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Sunday, June 27, 2010 TITLE: Iron Man – The Power Core TEXT: Romans 8:1-16 OPEN: (Video of Stark having Pepper replace his power core)
What you just saw was Iron Man’s assistant replacing his power core It’s the source of his power as a superhero…
At one point in the movie, the hero informs us that this power core/arc reactor… … was capable of generating 3 gigajoules/ gigawatts of energy per second That’s roughly the amount of power that 3 large nuclear reactors can create… …and in movie/ that power is wrapped up in a piece of metal the size of a tennis ball
Most everyone in the REAL world admits that’s not even remotely possible… … there’s NO WAY anything that small can generate that much power But – hey – Iron Man is a comic book character. He’s not supposed to be bound by the laws of physics. That’s why he’s a superhero and we’re not!
But in the Bible we’re told that (as Christians) we have an advantage that Iron Man didn’t have. We actually do have a power core inside of us… … and that power core is far more powerful than any nuclear power plant
Romans 8:11 tells us “… the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you”
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead = lives inside of YOU Imagine the amount of energy that would be required to raise someone from the dead That energy/power = is inside your heart. There isn’t a nuclear power plant on face of the earth = could hope to create that much power It’s all inside of you.
Now, that wasn’t always how God did things. In the OT it appears - God rarely placed His Spirit INSIDE of people = Spirit was usually UPON In Judges we’re told “…the Spirit of the LORD came UPON Gideon, and he blew a trumpet… and summoned Israel together to challenge the Midianites” Judges 6:34
In Judges 14 “…The Spirit of the LORD came UPON (Samson) in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat...” Judges 14:6
1st Samuel tells us “Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed (David) in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came UPON David in power...” 1Samuel 16:13
Again and again (thru-out the OT) God’s Spirit came UPON certain people to give them power Even then – it was rare for God’s Spirit to come upon anyone … but it was even rarer for the Spirit of God to be INSIDE someone during the Old Testament times HOWEVER, when Jesus came, that all changed In John 14:16-17 Jesus promised “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be IN you.”
This was going to be different that how the Spirit had interacted with God’s people up til this time. John 7:38-39 tells us that Jesus declared “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
You see – in the OT, God’s Spirit only came upon certain select individuals Judges/ Prophets/ Kings and such But in the NT, God’s Spirit was to be INSIDE each and every Christian.
In 1Corinthians 3:16 Paul told us Christians: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives IN you?”
Like the power core in Iron Man – the Spirit of God is always inside the Christian… … HE’s always there to give us His power – His energy.
SO, what exactly does God’s Spirit do for us? If the Holy Spirit is our POWER source from God… what kind of power does He give me?
1st = God’s Spirit gives us the power to deal our broken lives One of the writers of the Iron Man movie (Gerry Conway) made this observation, "Here you have this character, who on the outside is invulnerable… just can't be touched, but inside is a wounded figure. Stan (Lee) made it very much an in-your-face wound, his heart was broken, you know, literally broken.” Iron man was a wounded man/ a broken man His life was ruined But when the power core was installed, Iron man was give the ability to live again
In Romans, Paul tells us how he’s seen his life In Romans 7 he tells about the damage sin had done to his heart He says because of sin “even when he wanted to do right… he couldn’t get it done.” “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no… …the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” That’s what life is like without God’s Spirit inside us It’s like living inside of tomb… inside a body of death There’s this nagging feeling that we’ve messed everything up… … sometimes to the point of feeling like a loser/ a wretched creature. Who could possibly fix this for us? Who can rescue from this body of death???
“Ah”, says Paul – “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! … There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 7:25; 8:1-2)
You see, here’s how it works: You and I are broken inside. There’s something inside of our souls we can’t fix. It’s like having a disease that attacks our bodies. If I have disease = who do I usually go to see? (A doctor) I go to the doctor because I need someone who can get inside of my body… … someone I can trust to remove the diseased cells & help me heal
That is what God’s Spirit is designed to do. God’s Spirit gets inside of my heart. Ø He repairs that which was broken… Ø He removes the diseased parts of my soul … and He makes me new again
And He can do that because He is a living and active = He is God And He’s right there inside everyone of us who’s a Christian here today. Ø He’s fixing you on a constant basis Ø He is continually removing the deadness of sin from your heart Ø And He is faithfully putting God’s medicine inside of you to heal you.
Thanks be to God - through Christ Jesus… … the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death
But wait = there’s more He doesn’t just set you free from sin… He empowers you to live a power filled life
ILLUS: Just this past week, the power was out on the north side of town I first noticed it when I saw that the traffic lights weren’t working. I didn’t think much about it until I tried to stop into CVS & pick up some batteries One of the clerks met me at the door and explained: “I’m sorry we have no electricity. We can’t sell you anything.”
I just took it for granted that I could walk into that store – even in a power outage –… … and get whatever I wanted… but that wasn’t true. They had no electricity/ they had no power. Without that electricity , their machines wouldn’t work. They couldn’t run their computers/ they couldn’t log their sales They were literally shut down because they had no power. It was only when that clerk told me they couldn’t sell anything… …that I realized how important electricity had been for their store. Electricity empowered them to do what they were meant to do.
