If you are expecting a profound Good Friday note - move on to someone else, because this ain't it!
Today is Good Friday, and as I was driving to the church this morning, I started listening to some old Christian rock music that influenced my life as a teenager. I absolutely LOVE music - I always have, and as long as God allows me to hear, feel and kind of sing, I believe I always will. In the early 1980s, I got my first taste of "Christian Rock" music, and my world was never the same again - Praise God! I truly believe that God allowed this type of music into my life to penetrate my heart and challenge me to live my life for Him. Music has been instrumental (no pun intended) in my life - a tool that God has used to speak truth into what can sometimes be a very hard head and an equally hard heart. This is not to say that I was a "saintly" teenager - by no means. I was often two-faced and hid my secret sins from everyone around me and put on my "good little Christian kid" face easily and readily. I am also not a "saintly" adult (I KNOW that may come as a shock to many of you...haha!). However, God by His infinite mercy and grace continues to work in my still often very hard head and hard heart to draw me close to Him and remind me of who He is, and who I can be through Him. So...now I'm going to post some links to what has become my "Good Friday Playlist." I listen to this music now, and some of it seems so cheesy...so "garage band kids with a Tascam four track recorder" type music - and that's what I LOVE about it! Enjoy...or not - I'm okay with that. However, if you are going to make fun of it - just remember: Jesus used this tool among many and saved my life through this music - so I might get a little sensitive! :)
1. Undercover, "Three Nails" off their "Boys and Girls Renounce the World" album...1984! So catchy..."Three nails, three days, one way to God!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToqOHfxaW_k
2. Petra, "It is Finished" off the "Beat the System" album...1985!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuFvhjEO0Ao
3. Oh yeah...my absolute FAVORITE 80's Christian band - Altar Boys (Never to be confused with some other wacko band called The Altar Boyz), "The Final Hour" off the best ever Christian album of the 1980s, "Gut Level Music"...1986!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LduKZW7cbBw
4. Altar Boys...again - "Life Begins at the Cross" "GLM"...1986!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYWBvydSxYM
5. Could it be...Altar Boys...again - ripping out "I'm Not Talkin' About Religion" "GLM"...1986! My favorite line..."I'm gonna tell you like it is, Jesus is God! He died for you and He rose from the dead, and that's the way it is!!!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9gx5vj9KLQ
6. Undercover again..."Pilate" off their "Branded" album...1986!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njjiI6Wx6fM
7. Petra "He Came, He Saw, He Conquered" off their "This Means War" album...1987
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARHhDQ1tKc8
8. Life Savers Underground (LSU)..."Wakin' Up the Dead"...off the "Wakin' Up the Dead" album...1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivFSWPOLMiQ
9. Deliverance "Weapons of Our Warfare"...off "Weapons of Our Warfare" album...1999(I think my mom thought I was crazy when she heard me listening to this!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDATFSeF47M&playnext=1&list=PL97BA5203239FAEA3
10. Whitecross "Because of Jesus" ...off the 1988 "The Hammer and the Nail" album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah5ZhIhwfjc
Good Friday is the day we remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ! These songs helped me do just that at a critical point in my life. The validity of certain types of music has been hotly debated in the church for decades - the debate misses the point. Music...of any style can be used by God to draw people to Him. I'm thankful for it all! I hope today you take time to reflect on the awesome sacrifice that was made by our Savior.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
New Church Website
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to let you all now that our church as a new web site: www.pfnazarene.org. Check it out - thanks!
I just wanted to let you all now that our church as a new web site: www.pfnazarene.org. Check it out - thanks!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Thanks David...and Cade
I'm not always sure where the line between being "appropriately vulnerable" with people about my shortcomings and insecurities versus trying to make everyone think "I have it all together," is as a pastor - but this post might cross it. If so, I apologize in advance and you can rebuke me for it later. In the meantime, I'm going to go ahead and write while I still have fresh thoughts in my head.
This morning started off like any other morning: Wake up, shower, greet my wife and kids, help the boys get their teeth brushed, have a bowl of Cinnamon Life, etc. and so forth. Like many other mornings, I had the joy of taking my son to Kindergarten. This is, however, when the morning quickly went from normal to insane. As we were headed through our neighborhood, a driver ran a stop sign - which isn't always a big deal, except that our roads are literally a sheet of ice right now. I hit my brakes and due to my superior driving skills, I successfully swerved to miss him, and ended up semi-stuck on top of a small snowbank. I waited, engine still running, for the other driver to stop and make sure that we were okay, to thank me for not plowing into him and collecting my insurance money, AND APOLOGIZE - but he just kept right on going. Something in my brain snapped.
I realized I was not as stuck as I thought I was when I floored the gas pedal of my V6 Ford and tore off after him like Roscoe P. Coaltrain in "hot pursuit." Recognizing that I was behind him and not happy, the other driver quickly ducked back into our neighborhood on another side street...I was not far behind. He then shot down another road, and I proceeded, rather quickly I might add, on an adjacent street that I knew would cut him off. Upon seeing me, he quickly made a U-turn and tried to dodge down yet another side street. I, however, knew he had made a grave mistake - he was in a cul-de-sac, and I was blocking the way out. Can you say, "BUSTED?"
My son is in the backseat in his booster chair, and yells, "There's the guy, dad!" My response was, "I know, Cade." He then asks, "What are you going to do, dad?" Kids always have the best questions. I think for a second and say, "I don't know." At that point, I decided to just drive off and leave - mostly because I was going to be late getting him to school, and the 'ol Ford was almost out of gas.
I have been wondering all day, what would I have done, if I would have decided to take it any further? Would I have beat him up? Given him a good tongue-lashing? Demand an apology? My son's question, "What are you going to do, dad?" is still ringing in my head.
I came into my office after "the incident" and picked up my Bible to have my morning quiet time. I knew I needed it. I spent part of Christmas week helping a family deal with the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide, then just last night, a close friend from a church family called to tell me his mother had just passed away. My life has been so busy, and I know I have neglected to nurture my own heart spiritually and the poor guy in my neighborhood almost received the brunt of it.
I am proceeding through the One Year Bible again this year, and one of today's passages was Psalm 4. Verse 4 says in the NLT, "Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent." David, thanks for your inspired words, and thanks to my son, for asking all the right questions. While I'm a bit sheepish about my "car chase" (although, I must say, I've got skills), I'm glad that the words of my young six-year old stopped me in the nick of time.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Life Transformation
I have some thoughts I’d like to put down in black and white so I don’t forget them later. That’s what this blog post is about today, nothing less, nothing more – so please forgive me if it’s raw, incomplete and somewhat random.
The other day, I was talking with someone about ministry – specifically youth ministry, and they made a comment to me that has me stewing a bit. We were talking about former students who are engaged in the church and seem to be walking with Jesus and former students who, as far as we know, aren’t. The person I was talking with said, “Well, I’m sure you’ve had some disappointments…” My first response was to say, “yes” – but something stopped me. Something about that statement has been bugging me the past few days. Let me share why:
As Christians, when we introduce someone to Jesus, what are we introducing them to?
Are we introducing them to a quick-fix for all their life’s problems?
Are we introducing them to a new “system” of life that requires they delete their old system for this new “upgraded” one?
