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How Not to Do the Will of God

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Topical Scripture: Judges 11

The big news of the week was President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court. For the next several weeks, we will learn a great deal about Judge Kavanaugh. Those who support his nomination will tell his story very differently from those who oppose it.

By contrast, one of the remarkable facts about Scripture is the objective transparency with which it tells its stories. A less honest biographer would have left Noah’s drunkenness out of his narrative and Bathsheba out of David’s. Not everything the Bible describes is behavior it prescribes.

A prime example is the judge we will meet this week. If you want to learn how not to do the will of God, study his example. Jephthah makes two mistakes that we are prone to repeat today. But we can choose to make his negative story into our positive story of faith today.

Where do you need to know God’s will today? Here’s what not to do, and thus by contrast, what to do.

Become a prisoner of your past (Judges 11:1–11)

Our story begins, “Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah” (Judges 11:1). “Mighty” translates a Hebrew word meaning “powerful” or “brave.” This man was a renowned fighter of great reputation. What’s more, his father was Gilead, who was the head of their entire clan.

However, his mother was a prostitute. As a result, his brothers sought to disinherit him: “And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, ‘You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman'” (v. 2).

As a result, “Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob” (v. 3a). “Fled” implies that he ran from them, perhaps indicating that they sought to kill him. He chose to live in the “land of Tob,” a pagan area east of the Sea of Galilee. “Lived” means to “settle down” or “make a place your home.” This decision may indicate that his mother was a Canaanite and that he fled to her relatives or acquaintances.

While he was there, “worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him” (v. 3b). “Worthless” translates a Hebrew description for someone who is impoverished and reckless. They “collected around him,” indicating that they joined him rather than him joining them. Apparently, they became a band of bandits together, taking advantage of Jephthah’s superior fighting skills and marauding in the region.

The story turns when “after a time the Ammonites made war against Israel” (v. 4). These were descendants of Ammon, living as a people east of the Jordan River. The threat was so severe that “when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob” (v. 5). This must have been humiliating for them, but their action further demonstrates Jephthah’s remarkable military skill and leadership.

The elders made Jephthah an offer: “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites” (v. 6). They were in essence asking him to take charge of their military but not serve as their judge or national leader. Jephthah agreed only if they would make him their ruler: “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be your head” (v. 9).

The elders were so desperate that they agreed (v. 10). So the people “made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah” (v. 11). The latter statement is interesting, since we have no indication that there was a sacred shrine at Mizpah. It seems that Jephthah took his vow of judgeship in the presence of the army encamped there, not before the Lord at his place of worship.

Note that at no point in this narrative did anyone consult the Lord. Not Jephthah’s family before they drove him away, or Jephthah when he fled to a pagan land. Not the elders when they faced the Ammonite threat or when they enlisted Jephthah to lead them. Not Jephthah when they came to him or when he entered the judgeship.

This is as secular a story as you are likely to find.

From this part of the narrative, we learn that if you want to fail the will of God, become a prisoner of your past. Decide that what you have been is all you can ever be.

And refuse to consult the Lord with your future. Follow your own initiative and make your own plan. Decide that you know best and follow your direction rather than the Lord.

But know this: self-sufficiency is spiritual suicide. Jephthah’s lack of submission to the will of God will cost him more than he can imagine. The same is true for us.

Bargaining with the God of the universe (vv. 29–40)

Jephthah tried to reason with the Ammonites, but they refused his call to compromise and peace (vv. 12–28). So he was forced to lead his nation into battle, and “the Spirit of the LORD was upon him” (v. 29).

This is a common Old Testament phenomenon. The same happened with Joshua (Numbers 27:18), David (1 Samuel 16:12–13), and Saul (1 Samuel 10:10). Through the book of Judges, we find the Spirit coming “upon” various leaders.

But this was a specific, one-time empowering by the Spirit for a particular purpose. In the New Testament, we find that the Spirit comes “into” us as Christians (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19–20) and never leaves us. This indwelling of the Spirit came as a result of Jesus’ atoning death for us.

In our text, the Spirit came “upon” Jephthah to lead and strengthen him. However, such empowering wasn’t enough for him to be confident of victory in the upcoming battle. So he made a horrible, tragic mistake: “And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” (vv. 30–31).

Nowhere in Scripture does the Lord ask us to make such a deal with him. He is not a God we can coerce by bribery. He is not a peer but the Lord of the universe. We cannot bargain with his omnipotence. Nowhere did Jephthah pray before making this commitment to God, or he would have been instructed by the Almighty not to utter such a foolish vow.

Jephthah and the army then defeated the Ammonites (vv. 32–33). But when he returned home, “behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter” (v. 34).

Rather than focus on her plight, Jephthah focused on himself: “As soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me'” (v. 35a). His reaction transferred blame from himself to her, as though it was her fault that she came out of the house to greet him.

He explained: “For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow” (v. 35b). Note that he did not go to God with his dilemma. If he had, God would have made clear to him that this vow was not of God and that this father did not need to fulfill it.

Nor did Jephthah teach his daughter good theology. Her response, while noble, was also unbiblical and made without first consulting God. She said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites” (v. 36).

She asked only that she be allowed two months with her friends to “weep for my virginity” (v. 37), a request he granted (v. 38). The word translated “virginity” is better rendered “motherhood.” She was grieving because she would not live to bear children.

Then, “at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow that he had made” (v. 39a). As a result, Jephthah’s family line died with her. But her story lived on: “She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year” (vv. 39b–40).

To recap: Jephthah did not consult God before going into battle, even though the Spirit of God had come “upon” him to empower him. He did not consult God before making his rash vow with him. He did not consult God when his beloved daughter appeared before him. Nor did she consult God when learning of her fate.

Jephthah made a bargain with the King of the universe. This is always bad theology and a tragic way to relate to our loving Father.

Conclusion

Jephthah refused to ask God to redeem his past or to lead his future. As a result, he became one of the most tragic figures in Scripture.

It does not have to be so for us. Nothing you have done in the past is beyond God’s redemption in the present and providence for the future. What matters is not where you begin the race, but where you end. The key is to seek God’s will and purpose at every step along the way.

Robert McFarlane was Ronald Reagan’s National Security Advisor, a twenty-year veteran of the Marine Corps, and the architect of the Iran-Contra plan. When his plan failed, Mr. McFarlane resigned his position and later attempted suicide.

I heard him speak several years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast. He told our group his story. He described the incredible power he had achieved, the ladder to success he had climbed. But then Bud McFarlane told us with tears in his eyes that it was nothing. He got to the top, and there was nothing there. Only after he fell off that ladder did he discover that it was leaning against the wrong wall—that life really consists of loving God and loving people. Nothing else.

Then he discovered that God could redeem his past and use his present for a redemptive future. So, this man of such power and significance dedicated the rest of his life to telling his story and calling people to trust God with their lives.

You can follow the example of Jephthah or the will of Jesus, but you cannot do both.

How to Choose Your Children

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How to Choose Your Children

John 21.15-19 / Acts 1.1-5

Dr. Jim Denison

Genetic engineering is much in the news. The idea that parents can one day determine the sex, hair and eye color, abilities and capabilities of their unborn children is exciting to some and abhorrent to most of us. It is very troubling to me as well.

But while I don’t believe in genetic engineering, I believe very strongly in “spiritual engineering.” We must do all we can to help our families and friends follow Jesus, to mentor them in the Christian faith, to encourage and influence them for Christ. Eternity is at stake.

Mentoring has ancient roots. When Odysseus went off to fight the Trojan War, he left his young son, Telemachus, in the care of a trusted guardian named Mentor. The siege of Troy lasted ten years, and Odysseus journeyed another ten years finding his way home. When at last he arrived, he found that the boy Telemachus had grown into a man—thanks to Mentor’s wise tutelage.

God wants us to be equally intentional about “mentoring” others to follow Christ through our lives and relationships. Proverbs 27:17 is clear: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” God’s call is for men, and for women; for parents, Sunday school teachers, church leaders, anyone who wants to make an eternal difference in the lives of the people we care about.

Last week we discovered how to choose our spiritual fathers and mentors. This week we close our series on key relationships by learning how to mentor others—how to choose our spiritual children.

Value spiritual mentoring

Begin by valuing spiritual mentoring as Jesus does. Remember that God measures our success by the degree to which others follow Jesus because we do. He values nothing in our lives more than the way we use our spiritual influence for his purposes.

In Acts 1 he proves that it is so. Already he has lived with his disciples for three years. Already he has mentored and guided their souls and their lives. But here he delays his long-awaited return to his heavenly glory for another forty days, so that he can mentor them some more. Learn to value spiritual mentoring as Jesus does.

David made the same commitment to his son that Jesus made to his disciples.

Remember God’s question of Solomon: what would you ask of me? Solomon asked for wisdom, and became the wisest man on earth.

Why did he ask for wisdom? Proverbs 4 tells us. Only recently did I make this connection. Here Solomon quotes his father’s advice: “When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Get wisdom, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:3-4). And he did, because his father taught him to do so. Because his father mentored him.

God wants us to add to his Kingdom by direct and personal evangelism. But he also wants us to multiply his kingdom by our influence in the lives of others.

If every Christian on this planet won one person to Christ today, and then that group won one person to Christ tomorrow, how long would it take for the entire human race to be converted? Two days. There are 2,024,929,000 Christians alive today, out of a total population of 6,128,512,000. By Tuesday the entire human race would come to eternal life through Christ.

This is the value of spiritual mentoring.

We must value mentoring as Jesus does, or we won’t make the time to do it well.

Michael Medved, New York Post film critic, documents the fact that by the age of six, the average American child will have spent more time watching television, videos, and movies than that child will spend in an entire lifetime talking to his or her father. We cannot allow Hollywood to raise our kids for us. We simply must invest our time and lives in leading them spiritually.

