Entries Tagged 'Sermons (Joleen)' ↓

1 Corinthians 6.12-20

Illustration
There is a story of a woman who had tried everything to lose weight—diet, exercise, appetite-suppressing pills Finally she found something that worked. She attaches a 12” x 16” picture of a beautiful, this, shapely woman, dressed in a bikini, on her refrigerator door. Every time she was tempted to snack, the picture of what she might become was a powerful deterrent. During the first month she lost ten pounds—but her husband gained twenty!

Advertising We all know the slogan, “sex sells”. But did you know that along with sex, the most prominent imagery is eating and drinking?

Lust is “the craving for salt of a person who is dying of thirst.” Intensive sexual desire or appetite, a passionate desire or craving (doesn’t have to apply just to sex. It’s the uncontrolled, excessive desire.)

Gluttony, a twin to lust, is the mad pursuit of the bodily pleasures that is never completely satisfied. (We usually connect this with food, but it also can be with drinking and smoking, even work, soap operas, exercise, video games, gambling, and computers, and even sex.)

Boredom
People turn to both lust and gluttony out of boredom. I probably don’t need to ask how many people have wandered to the refrigerator at some time or another out of boredom. For the same reason people may turn to an affair: life isn’t exciting anymore. With lust there is this lure, this thrill of the challenge. There is immediate satisfaction with no thought of consequence.

“Boredom is epidemic but we will not live with our boredom long enough to experience our emptiness and begin to discover meaning.” -Sam Keen “Inward Bound” We fill our lives with food, entertainment, sex, or whatever gives immediate gratification, instead of feeding the deeper spiritual longings. Our scripture says “the body … is made for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” We were made for God and made to be one with God and as long as we fill that longing with anything else we will not find satisfaction. We will not enjoy abundant life. (See The Beatitudes of Promise: The Promise of Righteousness for more on hungering for spiritual things and finding satisfaction.)

Self-indulgence
The source of both lust and gluttony can be self-indulgence. The gratifying of self. It is proven that with the self-indulgence of food, alcohol, and tobacco, a chemical imbalance is created that turns us in addicts.

When I was a teenager we used to talk about going off our sugar addiction after Christmas. Cookies and candies became a staple, and there was craving that far outlasted that final cookie.

13.8 million Americans have a problem with alcohol. Far more with food.
On the other hand, pornography is $12 billion business in the US ($57 billion worldwide).

Stand against Temptation
It is said of sexual pornography, that the senses become numbed and more and more bizarre experiences are sought for satisfaction.

James 1.13-15
James warns us of giving into temptation, for temptation leads to sin and sin to death - a spiritual death. It will kill your relationship with God. The dangerous progression will lead to the loss of one’s salvation. Temptation in itself is not a sin. But do not give in to the temptation.

Matthew 5.27-28
This is similar to Jesus statement, that one who even looks at a another with lust has commited adultery in their heart. Jesus is saying don’t even look. Don’t give in to the temptation.

We deceive ourselves thinking that some basic stuff is harmless; that we can handle it. God knows otherwise and so he gives us boundaries for our own protection.

Distortion of the Good
1 Corinthians 8.8 "But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do."

Food is not bad. Sex is not bad. But the unhealthy, sinful cravings are the distortion. Specifically of sexual lust, lust is born out of our deepest need and desire, love. It is a distortion of love. Our text says, “All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” Sexual sin goes to the core.

16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Paul is making a comparison between the connection between the union of a person and God and the sexual union. You cannot separate the mechanics of sex from the deeper union that occurs. There is a oneness that happens. A giving of self that you can’t just take back.

The Hebrew word Yada means “to know deeply,” to love, to commit – a commitment that calls for marriage, to care for. To know someone intimately is to know them on every level.

Lust: treats people as things.
Love: treats people as persons.

Balance
Our text says, “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit … honor God with your body.”

Balance steers us from preoccupation.

Victorian age: bodies were evil.
Today: body image is exalted.
Today: health isn’t the chief motivator of our eating habits, body image is. I remember the first time I discovered a person could be both thin and unhealthy. Being thin is not a sign that one takes care of the body. We especially know that with the illnesses of Bulimia and Anorexia. Furthermore, being fat or thin is not a sign of whether one struggles with gluttony. One can be obsessed with exercise, overly excessive into health foods – this can be gluttony. Also, bodily inbalances and medicines can cause fluctuations in weight.

Jesus fasted and feasted. It is not a sin to feast – it is a joining of food and fellowship that uplifts community. Where gluttony deadens our spiritual hunger, fasting awakens our spiritual hunger. Fasting leads us to the food that satisfies; it is feasting on “The Bread of Life.” (John 6)

With lust, again in the Victorian age, you didn’t talk about sex. Sex was a necessary evil. Then, we come to our modern era and we have gone the complete opposite of anything goes. This does not uphold the sacredness of the gift. UMC believes in “fidelity in marriage, celibacy in singleness.” Save the gift for the one you will share your life with. Save the gift for the one who will know you deeply; with whom you will share every intimate part of your life, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Guard yourself and your children:
Accountability software
www.pureonline.com (has links to the others)
X3watch.com
www.covenanteyes.com
www.protectkids.com (has Rules ‘n Tools)
Filtering service: integrity.com
Google.com (search engine in preferences allows you to set up filtering)

Action steps
1. Solid determination to be free
2. Healthy holy perspective about our bodies
3. Sex is sacred; God’s gift to us.
(Food is a gift! It is not our enemy.)

Find an accountability partner.
Counseling.

Conclusion
John 8.1-11 – the woman caught in the act of adultery
“Neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
“Grace excepts us where we are; but it does not leave us we are.” (Dunam and Dunam-Reisman)

Jesus came not to condemn, but to offer forgiveness. And he does not
expect us to stay the same. With his forgiveness, comes tranformation.
We become new people. We are not controlled by sin, but our lives
belong to Him.

This week
The Lord Jesus Christ “will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.”
Philippians 3.21 TEV

Notice the use of "abundant" or "abundance" in the following passages.
John 10.10
Luke 12.15-21

Abundance of possessions or abundant life? Which will we choose?

Greed: desires more and more
Covetousness: greed with jealousy (desiring what another has)
Avarice: an excessive desire to obtain and keep money or possessions. Hoarding.