In the same way, God’s Spirit empowers you and me to do what God meant for us to do
In Romans 8:26 says “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”
You having problems believing God’s hearing your prayers… … don’t worry about it … you have a direct line to God … you don’t even have to say much because God’s Spirit is right there inside you … and He feels your emotions (pain/joys) …and what you’re feeling is shot straight up into the heavens… … right into the very throne room of God.
Don’t worry about having WEAK prayers/ and your prayers making it to God The Spirit of God is your power line, and He gives a special umph to your petitions.
So He empowers when we feel our prayers are weak And He empowers us when we feel our lives are weak
Romans 8:27 & 28 says “…the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God’s Spirit is active in helping turn our lives around. He’s interceding for you at the throne He is petitioning on your behalf When your life seems to be falling apart, God planning how to fix it.
One person put it this way When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something!!!
There seems to be a direct tie between the Spirit interceding for us… … and all things working together for the good of those who love God
Notice it didn’t say ALL THINGS ARE GOOD And it didn’t say that ALL THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO YOU WERE FROM GOD
What it does say is this: it doesn’t matter what happens in your life The Spirit is interceding for you… and all things WILL work together for your good.
Now you might ask (PAUSE) how do I receive this Spirit? (I’m Glad you asked) In Acts 2, Peter gives his great sermon on Pentecost – beginning of the Church EXPAND Acts 2:36 "… let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." YOUR CRUCIFIED HIM – IT’S YOUR FAULT – you’re in trouble boys Acts 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" The crowd was so convicted by Peter’s sermon that they interrupt
him to ask what they need to do to fix their relationship with God?
That’s God’s promise If we repent of our past & immersed in name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins God says – once you do that - you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit You accept Jesus on HIS terms, and He places the power core in your heart.
Like I said a couple of weeks ago, this is God’s way of doing things Some churches will lead folks in a “Sinner’s Prayer” … …and tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts. BUT as appealing as that may sound – it’s just not in Scripture.
God chose baptism as way to respond to Him because it requires a Christian there to help.
Just like that clip in Iron Man showed that he needed someone to help install his power core … so also, God requires us to have another Christian on hand for us to have His power
It’s not so much that God NEEDS someone there to help save us. It’s that He WANTS new Christians to have someone there… …to teach and nurture them (hold their hand) as they grow in Christ.
What better way to get that done than to require another Christian to be there at their rebirth?
Something else I noticed about the Iron Man clip… Iron Man’s power core was essential for his survival – Without the power core his heart would fail and his body would shut down If that power core were ever removed = he would die
In the same way WITHOUT the Spirit of God inside you and I – we will die God’s Spirit inside of us is the only thing between us and judgment. Without God’s Spirit inside us would face eternity in hell
But Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us that once we became Christians we “…were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
In that Last Day - when we come before the Judgment Seat of God – God isn’t going to look over our past to see if we’ve done enough good to be saved… … instead He’s going to look and see if we’ve been sealed with His Holy Spirit … if the Spirit is there, we will LIVE for eternity We will not face the 2nd death We will not endure the fires of hell = We will LIVE! Sunday, June 20, 2010 Iron Man – Building On the Foundation Ravi Zacharias told of speaking one time at Ohio State University. He said “As I was being driven to the lecture, we passed the new Wexner Art Center. The driver said, “This is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating building designed in the post-modernist view of reality.” The building had no pattern. Staircases went nowhere. Pillars supported nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect how he saw life life. It went nowhere and it was mindless and senseless. Zacharias said “I turned to the man describing it and asked, ‘Did they do the same thing with the foundation?” He laughed and said: “Oh… you can’t do THAT with a foundation.” Any contractor will tell you that a building is only as good as it’s
foundation. APPLY: (pause) Jesus tells us that everyone builds on some kind of foundation… …BUT not every foundation is a good one. For example, He tells the parable of 2 men who built on different foundations
Now, in the story of Iron Man, we meet a man named Tony Stark… …and he finds he’s been building on the wrong foundation, and wants to make a change. (Clip of Stark deciding to change the company’s focus)
Stark Industries had been built by the hero’s father. His Dad had laid the foundation for the company and set the course of what they manufactured It was that foundation that allowed Tony Stark to be the wealthy man … … And it was that foundation that allowed him to create the hero he became. The Bible tells us that we all have a foundation laid for us by our fathers. And God apparently expects us to build on the foundations our fathers have laid for us. Prov 23:24-25 The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in himProverbs 10:1 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.Ephesians 6:2-3 "Honor your father and mother"— which is the first commandment with a promise—"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." My dad was real easy to honor. I admired him and wanted to grow up to be like him… But I didn’t always honor him like I should have I didn’t always show him the respect and honor he deserved. At one point I so frustrated him that he said “If you weren’t my son, I’d have nothing to do w/you So, how can dI honor my father the way I should?