Or, are we introducing them to an opportunity to find redemption from sin and inviting them to go on a journey in a relationship with Jesus Christ that begins with and results in total life transformation?
Honestly, I am finding that a lot of “believers” want the first two options to be the norm for people. The reality I am discovering as a pastor is that, it’s not.
Established believers often want for a new believer to immediately exhibit the character of Christ and see it lived out in everyday life from their vantage point, in their timing, and by their definition. Let me give you a simple example: We have a meth addict in our church – this lady has been plagued by substance abuse and addiction since her early teens – she is now in her late forties and recently came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Her ability to move past drug addiction has and will continue to be a great battle for her, one that I may never see completely won in my ministry or lifetime. Could God deliver her from her addiction in an instant, and allow her to display the character of Christ in her everyday life right from the get-go? Absolutely. Does He always choose to do that? Absolutely not. Drug addiction is an easy one to see that reality in…but isn’t it true in every other person in most areas of life? Who determines how life transformation takes place, at what rate, and in whose timing?
I think Christians struggle with this concept of transformation. If we were to draw a line graph of a person’s life once they meet Jesus, we’d want for it to be a linear line that is on a constant uphill swing. No dips. No valleys. Certainly no U-turns allowed. No curves. No twists - just uphill all the way into eternity. In fact, I used to get frustrated with teens in youth ministry whose walk with Jesus resembled a Disneyland roller-coaster ride. However, as I get older, I’m starting to rethink my views on this “linear” growth process.
Pick a Bible person…almost any from Adam to Peter and you will find very few who displayed this growth pattern in their journey with God. I see the “greats of the faith” in scripture being broken many, many times – not just once, but over and over again in order for God’s transforming power and grace to work in them and break the chains of sin’s grip. Imagine if Jesus had cut off Peter when he made a major “U-turn” and denied Him the first, second or third of three times? Where would the church be if the disciples who “deserted him and fled” (Mark 14:50) weren’t given the opportunity to be restored and the work of life-transformation be allowed to continue in their individual lives? David is rebuked by Nathan in 2nd Samuel and told, “You are the man.” David is then restored by these beautiful words of life, “The Lord has taken away your sin.” David’s walk with God was not linear – it was full of valleys, shadows, twists, turns, and peaks. What makes me think I’m (or anyone else for that matter) any different?
I guess this is what God is teaching me:
1. Life transformation is often a long, grueling process. “In Christ, we are a new creation” – this is no doubt true, but sometimes the new creation part takes a while to see – especially when the bondage and temptation to sin continually causes people to trip and fall.
2. Jesus didn’t abandon anyone – even those who “deserted him and fled” or the one who publicly denied Him. I doubt that all the disciples returned – some may have run forever, I don’t know. Jesus welcomes the ones who return with open arms, even Peter. Jesus died on the cross next to two other criminals. One turned to Him for salvation, the other denied Him to the grave, but the option to turn to Christ for salvation was available even to that last breath. God, help me never to give up on those You sent Your Son to die for!
3. Even at my best, I’m a wretch saved by the grace of God. I cannot transform myself into the man God wants me to be, it’s His work and it is being accomplished within me as I yield to Him. There have been points on my journey where I haven’t wanted Him to change me and He has respected my choice and I’ve reaped the consequences of that. What I know is this: others around me can’t force me to do what only Christ can do. I will be changed as I yield to the work of the Spirit. When I am continually broken before Him, He can work – when I live like a rebel, God respects my choice to not abide in Him.
4. I’m looking at those around me, especially those who have recently come to know Jesus for the first time, and I am recognizing that I need to be patient – Christ is. I need to be willing to be betrayed – Christ is. I need to be willing to be denied – Christ is. I need to be willing to be abandoned – Christ is. I need to be willing to offer grace – Christ is. I need to love – Christ does. I need to offer mercy…do I need to continue this vein of thought?
Am I off base here? If so, someone please tell me. I cannot save someone, Jesus can. I cannot transform someone, Jesus can. Discipleship is a process, one that I myself am engaged in, and I can invite others to join me, and learn and grow along the journey. Will there be “disappointments?” Certainly – but I will not allow being disappointed to derail me, devour me, or send me flying into a finger-pointing, judgmental mode that ultimately shuts off grace. God is not finished yet – not with me, and not with anyone else. After all, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 1 Peter 3:9
Image used under the guidelines of www.heartlight.org.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Open Season On Foxes
Song of Songs 2:8-15, 3-7-10 Message 4
I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to spring. This sunshine has been a real teaser for me. The trees are beginning to bud, tulips are starting to poke through the ground – the new life of spring is all around us. Even though this has been a mild winter, I still look forward to short sleeves and shorts – I look forward to the warmth of the sun. Statistics show that people are happier in the spring and summer months – the suicide rate drops in the spring and summer, people who suffer from depression really seem to do better when the sun is shining – it’s just a good time of year. Spring time is a reminder to me of the new life we experience in a relationship with Christ. It’s a reminder to me of the love that God has for us, and the greatest proof of that love, was sending Jesus to give up His life for us and be resurrected, so we could experience resurrection life in His name.
The Song of Songs is all about love. It’s all about romantic love, but as we have seen the last few weeks, that foundation of that kind of love must be rooted in the love of God in order for a healthy relationship to flourish.
This morning, the focus of my sermon is going to be on verse 15. It says, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”
I have the joy and privilege of counseling couples as they prepare for marriage, and also in the midst of a marriage. Over the years, I have learned a lot about people during my times in marriage preparation and marriage counseling. I have learned that every marriage is different – because every person is unique. I have some couples come into my offices with that glazed over look in their eyes. They are totally in love and dreamy eyed over one another. They think that when they get married, everything good in their life will get better, and everything bad in their life will magically disappear. Those are two of the biggest myths in marriage. Then I have couples who come in that I wonder if they even really like each other, much less love each other – those are interesting as well. Most married couples and engaged couples struggle over similar issues, but the way that those struggles get handled is always different because each person involved is different. What I can tell you without a doubt is this: Every marriage has “little foxes” that sneak in and seek to destroy the root of a healthy relationship. That’s why healthy roots are so important.
A few years ago, I was playing softball – a batter hit the ball to the substitute second baseman, who reared back as hard as he could to make a throw to first base as if he was standing in the outfield, rather than 60 feet away from me. The ball went just over the top of the pocket of my glove and smacked me right in the front teeth. My tooth was knocked out…hanging by a nerve – literally. Through that experience, I found out from my dentist that my teeth have very shallow roots. I had braces when I was a teenager, and my teeth were moved so much, that many of them shifted right off the roots –so if I take a shot in the mouth with a softball or something else, chances are my teeth are coming out pretty easily. Roots are important.
Roots in a relationship are of vital importance. If Jesus is not at the center of our life as individuals, and then the center of our relationships in marriage, then the question simply becomes, “What is?” A relationship built on anything other than the Jesus is built on shallow roots, or no roots at all.
There’s something that we need to come to grips with. We are sinners. As I mentioned last week, “two sinners don’t live happily ever after.” I have and I will sin against my wife – I’m a sinner. I’m saved by the glorious grace of God, His Spirit is at work within me, I’m being transformed into the likeness of Christ as I grow and mature in my faith – but I still will say things, think things and do things that will prove my selfish nature as a sinner. As a holiness denomination, we do not believe that we will NEVER sin – we claim the victory that Christ has over the grip of sin in our lives, praise God – but we still slip up and I will sin against my wife. And she will sin against me. In those moments, if Christ is not actively in place in the role of the “one mediator between God and man” – dealing with my sin through the work of the Holy Spirit – then, this will come as no surprise… – my relationship with my wife is sunk. I have allowed the little fox to destroy the blossoming vineyard.
