There
is a story that Dr. Ian Paisley, the fiery Irish minister and politician, was
preaching one Sunday on the end times, and in particular on the Day of
Judgment. As he reached the climax of his address, he said that on the Day of
Judgment, "there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth". At that
point an elderly woman put up her hand and said, "Dr. Paisley, I have no
teeth." Dr. Paisley replied, "Madam, teeth will be provided."
Has
your life been full but not fulfilling? Has your life been successful but not
significant? Perhaps your life has been cheered by other people but is not
important to God. Perhaps you're restless inside. Maybe God is telling you to
do something that is different from what you're doing right now. Don't be
afraid to do it. Be expectant and obedient, regardless of the risks.
Jeremiah
1:4-10 is a story of how God can use anyone and everyone to do his work in the
world. Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet, but he argued that he was
not qualified to be a prophet because of his age. God's answer was that his
request was part of his plan for Jeremiah's life. God said that he would tell
Jeremiah what to do and what to say, and he did. God also knew that Jeremiah
would be persecuted and opposed in his work, but God promised that he would be
with Jeremiah and he was. God keeps his promises.
Great
men do not seek power-they have it thrust upon them. When God looks for a
leader, he goes after someone who isn't looking for the position. God does not
call the equipped. He equips the called. He calls us and equips us to share the
Good News. He equips us to face the consequences of sharing the Good News. He
uses our strengths and our weaknesses. He loves us and approves of us. Nothing
we do now or in the future can change that. His love for us is genuine.
A
good example of how God equips people is legendary talk show host Larry King.
As a young man he hung around a radio station in Miami, Florida and kept
telling the station manager that he wanted to get into radio. He finally got
his chance when the morning announcer quit. On his first day, he opened his
mouth and nothing came out. He played another song and tried to speak a second
time. Nothing came out. The same thing happened a third time. The station manager stormed in and yelled, "This is
a communications business". Larry King finally found his voice and said,
"Good morning, this is Larry King". He explained to his audience that
this was his first morning on the air and that he was nervous. That gave him
the confidence to keep talking and he has been talking on radio and television
since then.
Jeremiah
accepted God's plan for his life. Jeremiah was set apart by God for his
prophetic work. He was God's spokesperson. He predicted the doom that Israel
would face unless the people repented. God promised through Jeremiah that
Israel's suffering would facilitate their redemption. God did not abandon them.
Jeremiah's words had the power to lead the Hebrews to actions that produced
results and had consequences.
Jeremiah
was to pronounce words of judgment and words of mercy and hope. The people of
Israel had to endure God's judgement before they could receive God's mercy. We
do not have to go through the same process. Jesus accepted God's judgement for
our sins when he died for us on the cross. Jesus accepted God's judgment so we
would receive God's mercy as long as we believe in faith.
Our
society needs more people like Jeremiah. In other words, society needs more
people who sense their call in life and who pursue it. We have become a society
that is interested only in instant gratification, short-term gains and quick
fixes. We have little loyalty to the long-term because we have lost the sense
of how far back our origins really do go.
God
is always speaking to us. When we speak for him, he will provide us with the
words to say. God has a plan for our lives-everything that pertains to life,
his promises to us, our healings, the words we speak on his behalf. All we have
to do is say "yes" to his will, his way and his word. We have to
trust it, believe it, receive it, watch and wait for it to become fully
manifested in our lives.
Each
and every one of us is unique. This uniqueness enriches the world when we give
ourselves to the community around us. God related to us as individuals because each and every one of us is
unique. We were created in love for love and by God for God. When our lives are
broken, God can put them back together. When our plan for our lives falls
apart, he is there to fix it so that it is the same as his plan for our lives.
We are wanted, cherished and loved by God. We belong to God.
The
writer of the Letter to the Hebrews calls on Christians to fulfill their
Christian duty of loving others. In other words, we are to love one another,
show hospitality, remember prisoners, be faithful in marriage, obey leaders,
and not love money over anything else. When we love one another, we must
remember that the church of Jesus Christ is universal. It is not limited by
geography, race, religion, ethnicity, age groups or other reasons-hence the use
of the term "holy catholic church". When we worship, we join with
other believers, both those who are living and those who have gone before us.
The
word "obey" as used in the passage from Hebrews means to persuade or
prevail upon, to listen to or obey. This does not mean blind obedience, but
obedience after thoughtful consideration that results in persuasion. People who
demand blind obedience without reason (such as the Pharisees, some TV
evangelists, the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons) are likely to get congregations
that change orientation every time some golden-mouthed authoritarian preacher
comes along.
Israel
in Jeremiah's time did not have the
spirit for obeying God's laws. We as modern Christians do have the spirit-the Holy Spirit. Worship is the heart of both
the Holy Spirit and God's Word. Worship is the driving message of both the Holy
Spirit and God's Word. Worship is the only thing God seeks from us. We must be
open to the work of Christ in our lives. We must be open to God's redemption
and His grace. We must be willing and able to gain perception of the truth of
Christ by studying His Word. We must show courage and boldness when we spread
the Good News. We must continue to live out the gospel until it bears fruit in
us and in those we tell the Good News to.
