Luke 7:1-10, Galatians 1:1-12 Long-Distance Healing Comes by Faith

It was known as the Roaring Twenties. It was a time very much like to the Soaring Nineties. Morals were being turned upside down. The Stock Market was rocketing to new heights. "Let the good times roll" was the national motto.

           

Perhaps the biggest name of the decade was a man named Babe Ruth. He had single-handedly put baseball on the map and made it the national pastime. The major league owners realized they needed a Commissioner to oversee the game of baseball and preserve its integrity. In 1921 they appointed as their first Commissioner, Judge Kennesaw "Mountain" Landis. Before Judge Landis took the position, he made one huge non-negotiable demand. It had nothing to do with money, nothing to do with benefits, nothing to do even with power in the raw sense of the term. This was his demand.

He wanted a moral covenant with ownership to steadfastly support the Commissioner, by which they say, "We will stand behind you come thick or thin, regardless of what you do, regardless of what our individual personal feelings might be about its rightness or wrongness. We have given you a tough job, and we will stand behind you and we will support you. There will be no knives in your back". What Judge Landis demanded in one word was - authority.  

The Gospel reading about Jesus and the centurion, which we heard from Luke's Gospel earlier in this service, is a story about hope, especially the hope we have when we submit to the ultimate authority of God. Death is the opposite of hope. Hope energizes us to  explore every possibility, just like the centurion's hope in Jesus led him to seek out the Great Physician and Healer for his sick servant. Death and despair pull their victims under in a sea without hope, but hope allows us to persevere in times of suffering and despair, just like hope recently allowed a woman to survive for 17 days in the rubble of the collapsed clothing factory in Bangladesh.

Slavery in Jesus' time was nothing like the slavery in 17th and 18th century England and America. Some masters did treat their slaves like animals, but most slaves were treated with respect and dignity. In addition, while most centurions were hated, the centurion in today's Gospel reading had earned the respect of the Jewish community. The centurion did not treat the Jews with kindness to earn their respect. As an officer of an occupying army, he was part of the enemy. He had the power to control the Jews. Instead, he was kind to them. He was concerned about God's opinion of him as well as the recovery of his servant. He was inspired to act out of faith in Jesus. It is not surprising therefore that the Jewish leaders approached Jesus on the centurion's behalf.

The centurion did not go to Jesus himself for several reasons. First, the centurion was a Gentile, and at that time Jews and Gentiles did not get along. The Jews did not realize that the Gospel message was for everyone-both Jews and Gentiles. Even Gentiles can have a faith that is acceptable to Jesus. Second, the centurion did not feel worthy to receive Jesus' kindness. In addition, the centurion knew that if Jesus came into contact with a Gentile, Jesus would have to undergo a purifying ritual under Jewish law, since Gentiles were considered to be unclean people.

The main reason why the centurion did not go to Jesus himself is because the centurion knew that he did not have to be in the presence of Jesus to receive his miracle. He asked for the miracle of healing in pure, honest, humble faith. He had confidence in Jesus' healing power. Jesus was encouraged by the centurion's humility and confidence. Just like the centurion had the authority from his commanding officers to command those who served under him by telling them what to do and where to go, Jesus has the authority from God that he can use simply by saying the word.

During the 1770s Dr. William Withering was one of the best doctors in England. As a scientist, he didn't believe in ghosts. Yet one day while he strolled through the village fair, he thought he saw a ghost . . . and then another one . . . and still another. He stared in amazement. All of these people had been very ill with a disease called dropsy which caused liquid to form around a person's heart, leading to a heart attack. He had worried about them. But as good a doctor as he was, he had no way to treat them, and when they left his office, he was sure he'd never see any of them alive again. But there they were, and they all looked very healthy. They told him about a wonderful "witch woman" who lived in a nearby wood. This "good witch," they said, had prepared a special brew which, they insisted, had cured them.

Dr. Withering was a very good scientist who knew the importance of investigating anything that sounded like a cure. He also knew that many remedies and medicines used by midwives and women healers (who were often called witches) could help cure illness and heal injuries. So, he decided to visit the "witch" and see what brews she was concocting. Sure enough, when he got to her cottage, she was busy making up her dropsy remedy out of some twenty plants, roots, berries, and herbs. Dr. Withering asked for samples of many of her plants to study and after several tests, he decided that the most powerful plant in her brew had to be the herb foxglove. He thought, "What if there was something in the foxglove that cured the dropsy? And if so, what is it?"

Thanks to the "good witch," who was a healer, Dr. Withering was able to use his knowledge of botany to isolate the ingredient in the foxglove plant called digitalis, which may well be one of the most important natural products ever discovered for medicinal use. Today, digitalis in different forms is still a lifesaver used by doctors all over the world to help people with heart problems.

Many doctors would have looked with scorn on this crude form of "alternative medicine" performed by these witch doctors, but Dr. Withering was a humble man in the best sense of the word. He had an open mind. He was willing to accept their help.