Let’s just talk about some little foxes. Let’s point out just a few, and then whether you are married or single – I’d encourage you to make a list of the “little foxes” that exist in your life that are endangering your “vineyard” – and catch them before they grow, multiply and take over.
I believe pride is a little fox in relationships, and it becomes a very big fox if it is not caught – pride isn’t just a problem in marriage, but it’s definitely a biggie in that realm. When our relationships are not rooted in Jesus Christ, and pride creeps in, then who stops the attack from that little fox? The little Old Testament book of Micah charges us us to “walk humbly with our God.” When pride rears its ugly head, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not in the midst of the relationship to point it out and deal with it – it becomes a little fox attacking the shallow roots of a blossoming vineyard. When pride creeps into my relationship with my wife, and we are not rooted in Jesus – pride can destroy us.
Money is a little fox in relationships. We won’t spend a lot of time on this one, because it’s pretty simple. If we have our priorities mixed up – we are not content with what we have, we feel like we don’t have enough – we’re always wanting more and more, then money begins to attack the root of our relationship like a little fox sneaking through the vineyard. If the Holy Spirit’s guidance isn’t there to point out our missteps, and we are not willing to be obedient and fix our eyes on Jesus and root and establish ourselves in Him…we are in big trouble.
Children can actually become a “little fox” in marriage relationships. If our marriages are for our kids rather than Christ, the same thing will happen. I know couples who stay together just because of their kids. They genuinely love their children, they just don’t love each other – the foundation of the relationship is built with the wrong materials. What happens when the kids are gone? The relationship implodes because it had the wrong foundation. Christ has to be at the center in order for it to work properly.
The list of endless foxes is endless…selfishness, discouragement, compromise, doubt, fear, lust, impatience, a critical spirit…the list could go on and on.
The bottom line is this. If Jesus Christ is not at the root of your life in every sense of the word…in every area – the little foxes that WILL attack will begin to eat away at your roots. The blossoming vineyard will become a barren wasteland. En Gedi will give way to the desert.
We are told in scripture in several different places, that marriage is to resemble Christ’s love for the Church. So how do we do that? We do it through service, sacrifice and submission. And all three of those things work together simultaneously. Let me explain:
Submission is a big, misunderstood concept in marriage. Let me explain submission in a way that I believe reflects Christ’s love for the church. Do you think Jesus wanted to be misunderstood by most of the people He encountered? Do you think He wanted to be beaten, spit on, betrayed, denied, and executed? He was not suicidal, and He was not masochistic. He lived His life in total submission to the will of the Father. Marriage is two people – who first and foremost have submitted their individual wills to that of the Father’s and then submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Before Ephesians 5 says anything about a wife submitting to her husband, and a husband loving His wife AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER…it says, “submit to ONE ANOTHER OUT OF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST.” Men…your wife does not need to be abused by you in any form in order to submit to you. She is not your property. Men, you need to bow in humble reverence to Almighty God, and surrender your will to His completely, then…in mutual submission with your wife seek to be a husband that can lead His family in a godly manner from a position of humility – empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill your God-given duties as a husband. Ladies…some of you need to move beyond your “girl power” and bow in humble reverence to God the Father, and then honor your husband by submitting to Christ mutually with him in your marriage relationship.
The maiden gives us a great example of this when she cries out in a beautiful expression of love, “My lover is mine and I am his.” He is holding nothing back from her, and she is holding nothing back from him. That is exactly the kind of relationship that God intended when He said in Genesis, “…a man will leave his father and mother, become united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Servant hood in marriage. This is another biggie. When Jesus is not at the root of our relationships, then self is – it’s that simple. When self is at the root of my relationships, I take from my relationships what I need regardless of what the other person feels or needs. If both parties in a marriage relationship are doing this – guess what? You end up with a chaotic constant struggle. However, when I love my wife like Christ loves the church, then I am willing to meet her needs even if she cannot or will not reciprocate. I can love and serve her with joy (maybe not always happiness) but with joy in the Lord, even if I am receiving nothing back. There are seasons in life like that aren’t there? I wonder how often Jesus looks at our relationship and feels like its really one-sided? 13 years…coming up on 14 – and my wife and I are learning to serve and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. I make sacrifices for her, she makes sacrifices for me – we are different, yes – but we are one – working together to glorifying God in every aspect of our marriage. We don’t always get it right. The little foxes attack – but I am thankful that I have a wife who together with me is willing to respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit – Jesus is at the center of our marriage and when the little foxes attack, we can catch them and wring their scrawny little necks before they destroy our blossoming vineyard. We are learning to love God first, then love one another above ourselves. To submit, serve and sacrifice together. I am hers…and she is mine.
This morning, I’m actually much more interested in you evaluating your root system than I am in you pointing out your little foxes. The little foxes are there and they always will be this side of eternity. Pride, discouragement, seasons of bad health, children, your job, the lack of a job, fears, doubts – those will all exist. Your relationships, even at your best, will be attacked by little foxes. My question is, “How is your root system?” Is your faith shallow? Are you building your relationships on something other than Jesus? Are your relying on the temporary rather than the eternal to get you by? Root and establish yourself in Jesus Christ, and then, when the little foxes come, you can catch them and get rid of them before they become major issues in your life and in your relationships.
I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to spring. This sunshine has been a real teaser for me. The trees are beginning to bud, tulips are starting to poke through the ground – the new life of spring is all around us. Even though this has been a mild winter, I still look forward to short sleeves and shorts – I look forward to the warmth of the sun. Statistics show that people are happier in the spring and summer months – the suicide rate drops in the spring and summer, people who suffer from depression really seem to do better when the sun is shining – it’s just a good time of year. Spring time is a reminder to me of the new life we experience in a relationship with Christ. It’s a reminder to me of the love that God has for us, and the greatest proof of that love, was sending Jesus to give up His life for us and be resurrected, so we could experience resurrection life in His name.
The Song of Songs is all about love. It’s all about romantic love, but as we have seen the last few weeks, that foundation of that kind of love must be rooted in the love of God in order for a healthy relationship to flourish.
This morning, the focus of my sermon is going to be on verse 15. It says, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”
I have the joy and privilege of counseling couples as they prepare for marriage, and also in the midst of a marriage. Over the years, I have learned a lot about people during my times in marriage preparation and marriage counseling. I have learned that every marriage is different – because every person is unique. I have some couples come into my offices with that glazed over look in their eyes. They are totally in love and dreamy eyed over one another. They think that when they get married, everything good in their life will get better, and everything bad in their life will magically disappear. Those are two of the biggest myths in marriage. Then I have couples who come in that I wonder if they even really like each other, much less love each other – those are interesting as well. Most married couples and engaged couples struggle over similar issues, but the way that those struggles get handled is always different because each person involved is different. What I can tell you without a doubt is this: Every marriage has “little foxes” that sneak in and seek to destroy the root of a healthy relationship. That’s why healthy roots are so important.
