The Holy Path

It has been a while since we talked about the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Pharisee from Greek-speaking Turkey, with a Jewish father who had been granted Roman citizenship. As a teenager, Paul had gone to Jerusalem and studied under the rabbi Gamaliel, one of the greatest Jewish teachers, a man who is still quoted today in academic discussions about the Jewish Law. When Jesus appeared, was crucified, and rose from the dead, Paul was not in the story. But a few months later, after Jesus ascended to Heaven, after the great outbreak of the Holy Spirit among the disciples at Pentecost, after Stephen began to debate Pharisees in the street, got in trouble, and was stoned – Paul stood there holding the cloaks of the men who stoned Stephen. Paul was convinced that this Jesus movement was blasphemous, sacrilege, and needed to be stamped out. So Paul lead a movement to grab Christians and throw them into jail. He even got a letter from the high priest to travel to Damascus to pursue Christians there and bring them back to Jerusalem. Paul was convinced that those who claimed Jesus was Lord should be removed before this dangerous idea spread.

Until he traveled to Damascus. On the road to Damascus, he was struck blind by a bright light and heard Jesus speaking to him. He was led into Damascus, was visited by a Christian believer, had his sight restored, and was baptized. Then Paul put his fantastic mind to work, went to the desert, studied and understood the Old Testament scriptures about Jesus and came out of the desert preaching that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, God Himself walking upon the earth. He traveled across modern Turkey several times, to Greece, and even to Italy to found many churches and train other evangelists. He also wrote several letters, which make up much of the New Testament. One of those letters was written to the church he founded in Ephesus, then a Greek-speaking port city and center of goddess worship in western Turkey.

Today, Paul has written a letter to the Ephesian church. After a customary greeting explaining who Paul is and who he is writing to, Paul gets down to business and writes perhaps the wisest, densest letter

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

It is a reflection of Paul’s spiritual maturity that he begins the body of this letter with a praising of God the Father. Praising God at the beginning of a conversation is a great way to turn the conversation the way all conversations should turn, which is to acknowledge that God is present with us. We are never alone; we are never hidden from God when we speak – God is able to hear and see us, and we might as well take a moment to praise God for what God has done for us. God has given us EVERY spiritual blessing. There are earthly blessings and there are spiritual blessings, and it is good to understand the differences.

Earthly blessings are those gifts that God gives us on earth that remain on earth. For example, a person may be blessed with financial riches, or wonderful children or good health or the ability to sing or paint or solve mechanical problems. In general, we are only given a few of these earthly blessings; other people are given a different mix of blessings. One person is a wealthy mechanic; another person is a superbly healthy accountant who loves working with numbers all day long.

But spiritual blessings come in the heavenly realms as a package. All spiritual blessings are given to all Christians – Let me list some of these blessings.

For example, Christians are being adopted as children of God. What is the blessing of this? When a beggar flags you down at the traffic light, you may or may not check your wallet for a few dollars to give to him or her. But to your children you plan long and carefully to support them with food, water, shelter, clothing, education, and many luxuries such as bicycles, phones, toys, tennis shoes, perhaps even a used car or books or cable television or internet, and especially you plan carefully with a last will and testament for your grown children. And we have become adopted children of God! Imagine the long term blessings that God is even now planning for us!

We are chosen by God to become holy, not because he saw that we were holy or saw we would become holy, but because he determined that his children would become holy. Those who are Christians WILL BE holy and blameless in God’s sight, which is a wonderful thing. And so we will be spiritually blessed with the attention of the wisest mind in the universe to show us how to become holy, for holiness leads to happiness and joy. Of course, sometimes this training course, this movement along the path of holiness is difficult for us, like being thrown in a 4-ft pool of water is unpleasant for a 7-year-old who does not like the feel of getting wet, but with the child’s parent watching carefully, there is no real danger, just the fear of the unknown. And so, within a week or two, the child loves the swimming pool. In the same way, we children of God do not like the feeling of being fired or laid off from a job, we hate the idea of moving to a different home, teenagers are aghast and fearful at the idea of losing a boyfriend or a girlfriend, but we all adapt quickly to the new job, the new home, the new friend who is better for us.

