Sermon: Fixing America, Part 9 — The Opposite of Lying

Intro 

The commandment against lying protects a society’s integrity, provides confidence in the marketplace and steadiness for the economy. The destructive consequences of lying reach into every corner of our nation and our personal lives. 

Goal 

Let’s understand how allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth would fix our country and our own lives. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at sanity, loneliness, the lord of dung, shallow thinking, small mindedness, missing the real deal, Jesus’ family values, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, carelessness with the truth and the opposite of lying. 

Is Sanity Overrated? 

When Olympic athletes spend every waking hour training for gold, few people call them insane. When modern citizens spend an average twenty hours a week in front of a television, few people call them crazy. When people study obsessively and receive degrees with honors, people praise them. However, if we go to church, read our Bibles and talk about God, people say that we are out of our minds. Zeal, it seems is okay, unless it is for an unpopular cause. In Mark 3:20-35 Jesus was described as mad by his own family. If God does exist and if he wants to get to know his creation would that not be the most important activity on the planet for everyone? If that is insanity, then perhaps more of us ought to engage in this glorious madness. Is sanity overrated? 

The Loneliness of Faith 

A seminary professor once said that if your family thinks that you are either out of touch or crazy you might just be a pastor. All Christians who are sincere about their faith may occasionally suffer the loneliness of faith that Jesus also experienced (Mark 3:20-35). Depending on the translation, either his friends or his family thought that he had lost his senses at one point in time. The Greek phrase literally meansthose belonging to him, which is probably family, but could also be friends. Christians can sometimes feel totally alone, even in their own families, as they are ostracized, belittled or otherwise shown contempt. In a faithless world, it ought not be a surprise that the faithful are sometimes looked down upon. While we wait for natural family to come to God, we have a church family. 

Lord of Dung 

The Jews mocked Beelzebub (lord of the flies) with the name Beelzeboul (lord of dung), which is the original word used in Mark 3:20-35. Some Bibles mistranslated this as Beelzebub. Some experts also define Beelzeboul as lord of the temple. The author then explained how the Jews were using this term to mean the prince of demons and later Jesus made it quite clear that they meant Satan. Some scribes accused Jesus of casting out demons by Satanic rather than divine power. Jesus argued as to how unlikely Satan would be to cast out one of his own. He further argued that if he can enter a house belonging to a strong man to plunder it then he is stronger than the owner (Satan) and able to bind him. The unstated conclusion is that Jesus’ strength was from heaven. 

Small-Minded Religion 

Religious leaders who accused Jesus of having a demon were just an ancient example of small-minded religion. Christianity also has its examples. In theology we call it exclusivity, meaning that only those who have a certain exclusive opinion can be included. Everyone else is excluded. Reasons for exclusion seem endless. Clothing, tongues, alcohol, baptisms, days, music, authority and perhaps thousands of other nuances of doctrine are reasons given for doubting the work of the Holy Spirit among others. That was precisely the accusation leveled against Jesus in Mark 3:20-35. Because he did not fit the narrow criteria of mere men, his work was falsely accused of being of Satan. Yet, a third of humanity believes the teachings of Jesus. Dare we exclude those whom God has included? In so doing are we also dangerously close to the unpardonable sin? 

Shallow Thinking 

Political campaigning is almost entirely about the failures of people. Even Christians who know the truth are tempted to take sides, painting one side as good and the other side as evil, when the truth is that all people are fatally flawed. This is Satan’s game and it enters Church politics too. We know that the Church is sometimes the Great Whore of Babylon and sometimes the Bride of Christ, yet we easily fall prey to Satan’s tactics. His game is to expose the weaknesses of human beings, pretending that doing so will protect God’s glory. This is the root of the accusation in Mark 3:20-35. There was a hasty conclusion that because Jesus taught different than accepted traditions his actions must be evil. Such shallow thinking can cause us to miss what Jesus is doing in the world. 

