Traveling as I did the last two weeks provides the opportunity to observe and listen to other people. On February 2, after attending a three day gathering in Florida with American Baptist pastors, spouses, and denominational leaders, Jill and I settled into our seats on the plane that would bring us home. Seated in front of us was a young mother with a little boy who was around three years old. She was very attentive to her son and she had all sorts of things to keep him occupied. She never raised her voice or used negative language, though she did one time speak clearly of a consequence if something continued and he immediately responded. He was a very polite boy with his Cars backpack, and excellent manners saying “Excuse me,” and “thank you,” as he and his mother had walked past people to board. On the plane she had a book to read for herself, and he spent time watching Dumbo, while holding onto a stuffed animal. When we landed and were waiting to exit, she pointed out a tanker trunk and asked her son what he thought might be inside. She listened patiently as he guessed, “Water?” “What makes the plane go?” she asked, and the boy came up with the answer. Jill and I complimented them as we left about what a good listener he was and how his parents were surely very proud of him.

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February 19, 2012
Mark 9:2-8, Listening to Jesus
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:43 — 21.7MB)

In contrast to that scene, was one I observed waiting to board a plane at Logan Airport on February 5. A mom and dad with just one little girl around two-years-old, certainly not more than three, plunked down next to me in the black vinyl seats. The girl was smaller, less experienced, and physically weaker than both her parents, but it was no contest. She played them like Mozart played the piano. The girl kept saying she was hungry and asking for something to eat, but her mom wouldn’t give her anything. The girl made more noise and didn’t get what she wanted. Dad stepped in and carried the girl away. He brought her back, still looking very unhappy. The little girl wanted to move, which her mom interpreted as being disrespectful. She wanted her to just sit and be still. The girl got up and ran around a bit and the mom was saying negative things like, “Why are you doing that? Do you want to fall and hurt yourself?” Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I leaned over and said, “Traveling with little ones can be tough. When my wife and I were going on a plane trip when our boys were young, one of the things we’d do was walk them all over the terminal and take them to the play area to tire them out as much as possible before they had to sit in a seat on a plane unable to move for several hours. That seemed to be helpful for us.” The woman looked at me, but her eyes were like the sign in front of a Cape Cod hotel in February – vacant. She either didn’t want to listen to what I said or to try it as a solution to her problem.

I tell you about those two different scenes, because in each of them a key difference, at least to an outside observer with limited information, was that in one case there was listening and in the other there was not. In one case the child heard and responded appropriately, and in the other the child and the parent, were not listening and responding well. Listening and obeying go together.

Let’s pray: Almighty God, you have chosen to speak to us through prophets and wise leaders and most clearly through your son, Jesus Christ. Grant to us now the ability to hear, understand, and obey him whom you have sent. Amen. Today’s Gospel is from Mark 9:2-8 and it is among other things about listening to Jesus. “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.”

Six days after announcing his coming death at the end of Mark 8, Jesus is on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem. He takes with him his inner circle of friends, Peter, James, and John and they go on a hike up a high mountain. Whenever Jesus takes these three aside, you know something special is going to happen. Having been in Israel, I can tell you they would have been hot and very thirsty by the time they got to the end of their climb. On the mountain, Jesus is changed before their eyes – his clothes became a dazzling, otherworldly white. Peter, James, and John also see Elijah, one of the greatest prophets, who was to come before the Messiah, and Moses, the giver of the law, who also had experiences with God on a mountain that transformed his appearance, and they’re both talking with Jesus. The disciples were amazed, awe-struck, and terrified. Peter blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind, basically, “Wow, Jesus, it’s great to be here, how about if we build shelters for you, Moses, and Elijah.” Mark states that Peter “did not know what to say.” It was a transcendent experience for which words are inadequate.

For people who grew up Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, or Catholic, this Sunday before Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent is known as Transfiguration Sunday. Many of us may not be familiar with that term. Younger folks might say, “Do you mean Transformer Sunday? I know what a Transformer is; they’re like heroes who can transform from a robot into other shapes like a car, truck or plane.” The Transfiguration of Jesus has many of the elements of the story of a hero. There’s an arduous trek up a mountain; a tightly knit company of friends on a “mission” together; the appearance of other-worldly figures in dazzling light; the transformation of the hero into an equally dazzling figure; a command from a powerful voice from another dimension; a determined descent to battle other powers back home. Jesus is not a superhero as we sometimes understand it, but as one who lays down his life and thus opens life and eternity to many. Jesus is a hero who dies so that others may live.
Inherent in the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus is the promise of a life beyond what’s apparent to earthly eyes in our ordinary daily living. There is more to life and beyond this life than we can see most of the time. Our son Nathan’s English class is studying Shakespeare’s great play, Hamlet. In it, Hamlet says to his friend Horatio (I.v.165), “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Both Elijah and Moses were believed by many Jews to be God’s advance scouts of the end times. Because Elijah went bodily into heaven (2 Kings 2:9-12) and Moses’ grave was never found (Deuteronomy 34:4-7), these two men of the faith were thought to be available for God to send back at the right time. God would send them to inform humankind that God’s reign was at hand. It is no accident that these two appear with Jesus on the mountain. They talk with Jesus and then they disappear into the cloud, which is a sign of God’s presence, (see Exodus 40:34-38), and the disciples hear a voice say, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”
The word from the cloud, “Listen to him,” is a reminder to pay attention to Jesus’ words about living as his disciples, the reign of God, and the prediction about his suffering and death (8:31). Listening to him is life changing. Who we listen to and allow to shape our thinking, attitude, and worldview is crucially important. However, listening well is something most people have room to grow in. Are you listening? Can you hear me now? “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” “Listen, my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” When E.F. Hutton talks…people listen.” Listen up. Pay attention. That last phrase reminds us that truly listening is costly and demands something from us. Henning Mankell, a Swedish writer, wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times (December 10, 2011) titled, The Art of Listening. For the last 25 years he has lived off and on in Mozambique, a country located on the southeast coast of Africa. In the article he states, “The simplest way to explain what I’ve learned from my life in Africa is through a parable about why human beings have two ears but only one tongue. Why is this? Probably so that we have to listen twice as much as we speak. In Africa listening is a guiding principle. It’s a principle that’s been lost in the constant chatter of the Western world, where no one seems to have the time or even the desire to listen to anyone else. From my own experience, I’ve noticed how much faster I have to answer a question during a TV interview than I did 10, maybe even 5, years ago. It’s as if we have completely lost the ability to listen. We talk and talk, and we end up frightened by silence, the refuge of those who are at a loss for an answer.”

