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Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts

Monday, January 8, 2024

Did Jesus Really Mean We Can't Judge People At All?

Introduction
When I arrived at church early Sunday morning, I was surprised to find a pickup truck parked crooked across the space where I normally park.  I thought it was sort of odd because no one is usually at church that early and people don't normally park in that spot.  Furthermore, the truck was taking up 2 spaces.  As I wondered what was going on and also noticed the lights inside the church were not on yet, our sound technician came walking out toward me and said, "Hey Chris.  I got here early to turn on the organ for Sarah (his wife).  It acts funny if it doesn't have a couple hours to warm up.  I wasn't sleeping well and decided to come on down and turn it on."


I'm gad I didn't judge Bobby for parking so badly this morning before I found out the whole story.  He wasn't worried about parking properly.  No one else was going to be at church and he would only be there a couple minutes.  So he just pulled in real quickly.  He's such a good husband to help out his wife like that--and to help out the church so we have a good sounding organ in worship.

Meanwhile, I go on in to my office and realize, I've had a small piece of toilet paper stuck to my chin the whole time I was talking to Bobby.  I nicked my chin shaving that morning and used the toilet paper to stem the blood.  I didn't expect to see anyone at church so early and didn't think about the toilet paper stuck to my chin as I was talking to Bobby.  Bobby never said anything about it.  I'm glad he didn't judge me either!

Matthew 7:1-5
1
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Judging vs. Being Judgmental
Jesus words here are often misused and misunderstood.  Saying defensively, “Judge not lest ye be judged!” has become a common comeback when people get challenged on their bad behavior.  Did Jesus really mean we can’t call people out on their bad behavior or even make judgments of any kind? 

Absolutely not.  In fact, if you skip down just a few more verses in this same chapter, Jesus teaches people how to judge if someone is a false prophet.  He says you judge them by their actions.  There’s a difference between judgement and being judgmental.

Good judgment is a virtue the Bible applauds, and it is a valuable asset in life.  We need to use good judgment.  When a boy wants to date your daughter, you definitely need good judgment.  If the boy shows up acting high and wearing a t-shirt with a pot leaf on the front, good judgment says, "This boy is not taking my daughter out on a date!"  You have to have wisdom in like, which include using good judgment about people and situations.  Good judgment is based on facts about people’s behavior.  

Being judgmental is rushing to judge someone negatively based on limited information.  If you notice someone has parked their truck crooked.  Well, that’s a fact.  You can see the fact and know it.  But you need more information to make a good judgment about why the truck is parked crooked.  But the judgmental person won’t wait for more information.  They rush to judgment.  They might say:  “The person who parked that crooked is a bad driver or is inconsiderate or must be drunk.”  And when we are judgmental, there’s often a feeling of superiority attached to it.  We might say, “I would never park like that.  I'm not that kind of person.

The meaning of Jesus teaching in Matthew 7:1-5 should be clear.  Don’t be judgmental.  He even uses a funny illustration to drive home the point. “Why worry about the speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own eye?”

We all have issues.  We are gracious with ourselves when it comes to our own faults, but we might not extend the same grace to others.  “My problems aren’t that bad because…  I have a reason for this bad behavior.  If people understood, they would excuse me.  But my neighbor’s behavior is truly annoying, disappointing, or appalling…”

Jesus points out vividly that our sins are no small thing.  How did He describe them?  He said they are like a “log in your eye”.  If you saw someone with a log in their eye, you would immediately call 911 and rush them to the hospital.  And that's the way Jesus described our spiritual condition!

Our sin is so rancorous it required Jesus to die for us on the cross.  That’s serious. But often, we would rather worry about everyone else’s sin than come to terms with our own.  It’s more comfortable to focus on everyone else’s sin than deal with our own.  But Jesus reminds us, we have a serious problem.  We need to be taken to a spiritual emergency room, not be worrying about the specks in our neighbor's eye.

Warning
Jesus gives a stern warning. He said, “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” This has at least 2 ramifications for your life. One for now. One for later.  If you are gracious, think the best of people, and give them the benefit of the doubt, people tend to be gracious with you too.  But if you are overly critical of others, you may be over-critical of you.  So there is an immediate benefit if you have a generous spirit with others.  

But there may be consequences for being judgmental later too.  We will all stand before Jesus one day.  As the Apostles' Creed says, "We believe Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead..."  Now that’s a sobering thought.  Especially when you consider Jesus words: “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”  How do you think Jesus will take it if you have been judgmental all your life with other people?  Why should he be gracious about your faults if you have refused to be gracious with others?