Missing the Real Deal 

How is it that trained religious leaders like the scribes could end up missing the real deal when they were confronted by Jesus (Mark 3:20-35)? How could Jewish religious training have missed such an important issue like the coming of Messiah? Could a Christian education also miss vital truths? Absolutely! Jesus summarized what he expected Christian education to cover in Matthew 28:19-20, teaching our disciples to obey all things that Jesus had commanded his original disciples. When religious education misses or minimizes that vital ingredient it is deficient and produces leaders of the church who are no better than the teachers of the law. Only when Jesus and the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels are made central to our preaching and teaching will we have healthy Christianity. Only then will we not be missing the real deal. 

Jesus' Family Values 

Conservatives define family by a traditional picture. But, the Bible defines family in different manners. For instance, the whole image of a Christian is as an adopted child into God’s family. Anciently, an adopted child had just as many rights to inheritance as a natural born child. It is we who have made preserving historically recent family last names or the vanity of our genetic lineage an idol to be worshiped. And idolatry can hardly be defined as a conservative position. Jesus went one step further and if so-called conservatives really understood what he meant, they would decry him as an extreme liberal. The context of Mark 3:20-35 makes it most likely that Jesus own family were calling him crazy for his religious beliefs. Jesus retorted that those who do God’s will are his family. That's Jesus' family values! 

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit 

When comedians make fun of the phrase Father, Son and Holy Spirit I will cringe. Why? Because blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the one unforgivable sin. Let’s read about the unforgivable sin in its context (Mark 3:20-35). First why did Jesus say this? We can easily answer that question, because it states clearly why. They were saying that Jesus had an unclean spirit, attributing the power of the Holy Spirit to that of the devil. Who were those who said this? They were scribes, teachers of religious law, who should have known better. And so they did not falsely confuse the Holy Spirit with the spirit of evil out of ignorance, but out of malice. We need to note that Jesus did not directly say that they had committed the unpardonable sin, but they certainly were in danger. 

Careless with the Truth 

When Jesus warned against blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, it was a warning to teachers of the law, who were careless with the truth (Mark 3:20-35). It is also a warning to us. We don’t always know all the facts, but are often dogmatic about our opinions. How many of us have held onto an opinion perhaps even for decades, only to find out in later life that we were dead wrong? How we wish we had been more careful about the truth. It takes guts and humility to admit that we don’t quite know all the facts. Dogmatism is often a symptom of ignorance not knowledge, because those who know more are not always so sure of their opinions. Are teachers of the law still rather hasty today and are teachers of grace more cautious with the truth? 

The Opposite of Lying 

Even the most intelligent people and the most highly educated on earth are tempted to lie due to emotional involvement. Science is hampered by tradition just as much as religion. Medicine is hampered by emotional attachment to established ideas just as much as politics. Ideas which challenge our founding institutions face their greatest obstacle, not in intelligence or education, but emotionally vested interests in earthly crowns. In Mark 3:20-35 Jesus faced this obstacle as well with the political-religious establishment around ancient Galilee. Their lie was not caused by lack of intelligence or education, but by the emotional investment in Jewish tradition. Is the truth often lost to Christianity because of our traditions? Are we more interested in protecting our interests than we are in learning from Jesus Christ? Will we lay down our crowns when confronted by the truth? 

Outro 

The spirit of lying is rampant in our society. It affects science, politics, medicine and even the church. Lying is insanity, and causes us to miss out on the real deal. In its extreme it can even lead to blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Let us follow the way, and the truth, and the life, Jesus.

Sermon: Fixing America, Part 7 — Sexual Issues

Intro 

The commandment against adultery is no longer on the books in most countries. We have the sexual revolution and all that comes with it. The consequences of our sexual sins have been very destructive, yet Jesus did not come to condemn us but to save us. 

