketing of alcohol and drug addictions and eating disorders make clear the extremes to which people will go in search of what they see as peace.)

People are looking for God. And they are looking at you and at me to see if there’s any evidence in our lives to show whether or not the God Jesus spoke of as “our Father” is the real deal.

Maybe you’re thinking people are looking for miracles and great acts of faith from us? (And, of course, they are.) But the miracles people are most-watchful for are to see if we’re generous when so many others are stingy; to see if we’re truly forgiven, or if it’s just words as they see us beating ourselves up again and again; to see if we truly care about others and put them first, or if we’re just as gossipy and nasty and out for me-me-me as everybody else; to see if we’re truly joyful, to see if we truly do have peace, even when a lot of junk and sad times and heartbreak are going on around us…

A lot of our co-workers and fellow students and neighbors around us know bits and pieces of the gospel. They are watching to see if the good news is truly good, and to see if it’s doing good things and having a good effect on our lives. People know that following Jesus means sacrifice: Not getting to do all the things they’ve grown to liking to do and having to give up behaviors they don’t really want to. And they are watching us to see if trusting in Jesus and making these sacrifices for Him might be worth it.

We may not always know it, but we Christians are like Spidercrab: Living our lives in a tank surrounded by so many people watching. Does what they see in us cause them to draw near and praise our Father in Heaven?

[Go stand behind the Lord’s Table.] Holy Spirit of God: In a moment we will eat the bread and drink the cup of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Today may Your body and blood – the benefits of Your death for sin – grant us the grace to speak of You when given an opportunity; grant us the grace to not go along with the foolish crowd; grant us the grace to readily and joyfully acknowledge You our Master and Savior, our Teacher and Friend; grant us grace to leave behind every sin that might dim our light; and grant us grace to notice and help provide for those in whatever need around us. We ask for Your grace Holy Spirit, so that the name of Jesus Christ might be glorified on the Earth, and so that You – our Father in Heaven – might receive all the worship, praise, and holy majesty You so rightly deserve.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen?

The Revelation to John 5:1-12 [NLTse]

Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One Who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” ³ But no one in Heaven or on Earth or under the Earth was able to open the scroll and read it.

⁴ Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. ⁵ But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the Earth. ⁷ He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. ⁸ And when He took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song with these words:

“You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For You were slaughtered, and Your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. ¹⁰ And You have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the Earth.”

¹¹ Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. ¹² And they sang in a mighty chorus:

“Worthy is the Lamb Who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”

This past Thursday was Ascension Day.

The Bible tells us that, following His resurrection from the dead, the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples over a period of 40 days giving them many convincing proofs He was alive and speaking with them about the Kingdom of God. At the end of those 40 days, Luke writes, “Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting His hands to Heaven, He blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up to Heaven.” (24:50-51) (We read the fuller account from Acts as our Call to Worship.) And this past Thursday, Ascension Day, was the fortieth day following Easter when we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

Our Call to Worship this morning included some details about the Lord Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, when it said: “He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see Him. As they strained to see Him rising into Heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into Heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into Heaven, but someday He will return from Heaven in the same way you saw Him go!’” (Acts 1:9-11) We see the Lord Jesus going up into the clouds of Heaven, and the angels say He will return the same way, descending from the clouds of Heaven.

The Lord Jesus spoke about these same things when He was on trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council. When the High Priest asked Him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I Am. And you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of Heaven.” (Mark 14:62; Matthew 26:64)

The Lord Jesus’ statement is clearly pointing the High Priest and other council members to the future, speaking to them of His return. But He’s pointing them all back to the past, as well. About 500 years before Christ’s birth the prophet Daniel was given a vision of “the Ancient One” Who was seated on a throne in judgment. “His clothing was as white as snow, His hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from His presence. Millions of angels ministered to Him; many millions stood to attend Him…” And Daniel saw “someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of Heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into His presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey Him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.” (7:9-10, 13-14)

Which is the reason for our reading this morning from Revelation. The Revelation to John records many visions John was given concerning times in the past, the times John was living in, and times in the future. Chapter 5 that we read this morning was a vision from John’s past, of the Lord Jesus’ arrival into God-the Ancient One’s throne room in Heaven at His ascension, just as Daniel had foreseen. The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world is praised as He enters; and He is worshiped. And His first act upon arriving is to exercise His “all-authority” and break open the seven seals of the scroll recording the events concerning the end.

Talking to the Ephesian Christians about the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe, Paul wrote, “This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the Heavenly realms. Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church.” (1:19-22)

Jesus Christ ascended on the clouds of Heaven and was given “all authority in Heaven and on the Earth” (Matthew 28:18) and began His reign. All for the benefit of His church.

Referring to Psalm 110, Paul wrote, “For Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26) All for the benefit of the church.

But how might this all benefit us? First, all these events encourage to know that Heaven is a place, a real place: The Lord Jesus Christ, in His resurrected body that could eat fish and talk to disciples yet also pass through locked doors, He went someplace when He ascended into Heaven. Some have proposed that Heaven is simply a state of mind or a state of being that has no actual location in our space-time universe. And yet, we do not cease to believe in air or gravity because we cannot see them. And many Christian believers and unbelievers have experienced the influence and intervention of angels, (and the Bible leads us to believe they are all around us,) and yet because we human beings do not by and large have the capacity to see them does not mean they do not exist.

