Meet the Kids

Honey, I shrunk the kids. 

There is no other blessing in life quite like the hand of child who wants to hold yours.

Every where we go, my little dude wants to hold my hand. Sometimes he runs ahead or lags behind, but not very often. Usually he is right there.I hear sweet word that make me smile or cause me to laugh. "Daddy...you're the best daddy in the whole wide world...and Mommy is the best mommy in the whole wide world." Mommy started this thing with the kids a while back. "I love you more, the end!" It's a challenge now that our kids take seriously. If someone says, "I love you." Then, you are free to come back with, "I love you more, the end!" and there is no retort for that. Doesn't stop us from arguing about who really loves each other more and how much we love each other. Although, my little dude loves to say, "I said it's first and that's the rules!" Because, momma made up the rules and momma is always right about everything. That's up for debate too.

Children. They are a special blessing that God gives us. Sometimes we roll our eyes when we say that. It depends on what kind of day we are having with said kids. If they are making us pull our hair or go outside and scream real loud to let out the frustration of several of them not listening to our instructions. Again, I resound the thoughts and words of the great William H Cosby. There are many times where we try to get our children to follow our instructions or our train of thought. Many times they stand there and look at us with that blank, lifeless face like they cannot hear our words. There is something impeding the sound waves from entering the ear and making it's way to the eardrum. For some reason we cannot sync up with their minds and get them to see why it is so important to follow our commands. I know it is possible. But, I also remember what it was like. I'm not divulging any facts.

Here are two people in the biblical account who can be a most excellent example of what it means to be kids. Jacob & Esau. We see in our scripture today a bit of the end of the story. They are grown men with families and they are coming back together. Jacob shows Esau all that God has blessed him with in this life.

Genesis 33:5

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.
Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”

Ah, but, their story is one for the ages. The story between two brothers at each other throats. Always trying to best the other one. Always trying to get their mother's and father's attention. It comes right down to the birthright. This great blessing was to go to the oldest in the family, to carry on the family line and name. More so, this blessing had to do with God. The promises that had been given to their grandfather, Abraham, will be passed down to the next in the family tree. "Your descendants shall be as many as the stars in the sky" This great faith of believing in God and following the ways of the Almighty are certainly the best thing any parent can offer their children. The problem is, getting them to see the importance of exactly that. As children, we all to often only see the blessing and not the Blesser. We don't realize how hard it is to get the money together through all the pain and effort of working that it took to pay for the gift that will be given on the special day. We only see the gift and know how much we want it. 

Jacob and Esau are your everyday children. Esau liked to please his father. He hunted. He cooked for his dad as he got older. He brought him the venison stew. The scripture tell us that the importance of understanding the blessing of the birthright seemed to float over his head. It wasn't of great concern to him. And, is keeping such an outlook, he missed the blessing. Jacob, on the other hand, wants to be first in line. Like kids fighting over who will sit in the front seat, Jacob is holding on to Esau's foot as they exit the womb. Jacob wants to be first. The squabble seems to follow them all through their childhood days. Always trying to be first in line. Always wanting their own work appreciated more. Every parent seems to have a child whose personality they gravitate towards. For Isaac, it is Esau. Jacob could be labeled a "Momma's Boy". In fact, it is with his mother's help that Jacob actually ends up stealing the birthright away from his brother. She covers him in a hairy, wooly cloth so that his blind father will think that it is Esau, who is known for being a hairy man. See the trouble we set in front of our children when we do not treat them equally. When we favor one over the other. We mistake God's intentional purpose for some as an excluding of everyone. No one wants to be left out. 

God had a great life in store for this child, but now the full blessing of the birthright is upon him. So, now he has to deal with it. That might not have been a bad thing. But, it wasn't intended for him. It's hard to help children see the intentions of adults. It's hard for us not to want to spoil them. We don't want them to have to deal with the harshness and realities that we, ourselves, had to face as children. We want them to have a better life than we had. Who knows why Jacob's mother does what she does. Maybe she think Esau will be fine. He's shown that he can hunt and take care of himself. Maybe Jacob doesn't have those same skills. She wonders how he will make it in this world. So, she rigs the process and gets her favorite son the blessing. It's all shrouded in mystery and we don't know all the intentions. But, do we see a bit of ourselves in the story? Do we see how we have treated our own children? Do we see how important it is the pass along our own faith and knowledge to the next generation? What is Issac & Rebekah teaching their children about God? What are we teaching our own kids about God?

Alright, I'm going to stop myself here. Because, I'm not coming into your house to tell you how to raise your kids. I am not Dr James Dobson or any kind of expert of child rearing. But, this one point I would draw from all of this. What kind of relationship with God are we showing to our kids? What ever and how ever we choose to raise our children it should be ever so important for us to address the matter of how they come to understand who God is in our lives. Is God anywhere in our discussions or our conversations? Do we treat others, especially our children, as gifts that God has given us? Yes, other people can be gifts to us, even when they don't necessarily listen to what we say or do what we want. Our children might be one of those people. We might be one of those children, too.

I don't have all the answers. When I was 27, I thought I did. All I was concerned with was the idea that I was free from my father's control. I could do what I wanted. Now, I'm 43. And, I wish I could sit at his feet a little longer. I wish I could draw from the well of knowledge and vision some more. I'm still a child. I still need the reassurance a parent gives to the child. All I can really do is make sure I give my all to those entrusted to me. We need to see the relationship here in our houses as a parallel to the relationship God has with us. A parent to a child. This parent gave all he had, his one and only son, so that everyone could have life. What are you willing to give for the sake of your little ones?

Meet the Parents

What a load to bear!

We are spending a few Sundays covering the subject of "family".
Last week was a very general sense of who and what encompasses the subject.
This week, we take time to look at the leaders of the family circle - the parents.

I can remember going to see the Ben Stiller/Robert DeNiro movie several years back.
It was not long after my wife and I had married. "Meet the Parents" showcased all that could go wrong on an insanely large level when a girl brings home her betrothed to meet the family. The movie (and it's sequels) especially focused on the great and difficult relationship between the Father of the family and the new man in the circle. I seem to recall my new in-laws sitting in front of us. My wife and I cracked up through the entire picture. I don't remember the people in front of us laughing too much.

Everything I know about parenting I learned from the great William H Cosby.
I grew up watching the Cosby Show. I listening to old Cosby stand up from the 60's & 70's where he began using his family as the vehicle to drive his comedy. By the time the 80's came, he was in a perfect position to a father figure to us all. I remember feeling as if the relationship between Theo and Heathcliff Huxtable modeled my own father-son time. Now, I wonder if I'm headed down that same road looking at the boy growing up with my smile and eyes.

Who doesn't recall the conversation between Theo and Cliff about growing up, going to college, becoming something in life?? "I brought you in this world, I take you out!" Ah, trying to give your children direction; trying to give them something to follow. It's all wrapped up in honor and respect. We hope they will listen. We hope they will follow. Then we come upon scripture that reads like this.

Exodus 20:12

New International Version (NIV)

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Whew! That's heavy, now. Right smack in the middle of the ten commandments comes  these words about making sure these to people are lifted up. The ten commandments can be broken down into two sides. The first 4 have to do with our relationship with the Almighty.

³ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Then, the next 6 have to do with our relationship with our fellow man. ² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

What begins our relationship with mankind is how we relate to the two people who have brought us into this world. Our mother and our father. Honoring them is where our relationship with God and our relationship with the rest of mankind intersect. The people who fed us, clothed us, nurtured us, admonished us, put up with us, and cried and prayed for us are the ones whom we find all we need to know about God from. I wish this was true for everybody. Not everyone has the privilege of seeing the great knowledge of God through their earthly relationships. Too often we are neglected this opportunity. Broken marriages. Broken homes. They leave us handicapped in our discovery of seeking out the truth of God. However, God has "not left us as orphans", the scriptures would encourage us. I know personally the enlightenment of what Paul speaks in Romans 8. Paul uses the idea of "adoption" when speaking of our spiritual birth in Christ. I know what it's like to be included in the family of God because I now recognize God as my father and Christ as my brother. The Almighty brings us in, gives us a new name, makes us part of his family. 