In our text this morning, we find that Solomon has built on the foundation of HIS father. We read that Solomon told Hiram (the king of Tyre) that… … he intended to build on the foundation that HIS father had laid. His father was David = and David had dreamed of building a beautiful Temple for God… … but had been unable to do so because he was always at war with other nations. … BUT now, Solomon has the ability and resources to fulfill his father’s dreams. … and he is going to build a Temple on the foundation of his father’s dreams And BECAUSE Solomon honored his father in this way… …God honored Solomon by allowing him to build a Temple that lasted for centuries The Temple was destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times… … but neither of the rebuilt Temples equaled the beauty and majesty of 1st ALL because Solomon honored his father by this decision
Solomon’s father (David) was a great man. David was a hero A man after God’s own heart The author of most of the book of Psalms But if Solomon had wanted to, he could have given us… … a laundry list of all the things his father had done wrong in his life David committed adultery with Bathsheba (who later became the mother of Solomon) He arranged for a man to be killed on the battle front so he could have Bathsheba And David was often a miserable failure as a parent (with the exception of Solomon, almost all of his sons were disappointments) But Solomon NEVER recited his father’s failings. In fact, it’s in his book of Prov. that we find his attitude towards how you should treat your dad. He wrote: If a man curses his father or mother, his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness. Proverbs 20:20 So Solomon taught us NOT to recite our dad’s failings. NOT to air their dirty laundry. NOT to replay every wrong thing they’ve done or said.
When Solomon spoke to King Hiram, he explained that… … the reason he wanted to build the Temple was because that was his father’s dream. David did a lot of things that were good/ bad But there was one thing that David did that caught Solomon’s attention. There was one thing that was good and righteous and worth building on… … and that was to build a temple for God. Now God apparently takes this matter of honoring our fathers (mothers) very seriously It’s such an important concept that Paul tells us that the command to honor our fathers and mothers was the ONLY one of the 10 commandments with a promise And that promise was: “…so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” But why would God include a promise with this specific commandment?Well, cause dads aren’t always that easy to honor Sometimes fathers are difficult men to be around. Even some of the best fathers will make mistakes A group of 10 year olds were asked what troubled them about their dads (at least 6 things) 1. They make promises, then they forget all about them, or else they say… …“it wasn’t really a promise, just a maybe.” 2. They don’t do the things they’re always telling the children to do— like pick up their things, or be neat, or always tell the truth. 3. They never really listen to what children have to say. 4. They make mistakes, but they won’t admit them. 5. They interrupt children all the time and think nothing of it. But if the child interrupts their dad, he gets a scolding or something worse. 6. Sometimes they punish children unfairly. (For Families Only, J.A. Petersen, ed., Tyndale, 1977, p. 253) I don’t care how good a father you are… … sooner or later you’re going to mess up in one of those areas But then there are other dads who’ve done a lot worse. They haven’t just messed up a little bit – they’ve destroyed any trust their kids might have in them How could a son/daughter possibly honor them people like that? Well, it is hard…. That’s why God included the promise. So, apparently, God believes that honoring our parents is crucial for OUR well being Otherwise He wouldn’t have made such a big deal about it. But does He really expect me to honor my dad even if he’s not worthy of it? Oh yeah. = But why? 1st – because God asked us to Leviticus 19:3 "Each of you must respect his mother and father…. I am the LORD your God.” In other words: show respect to your parents because I’m your God & I asked you to If it’s important to God… it should be important to me, because I love God. 2ndly – God is telling us we’ll miss out on HIS blessings if we don’t This is the only commandment with a blessing ILLUS: Years ago, the advice columnist Dear Abby told of a young man from a wealthy family who was about to graduate from high school. It was a custom in their affluent community for parents to give their graduating children a new car, and the boy and his dad had spent weeks visiting one dealership after another. The week before graduation they found the perfect car. The boy was certain the car would be in the driveway on graduation night. But on the eve of his graduation his father handed him a small package wrapped in colorful paper. The Father said the package contained the most valuable gift he could think of. His son unwrapped the package… and inside… was a Bible! The boy was so angry he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again. But several year later the news of the father’s death finally brought the son home again. Following the funeral, he sat alone one evening, going through the possessions his father had left him as part of his inheritance… and he came across the Bible his dad had given him. Overwhelmed by grief, he brushed away the dust and cracked it open for the first time. Inside was a cashier’s check dated the day of his high school graduation --in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together. The gift had been there all along . . . but he had turned away because his father had disappointed him. What a shame it would be - for us to turn away from the promises of heavenly Father… … because our earthly fathers might have done things to disappoint us! 3rdly - how I treat my father (mother) influences my character. Proverbs 30:11-14 tells us "There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind. These folks are all the same people. God’s telling us that those who curse their parents are in danger of being self-righteous (pure in their own eyes/ glances are disdainful) They tend to be proud and difficult people to be around… … and they can often mistreat others, because… … they’ve learned to mistreat their own family. Now why would that happen? Because God understands that how we respond to our parents forms us How we treat our dad is how we’ll treat others in life… How we think about dad shapes how we think about others ILLUS: Just as an example, all you have to do is see how boys and girls treat their parents… …and you will KNOW how they’ll treat their wives and husbands