Conclusion
Now back to the log in your eye.  What can you do about that?  That’s why Jesus came.  I mean, you’ve got a log in your eye!  I’m not judging you.  I’ve got one in my eye too.  What are we gonna do about these logs sticking in our eyes!  That’s why Jesus came.

Here's the biggest log – Sin!  Not sins.  Sins are the bad things we do.  But the SIN is  rejection of God.  It is the attitude from which all the other bad behaviors flow.  We have turned away from God.  We don't not want Him to be in charge of our lives.  We want to live however we want to live.  We put ourselves above God.  That is the Sin that leads to all the other sins.  And Paul tells us in the letter to the Romans:
All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.  
And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord.
So call upon Jesus and be saved.  Believe Him in your heart and confess He is Lord with your words.
Take up your cross and each day and follow Him.

Jesus can remove the log from your eye (and from your neighbor's) if we will let Him.  But we have to repent, turn away from our sin, and let Him heal us.  Won't you do that today?

Monday, November 20, 2023

What's the Lord's Prayer?

Introduction
Last week, we studied Jesus simple instructions on how to pray.  He said don’t try to put a show to impress others when you pray and don’t babble on and on over and over again like heathens.  Instead, he said, “go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” (Matthew 6:6)

In today’s message, we’re going to study the example Jesus gave of an appropriate prayer.  The example Jesus gave is what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  We say this prayer together in worship almost every week.  Now, Jesus wasn’t saying this is the only prayer you can pray.  Rather, Jesus gave us this prayer as an example of both the attitude and tone we should have when we pray, as well as being an example of some of the things we should pray about.

Let’s first look at the traditional prayer my congregation says each week in worship during the Pastoral Prayer.

The Tradition Words of The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For Thine in the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

Now let’s go through the prayer line by line from Jesus’ sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:9-15.  You’ll notice the words of Scripture are different from what you’re used to.  That’s because I’m reading from the New Living Translation, which puts the Scripture in modern, easier to understand language.

Matthew 6:9
Pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

Remember, people who follow Christ Jesus are praying to our Father.  God is Jesus’ Father. 
He is your Father too (if you follow Christ).  A good father cares about his kids.  He loves them unconditionally.  He sacrifices for them.  He provides for them and gives them what they need.  Sometimes a good father withholds things from His children—not because He’s mean or doesn’t care, but precisely because He does care.  He knows what His children really need and also when what they want won’t be good for them   So when we pray, we simply talk to God like He is our Father, because He is.

But God is not just any father, God is our Heavenly Father.  That means God is better than our biological father.  God doesn’t have the character flaws and limitations of you dad.  If you had a issues with your dad, you can be thankful God is the Father you always wish you had.  And even if your earthly father was wonderful, you can marvel in the knowledge God is infinitely better than your earthly father when he was at his very best.

When we recite the traditional prayer, we say “Hallowed be Thy Name”.  Hallowed is a fancy old word we don’t use any more.  The closest we come is Halloween--which means All Hollows Eve.  Hallowed is the old English word for holy and sacred.  But we even take the words holy and sacred for granted in modern times.  We use them in church, but what do they really mean?  To be holy and sacred is to be different and special—set apart from all the other common things.  God is not like all the other common things around us.  He is special and unique.  He’s different.

And it’s not just God’s name that is different.  When we say, “Your name is Holy” or “Hallowed be Thy Name”, were talking about God’s reputation.  That’s what a name is—it’s verbal reputation of who you are.  If you tell someone you go to Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, it says something.  We have a reputation people know us by.  What do they know about us?  What is our reputation?  When I’m out in the community and people find out I pastor Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, they might say things like:

  • "Oh! That’s the church that does trunk or treat every year!  My kids love that!  We can really tell y'all are full of love."
  • "Oh! That’s the church that gave my friend $1,000 to help put a roof on her house!"
  • "Oh!  That’s the church where my friend started going and it turned his life around!"
  • "Oh!  That’s the church where I take all my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!"

You see, we have a reputation.  People know our church by our name and what we do.  And when we pray to God our Father, we know Him by what He has done.  When you pray, think of all God has done that is recorded in the Bible.  Remember all God has done for your friends and family or for you personally:  how He has cared for you and put people in your life to love you, how He has forgiven your sins and saved you.  Think of all the ways God has been there for you.