Listening and hearing are not the same things. When God encourages us to listen to Jesus that implies far more than the physical act of hearing, it means, listen and obey, listen and follow, listen and do what he says. Like the two little children and their parents I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, we all have to decide what kind of listeners we’re going to be. Think about something as foundational as prayer: what percentage of the time we spend praying is speaking to God, asking for things and interceding for others and how much time is spent simply listening in silence for God to speak to us? As one person observed, “Prayer is not a matter of my calling in an attempt to get God’s attention, but of my finally listening to the call of God, which has been constant, patient, and insistent in my inner being. In prayer, as in the whole salvation story unfolded by Scripture, God is reaching out to me, speaking to me, and it is up to me to be polite enough to pay attention.”[1]

Jesus speaks about listening, believing, obeying many times. For example, in Matthew 21:28-32, Jesus says, “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Even Jesus’ opponents recognize that the person who truly listens is the person who acts on what he or she has heard. To be asked to do something and to say, “Sure, I’ll go,” without having the intention, desire, or conviction to act, is not to truly listen. Jesus says the son in the story who truly listened and did the will of his father was the one who went and did what his father asked. The same is true for us as followers of Christ. If we say, “Yes,” to Jesus but that “yes” doesn’t influence our thoughts, words, and actions, then the Lord may fairly ask if we’re listening and doing the Father’s will which is what God wants us to do.

In John 10:1-18, the relationship between Jesus the Good Shepherd and his sheep depends on listening and responding to Jesus’ voice. “The sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

We don’t listen to those who would steal our hope or rob us of joy. We listen to the one who comes to give us abundant life, recognizing he has many sheep, some who may be very different than us, but we are one with all those who listen to Jesus’ voice.

As I reflected on the Gospel for today it occurred to me that some of Jesus’ most important words and actions occurred on a high place.

Jesus climbed a hill and gave the Sermon on the Mount which contains some of his most remarkable and powerful teaching.

Jesus climbed the Mount of Transfiguration and was transformed and spoke with Elijah and Moses and his disciples were urged to listen to him.

Jesus climbed a hill called Calvary and was crucified and died for our sake. When he came down the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus entered into the depths of a father’s despair over a son who couldn’t be healed.

When he was taken down from Calvary his body was laid in a tomb and by the Son’s wounds we are healed.

Jesus came down from heaven, down the Mount of Transfiguration, down from Calvary, but he rose up from the grave with power, hope, and eternal life.

Jesus is the Beloved Son of the Father, listen to him.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; listen to him.

Jesus is our hope of eternal salvation, listen to him.

Our passage today ends, “Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.” There is a sense in which this was true not only of the experience Peter, James, and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration, but it will be true for us at the end of our life. There are lots of voices competing for our attention, including our own, but when we come to the end of our days, we’re going to look around, and we’re going to see only Jesus, and we want to be able to listen and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”

Are you listening? “Let everyone with ears to hear listen.”

Blessing  “Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight,

through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

 

 

For further reading, here are some other related scriptures to Mark 9:2-9

Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Kings 2:1-12, and Psalm 50:1-6.

Mark 5:1-20 NASB

And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.

² And when He had come out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,

³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain;

⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.

⁵ And constantly night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones.

⁶ And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;

⁷ and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”

⁸ For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

⁹ And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

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February 12, 2012
Mark 5:1-20 NASB, The Life-Changing Power of Jesus
Patti Ricotta, Brewster Baptist Church

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:44 — 20.8MB)

¹⁰ And he began to entreat Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

¹¹ Now there was a big herd of swine feeding there on the mountain.

¹² And the demons entreated Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”

¹³ And He gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.

¹⁵ And they came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened.

¹⁶ And those who had seen it, described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine.

¹⁷ And they began to entreat Him to depart from their region.

¹⁸ And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was entreating Him that he might accompany Him.

¹⁹ And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled.

 

This is one wild story isn’t it? It’s got some pretty bizarre elements—a demon possessed man, howling at the moon, living in tombs because he is too violent to be controlled. Then you have Jesus casting the demons into a herd of pigs. They run headlong into the sea, and drown.

Then you’ve got the mad man being totally restored to perfect sanity. And… he becomes a preacher.

You may be thinking, “Oh, that’s a story from long ago and far away. It’s got nothing to do with my life.” But I want to show you that it does have significance in our lives. There are many aspects of this demon possessed man’s life that are not really that far off from our own.

This story shows us that Jesus’ power can break into the most difficult parts of your life and transform you. Then you can more clearly reflect the image of God and live out your holy purpose.

The story begins with Mark telling us that “they (meaning Jesus and his disciples) came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.” This sentence refers to much more than geography. Jesus is “going to the other side” in every possible way.

On one side of the sea, is Galilee and all things Jewish. But on the opposite side, Jesus enters into the world of all things “unclean” according to Jewish law: unclean tombs, unclean man, unclean spirits, unclean pigs. In fact, the country of the Gerasenes is part of a large predominantly Gentile region made up of ten cities known as the Decapolis (deka=ten; polis=city–decapolis.) All Gentiles were unclean to Jews. I can imagine Mark’s first Jewish listeners might be thinking, “Why in the world would any self-respecting Jewish man go all the way across the sea into Gentile territory? Just getting out of the boat would make him unclean.”

But Jesus breaks Jewish law in order to teach the spirit of the law. To Jesus, no one is so unclean, so far from God, that he or she is beyond the loving, redeeming, healing reach of Jesus. No one! Jesus had already traveled a far greater distance than the width of the Sea of Galilee to transform this tortured, lonely man. He had left home, and throne, and the glory of heaven for him. He’s come that far to transform you too.

