18

Jump Start # 3535

Jump Start # 3535

Psalms 66:8 “Bless our God, O peoples, and sound His praises abroad.”

It was an early Monday morning. I walked into the dark auditorium of our church building to pick up my sermon notes that I had left there from Sunday. There was a time when I took Mondays off, especially when the kids were home. But now, my wife works Monday mornings and I go down to the office and start things for the week.

What a different picture walking into the auditorium that Monday morning. Just the day before, all the lights were on, there was a lot of activity, smiles, handshakes, hugs and conversations. We sang praises to God. We prayed to our Lord. The word was preached. Concerns were talked about. The day was busy with people, activity and life. Questions were asked. People told about family members recovering from recent health issues. Children were running around. Little ones were trying to walk. So much activity on a Sunday morning. It is a busy place.

But this Monday morning as I sat in one of the pews, the place was very still. It was very quiet. It was a great time to reflect. There were no noises. Just me and the Lord. And, what a great reminder that was. Worship is about me and the Lord. We can lose sight of that with all the noises, the conversations, the people, the activities. Bulletins to be picked up. Class material to get. Those that serve publicly gather for a prayer. The preachers have their mics attached. The media team is busy with sound buttons, lights, computers and cameras. But on a Monday morning, everyone is gone. It is all very, very quiet. And, it’s not the mics, the sound board, the lights, the people, the noise, it’s what’s in my heart towards the Lord.

Here are a few thoughts that came to my mind as I sat in the empty auditorium on a Monday morning:

First, I said a prayer. The God that we all worshipped yesterday was still on His throne this morning. I thanked the Lord for that. In the stillness of the morning, while many of our church family were busy at work, taking children to school, or driving to doctors, our God was still among us and for us. Be still, the Psalmist declared and know that I am the Lord.

Second, I wondered if my words on Sunday helped anyone? Were they the right words? Did I approach a topic that was most needful? Sunday was over. It was now Monday. There was no rewinding and going back to yesterday. It was a moment in time. Did I use it wisely? Could I have done things better? After four decades of doing this every week, I still think those thoughts. I want people to know the Lord. I want to touch hearts with the goodness and love of God. I want people to give their all to the Lord. Will anyone remember what songs we sang yesterday? Will anyone remember any of the prayers from yesterday? Will anyone remember the Scriptures that were read yesterday? It was a moment in time, but did it make any difference a day later?

Third, as encouraging as Sunday was, I have to live for the Lord today. Yesterday is over. Today presents many challenges, battles and things that need my attention. I need to call some people to see how they are doing. I have articles, such as this one, to write. I have classes to be taught later this week. Sunday is over, but before me is another full week of things that need to be done.

There is a part of me that just wanted to sit in the auditorium for hours. Just let the mind reflect and observe. The silence. The memories. The prayers. The love. The concerns. The hope. And, to think God lets us be a part of all of this. Simply amazing.

Monday morning in an empty church building. I wish every person could have a moment like that. It’s good for the soul.

Roger

15

Jump Start # 3534

Jump Start # 3534

Hebrews 10:24 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”

It’s an interesting question to ponder. Just why do people quit? Some quit their jobs. Some sign up for special classes and then they quit. Some quit college. Sadly, some quit when it comes to their marriages. But, worse of all, is when a Christian quits walking with the Lord. The world gets just a bit darker when a Christian quits.

Paul experienced that. Demas returned to the world. Jesus faced that. Many walked with Him no more.

Why do people quit? Or, more specifically, why do some quit the Lord? That is a question that puzzles preachers and shepherds. While some come in the front door, others leave out the back door, never to return again. Departures are discouraging. Departures leave people wondering what more could have been done. Departures impact the family and can change the eternal direction that a family travels. Some are at a loss as to why some leave. In some situations, like a sinking ship, one after another begin to leave. It’s not switching congregations or moving away, it’s just quitting all together. Sundays become a day to sleep in, do house work, take day trips. The Bible is put away in a closet shelf. Food is eaten without prayers. Life becomes secular and consumed with what happens now. Someone has quit.