If you do know the goodness of seeing the person of God through the action and mannerism of your family circle, good for you. There is no other blessings in life that can match that. Do you see the instruction and guidance of the Almighty in the life of your father? Do you see the nurture and love of God in the face of your mother? Even if you do not, even if there is a harshness to those memories, we are admonished to honor them. We lift them up so that God might make us a blessing and help us in the place where we are in life. If you are a parent and you happen to be taking the time to read this, are you giving your children something they can honor? Are you giving your children something they can lift up? Good memories go a long way in directing them along the pathway of life. I have a mixture of harsh realities and nice thoughts that have taken me a long time work out in my heart and mind. I have had it out with my father a few times since I left home. We have had a few arguments over the years. I have made my accusations and my pleas. Yet, still, I think of him as the one who knows all. His direction and his plan are the plans & directions I should be following. And, God has blessed my life because of it.

The parents. Mom. Dad. Honor them.
And, honor God for giving them to you.

The Family Picture

Everybody say "Cheese!"

Who is in the graph of your life?
There are many issues and subjects and things that make up the dogma of our lives. But, who are the people in our midst? The word family is a broad and yet precise word that describes the people we allow to or maybe have been set into the world of our lives.

As we talk about sanctification, we speak about the subject in terms of being set apart from things and giving things to the Lord that he might make them holy and for the purposes of God. Family might just be an area where both things are happening. For this message and the next two we will cover the subject of family. Through these messages we will see the broadness and specifics of family. There are hereditary matters that seem to plague us and disturb us. There are people we bring into our folds that may not have been part of the biological make-up. There is also the Christian family. These people are joined to us by all of us coming in to the family of God. Family, most certainly, can know no bounds.

What do you call family? It is this question I put in front of us as we see a very familiar scripture.

Joshua 24:15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

I'm finding the more I dwell on this subject, the harder it is to complete this message.
Why is that? Family is a very personal subject for me. Maybe it is for you also. There is much family that we wish we were closer with and more personal in relationship. many times it simply isn't so. In the last message we covered faith and how diverse and interconnected the subject is to many other issues and people in the graph. Family might outrank it. For many of us, family is just that important. There are moment when you think you can go without it. There are times when you can't live without it. Stop and think about the interconnectedness of family to other areas in your graph. If you have your graph handy, write "family" in a square and then start making lines to other areas that are obviously connected.

Family ---> Church - You are probably sitting in a pew this morning because of family. Maybe you were raised in this setting. Sitting in the very pew that you and your family have always sat in. I remember our pew in the Disciples of Christ church where we were raised. We had one of the support poles for the balcony going right up through our pew. My grandparents sat in the pew in front of us. Many of our cousins and aunts and uncles filled in the rest of these two pews. The only problem with sitting where we did was that there was a struggle over who was going to sit on which side of the pole going up through our pew. If you happened to be on the side next to mom, then dad could reach around her and flick you with his finger and thumb. If you happened to be having a hard time staying awake in church that morning, then dad would flick you in the head and you would hit the pole. Don't know if anybody else heard the "DONG" from the pole, but I heard it between my ears.

Family. Sometimes you want to be with them. Sometimes you're OK being separated from them. 

Family ---> Finances/Money - Whew! That's a mammoth subject to cover. We need money to support our families. We need to work a job. (Draw that line from Church to Money to Job, now.) Yikes, there's some definite interconnectedness going on there. The family is in need of support. The family is in need of love. We show our support with a birthday card, as we stuff a few bills inside. How hard did you work to set aside those funds so that the family could take that much needed vacation this summer? How hard did you work for that money that so & so took from you and never paid you back? Or, stole from your purse? Family and Money can be quite the matter to deal with for us. There's no other place where we see such support and such decisiveness. I've officiated funerals where the family seems to be in such a hurry to get so & so into the ground just so they can get to dividing up the money and estate. These two areas can be a twisted matter to overcome. 

Family. Sometimes you want to be with them. Sometimes you're OK being separated from them.

Lets think about some of those area we brought up when we covered the graph back in August and tie them in with family.

Family ---> Politics - I should probably stop myself right there. What must it be like to be in a family where viewpoints differ across party lines? Yikes...

Family ---> Aging - How do we handle things when we see family members growing older? How will we take care of them? Who will be the one in the family to be the executor of the estate? Do you have he support of your siblings so that you aren't the only one there taking care of things? Are you the one leaving all the important matters to some other sibling and not getting involved like you should?

Family ---> Driving - If I opened the floor right now we could spend the rest of our time sharing about all the things that happened in the car while driving with family. Most of it would most likely revolve around breaking up fights in the back seat. The poking. The proding. The yelling. There would be good stuff too. The trips to special places. The holidays. The treats. One things my dad used to like to do in the car was drive like a maniac just to scare me. He knew how to handle himself behind the wheel. Working in the garage with Grandpa Shank growing up, dad knew his way around a car. He even had his old '73 Mercury Capri on a couple race tracks earlier in life. Especially during the snowy, icy weather dad would pull into our curvy driveway, which went uphill, and the floor it and twists the wheel all over. Our back end would be swerving all over and I'd be screaming like a little girly girl in the backseat.

Which parent in your family is the one who gets to teach the teenager how to drive? I can see the look in your eyes as I bring it up. "Don't even go there dude!" Both my folks helped with the driving stuff. My mom took my to the school several times to get out the cones and do maneuverability. I was actually pretty good with the cones. Got a 95 on my exam in the cones at the driving school. Learning how to drive a stick was another matter. I never did actually master that. I can remember the day dad just came to my room and got me. Told me what we were going to do. He put me in that old Mercury Capri and we tried to drive around our 3 an 1/2 acre lot. All I remember was a lot of yelling. "Shift!! SHIFT!" After we made a circle around the front yard I pulled back up by the garage, slammed it into park and got out. "Where you going?", I heard him exclaim from the passenger seat. I'd had enough. Learning how to drive stick wasn't that important.

Family. Sometimes you want to be with them. Sometimes you're OK being separated from them.

Family---> Faith/Religion - Ooooo. How does our subject matter today go back towards our subject matter from last time? Maybe we all share the same faith in our family circle. Maybe we don't.This area really can tie us in with the scripture we read today and the context around Joshua and the people of Israel. What do you do when not everybody in the family picture shares the same feelings about God and religion and faith? Maybe there are completely different religions in your circle of family. Maybe you're all Christian in your faith, but denominational and theological lines have been drawn in the sand. Whatever the matter, faith and family don't always work themselves out smoothly.

For Joshua, it comes down to drawing just such a line. Joshua can be considered the first of what will be called "The Judges". Joshua is also the patriarch who takes over for Moses. It's never easy being in this place in the family tree. When the major leader in the family dies, the person stepping up to lead next can be scrutinized heavily. This is a normal part of leadership. When a pastor has served faithfully in a church for a long time, the next leader is line has tremendous cross to bear. Especially if the predecessor was successful and well liked. It has been said, "you don't want to be the next guy in line". No way. Everybody will be expecting the next leader to be just like the last one, doing what he/she did in the previous leadership role. Too much comparison shopping being done.