Is there any quality more appealing in a man or woman than genuine humility? I'm not talking about that odious form of low self-esteem that causes persons to become doormats and allow others to walk all over them. Certainly the centurion was no doormat. But he recognized Jesus' power and he was humble enough to ask Jesus' help. If the centurion had been a proud man, he might have never sent for Jesus. But he was a caring man, he was a man who respected the beliefs of others, he was a humble man. But there is one final thing that must be said about this centurion: he was a man of faith.

The centurion's faith was simple but not simplistic. He understood that all authority comes from God. He was familiar with the chain of command because of his military background. Orders are received and passed to others, both to those of similar rank and those of lower ranks. The centurion understood that God's own power rested in Jesus, and that this power could flow through the centurion's own faith to heal his servant. The centurion is a model for all of us. He wanted to be a channel that was open at both ends---open to receive power from God and eager to let that power flow to others.

Faith is about the authority that will decide the outcome of our situations. We must not allow the storms of life to blur our view of the situation. The situation may seem hopeless and it might hurt us, but the storm can be the chance for us to see God's vision for our lives. Faith begins when we make the choice to suspend our disbelief and open the door to what might be and what has never been before. Amazing faith believes that only Jesus can decide the outcome of our situation. When we have faith, other people will realize that we are real and will seek us out during the storms of life, just like the centurion sought out Jesus. Jesus saves us from our sins and sets us free from being slaves in this world, just like the centurion's slave was set free from the grip of sickness and death.

The centurion understood who Jesus was and what Jesus could do for him. The centurion did not know that he was talking to the Creator of the universe, but he did know that Jesus was more than a man, a carpenter or a good teacher. He saw Jesus for what Jesus really was, and his great faith came from that insight. Because he saw Jesus as the absolute authority, he knew that Jesus' words were absolutely authoritative. He knew that Jesus did not have to be physically present for his servant to be healed.

Just like the centurion was educated by God through the suffering of his servant, we must also allow God to educate us through trials. It is through trials that faith is exercised and developed. If we do not allow our physical bodies to get physical exercise, they will get flabby and useless. Similarly, we must allow our faith to be exercised and developed more and more through the exercise called life's trials.

Faith does not mean that we do not see the future clearly. It is a relationship with God, and because of that relationship we have trust. Faith has been described as trusting God and his power. Some prayers that appear to us to go unanswered are simply times where God has lovingly overruled our wishes. He knows that what we have asked for is not the best for us. In other cases our timing is not his timing, he has an even greater purpose in mind for us. We must remember that in Luke 22:42 even Jesus prayed to God, "Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours"

The Gospel reading ends with another unusual thing. Jesus healed the centurion's slave without saying a word. He did something beyond what the centurion suggested. Jesus didn't go, he didn't touch the servant, he didn't offer a public prayer, he didn't do anything outwardly. He just healed him, plain and simple. It was truly a miracle. We don't know how he did it, but we do know why he did it. He did it to prove beyond a doubt that he is the Son of God with all authority given to him over sickness, disease and death.

Jesus did not expect to find great faith outside of Israel. The Gentiles did not have centuries of interaction with the Jewish God Yahweh to prepare them for Jesus' coming. The centurion, who was a Gentile, expressed the greatest faith found to this point in Luke's Gospel. Jesus' affirmation of the centurion's faith is the main point of the story, not the healing miracle itself.

While Jesus may have begun his ministry with a rather exclusivistic view of God as Israel's sole possession, he soon expanded his vision to behold the amazing work of God throughout the world, even in the Romans, the enemies. What a breakthrough. Up until this time, with the exception of some of the prophets, God was seen as a national deity. The Jews were not alone in this belief. Most nations had their special god or gods. He was theirs exclusively, and devoted his divine powers to gaining victories and prosperity for them.

Very often we as Canadians have had the too-easy assumption that God is on our side, that he always will give us victory and prosperity because we stand for righteousness, truth, and morality. Freedom is God's aim for man, and since Canada extols and celebrates freedom, God will always spare her, or so we sometimes think. But consider the recent scandals involving Canadian senators and their expense claims. Almost every day for the last several weeks we have heard new revelations about the excesses.

If we truly understand who Jesus was, what he did for us on the cross and what he can do for us today, we will not be satisfied with a shallow faith. We will realize that he was the divine Son of God who gave his life for us, and in return we will want to give our lives to him. We will then realize the meaning of Paul's words in Galatians 1:4---"Christ gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age".

There are heroes of faith in every walk of life. There are heroes of faith who work as clerks in grocery stores, stay-at-home parents or in the many roles in our churches ranging from priest to janitor. Each and every one of us can be heroes of faith. All we have to do is invite Jesus to help us make the most of our lives. We have to ask him to do the right things in life and act accordingly. When we do, we will become a hero of the faith, and our lives will be a blessing both to everyone we touch and ourselves as well.