Here are a few reasons why:

First, some may have never been fully committed or fully convinced. They see the excitement surrounding a baptism and they want that. They get caught up following someone, rather than the Lord.  Some are never fully convinced that the Lord is right in all things. They never understood why somethings are wrong. Some never got much more than their big toe into the faith of Christ.

Second, some never developed a positive support system. Biblically, we call that fellowship. They were always on the outside and never allowed the people of God in their lives or their heart. The friends from the world keep pulling them away from the Lord and into things that they shouldn’t be doing. They never fully tasted the goodness of fellowship. They never grasped the incredible joy of a great Bible study. Alone, the little sheep becomes vulnerable and easily attacked by the devil. The Lord realizes that we need support.

Third, some have never gotten over the disappointments from others. People let them down. Brethren hurt them. They never forgot and they never forgave. In time, these hurts work on their hearts like rust, it just eats away anything that is good. Things were said that should never have been said. People judged. They never felt included, accepted nor loved. For some, it seems that they were pushed out. So, they just quit. Shame on a church and shame on us when we have acted that way. It is nearly impossible to pull someone back when they have had such a terrible experience.

Fourth, some have never continued to feed their faith. They have starved their hearts spiritually. They were too busy with life and too busy with the world. In time, there was just nothing left in their soul. It’s easy to quit that way. Worry was never dealt with. Fear, doubt and questions were never addressed. Rather than developing great spiritual habits, the little faith had no depth and the scorching sun caused it to wither away, as the parable of the sower illustrates. Jesus said, “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4).

Fifth, some never thought that God would take them back. They wondered out to the wilderness and now they are convinced it’s too late and they are too far gone for God to have anything to do with them. It’s been a long time, too long they believe, and as a result, they just give up, even though they’d like to come back. They are convinced that God no longer loves them. This comes from a little faith that just hasn’t learned the truth about the Lord. God longs for all of us to come back. The story of the prodigal shows us that God wants us back with Him.

“I’m no longer interested,” are some of the saddest words ever spoken. For some, they’ll take their chances. For others, they profess to still love the Lord and are doing their best to live a good life, they just don’t have the heart to stomach being part of a church again. I know folks like this. Getting them to see it’s not the church, but the Lord that you serve. And, when one quits, it hurts the Lord more than it hurts anyone else.

Our prayers must never cease for those who have quit. Our efforts must never neglect those who have quit. It just may be that someone is waiting for you to ask them back. Show kindness and gentleness. Be patient. Most lose their faith not by a major blowout but by a slow leak. Patching that leak and pumping that faith up is what we must do.

When one quits…things to think about.

Roger

14

Jump Start # 3533

Jump Start # 3533

Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

    It sure seemed like an odd statement when I read it for the first time. I immediately thought, “No, that’s not true.” The statement: “Most Christians seem to handle pain better than pleasure. They handle bad news better than good news.” There was no statistical numbers to support that claim. There was no footnote referencing some detailed study of this. Just an observation. We handle pain better than pleasure. But the more I thought about this, the more I was agreeing with that statement.

Consider our sermon topics and class choices. We study the book of Job. We preach about the valleys of the shadow of death. We talk about persecution. We mention the outer man is decaying. We talk about death. We have done a good job of preparing ourselves to weather the storms in life. Sorrow and suffering takes us to praying. Jesus, the suffering servant. The apostle Paul, beaten and struck down so many times. Fear, worry, doubt—we deal with that trio all the time. I know I have. But, how many times do we talk about the sunshine of life? How rare to preach, “Things are great in your life.” Oh, we sing, “I’m happy today, oh, yes, I’m happy today,” but we feel a bit guilty admitting that.