If the leadership was bad, there might be a bitter taste left in the mouth of those still here. The person stepping up to lead will be judged by the sins of the last. Comparison shopping once again leads to false labels and untrue statements that have nothing to do with the current person. This is what happens in a family.I recall what life was like when my Grandpa Shank was here. Everybody came together around him. His presence and life was what held the family together. Even through divorce and break-ups in the lives of his daughters, people still came together and got together for holidays and what not simply because he was here. After he was gone, family get togethers went by the wayside. The last time we actually had everybody in the same room was one Christmas back when our now deceased Grandma Shank was 90. In this digital age of social media and messaging we aren't even all together on Facebook or Twitter.

In the case of Joshua, being the guy who follows Moses cannot be an easy cross to bear. The people didn't make things easy for Moses. They complained. They griped. They made false gods for themselves. There were some dire moments when Moses had to crack them whip on them to bring order. Yet, there became this familiarity with his leadership. The people came to get used to him. Moses was always there. When they needed water or meat or manna, they knew they could approach him and ask (or complain). Now, this entire world of leadership has been thrust on Joshua. How would he handle it? Well, for starters, Joshua has  different role to fill. Moses has been a judge too. The people wanted him to settle their affairs and fix their problems. Joshua is the one who actually lead this large "family" into the promise land. The book of Joshua doesn't record much in the way of dishing punishment on the people. We see Joshua leading the people in overthrow of lands and kings, most notably, the city of Jericho. A good chunk of the book is a record of who got what piece of land once they got into the land flowing with milk and honey. It is not until we get to chapter 24 that we see a major confrontation taking place. 

The moment is centered around bringing everyone together and reminding them of their history. You probably done it yourselves. In our family, especially on my mom's side, the moment was brought on with the old picture albums. Whenever I would stay the night at Mommaw and Poppaw's house I would find myself digging out those old books out of the endtables. Loads of black and whites could be found and some early color ones from some of the first cameras taking color pictures. I recall seeing and learning so much about my history. Where my family came from and why people did what they did. The Israelites moment of centering came around The Law being read. That was their picture book. In the course of reading the law, they would heard of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Esau. They would hear about how God took Abraham from the land of his people bring him into Canaan. God walked Abraham all around the land. God made promises with Abraham. At this moment, with Joshua speaking to the people, these promises are being fulfilled. 

But, the people have strayed at times in their history. There has been worship of other "gods". There has been immorality and sin. There has been grumbling and complaining. Really and truthfully, the kinds of things you would see in any family. It's hard to get family all together sometimes, because, we all know each other too well. There are people you love to see and there are some you wish you didn't have to see at all. There are issues and situations going on in some of their lives we wish would just get swept under the rug and we could go on having our happy family meeting. It's all a fallacy. There are going to be issues. In Joshua's story, it seems like it has been on hold through all the overthrowing of kings and land dispersing until the moment comes to the end of the book. It's time to gather the family together and make sure before they go any further that everybody is on the same page. Does everybody remember why we got here and who was the reason that they have this blessing, this land of promise? It's time to pull out the Law. The same Law that Moses brought to them on stone tablets. The same Law expounded upon through the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. It's time to remind everyone what this journey was all about.

Family pictures are probably some of the most painful moments in the course of human history. All the grooming and matching of clothes and hours of primping and priming just to take a couple of pictures with these people we wish we weren't even in the same room with right now. Think about all the griping and complaining these people have done on the road to the Promised Land. The tribe of Dan had this or that to say about the Levites. The tribe of Benjamin doesn't want to have their tents that close to the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Judah thinks Zebulun's gang got more manna today than they did. Moses and Joshua have probably heard enough complaining and arguing going on in the backseat on the trip to the land of Canaan to give a headache from you know where. What does this say about the family? Are they really centered and focused on the Lord? What does the family picture say about what our family stands for and what we believe? Put all these people in the same room and snap the picture. Is everyone on the same page? Are we focused on the Lord or are we focused on what we want? Are there issues and obstacles to overcome in order to see everyone in this picture focusing on the Lord? Probably are. Anyone who thinks their family is just to good to have any of "those problems" is most assuredly lying to themselves.

Is there anything in your family circle that needs to be laid out in front of the Lord?
Any person or situation that needs to be given over to God? Any people who need healing or direction? Are there people in the family picture who you're pretty sure don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Have you taken the time to talk to them about it? Have you taken the time to pray to Lord about them? God would love to spend some time with you working out the details.

The family picture begins with you. Put yourself in the center of the picture and give your heart and life to the Lord. Let the Lord take your life into his hands. Let the Lord be the central focus of all you say and do. Then let the Lord use you to a light to the rest of the family.

The statement is put in front of you today. Who will you serve?
There are lots of choices in the world we live. There are lots of things that claim to bring peace and comfort. God offers himself. Choose life. Choose God. Peace in the family begins with you.

Just a Little Faith

It might take more than a little bit.

It is Friday night. Just a couple of clicks before midnight.
I'm just now starting to form some thoughts to the blog page for this sermon.
Maybe it's because I'm still stewing on what exactly to write about this subject.
I have allowed this subject to simmer on the back burner of my mind all week.
In the same light as that first question I asked my now wife of 12 years waaaaay back when we first met in 1999, "SO, what do you think about Jesus?" She stopped eating her turkey and cheese sandwich as we sat over looking the pond at Muskingum College and responded, "That's a pretty deep subject." Yes, it is. Faith is also a pretty deep subject. Sometimes it requires a lot of stewing and simmering to get it where it needs to be.

The 11th chapter of Hebrews jumps head long into the subject of faith.
It covers nearly everyone you could think of in biblical OT history that was touched by the subject of faith. All the big players are there. Noah. Abraham. Moses. And, many smaller players in the biblical account. The pool is big and the subject is deep and vast. However, the spring board is verse 1 and it gives us reason to stop and think before simply jumping in.

Hebrews 11:1

New International Version (NIV)

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

What do you hope for? In our graph, that represents our lives, how many squares could be filled with things we hope for? Thinking about that allows me to open the door to this important note. Sometimes this sanctification thing isn't about just covering one square or one thing or one subject at a time. Sometimes there are many things tied together or held together by one area. And, if that one are goes kaput it could affect many different areas. Faith is just such an area. We need faith and we need it everywhere.

I have shared this subject of sanctification with many folks over the years since that summer school of 1999 when Dr Stephen Green opened the door to this wily subject. I was part of a cluster group that met in Lithopolis with a mixture of male and female clergy. One of those female clergy was quick to point out to me that this graph is very male in nature. It looks like an eggo waffle, doesn't it? She was at a conference where the speaker was covering the subject in much the same fashion as I was explaining sanctification. The speaker shared that the eggo-likeness explained how men tend to handle things. One square at a time. One subject or area at a time. Women are different. Women might have a dozen things on their mind all at once. He took a wad of cooked spaghetti and put it on his waffle. His point was to show how intertwined it all was. Many of the subjects and issues in our lives can be like this - intertwined. Maybe women need to slow down and handle things one square at a time. Maybe men need to kick it in gear and handle more than one thing at a time. It's a very stereotypical suggestion, I know. Men and women are complex creatures. That's why faith is needed all the more. Lets take a look at some of the men and women suggested by the writer of Hebrews to be people we should consider as people of "faith".

If Merriam-Webster calls faith a "strong belief in something for which there is no proof", then who on this list is living that way? Many men are mentioned. Some of them we could undoubtedly place in the category of "righteous & holy". Abel seemed to live without any reason to blame him. He did what was right and offered what he needed to give to the Lord. This guy named Enoch just lived on faith and actually walked up into heaven. How much faith does that take? After the first two are mentioned a list begins that leaves you wondering. Some of their stories we know more about. We know a bit about their personal integrity. We know their short comings. We know where they have failed in the course of their story and lives. Yet, there is an unshakeable notion about what they clung to and believed in. 