Hoarding: News story of woman whose house is filled with stuff. Her bed is stacked with stuff. In the summertime she sleeps outside on a glider, because there is no room in her house. Her teenage son moved out to live with an older sister because he couldn’t stand it. She knows she has a problem. Her family knows she knows she has a problem.

When Randy worked with his dad building storage barns, they were hired to build a rather large barn for someone. Soon they were called back to build second and then a third. This man was literally building barns for his stuff!

Rich toward God
“He who dies with the most toys wins.” (Bumper Sticker)

How much is enough? “a little more than what you have.”

“The things we can grasp will not fully satisfy us when they are reached. …that which does satisfy us can be reached for, but never fully grasped.” –Mel Wheatley

Matthew 6.19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth … But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven …

Reliance on God
Avarice is a sign that we don’t trust God to meet our needs. We store up because we don’t trust that there will be for tomorrow.

The Beatitudes – Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the thirsty … Someone rephrased them saying,
“You will never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you’ve got.”

Matthew 6.25-26 Don’t worry about what you will eat or what you will wear. Look at the birds, "they do not … store away in barns." God takes care of them, how much more we will take care of us!

3 Types of Goods
Necessary – (bare necessities) food, clothing, shelter. [And these can go beyond the necessities: have you noticed how houses are getting bigger and bigger?]
Useful – things that make us more comfortable, tools that make our work easier and more efficient, books and art that enhance our growth and appreciation for life, enough entertainment and pleasure that provide healthy diversion from labor and routine.
“Extra” (Luxuries) – What luxuries have become necessities?

Randy and I discuss whether we need bibliography software when we write our dissertations. For him it is useful. For me it seemed a luxury. Spouses may not always agree with the category.

Do we have money or does money have us? “Do we possess what we own or does what we own possess us?” -These are good heart check questions.

1 Timothy 6.10 Money is not evil. It is the "love of money" that is the "root of all kinds of evil."

“Earn all you can; Save all you can; Give all you can. -Wesley

As a Church, do we rely on God? Or do we hoard?

Learning to Love: Giving ourselves away
What is love? Jesus demonstrates love to us.

1 John 3.11,16-17

We learn to love by knowing the author of love, the one who not only demonstrates love, but is love. He doesn’t just have love, but love is his very essence. There is nothing in him that is not love.

As Jesus sacrificially gave his life for us, we are called to give our lives: to God and to others.

As we prepare for Communion, we come to this altar remembering that Jesus Christ was sacrificed for us. And we also come offering ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12.1-2). The only way to overcome avarice in our lives is to give ourselves completely to God, so that we can begin to give ourselves and our resources to others.

Greeting
My name is Joleen and I am a sinner. (response: “My name is ______ and I am a sinner.)

Is that statement more of a reality than when we first started this series? We are looking at the 7 Deadly Sins, not so we can identify them in the lives of others, but so we can examine our lives and see where we, who have been justified (saved, forgiven of our sins), are still in need and will always be in need of God’s grace. It is my hope that this series will produce in us a greater humility and dependence upon God and the grace that is offered to us through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. And that we will know the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, given so that we can overcome the grip of sin in our lives.

Proverbs 6.6-11

We will look at the basic definition and then expand our understanding of sloth today. We will look at the question, "Are we doing the right things?"

Laziness
Webster: disinclination to action or labor
In other words, inactivity. Doesn’t get a job. Make no contribution to society. Take but never give back. Couch potato.

The animal: slow, hangs upside down all it’s life, eats upside down, gives birth upside down. It hangs upside down from the tree and it’s babies hang upside down from the mamma. Sometimes a baby will fall and may not die from the fall, but it dies because the sloth is too slothful to go down and get it and lets it lay there and die.

Sloth is not: knowing how to take care of ourselves; we are not a machine (workaholic), enjoy and develop relationships with family and friends. It is not knowing how to observe the Sabbath. There needs to balance.

Now let’s expand our defintion.

Lack of care for others
Lack of love – we are too lazy to work at relationships. A relationship is dying, a marriage is on the edge – our society thinks it’s easier to can the relationship and find a new one; get a divorce and get married again.

Doesn’t take responsibility. Dead-beat dads.
Children grow up undisciplined because parents are too lazy to do the hard work.
Family members caring for one another.

A sign that we are slothful is being "overly protective of resources of time and energy."

Moral sloth we complain about social and moral evil—racism, welfare, abortion, prison reform, violence, drug abuse—but we don’t do anything.

We get bombarded by so much. And we know we can’t do everything, but that is not excuse to do nothing. Again, "Are we doing the right things?" And there is a danger when we hear so much to become apathetic – we just stop feeling anything.

Complacency
Complacency can touch many areas of our lives: woes of society, family situations, relationships, work, education, bettering of ourselves.

Questions to consider: Where do I see complacency in my life? Where have I stopped growing? Where have I stopped caring?

Spiritual sloth
Complacency can also set into our spiritual life.

Webster 1.b. spiritual apathy and inactivity <the deadly sin of sloth>

“We want Christ, but only moderately; we love Jesus, but only moderately; we will follow Jesus, but only so far. To claim to be a Christian without wanting Christ more than anything else, is a contradiction.” –Donald J. Shelby, from his sermon, “Wanting It Enough”

John 15.1-5 "Abide in me"
Jesus is the "true vine" and we are the branches. We must stay connected to our life source.

But, spiritual sloth says that we are too lazy to spend time with God. Too lazy to pursue God. To press in. We are cut off the very source of life and the refreshment and renewal our parched souls desire.

Have you ever been really thirsty? You haven’t had anything to drink for a few hours and when you have the opportunity and the choice of water or coffee, you go for the coffee? You know it’s not going to satisfy your thirst, but it smells so good. I’ve done that. And I imagine we all have done that with our spiritual lives. We turn on the tv instead of popping in a good Christian music CD. We jump into housework or some other busy activity instead of opening our Bible. We have this desire to phone a particular person and see how they’re doing, but we get sidetracked on the way to the phone.

Sloth is the “hatred of all spiritual things which entail effort.” -Henry Fairlie

Psalm 107.4-5, 10-12, 26-27 (Our thirst)
Psalm 104.10-13 (Quenching our thirst)

Lack of spiritual direction
Finally an answer to the question, "Are we doing the right things?" We can be busy doing the wrong things. As individuals and as the Church.

“We know we can’t do everything, so God what do you want us to do? God I give you this day.”

