Feeling Good
By Bill Morton
June 2j9, 2008
SCRIPTURE
(Romans 6:12-18) Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. {13} No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. {14} For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
{15} What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! {16} Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? {17} But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, {18} and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
SCRIPTURE
(Matthew 10:40-42) "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. {41} Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; {42} and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple--truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."
I. Can we take a compliment and feel good?
A. It is hard. I have watched the News Hour on public television, where very able people are interviewed dealing with issues in depth, and when they are thanked, only once have I heard a person simply receive the gratitude by saying, “You’re welcome.” Rather they all respond by saying “Thank you” in return.
B. We take admonition much better than gratitude, as when Jesus said, “As you have done it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”
C. As I have looked forward to this day of celebration, I must confess a bit of dread, for it is hard to take a compliment. However, I really believe that God wants us to feel good.
II. In this Gospel lesson for today Jesus offers a supreme compliment to all of us disciples who have undertaken to be servants of God and servants of all humanity.
A. Jesus has sent his disciples out to do what he was doing, to proclaim God’s drawing near, bestowing his love, forgiveness, and compassion, bestowing a new Spirit, and calling all to be servants, caring for one another and for the world.
B. Now he says to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” You see he actually aligns us with himself and with God. Wow!
C. This is nothing that we can claim, in and of ourselves, but it is only because of the new Spirit that God has given to us, making us compassionate servants of others.
III. Before this is possible, we must be repentant and have become the recipients of God’s grace and God’s Spirit.
A. Paul speaks to this in our text from his Letter to the Romans that sin in us must be overcome.
B. You see it is sin, both to exalt ourselves and to put ourselves down.
C. In Jesus Christ it is God who is merciful, who bestows his mercy upon us, forgives us, loves us, and exalts us in spite of our unworthiness. Therefore we no longer need to sin in trying to exalt ourselves, and we should no longer sin by putting ourselves down, whom God has exalted.
D. But this transformation really has to happen in us, and it can only happen by faith.
1. In faith, we need to accept the grace of our forgiveness and exaltation in Christ.
2. We need to let go of the need for and the sin of our self-exaltation.
3. We need to be filled with such gratitude that we will have a passion to share this good news about God with all others.
4. It will be so real to us that we will celebrate our life in all circumstances, demonstrating with integrity the reality of the grace of God.
5. You see, by the grace of God received in faith we will become a new humanity offering ourselves as a gift of God to all the earth, reconciled to others, reconciled to ourselves, reconciled to life, and yes, reconciled to God.
IV. This celebration today is not only a celebration of my ministry, but a celebration of the past eight years of Joyce Church.
A. You see my ministry has been all about Joyce; Joyce has been my life.
B. Joyce has turned around inside-out to be a servant to the community of Uptown.
C. We have been reconciled to each other; we have been reconciled to God; we have been reconciled to ourselves; and we have been reconciled to all in the community around us.
D. Now can you take this compliment? It is the highest of all! You have become like Christ; you have become like God. God in Christ has become incarnate in you to each other and to the world.
E. It’s not me who is saying that; it is from Jesus; it is from God. “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” We have been changed by the grace of God through faith to become Christ’s representatives in the world.
F. And we can feel good; yes, we can feel good! God wants us to feel good! We can celebrate the new life we have been given by the grace of God from the depths of our being – and we can share it with all. Thanks be to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tell in the Light; Proclaim from the Housetops
By Bill Morton
June 22, 2008
SCRIPTURE
(Romans 6:1-11) What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? {2} By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? {3} Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? {4} Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5} For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. {6} We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. {7} For whoever has died is freed from sin. {8} But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. {9} We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. {10} The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. {11} So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
SCRIPTURE
(Matthew 10:24-39) "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; {25} it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
{26} "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. {27} What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. {28} Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. {29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. {30} And even the hairs of your head are all counted. {31} So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
{32} "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; {33} but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
{34} "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. {35} For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; {36} and one's foes will be members of one's own household. {37} Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; {38} and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. {39} Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
I. This reading from Matthew may not be the gentle Jesus, meek and mild, which we may have pictured in our imagination.
A. This passage is a part of a more extensive chapter in which Jesus is training his disciples to assist him in his mission to all human kind.