Would you stop right now and decide on this issue? If you’re blessed to be a parent, will you commit yourself to doing the best you can to be a spiritual influence and mentor for your children? Whether you’re a parent or not, would you make the same commitment for the sake of others in your life?

Value mentoring as Jesus does. Again, God measures the success of your life by the degree to which others follow him because you do. Decide to be successful.

Mature growing Christians (Acts 1)

Now let’s get specific and practical. How do we do this well? Believers in need of mentors fall into two categories: those who want to be mentored and those who do not. Let’s begin with those who do—with growing Christians, those of our family or friends who are walking with God and are open to our help and encouragement. How do we influence them for Christ?

Following Jesus’ example, first we follow the Spirit’s guidance. Jesus taught his disciples “through the Holy Spirit” (v. 2). We cannot lead our families or friends to God without God’s help. We ask the Spirit to guide us to those we are to influence. Then we yield this relationship to the Spirit, pray for the Spirit’s guidance and wisdom, and listen constantly to his leadership.

Have you prayed about your spiritual influence with your family or friends? Have you asked the Spirit to guide you? Ever? Today?

Second, we teach faith essentials.

Jesus made certain they knew that he was alive—that he was and is our Savior and Risen Lord (3a). That they knew their purpose was to build his Kingdom (3b), to extend his rule into the lives of all mankind.

He had spent three years with them, but he wasn’t done. We are never finished with this crucial work. Have you taught your family and friends the essentials of our faith? Are they committed to them?

Third, lead through relationship. Jesus ate with them (4a), as he had earlier with his followers in Emmaus (Luke 24:30) and his disciples on the shore of Galilee (John 21:12).

We lead best out of daily relationship, personal commitment and affection and friendship. Make time to eat together, to travel together, to have fun together. Experience life together.

Jesus spent three years living with his followers. We lead best as he did, through ongoing personal relationship.

Fourth, direct to the Spirit. Lead your family or friend to experience the power of God’s Holy Spirit. They don’t need our ability, wisdom, or money—they need God’s Spirit. Lead them to him.

These disciples had to wait in the Upper Room for Pentecost and the Spirit’s entrance into their lives. We don’t. We can and must be “filled with the Spirit” today (Ephesians 5:18). We can and must yield our lives to the Spirit, confess every sin he reveals to us, ask him to guide and use us.

Have you taught your family or friends to do this? Are you controlled by the Spirit this morning?

Watch the results:

In the next chapter, each of Jesus’ followers will be his witnesses. Peter, his failed friend, will be his preacher. 3,000 will be saved. The number will grow to 5,000 families. And by Acts 17:6, the church will have “turned the world upside down.” And Jesus’ model for mentoring still works today.

So, what growing Christians are you discipling? Where are you helping someone follow Jesus? Would you ask him to guide you to that person today?

Reclaim hurting Christians (John 21)

Now, what about Christians who don’t want spiritual influence in their lives? What can we do for fallen, hurting believers? Those who aren’t here today, or anywhere like here? Those who don’t want what we’re deciding today to give?

So many believers are hurting in their faith and their lives today. I know Christians who have experienced the trauma of divorce and feel the Church no longer cares about them; those who suffer from long-term illness and feel forgotten; those who have committed moral failures and feel left out.

It’s been said that the Church is the only army which buries its wounded. What can we do to be sure that is not said of us? How can we help influence struggling believers? Jesus’ model with his fallen disciple Peter is God’s guidance for us today.

First, take the initiative. Jesus calls to Peter and the others from the shore after they’ve returned to fishing (John 21:4). He invites them to breakfast with him (12). And then he goes directly to Simon Peter (v. 15).

If he had waited for Peter to come to him, he’d be waiting still. Do you know someone who’s not here but should be? Someone who’s far from God? Someone in your home or your heart? Take the initiative—make the call, send the letter, begin again your friendship. Do it now.

Next, invite them back to Jesus (15b)

Jesus begins this way: “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” By “these” Jesus means the other disciples, reminding Peter that he had earlier bragged that he did, that “though all should forsake you, I will not” (Mark 14:29). Now Jesus asks Peter to be honest about himself and his failed faith, and invites him home to himself.

Start where hurting people are, and encourage them to Christ. Jesus does not ask Peter if he is sorry for what he has done, or if he will promise never to do it again. He asks for his heart, because he knows that when the heart is given everything else will follow.

Third, reclaim them for ministry. Jesus responds to Peter’s honest love with his commission: “feed my sheep.” We love Jesus by loving others, by showing them his care in ours. Jesus doesn’t keep Peter on the sideline. He wants each of his followers to be in the game, to be engaged in personal ministry to hurting people. Wounded healers make the best healers.

Fourth, challenge them to higher commitment.

Peter had earlier failed Jesus before a serving girl; now he would be called to stand for him at the risk of his very life. Indeed, “when you are old someone will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (v. 18). Jesus said this “to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” (v. 19). Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

And Peter did. He died for Jesus, on a cross like Jesus, but upside down because he felt himself not worthy to die in the same manner as did his Lord. Jesus challenged his fallen friend to a higher commitment, and Peter responded with heroic faith.

So may your friend and mine.

Conclusion

Without Paul there would be no church expansion across the Roman Empire, and half of the New Testament. Without John Mark there would be no Gospel of Mark. But without Barnabas their mentor, there would be neither. Affirm the ministry of mentoring.

Without Billy Graham millions of people might not have heard the gospel. Without Bill Bright the Campus Crusade for Christ would not exist, much less have led to Christ and discipled hundreds of thousands of college students and other Christians. Without Gospel Light Publications, most of the Sunday school literature used today would not have come to be.

But without the Bible teaching and discipling ministry of Henrietta Mears, director of Christian education at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, California, we would know of none of them. Affirm the ministry of mentoring.

Without Dr. Herbert Howard, the present campus of Park Cities Baptist Church, including our magnificent Sanctuary, might not have come to be. The global outreach of this church might not have touched so many thousands of churches and multiplied believers around the world. Many of you might not have ever come into this church. But without J. B. Weatherspoon, homiletics professor at Southern Seminary and mentor to the young Herbert Howard, we might not know of him today. Affirm the ministry of mentoring.

Where will the next Paul and John Mark come from? The next Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Herbert Howard? That’s up to us. Isn’t it?

How to Choose Your Father

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How to Choose Your Father

2 Chronicles 29:1-2

Dr. Jim Denison

A boy was asked what his dad was good for. He had a number of answers:

“A dad is good for putting worms on a hook. He is good for telling your great-aunt you don’t want her to kiss you in public; for helping you with your homework for about two years after your mom gives up; for explaining to your mom why it’s not such a huge crime to tear your pants sliding into second base; for showing you how to tie a tie—when your mom makes you wear one; for letting you run the power mower while your mom is sitting on the porch praying; for telling you the meaning of words you’re too embarrassed to ask your mom about; for carrying you when you are tired and your mom won’t stop shopping; for driving you where you want to go, especially if you can teach him not to talk much after you’re thirteen and your friends are in the car.”

Apparently dads are good for many things. That’s why our nation celebrates Father’s Day every year, and why our church does as well. And we should.

Fathers have the enormous privilege and responsibility of modeling God to our children. A father is the pastor of his family, their spiritual shepherd and leader. I want to help us fulfill this calling well.

But I also want to talk with those whose fathers were not spiritual leaders in their home. If this is your experience, I want to help you. Jesus was the only child to choose his father physically. But you can choose your father spiritually.

So let’s learn how to be godly fathers, and how to choose them.

How to be a spiritual father

Fathers are more involved in our children’s lives than we were a generation ago.

62% of us put our kids to bed, compared with 16% in the previous generation; 52% attend sporting events, up from 37%; 49% read to our kids, up from 14%; 25% do housework, up from 8%; 44% help with dishes, up from 16%.

But women are still far more likely to attend church services each week than we are. And they are 20% more likely to give serious attention to their faith than we are.

What kind of spiritual model do we need to give our children and families? What does God expect of a spiritual father and leader? His word is clear. Let me show you what we teach our new and prospective members every month—what God expects of a fully developing follower of Jesus Christ.

First and foremost, a follower of Jesus worships God.

Jesus told us that God expects us to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37). We love God when we worship him—with other Christians, and personally each day.

Men, our children will value worship as we do. Are you here every week you can be? Do you sing as we sing to God, or do you stand in silence? Do you pray to him, or listen as others do it for you? Do you study his word with us or merely sit through the sermon?

Do you worship God personally every day? Does your family know that you do? Would God want your kids to worship him as you do?

Second, a follower of Jesus lives by God’s word.

God says of his word, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We are to know God’s word, and to live by it. James was blunt: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22).

And Jesus was conclusive: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love” (John 15:10). Jesus expects us to know his word, and to obey it.

Men, do you study God’s word every day? Do you make your decisions at home and at work in light of its truth? Is your daily lifestyle consistent with its teachings? Do you teach God’s word to your family? Would God want your kids to live by his word as you do?

Third, a follower of Jesus contributes to God’s work.

We are to use our spiritual gifts and abilities for God: “Each man should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). We are each part of the body of Christ—some a hand, others a foot, others an eye, others an ear (cf. 1 Corinthians 12). Each part is essential to our health and God’s purpose for our church. Every one of us must contribute out of the spiritual gifts and abilities God has given to us.

And we are to contribute financially to God’s work as well. God says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house” (Malachi 3:10). Ten percent of our income returned to God is his standard for us.

This is the way God meets the needs of our suffering world, and blesses us along the way. Proverbs 28:27 is worth contemplating: “He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.” Give to the needs of our community and world by giving to God through his church.