The Lord Jesus said, “There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” (John 14:2-3) Yes, Heaven is a real place. And as we await the new Heaven and new Earth that will replace this one so tarnished by sin and death, Heaven is where we will wait with Him and return with Him.

The fact of Jesus’ ascension into this place called Heaven, and His being given all the power that’s in Heaven and on the Earth there, also means that, because of our union with Christ, that we are able to share here and now in this authority our Lord Jesus has been given.

The apostle Paul speaks of this when He writes, “For [God] raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the Heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6) This is why you and I can use “God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” Why we can “destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.” That’s how, when talking with our neighbors, coworkers, or friends, we are able to come up with those phrases or words or arguments that “capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

Our unity with Christ and our sharing in His divine power now and our sharing more fully in the life to come is why we will one day “judge angels”. (1 Corinthians 6:3) And the Lord Jesus says about this power He’s sharing with us, “To all who are victorious, who obey Me to the very end, to them I will give authority over all the nations.
They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. They will have the same authority I received from My Father…” (Revelation 2:26-28)

We exercise this power in prayer. We exercise this power when we serve others, those around us, for Christ’s sake. We exercise this power when we’ve come to the end of our ability and yet, instead of giving up or running away, we stay the course trusting in God’s promises and abilities. We exercise this power every time we give up trying to manipulate and control events and circumstances and people around us; every time we lay down our plans and desires and accept what God has given us; every time we “take up our cross and follow Christ”.

About this authority we share, Hebrews says, “By faith [such] people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death.” Even so, Hebrews goes on, “others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.” (11:33-35)

Yes, sometimes we exercise this power most mightily when we’ve reached the end of ourselves, in our weakness, because the Bible tells us that God’s power works best in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Of course, the Lord Jesus’ ascension to the place of all-power in Heaven also means that, even as the Holy Spirit lives in us so we can enjoy communion with Him each and every day during our lives here on the Earth, one day we will be with Him where He is face-to-face in Heaven, and in the new Heaven and the new Earth, and we will be with Him forever. And Paul charges us to “encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

Paul’s Letter To the Ephesians 5:21, 25-33 [NLTse]

²¹ …Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to Himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body.

³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” ³² This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. ³³ So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Two weeks ago we spoke about the role God has given women in the marriage covenant. Today I’d like to talk about the role God has given men. It was awkward to put the women’s responsibilities out there first because of the bad press the biblical idea of “submission” has gotten in our culture. And yet it was important for us to talk about the women first so we might describe men’s role in relation to the women’s role.

We just read, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.” So Paul writes that we can better understand a husband’s submission to his wife by looking at Christ’s submission to the church. Yes, one might grumble and complain that, “All the Bible talks about is God wanting people to obey Him and submit to Him and surrender to Him. Yuck!” But having acknowledged that God does indeed want these things, we can look at God’s role and what He’s done:

• giving up His life – His rights and privileges as eternal, God Almighty for us by becoming a human being and then even further by going to the cross;
• doing everything we needed done so that we might be whole and complete, brought back into relationship with God the Father, and experience God’s shalom-fullness and abundant life; and,
• nourishing us and caring for us day by day.

At first glance, our part in our relationship with God may appear slavish and oppressive, but when you then look at God’s part we can see that, in reality, we’ve got it easy, and our obedience, submission, and surrender gets to be lived out with such awe and thanksgiving!

So, wives are called to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church. But what exactly is the husband’s role?

First, as we’ve just seen, God calls us (and so remember, that means the Holy Spirit will empower us to carry it out!) God calls us, husbands, to give up our lives for our wives. When I think of Jesus giving up His life I think of Philippians 2:6-8…

“Though He [Jesus] was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus gave up His divine privileges for us. What privileges do we enjoy, husbands, that God is calling us to give up for our wives? Perhaps, what we want, when we want it, and as often as we want it? Is that a privilege we believe we have that the Lord God may be calling us to give up for our wife’s sake?

“MY WORD IS LAW AROUND HERE WOMAN! I WEAR THE PANTS IN THIS FAMILY!” Perhaps that kind of an Archie Bunker, tyrant’s attitude is one the Lord God might be calling us to give up for our wife’s sake?

That phrase, “gave up His divine privileges” most literally means that Jesus “emptied Himself”. But it’s the idea of emptiness the way you might say that your and a friend’s conversation was “empty” because you weren’t talking about anything substantial; you were just goofing and fooling around, “talking trash”; it was nothing. Empty. So the flavor of “giving up His divine privileges” means that Jesus – the Son of God, the Great I AM – took the risk of letting His creation see Him as a nobody. (Which, of course, is exactly what much of the world has done in their estimation of Jesus Christ.) And, husbands, that means we need to be willing to let “the guys” think she’s got us wrapped around her little finger, if that’s what they think as we are loving and giving up our lives for our wives. It means we need to let the other women around us see us as nothing: We’re not available to them; no flirting; no “playful” banter; nothing.

And the Lord Jesus gave up His life for us so that He might present the church to Himself “as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” This is the easiest one to gauge how we’re doing, husbands, though, perhaps, the hardest to carry out: Is your wife more “whole”, more “complete” now than when you married her? Is your wife closer to Christ now than she was when you married her, and (depending on how long you’ve been married) is she closer to Him and enjoying Him more than she was, say, five years ago? Is her life marked by greater, deeper, more abiding peace because you have been her husband? Is her life more abundant and exhibiting more of the Holy Spirit’s fruit because you have been her husband? That’s our role, husbands. And that’s God’s goal for us in our marriages.