A wise person once said, A wise person once said, you have enough time to do what God has for you to do. (Yes there seasons when we go through overly busy times, but we should not live our whole lives in this manner.)

Put first things first; put God first and he will direct. Spending time with God in prayer and scripture, so that we can find direction. So that he can guide us. So that we can listen to his voice.

This week
A plan to grow in grace through Wesley’s Means of Grace: the Works of Piety (Spiritual Disciplines) and the Works of Mercy (ministry or service). See GBGM links for more information.
With each listed, determine how often (daily, weekly, monthly) you will practice / How you will practice (when, where, with who, etc.)

Works of Piety
Prayer
Searching the Scriptures
Holy Communion
Fasting
Christian Community
Healthy Living

Works of Mercy
Doing Good (Visiting the Sick and Prisoners, Feeding and Clothing People, Earning, Saving, Giving All One Can, Opposition to Slavery)

This sermon is part of the tuesday evening Community Lenten Series.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled/satisfied.
Matthew 5.6

Hungry?
Do you know what it means to be hungry? To be truly hungry? I don’t mean that little grumble in your stomach between mealtimes. I mean gnawing at you, hunger.

Not many of us truly know hunger. For me (and maybe as well for you) hungry is “I’m hungry for…” It’s more like “I have a craving for …” and most the time you can just fill in the blank with chocolate, for me.

Do any of you women ever ask your husbands what their hungry for? “What do you want for dinner tonight?” I might as well be talking to the wall. Randy’s never hungry for anything. I really think women are given the gift of “I’m hungry for …” so that we have something for dinner each night. We don’t know true hunger.

Except maybe some of you who are old enough to remember the Great Depression or have heard your parents talk about it. I find that most people who remember the Great Depression don’t want to remember the Great Depression. It was that bad. One time a number of years ago I was asked to sing some songs for at a nursing home facility and I picked some songs from throughout the 1900’s and when I announced a song from the depression era there was groan through the whole room. They remembered. I thought, “Oh boy what did I do. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” But it was a nice upbeat tune that was written to encourage people through that time and so it was enjoyed.

I know I really don’t know a lot about the Great Depression. Randy and I watched a movie not so long ago, “Cinderella Man” which is set during the Great Depression. And it really gave a glimpse into how hard those times were - how hungry and desperate people were. It is the story of the heavyweight boxer, Jim Braddock. His career was thought to be over, but he was given a second chance and made an amazing recovery and went on to win the championship. Commentaries say that during his comeback, Jim Braddock lied about his weight, he had lost so much weight from hunger that he really didn’t even qualify to be a heavyweight anymore. During an interview after an amazing win Braddock revealed that the driving force behind this champion, was not a love for the game, it was feeding his family, it was keeping his family together, it was getting the heat turned back on in their little apartment in the middle of winter.

That’s what it means to be hungry.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Hungry for what?
It’s time for a commercial break! What product advertises using the simple question, “Hungry?” The first was “Hungry? Why wait?” Now it’s become “Hungry? Grab a _______”.
(Snickers) I knew I’d be able work chocolate back into this somehow.

I recently caught a news segment on seniors and obesity. One of the key points to avoid obesity was: get enough sleep. Basically we mistake exhaustion for hunger. Too many afternoons we are grabbing that Snickers candy bar instead of the cat nap that our bodies are really craving. We rely on (our drugs of choice) sugar or caffeine to get us through the day. The other Snickers slogan is “Snickers Satisfies”. If what you are really needing is sleep, it might satisfy for a little while, but it’s going to be short-lived. You’ll be left wanting more. You’ll be left not with a statement but with a question, “Satisfied?”

If we do this to our bodies physically, do we do the same thing spiritually? Are we in tune with what we really need? Or do we substitute the wrong things in our lives for our spiritual hunger?

• Do we watch too much Oprah and Dr. Phil instead of reading our Bibles? Do we watch those self-help shows because we don’t like who we are, because we’re not happy, because we want things to be different? When God is the only one who can bring true change, transformation, to our lives?

Are you satisfied?

• Do we look for success – a job promotion, a good income (a better income), a nice home, a nice car when what we really want is a deeper relationship with God. We want to know God more and we are substituting the things of the world for things of God. We are filling our lives with meaningless things instead of God. We are working harder and harder and are busier and busier when what we really want deep down is to make a difference in the world and the only way we are going to do that is by giving ourselves to God and opening ourselves up to be used the way God desires.

Are you satisfied?

• Let me press the envelope a little more … We get unhappy in our churches (oh, I’m sure that isn’t the case in this church) but some churches have people that are unhappy, for various reasons: they want more people in worship when what they really want and don’t know it is God’s heart of compassion for people. It’s not about counting people, it’s about loving people, caring for people, reaching out to people.

Are you satisfied?

• Or some churches have folks that think they should be able to come to church and have a relaxing, comfortable hour of worship, when what they really want and need is to be challenged in their spiritual life and spurred on to growth and to be actively involved in true worship which involves service. (Do you know that worship and service are the same word in the New Testament Greek? Interesting.)

Are you satisfied?

So if we are that clueless as to what we really want or need; what will bring satisfaction, how do we discover what we really want? How do we discover what will bring true satisfaction into our lives?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

In the examples above I have given you some answers: a deeper relationship with God, a life yielded to God, a life transformed by God, being used by God, a loving and caring heart that looks not at self but others.

The words in our text name it as righteousness. The first definition of righteousness from the New Testament Greek is the “state of him who is as he ought to be.”

Righteousness lost
You’ll remember the Genesis account of creation, where God says, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness …” (Gen 1.26). We were created in the image of God, but after the fall, after sin entered the world, that image became tarnished and distorted. But God wants to restore that image. God wants to make us “as (we) ought to be.” He wants to restore us to righteousness. He wants to clean away the tarnish and perfect the image once again. He wants to again see his reflection in our lives.

Fasting
Again, how do we know what we really want? Let me suggest that there is a connection between physical hunger and spiritual hunger. Perhaps there is a call to fasting in this verse: a call to give up (abstain from) physical food for a given period of time in order to be satisfied with the spiritual. Fasting in order to hear God more clearly, to gain spiritual direction.

Matthew 4 Jesus fasted 40 days in preparation for entering his public ministry. His motives were clear and pure. He gained focus. He grasped God’s plan for his life. He knew his purpose. ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
John 4 When the disciples return from town with food, Jesus says, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." The disciples were then puzzled, but came to understand this statement.
Matthew 9
The Pharisees questioned Jesus as why the disciples did not fast.
15Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
In Acts Jesus disciples are once again fasting.
John 6
Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in
me will never be thirsty.”

