Faith is Critical

 On of the early debates about Christianity was about the difference between the power of the Holy Spirit and gnosis. Gnosis is a Greek word that means mystical knowledge. In fact, for many years, there were additional books written about Jesus from a Gnostic perspective. You may have heard about the “Lost Gospels”, such as the Gospel of Andrew, the Gospel of Judas, the Gospel of Mary, and others. Actually, these books were never lost – they can be found on the Internet. Instead, they were rejected by the early church fathers for two primary reasons: First, they were mostly written at least 50 years after Revelation was written by authors who were faking their names and credentials, and second, they claimed a gnosis, or hidden knowledge of the things of Jesus.

Gnostic power is still looked for in the world. It is the philosophical basis of magic – the idea that if you say the magic words in just the right way, hold onto the proper eye of newt and piece of batwing in just the right way and the proper order, if you really knew the secret knowledge about Jesus’ sister and the name of Peter’s boat, you could accomplish all sorts of powerful magic. Throughout the centuries, people have maintained that secret knowledge is the key to power – and this continues even to this day. Even today, even in major universities like UNC Chapel Hill, in Harvard, at Yale, there are people who call themselves biblical scholars who are still searching for secret, hidden knowledge about Jesus so they can publish books, sell lectures, and become the man or woman who has the power to destroy Christianity.

A few years ago, following the Gnostic philosophy, Dan Brown wrote “The Da Vinci Code” about a hidden series of symbols found in a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, the famous artist. It became a movie starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard. The success of the book and the movie were followed up by a pair of equally fantastic sequels. It seems that many people wanted the secret but made-up knowledge provided by Mr. Brown – and this managed to confuse many people who were considering Christianity.

Besides this form of Gnostic-influenced Christianity, Gnostic influence is also all over television, with shows such as Lucifer, The Good Witch, and many shows and books about witchcraft and magic available. UFO’s have been the rage for years among some people, and conspiracy theories have been around since Lincoln and Kennedy were assassinated. It seems most people want “secret knowledge”, knowledge that most people don’t have, because that secret knowledge, even if it is looney and doesn’t stick together, it helps the people who buy it feel important, powerful, wise, …and dangerous. We can also see this philosophy at work in Scientology, in Buddhism, and in those who go beyond science as a way to understand the world around us and want to use science as the answer to all the deep, philosophical questions. “I can understand what most people don’t understand or recognize, because I am smarter and wiser than all around me.” the Gnostic says, for he or she believes that real truth cannot be simple enough to be on public display and understood by average people.

But the real books of the Bible, the books that were written by a disciple of Jesus or a close associate of a disciple, a man who met with and talked with Jesus personally or, in the case of Luke and Mark, a man who knew closely and talked with the disciples – in these real books of the New Testament, knowledge is rarely kept hidden – and when it is, such as the date of Jesus’ return, the claim is made that NO ONE knows until the event happens. There are no hidden spells passed on from disciple to disciple; no secret rituals; no deep dark secrets about Jesus that only pastors or bishops know. Instead, everything is in the open – even when Jesus told the disciples to keep a secret, they wrote it down later for the public to find in their Gospels. And today, we have such an example of Jesus telling the disciples to keep a secret – which Mark then wrote down for everyone to read after Jesus returned to Heaven.

And here, we are faced with another key difference between hidden, gnosis magic, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

In magic, have you ever noticed that the idea is always destruction, control, secrecy, death and damage? A person is turned to a frog, burnt to a crisp, forced to love another, forced to serve, turned invisible to commit burglaries, killed on the spot, or hideously disfigured? Life and beauty are destroyed by Gnosis.

But when Jesus acts – and later, when the disciples act, the power of the Holy Spirit heals, cures, releases from bondage, resurrects. Life and beauty are given by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at today’s episode. It occurs just after Jesus has sent the legion of demons from the possessed man into a herd of pigs. The man begged to go with Jesus and the disciples, but Jesus said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” The man did this in the region to the Southeast of Galilee, known as the Ten Cities, or the Decapolis.

So Jesus and the disciples take the boat back to the other side of the lake, and a large crowd gathered around him. A man named Jairus was a leader of one of the synagogues where the Jews gathered to worship. He had been successful in life and in the community. He was respected. But he had a problem he could not solve by himself, with all his friends, with the entire synagogue. His success would not help him. But he had heard of the miracles that Jesus had performed, so he came and saw Jesus, falling at His feet. He pled earnestly with Jesus, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” Such confidence in the power of Jesus! Such faith! So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pushed and shoved around Jesus. In the crowd was a woman who had been suffering from continuous, menstrual-related bleeding for a dozen years. This was naturally serious enough with the anemia it caused, but in the context of the time, it was also a spiritual problem, for by the Law given to Moses, the blood made her ritually unclean, and so she could not visit the Temple, she could not attend synagogue services, and she should not even be out in public.

