WHAT IF GOD WAS ONE OF US

Text: Luke 1: 26-38

INTRODUCTION:

ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING FACTS IN OUR HISTORY IS THAT WE SERVE A GOD WHO WAS ONE OF US.

Maybe some of you were interested and watched a Friday night T.V. show called “Joan Of Arcadia”. If you were a watcher of this interesting show, you probably remember hearing the theme song, “What If God Was One Of Us.” The song was originally recorded by Joan Osborne several years ago. The refrain of the song goes like this:

“What if God was one of us?

Just a slob like one of us?

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home...”

The premise of the song was the premise of the show. It was about a teenager named Joan Girardi who received visits from God, usually in the person of some ordinary everyday person. He might be another teenager, or a gardener, or a painter, even a cleaning woman. His purpose in visiting her was to give her specific assignments, some of which sound a bit flaky to the girl, but, when she completes the assignment, usually some good thing happens as a result.

Her assignments usually resulted in lifting someone else up and making them feel like their life was worthwhile. His messages to the girl were always simple, to the point, and doable.

In one show, Joan was exposed to the study of another Joan to whom God had also spoken. Many in her day considered Joan of Arc deranged when she told them God had spoken to her and told her to gather an army and lead a revolution to liberate France.

The modern Joan learned that she was not the only one to have conversations with God.

The truth is, our generation does not think too kindly of people who claim God has spoken to them. Consider what they said about Jimmy Carter when he claimed to have a personal relationship with God while running for president. One wag asked, “Do we really want a president who THINKS he has a personal relationship with the Almighty?

In the light of society’s reluctance to embrace the idea that God speaks to us, try to put yourself in the place of the young woman about whom we read in Luke’s gospel.

Mary was probably still in her teen years when she was visited by a messenger from God and was told that she was going to have a child.

Mary was not a prophet or a priest; she was not in God’s temple performing acts of service. Instead, she was simply a young woman who was living at home and planning her wedding. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. In ancient Jewish marriages, the word “engaged” (or “betrothed”) had a different meaning than today.

Thomas Aquinas once said, “In order that the body of Christ might be shown to be a real body, he was born of a woman; but in order that his Godhead might be made clear he was born of a virgin.”

Mary was young, poor, female—all characteristics that, to the people of her day, would make her seem unusable by God for any major task. But God chose Mary for one of the most important acts of obedience he has ever demanded of anyone. You may feel that your ability, experience, or education makes you an unlikely candidate for God’s service. Don’t limit God’s choices. He can use you if you trust him. Take him at his word.

Now, Mary knew that she was sexually pure and had never engaged in the sexual act, so the news of her impending pregnancy came as something of a surprise….perhaps even a shock. “How can this be”, she asked, “since I am a virgin?”

Suffice it to say, when the deed with God’s Spirit was done and she was with child, this woman had, as Ricky Ricardo used to say, “..a lot of ‘splainin’ to do.” Making people believe she had experienced an encounter with God was not going to be an easy task. Any way you slice it, this young woman was in a jam. Only she knew what had taken place, and she had to convince others. Not an easy task.

It occurred to me on that it might be a good thing to look at this woman, the mother of Jesus, and see what we can learn from her that would be helpful to us troday. The key questions, it seems to me, are these: “What did God see in this woman that made Him look with favor on her?” Why was she, as Scripture said, one with whom God had found favor? Why did God choose to use this girl to become one of us? Can we learn anything from this experience which has value for us today? I believe we can.

These verses tell us at least three reasons why Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. First of all…

I. SHE HAD BEEN OBEDIENT TO GOD

Mary was probably still a teenager when the angel came to her to announce that she had found favor with God. Great pains were taken to make sure everyone knew that Mary was a virgin. Mary apparently had parents who taught her that sexual abstinence until marriage was the right way and the God way to live her life. And Mary did just that.

It was God’s desire that she keep herself pure, and she did. That makes her an obedient woman.

Obedience to God is never the wrong way to go when living one’s life or when teaching one’s children about life. Would that all parents were as Mary’s mother, and that all our children were as Mary—listening when spoken to about such important matters.

Mary had been taught to be obedient and she had been obedient. I think that was one of the reasons why God looked upon her with such favor. It occurs to me that God still looks with favor upon those who are obedient to His precepts.

But, there is another reason why Mary might have been chosen. It was that…..

II. SHE WALKED WITH GOD

Verse 28 of our text stated, “The Lord is with you.” Now, I believe that was much more than just a salutation. I sincerely believe the angel was observing that this young woman had such a walk with God that He was indeed with her.

When Gabriel appeared to Mary, he called her a favored woman. She was favored because she would be a special recipient of God’s grace. That the Lord was with Mary indicates that God would give her his help in the privilege and responsibility she was about to receive. Mary was fearful at the words Gabriel spoke. This young maiden from a small town was confused and disturbed as to why she was being greeted in such a way by this heavenly visitor. It is not a huge leap to think that the reason Mary was chosen was that she already had a relationship with God.

Mary joins a large company of people about whom it was said, “….he walked with God”, or something similar.

As we look at this young woman we are impressed that she was obedient, she walked with God and also, we see that she submitted herself to God’s will.

III. SHE SUBMITTED HERSELF TO GOD’S WILL

Did you see how Mary responded to the message of the angel? Look at verse 38. The Message put it this way.

“And Mary said, ‘Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say’.”

A young unmarried girl who became pregnant risked disaster. Unless the father of the child agreed to marry her, she would probably remain unmarried for life. If her own father rejected her, she could be forced into begging or prostitution in order to earn her living.

She risked losing Joseph, her family, and her reputation. And her story about being made pregnant by the Holy Spirit risked her being considered crazy as well. Still Mary said, despite the risks, “Let it be with me according to your word.” When Mary said that, she didn’t know about the tremendous opportunity she would have.

She took the risk of faith; she didn’t consult with anyone else; she didn’t take time to weigh the pros and cons. She only knew that God was asking her to serve him in the most extraordinary way, and she willingly obeyed.

Believers need Mary’s kind of trust and responsiveness. Too many want to wait to see the bottom line before offering themselves to God. God wants willing servants. The example of Mary is a good one for all of us. Whatever the probable difficulties, submit to God’s will. Mary must certainly have lived in such a way as to have no difficulty getting people to believe her story.

CONCLUSION:

So, today we gain some understanding how God became one of us through a young woman who was one of us. The example of that young woman about to become a mother is an example any of us would be wise to emulate. Remain obedient to God. Walk daily with Him. Be submissive to His will.

“Many years ago there was a serious coal mining accident in the Allegheny mountains. Many miners escaped, but three men were trapped somewhere deep in the earth. No one knew if they were alive or dead. As the hours passed, intense heat and noxious gases built up within the mine itself. Two days passed before a search expedition was allowed to enter the mine. The camera teams from the local news station interviewed the three-man rescue team as they prepared to enter what could be their grave. A reporter asked one of the men if he was aware of the noxious gases and the extreme danger of the mine. When the man said yes, the reporter asked, "Are you still going down?"