Righteousness restored
God’s promises are sure. God longs to fill us with righteousness. He longs to restore us, heal us, complete us, make us whole. God will satisfy your longing for righteousness, but we must first ask.

There are always paradoxes in scripture and I believe this is one of them. We will always hunger and yet we will always be satisfied. I believe the more we “taste and see that the Lord is good” the more we will hunger for God and his righteousness. That is until that final day, when this life is over, when we meet Jesus in the skies, then we shall truly be satisfied and hunger no more. Then we shall be “as (we) ought to be” – once again made in the perfect image of God.

Prayer
“Hungry” by Kathryn Scott
Hungry, I come to you for I know you satisfy;
I am empty, but I know Your love does not run dry;
And so I wait for you so I wait for you.

Broken, I run to You for Your arms are open wide;
I am weary, but I know Your touch restores my life;
And so I wait for You so I wait for You.

Chorus
I’m falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You’re all this heart is living for.

Name that Coach!
In college basketball, the name of this Coach is synonymous with greatness and winning. This Coach is one who represents high principles, expectations and demands for his players, his coaching staff and, most of all, himself. But he is foremost an educator. His ability to teach young men the game of basketball and the game of life is one of his most noted characteristics.

No other coach can cite NCAA and NIT championships and Olympic and Pan American gold medals among his achievements. There are only two coaches in the history of collegiate basketball who have won more than the three national championships this Coach has won during his career.

In 1989, this Coach became the winningest coach in Big Ten history.

This Coach is … Coach Bobby Knight!

Could this Coach be the same as … (and note some of this content is disputed.)
In 1979, this Coach was arrested for assaulting a police officer during the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. He was angry that a practice gymnasium was not opened to his team.

This coach pulled a player off the court by his jersey in 1976, threw a chair across the court in protest of a referee’s call during a 1985 game and was known to put a straight-arm Darth Vader chokehold on one of his own players. He allegedly kicked his own sonduring a 1993 game (Knight claims he actually kicked a chair).

He  berated a NCAA university volunteer at a 1998 news conference, for which the school was later fined $30,000. The school was once again fined in 1999, this time for $10,000 for the Coach’s derogatory remarks about a referee. A school secretary also accused Knight of throwing a potted plant at her, and the assistant coach claimed that he threw him off a chair, and punched him in the chest after  overhearing him criticizing his program and methods. The assistant coach sued for assault and received an out-of-court settlement of $35,000 from school.

Again, Coach Bobby Knight! Coach Bobby Knight even has his own reality tv show, "Knight School", where Texas Tech students compete to join the team as a non-scholarship player.

Another article continues …
Knight dramatizes an ethical dilemma in the longer term. We are approaching the day when we will be able to engineer personality traits into, or out of, the human makeup. When we come to bioengineering the next generation of coaches, do we intend to leave out the anger? Would the human race be better off without rage? Would competitive sports survive without it? Forget coaching basketball. How about professional football?

Is anger desirable or undesirable? Is anger a hateful and disfiguring manifestation? Or is it an effective, animating instrument?

The world is divided between those who consider anger to be a form of temporary insanity and those who believe it to be a sign of strength of character, a weapon in the hands of the righteous, an instrument of justice. The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics says primly that "anger… is found in the divine character, as it is always found in any strong human character."

The encyclopaedia goes on to describe divine wrath: "He is the covenant God of his people. He seeks their salvation. If he is angry, it is when the conditions under which alone he can work out that salvation are infringed, and his purpose of mercy is imperiled."

Coach Knight thinks of himself and his team along the same lines. Everybody (basketball coach, biogeneticist) wants to be God.

Could it be that our anger is us wanting to be God? We talked about the sin of pride being rooted in wanting to be God? Let’s look at anger a little closer.

The above information on Bobby Knight is from
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,45285,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Knight
http://texastech.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/knight_bob00.html

Anger is a God-given emotion
Ephesian 4.17-29  “In your anger do not sin.” (Verse 26)
Proverbs 29.6-11 “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” (verse 11)
John 2.13-22 Jesus experienced anger in the temple. This anger was because the temple, the place of worship, was turned into a marketplace.

Righteous Anger or Righteous Indignation
is anger against what violates God’s way, and/or hurts others.

Few can claim: Few do not have personal self-interest mixed up in it. Jesus was angry because the place that was to give honor to his Father was not being used for that purpose.

“Only the anger of a humble person has the moral force that can be rightly labeled “righteous indignation. Only the truly humble can be angry without sinning.” (D&DR)

Do we get angry at the important things or the trifles in life? So many time we get angry at the dumbest things. Righteous indignation challenges to get angry at the important things: the poor, the needy, the AIDs crisis in Africa. And I even challenge whether we have to move beyond anger to truly minister to these needs, to truly be effective.

Romans 12.19-21 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.”

2 Kinds of Anger
Powder Keg
Shout for attention; a warning that something is wrong. Must examine and discover the source or our misery: repair of relationship?

Crock Pot
Simmers and brews for a long period of time until, finally, there is an eruption.

How would you label Bobby Knight?

Either can lead to sin. Explosive anger can cause physical abuse of spouse of child. In 1990, 1/7 American couples experienced some form of physical abuse in the last year.

3 Essentials
We must:

• Accept and own our anger.
• Learn to understand it.
• Express our anger in appropriate, nondestructive, nonsinful ways.

James 1.19-21 “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

Exercise
List five times I’ve been angry the past month. Identify two occasions of greatest anger. Were they powder keg or crock-pot anger? Do they indicate a strained or broken relationship? Do they indicate stress in your work? Is it unfairness of life? (Life isn’t fair; life isn’t God. See Psalm145 on the goodness of God). What does anger tell me about myself and what is going on in my life?

Do not make room for the devil
Ephesians 4.27: “Do not give the devil a foothold.”
Unresolved anger (especially crock-pot anger) invites:
Resentment that lead us to self-hate and hatred of other;
Bitterness that mushrooms as it feeds on the real and/or imagined wrongs done to us;
Malignant grudges that destroy us, not the one against whom we have the grudges;
Hostility that make us suspicious of the motives of others, turns others into enemies, and makes us defensive in our reactions and responses.