The reason
it works that way is because you can’t REALLY get away from your dad/mom They’re part of you They’re DNA is intertwined in yours The decisions they’ve made (good AND bad) effect how you make your decisions now So, if I learn to honor my dad (whether he’s a great dad or not) God says that will shape… … my personality so that I learn how to respond to others around me And when that happens, my life will be better than it would have been I’ll live long in the land God has given me, because I’ve learned to live right. The last reason we need to honor our dads is because God expects us to minister to them In Ephesians 5 and 6, Paul talks about how we should minister to each other
And part of that list of how we should minister to each other are these words “’Honor your father and mother’ which is the first commandment with a promise” Ephesians 6:2 God is saying to us who are Christians – be MY ministers to your fathers Not because they deserve it (because often we dads don’t) But because that is our way of showing God’s love to them. AND if they’re not Christians, you might even influence them to change their lives So, these are the ways we can honor our fathers today
Ultimately, God wants you – as HIS servant – to find a way to bring His love into their lives CLOSE: Zig Ziggler tells of the time he took his young son did that for him He said his son was still relatively new to the game… …so Zig was very impressed by his son's performance on one of the par 4 holes. At the tee, the boy lifted the ball straight and true down the fairway. A second shot got him onto the green within 14 feet of the cup. Wanting his son to succeed, he went to great trouble in… ... sighting the shot for him and gauging the lie of putt… … and then told his son just how he ought to play it. His son stepped up to the ball and putted the ball perfectly into the cup just as his father had taught him. His first birdie. Then it was Zig's turn. He also had made the green in 2 shots but his putt was far easier. For a moment he considered flubbing the shot… … so that he would not overshadow his son's achievement… … but then he decided against it because it would go against… … everything he had taught his son about doing his best. He sank the putt easily and also birdied the hole. As they were walking away to the next tee, Zig casually asked his son "Well, son, were you rooting for me on that last shot." "Dad," the boy replied, "I always root for you." Tuesday, June 15, 2010 TITLE: Iron Man – The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing TEXT: Acts 20:28-31
OPEN: did I mention last week that I liked Superheroes? I guess I did, didn’t I. I’ve done extensive research for this sermon for years. I’ve read superhero comic books/ watched superhero TV shows/ went to superhero Movies I’m what you might call an “expert” in superheroes.
And one of the things about superheroes you can always count on … … they always have a super villain, an enemy who almost matches them in their abilities · Superman has Luthor · Batman has the Joker · Spiderman has the Green Goblin
And those villains are fairly easy to spot… I mean they’re bad guys… they look like bad guys But the Bible tells us our enemy isn’t so easy to spotWhen we think of our enemy – we often think of some guy standing around in a red suit with a tail & pitchfork
But 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us “… Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” In other words, you’ll not always know he’s evil by how he looks
Even false teachers don’t always show up with snake oil and a handlebar mustache Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
And here in our text this morning Paul warned the Elders at Ephesus that some of those wolves would show up “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
In the first Iron Man movie the villain was the hero’s supposed friend and mentor. Through the first part of the movie he looked like a friend … he acted like a friend … he even looked like he was protecting the hero But underneath, he was seething with anger and rage Underneath, he desired to destroy the man who stood in the way of his power.
(Play clip – From when Iron man confronts Obadiah on street and is thrown into the bus, to the point where Obadiah ices up and Stark says “did you ever solve that ice problem… think about it” and then thumps him)
Notice that Iron Man’s adversary felt that Iron Man was the enemy The hero was someone to be destroyed so that Obadiah could attain his true right/ power And Obadiah had developed a suit that looked very much like Iron Man’s… … so that he even looked like the hero… but he wasn’t In that one sequence we see the true nature of wolves · They want to look like us · they want to feel they are in the right. · AND they are willing to destroy anything in their way to get their way
So, let’s backtrack a bit. The wolves Jesus and Paul talk about look like us. You can tell who the Jehovah Witnesses are – green Bibles You can recognize the Mormon missionaries – white shirts and ties You know the Hari Krisna types by the flowers in their hair. But these wolves look like us.
That’s because they often ARE us. They’re often “part of the family” It could be an Elder/ Preacher/ a Sunday School Teacher It could be me… it could be you. AND that’s scary.
Often wolves don’t even realize they’re wolves They’re so convinced that they are right… nothing else matters.
How many of you here would like to be a wolf? Of course you wouldn’t But Jesus didn’t call us to be wolves… He called us to be His sheep
ILLUS: There’s an old camp song that goes this way I want to be a sheep, baa baa/ And pray the Lord my soul to Keep
Don’t want to be a wolf, I want to be a sheep… and sheep and wolves are natural enemies.
But if wolves can arise from among our number And IF those wolves could end up being you or me How do I recognize when I’ve stopped being a sheep/ become a wolf???
