Malachi 2:17-3:15 "Who's Is It, Really?"

                Now, as we begin today, I want to remind all of you what we have said about the chronology of Malachi’s prophesying in Jerusalem.  Remember that after the book of Malachi ends, then there is a period of some 400 years of prophetic silence from God, ending with John the Baptist.  So, in essence, Malachi is setting the stage for John the Baptist, who in turn sets the stage for Jesus himself.  Now, over the past two Sundays, we’ve looked at how the priests and the people of Israel had so corrupted the spiritual situation there that things were pretty much in complete chaos.  There were offerings and sacrifices that weren’t anywhere near what they ought to be.  There was a welcoming of pagan peoples into the families of Israel.  There was unmerited divorce, which in no way fit the model for divorce that God had given to Israel through Moses (yes, God did allow for divorce in certain cases).  There was a general sense of whatever anyone wanted to do, they did.  Not only, were these types of things taking place, but seemingly everyone was taking part in them.  Not only was everyone taking part in them, but they were getting positive reinforcement from the priests about their behavior.  The people of Israel had so drifted from God that they didn’t even have a clue that the way that they were living their lives was completely the opposite of how God had actually commanded them to live.  They took God’s silence as an indication that they were living as they ought to.  As long as they weren’t being told specifically that they were wrong, they just assumed they were right.  Kind of sounds a bit too familiar doesn’t it.

Now, we’re told in our text that they said, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.”  And they even asked the question “Where is the God of justice?”  Well, God answered their questioning; he answered it in a mighty way that would set the stage for what was to come in about 400 years.  He tells them that he will send his messenger that will prepare the way for him.  Notice that he doesn’t say that he’s sending someone to prepare the way for someone else, but that his messenger was coming to prepare the way for him.  The one who was ultimately to come wasn’t a prophet like Malachi or an angel or any other messenger, but God Himself.  We know from our viewpoint that he’s talking about Jesus, but think for a second how this statement ought to have scared the pants off of Israel.  God was this being who no one could see his face or even say or write his name, and now he’s telling the people that he is coming near them.

Now, God doesn’t just say that he’s coming and everything will be rainbows and sunshine.  No, God, through Malachi, told the people of Israel that when he came that there was going to be a time of cleansing that would not be easy by any means.  The language used here in verses 2 and 3 is that of the process of refining metals.  Now, I’m sure that there are some of you who know the steps to this process, but just in case there are those who don’t know, let me walk you through a rough outline of the process.  First, the raw materials are heated until they melt.  The impurities in the metal separate and rise to the top of the now boiling liquid.  As they rise to the top, they are skimmed off and removed.  Once the impurities are removed, then the remaining liquid can be cooled back down and what you are left with is a pure metal.  The most important step to achieving a pure substance is the removing of impurities.  What distinguishes the quality of metals is how much of the impurities the refiners are able to remove.  It’s a harsh process, but one that must be done.  Well, the coming of God was going to be harsh, but it must be done.  The days of everyone walking around doing whatever they wanted and feeling like they were in right standing with God are to end.  The days of living like Israel while still claiming to be part of God’s people are ending.  God says specifically here that he will judge the sorcerers, adulterers, liars, and the oppressors of the poor, widowed, and orphaned.  God says that those who live lives that are outside of his will, lives in which there is no fear of the Lord, will know quickly that He has come.  The same stands true today.  When someone lives a life that is outside of God’s will and then God finally reveals Himself to them, they know in an instant that they are guilty.  Although, I do fear that there is a growing number of Christians who live doing whatever they want, and yet they are oblivious to God’s commands for their lives.

However, there is a hopeful promise made in the midst of these words.  God reminds us that He doesn’t change and that His promises that He has made with Israel’s fathers, our fathers, do not change either.  Now, we need to take great comfort in the fact that neither God, nor His promises, will ever change.  However, we have to be very quick to realize that it comes with some pointed news as well.  There are many Christians out there today, good, Bible-believing folks, who want to live according to God.  They want to live like the folks that are set before them in Scripture as examples to follow.  These folks just want to live right lives.  However, there’s something missing.    When these folks come across biblical passages about sacrifices, jubilee years, Sabbaths, and other festivals, they quickly gloss over them and say that things are different now.  Well, true, they may be different in terms of the exact objects or actions, but the substance or essence is still there.  We have to be very careful of “modernizing” Scripture and giving it a completely new meaning.  Remember, Scripture is just as applicable today as it has ever been, and it doesn’t need me or you to make it fit in today’s world.  No, it may not tell me what shows my kids are alright to watch, but it does lay out the guidelines for how I am to raise my children.  Bridging the gap between instruction and practice is my job as their father and Amy’s job as their mother, but Scripture doesn’t need to change one bit for this to be accomplished.