The man replied, "Those men may still be alive." Without another word of explanation, he put on his gas mask, climbed into the elevator, and descended into the mine.

"Are you still going down?" I wonder if a similar discussion didn't take place in heaven when Christ was still in his exalted position with the Father before he descended to earth to take human form and to die. Are you still going down into that world where darkness reigns: where might makes right and people value temporal things and ignore the eternal? Are you still going down when you know that only a few will listen and even fewer will heed your message of peace and good will? Are you still going down when you know that you will be despised, rejected and finally die a most cruel death with nails in your hands and feet and a spear thrust into your side? Are you still going down?

We will never know what was said then, but we know the answer. It was, “Yes.” The result is that you and I are in this place today. He has come down. And the effect on this planet has been enormous. And because He still came down to become one of us…

· LIGHT HAS SHONE INTO OUR DARKNESS.
· THE LEAST OF US HAVE BEEN EXALTED.
· WE EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE

THE AUDACITY OF DISSENT

Effective leaders know there will always be people who disagree with them. It is how they deal with that dissent that determines to a great extent, the quality of their leadership.

It seems to me, however, that our country is besieged by people who cannot abide dissent. From the president to pastors, people who disagree are looked at with that, “How-dare- you-disagree-with-me-look”.

Dissent is a time-honored right in our nation. We are not one of those countries that persecutes people just because they disagree with the government. Or are we?

Whether it is the president’s administration attacking Fox News because they dare to shine the light of truth on goings on in the government, or in a church, where the pastor attacks deacons for asking questions regarding his leadership, this attack on dissent is a bit scary.

The same can be said about denominational circles. I can remember during the early days of the conservative resurgence (you can’t know how I hate to use that term), anyone who questioned SBC leadership was immediately ostracized. In fact, that was the cause of the great divide between the BGCT and the SBC. The BGCT leadership had the audacity to question SBC decisions, so the punishment was to demonize the BGCT and try to make them look like a bunch of flaming liberals. A whole new convention was established on the premise of not disagreeing with the SBC. In an effort to create this new convention, lies were told to churches, basically demonizing the BGCT.

That is the way of tyranny. When someone disagrees with you, find a way to demonize them and make them look bad. That’s what president Obama is doing with Fox News (“They are not a real news agency.”) and that’s what poor leaders do in churches.

Pastors who find themselves being questioned by deacons or ordinary church members find a way to demonize those dissenters, or in some cases, just do away with them. One pastor remarked, “I am not going to have my decisions questioned by a bunch of ignorant deacons.” How arrogant can you be? But this is the way of tyrannical leadership. Shine the spotlight on the flaws of those who disagree with you. Demonize them. Minimize their influence by ridiculing them.

Many of us said in the days of the SBC takeover, that if people would just leave them alone they would begin to devour each other for not being conservative enough and that is exactly what has happened. As leaders find more and more reasons to disapprove of others, they eventually get around to some who initially agreed with them.

Look what they did to Wade Burleson, one of their own, who dared to disagree with his peers on the International Mission Board. They demonized him and ran him off the board. That is the way of tyrants, no matter how well they speak, no matter how persuasive they might be, eventually, if you disagree, they will pound you.

I believe that kind of behavior has its roots in one’s feeling that they are superior, which some call elitism. President Obama has a gift for speaking and he has been told that so often that he has started to believe that is enough. He feels he can make a speech and everyone will be back on his side. The truth is he is such a great speaker that it often works that way.

Pastors do the same thing. Many pastors have been told so often how great they are and what great sermons they preach that they have begun to believe that is enough. If someone disagrees with them, they will simply take a text and make it fit their situation and preach their way toward no dissent. At least they think they can.

We are watching that happen in government, as we always have, as the president first demonized Wall Street, then the national Chamber of Commerce, then insurance companies, and now the only news agency that dares to call his hand on some things.

Many of us have learned to recognize these tactics, because we have seen them used in our churches and our denomination. The idea that someone would dare to disagree with a leadership decision is nothing short of audacious!

WHAT IS A GOOD CHURCH

We have been studying Galatians in our Baptist Way Sunday school materials for the past two months. (BTW, if you haven’t looked at the Baptist Way curriculum, you should do yourself a favor and take a look at it. This is the material published by the BGCT publishing arm, which was inaugurated when Lifeway quit using many of our Texas people to write Sunday school materials.)

This week’s study was in chapter six, and was titled, “Life In A Good Church.” I asked my class to discuss what they think it means when someone calls a church “good”. We all agreed that we were members of a good church. But we discussed what we think it meant to be able to say that.

Galatians 6 gave the description of a good church. Of course, a good church is all about the kind of people that occupy it. This passage in Galatians suggested at least five things that determine if the church is a good church or not.

First, a good church is a church where the people help those who sin. Verses one and two help us see that spiritual people do not approach sinners accusingly , but in a spirit of restoration. Good churches can be forgiving as they work with those who have been caught in sin. Galatians 6:1-2 works beautifully with Matthew 18, the steps to follow in helping to restore a brother or sister who has sinned.

Also, a good church is a church where the members are consistently examining themselves. This is a spiritual examination, according to verses three through five. Each church member is responsible for the examination of his or her own life to see if we are up to date on our confession of sin.

Then, a good church takes care of its leaders. According to verse six, we are to share the materials things God has given us with those who have been called top instruct us. Quite frankly, there is nothing uglier than a selfish church, a church that does not adequately care for her leaders.

A fourth characteristic of a good church is that it never ceases doing good things for the expansion of the Kingdom. This is seen in verses seven through ten. There are really two kinds of people in most churches. Those who invest in kingdom ideas and those who selfishly desire to have their own ideas developed.

Finally, as seen in verses eleven through sixteen, a good church stays focused on Jesus.
All of Galatians was Paul’s arguments against the legalists in the church. His summation of what it means to be part of a good church is one where the legalists have little room to operate.

STRONG COFFEE….AN AMAZING CHURCH

This is the first of four messages on the church. I call the series, “The Church In The Modern World.”

Text: Acts 3: 1-12

Introduction:

The question is not whether there will be a church in the world, the question is, “What kind of church will it be?”.

In today's culture it is a fair question to ask, “What kind of church are we, anyhow?”. When someone asks you to describe the church you attend, what do you say to them? Do you say, "We are a loving church."? Maybe a "good" church, or a "friendly" church?

To tell you the truth, I abhor labels. Labels are for cans of tomatoes, not for people and not for churches. Yet churches in our time must endure labels, sometimes unfairly.

We might say that one church is “liberal” (whatever that is) and another might be labeled “independent” (as if we all weren’t). Still another might be labeled a “rich” church or another a “poor” church.
Some churches carry the label of “friendly” others carry one that says, “cold”.