Lastly, We’ve seen that, just as Christ nourishes and cares for us – the church – so we are called to nourish and tenderly care for our wives. I’ve said that Jesus “nourishes” us instead of “feeds” us, as is used in our reading, because the energy behind the word is not just to nourish or to feed but to bring to that which is nourishing, to bring to that which feeds. So, husbands, we need to be taking the lead with our wives. We need to be the spiritual heads of our marriages, or our families. That means we need to be initiating devotions, making church a priority, encouraging our wives and our children (if we have any or have any at home) to be part of a small group or Bible Study.

And we need to be willing to make the hard calls, asking our Father, “What do You want for my wife and I and (perhaps) our family here, Lord?” You need to make the difficult call: Is it a time for your wife to what you want, or a time to lay down your wants and do what she wants? We need to be asking the Lord, “Does it best serve Your purposes for my marriage, Lord, to go this direction or that?” “Which of us is expressing Your wisdom in this situation, Father, my wife or myself?” And these questions, and this servant leadership of our homes, takes discernment, and wisdom, and humility, and the willingness to ask forgiveness when we realize we’ve been wrong, and the willingness to freely give forgiveness when she asks for it.

The world has made a sad caricature out of the husband’s high and holy calling. Not us, men! The Holy Spirit has filled us so that we might show the world a much more compelling picture, and show them Christ and His love for His church while we’re at it.

Exodus 15:22-26 [NLTse]

²² Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. ²³ When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).

²⁴ Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. ²⁵ So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to Him. ²⁶ He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, obeying His commands and keeping all His decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord Who heals you.”

We’re going to be praying for each other’s healing this morning. Two or three elders (and some others) will be spread around the Sanctuary, and as songs praying for healing are played you are invited to come forward, bringing your hurts, temptations, and brokenness to Jesus present in these groups so that He might heal you.

In the Scriptures, when we read of people coming to Jesus for healing, the Lord often asked them what they wanted Him to do for them. So tell these elders and others what you hope the Lord would do for you, and you can expect them to anoint you with oil, lay hands on you (perhaps on your heads or your shoulders), and pray for you as the Holy Spirit leads them.

We recognize there are several ways the Lord heals us when we come to Him seeking healing: He “miraculously” heals us, bringing about changes in us – restoring relationships, reforming limbs, driving away evil spirits, knitting together broken parts, and replacing missing parts; but sometimes our prayers result in less immediate healing, leading us to proper treatments or specialists, or helping treatments work that haven’t or giving specialists new direction where they’ve been clueless before; sometimes our prayers for healing will grant us insights or special knowledge, often granted when it’s our own actions or behaviors that are causing our troubles and trials, for instance, where diet, harmful habits, and the need for forgiveness are involved; and, of course, the Lord Jesus heals us thoroughly and absolutely in the resurrection to come, and the prayers we offer here and now merely help produce in us the grace we need to persevere day by day.

Our reading this morning reminds us that being in a reconciled, obedient relationship with our Father is at the heart of being in full-communion with His help and healing. So as we come seeking prayer let us refresh our commitments to love Him with our all our thoughts and motives, all our words and actions, all our possessions and influence, and to love those with whom we come into contact each day to the same degree we love ourselves. Let’s recommit to obey His Word and to let the Holy Spirit guide our actions and activities each day.

I’d like to invite the elders to come forward and take the lead in praying for us… As the elders come, I’d also like to invite forward:

Mary Beth Bell;

Barbara Boehm;

Lucille Fenner;

Joan Franklin;

Bill Herdman;

Laraine Kensicki;

Pat Melzer;

Ethan Moore;

Alex Pratz;

Jenn Smetana; and,

Noah Willis…

[To the healing pray-ers]: The healing people seek primarily falls into the areas of physical, mental, emotional, and relational healing. Evil and unclean demonic powers can be at the heart of, or merely complicate, any of these areas of our lives. So when people tell you what they’re seeking prayer for, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you – or them – to the heart of the matter for your prayers. Trust that still, small voice speaking to you: Giving you ideas and directing your words. But be humble, as well. Our own experiences and hurts can get us thinking, “They’re just like me,” when, in fact, each soul is a unique expression of God’s image, and their troubles and trials, no matter how similar to yours, may have affected them altogether differently. Love each one who comes to you; let our Father love each one through you…

[To the congregation]: Come, seek healing prayer. He is the Lord our healer.

1 Peter 3:1-6, 8-12 [NLTse]

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over ² by observing your pure and reverent lives.

³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ⁵ This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. ⁶ For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do…

⁸ Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. ⁹ Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it. ¹⁰ For the Scriptures say,

“If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. ¹¹ Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. ¹² The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil.”

As you may have guessed, I’d like to talk to those of you who are wives, this morning, but I want to do it with you, husbands, listening; and with you who may be hoping to be wives someday listening; along with you who may be hoping to be husbands…

Being married has many challenges. But through those challenges, we learn how to be flexible, and most importantly, how to love and forgive. For those of us who are married, the question to ask is, “Am I doing my part?” A failure to understand and live out the specific roles and responsibilities God has given to the husband and wife is the reason for the breakdown of so many marriages today. Wives, do you know what your responsibilities are? 1 Peter 3:1-6 that we just read does a wonderful job of summing them up. Let’s start at the beginning.