What kind of transformation do you need? …Really! If Jesus walked into this sanctuary right now, what would he point out in your life that needs transforming? Are you reluctant to ask Jesus for a transformation in your life? Are you thinking: “The defects in my life are too deep”?

Or, “I’ve always be this way. I’m used to it now.” Maybe you’re thinking, “I’ve already prayed and nothing’s happened.”

Well think about this. There is no indication that the demon possessed man had been praying to be transformed. Being a Gentile, he probably didn’t even know who Jesus was. But even still, Jesus intentionally puts this man’s healing into motion way back in chapter 4 verse 35. In chapter 4, Jesus had just finished teaching on the west side of the Sea of Galilee when he said to his disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.” At this point we don’t know why he wanted to go there. He doesn’t say. But I believe Jesus knew exactly why he was going there. He wanted to set this man free. In fact, I believe it was the only reason he went there. He arrived, he healed the man, he got in the boat and came back home. He went there for this one man and that’s all. Jesus knew that his power was the only thing that could change the man’s life, even if the man didn’t know it himself. Jesus knows what you need too, even if you don’t.

So Jesus set out to heal him. But, then, as they were sailing across the sea at night a terrible storm came up and swamped the boat. Pastor Mary talked about this last week.

The disciples were terrified and it seemed like the boat would capsize and everyone would die. But Jesus was on a mission. He calmed the raging storm in the sea, so that he could calm the raging storm in the man.

Even before the demon possessed man met Jesus, the Lord was already on the way to transform his life! No matter what your problem is, Jesus is already on his way to you.

He’s already got his mission to restore you; he’s already chosen his route, and he is on the way, bringing your transformation with him. Pray for it! Watch for it! Ask the Lord to give you the eyes to see it coming!

This is a theme throughout the Bible. In Luke 15, the Good Shepherd leaves the 99 safe sheep to go out into the open field and look for the one that strayed away. He sets out to look for the sheep, and keeps on looking until he finds it (Lk 15:4). Then, there’s the woman who had ten silver coins, and lost one. She lights a lamp, she sweeps the house, and she search carefully until she finds it (Luke 15:8).

Eph. 1: 4 teaches that “God chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” To be “holy” and “blameless” requires a transformation. If God chose you that long ago—before the creation of the world—he is not going to give up until he has accomplished his task! The demon possessed man didn’t even know to ask for Jesus’ help. How much more will he come to you when you do ask? There may be storms on Jesus’ way to you—storms that have to be quelled; fields that have to be traversed; lamps that have to be lit in dark corners of your life; dust that has to be swept away. But he has been coming to you since the foundation of the earth, so don’t give up hope, and don’t stop asking. Keep in your mind that the life-changing power of Jesus is already on the way with your transform.

Before Jesus restored this man, Mark gives us a vivid picture of how completely Satan’s power had twisted God’s image in him. In verses 2-5 we read that he had his dwelling among the tombs. No one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain. He was often bound with shackles and chains, but he tore them apart and broke them to pieces. In verse 5 we read that he was in such deep torment that he was constantly crying out, wandering in lonely, isolated places night and day, gashing and cutting himself with stones.

There are many terrible things that tormented this demon possessed man. But many of us have experienced some of these things too. Have you ever been homeless, incarcerated, isolated? Have you ever felt that your hands and feet were bound because you just couldn’t seem to move forward in your life. Have you ever been sleepless because of the frightening, or shameful or worrisome thoughts that run through your head at night? Invite the power of Jesus into those situations.

Have you ever felt so disturbed or sad that you wanted to shriek or cry all day and all night- like the man in our story? Have you ever been in so much emotional pain that you cut yourself just to feel the pain in a different place than your heart? Jesus’ power can heal it all.

How’s your temper? Is violence or anger robbing you of the image of God you were meant to reflect? Do you use your anger to control the people around you like this mad-man did? Do your spouse and your kids walk on egg shells around you because they are afraid of saying or doing something that will arouse your displeasure? Why do you do that?

This man used violence to get free from the chains that bound him because that was the only freedom he knew. But just because a person isn’t chained, with steal or iron, it doesn’t mean the person is free, does it?

If you think that controlling others with your temper is what you need to do to feel free, then your vision of freedom is too small. The love of Jesus brings real freedom because the love of Jesus is more powerful than your anger. Author Dan Allander says that, “Love is the most destructive force in the universe…” Let me say that again: “Love is the most destructive force in the universe because it is the only force powerful enough to utterly destroy evil.”[1]

If you are experiencing any of these kinds of internal issues, then you are being robbed of the image of God that you were created to reflect to the world. Jesus knows and cares about every-little-intricate-detail of the issues that demonize your life. The Lord transformed this guy, who was in way worse condition than any of us, and he did it without breaking a sweat! He can give you a breakthrough too.

In John 10:10 the Lord said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus has the power, the authority, and the desire to disentangle you from everything that hides, disguises, blocks or blurs his image in you. Romans 8:29 tells us that “those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” No one is beyond the reach of Jesus’ transforming love and power. He is more powerful than anything that binds us. And when he transforms us, the result is that the image of God is restored in us. You are the only one who can give the world the picture of God’s character that you alone are designed to reflect.

Jesus takes the initiative to restore us, but then we must respond to him. That’s what happened next in Mark’s story. Jesus arrived at the shore of the Gerasenes. And when the demon possessed man saw him from a distance, he ran up to him and fell at his feet. Then Jesus asks him, “What is your name?” He said, “My name is Legion for we are many.” “Legion” is the term for a Roman regiment of 6,000 soldiers. This man was possessed by 6,000 demons.

 

It seems to me that even though his personality was shattered into 6,000 pieces, there was still some small part of him that recognized his need for Jesus. He could have just hidden in the tombs, or the demons could have driven him away to another place. But instead, the scripture says he ran to met Jesus and prostrated himself before him.