Bibliography

1.      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll's New Testament Insights on Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2012)

2.      Larson, B., & Ogilvie, L.J., The Preacher's Commentary Series: Vol. 26, Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)

3.      Barry, J.D.; Grigoni, M.R.; Heiser, M.S.; Custis, M.; Mangum, D; Whitehead, M.M: Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software)

4.      Pastor Ken Klaus, "Gave Himself". Retrieved from www.lhm.org

5.      Jeannine K. Brown, "Commentary on Luke 7:1-10". Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

6.      D. DeHaan, "Unanswered Prayers". Retrieved from www.rbc.org

7.      Ron Moore, "Fear Not". Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com

8.      Ron Hutchcraft, "The Beautiful Truth". Retrieved from www.hutchcraft.com

9.      Randy Kilgore, "Becoming a Go-To Person". Retrieved from www.rbc.org

10.  Dr. Ray Pritchard, "How Faith Works". Retrieved from www.keepbelieving.com

11.  Jang Ho Park, "A Centurion's Faith". Retrieved from www.thisistoday.net

12.  Billy Graham, "Can You BE a Card-Carrying Christian?" Retrieved from www.arcamax.com

13.  Robert H. Schuller, "Peace Be Yours-Part IV". Retrieved from www.hourofpower.cc

14.  Maurice A. Fetty, "Finding Faith in Unlikely People". Retrieved from www.esermons.com

15.  "Faith Bridges the Gap". Retrieved from www.esermons.com

16.  Alexander H. Wales, "The Chain of Command". Retrieved from www.esermons.com

17.  James Merritt, "The Way Over is Under". Retrieved from www.esermons.com

18.  King Duncan, "Who Says A Good Man is Hard to Find?" Retrieved from www.esermons.com

 

John 16:12-15, Romans 5:1-5 The Heavenly Trio

Most of you have probably heard the legends about St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. One particular legend, which is based on fact, is his understanding of the concept of the Trinity. In his personal confession, he wrote:

For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten, and without beginning…and his son Jesus Christ, who always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time…And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons (and daughters) of one God in the Trinity of Holy Name.

Saint Patrick was once asked to explain how God could be three in one. He reached down and picked up a shamrock. He held it up and asked, "Is it one leaf or three?". The reply was, "It is both one leaf and three", to which Saint Patrick replied, "And so it is with God"

Here's a simple example of how the Trinity works. God loves us and he is hurt when we turn away from him through sin. Jesus came to restore our relationship with God by paying the price for our sins. The Holy Spirit reminds us of everything Jesus and God said and did, and guides us on our daily walk of faith. The Holy Spirit lets us know that we are loved and that we can experience God's love in an immediate, personal and transforming way.  

Why should we even talk about the Trinity, let alone listen to me preach about it? That is a question I asked myself several times during my preparation for this morning's homily. The Trinity is a difficult concept for anyone to grasp, and I remembered the reason why it is so difficult for us to understand when I came across these words which I found in the sermon I preached on Trinity Sunday in 2010. 

In that sermon I mentioned that part of reason why the Trinity is so difficult to understand lies in how the Trinity is presented in John’s Gospel. John wrote his Gospel for an audience that was primarily Greek. The Greeks were leaders in science, thought and philosophy. In other words, Greek society was very intelligent and highly sophisticated, especially in terms of understanding abstract concepts. This is one reason why John’s Gospel is very theological in nature.

I also mentioned that the very complications of the Trinity are designed to bring us closer to God. There is something we need to know. We don’t know everything about God, but we know everything about Him that we need to know. The Scriptures assure us of that. We do not have to understand everything, spiritual or non-spiritual, the minute we become adults and that includes the Trinity. We know enough to save us. God pours out grace upon us, in abundance and consistently, whether we realize it or not. The Holy Spirit helps us and the Church to understand all of what Jesus said, especially what he said about God.

The Trinity is one of the most fascinating aspects of Christian theology, but it is also one of the most controversial. It is a mystery to us because it is a reality that is above our human ability to understand. We can begin to grasp it on our own, but we must really discover it through worship, symbol and faith. In essence, the Trinity is the belief that God is one in essence, but distinct in person. In other words, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are somehow distinct from one another, yet at the same time they are completely united in essence, will and tasks.

There are four good reasons why we need to talk about the Trinity. First, the Trinity is God. All three persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-are the same but different at the same time. Second, the Trinity is the basis of our Christian doctrine. If we eliminate the Trinity, we eliminate the doctrine of one God or we worship a God who can become better or worse or has needs.

Third, the Trinity reveals counterfeit gods. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes and minds to who Jesus really is. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus is both the Son of God and God himself in the flesh. If we hear the Trinity preached regularly, we accept it and can counter the false gods of faith such as Islam, Mormonism or the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Finally, the Trinity is the basis for all human relations. All three members exist in prefect love and harmony, but the Holy Spirit submits to both the Son and the Father, and the Son submits to the Father. They submit to each other, but they are equal.  