Many times, a physical ailment or a disability keeps us today from church, and so the physical problem leads to spiritual problems. It is interesting to note that Jairus, a leader of the synagogue was present at this point. Is this to remind us that the leaders of the church should make every effort to help people who feel they cannot attend church because of physical issues, perhaps mobility issues or other issues which may cause embarrassment? At least today, we have Facebook Live – but, as we all now know, that isn’t quite a substitute for attendance in person, is it?

Mark tells her that she had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors. You can imagine the various treatments of the day – things did not improve for her, but only grew worse.

But she heard about the power of healing that Jesus brought. And so she pushed through the crowd, snuck up behind Jesus, and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” And that is what happened, immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering, Mark tells us.

And we can imagine her smiling with joy, and beginning to turn away to head home, when Jesus stops, turns around, and asks, “WHO TOUCHED MY CLOTHES?”

The disciples are amazed at this. After all, there’s people pushing and shoving all around Jesus, and he asks, “Who touched me?”

But Jesus keeps looking around. The woman, embarrassed and ashamed, realizes that she will not be allowed to sneak away. Jesus doesn’t want her to sneak away, ashamed of what she has done. No, He wants her to explain to Him and the crowd gather nearby what has happened. He wants a public testimony, just as today, like the man freed from the demons and like this woman, He wants you to tell everyone what He has done for you in your life.

So she comes to Him and falls at His feet, trembling with fear, for women were not supposed to touch rabbi’s, teachers, and she was still ritually impure and would be for weeks, and so she had committed a social crime, a crime against the Law of Moses, a crime for which she would surely be denounced, embarrassed, and chewed out in public. It was the equivalent to being chewed out in open church by Billy Graham for being an adulteress or a secret drunkard or other sin.

But she told Him the whole truth, and then she cringed for Jesus’ judgement. And He gave it. “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

No condemnation. No harsh words. No demands she be stoned. Simply an announcement that her faith had healed her – and an announcement to her – and to the crowd - that she should go in peace and be freed from her suffering. And so she left. We should do the same for people who tell of being healed by Christ.

But there are some things that are very important in this statement of Jesus. First, did you notice that he does not take credit for this healing? He does not give credit to God. No, He says to her, “YOUR FAITH has healed you.”

Let’s put this in context. In the next chapter, Mark 6, Jesus goes to Nazareth, where people take offense at Him because they knew Him, and yet, He had this big reputation for being a prophet, healing people and doing other great miracles. They did not show Him any honor, the honor due the Son of God. In fact, they remind Him that they had seen Him growing up, working with Joseph in the carpenter’s shop. He shouldn’t get above His raising! And so, Jesus doesn’t do any miracles there, except “lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. Mark says Jesus could not do any miracles in Nazareth. He was amazed because of their lack of faith.  

So what is the deal about faith? During Jesus’ ministry, it was critical to Him that people eventually recognize Him both for His POWER as Son of God and for His CHARACTER as Son of God. The bleeding woman recognized that Jesus – even His clothing – had the power to heal her. But she had not yet recognized that His character wanted to heal her. And so He stopped and required her to speak her story, so everyone could see that God the Father’s love, flowing through Jesus, had healed her even without Jesus’ express wish. Her faith in Jesus and God had healed her – not Jesus’ command that she be healed. He had not performed magic – He just was Who He was and is – the Son of God, the God that wants healing and life and beauty!

But at Nazareth, He did very little healing and no other miracles because of His character. He had the power to heal – that was demonstrated. But His character kept Him from saying to the troublesome men and women of Nazareth, “You don’t believe? Watch this!” like a redneck who has just learned how to smash a beer can on his forehead. Jesus’ character meant that He had no need to show-off in front of a bunch of unbelievers who would probably think He had some hidden knowledge that He had learned from traveling magicians or demons. Sometimes, you see, it is when Jesus does not act that can teach us more about Him – and us - than Jesus acting!

Have you prayed for a new car loan to be approved? And it wasn’t? How about praying for Jesus to approve the car loan if it is good for us? For a new car loan adds $300 to $500 a month in expenses, every month, which you honestly may not be able to handle. When Jesus says “No.”, then you learn that you can live with the car you have for another year or two.

Have you prayed for a particular job? Once, about 15 years ago, I had taken an alternative certification program to become a teacher. In October of that year, I applied to WVU-P to teach courses. I didn’t hear back from them. In April, I applied to Williamstown High School for a physics and chemistry job. In May, I applied to Simonton Windows for a job as a financial analyst. In late June, I applied for a job in automation equipment with a local company that did that work and had an interview. I prayed on the way to the interview, “This should be a great job, Lord, The only thing better would be full-time ministry.”

After the interview, I got home to find an email mentioning that Parkersburg Catholic wanted a math teacher. I called, got the interview for Thursday. The first question was, “We are a Catholic school. Would you be comfortable sharing your faith and praying with the students?” DING!