This is a very hopeful piece of information to me. There are people I have been praying for—for years, decades even. Sometimes I get weak and I start to feel defeated when they tell me they don’t believe in God or that they don’t see a need for Jesus. Then I think about this guy. 6,000 demons had carried him away, into a world completely devoid of the knowledge of God and the need for Jesus. But still, there was some tiny something, deep inside of him, something God put in all of us that made him recognize Jesus and what him.

I’m encouraged because when the time was right, that little covered over and crushed, hidden flicker of faith made its way to the surface and the man ran to the feet of Jesus…even though he still had 6,000 reasons not too. Don’t give up praying for your loved ones. Jesus is on his way coming and if the need for Jesus in this guy made it to the surface at the right time, it will happen for our loved ones too. Believe it. Pray for it.

The last thing I want to talk about is that when Jesus transforms our lives, it is because he loves us, and he has created us for a holy purpose. Jesus cast the demons out of the man, giving him a clear and dramatic picture of the reality that the demons were really gone. Instantly, the man was restored to the image of God for which he had been created. Attached to that image— attached to the image of God in you and me, is a holy purpose that is perfectly suited for the way we were created.

When the townspeople came to see what had happened, they found the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion.” As Jesus was getting into the boat to go back to Galilee, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him (Mar 5:18). You see, he was no longer bound by the demons; he was no longer bound by the shackles that other people had put him in—he wanted to be bound to Jesus.

But, Jesus did not let him go. Instead, he said, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.”

²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone marveled.” When Jesus restored the image of God in this man, he gave him a specific holy purpose for his newly transformed life. This purpose included two things: a direction and a message.

The direction the Lord gave him was to go back to the people who had shunned him, chained him, and shackled him—the very people he had shamed, hurt and terrified.

The message Jesus gave him was simply to tell his own story; the story of how Jesus had restored him, and had mercy on him. He didn’t just go home, he went into all 10 cities of the Decapolis and told them the great things the Lord had done for him, and everyone was amazed. His holy purpose was to be the first person to preach about the salvation of Christ to the Gentiles.

He was the first missionary to the Gentiles, even before Paul. It’s possible that his ministry paved the way for Paul.

What is your Holy Purpose? In what direction is God sending you? What is the message he is giving you to share? As we leave here this morning, I hope you will seek out the answer to those questions. Keep in mind that Jesus has been on his way to transform your life since before the creation of the world. He is coming with a transformation designed to restore the image of God in you so that you can live out the Holy Purpose for which you were knit together in your mother’s womb. There are nearly 7 billion people in the world, but when you are the one in need of the life-changing power of Jesus, he will cross to the other side just for you.

Why? Because no one else can be the reflection of God that only you were created to be, and no one else can accomplish the holy purpose that you were created to accomplish.

 

But now, this is what the LORD says he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;  I Have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give nations in exchange for you, and peoples in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

This is a comforting passage that encourages believers not to fear even in difficult times.  Today I want to a closer look fear.

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February 5, 2012
Isaiah 43: 1-7, Freedom From Fear
Mary Scheer, Brewster Baptist Church

Freedom From Fear from BBC Staff on Vimeo.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:04 — 21.1MB)

You don’t have to look much farther than the news to be reminded of a list of topics that can cause fear.

We all have the capacity to fear.  It serves a purpose in keeping us safe by alerting us to danger so we can avoid it.  Someone allergic to bee stings may have a fear of bees for a good reason.  However, fear can also be triggered when there is no real danger. Fear can be something we learn and repeat.

I have a friend whose mother was so afraid of spiders that if she saw a spider when she was home alone with her young children, she would take them out of the room that the spider was in, close the door and put a towel under it until her husband could get home and find and kill the spider, even insisting he show her the corps.  When my friend grew up she was so entrenched in this fear that she repeated the pattern with her own family.

I want to be clear that when I talk about fear, I am not talking about fears or phobias that are triggered by issues that require medical assistance.

I’m talking about the human experience of fear, the affect it can have on us and how we can be free from it.

Webster’s dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.  It’s a response to a real or perceived threat.

Fear can be healthy and helpful or it can be debilitating and destructive.

When I was growing up, we had a dog that used to hide under the bed during a thunderstorm because she was afraid.

After sinning in the Garden of Eden, Genesis says that Adam hid when he heard God coming because he was afraid. (Gen. 3:10)

After the Angel of the Lord told Abraham and Sarah they were going to have a baby in their old age, Sarah laughed, then when questioned about it she lied because she was afraid. (Gen 18: 14-16)

Jacob ran away from his brother Esau because he was afraid he would try to get revenge for something he had done to him.  (Gen 32:11)

Abraham was afraid King Abimelech would kill him to get to Sarah, so he lied about being married to her and said she was his sister.  (Gen. 26:7

Israel was afraid of going to war (2 Chron. 20:16-17).  Gideon objected to the call to lead Israel into battle because he was afraid he was too young and inexperienced.  (Judges 6:23)

Peter denied knowing Jesus because he was afraid of the reaction of the crowd.  (Mt 27:74)

But before that day, there was another day When Peter’s fear almost got the best of him.

One day while out and about with his disciples walking along a lake, Jesus had them get into a boat and told them to go to the other side of the lake and wait for him.  After they headed out, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.  When evening came, he was there alone,  but the boat was already a considerable distance from land.  Suddenly a storm developed and the wind was so strong that it began to pound and rock the boat back and forth.  Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified.  “it’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.  But, Jesus said to them, “don’t be afraid, it’s me Jesus.”   “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”  “Come,” he said.  So, Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind and the waves (another version says when he considered the wind and the waves, he stopped seeing Jesus and saw the threat) and became afraid and began to sink.  He cried out, “Lord save me!”  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (from Mt 14: 22-33 TNIV)

And that wasn’t the only time they had trouble on the lake.

On another day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Jesus, don’t you care that we’re about to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  He said to them, “Why are you so afraid?  Do you have no faith?  In Luke’s version he says,  “Where is your faith?” (from Mk 8: 22-25)

Paul Tillich said, “fear is the absence of faith.”  Yet in both of these stories they had enough faith to reach out for Jesus, but it was after their hearts were consumed by fear.