Before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, do you remember what a trap for the poor that New Orleans had become? Filled with the occult, drug use, alcoholism, and no hope of ever getting away, many New Orleans residents were filled with sadness, depression, and loneliness. Then, with the Hurricane that God sent, people had to leave town. They had two choices: Leave or die. So they loaded onto the buses and were taken to Memphis or Houston or Nashville. And there, they found Christians and churches that opened their doors to them, that found them jobs, and connected them with Twelve-step programs. Many of the people who left New Orleans never returned, because they found a better life. God had moved them along to that better life even though they would have never left New Orleans if the Hurricane had not arrived. When God is behind a change in your life, it is best not to fight it, but hold on for the ride and smile!

And God does not do these things to punish us or because of how good or how bad we’ve been, but God does these things, as verse 5 says, “in accordance with His pleasure and will.” This is grace in action – God giving us a blessing that we did not deserve, did not ask for, and was not forced by any reason. It is simply the character of God to do good for us because God wants to do good for us.

Another spiritual blessing given all Christians is to be accepted by God because we simply belong to Jesus Christ, God’s Son. It doesn’t matter how good we’ve been or whether we’ve been terrible people, God accepts us simply because we belong to Jesus. Like a stray cat adopted by a little child, the cat is accepted by the child’s father, not because of how good a cat it is, but because the child, whom the father loves, has claimed the cat as its own. God has given us grace because we belong to the One he loves.

As Christians, we also receive the spiritual blessings of forgiveness of sins and the redemption from slavery to sin because of the blood of Christ. We each have the stain of sin, the wrong actions we have committed in our lives, but the blood of Christ removes that stain. We are like people who sold ourselves into slavery, in this case slavery to sins such as addiction, anger, hatred, and immorality. But Jesus has paid the price to buy us back from slavery, to redeem us from that slavery to sin. He has set us free – and this is given to all who choose to follow Jesus Christ and accept that He is the Son of God.

Another spiritual blessing, a privilege granted to all Christians is we can understand and receive God’s will, the mystery of His will are made known to us. The deep reasons that He sent Jesus Christ to the world are revealed to us. And thus we can see more and more the wisdom and the planning of God – and the world makes more sense.

We receive the spiritual blessing of being united in Christ. We are no longer divided people, more and more we have a unity of purpose and a unity of belonging with Christ. It is simple and easy to see in our world the dangers of the various factions in the world – and even in our own country. But we are united to and in Christ, the Son of God, tapping into that healing and protection that comes from the greatest and wisest power in the Universe.

We have the spiritual blessing of the eternal inheritance, a home with God forever, heirs of the kingdom, a happiness which is given to us from our heavenly Father, like a trust fund that will never expire, more security than any billionaire has received from his money, an eternal protection from God our Father.

We receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit, which is the deposit which guarantees our inheritance. We were marked by the Spirit and sealed in protection when we hear the gospel of our salvation, the message of truth. We are now secured, like earnest money secures a home. Yet in our case the home secured is a mansion in the future with God and Christ. All of the promises are secured by this blessing of the Holy Spirit, until the full redemption of these promises and blessings at the general resurrection – which will be the ultimate day of praising God’s glory.

Those of us who have been believers for longer are to praise God even more. This is part of the plan. As we move from those first days of wondering about Jesus, to understanding Jesus’ purpose, to believing in Him, to following Him, to proclaiming His Gospel to others, our praises should grow.

And this series of Spiritual blessings are given to all who choose to follow Jesus Christ. It does not matter whether you have follow Jesus since you were a child – or whether you are right now considering whether to really commit to Him, these spiritual blessings of adoption, acceptance, forgiveness, redemption from sin, the revelation of God’s will, unity in Christ, eternal inheritance, and the Holy Spirit are waiting for us. We may receive earthly blessings from day to day, the type we talk about during prayer time which differ from person to person. But we all receive the spiritual blessings.

And so we see a huge shower of blessings awaiting us at the end of our walk with Christ. There is much more to following Christ than “living forever” or “going to Heaven”.