One year ago, my church was following the North Georgia Annual Conference of the UMC's rules for disaffiliation.  On December 28th (while everyone was on vacation and 2 days before Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson was scheduled to leave our conference to be reappointed to Virginia), the bishop “paused” our disaffiliation.  Her “pause” was effectively an edict denying over 186 churches their legitimate right to withdraw from the UMC because of the deadlines involved.  We were at a loss as to what to do.  Thousands of United Methodists across out conference were at a loss.  It caught us all off guard and there seemed to be nothing we could do.

People from my church kept asking, "What can we do?"  I didn't know the answer, but I said, let's pray and be patient and wait on the Lord's direction.  So we prayed.  We prayed to our Father, who is in Heaven and has the power to do anything.  And against all odds, God made a way.  I won't list out all the details and steps that took us from despair in January to victory in November.  However, on November 18th, 2023, our church was granted disaffiliation along with 261 other church.  God used all the extra time to increase the number of churches committed to following His Word.

There were 4 churches who didn’t make it out.  They were not approved.  Was that because they didn't pray hard enough?  No. They are still not defeated.   Either God had other plans for them or God will take their defeat and turn it into a victory!  That is the mysterious way God works sometimes.  SOmetimes He doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, but we have faith He always answers our prayers in the right way.  We will just have to trust God and wait and see what He does.

If you ever depsair because God doesn't answer your prayers the way you want, think of Jesus.  Jesus did not want to die on the cross.  What did He pray?  He prayed, "Lord, if there's any way it's possible, let this cup of suffering pass from me."  You see, Jesus didn't want to endure the agony and shame of dying on the cross.  He prayed for the cup to pass from Him.  But He also prayed, "But not my will, but Yours be done."  And Jesus died on the cross.  But God also took Jesus death and turned it into the greatest victory that's ever been one.  Jesus died on the cross but rose on the third day.  And through His ressurection, the whole world can be saved!  So if you ever despair because God doesn't answer your prayers, you are in good company--the company of God's own Son.  And God will turn your unanswered prayer into a victory.  Have faith!

Matthew 6:10
May your Kingdom come soon.  May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

This should be a Christians number one hope and number one prayer.  It’s not about us.  Ultimately, we want God’s to come and His will to be done because our faith says that’s what we really need.  Yes, we have our own hopes and dreams about how we want our lives to turn out.  But our faith tells us loud and clear, God’s plans are always better than our hopes and dreams.  Therefore, we must be like the heroes of faith in the Bible who were always willing to turn their backs on everything they’d ever known and to go where God led them.

Are you ready and willing to surrender your hopes and dreams and truly ask God our Father, “May Your will (not mine) be done on earth, as it is in heaven”?  When you are ready to surrender completely to the will of God, then you are ready to pray about your basic needs.

Matthew 6:11
“Give us today the food we need,”

We have basic needs.  We ask God to take care of them.  The struggles of daily life and prayer are opportunities to practice trusting God.  We sinful humans are incredibly prone to think we can take care of ourselves.  Do we really need God?  Oh sure, we realize we need God at certain moments in our lives—like when we get diagnosed with cancer, or when the church we’ve grown up in and love is in jeopardy.  When we are scared or at our wits end, we go to God and beg for help.  And that’s fine.  God hears us.  But it is far better for our spiritual health if we recognize every day, every moment we desperately need God.  We cannot do life on our own.  We cannot even tie our shoelaces whithout God's help!  We need God even for something as basic as food.  So we ask, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Just like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness, who God gave manna from heaven.  God gave them enough for one day.  He said, “Don’t collect more than one day’s supply.  Trust me.  I’ll give you more tomorrow.”  So we ask God to give us the food and basic needs we need today.  And we trust Him.  God will take care of us.

Matthew 6:12
...and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Isn’t it interesting that right next to Jesus instruction to pray for daily bread is His instruction about praying for forgiveness?  Don’t miss this.  Forgiveness is as important to your health and wellbeing as is the basic necessity of food.  Let me say that again:  Forgiveness is as important to your health and wellbeing as is the basic necessity of food.  

This is something our church needs to remember and practice very intentionally during this season.  We have been in a hard and bitter fight.  The Lord has brought us through.  We have won the right to disaffiliate from the UMC and pursue the future we believe God wants our church to work for.  But we also still feel the pain and anxiety from the long fight.  There may even be hard feelings between some in our community—Dalton/Whitfield County—or even in our own church.  And we need to forgive one another so we can move on and heal.  And we need to pray, “Father, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.”