Here are some thoughts:

First, we feel like something is wrong if something is going right in our lives. Money in the pocket, health in the body, the kids are doing well, job is doing well, marriage is great, we feel ashamed to admit those things. Somewhere there must be some pain in our lives. You aren’t doing right unless you have some trouble. That mindset, not based upon the Bible, but how we perceive things, keeps us from rejoicing. Could that be a reason so many of us walk around with frowns all the time. To be smiling, to be happy, simply isn’t right in our thinking.

It’s like a child that was standing in the pew, smiling at all the people sitting behind her. The child’s mother looked over with a stern look upon her face. She pulled the child down and slapped her little leg. The child started crying and the mother said, “Now, that’s the way we ought to be.” Really?

Second, running through so many Psalms is the idea of rejoicing and gladness when one came to worship. I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord, (122:1). The Psalmist declared, “You have put gladness in my heart” (4:7). You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness (30:11). Or, so bluntly, “Be glad in the Lord” (32:11). Nearly 50 times in Psalms gladness is expressed.

It’s hard to count your blessings without a smile on your face and thankfulness in your soul. It’s ok to be happy. It’s ok to smile in worship. It’s ok to rejoice. Everyday does not have to be gloom and doom.

Third, maybe our lack of teaching on spiritual gladness has left people feeling guilty about this topic. Paul told the Philippians that he learned the secret of living with humble means and living in prosperity. What is that secret? Have we learned that? Do we have to apologize for doing well financially? I’ve known brethren who were very successful businessmen. Some had nice sports cars, but they would never drive them to the church building for fear of what others might think. It’s ok to drive a junker to the church house, but don’t drive a luxury car. Why? Why must we hide prosperity from others? Why are we afraid that some will judge us because we have done well? Do we fear that we are showing off? Do we fear that because we’ve done better than others or have been blessed in different ways that it is wrong to have nice things? Can the preacher have a Vette? Can the preacher be a millionaire? Those thoughts trouble many of us.

We handle pain better than we do pleasure.

And, because of that, we create artificial boundaries where we feel everyone needs to be. And, through the years, this has been exhibited in comments such as: “The preacher can’t make more than most of us.” Why? Who said that?

Learning to do well with prosperity—what a great topic for a series of sermons or classes. The principle “to whom much is given, much is required,” and good stewardship fits well into a discussion like this. Abraham was rich. Lot was rich. Job was rich. Joseph of Arimathea was rich.

The issue is not how much you have, but rather, what has you. We do better with pain than pleasure. We need to work on that. We need to learn to do well with both. We need to learn to glorify God in both.

Pain and pleasure—what a contrast. In both, there are powerful lessons to be learned and great opportunities to serve.

Roger

13

Jump Start # 3532

Jump Start # 3532

Matthew 22:12 “and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless.”

Our verse today is the third in a series of parables that Jesus told in the temple illustrating how the Jews rejected Him and the Gospel would be taken to others. The setting in this parable is a wedding feast for the king’s son. Can you imagine what that would be like? It be unlike any wedding we’ve been to before. A royal wedding. A wedding at the palace. The king’s son. Think about all the pageantry, the special foods, the wonderful music, the banners, and all the whos who in the kingdom would be gathered there. Military officials. Princes and Princesses. Governors. Statesmen. The wealthy. The important. They would have all gathered at the palace for the wedding of the king’s son.

In our times we have seen on TV royal weddings out of England. But imagine being there. Imagine being invited. Most of us would have saved the invitation as a keepsake. This was a special event.

In this parable, there is a sad twist that takes place. The people invited won’t come. They make light of it. They have other things that are more important to them than going to the palace for a royal wedding. The patient king, sends more messengers, telling the invited it’s time to come. The messengers tell of the feast that awaits the guests. Not only do the invited refuse to come, but some abuse and even kill the messengers.

The king in his anger destroys the villages. The wedding will go on. Now the call is go into the streets and invite anyone and everyone. Fill the banquet hall with guests is the plans. Good and evil come. And, it is here where our verse is found. Someone has shown up not dressed properly. He is tossed out.