I wonder if you have ever asked the question, “How is our church labeled by others?” Does it even matter what those outside the church think about us? I think it does. While criticism from outside is often off the mark, it is important for us to listen to try to understand what keeps some people from coming to the church. What are the labels that form barriers to our witness?

Having confessed my abhorrence for labels, let me reverse field and suggest one that I think most churches would like to have. How about “Amazing”? I think I would like the church I attend to be known as an amazing church. Wouldn't you? Well, that depends, doesn’t it? Amazing in what way?

Is it about amazing numbers?

There is a small community in East Texas. Statistics show that 80% of the people who live in the community are members of one church. That’s amazing!

There is another small community in Parker County. The rural community has only 70 residents. However, on Sunday morning more than 1,000 people worship in the Baptist church there. Now, that’s amazing!

Midland, Texas is a city with twenty-six Baptist congregations, yet, half of all the Baptists in Midland belong to one church. That’s amazing!

In Seoul, Korea, Paul Yongee Cho is pastor of the world’s largest church. The church, last I heard, has well over 500,000 members. That’s amazing!

Near the African city of Lagos in Nigeria there is a church which runs more than 10,000 in worship each Sunday, and this is on a mission field. That’s amazing!

On another mission field the Jota-Beche church, where Alex Baros is pastor, on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, has a 15,000-seat auditorium. More than 25,000 people clamor to get inside for worship each Sunday. That’s amazing!

Yes, some churches have amazing numbers.

Do amazing churches have amazing pastors?

The Igreshia Baptista Sempre Vivo (Always Alive Baptist Church) is in the Amazon Jungle of Brazil. The church is almost 100 years old and continues to grow and prosper, although in all its 90-plus years it has never had a pastor. Now that’s REALLY amazing! Come to think of it….no, I won't go there.

Across our state and world are some amazing churches. Most of these are amazing because of some special characteristic, such as these we have just mentioned.

However, the most amazing church of all may be the one about which we can read in Acts 3. The fact that it is an amazing church is demonstrated by their Makeup, their Magnetism, their Motivation, and their Message.

I. THEIR MAKEUP

The pattern for the Lord’s church is clearly shown for us in Acts. In fact, J.B. Phillips, when he came to do his translation of the New Testament, decided not to call it Acts of he Apostles, as had been done in most other translations. Rather, he called it, “The Young Church In Action.” That’s more nearly what the Book Of Acts is.

In the second chapter we have a significant look at the make-up of the church. You can read verses 37-47 and determine the composition of the church.

1. It Was Made Up Of Redeemed People


2. It Was Made Up Of Spirit-filled People


3. It Was Made Up Of Praying People


4. It Was Made Up Of Witnessing People


5. It Was Made Up Of Barrier-breakers


6. It Was Made Up Of Worshipping People

Now, that is what composes the church. What is their attraction…their magnetism?

II. THEIR MAGNETISM

In Acts 3:11 we read about the people running together under the porch called Solomon to be near these people who could do such amazing things as healing a lame beggar.

I think it is safe to say that miracles like that would tend to draw a crowd, even in our day, wouldn’t you? However, it isn’t healthy to dwell on the miracles. What should concern us is that the church was A MAGNET TO PEOPLE.

It has always been my feeling that if the church was really doing what God wanted it to do and was being what God wanted it to be, it will be an irresistible attraction for people. It would draw people like a magnet draws iron.

In the Book of Revelation, Chapter 3, verse 9, the Lord told the church at Philadelphia, “Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but lie - behold, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you.”

I think the really amazing church would be that church which was so spiritually on fire for the Lord, whose members were so close to the Lord, the world would crowd their way into the sanctuary seeking to have what those people have.

People are attracted to amazing churches. The most important elements of growing churches are not too difficult to define. The churches which are attracting people are churches where there is exciting worship, vital and vibrant group experiences, programs and ministries which are tuned to the needs of people, loving relationships, and leadership that empowers members to be all they can be.

Do you want your church to be a church that has an amazing attraction to the community? The church can attract if you are the kind of member who attracts, rather than one who has no attraction to the unchurched community. If you are really salt and light, the church will attract.

Now, what was it that motivated these people? What was their motivation?

III. THEIR MOTIVATION

Look at verse 5. When the lame man asked Peter and John for alms, Peter “fixed his gaze upon him and said, ‘Look at us!’ and he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.”

Now that’s amazing! Imagine what it must have been like for those people to come into the presence of those church members expecting to receive something. They were being motivated by an expectation that God would continue to do something in their midst.

You see, in amazing churches the people are expecting something extraordinary to happen!

When John Bisagno went to the First Baptist Church of Houston as pastor it was nearly dead. In just a short time the crowds began to swell. People all over Houston began to hear about things happening at First Baptist in downtown Houston. John said, “The hardest thing was to convince the members that something was going to happen at their church.” “And”, he said, “The difference in our church now from our church then is that every time we come to church now we expect something to happen.”

Expectancy is everything. If you can imagine it, it can happen.

How are your expectations? What do you expect to see happen when you come to church? Anything? What would you like to expect to happen? What are you willing to do to make your expectations a reality? If you are expecting nothing, and doing nothing about it, nothing is what you will get.

Amazing churches expect amazing things to happen.

Now what was that about their message?

IV. THEIR MESSAGE

This amazing church in Acts had many things about it which made it amazing, but probably none more important than what we find in verse 12. After the lame man had been healed, and the people ran to see what was happening, Peter said, “Men of Israel, why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” In other words, “Don’t look at us as if we are doing these things, these are works of God.

Having said this, Peter launched into his second sermon, giving all the glory to God and to His Son, Jesus.

It is important to attribute to God that which is His doing. It seems Peter went to great lengths to take the human element out of the great experience of healing, unlike some today who wish to make their part more important than God’s.

As a matter of fact, Peter took the occasion of attributing to God this great work, to launch into a detailed account of God’s activity in the world, through Jesus.

When God does a great work, such as a healing, we need to make sure He is the One Who gets the credit, and the glory.

I believe in divine healing. I believe God still does miraculous healing today. I do not, however, believe in divine healers. Those in our world who call themselves “miracle healers” generally tend to draw attention to themselves. God is only given token recognition. The more sensational the healing the bigger the crowds and the bigger the offerings. Once in a great while somebody may really be healed at one of those meetings, but it isn’t because of the preacher, it is because of their own faith in a healing God.

“To God be the glory. Great things He has done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life an atonement for sin and opened the life gate that all may go in.”

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He has done.”

He has done it all. We have done nothing but lay hold on Him.

CONCLUSION:

The young church was indeed an amazing church. For all it accomplished in its early days, it lays claim to being the most astonishing work of God the world has ever seen.

The church will remain triumphant in the last days. Praise God for the church. God grant that this church will become an amazing church!!!!

WHERE DID THAT THOUGHT COME FROM?

Here’s a word for you to consider: “Just because a thought pops into your mind does not mean it was put there by God.”

