“The Word Eternal”

Scripture:   Mark 13:24-37

Periodically, we hear some self-proclaimed “sage” claim that they have the inside track on when Jesus will be returning.  They have received a sign of some kind, or the spirit has revealed the secret to them alone, or they have studied some long forgotten text, and now they know the secret of the Lord’s return and Judgment of the world.  And yet, their predictions never seem to come true.

 No one knew about the Christ’s birth, except for those who God had revealed that glory.  And no one knows the day of his return, even Jesus Himself.  But Jesus did tell us that there would be signs and wonders as that day approaches.  In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts2:1-41), he quoted the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32) when he said” ¹⁹I will show wonders in the heavens above  and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  ²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.  ²¹ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

 Jesus also spoke about signs and wonders, like deception, false Messiahs and prophets, wars and rumors of wars, national conflicts, famines and earthquakes, persecution and hatred, to name just a few(!), and he said that “the love of most will grow cold”, but that only the one who stands firm will be saved. (Matthew 24:4-14)  Now before you think that the current condition of the world fits all of these descriptions, remember that they have occurred many times before, and we are still waiting for the LORD’s day to arrive.  But remember that every day that we put up with war and conflict and persecution and hatred means that the Day of Jesus is that much closer.

 Read Mark 13:24-27

 

It seems that Jesus was full of “signs and wonders”, but he doesn’t explain them at all!  But even without any guidance, they all seem pretty dire.  A lot of shaking and loss of much of what God had once created.  But the one clear sign is actually the scene as Jesus reappears, and not so much as to what will proclaim that the time is near.  His appearance will be cloudy, or rather that it will not be understood by the world.  But the great promise that this prophecy holds is that every faithful person will be gathered up by the angels of heaven, regardless of who or where they may be.

 

The other consequence of the LORD’s return is that creation will be in jeopardy.  The sun will stop shining, the moon will have nothing to reflect, and all of the stars – every other light source throughout the universe – will fall from their designated place.  In other words, nothing that humanity has known throughout the ages will ever be the same again, which basically means that God’s created order will end.  Now this doesn’t mean that God’s works have failed – it means quite the opposite.  It simply means that this phase of creation has served its purpose, its time has come to an end, and the new is about to begin.

 

Read Mark 13:28-31

 

Earlier in this book (Mark11:12-14), Jesus told about the fig tree that was bearing no fruit whatsoever, and he cursed it with he words “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”  Sounds like the judgment against those who never exhibited the “Fruit of the Spirit”! (Galatians 5:19-26)  And we remember that those who won’t know the Spirit are those who never gave their lives to Jesus.

 

But the fig tree in chapter 13 is a different tree – it is living, with leaves, and, presumably, fruit.  The first fig tree is judgment on those who never knew Jesus, but this tree is the promise of eternal life for all who love the LORD.  And his prophecy that creation will come to its end, both the heavens and everything under it, is reiterated, with the additional truth that this end will apply to everything unless his word has specified otherwise.

 

And there’s the rub!  Jesus’ word is the benchmark, it’s the dividing line, it creates the separation between the faithful and the unbelievers.  This doesn’t mean that we have to understand and accept every single thing that the Lord ever taught.  But it does mean that we have to believe in what we have received about Jesus in scripture, and to be open to learning more of his truth, those ways that come from his word.  It means that we are live his truth – his entire truth – regardless of what the world may tell us, or what we may have believed before we gave our life to him.

 

Read Mark 13:32-34

 

No one knows the time of Messiah’s return – not even the Son of God!  I’ve always wondered about that.  I understand why it may be held back for humanity – God doesn’t want us trying to play games with that time, waiting until the last minute to come to God’s way.  But why wasn’t Jesus allowed to know that day and time?  It shouldn’t have impacted his ministry or message; it wasn’t that he would tell others; it wouldn’t have made any difference in his suffering, death, and resurrection, so why?  It seems that this is one of those divine mysteries that has no easy answer!

 

But the second part of this passage is a bit more definitive.  Since no one knows the day or time, we need to be alert to his return.  No trying to guess, no developing some algorithm to figure it out, no waiting for those signs and wonders before we make that final decision for Christ. 

 

Jesus told several parables about being prepared, with the point being that first, we need to be active in the ways of our Savior as we wait for that day, and the second, that we need to have our lives in Godly order before that time arrives.

