KEY QUESTION
What does it mean to value others before myself?

KEY IDEA
I choose to esteem others above myself.

KEY VERSE
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4

Today marks the end of a 30 week journey of Basic Christian Thought.  We have look at the Christian Faith through three different lens: Think, what  do I believe; 2) Act, What should I do; and 3) Be, who am I becoming.

Each of these sections have give us opportunity to not just hear the stories of the Bible, but to put some of the pieces together and understand the foundations of a Christian worldview.

I think given our Christian worldview, it is appropriate that we started this section with Love and that we conclude it with Humility.  These would be — in my mind — two defining attributes of Jesus Christ as his life is presented in our Gospels. In fact, as we prepare ourselves for the season of Advent we remember the greatest act of humility in human history — when the eternal Word of God… “became flesh and dwelled among us.”  

The first church highlighted the humility of this action and Paul quotes from what many think is a Christian hymn when he writes to the Philippians:

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, NIV)

And for us, we are looking today at that passage and more specifically the two verses that precede it:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4

Humility is not something that comes easy for us…it seems that there are always lessons to learn

Illustration: Chan Gailey, a football coach told how he learned a lesson in humility.

Gailey was then head coach of Alabama’s Troy State, and they were playing for a National Championship. The week before the big game, he was headed to the practice field when a secretary called him back to take a phone call.

Somewhat irritated, Gailey told her to take a message because he was on his way to practice.

She responded, “But it’s Sports Illustrated.”

“I’ll be right there,” he said.

As he made his way to the building, he began to think about the upcoming article. It would be great publicity for a small school like Troy State to be in Sports Illustrated. As he got closer, he realized that a three-page article would not be sufficient to tell the whole story.

Coming even closer to his office, he started thinking that he might be on the cover. “Should I pose or go with an action shot,” he wondered. His head was spinning with all of the possibilities.

When he picked up the phone and said hello, the person asked, “Is this Chan Gailey?”

“Yes, it is,” he replied confidently.

“This is Sports Illustrated, and we’re calling to let you know that your subscription is running out. Are you interested in renewing?”

Coach Gailey concluded the story by saying, “You are either humble or you will be humbled.”

Alan Price, Chatsworth, Georgia; source: Chan Gailey speaking at a dinner in Dalton, Georgia (4-20-04)

Learning humility requires changing our perspective about God, others and myself.

First let’s consider Humility before God:

Every time we come and worship we are reminded that there is a God and we are not Him. Our first step toward genuine humility begins with how we see God!

God is the creator – we are the creatures.  Do we get a sense of the distance between us? I can make cakes, God can make galaxies

Here is how the Bible speaks of God. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command… (Hebrews 11:3a, NIV)

Do we grasp what that means? Here is an illustration of God’s greatness that keeps us in a position of humility.

Keller shares that when he was young man At a Christian camp in Colorado, a woman Bible teacher gave an illustration that changed my life.  She said, “If the distance between the Earth and the Sun, 150 million kilometres, was reduced to the thickness of a sheet of paper, then the distance between the Earth and the nearest star would be a stack of paper 21 metres (70 feet high).  And the diameter of our galaxy would be a stack of paper nearly 500 km high.  That’s how big the galaxy is.  And yet, the galaxy is nothing but a speck of dust, virtually, in the whole universe.  

And the Bible says Jesus Christ holds this universe together with the word of his power.  His pinky, as it were.”  And then she asked the question: “Is this the kind of person you ask into your life to be your assistant?”

Part of our worship is too utter praise to God – Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 1 Chronicles 29:11

God’s greatness is immense and incredible….
Man is not the measure of all things – but as the Psalmist says –
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them? Psalm 8:3-4

I can cakes but God can make galaxies. Do we have an abiding sense of God’s greatness?

Secondly learning the way of humility means I consider

Humility toward Others:

A litmus test for our ability to be humble toward others is that we

Cut the criticism and celebrate others.

Criticism’s dark side is a form of pride…As CS Lewis says, pride is the pleasure of having more than the next person. Pride is the pleasure of being more than the next person. If I can’t have more than you I will diminish and criticize what you have so I can scramble up once again on mount ego!

Criticism is often fueled by competition

We authentically “…value others above yourselves… (Phil 2:3-4, NIV). It is more than a technique, flattery or a coping skill with people but we genuinely celebrate the good in others and give thanks to God for what He is doing.

Why do we value them? Because God in Christ values them. He was willing to give his life for all of us. That means we are valued by God.

I love how C.S.Lewis says it in his book The Weight of Glory

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”

Valuing them is expressed when we celebrate in a spontaneous and gracious way. Talk to parents – usually this comes quite naturally to celebrate their children – but the call is to value all others.

Celebrate others by honoring them, learning from them and serving them.

Celebrating others is rooted in the grace we have in Christ.Here is a good observation, “…in Jesus we are shielded and protected from the worst things about ourselves. Because Jesus shields us like this, we should of all people be zealous to restore reputations versus destroying reputations, to protect a good name versus calling someone a name, to shut down gossip versus feeding gossip, to restore broken relationships versus begrudging broken people.” (source: Scott Sauls, Befriend (Tyndale, 2016), page 48)

Humility within Me:
A preoccupation with ourselves is not what Christ desires in our lives! But selfish ambition and vain conceit

While it is true that the man of humility is not inclined to think highly of himself, this is not because he consciously endeavors to despise himself, but because in his service and his devotion he forgets self.

Ortberg book…

The wide path of unhealthy navel-gazing and the narrow path of healthy self-forgetfulness  

“in the last days… people will be lovers of themselves…” (2Timothy 3:1)

In “The Era of the Narcissist,” Aaron Kheriaty points out the self-absorption of our era:

Of all the amazing features of the medieval cathedrals, one feature stands out as very strange to the modern mind: We have no idea who designed and built them. The architects and builders did not bother to sign their names on the cornerstones. People today might ask, Why build the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres if you can’t take credit for it? No lasting fame? No immortalized human glory? We’re perplexed by the humility of these forgotten artists who labored in obscurity. Do and disappear? This is not how we roll in the America of the twenty-first century.

All this humility and anonymity began to change during the Enlightenment. For example, when Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s wrote his book Confessions in 1789 he dedicated it “to me, with the admiration I owe myself.” The book opens with these lines: “I have entered upon a performance which is without example, whose accomplishment will have no imitator. I mean to present my fellow-mortals with a man in all the integrity of nature; and this man shall be myself.” In contrast, the 4th century Christian thinker Augustine’s Confessions(Rousseau ripped off Augustine’s title) gives all glory to God, as in his opening line from the Book of Psalms: “Great thou art, and greatly to be praised.” As much as we might admire Augustine’s humility, Rousseau’s language sounds more familiar. “To me, with the admiration I owe myself” is a dedication that would look right at home today on social media.
Adapted from Aaron Kheriaty, “The Era of the Narcissist,” First Things (2-16-10)

The deeper we move into loving God and loving others we become forgetful about ourselves!

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less” – C.S. Lewis

Litany of Humility

Lord Jesus. Meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

KEY QUESTION
How do I demonstrate thoughtfulness and consideration?

KEY IDEA
I am thoughtful, considerate and calm in my dealings with others.

KEY VERSE
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:5, NIV)

Isn’t funny how we often connect gentleness with a certain type of personality? Anyone who does not fit that stereotype obviously isn’t gentle…right?

Listen to this story…

At St. Francis High School in La Canada, California, math teacher Jim O’Connor is known for his tough, no-nonsense approaching to algebra, pushing his students—all boys—into shape. O’Connor, a Vietnam vet told CBS News, “It drives me crazy when people say school should be fun. I mean, it’s nice if it could be, but you can’t make school fun.”

Pat McGoldrick, a senior at St. Francis says, “[Until people get used to him,] they think he’s really mean.” But that all changed for Pat and his classmates when they visited Los Angeles Children’s Hospital to recruit blood donors for a blood drive they were organizing.
When the boys mentioned where they went to school, they were immediately met with awe. The hospital staff said things like, “Oh, so you must know Jim O’Connor. Isn’t he wonderful?”

The boys were stunned and, if they were being honest, a little confused about the man they thought they knew. That confusion was cleared up when they saw a plaque in the hospital for all-time donors. At the top of the list? Jim O’Connor. A universal blood donor (type O-negative), O’Connor has donated a total of 72 gallons of blood and platelets since 1989, surely saving countless lives along the way.

But there was more that the boys learned that day: Jim O’Connor, who never married or had children of his own, volunteers three days a week holding and rocking sick and dying babies when their parents can’t be there. O’Connor says of the babies, “I don’t want to see them alone. You can’t do that.”

O’Connor’s students were blown away. Their tough teacher had a gentle and caring heart.

Bonnie McMaken, Carol Stream, Illinois; source: Steve Hartman, “Tough California teacher has a tender heart,” CBS News (2-14-14)

When you think of gentleness what comes to mind? On first blink we may default to images of syrupy sweetness and softness, we may perceive it as effeminate and/or a personality disposition that we suspect does not do much for us in a highly competitive world.

But gentleness as described in the bible is a Christ like character trait for those who being filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus gives an invitation where he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…(Matt 11:28) In this invitation Jesus reminds us that He is gentle and humble in heart.(verse 29) Rest for our souls includes learning the way of gentleness from our Saviour.

[We learn the way of Jesus in order to become, as Eugene Petersen says, “our eternal selves for the eternal city”.(citation:The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb)]

Scripture shows us God is far less interested in your results than the person you are becoming. So today let us consider the quality of gentleness.

Our key verse today is taken from Philippians 4:5

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:5, NIV)

We must understand this is so much more than speaking in “hushed tones” or having a “soft touch” or “getting hurt easily”. Today we want you to consider three distinctive expressions when you are on your journey in demonstrating gentleness.

JOURNEY TO GENTLENESS

Gentleness is not having Half-baked opinions but sees the whole context.