Many of us have been seared by those who say things like, “God told me to do this” or “God is directing us to do this”.

More than once I have been turned off as I sat in a meeting and listened to someone say something similar to these statements. Many times I have been in situations trying to assist churches in their pastoral relationships and listened to lay people talk about the intransigence of their pastor, who often sought to shelter himself with “God told me”.

That kind of statement from a church leader is designed to do one thing, and that is to cut off debate. A pastor uses that kind of language if he wants to let people know who is boss and that they have no right to argue with God.

I feel so strongly about this that if I were a member of a church and my pastor stood up and said something like that, I would immediately begin proceedings to have him removed from his position. Now, pastor, before you get your shorts in a wad, read the rest of this post. No pastor has a right to lead his people with that kind of attitude and those kind of dictates.

Pastors need to understand that if God has truly led them to do something in a church setting, he is also leading others to follow. The most difficult thing to do as a leader is to determine God’s will for a congregation. It isn’t too difficult to understand a pastor’s will, or a deacon’s will, but for a congregation to move forward, God’s will needs to be understood by the congregation as a whole.

Discerning God’s will together as a congregation is a wonderful exercise of congregational freedom. As has been stated here before, God reveals his will to members one piece at a time. Only when all the pieces have been put together can we even start to know the will of God. It is imperative that no one make any member feel like his piece is of no value, which is what a leader does when he insists that God speaks only to him.

“God told me that we should do this” is poor leadership. In fact it is a crutch used to make up for poor leadership.

In my own mind, twisted though it might be, seeking to lead by that sort of edict is no more valid than fundamentalist Muslims telling their adherents that God wants them to blow themselves up, and, if possible, kill infidels in so doing. This on the promise that God has 72 virgin wives for them in the hereafter.

God never said such a thing. And God does not speak only through one person in each church.
Now, before you start quoting the Old Testament on me, remember, we no longer live in those times. If you want to hold me to Old Testament terms, I will do likewise with you and you probably wouldn’t like that. The way God has designed His church is far different from the way he dealt with His people in the Old Testament.

Think hard before you have a thought and declare “God told me ….” That thought may not have come from God at all, but from the deepest recesses of your own desires.

I once had a woman ask me if she could testify at the end of a service about how God had healed her husband. I asked her, “How do you know his cancer has been healed? Has that been confirmed by a doctor?”

She replied, “God told me my husband had been healed.” When I suggested that she get medical confirmation before giving testimony before the church, she got angry with me. A week later her husband was dead.

Not every thought that comes into your head is from God, so it isn’t wise to say, “God told me” every time you have a thought. Thoughts need to be evaluated on our knees.

WHERE IS RESPONSIBILITY?

Having been around sports most of my life, earlier as a participant, and now as an observer, I confess to a pet peeve. That peeve is the seemingly endless portrayal of poor sportsmanship and refusal to take responsibility for their failures of athletes.

Nowhere is this more pronounced than in football, where almost every pass play, in both college and professional games, an incomplete pass will be accompanied by the receiver jumping up and pumping his arm up and down, asking for a penalty flag from the official.

It is rare these days to see an incomplete pass where that does not occur. Every dropped ball or every not quite perfect pass that falls to the ground has the receiver jumping up pumping his arms the way an official does when he throws a penalty flag.

What that says to me is that no receiver seems to feel an incomplete p[ass could be anything but a poorly thrown ball or an interference penalty. Never could it possibly be that the receiver just flat missed the ball or dropped it.

That seems to be the order of the day. “I am not responsible for any incomplete pass. If the ball is not completed it is not my fault. If we miss connecting on that pass, it is someone else’s fault, not mine.”

From athletics to politics no one wants to accept responsibility for mistakes. Whether it is in the corporate world, the halls of congress, the Oval Office, the fields of athletics or even the church, acceptance of responsibility for errors in judgment or for just flat “dropping the ball”, are always someone else’s responsibility, but surely not mine.

I am not sure where we learned this refusal to take responsibility, but it is becoming rampant in our society. Criminals want to blame society for their criminal behavior. Athletes want to blame officials. Corporate moguls want to blame underlings. Deacons want to blame preachers and preachers want to blame deacons, etc.

No one wants to say, “My bad.” No one wants to look like they failed in their tasks. So, we blame failure on everyone except ourselves.

Taking responsibility for ourselves, for our own failures, for our own shortcomings and, yes, for our own sin, is a very important aspect of receiving forgiveness.

Almost every scandal in our history would have gone away much more quickly if the perpetrators would have owned up. Instead, they tried to cover up. The cover-up is always worse than the “crime.” It is the failed attempt to cover up that got Richard Nixon to resign the presidency. Likewise it was a failed cover-up that got Bill Clinton impeached (even though the senate refused to convict him for political reasons).

Owning up is the way to go. No one thinks you are perfect, so there is no need trying to make them think otherwise.

AMAZING GRACE

This week’s sermon is from an outline by Evangelist Bob Elliott.

Text: Titus 2: 11-14
Ephesians 2: 8-10

INTRODUCTION:

You tell me. How could a little song written in 1779, a hymn, no less, become one of the best selling songs on the planet 230 years later? That is exactly what has happened.

230 years have passed now, since John Newton wrote Amazing Grace. We can be reasonably certain that Newton had no idea when he wrote it that "Amazing Grace" would become arguably the best loved of all Christian hymns.

There was surely no way he could have imagined that his song would one day become the number one selling record in the whole world, or that it would become the favorite hymn of all Christendom; that it would grace the pages of virtually every hymnal ever published, and be recorded by more recording artists than any other song ever written.

John Newton, the song’s composer, was the converted captain of a British slave ship, a man who had traded human cargo in West Africa. The words of the first verse depict Newton's religious pilgrimage away from the slave business and eventually into the Anglican ministry.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see."

In his journal, Mr. Newton wrote, "I once was active in a business at which my heart now shudders. A common drunkard or profligate is but a petty sinner when compared to what I was…Oh, to grace how great a debtor."

That diary became a prime source of information about the slave trade and was used in the abolitionist movement in both England and America.

This man who once dealt in the slave trade became an ally of William Wilberforce in the movement to abolish slavery. And, in fact, slavery was officially abolished in England in 1807, on the very day that John Newton died.

However, as regards its use outside the church, I associate it with a little singer by the name of Judy Collins, who popularized the song thirty years ago with her recording of it becoming the number one selling record in the world.

She said, "It was always the song that gave me an inner experience of another dimension."

And that is the essence of the grace about which the song was written. What seems sad to me is that many people who sit in a movie theatre and hear the song being sung in a little church or at a funeral service have no idea what the song is about. They don't understand that this is a song about a gift from God which has been given to people who could never deserve it.

What is so amazing about the grace this song reflects? How could a song about an attribute of God be so popular? And isn't it ironic that in spite of its popularity, many who love the song do not know anything about the grace about which the song is written.

