Sunday, July 17, 2017 Sermon

Transcription

1 Sunday, July 17, 2017 Sermon Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10: Why do you worry? 2. What is it you actually know? The difference between knowing and believing 3. Why do you doubt? Amos, the farmer God s call upon us all 4. Times of trouble Amos prophecies the greater famine - deaf ears and unbelief Are we at the end times 5. The marks of wickedness the wicked one, lies, deceit and destruction 6. The Word of the Lord tells us to listen and learn reread Psalm 52: Christ is the image of the invisible God God in the flesh We are Word of God God in the flesh 8. The curse of the gift and the gift of the gift you have been given free will use it to preserve the truth let the control issues be overcome and trust the Lord 9. What is the better part? Mary sat at the feet of the Lord and trusted His leading 10. Who is the one you can do something about? Who is the one you can motivate to be a person of action? Who is the one the Lord has called today to be moved away from the distractions? 11. Jesus says to you today, Come follow me. 12. All the days have now and always belonged to Him. Trust the One who knows.

2 What you think about is often what you will worry about. Where is your mind right now? Is it on the affairs of the world? On the things you need to do? Concerns about what is going to happen? The plans you are making? Our lives are filled with so many things and whether or not our worries are more or less than what those who have gone before had to worry about, the truth is, we worry. In part, this is a byproduct of sin. I did not say it was necessarily a sin, I said it was a product of sin. Some will listen to what I have to say. Some will not. To be sure, I would like it if folk did, but then, this something beyond my control. You know, things sometimes appear one way, but then they are something quite different. You and I are not in control. All jokes aside, you actually know this, even if you want to believe something that is different. Amos was a farmer. He worried about the rains coming at the right time to keep the crops growing so that there would be food for the next year. For farmers, it really can be feast or famine. So it can be for us as well. And that gives us another thing to worry about. Amos was called by God to talk to the people. Although Amos argued (a bit) about the Lord calling Him as a prophet, he went as the Lord directed. The Lord uses those who are willing to go where He sends them. Because our knowledge is limited, the only One who truly knows is the Lord of all creation. You see, this is the real point of your baptism. It s not a get out of hell free card, as some treat it, but a call upon your life to follow the Lord. The truth is that God is giving this call to everyone. God so loved the whole world and Christ has come for the whole world. The message is out, but many are not listening. Yes, but if Jesus would just personally do this... some think. In Iran where Christianity is illegal, Jesus is literally appearing to some and many are coming to know Christ. But, even with Christ present, as we see clearly in the story of Martha, our worldly concerns can consume us. We forget who it is that we are talking about, the God of all creation. I am holding this bible in my hand. There s one right there beside you. It looks like the one I am holding. You are not holding the same book I am holding, but based upon everything you know, it is a bible just like the one right there with you. So you say you believe I am holding a bible. It would take a whole lot of belief to come to a contrary conclusion, that is, to believe it is something else. This is important. What you believe is based upon what you know, but, and this is a big but, what makes the difference is that if you were holding a bible in your hand and you know it s a bible, you would not say, I believe this is a bible, you would say, This is a Bible. There is a difference between knowing and believing and there are those unknown things that do not allow us to fully know something and so we say that this thing is the object of our faith and we then believe it to be true. So, because you are not holding this book, you say, I believe that is a Bible he is holding. You have the facts. That is, things you know. Do not worry if your neighbor to the right or the left knows these things as you do. This is also important. Base things upon what you know and go from there. Upon what you know, you build a case for understanding. Understanding is seeing things as they are. Not as you would like them to be. Not as you wish they were. But as they are. Upon this, build your life. Upon your understanding, you have things that you know and things that you believe. Some believe Jesus is Lord, some know He is Lord. Be careful with your beliefs and do not let wishful thinking get in the way. The facts are simple.