1st – I find want that I want power/ influence Paul tells us that these wolves distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them (vs. 30) They want the church run “their way”… the rest of the church are THEIR disciples The one phrase they use a lot is “This is MY church” (never say that) This ISN’T your church/ my church Whose church is it? (Jesus’) Paul tells the Elders from Ephesus “Be shepherds of the church of God, which HE bought with HIS own blood.” Acts 20:28
But if wolves can’t get their own way… they tend to forget whose church it is ILLUS: My mom told the story of the church she’d attended up north. Some of the more wealthy members of the congregation wanted to fire the preacher. He wasn’t doing things the way they wanted it done… and one of the members wanted his son (who was Youth minister at the time) to take over. The preacher stood against them and they eventually left in a huff. But that wasn’t the end of it. They began to send e-mails to other members of the congregation trying to get them to leave too. According to mom, the e-mails were fairly nasty, and tho’ this group never got… … anyone else to leave, they left scars on that congregation that they’re still trying to heal. Paul also tells us these wolves “distort the truth”Truth if often one of the first victims of wolves. Now sometimes that distortion is the form of false doctrine
ILLUS: Geoff Faull told of the man he encountered when he first took the church he’s serving now. He was teaching Wednesday night Bible Study and apparently taught that Jesus was NOT the Son of God. Geoff was appalled and approached the Elders… who knew all about it. But why hadn’t they dealt with the matter up that point? Because the teacher threatened (if he couldn’t teach what he wanted) he’d leave… and take a bunch of other member with him. So, Geoff started by teaching the Elders their responsibilities from the Scriptures, and eventually they agreed this teacher needed dealt with. When they confronted the man, he made good on his threat – he left and he took one other family with him.
But sometimes that distortion of the truth is in the form of character assassination ILLUS: At one church I served there were a group of people who wanted rid of me… … so what did they do? They began to spread in the rumors in the community about my being immoral. But they failed because I worked very hard at protecting my reputation in the community… … and everyone knew these rumors were nothing but lies.
So, wolves seek to have their own way/ they often play fast and loose with the truth… AND They don’t care who they hurt. Notice what Paul says in Acts 20:29 “…savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock” They don’t care who they hurt. Jesus said “…the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it” John 10:12
They send out nasty e-mails They try to peel off church members to follow them as their disciples. They’ll find ways to attack the character of the preacher/ elders/ or anyone else who opposes them
Why? Because the flock isn’t as important to the wolves… getting their way = that’s what’s important They don’t really care who they hurt as long as they accomplish their objective. They’ll tell you they love Jesus… but they don’t really love His bride. …and in order to get their way,they’ll drag the bride of Christ thru the streets … they’ll shred her wedding gown and tear it to pieces… … because they’re right… and that’s all that matters.
So, how can you tell you’re a wolf? … if you’re willing to destroy a preacher/ an elder/ a congregation… because you’re right! But… now, wait a minute!What if the leadership of a congregation is heretical? What if they’re teaching false doctrine? Or if they’re allowing immorality to run rampant in the church?
Well, if I was faced with that type of situation, I’d want to find the most biblical way to deal w/ it
I’d want to find out how someone in Scripture who was a “man after God’s own heart” dealt w/it Hmmm.. was there someone in Scripture that was called a “man after God’s own heart?” (David) Yeah – David was a man after God’s own heart Did David ever have to deal with a leader who was immoral? Did David ever have to deal with a man who directly disobeyed God? Did David ever have to deal with a man who was tormented by demons?
Well, yes he did… it was a man named King Saul who repeatedly sought to kill David. Tell me – do you recall how David dealt with this wicked King?
Turn with me to 1 Samuel 24:1-13 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’" Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD’s anointed.’ See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.
Notice, David confronted Saul about his wickedness… He said “I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life.” (24:11) But he refused to destroy Saul… even when it was in his power to do so. He identified this kind of behavior with “evil” As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.(24:13) But how could David do that? How could he just stand back and let Saul get away? Well, he could do that = because he trusted God “May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me.” (24:12)
When David said this he was quoting Deuteronomy 32:35 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.”
Romans 12:19 repeats that: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "Vengeance is mine,” saith the Lord, “I will repay".
CLOSE: Now, I seriously doubt that anyone here would do something like that. But I’ve seen it happen often enough in other congregations – a word to wise is a good thing Otherwise – one day – you might be tempted to become a wolf - one day, you might be tempted to reach out your hand & destroy a King Saul - one day, you might be believe that you were righteous enough to destroy a preacher/ an elder/ a church = in order to get your own way. AND THAT WOULD BE BAD THING
Year ago an evangelist told of holding a Revival at a church that was in turmoil. The Preacher of the congregation wasn’t quite as good as he should have been. People were leaving and the church was struggling. This evangelist was well known and respected, so a group from the church asked him to come and talk with them. But the moment he stepped into the room he found himself faced with a crowd of very angry people. They hadn’t asked him there to help them “solve the problem” – they were looking for someone who would listen to their grievances and assure them that they were RIGHT. As he sized up the situation… this was a not a good thing.