The Trinity is not just a New Testament concept. The Holy Spirit was very active in the Old Testament. The Trinity was an active part of creation. People were regenerated in the Old Testament just like they were regenerated in the New Testament, and the only way people can be regenerated is by the influence of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also gifted certain people in the Old Testament and equipped them for specific tasks. For example, kings were anointed with oil, which represented being empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out their duties in a godly way.

The Holy Spirit brings spiritual truth to believers. It calls Scripture to mind, illuminates its meaning and couples itself with experience. The Holy Spirit glorifies God the Son. It vindicates the truth of his teachings and his identity. Unlike the disciples after Jesus ' resurrection and before Pentecost, we are not alone. We always have the Holy Spirit. It convicts the world of sin and changes people's lives.

No one can escape God's wrath by natural means. It can only be done through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It creates a sense of relief in believers, and only then can we start to live. Faith in God leads to peace with God. Peace does not mean tranquility. It means no longer being subject to God's anger because of sin. We can't earn our way out of our sin debt to God because we can never know how much is enough. The process of receiving God's grace through faith is just a start. It transforms us through the working of the Holy Spirit.

If we give ourselves to the Holy Spirit and let him guide us, we will never wander from the faith because he is ever-present. He glorifies Christ in the view of men. He convicts the world of righteousness. He comes to everyone who humbly seeks to know Christ. He intercedes in every area of our lives. He helps us understand God's Word. He convicts us of sin. He speaks the truth of God's Word. He teaches us what Christ taught either by himself or through the disciples.  

In order to approach Scripture, we have to pray first. We have to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and understanding. We sense the Holy Spirit when it comes to us from God. God reveals himself to all of us, but only as much as we can understand with the help of the Holy Spirit. For example, in the reading from John 16:12-15, Jesus knew the disciples couldn't receive more truth because they were concerned with themselves. They could not understand the spiritual truth he wanted to teach them without the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit comes from God and glorifies the relationship between Jesus and God. It translates the words of Jesus for us when we encounter situations where we have to ask ourselves the famous question, "What would Jesus do?" It challenges us to shape our lives according to Jesus' teachings instead of shaping our lives according to the standards of the world.

The Holy Spirit emphasizes sin, righteousness and judgment. Faith in Jesus gives us God's grace and peace. It gives us hope and comforts us when we suffer as expressed in these words from Romans 5:3-4: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope". God pours out his love through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reminds us that God's love is watching over us. Suffering is good not because of the suffering itself, but because of the patience, experience and hope that come from it.

For example, those of you who have been farmers or who have planted gardens know that plants need soil, sun and rain in order to grow. If you take away any one of those ingredients, plants have a harder time growing. It's like the story of a man who toured an orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken. The season was dry and some of the trees were dying because they lacked water. The man who gave the tour then took the visitor to his own orchard where irrigation was used sparingly. He said, "These trees could go without rain for another two weeks. When they were young, I frequently kept water from them. This hardship caused them to send their roots deeper into the soil in search of moisture. Now, my trees have the deepest roots in the area. While others are being scorched by the sun, these are finding moisture at greater depths." Suffering can produce the "roots" we as believers need to survive and thrive in any season of life, but to grow these deep roots we have to plant ourselves in God's Words to find comfort and strength when we suffer.  

We must remember that the Holy Spirit is our guide, not our controller. We keep our ability to choose to follow His leading. As a result, we are always responsible for our actions and our words. The Holy Spirit guides believers into truth, which in turn makes his guidance trustworthy. It helps believers decide what is true and what is false; what is wise and what is foolish; what is best and what is simply okay. When life bombards us, the Holy Spirit will guide us. He will give us that sense of discernment that we need to make both big and small decisions. As we become more sensitive to his guidance, we will worry less and less about the decisions we will make.

The Holy Spirit never speaks on his own. He submits to the Father's authority, so everything he speaks is directly from the Father. This makes sense because the Holy Spirit lives in all of us, and since he has direct access to our minds, he is the perfect candidate for communicating God's will to us.

The Trinity is a mystery, but this does not mean a riddle. Instead, the Trinity is a reality above our human comprehension that we may begin to grasp, but ultimately must know through worship, symbol and faith. In order to understand it, we must live in the light of its implications for our human lives. The relationship that exists among the three divine persons suggests to us that we can know God through our relationships---not only in God’s relationship to us, but to the entire created world.

God is real and we are never alone. We can draw close to him and know that he will provide for our needs because he cares for us. We are never beyond his reach because of the Holy Spirit.  The Father opened the way for us to be in his family. Jesus continually offers his peace so we can experience peace of mind and heart, and the Holy Spirit cultivates the fruit of peace in our lives. As a result of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the God-kind of love dwells, abides and makes its home in our hearts, but it can't be expressed until we yield to the Holy Spirit in fellowship by confessing it and practicing it.