The idea of gentleness includes you are not insisting on every right of letter of law or custom. You understand what is expected but you navigate the standards not with unbending strictness but instead are merciful and are tolerant of slight deviations.

In other words you attempt to thoughtfully see the whole context. Rather than simply state in a half baked way “well that is the rule” you strive to see the intent behind the rule and make adjustments as needed.

James 3:17 catches this idea of wise thinking with gentleness – But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times

You are a professor, you have stated 12 noon to be your deadline for papers. Someone delivers a paper in at 12:07. What is the right response? What is the gentle and right response?

I remember my daughter in a provincial speech contest years ago. There were 2 parts to the competition. One was the main speech and then a spontaneous shorter speech from a randomly drawn question.

She did really really well in her main speech. When it came time for the spontaneous question – If I remember correctly – her question was based on a quote from Albert Einstein dealing with technology’s impact on our society” She was asked if she agreed or disagreed and to speak for minute or so why.

The quote was big and she panicked. She said she disagreed with Einstein and then stammered in somewhat confused sentences for the next moments.

I remember the judges took a long time after all the students finished both parts. I knew Megan was at the top of the group with the main speech and likely last with the spontaneous part.

As the main judge came up to deliver the who finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place – he stated their dilemma with Megan’s speech results – he summed it up by saying that the main speech was the primary goal of the competition and in light of that – Megan was rewarded for her efforts in that high school provincial speech contest.

I tell that story because it required the ability for the judges to see the whole context…and make a gentle decision.

When we begin to grasp context we will become gentle. We avoid becoming someone who wants an unbendable rule of law/tradition without being tempered by graciousness, mercy, or compassion. We will avoid becoming someone who lacks empathy and wisdom when evaluating what is just.

Micah 6:8 – what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy – those words from Micah show us…

Gentleness wisely includes mercy with what is right and just.

Gentleness is not being being Heartless but considers the person.

When we see people the way God sees people we will find that the best response includes gentleness.

Wisdom literature of the bible encourages us with this instruction – A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger – Proverbs 15:1. In our words with others, gentleness paves the way to deeper understanding because you are treating others with respect.

How do you respond when you are encountering someone who is coming across as heartless, harsh and with no empathy to your situation? Walls go up. Loving people means we take time to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. And by doing so this we are practicing gentleness because we are considering the other person. We are feeling what they are feeling.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31

Philip Yancey shares a story from his book Vanishing Grace that I think illustrates this aspect of gentleness where we truly consider the other person.

Once, while speaking on the topic of grace in Toronto, I asked the audience about their own experiences conveying grace to others. One woman shocked us all: “I feel called to minister to telephone marketers. You know, the kind who call at inconvenient hours and deliver their spiel before you can say a word.” Immediately I flashed back to the times I have responded rudely or simply hung up. She continued:
All day long these sales callers hear people curse at them and slam the phone down. I listen attentively to their pitch, then I try to respond kindly, though I almost never buy what they’re selling. Instead, I ask about their personal life and whether they have any concerns I can pray for. Often they ask me to pray with them over the phone, and sometimes they are in tears. They’re people, after all, probably underpaid, and they’re surprised when someone treats them with common courtesy.
Philip Yancey, Vanishing Grace (Zondervan, 2014), pp. 75-76

This story reminds us that gentleness is not a heartless harsh response but really thinks about the other person. This is letting your gentleness be evident to all.

Gentleness is not being Hot-headed but shows restraint in its response

As much as gentleness involves thoughtful understanding of the context and considering the other person/persons ultimately it comes down to our response.

Recently we had an Emergency Evacuation Plan rehearsal – we are learning that when people are involved in intense situations there are 3 common responses – FIGHT, FLIGHT or FREEZE.

I got thinking how often when we are dealing with people we find our emotions are taking us into one of those 3 responses. We fight, we take flight or we freeze. What is hard about all those responses is that none of them demonstrate gentleness.

Which one are you?

All of these responses may feel good in the moment but in the long run these are simply immature emotional responses that are not loving and do not demonstrate gentleness.

Being considerate of others, gracious and kind requires us to choose our response. Specifically it means we restrain our response.

I think we often think gentleness means weakness when in fact it means strength under control. Gentleness always focuses on how love can be experienced in that moment.

Think of Jesus encounter with Peter after his resurrection. Here was Jesus who had just defeated the powers of Satan and death. All authority in heaven and earth is his. He knew Peter had denied him. How did He treat Peter?

Around that fire on the shore – Jesus simply asked Peter 3 times – read in John 21 – “do you love me?” What a gentle Saviour. Jesus goal was restoration, not rejection. He led with compassion not correction.

What difference would it made if Jesus had commissioned Peter in a harsh manner? What if Jesus had responded with a FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE? But how he restored Peter is part of what gentleness is all about. How we live, work and serve with others is where our restrained/retrained response makes all the difference.

True for all believers but I this is true especially for leadership – In 1 Timothy 3 – Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task…of all the qualities catch this one – not violent but gentle – we may feel the urge to lash out but in the end it achieves little.

Here is a story about how a gentle response changes the moment when things can’t be changed.

“Ed and his wife, Barb, are from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Waltz’s daughter, Deb, has cerebral palsy.

Barb had hoped that Deb would walk one day. After performing a battery of tests, the first doctor led Ed and Barb into a small conference room where he bluntly laid out for them what they could expect. In a tone that was cold and emotionally disconnected from his patient, the doctor said, “It is extremely unlikely that your daughter will ever walk.”

Still in a state of shock from the devastating news, Barb asked, “But what kind of shoes should I buy for my daughter?” She was thinking about some special corrective shoes, or perhaps shoes connected to a brace.

Without softening the blow, the doctor retorted, “Buy her whatever kind of shoes you want. She won’t be using them to walk in.” And with that, he quickly left the room, where Barb burst into tears.

Several months later, the family met with a second doctor. This time the entire scene felt different, though. Ed said, “My wife asked this new doctor essentially the same question she had asked the first one. She was still wondering if there was anything we could do that might enable our daughter to take even a few steps.”

The doctor paused for a moment, thinking. Then, he looked compassionately and directly into Barb’s eyes and said, “You know what I would do if I were you, Mrs. Waltz? I’d buy my daughter the prettiest little pink shoes I could find, with purple shoe laces.”

Barb knew what he meant.

Ed said, “We talked about our experience on the way home. Both doctors had told us the same thing—Deb would never walk. I’m ashamed to say what we felt like doing to the first doctor, but we felt like hugging the second doctor.”

Gently speaking the truth makes a difference in how that truth is received

My gentleness – Is it evident to all?
So here is our question. My gentleness and your gentleness is it evident to all? We are told to clothe ourselves with gentleness. Are you wearing gentleness well? When people have to meet you are they dreading it or looking forward to it?

“If we want to know the true measure of our gentleness, we have to ask others” – Randy Frazee

May I gently inquire – Will you ask someone this week?

KEY QUESTION
Why is it important to be loyal and committed to God and others?

KEY IDEA
I have established a good name with God and others based on my loyalty to those relationships.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4

Have you ever thought about this? God is far less interested in your results than the person you are becoming. Many people in our life have tried to substitute results for what they lacked: joy, relationship, character. (citation: Dallas Willard – Cutting Edge magazine, Summer 1999. A publication of Vineyard USA – Becoming The Kinds of Leaders Who Can Do The Job)

This fall has been a journey about Christian character – another way to say that is to ask: “Are we displaying virtues of a soul that is captured by Jesus?”

Today we are considering the quality of faithfulness

When I think of faithfulness certain images come to mind. The first is DOGS. They have this incredible trait of loyalty. At the beginning of the service you heard about Bobby the Skye Terrier from Scotland.

Another one is the the famous Japanese Akita dog known as Hachiko, or Hachi. Hachiko would see his owner off to work in the morning at the Shibuya Train Station, in central Tokyo and went to pick him up at the station in the afternoon when he returned from work.

Less than 2 years in doing this routine on May 21, 1925, Hachiko was as usually sitting by the exit at the train station waiting for his dear owner. But his owner never showed up…..he had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died.  

Hachiko moved in with a former gardener of the Ueno family, but throughout the rest of his life he kept going to the Shibuya Train Station every morning and afternoon precisely when the train was due to enter the station, waiting in vain for the return of his beloved owner which sadly never came back.

This is an actual photo of him waiting to meet his master. He did this for the ten years!

A major Japanese newspaper reporter picked up the story of Hachiko in 1932 and published it, which led to Hachiko becoming a celebrity all over Japan.

People started calling him “Chuken-Hachiko”, which means “Hachiko – the faithful dog”.

Another image of faithfulness is from one of my favorite movies LOTR and the hero of the story – Samwise Gamgee. He was Frodo’s friend who made a promise that he would help him deliver the ring into the fires of Mordor. At one point early on on the trip Frodo tried to leave Sam because he began to realize how the depth of danger. In the novel there is this captivating moment

Frodo: Go back, Sam! I’m going to Mordor alone.
Sam: Of course you are, and I’m coming with you!”

Sam’s demonstrated his faithfulness by sticking to his promise.  

Stories about dogs  and mythical creatures present faithfulness as a inspiring ideal

But let’s bring faithfulness into the real human world –

I think of SEARS – a 60 plus old company that has shut its doors, shut down its pension for its employees – all 12,000 of them. Many of them were loyal and look at their reward. Perhaps many them are wishing they had jumped ship sooner.

Another image is MARRIAGE – statistics tell us in Canada that despite vows of faithfulness – 41% of marriages today will end in divorce by 2035!

The Folly of Faithfulness – An inspiring ideal but a fool’s errand

Faithfulness I would suggest often gets bad press. We might be tempted to think – an inspiring ideal but a fool’s errand. Valuable employees move quickly from one job to another. Staying through to the end is often seen as optional. Being faithful others who are not your close family is not really considered wise.

Today’s wisdom tells us to be faithful to ourselves. In fact we often don’t value faithfulness because we see that often it is not rewarded. We fail to see how faithfulness has an intrinsic worth regardless of how others respond to this virtue.