Right from the Garden of Eden, fear caused people to hide, lie, run away and behave in ways that creates more issues for them.

Jack Foley said fear is False Evidence Appearing As Real.

I boarded a plane one time in the winter going from Chicago to New York.  As we sat on the runway, they had to de-ice the wings, and then there was this steam or something that came out of the vents above us, then the lights went out, then there was this horrible sound and all those things together convinced me that the plane was broken.  I fully expected them to get us off the plane.  But no, we took off a few minutes later.  The evidence I had was false.

According to the evidence the disciples were looking at (what with their boat sinking and all) they believed they were going to drown.

Several disciples were fishermen, they knew all about the dangers of the lake.  It doesn’t take a Professional fisherman to realize you’re in trouble when your boat is so full of water that it’s about to capsize.  That’s where they were.  With the wind whipping, the boat rocking and the waves washing over the sides and they could only bail water so fast.  When they realized they were losing the battle and were sinking, they went looking for Jesus and found him asleep on a pillow under the hull.  When they woke him up saying, “don’t you care if we die?”  He said, where is your faith?

Maybe there faith was in their boat (these boats will never sink!)  or their expertise and professionalism, or their excellent track record, or the calm seas that had been forecasted…

I’m sure the folks who booked their vacation on the cruise ship that went down in Italy had faith in many of the same things!

His question probed deeper into their faith in his ability to care for them?

The disciples got a close up look at their faith that day when they were confronted by fear.

Yahoo readers voted on their fears and the top ten were:

1. SPIDERS. (arachnophobia)
2. RATS. (musophobia)
3. DEATH. (necrophobia)
4. HEIGHTS. (acrophobia)
5. FLYING IN AN AEROPLANE. (aerophobia)
6. PUBLIC SPEAKING. (sociophobia)
7. BRONTOPHOBIA (fear of storms)
8. FEAR OF OPEN SPACES. (agoraphobia)
9. FEAR OF CONFINED SPACES. (claustrophobia)
10. FEAR OF VOMITING. (emetophobia)

What are you afraid of?  Is there anything in your life today that’s causing you fear?  Is there anything that keeps you up at night?

Some folks are afraid of making a bad decision, some are afraid of leaving home, or moving, or taking a new job, or losing a job, or quitting a job they hate, some are afraid they will never get married, some are afraid to get married, some are afraid they won’t achieve their dreams, others fear dreaming at all, some are afraid of what people think of them, some are afraid of what they think of themselves.

Fear perpetuates fear.  Job said, “the thing that I greatly feared has come upon me.  What I dreaded has happened to me”  (Job 3:25)

There is a German Proverb that says that, “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.”

The Bible has a lot to say about fear because a fearful heart:

• can distort the truth about God’s care for us
• can make us shrink back from God
• can make us sick and rob us of faith
• Fear can cause a vacuum of unbelief!

The good news is, we don’t have to be fearful, we can have freedom from fear!

The Bible says, one of the best paths to freedom from fear, is in the fear of the Lord.

When the Bible talks about fearing the Lord, it means to stand in awe of, to revere, honor, respect, to be astonished and filled with awe, to be afraid or terrified.

Every time people came in contact with the Angel of the Lord, they fainted as though dead.  The Angel always began by reassuring the one they were speaking to saying, “fear not, or don’t be afraid.”

Sometimes I think we over emphasize the gentle, approachable nature of God and minimize the terrifying, awesome splendor of his majesty!

Some of the scriptures about the “fear the Lord” are directive, some are promises, and some are instructive. All of them are meant for all people throughout the generations.

I want us to hear a few from each category.

Here are a few directives:

• “Fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.”  (Josh. 24:14)
• “Be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”  (1 Sam. 12:24)
• “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.”  (Ps. 33:8)
• “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.”  (Prov. 3:7)
• “Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.”  (Ps. 2:11)
• “Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”  (Ps. 86:11)

Some scriptures on fear encourage Action & Affirmation:

• “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.”  (Ps 27:3)
• “Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.”  (Ps. 118:4)
• “You who fear him, trust in the LORD— he is their help and shield.”  (Ps 115:11)
• “They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”  (Ps 112:7)

The majority of the scriptures on fear include Promises:

• “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil….”  (Ps. 23:4)
• “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of all on those who take refuge in you.”  (Ps. 31:19)
• “then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”  (Prov. 2:5)
• “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  (Prov. 9:10)
• “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children”  (Ps 103:17)

And then there are scriptures on fear where God talks about what he will do for those who fear him;  they are pretty specific.

• “Fear the LORD, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.” (Ps. 24:9)
• “Who, then, are those who fear the LORD? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.” (Ps. 25:12)
• “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”  (Ps. 25:14)
• He watches us, “The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.” (Ps 33:18)
• “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”  (Ps 34:7)
• “Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.”  (Ps. 85:9)
• “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.”  (Ps 103:11)
• “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”  (Ps 103:13)
• “He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.”  (Ps 111:5)
• “Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands.”  (Ps 112:1)
•  “Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.”  (Ps 112:8)
•  “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”  (Ps 145:19)
• “He delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”  (Ps 147:11)

King David said, “I sought the Lord and he delivered me from all my fears.”   (that word “all” literally means storehouse or barn)  he will deliver us from our storehouse of fears. (Ps 34:4)

These scriptures give us a way to seek God, they build faith, trust and love.

And because of this love, John said, “There is no fear in love, because perfect love casts our fear.: (1 Jn 4:18)

This is a beautiful collection of blessings assure us the Lord will provide for those who fear him; he will tell them which way they should go; he will watch over them and surround them with unfailing love, love that is as high as the heavens are above the earth; he will save and deliver them; he will have compassion on them; he will be with their children’s children; he will bless them; he will be their help and shield; he will satisfy their desires; hear their cry, save them and delight them.

May these great words of promise bless you today and give you a message of hope to share with others when life gets scary.