Bibliography

1)      R.C. Sproul, "What was the Role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?". Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com

2)      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll's New Testament Insights on John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)

3)      Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll's New Testament Insights on Romans  (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)

4)      Jared More, "4 Reasons the Trinity Should be Part of Your Preaching". Retrieved from www.sermoncentral.com

5)      Anne Graham Lotz, "Open Your Eyes". Retrieved from angelministries.info@angelministries.org

6)      Charles Spurgeon, "The Holy Spirit-the Great Teacher". Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com

7)      Jamieson, R., Fawcett, A.R., & Brown, D.: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbour, WA: Logos Research Systems Inc.; 1997)

8)      Frederickson, R.L. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Vol. 27: John (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.: 1985)

9)      Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.: 2009)

10)  Dr. Charles Stanley, "A Helper for All Occasions". Retrieved from Crosswalk @crosswalkmail.com

11)  Anne Graham Lotz, "Guided Into a Deeper Level". Retrieved from angelministries.info@angelministries.org

12)  J. Vernon McGee, "How Could I Have Peace of Mind?" Retrieved from Jesus.org@crosswalkmail.com

13)  Craig Condon, "The Three Musketeers-Father, Son and Holy Spirit". Preached at Trinity Anglican Church, Liverpool, NS on Sunday, May 30, 2010

14)  Dr. Harold Sala, "Trouble". Retrieved from www.guidelines.org

15)  Bob Heerspink, "Beyond Enlightenment". Retrieved from www.backtogod.net

16)  Greg Laurie, "It's Covered". Retrieved from Crosswalk @crosswalkmail.com

17)  Dr. Charles Stanley, "Peace With God". Retrieved from Crosswalk @crosswalkmail.com

18)  Exegesis for Romans 5:1-5. Retrieved from www. sermonwriter.com

19)  Lectionary Homiletics, Volume XXV, Number 3 (St. Paul, MN: Luther Seminary; April/May 2013)

John 16:12-15 Our Heavenly GPS Receiver

Good morning boys and girls!

Who can tell me what this is? It's a compass. Can anyone tell me what a compass does?

A compass is a very handy instrument that will help keep you from getting lost. Not only that, it will help you find your way if you do get lost. The compass has four main directions, they are North, South, East and West. The needle of the compass always points North. So, if the needle is pointing in that direction (point to the North) and you want to go South, you would go in the opposite direction from what the needle is pointing. With the needle pointing North, if you want to go East, you would go in that direction (point to the East.) If the needle sometimes pointed North and at other times it pointed to the South, East, or West, you would never be able to use the compass to find your way. You would wander around, hopelessly lost. The compass must always point in the same direction if you are going to use it to guide you.

Can anyone tell me what this is? It's a map. A map can help us to find a place, and if we're travelling a map can show us how to get there, how far away it is, what types of roads we can travel on, etc. A compass and a map are old-fashioned ways to find out where we are and where we want to go. Today, thanks to modern science, we have another way. Can anyone tell me what this is?  

This tool is called a GPS receiver. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. Some people have receivers like this put in their cars to tell them how to get to wherever they want to go. GPS  is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites. When a  GPS receiver is locked on to the signal of at least three satellites , it can track movement and determine the user's position, speed, trip distance, distance to where the user wants to go and much more.

Boys and girls, there is another way we can be guided to where we should go. Can anyone guess what it might be? It's called the Holy Spirit. I'm going to talk about the Holy Spirit with the adults later on this morning, but  I want to tell you that when we don't know what to do or which way to turn, the Holy Spirit always points us in the right direction. We can't trust our feelings or what other people are doing to make important decisions

Jesus promised that God would send the Holy Spirit "to guide us in all truth." That means that the Holy Spirit will help us to understand God's Word which always points us in the right direction. It points us to Jesus who is "the Way, the truth, and the life."

Whenever you don't know which way to turn, you can always turn to God's Word and let the Holy Spirit be your guide.

Dear God, we thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be our guide through life. We know that the Spirit will lead us to Jesus. Give us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to obey the Holy Spirit all the time. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN.

Bibliography

 

1. Garmin Limited, "What is a GPS?". Retrieved from http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/

2. "Our Spiritual Compass". Retrieved from www.sermons4kids.com

 

Matthew 6:24-34 Don’t Worry, Be Happy (Expanded)

A father passed by his son’s bedroom and was astonished to see the bed nicely made up and everything neat and tidy. Then he saw an envelope propped up on the pillow. It was addressed, “Dad”. With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and Mom. I’ve been finding real passion with Joan, and she is so nice. I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes, and the fact that she is so much older than I am. It’s not just her passion, Dad. She really gets me.

Joan says we are going to be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood-just enough for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many children.