A few years ago, I was playing softball – a batter hit the ball to the substitute second baseman, who reared back as hard as he could to make a throw to first base as if he was standing in the outfield, rather than 60 feet away from me. The ball went just over the top of the pocket of my glove and smacked me right in the front teeth. My tooth was knocked out…hanging by a nerve – literally. Through that experience, I found out from my dentist that my teeth have very shallow roots. I had braces when I was a teenager, and my teeth were moved so much, that many of them shifted right off the roots –so if I take a shot in the mouth with a softball or something else, chances are my teeth are coming out pretty easily. Roots are important.
Roots in a relationship are of vital importance. If Jesus is not at the center of our life as individuals, and then the center of our relationships in marriage, then the question simply becomes, “What is?” A relationship built on anything other than the Jesus is built on shallow roots, or no roots at all.
There’s something that we need to come to grips with. We are sinners. As I mentioned last week, “two sinners don’t live happily ever after.” I have and I will sin against my wife – I’m a sinner. I’m saved by the glorious grace of God, His Spirit is at work within me, I’m being transformed into the likeness of Christ as I grow and mature in my faith – but I still will say things, think things and do things that will prove my selfish nature as a sinner. As a holiness denomination, we do not believe that we will NEVER sin – we claim the victory that Christ has over the grip of sin in our lives, praise God – but we still slip up and I will sin against my wife. And she will sin against me. In those moments, if Christ is not actively in place in the role of the “one mediator between God and man” – dealing with my sin through the work of the Holy Spirit – then, this will come as no surprise… – my relationship with my wife is sunk. I have allowed the little fox to destroy the blossoming vineyard.
Let’s just talk about some little foxes. Let’s point out just a few, and then whether you are married or single – I’d encourage you to make a list of the “little foxes” that exist in your life that are endangering your “vineyard” – and catch them before they grow, multiply and take over.
I believe pride is a little fox in relationships, and it becomes a very big fox if it is not caught – pride isn’t just a problem in marriage, but it’s definitely a biggie in that realm. When our relationships are not rooted in Jesus Christ, and pride creeps in, then who stops the attack from that little fox? The little Old Testament book of Micah charges us us to “walk humbly with our God.” When pride rears its ugly head, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not in the midst of the relationship to point it out and deal with it – it becomes a little fox attacking the shallow roots of a blossoming vineyard. When pride creeps into my relationship with my wife, and we are not rooted in Jesus – pride can destroy us.
Money is a little fox in relationships. We won’t spend a lot of time on this one, because it’s pretty simple. If we have our priorities mixed up – we are not content with what we have, we feel like we don’t have enough – we’re always wanting more and more, then money begins to attack the root of our relationship like a little fox sneaking through the vineyard. If the Holy Spirit’s guidance isn’t there to point out our missteps, and we are not willing to be obedient and fix our eyes on Jesus and root and establish ourselves in Him…we are in big trouble.
Children can actually become a “little fox” in marriage relationships. If our marriages are for our kids rather than Christ, the same thing will happen. I know couples who stay together just because of their kids. They genuinely love their children, they just don’t love each other – the foundation of the relationship is built with the wrong materials. What happens when the kids are gone? The relationship implodes because it had the wrong foundation. Christ has to be at the center in order for it to work properly.
The list of endless foxes is endless…selfishness, discouragement, compromise, doubt, fear, lust, impatience, a critical spirit…the list could go on and on.
The bottom line is this. If Jesus Christ is not at the root of your life in every sense of the word…in every area – the little foxes that WILL attack will begin to eat away at your roots. The blossoming vineyard will become a barren wasteland. En Gedi will give way to the desert.
We are told in scripture in several different places, that marriage is to resemble Christ’s love for the Church. So how do we do that? We do it through service, sacrifice and submission. And all three of those things work together simultaneously. Let me explain:
Submission is a big, misunderstood concept in marriage. Let me explain submission in a way that I believe reflects Christ’s love for the church. Do you think Jesus wanted to be misunderstood by most of the people He encountered? Do you think He wanted to be beaten, spit on, betrayed, denied, and executed? He was not suicidal, and He was not masochistic. He lived His life in total submission to the will of the Father. Marriage is two people – who first and foremost have submitted their individual wills to that of the Father’s and then submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Before Ephesians 5 says anything about a wife submitting to her husband, and a husband loving His wife AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER…it says, “submit to ONE ANOTHER OUT OF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST.” Men…your wife does not need to be abused by you in any form in order to submit to you. She is not your property. Men, you need to bow in humble reverence to Almighty God, and surrender your will to His completely, then…in mutual submission with your wife seek to be a husband that can lead His family in a godly manner from a position of humility – empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill your God-given duties as a husband. Ladies…some of you need to move beyond your “girl power” and bow in humble reverence to God the Father, and then honor your husband by submitting to Christ mutually with him in your marriage relationship.
The maiden gives us a great example of this when she cries out in a beautiful expression of love, “My lover is mine and I am his.” He is holding nothing back from her, and she is holding nothing back from him. That is exactly the kind of relationship that God intended when He said in Genesis, “…a man will leave his father and mother, become united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Servant hood in marriage. This is another biggie. When Jesus is not at the root of our relationships, then self is – it’s that simple. When self is at the root of my relationships, I take from my relationships what I need regardless of what the other person feels or needs. If both parties in a marriage relationship are doing this – guess what? You end up with a chaotic constant struggle. However, when I love my wife like Christ loves the church, then I am willing to meet her needs even if she cannot or will not reciprocate. I can love and serve her with joy (maybe not always happiness) but with joy in the Lord, even if I am receiving nothing back. There are seasons in life like that aren’t there? I wonder how often Jesus looks at our relationship and feels like its really one-sided? 13 years…coming up on 14 – and my wife and I are learning to serve and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. I make sacrifices for her, she makes sacrifices for me – we are different, yes – but we are one – working together to glorifying God in every aspect of our marriage. We don’t always get it right. The little foxes attack – but I am thankful that I have a wife who together with me is willing to respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit – Jesus is at the center of our marriage and when the little foxes attack, we can catch them and wring their scrawny little necks before they destroy our blossoming vineyard. We are learning to love God first, then love one another above ourselves. To submit, serve and sacrifice together. I am hers…and she is mine.
This morning, I’m actually much more interested in you evaluating your root system than I am in you pointing out your little foxes. The little foxes are there and they always will be this side of eternity. Pride, discouragement, seasons of bad health, children, your job, the lack of a job, fears, doubts – those will all exist. Your relationships, even at your best, will be attacked by little foxes. My question is, “How is your root system?” Is your faith shallow? Are you building your relationships on something other than Jesus? Are your relying on the temporary rather than the eternal to get you by? Root and establish yourself in Jesus Christ, and then, when the little foxes come, you can catch them and get rid of them before they become major issues in your life and in your relationships.