B. Here he is indicating the mission will not be easy. There will be resistance and it will be tough.
C. Nevertheless he counsels us to have no fear, but tell it in the light and proclaim it from the housetops, for God knows you, cares about you, and will be with you, if you are faithful.
D. Surely in this scripture Jesus makes great claims for himself:
1. “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
2. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
3. “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
E. We may ask how Jesus can presume to claim such authority; surely no ordinary human being could. But we need to remind ourselves that Jesus is the revelation of God; Jesus is God who for the sake of all humanity has become a human being. For Jesus to command this allegiance is to command allegiance for God. Surely God has the right to command allegiance from his people, with authority, doesn’t he?
II. The Apostle Paul reminds us of what God has done in Jesus Christ; he has provided for the transformation of humanity itself.
A. As the Great Physician, he has diagnosed the sin of humanity and proscribed how it can be overcome.
B. The sin is critical and the solution is not easy. Don’t we know this when we look at one another, when we look at the world, and when we look at ourselves. Our sin is endemic and so deep that we cannot deal with it ourselves; we cannot overcome it, as hard as we try. Basically the only solution is the death of the old person and a resurrection of a new person to a new life.
C. How is this possible? Jesus has shown us. He has loved us; he has died on our behalf, and he has been raised from the dead, winning the victory over sin and death. So then in faith we may be able to let go of our old life, be set free of our old insecurity, throw caution to the wind, and live, I mean really live, live just as we are, just who we are, and live for the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ for all humanity.
D. When that happens our sin is overcome; it no longer dominates and motivates our lives. Humanity is transformed, community is transformed, and the world is transformed.
E. Now we are free to live as the new humanity, and we are freed for the mission of witness for the sake of the world. We can tell it in the light and we can proclaim it from the housetops. Our whole life becomes a witness and a mission.
III. It is to this mission that every one of us is called.
A. It will not be easy; it will require real faith, complete faith, but empowered by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, day by day, in our own way, humbly we can do it.
B. By faith in Jesus Christ our sin and fear can be overcome and we can be released to live a full life, an abundant life, a life of witness to the freedom that can be found in Jesus Christ.
C. And we can witness to our Lord, to Jesus Christ; we can offer Jesus Christ to others, who can make this possible in every human being.
D. This is the mission to which we are called, a mission that can enhance every life and save the world.
Make Us Instruments of Your Peace
By Bill Morton
June 15, 2008
SCRIPTURE
(Romans 5:1-8) Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, {2} through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we exalt in our hope of sharing the glory of God. {3} And not only that, but we also exalt in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, {4} and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, {5} and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
{6} For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. {7} Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. {8} But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
SCRIPTURE
(Matthew 9:35-38) Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. {36} When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. {37} Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; {38} therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
I. When God took matters into his own hands and came himself to this earth, when he became a human being in Jesus Christ he must have been overwhelmed.
A. The need was so great. Humanity had brought immense suffering upon itself. God by his nature was filled with compassion and reached out to heal, but there was more suffering than he could possibly resolve in the limitations of a human being.
B. Not only was there suffering but that which was behind so much of the suffering, sin. God in Christ tried to get at the root of the problem, tried to overcome human sin.
1. God had already laid down the law and had revealed sin, but fallen humanity, given the law, was unable to overcome sin. In fact, the revealing of the law only seemed to increase the sin.
2. Now in Christ, God did something once and for all radical. God took upon himself all the sin of every human being, paid the penalty, offered absolute forgiveness, and bathed humanity in healing balm of his love.
3. All it took to be healed by this abounding grace was to believe, receive, and trust it in faith.
C. In alleviating suffering and overcoming sin, God as a human being could only touch one person at a time. The task was beyond him. He was overwhelmed.
D. We see this in the Gospel reading for today. “
(Matthew 9:35-38) Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. {36} When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. {37} Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; {38} therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
1. We are called to assist him to cure the ills of humanity and spread the good news of the kingdom of God.
2. But how can we humans do it, who are a part of the problem? I believe The Apostle Paul addresses this in the text from his Letter to the Romans. We must first become ourselves instruments of his peace.
II. If we are to be instruments of God’s peace, we must first of all embrace and appropriate that peace ourselves.
A. When we believe, accept, and trust ourselves into the grace of God bestowed upon all humanity in Jesus Christ our souls are set at peace. Paul witnesses to this.