He looked out over the assembled group and asked "Who is the leader of this group." A man toward the back raised his hand and said: "I am," The evangelist smiled and then said “Well, I expect that you have gathered because you are a group of spiritual people who are concerned about your preacher's many faults?" In response the group began to list off a series of rather small complaints, that taken together mounted up to an almost insurmountable challenge. "Well then," said the Evangelist, "since you are spiritual people, then the scripture from Galatians 6 should be your guide "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself lest thou also be tempted." The leader practically sprang out of his chair "I'm not about to restore that preacher!" "Well then," Gothard responded, "by this you are indicating that you are either unspiritual or rebellious... which is it?" At this, the man stormed out of the room. A woman was in tears and said "But so many are leaving..." The Evangelist responded "The Bible calls us a BODY. My body loses cells all the time. It's only when cells get together in an unauthorized group that it is becomes a cancer and that can lead to weakness and death." He continued by noting that if they continued in their action that their rebellion against the preacher would lead to their teenagers rebelling against Christianity. (Bill Gothard, Basic Youth Conflicts Seminar) Sunday, June 6, 2010 TITLE: Iron Man – The Learning CurveProverbs 27:17 OPEN: I love superheroes. I always wanted to be one myself, but every time I tried I hurt myself But I’ve always loved superheroes… and one of my favorites has always been Iron Man. With the premiere of the last two Iron Man Movies… … I saw some Biblical themes that I wanted to explore for this sermon series Iron Man – a comic book series started by Stan Lee for Marvel Comics back in the 60’s. It was the story of a technological genius who’d been making weapons for the military… … but who began to realize that some of his weapons were being sold to bad guys Iron man’s suit isn’t made of iron… but the image of an iron suit symbolized the … … virtual invulnerability of this hero to bullets, rockets & bombs big enough to level NYC In his suit, Iron Man could fly, generate beams of energy… … and shoot his array of bullets and rockets But, as with all superheroes, there was a learning curve he had go through to use his suit Video of Iron Man where he learns to use his suit. In Scripture, God uses Iron for a number of images….. Amongst those images are the ideas that iron represents strength and endurance Like in our passage this morning… “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 As Christians we have an even greater set of these qualities because (as Romans 8:11 puts it) “… the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you” The power the Spirit of God revealed when it raised Jesus from the dead… … is the same power that lies inside of each of us who belong to Christ God’s Spirit has placed iron in our bones… He gives us the ability to be strong and endure many of the difficulties of life. But Prov 27:17 implies that (even as God’s people) we don’t start out that way We have a learning curve that we need to go thru… … so that we can be sharpened … so that we can be honed … so that we can have all the qualities of iron we need in our lives. So how do we do that? How do we take that quality of iron God has placed inside us and make it all that it can be? Proverbs 27 says that as iron sharpens iron… SO ONE MAN SHARPENS ANOTHER As Christians we need someone to help us grow in our faith Jesus implies as much when He gave us the Great Commission Jesus commands us to “… go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..." Matthew 28:19-20 I know its popular in many denominations to substitute “a prayer of salvation”… … for the biblical practice of baptism. This prayer of salvation is a man-made invention=seems to offer many advantages But it has one grave disadvantage. How many people does it take to “ask Jesus into your heart” (not biblical by the way) JUST ONE – the pray-er How many people does it take to be baptized? TWO – one to baptize, one to BE baptized. The unbiblical practice of praying the prayer of salvation presumes converts… … will always have somebody there to teach them. But that doesn’t always happen! By contrast – the Biblical practice of baptism req’s that… … the new Christian have someone else there with them. The person who baptizes them. And that person who baptizes them is expected by Christ… … to take responsibility for them & to teach them the basics of the faith. BUT even after baptism, God involves us with one anotherThat’s why Christ established the church. Ephesians 5:25-27 says it this wayHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.Jesus died for the church Jesus died to establish the body of believers you belong to. So, it’s not true that you can be just as good a Christian without going to church You can’t simply say “Well, I’m there in Spirit… but I don’t have to be there in body” ILLUS: It’s kind of like the true story of an incident that took place at a University This university had a policy that if the professor was 10 minutes late for class… it was cancelled. But one day a professor put his hat on his desk and then went to the faculty room. He arrived back at the class at his class 10 minutes late and found it empty. He was furious. When the class next met, he informed his students “When my hat is here, I’m here!” The following day, the professor arrived at 9 a.m.. And he was met by the sight of 25 hats on the desks – but no students. Albert I. Raizman R.Digest 1/05 p. 54 Their hats were there! They were there in spirit… but not in body. But they weren’t REALLY in class. They weren’t behaving as true students should. They weren’t going to learn anything… because THEY WEREN’T there. AND – as Christians – we’re not going to gain anything, if we’re not together with the church! So… we need to BE in church = but that’s not enough Just like a student can be in class and still NOT learn anything Similarly - a Christian can be in a church building, but not get anything out of worship That’s because Jesus designed the church to be a place… … NOT where we GET something out of it … but where PUT something into it. Heb 10:24-25 instructs us to “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” You see – the purpose of church is to sharpen the iron that God has placed within us. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 That means that your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ NEED you. The Bible repeatedly drives home the fact that we need to BE THERE for each other
We need to be there for each other, because we NEED each other. We’ll never attain the fullness of Christ until we understand that significant fact. 2 Corinthians 3:18 describes it this way “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. When I first read that verse I got an image in my mind I visualized a person on a staircase, climbing up into God’s presence… glory unto glory Every step they took was an accomplishment Every step they took brought them up higher… closer to God. But that image also told me something about our responsibilities to each other.