3 There is a God. God IS. Those who do not believe this have a whole bunch more work to do than those who simply accept that there is a God who created everything. Some know God, so for them, it is just simply understanding that they know God. The disciples believed, the Apostles knew. As we talk about these things, it is quite a different matter as to what or who this God is. Not only do the vast majority of people in the world (and throughout history) believe there is a higher power of some kind, they also hold many other things in common. But I said not to worry about your neighbor. Without this simple fact in place, I can go no further with you. But that s okay too. I may not be able to convince another of the truth, but neither can they convince me of the lie. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink. The truth simply IS. There is a God. God IS. When you were baptized, you were baptized in the name of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The introduction has been made, but whether or not it is a fleeting moment, or the turning point from death to life is altogether another matter. And in the mystery of faith, for those for whom it happens, it happens when it happens. God created everything. Again, the mind can race to some other place and think all kinds of things. God created everything that exists. That is what I have said. Some believe, others do not. Let me point out another important thing. Whether or not you believe something knowing that belief is based upon those things you do know and that missing something that takes it to the place of something you absolutely know can never change the facts. Some mistakenly base their beliefs upon what they want something to be and not upon what it actually is. Every captain of a sinking ship said to himself upon embarking on their last journey where the ship went down, Not on my watch. Things happen that we do not plan for. Some things are within your control, some are not. Here is the part where I will segregate a bit by saying that God is personal. I ve eliminated what some people believe with that statement. But God is personal. This is the God of whom I speak. Not only is He personal, but also personable, that is, He wants you to know Him as He knows you. He is Jesus, who lived, breathed, ate and drank with the disciples who have told us this story. This same Jesus of whom I speak is calling to you saying, Come follow me. There it is, a matter of priorities. Jesus does not reprimand Martha saying, That s wrong, get your priorities straight. Instead He tells her to focus upon the better portion. How much of our lives are busy being busy without thinking about what this better portion is? Is your life going to include God, folding Him into the convenient places in your life, or is your life going to be conformed to God as He has created you to live? This is at the heart of what Jesus is telling Martha. You worry about so many things. We know what the Lord has told us. At the end of this age, the world is going to be controlled (as much as it can be) by a world-dominated government. Not to be anxious, but it is obvious to any who care to look that the devil has been trying this all throughout history. The ancient empires are attempts at centralization, as well as our more recent tyrants who have sought to dominate the world. Look, the new world order being touted is anything but new. World domination is the goal of the wicked one. He wants to control because he s out of control. But you and I cannot be controlled, for God has given us the ultimate tool to combat all the control freaks of the world. And it s a funny thing, the more someone is a control freak, the more they exercise this thing God has given each one of us. (Of course the control freaks want there s to be used, but not other s.) This is where the free will God has given you is the one simple thing that shatters to goal of every controlling tyrant. That does not mean they will not try to convince you

4 that they are in control and know what you need. Sound familiar? It s the aim of every politician you know, telling you that they know what you need. The Lord comes to you and you have the option of keeping your will, or else giving it to Him. Your life is yours to keep, but remember, Jesus said only if you lose your life will you find it. Give it back to the One who made it and, like Amos and all the others over the ages who have given their life to the Lord, be ready for a grand adventure. Are we at the end of this age? I do not know. Why Jesus told us that it was not ours to know. Are we in troubled times? Of course. You know when I listen to the news I ponder why the focus is on certain things and find that often it s more to deflect us from other things, which makes me ponder on who s doing all this. But I really know the answer to these things, because Jesus has told us that the devil is a liar, a deceiver and a destroyer. So, when I see lies, deception and destruction, I know the devil is behind these things. As one who loves history, I know this has been going on for a long time. More puzzling to me than the fact that these things go on, is the truth that there are many who fall for this and become angry at God (some reason this to say that God does not exist) and believe the lies. Well, that s them. The real question is this. You are sitting down with Jesus and He wants to talk with you. No, it s not a come to Jesus moment. I mean, like sitting with Jesus over a cup of coffee in the morning. You come to Him with all your worries and cares and, if you re like me, you want to dump on Him all the things that are bothering you, from the personal things to the state of the world. Like He does not already know all of these things. Jesus do something, is probably the thought. Jesus says, I ve already done something and what needs to happen will happen. Quite frankly, I do not want to be alive when the end comes because what Scripture tells us it is quite frightening. But if I am, well then, this is what the Lord knew needed to happen and everything is perfect according to His timing. I may have an Amos moment and say, Lord, I m not the right guy for the job, but that s silly, because the created does not tell the Creator what s best for the circumstance. I may be like Martha and say, Lord, so and so needs to do thus and such. Busy, BUSY, BUSY! We are constantly hammered with so much information that we, like deer staring at oncoming car headlights, freeze up and do not know what to do. Jesus invites you and me to live this moment each and every second of the day and says what He has always says, Come follow me. If you and I can but learn to trust Him in all things, well, it will be perfect. You have His Word on that. Join me on the grand adventure and join with the Psalmist in saying, The righteous will see, and fear, and will laugh at the evildoer, saying, "See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches, and sought refuge in wealth!" But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good. Amen