1. Receiving and believing the grace of God we know that we are accepted just as we are, warts and all. We know that we no longer are condemned to death, but that God has won the victory over death for us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now if that won’t set our souls at peace, nothing will.
2. Now we can accept our humanity, our suffering, our mortality, the things of life, and still be at peace. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:39 ff) Yes, as Paul says, we can even exalt in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Even in suffering we can be at peace within ourselves.
3. This is not possible just for some; it is possible for all! “At the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” All of us can obtain this marvelous peace and abundant life.
B. This is what the church is about. It proclaims the Word of grace, week in and week out, that the faith of those who listen may be nourished and rejuvenated throughout their lives, so that they may abound in life.
III. But that is not all. This also gives us the opportunity to become a part of a multitude of laborers in the harvest alongside of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A. Becoming laborers is not just a task; it part and parcel of the life of peace we are given by God’s grace. It is this that gives our lives meaning and purpose, energy and vitality.
B. Becoming laborers in alleviating human suffering and overcoming sin is the very reason we are given peace through the grace of God. Our lives are meant for something; they count for something. God has a purpose for every one of us.
C. What is God’s purpose for you? I don’t know. Each and every one of us must discover our own. There are many ways to labor with Christ in a torn and suffering world. Some may be called to be preachers, others leaders in the church, others instruments of peace in their families, others as community servants, others in the workplace, other in public service, in politics, in government, some as volunteers. Where is the God who has given you peace by his grace calling you to serve? Seek it and you shall find.
D. It doesn’t have to be painful. Rather it is more likely to be fulfilling. We don’t have to take the whole burden of the world upon ourselves; God has already shouldered that burden. God is also calling all his children to participate. There will be many colleagues working alongside of us. We only need to do our part, as God reveals to us what that is. It will probably be something that fits with the talents we have been given and something that fits with our nature. Laboring in God’s harvest in your own way will likely be a blast.
IV. Yes, God in Christ has blessed us by his grace. When we reach out in faith to embrace that grace we are filled with peace. We are healed of our sin and are enabled to exalt in our suffering. But this is also done for a reason, that we might be made instruments of God’s peace in the world. “Lord, make us instruments of your peace.”
New Wine, New Wineskins
By Bill Morton
June 8, 2008
SCRIPTURE
(Romans 4:13-25) For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. {14} If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. {15} For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
{16} For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, {17} as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. {18} Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be." {19} He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. {20} No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, {21} being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. {22} Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness." {23} Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone, {24} but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, {25} who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
SCRIPTURE
(Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26) As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. {10} And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. {11} When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" {12} But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. {13} Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."
{18} While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." {19} And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. {20} Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, {21} for she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well." {22} Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. {23} When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, {24} he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. {25} But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. {26} And the report of this spread throughout that district.
I. One of my sailing buddies said to me that he was brought up in a Christian home, but that he found the church full of hypocrites.
A. He is not alone. This is a very common experience. So many people have been crippled in their Christian spiritual journey by the hypocrisy of the church.
B. Should I urge the church then to measure up? No, it’s a fact that human beings can never measure up. That only increases the hypocrisy of the church.
C. Rather I would call the church to be itself, a confessed community of sinners seeking and learning to place its faith in the mercy of God.
D. You see Christians are human and are always tempted to want to justify ourselves and not be dependent on the mercy of God. Therefore we distort Christianity to be a religion of law. As the church we lay down the law; we expect others to live by the law, a law that we are not able to fulfill ourselves, thus inevitably constructing a hypocritical church.
E. As Paul says, “For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.” Yes, the law is of God; it expresses God’s will for a fallen humanity, but it is not able to rectify us, however hard we try. Rather the law is given by God that we might be held accountable, all of us, and that we might be brought to our knees to seek God’s mercy. The Christian church is not about the law; it is about mercy.
II. This is what the Apostle Paul is trying to say in his Letter to the Romans.
A. Abraham, the first one called in the centuries long revelation of God that ended with Jesus Christ, is lifted up as a paragon of faith, not law, from the very beginning.
B. Now as always, the followers of Abraham, as with the followers of Christ, had turned their religion into a religion of law, attempting to justify themselves and excluding all who did not measure up. That is to say, they were hypocrites.