Suffocated anger: the mark of the moralist—the man trying to be good all by himself … Localize the blame in ourselves and have it burned away into the hot fire of grace.” –Olsson
We must depend upon God and his grace to take away the sin of anger.

4 Areas of Discipline
Hanging on
Can’t get over anger if we hang on to it.
List keeping
Keeps us fixated on past events and emotions. We are forever victimized; and forever on the lookout for more of the same.
Revealing our anger others
Keeping thoughts and feelings to ourselves hold us captive. Break out of the negative cycle by naming and verbalizing reduces our anger and the cause. Receive feedback from others enables us to think clearly.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness and anger cannot live together. “Jesus didn’t make us pay. Dare we think we should make others pay?” The only way we can forgive is to accept completely what Christ has done for us. John 19.30, when Jesus died on the cross, paying the price for our sins, he said, “It is finished.”

Let us pray together the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi that asks God to make us an instrument of peace. As we go through this week, let us look for ways to to instruments of peace. Let us ask ourselves, "How can I bring peace to this situation? to this relationship?"

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
O Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

Proverbs 14.30
Galatians 5.15-21

The sin of the evil eye
Envy defined: from the Latin, “to look maliciously upon.” The New Testament Greek literally means “to have an evil eye.” Saul and David 1 Samuel 18.5-9, “Saul killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” This made Saul angry “So Saul eyed David from that day on.”

What is yours should be mine
Envy wants what is sees
Envy is never satisfied
Everything should revolve around God, but envy says everything revolves around me (even God). Envy says, “what is your should be mine.” There is never any gratification. Envy sees and wants what it doesn’t have and since there will always be more to see than what one can possess, one is never satisfied. [Also, there is a neglect to acknowledge that everything belongs to God, we are only stewards.]

The story of Haman from the Book of Esther
The story of Haman demonstrates both pride and envy. You will remember that these 7 deadly sins rarely will stand alone, but will interweave. This is a good example of that.

Esther, a Jew, is taken by King Xerxes as his wife. No one knows that Esther is a Jew.

Mordecai, Esther’s (adoptive) father, overhears a scheme to murder the King and warns the King and his life is saved.

Haman is given a special elevated position by the king. All the royal officials at the king’s gate, except Mordecai, kneel in Haman’s honor. Haman’s anger burns at Mordecai. Haman finds our Mordecai is a Jew. Haman’s anger is projected unto all Jews. He devises a way to kill them all. The King gives Haman permission to do as he pleases.

Haman calls his friends and his wife together and he boasts to them about his wealth, his many sons, and all the ways that the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. "And that’s not all," Haman added. "I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow." But Haman goes on to say that this gives him no satisfaction as long as he sees that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate. So his wife and friends suggest he build a gallows 75 feet high and to ask the king in the morning for Mordecai to be hung on it. Haman likes this idea.

The next morning before Haman could ask the king, the king called him in and asked him, "What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought to himself, "Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?" So he said to dress him in the king’s own royal robe, and let him be led through the streets on the king’s own horse by one of the king’s servants who will shout, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!"

Well, the night before the king could not sleep and he sent for someone to read the history books to him. The king discovered what Mordecai had done in saving his life and that nothing was done to honor him and so the king instructed Haman to at once do what he suggested for Mordecai.

Of course, Haman in humiliated. And now he must go immediately to the banquet with the king and Queen Esther. The king asks the queen, "What is your petition?" Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request.  For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation."  King Xerxes responds, "Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?" And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman." The king is so upset he leaves, but upon his return, one of his servant says, "A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king." The king takes this as the fitting punishment.

This is an extreme example of how envy can consume one. And how malicious one can become. In our own lives probably the best way to identify envy is in making comparisons.

The sin of making comparisons
This is something most of us are guilty of. We compare ourselves with others. We compare our gifts with others. We even want to be that other person. (King Saul and David)

We may say things like:
~If I could only play ball like…
~If I could only play the piano like…
~If I could only teach/pray like…
~If was handyman like…
~They have a higher salary because of seniority by I do more around here than… or I know more about this job than… (Mt 20.1-16)
~I wish our church had that…
~Why isn’t our church growing like that church…

And we really get in danger when we start thinking:
~I wish my marriage was like…
or when we say to our children
~Why can’t you be like…

“When have I been envious?”

It’s a question of worth
[I would venture to say that Haman was gaining his sense of worth from position, from family, from wealth, from the honor of others.]

Do I have any worth? Am I adequate? Do I believe that God uniquely created me? Do I believe that God made me just the way he wants me? Do I believe that God gave me the gifts he wants me to have and he gave me the right portion of talent that he wanted me to have?

Remember envy always sees more. There will always be someone more intelligent, more athletic, more gifted … Envy is never satisfied.

“Envy hinders us from finding meaning in who we are and making the best and rewarding use of our gifts.” (D&DR)

A person of worth is satisfied. They have found their worth in who God created them.
Affirmation: “I am a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.” (D&DR)

A person of worth knows that they are loved and accepted by God, even with all our weaknesses and inadequacies.

Symptoms of Envy
Malice: “ill will with the desire to harm” (Gossip & backbiting seeks to destroy the reputation of another)
Jealousy: sin amongst equals
Dejection: sorrow for another’s good
Hypocrisy: pretend to be joyful/sorrowful for someone’s joys/sorrows.
Lovelessness: can’t love self; can’t love others (self-contempt) Unhappiness.

Antidote to Envy
1.    Kindle our love of God and affirm God’s mercy and goodness.
2.    Accept ourselves and God’s gifts.
3.    Utilize God’s given wisdom and ability to reason. “Things are not always what the seem.” The grass is not really greener on the other side.

A story from the Taoist literature of ancient China (D&DR)
There once was a wise man who owned several beautiful horses. One horse, in particular, was so fast and strong and magnificent that it evoked the envy of the man’s neighbor. Unfortunately, one day the horse broke free and ran into the hills. At once the neighbor’s attitude changed from envy to pity at the man’s loss, but the wise man said, “Who knows if I should be pitied or if I should be envied because of this?”

The next day, the horse returned to the wise man leading a herd of fifty equally magnificent wild horses with him. The neighbor was again filled with envy, but again the wise man said, “Who knows if I should be envied or if I should be pitied because of this?” Not long after he had said this, his only son tried to ride one of the wild horses but was thrown off and broke his leg. Again, the neighbor’s envy changed to pity, but the wise man answered once more, “Who knows if I should be pitied or if I should be envied because of this?”