He might have gotten drunk at one point, but Noah hung on to the vision of building an ark and saving his family and all the animals. Abraham might have put the family promise in jeopardy, not once, but twice. Yet, he did what God asked of him and hung on to the belief that God would make his descendants "as many as the stars in the sky". His grandchildren Jacob & Esau, come along and argue and fight over the promise of who will carry it on. Maybe they don't truly understand what God wants to do here. Maybe it's that earthly desire to be "daddy's little boy" and be first in line for his blessings. Later, they seem to understand what God wants for their lives. Even their mother, Sarah, laughs at the idea that God would bless her with a son. Isaac would come just as God promised. 

Moses is an odd story. Born a Hebrew. Given away and raised as an Egyptian. Kills a man to protect his own. His own don't particularly act like they want him, so he flees. After 40 years, comes back and is the rescuer of his own people. Burning bush moments don't happen everyday. What a moment seared into the heart and a mind of a person. He hangs on to that faith all the way to the edge of the promise land. God took a man who thought he had nothing and used him for something. 

There's only two women mentioned in this passage. We touched on Sarah. To be a women in advanced years and told she was going to have a child. Can you imagine? Sure, it's everything she ever wanted, but who could blame her for laughing? The mere thought would sound ridiculous. Who knows their body better than a woman? She knows she is well along in years. She knows the time for that kind of blessing is well past her. Yet, God is able to do this miracle. The spiritual outranks the physical. God is able to do abundantly more than we could ever ask or think.

How about Rahab? It's funny that a foreigner would get mentioned. But, then again, she gave all she had for those Israelites. In turn, she becomes one of them. She believes that the promise they are seeking is better than what she had in Jericho. She becomes a sojourner with them. They are seeking a promised land. They are looking for the promise that God has set before them. Rahab leaves all that she knows and has lived behind her and take on their belief. There is better ahead, down the road. Does she have family? Children? We don't know. Maybe she has nothing in her current predicament. People who feel as if they have nothing can lay it aside and move along. The promise of the blessing is better than hanging on with nothing to hold. 

Then I stumbled on to v39 in this chapter...
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,

 What? None of them received what had been promised?
I'm a bit taken back. What do you mean they didn't get what they were promised? Going back over the stories I wondered about their outcomes. Abel was killed. He had been promised a great blessing, but Cain kind of messed that up. Enoch might be the only one who got the real blessing, walking right up into heaven. Noah got the human race a brand new fresh start, but the problem of sin still permeated the human nature. Abraham was promised his descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore. But, he never got to actually see it. Moses was chosen to lead his people to the promised land, but never got to actually go in there himself.

I have to stop and think for a moment. What was actually promised to them?
Read vv 39 & 40 together.
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Have you ever been promised something and didn't get it?
If we revert in to our childlike selves and think back I'm sure things will come to mind.
A trip to the park. An overnight at grandma's house. A dollar someone owed us.
Did mom or dad ever say they were going to do something and then didn't follow through?
Was our heart ever broken at the promise not fulfilled? Many things come our way. Many things in life don't work out the way they should. Maybe we sit and have a pity party for ourselves. Or, maybe we realize there is something better to wait upon than the blessing we were promised.

God has planned something better for us. Do you want to know what's ahead?
Is there something you can put your faith in to and wait upon? That's what we do as human beings. We are full of faith. We put our faith in things everyday. We believe our car will start. If it doesn't, we believe there will someone who can fix it. If that doesn't work out, we believe we will find another. If that doesn't work out, someone, somewhere, will help us make it to work. If we end up loosing our job because we cannot make it, because out car broke down, there will be another job, closer to home, maybe. We believe in the best working out for us. We believe that God loves us and is working for our best in the everyday of our lives. We not see every promise fulfilled. Nevertheless, we press on. And, we believe for what we cannot see.

Maybe it takes more than just a little bit of faith.
How ever much it takes, may God bless us with enough to hang on.

What Do You Believe About The Bible?

God would like to have a word with you.

Sanctification is a complex subject that covers many areas of our lives.
There are lots and lots of issues, people, topics and what not that we need to seriously take the time to consider whether Jesus has control of us in that square or whether we are the ones calling the shots.

Today's topic might seem like a no-brainer. The Bible. It's is our authority in the church. On the heels of last week's message about authority it seems logical to go toward this topic next. The Bible is a much maligned, yet absolutely necessary piece of the church history that still speaks to us today. It is a historical document that shows up the ups and downs, the rights and wrongs, the inner workings of a people seeking and trying and mostly failing to live up to the standards set before them by this Almighty God.

Our scripture today comes from a familiar place.  Paul is speaking to his student and "son" in the faith, Timothy. Through much of his writing Paul is simply reminding Timothy of all the he has taught the young man to believe and try and keep his spirits up as this new preacher of the message takes the work into the mission field. As we enter the 2nd chapter, we see Paul reminding Timothy what he has taught him about doctrine and scripture. This is drawing near the end of Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy.

2 Timothy 3:10-17

New International Version (NIV)

A Final Charge to Timothy

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I'd like to share some differing views on what scripture is, how it came to be our authority in the church, and what it has in store for us today. Some of it may very well speak to you. It may bust up your cemented thoughts on the subject. It may further reinforce where you already stand. Most of all, by the time we have finished talking about this rather important subject, I hope that you can write Jesus over the square in your graph. Jesus is at the heart and center of this very book. 

God-breathed or inspired?
When I got to Thornville in 2012, in the course of those first few months I shared a message on Inspiration. The differing views here stem from feelings about whether or not God, in robotic fashion, commanded these Hebrew people to write exactly these words - or - whether it was a matter of the people feeling inspired by what they had seem and witnessed and been taught to believe that caused them to write such words. Verse 16 is quoted differently based upon the translators' feelings on the subject.  The NIV would say "All Scripture is God-breathed", while the NRSV would state that "All scripture is inspired by God". There's actually only two versions, the NIV and the English Standard Version that go the route of saying that scripture is indeed "God-breathed". The NIV, being so widely read, has been quoted definitively as a solid viewpoint. 

The idea of scripture being "inspired by God" leaves the door open to humankind's involvement in the scripture writing process. People wrote what they wrote because they were so moved by God's workings and dealings with humankind they felt the need to record it for future use. Was God behind all of that? Absolutely. Did God inspire them to do so? That's what God does. God inspires. Look at the word.

Full Definition of INSPIRE

transitive verb

1 a :  to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration

   b :  to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on <was particularly inspired by the Romanticists>

   c :  to spur on :  impel, motivate <threats don't necessarily inspire people to work>

   d :  affect <seeing the old room again inspired him with nostalgia>

2 a archaic :  to breathe or blow into or upon

   b archaic :  to infuse (as life) by breathing

3 a :  to communicate to an agent supernaturally

   b :  to draw forth or bring out <thoughts inspired by a visit to the cathedral>

4:  inhale 1

5 a :  bring about, occasion <the book was inspired by his travels in the Far East>

   b :  incite

6:  to spread (rumor) by indirect means or through the agency of another

intransitive verb

:  inhale

Can you see God in that? Do you see God at work in your own life in these ways? Animating? Exhalting? Enliving? God influences. God moves us. God guides us along. It's not that God told these people to write these exact words down for us to read. It's a matter of inspiration. God moved in their hearts in such a way that they would want to record their history and share it with everyone. These Hebrews have been spurred on their whole lives. Imagine growing up in an environment where the impossible is made possible. Where seas were parted and blind men regained their sight. Would you feel the need to share that with everyone? When we see something incredible and wonderful or sad and depressing, we feel the need to tell someone else what we saw and experienced. We are moved that other people must know our story and share our feelings, sad or happy. That's how human beings are. Interjecting some divine movement into the process and you have inspiration. God, taking the human expression and elevating it, for the purpose of telling the world this story - God loves you.