Here is what we just read from Peter’s First Letter… Here is Ephesians 5:22-23, “…wives… submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of His body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.” And  here is Colossians 3:18, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.” And Titus 2:4-5, “…older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.”

And there’s no way around the word, because “submit” or “subject” is a good translation for hupotasso, which means to place under or to subject. Wives are to place themselves under – are to subject themselves to – their husbands. And according to the passage from Ephesians we quoted, your model for that is the Church’s submission to Christ.

Different husbands and wives might live this out differently, but it certainly doesn’t mean that wives don’t get to have a say in the marriage relationship or the decisions couples have to make together. After all, Christ gives us a say in what He does – we call it “prayer” – to the point that the Bible says we reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:12)! So wives are called to fully share the wisdom, insights, and clear thinking they’ve perhaps been given, along with their wants and desires. (And men, let’s remember that many women, and many of them are our wives, are wiser and more insightful and clearer thinkers than we are.) But it remains that God has made the “buck to stop” with the husband; husbands, we are held responsible.

The kind of submission Christ calls wives to is very different from the kind of submission you can hear about and read about in the world:

(1)     In the world submission is enforced, people are made to submit; but a wife’s submission to her husband is voluntary, from the heart;

(2)    In the world submission is motivated by self-interest, demanded by those who expect us to act in ways which benefit them; biblical submission is motivated by a wife’s faith, hope, and love, and though directed to her husband, it is most truly given to our Lord and Savior Who gave up His rights and privileges in order to bring blessings to us;

(3)    In the world submission is mainly a matter of who has power over whom; but a wife’s submission is more a matter of putting the interests of her husband ahead of her own.

Be encouraged, ladies, that the Lord’s given you life-changing, eternal reasons for such submissiveness. Peter says in our reading: “Even if [your husband’s] refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives.”

I know many women and wives who try to get the men in their lives to do what they want by arguing and power-plays. But  Proverbs says, “A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping,” (19:13) That “it’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife” (Proverbs 21:19) So trying to fight your husband for control clearly isn’t God’s way.

What’s the best way to influence your husband, regardless of his conduct or attitude toward you? Stop fighting with him and lovingly, willingly, submit to him. At least that’s what the God Who made you and your husband says, ladies.

Of course, there are situations where a wife must not submit to her husband. When we have a husband (or other authority figure over us) demanding we not show God’s righteous-love in a particular instance, or demanding we not show God our love for Him in some particular way, we must obey God rather than people, no matter their authority. And the Lord’s given you sisters and brothers to help you discern the truth about such things when you’re in the midst of them…

Enough about submission, let’s go on to the next big thing Peter talks about: With fashion, make-up, and weight-loss being billion dollar industries in our day, 1 Peter says to wives, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.” Now, the Bible speaks of women being properly dressed and physically fit, of course (Proverbs 31:17, 21; 1 Corinthians 6:19), but our society has put burdens upon you ladies – you wives – which you were never intended to bear, and which the Lord your God is calling you to throw off today.

Our society pressures you to look a certain way, have a certain shape, and reveal it all to anyone who might take a look your way. But the Lord your God says, “Don’t be so concerned with how the package is wrapped, what you’re to be concerned about is the condition of the present that’s inside.” In the apostle Peter’s words, “You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.”

Can you see how this might benefit your marriage? Not bearing the burden of wondering if everyone thinks you’re beautiful or if you’re as shapely as the latest cover girl. After all, you are for your husband and he for you. What does it matter whether anyone else in all creation finds you attractive or not? As long as He does. And along with your inner beauty and your gentle, quiet spirit, that’s all that matters!

Maybe you hear this and say, “But I don’t have a gentle and quiet spirit. My life’s more like an awkward clamor of bells!” Well, then it’s time to turn to God and turn away from your habits and practices and activities that are keeping you from being the woman and the wife God has purchased you to be through Christ’s death on the cross.

God’s calling you to submit to your husband? You do that by submitting to His Holy Spirit first! Stop giving in to your anger and gossiping and dirty language. No more lying, for you’ve stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. “Put on your new nature,” Paul writes to the Colossians, “and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” Instead, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient.

If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up. Try and try and try and try and try again.

Make allowance for other’s faults. Forgive anyone who offends you. Remember that the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Focus on being thankful. Let the message about Jesus, in all its richness, fill your life. And teach and counsel others with whatever wisdom God’s given you. Whatever you do, whatever you say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God…

Husbands, I’m looking forward to talking to you very soon.

The Prophet Isaiah 8:11-18 [NLTse]

¹¹ The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,

¹² “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. ¹³ Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the One you should fear. He is the One Who should make you tremble. ¹⁴ He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah He will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem He will be a trap and a snare. ¹⁵ Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”

¹⁶ Preserve the teaching of God; entrust His instructions to those who follow me. ¹⁷ I will wait for the Lord, Who has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my hope in Him.

¹⁸ I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies Who dwells in His Temple on Mount Zion.

The Gospel According to Matthew 7:21-23 [NLTse]

²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in Heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.’

The Letter from James 1:19-25 [NLTse]

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰ Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. ²¹ So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. ²² But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

I was looking up the word “disciple” recently. It’s become so equated with Christianity that the first three definitions I found on Dictionary.com defined it in that sense. But definition “4” is what I’d like us to think about together today:

A disciple is “a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower: a disciple of Freud.” A “pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another”; so a disciple is a student: One who studies the teachings of someone. And as Christians that means we study the teachings of God, the good news of Jesus Christ: We study Him; we follow Him; we live Him.