The next day, Simonton called me for a phone interview. The money would be twice what Catholic could pay. On Monday, Catholic called me and told me I had the job if I wanted it. I accepted. An hour later, Williamstown called and asked me to come in for an interview – they had a new principal and that was the reason for the delay. Even though the money would have been more, I declined. An hour later, Simonton called me back for an in-plant interview. I declined. An hour later, WVU-P called me and asked me to teach two courses. “When?” I asked. 4 pm and 7 pm. I accepted and between Catholic and WVU-P, the money added up to what Williamstown would have paid. I never heard back from the automation company.

It gets better. The automation company laid people off in October. Simonton had a big layoff in December. In May, a bunch of teachers fled Williamstown because of the new principal. And a year later, at Catholic, I was able to start seminary and began to also preach at two small churches in Pleasants County. So have faith that God and Jesus are involved, even if they don’t give a reply like you might want. Trust that they are guiding you the right way, and learn to leave the details up to God.

Well, Jesus had confronted the woman and made her tell her story publicly, and He made His comment about her faith healing her. Remember, Jairus, the synagogue leader is watching all of this. And about that time, some people came from the house of Jairus, and spoke to Jairus. “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Jesus overheard their advice, and told Jairus: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Jairus had just seen and heard the story of the bleeding woman, so he must have looked at Jesus with hope in an even stronger fashion than he had before.

So Jairus, Jesus, Peter, James, and John went to Jairus’ house. Jesus told the rest of the disciples and crowd to stay behind. At the house, everyone is crying and wailing. Jesus went in and said, “Why all the ruckus? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they just laughed at him. They laughed at the Son of God. Remember that when someone laughs at your faith.

So Jesus took just Jairus, his wife, and the three disciples into the girl’s room. The laughers would miss a miracle. He took her by the hand and said to her in Aramaic, “Little girl, get up!” And the twelve-year-old girl stood up and began to walk. Of course, all of the observers were astonished. He told them to give her something to eat – and not to let anyone know about this. Right! How long do you think they could keep the secret?

But the command tells us something else about Jesus’ character. Today, most people would present the girl, alive and walking around, to the crowd standing outside to astonishment and cheers. But Jesus told them to keep it quiet. Why? He had decided that those who laughed did not even deserve to be put down – notice that He does not rebuke them or rub the miracle in their noses. But He had also decided they would miss a blessing because they would not accept the blessing as the gracious miracle from a loving God that it was.

Several reasons present themselves. Perhaps the little girl had only fainted and Jesus recognized this faint for what it was, while the crying crowd who had laughed at Him had thought she was dead. If so, Jesus wanted to secure in the mind of the synagogue leader who he should trust – Jesus or the crowd. Who do you trust? Jesus or the crowd?

Perhaps Jesus knew that rumors can spread faster than proclaimed facts. For over the next few weeks, people would gradually have become aware that the little girl was still alive, and that news would have spread – along with the idea that Jesus was not a publicity seeker. The laughers would then realize their mistake and repent – or not. But they would never see Jesus as a revenge-seeking publicity hound.

Or perhaps Jesus knew that the little girl might be discriminated against, treated as a witch, or otherwise get in trouble just as Lazarus would a couple years later when Lazarus was resurrected, and so Jesus wanted to keep publicity away from the little girl and Jairus for as long as possible.

Or, perhaps, just as would soon happen in Nazareth, Jesus had no need to proclaim Himself to people who were so antagonistic that they would never believe.

In contrast, the bleeding woman had so much faith in the healing power of Jesus that she thought merely touching his robe would do the trick because He was so holy. She did not require His action. She did not require His speech. She did not require even His attention. But she got it through her faith. You see, it was her faith that Jesus insisted be talked about – not His “magic”. But later, the people of Nazareth were so demanding of Jesus, He decided not to perform for them like a sideshow act. And the same with the laughing people at Jairus’ house.

It is something to remember. There are people who delight in arguing with Christians, and it is often tempting to debate them back. But notice that Jesus never debates these people, never even shows them His miraculous powers. He answers the Sadducees and Pharisees when they put serious theological questions to Him, but He does not argue with random people who laugh and ask, “Who made you God?” Instead, Jesus ignores them and works near them – though, perhaps not in their presence. Remember, when you are tempted to get into a debate with someone who is anti-Christian – people are watching you. Your humbleness and kindness will do more for the Gospel than winning the debate with sarcasm and other attacks.

Many years later, Paul points out that Jesus was rich, yet became poor for our sake, so that through his poverty we might become rich. A statement that is bit confusing, yes, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary that Jesus allow us to temporarily fail in things so that we will learn to lean on Him.

It is similar to a father, whose teenage son asks him to buy him a computer. The father knows that he can afford the computer, but he also knows that a computer is often a luxury. So he tells his son that he cannot afford to buy him a computer, but he then gives the son several ideas on how he might earn a computer – a paper route, working at McDonald’s, etc. And the son becomes much richer because he has learned the value of hard work.