 

What does this entail?  Let’s take the second part first – being ready. (Matthew 25:1-13)  Faith isn’t a head knowledge of Jesus – it involves much more.  Just as in any relationship that we cherish, we can’t just know about another person – we have to understand and value the life they offer to us.  We need to develop a heart-felt relationship; we have to be prepared to give our all to them; we have to care enough about them to develop a true, unbreakable bond between the two of you.  It doesn’t mean that there will never be difficulties, but it does mean that if we are prepared, the relationship will be strong enough to survive those problems.

 

The second – being active while we wait (Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 12:42-48 & Luke19:11-27) – comes after the relationship develops, and helps us to grow in it.  In the case of faith, this activity is called “ministry”.  Sometimes, ministry is pastoral, sometimes it is outreach, sometimes it is service, and sometimes it is just loving someone because they need it.  It’s about stepping back so others can move forward, and other times it involves taking the lead so others can learn.  How do we decide what we are to do?  We don’t make that decision on our own, but look to the Holy Spirit to tell us what, where, when, how and who is to become part of each Christian mission.

 

A life in Christ during this waiting period has nothing to do with who we are or who we want to be or what we think we should be doing – it’s about being productive in the ways of Christ.  He gives us an assignment that he has prepared us for, and then tells us to go and do it in the way that he would.  It’s as easy as that.

 

Read Mark 13:35-37

 

Remembering that no one knows the time and place of Jesus’ return – not Jesus, not the Holy Spirit, not the angels or seraphim or cherubim, and definitely not us; only the Father knows – be prepared for that day, whenever it may be.  “Being a faithful Christian doesn’t just happen” – it requires preparation, Christian action, and patience as we anxiously await that glorious day.

 

Jesus has been very intentional in letting us know just how important it is to be ready for his Day.  Don’t sleep, don’t assume, don’t hesitate, don’t let anything get in the way of preparing for Christ’s Second appearance here on earth. 

 

His arrivals will be totally different:  the first was as a helpless infant who was born of a virgin, while the second will be as the divine and eternal King and Ruler of all; the first was as a human being who was as vulnerable and emotional as we are, while the second will be as a Divine, Eternal, and Godly Being who is, was, and always will be; the first was to teach us about God and his desires for our lives, while the second will be to judge each and every person as to how well they have learned and lived those ways; the first was to submit himself to worldly hatred and contempt, while the second will be to put an end to those ways of earth, as well as to all who have chosen to live by worldly precepts; the first was to establish a way for us to attain eternal life, and the second will be to grant that life to all who believe faithfully in him.

 

His words will never pass away.  Will you love them as much as the LORD loves you?

 

"How Truly Thankful Are We?"

Scripture:   2 Corinthians 9:6-15

 During the past year, thankfulness has been the last thing on people’s minds.  The virus, primarily, has captured our lives – isolation and quarantine, lost of friends and family members, uncertainty of jobs, and whatever had been our “normalcy” has vanished from our lives.  And of course, politics has been more contentious than anything we have ever known before.  Everything has become new, and not necessarily better.

 Or at least that is the way it seems!  Whenever catastrophes and abrupt change come into our life, it tends to block out everything else in our lives – especially the good things.  And for that very reason, this year’s Thanksgiving is far more important than in previous times. 

 Tonight, we consider a letter of encouragement that Paul sent to Corinth.  His letters to this church were, for the most part, corrective in nature, but they were also meant to encourage the Corinthian church to remember all that the Lord was doing through them. 

Corinth was a major seaport city located in, what is today, southern Greece.  It was an international trading center, which made it very cosmopolitan in nature.  Paganism reigned supreme, and worldly ideals had begun to work their way into the church. Paul’s previous letters to this church had been intended to set the church back on Christ’s path, and to lead the faithful away from the world’s perversions and back to the truth of God.

 Tonight’s passage from 2 Corinthians is more of encouragement in their faith expression than a warning!  And even more than that, I believe that Paul wanted this church to be an example of the Christian lifestyle, right in the middle of all the worldly goings on.  He wanted them to be aware of all that the Lord was doing for them and through them, and to be thankful for it all.

 Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-9

  The Corinthian church had made a commitment to send a generous gift to the church in Jerusalem, where hard times had taken a toll on the lives of the faithful.  But Paul didn’t want this gift to be one of obligation, but rather to be one of thanksgiving.  All too often people in the church consider their human and life’s needs as demanding priority, especially in their decision to give, and without a heart of thanksgiving, offerings can easily be less than what we know we should be giving to the Lord’s work.