Matthew 6:13
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Here is the reminder of who the enemy really is.  Who is the enemy?  It is the evil one, the Devil.  The enemy is not the Bishop or conference leaders who tried to sidetrack our church.  The enemy is not that person at work who told lies about you and hurt your reputation.  You see, you real enemy is not the people or things of this world.  We are engaged in a spiritual battle.  Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

So don’t give into the temptation to blame your problems on God, thinking He doesn’t care.  And don’t give into the temptation to blame people on earth who oppress you.  It is the Evil One and the forces of darkness in an unseen world who are twisting things up against you.  Therefore, turn away from temptation and not feed the Devil’s influence in your life.  Turn to God in prayer.

Matthew 6:14-15
14 
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I don’t know how Jesus can make it any more plain than this.  We must forgive or we cannot be forgiven.  Forgiveness is hard.  It’s not some glib thing.  But it is essential.  We must forgive.  Forgiveness is what God has done for us.  And it cost Jesus His life.  Jesus died cruelly on the cross so we can be forgiven and so we can forgive others.  

We all need forgiveness and God is gracious to forgive.  But we in turn must forgive others.  So when you pray, pray like this.  

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For Thine in the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

Monday, September 18, 2023

Did Jesus Forbid Lawsuits?

Introduction and Review
Last Sunday, we learned that Jesus didn’t come to do away with the Old Testament Law, but to fulfill it.  He said that unless you follow the Law more perfectly than the Pharisees, you can never enter into the Kingdom of God.  (If you missed that message, it will be helpful for you to go back and read to it - "Why Christians Follow Some Old Testament Laws But not Others")

Jesus said, unless you follow the Law better than the Pharisees, you can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20).  Now the Pharisees were the holiest people in Jesus’ day.  Everyone looked up to them and respected them.  And Jesus’ followers would have thought it quite impossible to be more righteous than the Pharisees.  And that was the point.  Jesus was saying, “You can’t do it.  The Pharisees can’t earn their way into Heaven and neither can you!”

That’s why Jesus came.  Since we can’t fulfill the requirements of the law, Jesus came to fulfill it for us.  Since the penalty of sin is death (and we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard), Jesus came and paid the penalty of our sin by dying on the cross for us.  His death atones for our sin and makes us right with God.

But to prove His point that we cannot follow the law perfectly (and so we desperately need Jesus’ help), Jesus give some real life examples to point out some of the ways we fall short.  The first example is about anger ad comes in Matthew 5:21-26. (We'll see some more examples in future blogs.)

Matthew 5:21-22
21 
“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

Jesus shows how incredible demanding is God’s perfect Law.  Of course, we can understand that we should not murder.  But lest we boast that we have never murdered, Jesus points out that the spirit of the Law requires more.  If you are angry at someone, you’ve broken the Law.  If you are driving down Cleveland Hwy and someone cuts in front of you and almost causes a wreck and you say, “You idiot!”, you will face judgment.  And if you curse at someone, you are dangling precariously over the fires of hell and it’s only a matter of time before you fall into it!  The perfect Law of God is that demanding.  And Jesus goes on.

Matthew 5:23-24
23 
“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Here, Jesus is showing forgiveness and reconciliation is the most important act for God’s people.  In the Jewish religion of Jesus’ day, sacrifice in the Temple was very important.  People would travel for hundreds of miles (on foot) to visit the Temple to make a religious sacrifice.  It was a high and holy event.  But Jesus says there’s something even more important.  Even though your sacrifice was very expensive and you traveled many miles to offer it as the Temple that is held up as the most important place on earth, forgiveness and reconciliation is more important.  It is so important, in fact, that Jesus left the glory of Heaven to come down to our broken world, and to die on a cross for our sins so we can be reconciled to God and each other.

Matthew 5:25-26
25 
“When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

This last part is often seen as Jesus’ practical advice for people in a lawsuit.  It makes sense.  If someone has a suit against you (and you are in the wrong, or maybe even just partly in the wrong), settle it out of court if you can.  You never know how it’s going to go in court.  Plus, honest people ought to be able to work out a fair agreement among themselves.  (Sadly, that’s not always the case since we are too broken by sin.)

But the Lord revealed something to me as I prepared for this message (and I checked it out and found there is another way of understanding this passage that gets at what Jesus is really saying).  This is more than just practical advice.  Jesus is using a metaphor about eternal judgement.

Matthew 5:25a
“When you are on the way to court with your adversary…”  We are all involved in a divine “lawsuit”.  You see, God’s Law is perfect.  And we have all broken it.  And the Bible often says the Devil is our accuser and adversary.  Satan is the prosecuting attorney who brings the case against sinful people to God.  Our great enemy, the Devil, shows all the evidence of our sinfulness to the Heavenly Court and points His accusing finger at our face, “He is guilty!  She is guilty!  And the penalty is death and eternal damnation!”