The Bible becomes the authority in the church.

The Bible is a canon, that is, a list of books regarded as inspired by God and authoritative for faith and life. This is not a list that came to be over night or in one meeting between respected leaders from church history. Many letters and books were written. As time went on, many people were finding teachers from different parts of the country or world quoting and teaching from letters that had been widely circulated and found to be credible. About 200 BC we see the Hebrews bringing together their writings and thinking about what is authoritative to their faith. The prophets. The wisdom and historical literature. The first five books of the bible, referred to as the "Torah" - that is "The Law" were most likely restored and brought back to the public forefront during the rebuilding of the walls by Ezra & Nehemiah.

The New Testament takes a bit more definitive framework. The OT really has no clear beginning and ending dates as to in canonization. The NT is formed in much the same way but we can see the time-frame and thoughts of church leaders from their time period a bit clearer. In the first two centuries following the Ascension of Christ, we see many, many letters being written and sent about. As time goes on, church leaders and teachers and leaders begin to quote and use letters that seem to retain what is seen as "inspiration" and prophetic words about the message of Christ. Those letters that do not hold that inspiration are discarded. By the year 367 AD, the church father Athanasius is seen referring to the 66 books we have in front us as authoritative, Old Testament and New.

The Old Testament is made up of 39 books and form the bible of Judaism. Those who do not believe that the Messiah has come yet will stick to those Old Testament books. Those who do believe that the Messiah has come will include into their faith the 27 books of the New Testament. Those Jews who believe that the Messiah has come are referred to as "messianic". The prophetic nature of scripture is clear and relevant to the believer. God is speaking and the believer is listening. Do you know what it is to be in a state expectation about something? The reader of scripture who is looking to the Almighty for inspiration knows that God wants to speak. These 66 books seem to have that air inspiration about them. In the Old Testament we see God working with specific people and an entire nation. The work consists of God wanting to speak and share. Sometimes the listen intently. Sometimes their listening ears are not in place and they wind up in trouble. Which brings us to this final section...

Reading the Bible for all it's worth
I'm going to throw a couple of words out there. You might be familiar with the one. The other one will sound like German or something foreign to you. Do you read the Bible devotionally or exegetically? I can see the bend in your eyebrow. Most of us read the bible on a devotional basis. We have a schedule we follow. Maybe you have a daily guide you have found on the internet or in the back of the bible itself. Are you a morning reader or an evening reader? It usually the same time of day, every day. There is a habit and a ritual to be kept. You make sure the book is read every day. It's a good habit to have and a great way to start or end you day.

What does it mean to read in an exegetical manner? Exegesis is something that maybe you have done and you never realized that's what you were doing. What a pastor puts together a message, when a teacher prepares a lesson, when a bible study group sits down to talk through some scripture there is lots of exegesis going on. This is the process by where we break down the scripture to see what is going on. We want to know what the scripture has to say to us. We want to understand the language and the intentions of the writer. What is it they are trying to say? What thoughts or meanings are they trying to convey? Is there something not spoken about or is there something the scripture is eluding too? The process of exegesis is sometimes easy and sometimes takes us deeper into a more meaningful access of the mind of God. And, there's the big point. It's about God. It's not about us.

Too often when we read devotionally we end up reading because it's habit. We read because we feel some obligation to read. We are Christians. We are supposed to read the Bible. When we read it in this manner we end up making it all about us. And, the Bible is not about us. It's about God. Humankind may have had some part or piece in creating the book, but the inspiration came from God. The central character in the Almighty. In the process of breaking down the scriptures we should see who this drama and historical theater is all about. It's about God. In the beginning there was God, creating the entire cosmos. In the beginning was the Word. God spoke creation into existence. The Word was God. God watched as his creation fell into sin. God so loved the world that the only Begotten of the Father would come and gives his life so that all of creation could be redeemed.

When you read the scriptures do you hear God speaking to you? Do you read the scriptures in order to understand what God wants for your life? Do you read the Bible to get to know and comprehend who God is and what God is all about? God wants to know you. God wants to speak with you. God would like to have your ear. Can you give the Lord a moment of your time? Is this all some ritual that simply needs to get done and checked off your list for the week? Or, is there something deeper going on that requires us to actually feel and listen?

Jesus is the Word. The Word still speaks to us today. There is inspiration to gather for our lives.

A Moment on Authority

You got a problem with it?

I have no problem opening a can of worms.
Sometimes it is the only way to work something out. Open it up. Pour it out. Watch it wiggle, see it jiggle. We will find that some subjects within the graph of our lives will be messy. And, as Paul suggests to his Philippian audience, "...work out your salvation..." Here comes a messy subject that will force us to work it out in the everyday of our lives.

Authority is something that many of us struggle with as we live our lives on this earth.
The word brings to mind people or a company or a boss that we really wish we did not have to listen to. The struggle with authority stems from the notion that we know more than the person who is actually the penman on the subject. Hey, we've all be there for the moments when someone who is given authority has abused their power. The title given to a person can go to their head and the word they need to do becomes more about the title in front of their name than the actual work that needs to get done. The abuse of such power can cause us to not think much of a certain position or person.

What we will aim to understand in this message is the nature of true authority.
And, I think the answers will be a relief and a game changer for many.

Lets look at some scripture and then a definition to grasp the context we are covering.
A couple weeks ago we took a run through the book of Romans. We covered the first twelve chapters. The 13th chapter is where today's scripture comes from. It is part of Paul's closing remarks to those whom he has given instructions about living this Christian life. If we are truly living this life the way we are supposed to then we give our lives over to not just God (remember Paul calling for them to be a "living sacrifice" in Chap 12) but to also follow the authority of those governing over them.

Romans 13:1-7

New International Version (NIV)

Submission to Governing Authorities

13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

What truly is authority?  Does the subject entail someone to tell everyone else what to do? Is it really that complex? There is a base word that can be seen in the make-up of the word. Author. Does that have anything to do with understanding what the word means? Lets take a closer look.

Full Definition of AUTHOR

 noun

1 a :  one that originates or creates :  source <software authors> <film authors> <the author of this crime>

  b capitalized :  god 1

2:  the writer of a literary work (as a book)

Seems pretty simple. If you are the one who "wrote the book" on a subject, as the phrase interjects, then you become the authority on that subject. Nobody knows more about said subject than you. Many of us have heard the old phrase, "Jack of all Trades, Master of None". There are plenty of folks who have the ability to do a plethora of things, but don't want to be considered the authority on anything. What is it about authority that makes our skin crawl? Look at this...

Full Definition of AUTHORITY

1  a (1) :  a citation (as from a book or file) used in defense or support (2) :  the source from which the citation is drawn

   b (1) :  a conclusive statement or set of statements (as an official decision of a court) (2) :  a decision taken as a precedent (3) :  testimony

   c :  an individual cited or appealed to as an expert

2 a :  power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior

   b :  freedom granted by one in authority :  right

3 a :  persons in command; specifically :  government

   b :  a governmental agency or corporation to administer a revenue-producing public enterprise <the transit authority>

4 a :  grounds, warrant <had excellent authority for believing the claim>

   b :  convincing force <lent authority to the performance>

 Hmmm. Well, the author idea holds up to the first line of the definition. And, line c shows us that sometimes the authority is an actual person. It should be noted that authority does not always come from a person. Cited material might have been written by a person, however the material can then speak for itself and be held up as an authority. What about our bible? We shall delve into that area next week. The bible holds up as an authority to govern our lives. God has given inspiration to these scriptures. Long ago, chambers full of believers decreed that this book has what we need to hear. For centuries this book has had the power to guide us and direct us along the pathways of life. There is an unshakeable certainty as to the life giving ability the words in this book has for us. Read it for awhile and see if God speaks to you and shows you what you need to hear.