C. Paul points out that even Abraham from the very beginning, was a model of faith and not righteousness by law, a faith of a sinner like all others, that doesn’t exclude anybody. Therefore in this new Christian community no one was excluded. You didn’t need to have a religious background to be a part of it; you didn’t have to become religious to be accepted. You could become a part of this community seeking the grace of God through faith whatever your former sins were.
D. That’s what Paul was saying. That’s what he is saying to the church today. This is what this congregation of misfits is based on. How did Paul come up with such a radical idea?
III. Could it be from Jesus?
A. Look who Jesus called and kept company with, tax collectors and sinners! He even called them to be his disciples; in fact one of them became one of the Twelve Apostles, Matthew, the writer of this Gospel. Oh, Jesus got into trouble for this and was sharply criticized by those who were part of the religious community of law.
B. But Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Jesus came to offer mercy, and in turn he expected mercy from the community of its recipients. He expected that they would welcome into fellowship all who humbly sought the mercy of God, without any preconditions. He did not expect “sacrifice,” that is, conformity to conventional religious practices. No, they could come in just as the sinners they were. Isn’t that what we have discovered here at Joyce?
C. Jesus’ mercy then extends even to his critics, “the religious,” a leader of a synagogue whose daughter had just died. It often takes a tragedy or a crisis for the religious to seek help and experience mercy. With the power of God, which was his to give, Jesus with compassion restored life. Likewise, an afflicted woman, who was probably rejected because of her affliction, placed her faith in Jesus and was healed by God’s grace. There is absolutely no limit to Jesus’ embracing all humanity.
D. Perhaps this is where Paul, who himself had been a self-righteous hypocrite, had his heart opened and was filled with a vision of a new community, of those seeking the grace of God by faith, open to all, don’t you think?
IV. Oh, if only those who have been disillusioned and turned away by the hypocrisy of the church could meet Jesus or hear Paul; if only they could discover a truly Christian community of humble sinners seeking the grace of God through faith; if only they could meet one such person who would show then the way to such a community and show them that one truly existed. You know I think that could really happen here.
SCRIPTURE
(Romans 1:16-17) For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. {17} For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith."
(Romans 3:22b-31) For there is no distinction, {23} since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; {24} they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, {25} whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; {26} it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
{27} Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. {28} For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. {29} Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, {30} since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. {31} Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
SCRIPTURE
(Matthew 7:21-29) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. {22} On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' {23} Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'
{24} "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. {25} The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. {26} And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. {27} The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!" {28} Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, {29} for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
I. Are you building your house on rock?
A. What is it to build your house on rock – to do the will of God.
B. What is the will of God?
1. The Law – The Ten Commandments – Simplified the two great love Commandments.
2. The decision is left to you what love requires in any situation.
C. Sin complicates the task. What is sin? Sin is alienation from God and neighbor.
D. How are you doing? Are you building your house on rock?
II. But what of Paul who in Romans writes that we are now justified by God’s grace as a gift, not by the Law, requiring only faith?
A. Is this not a contradiction?
1. Some abuse it by presuming on God’s forgiveness, grace, and mercy. They take God for granted, ignore religion, and live life naturally as they please, pleasing themselves.
2. Is this not building your house on the sand? Oh yes, an acceptable life by human standards may be claimed and even great success. But have you done the will of God, loving God and neighbor from the heart and in deeds?
III. It was the early Methodists who brought clarity to this.
A. Without God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness appropriated in faith, disabled by sin, one cannot fulfill the law.
B. In Jesus Christ it becomes clear that God sets aside our sin, forgives former sins, loves and accepts us. That is, God embraces and fills us with his love.
C. But this effects a change in a disciple. A faithful disciple is put at peace, becomes grateful, trusts God, and is motivated by love, loves from the heart and spends life looking for opportunities to love in deed, guided by Christ.
IV. I invite you to be sobered by the statement of Jesus to build our house on rock, doing the will of God. I invite you to marvel that God in Christ gave his death for us as he gave us abundant life. I invite you to accept God’s gift and be filled with God’s love. I invite you to love God and neighbor from your heart and in deed.
Strive For the Kingdom of God
By Bill Morton
May 25, 2008
SCRIPTURE
(1 Corinthians 4:1-5) Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries. {2} Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. {3} But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. {4} I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. {5} Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.