Now we can look down to the bottom of the staircase and wonder why all those other folks …aren’t as spiritual as we are… … or attend Sunday School as often as we do… … or tithe like we do… … or (fill in the blank) BUT – that would be an Unspiritual way to look at other people in the church. If others are lower down on the staircase than you are… your job is to help them up the stairs We are here to sharpen each other… to bring out the quality of iron that God has placed inside us In fact, this is so important to God… that’s He’s watching. Hebrews 6:10 tells us “God… will not forget … the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” God’s watching… He takes this seriously Back when He made a covenant with Abraham, He told him I will bless those who bless you… and I will curse those who curse you.
In the NT, God repeats this promise In Matthew 10:42 Jesus said “if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." What’s that mean? = I will bless those who bless My people In 2 Thessalonians 1:6 Paul writes “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you What’s that mean? = I will curse those who curse you And that’s easy to understand If you are nice to my kids… I’m inclined to be nice to you But if you hurt one of my kids… you better look out! Now that brings me to my last point. God expects us to be nice to each other/ build each other up… but that’s not always easy to do. As one person said: “It’s easy to be an angel when nobody is ruffling your feathers. It’s easy to be kind to other Christians when they’re doing things I agree with … when they’re not offending me … when they haven’t sinned against me… etc, etc. But Jesus has a couple of rules about that What if I’ve sinned against a brother/sister? What should I do? (go to them) Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Now, what if a brother/sister sins against me? What if they tick me off? What does Jesus say I have to do? Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” You are to GO to them… NOT to argue with them/or beat them over the head…. … but in order to win them over So… it doesn’t matter whether you’ve sinned against them… or they’ve sinned against you YOU have to go to them and get things right WHY? Because God wants us to sharpen each other… He wants us to help each other How many of you agree that this is what we should do? (raise your hands) VOW!!! Tuesday, June 1, 2010 All My Family Needs Is ChurchDeuteronomy 6:1-12 During the 1600’s - Emperor Shah Jahan was the 5th Emperor of India during the Mughal Dynasty… …believed to have been descended from Tamerlane and Genghis Khan When Emperor Shah Jahan was troubled by rebel forces, he took his army to make war on those rebels …and his beloved wife (who was pregnant with their 14th child) went with him/ as she often did … but this time she died giving birth to their child. In his grief, the emperor locked himself in his quarters and neither ate nor drank for 3 days… … and kept the doors locked for a total of 9 days. When he emerged from his rooms, his raven black hair had turned completely white and …his heart was filled with a dream. He would build two memorials. One would be a tomb made of white marble for his wife’s body… … and the other a tomb of black marble to be used for his burial chambers (never built) 22,000 men and women labored 24 hours a day for 22 years on his wife’s tomb It was built of white marble decorated with 28 different kinds of gems. A sheet of pearls was spread over the coffin… …doors of solid silver opened onto the tomb …and a solid gold railing surrounded the monument.
Does anyone know the name of this tomb in India? Taj Mahal (picture of Taj Mahal)
APPLY: The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous memorials in the world… And it is a memorial to death The Shah didn’t build it while his wife lived… only after she died.
That’s the way it often is with/ memorials. Memorials are often built to remind us of someone who has died. A memorial is something that is built to help us remember.
Now, here in Deuteronomy 6, God is asking His people to remember something elseIn Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
God’s saying = I want you to build memories into your family. I want you to help them remember the commandments I’m giving you today. And He speaks of it almost like He’s asking them to build a memorial
In verses 8-9 He says Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” BUILD A MEMORIAL - IN YOUR FAMILY - TO MY WORD The people of Israel eventually took these commands literally They actually TIED His Word to their hands/ foreheads/ and WROTE them on their doorframes. Ø They created little boxes called Phylacteries that they tied to their foreheads (picture) Ø They built a little bigger boxes called Mezuzahs that they nailed to their doorframes And as the religious Jew = expected to touch mezuzah as entered & exited their homes..
Now – frankly – that’s seems fairly innocent = and even a helpful practice… …because these little boxes constantly reminded them of their commitment to God’s Law.
But the problem became that many Israelites ended up putting their faith into those little boxes I mean = NONE of those phylacteries or Mezuzahs were big enough to hold the entire law (they only held a couple of passages from the Law Mezuzah’s hold Deuteronomy 6:1-8; and Deut. 11:18-21 = called the Shema)
And it was in this Shema (Deuteronomy 6) that they were told that God wanted “These COMMANDMENTS that I give you today” (not just the Shema) “to be upon your hearts.” Deuteronomy 6:6
The faithful in Israel got to the point where they focused more on the boxes than on the contents For example, one source I read said the Mezuzah was to be (Mezuzah picture)… … mounted ONLY on the right door post of the home … it was to be slanted so that the top is pointed to the inside of the room … it should be affixed to each room in the home (except the bathroom) … AND its contents must be examined by a reliable scribe at least twice every 7 yrs… … to make sure the ink on the parchment hadn’t faded. If these requirements were not met… “its blessings are nullified” In other words: If you don’t do it right… GOD WON’T BLESS YOU!