We are to give, not as though we are paying a bill but in gratitude for God’s grace to us: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Do you give generously, sacrificially, regularly to God’s work through your church? Does your family know of your contribution to God’s kingdom? Would God want your kids to give to him as you do?

Fourth, a follower of Jesus impacts God’s world.

Jesus’ second great commandment was simple and profound: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Your neighbor is any person you can love today.

We are to be Jesus’ witnesses in our Jerusalem and across the world (Acts 1:8). We are to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) as the purpose of our church and our lives.

God measures our success by the degree to which others follow him because of us. Are you making a difference in your world for God? For what lost people are you praying? Who are you inviting to church? What hurting people are you helping? Does your family see your ministry? Would God want your kids to impact his world as you do?

And foundational to each commitment, a spiritual leader walks consistently with God.

Jesus was very plain about this: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me…If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

We determine that we will love God, live by his word, contribute to his work, and impact his world. Then we live by these four priorities consistently. We measure our success by the degree to which we fulfill them each day.

As we do, we give our children a model they can follow to God. We have no greater gift to offer them.

How to choose a spiritual father

Now, what if this model was not yours? What if Father’s Day is a hard day for you, emotionally and perhaps spiritually as well? There’s good news—it’s not too late for you to have a godly father.

King Ahaz was king of Judah from 732 to 715 B.C. The Scriptures summarize his life this way: “He did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made cast idols for worshiping the Baals. He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites” (2 Chronicles 28:1-3).

Scripture concludes: “He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger” (vs. 24-25).

No son had a less godly father. We would expect his son Hezekiah to fail God and his people with equal corruption and sin. But no. Hezekiah repaired the temple his father had desecrated, consecrated its priests, led the nation in sacrifice to God, celebrated the Passover, and led Judah to liberation from the oppression of Assyria. His was one of the most celebrated reigns in Jewish history.

His secret was simple—he chose his spiritual father: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done” (2 Chronicles 29:2). Even though David had lived and ruled 255 year before him, he chose to follow his example, to make David his spiritual father. He chose well.

You can make the same choice. You need and deserve someone in your life who worships God, who lives by his word, who contributes to his work and who impacts his world consistently. As Timothy needed Paul and John Mark needed Barnabas, so we each need spiritual mentors and guides.

Ask God to guide you. He has someone for you—a Sunday school teacher, a respected business leader, a relative or a close friend. Choose your model from Scripture and from life. Ask that person for time together. Develop a deep, personal relationship with him. As Hezekiah chose his spiritual father, so should you.

And ask God to use you, to make you a spiritual father to those who need one. Ross Redding was the sixth-grade boys Sunday school teacher at College Park Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, my home church. He never had biological children. But he had scores of spiritual children. Young boys he led to study God’s word, to pray to him, to worship him, to love him. Men now, pastoring churches and leading corporations, men of God who call him their spiritual father. Ask God to make you a Ross Redding, and he will.

Conclusion

Above all, make God your Father. Love him as his child, whether you are a father or not, whether you need a spiritual father or not. Jesus was the first rabbi in Jewish history to call God his “Abba,” his “Daddy.” Now, because he did, we can.

Think of it—the God of the universe is your Father. He made the universe, but he also made you. He rules the world, but he also loves you. And he wants you to love him.

When you relate to God as your Father, everything changes. You worship him out of love, not duty. You live by his word in trusting faith, not religious obligation. You contribute to his work as a privilege, not a duty. You impact his world out of joy, not guilt.

You become the person God wants your family to become. And you find in God the finest Father in the world, literally.

A good friend and father gave me a perspective on spiritual fatherhood which impressed me, so much that I close with it today.

Every dad here knows about the basketball playoffs. These are the days of “must-win” games. Unlike high school or college players, who bring excitement and intensity to every game, most professional players pace themselves for the playoffs. Then again in the playoffs, unless there’s a game they must win. Then they give everything they have, for there is no tomorrow. That game is everything.

What is the only “must-win” game fathers play? The only game which truly matters? It is the contest for the souls of our children. Only they are eternal. Not our jobs, our possessions, our career aspirations and achievements and acclaim. Nothing else but that.

And this is a game we must play to win. The coaches cannot win it for us. The fans in the stands cannot. They can help, but the ball is literally in our court. Not just the season, but the eternity, is in the balance.

The next shot is yours.

How to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

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Topical Scripture: Luke 17:11–19

Last Tuesday, I was honored to introduce Dr. Tony Evans as the keynote speaker for The Salvation Army’s luncheon in Dallas. Dr. Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, a 10,000-member congregation in our city. He has published more than 100 books, booklets, and Bible studies. His daily radio program is heard on 1,400 stations in 130 countries. His sermons are downloaded 20 million times a year.

Baylor University named Dr. Evans one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. His address yesterday was characteristically brilliant and moving. And it was enormously courageous.

You see, his wife, Dr. Lois Evans, is on hospice care. Doctors have no further options in treating her cancer.

And yet you would never know the pain Dr. Evans was in. He demonstrated the joy of the Lord, the power of the Spirit, and an attitude of gratitude for the grace of God.

If he could, we can.

Scripture calls us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Not “for” all circumstances, but “in” them. Dr. Evans clearly obeyed the word of God last Tuesday.

How can we have true Thanksgiving this Thursday? And every day of the year?

Trust God with your pain

Luke 17 (NIV) tells us that Jesus was “on his way south to Jerusalem” and the cross, traveling “along the border between Samaria and Galilee” (v. 11). Along his journey, our Lord met ten lepers (v. 12). They stood at a distance shouting “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” (v. 13). Why?

Lepros is a Greek word which can mean various skin diseases. Psoriasis, lupus, and ringworm probably would have been considered leprosy in Jesus’ day. Leprosy proper, or Hansen’s disease, was common as well. There are three kinds, distinguished by the spots they create: red, white, and black. The disease is seated in the bones, marrow, joints, and nerves, only eventually manifesting itself in the skin.

By that time, it is far advanced. It can cause the nerves to die, so that the patient cannot feel pain, and will damage feet or other limbs without him knowing it. It can cause the joints to separate and literally fall off. Hansen’s disease is always fatal, contagious, and hereditary. It was the AIDS of the ancient world.

And so these lepers stood “at a distance” from Jesus (v. 12). When the leper was windward of a healthy person, the diseased person was made to stand at least fifty yards away. As Jesus was about to enter a village (v. 13), they were required to keep their distance from him.

The Old Testament is clear on this restriction: “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:45–46). “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease” (Numbers 5:2).

Imagine being made to live the rest of your life alone or in a camp with other sufferers. Never seeing your family at closer than one hundred and fifty feet; never touching your wife or husband or children or parents again; never knowing a touch of affection or love. An exile for the rest of your life, through absolutely no fault of your own. And this is not to mention the horrible physical suffering when the malady was actual Hansen’s disease, as it so often was.

We can hear and feel their plaintive cry, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” (v. 13). Perhaps they heard of his earlier healing of a leper (Luke 5:12–16). Possibly they knew of his larger healing ministry and compassion for those in need. At any rate, they had nothing to lose by appealing to him for help. The worst that could happen was that he would ignore them as did all the other members of their society.

Jesus did exactly what they asked, having pity on their need. He commanded them to go and show themselves to the priests (v. 14), as only a priest could declare them clean and allow them to reenter society. As they went in faith that they were healed, they were.

Thank God for his provision

Now comes the turning point of the story: “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice” (v. 15). They had apparently not gone far, as this man was easily able to find Jesus again to thank him. Note that this episode occurred before the leper went to the priest, so that the priest could make no claim to having healed him.

He “threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him” (v. 16a). Earlier he could get no closer than one hundred and fifty feet; now he fell at his very feet in gratitude. “And he was a Samaritan,” Luke adds (v. 16b). To the Jewish mind, this was a half-breed, a moral and spiritual leper whatever his physical condition. Luke didn’t mention the man’s racial status before. It didn’t matter that he was a Samaritan until he became the only one to return in gratitude. Then Luke pointed out his identity for the sake of irony and emphasis.

Jesus then turned this event into a teaching moment: “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (vs. 17-18). The word translated “foreigner” (allogenes) has been found on a limestone block from the Temple: “Let no foreigner enter within the screen and enclosure surrounding the sanctuary.” A foreigner could not come to the Temple of God, but he could come to the God of the Temple!

So Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well” (v. 19). It would seem that the man wanted to remain with Jesus; so our Lord told him to “go,” to return to the priest so he could receive his certificate of cleansing and reenter society. With this promise: “your faith has made you well.”

“Well” translates sodzo; when this word is connected with “faith” in the gospels, it takes on a much larger sense than only physical healing. It means to be “saved,” spiritually as well as physically. To be “whole” as several translations render it. To be complete, to be right with God. “Has saved you” is a literal translation.

The perfect tense points to completed action. “You” is singular—only one person was “saved” or made completely well. The other nine were cured of their physical disease—this man of his spiritual malady. The others were cured, one day to die—this man was cured, to live eternally. And the reason? He returned to Jesus in faith, to give thanks.

Recognize your need for grace

Why do so few follow his example and receive his healing today?

If we do not believe that God has given us all that we have; if we separate Sunday from Monday and religion from the “real world”; if we make God our hobby instead of our King; if we think that we are the source of our possessions and prosperity—why would we be thankful to God? We might say a prayer over a Thanksgiving meal, but we certainly wouldn’t let such religious tradition impede on the rest of our holiday, much less the rest of our lives. Why not confine the meal to halftime of the football game, to be followed by an early start on Christmas shopping? If God is irrelevant to our lives, how can he be relevant to Thanksgiving?

It’s easy to condemn those who have turned Thanksgiving from a holy day to a secular holiday, to refuse shopping this Thursday and even this Friday, but is that all God asks of us? As we have seen, his word says to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). How are we doing with an attitude of gratitude? When last did you take even ten minutes to express thanks to God? When last were you guilty of joining the nine thankless lepers? I’ve had to ask the same question of myself.