The following day, an officer in the emperor’s army came to draft the man’s son for an extremely hazardous mission. Because his leg was broken, he was relieved of the responsibility for the assignment that would almost certainly have meant death. The neighbor’s son was taken in his place and as a result, once again envied the wise man. As he had before, the wise man responded, “Who knows if I should be envied or if I should be pitied because of this?”

The story continues in this same way with the neighbor’s emotions shifting from envy to pity and back again as the events unfold. It doesn’t take long to see the point of the story: Things are not always what they seem. Sometimes hardships come into our lives and God works this miraculous wonder in our midst and sometimes something that appears good can bring sorrow. Take winning the lottery for example. We may say look in envy at someone who wins a big cash pot, thinking they are going to walk done easy street from now on, but in reality, many who come across winnings like that end up filing bankruptcy-they have lost everything! The are worst off than before.

Prayer Steps
Dunnam and Dunnam Reisman offer these steps in prayer and I encourage us to use them today and throughout this series of self-examination.
~Examine for the sin of envy.
~Claim our justification, the gracious forgiveness and pardon of God.
~Yield our lives to Christ, with special attention to the area of our lives where sin is expressing itself.
~Invite Christ to take that sin from us.
~Claim the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the desire and the strength of will to overcome sin’s grip.
~Practice the disciplines that free us and even protect us from willful sin.

Psalm 139.23-24 (David’s prayer of self-examination)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting

This week
Throughout each day this week, “pay attention to how you look at things, what you desire, and why you desire it.” (D&DR)

Affirmation “I am a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God.” (D&DR)

The seriousness of sin
It is the tradition at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for anyone who speaks to begin by saying, “I am name and I am an alcoholic.” Maybe we in the Christian community should begin in a similar way: “Hi. I’m Joleen and I’m a sinner.” (from “Rebuilding Your Broken World” by Gordon MacDonald.)

Sin is real. Each of us is engaged with an ongoing battle with sin and none of us is exempt from it. We can ignore it and pretend it isn’t there. But the truth remains: sin is real. The good news is that sin is a summons to life; a call to new life. And if we deny sin, we miss the opportunity to embrace this new and better life, the life God intended for us.

We are looking at more than a “moral” issue. More than something that can be fixed by education or behavior modification. We are looking at sin, the root cause of moral decay. By our nature, we are sinners. We are born sinners. And sin requires God’s intervention. God is the only cure. Sin requires the miraculous act of Jesus Christ, taking our sins upon him, carrying them to the cross, bringing salvation to us, and transforming us by his grace.

Prayer of self-examination and confession
This series will focus on a type of prayer we don’t often emphasize. At Lent, we say we enter a season of self-examination – a time of looking at our lives and asking God to reveal those things in our life that are not pleasing to him. Self-examination is not just for Lent. William Law in “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life” lays out a day of prayer that concludes each evening with self-examination and confession.

Psalm 139.23-24 (David’s prayer)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Since our tendency is to deny sin, the first step is recognition of our sin—facing up to the way sin is expressed in our lives. Then, confessing and repenting of those sins, receiving power for overcoming, and finding resources to engage the ongoing battle which, to some degree, we will always be engaged.

The 7 Deadly Sins
Our self-examination will involve looking at the 7 Deadly Sins. In the 4th Century, the desert fathers (Monastics) in Egypt compiled a list of 8 sins which over time has become a list of 7. These sins were identified as the major sins because they so greatly endangered the spiritual life. These sins were recognized as being deeply rooted in our nature. And they are: pride, envy, anger, sloth (laziness), avarice (greed), lust, and gluttony. These 7 actually will overlap and interweave. They affect us individually and they affect us as a faith community and they affect our culture. Most of this series will based on the book, “The Workbook on the 7 Deadly Sins”, by Maxie Dunnam & Kimberly Dunnam Reisman. This book was a requirement for my January class and it was a life transforming experience, and my hope is that this series will be that for you and for our church.

The first sin we will look at today is pride … and pride is always the first listed; it is the root of all other sins. And it is the first sin recorded in the Bible.

The fall of Adam and Eve
Genesis 3.1-5

The statement of pride in this account, the thing that tempted Adam and Eve … it wasn’t the fruit, it was “you will be like God.”

The fall of Satan compared
Interesting enough there is a parallel in the fall of humankind and the fall of Satan.

Isaiah 14.13-14

Satan wanted to make himself “like the Most High” and now he tempts all humankind with the same temptation, “you will be like God.” Now most of us would not say those words, yet Satan, deceitful as he his, will disguise this temptation. Let’s look at how the sin of pride may be manifested in our own lives.

Pride defined
Pride is a preoccupation with self, the inordinate (beyond normal limits) assertion of self.
In the biblical accounts it is self-worship. Taking the worship that is due God for one’s self. Taking the credit for what God does in our lives.

Webster: an inordinate self-esteem
Oxford English: an unreasonable conceit of superiority … an overweening opinion of one’s own qualities
Synonyms: vanity, conceit, arrogance, egotism, self-glorification, boastfulness.
Slang: bighead, cockiness, stuck-up, snobbishness, self-centered, full of yourself, know-it-all, puffed up.

Proverbs 16.8
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Vince Lombardi was a famous coach for the Green Bay Packers and he had a monstrous ego and a pride that was not always healthy. There are many stories that exist about him. One such story tells of an occasion when he was in a championship game. He wife couldn’t go, which disappointed Vince. And the Packers were not expected to win the game, but against all odds they won. So the story goes …

When Vince Lombardi came home his wife was already asleep. He tried to slip into bed without awakening her. But when his cold feet touched her legs, she said “God, your feet are cold.” Quick as a flash, the coach replied, “When we are in bed, just call me Vince.”

Pride is not: aiming to do well; healthy sense of self worth or self-respect.
Pride is not: false humility: diminishing one’s self worth, depreciating one’s self

Pride is lifting oneself up too much. It is always having to be at the center, having to be recognized, having attention, having everything center on self.

And one of the negative results of self-centeredness is that it makes us insensitive to the needs of others. When we are centered on our own needs, we can’t see the needs of others.

Katerina’s nightly prayer: "Help Hunter get over the chicken pox so he can bring me my Valentine gift."

Was she as concerned with Hunter’s illness as she was getting her gift?