 Verse 6 is his challenge to all of us, that if we wish to be blessed in God’s way, we must choose to live in God’s way.  Do we remember that our forgiveness depends upon how and to what degree we forgive others? (Matthew6:14-15)  Do we remember that we are to love others as we were first loved. (John 13:34-35)  This is exactly how the Lord has called us to live, and his way of generosity must also be ours.

 And the next verse is just as poignant – that when we make a commitment, whether it is to God or to each other, we not only need to keep it, but we are to offer it joyfully!  Some folks believe that the Lord is one of those who are “do what I say, not what I do”, but the truth is that Jesus lived as our example of how to love in an honest and Godly way, to be giving in the extreme, and to be joyful in doing it.  Everything in our life should be undertaken with the same attitude that God had in his giving to us.

 It seems that the Lord is telling us that even though Good Works are important, the reason and way that we “work” them is even more important. 

 Read 2 Corinthians 9:10-11

 He supplies the seed for our life, and increases the harvest of our soul.  In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents.  In it, a wealthy man will be going on a long journey, and while he is gone, he entrusts his great wealth to three of his servants.  Two of them put the money to work in their master’s way, and were able to increase the master’s wealth measurably.  The third hid his trust, and gained nothing.

 The first two, who followed their master’s example, would be honored in ways that would far exceed anything that they may have earned, while the third would be shut out of the master’s grace.  When our life, whether simple or grand, brings honor and prestige to our Divine Master through the way that we use the gifts he has entrusted to us, his gratitude and blessing will astound us.  Now that does not mean that our personal wealth and possessions will increase – just that God will reveal more and more of his power and love through our faithful life.

 The Lord’s riches aren’t like the world’s.  In Matthew6:19-24, Jesus reinforces this truth.  He reminds us that earth’s wealth is, at best, fleeting – it can so easily be tarnished and destroyed, but the treasure of heaven is eternal and can never be taken away.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  And one of those great treasures is our thankfulness for all that God is doing for us.  This past year has been either a great challenge, or perhaps one of great opportunity for us, depending on how we approach it.  2020’s virus that has wreaked so much agony and loss throughout our world, was never the Lord’s plan or his doing, but within all difficulties, his glory is still shining upon us, offering his unfailing treasure right in the middle of the world’s dark disaster.

 Our God is an “enriching” God, who gives so that we can also give as generously and as lovingly as he does.

 Read 2 Corinthians 9:12-15

 Have you ever thought of our service and mission as an expression of thanksgiving to the Lord?  This isn’t implying that the more we do, the more God is pleased with us.  The Lord has never been a God of quantity – he is the God of giving and loving that goes beyond the world’s standards, and beyond the world’s sense of priority.  And his giving, as well as ours, is out of abundance, not out of obligation or limitation.  If we respond within the Lord’s call, he will also provide all that is to be given – after all, he is Jehovah Jireh – the Lord who provides.

 God’s grace abounds, and when we are on the receiving end of his great benevolence, we have a decision to make.  Do we rejoice that our good fortune has just relieved some of our personal burdens, or do we rejoice that the Lord sees us as a servant worthy of his call?

 So this brings us to our holiday tomorrow, and the true significance of the day.  When the pilgrims arrived in this land of new opportunities, it didn’t start out all that glorious!  They had been forced out of England because of their religious convictions, and decided to settle in the Netherlands for a few years, until they felt the need to give the New World a try. 

 100 people set sail, and during the perilous voyage, and the following winter, half of their number perished due to the hardships.  Following their first tragic winter, they were befriended by a local Native American tribe who taught them about living in this new land.  By the end of that first summer, they had a successful harvest of crops, new skills in hunting and fishing, and hunger had become something of their past, at least for the immediate future.  And with grateful hearts, they feasted with their new American friends.

 Life hadn’t been especially easy for them, but they recognized God’s provision in all that they had been blessed with.  Their Thanksgiving feast was not only a great party, it was also a heart-filled time of praise and rejoicing for their God’s great gift of love and protection.  And this should be our lesson in this year of pandemic.

 How truly grateful and thankful are we?  Do we rejoice in all that we have, or do we lament the fact that others have more than we do, and that we are still needy?  Do we subscribe to the worldly adage that we have to put away as much as possible for that proverbial “rainy day”, or do we see our good fortune as the means to give God’s blessings to someone else?  Do we give from the limited content in our pocket, or do we give from the overflowing of our heart?

 Thanksgiving should be far more than just a special day – it’s an opportunity to give praise to the Lord, and love to our neighbors.  Isn’t that a lot better than stuffing ourselves with food, and then taking a nap?

