April 10, 2012

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."  Ephesians 3:14-21

I find it fascinating how the Apostle Paul follows up on his prayer for the Ephesian believers. Right after praying that they would get a greater grasp on the crazy love of God, he concludes by reminding them of what they should expect from God.

That seems to fit the pattern of all the great men and women of God. As their realization of God's love expanded so did their level of expectations from God.

Expectations are tricky. They are closely tied to faith and yet different from faith. Faith believes in the Person and the power of God and expectations project faith forward to change the present reality. But what can we and what should we realistically expect from God?

When I do pre-marital counseling with couples I spend considerable time dealing with this crucial area of expectations. Coming into a marriage there are high expectations held by each partner and as important as they are, they are rarely shared but simply assumed. Unless the couple is pressed to articulate them and communicate them they end up as two different visions of what should happen in that marriage. Differing expectations that operate within two different assumptions result in two very disillusioned people. Disillusionment breeds disappointment which breeds distance, which breeds distrust, which breeds disaster in the relationship.

Serious marriage problems often trace back to these dynamics of unrealistic or unrealized expectations in the relationship. That being true, transpose that into your faith relationship with God. Just as unrealistic expectations can damage marriages they also have caused many Christians to become disappointed with God and disillusioned in their faith. Perhaps you know someone who has struggled with that. Maybe you have struggled in that area. Could it be you find yourself in that condition right now?

How do you shape realistic expectations of a God Who unlike your human spouse, actually CAN do anything He wants, anytime He wants, in any way He wants, anywhere He wants? That is another level of complications and begs the questions, "What can I realistically expect from God and how do I know that?"

That IS the question isn't it? And it is a perplexing one to be sure! But, over the next two months we are going to dive into the deep end of the pool and try not to drown while we find some insights to help you more realistically shape and share your expectations of God. How will we keep from drowning as we get in over our heads? We will learn from some of the Heroes of our faith who were used by God to do supernatural works. By revisiting the great stories of Moses, Joshua, the Children of Israel, The Three Hebrews in the firey furnace, David and Daniel we will attempt to understand what they expected from God and how they formed those expectations.

In advance of our sermon series, I encourage you to read ahead to refresh your memory of these great men and their great moments with God. You can expect to get more from this sermon series if you study the stories.

I expect you will!

April 9, 2012

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26

This is quite a claim made by Jesus! Very confident and quite comforting!

If you will live and believe in Jesus, and if you allow Him to live in you by faith, you will never die!

However, there ARE several things that WILL die when you die and I feel compelled to point those out.

When you die, suffering dies. The moment you slip away from your earthly body and into eternity with Jesus - your suffering is over! Forever!

When you die, sorrow dies. At your last breath in this life, you are done with sorrow! Once your spirit enters into the presence of God there will be only joy! Sadness has no place in Heaven! You will shed no more tears. You will know no more heartbreak!

When you die, sin dies. If you die in Christ and enter into His paradise you will enter a safe, secure, sin-free enviornment. Not only will you be free from sin but you will not have to deal with temptation either!

So, you see, death is final - final for the things that are not worthy of God or right for eternity!

As we bring the Easter Holiday to a close I just wanted to remind you of a few reasons why it is the pivotal event in all of human history! You will never die, but all the things that make your life difficult or painful will die!

He's alive! You will live! Your heart-ache and hardships won't! Your crises and crosses will become crowns!

April 8, 2012

"As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him."  Mark 16:5-7

When was the last time that NOT finding something was exciting for you?

You were having such a great lunch with a few friends and the conversation was so engaging that you walked out and left your I-Phone at your table. By the time you realized it and frantically went back to retrieve it - it wasn't there. Not finding it........NOT GOOD!

Busy working around the house you realize it has been over an hour since you let your not-quite-trained puppy out in the backyard. Going to the back to call him in you see a hole under the fence but you don't see your best friend. He is gone! Not finding him........NOT GOOD!

After a quick trip to the mall to grab a few things that were on sale, you hurry back to the parking lot to transport your treasures home. Just to be sure that you have no trouble finding where you parked you wisely jotted down the row number and counted how many spots from the end. Feeling very good about your deals you just captured and your foresight to mark your parking spot you make a beeline across the freshly seal-coated parking lot.

There's your row! Yes!

And there's your spot! Yes!

But there is no car! NO! NOT GOOD!

Feeling all pumped and energized from your work-out, you hurry out of the gym to get to the job. As soon as you plop into the drivers seat you notice something feels different. Instantly you realize you do not have your wallet in its customary hip pocket.

In a panic you sprint back toward the gym trying to visualize where you left it. A clear mental picture emerges in your mind and you arrive there as soon as humanly possible. Your already pounding heart goes turbo and then stops momentarily when you realize it is not there. NO WALLET! NO GOOD!

Maybe that is one of the reasons why Easter is so special to us. It is the one time we don't have to stress over something that is not there but we can celebrate it!

Jesus' bloodied, beaten, and lifeless body was placed in a tomb and very carefully sealed with a boulder and even more carefully guarded by Roman soldiers. Both the Romans and the Jewish leaders wanted to be sure it was there!

Early Sunday morning while the dawn was breaking, the ladies who loved Him most were hurrying to the tomb to care for His body. They were fully expecting to find Him while at the same time grieving over what they would find.