Please don’t worry, Dad. I’m 15 and I know how to take care of myself. I’m sure we’ll be back to visit someday so you can get to know your grandchildren.

Your son, Chad

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I’m over at Tommy’s house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that’s in my desk drawer. I love you! Call when it’s safe for me to come home. 

I’m going to take you on a walk down memory lane for a moment. In September of 1988 a gentleman named Bobby McFerrin recorded a song that became a hit for him. That song was titled, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, and it sums up what Jesus is telling us in this morning’s Gospel reading. Part of the song goes something like this:

 Here’s a little song I wrote

You might want to sing it note for note

Don’t worry

Be Happy

In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double

Don’t worry

Be Happy

When you worry your face will frown

That will bring everybody down

Don’t worry

Be happy

What Jesus is saying in Matthew 6:24-34 is that we must put first things first. In other words, we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and we must do this every day. To seek the Kingdom, we must first seek the King.

We must first seek his righteousness. In other words, we are to be seeking God’s character within us, not God’s control over us. It is our job to serve God and God’s job is to supply us with what we need-not the other way around. God will supply us with what we really need is we put our trust in him. We don’t need everything we want, and we don’t want everything we need. God doesn’t give us everything we need.  

People must see the Kingdom in us as we see the Kingdom of God. That is the real mark of a Christian. When ordinary people begin to talk about their faith in Christ, long-lasting results are achieved. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We are all called to be a witness for Christ in our lives. It opens the door, even slightly, for God to do something in the life of the person who hears the story. In order for the message to have integrity, it must first be embodied in our lives. In other words, God must be number one in our lives.

The message of the Gospel about the power of Christ to change a human life is by its very nature controversial, because people just naturally resist change and agents of change. Most of us would rather settle for our old familiar second-best lifestyle than venture with Christ into a far more excellent way of life. We simply don’t like for people to make waves.

But whenever the Spirit of Christ is released in a person’s life or let loose on a congregation, things begin to happen. Broken relationships are healed as reconciliation takes the place of alienation. The fruits of the Spirit such as love, peace, patience and kindness begin to emerge. And people catch fire for the Lord! No one can deny that something is going on. The earth may not quake, a sound like a mighty wind might not be heard, tongues of fire may not appear, and people may not speak in strange languages, but it could be described as a “second Pentecost”. And at times like these you can either respond favourably or negatively to Christ, but you will find it hard to ignore him. There is something about the activity of Christ that causes us to choose sides.  

Jesus’ parable of the rich fool is a good example of what he is trying to tell us in today’s Gospel reading. The rich man kept building bigger and bigger barns, and then he died. He was foolish because he spent all of his time preparing for a future that never came. The future is not God’s creation-it is our imagination. We dream about the future, but God creates today. God is not saying that we should not prepare for the future at all. On the contrary, he is telling us to prepare for a future with him by putting our trust and faith in him, and by letting him work through us to do his work in the world.

The main problem in society today is worry about the future. The problem with worrying is that it is easy to do but so hard to lose. It is a power that controls our lives. Many of the problems we can’t solve instantly can be moved one piece at a time, one day at a time. When worries seem to be overtaking you, let God take over. Trust God to supply our needs and take care of our future. Let faith provide you with a healthy and balanced perspective about life and its demands. Instead of nursing wounds of self-pity, pray for the grace to forgive. Instead of worrying about those for whom we are responsible, ask God to intervene and lift the burden from our shoulders. Instead of thinking creatively about how to bring someone else down, pray creatively how to build them up. We find peace of mind and heart only when we wrap ourselves in something bigger than ourselves. Peace is a by-product of being committed to the Kingdom of God and the resources God gives us for the journey we call life.

We serve only that which we love supremely. We can’t serve both God and man. In other words, a man of the world can’t truly be a religious character. We can be in the world but not of the world only if we trust and serve the Lord. Our existence depends solely on God. We must trust on his wisdom that what he provides for us is truly what we need. Grace is the way to glory, holiness the way to happiness. God has conferred the greatest blessings (Life and the body) so he will be willing to confer the lesser blessings of food, clothing, shelter and other necessities. Those who ask receive, and those who seek find, but not always in the way they expect because God answers prayer in his own time and in his own way.  

Man has three basic, insatiable needs:

1.      To feel significant

2.      To feel secure

3.      To be loved

The best way to meet these needs is to make God number one in our lives. Everything we do and say, day by day, is of importance to him. Only as we love God can we love our spouse, children, neighbours, siblings and friends in a complete way. Man is formed for nobler pursuits than the desire to be rich. He lives for eternity. Those who do not know God WILL be anxious about the future, but those who do know him may surely trust him for the supply of their wants. If our minds are directed to both earthly and heavenly things, we become distracted, confused and darkened. We can’t serve both God and man. Trusting and serving God will prevent worldly anxieties.