Why are we so seldom with the one? I think I know some of the reasons.

  • The nine perhaps thought they deserved God’s favor, for they were Jews. We think we deserve life and gifts and goodness, but we don’t.
  • There would be time later, after they saw the priests and then their families and friends and rejoiced in celebration. They could always come back later to give thanks. But they didn’t. Usually we don’t.
  • They lost sight of Jesus. They were so focused on their newfound health that they forgot the One who gave it to them. So do we.
  • Giving thanks doesn’t really matter to Jesus. He’s God—he’s above that sort of thing. But his response to their thanklessness proved otherwise. God does care. And so do others.
  • I don’t need to give thanks. There’s nothing really to be missed. But there was. They missed salvation—eternal relationship with God. Their bodies were healed, but their souls were not. They were never made whole and well, because they were thankless men. Thanksgiving makes us whole.

You see, we “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). When we are thankful, we recognize and submit to the Source of our life and blessings. We are empowered by his Spirit. We manifest his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. An attitude of gratitude marks us as the children of God and enables him to use us for in his service.

One grateful leper is still changing lives twenty centuries later. Thanksgiving honors God and extends his Kingdom.

Conclusion

How do we develop an attitude of gratitude? By trusting our needs to God and thanking him for his provisions. Every time we have a need. And every time he gives us his provision.

I mentioned last Sunday that the previous Sunday I was away from our Chapel to preach at Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler. Janet and I accepted their invitation in part because they are a remarkable, global congregation, the largest church in East Texas and one of the most effective anywhere.

The other reason I accepted their invitation is that two of our grandchildren live in Tyler. Even though Green Acres is not their church, they came to worship on Sunday. And seeing my granddaughter in her beautiful red dress at church was worth it all.

I saw another person that morning who also caused me to “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.”

My father died of a heart attack in 1979 at the age of fifty-five. On the first day my brother and I came back to our college campus after his funeral, Linda Sharp found us. Her father had died six months earlier of cancer and her pregnant older sister a few months earlier when she was killed by a drunk driver.

Linda put her arms around us and said, “Time helps. It doesn’t heal, but it helps.” I will never forget her grace that day.

I saw Linda at Green Acres. I had forgotten that she and her husband are members there. When I saw her in the hallway, my heart was flooded with gratitude for her. And to the God who used her so beautifully in my life.

If we’ll give every need to God and thank him for every provision, there will never be an hour when we will not be grateful. This is the promise, and the invitation, of God.

How To Do What You Cannot

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How to Do What You Cannot Do

Matthew 7:12

Dr. Jim Denison

Someone has written that you know you are in Texas in July when: the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground; the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance; hot water comes out of both taps; you can make sun tea instantly; you discover that in July it takes only two fingers to steer your car; you break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.; you realize that asphalt has a liquid state; the potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt, and pepper; and farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.

Nonetheless, despite the hot weather and vacation schedules and all that might distract us this morning, God has brought us to a text of life-transforming significance. How can we be like Jesus? One verse will tell us.

This sentence has been known as the Golden Rule since a sermon by John Wesley in 1750. These are the most famous words Jesus ever spoke. They have been called the “Everest of ethics” (William Barclay), the greatest single statement of ethics in all of literature.

So, what did Jesus really say in this famous text? And how can we put his words into our lives? I am praying that you and I will never be the same for learning the answers from Jesus’ lips today.

Learn what Jesus said

First, what did Jesus really say? Walk through his words with me.

The verse begins with “so,” or “therefore.” This verse sums up the entire Sermon on the Mount, the greatest discourse ever preached.

These words summarize the beatitudes, being salt and light, and God’s word regarding murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retribution, love for enemies, giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, treasure in heaven, worry, judging and gossip, and seeking God. Here is the “capstone of the whole discourse” (Plummer).

“In everything, do to others”—attitudes, thoughts, words, actions. No exceptions.

“What you would have them do to you.”

Jesus here assumes, as with the entire Sermon on the Mount, that we are his followers. These words were preached to believers, and they require a prior faith commitment before they will work in our lives.

If a person wishes evil for himself, this Rule would permit him to wish it for others as well (drug dealers, pornographers, alcoholics). So you must make your heart right with God before you can use this as a Rule by which to live. More of this in a moment.

“For this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus said earlier, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

This one Rule summarizes all God has said to mankind to this point in revelatory history.

Think for a moment about all the ways our world would be different if we lived by this Golden Rule.

Consider the social parts of the Ten Commandments. Do you want others to murder or harm you? To commit adultery with your spouse? To steal from you? To lie to or about you, to gossip and slander about you? To covet what is yours? What if the world practiced this Rule? What would be the consequences for our prisons and jails if there were no more murder or physical assault or theft? For our families if there were no more adultery? For our relationships if there were no more lies or slander or gossip or coveting? What would be the consequences regarding issues such as abortion, pornography, substance abuse?

A century ago, a Great Awakening came to the nation of Wales, and the population began living by the Golden Rule. What were the results? They had to close the jails, for there were no prisoners. The police formed choruses and sang in churches. Coal miners had to retrain their mules, because they had before heard only foul language from their masters. Everything changed.

How different would our personal lives be if we each lived and thought by this Rule? If we didn’t have murderous wishes, or adulterous lust, or desires to steal, lie, and covet? How much more healthy and godly would our minds and souls be?

Admit that his ethic is impossible

Obviously, we should each live by this Golden Rule. But there’s a catch.

The negative form of this rule is found throughout literature. The great Jewish rabbi Hillel taught, “What is hateful to you, do not do to another. This is the whole law; the rest is explanation of it” (cf. Tobit 4:15). Confucius said, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” The Stoics said the same, as did the Greek philosophers.

But Jesus was the very first to state this rule positively. Not just, don’t do what you don’t want done to you; but, do what you do want done to you. This had never been said before in all of recorded literature. It was a new teaching, a new way of looking and life and all its responsibilities and privileges.

And it is a way of life none of us can follow.

You see a car broken down on the side of the road. Hillel tells you not to hinder or harm the person; Jesus tells you to stop and help him. You notice a lonely colleague at work or student at school. Hillel says not to make things worse; Jesus says to befriend her. You learn of someone in financial trouble. Hillel says not to compound the problem; Jesus says to help meet the need. You know someone who is lost spiritually. Hillel says not to make things worse spiritually; Jesus says to pray for the person and win him to faith.

Jesus applies this Golden Rule to “everything.” No exceptions. No parts of life left out. No people to the side. No days off. No moments off. Every dimension of your life—your thoughts, attitudes, private words, public actions—every day of your life is to be lived this way.

C. S. Lewis: “When I was a child I often had a toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother—at least, not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this. I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from pain: but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists; I knew they started fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. They would not let sleeping dogs lie; if you gave them an inch they took a [mile.]

“Now, if I may put it that way, Our Lord is like the dentists. If you give Him an inch, He will take a [mile]…That is why He warned people to ‘count the cost’ before becoming Christians. ‘Make no mistake,’ He says. ‘If you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through…I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect—until My Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me” (Mere Christianity 171-2).

God means for every part of every moment of every day to be lived this way. And this, you and I cannot do. We simply can’t.

Live in dependence on his Spirit

So how do we do what we cannot do?

First, we go to the only One who can. Jesus Christ was the only person in all of human history to live fully by this Golden Rule. The only one. Begin by establishing a personal relationship with him. Ask him to forgive your sins and failures, to step into your life and make you the child of God. You must have Christ in your heart to live like him in the world.

Next, admit that you cannot live by this Rule.

If you think you are “just fine” spiritually, measure last week by this standard. Measure today by it. Have you prayed for every person you hope will pray for you? Have you given financially as you hope others will? Have you loved those around you as you hope they love you? Have you been the spouse or parent or child you want others to be with you?

See how far short of this Rule you have fallen, as we all have.

Now you’re ready to ask God for his strength and power, for his help and hope.

a. This is a prayer God will always answer. Any time you ask him to help you do to others what you would have them do to you, he will. Claim these promises: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24); “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3); “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15.7); “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

Ask God to fill your heart with his love for your neighbor as yourself, and believe by faith that he has. Then follow Augustine’s advice: love the Lord and do as you will.

Next, apply this Rule to that specific situation where it is needed most. What relationship is most strained in your life this morning? Family, friends, neighbor, fellow church member? Is there someone you have hurt? Someone who has hurt you? What would you want that person to do now? What, therefore, must you do now?

I’m praying for marriages to experience healing, starting today. So many couples are struggling. At Youth Camp there were so many teenagers living in homes where the parents are separated or divorcing. I’m praying for friendships to be restored, for bitterness to be healed, for souls to be saved, for lives to be transformed. I’m praying for miracles as a result of this text today. I’m asking you to join me.

Last, make such dependence on Jesus a lifestyle. Our culture so tempts us to be proud and self-sufficient. “Do to others what you would have them do to you”—I can do that. I can try harder and do better. No, you can’t. Not for long. Not in any way which changes anything. But you can ask Jesus to do this through you. You can ask his Spirit to fill your heart with his love, his forgiveness, his grace, his courage. Every time, every day, when you must live by this Rule, you can depend on the One who gave it. And you must.

Conclusion

This statement by Thomas Merton has challenged me this week: “We are not converted only once in our lives, but many times, and this endless series of large and small conversions, inner revolutions, leads out to our transformation in Christ.”

I am asking God to make this day one of these “conversions.” The morning we asked God to help us live every day by the Everest of ethics, the essence of Christian relationship, the one value which will transform our lives and our entire world. The day he answered that prayer.

Will you join me?