And yet, how? We’re all so different, and our personalities and temperaments can lead us to express the life of Jesus is so many different ways! We see friends and mentors or others we look up to living Jesus’ life around us, and we’re inspired, but their “way” just doesn’t work for us. And so we become discouraged, thinking, “There’s something wrong with me”, or “I should’ve known God wouldn’t want a screw-up like me”, or something similar. But the truer truth may simply be that our friend’s “way” of living Jesus’ life just isn’t our way of living Jesus’ life.

If you look at Jesus’ life across the Word of God there seem to be different, distinct areas of His life with God: We see Christ at prayer, and we listen to His teaching on the life of intimacy with the Father; we see Jesus doing battle with temptation, and we listen to His teaching on the importance of virtue and purity of heart; we see Him doing His ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we listen to His teaching on the comfort, wisdom, strength, and power that come from the indwelling of the Spirit of God; we see our Savior caring for the sick and the needy, and listen to His teaching on the importance of caring for our neighbor; and, we see Him reading from the Scriptures, focused on the lost, and we listen to His teaching on the importance of hearing His Word and doing it. We see each of these distinct-but-overlapping areas of the Lord Jesus’ life being lived out across the history of the Church, as well.

In the fourth century men and women fled the life of the city to found cloisters and monasteries, emphasizing the importance of solitude, meditation, and prayer. St. Augustine was one of these. This renewal of intimacy with God strengthened the Church in that day. We’ve come to speak of that as the contemplative movement.

In the late twelfth century a man named Francis of Assisi abandoned his former life and went about the countryside of Italy caring for the sick, the poor, and the lame. Countless men and women followed Francis’ lead, and the Church’s impact on disease and poverty was remarkable. We’ve called similar crusades across history social justice movements.

In the fifteenth century the Church witnessed a renaissance recognizing the importance of the Bible and preaching. Martin Luther and others provided believers with access to the Bible that had previously been unavailable to them. This resulted in a reawakening of the role of the laity in expressing the life of Christ to the world. The Protestant emphasis upon personal witness and evangelism naturally followed, and we speak of such times as evangelical movements.

In the seventeenth century the Church witnessed a new outbreak of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women who were called “Quakers,” led by the ministry of George Fox. The active presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers became the empowering principle behind scores of conversions. The active role of the Spirit was at the center of their worship, and it propelled them into evangelism, missions, and addressing social concerns. An example of charismatic movements.

In the early eighteenth century the Anglican priest John Wesley and his friends (who were nicknamed “the Holy Club”) began focusing on moral laxity and the need for the removal of sinful habits in the life of Christian men and women. Because of the effectiveness of their “method”, the Church once again took sin seriously, and the results were dramatic. This is an example of a holiness movement.

And there have been other, similar movements before and after, the sovereign Lord-of-all stirring up His people to

more intimate devotion;

increased virtue in our thoughts, words, and actions;

a more earnest seeking of the Spirit’s empowerment for ministry;

deeper compassion toward all people; and,

more widespread evangelism to the lost.

The heart of God fully expressed in the Son of God to be fully expressed by the sons and daughters of God.

And so while our friends or mentors may be more drawn to the evangelical life of Christ, we may be more drawn to the holiness life. Where this or that Christian leader may be so boldly living out the charismatic life of Christ, we may recognize the Savior directing us to address His social justice concerns. One Body, one Spirit, one glorious hope for the future; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father Who is over us all and in us all and living through us all, but many ways to live out His fullness here in the world.

And each are important because contemplatives can forget the needs of the world, and moralists focusing on sin can neglect compassion, and charismatics seeking the gifts can neglect the Giver, and social activists can forget to listen to God, and Bible-Study enthusiasts can feel no need for the Holy Spirit…

There’s a special Insert in our Worship Bulletins this morning. It lists some different exercises we can do to strengthen the different aspects of Jesus’ life with God in our lives with Him.

For instance, there’s the contemplative practice of spending time in silence or praying using Scripture; there’s the holiness practice of fasting and of spending an entire day without saying anything negative; there’s the charismatic practices of intentionally yielding to the work of God’s Spirit and finding out our spiritual gifts; the social justice practices of seeking out injustices and of guarding the reputation of others; and, the evangelical practices of memorizing Scripture and telling someone about your faith.

Last week we celebrated in a focused way the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Let’s “turn up” our life of faith a few notches. He is risen! And He has so much more life for us to be living!

Colossians 1:15-20 [NLTse]

¹⁵ Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, ¹⁶ for through Him God created everything in the Heavenly realms and on Earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together. ¹⁸ Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in everything. ¹⁹ For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, ²⁰ and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in Heaven and on Earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Happy Easter!

Different Sundays you can hear different ones from around our congregation share their testimonies – the stories of how knowing the Lord Jesus has changed our lives. I thought today I’d share mine…

The Lord Jesus once said, “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears My teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

I was the man who built his house on sand.

“Wadi” is an Arabic term for “valley”, usually referring to dry riverbeds that contain water only during times of heavy rain. Characteristic of desert environments, as you may know, are infrequent, but sudden and heavy, rains that often result in flash floods (with several deaths occurring each year when people cross dry wadis and get caught by the sudden and unexpected flash-flood waters).

And yet nomadic and desert peoples often establish communities around wadis because of the water that can often be found just below the dry surface, and the seasonal vegetation found there.