Goal 

Let’s understand how widespread and hardhearted our society has become towards sexual sins, yet still Jesus’ desire is to save us. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at today’s sexual sins, the consequences and Jesus’ non-judgmental approach. 

Saved from Terrible Consequences 

Jesus (Luke 2:15-21) was so named because he would save people from sin (Matthew 1:20-23). Wrongdoing has consequences both now and forever. Having false gods causes us to rely on things that cannot rescue us from calamity. Idolatry causes people to look in the wrong direction for help. Misusing the name of the Lord causes us to take the only one who can help lightly. Not taking a day of rest causes stress and early death. Dishonoring our parents causes broken families, poverty and crime. Murder destroys families and neighborhoods. Adultery breaks marriages and families, and spreads distrust and disease. Theft takes away the peace and security of our neighborhoods. Bearing false witness fills the land with false advertising and distrust. Coveting causes crime and war. Only Jesus can rescue us from the consequences of our bad decisions. 

Running away from God 

Humanity runs away from God. Do we hate him? Are we ashamed and think that he will want to condemn us for all of the bad things we have done to each other? Is John 3:14-21 saying just the opposite of that? Rather than wanting to condemn the world, God sent Jesus into the world to save it. An example is Jesus’ encounter with a woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8). Those caught up in false religion condemned her. Jesus told them that if any of them was without sin, they ought to cast the first stone. None dared and Jesus said he did not condemn her. Instead of running from God, it is condemnatory religion which we should run from. God and the true religion of Jesus do not exist to condemn but to save. 

What Would Jesus Say? 

We are extremists. We either condemn adulterers, homosexuals, polygamists and cohabiting singles or we approve their actions. Jesus did neither. On one sexual sin, he said that in the beginning it was not so, but due to hardheartedness Moses allowed it. Jesus did not condemn a woman caught in a sexual sin, but told her to sin no more. He did not come to condemn the world (John 3:1-17). It does not mean that Jesus could not condemn the world, or that he will not at the judgment, but that he does not now. We also know that it is also not our business now to judge. So, what would Jesus say to sexual relationships that are different than was intended in the beginning? What would Jesus say to those who miss the sexual ideal? What should we say? 

Outro 

Hardheartedness towards marital partners and right sexual relations has caused us much heartache. The consequences of our sexual sins have been very destructive, yet Jesus did not come to condemn us but to save us.

Sermon: Fixing America, Part 6 — The Opposite of Murder

Intro 

The commandment against murder is a basis of common law in every civilized society, but the spirit of murder is out of control. It operates in business, on the freeway and even in the church to destroy lives and divide. A purpose of the Holy Spirit’s operation in the church it to lead us into all truth and that truth is the opposite of the spirit of murder. It is the spirit of love. 

Goal 

Let’s understand how allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into the greatest truths of all would fix our country and our own lives. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at the opposite of murder, the spirit of love, creating unity and how we can experience Pentecost every day. 

The Opposite of Murder 

More Christians have been murdered for their faith in the past century than in all previous centuries combined. Why is it that those who murder Christians (John 15:26-16:15) think that they are doing God service? Even Christians have been guilty of murdering other Christians. As a Catholic priest once said, the church is sometimes the Whore of Babylon and sometimes the Bride of Christ. The cause of anyone engaging in such evils is that they have not known God. If they had, they would have known that the Christian way is the opposite extreme of murder. At opposite ends of human experience are hatred and murder on one end and love and unity at the other. One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into unifying, loving truth and making it known to us. 

The Spirit of Love 

A spirit of murder encompasses more than just the act of killing itself (John 15:26-16:15). It has nothing to do with the Spirit of God. The spirit of murder expresses itself in hatred and division between Christians. The Holy Spirit guides us in the opposite direction, love and unity. The truth that the Holy Spirit leads us is into is not some picky doctrinal twig, but deeper love for God and neighbor. He testifies about Jesus, because while many teach us to hate Christians who believe different from us, it is Jesus who taught us to love. When many create division within the Christian church over non-essentials, it is Jesus who taught us to strive for unity. The remarkable unity among Christians over the essentials of our faith is a testimony to the Holy Spirit’s work among us. 