5 II Through your baptism, the Lord has called you to walk in His ways. Do not let wickedness enter your mind. The Lord calls everyone, each in their own way. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes would not perish but have everlasting life. Whosoever would believe, that is the statement. Knowledge, faith and belief. These are three things in which we are steeped. Where is it faith, where is it belief and where is it knowledge. For the sake of understanding (which we know is the basis of wisdom), we need to know these things in a time of increasing confusion in our world. I am holding a Bible in my hands. You can look at the one there in the seats and you will see the book I am holding looks to be a similar book. You might say it is the same. Please don t say it s the exact same. That redundant oxymoron is a pet peeve. Only the book in my hand is the exact same, only I would never say those two words together (other than the fact that I just have for illustration). I know this is a Bible I am holding in my hand. You believe I am holding a Bible. The difference? I know what I know and present it to you. Based upon the evidence, you believe it to be true. You are not holding this book. Who knows, I could have cut out the pages and put something else in between the cover. I didn t, so either you believe me, or you do not. Can you know something and later find out you were wrong? Of course. Only God is perfect in knowledge. But for the time being, there are things you know and things, based upon which you know, which you believe. So, with knowledge and belief you act. The action of the knowledge and belief is your faith. I believe the paycheck I received has value, so I go to the bank. My faith takes me to the bank. I cash the check (and once it s cleared), I know the check had value. Do you know that Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings? Do you know that Jesus is God in the flesh? Some know, others believe and many neither know, nor believe. Fair enough, the report I give each Sunday is based upon the simple fact that Jesus is God in the flesh who has come that as many as believe would not perish but have everlasting life. We know from the book I held up, that Jesus said you were blessed if you did not see and yet believed. Some will see Him and know. Do not worry about these things. The Lord knows what each one of us needs. He provides according to His perfect will to accomplish all that needs to be accomplished. Why is this important? There are some things we can know and other things that we will not know until perfect knowledge comes. As the Bible says, we now know in part, but when the perfect comes, we will know perfectly even as we have always been perfectly known. The devil has been kicking people off the path of following the Lord from the beginning by appealing to their ego. That simple trick of, I know and you do not and that makes me special. You are whom God has made you to be. God shows no partiality. So the Lord loves the terrorist who maims and kills just as much as He loves you and me. No, I am unable to fathom that either. But this is what the Lord has said. I find these days that labels are very problematic. No label really fits. This is important, because in this wicked world of labeling, folk get pidgin-holed with labels. As simple as using the label Christian. What in the world does this mean? I don t know about you, but I ve always paused when someone says, That s the Christian thing to do. Often meaning the person acted in a Christian way. A Christian does not act but believes that the Lord Jesus is saving them from the wickedness of the world. Yes, there are acts that are in accord with what Scripture