And what will you say when you find yourself on the judgment seat in the court of Heaven?  We have no defense.  We are indeed guilty.  As Jesus shows, we are guilty even if we’ve only ever been angry or called someone an idiot.

And so Jesus says, “Don’t wait until the Day of Judgment!  Then it will be too late.  Settle this matter now, while you’re still on the way to that Heavenly Court.  Here’s your chance.”

Here’s your chance, people.  Jesus is here now.  He came to offer grace.  He came to offer reconciliation with God and your fellow man.  It’s more important than worship or sacrifice.  It’s THE most important thing.

Reconcile with God through Jesus
So first off, we need to get our hearts right with God.  That starts when we turn to Jesus and repent of our sin.  We say, “Jesus, I will follow You as the Lord of my life.  I am no longer in charge.  You are.  I will follow You.  Please, forgive me for my sins and save me.”

When we do this, Jesus’ death on the cross washes away all our sin.  When the Devil tries to accuse you before God, there will be nothing left to find you guilty.  Your sins are gone.  You are innocent and holy before God.  But there’s more.

Now, we are called to live like Jesus in this broken world. We are ambassadors of peace and reconciliation. Jesus forgives our trespasses and so we forgive those who have trespassed against us.  And we are healed and there is healing in our world and the Kingdom of Heaven comes on earth.

No.  It is not easy to forgive people who hurt us.  It was not east for Jesus to die on the cross, but He did it.  And Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”  And so just as Jesus forgave us, we must forgive others. 

Closing
As we close, I want to first invite you to be reconciled to God.  Turn away from your sin and turn to Jesus.  Believe in Him and trust Him and follow Him as Lord and receive the grace and mercy and forgiveness He freely gives.  He will wash you clean of your sin so you are holy before God.  The Devil will have nothing of which to accuse you.  You will be innocent.

Second, I invite you to do the hard work of forgiving others.  Just as Christ forgave you, freely forgive those who have wronged you.  Do not be angry, for anger leads to wrath.  Instead, leave the judgment to God, for He is the only one qualified to judge.  As for you, be an ambassador of peace and reconciliations as is fitting for those who follow the Lord Jesu Christ.

For a incredible testimony of God's power and forgiveness that transforms lives, watch this video from Samaritans Purse about an orphan from Rwanda who gave his life to Christ and then forgave the people who murdered his family in the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s.

Monday, September 19, 2022

The Year of Jubilee - Nothing to Hide

Introduction
When I was a kid, we would sometimes have company over to the house.  Usually, it was relatives who were visiting from out of town.  (We had a lot of relatives who lived far away that would come visit once or twice a year.)  Now, there were four kids in my family and my mom was a single mom who worked full-time, so our home was usually quite “lived in”.  When we knew company was coming over, my mom made sure we all pitched in to clean the place up.  Sometimes our relatives would arrive and say something polite like “Oh, your house looks so nice!  I can never keep my place clean like this!”  (I often thought to myself, you should have been here and saw how it looked yesterday!  Oh, and don't open that closet door where we stuffed all our junk!)

We do that sometimes don’t we?  We try to clean ourselves up to look good for people and keep up appearances.  We don’t want people to see our problems, our faults, our mess.  And if we have any secrets, we want to keep them secret.  We might not want people to see who we really are on the inside.

Jesus came to set us free from all that and that’s what this blog is about .  In Jesus, we have nothing to hide.

Leviticus 25:14-17
14 “When you make an agreement with your neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other. 15 When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee. 16 The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests. 17 Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the Lord your God.

Real Estate in Ancient Israel
This is my third installment in a study of ancient Israelite laws for the Year of Jubilee.  Every 50 years on the Day of Atonement, the priest would blow a sacrificial ram's horn, in Hebrew a jubil (or yobel; AKA a shofar).  Everyone had a whole year off from agricultural work so they could celebrate, worship the Lord, and just enjoy life.  Furthermore, all slaves were set free, all debts were forgiven, and any family land that had been sold was returned to the original family.  It was a tremendously joyful occasion when everything and everyone  in society was renewed. People were made right with God and with each other.

The year of Jubilee is something that sounds both amazing, but also strange to people today.  It’s hard for us to understand some aspects of the Year of Jubilee, because Americans have different concepts of property ownership than the ancient Israelites in the Bible.  