And so Paul points out that Christians should share with each other. Give what you can give, whether it be money, a bit of time, a special talent, or words of encouragement and joy. And then, expect that other Christians will share with you what they have plenty of – whether it be money, a bit of time, a special talent, or words of encouragement and joy.

And how does this tie together? Jesus shared what He had plenty of – the power of the Spirit to heal, to give life, to resurrect. He never shared destructive magic, hidden secret knowledge, like many people seem to want today. Only life-giving power of the Spirit. And we should do the same – let your words be words that give joy and life – never destruction. Let your actions lift other up, not destroy them. Point others to Jesus because you have been freed from suffering – and tell many, many people your story. Don’t keep it a secret.

Imagine. Your story contains the gift of life that Jesus gave to you. Share it with others, that they might have life. And then, one day, when you are feeling dark, lonely, and sad – they may come back and tell you words of joy and life.

Like many pastors, my son Andy has had a difficult time during COVID because he could not meet with many people. His churches had to completely close for months because they could not figure out a way to operate safely. Yet, he stayed in touch with many, with one man in particular, a man he knew had not yet surrendered his life to Jesus.

Last week, they took a walk on a trail together, talking about Jesus. About three-quarters of the way through the trail, there is a cross. The man knelt at that cross and accepted Jesus. Today, he is supposed to be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit which gives eternal life. And that, my friends, is what life is all about. My son called me, filled with joy. And any person here can learn to do the same for your friends, neighbors, and relatives.

Spread the Gospel. Heal the world with God. Make a difference.

Trust in God. God will be there. In His Time.

Post-Sermon Song: In His Time 2203

Benediction: May God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit fill you and guide you this week, that you may do the will of God. Be blessed!

5 Closing Song – Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus 462

Go and Praise God all week long!

Fighting the Battles

About 1200 years before Christ, around the time of the Exodus, the escape of the Israelites from Egypt, a group of seafolk, most likely from Crete and the other Greek islands, decided to move to the plain of Sharon, a well-watered, fertile coastal plain in southern Palestine. Today, this plain is known as the Gaza strip. In the Old Testament, this area – and these people – were known as the Philistines.

The Philistines settled here just before the Israelites invaded the land from the East. Because the land was relatively flat and fertile, they quickly grew in numbers – and were able to use chariots, the tanks of the ancient world. Drawn by teams of 2 or 4 fast horses, a chariot held a driver and 1 or 2 soldiers who carried spears and swords. When a chariot rushed at a man on the ground, the horses and the spears were terrifying. Plus, a chariot could easily outrun men on foot, attacking them many times until they broke ranks and ran away. And then, the chariots followed up, running down the fleeing infantry. Chariots were very powerful on flat land – but they were almost worthless in rough country.

The Israelites settled in the rough country, the hills and steep ravines of central Palestine. Here, the Israelites had the advantage with their clan- and tribe-based spearmen, able to ambush Philistines from behind rocks as they headed up the narrow ravines. Back and forth the war raged between the Philistines and the Israelites, with the Israelites mostly winning in the hills under King Saul and his son Jonathan – and the Philistines winning on the plain.

One day the Philistines invaded the land of the tribe of Judah. Saul and the Israelites assembled to meet the invasion. There were two hills, with the Philistines camped on one hill and the Israelites camped on the other hill, with a valley between them, the Valley of Elah shown on the screen as it is today.

The Philistines had five major cities, of which Gath was one of the leading cities. A man named Goliath was from Gath – his height was six cubits and a span, or roughly 9 foot 9 inches. This sounds impossible, but skeletons have been found in ancient graves in France with heights of 11 feet or so. A man in Illinois, Robert Wadlow was 8 foot 11 inches when he died in 1940. Additionally, Goliath may have suffered like Wadlow from a pituitary tumor which caused his growth – and that of his family as found in other parts of scripture. However, the text of Samuel from the Dead Sea Scrolls gives Goliath’s height as 4 cubits and a span, or 6 foot 9 inches, which is still an impressive giant of a man, especially at a time when the average man was 5’ 4” tall.

So Goliath wore a bronze helmet and wore bronze armor that weighed 125 pounds. He had armor on his legs and carried a spear with a point that weighed 15 pounds. He had a huge sword. Additionally, another man carried a shield for him. All of this was very expensive and heavy. Only Goliath could wield these weapons. They would only work for him. Goliath was a human tank!

Day after day, he would walk into the valley and shout at the Israelites, taunting them for being the “servants of Saul” and challenging them to send out a man for single combat, the losing side becoming the slaves of the winning side. He did this for forty days, the Bible’s time of preparation.

Meanwhile, David the teenager was attending the sheep back home in Bethlehem.

One day, Jesse, David’s father, asked him to take a 40-pound bag of roasted grain and ten loaves of bread to his brothers who were in the army, and to take ten chesses to their commander. See how the brothers are doing and bring back word from them.

So the next day, David loaded up and went to the camp, finding his brothers and talking to them when Goliath did his daily taunt. The Israelites nearby repeated a rumor – Saul will give great wealth to the man who kills Goliath, plus his daughter and an exemption from taxes for his family.