           

 

“Problem: An Inconvenient Truth”

Scripture:   Psalm 5:8-9,25:4-5; Isaiah 45:18-19; Luke 20:20-21

 For the past 2,000 years, the true teachings of Jesus have, for many, been a thorn in their understanding of faith.  The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ time saw him as a threat to their orthodoxy, and they did everything they possibly could to discredit the truth that he was bringing to Israel.  

In the early years of the Church, the cultural elite of the world saw Christian faith as OK for the poor and ignorant, but not for those who could reason through their own intelligence.  They missed the fact that the message Jesus had brought was for all, and not just the oppressed of this world.

Through the Middle Ages, the Church endorsed and encouraged 8 Crusades, including one that consisted solely of children, with the sole purpose of destroying Islam and taking back the Holy Land, to make it Christian once again.  So much for “love your neighbor as yourself”!

 And throughout the centuries, there have always been those who felt that they had the right, and responsibility, to remake Jesus into their own image.  They forgot that Jesus, as the 2^nd Person of the Trinity, is just as Unchanging as the other two Persons.  And even people of today still find Jesus’ Truth to be troubling, and many are committed to setting it “right”.

 And this brings us to the “problem” for today – the last one in our series – what is the Truth of God that has been laid down for the lives of humanity, and why do people still object to it.

 Read Psalm 5:8-9, 25:4-5

 King David is credited with writing these two psalms, and in the first 2 verses, David, as the servant of God, reveals himself in a powerful way.  He tells us that our only chance of standing before our Lord in peace is through his gift of righteousness.  But the truth that he offers doesn’t end there.  He also acknowledges that salvation has nothing to do with what we can accomplish.  Even though the people of earth may tell us otherwise, that we have to earn our place in the kingdom, David says that “their mouth can not be trusted”, and that their ways will never bring us God’s blessings.

 And he isn’t gentile about the warning, either.  Their tongue is deceitful and their throat can only bring forth death and destruction.  The truth is that salvation is God’s gift, and he blesses those whom he determines should receive his gift.  And his decision isn’t based on what we can do to become deserving – it is all about what he has done, and whether we believe in him and follow his way or not. 

Scripture is full of references to the relationship between a Master and his servant, in which one is in charge, and the other does what the first one says!  Even Jesus saw himself as a servant to the will of God. (Acts 3:13) He said that he was helpless unless the Father granted him the authority and the words to share with us. (John5:19)  And if we are to be his people, should we be any different?

 The second two verses, which are from Psalm 25, show us the servant heart, the repentant heart of David, that led the prophet Samuel to tell King Saul that his reign would come to an end very soon, because God had found another who, unlike Saul, would serve him, one who would obey him. (1 Samuel 13:13-14)  And David exhibits a submissive character that even though he was a king, and had all the authority that the world instills on that position, he still put his Lord’s truth, and his Lord’s desires for his “servant heart”, first and foremost in his life.

 Read Isaiah 45:18-19

 The prophet begins by laying out the reason for God’s authority – it’s his creation, his plan, and that it was all put in place so he could provide a place for us to live – with him!  We don’t always understand the significance of this – after all, the world operates in a totally different manner.  We may come up with an idea, and create a plan or procedure or  product from it, but that doesn’t mean that we have the ultimate responsibility and authority to execute and administer it.  We all have a boss, or a committee, or something else that we have to report to.  Even the president of a corporation answers to a Board of Directors!

 But God has no boss, no one, including us, who has a higher authority or greater wisdom than he does.

 He word is final and true, and even though we may not have a sense of his presence, he has never hidden himself or his ways from us.  We may not always feel that he is with us - guiding us, teaching us, challenging us to follow him more closely – but he is.  The problem that everyone has, though, is that we don’t always listen very well, and when we don’t, our own wills seem to take over and encroach on the ways of God.

 All our life, we’ve heard “Be Strong!”, “Take Charge”, “Don’t let others step all over you!”, “You’re Number One!”, and after a while, we start to believe that it’s all “true”, that this is how we are to live our life!  The problem is that our ways, our strength, our authority is never, ever, perfect, and when we find ourselves sinking into one quagmire after another, we start to wonder what is going wrong.  And instead of accepting responsibility for our failures, we put the blame on others, including the Lord.  After all, we are Strong, we are supposed to be in Charge, we are Number One and “they” aren’t listening to us!

 We forget that we have heard the Lord say “I speak the Truth!”, “I decide what is Right and wrong”, “I am where your Strength comes from”, “I have created the best Plan and know exactly what it is all about”, and we don’t like it – it crimps our style, to say the least, and it just doesn’t fit with what we had always known.