Creating Unity 

How can we Christians be unified? We can keep unity by following God’s example expounded in John 15:26-16:15. Here we see the way Father, Son and Holy Spirit act in perfect unity. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. He is not a rebel, who speaks words that divide, but speaks only what he hears. From whom does he hear those words? It is from Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit receives the words that he makes known to us. As we look down through Christian history, perhaps we can see that division comes from politics, lust for power and words of mere human beings. However, there is something that unifies us all, the words of Jesus. When we emphasis the truths that Jesus taught, we become more unified. The Trinity teaches us how perfect unity behaves. 

Daily Pentecost 

Acts 2 was not a usual Pentecost. John 15:26-16:15 describes a Pentecost which occurs every day. The Advocate comes alongside to plead our case as the Accuser gossips about our sins. The Holy Spirit also helps us testify to Jesus in the face of opposition. He puts the world to shame regarding sin, justice and judgment. The opposite of sin is not impossibly perfect law-keeping, but faith. The remedy for sin is faith. The Holy Spirit convicts us that the world’s idea of justice is unjust and causes oppression, inequality and poverty. The Holy Spirit in us judges the world. The Holy Spirit guides us into the truth which is in Christ and nowhere else. Eastern Orthodox Christians call this theosis, growing into union with God. In the west we call it spiritual formation and it is a mystical experience. 

Outro 

The spirit of murder is out of control in the world. It operates in business, on the freeway and even in the church to destroy lives and divide. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and the most truths of all, love and unity. As we follow the Holy Spirit’s lead we experience Pentecost every day.

Sermon: Fixing America, Part 5 — The Opposite of Honor

Intro 

We are smarter than past generations. We think they were all idiots for their traditional marriages and corporal punishment. That’s why our divorce rates are so much higher and our children form gangs, because we are so much smarter — not. 

Goal 

Let’s understand how honoring our father and mother is an answer to fixing America. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at honoring parents, mean mothers, dishonoring parents, how Jesus honored his father by obedience, and his command for us to love each other. 

Honor Parents, Live Long 

Honoring our father and mother was one of the Ten Commandment that came with a promise. The promise was that our days may be long (Exodus 20:12). This is such an important commandment that Paul repeated it in Ephesians 6:1-3, that is may be well with us and we may live long on the earth. What would happen to a society where parents are dishonored, taken for granted, mistreated and spat upon? Would we have a vicious and hateful society much like ours? Jesus introduced us to a relationship with parents that was very different (John 15:9-17). He loved his Father in heaven and obeyed his commandments. Love is something that we normally first experience at home in a mother’s care and in a father’s provision, and if we didn’t, we can still learn it from God. 

Mean Mothers are the Best Mothers 

Our mother was mean. She fed us healthy food when other kids got to eat junk. We only got soft drinks on birthdays while other kids had it all year. Dad called it sugar water. Mom wanted to know where we were all the time and who our friends were. We had to take regular baths and wear clothes that she had made herself while other kids got to wear brand names from the store. She made us do chores, while other kids could play all day. Though none of us are millionaires, we all grew up to have marriages that lasted and have never spent a night in jail. What do we blame for all this? A mother’s love. Our mother was mean. A mother’s love is pure goodness and mean mothers are the best mothers (Ephesians 6:1-3) 

Dishonoring Parents 

An ancient law made capital punishment the penalty for dishonoring parents (Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9). Historians believe that law may not have been enforced very often, but it was perhaps a good deterrent to bad behavior. How bad is dishonoring parents? Isn’t it rather old fashioned to honor our parents? The Bible teaches us to honor parents, the elderly, the king (national leader) and each other. Why? What good does it do to honor people. Dishonoring parents produces an unsafe society with high crime and in society’s basic building block, great family instability. Jesus set an example by honoring his Father in heaven (John 15:9-17). Those who honor parents gain longevity and contribute to a stable society. If we honor our aged parents, when we are aged, perhaps we will have taught our children to honor us. 