We have to be careful not become friendly to the world’s thinking at a moment like this – we have to let go of the notion that a character trait is only good as long as we get something out of it! That is being “conformed to the pattern of this world” instead of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (cf. Romans 12:2, NIV)

Transition: Our challenge is to understand “faithfulness” neither as an inspiring idea for dogs/hobbits nor as a foolish idea for people, but instead, to think of this as Jesus did and let it transform our thinking…

The Faithfulness of God
I do what I say
I’m not going anywhere

Faithfulness matters because we see it in the nature of God. God is faithful.

Preacher Chip Ingram in his blog “Living on the Edge” describes God’s faithfulness like this – Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we all believe in someone or something to “hold us up” inside. When that person or thing comes through for us, then life is good! But when that person or thing doesn’t come through for us, then we experience a sense of anxiety, dissatisfaction, and ultimately despair. But the truth is, there isn’t anyone or anything that will come through for us 24/7 – except for God Himself.

Grasping God’s faithfulness is expressed in two simple ways. God’s faithfulness means God is saying to us…

• I do what I say
• I am not going anywhere

God does what He says He will do!

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)

• God promised to Abraham a nation and from his family came tribes from those tribes the nation Israel was birthed.  
• God promised a Saviour and we celebrate Christmas with the birth of Jesus.
• God promised One who would take away our sin and while we were still sinners we see Christ dying for us on the cross.
• Jesus promised he would rise again and now there is an empty tomb.
• Jesus promised the Holy Spirit and now we see lives transformed when people are filled by faith with God’s divine presence in their lives.

I do what I say…

But God also says, “I am not going anywhere”

God’s faithful presence is heard throughout scripture where he will not leave us or forsake us. (Joshua 1:5) King David said, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Acts 2:25) Jesus said

Here is something worth thinking about – The times we  experience God’s presence most vividly is when we are doubting, weak, tempted or when we sin.

In all those times if we listen we can hear God saying, “I am not going where.”

• • Are you stretched thin with doubts? See how creation reveals the presence of God. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

• Are you feeling weak, discouraged , overwhelmed.? When the apostle Paul was weak the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” In response, Paul said: Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9) We default to the belief God isn’t with us when we’re struggling and weak. But just the opposite is true.

• Are you tempted? No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Co. 10:13)

• Have you sinned? God again shows us his faithful presence. Our natural reaction is to run and hide. We feel so bad and ashamed. But God promises that “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) – Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Praise God for His compassionate, merciful faithfulness...I do what I say and I am not going anywhere is how God shows us faithfulness time and time again.

Now here is where we are going – if faithfulness is a big deal for God it should be a big deal for me. It should be a quality that in my walk with God is becoming more evident. Faithfulness is a trait of intrinsic worth. When I seek to demonstrate it in my life I am following God’s example.

Faithfulness in me

I do what I say
I’m not going anywhere

So how does faithfulness live out in me? Do you see the overlap?

I do what I say… when I make a promise I keep it. When I tell someone I will follow through I will. My words and action go hand in hand.

Living out my faith is a recognition that faith demands effort. Dallas Willard make an important distinction when it comes to faith and works. His slogan is “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude; effort is an action.”

When Jesus calls us to live in the Kingdom of God I have to start becoming a person where I do what I say….it will require effort to walk the second mile, serve others with a cup of cold water, showing up in each others lives to love one another.

I am not going anywhere…have you ever wondered when people need your presence the most? It is when they are stretched thin with doubts, feeling weak-discouraged -overwhelmed, tempted to sin and when they sin.

That is when God is calling us to follow his example as his dearly loved children. Think about your friendships, your marriage, your family, your family of faith, your circles of people where every soul you meet is looking for those people who are not going to check out…faithfulness means I am not going anywhere

Just like English, the Greek word for faithfulness is build on the foundation of “faith” or “belief”.  The standard Greek dictionary for the New Testament says that faithfulness is “the passive aspect of πιστεύω [to believe]” In other words, faithful is that virtue of being found worthy of trust.  If I am faithful, you can depend on me. You can believe in me.  What a great idea!  

So important is this character trait for the follower of Jesus Christ that Jesus himself lauds it as being at the top of list in terms of what separates the follower of Jesus from others.

Jesus told lots of stories about what the kingdom of God is like – there is that one about the master with 3 servants – before he went on a journey – one was given 5 bags of gold, one was given 2 bags of gold and one was given 1 bag of gold.

When the master returned two of them had done something with the gold – Master’s response – ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21

To the servant who did not do anything with gold – he was called wicked and lazy – and was cast out.

Jesus story tells us so much but one is this – faithfulness opens us up to opportunities where God wants us to serve.

To Jesus, faithfulness is a critical distinction between world and the church. May it be so with us.

Prayer: God you are faithful – You have shown us in your Word and through our lives that you do what you say and you are not going anywhere. 

Seek the Good

KEY QUESTION
What does it mean to do the right thing? How do I know?

KEY IDEA
I choose to be kind and good in my relationships with others.

KEY VERSE
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good (lit. “the good”)  for each other and for everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 5:15, NIV)

The journey we are on this fall in our community of faith is too look at the list of virtues or inner qualities of the heart that has been captured by Jesus. Today we are going to pay specific attention to qualities of kindness and goodness.

They are part of the visible gifts of God’s Holy Spirit indwelling us. (Make a note of this passage) Galatians 5:22-23 – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control…

This call upon our lives to demonstrate kindness and goodness becomes our canvas today as we draw out the implications of a simple verse in the bible.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good (lit. “the good”)  for each other and for everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 5:15, NIV)

If we are to be known for our kindness and goodness we are going to be people who will always strive to do what is “the good”. We will seek the good.

When the bible speaks about the good we are proclaiming a profound truth. We are saying if we that to find meaning, significance and purpose in our lives we are called to be people who seek the good. This is a moral imperative for God’s people.

Brent reminded me the text of our key verse literally translates this part of the 1 thessalonoians 5:15 – “pursue the good for each other and for all”

Let me read this observation by Brent, (That means)There is a moral category called the “the good” and it does exist and we need to be aware of its existence as we make life-choices.  As we look to the text Paul doesn’t hesitate in declaring we need to look for it. It’s there in every circumstance.  Sometimes it is hard to see.  Other times we may wonder if it is worth the effort to find, but we must never deceive ourselves into thinking it doesn’t exist.  In every circumstance and on every occasion, there is “the good” and we are told to look for it.

In fact when we are considering what job we are called to do, how we are to live among others within our families, neighbours and within God’s family and how wil make a difference in this world – seeking the good for others is an anchor point for our lives.

And the good that exists is not based on me. Often a wide gulf exists between each other when the good becomes, “what is good for me”. That phrase masks the motives that lie beneath the surface. It is code for – my wants and my desires. Good for me comes to mean what I find comfortable and convenient.

 Rather the good exists because God exists. The very character of God includes goodness.

I think of Jesus words when ask by the rich young ruler. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. (cf.Mark 10:17-18)

In the OT songbook of the Psalms we hear –

How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! Psalm 116:5

One of my earliest choruses I learned was “God is so good, God is so good. God is so good. He’s so good to me”

Consider how the bible shows us God is good.

• God created a world that was good. Paul reminds us of this when he tells Timothy – Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 1 Timothy 4:4
• God works good in the midst of evil. In the story of Joseph and his family Joseph  declares –  You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people
• God has planned long ago for us to do good things. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

The Good exists because God exists. “The Good” is primarily about God and his purposes, not about what I want. We need to remind ourselves of that on a regular basis. Jesus Christ is at the center of God’s purposes – and the highest good is that Christ is center of all we do.

The good can get complicated

As we get along on life it seems that seeking the good can get complicated.    

• It is often hard

The decision making is difficult in the best of times.  Usually there are many factors involved.  When you add the idea of the “the good” and then compound that with “for each other and everyone” — our thinking slows down.  Now we have to think about how our decisions affect others outside our immediate group — our spouse, our kids. Now we look at our extended family, our church, our friends & neighbours. Now we have to think about the difference of what is nice, versus what is best which may look worse up front but good in the long run.

Seeking the good grows immediately from something simple to something hard.

Example of fire drill – yelling fire is more dangerous than pulling the fire alarm –   

But you know as well as I do that what is most difficult is actually doing this. Sometimes it is obvious what “the good” is but doing it will require something from us that is difficult.  

• Others may disagree

Another reason pursuing the good is complicated is that it conflicts with our desire to promote ourselves. Sometimes doing “the good” will get us criticized.  Sometimes people will misunderstand and sometimes people will just simply disagree with our understanding of what “the good” is.  These are the risks we run when we break free of a self-focused existence.

I know that the bible teaches to give a portion of my income to the church.  Traditionally, that is 10% – a tithe.  The NT teaches that all my possessions belong to God, but we like to give the first 10% of our income to our local congregation to support our common spiritual life.  

If you come from a non-christian family, the first thing people will say if they find out is that you are crazy.  Maybe brain-washed.  I mean, who does that right?  Particularly if you are trying to get yourself out of debt or save for retirement or pay off a mortgage.  In a world acclimatized to “the easy” or “the self” — pursuing “the good” is a strange and often disagreeable thing.  

• We must decide

Finally, pursuing “the good” gets complicated by the simple fact that we need to make a decision and act on it.  It goes beyond a mental exercise. There may be 10 possible choices, be we must discern which one represents “the good”.  It may be that half of our options ‘good’ and so we need to look for what is best — the most good of our good options.  In either case, being frozen in indecision is not the same as pursuing “the good”.  

We are called to actively pursue “the good”

A rationale often given to not chose the good is stated – “well we really didn’t have a choice.” Choosing the good is always an option.

I think about all the good choices in the midst of misguided, foolish, wrong and evil reactions we face in our lives. Let us not be simplistic – there are real dilemmas we face in our marriage, parenting, work as employers/employees & play, as a friend, neighbour,  global citizen, and life itself about what seeking the good as a soul who is learning to think, act and be like Jesus.