For one, America is the Land of the Free.  We were founded on the principle that we are not bound to a king.  Most people throughout history, including the early settlers who came to America from Europe, understood that they were vassals of their homeland’s king.  They only came to America because their king granted them the right and granted them land in the New World to farm on behalf of their King.

The American Revolution was truly a revolution.  Our forefathers revolutionized the way people in our country think about freedom, individualism, and property ownership.  They declared that all men are created equal.  IE. the common man and woman is equal to the king and queen.  Furthermore, our founders declared people are free and not vassals who must serve a monarch as lord.  In this new world order, people may purchase and own their own property as individuals (and not merely hold property in trust on behalf of their king).  We take this idea for granted today.  If you purchase a home, you understand that the property belongs to you. It doesn’t belong to the king (or to the president or the government) who generously allows you to use it.  It’s truly yours to keep or to sell.  We don’t even think about this.  We just accept it.  However, this is truly something new that started with the American Revolution when our nation broke free from the king of England.  This was not the way most cultures thought of property for the vast majority of the world throughout history. 

In ancient Israel, they had a totally different concept of property ownership.  Ancient Israelites started as slaves in Egypt.  Then God delivered them from slavery and brought them to the land in Canaan.  God fought on behalf of the Israelites to conquer the Canaanites and gave the land to the Israelites.  The Israelites understood that they didn’t really own their land.  God owned it and granted it to the people of Israel.  God gave each tribe, clan, and family a certain piece of land to maintain.  Every Israelite family understood that their land did not really belong to them.  They were merely stewards of land that belonged to the Lord God of Israel.  They were to tend the land and live off the land and use it for the glory of God as they served as God’s representatives to the world. 

If the circumstances of life required an Israelite to sell part of his family’s land, there was a problem.  How can you sell land that doesn't really belong to you?  So, in the way ancient Israelites thought of their land, they were really only leasing the land for a set number of years–the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee when the land would revert to the original land holder.   

So, suppose there were still 40 years left until the next year of Jubilee, then the land might be worth $40,000.  But if there were only 10 year left until Jubilee, the land was only worth $10K.  Or if the Year of Jubilee was only 1 year away, the land might only be worth $1,000, because once the ram’s sounded on the Year of Jubilee, the land would have to return to the original owner.

People are people; they always have been–even thousands of years ago.  People will always try to take advantage of each other when it comes to business deals.  If you work in business or sales you probably experience this–whether you sell cars, sell houses, or other things.  You know how it works.  You see some really nice people, but  they will try to take advantage of you to work out a deal that’s better for them but not necessarily fair for you.  That’s the old sinful selfish nature inside us.  It’s been their since the fall of humanity way back in the Garden of Eden. 

God wants His people to be different.  He wants us to be holy as He is holy.  And so Leviticus 25:17 reminds us, “Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the Lord your God.

For the ancient Israelites, this meant making sure their real estate deals were fair and honest.  Buyers shouldn’t take advantage of sellers.  And sellers should not take advantage of buyers.  Everything needs to be open and transparent.  This meant they must always consider the number of years remaining until the Year of Jubilee, because this affects the value of the property. 

John 8:31-32
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Being a Christian
Christians follow Jesus' teachings.  We aren’t saved by being good people.  We are saved by God’s grace when we have faith in Jesus and choose to follow Him.  Following Jesus means being faithful to His teachings and Jesus taught us to be people who repent of sin and live lives of moral integrity.

Ironically, the people who opposed Jesus the most in the New Testament were the Pharisees–people who were seen as the most righteous people around.  Jesus said the Pharisees were like whitewashed tombs.  They were all bright and pretty on the outside, but inside they were like rotting corpses–full of filthy evil deceit.  The Pharisees claimed they were completely devoted to the God of Israel, but when God sent His Son, Jesus the Messiah, to save them, the Pharisees rejected Jesus.  They were even willing to kill the Son of God in order to protect their position and power.

Jesus and His followers shouldn't be like the Pharisees.  We should be people of integrity.  We don’t need to pretend we’re perfect.  Jesus didn’t come to save perfect people.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  So if you lost, He came to save you.  If you’ve got some flaws, it’s ok.  If you can admit your sins, you’re good; repent and believe in Jesus and He’ll forgive you and save you.

But if you’re sweeping your sins under the rug, pretending to be something you’re not, there’s a problem.  How can Jesus save someone who pretend they're already perfect and don't need forgiveness, healing, and salvation?  This is true spiritual blindness and hypocrisy.