We
are surrounded by things that can be shaken up and taken away, but we also have
things that cannot be shaken or taken away. One thing that can't be taken away
from us is our fellowship with fellow believers. That fellowship is rooted in
our faith in Jesus. God's Word and the things he gives us can never be taken
away. Gods’ promises us an unshakeable kingdom because he is unshakeable.
Nothing and no one can stand in his way. Nothing and no one can conquer or
divide his kingdom. We can't control it, so the best thing for us to do is let
the Holy Spirit control our lives and transform us.
If
we refuse to believe in God, we will face the same fate as Israel did in
Jeremiah's time. That is why we must remain firm in our faith, especially in
times of trial. Even when the trials are caused by God, we must remain
steadfast in faith. If we seem self-sufficient in God's eyes, he might allow
enough trouble for us to realize our need for him.
When
we worship God, we do not have to
follow an ironclad, inflexible set of rules. The synagogue leader in Luke
13:10-17 was obsessed with obeying
rules; specifically, the rule about keeping the Sabbath holy. The Jews,
especially the Pharisees, were so obsessed with keeping God’s Commandments that
they came up with all sorts of rules that governed what the people could and
could not do on the Sabbath. Included in the list of things that could not be
done on the Sabbath was healing a sick person. Healing was considered work, and
a good Jew could not do that type of work.
The
Law did allow animals to be untied for a few hours on the Sabbath, but the
synagogue leader objected to Jesus’ freeing of the bent woman from her bondage
on the Sabbath. In other words, in the mind of the synagogue leader, freeing
animals from bondage was more important than freeing people from the bondage of
sin and illness. By healing the woman on the Sabbath, Jesus’ actions are
considered to be within the intention or spirit of the Sabbath, and they
enhance Sabbath observance instead of destroying it.
Jesus
was not breaking any of the Old Testament commandments. In the eyes of the
Jews, especially the synagogue leader, Jesus broke the commandments and rules
they had set to make certain that they did not break any of the commandments,
especially the one about keeping the Sabbath holy. These laws allowed the
Pharisees to avoid love’s obligations. Jesus argued that people’s needs are
more important that rules and regulations. We are encouraged to take time to
help others, even if it means compromising our public image.
By
concentrating on religion and the laws, the Jews lost the ability to reach God.
God had to reach man by coming to earth in the form of Jesus Christ. He
emphasized that in order to have a relationship with God only two rules had to
be obeyed-love God and love people. We are called upon to obey the same two
laws if we want to have a relationship with God. We will have restored our
relationship with God if we love people and show it by doing things in faith such
as comforting the less fortunate (even on the Sabbath). By doing these holy
things, we will be obeying the commandment to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it
holy”.
Jesus
set us free from the Law. After all, he replaced the Ten Commandments and all
of the Pharisees' subsequent rules with the two Great Commandments-love God and
love people. Freedom from the Law does not mean freedom from responsibility. We
are still responsible for showing compassion just like Jesus showed compassion
for the crippled woman.
So
how can we set our minds and hearts on God's kingdom? First, we have to
understand the true nature of God's kingdom and God's grace. Second, we must
take time to pray and learn the songs of saints past and present which
celebrate God's kingdom and our place in it. Finally, we must take advantage of
every chance we have to tell others about the glories of God's kingdom.
This
is easier said than done at times. Many times we are in such a hurry, even on
Sundays, that we don't pause in our hearts and look upward into God's face. We
can start by doing these things:
1. When we come
into the church, we can find a seat and immediately stop and offer God a prayer
reflecting how much we love and adore him.
2. Next, we can
preview some of the hymns to prepare our hearts to ascribe these hymns to God.
3. During the
sermon, we can ask God to speak to our hearts through His Word, instead of
using the time to catch up on our sleep, read the prayer books or the bulletin
or rest our heads in our hands. We can also bring our Bibles, open them and
follow along during the sermon. We can also bring a pen and paper with us so we
can take notes during the sermon. I for one would be pleased to provide copies
of my sermons on request, or those of you who have access to the Internet can
see them on my blog.
We
will know when we are operating in the power of the Holy Spirit when the Holy
Spirit reigns. When the Holy Spirit reigns, believers will relate to each
other, to God and to the world. The kingdom has started now in God's church,
his people, those in whom God's will is cherished and obeyed. Our worship must
be filled with awe that the holy God of Israel is also the lowly God in Jesus
who has redeemed us and made us to be a holy people unto himself.
When
we follow Jesus, we believe that God has something better for us and all of
humanity. That is the message of the readings we heard this morning from
Jeremiah, Hebrews and Luke. We are to spread that message in our world by
witnessing to God's love for us. We are to go forth into the world and set it
free from the bondage of sin and free it by the dream of God for all of us.
Thanks be to
God AMEN
Bibliography
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