You see, even at this time, Israel was a very different people than they were during the time of Moses.  When they left Egypt, they had nothing and virtually all that they had, they had to rely upon God to give them.  Time had passed and their reliance upon God seemed to diminish.  Now, we know that their reliance upon Him hadn’t changed (seeing as He is the source of all that is good), but the people of Israel felt more self-sufficient.  I think that we can very easily relate to the feeling and sentiment in which Israel displays.  We, like Israel, think that the things that we enjoy are ours.  That somehow we actually own all that is in our lives.  You know; “I paid for it,” “It was given to me,” or “I found it.”  Somehow we think that everything that we claim ownership of actually belongs to us.  We quickly forget that God has given us, out of His own free will and not because of anything especially good within us, everything that we have.

As Israel was withholding their firstfruits from God, He reminded them of how they were robbing Him.  The Israelites were confused.  After all, it wasn’t as if anyone was stealing from the temple, and we’ve already said that everyone thought everything was fine since God didn’t reprimand them.  Well, robbing God has many different forms.  You don’t have to steal something in order to rob someone.  If you pay your bills each month, yet the power or the water never gets turned on, then you would say that you’re being robbed.  Well, remembering that everything that we have comes from God and that He commands that we give back to him (and we’re told in verse 10 that that is a whole tithe), we begin to see that not giving God what He commands is the same as taking something from Him.  Well, when we, like Israel, don’t give to God what is rightfully His, then we are robbing from Him.  Not giving what He is “owed” is the equivalent of stealing from God.

Throughout the last few weeks, we’ve made a point of emphasizing that we have to give to God out of our best, and not just what’s left over after the world has had its way with us.  Now, I know that the past few Sundays have maybe come off a little harsh and a bit preachy, but isn’t that what I’m supposed to be doing.  I’m not apologizing for it, but I am letting you know that I am aware of it.  However, we have to, from time-to-time, be hit with the cold hard truth in order to evaluate ourselves properly.  A business that never has a deficit is less likely to examine their practices than a business that seems to always be in the red.  Well, we are always in the red when it comes to keeping in line with God’s will, but we like to think that we’re in the black.  Sometimes we need the wakeup calls and harsh criticisms like Israel got from Malachi.  Sometimes we have to be confronted with the sins in our lives in order to recognize them.  God is beginning the process of refining his people for the coming of the Son.  He’s beginning to re-instill in them the fact that He should be the number one priority in their lives.  For them, that has to begin with giving to Him properly and stopping their robbing of God.  They have to be more concerned with living in accordance with God’s will than doing what they want to do.  And the same holds true for us today.  God is already at work in us today.  The process of shaping us in the image of Christ and making us holy (a process called sanctification) is already underway.  The question that I think we need to ask ourselves at this time (a time right before we remember and celebrate the coming of our Lord) is:  where is my priority?  During the holiday season that is soon to be underway, is my priority on seeing my family, ending the business year strongly, getting all the right gifts, etc., or is it on God?  Is my priority on celebrating the fact that God himself came to earth, taking the form of a servant, only to live a life of complete obedience to the Father and offer himself up as a sacrifice for my sins.  Friends, let the time that we have remaining before the “holiday rush” attacks us be a time in which we put priorities into their proper focus.  Let this be a time in which we remember that God and God alone ought to be our primary goal, our chief end.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Malachi 2:1-16 "Witness Through Works"

                As we continue our very quick look at the book of Malachi, I want to remind you of where we ended things last Sunday.  You see, the majority of the first two chapters of this book is really just one long list of condemnations of both the priests and the people of Jerusalem.  We looked last week at the first fourteen verses and what we ultimately took away from them was that Israel showed great apathy towards God.  They gave to Him the things that they either didn’t care for or didn’t want instead of giving their firstfruits and their best.  We talked about how we have to be very careful ourselves of falling into the trap of allowing the world to dictate our faith.  We have to take steps or measures to make sure that we are giving to God out of our best and our first and not just what is left over after we have given to all the other areas of our lives.

                As we begin looking at chapter two of Malachi, we find a very stern and harsh condemnation of the priests in Jerusalem.  God, speaking through Malachi, tells the priests that not only will He curse them, but that He has already done so.  They were not only failing to honor God, but they were going even further and actually dishonoring Him.  It was one thing for the people to bring the lame animals to sacrifice, but the priests accepting such sacrifices was taking things to an entirely different level.  When I let my kids dress themselves, there is usually some assortment of rubber boots, capes, or mismatched clothes involved.  For them to pick out such clothes is one thing, but for me to throw them in the car are go to school dressed like that is a whole different matter.  Now, that’s not an exact comparison, but you get the picture.  When a person of authority, in this case the priests, allows those under their supervision to get away with lackluster efforts and practices, then the person of authority is at fault even more so than those under his/her supervision.  The priests no longer resemble their ancestor Levi, this obviously referring to how God set apart the tribe of Levi as God’s priests.  The priests no longer resemble the ones who have been entrusted with the task of caring for and keeping pure and holy the places and practices of worship and sacrifice.  Now, I’m not taking any of the blame away from the people of Israel, but it’s pretty easy to see that the corruption and apathy of the priests didn’t help the situation as it pertained to the devotion and commitment of the people to God.  The priests acted in a manner which enabled the people of Israel to continue in their apathy and corruption, which in turn led to a worsening of the spiritual condition of Israel.