A Sleeping Giant
Song of Songs 1:15-2:7, Message 3
Two messages down, and several to go as we continue our study through the Song of Songs. My goal in this series is for you to truly think about what love is. I want for you to see that love is embodied in God – revealed to us in its most complete form in the person and work of Jesus Christ. I believe that even though this book never mentions the name of God specifically, it points us toward the source of love – God Himself. I also believe that from this work of love poetry, we can learn to seek love in its proper order: First, you discover the love that God has for you. We need to come to grips with the fact that the value God places on your life cost Him the life of His one and only Son. Second, we learn to receive His love – we can experience love in its purest form through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Third, we allow His love to permeate every relationship we are a part of. God invites us into a covenant love relationship with Him and as his workmanship, we respond in total, radical obedience to God’s redeeming love. We cannot understand love in its purest form when we are disconnected from the source of love itself – embodied in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Verse 7 is going to be our focal point this morning as we look at this part of our collection of love poems. It says, “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” The Message Bible for that verse says, “Oh let me warn you sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes by all the wild deer: Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up, until the time is ripe – and you’re ready.”
By way of introduction, I want to talk for a couple of minutes about biblical love. In the New Testament, different forms of love are discussed: Agape love – agape love is best understood as self-less love. It is charitable, unconditional love – you can express agape love toward someone you don’t even know – you can even express agape love toward someone you don’t even like. It’s the form of love that allows us to fulfill the command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. A second form of love found in the New Testament is “phileo” love – best understood as brotherly love. It is the love I have for you my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s the love we experience together as the Body of Christ in a relationship with Jesus. I always remember “Phileo” love by thinking of the Philadelphia, which is the city of brotherly love. Anyway… There are two other words used in Greek literature for love that do not appear in scripture specifically. The first is storge (stor-jay) which is the kind of love expressed between a parent and child, and the second is eros – which is the romantic love expressed between a man and woman.
The Hebrew language which the Song of Songs was written uses a much more generic word for love - we face a similar struggle with Hebrew that we face in the English language. The word for love used through most of the Song of Songs is “ahabah” – pronounced “ah hav ah” – and it is a generic word for love. It can mean everything from the love God has for us to the love we have for Him, on to sexual desire between a man and woman in a marriage relationship. Throughout the Song of Songs, it’s pretty widely understood that the love being talked about here is romantic love. That love still comes from God, and it has boundaries that we need to respect. I think it is awesome to know that the same God who loves us enough to send His Son Jesus to die for our sins, also created intimate love between a man and a woman as His gift to us. However, we should not awaken love before its time…
In nature we are given some awesome examples of this. Think about a caterpillar. We read stories about the caterpillar, my favorite being, “The Very Hungry Catepillar” by Eric Carle. The caterpillar eats everything in sight, growing and growing – sews himself up into a cocoon, and comes out a beautiful butterfly. Now let’s talk about the reality of a caterpillar. A caterpillar eats leaves – not sugary candy like in the story – he eats leaves. He grows, and if he’s lucky and doesn’t get picked off by predators, sews himself up in his cocoon. Then, if he doesn’t get eaten while he’s in the cocoon, he hatches into a beautiful butterfly. It doesn’t end there though. After he’s a butterfly, the former caterpillar inherits a whole new set of problems. Flying being the first. He still has to find food, and he has a new set of predators he has to avoid. We often paint this picture of love, that once you really fall in love, your problems are over and you live happily ever after.
If we look to the New Testament, specifically in 1st Corinthians 13, we see the first thing mentioned in the famous list about love in verse 4 is that, “love is patient.” We see that reflected in the One who embodies love in His patience with us. But why not awaken this deep love between a man and a woman prematurely? What’s the big deal? Can’t we just act on our emotions when it comes to human love? Why doesn’t a caterpillar just sew himself up in the cocoon early so that he can jump to the butterfly part? Well, let’s talk about real love for a minute…
We see here in verse 17 that a big part of the concept of love is protection, as well as pleasure. When we truly love someone, we want to protect them at all cost. I literally would die to protect my wife. Here in the Song of Songs, we see the man tell his beloved, “The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.” Cedar wood strong as well as fragrant. It offers pleasure – it’s beautiful and it smells good, but it also offers great protection. That is what true love does. Can I just tell you, this man’s cedar and fir house did not get built overnight. In a healthy relationship between a man and woman, there is protection as well as pleasure. It should be no surprise that the man is telling this to his beloved. He is offering her En Gedi…an oasis of protection and pleasure within the relationship. Love that is awakened before its time does not have the opportunity to create protection, and as a result, true pleasure in the relationship often disappears. We can look to the New Testament again to the story of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7. The foolish man, builds a house with no lasting foundation, no strength to withstand the storms of life. True love is patient, true love awakened at the right time has an opportunity to build a solid foundation for a healthy relationship.
“Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.” I believe this statement shows the fragile nature of human love, and also guys, it gives us a picture of how we should view our spouse. When we are truly in love, we hold the one we love in the highest regard and are willing to build a relationship built on a foundation of love that is strong and sure.
In 1st Corinthians, Paul tells us that love is not self-seeking. I will submit to you, that premature…or immature love is nearly always self-motivated, it is not centered on the needs of another, but rather focuses on self-gain. True love is motivated toward the other person, it is not interested in selfish gain. “His banner over me is love” is an interesting phrase. The banner was flown during battle – love is something we fight to protect. It is not something we should rush into and cheapen. I look back at my teen years and my early 20s and often wish I could take a lot of things back. I think about how selfish I was, and how I would rush into relationships to try and fulfill a void that was lacking in my life. It wasn’t until I recognized that void could only be filled in a healthy and whole relationship with Jesus that I met my wife.
She says, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.” This maiden has found a safe haven in the relationship with her lover. She can be herself in his presence, she feels protected and she experiences pleasure. She doesn’t have to worry, she and her man do not have to put on masks to try and make themselves out to be something they are not. Love, we are reminded again in 1st Corinthians “delights in the truth.”
Many of the expressions of love relate to nature in the Song of Songs – cedar beams, firs, roses, lilies, raisins, apples – later many more references to nature will be used in the description of love. This is not by accident, and it relates to this idea of protection and pleasure. God’s fingerprint is all over nature and I believe what we find constant reminders of His love for us in creation. God created the world for us to enjoy – he created it for our pleasure as well as our protection. He gives us boundaries that are for our benefit. Mankind ignored those boundaries initially, and we have been paying for it ever since. God doesn’t give up on us though: God in His love sends us Jesus to restore what was broken and create that intimacy again. Love between a man and a woman has boundaries as well. Love awakened before its time misses out on the protection and pleasure that we can experience when we are patient, we are not self-seeking, when we delight in the truth - when we are connected to that source of love found in an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Love is a sleeping giant, and it needs to be awakened at the right time. When awakened, it’s hungry and needs to be fed. I believe that love awakened prematurely gets fed junk food, it does not get the proper nourishment and can end up unhealthy and starved. Over the years, many have thought this passage needs to be directed specifically toward young people – don’t awaken love prematurely, don’t awaken it before you are old enough. I will tell you that I don’t believe age is necessarily the issue. What we need to do regardless of our age is experience love in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Discover who you are in Him, then allow human love to be awakened and properly nourished. When we rush it, regardless of our stage in life, we miss out on God’s best for us. Love is already work, but love awakened at the wrong time becomes extremely difficult – it becomes the opposite of what 1st Corinthians 13 talks about. The passage in 1st Corinthians tells us that love always protects, always trust, always hopes and always perseveres. Love awakened before its misses the protection that true, patient love offers. Love awakened prematurely is not built on a foundation of trust, and it lacks perseverance.