It’s a heavy burden to live a lie.  You’ve got to keep up appearances.  You’ve got to guard your secrets.  You’ve got to always worry when someone might see you for who you really are.  It’s so much better to just come clean.  Then you have nothing to hide!  Sure, you lose the lie and maybe some people won’t think you're the hero they once thought you were, but there will be many more who respect and admire your honesty.  Most important of all, your heart will be right with God.  Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  You are truly free when you have nothing left to hide.

Jesus should know.  He is the trumpet that calls people to repentance and announces God’s Great Jubilee when all slaves to sin who answer the call to repentances are set free and every person is restored to a right relationship with God and their neighbors.

Invitation
Won’t you hear Jesus calling you to repent today?  Won’t you accept His invitation? 

 I invite you to use Psalm 51:1-10 as your prayer to God today.  This famous Psalm was a prayer written by David recalling his on repentance aft a serious sin.  David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband to cover up his sin.  God accepted David's repentance.  There were consequences for David's sin, but their was also healing and restoration.  Whatever sin you've committed, what ever mess you've made of your life, God can forgive you and restore you, but you've got to repent and believe.

Psalm 51:1-10
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

Amen.

 

Monday, May 9, 2022

The prodigal

Introduction
It’s been very touching seeing so many post about mothers over the weekend.  There are all kinds of mothers for all different walks of life.  I've seen sweet mothers who are still actively involved in their young children's lives.  There are mother's who have grown kids in the full swing of life.  There are mothers who have grown old and passed away and also, sadly, mothers who have passed away too soon before they grew old.

I also think of some mothers who have failed.  I listen to the testimony of a prodigal mother this weekend who shared how she failed as a mother because of some of her own shortcomings.  Thankfully, she repented and Jesus turned her life around.  

There are also the many spiritual mothers that bless people who aren't even related to them, but they love and people who need it.  I have had many spiritual mother's in my life who have been so helpful, especially while I have lived so far away from my own mother.

I knew six months ago that God wanted me to read the story of the prodigal son for Mother's Day 2022. God led me to plan for this as I prayed during a planning session.  However, God didn’t tell me what say until the morning of Mother's Day. So I pray His words come through clearly.  So, let’s read through the story and I will make some comments as we go.

Luke 15:11
11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 

It starts, "A man had 2 sons."  But I can't help wonder: where’s the mother in the story?

I should start with this disclaimer:  We don’t know anything about the mother in the story from the Bible.  Jesus doesn't give any information about the mother in the Bible.  So all we can do is speculate about her.  Still, I think Jesus would be fine with us using our imagination and asking some thoughtful questions.

It could be the mother had died.  We know in our day mothers often die and leave a family motherless.  It was even more possible in Jesus' day, as people didn't live as long and something as simple as appendicitis (which we can easily fix with modern medical technology) could kill you in New Testament times.  Could the Prodigal's mother have died sometime prior to this episode?

It is also possible the father had remarried and the mother was a step mother.  And step mother's can have a complicated relationship with their step children.

It is also possible the mother was not mentioned because Jesus lives in a patriarchal societ where women were often overlooked.  However, I don't think that is as likely, because women played a prominently role in Jesus ministry and he never shied away from including women, even if his society didn't.  Jesus was not a male chauvinist. He greatly valued women and treated them with respect.

Luke 15:12
12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

This was an incredibly mean thing for the son to say.  He was basically telling his dad, "Look, I have things I want to do in life that I can't do because I'm waiting for you to die so I can get my inheritance.  So why don't you just go ahead and die or give me my inheritance now so I can get on with my life?"  Can you imagine saying something like that to you mom or dad?  Yikes!

I wonder how the mother would have responded (assuming she was alive).  Some mothers might comfort their husbands, put their arms around them, and cry with them.  However, there might have been some mothers fussing and saying, "Why in the world did you go along with this?!”  How would your mother have handled this? How would you handle it if your child said this to you?

Luke 15:13

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 

Now, in this story, it was the son who moved away to a distant land.  But I can’t help but think of some mothers who have left.  You might think a mother could never leave her child, but it happens more than you think.  My wife works in a neonatal intensive care unit taking care of critical babies and newborns.  You would not believe how many babies are born already addicted to drugs because their mothers have taken drugs like heroine and meth throughout their pregnancy.  And then the baby is born already addicted with severe health problems and the mother is back out on the street chasing her next high.  Addiction is a terrible problem that enslaves many people--including mothers-- and leads to horrific behavior.

The sinful longings of the human heart that draw us away from God affect all people—even mothers.  They turn our eyes away from the truth and make us think the grass is greener.  What we have to realize is the dark seed of sin is in all our hearts.  That dark seed can grow in anyone and, given the right conditions, can take over your whole life.