His brother overheard him speaking to the other men, and chewed him out, as big brothers sometimes do, saying, in essence, “War is serious business and you should be watching the sheep. Instead you are here just to be a spectator at the battle.”

Someone overheard David complaining about Goliath, so King Saul sent for him. When he met Saul, David said, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; I’ll go and fight him.”

Saul pointed out that David was only a young man and Goliath was an experienced warrior.

David said confidently, “I’ve been keeping sheep and fought lions and bears, killing them. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord rescued me from the lion and the bear and will rescue me from Goliath.”

Saul said to David, “Go and the Lord be with you.” He gave him his own tunic and armor, sword, and bronze helmet, but they were too heavy for David, so he tried them on and then took them off. Instead, he took his staff, five smooth stones that he found in the stream, and his sling. He did not use another man’s weapons – he used the cheap weapons that he understood and could afford – a wooden staff, stones he found in abundance in the stream, and a sling, a piece of leather with a couple of cords attached.

Now David did not use a slingshot like so many boys have played with. He used a military sling, a leather thong in which he placed a stone and then spun rapidly around his head, letting fly when the stone was moving very rapidly. The device was later used by the Romans as a sort of artillery, with dozens of slingers working together flinging dozens of rocks at the enemy. It took a lot of practice to be accurate with a military sling – but David had nothing much to do during those long days with the sheep except to practice with his sling. He had become very good with it.

As David approached Goliath, the giant kept coming closer, together with his shield bearer. He saw this teenager coming toward him, apparently only with a wooden staff. Goliath made fun of his stick and cursed David by his gods.

David responded. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

The two closed for battle. David slung a stone at Goliath and cracked him on the forehead. The text says “the stone sank into his forehead”. That was a hard hit. Goliath fell facedown. David took Goliath’s sword and then cut off Goliath’s head.

After this, the Philistines ran and the Israelites pursued them by to Gath, killing many on the way. David was given a high rank in the army.

We’ve all head this story, even though it may have been many years. It is so widely known that David versus Goliath has even become a way of describing whenever a man or woman stands against a large enemy, whether it be in battle, in a legal fight, in a commercial competition, or wherever.

But there are still lessons to be learned. Let’s look at them.

The little guy can win. But how? How did David win?

He did not fight Goliath as Goliath expected and wanted to be fought. David did not take a sword and spear and armor and fight Goliath hand-to-hand. No, David took a dangerous weapon of his own, the sling, which allowed him to fight Goliath from a distance where he could not be hurt by Goliath’s size and strength. If you are going to fight a human tank, it helps to have a good missile.

David kept his distance. He did this by slinging the stone early – and he also was much more mobile than Goliath. It doesn’t really matter who you are – 125 pounds of armor is bound to slow you down. David, with his five stones, was clearly prepared to keep running around and slinging at Goliath until one of the stones hit Goliath hard. And if those five stones didn’t do the job, well, there were plenty more in the stream where those came from.

David aimed at the forehead, which Goliath’s helmet and Goliath’s shield did not cover. David knew the helmet was tough – so he didn’t attack the helmet. David wasn’t planning on just battering Goliath with stones – he was aiming carefully at a particular weak spot.

In our battles with others, we need to keep in mind these things: Don’t fight the giant the way the giant wants to fight – use our own dangerous weapon. Keep your distance and aim at a particular weak spot.

But this is just looking at the battle from a man versus man point of view. There was more to play here – and there is more to play in our battles.

David understood that there was another player on the field. God. God was actively present, and this was what gave David his great confidence.

You will notice that for forty days no one had taken up the giant’s challenge. No one else had the confidence to even fight. The other Israelites were too frightened of Goliath. Did you also notice, though, that the Philistines had not attacked the Israelites? They understood that they would have to run up a hillside to attack the Israelite lines, but that would put them at a disadvantage, so for forty days, they were also too scared to attack.

But David knew God was with him, so David wasn’t frightened. In fact, when David starts his words with Goliath, he points out that David is backed up by the Lord, literally Yahweh Almighty.

I used to own a small dog, a little Shih Tzu puppy. She was very ferocious, barking at strangers and strange dogs – if she knew I was standing behind her. But she was such a coward at heart – If I wasn’t there, she would run and hide. But when she saw me standing behind her, she was tough!

God is always standing behind us when our battles are just. God was standing behind David – God was in front of David, guiding that first stone straight to it’s mark. God had been with David for years, helping him develop his aim, helping him develop his strength to sling those stones, giving him test battles against lions and bears and protecting him all the way. And David had understood that God was always with him – And God has always been with you.

Today is Father’s Day. Men, God is with you, has always been with you, will always be with you. There may have been times when you forgot this, even times you turned away from God. But God never left you – He was and is and always will be there beside you, behind you, in front of you. You simply have to open the eyes of your heart to recognize that.