Line 2 of our definition speaks heavily to the subject matter we discussed in Romans a couple weeks ago. Sin was the authority for our lives. Sin wrote a nice book on how our lives should be lived. It even got together with death and put together a nice eulogy for us. Christ came along and broke the authority that sin had over us. Sin is dead. Christ is alive. We need to believe what Christ has done for us and let that belief be the authority that governs our lives. Recall Paul's words in Romans 8...

"For you have not been given a spirit of fear, that you should fall back into slavery, but you have been given a spirit of sonship, by where we cry, "Abba, Father".
Do you recall what Paul said about the Law? The actual law, as God gave it. The law of sin. The law of death. Then there was the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Many different authorities are mentioned through these passages. The law knows all. Law is written so that it can be a know-it-all source. Our govern authorities, such as the police, are called "the authorities" not because they have the power to make us do anything, but because they are the ones who know without a shadow of doubt, what we are supposed to be doing. If they have to make an arrest because someone has broken the law, then that's what they have to do. When we have gone against the authority over us, in the spiritual manner that we speak of, then our God allows us to be punished, with a purpose in mind.

Revelation 3:19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

 Hear this verse also...

Hebrews 12:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This opens the door to another subject for another Sunday. God is the Authority. The Almighty is the Author and Creator of all. In doing so, God becomes our "father". God gave us life and breath. In the infamous words of Bill Cosby, as Heathcliff Huxtable speaking to his son, Theo, "I brought you in this world, I'll take you out." The Author of our lives has a plan for our lives, also. To be conformed to the image of His Son. What does image mean? We talked about that last week. Being made into the image of God means taking on the likeness. The same characteristics we saw in Jesus, his love, his forgiveness, his mercy, we are to be made into this image. God has the authority to call for this because this is how the Lord wants our lives to be lived. This is what he "wrote the book" about.

Many of us have seen it happen and been in the line of fire when the matter of authority is misused or abused. From our human perspective, authority is something to be used, and even, inflicted on someone whom we want to follow our wishes to the t. Many times us human beings think we know everything about a subject. We think we know it all. We get too wrapped up in ourselves and what we want. We want people to listen to us, to follow us, to respect us, even fear us. But, if asked to write about the subject at hand, we might get out a few measly paragraphs. We don't know what we are talking about. We don't truly have a grip on the subject matter.We end up spouting off out of insecure prejudices and unfounded errors. Little do we realize we could use some time in the presence of an actual Authority. Someone who could lead us, guide us, instruct us. 

I've seen it happen in my field of work. Dude, I've even been the guy who needed a good smack upside the head. It was a couple years into my time with my last church that I realized, "It's not about me." It's not about the title in front of my time. It's not about the church following my every whim and command. I'm here to point the church towards God. I'm here to remind them of what God wants us to do. If I'm an authority on anything it's about who God is and what God wants for our lives. I've been in a steady stream of schooling since 1993. Do I have it all figured out? Good lord, no. Did I write the book on how to live the Christian life? Yikes. That's scary to even think about. The Apostle Paul made one plea to his Corinthians audience. "Follow me as I am following Christ." Paul sought to follow the Authority and encouraged those around him to follow as a way of keeping himself on track and accountable. 

When I first entered the ministry, when I approached my first church, I walked into Caledonia, OH into a small Nazarene church and proclaimed, "I'll be here 20 years."  Little did I know what would transpire in the years ahead. Even when I took that leap and made out of personal ad on the internet and met my future wife, I still had it in ind that she would move up my way and we would make a life for ourselves right there in Caledonia. That's not the way it went. When we hunker down and proclaim for ourselves how we want things to be, do we realize that we are making plans for ourselves as if we are the Authority who governs all and oversees all?

Jesus is the Authority. The Word. If there is a "know it all" it would be the One who made the world and caused it to be. The Word spoke causing us to have shape and being. God knows all about us. If anyone has the right to tell us anything then the authority belongs to someone greater than us. For some reason, though, we seem to have a problem with someone knowing more than we do. Was this the problem Jesus faced upon coming to earth? Jesus knows everything about everybody. Scriptures cites that he knew their hearts and minds as he spoke with people. The opening words in John's gospel say that "He came to that which was his own, yet his own did not receive him."  Why not? Was it an authority issue? If it was, then, the leaders in the day, if they were listen to Jesus, would have to admit that they themselves are not the authority. They did not know it all. The people, who had grown accustomed to allowing the religious lead the way, would have to buck the system and say that this man, Jesus, was the authority and not these scribes and Pharisees. Who is the authority within the realm of our lives?

You should recall as we began covering this subject of sanctification that this work of the Lord begins with us laying down the will of our lives. Merely saying that word, will, should bring to mind some idea of authorship. If you have not done so, writing out one's will is a very important step in our human lives. We want to state clearly where everything in our possession is to go should, if, and when we leave this this earth. It is as if we are the ones in control of all of this and we want to make sure everything goes to the proper people within the framework of our lives. Sanctification begins when we turn the will of our lives over to the Lord. We no longer are in control. We have knelt and given control of our lives over to the Lord. The Almighty is now the authority in our lives. One of the great lies that has been played out and is still perverted to this day is that man can be God. man thinks he/she can be the big dog in control of all that we see. Human kind was created to serve, not to rule. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., former associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a man in charge of great power and responsibility, also known to many as "The Great Dissenter". He wrote extensively and with great authority, sharing opinions that carried great weight in connection with cases being covered in the Great Court. One quote attributed to Holmes, however, say much with few words. "The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God." 

Jesus has all power and authority. Jesus is God. God in the flesh. 
Yet, Paul states in his letter to the Philippians that...

Philippians 2:5-7

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

 

If you have the privilege of being someone with power and responsibility over others in this world, do not think that you are better or more important than others. Follow the example of Jesus Christ. We are to be a "living sacrifice" as Paul would state to the Romans in Chap 12. We give of ourselves. This is how we give. We turn the will of our lives over to the One who knows all and is The Authority over all. The One who knows more than we do. 

Would you have a problem with that? Turning your will over to someone else.
If I opened the altar this morning and invited you to come down and present your lives to God, allowing Jesus Christ to be the Authority over your life, could you do that? Would you do that? Would you follow the example that Jesus set for us, in being a servant, in giving all that you have, so that the world around us might know the love and forgiveness that God wants to extend?

Would you come, today, and approach this altar? Would you lay all you have at the feet of the Almighty? Would you write out the will and give it to God and say "It's all yours. Take it and do what you want to with it." ? This Christian life is not just about finding forgiveness. We need to be forgiven and make things right with God. We also needs to turn our lives over to the Almighty. God alone rules all and oversees all. The creation needs to turn itself back to the Creator. The One who authored and gave life to it. Can you do that today? Can you give you life to God?

God gave us everything. God asks for your life today. The will of all that you are and have belongs to one with all authority. Your decisions awaits.

The Romans Run

You take it on the run, baby!

The words to an old REO Speedwagon song came to mind as I began to think about this message.  

You take it on the run baby
If that's the way you want it baby
Then I don't want you around
I don't believe it,
Not for a minute
You're under the gun so you take it on the run

Lyrics by Gary Richrath, REO Speedwagon, 1980

Paul's Letter to the Romans is a piece of work that is unlike any other message attributed to him. A mixture of history and theological understanding, Paul crafts a message together to those Hellenistic Jews living in Roman/Greek lands that need to understand their own historical, Jewish background in order to appreciate what their new found faith in Christ is truly all about. Paul, formerly known as Saul, was one who had persecuted the church by killing Christians. It was as if he, himself, did not fully understand his own history. Now, with Christ at the center of his life, the light comes on and all of it lines up and makes sense. Paul writes to other Jews and believers in Christ in his other places in the New Testament, but nothing compares to the thoughtfulness he puts into this letter. 
 