But choosing the good for a follower is anchored in these realities of the good news of God to us.

• • The Cross teaches us to sacrifice –

we are often reminded doing good will require we say no to our self centered desires in order for the good to happen.

• • God’s community discerns and expresses the good together.

Often we may wish for more good to happen n the world around us…we celebrate when it occurs but are not surprised when we self interest reigns. But the one place where we can seek the good consistently is in God’s family the church. We need to encourage one another to seek the good as fellow believers – encourage generosity, service, learning, caring.

The church needs to be the place where we have honest , at times uncomfortable and challenging  discussions as we prayerfully discern about seeking the good.

Doing the good happens together – when you and i come together God leads us to do things that by ourselves is unimaginable.  

• God gives us power to demonstrate goodness and kindness

These qualities are God’s divine work in our our souls. We need to actively depend on all the energy that Christ so powerfully works in you and me. (Colossians 1:29)

Conclusion:

Seek the good – do it kindly – these are essential characteristics of love. How will you express goodness and kindness this week Are you becoming a person who is living out such is the love of Christ we are called to express.

Choosing “the good” is always an option

“Seek the good for each other”

What is the good? Criteria for the good.

What are the tools/truths do I have at my disposal to discern the good?

Everybody has a dilemma of what is the good?

Ethical perspective:

• Do the good versus the wrong
• Do unto others  
• Prayerfully ask for wisdom
• We may discern differently
• Good is different from nice and comfortable
• Decision made by faith

His purpose is to show the meaning of kindness in the life of the man whom Christ has

grasped. Kindness and gentleness belong to the visible gi”s of the Spirit (Gal.

5:22). Love (See art.; → ἀγάπη) shows itself as kindness (1 Cor. 13:4, expressed

here by the vb. chrēsteuetai hē agapē). For kindness is an unmistakable and

essential characteristic of love. Because kindness is one of the chief gi”s of the

Spirit, it becomes the subject of the exhortation of Col. 3:12: “Put on then, as

God’s chosen ones, compassion, kindness.”

• The good get complicated
  • The good is hard
  • Others discern differently
  • We make choices by faith

• We are called to actively pursue it.

KEY QUESTION
How does God provide the help I need to deal with stress?

KEY IDEA
I am slow to anger and endure patiently under the unavoidable pressures of life.

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

The engineer asked, “What’s with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes.” The doctor agreed: “I’ve never seen such slow golfers.” The pastor noted, “Hey, here comes the groundskeeper. Let’s have a word with him.”

The pastor called out to the groundskeeper, “Say, George, what’s with the group ahead of us?” George said, “That’s a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.”

The group was silent for a moment. The pastor sympathized, “That’s so sad. I think I’ll say a special prayer for them tonight.”

The doctor added, “That’s a good idea. In fact, I’m going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if we can do anything for these guys.”

Then the engineer spoke up: “Well that’s great, but in the meantime, why can’t these guys play at night?”

I grew up in the time of Heinz ketchup glass bottles. The most frustrating part of dressing the hotdogs or hamburgers was patiently waiting for the ketchup to eke out of the bottle. As a child that was my early introduction to learning about patience.

The key verse today introduces us to the big christian virtue of patience.

KEY VERSE
Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Proverbs 14:29  

In this verse of Proverbs there is a comparison between the foolishness of short tempered people who will make quick and rash decisions as opposed to the patient or those who take a long time to become angry and by doing so make room for deeper understanding of what is taking place.

Have you lived long enough to see the wisdom of this saying? Can you look back on a situation in your life where instead of enduring and persevering through something you simply reacted often with a measure of anger only to regret that impatient decision?

Parents haven’t you noticed when you are patient with your children they achieve far more than frustrating them with your impatient demands to perform and excel!

Today we come to consider the quality of patience we are called to live out as followers of Christ. In fact scriptures tell us we are to clothe ourselves with with loving qualities that includes patience. (Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Col 3:12) When it comes to “faith fashion” patience is always a timeless look.

We may see the value of patience as a virtue worth practising in our lives but patience is bigger than that. we must see that patience starts with God – it is a divine disposition.

As one commentator describes the patience of God – it is one his attributes that “runs through the OT like a refrain – And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…Exodus 34:6

God’s patience with his people is an outstanding example of the virtue. Though Israel turns to idols and wickedness, God pleads with them to repent and call on his name. He tells Solomon…

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron 7:14 RSV).

God waits, sending his prophets for generations, before exiling Israel and Judah to foreign lands. As Nehemiah prays, “For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets” (Neh 9:30 NIV).

This is God revealing Himself and the quality of patience is described in his divine revelation. This means patience goes beyond a common sense virtue to a whole new level. We who are his dear children are called to imitate God in everything we do. (Ephesians 5:1) The patience of God serves as the source and pattern for our human patience. Our patience is rooted in the patience of God. Patience is big in the journey of one who is a disciple or apprentice of Jesus.

Patience is a Pain

• I want it now – We live in a time of speed. Our technology has made us impatient. We have access to instant information with instant made food. There are so many things we don’t have to wait anymore for. 
• People drive me crazy. People are manipulative, fickled and foolish. We can easily rationalize our impatience. We far too often expect others to act now how we want them to act and if they disappoint us or let us down we are so fragile we walk away giving up far too soon. 
• God is too slow. Behind it all our frustration with life circumstances and people in our lives is rooted in our thinking that God is too slow…We struggle to trust his timetable – we struggle to believe that God is really at work in our lives. When we don’t see God acting our behalf fast enough we take it upon ourselves to make things happen.  

There is nothing new about our impatience with God. When God was delivering the people of Israel from Egypt rather than thanking God for the food they have, their freedom and his visible presence with them in the wilderness, they grumble because they are taking a long route. Here impatience is shown for what it is: selfish, whiny demanding. the self is placed above God’s purposes and demands that its desires be met immediately rather than according to God’s perfect plan.

So let’s take the time remaining and do a deeper dive on how we clothe ourselves with patience

THE TWO SIDES OF PATIENCE: WORK & WAIT

Patience has both an active and passive aspect to it. In fact we discovered that in the New Testament there are 4 Greek words to describe what it means to to be patient, to be steadfast to endure. In those four words we get a deeper sense on how to meet the battles of life. And we see there are two sides of patience. One in which we work and one in which we wait.

The first side of patience is that we work…

• Bear it and Keep Going

• • Ephesians 4:2 NIV (…bearing with one another in love). The idea of this word means to hold up and stand erect. Do not sit down in the midst adversity. We love others by holding up others in times of struggle. We endure through the hard times with others.
  • “I am going to stand with you” is a powerful and loving way to express an enduring love.
  • (Root word – anechomai)

• • Hebrews 11:27 NLT (… He kept right on going…) The force of this word is do something persistently in the face of opposition. In this passage it refers to Moses not afraid of the Pharaoh’s wrath but kept moving forward in what God wanted Him to do regardless of the resistance. What areas of resistance are you facing right now where you need to patiently keep going? 
  • I think of Jesus who who tempted to by Satan in the wilderness to shortcut his mission…but he was willing to work patiently in unfolding God’s plan of salvation. 
  • (Root word – kartereō)

The second side is that we wait by demonstrating…

• Perseverance and Patience

• • 2 Thess 1:4 NIV ”…we boast about your perseverance” Paul is describing how early believers stood one’s ground. In the midst of life’s difficulties rather than remove oneself from the adversity one stays put. It speaks of a courage to stay in it rather than run away.
  • (Root word – hypomenō)

• • James 5:10 (NIV) “ …patience in the face of suffering…”

This last word for patience is about being long tempered not short tempered. Jesus demonstrated this with all those he meet. Especially in times of suffering –  he yielded to arrest without resistance (Mt 26:52, 53, Ja 5:6, 7), and He refrained from returning scorn for scorn or threat for threat at His trial.

Jesus demonstrated that at the heart of patience is that instead of hasty action and anger we are willing to trust God especially in the midst of trouble and trials – that God will keep his promises. We are willing to wait in God’s time.

We are willing to show a patience with others because Christ has shown patience – he has a grace filled long temper . Look at Christ’s mercy toward Paul. He displays his unlimited patience and mercy – Paul speaks of this in his words to Timothy, “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” 1 Tim 1:16

(Root word – makrothymia)

So in the midst of trying times will we have stay patient and work? Doing what we can do. Standing with others in love. Bearing with them. Will we be willing to keep going – moving ahead?

And in the midst of adversity will we wait.? Will we be willing to persevere by courageously staying our ground? Will we wait on God? Trusting that God is at work when there is nothing we can do but wait? We will not lash out in anger or seek revenge but leave it in God’s hands?

NO PAIN NO GAIN

• I’m trusting that God is at work

• I will do my part

The hard news is that when we speak of learning  patience in God and with others it always involves a measure of pain and frustration.

I’M TRUSTING GOD IS AT WORK

The growth in my spiritual walk with God is measured to a very great extent in my patience. Our temptation is too often think I am the one in control of my life. When we begin to see how we are powerless over so much…The more I know God’s grace and presence – will I stop trying to be the manager but simply a laborer in God’s work where I say “Lord what is that we are about today in the your world and in your kingdom that is coming?”  

I think what it says in Romans where Paul is saying how did so many who were part of the Jewish nation miss out on the Messiah Jesus. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. Cf Romans 9 (Message) – so often we miss out that God is at work.

Often in the midst of the pain of impatience/patience we are faced with the choice to trust to let go and believe that God is at work even when so much seems not to be working.

It doesn’t mean we will not feel sorrow or concern nor is it about that we resign ourselves in a passivity that is devoid of feeling and passion. I still believe we can have a passionate patience.

But we will wait upon the Lord. We will renew our strength in Him. Like Abraham of old waiting for the promise of his son scriptures say, –  Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.(Rom 4:20 RSV)

Indeed often patience is a quiet revelation about our faith in God.