In order to trust God to provide for our daily needs, we must value ourselves and forget ourselves and focus on God. God does not tell us not to work. IN fact, he tells us in the Ten Commandments to work six days and rest on the seventh. Those who do not trust God to provide for their needs will not rest in that seventh day. By not worrying about our needs, we are free to serve him, love him and help our fellow man. We have a power stronger than anxiety-the power of God and prayer. We have a peace that outlasts our anxiety and difficulties-the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

God is committed to the gospel of Jesus and to anyone who makes it their first priority. Other than that, we’re on our own. We’ll have to “Fish or cut bait”. God is not obligated to fund our dreams and projects-only his and the ones planted within us through spiritual gifts and divine calling. To strip Christian faith of its unpredictability and risk in order to turn it into a warm velvet limo ride to a perfect world is to destroy it. Those of you who watch the reality program Fear Factor may be disgusted by some of the stunts, but at some lever we all know that getting the rewards of life is dependent on conquering and facing our fears, and that is nowhere more true than in our relationship with Jesus Christ and the kingdom he is intent on bringing to this world. He knows how large our fears are and how puny our faith is.  It honours him when we trust him. Nothing about us surprises him or makes him loves us any less. To always be seeking the kingdom is to live near the outer edge of predictability, where needs are always greater than resources. Empty hands are not hard to fill, especially when they are lifted to heaven.  

We must always ask ourselves the question, “Is my life a gift from God, and if so can I trust God to sustain it?” There is no more basic question, and our lives each give an answer. Once the basic needs are met, is there anything more? Life without an appetite for God is flat and stale. Our good deeds must not loom high in our own minds. They are to be hidden from us. With one’s goodness looming before one’s eyes, one soon comes to feel that they deserve the recognition and admiration of the people. Jesus tells us not to seek this transient reward.

This does not mean that we have no interest in what others think of us. Sometimes we need to hear what those around us are saying, even if we find it unpleasant. Profiting from this praise is not the same as counting such praise as the supreme good. Jesus invites us to seek the true and lasting reward, not the transient and perishable one. That reward is the companionship of God himself. As Jesus said, “Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. It is not in satisfying our craving to have more and more that we have abundant life. No, it is in serving God and loving others as we love ourselves that abundant life is gained and lived. Possessions on earth are not for accumulating, they are for distributing in ways that Christ is honoured and our joy in heaven is increased. When we give (especially when we give so generously that we have to sell something to have anything to give), we show that Christ is our treasure and that we love others more than we love our own security and comfort.

Matthew 6:24-34 Don’t Worry, Be Happy

What do we really need? Our society is based on acquisition of things, especially wealth. We are concerned about what we do not have, especially people who are considered to be “have not”.  Jesus is saying that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to get things, we can’t accumulate more than what God can provide for us. If we are called to our heavenly home by God, what good will earthly goods be? After all, we can’t take them with us. What Jesus is saying in the reading we just heard from Matthew’s Gospel is that we must put first things first. In other words, we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and we must do this every day. To seek the Kingdom, we must first seek the King.

We must first seek his righteousness. In other words, we are to be seeking God’s character within us, not God’s control over us. It is our job to serve God and God’s job is to supply us with what we need-not the other way around. God will supply us with what we really need if we put our trust in him. We don’t need everything we want, and we don’t want everything we need. God doesn’t give us everything we need.  

People must see the Kingdom in us as we see the Kingdom of God. That is the real mark of a Christian. When ordinary people begin to talk about their faith in Christ, long-lasting results are achieved. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. We are all called to be a witness for Christ in our lives. It opens the door, even slightly, for God to do something in the life of the person who hears the story. In order for the message to have integrity, it must first be embodied in our lives. In other words, God must be number one in our lives.

The message of the Gospel about the power of Christ to change a human life is by its very nature controversial, because people just naturally resist change and agents of change. Most of us would rather settle for our old familiar second-best lifestyle than venture with Christ into a far more excellent way of life. We simply don’t like for people to make waves.

But whenever the Spirit of Christ is released in a person’s life or let loose on a congregation, things begin to happen. Broken relationships are healed as reconciliation takes the place of alienation. The fruits of the Spirit such as love, peace, patience and kindness begin to emerge. And people catch fire for the Lord! No one can deny that something is going on. The earth may not quake, a sound like a mighty wind might not be heard, tongues of fire may not appear, and people may not speak in strange languages, but it could be described as a “second Pentecost”. And at times like these you can either respond favourably or negatively to Christ, but you will find it hard to ignore him. There is something about the activity of Christ that causes us to choose sides.  

Jesus’ parable of the rich fool is a good example of what he is trying to tell us in today’s Gospel reading. The rich man kept building bigger and bigger barns, and then he died. He was foolish because he spent all of his time preparing for a future that never came. The future is not God’s creation-it is our imagination. We dream about the future, but God creates today. God is not saying that we should not prepare for the future at all. On the contrary, he is telling us to prepare for a future with him by putting our trust and faith in him, and by letting him work through us to do his work in the world.