And yet how many times do we go to God and pray that kind of prayer – a prayer that’s only concerned with what I want, what I need; that never asks for what God wants.

Do we at times view the church as a place to fulfill my needs, rather than reaching out to the needs in our community?

Is a good sermon, one that makes me feel good, or is it one that makes me squirm a little, one that challenges me to grow?

Pride is defeated in our yieldedness to Christ
I often talk of the paradoxes, seeming contradictions, of scripture.
We cannot free ourselves from self-centeredness. The more we look in on ourselves, the more self-centered we become. Christ alone can deliver us from self-centeredness: worship of Christ, recognizing his presence in our lives, his gifts in our lives, his provision in our lives.

And recognizing our need for his salvation in our lives. Lastly, pride can be a barrier of salvation. Pride says I can do it on my own. But the only way that we can find salvation is by relying on God’s grace, by submitting our whole selves to Christ Jesus.

Justification and Sanctification
“Salvation is both a done deal and a daily development.” –Max Lucado
Dunnam and Dunnam Reisman explain justification and sanctification in way I’ve never heard it and in a way that truly brings clarity.
Justification is what God does for us;
Sanctification is what God does in us.
As pardon (justification) grace forgives our sins;
As power (sanctification) grace delivers us from our slavery to sin the grip of sin on our lives, and fills us with the power of new life—a life in which Christ indwells us and we live through him.

We can’t give our sins to Jesus (if we cold do that we would all be sin-free saints)—we give ourselves to Jesus and he takes our sins from us and gives us the power to overcome sin’s grip.

Dunnam and Dunnam Reisman (D&DR) offer these steps in prayer and I encourage us to use them today and throughout this series of self-examination and even make them a part of our regular prayer life.

• Examine for sin (today, specifically the sin of pride).
• Claim our justification, the gracious forgiveness and pardon of God.
• Yield our lives to Christ, with special attention to the area of our lives where sin is expressing itself.
• Invite Christ to take that sin from us.
• Claim the power of the Holy Spirit to give us the desire and the strength of will to overcome sin’s grip.
• Practice the disciplines that free us and even protect us from willful sin.

Further reflection
~In the past two months, name three occasions, situations, and/or relationships in which you expressed healthy pride. (D&DR)
~ In the past two months, name three occasions, situations, and/or relationships in which “I” was at the center, when the itch for recognition prevailed over the concern for others, when self-centeredness brought brokenness and pain. (D&DR)

Luke 15.11-32

This is a team message with all four of the lay speakers of the Charge participating. Ruth: the prodigal (the younger son); Ken: the father; Jeff, the elder son; and Jay, the servant. I am bringing the conclusion and that is what follows.

Maybe you resonate with one of the four characters of this story presented today.

You may feel like the prodigal. You have turned away from God and you wonder how on earth he would take you back. Maybe you knowingly turned away – after serving him, some how you have distanced yourself from him and done things that you know he is not pleased with. Maybe you’ve never known him. And now you are aware that you are living your life apart from God. Some may think, “How can God ever forgive me of ???” “I can’t even forgive myself.” Or “My family won’t even forgive me.”

Or you may be like the elder son. You have been faithful to the church all your life. You have served, you have attended, you have tithed, but you look at others and see God blessing them and you just don’t feel blessed. You don’t feel like God even knows you exist.

Or maybe you are like the servant, a kind of bystander. You stand on the fringes of the church, not knowing if you want to be involved. Not understanding entirely who this God is and definitely not understanding his actions. How can he love people who hate him, who deceive him, who use him? How can he so easily forgive and embrace people who purposefully despise him and even squander the gifts that he has given them?

Truthfully, the Father of this story is a mystery to us all: to the prodigals and prodigals-come-home, to the responsible ones who never left home, and to the ones on the sideline who are full of questions. But the Father understands each of us. And he loves each of us. And the only way to gain an inkling of understanding him, is to enter into the mystery. To cry out, Lord have mercy, forgive me, forgive me of running away and wanting to live life my way; forgive me for being so responsible and in charge that I think I can do it on my own without relying on you; forgive me as I have peered in from the outside, questioning who you are, and questioning your actions in this world.

Lord, have mercy

Our God is like a Parent who loves his children equally. He loves not because of what we do. But he loves us because we are his. And he loves us even before we are adopted into his family. He loves us into relationship with him and then he calls us his sons and his daughters. Does God call you his son or daughter today? Do you want to be called his son or daughter? God is calling you into his family today. And God is calling all of us into the center of his love, a love that forgives, a love that plays no favorites, a love that need not be earned, a love that is freely given. Will you enter into the arms of a loving Father, a loving Mother? Remember you don’t have to make everything right in your life before you come to him; that’s what he does. Come to him today. He will come running to meet to you and to welcome you, and to embrace you.

Matthew 9.35-38
Matthew 10.1-8 (ff)

The Need
This is Super Bowl Sunday and as I have been out and about there are a lot of people out there suffering from Steeler-mania. The billboards sport the slogan, “Go Steelers!” People are dressed in their Steeler jerseys, from Emergency Room workers to little ole grannies in Sam’s Club.

It used to be we had three basic sports, football, baseball, and basketball. But the list has grown, especially with the addition of x-sports. These sports seek the x-treme. And each is more extreme than the last. Every experience must be more daring, more exciting, more dangerous, more extreme.

Jesus looked out over the people and he saw a people who were harassed and helpless, perhaps bothered or confused and exhausted; troubled and bewildered. They are sheep without a shepherd. The Bible and the church have used the description of those who are without Christ, as lost. The post-modern generation doesn’t like to be called lost. They don’t feel lost. And yet, they are just as Jesus describes them. They are on a quest to find meaning in life. Whether we are driven by the x-treme sport experience or by the pursuit of career, education, or financial gain, there is a spiritual need in our lives.

As Jesus sees the need, Matthew says he is “moved with pity” – a very strong word describing deep compassion. Jesus cannot in his physical body meet every need. And tells the disciples to pray for workers.

The Prayer - Help Wanted
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

Jesus will not do the work alone. God wants to raise up others to work. God is at work and he is calling others to be a part of what he is doing.

The Answer
The exciting thing about this passage is that there is an immediate answer to that prayer. Looking at 10.1, those who pray the prayer, “send workers” become the answer to their own prayer. Jesus, in chapter 10, sends out the twelve disciples, giving them the authority to join in the work Jesus himself has been doing. The disciples become the answer to their own prayer.

