Facing Up to Life
Commentary
Sometimes when I hear people speak of their faith and their relationship to God, I get the idea that they think that the more they distance themselves from the world, the closer they are to God. It is as if they think that God wants them to be pure and untainted from his world in order to come into his presence. I am reminded of a phrase from the great black preacher, Howard Thurman, when he spoke of a man who came into the presence of God with the smell of life on him.
When I read over all the lessons for September, I am continually faced with a people who are seeking to do battle with life. And there on these pages, I find not a God who is calling people away from life but to life and to faithfulness in the midst of life.
Everywhere we turn, God is seeking to place life and the world on our agenda and on the agenda of the church.
One of my favorite passages at this point is from Acts. You remember that here we have Luke's second Ascension story. Jesus is taken up and the disciples are standing there looking into the heavens. Two men in white robes accost them and ask, "Why are you gazing into heaven?"
I take that story as Luke's way of calling his church away from its fascination with things holy and concern about the return of Christ to putting the world on top of its agenda.
It is the same with us.
If we hole up in our sanctuaries and sing our songs that remind us of how lucky we are to have God on our side, the day will come in which God will have the world come into the church. The world will not leave the church alone even as God will not leave it alone.
I know, there are those who say that we ought to stick to things spiritual and keep to our church knitting, but these are they who misunderstand. It is our task to love the world, to confront the world, to witness to the world, to serve the world, and to be in the world.
After all, we all love John 3:16. Do we love what it implies?
OUTLINE I
God Is There
Psalm 107:1, 33-43
Introduction: Somewhere in the past months, I have observed that the best Psalms always begin with a call to worship and focus attention on God. Here it is once more. All good prayers and all good sermons ought to have a good word to speak about God. Then the poet sets out the implications of his theme.
A. The Lost. What imagery. Desert places. No way to a city of dwelling. Hungry. Thirsty. Fainting.
B. God to the Rescue. Pick any place you want and use it for illustration. Whether it be clothes for Adam and Eve, or a mark on Cain for his protection, or the call of Abraham when all seems silent after Babel, or deliverance from Egyptian bondage, or coming home under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, or the Resurrection, the picture of God is one who comes to rescue the lost. Here in poetic words are echoes of Isaiah 40. The writer of the Hebrew letter will play off the images shared here.
C. So? So, indeed. Therefore! It is always there. So, let them thank God, not only in word but in deed as well.
Conclusion: If we think hard enough for a while, all of us will remember those days when we were up against life, seeming to be headed on a course that had a dead end, and then suddenly the light shined again and new beginnings were offered. We may have considered it good luck, or accidental, or commonplace at the time. But now, from the perspective of the passage of time, it shines with new meaning and we discover that God really does make himself known and has much to do with our lives. Surely you can think of such experiences in your own life and can share them with the congregation in such a way that they can remember their own and begin to have concrete ideas about God truly being involved in their lives.
OUTLINE II
Hosea's God of Love
Hosea 11:1-11
Introduction: Hosea is often spoken of as the prophet of love because he is the man who marries a harlot and experiences what God experiences --that fact that his love is often on a search for other loves. You simply cannot understand or preach on the Book of Hosea unless you read it all and read it in the context of his own time. Listen as he names his children. Sense the heartbreak that is set out in Chapter 2. And listen.
A. God Goes First. Read in verses 1-4 all the goodness that God had given them. Still they ran in other directions and sought other gods. See 2:8. God tried as a rejected husband would try and yet he had failed. So!
B. The Judgment. Remember it is self-elected. God does not have to do a thing. When they choose their pathway, they choose their destiny. It would be a long time before they would realize that truth. God knows, however, and through Hosea lets them know that truth.
C. The Repentant God. There are several instances of God repenting of what he had planned. Here he offers the grace of the withholding of tragedy. If it were not for his hand, for his presence in the world, then what kind of world would this be?
D. Hope Rears Its Head. Hosea speaks for God. Surely they will turn. Surely they will see what God means for them. God will speak to them in ways they cannot miss and they will return and come home. There were those in Israel that could not see that when Hosea spoke, but the day came in 721 B.C. when what they imagined could happen did happen and the Northern Kingdom was no more. Still they would not hear and in 597-586 B.C. the Southern Kingdom suffered exile. Then they began to hear the roar of God. Then they began to understand and to turn toward home. Isn't it the same for us?
OUTLINE III
The Dangers of the Double Heart
Luke 16:1-13
Introduction: Here is an interesting story and an even more interesting conclusion. I am especially intrigued by the verses that recommend that we make friends of the unrighteous mammon. Does Jesus mean that sometimes it is best to deal with those who know what they are doing than to deal with some fellow Christian who may be an amateur? Jesus was a realist. He could find some good even in this unfaithful servant who manages to cover his tracks. He is careful for his own hide and in doing it is looking after his owner's business.
A. The Lesson. He who is faithful in a little is faithful in much. Watch the little things. Find where in the Old Testament there is a statement to the effect that we must catch the little foxes that threaten our grapes because our grapes have tender vines. That is a rough translation, but it means what it says. It is important to be faithful in little things.
B. Care for the Unrighteous Mammon. Do I dare stretch this one a bit and say that it is important not to commit the life of the church to pious dummies when there may be some shrewd sinner who can help? Is that blasphemy? Not in my mind. I am convinced that the church is essentially not a gathering place for the pious but an open door for sinners. I think Jesus shared that. Remember, he said, "I come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Such things ruined his reputation. Just check out what he said about that in Matthew 11:19.
C. The Curses of the Double (Divided) Heart. No one could have put it better. We cannot survive divided allegiance. We waver first this way and then that. We are better off leaning one way or another. Check out Revelation 3:14-22.