If you are here this morning and you are eager – eager to fall in love, let me encourage you to do exactly that. But don’t give your heart to a person…give your heart to Christ. Experience intimacy with Him, experience a life-transforming relationship with Him – then, when someone else who is experiencing that life-transforming relationship knocks on the door of your heart and you are ready to answer…allow God to lead and guide you into the beauty of a shared relationship in Him – it’s exciting, it’s glorious, it’s not easy – but it’s the most satisfying human relationship you can be a part of. If you are here this morning, and you have already skipped a lot of those steps – let me encourage you – together with the one you love, journey toward Christ – commit your relationship to Him and experience His transforming grace together.
Two messages down, and several to go as we continue our study through the Song of Songs. My goal in this series is for you to truly think about what love is. I want for you to see that love is embodied in God – revealed to us in its most complete form in the person and work of Jesus Christ. I believe that even though this book never mentions the name of God specifically, it points us toward the source of love – God Himself. I also believe that from this work of love poetry, we can learn to seek love in its proper order: First, you discover the love that God has for you. We need to come to grips with the fact that the value God places on your life cost Him the life of His one and only Son. Second, we learn to receive His love – we can experience love in its purest form through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Third, we allow His love to permeate every relationship we are a part of. God invites us into a covenant love relationship with Him and as his workmanship, we respond in total, radical obedience to God’s redeeming love. We cannot understand love in its purest form when we are disconnected from the source of love itself – embodied in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Verse 7 is going to be our focal point this morning as we look at this part of our collection of love poems. It says, “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” The Message Bible for that verse says, “Oh let me warn you sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes by all the wild deer: Don’t excite love, don’t stir it up, until the time is ripe – and you’re ready.”
By way of introduction, I want to talk for a couple of minutes about biblical love. In the New Testament, different forms of love are discussed: Agape love – agape love is best understood as self-less love. It is charitable, unconditional love – you can express agape love toward someone you don’t even know – you can even express agape love toward someone you don’t even like. It’s the form of love that allows us to fulfill the command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. A second form of love found in the New Testament is “phileo” love – best understood as brotherly love. It is the love I have for you my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s the love we experience together as the Body of Christ in a relationship with Jesus. I always remember “Phileo” love by thinking of the Philadelphia, which is the city of brotherly love. Anyway… There are two other words used in Greek literature for love that do not appear in scripture specifically. The first is storge (stor-jay) which is the kind of love expressed between a parent and child, and the second is eros – which is the romantic love expressed between a man and woman.
The Hebrew language which the Song of Songs was written uses a much more generic word for love - we face a similar struggle with Hebrew that we face in the English language. The word for love used through most of the Song of Songs is “ahabah” – pronounced “ah hav ah” – and it is a generic word for love. It can mean everything from the love God has for us to the love we have for Him, on to sexual desire between a man and woman in a marriage relationship. Throughout the Song of Songs, it’s pretty widely understood that the love being talked about here is romantic love. That love still comes from God, and it has boundaries that we need to respect. I think it is awesome to know that the same God who loves us enough to send His Son Jesus to die for our sins, also created intimate love between a man and a woman as His gift to us. However, we should not awaken love before its time…
In nature we are given some awesome examples of this. Think about a caterpillar. We read stories about the caterpillar, my favorite being, “The Very Hungry Catepillar” by Eric Carle. The caterpillar eats everything in sight, growing and growing – sews himself up into a cocoon, and comes out a beautiful butterfly. Now let’s talk about the reality of a caterpillar. A caterpillar eats leaves – not sugary candy like in the story – he eats leaves. He grows, and if he’s lucky and doesn’t get picked off by predators, sews himself up in his cocoon. Then, if he doesn’t get eaten while he’s in the cocoon, he hatches into a beautiful butterfly. It doesn’t end there though. After he’s a butterfly, the former caterpillar inherits a whole new set of problems. Flying being the first. He still has to find food, and he has a new set of predators he has to avoid. We often paint this picture of love, that once you really fall in love, your problems are over and you live happily ever after.
If we look to the New Testament, specifically in 1st Corinthians 13, we see the first thing mentioned in the famous list about love in verse 4 is that, “love is patient.” We see that reflected in the One who embodies love in His patience with us. But why not awaken this deep love between a man and a woman prematurely? What’s the big deal? Can’t we just act on our emotions when it comes to human love? Why doesn’t a caterpillar just sew himself up in the cocoon early so that he can jump to the butterfly part? Well, let’s talk about real love for a minute…
We see here in verse 17 that a big part of the concept of love is protection, as well as pleasure. When we truly love someone, we want to protect them at all cost. I literally would die to protect my wife. Here in the Song of Songs, we see the man tell his beloved, “The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.” Cedar wood strong as well as fragrant. It offers pleasure – it’s beautiful and it smells good, but it also offers great protection. That is what true love does. Can I just tell you, this man’s cedar and fir house did not get built overnight. In a healthy relationship between a man and woman, there is protection as well as pleasure. It should be no surprise that the man is telling this to his beloved. He is offering her En Gedi…an oasis of protection and pleasure within the relationship. Love that is awakened before its time does not have the opportunity to create protection, and as a result, true pleasure in the relationship often disappears. We can look to the New Testament again to the story of the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7. The foolish man, builds a house with no lasting foundation, no strength to withstand the storms of life. True love is patient, true love awakened at the right time has an opportunity to build a solid foundation for a healthy relationship.
“Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.” I believe this statement shows the fragile nature of human love, and also guys, it gives us a picture of how we should view our spouse. When we are truly in love, we hold the one we love in the highest regard and are willing to build a relationship built on a foundation of love that is strong and sure.
In 1st Corinthians, Paul tells us that love is not self-seeking. I will submit to you, that premature…or immature love is nearly always self-motivated, it is not centered on the needs of another, but rather focuses on self-gain. True love is motivated toward the other person, it is not interested in selfish gain. “His banner over me is love” is an interesting phrase. The banner was flown during battle – love is something we fight to protect. It is not something we should rush into and cheapen. I look back at my teen years and my early 20s and often wish I could take a lot of things back. I think about how selfish I was, and how I would rush into relationships to try and fulfill a void that was lacking in my life. It wasn’t until I recognized that void could only be filled in a healthy and whole relationship with Jesus that I met my wife.
She says, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.” This maiden has found a safe haven in the relationship with her lover. She can be herself in his presence, she feels protected and she experiences pleasure. She doesn’t have to worry, she and her man do not have to put on masks to try and make themselves out to be something they are not. Love, we are reminded again in 1st Corinthians “delights in the truth.”