I WILL DO MY PART

As I wait to see how the work and ministry I am doing in my studies, job, my family in my church and greater community what is the “patient work” that I can do?

Patient work, in the midst of the waiting,

• Speak words of encouragement
• Learn and studying
• Listening for God’s voice and others
• Paying attention to what is in front of me
• Praying for strength and wisdom
• Serving in small ways while waiting for the big moment.
• Stay with others – Stand next to others
• Worship – Sing praises like Saul and Barnabas when they were imprisoned.

The greatest work of patience is to love…1 Corinthians 13 is what is known as the love chapter. As the late Haddon Robinson observed – Paul demonstrates what love is by showing what love does. For Paul love first of all is patient.

Paul knew this in his pastoral ministry to others within the church family.

• (1 Thess 5:14; Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone
• 2 Tim 4:2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

I know I am going off the rails when I become impatient, unforgiving, angry and demanding with others – love is leaking – I lost sight of God’s grace and patience with me.

Patience is listed among the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It comes when one is strengthened with the power of God (Col. 1:11). But that gift, that empowerment, is also an obligation. We are to clothe ourselves with patience.

Lk 8:15, And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest

Conclusion

Joseph Story in Genesis is a story where he learned patience in God and with others. Joseph is an example of what it means to wait patiently trusting God…

This Believe Series message (self-control) was delivered by Brent Hudson at River of Life Church on October 15, 2017. 

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:11-13, NIV)

Acknowledging the problem:
“I want what I want when I want it”

In 2008, Dallas Willard published an article in the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, which is a publication of Baylor, a baptist university in Texas.  In that article Willard writes a compelling argument that our society is moving into a time where people do not differentiate between their identity as persons and the desires that they have.  He basically said we are the impulse of “I want what I want when I want it” was winning the day.  In fact, people are feeling that they cannot be complete persons without fulfilling the things they desire.

This may be distressing at an intellectual level for philosophers like Willard, but this has been the human challenge from the very beginning.  It was in the very first book of the Bible where that problem first surfaced.  A person looks at something and thinks: that looks awesome, I want to have that!” Enter stage right, the serpent, saying, go ahead, you want it take it. It does look awesome.  The only reason you were told not to eat it is because that person is afraid you’ll become just like them and they won’t have any power over you.  Be your own boss!  Eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil. No more convincing was required. And individuals have been eating from that tree ever since believing, to borrow from William Ernest Henley’s poem Invictus, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”

No greater lie has ever been spoken and no lie has ever been believed by more people in every subsequent generation. While the greatest commandments may be love God and love neighbour, they fall behind the idea that there is a God — a supreme one.  The true master of all history and the true captain of my soul.  The entire story of the Old Testament could be summed up in the command “I am the Lord your God…  you will have no other gods before me”.

Before we can love God, we need to believe that God exists and know what kind of God he is. If the original humans had reflected on that second part — what kind of God he is — the lie of the serpent would have been obvious. But it wasn’t obvious — and it still is not obvious — because people are still opting for personal desire over God’s plan again and again.  In fact, one could say that human beings have such a difficult time knowing  “what kind of God he is” God actually chose to enflesh himself in human form, spend some time with us so we could witness the Divine making human choices.  As Jesus said to Philip:

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:8–9 NRSV)

This is our problem. We do not understand who God is and so we make stuff up.  We even bend his message to better suit our needs rather than change how we think and how we behave. Instead, as Willard says: “We want what we want when we want it!”

Because this is a problem, one of the things the Holy Spirit does in the lives of believers — people who put their faith in Jesus Christ — is self-control and that is what I want to address today.

Sometimes Pastors get to stand up front and talk about joy and the promises of God and other times, Pastors have to stand up and call out behaviour that ultimately required Jesus to suffer and die on a Roman cross.  I say it this way so there is no confusion as to the seriousness of the problem and the great need for self-control in our lives.

There are actually two words that are used throughout the NT for self-control.  When Paul speaks about the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23, he uses a word that was most often used regarding powerful sexual urges and desires.  It is used 3 times in the NT as a noun but the verb form of this word is used in 1Corinthians to encourage unmarried and those widowed to marry if they are not “practicing self-control” (1Cor 7:9). The word is also used in many non-biblical text with this sense (cf., ἐγκρατεύομαι).

The other term (*σωφρόν-) is the one found in our text today – it is actually used three times in this chapter.  The NIV translates the same Greek root as:  ‘temperate’ in 2:2; “self-controlled” in 2:5; and again with “self-controlled” in 2:11.  The word is used for a person who shows restraint with their words and actions.  A person is controls their desires and is well balanced in their relationships and life.

While self-control is an effort for everyone, the problems present themselves as a kaleidoscope of human sin.   One person struggles with food and another with drugs or alcohol. Others may struggle with pornography or other sexual sins. Still another has anger issues, or is unleashes a wildfire of destruction with gossip or slanderous stories.

Learning that God’s Spirit at work in us is producing “self-control” challenges us to address our urges.  One area where most modern people struggle is distraction. We have become accustomed to checking our devices multiple times every hour.  There is nothing “temperate” or “self-controlled” about a person who can’t stop themselves from checking their devices when they know it is inappropriate to do so.  I’ve seen people checking their phones during wedding ceremonies and during funerals and usually doing it on the discretely  — which only underscores of problem.  They just can’t wait. What did they learn by covertly checking their device —  99.9% of the time: absolutely nothing. But people can’t stop themselves, it is habituated behaviour.  We absolutely can’t stand the prospect of being bored — even for a couple of minutes.  Many people value non-boredom more than they value self-control.  This is not a biblical point of view.

Just as Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit in us is producing the capacity for self-control in Galatians, he tells us that the gospel message itself promotes self-control as a value. Grace is presented to us as a transforming gift — grace teaches us to to say ‘no’.  When we embrace the gospel of grace, we are confronted with the fact that grace means change.

The Transforming Gift: Grace means change

Most people love the idea of transformation; mostly, I think, because we think about a force outside of ourselves transforming us from A to B.  We think of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly — it is a natural process. . .it just happens.  We have grand hopes that our Christian transformation is the same.

The trouble is the same as most false hopes, there is just enough truth in it to make it believable.   But it will leave people ultimately unchanged.  Just thinking about it for a few minutes will make this clear.  When Paul or Jesus tell us to stop doing behaviour A and instead do behaviour B, the implication is that no one is going to do that for us.  We are not magically  going to stop desiring too much food, or using pornography, or spreading gossip.  The fact that these are still desires in a person is why Paul doesn’t just pray for them only — knowing that God will do all the work.  But that is not how it works.  Eve had to not eat from the tree and we need to avoid the behaviours that are destructive to us.

One of the great truths of Scripture is that we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved.  All of these are true of our salvation.  The same is true about our becoming like Christ — what the bible calls ‘holiness.’  We have been made holy, we are becoming holy, and we will be made holy.  The thread that runs for all of this is the gospel of grace. (cf. 1Co 1:2 where they “have been made holy” and simultaneously are “called to be holy” and v.8 where they will be blameless on the last day).

After Peter denied Jesus, he was dejected and had given up thinking about himself as a leader among the disciples.  Jesus had different thoughts about Peter.  Jesus simply asked him: “Peter, do you love me more than these” (Jn 21:15)  Jesus knew that Peter’s failure was not his defining feature and he put a stop to that kind of thinking before it derailed Peter completely.

Grace defines our relationship with God.  It is why Peter was the leader of the disciples even after his fear caused him to deny his Lord, the son of the living God ( Matt 16:16). But as the pastor-theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer pointed out when he risked his life opposing the Nazi Party in wartime Germany, the grace that stands at the heart of our faith is costly…it’s not cheap grace.  It is grace that cost Jesus his life and it is grace that will cost us too.  Graces teaches us…”teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:12).

The word that is used for ‘teach’ in this passage is translated elsewhere as ‘to train’ or ‘to discipline’ and yes, it has that dual sense in Greek as well.  When Pilate found no fault in Jesus the NIV translates his words as: “I will punish him and then release him” . . . the word ‘punish’ is literally ‘discipline’ and it is the same word used here. This is no different than when we hear someone say “we’re going to teach them a lesson”.  We all know what is meant by “teach” in that context, but we would say that is a godly form of teaching.  Grace teaches us the way God teaches his children. In 2 Timothy 2:25, Paul tells his apprentice pastor to “correct opponents with gentleness” — again, the word ‘correct’ is the same word used here in Titus.  Grace teaches us to say no.  It teaches us gently, but forcefully.  We cannot understand God’s grace toward us without seeing our need to change.

If we fall, he picks us up.  We are told to forgive 70×7 times to the one who seeks our forgiveness and this simply modelling our lives after God. God forgives us whenever we sincerely seek him.  Grace defines our faith. But it is not cheap grace.  It is a transforming gift.  Grace means change. Grace teaches us to say ‘no’.

All that is left is for us to learn what Grace is teaching.  We need to capture our will — to take it back — we need to learn to say ‘no’.

Capturing the Will: Learning to say “no”

Phillippa Lally, a psychology researcher at University College London, followed ninety-six persons who each chose a new behavior to adopt as a habit. How long would it take each person to form a habit? In her research, the shortest time it took was 18 days; the longest was 254 days. The average was 66 days. (see the article here).

Her research was clear on one thing, no habits are formed overnight, and some of us need to work harder and longer to form a habit.

Making good habits is important but so is breaking bad ones.  Dallas Willard tells the story of a man who confessed that he could not stop yelling at his son. Willard told the man, who happened to be wealthy, that every time he expressed ungodly anger at his son, he needed to give $5,000 to his wife’s favorite charity and increase that by $5,000 for each subsequent infraction (i.e., $10,000 for the second time he yelled at his son, $15,000 for the third time, and so on). (This story was recounted in: Merkle, Benjamin L., et al. Greek for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving New Testament Greek. Baker Academic, 2017).