I am constantly amazed at how small the blessing are that most Christians acknowledge. Are we so used to this world, are we so self-absorbed, are we so focused upon the material things of this world that we cannot see the great blessings God gives to us each day? Or are we so blind, so deaf, so spiritually asleep that we do not see or hear or even notice that God is performing a brass band with fireworks around us each and every day trying to get our attention. Let me draw your attention to some blessings from God…

1)    God has told you He exists. God does this in the Bible, in the testimony of people around you, and in the little wonders of life. For example, why is a rainbow pretty? As a physicist, I could explain to you why a rainbow looks like it does, the size of the rainbow, the color progression of the rainbow, why it mostly appears when there is rain. But why is it pretty? There is no good reason for a rainbow – or a coral reef, for that matter – to be pretty. Except that God wants to get your attention, and He loves pretty. What a blessing!

2)    Another blessing is that God has given us a wonderful land to live in. It does not have massive wildfires like the West, it rarely has earthquakes, it rarely gets below -20 F nor above 100 F, crops grow, rain falls, the land is green and well-watered, not brown, not sand or rock.

3)    Another blessing is that God gives us stable physical laws. A ball thrown into the air rises and falls on a predictable path. Airplanes can fly because the laws of physics are stable, the same every day. Electricity flows because 120 volts can only jump so far, and that distance can be predicted. Chemistry always works the same, day after day, and so food has predictable effects, even though I know we’d all like ice cream and chocolate to have less predictable effects on our bodies. But predictable physical laws are a blessing – God could have created an unstable universe. Imagine living in Alice’s Wonderland! Imagine a life where the force of gravity is different from minute to minute, where food is healthy one day and poison the next day.

4)    Another blessing from God is that we do not have bands of raiders and criminals that attack our city – just the occasional isolated person or two. Artillery does not pound our buildings day and night. God has led most people to prefer to buy and sell, to work for a wage, and not to use weapons to take. This is not true around the world – but it is true in almost all countries which are dominated by Christians, because we respect that all people are formed in the image of God, walking, talking sculptures of a view of God. Other countries have different religions, and in many of those countries, the gun or the sword or the fist are the principle ways people distribute wealth. But when the evening news talks about raiders and criminals that run countries around the world – be blessed that God protects us here.

5)    And another blessing from God is that we have children and grandchildren. Imagine how dull the world would be without children and grandchildren. Imagine how dull things would be if God had established people more like trees instead of as humans. But God did not. God, even in our fallen world, after Adam ate the Apple, God blessed us with the joy that comes from children and grandchildren – either our own or others.

Yes, God gives us many blessings. He allows us to ride in cars that almost always get to where they are supposed to go safely. Healthy days are the general rule – it is only when we don’t have a healthy day that we notice and say we are “sick”. The sun shines every day – although it is sometimes covered by clouds and then,  it cools us down or rains – which we need. We can see the moon and planets and stars at night; we can see and hear birds during the day. And sitting here beside us we have friends, people we enjoy being next to. God designed us so that we would be blessed by friends, not sit here like a group of wild cats, ready to scratch and claw and hiss at everyone else.

We are blessed by God, my friends. Look around, develop “blessing-vision”, where you see the blessings around you every day, every hour. Blessings occur in a normal day – you don’t have to wait until the semi-truck misses your car by half an inch to be blessed. No, your child called you or gave you a hug. It was a blessing. You hit a green light on the way to town. A blessing. You hit a red light and saw a beautiful cloud while you waited. A blessing.

Or you can give a blessing. You called a friend and your phone call was a blessing to your friend. Or you gave an extra 2 dollar tip to the waitress – or even 10 dollars – and were a blessing to your new friend, the waitress who you just blessed.

So today, I’d like to ask every person here, every single one of you, to come up to the altar during this song, and thank God in prayer for some blessing you’ve found over the last week. You don’t need to kneel – you can stand if kneeling is difficult for you. If you CAN kneel, well, that’s a blessing from God. Just stand up from your seat and make your way to the front to thank God for a blessing you’ve received.

And as you begin to make your way up here, let us share a blessing with you, the greatest blessing that you will receive, when one day you stand before Jesus and God the Father, and they tell you, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Amen!

Post-Sermon Song: Well Done Video

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 – There Shall be Showers of Blessing 349

Two by Two

It’s been an interesting week. I don’t know about you, but I stayed in the house most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday because I don’t like 95 degree heat. But Thursday evening was a great time, with our one-night Vacation Bible School. We met some new children, and hope to have more back when we do Part II late this month.