We are going to take Paul's letter to the Romans on the run today. That phrase will work itself into our message as we go along. This morning’s message is different in that we are going to cover almost an entire book of the bible in one sitting. Almost all of it. (I encourage you to take the time to read Romans and let God speak to you as I don't have the space or time to cover it all verse for verse.) Chapters 1-12 to be precise. Chapters 13-16 can be viewed as an explanation of Chap 12. There is some explanation of Christian living, Paul’s plans for the future, a few word to select parties and final salutations. The opening chapters provides much history from the Old Testament world, an explanation of the law and it’s purpose, a realization of sin and what it is. The “meat” of the letter is Chaps 5 – 8. This is where we will place much of our focus and there will be scripture on the PowerPoint. We’ll see some more history in chaps 9-10 and wrap it up with Paul’s strongest statement to the Christian life in Chap 12. 

Lets start off with a statement that many a Lutheran, if they were worshipping with us today, could stand up and salute...

Romans 1:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,^[a] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”^[b]

Paul realized that, in the midst of world gone wrong, faith was the ultimate prize to hang on to in this life. In this opening chapter Paul will state many things he sees going on in the culture around him in Rome. We could most likely draw some correlation between the world of Rome and the country we live in today. The old adage, “When in Rome...do as the Romans do”, has been a part of our lexicon for some time now. In a culture that worshipped many gods, even placing it’s own emperor up in a godly sight for all the nations to see, it is no wonder that such lawlessness reigned. Which brings Paul about to the subject of the law as we enter chap 2.

Paul spends a paragraph speaking about God as the righteous judge. God and the law go together. It was God who gave the law to Moses and the people. Paul, right away, gets his Jewish audience in touch with their own history. History can be a great teacher if we are willing to listen and learn.

Romans 2:12-16

New International Version (NIV)

¹² All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. ¹³ For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴ (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) ¹⁶ This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Sin is at the heart of what Paul presents in Romans. He starts off talking about how horrible things are in the culture of the Roman world. He goes into a short expose on God and the law to show that the law is simply here to point out sin to us. We do need the law. We need something to be a guide for us as to what righteous living should look like. Right in the middle of Chap 3 Paul brings it home for everybody, just in case there was anyone who thought they might be excluded from the subject...  23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  However, unless we think that sin is the bulk of the subject matter here, lets take a look at the larger context around v 23...

Romans 3:21-26

New International Version (NIV)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Paul balances his talk about sin throughout Romans with the matters of faith and righteousness. If all the law was made to do was to point out what sin is for us humans beings, then something else needs to point out the grace and righteousness of God. All through the scriptures of the Old Testament there are signs pointing to a work that God wants to do. The sign is the coming of a Messiah. The work is making his people live the way they should live. What would come would not be like the giving of the law. What was to come had to do with grace and faith. And, one Old Testament figure would be the example to follow as they would wait.

Romans 4:1-3

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Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[a]

The work belongs to God, not us. Paul has it out with his Jewish audience about how exactly we are justified. That is to say, how we are made right in our relationship with God. We are redeemed in the work that Jesus Christ did on our behalf. In order to enter into the redemption, to partake in it, we have to believe. God made a promise to Abraham all those centuries ago. Abraham believed in the message. Because Christ was not yet here, this faith was ‘credited’ to him as righteousness. Isn’t it nice to charge something and not have to pay on it till later? In this case, Abraham faith was credited to him. As if he returned something to the store and got a credit it on that item. He could spend it on his next trip to the store. When Christ gets here this believer can pull out the receipt and claim his righteousness. Abraham did this and hung on to his faith. And, so can we.

Ok, that’s a simple opening to Romans. God. Sin. Law. Faith. Redemption.
Now we turn the corner into the heart of the letter. Chapters 5 thru 8 is some very deep reading with much to be expounded upon. One could read through Romans’ first four chapters and come away with a sense of heaviness. Sin can be an overwhelming subject. Paul doesn’t mince words. Sin is lawlessness. The law is needed to point out our sin to us. But, it all feels as if we are on the run from something. Is sin this hopeless subject that we lost in forever. Many folks will say that they believe in Christ. They believe he is coming. But, what about the subject of sin? How are we to deal with sin in our everyday lives? Are we simply resigned to sitting here stuck in mud up to our hips, in a theological sense, until we die? As the old song goes, "I don't believe it, not for minute. You're under the gun, so you take it on the run." If we believe in Christ we can find redemption, but through Chap 4, the message is that Christ is off on the distance. Believing in Christ is used as credit for a future prize. If the book closed here, I would feel heavy. “OK, I guess we just wait it out...” That is, until we turn the page.

Romans 5

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Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Whenever I hear the word, I instantaneously think of the movie "The Shawshank Redemption". Filmed in my the area I grew up, the fictional movie showcases the story of a man who has had everything taken away from him. Sent to Shawshank prison in the summer of 1942, Andy Dufrane is told that hope is most dangerous thing inside the walls of prison system. There are two words that should stick with a person after viewing this film. Hope is our point for the moment. The other is what Morgan Freeman's character "Red" called a person on the inside. Institutionalized. I would correlate that point to our lives being lived in sin. We need redemption. Most of us realize that. What happens to many a good person in this world is a sense of feeling as if there is no way out. We are stuck in this system of sin in this world paying the price with a prison sentence that offers no parole. And, that's where hope comes in. There's has to be something better. There's has be a way out of the hopelessness this world inflicts upon it's people. There has to be an answer.

In the second half of this chapter Paul would go on to explain that sin came into the world through the actions of one man, the first Adam. This nature of sin was then transferred, spiritually, to all of Adam's offspring, i.e. the human race. Our hope, our redemption is then bought for us through the action of one who is just like the first Adam. Another one comes along who was made without sin, Jesus Christ. Through the giving of his life and his death and resurrection, we now have our hopes realized. There is redemption. There is salvation. It is not somehting off in the distance, but something to be experienced here and now. Many a scripture make sense to us now. He stands at the door. He knocks. He wants to enter. And, he can. Because our hopes have not been trod underfoot. They have been made real through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The next word from those opening chapters that needs to be brought front and center is righteousness. Paul would have explained back in Chapter 4 that we are made righteous through our faith. That maeans we now live in a right relationship with God. Sins have been forgiven. Believing in Jesus Christ makes this new life in God possible. Now we want to live in such as way that our new standing with God makes sense. We don't say that we believe in Jesus and then go do whatever we want to do, however we want to do it. Chap 6 opens the door to how we should now live our lives.

Romans 6:15-18

New International Version (NIV)

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Paul would open this sixth chap saying that we are now dead to sin. It should not own us. It should not control us. Christ is died to sin, physically and spiritually. We can gather as we read the scriptures that Jesus lived his life without sin. We also understand in various places that Christ became sin for us. The very spectacle of his hanging on a cross shows the viciousness and severity of the punishments of sin. It should have been us. We should have to pay with our own lives. We should have to make up for our own wrongs. But, we can't. It is one of those situations where the debts is too high and the punishment to strong for us to handle. So, Jesus does it for us. He does it for us on the cross and by the example he set for us to live. As a patient teacher with her children, Jesus marks the way of righteousness with his actions and words. The Teacher wants us to follow his instructions. He wants us to follow his way of life. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul would say that he follows Christ example in this way. "I die daily". He dies to sin in that sense of ownership. The life he lives now he lives unto God in Jesus Christ.