How to Face the Future

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Topical Scripture: Psalm 22

I recently came across a list of ninety-eight of our most common phobias. I didn’t know about “ephebiphobia,” a “fear of teenagers” (though I understand it, having raised two of them). I’m glad not to have “glossophobia,” a “fear of speaking in public,” or “gynophobia,” a “fear of women.”

It turns out, experts have ranked the top ten phobias of all time. Our number one fear is arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. This despite the fact that only four people each year die from spider bites in the US. (By contrast, six people die each year from their pajamas catching fire.)

What about the future is worrying you today? What problem, decision, or challenge are you facing?

You’re right to be concerned. No financial professional can guarantee that their advice will keep you from losing your savings. No physician can be sure their medical practice will preserve your health. No one can guarantee that you will have even another day beyond today.

So, if you’re looking for faith to face the future, there’s only one source you should trust.

How David predicted Jesus’ death

As you know, Jesus cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). His words are a direct quotation from the first verse of our text.

Since books (papyrus scrolls) were rare and very expensive, the culture of his day was oral, meaning that people were able to remember and recite large quantities of literature from memory. When Jesus called out this verse, those at the cross would remember the rest of the psalm, just as if I were to quote in a sermon, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” the congregation could finish the lyric, “that saved a wretch like me.”

As we will see, Psalm 22 is a remarkable foreshadowing of Jesus’ crucifixion, with stunning detail and descriptions rendered a thousand years before Calvary. I believe that Jesus caused the crowd to call this psalm to mind so they would be able to see the degree to which his death fulfilled biblical prophecy.

Here are some of the scenes they would have seen as they remembered David’s prediction from a thousand years earlier.

Mocked by the people

“All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!'” (Psalm 22:7–8). In Matthew 27 we read of Jesus’ crucifixion: “The chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now'” (vv. 41–43).

None of the religious leaders would have intentionally fulfilled Scripture in this way, making David’s prediction even more remarkable.

The manner of his crucifixion

David continued: “For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet” (Psalm 22:16). He could not have been speaking of crucifixion, since this gruesome form of execution was first employed by the Persians five centuries after he wrote this psalm. He probably described “dogs” who attacked his hands and feet with their teeth or spears. But his picture describes Jesus’ crucifixion perfectly.

The next verse: “I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me” (v. 17).

Since Roman crucifixion typically led to asphyxiation as the body’s weight crushed down on the lungs, the victim would use his arms to pull up his body. However, nails driven through the wrists (the more typical form of crucifixion) severed the nerves, making such relief impossible.

The victim would then use his legs to support his body. When the soldiers were ready for the victims to die, they would break their legs with a heavy mallet called the “crucifragium.”

This is the practice behind John’s record:

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs (John 19:31–33).

His clothes divided by soldiers

In another detail that was fulfilled at Calvary, David wrote, “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:18). The soldiers fulfilled this declaration at the cross: “When they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots” (Matthew 27:35). Again, the soldiers would never have intentionally fulfilled David’s prediction, making it even more astounding.

Nor could Jesus have arranged for these fulfillments. He could not have persuaded the religious authorities to mock him or the Romans to leave his bones intact or divide his garments while he was on the cross. These actions clearly demonstrate the prophetic nature of his death and the fact that God knew a thousand years before Calvary how his Son would die for us.

It is no surprise that David would end his remarkable psalm this way: “Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it” (vv. 30–31).

David was more right than he could know. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10–11). And the God who is sovereign over the future will be sovereign forever.

Divine sovereignty and human freedom

As we have seen, Psalm 22 precisely predicted and pictured Jesus’ death a thousand years later. It foresaw crucifixion, a manner of execution that had not even been invented. It foresaw actions that Jesus’ enemies would never have taken to fulfill its predictions, behavior he could never have arranged beforehand.

If the Lord knew such details a thousand years ahead of time, can we trust that he knows our future as well? Consider these statements from God himself:

  • “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
  • “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them” (Isaiah 42:9).
  • “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come” (Isaiah 46:10).

You may be wondering: If God knows the future, do I have freedom to choose? Am I a robot subjected to his sovereignty with no free will of my own?

The fact that God knows the future does not mean that he chooses it. He is not bound by time. “Tomorrow” is as real to him as “today” is to us. The fact that he can see something does not mean that he always chooses it.

You can watch people acting around you today, but that doesn’t mean that you chose their behavior. You can watch people sit down in a restaurant, for instance, but that doesn’t mean that you chose their seats.

God sees tomorrow as we see today. That doesn’t mean that he always chooses all that happens. For instance, he is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). But clearly, not all “reach repentance” (cf. Revelation 20:15).

God’s will is best for our future

The fact that God knows the future does not mean that we have no freedom. But it does mean that God’s will is the best path to our ultimate destination. He knows where he is leading us and uses every day to prepare us for his purpose. His Spirit is something like a GPS system that leads you turn by turn in ways you may not understand at the time. But it is taking you the best way to your destination. You may not understand his leadership at the time, but you can trust that it is always for your best.

That’s why Scripture encourages us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

God’s will is best for our present

And his omniscience means that his will for the future is best for the present as well. Every step we take toward our ultimate destination is the best step for us today.

Remember the Macedonian vision by which God called Paul westward to Philippi. The apostle had no idea he was bringing the gospel to what we call the “Western world.” He didn’t know that he was evangelizing what we know as “Europe.” He didn’t even know that the church he would start at Philippi would become his favorite congregation and the recipient of the timeless letter we know as the Book of Philippians.

He just knew that God was calling him. Every step he took was the best step for that day and the best step for eternity.

In the same way, God will lead us through Scripture, reason, circumstances, other people, and our own intuition. He will lead if we will follow. In fact, he wants us to know his will even more than we do. If we’re not sure what he wants us to do, we may simply ask him. If we don’t receive an answer, it’s because we’re not willing to obey what we hear.

When I was a youth minister in my first church, one of my jobs was changing the church sign beside the road. I have no idea why this was my responsibility, but it was. The pastor would come up with a short, pithy statement I was to put up in six-inch letters.

I’ll always remember this one: “If you don’t feel close to God, guess who moved.”

Conclusion

What about tomorrow worries you today? What decision, challenge, or opportunity do you need help in facing? The God who knew every detail of his Son’s death a thousand years before it happens loves you so much that he sent that Son to die for you. Jesus would do it all over again, just for you.

Henry Blackaby: “If you know that God loves you, you should never question a directive from him.”

Do you know that God loves you?

How to Face Your Fears

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How to Face Your Fears

2 Timothy 1:5-12

Dr. Jim Denison

I learned this week that there are 628 kinds of phobias in our country, ranging from anuptaphobia (fear of staying single) and dromophobia (fear of crossing the street) to verbaphobia (fear of words), pantaphobia (fear of everything) and phophobia (fear of fear).

I wanted to title my sermon, “Everything you always wanted to know about phobias but were afraid to ask.” But I was afraid to.

One psychologist said that the only two groups of people who are free from fear are the dead and the deranged. And that was before September 11.

Consider these headlines I clipped from last week’s newspapers: “Doctors given guidelines to treat inhaled anthrax,” “Postal union says it will sue to close tainted NY mail center,” “Teens’ hearing today in campus anthrax hoax,” “Salmonella shipped to Clinton,” “U.S. tests drug to battle smallpox,” “Our nervous nation—have terrorism and anthrax made us afraid of our own shadows?”

Recent Newsweek covers shouted: “Biological and chemical terror: how scared should you be?” and “Anthrax: a spreading scare, the medical facts.” People weekly was titled: “Calming your fears: the facts about bombs, airplanes and anthrax; separating rumors from reality; ways to comfort your children.” Time’s cover: The fear factor: anthrax letters. FBI warnings. Bin Laden’s videotapes. Bombarded by threats real and imagined, a nation on edge asks, What’s next?”

We’ve been studying the Holy Spirit, his person and power. Now let’s close by asking: how does his power help us with fear? Fears national and personal? Fears we all feel and fears you feel this morning? Let’s see.

Admit your fears (5-7)

Our text is addressed to Timothy, Paul’s young “son in the faith.” Timothy was one of the greatest missionaries in Christian history. He helped start the first church in Europe, then planted churches across Macedonia and Greece and helped churches in Thessalonica, Ephesus, and Corinth. He was at Paul’s side in his first Roman cell, then pastored at Ephesus, the largest church in the world. He was with Paul when he died. His life and legacy left a permanent mark on the global Christian movement.

But there’s more to Timothy’s story. In the last letter of Paul’s life he has to encourage his young associate with this fact: “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.” Why?

Timothy, for all his greatness in ministry, was a man plagued by fear.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul sends this instruction to the church: “If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you” (v. 10). In his first letter to his son in the faith he admonishes: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Later in our text he must encourage Timothy: “Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner (2 Timothy 1:8). Still later: “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

It’s not hard to read between the lines. Timothy was a young man afraid. Afraid of suffering, perhaps; of older leaders, of prison, of persecution. Here’s my point: if Timothy had fear, so can we. It’s normal, natural, human to be afraid, especially in times like these. We do ourselves no good in denial.

It is not courage to pretend you’re not afraid. It is courage to admit your fears in faith. Start there today. What most worries you this morning? What fears plague your mind and make restless your heart? What washes over you in a wave of anxiety? Where are you like Timothy?

Believe God is stronger than your fear

Admit your fears. Then believe that God is stronger than they are. His word will help us.

This week I researched the biblical command, “fear not.” I discovered 58 times where God speaks these words to his people. Let’s look at six of them, for every one of us is somewhere in their number today.

The first is in Genesis 26, where we find Isaac afraid for his future. His growing family has become a threat to the neighboring Philistines, so their king banishes him from his land.

Isaac retreats and digs a water well, crucial to his family’s survival in this undeveloped land. But the Philistines take it from him, and threaten more of the same with every well he might dig. Their terrorist-like attacks jeopardize his security and imperil his future.