For the lesson we often forget about David versus Goliath is that we all know that Goliath was supposed to win. Looking at David versus Goliath without God – bet on Goliath. When you are fighting a Goliath without God – bet on Goliath, not yourself. The Israelite army was not filled with cowards – those men were perfectly rational, making an honest evaluation and analysis of what would happen if any one of them took up the challenge – they would die. All the sports commentators knew it. All the captains and even King Saul knew it. You beat on the big guy because, without God, the big guys almost always win.

In the fall of 1946, there was a high school in the village of Pullman in Ritchie County. Pullman had a population of 210 at the time. They could barely field a football team, but they challenged the Big Reds of Parkersburg High School, with three thousand students, to a football game. The Big Reds, needing a scrimmage, accepted. It was David versus Goliath, again.

The Big Reds could choose from all those students and get the best students on their football team. At Pullman, almost every student had to play.

But Pullman had a surprise waiting for Parkersburg. It seems that almost the entire classes of 1942, 43, and 44 had volunteered or been drafted into the army during World War II. And now, those boys – who were now ages 19, 20, 21, 22 with years of military experience – these men had come back to Pullman high school to take classes and get their diplomas. And these men had found God in those foxholes in Europe.

Pullman beat the pants off Parkersburg High.

It is tempting to support the underdog – but don’t bet on the underdog unless you know the underdog has God’s support. Like David did. Like Pullman did. Like you do – if you will just look around and remember that God is with you.

Many years later, Peter and the disciples were faced with their own battle – a storm had come up and threatened to swamp them. They were good sailors – but this was a BIG storm.

Jesus had asked them to sail to the other side of the Lake of Galilee. Jesus went to the stern, the rear of the boat, and fell asleep on a cushion. The storm came up and waves began to break over the boat, frightening Peter and the other disciples. But Jesus just continued to sleep until they woke Him up, saying, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

And then, if they were frightened before, they were terrified now. The hair on the back of their necks stood up and they asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

And, of course, this was Jesus, the Son of God, God the Son walking on the earth. But this was also a man who remember, constantly, that God the Father loved Him, had always been with Him, was with Him, and would always be with Him. This was what faith in God can do. For any one of the disciples could have stopped the storm with the help of God. But none of them thought to ask God the Father directly for that help.

Thankfully for them, Jesus was God.

You know, sometimes we look toward the giants around us as a church and we get demoralized. The big churches, it seems, are able to do anything because of their donations, while we have little money. We look at dollars as weapons, just as the Israelites looked at the size of Goliath, his spear, and his sword. But David didn’t worry about expensive weapons. He pulled 5 smooth stones from a stream that had thousands of stones and used them in his cheap leather sling. And it only took one stone for David to win – because God was with him.

Instead of focusing upon the size of the big churches around us, let’s remember that in Wood County alone, of 80,000 people, only about 30,000 actually have a home church. The other 50,000 people are like stones in a stream, ready to be picked up and used by God. We simply need to recognize their value and pick them up. The task of talking to people about Christ becomes a lot easier when we realize that there are 50,000 people in this county alone who need to hear about Jesus. Which five of these stony hearts will you bring home? You can do it – David could do it – with God’s help!

The next time Goliath walks toward you, fathers, remember that you set the spiritual tone for your family. If you turn to God, your family will also turn to God. If you whine, your family will whine. If you lash out, frustrated, your family will also lash out frustrated. But if you turn to God, asking God for help, confidently having faith that God is there, paying attention, guiding your efforts – your family will also do that.

I knew a man at another church some years ago. He was a very godly man, a pillar of his church, responsible for many good projects and he was kindly, focused on finding God’s will in all things before he stepped forward. Eventually, in his late 80’s, he got pneumonia and was on his death bed. His family came to the hospital to be with him his final days.

I was able to witness two of his granddaughters and a daughter-in-law talking. They were sharing which daily devotionals they were each reading from, for all three were strong Christian women. His family had followed his example, and all three participated in his funeral the next week, in a funeral that filled the church to overflowing.

Fathers – and mothers – remember that this life is not all about you. There are many people watching your daily battles – think about all the people who saw David defeat Goliath, think about all the people who have heard the stories over the centuries.

Those people watching – friends, neighbors, your children and grandchildren – they are watching to see whether you approach life as Goliath – armored and weaponed and blustering about how strong you are and how bad your opponents are – as the disciples did – afraid for your lives - or whether you approach life as David did – confident that God is with you, guiding your movements, ultimately ensuring your success, or as Jesus did – unafraid, confident that God controls all things and will complete His plans for His glory and our good.

Trust in God. God will be there.

Post-Sermon Song: God will take care of you.

Benediction: May God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit fill you and guide you this week, that you may do the will of God. Be blessed!

5 Closing Song –Trust and Obey

Strengthening while Dying

Freely, Freely, you have received.
Freely, Freely. Give.
Go in my name and because you believe, others will know that I live.