The Lord Jesus may have shared this illustration of building on bedrock versus building on sand while overlooking a wadi, because the dry riverbed of a wadi would make a solid, and sure foundation for even great construction projects. Except that when the rains fell and the flash-flood waters came, everything would get swept away.

And that’s what my life was like.

I’ve always been a “nice guy”, part of the “in” crowds. And in high school, that was enough to succeed. But when I got out on my own, being nice and well-though-of and trying to do the right thing wasn’t enough. Because you can think the wadi sand is solid all you like, and you can believe it will be the perfect place to begin to make-your-mark all you like. But when your thoughts and beliefs aren’t based on truth, everything you build – time after time after time – is going to get carried away when the floodwaters come.

Like many today, I was very inspired by those who were sincere in their faith. I was a part of a church and had heard many stories about Jesus Christ, but I was equally inspired by the reputation of famed Buddhist’s, stories I heard told about devout Muslims and Hindus. And though the majority of America’s founding fathers were committed Christians, I think it is hard to grow up in America today and not revere the great atheists and deists who were amongst those great men, as well.

So, not know who are what to believe, most often I just went along with the crowd. I didn’t know which religion or groups were right and which were wrong – they all seemed equally sincere – so I figured I’d just follow the majority.

I’ve always been a sensitive soul: Hurting for the underdog; and, for those hurting around me and on the news. Perhaps drawn to my sensitivity, many of my peers and others around me would readily share their confusion and their troubles and regrets with me, seeking advice. And I would respond back with the latest and greatest wisdom I had just read in the latest news magazine or from this or that self-help bestseller.

But it was all sinking sand, because – for a time – this self-help approach would be talked about and promoted and all the rage. But after a while, all the so-called “authorities” and “specialists” would start disparaging that method in favor of some new technique or way of thinking. Which would soon be replaced by even newer and more-improved ways, and on, and on.

No sooner would I build my “house” but it would get swept away. And then I’d build another, but it, too, wouldn’t last. And pretty soon I found myself fearful of building anything at all!

I reached this crisis point during my first semester at seminary – studying to be a pastor, believe it or not. I knew I needed to find a way to change my relationship with God (as I was coming to know Him through Christ), or I needed to begin studying some other religions and find one I could live with integrity.

What brought about the change that has transformed my Christianity to the close, abiding relationship I enjoy with Jesus today? (Please don’t get me wrong: My relationship with Jesus isn’t perfect, but it is close and abiding. J) Believe it or not, what changed things was that I truly began trusting Him. For me, what that meant was, when I read the Bible I began believing what I read instead of doubting it all. If it was something that seemed far-fetched, I gave the One-Who-created-the universe-from-nothing the benefit of the doubt. If passages seemed to contradict, instead of immediately responding, “See, you can’t believe it!” I sought to read more carefully and study histories and commentaries, and I found that a knowledge of history and the details in the passages often showed how, what had seemed conflicting, all fit together quite well.

When modern “authorities” and “specialists” and self-help books said things that would have made the Word of God untrue, I put my trust in the reliability of the Bible, knowing that, as our “authorities” and “specialists” keep changing their minds that, perhaps they would eventually come to agree with the truth there in the Scriptures!

I know all of you here are in so many different places in your lives right now: 1) Maybe religious observances and demands are keeping you down? Well, know that in His day Jesus Christ put an end to the way Sabbath and dietary laws had been twisted to keep people from God, and helped people draw near to God again. And He can help you! 2) If you’re afraid of supernatural forces and evil powers and all the dark things going on in the world; know that Jesus Christ set people free from the demons that bothered and possessed them. He has absolute authority over the powers in the spiritual realm. He can help and protect you. 3) Do you live in constant anxiety about earthquakes, tornadoes, tidal waves, and the frightening storms going on around us? Jesus Christ transformed a raging sea squall into calm, peaceful waters simply by yelling at the waves! He is the almighty! 4) Are you growing weary under a chronic illness that won’t let you go? Or is the chronic illness of a loved one haunting you and breaking your heart? Does death seem to always loom over you, and you’re terrified to die? Jesus of Nazareth healed the blind; He restored the health of lepers; He made fevers leave those He cared for; and, He even brought those who had died back to life! He can take care for you! 5) Perhaps you are carrying so very much pressure, and living in fear and worry about losing your job, and providing for your family, because it feels like it’s all resting squarely on your shoulders? Know today that on two separate occasions Jesus Christ miraculously multiplied a handful of fish and bread loaves to feed more than 5,000 people. Yes, you have to do your part, but you can trust Him to provide for you when you put your trust in Him! 6) Or maybe for you this whole system of things that makes up the world has got you down and afraid and worried and in chains in your own mind. Well, we celebrate today that the powers and leadership and governments of this world threw everything they had at Jesus Christ, even torturing and killing Him in the end. And He beat it! He transformed it all to die for our sins and bring glory to God His Father in Heaven. And then He came back from the dead, showing Himself even more powerful than death itself! He will free you from your fears if you will trust Him. He will free you from your worries if you trust Him. He will set you free!

I tell you from my own experience: If you’re looking for something in your life, you’re looking for Jesus Christ! If you’re hoping for someone to come into your life, trust me, you’re hoping Jesus Christ will come into your life first!

When you get to know Jesus Christ you are getting to know God. He’s the One Who made everything that exists, and everything that exists was made for Him! And everything that exists, including you and me – and, of course, even those people who hate Him – we all find our right place in the world and our true meaning in life only in relationship with Him!