The parable ends with this cold statement, ’Many are called, but few are chosen.’

This is not a hard parable to figure out. The first group invited were the Jews. The rejected the Gospel call. The messengers are the prophets, calling people to the salvation of Jesus Christ, the King’s Son. The prophets were beaten and killed. Not defeated, God sends His messengers out to the streets. Invite all to the wedding feast. And, they come. Good people. Bad people. Problem people. Nice people.

And, one came to the palace unprepared. Whether garments were available and he simply didn’t want to put one on, or, he did not come in clean clothing, he wasn’t dressed properly. He, better than the Jews, accepted the invitation, but he came without honoring the king.

I just preached on this parable recently. Love the layers of lessons found here.

First, those that turned down the invitation, have no idea what they just did. What if you went to the mailbox and there was an invitation like you’d never seen before. Rich in detail and beauty, you recognize that this is something special. You’re invited to the palace for a wedding feast of the king’s son. Instead of being so excited, you toss the invitation in the trash and tell your family, “I need to mow the yard that day.” Really?

But this was more than a feast of foods and watching a royal wedding. This is the salvation of your soul. Nothing is more important than that. This changes your past. This changes your today. And, this changes your eternity. You are invited by God to be saved. Yet, the Jews scoffed and refused to come. And, today, the same takes place.

Second, the man who came but wasn’t dressed properly, didn’t belong there. He wasn’t invited at first. He is only there because others turned down the invitation. He would have never made the invitation list. This was probably the first time he had ever been inside the palace. I’ve been in castles and palaces before. I sat in a ball room as long as a football field in Vienna. It was the very place that four-year-old Mozart first gave a concert. The floor, the ceiling, the mirrors on the wall, the chandeliers,  the artwork, was unlike anything I have ever seen. My eyes were bouncing around, looking up at the ceiling, down at the floor, around at the artwork, the mirrors. What a beautiful room it was. How excited this man must have been  to be in such a place.

And, do we get that appreciation to be included in the kingdom of God? Do we truly grasp the idea that God has adopted us into His family? We belong to God. Amazing. We are included in God’s work. We labor in the kingdom. How wonderful that is.

Third, this man from our verse, did not show his gratitude nor his appreciation for being invited where he did not belong because he chose to come in common clothes. The king was insulted. He should have been embarrassed. You are I are to be clothed in righteousness. We are to put on Christ. How dare us come into the presence of the king in his palace with filthy hearts, dirty attitudes, and worldly minds. Have we no appreciation for where we are?

Many are called, but few are chosen. The called often do not accept the invitation. The called often do not change their ways. The chosen are those who truly appreciate being in the palace where they do no belong and to feast on foods they could never afford. It’s not their goodness that got them there. It’s not because they are important, famous or made an impact to the kingdom. There is but one reason they are there. The servants of the king invited them.

We find ourselves in many places in that parable. We have been invited. Do we accept? Those who come, are we dressed appropriately? And, in turn we become servants of the King who are now inviting others to come to the banquet.

What a rich story. It’s life changing if you accept the invitation.

Roger

12

Jump Start # 3531

Jump Start # 3531

  Esther 6:1 “On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.”

Tuesdays with Esther. As one journeys through this fascinating and intriguing story of Esther, the fingers of God are seen. By the sixth chapter, Esther has crossed the line and broken the law and approached the king. She does this for the sake of her people. There was a banquet. At that banquet only the King and Haman are present. She doesn’t reveal anything. Not yet. Esther has a plan. There would be another banquet the next day.

What a lesson about patience. All things in the right time. But something happens in the night. Esther doesn’t know about it. Haman doesn’t know about it. The king can’t sleep. You and I have been there, a sleepless night. As a king, Xerxes had many options. Bring some food. Nope. Bring the court musicians. Nope. Bring a concubine. Nope. Bring Esther and find out what’s going on with all these banquets. Nope.