Our song speaks of the grace of God. For most of the people here today, God has given forgiveness of sins, God has even given eternal life. All of this simply because God loves us.

But God required a man to step forward and voluntarily die for the rest of humanity. For God had declared earlier that sins had to be paid for by the shedding of blood. Jesus, a former carpenter, chose to be that man who would step forward and die in our place. He waited for guards to arrest Him, He endured a terrible beating and whipping, and He died, nailed to the cross.

And if we look at just that, out of context, we might say, “what difference did the death of another man make?” And ordinarily, that would be true.

But when we read the four Gospels, the books at the beginning of the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – we get the entire story.

We find from Luke that Jesus’ birth was miraculous and there were angels sent by God.

We find from John that Jesus repeatedly claimed to be God or acted like God would act.

We find from Matthew that Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies, predictions made hundreds of years earlier.

And we find from Mark that Jesus performed miraculous healings.

And in all four of the Gospels, we read that Jesus died on the cross on Friday afternoon– and then came back alive early Sunday morning. Taken in context, we find that Jesus was not just a man, but was also God walking on the earth, a one-of-a-kind situation. This is why Jesus was called “the Son of God” or “God the Son”.

And so, Jesus was more than just a man – He was sent to be a living, breathing, walking messenger from God the Father. And His message was intrinsically tied up in the story of His birth, life, death, and resurrection. He lived on earth because God loves us and wants us to be close to God. All He asks is that respect be given to His Son – and by respecting God the Son, we respect God the Father.

Early in Jesus’ ministry, Mark tells us that Jesus went into a synagogue, a local Jewish house of worship. There was a man with a shriveled hand, which was very serious in that day when the vast majority of people were farmers who used hand tools to tend their gardens and fields. It meant that the man could barely work – his shriveled hand meant that he would soon have a body that shriveled up from starvation.

The day was the Sabbath, which meant it was Saturday morning, the Jewish day of worship. But the Law which Moses had brought down from God 1500 years earlier declared that no one was to work on the Sabbath. No one was to work from sundown Friday evening until after Sundown Saturday evening.

Jesus brought the man up front and asked the crowd. “Which is lawful ont eh Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But the crowd remained silent, afraid to say anything. Jesus grew angry at them because of their hearts. They had no compassion for the man. So Jesus told the man to stretch out his hand, which he did. The hand was now completely restored to its former strength. Jesus had healed it.

And Mark points us to the Pharisees, a group of religious leaders who were very strict followers of the Law. Mark says they began to plot how to kill Jesus. But crowds of ordinary people followed Jesus and He healed many people. And this is important: evil spirits came out of those who were possessed and cried out “You are the Son of God!” Soon after, Jesus appointed twelve of the men who followed Him to become students and eventually preachers.

And now we come to this week’s reading from Mark 3:20.

Jesus entered a house – such a large crowd gathered, Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. His family heard what Jesus was doing – preaching and healing people, no longer working as a carpenter, exorcising demons. And so His family decided to go to take charge of Him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

More Pharisees came down from Jerusalem and said that “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” And, on the face of things, this is a valid objection, for the ancients understood that there were demons, multiple demons and devils. These demons were said to have power just as the angels have power.

The source of Beelzebul is from 2 Kings 1, where the Philistines worshipped a god whose name was written as Baal zebub. Baal meant “Lord” or “Master”, and zebub meant flies. Baalzebul meant “Lord of the heavenly dwelling”, so many think this referred to the same Philistine god – but the writers of 2 Kings made a mistake to insult the Philistines, saying that, instead of worshiping a god that was the Lord of the heavenly dwelling, they worship a god of the flies.

By the time of Jesus, the words had changed slightly – and there had developed a popular idea that Beelzebul was one of the chief demons or devils, second only to Satan in power.

In any event, the Pharisees are accusing Jesus of being possessed by this demon, possibly because he broke the Sabbath law when he healed the man’s hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. They said he had an “impure” or evil spirit. But instead, we know He had the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus responds with a logical argument. “How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that house cannot stand…If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.”

And then, Jesus speaks directly against the Pharisees. “Truly, I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

We have here a test of two supposed blasphemies. The Pharisees claimed that Jesus was blaspheming against God and was possessed by a demon. Jesus claimed that he was working by the Holy Spirit and the Pharisees were the blasphemers. Who was right? For many, the answer wasn’t resolved until Jesus was resurrected from the dead, proving that He had the endorsement of God.

Just as this argument was really getting hot, Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. The crowd relayed the message that his mother and brothers were there. “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. He looked around at those sitting around Him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

It was a shocking statement, declaring that loyalty to God was more important than a blood relationship. But it is from this statement that we look at other people in the church as our brothers and sisters, at elderly wise women as our spiritual mothers, at elderly wise men as our spiritual fathers.

Let’s be honest. Almost all of us have relatives, sometimes close relatives that show little evidence of Christ or the Holy Spirit operating in their lives. And our hearts break for them. But we realize that it is other people in this room who grow close enough to us to know us better than our blood relatives.