God's grace is truly amazing. Do you know what is so amazing about it?

I. IT IS AMAZING GOD COULD HATE SIN WITHOUT HATING THE SINNER


Grace is that attribute of God that enables him to hate sin without hating the sinner. Or, to put it another way, God can love us and not love our sin. That is a kind of love about which most of us are not capable, but it is the very nature of God.

The Bible tells us, "Even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." That’s what grace is all about. God looked at us, saw how dirty sin had made us, but decided to love us anyhow. It would have been awful if God had determined He would not love us enough to send Jesus into the world until we got our lives all cleaned up.

It was grace, God's grace, that caused Him to send us a Savior. He sent a sinless man into a sinful world because of His compassionate grace. God saw our need and sent His Son to be our Savior. In fact, it was because we were lost that he sent us Jesus. He said, "I came to seek and to save those who are lost."

Only grace could cause God to do such a thing.

There are many people who think they have to get better before they can be saved. This is not so. As a matter of fact, there is no way we could ever get good enough to deserve to have Jesus die for us. He came because of our desperate condition, for God knew that only by the shedding of His Son's blood could we be justified for His kingdom.

Isn't that amazing?

It is amazing that God is the only One who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. Another preacher made that statement once and a man came to him after the service to say he took issue with that. He said, "Pastor, I take exception to your statement that God was the only One Who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. I sent a son to war in Europe and he died, giving his life to defeat Hitler's army. He gave his life for his country."

The preacher looked sympathetically into the man's eyes and asked, "Yes, but would he have died for Hitler? Jesus did." Jesus died for the sins of all people. Every person must acknowledge that for himself, accept that truth, Jesus died for me.

I am the extremity of God's love. Jesus died for me.

It is amazing that God could love sinners, and hate their sin. I'll tell you what else is amazing.

II. IT IS AMAZING HOW JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS TO EXPRESS GOD'S LOVE FOR ME

The cross is perhaps the most recognizable symbol in the world today. When you see a cross only one thing comes to mind. Death. But, not jus any death. Though the cross symbolizes death, it does so because of the death of Jesus. Many people died on a cross, but we remember only one, the man Christ Jesus. Anywhere you travel in the world, the cross is the symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus.

You may see crosses worn as jewelry, erected atop church steeples, hanging on hospital walls ….everywhere. And, maybe that has become a problem.

Is it possible for the cross to become so commonplace that we lose the significance of it? Is it possible for the proliferation of crosses to become like some political sign someone forgot to pick up…where we simply pass by without even seeing it?
What a tragedy it would be if we ever forgot the meaning of the cross. The idea that Jesus died on a cross for our sins is one of the great facts of human history, but many people seem to have either forgotten it or relegated it to insignificance.

The cross means everything to us. It is the greatest expression of love man has ever seen. It is the symbol of an act so spectacularly unselfish that it is almost incomprehensible. Jesus willingly gave up His life on that cross.

A preacher's little boy came home from Sunday School one day, crawled up in his daddy's lap and asked, "Daddy, did Jesus get all messed up for us?" That is exactly what happened. To express God's love for us, Jesus willingly got all messed up. The Bible says, "He who knew no sin became sin for us."

It was for me he died on the cross. For me. Isn't that amazing?

For ME it was in the garden He prayed 'Not my will, but thine. He had no tears for His own grief, but sweat drops of blood for mine."

Let me tell you something. That is absolutely amazing. I'll tell you what else is amazing.

III. IT'S AMAZING HOW LIVES ARE TRANSFORMED BY TRUSTING JESUS

Some time ago was watching a TV show where a doctor was being interviewed about his confession that he had become a drug addict. I was interested in his testimony because I heard him mention a name I recognized, the name of another doctor with whom I had been in college. He was testifying that this doctor had helped him get off drugs.

As he recounted his journey into drugs he admitted that he had tried everything to get off them. Then he said, a doctor friend (the one whose name I recognized) had introduced him to Jesus. He said, "The only thing that ever helped me was accepting Christ as my Savior."

Now, I know there are lots of people who come to Jesus who never used drugs. However, many of us can testify to the fact that our addiction to sin was overpowering, and the only release we ever found was in coming to Jesus.

When I was pastor in San Antonio I led a man to the Lord who was a drill instructor at Lackland Air Force Base. A few days after his decision he came to me and told me he had applied for a transfer from the drill line to a classroom. When I asked why he told me, "Since the Lord saved me I no longer have the vocabulary to deal with those recruits."

Something similar to that happened in the great Welsh Revival of the last century. Newspaper accounts relate how the mines around Lochorn were actually shut down during that revival. The article said the shut-down had nothing to do with strikes. It said so many miners had come to Christ during the revival they could no longer talk to the mules pulling the wagons they way they once had, and the mules didn't know what to do.

The power of Jesus Christ to transform lives is amazing. Finally, let me tell you what else is amazing.

IV. IT IS AMAZING HOW MUCH ABOUT GOD AND THE BIBLE I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND

Salvation is so simple. All it takes is a childlike faith. I don't understand how anything so wonderful can be so easily obtained. It doesn't require great intellect. It doesn't require great wealth or fabulous beauty, great strength or anything else. All it requires is trusting in Jesus.

It is amazing that it is so simple. I do not have to know all about God, the Bible, Jesus, heaven, or the millennium. All I have to know is that Jesus died for me, and I trust Him to keep me for eternity.

I'll never understand how it can be forever. But, it is. I cannot explain eternity, but I know that is how long I will be saved.

I'll never understand how I can be happier by giving away my happiness. I'll never understand how the more I give away the more I have. The more I die to self and fleshly appetites, the more I abundantly I will live.

That is amazing.

I'll never understand how I will live forever with my Lord and all those friends and loved ones who have trusted Jesus. I don't understand it, but I know it is true.

When with the ransomed in Glory, His face I at last shall see. 'Twill be my joy through the ages to sing of his love for me.

It is amazing how much I will never understand. But, God's amazing grace does not require my understanding of all things spiritual; only that I believe, have faith. He does everything else.

CONCLUSION:

Yes, folks. That is what old John Newton was writing about when he penned the words of Amazing Grace. He was writing about me, about how God loves me, and about how God made it possible for me to be saved.

OLD TREES AND THE DENOMINATION

Rick Davis hit another home run with his blog post called When the Old Tree Died I Was There. It brought to mind something in my own experience.

We had a large, beautiful Red Oak Tree in our front yard. Unbeknownst to us, the bark of a Red Oak is a delicacy to squirrels, which we have an abundance of in our neighborhood. When enough of the branches died because squirrels had eaten bark off them, we had the tree cut down and removed. The tree, we thought, was dead.

However, the people who cut down the tree had lost their stump grinder and had to leave a very short stump where the tree once stood. We have built a garden around the area where that old tree had once been and were kind of proud of it.