LET’S PRAY:

Dear Lord, thank you for having stories in the Bible that illustrate the real issues we all face.  Thank you for your promises and words of hope.  Lord, I pray for anyone who is dealing with something that is causing them fear today.  Please lift the burden from them, ease anxious hearts and calm worried minds.  Help us to remember your promise to be near those who trust in you and to walk with us through the dangers in this life so that we are not alone.  Help us to focus our heart so closely on you that we are overcome by the brilliant light in your presence and lose sight of the thing we fear.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

BLESSING:  (from Ecc & Isaiah)

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of every human being.” (Ecc. 12:13) “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  (Isa. 41: 9-14)

 “8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you^b free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

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January 29, 2012
Romans 8, Our Confidence in God
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:44 — 26.3MB)

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

¹² So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ²⁰ for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; ²³ and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷ And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

³¹ What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³ Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long;

we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

My final sermon for this month is on Romans chapter 8, another chapter that one could easily go through for many Sundays. The theme is, “Our Confidence in God.” By confidence I don’t mean a belief in our own abilities, but belief or trust in God to do right; to act in a proper, trustworthy, reliable manner. If we take someone into our confidence or tell someone something in confidence it is because we believe we have a relationship of trust. It is hard for me to think of a situation in which confidence both in our selves and in God isn’t helpful and beneficial. At the same time, misplaced confidence can be disastrous and even deadly. In the last few weeks there were several stories in the news about people who had confidence in ice being frozen over a river or lake that was sadly misplaced. Perhaps the most widely known was the tragic death earlier this month of Michael Philbin, the 21-year-old son of then Green Bay Packers Offensive Coordinator Joe Philbin.

When it comes to confidence it is not how much confidence we have that matters, but where we are placing that confidence. We can have great confidence that thin ice will support us and it won’t help us. We can have only a little confidence in thick ice but it will hold us safely because that is its nature. So it is with God. It is not so much the size of our faith, confidence, trust or hope, but where we place them that matters most. Jesus says in Matthew 17:20, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” A mustard seed is tiny, but tiny faith placed in the right place makes all the difference. Romans chapter 8 describes a host of reasons why we all should have confidence in God. While I won’t go into great depth, I will touch on many of them.

First, Romans 8 begins with the stunning and powerful words, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We can be confident in God because we have been freed from condemnation. Condemnation means judgment, doom, and death, but those of us in Christ have been set free from fearing those things because God has sentenced sin itself to death by sending Jesus who died for us.

We can be confident in God because God has given us the Spirit. Paul describes the difference between life lived in the flesh and in the Spirit of God. Paul uses the words “flesh” and “spirit not to designate two parts of human nature but to represent two ways of living. Life pursued according to the flesh is life shaped by rebellion and idolatry, in which the perspective of the human being is turned in on himself or herself and the person becomes the center of everything. Think country singer Toby Keith’s song “I wanna talk about me.” “wanna talk about me, Wanna talk about I, Wanna talk about number one, Oh my me my, What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see.”  Life in the flesh is essentially life carried on under the lordship of the sinful self. It is a life of self-idolatry.

Life in the Spirit, on the other hand, is life set free from bondage to self and sin. It’s life in relationship and service to the Creator, which freely acknowledges God’s lordship in Jesus Christ. The power of that lordship has broken the enslaving power of self-idolatry and sin and sets us free to enjoy a new relationship with the Creator, the relationship of a child rather than a rebel. In this way of life, even the law has been set free from the domination of sin; and it can now serve the way of redemption rather than the way of rebellion.

So another reason for our confidence in God is because thanks to the Spirit we are no longer rebels or slaves but children of God. Pastor Mary has preached before on Romans 8 and the power of that image of being adopted into the love of a new family. God has done that for us, choosing to adopt us and bless us as joint heirs with Christ. Sadly, there are members of our congregation who have been hurt or wronged by a family member when a loved one has died and they have been denied part of an inheritance that was rightly theirs to share in. That is always painful and is often because someone is still living according to the flesh (remember the Toby Keith song), rather than by the Spirit. The awesome thing about being adopted into God’s family is we will be heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ – isn’t that exciting?

It is, but, read the small print, we are “heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ, if, in fact, we suffer with him” (Romans 8:17).  While we may not be any more thrilled about the idea of suffering than we are of being left out of an earthly inheritance, there is still more good news to give us confidence. Paul says in verse 18, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” What does that mean? The valleys of suffering we experience in our life on earth, no matter how deep, will be exceeded by the heights of glory we will experience in the life to come. So our confidence in God is not shaken or surprised by suffering. It is sustained by the hope of glory. “Pity the human being who is not able to connect faith within himself with the infinite…. He who has faith has … an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness and assuring trust that all will come out well-even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.” B. C. Forbes. Paul was familiar with physical suffering and hardship in his missionary work of sharing the good news about Jesus, but he had a deep reservoir of trust, confidence, hope and courage that not only sustained him but inspired others as well. Let’s face it, as the great football coach Vince Lombardi noted, “Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.”

Paul’s confidence in God enabled him to endure great suffering and trials both because of the glory he hoped for in the future and because he was not alone in the present.

In verses 8:26-30, he gives us yet another reason for confidence in God, the Spirit is interceding for us. In our times of suffering and weakness when our faith is wavering, our confidence in shot, our hope seems lost and we don’t even know how to put our thoughts and feelings into words to pray, Paul says, don’t think it is all on you because ²⁶ “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷ And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” It is remarkable, if you stop and think about it, that Paul is suggesting that the Spirit intercedes for us, prays for us, according to the will of God. So the Spirit’s prayers may not be what we are praying for or even what we want to happen, but the Spirit is interceding for us, praying for us all the time. That gives us confidence. Someone made the following observation about prayer: “There are two main pitfalls on the road to mastery of the art of prayer. If a person gets what she asks for her humility is in danger. If he fails to get what he asks for he is apt to lose confidence. Indeed no matter whether prayer seems to be succeeding or failing humility and confidence are two virtues which are absolutely essential.”  The interceding of the Holy Spirit on our behalf is both humbling and lifts our confidence.