SCRIPTURE
(Matthew 6:24-34) "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. {25} "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? {26} Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? {27} And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? {28} And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, {29} yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. {30} But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? {31} Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' {32} For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. {33} But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
{34} "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
I. Folks, if Jesus is who he is purported to be then, in faith, we should look to him for guidance for our lives. It is clear from scripture that Jesus is no less than the revelation of God who created us. Therefore we should listen to Jesus and pattern our lives after him.
II. Jesus tells us to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
A. What does this mean? Frequently striving for the kingdom of God seems to say to us that we ought to live so that we can get to heaven. This is a mistake. None of us can so live that we can earn ourselves a place in heaven. If we are to be granted a place in heaven at the end of our life it is simply God’s to give or not to give. God has made it clear that what is required is simply humility, repentance, and faith for him to grant us eternal life.
B. No, to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness” means an active life aiming at “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We are not to live our lives in insecurity, centering upon ourselves, seeking to secure our future. What a waste of life, living simply to stay alive and enjoy as many days as we can!
C. No, we are to strive for the kingdom of God, for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our lives are to be significant, making contributions to the future of the planet. The Apostle Paul has caught the vision. He says, “Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries.” (1 Corinthians 4:1) That’s why we are given life; we are to be servants. I call this the great reversal. Nobody aspires to be a servant. Rather they aspire to be able to afford to have servants. But stop to think of it; it is the servants of this world that accomplish something, not those that are served. Jesus made it clear to his disciples that the greatest among them would not lord it over them, but would be the servant. Jesus even said that he did not come to be served, but to be the servant of all. Jesus is turning the world upside down and calling us to a higher, more meaningful life, a life of servanthood.
D. Now servanthood itself may be noble, but it makes a great deal of difference whose servant we are. We are called to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, that is, servants of God. We are properly servants of God. God surely is above us, and amazingly, God is revealed in Christ to be wonderfully good. It is proper and a great privilege to be servants of God.
E. Sometimes we may think that servants have no substance, that they merely take orders, whatever they are, and carry them out. But that is not so. Many servants are very wise, making many decisions, which are indispensible in the service of their masters. So it is with the servants of God; they are stewards of God’s mysteries. There is no more precious and valuable possession than this. Through humility, repentance, and faith, servants of Christ are given the mysteries of God. They know that God can be trusted, that God is love. They have personally experienced God’s forgiveness and acceptance. Then know the source of the abundant life everyone seeks, a life of peace, joy, hope, and love. Christ’s servants are blessed; they are stewards of God’s mysteries, they are exalted in the kingdom of God.
F. That’s why they can be servant, why they can chose to be servant, and choose who they will serve. These servants are free by choice. They can serve the poor and needy and the down and out whether they have money, status, and position or not. There is nothing that they love doing more than sharing with another the glory that they have found. There is nothing more gratifying for them than seeing another discover and experience God’s mysteries themselves.
III. But what about food, clothing and shelter, the kind of things that concern all the rest of humankind?
A. Jesus says not to worry, that God will provide. Is that so; can you trust that? I believe we can, though I’ve struggled with this throughout my life. I have never been concerned about nor lived for money, but sometimes I have wondered and worries about this a bit. I started a couple of new churches, which meant I dropped behind my colleagues from seminary in salaries. I joined a crazy group called The Ecumenical Institute, was assigned to Hong Kong, and worked for $48 per month (when we got it) for two years, concerned only for improving the world. Now at this late point in my life I am surprised to see how well off I am. I don’t understand it; it doesn’t make much sense.
B. Maybe because my life has been full, I have not had to fill it up with material things like a new car, new furniture, etc. I have lived simply, but I have missed nothing. This may be a key to being surprised with being well-off at this stage of my life. Or is it that in some mysterious way God does provide for those who trust him and give their lives seeking for the kingdom of God?
C. I don’t know, for if I give myself to God on the assumption that God will take care of me and encourage others to do so , that would be tempting God, which is forbidden, and a spiritual arrogance, which is sin. If I encouraged others to recklessly throw caution to the wind in faith and trust that God would make them rich, I’m sure that would not work for it is becoming a disciple for the wrong reason. No, I can’t do that. I just have to wonder if perhaps we trust God enough to seek first the kingdom of God, he doesn’t in some mysterious way provide for us.