Many of the expressions of love relate to nature in the Song of Songs – cedar beams, firs, roses, lilies, raisins, apples – later many more references to nature will be used in the description of love. This is not by accident, and it relates to this idea of protection and pleasure. God’s fingerprint is all over nature and I believe what we find constant reminders of His love for us in creation. God created the world for us to enjoy – he created it for our pleasure as well as our protection. He gives us boundaries that are for our benefit. Mankind ignored those boundaries initially, and we have been paying for it ever since. God doesn’t give up on us though: God in His love sends us Jesus to restore what was broken and create that intimacy again. Love between a man and a woman has boundaries as well. Love awakened before its time misses out on the protection and pleasure that we can experience when we are patient, we are not self-seeking, when we delight in the truth - when we are connected to that source of love found in an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Love is a sleeping giant, and it needs to be awakened at the right time. When awakened, it’s hungry and needs to be fed. I believe that love awakened prematurely gets fed junk food, it does not get the proper nourishment and can end up unhealthy and starved. Over the years, many have thought this passage needs to be directed specifically toward young people – don’t awaken love prematurely, don’t awaken it before you are old enough. I will tell you that I don’t believe age is necessarily the issue. What we need to do regardless of our age is experience love in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Discover who you are in Him, then allow human love to be awakened and properly nourished. When we rush it, regardless of our stage in life, we miss out on God’s best for us. Love is already work, but love awakened at the wrong time becomes extremely difficult – it becomes the opposite of what 1st Corinthians 13 talks about. The passage in 1st Corinthians tells us that love always protects, always trust, always hopes and always perseveres. Love awakened before its misses the protection that true, patient love offers. Love awakened prematurely is not built on a foundation of trust, and it lacks perseverance.
If you are here this morning and you are eager – eager to fall in love, let me encourage you to do exactly that. But don’t give your heart to a person…give your heart to Christ. Experience intimacy with Him, experience a life-transforming relationship with Him – then, when someone else who is experiencing that life-transforming relationship knocks on the door of your heart and you are ready to answer…allow God to lead and guide you into the beauty of a shared relationship in Him – it’s exciting, it’s glorious, it’s not easy – but it’s the most satisfying human relationship you can be a part of. If you are here this morning, and you have already skipped a lot of those steps – let me encourage you – together with the one you love, journey toward Christ – commit your relationship to Him and experience His transforming grace together.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Endure
As we approach Hebrews, 12, I want you to know that I really love this chapter, and so we are going to spend a couple of weeks on it. This morning, we are going to look at the first 13 verses this morning, and then next week we will finish the remaining 15 verses. So, with that, will you turn in your Bibles with me this morning to Hebrews 12 and we will read verse 1-13.
The word cloud used in this passage emphasizes a large, multitude. Another word would be “throng” – we saw some of those who make up this cloud in chapter 11. The last verse of chapter 11 reminded us how impressive this body of the faithful is. The picture painted for us is one of these faithful champions cheering on Christians who are now running the race of faith. It would be like Mark Allen, 6-time Iron Man Champion running next to Ryan Cash in the Spring Dash cheering him on, saying,“go Ryan! You can do it!" It should inspire us to know that we have these greats who have gone before us “witnessing” what we are doing. They are not spectators, but those who have completed the same race we are running in Christ. They have stood on the victor’s stand and received their eternal reward. Their lives, their stories and their examples should shout to us, “By God’s grace, you can run! By God’s grace, you can make it! By God’s grace, you can have life to the full in Christ!”
In light of their testimony we run – in light of their examples, we endure. How do we do it, though? The writer of Hebrews gives us the first of two exhortations in Hebrews 12. Remember at the root of exhortation is encouragement. It will require obedience and change on our part – but it’s not a negative - the results of our obedience to these exhortations will yield positive results.
So, this first exhortation is, “Let us throw off everything that hinders…” Again, the picture here is of a runner. Have you ever seen what runners wear? Not much. Thin shorts, thin lightweight tank top, lightweight shoes. Have you ever seen a well-trained runner? Through diet, exercise and training, they have trimmed off excess body weight – there’s less to carry – less resistance. They jettison anything that will get in the way of them being able to run freely. How much more then should you and I jettison our entangling sin? All sin needs to be put aside. Picture a runner with his feet caught in vines – picture a runner whose shorts have fallen down around his feet. He trips and falls – sin does the same to us in the race of faith. I should have titled the sermon, “Don’t Run with Your Pants Down” – but that may not have been a good idea. What did the old guy sing on American Idol? "Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground?” Anyway…
When we have thrown aside our sin, thrown aside our distractions, we are able to run with perseverance the race marked out for us – just like this cloud of witnesses ran their races. Isn’t it awesome to know that God has marked out our course? It has been marked out clearly for us through Jesus Christ. Jesus, too, has run this race and has given us the ability to reach the finish line. The superiority of His nature, the superiority of His sacrifice, the superiority of His Priesthood all give us the ability to “finish strong.” That is why these Hebrew believers, and now us, are being told to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” Why? He is the author of our faith – He is the perfecter of our faith. Jesus Christ Himself is the “something better” we have that those who have gone before us didn’t have. To focus on the finish line is to focus on Christ. Abraham and Moses kept their eyes of faith focused on the eternal but invisible goal – you and I need to keep our eyes on Jesus. Jesus became the author and perfecter of our faith through His suffering. Verse 2 says, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The joy in part is being seated at His rightful position with the Father, but it is also in bringing God’s sons and daughters across the finish line into God’s presence. For that reason, He endured the cross. He endured pain, endured shame and death. This is the only place in the New Testament where we are told that Jesus endured the cross. The conclusion of Christ’s endurance was to be seated at God’s right hand. He now eternally resides in the presence of God, through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, He has the ability to bring us eternally into God’s presence as well. We fix our eyes on Jesus, because He is the One that grace is available through. He has endured. He makes it possible for believers to have a successful completion to our race. Since Christ has endured and overcome, we, through Him can be victorious. We look to Him for our strength. We look to Him for our supply so that we do not grow weary and lose heart. With His help, we can make the finish line.
Beginning in verse four, the author begins to talk about discipline. He talks about the struggle with sin – but our struggle with sin, doesn’t compare to what Christ went through to conquer sin and death. The Hebrew Christians haven’t yet faced a martyr’s death – but they are in danger – danger of becoming discouraged. So the author reminds them with an exhortation from Proverbs 3:11-12. The original readers, and now us are being reminded that we are sons and daughters of God. God, as our Father, has the right to discipline us, so that we can endure to the end. Warren Wiersbe says, “Chastening [or discipline] is the evidence of the Father’s love. Satan wants us to believe the difficulties of this life are proof that God does not love us, but just the opposite is true. Sometimes God’s chastening is seen in His rebukes from the Word or from circumstances.” Gareth Cockerill says, “The preacher [the author of Hebrews] urges his hearers to endure the sufferings they face as formative discipline because of their status as sons.” All of us have had a father, an earthly father of some sort, and if he was good father, he had to discipline us. I did not have an earthly father who disciplined me – and let me tell you, now that I am a father, I understand and appreciate the difficulties my mom had to go through as single parent, but I understand a lot of what I missed in that critical relationship. If a child is left to himself, he will grow up selfish. My sons receive discipline from me, and one day, I hope they see that this not only proves that I love them, but it proves my diligence to them as their father. God’s discipline is proof that we are indeed His children. Our heavenly Father wants us to learn to revere Him, to obey Him, and be submissive to His will. We endure recognizing that God is instructing us and correcting us. That is the root concept of the Greek word that is translated as “discipline” – instruction and correction. Sports teams have coaches for a reason. Even individual athletes, like the ice skaters skating at the Arena the past week, have coaches – people who instruct, correct, train – people who discipline the athlete and hold them accountable so that they can do their best when the time comes. So we endure whatever suffering, whatever difficult circumstances we face, recognizing it as a form of discipline. We endure as sons and daughters of the Father. When we respond appropriately to God’s discipline, we experience His faithfulness, His grace, His mercy and we find rest in Him.