There is more good news, beyond the Spirit’s interceding for us. Paul says in verse 28, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” This is one of many verses in Romans 8 that deserves a sermon on its own. What does Paul mean all things work together for good? He doesn’t mean all the things that happen to us or to anyone are good. There are plenty of bad, sad, painful, heartbreaking things that can and do happen in life. However, if we have answered God’s call and love the Lord, then God can work in and through the experiences of life to bring something redemptive. A poet (Rainer Maria Rilke) wrote, “Were it possible for us to see further than our knowledge reaches perhaps we would endure our sadnesses with greater confidence than our joys. For they are moments when something new has entered into us, something unknown.” The great American pilot and patriot, Eddie Rickenbacker, who survived an unbelievable 24 day long  ordeal after the plane he was traveling in had to ditch in the Pacific Ocean in October of 1942 during World War Two said, “I believe that if you think about disaster you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully with confidence and faith and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action richer in achievement and experience.” All things work together for good for those who love God. The purpose God has called us to is that we are to be like the Son, Jesus, who came and died and rose again, not so he would be an only child, but the firstborn in a very, very large family. Author James Baillie noted, “To grow and know what one is growing towards-that is the source of all strength and confidence in life.” We are growing toward and into the likeness of Jesus our Savior and our brother in the family of God.

Five times in Romans 8:31-38 the apostle Paul asks questions to emphasize the amazing privileges of belonging to Jesus Christ that give us confidence for living. Verse 31: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Verse 32: “Will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

Verse 33: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?”

Verse 34: “Who is to condemn?”

Verse 35: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

The answers are clear and wonderful, Paul lets us supply them and rejoice in them. Verse 31: No one can be successfully against us. Verse 32: God will supply everything we need, even when all seems lost. Verse 33: No one can make a charge stick against us in the court of heaven, no matter who accuses us. Verse 34: No one can condemn us, in fact, the only one who could, Jesus, is also interceding for just like the Spirit! And in verse 35: No one and no-thing can separate us from the love of Christ. Paul spells out the kinds of things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ – not hardships, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, violence, death, life, angels, rulers, the present, the future, height, depth, nothing. The reason Paul chose to mention so many terrible things is to make sure we knew he was saying: there is nothing so horrible that it could separate us from the love of Christ.  Nothing can separate us from Christ’s love. Not even ourselves.

We can be confident in God because we have been freed from condemnation. We can be confident because God has given us the Spirit.

We have confidence because we are no longer rebels or slaves but children of God.

Our confidence in God is not shaken or surprised by suffering. It is sustained by the hope of glory.

We have confidence for living because the Spirit prays for us and intercedes for us, because all things work together for good for those who love God and we are invited to be part of God’s family and to be made into the image of Jesus. And if all that weren’t enough, to top it all off, “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is why we live confidently as disciples of Jesus. Paul closes by asking five questions (vv. 32–35) and answering them clearly. There is no need to fret over what God will do, for God is for us and not against us. The proof is that God gave the very best on the cross. Surely God will freely give us anything else we need. Can anyone indict us for sin? No! We have been justified before God. Can anyone condemn us? No! Christ died for us and lives now as our Advocate at God’s right hand interceding for us. Can anything separate us from God’s love? No! No condemnation—no obligation—no separation! “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (NKJV). That is why we all can have great confidence in God, now and forever.

I close with these words from Martin Luther, “Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.”

Blessing by Andrew Murray

Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart-so will you be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

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January 22, 2012
Matthew 5, The Kingdom of God
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

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⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹ “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

The first chapter of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is so loaded with rich material that I could easily spend multiple months preaching through it. Matthew 5 with the Beatitudes and Jesus re-stating the Ten Commandments (You’ve heard it said of old, but I say to you…) contains some of Jesus’ most familiar teaching. The Sermon on the Mount addresses what is truly the good or blessed life and how we are to live in the kingdom of God. Jesus’ words push us way out of our comfort zone and into kingdom living.

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; ⁴⁰ and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ⁴¹ and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. ⁴² Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Some of the greatest challenges in all Jesus’ teaching are contained in Matthew 5.  These verses confront us in a host of ways, but perhaps most directly in terms of how serious we are about actually believing and doing what Jesus says. These are some of the best-known words of Jesus and to our ears some of the most difficult. I want to say right away that these are not laws, but illustrations of the way someone responds whose heart has been changed by a relationship with Jesus. If they were laws people could obey them in the wrong spirit, saying for example, “I’ll turn the other cheek, but after that I’ll knock you out.” Jesus begins by referring to Exodus (21:23-25) & Leviticus (24:17-21) where we read about the law of retaliation – an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This was in its own time not a harsh decree but a step toward limiting uncontrolled wrath and retaliation – you couldn’t kill someone because they had knocked out your tooth. It was a principle of equalization, but obviously a better approach is needed because as has been noted, “An eye for an eye eventually will leave the whole world blind.” In verses 38-42, Jesus describes situations in which human beings frequently resort to getting even, paying someone back, holding grudges, or demanding fairness. “You hit me; I’m going to hit you back.  You insult me; I’m going to rip you. You sue me, I’ll counter sue. You tell me I have to do something; I’ll do it in a way that makes us both miserable.”

Living God’s way is often the reverse of the way people ordinarily behave. In the human order, the presumption seems to be you return harm for harm, hurt for hurt, that you do only what legally you have to do, and you only give to those who have some claim on you like your family or someone who has done a favor for you. In the kingdom of God, the presumption is reversed. If I am a person of the kingdom of God then I am the kind of person who will return good for evil, I will do more than I strictly must in order to help others, and I will give to people merely because they have asked me for something they need that is in my power to give them. In every case, I accept personal responsibility for determining the most appropriate response as a child of God, not merely as a human being acting only on my own self-interest and a natural desire to retaliate.  I decide before God what to do in each moment. If turning the other cheek means that I will be dead and my children left fatherless or in danger, I have to consider the larger context in choosing my response. Remember these words of Jesus are not laws, but illustrations of how someone living in the kingdom of heaven responds.