Low and behold, though, before long shoots were growing out that old stump. They got taller than my head before I decided to cut them off and dispose of them, which I did. However, I did nothing to the stump and today those shoots have come back (See picture).

That old tree has taught me something. It taught me that life is never gone until there are no more green shoots. It taught me that some trees have a great survival instinct. It taught me that even that which grows up wild can have some beauty in it, because it is kind of nice in its own way, even though its growth is uncontrolled.

Now, if I let these shoots continue to grow, I suspect some of them will die. I’m not sure what will happen to them, but it is clear that cutting down the tree did not kill the roots. As long as the roots are viable, there will be life in that old tree.

The short moral of this little lesson is this: What grows from the roots of what we thought was dead might not be as stately as the old tree once was, at least for many years, but as long as the roots live they will put forth growing stems.

In other words, perhaps the tree as we knew it is gone, but the tree or trees that will come can still be beautiful. Maybe the function will change. Maybe it won’t provide shade, but it will provide beauty. It still supports an abundance of leaves, each of which is unique. Not as many as the old tree, but unique just the same.

Methinks this is not unlike denominations.

NOBEL PRIZES AND THEIR VALUE

O.K., so our president has won the Nobel Prize For Peace. Next, I suppose we will hear that he has won the Academy Award for best actor by watching “For Whom The Bells Toll.”

To be honest, this award says more about how the Nobel prize has been cheapened and politicized than anything about the president. Frankly, the fact that this group that would give a peace prize to Al Gore, for making peace with Mother Earth and Yasir Arafat, for making peace with (?), as this bunch once did, is much more a commentary on the giver than on the recipient. How could anyone even consider accepting such an award, given their recent actions?

Maybe this was a year that no one should have won the Peace Prize. If there has been any significant contribution to world peace it might just have been in the Miss America pageant where all contestants want to help world peace, but certainly nowhere else.

On the other hand, it is likely President Obama has done as much for world peace as he has anything else. However, if, as he seems to feel, his administration saved the world economy, perhaps he should have gotten a double play and received the Nobel Prize for Economics, also.

Frankly, the Nobel people have cheapened their award significantly in the past two decades, seeking to make political statements rather than recognizing significant achievements. But, as the sage once said, “It’s their money. They can do with it what they wish.”

WHO YOU CALLING TRADITIONAL?

After commenting on Rick Davis’ excellent post called Heroes: I Try One More Time last week, I thought I would like to expand on my comment. I would encourage you to read Rick’s post before reading this one.

Rick spoke of the greatest generation being those who were born during the Great Depression and are usually referred to as “Traditionals” by the trend plotters and demographers.

Generally speaking, attempts to classify people according to their age and biases rings somewhat hollow to me. We live in a time when three great generations are in confluence (really probably four), and the resulting conflicts are numerous. It is tempting to want to chalk up all conflict to this confluence of generations and their differing priorities.

However, many of us who are older are a bit tired of being lumped in generalized categories and assuming that just because we are of a certain generation that we can be expected to always think and act a certain way.

The term “Greatest Generation” was coined by Tom Brokaw in a book by that same name. These people were not born during the depression, but during the twenties. Brokaw’s premise was that these folks who fought WW II were the greatest generation. I certainly do not argue with that premise, but do argue that they were born during the depression. We did not enter WW II until 1941, and to have fought in that war in that year a person would have had to have been born in 1923 or earlier.

So, what are we who actually were born in the Great Depression? Some have called us “Builders”, others have called us troublemakers. Rick referred to us as “Traditionals”. To quote him, “The Traditionals fear that conformity will be lost is deeper than the old songs in the church. Traditionals fear that the end of conformity to their standards will render their cultural contribution less meaningful.”

There are many of us out here, born in the thirties, but more than willing to move into the twenty-first century with the best of them. I don't think the way I think because of the year I was born, but because of years of learning and seeking to apply what I have learned. I am always going to resist doing things I have seen fail numerous times before.

A lot of younger ministers would do well to listen to those who have seen and done many of the things some want to do today, and seen them fail. Continuing to try to do failing things is insanity. Likewise, refusing to do things that have been successful through the years because “the times are different” seems a bit of folly. That is why I resist, not because I was born in 1934. We need to be very careful that we don't take at face value what demographers continue to say and write. We should be very careful trying to explain church dynamics according to the year people are born. We don't all fit into those molds.

I have been in churches with large numbers of these so-called traditionals”, although not a majority. While some of them seem a bit stuck in their way of doing things, I have found most of them to be more than willing to change and to allow changes.

Frankly, I have seen a lot of conflict in churches where a majority of members fit in the gen-x mold, but they argue continually over how best to do church.

People will always find reason to disagree and generational differences will certainly account for some of these. However, it would be foolish to assume that every church with a confluence of generations will continually fight just because of this confluence.

Generalizations are dangerous.

CAMPING OUT OR CROSSING OVER?

This is a sermon I have used to challenge churches to take the next step forward, to achieve what God has prepared for them.

Joshua 1: 1-2, 10-11, 16-17

INTRODUCTION:

The primary focus of the message is this: When we trust God’s promises, good things happen.”

When you fear that the worst will happen, your own thoughts may help to bring it about. "Fear," a writer once said, "Is the wrong use of imagination. It is anticipating the worst, not the best that can happen."

A salesman, driving on a lonely country road one dark and rainy night had a flat. He opened the trunk--no lug wrench. The light from a farmhouse could be seen dimly up the road. He set out on foot through the driving rain. Surely the farmer would have a lug wrench he could borrow, he thought. Of course, it was late at night--the farmer would be asleep in his warm, dry bed. Maybe he wouldn't answer the door. And even if he did, he'd be angry at being awakened in the middle of the night. The salesman, picking his way blindly in the dark, stumbled on. By now his shoes and clothing were soaked. Even if the farmer did answer his knock, he would probably shout something like, "What's the big idea waking me up at this hour!" This thought make the salesman angry. What right did that farmer have to refuse him the loan of a lug wrench? After all, here he was stranded in the middle of nowhere, soaked to the skin. The farmer was a selfish clod--no doubt about that! The salesman finally reached the house, and banged loudly on the door. A light went on inside, and a window opened above. "Who is it?" a voice called out. "You know darn well who it is," yelled the salesman, his face white with anger. "It's me! You can keep your blasted lug wrench. I wouldn't borrow it now if you had the last one on earth!" (Bits & Pieces, May, 1991, p. 23. )

This story reveals a very true fact. Imagination can be a dangerous thing. We can imagine ourselves into failure.

But….imagination can also be a positive thing. Imagining great things are about to happen will encourage us to prepare ourselves for those great things.

At issue today is whether you will be a camper outer or a crosser over. That is an issue for both individuals and for churches.

Look at our Bible story. Moses was gone, Joshua was now the leader of the people of Israel. For forty years they had been wandering around. Their ranks had been purged of that generation of people who had been so fearful of crossing over into that land God had promised them.