Paul realizes that what he has now is because of God's grace to him. God has freely extended mercy, compassion, forgiveness and freedom to him. Now that he has all of this, should he go on living a life that is layered in slavery and sinfulness? Nope. ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. That phrase "obey from your heart" suggest that believing is central to seeing this happen in your life. Where do we say we believe? In our hearts. Where do we invite Jesus into? Our hearts. Jesus takes over the control center to lead us and guide us along life's journey. We die to ourselves. We step away from the controls. Instead of being a slave to sin through our own actions we allow someone else to show us the way. Jesus Christ. The commander of the ship now has to ability to show us how to live. But, there is much more that still needs to be realized.

As we enter Chap 7 we see to subjects being addressed. Ownership and Reality. Paul starts off by illustrating his point further about sin's ownership over our lives. The first part of this chapter shows us the picture what marriage looks like. While two people are married to each other, they belong to one another. Nobody else can have them. If one party dies and the other is now alone, that person is then free to marry another. It works the same way in speaking of the subject of sin in our lives. Christ's death on the cross not only provides forgiveness for our sin, but wipes the subject of sin out. It's not here any more. My grandfather did this for my mom. My biological father is a story I could write a whole book about. He was bad news and needed to go from our lives My grandfather basically made him get out. He saved us from that way of life. I can only imagine, and maybe I don't want to, about how life would have been if we had grown up in that picture. God does the same for us in Jesus Christ. In this picture, sin is dead. It has been put to death through what Jesus does for us. Like disease we have been looking for a cure from. Like an antidote to a poison. The cure is here. All we need to do is realize it, believe it. Realizing what God has done for us it is the issue. The latter part of Chap 7 is a darker part of the Christian experience. It is a place where many a good meaning church folks and even well thought of theologians get hung up. 

Romans 7:14-20

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Paul pulls back the veil and shows us, for a moment, the ugly details of his own life. The Mighty Apostle has had a hard time working out the understanding of freedom from sin in his own life. For all the explanation he gives us up to this point he shows us that he also has had a problem living in the reality that we are free from sin. God is spiritual. All of this is spiritual. Using the subject of slavery craftily here, Paul says that we can be thought of as slaves. We were sold to sin. We were born into this slavery and we don't know anything else. Now, we are haring about this freedom that we have and it all sounds good. We sure would like to live that way. But, as we begin to walk away from all of this we find that there are shackles still around our hands and feet. We would like to live free but we find that something is still holding us down. We have this desire in our hearts to do what is right, but sin is close by to twist and turn that desire around. 

It would be real easy to get lost in this line of thought. It would be real easy to simply close the book right here at this place and say that this is just how it is.  There are entire theological lines of thought built around this very idea. The idea is that we cannot be free from sin. At the end of this chapter Paul cries out, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Thanks be to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." And to many people act as if they have closed the book right there, lay it down, and carry on like that's the end of the story. Only it's not. Paul is still writing.

Romans 8

New International Version (NIV)

Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death.

The song I have been eluding to during this message is about two people who are in love. The stories the singer of the song is hearing about the one he loves are disturbing. The story he is hearing is that the one he loves is caught in shame and guilt over something they have done. But, it is as if her can't believe his ears and refuses to believe what he is being told. If the story is true then his love needs to go and not be in the house. But, his words of confidence are clear. "I don't believe it. Not for a minute. You're under the gun so you take it on the run." We have a tendency to run, in our spiritual lives, like we're under the gun. We think that other people are looking down on us. We think we are worthless. We think we can't be free. It feels like we are running. Constantly. Paul has a word for that in this 8th chapter. It's called fear. "You have not been given a spirit of fear that you should fall back into slavery." I think this is what keeps people trapped in the "Chapter 7 of their lives". Fear. It's so easy to be fearful. It's a trap that sneaks up on you and takes away your hope. "You have been given a spirit of sonship by which we cry, "Abba, Father". We have hope! We have freedom! 

Do you know what it's like to live without condemnation? Do you actually know what it is?
a statement or expression of very strong and definite criticism or disapproval

Wow. That we would be thought of in terms of "disapproval" or criticized to the point of censure. Do you know what it means to be condemned? Like a building that people say cannot be restored, so it gets torn down. Put the word "-nation" on the end and what does it make you think. A whole nation of people just condemned you.  Sin has a way of not just legally condemning us in God's sight, but makes us feel as if we are worthless and unable to approach the throne because of guilt and shame. But, paul does not quit writing at the end Chap 7. He goes on... There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Have you asked Him to come into your life? Can you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior? Then you have no reason to fear. No reason to hide your face. No reason to shrink back and not approach God. Freedom is yours.

It should be noted here, as I have heard some suggest, that none of this is written in some future tense. Everything here is written in the present tense. Paul does not shift tone when the chapters change. He does not go into some future tense to suggest that someday we will be free. No, right now we are free. All that Jesus Christ did for us is able to be experienced in the here and now. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Imagine if you will that I approach you and we lock hands, left hand to left hand. Lets imagine for a moment, as we speak of sin ensnaring us, that this is what it looks like. Sin has a hold of you and won't let go. Now, we lock right hand to right hand. Death also has a hold on us. We should die in our sins. We are dead spiritually. We have no fellowship with God. Go ahead and try to pull away. Kind of hard with your arms crossed and your hands and wrists locked up. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." I let you go. The strangle hold has been severed. We are set free from the condemnation that sin places on us because we are free from sin's control over us. 

Paul makes some grand statements in Chap 8. Here is where there is a hint of future tense in what he says. Our present sufferings are worth comparing with our future glory. We press on. We are not afraid to ask for help. And, we know what the future holds for us. There one other motivator. God's love for us. And, nothing can separate us from it. We should/could tie this back to Chap 6 for a moment. What's the only thing missing from this list of stuff that cannot separate us from the love of God? There is no mention of the subject of sin here. The very nature of sin is to divide. It separates us from our relationship with God. It drives a wedge. That's what sin does. Paul has gone to great lengths to explain to us that sin is no longer a part of our lives. It should be here. That's how he can exclude it from the list. A life that make no excuse for sin does have to worry about sin dividing or excluding. Just because God loves us, does that mean I can just do what ever I can do whatever I want to do, however I want to do it? Just because God loves me? What did Paul ask back in Chap 6? "Should I keep on sinning so that grace may abound?" Um...no. That doesn't make sense. We walk away from it. Fear no longer controls us. Sin no longer owns us. We are free. Live that way. 

Chaps 9, 10 & 11 are a history lesson. Much in the same manner as Paul opened with history on Israel and Abraham, so he pulls from the history of his ancestors to show how they did not follow God, they did not listen to God's words, and they paid harshly for it. He wants his people to know that they can do this differently. They don't need to walk down the same path as their ancestors did. They don't need to repeat the same mistakes and fall into the same snares and traps. he is pleading with his audience to find some body who will go and preach this message to his people, Israel, now dispersed throughout the regions of Asia and into Romans territories.

Romans 10:14-15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Please! Somebody join me in the work of sharing this message with those who need to hear it. And, what a work it is. How many do you know who need to hear the message of forgiveness and peace offered in Christ Jesus? 

Which brings this message to it's final part.

After all that Paul has shared he asks his audience one last request.

Romans 12

New International Version (NIV)

A Living Sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Knowing what you know now, hearing what you have heard today, what kind of response would you give to God? We need our minds renewed, so we don't live in fear. We are not here to conform to the pattern of this world. We are not here to live as the world lives. We have new life in Jesus Christ. We give ourselves to Christ, to God, and we let him do whatever he wants to do with us. A living sacrifice. No thought of living any other way. This is how we worship. We come here each week because Jesus is the number one thing in our lives. Christ is what is most important. Do you want to know what God wants for your life? Do you want to know what God's will is for you? Turn your life over to God and find out. Or, keep doing it your way and find fear and doubt and struggle.

God has extended all of this in his mercy, in his grace. It's free. All you're asked to do is believe.