6 teaches us and acts that are not, but we are each individuals whom God has created for His own purpose with the call to follow Jesus. He will take us where He takes us. This week, once again, we have the story of a horrific act of terror upon people simply going about their business. It does not matter what labels will be used to describe the person or persons behind this terror. Let us look at the action and begin to understand elemental things. Our lives are busy and we get caught up in the daily things that consume us. Most of them are quite fine, normal and the way it needs to be. When I think of all the warnings the Lord gives us, it is tempting to jump to conclusions. Jesus gave us warning to keep our eyes upon Him. The times and the seasons are not ours to determine, but His alone. Are we at the end of this age? I do not know. The best I can give you is what I believe. But then, truth be told, I m not sure what to believe specifically in answer to this specific question. What I do know is that God is Sovereign and that Jesus Christ has come that you and I would be saved from this infernal and eternal terror of sin. But we re still in it and will be until our life s end. Are we at the end? We may be. You know, Paul seemed to think so as he was writing. From an eternal perspective, what s ten thousand years? The end will come and from all I know from what the Bible says, I d really rather not be around when the end comes. But and this is a big but this is not ours to determine, for He alone is Lord of all. This, people of faith, we do know. The devil is a liar, a deceiver and a destroyer. What I see in this world is an increase in lies, deception and destruction. These are the marks of one who is not following the Lord, but following the deceiver. There can be no such thing as a Christian terrorist, because the God of love has commanded us to love our neighbor and that means everyone. Are there those who called themselves Christian and did things we would call terror? Yes. Do you see know that labels are just external things that we place upon people. If you believe, if you are someone who knows, then act in faith and follow Jesus by learning to become consistent with the ways He has taught us to live. Confess the truth that you do not fully do this, but continue forward knowing that one day you shall be like Him, perfect. Do not fall for the deceptions that are all around us. Keep clear the difference between what you know and what you believe. Know that the devil is like a prowling lion who seeks whom he may devour. Especially in this time of increased knowledge of the horrific things, which, truth be told, have been going on from the beginning are now known more fully because of our instant information age. But then, you should know by now that you cannot fully trust all that is said or shown in the media. I one time was interviewed by a journalist and just about everything I said was twisted around to present a story the journalist wanted to present. From that time thirty years ago I have been very guarded in what I have said to reporters. You never know what someone will do with what you say. This has also taught me to be very guarded in any conclusion I may make based upon what another says. My picture of the presidential candidates is very slim at best. I simply do not know, but there are many things I believe based upon what I know. Again, my caution is to use caution knowing that there is one simple principle by which I view the whole of human history. I know many things that Scripture teaches. I believe Scripture is God s Word. I believe God has spoken that we might have knowledge and understanding so that we will believe that Christ is our salvation. I also believe that the devil will increase his antics until that day when he does have the world under his thumb. And the God who is Sovereign has told us these things. It is not that the devil can win, for the whole of Scripture is about the truth that God is Sovereign

7 and has always been in control and has never lost control of His creation, nor never will. There is more than meets the eye and this I do not and cannot know this side of eternity. When I look at the course of human events, I see very clearly the trail of the devil. He wants to destroy what God has created. Regardless the mental gymnastics people go through to believe that the evil they do is good, I know evil when I see it. I semi driving through a crowd celebrating a holiday is evil. Any person who knowingly lies is evil. Anyone who seeks to deceive is evil. Are they beyond redemption? Of course not. For in while yet you and I were sinners hear it clearly, that is, evil Christ came to lift us out of evil and onto the path that leads to eternal life. This world is bound for destruction, but you have been called to come into the better portion. It is not a matter of asking, What must I do, but of learning the simple lesson Jesus teaches Martha. Choose the better portion and sit at the feet of Jesus. It does not matter who you are. It is established that God loves you. He loves everyone. Listen and learn as the Lord leads you day by day. Yes, there are things to be done. Jesus will send us out two by two to proclaim that life is found in Christ alone. Some will receive the report and others will reject it. Of course you will encounter hate. In this sense, we should never be surprised when devilishness presents itself. How will others know you are a follower of Jesus? By your love. Anything other than this is not of the Lord. Things like fair-share, rights, inclusivity, tolerance and all the other politically charged words that get bandied about often end up in the realm of deception, that is, used as a means to bring about something else by manipulation. You know, let s do good by everyone and we ll all pay more so that everyone will have what we have. Only, the increased cost means less for everyone. This too has been going on throughout this sinful human history. My faith is in the Lord and I render to Caesar what is Caesar s. Whether you are a farmer like Amos, a fastidious type A like Martha or Paul, or whatever, the call is the same. Take this call seriously, for it is the very thing which will lift you by understanding out of this world filled with evil and into the light of an eternity built upon love. It is the glimmer of that light which illumines the Christian life to which we are called.