Now, here they were….a new generation of people, standing on the brink of finally getting what God wanted to give them.

They were facing new choices and viewing new challenges. I believe they were looking at three choices. Let’s look at these choices.

I. CHOOSE THE NEW LEADER OVER THE OLD ONE

Look how the book of Joshua begins. God said to Joshua, “Moses, my servant, is dead. now, therefore arise, cross this Jordan…..” God’s intent was clear. He was anointing a new leader for Israel.

There’s a new sheriff in town. Moses is dead. This nation is under new management. The choice the people had to make was whether or not they would follow this new leader or wallow in wishes for former days that used to be.

Joshua’s challenge to the people can be found in Joshua 3:5: “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

If Joshua had the same experiences of most leaders, he would likely be confronted with those who did not want to accept his leadership. There would be those who would be loyal to Moses and refuse to acknowledge the new leader.

Folks, there is never any shortage of people who want to remain camped out in the land of what used-to-be. They are often heard saying, “We never did it that way before.” or, “Shouldn’t we wait a bit before we step out? After all, we really don’t know or have any guarantees that things will be as promised.” People have to make a definitive choice to either follow their leader or not to follow their leader.

Every leader knows that without followers there is no leadership. In fact, one person said it this way: “If you think you are leading and you look back and see that no one is following, you are just taking a walk.”

Joshua’s people had to decide if he is their leader or not. Those who chose to accept him as their leader would follow him into the Promised Land, but there would be some who would not give in to the fact that Moses was dead and gone.

II. CHOOSE CROSSING OVER INSTEAD OF CAMPING OUT

The word for the people of Israel is, “Don’t be satisfied with camping on this side of the river when you could be crossing over into the Promised Land.” In other words, don’t stop short of your goal.

The people of Israel had made this mistake forty years earlier and it cost them dearly. Forty years earlier they had made the wrong choice. They made the choice to camp out rather than cross over.

Those four decades ago they refused to cross over because of fear. They were literally paralyzed with fear about the giants and the fortified cities they found in the land God had promised them, Instead of listening to Joshua and Caleb, who told them they could defeat their foes, they listened to the fearful scouts who convinced them they could not.

There are really two kinds of people in any church. There are those who are content to camp out on this side of the river and those who want to cross over—take the risk—inherit the promises of the future. Fear can keep us from crossing over.

Another reason that the Israelites did not cross over was their lack of faith.

Thomas Carlisle once said, “A man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many things.”

That so reminds me of the modern church. There are so many things we say we believe about God, yet we spend so much of our time debating minutia.

The only thing we need to decide is did God tell us the truth. Did He mean it when He said He would not forsake us? Did He mean it when He said, “I will be with you always?” Did He mean it when He said, “I am your God. Trust me.”

Those who do not want to cross over into the land of promise are those whose belief in God wavers according to the circumstances. It is the campers, not the crossers that lack faith in the promises of the Most High God.

Choose crossing over camping.

III. CHOOSE MOVEMENT OVER MONUMENTS

One of the things you notice throughout the word of God is the number of people who were into monuments. Abraham built altars wherever he went. The disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration wanted to build three tabernacles (monuments).

What is a monument? It is something that helps you to remember what once was, either a person or an event. How easy it is just to stand in front of those monuments and remember. Some of the most notable synonyms for the word monument are “tombstone”, “headstone”, gravestone, memorial, etc.

Some of the monuments are built by people who want to remember nothing more than traditions. Traditions are O.K. to remember but not to plan your future around.

We can stay here a look at monuments, or we can move to where God wants us to be.

The modern church is beset by those who want to stay on this side of the river and look at the monuments of remembrance. Some folks are just so enamored by the past that they do not want to venture into the future.

God has so much more for us than many of us have grabbed hold of. In order for us to experience all that He has for us, we must be willing to choose movement over monuments.

CONCLUSION:

The following letter was found in a baking-powder can wired to the handle of an old pump that offered the only hope of drinking water on a very long and seldom-used trail across Nevada's Amargosa Desert: "This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last five years. But the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of water, out of the sun and cork end up. There's enough water in it to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. Pour about one-fourth and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast and pump like crazy. You'll git water. The well has never run dry. Have faith. When you git watered up, fill the bottle and put it back like you found it for the next feller. (signed) Desert Pete. P.S. Don't go drinking the water first. Prime the pump with it and you'll git all you can hold." (Keith Miller and Bruce Larson, The Edge of Adventure.)

If we are willing to follow God’s instructions on how to get it, He has a blessing for us that is beyond anything we ever imagined. Let your imagination fly and consider what God might do. How you choose during the next few months and years will determine whether or not you get all God wants you to have.

BGCT BOARD REJECTS TECHNOLOGY

Sunday at church I had the opportunity to speak with our church member who serves on the BGCT Executive Board. Mainly I wanted just to express my disappointment of the board’s rejection of a staff motion to hold some committee meetings on line. According to the BGCT blog site article, Associate Director Steve Vernon stated such a move would save about $20,000. I presume that would be for each meeting.

I was not at the meeting, nor did I watch it on line (I was doing a fitness session at my gym). Consequently, my only information comes from the web article and my conversation with one board member.

My church member/friend/board member stated that he voted against the motion because he had a lot of unanswered questions. Frankly, I do not think he is a very technologically balanced person, and, like a lot of people, anything to do with computers scares him.

However, he stated to me that a couple of the questions he had were, “How much would it cost the individual committee member to set up his computer for such a meeting?” “What kind of initial investment would it require of the BGCT?” Now, I do not know if these questions were discussed, or even asked.

I encouraged him to write to Steve Vernon and ask those questions so that he would be able to vote more intelligently, if the suggestion were to come up again.

It seems to me that if the board had been asked to experiment with one or two meetings to see how they worked, and then made such a recommendation, it might have had a different outcome. The web article stated that many of the board members were apprehensive about the ability to interact, thus affecting some of the input. I guess we will never know because we will not likely even try it.

It is interesting to me that once again our denomination has chosen to lag behind the technology, for the same reasons it always seems to happen. Many people are simply afraid of technology.

A man who served as BGCT treasurer once stated that as long as he served in his position there would never be a computer at every desk. And he was right. However, as soon as he left the new treasurer started a process of making computers and a network available to staff. I recall when I went to work at the BGCT in 1983, I was told the Baptist Building did not provide typewriters to program staff. So, I used my own typewriter. In 1984 I was one of the first program staff, if not the first, to receive a personal computer for my desk.

There has always been a sincere aversion to things technological. Denominations have always lagged behind industry when it comes to utilizing technology, except for a brief period in the early nineties when the BGCT probably was setting the pace in the internal use of technology. In my position as Associate Director of the State Missions Commission, I had the joy of helping a great many associations purchase their first computer.

When e-mail came along we provided a free e-mail program to the associations. I believe it was called Juno. I don’t know how many of those disks I sent out, but e-mail became the correspondence of choice.