 So we ignore the Lord’s word for our lives, and strike out on our own.

 Read Luke 20:20-21

 So it appears that simply mouthing the truth about Jesus isn’t enough – we need to believe it, and live it, and love it, and let the word of God work within us and through us – not to our prestige and honor, but to our Lord and Savior’s!  The Pharisees were constantly opposing Jesus, and it wasn’t in a polite and civil way.  Their sole mission was to restore their own authority over how to live out the commands of scripture, and if Jesus wouldn’t come around to their way of thinking, then they would have to take matters into their own hands.

 Sound familiar?  The world has always been full of this kind of attitude, and it won’t end until the Day of Christ’s return.  Notice that those men who came to Jesus that day had just one goal in mind – to trap Jesus into saying something that would get him in trouble with either the people or the Romans.  It didn’t matter which – either way, it would work to these “teachers” benefit.

 But since Jesus’ crucifixion, and then with his ascension, he was no longer around to be a target for the world’s animosity.  But fortunately, the Word of God and the Teaching of Jesus is still here.  UN-fortunately, the world has yet to learn that lesson.  They continue to think that by putting their agenda out there, over and over again, that those who are willing and eager to follow the way, the fullness of the way of Jesus, that as time goes on, more and more of the people will give up on the Lord, and begin accepting their style of faith.

 The truth of Jesus is a stumbling block for the world (1 Corinthians 1:22-24), and for the past 3 months, we have been considering many of those “problematic” obstacles to our faith, and how they have impacted our lives in a negative way.  But the problem hasn’t been with the word of God – it is, and always has been, perfect!  The problem is that we don’t seek out the truth of God nearly enough, and when we do discover his truth, we seldom trust it in a way that it deserves.

 The truth of Jesus really isn’t much of a problem for the world – if they can’t explain it away, they simply change it.  It is little more than an inconvenience to them, but the real problem for the world is that some still cling to all that God would have us learn and live, and they continue to object to the lies and ways of earth. 

 So the next time they try to sow doubt and dissension in your life, remember these words from our Lord:

 John 1:17 - “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

 John 14:6 - “Jesus answered “I am the way, and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 These words, and the words we find in the gospels, may be inconvenient for the world, but they are God’s hope and promise for all who believe.  And the Lord’s truth will always be the means to overcome every single problem that the world puts in our way. 

 Will you believe and trust in him and his word - today?

 

          

“Problem: How Patient is God – Really?”

 Scripture:   Romans 2:1-6, 9:22-26; 1 Timothy 1:12-16; Galatians 5:22-26

I think that most folks believe that God has little patience for those who are not completely in tune with his commandments.  For Israel through the centuries, there were times of uncertainty when their fortunes seemed to fall apart, but in those early days before the prophets  were raised up, and without leaders like Moses and Joshua, people always seemed to go their own way, and they had no idea as to what would be coming next (Judges2:10-15). 

 Consider the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah – wiped out in the blink of an eye because of the depth of their sinfulness (Genesis 18:20-21, 19:1-29); consider the priests of Baal from last week’s message – confident in their misplaced allegiance, until Elijah challenged their faith (1Kings 18:16-40); consider Ananias and his wife Sapphira who lied about their gift to help the needy, and paid a price that was much higher than the proper gift would have cost (Acts5:1-11); and, of course, the list could go on and on.

 The point is that God’s word is upon us all, and his word is not only our guide, but also our warning.  In Matthew 7:25-27, Jesus compares the future of the house that was built upon the rock (his word), versus that of the house that is built upon the sand (our own way).  The question of how long the Lord will let us try life in our way can only be answered by him – but the time of resolution will always come, one way or another.

 So that brings us to today’s problem – how patient will God be as we go about this life depending only on what we know and what we believe!

 Read  Romans 2:1-6

 We no longer have any excuse!  Isn’t that comforting!  But an excuse for what, you may ask?  In Paul’s introduction to this letter, he writes “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” (Romans 1:18-19)  And at the end of that chapter, Paul writes “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

 There are no longer any excuses - for ignoring the word of God!  And the issue that Paul is emphasizing is that of judging others for doing the same things that we have doing.  Just as Ananias and Sapphira were deceitful when they claimed that their offering was the full price of the property they had sold, when the truth of the matter was that they had kept a portion of the receipts for themselves!  The lie they told wasn’t so much to the disciples, as it was to the Lord! They had been part of the community of faith, they knew the Lord’s truth about honesty, and yet, they ignored it for their own gain.