But that very night, “the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, for I am with you. I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham” (v. 24).

What happens? Abimilech comes to Isaac with his personal adviser and the commander of his forces, something like the president visiting you with his chief of staff and the Secretary of Defense. He apologizes and makes a treaty of peace. The next day Isaac’s servants find the water well which will preserve their lives and future.

When God says “Fear not,” he means it.

The second episode is in 1 Kings 17, where we find God’s prophet Elijah in a time of horrific drought and starvation, worse than the Dust Bowl and Great Depression combined.

A widow living in the town of Zarephath is gathering sticks to make a last meal for herself and her son before they starve to death.

But God’s prophet says, “Fear not…This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land'” (vs. 13-14).

And what happens? The widow has enough flour and oil to feed herself, her son, and God’s prophet until the very day the drought breaks by the grace of God.

When God says “Fear not,” he means it.

The third episode is in 2 Kings 6, where the nations of Aram and Israel are at war.

By night the Aramean military surrounds the city of Dothan, where Elisha the prophet of Israel is living. The next morning Elisha’s servant wakes up, looks outside the city, and sees this mighty army surrounding them. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” he cries.

Elisha’s reply is one of the mightiest faith expressions in Scripture: “Fear not. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Then the prophet prays that God might open his servant’s eyes to spiritual reality. The Lord opens the servant’s eyes, he looks and sees “the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17).

The result? The enemy attacks, Elisha prays, and the army is struck with blindness. He leads them into the Israeli capital of Samaria. Rather than kill them, he counsels the Israelite king to give them a great feast; they are sent back to Aram; and the Arameans stop their war with Israel.

When God says “Fear not,” he means it.

The fourth and fifth episodes are in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 41 finds God’s people enslaved in Babylon. Imagine that the attacks of September 11 were followed by the wholesale enslavement of America, and that you and I are now captives of the Taliban in Afghanistan. We’d be where the Israelites were.

But God says in Isaiah 41, “Fear not, 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” (v. 10).

Two chapters later he repeats his command, with an even more specific promise of his presence and help: “Fear not, 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” (Isaiah. 43:1-3).

The result? Babylon is destroyed by the Persians, who liberate the Israelites and return them to their Holy Land. They rebuild their Temple and their nation. And one day a son of Israel who was also the Son of God would die in that city for you and me and the entire world.

When God says “Fear not,” he means it.

Now we come to the last episode.

John, Jesus’ best friend, is exiled on the ancient Alcatraz called Patmos, because he won’t stop preaching the gospel. One Sunday morning he is worshiping his Lord in his cave on the island, when suddenly that Lord appears to him in his heavenly splendor and glory.

Imagine the heavenly Jesus appearing here, today, before us. John does what any of us would do: he falls at his feet as though dead. But Jesus places his right hand on him and says, “Fear not. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17-18).

The result? John writes Revelation, God’s greatest book of hope, his encouragement to suffering saints from the first century to the last. John founds a church in that cave of Patmos which is still worshiping the Lord Jesus twenty centuries later. The first time I visited Patmos was a Sunday morning, and I met with John’s church in that cave, praising God. Through John’s faith in that place, Jesus placed his right hand on me and said, “Fear not.” And now he says it to you.

When God says “Fear not,” he means it.

Conclusion

So how do we face our fears in faith? First, we admit them to God. What is your greatest fear today? The future? The economy? Suffering? Enemies? God’s people faced them all. Name yours before your Lord.

Next, believe in his presence and power. He says, “Fear not,” for he is with you and he will sustain you. The creator of the universe loves you. In fact, if you were the only sinner in human history, the Lord Jesus would have died only for you. God is your Father, and he will sustain you, wherever you are and whatever you face.

Last, accept the help of his Spirit. Fear is the tool of the enemy, his strategy in the spiritual war for our souls. So run to the Spirit. Ask him to fill and empower you every time fear assaults you. Ask for his help, believe that it is yours, and it is.

I’ve quoted the proverb before: fear knocked at the door, faith answered, and there was no one there. Now I want to amend it: fear knocked at the door, the Spirit answered, and there was no one there. This is the promise of God.

Henri Nouwen was one of my favorite spiritual writers. In his book The Beloved he records a word he once heard God whisper to his heart. I quoted it a year ago in worship. After September 11, we need to hear it again:

I have called you by name from the very beginning.You are mine and I am yours. You are my beloved, on you my favor rests.I have molded you in the depths of the earth, and knitted you together in your mother’s womb.I have carved you in the palm of my hand and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace.I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child.I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step.Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch.I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your third.I will not hide my face from you. You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased.

We can face our fears in faith, by turning to the face of God. Now.

How to Find Your Heart

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How to Find Your Heart

Matthew 10:1-10

Dr. Jim Denison

This past Tuesday, amid much ceremony and tradition, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. I wish my experiences in church work could be so dignified.

I should have known pastoral ministry was not all pomp and circumstance in my first pastorate, on the Sunday when a scorpion which crawled inside my wading boots as I was preparing to baptize. And the time the baptism waters were freezing cold, but the 6’7″ candidate insisted on being baptized anyway; I got his face under water, then he grabbed me and dragged me under with him. We counted two baptisms that night.

There was the staff member in First Baptist Church in Midland who wore his lapel microphone into the restroom, and the entire sound system was on. He was the same beloved friend who dressed for Sunday morning, checked on his horses, then walked through the church building making sure all was ready. Only when he reached the platform for the service to begin did we realize that he had brought his horses with him. The carpets were cleaned that week.

And of course, there was the infamous Saturday afternoon at Park Cities when I climbed up to the fifth-floor bell tower room to see if it would work as a prayer room, without my cell phone; the door locked behind me, with no keyhole on my side. I finally used a two-by-four to break out the window in the door, and carefully reached my key through and let myself out. Otherwise I’d still be up there. I was so grateful to the staff member who heard the story the next week and asked, “Who left the two-by-four in the room?”

Some mistakes in church work are worse than others. Today we’re going to examine the worst mistake in all of Christian history, and the most subtle. This mistake has robbed millions of Christians of the joy Jesus gives, the direction his Father provides, the purpose and power of his Spirit. Let’s see if it has affected your life:

Do you feel that you are accomplishing all you were made to do in life, or is something missing?

Do you consistently seek opportunities to serve the Lord and his people, or do you more typically wait to be asked to serve?

Who was the last person you led to faith in Christ? The last person whose faith was strengthened significantly because of your direct influence on his or her life?

Do you experience each day the satisfaction of knowing that you are walking in the Spirit’s power and purpose?

The mistake we’ll discuss today has kept millions of Christians on the sidelines of significance. It has kept many of you from the life God wants you to live, from the direction and purpose he made you to experience. If you don’t understand the tragedy of this mistake, that’s all the more evidence for its damage.

My goal today is simple, and ambitious: I want us to repent of this sin, this tragic mistake, once and for all. I want us to put it to rest, now and for the rest of our lives. I want us to settle the matter this morning.

Why members don’t minister

Jesus’ last words before his ascension are familiar to us all: “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). “You” is plural, commissioning them all.

These first Christians took his word seriously: at Pentecost, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4).

At this early point, everybody knew that ministry was for all members, that every one of us is equally called by God to serve and grow his Kingdom.

But over the coming generations, things changed.

As their movement grew beyond its Jewish boundaries, pagan heresies began infiltrating its theology. So the church decided to confine theology to the theologians, ministry to the ministers. Around AD 250, Cyprian of Carthage coined the word “clergy,” meaning the “called-out.” He separated them from the “laity,” from the Greek word laos for “people.” When Constantine legalized the church in the next century, a massive building campaign ensued. Now the clergy had a place to work and do their ministry. Over time they moved into those buildings and made them monasteries.

From then till now there’s the unstated supposition in the church: if you don’t work here, you’re not a real minister. I can work on old cars, but since I don’t work at a mechanic’s shop I’m not a real mechanic. You’re not a real football player unless you play on the team–throwing the ball in the street doesn’t count. You’re not a real economist unless that’s your living. Ministry is the work of ministers.

So it’s your job to support those of us who do this for a living. Come to church, give financially, do what we ask you to do, but leave the real ministry to the ministers. Leave surgery to the surgeons, law to the lawyers, and ministry to the ministers. Ministry is not your job.

The second fact explains the first: you don’t know how.

As “clergy” grew, so did vocational training for their work, now called “seminaries.” Doctors read medical books, but the rest of us don’t. I didn’t study before my knee surgery, and learn to do the procedure. I trust those who know more than me.

If you’re in a court of law, it’s best that you let the lawyers talk. If someone here today stops breathing, it’s best that you find someone who knows CPR to help. Otherwise you might make things worse.

You don’t know Greek and Hebrew; you haven’t been to seminary; you’re not called to do this as your vocational work. This is what you pay us for. You do what volunteers do–teach Sunday school, sing in the choir, work on committees. But leave the heavy lifting of ministry to the ministers. That’s the “clergy lie.”

When we buy into the clergy lie, what are the results for the church? About what you’d expect.

Imagine a Baylor Health Care System where Joel Allison, the CEO, is the only person allowed to treat a patient. Imagine a government where President Bush is the only person permitted to negotiate legislation. Imagine a Baylor women’s basketball team where Kim Mulkey-Robertson is the only person allowed to touch a basketball.

Is it any wonder that 85 percent of America’s churches are plateaued or declining, that only one percent of church growth is by conversion? That Islam is America’s fastest-growing religion? That 114,000 people living within three miles of our church are in no worship service this morning?

What are the personal results for you? The purpose Jesus assigned every Christian remains unfulfilled in your life. Your spiritual gifts lie dormant. You miss the thrill of being used for eternity. You lose reward in that eternity. And the Church is kept from reaching the world.