D. We have experienced the same thing in our church in the eight years I have been here. We have not been anxious about an impossibly out of balance budget but have given ourselves to the mission of the kingdom and surprisingly at the end of every year except one cannot understand how we have just barely ended up, not in the red, but in the black.
E. Our Lord Jesus says to us to seek first the kingdom of God and to not worry about our survival, and that these things will be ours as well.
IV. Can you do that; will you do that; will you live for the kingdom of God; will you be satisfied with a simple life; will you dare to give up worrying and live life abundantly; will you be a servant of Jesus Christ and a steward of God’s mysteries in the world? This is the guidance of our Lord. Amen.
Sailing by the Wind
By Bill Morton
May 18 2008
SCRIPTURE
(Genesis 1:1-2:4a) In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, {2} the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. {3} Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. {4} And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. {5} God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
{6} And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." {7} So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. {8} God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
{9} And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. {10} God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. {11} Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. {12} The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. {13} And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
{14} And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, {15} and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. {16} God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. {17} God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, {18} to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. {19} And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
{20} And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." {21} So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. {22} God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." {23} And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
{24} And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. {25} God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
{26} Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." {27} So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. {28} God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." {29} God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. {30} And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. {31} God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
{2:1} Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. {2} And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. {3} So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
{4} These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
I. Purpose: To help us recognize the Holy Spirit in our lives.
II. Comments about this first creation story:
A. The poet who wrote this first creation story sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit.
B. It is not science, though curiously close to what we now know about evolution. It is poetry. Poetry is the expression of the depth of the poet’s soul and when read resonates in our own souls.
C. Perhaps you can sense all three persons of the Trinity involved in the creation, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father conceiving and designing all, God the Son speaking and delivering all, God the Holy Spirit doing all.
D. Remember my saying last week that the Holy Spirit is love; God is love. All that is; we ourselves have been created in love, by love, for love.
III. The Holy Spirit is like the wind.
A. The creation story begins like this in the New Revised Standard Version. “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, {2} the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. But in the older Revised Standard Version in our pews it says, “…the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” Why the difference? In Hebrew it is the same word for wind or spirit. The Holy Spirit is like the wind.
B. You can’t see the Holy Spirit just as you can’t see the wind, but like the wind the Holy Spirit creates and sustains life. Without air, without wind, we could not be.
C. Most of the time we are totally unconscious of the air we breathe or of the moving wind in which we live. But we are unaware at our own peril. Recently one of my good friends went sailing in winds that were a bit too high. He ended up getting knocked down and had to be rescued from the cold waters and the threat of hypothermia. The wind and the Holy Spirit are not to be trifled with.
D. Like the wind the Holy Spirit is not seen, but it is essential and it is powerful.
IV. Like good sailors become aware of the wind, sail by the wind, live by the wind, so all human beings need to do with the Spirit.
A. You may not notice but on a sailboat there are always ribbons, which like windsocks, show the direction of the wind. They are called “telltales.” Jesus is the telltale of the Holy Spirit. You have to keep your eye on Jesus to tell how the wind of the Spirit might be blowing in any particular time. Through Jesus we become aware of the world of wind, the Kingdom of God, right here in the midst of our lives.
B. As I said the wind of the Spirit is not to be trifled with. Before you set sail everyday you have to access the wind. Sometimes it is best not to set out, but rather to stay cozy in shelter and wait. Now waiting is difficult, but it dangerous to venture out into contrary winds. Sometimes is best to pull down your sails and wait. Then, accessing the wind, sometimes it is time to hoist your sails and feel the exhilaration and experience the power for your mission on that day.
C. It is in prayer that we discern the wind of the Spirit and it is by faith that we dare to set sail.
V. It is not easy to see the wind or to recognize the Spirit.
A. It must be done in faith.
B. And it takes practice. It needs to be practiced again and again. It must be done wisely and carefully, but then you can feel the power, enjoy the motion, and sail throughout your life by the Spirit.
