Monday, August 18, 2008

How Big Can You Imagine?

An amazing thing about our God… he always outdoes himself.

This past Sunday I was to preach a sermon on the last of the “I AM” statements in John – “I am the true vine” from John 15:1 (http://surrenderdaily.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-am-true-vine.html). A big part of the emphasis of that message was to be our obedience to Jesus’ command to love one another (John 15:12, 17). To emphasize that very thought, I wanted to do something “lovable” for my congregants. Remember, though, that I serve a congregation of elderly residents of an assisted living center.

Originally, my plan was to get a few of my friends together on Saturday morning and clean up wheelchairs and walkers. Nothing special, just a small act of kindness – well intended… God had something else in mind.

Last Sunday (Sunday-week that is), the youth pastor at one of the local churches approached me with a problem. He was having a weekend-long discipleship event for his kids (known as Kappa-Chi Weekend). This would be a very large event, and part of the weekend itinerary was a local mission project. The event included about 300 kids and he was spreading out the kids in the area… but he was running out of project ideas. He wanted to know whether there was something that some of his kids could do at the assisted living center. Hmmm… Serendipitous.

To make a long story short, he ended up sending about 15-20 kids to the assisted living center. In addition to cleaning wheelchairs and walkers, we were able to interact socially with a large number of the residents and even had a 2-hour Bingo-athon! And may I say two words about that… first, don’t mess with little old ladies playing bingo – they take it very seriously. Second – don’t think you can outlast them playing bingo – unbelievable bingo-stamina!

The point is. If me and one or two of my friends had gone to clean wheelchairs, it would have been a great act of kindness. However, what God did instead… pretty amazing and far more impactful than what I originally had in mind. The kids got a blessing out of it; the residents got a blessing out of it; I got a blessing out of it - Everybody was happy.

Don’t underestimate what God can do with just a little bit of availability.

Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

The Way, The Truth, The Life

Recently, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life issued a report showing some very disturbing trends. The report, which can be found in its entirety here, showed (among other things) that




  • 57% of evangelical church attendees believe many religions can lead to eternal life

  • 70% of Americans with religious affiliations believe in more than one way to heaven

  • 68% believe there is no single “true” interpretation of their own religion

This is a truly disturbing trend that demonstrates that "Christians" today apparently don't believe Jesus' own words. When Jesus said (in John 14:6) that he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one could come to the Father except through him, he meant what he said. If we are to believe Jesus Christ, then we must believe everything he said. This self-proclaimation was either truth... or it was a lie. I believe it is truth. Here are three reasons why Jesus is the ONLY way....



1. Jesus’ Life satisfied the Requirements of God’s Law
Rom 8:1-4 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

No other religion claims to be able to make you righteous in God’s eyes… rather, they claim you don’t need to be righteous… you just need to be “good enough”. This is a lie. We must stand before God completely blameless. Only Jesus has lived that blameless life and, when we place our faith in him, his righteousness is imputed to us. That is what happens when we are justified by our faith.

2. Jesus’ Death satisfied the Retribution of God’s Wrath
Rom 5:6-9 - You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

No other religion can say that they fully satisfy the wrath of God. They may claim that they can placate God’s wrath, but God’s wrath cannot be placated – it must be fully satisfied. Some will even claim that God will not punish us. That, too is a lie. “The wages of sin is death” and that price must be paid – It was paid… by Jesus.

3. Jesus’ Resurrection demonstrated the Reality of God’s Promise
1 Cor 15:20-22 - But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

No other religion can show proof that their promises of eternal life or glory can be met. Only Jesus has resurrected from the dead. Only Jesus has defeated death completely.


But he's not just the way... he's also the truth and the life...



To hear more about the Way, the Truth, and the Life, click on the link below to listen to this week's sermon.

"I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life"
http://www.box.net/shared/49mdkc31f7

Friday, August 1, 2008

The Resurrection and the Life

“Why do bad things happen?” No doubt this is a question that all of us have asked. Intellectually, we are troubled by the things that go on in this world.

“Why do bad things happen to me?” Again, another question that I’m sure most of us have asked. Emotionally, we are troubled by the fact that we experience trouble and hardship – even though we do all that we can to remain faithful to God.

As a result, we ask yet another question… “Why doesn’t God fix things?” That is its basic form, but it can come in other forms as well… “Why did you let this happen?” “I don’t understand why this happened.” Or it could even be a bit more antagonistic… “If you loved me, this would not have happened.” “If you were really God, you would not allow such evil in the world.”

There are no easy answers to these questions. There are, of course, Sunday School answers, but without faith, those answers may ring hollow. It is easy to say “God has a plan… a purpose… we just don’t understand it.” In times of crisis, however, that doesn’t help much … UNLESS… you’ve prepared yourself in advance so that you know God’s plan and your faith is prepared for the crisis before it happens.

John chapter 11 helps us with that faith – and shows us that plan. We will not always see the plan in the moment of crisis, but we must have faith that it is there. When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha could not see the plan. They just thought Jesus abandoned them in their time of need. Obviously, he was not. Rather, he was working out God’s plan.

And lest you think otherwise, God’s plan was not to raise Lazarus from the dead. The plan is the same as it always has been. The raising of Lazarus was just one part of that plan – a necessary moment of suffering to accomplish a greater purpose – God’s purpose.

As with everything else that has happened since the beginning of time, God is working out his grand plan. A three dimensional plan:

To Glorify Himself
To Increase Man’s Faith (for the purpose of salvation)
To Prepare Man for Eternity in Glory (and the resurrection of the dead)

How is this plan accomplished in the suffering you experience? I honestly don’t know. Perhaps you will know one day, but maybe you will never know until we ourselves reach Glory. But I do know this. God gave us a very real example of another family’s suffering and then specifically showed them how their suffering accomplished this plan. Then, just in case there was any doubt left, he demonstrated his power over life and death.

Jesus truly is the resurrection and the life. To hear more about this, click on the link below to listen to this week’s sermon.

I AM The Resurrection
http://www.box.net/shared/dovzxxdwg8