Of course, only God can change an angry heart into a loving one — but to think there is nothing we can do in the meantime — or that our habits do not affect heart change is just not listening to the Bible.

When people asked Jesus about this kind of thing, he was pretty radical.

Matthew 5:29–30 NIV
If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Obviously Jesus is speaking in hyperbole.  He is going to an extreme to make a point.  Both of these actions were against the Law of Moses — but everyone there would have understood his point.  Just as we do when we say: “I told you a million times”.  Or “give your head a shake”.  We use hyperbole and idiom all the time to make our points vivid and memorable.  But as we look at this hyperbole, we can’t miss the point.  Jesus is saying that extreme measures need to be taken in our lives to break free from sin.

For the rich man who spoke with Dallas Willard, an every-increasing fine of $5000 did the trick.  Telling himself to stop being a jerk didn’t help him.  It won’t help us either.  We need to learn what will push back the sin that we struggle against. Maybe you need the embarrassment of telling a trusted friend when your internet view habits are not pure. Or maybe you need to put up a few roadblocks in your life — something that would really bum you out if you had to pay up.

One professor who was writing a book told his three daughters that they were to ask him when he got home from work each day if he had wasted time on the internet and if he did, he would pay them $5 each.  One day he got an notification that one of his students had updated his Facebook page and he went to look at it.  He spent maybe two minutes there — but it was writing his book and was clearly a ‘waste’.  His youngest girl asked him dutifully when he got home whether he wasted any time and he said he had.  He paid her $5. Needless to say, blood was in the water and it didn’t take long for the others to ask him the same question.  Just like that, 3 minutes wasting time online cost him $15.  Not a lot.  But certainly more than reading that Facebook post was worth. (Robert Plummer in Greek for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving New Testament Greek. Baker Academic, 2017.)

We need to set up rails along our path so we don’t lose our way.  It’s easy to be distracted and attracted to something along the way.  But Grace teaches us to say “no”.

I find it fascinating that the greatest human struggle — with controlling our urge to sin — can be beaten by saying ‘no’.  ‘No’ is an easy word to say.  But we need to be instructed to say it because in the moment of desire — whatever that desire — ‘no’ is not usually high on our minds unless we learn to put it there.

As Christians we know that we are more than just a physical body. We are living soul and that soul has given us a will.  It is not just instinct for us.  We can step back.  We can think.  We can learn to say ‘no’.  Maybe some of you need to just say it out loud.  When the urge is upon you and you feel your focus shifting, maybe you just need to yell out “no”.  Sure, the people around you may wonder if you’re a bit crazy, but in the end that’s not a bad deal.

You have hope.  God is at work in you producing the ability, the power to say ‘no’ to the things that drag you down.  Will you always get it right?  Probably not.  Did Peter always get it right?  Not at all.  Did God still use him — yes He did!  Because Peter was willing to get back on the horse and trust God’s Spirit to change him and his grace to restore him.   God wants to use you too but   lack of self-control will get in the way every time. There is a reason it is mentioned three times in this paragraph of Titus alone. It’s important.  It is important for each one of us to learn what God’s grace teaches — to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions.  It teaches us to be radical in our approach, if necessary.

God loves his children so much that if he were to come back at this moment, every single person who has placed their faith in him would be embraced and taken to an eternal home. But until that moment arrives, God is not finished with us.  He wants more for us and from us.  We love to hear about the Spirit producing peace in us.  We love to hear about the Spirit producing joy in us.  But self-control… that is a tough one. But it is also a word of hope to everyone who is struggling.  God is on your side in this battle against sin. He is producing in you the ability to “say no”. The ability to stand against what’s dragging your down. But you need to say it. You need to get on board.  We all need to learn what grace is teaching us — to Just Say ‘no!’

This Believe Series message was developed by Dave Morehouse and Brent Hudson. This post is the message delivered by Brent Hudson at River of Life Church. You can view Dave Morehouse’ version from the TJC YouTube channel here. 

God pursues peace with us

Ephesians 2:13–14 NIV
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

Last week we doubled up in our Believe series looking at love and joy. We saw the connection between experiencing the full joy of Christ with a close relationship with him and active engagement in loving one another — obeying his commands. As we continue to survey the Christian virtues given by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 we come to the complex theme of peace.

Just like Paul, we want to start looking at this from point of view of God making peace with us through Jesus Christ. This is the ultimate starting point. Understanding the value of peace to God must start with God’s seeking peace with you and me.

Ephesians 2:17 NRSV
So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;

Clearly, the idea of peace is important to us because it is important to God. Just paying off our debts was not God’s plan. He did that in Christ, but that was not his goal. That was a means to another end. That ‘end’ is reconciliation which itself is technical and really just means making a friendship out of a broken relationship. This is at the heart of God’s pursuit of peace with us. It is why multiple times in the Bible, God is called “The God of peace”

And we like the idea of Peace with God.  We sing about it. We give thanks because of it. And it is good that we do — peace with God is at the heart of our experience of Salvation.

In fact, it is because of we are at peace with God that can experience inner peace.  We experience turmoil and anxiety in a variety of ways.  Life brings its stresses to us in various ways.  Being aware that greatest enemies of humanity have been defeated in Christ — namely Satan and death — gives comfort to all of us. (cf., Hebrews 2:14)

No wonder Paul writes that God is the God of all comfort (cf., 2Cor 1:3-4).  There is a pattern though and we would be wise to see it.  Let’s look at that verse in 2 Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NIV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

What we experience from God, we are called to share with others. This is an important principle that we must understand.  Often our inclination — because of our highly individualistic culture — is to just focus on the inner quality of God’s comfort. We celebrate our feeling comforted and all too often just leave it at that.  But that is only the first part of what God intends.  God gives us this comfort so we can bring comfort to people around us. This same principle is at work when we look at the idea of peace that we receive from God through the Holy Spirit.  It is for our benefit – there is no doubt about that – but not for our benefit alone.

It is because we have peace with God that…

We pursue peace with others

This can sometimes make us uncomfortable because the idea of Peace with God is powerful and triumphant.  God accomplished this through Christ.  But when we start asking how this has affected our relationships — how the inner peace have moved outward into our relationships all we can think about is our conflicts.  We all can think of people very easily who we need to have conversations with.  Who we have had rough patches that have been smoothed over by the eroding forces of time more than have experienced the peace of God at work in our relationships.

Dave Morehouse mentioned a story he once read about a Christian Speaker who asked his audience to close their eyes and imagine peace. After a few seconds the audience was invited to share their mental pictures of peace. One person described a field with flowers and beautiful trees. Another person spoke of snow-capped mountains and an incredible alpine landscape. Still another described the scene of a beautiful, still lake.

After everyone described their mental picture of peace there was one thing common in them all—there were no people in them. Ramsden commented, “Isn’t it interesting, when asked to imagine peace the first thing we do is to eliminate everyone else.”

I think we can identify with this.

We think Pursuing Peace is hard because…

It doesn’t make sense

Maybe it was a bad bad experience and you feel that addressing that particular conflict is just going to unearth a lot of misery.  It just doesn’t make sense to jump into that again.

It’s not my fault

Maybe you found yourself in a conflict because of demands others have placed on you and you feel you are not to blame.  The other person is at fault, so they are the ones that need to initiate any conciliation process.

And sometimes we actually just give up on reconciliation because addressing conflict makes us feel bad and…

I don’t need the stress

At the outset we need to hold on to the words of Paul when he said that we don’t control the outcomes ultimately.  Sometimes we seek reconciliation and the other party is not willing.  Maybe they are angry. Maybe their belief system opposes the idea of reconciliation — there are a thousand reasons why people will walk away from peace-building.  Which is why Paul said

Romans 12:18 NIV
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Notice how much uncertainty is in this.  Is it possible?  Is the ball in your court in terms of communication?  Paul is saying don’t be the reason for lack of peace in relationships.  Be the one who humble enough to engage a conversation.  Have we even tried? If we have, sometimes we need to accept the brokenness of the situation.  But we must never close the door on the possibility.  We must not grow cold and hardened toward making peace. We are reminded of this by Jesus himself:

Matthew 5:23–24 NIV
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Jesus is saying that it is not really about whether your conscience is clear. It is about a broken relationship.  I know I have broken relationships in my life where I have a clear conscience. I know I have not sinned. But I also know I need to keep the door open to conversations . . . and for me that is harder.  I have a desire to shut the door, lock it, reinforce it with iron girders. What Jesus is saying is that we need to be the one to bring the olive branch.  To ask if there is a need to have a conversation.  To allow forgiveness and reconciliation a chance.

Often we don’t allow for this because we forget

The Challenge of peace is forgetting…

the Gospel that saves us is the Gospel of peace

Ephesians 6:15 NIV
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

When we think about the gospel, we often think about believing in Jesus so our sins will be forgiven.  We think of receiving the promise of eternal life.  We think about Jesus, the cross and the resurrection, heaven and so forth.   I have talked about the idea of Shalom before — the Hebrew word for peace and the idea of well-being associated with it.  This Shalom is when people live in harmony and relationships thrive. People pay a fair price for work and workers get paid a fair price for working.  It is integrally connected to societal justice and also mercy and covenant love.  This is the framework that Jesus talks about peace and following him, the disciples and the NT writers.  when we read ‘peace’ we need to think Shalom.  It is a simple word infused with great depth of meaning.

Our gospel is a gospel of peace. Paul calls it that when writing about the armour of God in Eph 6:15.  It is more than me being at peace with God, it is the Peace of God, the Shalom of God blanketing my entire life.  My spiritual life, my relational life, my financial life, my thought life, my entire being and everything that my life touches is under the dominion of God’s Shalom at work in me through the gospel.

We cannot simply turn a blind eye to unresolved conflict or having angry relationships with other, particularly brothers and sisters in Christ.  We believe a gospel of peace.  It is a Gospel that bring peace with God and a gospel that touches our entire lives.