 We also have to note that Paul isn’t saying that our judgment of others needs to be pure, but rather that any judgment of others is a sin, that only God can judge with a full and truthful wisdom.  But do we really appreciate the divine honesty and patience that has been his hallmark as he worked for our betterment throughout our years of life? 

 Paul calls our failure to grasp the love and passion that our Almighty God has for us as “contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience”. And what does he ask in return for the gift of his riches?  A rejection of the world’s ways, and a return to his. 

So what our brother Paul is suggesting is that we have a decision to make.  Will we remain “stubborn” and “unrepentant” and “judgmental”, or will we let those old ways fall by the wayside, and allow the Lord to begin working his ways within us?

 He's been waiting patiently for us to give his way a try, you know!

 Read Romans 9:22-26

 What if God had chosen to show his wrath to those who were completely deserving of destruction, but then chose, instead, to allow his great patience to delay that wrath, to give the condemned of earth time to let righteousness begin to work in their lives?  This isn’t a change of God’s mind, though, as his wrath, and patience, and love, and grace and mercy all exist within him, simultaneously and eternally, to the same degree and to the same intensity.  And it isn’t on a whim that causes him to make changes to which of these we are experiencing at any given moment!

It's already worked out in his eternal and infinite plan.

 And what if God chose to let his glory and mercy become a blessing to those who had acted in a way that justified his wrath?  But since we all have difficulty in understanding Godly ways, think about it this way.  What if a man had committed such a grievous murder that he was sentenced to be electrocuted for his crime.  But before the order could be carried out, what if it was overturned by the judge in an act of mercy.  The man is released from prison, free to live his life again.

 How do you think the man would feel?  Would he be focused on the joy of his release?  Or on the Mercy he had received?  Or the opportunity to begin again?  Or simply the chance to go back to his old life, with a renewed effort to not get caught the next time?  Which would be the heart-felt choice? 

 Which choice have you made – to accept the Lord’s mercy and opportunity to lead a new life, or to challenge his patience and grace, and keep on doing what you have always done?

 In Paul’s quotations from Hosea, the prophet was talking about Israel’s unfaithful lives, and how God would be forgiving to them if they came back to him.  They had violated the covenant that the Lord had put in place for them, but by repentance and a renewed life, they would be welcomed back, just as Gomer, Hosea’s unfaithful wife had been. (Hosea 2:23 & Hosea 1:10)  And in the Lord’s patient and gracious nature, we have been included in that offer.  We have to come to grips with how much we have received as God’s loved ones, as God’s very own people.

 Does God have patience in the working of his great plan?  More than we will ever know, but how much patience have we shown to him?

 Read 1 Timothy1:12-16

 No matter how great a sinner we may have been, the Lord will give us time to come to our senses and give him a chance, in our lifetime!  In this passage from his first letter to Timothy, he offers his own testimony regarding the Lord’s patience with him.  He says that he had been the worst of the worse, and in Philippians3:3-7, he lists his personal articles of pride and arrogance, which had been the reason behind the blasphemy and persecution and violence that had marked so much of his adult life as a Pharisee.  But now, through God’s patience which brought a renewal that he had never thought about before, those things that he had once cherished no longer held any importance for him.

 It was now the love of Christ that made all the difference for him.  And not only is the Christ the reason for his changed life, but he also acknowledges the Lord as the one who has brought mercy into his life, the only one who could overturn his sentence of death and destruction.  And why has God done this for him?  So that he could share this new life, as well as the Savior who has made it all possible, with as many people as he possibly can, that they, too, might turn the futility of their lives over to their newly found Savior.

 Read Galatians 5:22-26

 Immediately preceding these verses is Paul’s discussion of the “desires of the flesh”, which stand in direct and stark contrast to the Fruit of the Spirit.  The ways of the flesh can never stand in the presence of the Spirit, and the Spirit can never work through those who place their allegiance in the world’s way of the flesh.  This fruit, which is singular in nature, not plural, is given in totality to all who surrender the old life, and accept Christ’s gracious gift of newness and salvation.  They are unified, and no one will receive a few of them, and loose out on the rest.  If some, or even one, appears to be missing in our life, we have none of them.