Conclusion: Here is a model for all of us. More than that, it is a reminder about how God has made us. Augustine said it long ago, "Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest with thee."
When I read over all the lessons for September, I am continually faced with a people who are seeking to do battle with life. And there on these pages, I find not a God who is calling people away from life but to life and to faithfulness in the midst of life.
Everywhere we turn, God is seeking to place life and the world on our agenda and on the agenda of the church.
One of my favorite passages at this point is from Acts. You remember that here we have Luke's second Ascension story. Jesus is taken up and the disciples are standing there looking into the heavens. Two men in white robes accost them and ask, "Why are you gazing into heaven?"
I take that story as Luke's way of calling his church away from its fascination with things holy and concern about the return of Christ to putting the world on top of its agenda.
It is the same with us.
If we hole up in our sanctuaries and sing our songs that remind us of how lucky we are to have God on our side, the day will come in which God will have the world come into the church. The world will not leave the church alone even as God will not leave it alone.
I know, there are those who say that we ought to stick to things spiritual and keep to our church knitting, but these are they who misunderstand. It is our task to love the world, to confront the world, to witness to the world, to serve the world, and to be in the world.
After all, we all love John 3:16. Do we love what it implies?
OUTLINE I
God Is There
Psalm 107:1, 33-43
Introduction: Somewhere in the past months, I have observed that the best Psalms always begin with a call to worship and focus attention on God. Here it is once more. All good prayers and all good sermons ought to have a good word to speak about God. Then the poet sets out the implications of his theme.
A. The Lost. What imagery. Desert places. No way to a city of dwelling. Hungry. Thirsty. Fainting.
B. God to the Rescue. Pick any place you want and use it for illustration. Whether it be clothes for Adam and Eve, or a mark on Cain for his protection, or the call of Abraham when all seems silent after Babel, or deliverance from Egyptian bondage, or coming home under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, or the Resurrection, the picture of God is one who comes to rescue the lost. Here in poetic words are echoes of Isaiah 40. The writer of the Hebrew letter will play off the images shared here.
C. So? So, indeed. Therefore! It is always there. So, let them thank God, not only in word but in deed as well.
Conclusion: If we think hard enough for a while, all of us will remember those days when we were up against life, seeming to be headed on a course that had a dead end, and then suddenly the light shined again and new beginnings were offered. We may have considered it good luck, or accidental, or commonplace at the time. But now, from the perspective of the passage of time, it shines with new meaning and we discover that God really does make himself known and has much to do with our lives. Surely you can think of such experiences in your own life and can share them with the congregation in such a way that they can remember their own and begin to have concrete ideas about God truly being involved in their lives.
OUTLINE II
Hosea's God of Love
Hosea 11:1-11
Introduction: Hosea is often spoken of as the prophet of love because he is the man who marries a harlot and experiences what God experiences --that fact that his love is often on a search for other loves. You simply cannot understand or preach on the Book of Hosea unless you read it all and read it in the context of his own time. Listen as he names his children. Sense the heartbreak that is set out in Chapter 2. And listen.
A. God Goes First. Read in verses 1-4 all the goodness that God had given them. Still they ran in other directions and sought other gods. See 2:8. God tried as a rejected husband would try and yet he had failed. So!
B. The Judgment. Remember it is self-elected. God does not have to do a thing. When they choose their pathway, they choose their destiny. It would be a long time before they would realize that truth. God knows, however, and through Hosea lets them know that truth.
C. The Repentant God. There are several instances of God repenting of what he had planned. Here he offers the grace of the withholding of tragedy. If it were not for his hand, for his presence in the world, then what kind of world would this be?
D. Hope Rears Its Head. Hosea speaks for God. Surely they will turn. Surely they will see what God means for them. God will speak to them in ways they cannot miss and they will return and come home. There were those in Israel that could not see that when Hosea spoke, but the day came in 721 B.C. when what they imagined could happen did happen and the Northern Kingdom was no more. Still they would not hear and in 597-586 B.C. the Southern Kingdom suffered exile. Then they began to hear the roar of God. Then they began to understand and to turn toward home. Isn't it the same for us?
OUTLINE III
The Dangers of the Double Heart
Luke 16:1-13
Introduction: Here is an interesting story and an even more interesting conclusion. I am especially intrigued by the verses that recommend that we make friends of the unrighteous mammon. Does Jesus mean that sometimes it is best to deal with those who know what they are doing than to deal with some fellow Christian who may be an amateur? Jesus was a realist. He could find some good even in this unfaithful servant who manages to cover his tracks. He is careful for his own hide and in doing it is looking after his owner's business.
A. The Lesson. He who is faithful in a little is faithful in much. Watch the little things. Find where in the Old Testament there is a statement to the effect that we must catch the little foxes that threaten our grapes because our grapes have tender vines. That is a rough translation, but it means what it says. It is important to be faithful in little things.
B. Care for the Unrighteous Mammon. Do I dare stretch this one a bit and say that it is important not to commit the life of the church to pious dummies when there may be some shrewd sinner who can help? Is that blasphemy? Not in my mind. I am convinced that the church is essentially not a gathering place for the pious but an open door for sinners. I think Jesus shared that. Remember, he said, "I come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Such things ruined his reputation. Just check out what he said about that in Matthew 11:19.
C. The Curses of the Double (Divided) Heart. No one could have put it better. We cannot survive divided allegiance. We waver first this way and then that. We are better off leaning one way or another. Check out Revelation 3:14-22.
Conclusion: Here is a model for all of us. More than that, it is a reminder about how God has made us. Augustine said it long ago, "Thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until they rest with thee."