This Transforming Love
By Bill Morton
May 11, 2008
SCRIPTURE ACCOUNT OF THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Acts 2:1-8, 12-21) When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. {2} And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. {3} Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. {4} All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
{5} Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. {6} And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. {7} Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? {8} And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? {12} All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" {13} But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
{14} But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. {15} Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. {16} No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: {17} 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. {18} Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. {19} And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. {20} The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. {21} Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
SCRIPTURE
(John 7:37-39) On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, {38} and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" {39} Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
I. What is required for us to be saved?
A. Jesus said that we must be born anew of the Holy Spirit. He promised to give us the Holy Spirit.
B. Have you received the Holy Spirit; have you been born anew; have you been saved?
C. Sometimes its not so clear if we have received the Holy Spirit and been born anew. What does this mean?
D. I believe it is simpler than we sometimes think. Jesus is about changing our lives, a change from the scowl of darkness to the exuberance of love. These transformed people are pretty easy to discern. They are fun to be around. Are you one of them? Have you been born anew of the Holy Spirit?
E. Let’s consider 1) what the Holy Spirit is, 2) what the Holy Spirit does, and 3) How we find the Holy Spirit.
II. What is the Holy Spirit?
A. The Holy Spirit is simply love; the Holy Spirit is agape love, an unconditional love that is pour out irrespective of who you are and what you may have done; it is a freely given love. It is the love of God. Where do we see this love? We see this love expressed to all humanity, poured out upon us, given to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the revelation of God; Jesus Christ is the living expression of God’s love. Where you see love, you see the Holy Spirit of God.
B. I find a lot of people filled with the Holy Spirit, that is, filled with love, who know the Holy Spirit without recognizing it. They may belong to a church or they may not. How do they come by the Holy Spirit? I think there are many ways since the Holy Spirit came and was given in Jesus Christ. Our cultures in which people live since the time of Jesus have been deeply infused with the Holy Spirit. Some people have received the Holy Spirit through the culture and reflect love into the world. Many of our parents have been deeply filled with the Holy Spirit and have passed it on to some of us, their children. It may be through friends filled with love that we have received the Holy Spirit of God’s love. In all of these secondary ways we may have received the Holy Spirit without being aware of it. The Holy Spirit may come to us unrecognized in all these ways, but the source of the Holy Spirit is solely Jesus Christ. We human beings may also go directly to the source, to Jesus Christ in Holy Scripture or in worship or in prayer to be empowered by the love of the Holy Spirit.
III. What does the Holy Spirit do?
A. The Holy Spirit of God’s love surely enhances our lives when we partake of this love through faith.
B. Without love the human spirit is starved, it is emaciated, it is desperate; it dwells in darkness. When loved the human spirit springs to life; it embraces life; it is filled with peace; it abounds with joy; and its hope cannot be quenched. Filled with love such a human spirit shares this love with all who come into relationship with it. The Holy Spirit of God’s love can only enhance our lives. Jesus intended this saying, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
C. But this is not all; if it is only this, it is a perversion. The Holy Spirit is meant to empower us to become the servants of God doing the work of God, sharing faith in God with witnessing love, and building a better world through justing love.
D. The power of the Holy Spirit of God’s love is immense; it can give us abundant life and it can transform the earth.
IV. How can we find the Holy Spirit?
A. First let us recognize that everyone can find the Holy Spirit. That is what these scriptures for today are about. Jesus invites us, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and let the one who believes in me drink.” Anyone! The Pentecost experience was clear. Now that Jesus has come the Holy Spirit is no longer given only to specially chosen prophets, but it has come upon all flesh, upon sons and daughters, upon young and old, upon rich and poor, upon men and women. This incredible gift is for all!
B. Some of us may not have been blessed to receive this love from our society, our parents, or from friends; we may have lived in darkness and expressed darkness, but nevertheless the Holy Spirit is still available to all through faith in Jesus Christ, through scripture, worship, and prayer. Go to Jesus in these ways and drink from the living waters of his love.
C. And those of us who have been blessed with the residual effects of the Holy Spirit of God’s love through culture, parents or friends, must recognize that this love is not our possession. It is a gift of God, and if it is not enkindled by going to the source it shall surely fade. Jesus Christ is the source to whom we can all go and from whom we can all draw, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit for the fullness of life, for sharing the faith, and for transforming the world.
V. Today we celebrate the unleashing of the power of the Holy Spirit of God’s saving love into the world, a saving love that we have certainly been blessed with in our lives, and the source of which is always present with us. Let us go to Jerusalem and on this Pentecost partake of the Holy Spirit.
Law or Faith?
By Bill Morton
June 1, 2008
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