The clergy lie keeps your salt in the saltshaker, where it can do no good. It keeps your light under the basket, where it cannot threaten the darkness. The clergy lie is the enemy’s greatest single strategy against the Great Commission, and his most effective.

How are we to respond?

A theology of member ministry

Let’s ask some questions of Matthew 10. First, are you called? Does God intend you to be involved in changing lives for his glory? (v. 1).

The same Holy Spirit indwells us all–he does the work of life change, not us. And he can work as fully through you as through me. You belong to him just as much as I do. Any qualified citizen can run for office. Any of you with resources can invest in the stock market. Any of you can serve the Lord, as he gifts and leads you.

Second, are you sent? “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (vs. 5-6).

Not because Jesus did not care for Gentiles–God so loved the “world” that he gave his only begotten Son for us all (John 3:16). The reason is that these men were not yet equipped for such work themselves. Not until Peter’s vision in Acts 10 did the Jewish Christians understand that contact with the Gentile world was acceptable and even desired by their Lord.

He has set you up for success, not failure. There is no place he will send you, no work to which he will call you, except that for which he has prepared you. Does he have a place for you?

Third, do you have a message? “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near'” (v. 7). Announce that the King has come, and invite people into his kingdom. Find your own way to tell people that truth. Tell them how you came to follow him, and invite them to join you. And they will.

Study his word, listen to his Spirit, and then know that he will give you what to say. I love it when people thank me for truth I don’t remember saying.

Fourth, do you have a ministry? “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons” (v. 8). If you are faithful, God will use you to change lives. He will show you what to do, if you will do anything he asks.

Last, will he take care of you? “Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep” (vs. 9-10). In other words, the Lord will provide for your needs, as you follow him by faith. He didn’t bring you this far to leave you. His will never leads where his grace cannot sustain.

Conclusion

We are focusing this spring on being committed daily to the Holy Spirit’s leading and power. This morning’s discussion is crucial to that larger theme. If you won’t breathe out, you cannot breathe in. If you won’t give, your hand cannot receive. If you won’t serve, you cannot know the Spirit’s power, since that power is given for service.

The key to your spiritual joy is giving joy to others.

Two stories prove my point, and I’m done.

I have recently become good friends with a man who’s been attending our Men’s Bible Study. My dear friend last week went through a horrible surgery for tongue cancer. Before his surgery, we talked and prayed together. He told me that he wanted God to use his life and even this trauma for his glory, to make his life significant.

I saw him after the surgery, and we talked about all the people who knew his story, who were telling others what God was doing through his life, his illness, and his faith. My friend could not yet speak, so he pointed to letters on a poster held by his wife. They spelled out, “I’ve started my significance.” And he gave me a thumbs-up. He was right.

A group of our men went to Cuba recently to expand our ongoing ministry on the island. The night before they returned, they met with a house church in Havana, twelve or so believers crammed into a very small room. Jeff Byrd, our associate pastor for missions, told the Cubans that we come to their island because we have left a part of our hearts with them and must return often to retrieve it. Then Jeff asked one of the men on the trip to share his testimony. The man’s eyes filled with tears as he told the assembled Cuban Christians, “Jeff may have left his heart in Cuba, but I have found mine here.”

Have you found your heart yet?

How to Forgive What You Can’t Forget

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How to Forgive What You Can’t Forget

Matthew 5:43-48

Dr. Jim Denison

The Wall Street Journal recently carried a front-page article describing the so-called “Revenge Industry.” This is a new kind of business which caters to those who have been wronged and are unwilling to forgive.

“Revenge Unlimited” is one example—through its web site it sells dead flowers, black roses, boxes of fish heads, melted chocolates, and stones with curses on them. Drop Dead Florist in Orlando has five full-time employees, and had to hire six more for Valentines Day week. The Voodoo Boutique will sell you a variety of magic-spell kits and voodoo dolls for the person you hate.

Only in America, you say? No, the Revenge Industry is as old as Cain, the brother of Abel, and as appealing to us as it was to him.

Lewis Smedes wrote the wonderful book Forgive and Forget. Here’s how it begins: “Somebody hurt you, maybe yesterday, maybe a lifetime ago, and you cannot forget it. You did not deserve the hurt. It went deep, deep enough to lodge itself in your memory. And it keeps on hurting you now.

“You are not alone. We all muddle our way through a world where even well-meaning people hurt each other. When we invest ourselves in deep personal relationships, we open our souls to the wounds of another’s disloyalty or even betrayal.

“There are some hurts that we can all ignore. Not every slight sticks with us, thank God. But some old pains do not wash out so easily; they remain like stubborn stains in the fabric of our own memory.

“Deep hurts we never deserved flow from a dead past into our living present. A friend betrays us; a parent abuses us; a spouse leaves us in the cold—these hurts do not heal with the coming of the sun….

“Forgiveness is God’s invention for coming to terms with a world in which, despite their best intentions, people are unfair to each other and hurt each other deeply. He began by forgiving us. And he invites us all to forgive each other.”

How? Where do we begin? Let’s follow Jesus’ wisdom on the subject, for the sake of our homes and our hearts.

What is forgiveness?

We begin with the logical first question: what is forgiveness? What does this mean? What is it? Listen to Jesus’ answer: “if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

Let’s understand what Jesus is saying.

“If you are offering your gift at the altar”—this is the act of worship, in the context of the Temple sacrifices. We would say, “If you are about to put money in the offering plate.”

“And there remember that your brother has something against you”—not just that you have something against him, but he has something against you.

“Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother”—we would say, “Get up from church, go make things right with him, then come back and put money in the offering plate.”

And so biblical forgiveness is reconciliation—it is “making things right” with someone with whom things are wrong. The most common Greek word translated “forgiveness” is “aphiami,” which means to wipe away, to remove, to let go, to release. This can be a legal word, meaning to release from a debt or punishment, to pardon.

Here’s what forgiveness is not:

Biblical forgiveness is not forgetting the pain. You do not have the human ability to do this. God can “remember our sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34), but we cannot.

Biblical forgiveness is not excusing the person, pretending the pain did not happen.

It is not ignoring the conflict, as though it will go away; it will not.

It is not tolerating the person, merely accepting that this is the way he or she is. Then nothing is solved or resolved.

Biblical forgiveness is pardon. It is to choose not to punish. When the governor pardons a criminal he does not forget the crime, or excuse the criminal, or ignore the situation, or tolerate the problem. He chooses not to punish the criminal, even though he could. To forgive someone is to choose not to punish them.

You may be thinking that you cannot do this. That the pain is too great, the hurt too deep, their spirit too unrepentant. That this is beyond you. You’re right. But it’s not beyond the God in you.

Think of all Jacob did to his brother Esau, stealing his birthright and family position. But there came a time, years later, when “Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept” (Genesis 33:4).

Think of all Joseph’s brothers did to him—selling him into slavery, stealing years from his life, separating him from his father and family for multiplied years of imprisonment and suffering. But at the end of it all, Genesis 45:15 says, “And [Joseph] kissed all his brothers and wept over them.”

Stephen was the first Christian martyr. As the religious authorities were stoning him to death, the Bible says, “Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59-60).

If they did this, so can we, with God’s help.

How do we forgive?

So, how do we do this? Counselors describe stages in this process.

First, we are hurt so deeply that we cannot forget the pain. Next, we hate; we want to strike back so that the person hurts as deeply as we do. Then, we begin to heal; we see the person who hurt us in a new light. Finally, we help; we invite the person who has hurt us back into our life. Sometimes he or she won’t, but we’ve done what we can.

Now, let’s examine these steps in light of Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness. Think right now of a hurt you cannot forget, and be as specific and recent as possible.

Even now, do you feel the hurt welling up inside, and with it the desire to hurt back? Are you feeling hate, the second step in this process? Here’s what Jesus says to do: choose not to retaliate. Even though you hurt and are tempted to hurt back, choose not to. This is the essence of pardon, of biblical forgiveness. Do not punish, even when you could. Choose not to hurt the one who has hurt you.

The Master says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth'” (Matthew 5:38). This is the oldest law in the world, known as the Lex Talionis. It appears in the earliest known code of laws, the Code of Hammurabi (Babylon, 2242 BC). This is the OT law as well (Exodus 21:23-25).

Its original purpose was to limit vengeance, not to command it—to limit revenge to the injury caused to us, and not to seek further retribution. Of course, it soon became a means for all sort of vengeance and pain-giving, the opposite of forgiveness.

So Jesus says, “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (v. 39). For a right-handed man to strike another on the right cheek would be to slap him with the back of the hand. In other words, this was an insult, not a life-threatening situation.

Here’s the principle: choose not to retaliate. When someone hits you, or hurts you, or insults you. Ask God to help you, and pardon them. Determine right now that you will not seek the vengeance you could.

From hating we come to healing. How? Jesus says, repay evil with good. This is how you begin to heal, to see the person differently. Act into feeling. Repay evil with good, and good begins to grow.

Jesus continues: “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matthew 5:41). The Romans gave their soldiers the right to force any subject to carry their pack, up to one mile; this was an act of servitude and oppression. Jesus says to double the insult.

In other words, repay their evil with good. Give love for hate, help for pain. Give better than you receive. Find a way to help those who hurt you.

He further amplifies in the next verse: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (v. 42). Give whatever you can, no matter what the person has done to you. Repay evil with good, and your own heart will begin to heal as well.

During the Cold War, some sympathetic West Germans threw food and clothes across the Berlin Wall to their starving, shivering neighbors in the East. The Communist government was enraged, and threw mounds of trash across the Wall to the West. The West Germans put a sign on the trash which read, “Each gives what he has.”

Choose to repay evil with good.