Now there’s something seriously wrong with that kind of thinking
Carried to extremes, these boxes can be memorials… not to God’s Living Word… … but to something that has died. … it can be a memorial to a dead faith. People could be so focused on their little boxes that they might feel that… They could be hateful towards others Lie to their friends Cheat on their wives Be filled with lust and bitterness… … but as long as they could touch that little box… they could feel they had fulfilled their religious obligations. AND THUS, the box can be a memorial to a dead faith.
And it can happen to Christians too. There are many Christians who put their faith inside a little box Now, it doesn’t have to be a literal box… … it can be a religious practice that cancels out bad behavior.
George Faull noted this in one of his newsletters a couple of years ago. He started out with a familiar illustration He said he’d heard that if you ate a Snickers Candy bar – that’s filled with calories… but then you drank a diet cola (with no calories)… the diet cola canceled out the calories of the candy bar. How many of you believe that? (or want to believe that) Faull said there are many Christians who reason that way about their faith.
Silly isn’t it… but there are folk who do things like that… … they’ll put their faith in little boxes that they touch once in a while… … to assure themselves they’re being religious… …but in the meantime, they dishonor the Jesus they say they love.
They build memorials to a dead faith
Now this sermon series is called “Suburban Myths”Things people believe about their families/ and their faith - that aren’t really true And the suburban myth we’re dealing with today is this one All My Family Needs Is Church And God tells us here in Deuteronomy 6 = that’s not true
God’s telling his people He wants them to build a living faith into their children He doesn’t want it to be a Sunday Morning go to church kind of faith
He says: Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:7
“Don’t put your faith in a box” He’s telling them. Make your faith A REAL THING, that is part of every thing you do. Incorporate it into your life when you sit at home/ walk along the road/ lie down/get up
Carry it with you everywhere God said they were to fix His commandments to their hands and foreheads (not a box on heads) Means: Make faith so obvious = people could just look at them & know they’re His God said they should write His commandments on their doorframes & gates Means: Make faith so much a part of life, folks = sense it moment they step into home.
The problem for too many Christians is that they don’t live like that They put in their time on Sunday morning/ go thru their religious rituals… … and they feel that’s enough to get them AND their family through the week. It’s simply not enough. A 2003 report by AOL/Time Warner tells us that… * The average child under the age of 3 is exposed to 700 commercials a week. And that’s just a small snapshot of the exposure kids get to TV That doesn’t cover the time they spend on the internet… … and listening to secular music
Now you may or may not be able to completely control those influences in your child/grandchild’s life … BUT you can take every opportunity to expose them to God every chance you get.
ILLUS: I once read an illustration of a family who took this seriously. One night at a pizza parlor, we decided to use the minutes waiting for our food as a teaching time. We passed out an index card and pencil to each child and had them write down a new memory verse: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Col. 3:23). Then we said, "Let's watch this waitress and see what kind of worker she is. Do you think she is working with all her heart." The kids never took their eyes off her. Their half whispered comments continued in a steady stream. "She was sure nice about bringing extra napkins." "She has to stand up all the time, and she's not crabby." The waitress never knew she was being scrutinized. By the end of the meal, the children not only had the Scripture nailed down, but also had done an on-site study of its meaning. Dean and Grace Merrill in Together at Home (Tyndale)
That couple wisely made a game out of learning God’s Word They were creative/inventive And they took seriously God’s request for them to impress God’s Will on their children
Now – YOU SHOULD have your family in Church every Sunday You should make sure they get to church camp every summer You should involve them in VBS… and youth groups and Sunday School
BUT you can’t put your family’s faith in somebody else’s hands (teachers/preachers) and think enough Your kids need to see your faith acted out every day… in a number of ways Because it doesn’t matter how good a preacher I might be/youth leader – Greg/Ben … your children/grand/nephews still evaluate their faith based on what they see in you
Now in the process of doing this (making your faith personal to your family) … there’s nothing wrong with using memorials … a memorial is anything you use to remind your family of your love and commitment to God
For example: I really like those plaques you can get at the Bible Book store (names) When you mount those on your walls, you’re telling your kids that they mean something to you AND that their name means something to God. It is a constant memorial of what their faith should mean to them.
Every time you take communion at church with your family… that is a memorial to your family It declares that you take Christ’s sacrifice for you seriously. 1 Corinthians 11:26 tells us that “…whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” It’s a memorial… it proclaims your faith to the ones around you.
ILLUS: Donald Nash tells of a man named Robert Tinsky who had been raised as a Jew. Tinsky was dissatisfied with Judaism and he visited a Christian Church to see what it offered. He was astounded by the observance of the Lord’s Supper. He didn’t understand it. He asked some young people seated near him what it meant. They faithfully told him the gospel story as portrayed in the loaf and cup. He was amazed that there was a God who loved mankind enough to give His Son to die for us and at the wisdom that originated such a living memorial. He became a Christian and a faithful preacher of the gospel.
Communion has that same power to proclaim your faith to your family when they see you taking of it
But ultimately, your children see the memorials you live out in your daily life
CLOSE: I read about a small boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him that he must be home on time that afternoon… … but nevertheless he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. His father met him in the living room and said nothing. At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed. The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy and smiled at his son. When that boy grew to be a man, he said, "All my life I've known what God is like by what my father did that night."
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