The illustration “if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile,” referred to the practice of the Romans that permitted every legionnaire on the march to pile his pack and baggage on any passing Jew for the distance of one mile. (An example of this sort of behavior is when the Romans compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross of Jesus as noted in Mark 15:21.) A person had three options – refuse to carry the stuff and run for your life, which was not the wisest decision and often brought severe punishment. Or one could take it and at the end of the mile you could throw the baggage of your oppressor at his feet & flee. Jesus suggests a third option, transforming the compulsory service after one mile into a voluntary service for another mile to disarm the Roman with unanticipated and undeserved grace. During this second mile, perhaps a conversation could begin; perhaps some interaction might take place. Maybe Jesus was thinking of the word of the prophet Amos 3:3,

“Can two wander together without becoming one with one another?” 

Jesus is saying just because someone does or says something that is hurtful or asks you for something, you don’t automatically have to retaliate or to say no. To renounce a violent response doesn’t mean we don’t resist, but we can choose a different response, approach, or attitude than our opponent.  We don’t have to act at their level or in the same manner.  When someone strikes us on one cheek, we don’t have to hit them, nor do we have to run away, we can look them in the eye or question what they’re doing. This is what Jesus did when he was being questioned by the high priest in John 18:22-23 which says, “When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. ‘Is this the way you answer the high priest?’ he demanded.  ‘If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, ‘testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?’”  Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Jesus did this even when he was dying on the cross, praying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

In the less than life and death more mundane matters of every day living – things like parking spaces, careless, hurtful gossip, or bad driving, there are not enough Christians who do what Jesus says on this point. Jesus says God sends sun and rain, the keys to sustaining life, on the evil and unrighteous as well as on the good and righteous. Jesus says if you only love those who love you, if your friends are the only folks you greet warmly – you haven’t done anything that differentiates you as his disciple from unscrupulous people, non-believers, gang members, or a group of thieves.

What marks a follower of Jesus, what distinguishes a true believer is precisely the ability to love and pray for people who are enemies, opponents, or adversaries; people with different views, beliefs, and opinions, even people who desire our hurt or destruction. A follower of Christ does not demean, insult, or seek the destruction of one who is an enemy.  I saw a bumper sticker that declared, “When Jesus said, ‘Love Your Enemies,’ I think that probably meant not to kill them.”  Jesus says to love your enemies, as God does, and to pray for them, even if they are persecuting you. Jesus’ approach is not totally new, it is reflected in Exodus 23:4-5, “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.”

If you help someone who thinks you are his enemy, when you do something unanticipated like bringing back a straying animal, you may change how they think about you. If you see the animal of one who hates you, unable to get off the ground and there’s part of you that’s glad and you don’t want to help, the Bible says, you must help to set it free.  Today we might say, “If you’re driving down the road and see the person who hates you with a flat tire, and you would drive by honking your horn, waving, and laughing at him, you must pull over and help change the tire.”  Deuteronomy 22:4 says, “You shall not see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road and ignore it; you shall help to lift it up.”  What should a person do when both his brother’s and his enemy’s animals need help at the same time?  When they both have flat tires 100 yards from each other? The biblical answer is, first help your opponent, because then you rescue an animal and win a friend – then go and help your brother’s ox. Change the opponent’s tire first then go help your relative because of course your relative will understand. This is Jesus’ strategy for lowering hostility and shrinking conflicts. The best way to deal with an enemy is to make them your friend. Gloating over the misfortune of others and hating enemies are not part of being a follower of Jesus. The heart that Jesus gives is not one that delights in the misfortunes or failures of others. Proverbs 24:17, 25:21-22 teach us, “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble. If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.” The Apostle Paul quotes these verses in Romans 12.

Can we actually love those who hate us and do evil to us?  What Jesus is talking about is not the feeling or emotion of liking an enemy nor that we allow someone to kill us, although many Christian martyrs have gone to that ultimate extent through the centuries. What is being advocated is practical love in action. Jesus’ aim is making the enemy cease to be an enemy. Paul wrote in Romans 12:17-18, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” On Christmas Day, 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.  It was based on these verses from Matthew and was titled “Loving Your Enemy.”  Dr. King suggested three ways to love our enemies.

First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. Such forgiveness doesn’t mean that we ignore the wrong committed against us.  Rather, it means that we will no longer allow the wrong to be a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness “is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.”  Second, we must recognize that the wrong we’ve suffered doesn’t entirely represent the other person’s identity. We need to acknowledge that our opponent, like each one of us, possesses both bad and good qualities. We must choose to find the good and focus on it. Third, we must not seek to defeat or humiliate our opponent, but to win his or her friendship and understanding. Such an attitude flows not from ourselves, but from God as the Lord’s unconditional love works through us. The more we love, forgive, and pray for those who hurt, disappoint, or even hate us, the more clearly we reveal the nature of our Father in heaven. 

In his moving memoir, Meant to Be, Walter Anderson, who was editor of Parade Magazine for 20 years, relates a conversation with Nobel Peace prizewinner, author, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Anderson asked, “Why don’t you hate those responsible?”  Wiesel replied, “It would be silly to reduce such enormous horror, a tragedy unprecedented in the history of man, to hatred.  That would be a betrayal of my parents and friends. Because, if I hated, I would betray their deaths. The enemy wanted us to hate him. I refuse. I will not grant the killer’s wish. In the Bible, the first death is a murder. Cain is slaying his brother, Abel. Is the point of the murder that brothers ultimately must kill each other? Or does the story mean that whoever kills, kills his brother?  We’re told not to hate our brother in our hearts, hatred inevitably destroys the hater as well as the hated. The choice is ours. I choose to believe that he who kills, kills his brother and, finally himself.  We are responsible for what we are.”^[1]

In the Kingdom of God, we are responsible for who we are. Jesus says we are to repay as our heavenly Father repays, evil with good, curse with blessing, enmity by acts of kindness. The inexhaustible and gracious love of God that has changed our lives is what we are to imitate and share with others. We are to follow the strategy of God that aims at moving people to awareness, conversion, and friendship through undeserved kindness, grace, love, and generosity.

 

Blessing: “Finally all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.  Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but on the contrary, repay with a blessing.             

It is for this that you were called – that you might inherit a blessing.” 

1 Peter 3:8-9