John 13:1-15 [NLTse]

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to His Father. He had loved His disciples during His ministry on Earth, and now He loved them to the very end. ² It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. ⁴ So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, ⁵ and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.

⁶ When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

⁸ “No,” Peter protested, “You will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to Me.”

⁹ Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For Jesus knew who would betray Him. That is what He meant when He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹² After washing their feet, He put on His robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? ¹³ You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. ¹⁴ And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.

The Book of Acts shows us the earliest days, months, and years of the Christian church. Fifty days following the Lord Jesus’ resurrections, 120 disciples gathered to pray together in an upper room. By the end of that first Christian Pentecost the Holy Spirit had called out 3,000 others to join them in living by our faith. And within several months the Holy Spirit had added more than 5,000 more!

If you’d open your Bibles or a pew Bible to Acts 6… We read, “But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.”

Here we see the Twelve – who were the elders of that large, growing congregation – continuing in our Savior’s pattern of service: And we read specifically of the ways they were caring for that first church’s many widows.

Notice with me the difference between the focus of the leaders and the focus of those others who made up the church: We see the Twelve concerned with serving those needy women, as well as, a little farther along, their desire to serve the many across Jerusalem who had not yet received the gospel; at the same time we see the widows and other members of the church complaining that they weren’t being served in the ways they wanted to be and thought they should be.

There may be many characteristics that set apart true Christian leaders from other Christians around Christ’s church, but one of those characteristics surely must be having a servant’s heart: Seeking to serve others rather than to be served; concerned about other’s welfare even at the expense of our own; no matter how demeaning or demanding that service might be.

In the spirit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I want to call us all to nurture in ourselves the Lord Jesus’ holy spirit of servitude in our lives.

Perhaps you’re a leader; maybe you’re not; but, whatever we are, we know, according to our faith, that the Lord lives in us and is calling us to follow Him, even in serving.

Maybe for different ones of us that means we’ll start cleaning our rooms without being asked or making sure we’re home when we say we’ll be. Or perhaps we’ll start getting our reports handed in on-time like our boss is always asking or begin changing our habits to get more work done and be spending less time chatting or around the water cooler.

Around here we could serve the Worship Hosts by cleaning out our pews when we leave, and serve our Sextons and one another by throwing away our trash and straightening up rooms as we’re leaving. Letting other cars cut in front of us when we see them signaling is another way to serve, as is staying off their tails as we follow them along…

And yet, truly serving others is a lot more than simply doing this or not doing that. It’s an attitude: Considering others as being more important than ourselves – other’s time more important than our time, other’s reputations as more important than our reputations, other’s property more important than what we want to do or what may be convenient for us at the time.

Serving is a mindset. It’s thinking, “I’ll do that so so-an-so won’t have to.” “I’ll suffer so the other person won’t need to.” Even disciplining our thinking towards: “What can I be doing to serve others and those in need, even in the midst of my busy schedule, today?”

We live in a day where airplane pilots are reportedly acting dangerously; and postal workers and students are threatening and taking out their rage on those around them; where racial fears and hatreds are being nurtured and allowed to blow following sad and heart-breaking deaths; where me-me-me is encouraged focus, and we’re told to do this and do that because we deserve it and because we’re worth it…

[Invite the Elders forward…]

You call me “Shepherd” and “Teacher” and you are right because that’s what I am. And since I, your shepherd and teacher have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s and other’s feet. Christ has given us an example to follow. Let us do as He has done to us.

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According to Luke 19:11-27 [NLTse]

¹¹ The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because He was nearing Jerusalem, He told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. ¹² He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. ¹³ Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ ¹⁴ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

¹⁵ “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. ¹⁶ The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

¹⁷ “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

¹⁸ “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

¹⁹ “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

²⁰ “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. ²¹ I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

²² “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, ²³ why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

²⁴ “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

²⁵ “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’

²⁶ “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. ²⁷ And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

At Wintercamp this year I heard the story of a dalit who lived in the highlands of Punjab, India. He was a hardworker, cheerfully performing all the “dirty jobs” around his modest village.

One day a messenger passed through bearing news that the Rajah – the ruler of all Punjab – was to be travelling through the larger town at the foot of their mountain home.

As you may know, India was ordered according to a strict caste system in that day. And, though not of the untouchables we hear stories about, this man’s opportunities were few, and he had little hope of his circumstances ever changing: Unless the Rajah showed him mercy! It was rare, but he’d heard stories of the monarch giving surprising gifts to surprising recipients as he traveled from town to town.

So early in the morning the dalit left his village in the hopes of being noticed by the Rajah and, perhaps, being shown mercy. The King wasn’t supposed to arrive in the lowland town until the next day, but the man knew it would take him several hours to make the journey down the mountainside, and he knew the importance of being in the very front when the crowds came to line the streets of the Rajah’s procession, so he left right away.

The dalit arrived at the outskirts of the town late in the afternoon, the journey had taken him longer than he’d expected. But he made his way through to the main road where the Rajah’s procession would be passing, and sat at the roadway’s edge.

There was no one along the way as he waited. The townspeople were busy wetting down the dirt street and preparing their wares in the hopes of catching the eye of the Rajah’s retainers. So the man sat and waited. And night came and he slept, looking like a pile of dirty flesh right in the middle of the street!