The main problem in society today is worry about the future. The problem with worrying is that it is easy to do but so hard to lose. It is a power that controls our lives. Worry is a big problem for our society. Advertising only adds to that worry because it tries to convince us that we really need the newest car, computer, dress, suit, etc. This is really about acceptance, but the only acceptance that should matter to Christians is acceptance by God.

Many of the problems we can’t solve instantly can be moved one piece at a time, one day at a time. When worries seem to be overtaking you, let God take over. Trust God to supply our needs and take care of our future. Let faith provide you with a healthy and balanced perspective about life and its demands. Instead of nursing wounds of self-pity, pray for the grace to forgive. Instead of worrying about those for whom we are responsible, ask God to intervene and lift the burden from our shoulders. Instead of thinking creatively about how to bring someone else down, pray creatively how to build them up. We find peace of mind and heart only when we wrap ourselves in something bigger than ourselves. Peace is a by-product of being committed to the Kingdom of God and the resources God gives us for the journey we call life.

We serve only that which we love supremely. We can’t serve both God and man. In other words, a man of the world can’t truly be a religious character. We can be in the world but not of the world only if we trust and serve the Lord. Our existence depends solely on God. We must trust on his wisdom that what he provides for us is truly what we need. We must obey his instructions and submit to whatever he uses to transform our character, whether it is hardship, suffering or ease. When we make a commitment to become increasingly like Christ, God will take responsibility for providing whatever we need.

Grace is the way to glory, holiness the way to happiness. God has conferred the greatest blessings (Life and the body) so he will be willing to confer the lesser blessings of food, clothing, shelter and other necessities. Those who ask receive, and those who seek find, but not always in the way they expect because God answers prayer in his own time and in his own way.  

Man has three basic, insatiable needs:

1.      To feel significant

2.      To feel secure

3.      To be loved

The best way to meet these needs is to make God number one in our lives. Everything we do and say, day by day, is of importance to him. Only as we love God can we love our spouse, children, neighbours, siblings and friends in a complete way. Man is formed for nobler pursuits than the desire to be rich. He lives for eternity. Those who do not know God WILL be anxious about the future, but those who do know him may surely trust him for the supply of their wants. If our minds are directed to both earthly and heavenly things, we become distracted, confused and darkened. We can’t serve both God and man. Trusting and serving God will prevent worldly anxieties.

In order to trust God to provide for our daily needs, we must value ourselves and forget ourselves and focus on God. God does not tell us not to work. In fact, he tells us in the Ten Commandments to work six days and rest on the seventh. Those who do not trust God to provide for their needs will not rest in that seventh day. By not worrying about our needs, we are free to serve him, love him and help our fellow man. We have a power stronger than anxiety-the power of God and prayer. We have a peace that outlasts our anxiety and difficulties-the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

God is committed to the gospel of Jesus and to anyone who makes it their first priority. Other than that, we’re on our own. We’ll have to “Fish or cut bait”. God is not obligated to fund our dreams and projects-only his and the ones planted within us through spiritual gifts and divine calling. To strip Christian faith of its unpredictability and risk in order to turn it into a warm velvet limo ride to a perfect world is to destroy it. Those of you who watch the reality program Fear Factor may be disgusted by some of the stunts, but at some level we all know that getting the rewards of life is dependent on conquering and facing our fears, and that is nowhere more true than in our relationship with Jesus Christ and the kingdom he is intent on bringing to this world. He knows how large our fears are and how puny our faith is.  It honours him when we trust him. Nothing about us surprises him or makes him loves us any less. To always be seeking the kingdom is to live near the outer edge of predictability, where needs are always greater than resources. Empty hands are not hard to fill, especially when they are lifted to heaven.  

We must always ask ourselves the question, “Is my life a gift from God, and if so can I trust God to sustain it?” There is no more basic question, and our lives each give an answer. Once the basic needs are met, is there anything more? Life without an appetite for God is flat and stale. Our good deeds must not loom high in our own minds. They are to be hidden from us. With one’s goodness looming before one’s eyes, one soon comes to feel that they deserve the recognition and admiration of the people. Jesus tells us not to seek this transient reward.

This does not mean that we have no interest in what others think of us. Sometimes we need to hear what those around us are saying, even if we find it unpleasant. Profiting from this praise is not the same as counting such praise as the supreme good. Jesus invites us to seek the true and lasting reward, not the transient and perishable one. That reward is the companionship of God himself. As Jesus said, “Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. It is not in satisfying our craving to have more and more that we have abundant life. No, it is in serving God and loving others as we love ourselves that abundant life is gained and lived. Possessions on earth are not for accumulating, they are for distributing in ways that Christ is honoured and our joy in heaven is increased. When we give (especially when we give so generously that we have to sell something to have anything to give), we show that Christ is our treasure and that we love others more than we love our own security and comfort.