Luke 15:14-16
14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

Sin, which seems so attractive at first glance, leads to hardship, poverty, pain, and famine.  It is significant that the Jewish son in this story finds himself feeding pigs.  Jews considered pigs to be unclean.  They didn't eat any kind of pork and they didn't keep pigs on their farms.  So for a Jewish boy to be taking care of pigs means he had sunk pretty low.  

People enslaved by sin will sink lower and lower until they are doing things they never thought in a million years they would do. Maybe that was you once. Maybe that is you today. Is it time for you to come to your senses?

And I can't help but thin of the mother’s anguish at the son’s degradation.  She may not have even known what her son was doing, but that's even worse.  A mother mind can go to a very dark place as when she doesn't know if her children are safe.  She can even torment herself, thinking the worst and worrying herself to death.  Is your mother worrying herself to death today because you are wandering from the right path?

Slide – Luke 15:17-21
17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 

18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

The prodigal son shows us what true repentance looks like.  He says, "I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son."  It is unconditional surrender, recognizing one's sins, and throwing yourself upon the Father's mercy.

Repentance is crucial.  People remember many things about Jesus--that He was a miracle worker, that he died on a cross and rose from the grave, and people love to remember Jesus was a man who stood for love.  But we must never forget that Jesus consistent message throughout His ministry was, "“The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15)  

The son shows us what true repentance looks like.  In the father’s response, we see what grace looks like.

Luke 15:22-24
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

Again, the story focuses on the father, but I wonder how the mother responded?  Was she right there with the father, welcoming her wayward son home?

Anyone who knows the way most marriage works realizes while the father was hugging his son and making grand statements about having a party, the mother was probably thinking, “Oh great! There he goes making all these great plans, but the house is a mess and now I’ve got to go grocery shopping to get food for all these people!”  (That's the way t usually works at my house.  My wife does most of the work behind the scenes.  I make the plans and she has to pick up the pieces.  She's a saint!)

The wife was probably thrilled to have her son home, but it’s also possible the mother like the older brother in the story.  

Luke 15:25-30
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 

30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

The older son was angry. He felt unappreciated.  He felt superior to his younger brother who had abandoned the family while the older brother had done his duty.  (How many mother's feel unappreciated sometimes?  That's why we need to have a Mother's Day, to remind them we really do appreciate them.)

Maybe the mother was feeling angry and unappreciated.  Or maybe it broke her heart to see the older, more responsible, son refusing to be be happy at the redemption of his brother. It can break a mother’s heart when her family is full of strife.

Luke 15:31-32
31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

We must not forget; this story is an illustration. We don't know if it was based on a true story or not.  However, we know the father represents God.  The Father, God, reasons with the responsible son in the story and God reasons with us.  Do not be angry with the sinner who returns to God.  Do not feel superior.  Maybe you didn’t abandon your family and commit the hideous sins as others have, but you are not perfect either.  We all sin and fall short of God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23).  And God looks into the heart.  He sees the sin seed in each of us and knows that, given the right conditions, it can sprout and grow out of control so that we are just as guilty as the person whose sins are incredibly hideous.

Have you, as a mother, felt yourself superior to others who abandoned their family? Is not that feeling of superiority a sin in and of itself?  Are you like the older brother in the story, standing outside, fuming and refusing to come to the party to celebrate the redemption of a sinner who was lost, but now is found? How long will you wait?

Conclusion
Jesus doesn’t tell us about the mother in the story.  A really gifted great storyteller leaves a few things to the imagination so we can ponder them.  Maybe that’s why we are still retelling and listening to Jesus’ stories 2,000 years later.

Jesus also doesn’t tell us how the story ends.  Did the younger brother remain faithful to the father?  Or did he get bored back at home and run off again?  Some of you are the young, rebellious brother in the story.  Your actions decide how the story ends.

Did the older brother ever get over his anger, forgive his brother, and go in to the party?  Or did he stay outside forever, fuming about how he was right and better than his brother?  Jesus doesn’t say what happened, because some of you are the older brother in the story.  And you are the only one who can determine how your story ends.

As for the fathers and mothers out there whose hearts are breaking because your children, in one way or another, have wandered away from the Truth:
God—the Mother and Father of us all—knows your pain.  He is the Father in the story, whose heart breaks when any of His children goes astray.  Yet He is longing for His children to return and He is quick to forgive and embrace every wayward sinner who comes Home.  

Why don’t you bless God's heart and come Home today?