And this prayer goes beyond the twelve disciples. As Matthew writes, he is calling the readers of his account to pray and become the answers to their prayer. The prayer was for the current readers in the first century church. The prayer for harvest hands is directed to and answered by the Church of every generation. Today, just as there continues to be a harvest, there continues to be a need for harvest hands. It is an invitation for the church today to be harvest hands. Will you be those hands?

God’s Harvest Field
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

We are called to be a part of what God is doing. We are called to join God. Too many times we decide we are going to do something for Christ and then we ask God to bless it. We decide and then we ask God to be a part of it. God is at work in our world and in our communities and in our church. Knowing that, the prayer becomes, let us be a part of what You are doing. Reveal what you are doing and allow us be a part of that.

Also, it is giving God the glory for whatever is accomplished. Knowing that it is not we ourselves who plan or will for something to happen – it is God. It is always God. If it is his fields, it is his work, and it he that accomplishes every good thing. And he must be glorified, praised and worshiped.

Everything we do as a church should be measured by the phrase: “his harvest field”. I, as your pastor, do not encourage you do things for my benefit. Your ad council does not do things for their own personal benefit.

Those of us who went to college or educational program are familiar with the phrase, “It will look good on my resume.” Sometimes people participated in certain activities to add a certain dimension to their resumes. Or the school required things in one’s program to make one more marketable upon graduation.

As a pastor, I don’t have a resume anymore. I don’t have an agenda. My only agenda is to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to be faithful to the call he has placed upon me as your pastor and spiritual leader. And I interpret that call as providing opportunities for you to become faithful followers: to provide opportunities for you to grow in your faith and to put your faith into action. Today God is calling workers. Jesus didn’t do it alone. Your pastor won’t do it alone. This is a call to the church, will you be the church, will you be harvest hands?

Answering the Call
Opportunities:
Faith Ministry Meeting next Tuesday, Feb 14.
Completing a Gifts Inventory.
WC/EV Ad Council.

If God is speaking to you about a ministry, speak to me. That’s a part of my job as pastor – to coordinate ministries, to have the body join you in the discernment process. The scripture today says that Jesus sent them out, giving them authority. Apostolic authority means the passing on of authority, the recognition of God’s call and the gifts and graces He has given. It means partnering together in support of various ministries through prayer, blessing, encouragement, guidance and accountability. This is part of what it means to be in community. The disciples were an extension of Jesus’ ministry. As others become involved in ministry, you become an extension of the ministry of this Church.

We live in such an independent society, where we make decisions, even decisions that impact the church community, on our own, independent of the body. And that should not be. And I don’t condemn anyone on this point; because I’ve been there, done that. And I’m still learning. I know this might be a different way of seeing the church and it will take time to grasp hold of the concept of true biblical community. But it is my desire for us to strive to be the body of Christ, to be the community that we are called to be. And today we start that journey by praying, “Lord of the harvest, send workers into your harvest fields.” Will you join me in that prayer? Will you be an answer to that prayer?

Matthew 13

Two weeks ago when I was with you we talked about "Our Mission: Saving Souls" and the image of the church as a life saving station. We talked about knowing who we are: sinners saved by God’s grace. Knowing what we are called to do: share the message of God’s saving grace with others. Training for our call: sharing our story with each other (and I invited you to share your story with someone, a family member or friend who is already a Christian, for practice.) Taking action! Sharing with others who need to hear.

Someone came to me after the service, their heart heavy for an unsaved loved one, a family member. One whom they have invited to church many times but the individual has not responded.

Today I’d like to share this passage as a guide for prayer, for ourselves and for others, for those who are saved and those who are not yet saved.

Let us begin by making the scripture that Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6 our prayer:

Lord God,
Open our eyes that we might see;
Open our ears that we might hear;
Open our hearts that we might understand. Amen.

The seed sown along the path
19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

First, we are to pray for understanding. If you read something and don’t understand it, it doesn’t stay with you. Therefore our opening prayer, "open eyes, ears and heart."

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4.4

This is spiritual warfare: Satan wants to keep the Word from being heard. He doesn’t want you to hear it today. Because if you truly hear the Word you will be changed, you will be growing, you will be making an impact on your world, and of course Satan does not want that.

We can never approach the Word for mere information, but transformation. God wants to transform our hearts.

Satan doesn’t want unbelievers to hear the Word, because he doesn’t want to loose his people. If someone doesn’t belong to God, they belong to Satan. There is no middle ground, no teetering on the fence. One either serves God or Satan.

Pray for God to break the hold of Satan. Pray for God to open blinded eyes, and deaf ears. Pray for God to soften hearts.

“The credibility of the Gospel depends on caring, loving believers willing to serve.” http://www.newlifeministries-nlm.org/online/prayer.htm

Know that your lifestyle speaks. Know that the actions of the church speaks. (acts of kindness, service to others) People do not have to be a member of this body to be helped or served by this body.

“Random acts of kindness aren’t enough.” (Lee Strobel)
Steve Sjogren, founder of Cincinnati Vineyard, speaks of how acts of kindness are spiritual warfare. They are unexpected and they catch people off-guard, their defenses are down and they are pleasantly surprised that someone would do something for them out of the goodness of their heart.

… God’s kindness leads you toward repentance Romans 2.4

The seed on rocky ground
20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

There is no depth. The challenge is to go deeper in God’s Word. New Christians must become firmly established in God’s Word. All Christians must continue to grow, to go deeper in God’s Word and in our relationship with Christ.

The seed among the thorns
22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

Worries, deceit of wealth, desires; in Luke’s account: worries, riches, pleasures. The cares of the world deter fruitfulness.

The root of the original Greek is "to be divided". Do you have a divided heart? Does something that doesn’t count for the kingdom distract you? or pull your focus away from Christ?

Definitions:
Cares: divided, distracted
Lure: deceit, illusion, to cheat
Desire: arises out of the condition of the soul
What cares, lures, desires pull you away from Christ.

The seed on good soil
23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Our hearts are balanced. We are willing to be what God created us to be. We embrace the word with obedience. What does a balanced heart look like in my life?
The word is heard, the word is accepted and the product is fruit. How is fruit developing in my life?

… humbly accept the word planted in you 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. or in the KJV,  22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only … James 1.21-22

Prayer
1. Survey our own souls.
Repentance and Confession
2. Prayer for those who do not yet know Christ.
Intercession