Honoring Bad Parents

Must we honor even bad parents? No parent is perfect, but some are really bad. Some verbally or physically abuse their children to such an extent that deep scars remain. What does Jesus require? In John 15:9-17 he taught the general idea that we are to love each other. And for enemies he taught that we should love them too (Matthew 5:43-48). Some of our worst enemies can be family members. Jesus reminded us to pray that God will forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and that if we forgive others their trespasses, our heavenly Father will also forgive us (Matthew 6:9-15). As hard as that may be, one way of honoring our parents is to forgive them. Forgiveness also releases us from an emotional prison. Honoring even bad parents is for our good.

A Love that Gives Life 

Many of us honor our mothers and fathers who gave so much of their lives for us. It is a sad fact when such giving is spurned in favor of a selfish life where career and money come before the love of children. Children are too often an inconvenience to be farmed out to a babysitter school system and day care. Those things have their place and every parent certainly needs a break. However, when the priorities are for self, our children suffer neglect. Yet the love of an unselfish parent can teach us to love each other, just as the love of our heavenly parent teaches us what selflessness is all about (John 15:9-17). A self-love that takes life from others destroys the taker. A love that gives life is the greatest love of all. 

The Love Vine 

Jesus taught about abiding in the vine, then abiding in his love (John 15:9-17). The two ideas are connected by the context. How do we abide in his love? If we keep his commandments we remain in his love. What commandments? His commandment is this: that we love one another as he has loved us. Remaining in the love vine makes us able to bear much fruit. It is such an important command that it is repeated: love each other. How is that love defined? What is the supreme example of such love? Laying down one’s life for one’s friends can be applied in many ways. Death is one way to lay down one’s life. So is living a life of self-sacrifice. It is the kind of love that a parent shows when time is given to a child. 

Obeying Stupid Rules 

Some rules just don’t make sense. Stupid decrees which are a waste of time and resources just incite rebellion and disrespect. It especially makes Christians angry to be judged for ignoring brainless rules made up by bossy control freaks who think they have the right to interfere in private faith. Nobody likes to be shackled by idiotic regulations. Yet there is one rule that makes more sense than any other. If we all obeyed this rule the world would be wonderfully transformed. Those who disobey it are fools because it benefits everyone. That rule is to love each other (John 15:9-17). Sometimes it even makes sense to obey a stupid rule, if by doing so we are showing love to those whose faith is weak and tied to that rule. We show love by not offending a little one. 

True Friendship 

Philadelphia is known as the city of “brotherly love” but that is not the entire meaning of the Greek work philos. John used the word when he recorded the friendship Jesus has with us. The word philos also means someone dearly loved. For example, in John 15:9-17 Jesus stated that if we keep his commands we remain in his love. The principle command that he issued was to love one another. Then he stated that we are his friends if we do what he commands. Sometimes churches fall into squabbles over silly things, perhaps something to do with buildings or music. When churches fight they do not live up to their Christian ideal. Christianity without the love between brethren that Jesus commanded is hardly Christianity at all. When we love one another, we are dearly beloved friends of Jesus. 

Outro 

Jesus honored his father by obedience. We honor our parents in the same way. We also honor our heavenly father by loving each other.

Sermon: Fixing America, Part 4 — The Opposite of Rest

Intro 

We have inherited the Puritan work ethic. Hard work is good, but a lack of rest is not. We have all worked too long without stopping to rest. 

Goal 

Let’s understand how a lack of true rest destroys us and our country and how rest for both body and spirit is an answer to fixing America. 

Sermon Plan 

We will look at rest for our souls, abiding in church, excuses for not, true friends, being pruned by God and the opposite of rest. 