The king has the book of memorable deeds read to him. He will find out about the assassination attempt on his life and how Mordecai, a Jew, saved the day by revealing it to the queen. This event took place five years earlier. Was this book brought to the king because he wanted feel good stories? Was it boring and he thought he’d go to sleep? We don’t know how many volumes there were. It’s a big empire, stretching from India to Ethiopia. But the right book, and the right page was read and the king stayed awake to hear about this. A Jew saved his life. What was done for him? The servants knew. Nothing.

Haman happened to be in the court. Strange. Had he been there all night? Was it the crack of dawn and he’s there. He seems to always be circling the king, like a buzzard. How should the king honor someone, Haman is asked. And, the head of the proud, wicked man swells. Who else has been given the signet ring? Who else has had a private banquet with the king? Not once, but two days in a row?

Haman’s answer is put that person on the king’s horse, wearing the king’s robe. In essence, this honored person is looking and acting like the king. And, who better to do that, Haman thinks, than himself. It sure appears that he is moving pieces here and there so that he will be the next king.

The king tells Haman that it is Mordecai, the Jew who is to be honored. This is the same Mordecai that Haman was going to hang that very day. Now, he has to lead him around on the king’s horse. The text tells us that Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. He’s embarrassed. He’s ashamed. He is humiliated. He’s having a bad day and before the day ends, Haman will be put to death at his own house.

What a great story.

First, God’s hand is all over these chapters. The reformer Luther couldn’t see God in this book. I believe Luther should have opened his eyes. What if the king slept soundly that night? What if something other than the book of deeds was read to him? What if the king fell asleep before the reader got to Mordecai? What if that story had not been recorded? What if…what if…what if. Lucky some would say. Coincidences, others would say. We think, God was doing things. God has no night. God has no rest.

While we sleep, God is busy. While we worry, God is moving things. While we wonder what to do, God is opening doors. The heart of the king is in the hands of God and he moves it whatever way He desires.

Second, God hates arrogance. It’s listed as one of the seven things the Lord hates. Pride is all about self. Pride is blind to the need of others. Pride doesn’t care about others. The first step of discipleship is not baptism. It’s not going to church. It’s not being generous. The first step is to deny yourself (Luke 9:23). Many a person has been baptized who kept their pride. And, when proud men get into the leadership roles nothing good will happen. The sheep will be ignored. The hurt will die. The lost will be driven away.

One feels good to see the walls come tumbling down around Haman. He lost the confidence of the king. He lost respect. And, he lost his life. The proud will never admit wrong. They blame others. The proud never needs to change. They know all and have it all together. The proud never makes application of the Scriptures to their own lives. A proud man won’t make it to Heaven. It’s upon our knees that we need to fall and beg for the mercy of our Lord. The broken have lost all pride. The come home needing God.

Third, should Esther have tried to save Haman? Ought she to have had some grace and kindness and given him a second chance? That is an interesting thought. And, it’s a thought that we have and the Scriptures do not address. Things were really out of Esther’s hands. She was the queen but not the king. The angry king saw Haman falling around Esther, begging for his life and the king took that as an assault. So, it didn’t matter about the edict. It didn’t matter about trying to kill Mordecai who had saved the king’s life. Now, the king had another reason and a greater reason. Haman had attacked the queen.

Interestingly, the eunuch, Harbona, knew about Haman’s gallows and Haman’s plans to execute Mordecai. He told the king about that and that was enough to put Haman on those very gallows at Haman’s house. Would Haman had changed if he was given a second chance? Sometimes justice comes before mercy.

I am thankful that we do not have to decide the eternal destiny of anyone. How fair would we be? How just would we be? How merciful would we be? The apostle said that we stand before the righteous judge and that He is, righteous.

Haman was hanged on his gallows. A fitting end to an evil, wicked man.

So many powerful lessons layered in this fascinating book.

Tuesdays with Esther.

Roger