Arriving at the tomb they made the discovery that changed history - HE WAS NOT THERE! GOOD! VERY GOOD! The soldiers were gone, the boulder was rolled away, and an angel stood where they expected to find the lifeless body of Jesus. That angel announced, "HE IS NOT HERE! Take a look for yourselves!"

They did!

He wasn't!

THAT'S GOOD!

HAPPY EASTER!

April 6, 2012

^"For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,  and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  I Corinthians 11:22-24

Have you ever been betrayed by a friend?

You probably have but in case you haven't, trust me, it hurts!

Being betrayed is something you don't easily forget, neither the act or the hurt. That is why I find it interesting St. Paul refers to the night of the Last Supper as "the night Jesus was betrayed". There were other very significant things that happened that evening but Paul marks the event by the betrayal.

In fact, there were two betrayals during that night. Judas betrayed Him with a kiss and Peter betrayed Him with a curse(s). Judas sold Him out for personal profit and Peter denied Him for personal protection.

Let me ask you, have you betrayed Jesus?

Have you denied Him? 

Have you sold Him out?

What did you do to the person who betrayed you?

How did you handle that pain?

Here's what Jesus did, He died for them AND for you! 

He took your pain, your shame, your sin and your failure - on the day after He was betrayed.

April 7, 2012

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24)

Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of wit."

A characteristic of really wise people is their ability to say a whole lot with an economy of words. You would certainly expect that to apply to the Son of God. It does!

In this 25 word sentence Jesus profoundly predicts His death and His resurrection and reveals a principle His Father built into nature. God is life. Since God is life, life is stronger that death!

Take a moment and think with me on this Good Friday when we commemorate the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ our Savior. Consider the significant implications of this 25 word sermon from the Master. I see three challenging and yet comforting life applications from His statement.

Dying is painful!

That is not a news flash to anyone who has watched a friend or loved one die. I have seen quite a few and none of them died painlessly or easily. God wired you to live. It is in your DNA. But because of the impact of sin, death became your master and the fear of death a tool of the Evil One.

As you contemplate the death of Christ on this Good Friday you will be reminded that His death was excruciatingly painful. There was nothing easy about the crucifixion of Christ and there is nothing easy about your death either. Of course, I am referring to your spiritual death - dying to self and sin. There is no way to know for sure but it could be that your spiritual death could be more painful than when you die physically.

Dying is powerful!

If you will choose the pain of dying you will find great power in being dead! As powerful as Jesus was during His life on earth, His death was even more powerful because by His death He defeated the power of sin!

In a very weird sort of way, modern culture recognizes this truth. Think about how many books and movies and television shows nowadays feature vampires or zombies. Vampires and zombies are powerful evil monsters who terrorize the living for a whole host of malevolent reasons. Why are these fiends so powerful? Simple, how do you kill something that is dead?

Every vampire or zombie movie centers around the subplot of how to stop these monsters. Potential victims pump pounds of hot lead into these menacing creatures to no avail! It is tough to kill a dead person! That is power!

Hey, Christian! Want to be powerful? Die! Declare yourself dead to sin and selfishness.

Dying is productive!

When Jesus was crucified He had roughly one hundred followers. I base that one the fact that there were 120 in the Upper Room according to Luke's record in Acts 1 and 2. Before that day of Pentecost ended there were 3,120 believers! Historians estimate that number may have reached into the hundreds of thousands in the early days of the Church.

Today there are several billions of professed Christians!

Just as Jesus declared, His death brought forth much fruit! His death WAS productive and becoming more so by the moment!

How can that be? How can dying make you more productive?

Because dying produces new life! In God's kingdom every death brings a resurrection!

As you solemnly commemorate the death of the Savior, remember the important truth He teaches in this one verse. Death is painful, but it is also powerful and productive!

Also, ask yourself, "Am I dying to live?"

April 5, 2012

^"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,  that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:14-16

There is a very good reason why Jesus was crucified. If you don't understand that reason you won't get the significance of the Good Friday and Easter week-end.

The reason can be expressed in one word "SIN".

Actually, two words, "MY SIN" or "YOUR SIN"

In typical Son of God clarity and simplicity, Jesus illustrated the significance of the cross and the seriousness of sin all in the space of three verses.

"How's that?" you ask?

When He referred to Moses lifting the snake in the wilderness these Jewish listeners knew exactly what He was talking about. You may not, so I will remind you:

"They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived."  Numbers 21:4-9

Jesus is saying that you and I are "snake bitten". He portrays sin as a fatal snake bite. If it isn't treated it will kill you.

If sin is like a venonous snake bite (it is) then Jesus lifted up on the cross is the "anti-venom" or the cure for snake bite. Look to Him and live or fail to trust in His cross and die. Those are your two choices.

How important is the cross? How important is your life? How important is your eternity?

Sin is a fatal condition and the cross is the "snake-bite kit"!

April 4, 2012

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our  preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep."  I Corinthians 15:13-20

Here are a few of my favorite promises from the Bible:

^"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." I Corinthians 10:13

^"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:7-9

^"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." I John 5:14-15

You probably love these promises, too! No doubt you have some of them memorized. And for a good reason - there is tremendous power in those promises!

But here is the point of this thought this morning, all of these promises are true and reliable for one reason - THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST!

He promised to rise again on the third day after His death and He did! Had He not kept that promise none of the others would be believable. The very power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that fulfills His promises!

Easter is a promise kept that assures all the others will be too! He promised!