Rest for our Souls 

Jesus encouraged us to abide in him (John 15:1-8). Rest is a dirty word among those who have inherited the Puritan work ethic. Yet, rest was incorporated into the design of the original creation. God took the seventh day and rested, not because he needed to, but because we need to. Some Christians insist on applying the letter of the law to either Saturday or Sunday today, but there is no such command in the Bible for the church. We are no longer under the schoolmaster and so apply the law in spirit. People in some professions must simply take another day of rest for the body. A day of rest is good for body and soul. Abiding in Jesus is not just once a week. Abiding in Jesus, provides a permanent rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30). 

Abiding in Church 

Abiding in Jesus (John 15:1-8) means abiding in church and that can be problematic. We must also abide with people problems. We may not want to, but Jesus wants to be around his people. He knows our sins, but forgives. He knows our silly fights between denominations, but perhaps is not as interested in our picky opinions as he is in grace. Forgiveness and grace are necessary in any human relationships, perhaps even more so in a church setting, where we expect higher standards of conduct. Yet, do we also expect higher standards of grace and forgiveness from ourselves? So then abiding in Christ, means that we also abide with each other. Surprising as it may seem, those who do, live longer and healthier lives than those who cannot abide church, so there must be something to this abiding. 

But the Music is Boring 

There are many reasons why people don’t go to church. “But the music is boring,” may be one excuse. “The preaching is not very exciting,” may be another. Another popular reason is a particular church has political issues, or people are too narrow-minded. If I was a starving person, I would not care what music was playing, or if they only had green beans and no ice cream to eat. And I certainly would not care if the staff did not get along perfectly or what their opinions about picky issues were. Abiding in Jesus means that we stay — no matter what (John 15:1-8). If a church preaches Jesus, that is, not just his name but also what Jesus taught, then that’s a place I want to be. The music, style of preaching, and personal problems are insignificant. 

No True Friends but a Closet full of Shoes 

Today’s world offers many fake substitutes. The Bible calls wealth a delusion because we substitute it for life’s most valuable things, and the best things in life are still free. Perhaps we have witnessed the woman on television with no true friends, but a closet full of shoes. Perhaps we have had a glimpse of the billionaire’s life, filled with material things, but marriages that continue to fail. One of the great blessings of church life is that connection to God and his people (John 15:1-8). If we abide in that connection, we get the best things in life for free. Abiding in church creates a support network of true friendships that stand the test of time and a friendship with Jesus develops a fruitful life that will last for all eternity. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. 

Pruned by God 

We came to Jesus for Sabbath rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30). We decided to stay, abiding with him (John 15:1-8). When we attach ourselves to his vine, we also agree to the terms of the arrangement which include being pruned by God. Vines do not have nerve cells and so there is no pain, but pruning does still include certain minor temporary setbacks, which must be accommodated. In the long run, pruning keeps a vine from going wild and helps it produce a much better grape harvest. It may sound silly, but a vine that is cut off cannot bear any fruit. It is just headed for the fire. Cutting ourselves off from Jesus and connection with the church causes our lives shrivel up. We cast our lives into the fire. Better to stay connected and fruitful. 

The Opposite of Rest 

Getting a promotion in corporate life can mean stress without rest, long hours, few days off and vacations that are cut short. Those with ambition to earn a better income for their families may be saying goodbye to family life. That is too often the experience of those who begin to climb the modern corporate ladder. Success is counted in dollars earned, not in marriages lost. It is counted by corporate titles received, not by family events missed. Those who put job before God and family receive hollow congratulations from employers, but not from where it really counts. Making time for important work at home and resting one day in seven blesses family and country. Those who abide in Christ (John 15:1-8) put God and family ahead of the corporation and find rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30). 

Outro 

God created us to work on a job and around our homes, but he also created a Sabbath rest which applies in spirit even if not the letter, for our bodies and our souls. Let’s rest before overwork destroys us and America.