Getting back to the idea of the Fruit of the Spirit, which this section of our Believe series is ultimately rooted, we see that this Shalom of God is something that the Holy Spirit works in us and extends outward into the world.  We see that…

the Spirit within us is the Spirit of peace

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

I suppose would think about “unity of the Spirit” as being purely functional. Just do the task at hand. But it seems that Paul means more than that because it is rooted in the bond of peace.  The ‘bond’ is not some spiritual word about “bonding” or anything like that.  In Greek it can also be translated as “fetter” or “chains”. Here the use is probably epexegetical, meaning “the bond which is peace”.

Peace is that agent that keeps us in unity.  We can’t just do whatever we want.  And when we feel anxious about that, we can go to our theme verse in Philippians 4:6-7 and understand that the context here is Paul telling his ministry partner to help two women in the church — Euodia and Syntyche —  to get along.  To actually become “one mindset”.  That’s a difficult undertaking and one that can cause significant distress and anxiety.

What Paul does there is genius really. He connects the building of peace between these two women with the peace that passes all understanding given by God, which will help that worker in his or her anxiety about working with these two — no doubt outspoken — women in the church.  Peace is not an option.  It is what God is working in us through his Spirit.  It is at the heart of his message to us, the gospel.  It is at the core who God is.  He is the God of Peace.  He gives us peace with himself.  He gives us internal peace that passes understanding.  But he does this so that we can pursue Shalom — peace — in all our relationships — if it is possible and as much as it depends on you.

When Jesus sent out the 72, he told them to stay in the homes of “people of peace”.  People of Peace.

Are you a person of peace? Better yet,  Who are you becoming?

Are you becoming a person of peace?

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The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 NIV)

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Dave Morehouse delivered this message at TJC on October. These are his preaching notes. You can also experience this message in video format on the TJC YouTube channel here.

How do you define joy? Is it not a quality that often is easier to feel and watch then to put into words?

Here is a clip that I think describes a genuine moment of joy.

(Video Clip) ELLEN SHOW REUNION of wife and soldier husband.

Joy is a quality of our interior life. Let me attempt to use words to get a handle on this…

It is about contentment…not about grasping for more and being thankful for all of God’s good gifts

Living with purpose and living a full life

Deeper still joy is about desire – a stabbing pang where what we long for is something deeper and greater than we could ever imagine…

Joy is a byproduct of the things that matter most – reunion of friends, a helping hand, an act of generosity, rescue in the midst of despair.

Joy also has that element of hope – like you are lost in woods and then you come upon a signpost that leads you out to the road and on to your destination…joy is experienced in knowing that you are finding the way out.

Like this quote by C.S.Lewis – who can feel ugly when their hearts feel joy.

Slide: Surprised by Joy

In the gospel of John Jesus surprises us with the promise of joy.

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Jesus makes a connection that when we have Him we have His joy. Jesus says in fact that our joy is complete. So often our earthly joys leave us with a longing for more. A great meal, a beautiful sunrise, a new purchase, a nice movie, a fun trip…all wonderful but they fade and we yearn for more. Jesus says in me your joy is full and complete.

How do we get ahold of Jesus’ joy? In the 10 verses prior to his joy promise Jesus is telling us says his joy is a byproduct that from a connection to Him. Joy is found where Jesus is!

Let’s read this in Gospel of John 15:1-10

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also 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.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

C.S.Lewis makes the observation – We often try to live the Christian faith and the demands of faith like an honest man paying taxes. He pays them alright, but he does hope that there will be enough left over for him to live on and spend and do what he believes will bring him joy as though the way faith is really not where enduring happiness lies. That is the real challenge to the Christian life – we must stop taking the natural self as the starting point and ending point for our joy and life.

Jesus calls us to be deeply embedded into Him. He speaks to our souls ““Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, to make it angry with moralistic demands – no I have come to kill the it. Not tweak off a branch here and there but to bring down the whole tree. Hand over the whole natural self and I will give you a new self. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”

Joy is found where Jesus is! Here is where we will find joy.

Unfortunately for many we don’t want this type of Christianity. The words of Jesus in John 15 we rationalize are for those who want a sort of deluxe model of christianity.

But Jesus’ call that we remain in Him is the basic entry point of faith. This is the call to be a disciple of Jesus- in other words – a student of Jesus. It is when we unite in faith with Christ in an attitude of study , obedience and imitation of Him that we began to discover the fulfillment of the highest human possibilities and to live life on the highest plane. And we find joy.

As long as deep down inside we make personal happiness centered on money, pleasure and success that ultimate standard of joy – we will truly feel that to hand over our whole life to Christ -to be fully connected to Him – to be an impossible thing.

But the real impossible thing is to think that we can live out the the way of Christ while still going our way and think we will find lasting joy. That will only lead to frustration and anger. Shortly we will either give up the call of Jesus and simply content ourselves with temporary pleasures

Jesus says when we remain in Him we will produce fruit that involves love, peace, self control, kindness, humility and joy! The fruit of our lives will grow when when we have the desire and make the decision to be like Jesus. The fruit Jesus wants us to display is the fruit of Him in our lives. This desire and decision comes by faith that only God can give.

Out of that desire and decision one enrolls in Christ’s training – becoming a student of Jesus. Then we will begin to learn to follow Jesus’ commands to

• to love our enemies,
• walk the second mile,
• forgive 70 x 7
• blessing those who curse us,
• showing hospitality to strangers.

Christ life starts to spread throughout our system, slowly and surely, with grace, with practice, with faith. And we are surprised by joy!

C.S.Lewis paraphrase – This believe journey is about no more compromise about the call to be in Chrsit to be found where Jesus is – to  live where Jesus is  like Christ. Imagine we are eggs that need to be hatched so that we can become birds that soar. That journey is hard. But harder still. in fact impossible is somehow thinking one can remain an egg and have wings. Let us give up the idea that we are called to simply remain an ordinary egg or the silly notion we can remain eggs and have wings. If we do not hatch we go bad…that is not Jesus’ intent when He says you must remain in me.

JOY LOST

But Joy gets lost at times. I saw a headline on the news yesterday: JOY TURNS TO ANGUISH!

Joy is lost with distractions. There are so many things in life that if we make them our central focus they distract us from Jesus.

Spiritually speaking joy is one of those traits of that have an inside and outside quality to it. It is hard to comprehend how someone can be full of joy on the inside and be consistently mean and miserable on the outside. “If you have no joy there is a leak in your Christianity somewhere.” – Billy Sunday

Joy is a like a spiritual gauge of souls.  A lack of joy in our lives is an indicator that all is not well.

I think of 3 Joy Distractors  

1. Discouragements – Difficulties – nothing is never easy, People disagree, quit and leave, Roadblocks – always unexpected circumstances. Weariness – We sometimes get caught up in the work of doing well and we find ourselves tired and overwhelmed

2. Disasters – Death, Crisis, Stress, Troubles, Grief.
3. Disobedience – In challenging life circumstances we are tempted to ignore God’s wisdom and to follow our own ways. We may think that these solutions will make the pain stop and bring the joy and contentment we’re looking for. But the promise in Psalm 119: 1-3

• Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.

• Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.

• They do not compromise with evil,  and they walk only in his paths.

JOY FOUND

So how is joy found How is Joy Renewed? The answer of faith – Joy is found where Jesus is!

In Jesus we find an abiding peace.

In Jesus we have a life penetrated by love.

In Jesus we have a faith that sees everything in light of God working everything together for the good.

In Jesus we have a hope that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances.

In Jesus we discover power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil.

In Jesus we have no condemnation, we are justified, reconciled with God.

In Jesus we have the promise of experiencing life in all its fulness as we learn to live His life and way.

In Jesus we have the way to eternal life, a resurrection hope and a home in heaven. And as C.S.Lewis observed, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”

Finally we find  in Jesus we have his promise of his abiding presence.

And we celebrate with joy – in fact we sing and dance with gladness of heart  – Jesus is with us and we are with Him!

I think of the old gospel song  His Eye is On the Sparrow.

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,

Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,

When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;

His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

• Refrain:

• I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,

• For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Video – Lynda Randle

Key Quotes:

“The enjoyment of [God] is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied…. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends are but shadows, but enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean.”

—Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

What are the sources of your joy? Are they simply the good earthly joys: a new car, a Brooks Brothers suit, a great date, great sex, a raise, or a loss of four inches from your waistline? Or is your joy deeper and wider? Reflection on your election to the Christian community? The joy of saying slowly, “Abba, Father”? The afternoon you stole away for two hours with only the gospel as your companion? A small victory over selfishness? Adapted from Brendan Manning – The Importance of Being Foolish

JOY IS FOUND WHERE JESUS IS

Jesus said a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field of grass no matter how short and trim I cut it – I will never produce wheat. If I am to produce wheat the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and resown.

When we talk about the purpose of the church is – we exist to lead people into letting the life of Christ take root in our lives.

When we hear this call of the gospel to love, have joy and peace, kindness and so on, we vaguely grasp that  this is the call for a disciple – a student of Jesus. But we treat discipleship like those desiring the deluxe model of christianity. For example – I like walking and the occasional short run but there is no way I am joining the Running Club for the full marathon!

Jesus is saying to us When  Jesus speaks to us by the Spirit of God and through His Word, the bible, to our souls, we hear this. “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, to make it angry with moralistic demands – no I have come to kill the it. Not tweak off a branch here and there but to bring down the whole tree. Hand over the whole natural self and I will give you a new self. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”

When Jesus said, Go make disciples...He is directing the church that its simple and profound mission is to help people to

That is where this journey of faith takes us. Not to a place where our natural self feels contented and satisfied. Rather we are becoming like Christ. “Little Christs!” to put it boldly and plainly is how we must answer the question, “who are you/we becoming?”

That is why this Believe journey matters. Throughout the fall we are looking at how we become people of love, joy, peace, self control, kindness, hope, humility. And so on.

The fruit of God’s Spirit at work in us will occur – not because we keep trying harder –

Slide: Surprised by Joy

Jesus drew this connection that when we are in Him we have His joy. We have joy that is complete and full.