Today is July 4th, Independence Day. We celebrate our independence being declared from Britain almost two hundred fifty years ago. And today can become a day of personal independence, declaring our independence from bad habits, the slavery to sins, the worry about what happens when we die. Following Jesus Christ can set you free from all of that. And leading people to Jesus Christ can give you the joy that comes from completing a task Jesus has assigned to each one of us on earth – to set others free to live abundant lives and to have eternal life.

Did you hear the first reading this week, the one from Ezekiel 2?

2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

“Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. 4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ 5 And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

The Israelites 500 years before Christ. America today. The Lord has always sent people to speak to a rebellious nation. Will you, like Ezekiel, speak to those around you? For with God’s help – and the Holy Spirit speaking through you – you can lead many people to God’s saving love. How many people, how many adults have you led to the Lord in your life? How many souls will come to you in Heaven and speak to you of the time when you sat down with them, had a talk about Jesus Christ, and they accepted Christ? How many have you led to Christ over the last year, the last five years, the last decade?

In Matthew 28, at the very end of Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew writes:

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

Let me ask you, people of God, do you believe this statement? Do you believe that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus Christ?

If so, then listen to His command to all who consider themselves disciples, students, and followers of Christ:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

And then, Jesus gives us this promise: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Consider His command again: ”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Make disciples – students, followers of Christ.

Of all nations – the Greek says ethnui, “All people groups”. Whites, blacks, Americans, Mexicans, Asians, Arabs, rich, poor, veterans, Indians, Native Americans, drug users, drug dealers, straight, gay, clean, dirty, old, young, children, alcoholics, pagans, Buddhists, Moslems, Hindus, the intelligent, the mentally disabled, your friendly neighbors, your hateful neighbors, your brother-in-law, your distant cousin, the woman at the Dollar General, the man at the Go-Mart, all means all, you see.

They are to be baptized. Lead them to the point they want to be baptized and we’ll get them wet here or at the river.

Then, teach them to obey all of Jesus’ commands – including this very command to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” Our job is finished when those we have led to Jesus lead others to Jesus.

Did you hear the part where we invite people to church? NO! We don’t get off that easy! We are each to lead and teach.

That can be a scary task. But Jesus has asked each of us to do this. Also, our society improves when each person around us is a follower of Jesus, rather than a follower of their own desires. Additionally, leading people to Jesus is the best way to grow to understand what Jesus asks of us, what Jesus taught, and how to be an excellent Christian.

But what if we don’t know enough?

Come to Sunday School, Come to workshops, Come to mid-week Bible study. Come to me and ask for help filling in the gaps where you don’t know.

But you know much more than you think. Do you realize that if you have faithfully attended church for ten years, you’ve heard 500 sermons? You know so much more about God and Jesus and Christianity than most people in our world around us.

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a 24-year-old girl with a biochemistry degree, a very bright young woman, and I mentioned that the bishop had said such-and-such. The woman said, “Wait. What is a bishop?” She understood the bishop as a piece from the chessboard, but did not have any idea what or who a bishop was in the original sense of the word. Years ago, I was talking to another student who asked me, what is a pastor? Is he the government official in charge of the church?

We have grown up in a Christian society, but it is changing rapidly. Each of you who sits on these pews is an expert in Christian thought compared to much of the world. You have the wisdom of hundreds of sermons about the Word of God bouncing around in your brains – and in your hearts.

And if you are one of those people listening or watching who wonders what the big deal is about following Christ – we are here to teach and show you the difference between the Christianity Hollywood puts down – and the real Christianity that keeps so many people coming to church every week.

Some of you sitting here actively look for people to lead to Christ – others will speak of Christ when asked. I’m here today to remind you that Jesus has commanded you become active, seeking people to lead to Christ – for these people who do not know Christ are dying every day, and will not spend eternity with Jesus and God in Heaven. You have the knowledge to lead them to a good, eternal life. If you hoard that knowledge, it is like withholding food from a starving man, holding back water from a thirsty person in the desert. Worse, for Jesus has commanded you, each of us to find people and lead them to Him.

And so how do we do this?

Our Reading from Mark 6 shows us a bit. In the first part, Jesus goes to His hometown, Nazareth, and He taught at the synagogue, His home “church”, if you will. He had probably been gone from town for about a year or so.