Part of what this encounter was about was the question of whether or not Jesus was sane or crazy, operating for God or the devil. Each person must make up his or her own mind about this. In fact, we have a limited number of possibilities that arise when we read the Four Gospels.

First, Jesus claimed to be our Lord, worthy of being followed completely, rewarding us with eternal life, defeating death for all people who choose to follow Him.

Second, Jesus could have been crazy, even demon-possessed. But a look at his miracles shows that they always affirmed life – and never destroyed life. His miracles were about healing instead of demonstrating destructive power. And His resurrection proves that God endorsed Him.

Third, Jesus could have been a liar, claiming to be God’s Son, but just able to put forth a good lie. But then, we have to deal with the miracles and the Resurrection.

Fourth, Jesus could have been an excellent teacher, a wise man. But reading the Four Gospels shows us that there was much more to Him that just His teaching. We have to look at the miracles, the passions of the crowd about Him, and His Resurrection.

It is easy to dismiss Jesus when we don’t know the entire story. And so most people who reject Jesus are those who have not seriously read the Four Gospels. If you reject Jesus, let me ask you – have you seriously read the Four Gospels? Have you asked for a professional, experienced pastor to explain and answer questions you find when reading them? Or have you taken the lazy way out, depending upon what you’ve seen or heard on television or the movies, or taken the answers your friend gives you?

Imagine that you want to learn how to be a good golfer. You have a choice of teachers, your best friend from high school who once shot par at the local course – or a guy who lives in the next town over called “Tiger Woods”. After six weeks with your best friend teaching you, you will probably be able to get through a course and only shoot 10 over par. With Tiger Woods teaching you, you’ll probably beat your best friend and hit par or better every time. Find a Christian pro, not just a new, young Christian. Learn from the best you can find. But begin to learn soon so you can become strong.

It is an unusual facet of life that after age 23 or 24, our body gradually weakens. After we turn 30, we begin to be aware of this fact – after we turn 50, it is obvious to everyone. And many people think this is also true of our mind.

But this is not true of our spiritual condition – if we exercise our spirit and continue to study the will of God. The Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 4, says “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” In other words, our bodies grow weaker, but our souls are being renewed every day. We become stronger every day.

And it is not just something that happens. Paul continues and tells us the cause of our renewal. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

To Paul, our troubles are “light and momentary troubles”. And Paul understood troubles. He was beaten repeatedly for his preaching and left for dead. After dark, he would pull himself up and walk to another town. He was shipwrecked – remember that during your next auto accident. That evening a poisonous snake came out of the firewood and bit Paul. He survived – remember that when black snakes and copperheads crawl onto your porch. For years, he walked with a pain in his side – there were no wheelchairs - those of you with bad knees or hips should remember this. He worked for years to make and sell tents in the open-air marketplace – hard, work, using hand looms and hand sewing – remember that when your hobby sewing machine acts up or you have troubles in your air conditioned workplace.

Paul’s advice to us? “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed [meaning our body], we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

Our body is temporary like a tent. Our resurrected body is eternal, like a building built by God.

Why do we believe this?

According to Paul, “Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself.” We believe because we share a spirit of faith in Jesus Christ.

God raises us because; “All of this is for our benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. “ God’s grace – God’s free choice to give us the gift of eternal life is reaching more and more people every day, around the world, so thanksgiving will overflow to the glory of God.

Freely, Freely, you have received.
Freely, Freely. Give.
Go in my name and because you believe, others will know that I live.

The difference between those who follow Jesus and those who follow their own way is not very noticeable when we are young. But as we grow older and our bodies weaken, you will notice that some people’s character begins to shrink into fear and desperation – while other people’s character grows stronger, wiser, and more giving to others. It comes with practice – either of following Jesus and learning His ways – or following our own ways over the years.

And so, there is almost always a real difference in people by the time they reach their 70’s and 80’s. We can feel the difference when we meet them. And we have to remember that all people who claim to be Christian are not following Christ. For some falsely claim to be Christian, yet follow their own way – and give followers of Christ a bad name. These are the people who never found a Christian pro to teach them. These are the people who walked their own way – and so they rarely shoot par.

Find the Christian pros and learn from them. Take private lessons. And become a Christian pro. Even if you are in your 80’s, it isn’t too late to start becoming spiritually strong. And if you are in your 20’s or 30’s – you have time to become a Christian pro yourself, with a strong character, a strong soul and spirit, an understanding that will get you through the “light and momentary” troubles of life.

Part of that strengthening happens when we receive Holy Communion. The bread, which is the body of Christ, and the juice, which is the blood of Christ, combine with the Holy Spirit of Christ to strengthen us spiritually. And so, we will sing:

Post-Sermon Song: Come Sinner to the Gospel Feast 616

Holy Communion

Song: I come with Joy 617

Benediction: May God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit fill you and guide you this week, that you may do the will of God. Be blessed!

Closing Song – There is a Fountain 622

Go and Praise God all week long!