Discipline is not always pleasant – it is not pleasant either for the father or the children. How many times as a parent have we said or thought, “this hurts me more than it hurts you.” How many of us heard that as children? The Father does not enjoy disciplining His children, but the benefits are evidence of His love. And from that discipline comes a “harvest of righteousness and peace.” The KJV says it produces the “peaceable fruit of righteousness.” Willful rebellion ends, and the child enters a loving relationship with the Father. Discipline also encourages us to “exercise” spiritually. We can have self-discipline through the practice of Bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship. All of this leads to joy in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
The example of Christ and the certainty of God’s love for us should be an encouragement for us to endure the difficulties we face in this “race.” This morning, if you are here and you are in a difficult place - experiencing difficult life circumstances, facing difficult trials, may you experience the assurance and joy of the Father’s love for you. If you have committed your life to Him through Jesus Christ, you are His son – you are His daughter. Endure! Endure with confidence that God is going to produce in and through you a harvest of righteousness and peace.
The word cloud used in this passage emphasizes a large, multitude. Another word would be “throng” – we saw some of those who make up this cloud in chapter 11. The last verse of chapter 11 reminded us how impressive this body of the faithful is. The picture painted for us is one of these faithful champions cheering on Christians who are now running the race of faith. It would be like Mark Allen, 6-time Iron Man Champion running next to Ryan Cash in the Spring Dash cheering him on, saying,“go Ryan! You can do it!" It should inspire us to know that we have these greats who have gone before us “witnessing” what we are doing. They are not spectators, but those who have completed the same race we are running in Christ. They have stood on the victor’s stand and received their eternal reward. Their lives, their stories and their examples should shout to us, “By God’s grace, you can run! By God’s grace, you can make it! By God’s grace, you can have life to the full in Christ!”
In light of their testimony we run – in light of their examples, we endure. How do we do it, though? The writer of Hebrews gives us the first of two exhortations in Hebrews 12. Remember at the root of exhortation is encouragement. It will require obedience and change on our part – but it’s not a negative - the results of our obedience to these exhortations will yield positive results.
So, this first exhortation is, “Let us throw off everything that hinders…” Again, the picture here is of a runner. Have you ever seen what runners wear? Not much. Thin shorts, thin lightweight tank top, lightweight shoes. Have you ever seen a well-trained runner? Through diet, exercise and training, they have trimmed off excess body weight – there’s less to carry – less resistance. They jettison anything that will get in the way of them being able to run freely. How much more then should you and I jettison our entangling sin? All sin needs to be put aside. Picture a runner with his feet caught in vines – picture a runner whose shorts have fallen down around his feet. He trips and falls – sin does the same to us in the race of faith. I should have titled the sermon, “Don’t Run with Your Pants Down” – but that may not have been a good idea. What did the old guy sing on American Idol? "Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground?” Anyway…
When we have thrown aside our sin, thrown aside our distractions, we are able to run with perseverance the race marked out for us – just like this cloud of witnesses ran their races. Isn’t it awesome to know that God has marked out our course? It has been marked out clearly for us through Jesus Christ. Jesus, too, has run this race and has given us the ability to reach the finish line. The superiority of His nature, the superiority of His sacrifice, the superiority of His Priesthood all give us the ability to “finish strong.” That is why these Hebrew believers, and now us, are being told to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” Why? He is the author of our faith – He is the perfecter of our faith. Jesus Christ Himself is the “something better” we have that those who have gone before us didn’t have. To focus on the finish line is to focus on Christ. Abraham and Moses kept their eyes of faith focused on the eternal but invisible goal – you and I need to keep our eyes on Jesus. Jesus became the author and perfecter of our faith through His suffering. Verse 2 says, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The joy in part is being seated at His rightful position with the Father, but it is also in bringing God’s sons and daughters across the finish line into God’s presence. For that reason, He endured the cross. He endured pain, endured shame and death. This is the only place in the New Testament where we are told that Jesus endured the cross. The conclusion of Christ’s endurance was to be seated at God’s right hand. He now eternally resides in the presence of God, through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, He has the ability to bring us eternally into God’s presence as well. We fix our eyes on Jesus, because He is the One that grace is available through. He has endured. He makes it possible for believers to have a successful completion to our race. Since Christ has endured and overcome, we, through Him can be victorious. We look to Him for our strength. We look to Him for our supply so that we do not grow weary and lose heart. With His help, we can make the finish line.
Beginning in verse four, the author begins to talk about discipline. He talks about the struggle with sin – but our struggle with sin, doesn’t compare to what Christ went through to conquer sin and death. The Hebrew Christians haven’t yet faced a martyr’s death – but they are in danger – danger of becoming discouraged. So the author reminds them with an exhortation from Proverbs 3:11-12. The original readers, and now us are being reminded that we are sons and daughters of God. God, as our Father, has the right to discipline us, so that we can endure to the end. Warren Wiersbe says, “Chastening [or discipline] is the evidence of the Father’s love. Satan wants us to believe the difficulties of this life are proof that God does not love us, but just the opposite is true. Sometimes God’s chastening is seen in His rebukes from the Word or from circumstances.” Gareth Cockerill says, “The preacher [the author of Hebrews] urges his hearers to endure the sufferings they face as formative discipline because of their status as sons.” All of us have had a father, an earthly father of some sort, and if he was good father, he had to discipline us. I did not have an earthly father who disciplined me – and let me tell you, now that I am a father, I understand and appreciate the difficulties my mom had to go through as single parent, but I understand a lot of what I missed in that critical relationship. If a child is left to himself, he will grow up selfish. My sons receive discipline from me, and one day, I hope they see that this not only proves that I love them, but it proves my diligence to them as their father. God’s discipline is proof that we are indeed His children. Our heavenly Father wants us to learn to revere Him, to obey Him, and be submissive to His will. We endure recognizing that God is instructing us and correcting us. That is the root concept of the Greek word that is translated as “discipline” – instruction and correction. Sports teams have coaches for a reason. Even individual athletes, like the ice skaters skating at the Arena the past week, have coaches – people who instruct, correct, train – people who discipline the athlete and hold them accountable so that they can do their best when the time comes. So we endure whatever suffering, whatever difficult circumstances we face, recognizing it as a form of discipline. We endure as sons and daughters of the Father. When we respond appropriately to God’s discipline, we experience His faithfulness, His grace, His mercy and we find rest in Him.
Discipline is not always pleasant – it is not pleasant either for the father or the children. How many times as a parent have we said or thought, “this hurts me more than it hurts you.” How many of us heard that as children? The Father does not enjoy disciplining His children, but the benefits are evidence of His love. And from that discipline comes a “harvest of righteousness and peace.” The KJV says it produces the “peaceable fruit of righteousness.” Willful rebellion ends, and the child enters a loving relationship with the Father. Discipline also encourages us to “exercise” spiritually. We can have self-discipline through the practice of Bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship. All of this leads to joy in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
The example of Christ and the certainty of God’s love for us should be an encouragement for us to endure the difficulties we face in this “race.” This morning, if you are here and you are in a difficult place - experiencing difficult life circumstances, facing difficult trials, may you experience the assurance and joy of the Father’s love for you. If you have committed your life to Him through Jesus Christ, you are His son – you are His daughter. Endure! Endure with confidence that God is going to produce in and through you a harvest of righteousness and peace.
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