 So we have seen just how patient God is with us, for the sole reason of our salvation, as he works out his great plan within us.  Has he been patient with you?  He certainly has been with me!  He patiently waited for me to come to his ways through 46 years of all my shenanigans and worldly attitudes, and then for the next 9 years, he patiently led me to a weekly prayer group where I discovered his love and encouragement and his call into one new effort after another, like 25 years of nursing home ministry, then 10 years of prison ministry, and it was in Waymart prison where I finally accepted his call into these past 18 years of pastoral ministry, and where will he will lead me next? It is still unknown to me, but I truly don’t think he has finished with me yet!

 And what does he desire from us?  He wants us to be patient with him, but more importantly, he desires our faithful allegiance to his way and to his call on our lives.  Patience is Godly – it is a way that has always had a place in his life and plan, but that isn’t necessarily true for us.  Godly patience is a gift of the Spirit, but only when we come to Christ and confess him as our Lord and Savior.

 Is God’s “love, joy, peace, patience…” and all the rest part of you?  If not, the Lord is offering it out to you this very day.  Accept Jesus, and receive all that God has held out to you since the moment of your first birth.  Are you ready to receive the second one? (John 3:1-10)

 

“Problem: Why Doesn’t God Speak More Clearly?”

Scripture:   1 Kings 19:1-2, 7-14 

Jesus, very intentionally, taught using parables.  They were always based in the routine life of Israel, but there was also a spiritual lesson in each, which most folks had trouble understanding.  When he was asked about it, he told his disciples that they had been given the secrets of the Kingdom, but others had not.  He then quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 with these words -  “¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”  This, I expect, is a problem for many – why would God withhold information about the Kingdom, or even about himself?  Why would Jesus open up Godly secrets to some, but not others?  Doesn’t he want everyone to know him?

I believe that God wants everyone to understand what is being offered through Christ, but that all aren’t yet ready to hear - or receive - the truth!  We begin with faith, and from there, we begin to understand.  But today’s “problem” is slightly different – why doesn’t God make his word apparent and obvious to us?  Why do we have to think about it, instead of just having it all laid out loudly and clearly for us to learn?  Are we really that dense?

 

Read 1 Kings 19:1-2

 

A little background on what Ahab was telling Jezebel.  Queen Jezebel, and much of Israel, had begun worshipping Baal and Asherah – which were general terms for the Canaanite gods of fertility.  And not only was the queen promoting foreign gods, she was having the priests of Yahweh killed.  Elijah claimed that he was the last prophet of God who still lived, and he had challenged the prophets of Baal and Asherah, numbering 850 total, to a demonstration to see which god – the gods of Canaan, or the God Yahweh of all Creation - was the true God.

 

Each had built an altar, prepared a bull for sacrifice, and without lighting a fire for the offering, they called upon their own god for the fire.  The prophets of Baal tried for hours to bring down fire, without success.  Elijah called on His God for fire, and heavenly fire came, consuming bull, the wood, the stone of the altar, the soil around the altar, and many gallons of water that he had poured upon the sacrifice.

 

God won hands down!  And as a result, Elijah ordered that the 850 false prophets be killed.  The power of Elijah’s faith had seen him through the ordeal, and one would expect that by this incredible demonstration of the glory that comes through prayer and trust, that the man would be able to stand up against anything that Ahab and Jezebel could throw at him.  However, the prophet would take to the hills, filled with fear, and convinced that his life was about to be taken from him.

 

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it!  After all, this man of God would one day meet with Jesus, along with Moses, at the Lord’s transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13).  He had just experienced the power of God at work and the blessings that faith can bring, and now he was running from human authority, who themselves would soon receive Godly judgement for their sins (1Kings 21:19-26). 

 

He had apparently lost contact with his Lord, and confidence in the protection and power that had surrounded him had, somehow, vanished.  Do we ever experience the “Elijah Syndrome”, and forget just who our God is, and what he is ready to do for us and through us?

 

Read 1 Kings 19:7-9a

 

Even in Elijah’s flight from trouble, God is still with him, nourishing him and strengthening him for the journey and task that awaits him.  Elijah, in all probability, believes that he is still running from the threats that had come from the evil Jezebel, when in reality, he is running right into God’s plan. 

 

Have any of us ever been in that situation – feeling that our only hope is to flee from the world’s persecution and threats, when God’s call is still mightily upon us to share his ways with that same evil, threatening, hateful people of earth?  The truth is that the Lord’s plan for our lives never goes away!  And even though we may feel that God’s way has been failing us, the problem is that we have been blinded, for whatever reason, to what God is preparing for us!

 

Sometimes, our service is through suffering and persecution; sometimes, our call is to proclaim the Lord to the most unusual and unexpected people you will ever meet, and in the strangest and out-of-the-way places that could ever be found; and nearly all the time, we haven’t got a clue as to what God is up to in our lives, until much later when he reveals within us a glimpse of his plan, which will always amaze and astound us.