The people at the synagogue were amazed – but apparently not impressed. The asked where He had received the wisdom He spoke of – and they asked where it all came from? And then they began to say, “Isn’t this the carpenter, Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him – a local boy who was lecturing them about the things of God. They would not listen to His teaching because they remembered Him as a child and a teen and a young man. To them, He was a carpenter – not a great rabbi!

It has been said that an expert is a man from out-of-town with a briefcase. For some reason, we give honor to the visiting expert rather than accept the local man or woman. Why is that? Is it because when a local person shows us exceptional wisdom and knowledge about a subject, we feel attacked because it bring home to us that, after all, we could have found that wisdom and knowledge also. The farmer who doubles his crop yield is not really a welcome speaker at the local farm bureau dinner – but would be welcomed halfway across the state. The local pianist who suddenly plays exceptionally well may be admired, but she will never locally receive the $3000 she can make for a night on the stage across the country. Albert Einstein had to leave Switzerland for America before he could make a substantial living as a scientist. We don’t really appreciate those who suddenly do well if we knew them when they were simply nerds in high school.

Many times, when a church is failing, having failed to listen to a succession of pastors over five or six years, the congregation asks the Conference to simply appoint their lay leader as their pastor. It isn’t done because it rarely works. The local leader has too much baggage developed over the years. He can’t tell the congregation the hard things – or he is branded a traitor. And it all goes back to this biblical episode, a situation that is grounded in a real truth, as Jesus says, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”

Mark tells us that Jesus could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith – but that lack of faith was because the people of Nazareth had watched Him grow up, they had run beside Him in games, they all knew His family – and they simply preferred to keep Him as a carpenter rather than a great teacher – and they KNEW He wasn’t the Son of God or the Messiah, for, after all, He was from Nazareth. He was from their hometown, and nothing good can come from our hometown.

And we do that, too. We look for our Messiah to come from out of town, even out of state. Not only for our religious issues, but for our everyday issues. We inherently believe that great ideas must come from elsewhere, not here, because we live here. And so Jesus sent the disciples out two by two into the villages. They were the experts from out of town. They were strangers – talking to strangers.

And so this happens to us when we begin to speak to friends, relatives, and neighbors about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For thirty, forty, even sixty years, those people close to us have looked at us through a certain, predictable lens. They know us, they know our past, they know what is important to us. And so when we begin to speak to people of Christ, there is a certain way we must speak to those who are close to us if we ever hope to break through with the Gospel.

They remember the fact that Mountaineer football has dominated our lives during the fall. So if we have decided to let Christ take the place of football, we need to acknowledge that fact, we need to expressly talk about the why we’ve changed before they will listen to the Gospel from us.

And it is very important that we talk about the Gospel – that we don’t spend our time talking to others about the behavior changes they need to make. We cannot lecture our friends, neighbors, and family about behavior changes they should make before they have noticed behavior changes we’ve made, before they’ve commented upon those changes, and we’ve explained why we made those changes – because Christ asked me to make those changes. Otherwise, we are simply branded as hypocrites by our friend – “you, the man who has always had five beers with me every football Sunday, you have the guts to tell me I should stop drinking just because you stopped drinking?” It doesn’t work – and that’s because those behavior changes are not the Gospel. They happen because of the Gospel.

No, talking about the Gospel is something like this. Try saying: "A few months ago I realized that Jesus had made a terrible sacrifice, He had died on the cross for me. For me! And because of that, I realized I was more important than I had ever thought I was. So I looked at myself and realized that I needed to change some things in my life and make my life mean something. I realized MY drinking was out of control, so I cut back, and then about a month ago I stopped completely, because I realized it was wasting time and money. That’s got nothing to do with you and how much you drink or don’t drink. And now, I’ve started making a difference with the kids at church where before I couldn’t wait to get home to the game."

We talk about what Jesus did, and how that hits us in our lives. We admit a change we’ve made from the old way to the new way, and let it explain the changes they’re seeing in us.

This little talk, explaining our old weakness and how Jesus made a difference FOR US, begins to open up a chance to talk a bit about church, about Jesus, about what we continue to learn about God. We can now talk about Christ a little bit every time we talk together. And if we continue to advance along the path of holiness, following the guidance of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, our character will gradually grow stronger and the Spirit will guide our speech with our friends until one day they will engage us in a deep conversation about Jesus. And at that point, we will be very close to leading them to baptism.