Last we move from healing to helping. How? Jesus says, pray for those who hurt you (Matthew 5:43-48). This is the best way you can help the one who hurt you. Here is how you begin to reconcile, to come together. Pray for this to happen, with the help of God’s Spirit.

The religious authorities said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (v. 43). But Jesus says, “Love your enemies” (v. 44). The word is “agape,” which means selfless, sacrificial, spiritual love.

How? “Pray for those who persecute you” (v. 44). At the very time they’re persecuting you, as Jesus did at the cross and Stephen at his martyrdom.

You are hurt, as we all are. You want to hate, but you choose with God’s help to pardon, to refuse to punish. You heal by giving good for evil, and you help by praying for the one who hurt you. This is how Jesus says we forgive what we cannot forget.

Conclusion

And so God’s word calls us to pardon the hurts we cannot forget, again and again:

Mark 11:25: “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him” (Luke 11:4).

Luke 17:4: “If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Colossians 3:13: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Pardoning the person who has hurt you is essential for their health, their future, their soul. Someone has well said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is a rapid way to a sightless, toothless world.”

And pardoning the hurts you cannot forget is essential to your soul’s health as well.

Frederick Buechner has defined anger this way: “Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back—in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.”

Now, who needs your forgiveness, your pardon? Be specific. Who do you most need to choose not to punish, to do good for, to pray for? To whom will you give this gift, today?

How to Get an Appointment with God

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How to Get an Appointment with God

Matthew 27.51-54

Dr. Jim Denison

A few years ago our family went to Washington, D.C. on summer vacation. The highlight of the trip for me, I was sure, was going to be our visit to the White House. I’ve long been fascinated with presidential history, and have read with interest the stories of many of our presidents and the remarkable House they occupy. Now, at long last, I would see its storied rooms and historic halls for myself.

Not really, as it turned out. After waiting in the rain an hour the night before to buy tickets, and two hours the day of our tour, finally we entered the most visited site in America. And left nearly as quickly. Four rooms, and a souvenir shop at the end. That’s all the White House tour sees.

So we cannot see the office of our president—perhaps we can call him. Again, not really. The White House switchboard answers over 5,000 calls every day, and this number doubles in times of crisis. Not to mention the thousands of letters which are delivered each day, and the hundreds of people who try to get a personal appointment with the president. Of all these requests, the president personally sees only a small number, and of these he actually deals with only a few.

By comparison, our Father in heaven receives multiplied millions of prayers daily, millions at this very moment, in hundreds of languages. And yet he is able to hear and answer every one of them. Why? And why does this fact matter to your soul and mine?

In our series titled “These Things We Believe,” we’ve talked together about Bible freedom and church freedom. Today we’ll explore soul freedom and its enormous implications for every one of us.

How you became a priest

Our text describes the actual moment of Jesus’ death in remarkable detail. These few words are worthy of an entire series of study in themselves.

He “cried out again in a loud voice.” John tells us that his last word from the cross was “Tetelestai!” which means, “It is finished!” or “The victory is won!” The strength to make this “loud” cry (“mega” in the Greek) shows that Jesus still had energy and life at his command.

And so he “gave up his spirit.” This was his voluntary choice. Augustine said it well: “He gave up his life because he willed it, when he willed it, and as he willed it.”Where? Into his Father’s hands (Luke 23:46), into Paradise with the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43), into the glory the Son had from eternity (John 17:5).

Now comes the miracle which is our focus today: “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (v. 51). I’ve never preached a message specifically on that event before today, and was fascinated with what I learned about it this week.

This curtain was the great veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Jewish temple. A little background is essential here.

Abraham offered Isaac on the top of Mt. Moriah eighteen centuries earlier, making that rock a holy spot to the Jewish people. And so when Solomon built the first Jewish Temple in 1004 B.C., he located the Holy of Holies at the same spot.

This was a small room, thirty feet square, within the larger Temple. Here the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments was placed. Here the High Priest would come one day a year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people. In the Jewish mind, the Shekinah glory and presence of Jehovah God dwelt here as in no other room on earth.

And this Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the Temple, and the rest of humanity, by a magnificent veil. Sixty feet high, thirty feet wide, as thick as a man’s hand, the veil was so heavy the Jewish Talmud says 300 men were required to move it.

Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, describes it as “embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, and of a contexture that was truly wonderful” (Wars 5.5.4).

Now, in the moment of Jesus’ death at 3 o’clock that afternoon, as the priests were gathering in the Temple for the customary evening sacrifices, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

This was in every way a miracle. An earthquake would have shredded the veil, not torn it. Even if men could have torn the thick, heavy veil, they would have done so from bottom to top, not top to bottom,

This is a fact of history, not religious myth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record it, writing at a time when the eyewitnesses to the torn curtain were still living and could easily have refuted them if they were wrong. And Tacitus the Roman historian, Josephus, and the Jewish Talmud all refer in various ways to the event as well.

Why did God do this? I admire Lenski’s comment: “Jesus is dead, his lips are silent; now God speaks in a language of his own.”Just as the Jewish people tore their garments in times of grief, so God the Father tears this, the “garment” veiling his Most Holy Place, in grief as well.

But there’s more. By tearing aside the veil separating humanity from the Holy of Holies, God gave access to his inner sanctuary to all of mankind. Now, for the first time in Jewish history, anyone could come to God. Anyone could see into his presence. Anyone could speak to him. Anyone.

Now for the first time, women could come into his presence. For the first time, Gentiles. For the first time, men besides the one High Priest chosen for each generation. For the first time, you and me.

Today the veil is gone, the Holy of Holies is gone, the very Temple itself is gone. Their purpose is done, their work completed. Now God’s word declares, “You yourselves are God’s Temple and God’s Spirit lives in you…. God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17).

The Jews and the Muslims will continue to fight over the rock where the Holy of Holies used to be. But that’s all it is now—a rock. For you and I are the Temple of God. The veil is gone. We can come to God. Every one of us.

Now, why does this fact matter so much to your soul and mine today?

How to enter the presence of God

The tearing of the veil separating mankind from God means this for you and me: we are each priests before God.

We are each responsible for our own personal relationship with the God of the universe. God has no grandchildren. We each must be his child, his priest.

Baptists call this doctrine “the priesthood of the believer.” This is the idea of soul freedom—the theological conviction that you have the right and responsibility to interpret Scripture for yourself; to confess your sins to God; to give your needs to God; to offer your worship to God.

The veil is gone. Now you can come to God. Now you must.

What steps can you take to come into his presence every day? To be right with the God of the universe, right now? Let’s use the Jewish Temple as our model. If you had been a priest in Jesus’ day, able to come before God as they did, you would have taken these steps, literally.

First, you would go to the “Sea,” a bronze basin filled with water, so large that twelve priests could wash at one time. Here you would wash your hands, ceremonially cleansing yourself spiritually for the service you are about to render.

To be a priest before God today, start with confession. Be specific and honest. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you your sins, and admit them to God. And claim his promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Next, you would come to the great altar of sacrifice, 48 feet square and 15 feet high. A ramp, 48 feet long and 24 feet wide, led up to the altar. Here you would place the sacrificial animals as required—the lamb, the bull, the dove.

At Calvary, Jesus became the final sacrifice for you and me. He is “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). He died in your place and mine, to pay for our sins and bear our punishment, to purchase our salvation.

So, after you confess your sins to Christ, thank Christ for his death and love. Thank him for his grace and mercy. Worship him in thanksgiving.

And submit your life to him in gratitude. To be a priest before God, lay your life on the altar before him. Obey the command of Scripture: “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).

Come to the altar in thanksgiving and submission.

Now the priest would come into the Holy Place, the court outside the Holy of Holies, 60 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Here he would burn incense in worship and offer prayers of intercession.

To be a priest before God, “enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Speak the Psalms in praise; sing hymns and choruses in praise; offer him your gratitude for his attributes, his glory, his goodness to you. Worship him in thanksgiving and praise.

And give him your needs in intercession and faith. Be specific and honest. Ask his best for you and those you bring to him.

Finally, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would come into the Holy of Holies itself. He would tie a rope around his foot, trailing outside the veil, so that if he died in the awesome presence of God and the bells on the hem of his robe stopped ringing, the priests outside could drag his dead body out. He came before God in reverence and humility. Here he knew he entered the presence of Jehovah, the God of the universe.

Do the same as the priest of God today. You have confessed your sins and claimed God’s forgiveness; you have thanked him for Jesus and submitted your life to his lordship; you have given him your praise and made your requests. Now sit in stillness before God. Listen to him. Feel him. Be with him.

An elderly man came every morning to his church and sat quietly in the sanctuary for hours. One day his pastor asked him what he did during those long hours of silence. He said, “I look at God and he looks at me, and we tell each other that we love each other.”

How long has it been since you listened to your Father?

Conclusion

Today we celebrate the fact that Jesus has torn the veil separating us from God, and now every one of us has the right—and the responsibility—of personal access to the Creator of the universe. Each of us is our own priest before God.

If you knew that the next president of the United States wanted you to come to his Inauguration and meet with him in the Oval Office, you’d accept. And you’d begin preparations right now for such an honor.

My friend, the God of the universe wants you to meet with him in his Holy of Holies, today. He wants to hear your confession, your thanksgiving, your submission, your praise, your requests. And he wants to speak to your heart and soul. He is ready. Are you?

Make an hour today to take each of these steps to God as his priest, and then to meet with him in silence. To speak to him, and then to listen to him. Especially to listen.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta authored one of the most profound statements I’ve ever read on our subject. Hear these words reverently:

We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.

God is a friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grow in silence. See the stars, the moon, the sun, how they move in silence….

The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls.

The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us.

All our words will be useless unless they come from within. Words which do not give the Light of Christ increase the darkness.

Will your life and your soul give the Light of Christ today?