He awoke early the next morning to the sound of messengers coming through the town heralding the arrival of the Rajah. The town burst into activity, but the man merely stood up from where he’d slept, and waited. The morning passed with townspeople beginning to crowd the roadway that ran through the middle of the town: People crowded around the dalit and behind him, and more messengers came and more messengers came announcing that the Rajah’s arrival was imminent! And the street was lined to overflowing, people spreading out of the town in both directions as parents crowded to give their children a view and merchants crowded to get their wares within view and the dalit stood front and center and waited…

Midafternoon, as the crowds were getting restless and another series of messengers passed through announcing the “imminent arrival” of the Rajah, the dalit heard some commotion and yells from those standing a distance away. And sure enough, along the winding mountain paths leading into the town he could see the rising dustclouds of the Rajah’s caravan. And the sound of horns blowing could be heard. And after some time, mixed now with the sounds of the noise from the crowds, the tinkling of musical instruments and laughter and applause.

The first to appear were the guardsmen of the troop accompanying the Rajah. Intermingling among them were dancing ladies and girls with handbells, twirling scarves, and stirring up the onlookers and causing them to cheer. Then came the cavalry on horseback, dressed in their finery with their horses gilt in gold and sparkling gemstones. Then the Rajah’s bodyguard on their lumbering, terrifying elephants: Ivory tusks shining with gold and trunks lashing out at the crowds; fearsome warriors covered with tattoos, their faces covered with war paint, commanded the great beasts. And in their midst, reclining on a palanquin atop the greatest of the beasts: The Rajah himself!

As the crowd pushed its way forward for a better look the dalit found himself pushed forward with them, until he could have reached out and touched the great elephant’s hide as it came stalking toward him.

Until suddenly the line stopped.

Looking almost directly above him, the dalit saw the Rajah climb out from atop his comforts and dismount the beast to stand directly in front of him. Before the dalit could get his thoughts and words together to seek a gift, the Rajah stuck out his hand to the dalit and demanded, “Give me something!”

The poor man was dumbfounded. Standing nose to nose with the Rajah he was flustered and having trouble thinking. “Give me something!” the Rajah demanded again.

Quivering and ashamed, the poor man reached gently into the small pouch of rice – all the food he had – tied around his waist. He withdrew three grains of the rice, all he thought he could spare, and handed them to the Rajah. Quicker than the dalit thought possible, the Rajah slapped his hand on top of the peasant’s, taking the rice. And then turning he remounted his great elephant steed, and was gone.

The dalit continued to stand, hand out, stunned as the rest of the caravan passed by. As the sounds faded away from the town and the townspeople returned to their evening activities, the man looked down, opening his fingers to see that the rice was, indeed, gone. But there in his hand, where the three grains of rice had been, were now three grains of pure gold!

Pure gold! The Rajah had given him a gift after all: Three grains of gold for the three grains of rice he had offered.

“Why didn’t I give him more?” the dalit mumbled. “I gave him only what I thought I could spare. Why didn’t I give him more?” he cried. He was beside himself. “Why didn’t I give him everything I had! O, if I had only known I would have given him everything I had!”

And so for us: Many look to the Living God in hopes He will give us something: Mercy; a gift… But the Lord Jesus has not come simply to hand out gifts, but has come seeking to make the great exchange! The Lord has granted each of us much to invest for the Kingdom of Heaven while we await His return: Some of us have been given great beauty or made strikingly handsome; others have been gifted to knit or stitch or craft and build things with our hands; still others are great leaders or teachers or speakers, great thinkers, hardworkers or organizers; and still others been given great wealth or great influence over those around us; and there’s so much more…

What will we give Him? These talents, attributes, and positions can seem like nothing to us, compared to what others have. Or perhaps more than that, we can hope to keep these talents, attributes, and positions or power and influence to enjoy for our own benefit. But the centuries continue to reveal that the more we give to Jesus Christ – for His Kingdom’s sake and to draw other’s attention to Him with our lives – the more we receive in return. The parable we read this morning is clear: Whatever we invest – ten talents, five abilities, two parts of our influence – whatever we invest will prosper and be multiplied for His fame. Our giving – to this One Who asks for all we have and all we are, but Who will take whatever we’re willing to give Him – is not a sacrifice but, in truth, the greatest opportunity we’ll ever be given to receive true riches and true greatness, and in the world to come life beyond our imaginings!

What are you holding back? What ways could you be serving here at the church but you’re holding back thinking, “I’ve already done my share”, or “let others do it”? Let’s not fool ourselves, we’re the ones missing out if we hold back on Jesus Christ.

What relationships do you enjoy where you haven’t shared with your friends or loved ones your love for Almighty God and His great love for you? Let’s share Him with them all; maybe they’ll come to believe like you do and your joy in those relationships can be even greater!

Perhaps you’re thinking of some area or activity in the rice-pouch of your living right now that the Holy Spirit is wanting you to dig deeper into and give God more of, or to hand over to Him completely?!

… [Give a nice long pause, looking and praying over the faces of those in the congregation.]

We get so focused on our aches and our troubles when Jesus promises to provide for our every need if we’ll simply live for Him and not hold back. Let’s not hold back. No more holding back.

When Jesus returns in all His glory with the holy angels to make all things new, let’s not be among those crying, “Why didn’t I give Him everything I had! O, if I had only known I would have given Him everything I had!”

You know. We know. To Him Who gave us everything He had, even His Own life, let’s give Him all. Let’s give Him all.