I would like to appeal to the Executive Board to at least try Vernon’s idea. It is worthy of at least a try. If it doesn’t work out, then ditch it, but for goodness sakes, have the courage to experiment once in a while. I can’t imagine the investment would be that great for anyone. I use Skype all the time and it is free. I spent about $15.00 to purchase a camera for my computer, not that anyone needs to see my ugly mug.

Guys (and ladies), let’s take a step into the future and give it a try.

A NATION DIVIDED

With all the hoorah going on about health care reform, plus the outlandish spending going on in Washington, tea parties, town hall meetings, biases in media outlets, etc., it is obvious that our nation is divided.

I’m not sure when all this started, but it seems to me it started getting worse back when Speaker Newt Gingrich and his Republican congress made a contract with America and took over the majority in the congress. This was during the first Clinton presidential term.

Clinton was re-elected in spite of the lack of a majority. His moral failures caused a lot of angst in the country and seemed to almost assure Al Gore of being elected president.

Then we had the election debacle of 2000, when some counties in Florida started trying to microscopically look at some ballots and trying to decide what was in the mind of some voters who apparently couldn’t figure out how to use the punch card ballots. That’s when we had inserted it the public consciousness terms like hanging chads and dimpled ballots.

When the Supreme Court had to put a stop to these shenanigans and G.W. Bush was elected president by virtue of the slimmest margins in Florida, it seems the country was really divided. Supporters of Al Gore never accepted president Bush, in spite of the fact that three different recounts done by independent media outlets affirmed his victory.

Then in 2004, when Bush was reelected, much to the chagrin of the main stream media, it seemed the country was irreparably divided.

Along came Barack Obama, whose greatest ability is the ability to make a spell binding speech. It almost seemed like he was going to be able to pull the country back together with his mantra of change and hope. When it became clear that his dependence on his speaking ability was not going to be enough, people began to pull away even from this silver-tongued president.

So, now the question is, “What will it take to pull this nation back together?” One wonders if anything short of a tragic attack, such as Pearl Harbor or 9-11 will be enough.

Meanwhile, politicians cannot keep themselves from trying to tell generals how to wage war and we find ourselves very near to another Viet Nam kind of situation, where generals cannot get what they need to win a war without politics interfering.

The country remains divided over the war situation. Most of us have forgotten why we should continue to care about Afghanistan and the corrupt government that the people have elected. But, at least they elected it (at least we think they did).

One wonders which is worse, the division of thought in the nation or the almost complete mistrust of the politicians in Washington. People in this country are so angry at their political leaders that it is highly likely that the whole bunch will be tossed out in the next elections, both parties.

No one appears to want to accept responsibility. The president blames the previous administration. The democrats blame the republicans and vice versa, and the citizens can’t even accept the fact that these are all people they elected. Everyone wants to think someone else is responsible.

The truth is, however, each of us is responsible. “Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for him” is not good enough. If you do not pray for your leaders on a regular basis, only you are to blame for that.

PLEASE RELEASE ME LET ME GO

This sermon was inspired by my son, Blake, in his unity conference.

Matthew 18: 21-22, 35

INTRODUCTION:

When I was a staff member in my first full time church, my wife and I had the unusual joy of being “adopted”, sort of, by an older couple in the church. In fact, they were so dear to us that we sometimes referred to them as “Mom” and “Pop”.

One Sunday we were observing the Lord’s supper and mom was sitting on the end of an aisle, plainly visible to those of us on the platform. I noticed when the elements were passed she did not take them. I found that rather curious, because this couple were pillars of the church.

I mentioned it to the pastor the next morning and he wisely said, “You need to talk with her about this.” So, I did. I asked her about it during one of our fellowship opportunities. She looked somewhat embarrassed about it, but was free in letting me know that she had been in a rather serious quarrel with a former pastor, while she served on the Building Committee.

It seems the committee had made a decision regarding something in their new building and the pastor overrode the decision and told the architect something different than what the committee decided.

She said that she had never been able to forgive that pastor for what he did and the way he had talked to her in their quarrel. Consequently, she refused to, as she said, “dishonor the Lord” by partaking of the supper while she harbored this unforgiveness.

As far as I know, she died without ever again receiving the Lord’s supper because she could not bring herself to forgive.

What a burden to carry! How she robbed herself of blessings simply because she could not get release from her unforgiveness. There are so many people who are imprisoned by their unforgiveness.

Here’s why.

I. REAL FORGIVENESS IS MISUNDERSTOOD

Forgiveness is not a feeling. Forgiveness is no more a feeling than love is a feeling. Forgiveness is a decision, a commitment, much like taking an oath or a marriage vow.

The strength to fulfill the commitment is supernatural; it comes from the same Lord Who commanded that we make the commitment to forgive. It is a commitment not to let this thing come between us in our relationship.

Forgiveness is not giving up the consequences. Every sin has consequences, even those that are forgiven. There are always consequences that necessarily follow.

Forgiveness is not just overlooking an offense. Even though the word of God encourages us to overlook minor offenses, the Lord never, through His forgiveness, said to the forgiven person that the sin was harmless or excusable.

II. REAL FORGIVENESS DEMANDS A COMMITMENT

We are commanded to forgive as God forgives, not as we find it comfortable to forgive. In a very real sense, forgiveness is an issue of stewardship. Since we are the recipients of forgiveness from the Lord, we have a responsibility to share forgiveness with others.

While God’s model of forgiveness includes forgetting it is exactly our inability to forget that makes forgiveness necessary to begin with. If I will make the commitment to forgive, God will mold my mind as if I had forgotten.

Forgiveness is premised on understanding. For forgiveness to truly promote healing it must be based on a sense that the “offending” party understands, as much as possible, the pain caused. You should forgive me for the hurt I caused you; but, for there to be healing for our relationship, you have to believe that I understand the hurt I caused.

CONCLUSION:

When the church becomes a place where forgiveness is modeled, it begins to be the community God called it to be. Ken Sande has a list of four promises that are made when we say we forgive someone. When you forgive a person here is what you are promising:

I will not think about this incident
I will not bring this incident up and use it against you
I will not talk to others about this incident
I will not let this incident hinder our personal relationship.

Forgiveness is a door to peace and happiness. It is a small, narrow door, and cannot be entered without stooping. It is also hard to find. But, no matter how long the search, it can be found.

Clearly, forgiveness has little to do with human fairness, which demands an eye for an eye, or with excusing, which means brushing something aside. Life is never fair, and it is full of things that can never be excused.

When we forgive someone for a mistake or a deliberate hurt, we still recognize it as such, but instead of lashing out or biting back, we attempt to see beyond it, so far as to restore our relationship with the person responsible for it.

Our forgiveness may not take away the pain—it may not even be acknowledged or accepted—yet the act of offering forgiveness will keep us from being sucked into the downward spiral of resentment. It will also guard us against the temptation of taking out our anger or hurt on someone else.