 

This is where we now find Elijah.

 

Read 1 Kings 19:9b-11a

 

The prophet finds himself in a cave on Mount Horeb, which is another name for Mount Sinai.  And what happened there?  This is the place where Moses received the 10 commandments – twice!  The man finds himself on the Mountain of God, right where the Lord wanted him to be.  He had been fed and nourished by the Angel of the Lord, had been led to the Lord’s Mountain, and now was being prepared for the very word that would strengthen his faith.  But when God asks him what he is doing there, the fear of Jezebel that had sent him running begins to bubble out of his heart once again.  “I’m the only one who is still faithful, and they’re trying to kill me, too!”  In essence, the prophet is asking the Lord why he has left him all alone to stand against all of the lies and false faith that has filled Israel!  “What kind of plan is this, Lord?  This doesn’t sound like you at all!”

 

And God replies “Don’t worry – I’m with you, and I have a word for your life.  Just step outside of the cave, and I’ll show you.”

 

Finally, God shows up, but where had he been for the past few months?  The answer is simple – he had been with Elijah every step of the way.  He had been with him at Mount Carmel when his authority was shown to the prophets of Baal; he had been in the wilderness where he satisfied Elijah’s hunger and strengthened him for the task that awaited; he had been with him during that 40 day and 40 night journey to the mountain, showing him where to walk and how to hope; he had led the prophet to his holy mountain, and had shown him the cave to rest in.  And when the prophet finally obeyed and stepped outside, the Lord would show him where he was - and where he wasn’t.

 

We’ve all had those days when we wished that God would just make his works and way more obvious to us.  Amen?  But that is where faith comes in – trusting and believing that God is at work within us and through us and for us, even when we don’t know what is happening or what he is up to.

 

Read 1 Kings 19:11b-13a

 

Since the demonstration of God’s power to the disciples of Baal and Asherah, the Lord has been anything but obvious in Elijah’s life.  Fear over Jezebel’s threats, and uncertainty in where God’s plan was going, had taken control of his life.  But this is where trust must come into play – not only in Elijah’s life, but in ours, too.  It's not that God is too busy to be present with us all the time, it’s not that God doesn’t care about what we are going through, it isn’t even that the Lord wants to test us at every step.  These are opportunities for us to grow in Christ, to become more trusting, to be patient as we wait for the Holy Spirit to let us know what these times are all about, and what we are to do about them. 

 

Romans 5:1-5 is one of those passages that assure us that God has a plan for our lives, even though we may not see it at the time.  We read that suffering, perseverance, character, and hope are all part of the path that we are asked to travel from time to time.  And in that passage, Paul reminds us that the last step, that of HOPE, “does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

 

Hope in God needs to be our constant companion, just as it should have been with Elijah.  Just because the Lord isn’t present with us in a way that we would like, that never means that he isn’t with us in his way.  Just because Jesus isn’t visible in the mighty winds that blow through our lives, just because our Creator God isn’t in the earthquakes that disrupt the earth, just because the Spirit isn’t in the tongues of flame that threaten to destroy us, and we are frightened nearly to the point of death,  it only means that we should slow down, turn our lives directly toward the Lord, and listen carefully, for that is where and when we will come to know.

 

Read 1 Kings 19:13b-14

 

Even after hearing that “gentle whisper” of God, Elijah was still fearful.  But the Lord discounts the prophet’s complaint, and gives him the very assignment that he needed to receive.  Finally, he will come to know that his Lord God Yahweh hasn’t given up on him, and that his life still has meaning.  He has finally listened within his own silence, just as we need to do, and when we are silent, God will give us exactly what we need for that time.

 

Simon and Garfunkel are hardly great prophets of God but in the fifth verse of their song  “Sound of Silence”, we hear these words – “And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made, and the sign flashed out its warning, in the words that it was forming.  And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls", and whispered in the sound of silence.”

It would seem that the word of God isn’t in the flashy neon of our culture, in those “sound bites” that have become a staple of our learning experiences.  The Lord wants us to stop rushing by him, and to take a moment to quietly hear all that he has to say, and then to reflect on what his word means for our life.  In the song, we discover that we have to put our hurried life on hold, and stop, and face the message of God if we are to discover the truth that it holds for us.

Listen carefully every day, for the roar of the world can easily drown out that gentile whisper of God, for that is exactly when his word becomes crystal clear for our lives.