But that is for friends, neighbors, and family. Praising God and the works of Jesus will gradually lead them to Christ. For the measure of an effective church is not the attendance, it is not the finances, it is not even the excitement of the weekly service – the measure of an effective church is the number and length of the God-centered conversations the members have every week, particularly with others. A poor church rarely talks about God outside its doors; a rich church has members who are always talking about God and Christ to all sorts of people in the church and outside the church. We have several people here who are like that! So make your contribution this week; speak of God and Christ to everyone you meet this week. It doesn’t cost a dime and doesn’t require a strong back – just a passion to speak of the Savior who has given you eternal life.

Jesus also wanted His movement to grow. So Jesus did not stay in one place – Mark tells us Jesus went around teaching from village to village. We can get stagnate when we only talk to people from our church. Years ago, I had a woman tell me she didn’t know anyone who wasn’t a Christian; I told her she needed to make more friends.

Jesus called the Twelve core disciples to him and sent them out two by two with authority over impure spirits.

He told them to "take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them."

Put in today’s language, Jesus wanted people to go out to meet people, walking around the neighborhood or to the shopping mall or Walmart. Dress plainly. Don’t worry about people who won’t listen to you.

The disciples went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Today, just as in Jesus’ day, we would engage people in conversation, praise God, and speak with them about Jesus. We should listen to them, pray with them right then and there, and possibly anoint the hurting and suffering with oil – you can get the oil at any Christian shop or online. Simply make the sign of the cross on their forehead with a bit of oil, and pray. We might want to carry a Gideon testament or two and give them away freely to our new friends. Need testaments to give away - talk to a Gideon.

How do I engage people in conversation? I praise God. "Hasn’t God given us wonderfully warm weather today? Hasn’t God given us wonderful rain today? Isn’t the wind from God wonderful today?" At the supermarket: "These rolls are wonderful. God really gave someone at that company a blessing when He taught them how to make these rolls." When I get the chance, I ask them what church they attend. Most honestly respond that they used to attend church A, but haven’t in years. (If you are like that, you'll be welcome here at Cedar Grove Church.)

I remember that, as Paul tells us, this is a marathon, not a sprint. I assume that I’ll see the person again – and this takes off the pressure. My goal at a first meeting is to be a pleasant person, to help the other in some minor way, to find out something that will help me remember the person. Remember – our goal is to lead someone to Christ – not necessarily to this church, although that would be nice. Of course, I usually mention our radio broadcast – Sundays at 9 AM on V96.9 – and our live, in-person service at 10:30 am here on Rt 47 across from WVU-Parkersburg.

So what can we do to better follow Jesus’ command to make disciples?

First of all, genuinely adopt a philosophy that meeting new people is a good thing. Stretch yourself to speak to strangers, for you never know when a stranger needs a new friend who will care for them. And always remember that the oddest people are usually most in need of friends.

Second, praise God to everyone you speak with. Praising God draws the attention of the Holy Spirit – and begins to build the idea with the other person that you know something about God. And remember that you DO know something about God, simply because you have been attending here for years. In fact, I’ll bet you know a simple song that praises God. Sing with me, #95 Praise God, from Whom All Blessing Flow.

Third, let the wonderful Holy Spirit flow through you and speak through you. Let the fruits of the Spirit show - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A soul’s eternal destiny may rely upon your faithfulness.

If you are not already a baptized Christian, if you don’t have a current church home, we invite you to visit us at our weekly 10:30 am live service on Rt 47 near WVU-Parkersburg. It’s a good time to meet new friends who you can count on in time of trouble – and times of joy! Plus, our children’s program is currently relaunching, giving them an opportunity to learn about God and Jesus Christ.

Now that COVID is fading away, at least temporarily, this is the time to reconnect with the God who protected you through the pandemic. We’ll be holding tent revival services at the church on July 25 through 28th with several fantastic guest speakers and plenty of music.

Until then, practice explaining the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is that Christ came to earth, not to condemn the earth but to save the people of the earth. He died in our place so we could live forever – and He proved He was Son of God by coming back to life. Amen!

Post-Sermon Song: To God be the Glory 98

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 – I will call upon the Lord 2202

Go and Praise God all week long!

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!