For may joy is found in experiences,

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

there is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious. It is too good to waste on jokes. -Lewis

We have the same role to play as the community of Christ. Coke is not poison and I can drink it in moderation, the same as I refuse to feel guilty about watching television here and there. But the point is that I can only find comedy on the television. I cannot find joy. And the more I substitute jokes for joy and cynicism for hope, the sicker I will become.

And so I need somebody to call me back to life. I need my brothers and sisters to remind me to drink water. I need them to invite me back to Jesus who says:

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Casey Hobbs

and our walk with God.

Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering, it is the presence of God Sam Storms

Psalm 16:11 and Psalm 30:5

KEY QUESTION
How do I share my faith with those who don’t know God?

KEY IDEA
I share my faith with others to fulfill God’s purposes.

KEY VERSE

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19-20)

This weekend we conclude section two of our believe series.  This week 20 and ever since week 15 we have been looking at places in our lives that need to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ – that we need to surrender to God. There are things that our culture says to move in one direction and God says move in a different direction. Those are the most difficult places to live as a follower of Jesus.  Whether it is giving time or money or simply living together as a community that honours God with our actions toward one another — all of it brings joy and all of it requires some sacrifice. It is not easy to move against the flow. Yet as one author has written:

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” (Jiddu Krishnamurti)

I think Jesus would agree with that view.  We all want to fit in but Jesus wants us to stand out — and to stand out for the right reasons.  

I just finished teaching an early church history course at Crandall University and one prominent aspect of the early church is that  Christians were known throughout history as being open to sharing their faith. There were seasons of persecution when saying you were a follower of Jesus meant suspicion and possible death. Of course, that is still the case in some places today — but for most of us our path is much less prone to danger.  It is ironic that even without the threat of death  openly sharing one’s faith is still considered one of the more difficult tasks by those who follow Christ in our Canadian context.  

I understand the cultural pressure and difficulty to share about our faith.  Our culture resists such things but we can be sure of one thing — everyone who has been saved by Jesus Christ– everyone who has put their faith in him and made a decision to follow him has been called to share their faith.  We are all…

Called to Share our Faith

We have stories in the gospels of Jesus sending people out to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom. If you wanted to be a disciple of Jesus — you got sent out. After Jesus rose from the dead, he gave his disciples instructions to go and make disciples.  Just before Jesus returned to his heavenly father his words to all his followers were simple:

…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

We could paraphrase Jesus words as:

“you will talk about me and live according to my teachings at home, with your neighbours — neighbours who are like you and neighbours who are not like you, and all over the world.”

This is something that is inescapable for those who follow Jesus. We are called to share our faith. We must be open about it, not hiding it or shy about it.  If someone says why do you forgive that person — you can say “it’s what Jesus teaches me to do”.  Sometimes people will say “you’re nuts” and other times it will lead to more conversation.  Sometimes the people who call you nuts are just emoting and will come back to you later –sometimes much later — and you can have a conversation.

The key to our call to share is actually loving people enough to tell them. If sharing our faith becomes a duty to dispatch — we do not have the heart of God. When Paul wrote the Corinthians he said “Christ’s love compels us” (2Cor 5:14) and the end of that passage he writes:

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:20, NIV)

When the prodigal son came home, in Jesus story, the Father disgraced himself by running to greet him and then in joy embraced his son and immediately threw a great party to celebrate his homecoming.  That is the father’s heart for every lost child that comes home. But so often we are the elder brother.  We never had enough love in us to searching for the lost son. The shepherd searched for the lost sheep.  The woman searched for the lost coin — but in this third story about lostness — no one searched.  That was the elder brother’s role, but he did not take it.  He did all kinds of things his father appreciated but he never got his heart.  He never appreciated why his father would watch the road every day for the lost son.

Often we are that elder brother – we follow Jesus as a duty instead of a profound sense of the Father’s heart.  Please hear me, sometimes life is hard and we put ourselves on auto-pilot, I get that I really do.  All I’m saying is let’s not accept it as the best scenario for our lives. The best scenario is loving like God loves. Everything becomes more natural when it is just we are overflowing God’s love. Eugene Peterson has a warning for us all:

“There is nothing more common than for people who want to talk about God to lose interest in the people they are talking to.”
(Eugene H. Peterson, Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers)

The call to share our faith is clear. The danger will always be doing it for the wrong reasons. Internalizing this call to share our faith must be rooted in prayer because in order to share our faith with love requires that our hearts be changed or as John Wesley said of his own heart that it was “strangely warmed”.  

That doesn’t happen from a sermon. That doesn’t happen by reading a book. That happens when God touches our lives and puts his love in us. The passage from Acts, that I read earlier was actually only half of the verse.  The first part goes like this:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…(Acts 1:8a, NRSV)

Our call to share our faith is rooted in our experience of faith and God at work in us helping us to love as he loves. As we travel down that path

We see our calling to share our faith starts …

With our lives

Most of us want to be authentic people. We want to be real. Not only do we want authenticity in ourselves, we appreciate it when we see it …anywhere.  

Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame wrote a book telling the story Starbucks. He make an insightful comment about authenticity:

“In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.”

Sharing our faith starts practically by being authentic. It means doing acts of kindness for our neighbours — it means being a good neighbour in a time when people rarely know their neighbours.  It means going out 30 minutes earlier with your snow blower to help that crazy guy two doors down or stopping in to the elderly person on your street to see how they are doing. It means being a little weird in your kindness. But because it is rooted in your love for your neighbours it will pass the sniff test — they will be suspicious, but they will sense your sincerity as well.  Because you are not looking for anything in return — you’re just doing what Jesus did.  You’re following the way of the Apostles — the better way – as Paul called it– the way of love.  First we love, then we do loving thinags.  Paul writes:

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6, NIV)

Then there comes that time when people wonder about us and want to hear something.  As much as doing and not talking may be difficult for some extroverts, this next piece is the hard news for introverts. . .eventually you need to say something about the Gospel.  

We are called to Share our faith with our lives and also

With our words

I came across a book just recently and its title made me chuckle a bit when I read it :

Spiritual Conversations: Creating and Sustaining Them Without Being a Jerk

With a title like that, I had to read a few reviews and then a sample of the book on amazon.  It looks like it is actually a great book.  I think I’ll put it on my every lengthening list of books to read.  But what a great title.  How to have a spiritual conversation without being a jerk.  I think I love the title so much because I have heard so many evangelistic conversations where I felt the person was a jerk — and I already believe in Jesus!

I actually believe that if we get that love part right we have a built-in resistance to the jerk-factor. The people who most often come across as pushy, unkind, confrontational and even angry are people who are talking about Jesus for some other reason than authentic love for neighbour.  It’s not Christ’s love that compels them. . .it’s something else.  

When I have conversations about faith, I like to remember two things.

1. The amount of relational capital I have with this person.  This is a very important first question.  People who you have deep relationship with can have conversations that allow you to risk saying something hard. They know your heart and so you can get down to difficult things and they still know you care about them. When you have no invested in a person and have little relationship capital, you communicate in different ways. I often use questions or personal stories that include faith. The second thing I remember is…

• Not to over estimate my place in God’s Kingdom.  When I studied at Crandall University — it was Atlantic Baptist College then, there was a professor there named Jim Beverley.  Some of you may know Jim. I had several classes with him and in one of them we called some big names in theology at that time. One of them was Normal Geisler.  I credit this idea to Dr. Geisler. Dr. Beverley said what if I have to convert this person because I’m the only one who can — he said: “I would say you have overestimated your value in the Kingdom of God”.  I will never forget that class or that phrase.  God has many people working for him.  He has many conversations going on. I have had year-long conversations with people only to find out with surprise that they had been conversing with other Christians that I knew along the way — but I was not aware they even knew that person.  God is doing things in people’s lives that we are not aware of. It reminds us once again to pray for the people we do life with – that they would have ears that hear and eyes that see what God is doing all around them and for them.

It is a freeing thing to know that a person’s salvation does not rest solely on your shoulders.  I’m not letting myself or anyone else “off the hook” about sharing Christ — we are called to share Christ with our lives and our words. And we must pray for boldness like Paul did.  All I am saying is that we serve a great and merciful God. He is worth talking about.  What he has done in Christ is worth talking about.  Even when we feel awkward about it. Even when we would rather run away like Jonah or try to ignore the problem like Esther — in the end we all have a responsibility for a piece of what God is doing the in lives of those around us.  Not the whole thing — just a piece.  Our piece is important and only we can make that contribution.  God’s mighty hand will not be stopped because of someone’s lack of love for him or neighbour — but his reputation will not be enhanced — that’s for sure.

We are called to share our faith with our lives and with our words…

To Everyone

As I mentioned already from Acts 1, the words Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to all the world really mean at home, to our neighbours who are like us and who are different from us and out to the whole wide world.

What is interesting for me these days is how we are okay with sharing Christ at home — here in Moncton.  We are okay sharing our faith in Riverview — neighbours who are like us. But our neighbours who are different — who maybe speak a different language and adhere to a different form of Christianity or religion — we have work to do.  Our Samaria, our neighbour who is different than us could easily be Dieppe.  A different culture. A different language, different faith expressions — close to us but also different.  We must work to share faith with our neighbour — both like us and unlike us.  Likewise we must consider the larger world — to do projects which show the love of God in life and support our workers like Bruno and Kathleen who can put voice and passion to this gospel that we are called to share.  

As we look ahead, we are about to begin Alpha. This will be a season where we can invite people we know and have shared life with to begin a conversation about faith. The faith they have seen in you.  The love they have seen in you.  

Your church is working hard to create opportunities to take what you are doing in your own families and with friends and to help you start new conversations about faith — to continue ongoing faith conversations.  We want to love like Jesus and it is the love of Christ that compels us to explore together this faith that was once and for all delivered to God’s people (Jude 3) because we understand that we are

Called to share our faith
          with our lives,
                    with our words,
                              to everyone.