                One of the responsibilities that I have to have as a pastor and as the shepherd of this flock, this congregation, is that I have to be willing to make the unpopular statement or to call someone to the carpet when it is necessary or required.  If I’m not willing to do so, then things would begin to degrade within both the church and the lives of my people, and over time there would become a real faith issue within both the church and the people.  Imagine if a pastor found out about some adulterous affair between members of his church and he did and said nothing about it (and I’m not talking about making a scene here).  Well, eventually those types of things spread to either worse behaviors, or to more people.  Well, that’s exactly what happened with Israel.  I’m sure it started out with only a few people bringing a less-than-worthy sacrifice, but they were not admonished as they ought to have been.  Instead of rejecting their offerings as less than adequate, the priests accepted them.  The priests were so lax in their responsibilities that they allow such behavior to continue and over time increase.  The priests allowed all of Israel’s faiths to degrade instead of nurturing them to a healthy status like they ought to have done.  Now, remember, I’m not absolving the people of any wrongdoing, but I’m simply pointing out that the behavior of the priests didn’t help matters.

                After spending a good deal of time on the priests, Malachi turns his attention to the people of Jerusalem in general.  Have we not all one Father?  Has not one God created us?  Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?  It’s not like many of us today go around openly saying that we either dislike God or that we have chosen other things to place above Him.  It’s rare, almost unheard of even, for someone to list their priorities and say something like:  family, friends, job, vacations, and then somewhere down in the low teens list God.  You would never find someone, at least a Christian, who would say this.  When asked, we all give the priorities in the form of the 3 F’s:  Faith, family, and friends, and usually we say it in that order.  However, what order do our actions place our priorities in?  Remember, we said last Sunday that saying that we are going to do something and actually doing it are two totally different things.  Saying that we believe something and actually believing it are different as well.

                In our text today, the men of Israel were taking pagan wives, divorce was running rampant for no reason, and people were pretty much doing whatever they wanted to without any recourse.  What’s even more unsettling is that fact that in verse 13 it seems as if the people of Israel don’t really know why God would be unhappy with their sacrifices.  The fact that they were living immoral lives and inadequately worshipping God was completely lost on them.  Once again, I often fear that our modern state of things mirrors that of Israel during Malachi’s time.  We love God.  I don’t think that there is a person here today that would disagree with that statement.  However, I do fear that our actions, much like that of Israel, would indicate that maybe our commitment isn’t what it ought to be. 

                We all want to please God and we want to do our best in terms of living out our faith, but we allow so many other things to get in the way.  We allow other things in our lives to take precedence and priority over our relationship with Him.  However, we’re very quick to turn to God in times of trouble and to ask why we are being punished.  Now, let me clear one thing up, I’m not saying that our hardships and struggles come about as punishment for things that we have done or not done.  What I’m saying is that we wonder why we aren’t rewarded like we think we ought to be.  Well, Israel was in that same boat.  They wondered why their less than acceptable lives and offerings were not well received by God.  Like many Christians today, they just assumed that the point was that they were giving something to God and that as long as they were doing that then everything was okay.

                Imagine if you will, a man or woman or family that regularly attend church.  Let’s say that that family has been very fortunate in terms of their prosperity; they want for nothing really.  This person or family gives to the church in terms of donations and volunteering every so often.  However, their giving is in no way proportionate to what they have and their volunteering is really more self-serving than that of serving others.  Let’s say that their lives outside of church reflect in no way a close personal relationship with the Lord.  We often see people like this portrayed on TV and in movies.  For example, it’s not uncommon for career criminals to be involved in church and everyone knows what they do, but their faith changes nothing of their lives outside of worship.  Do we really think that this type of person is offering up a pleasing sacrifice to God?  Now, we have to remember that in terms of our sacrificing to God, Jesus Christ has already been offered up as our once-for-all sacrifice; a fact that I am very thankful for because none of us are even remotely capable of offering up a sacrifice that is completely worthy of God.  However, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try or that it doesn’t matter what we do since our sacrifice has already been made.

                We know that we live on this side of Christ.  We know that we live on this side of the cross and the resurrection, but our failures are just as glaring as those of Israel during the time of Malachi.  Malachi points out much of Israel’s failures by talking about their breaking of the covenant of marriage.  However, we don’t want to limit this condemnation strictly to marriage, although we cannot dismiss it from applying to marriage either.  What Malachi is doing here is pointing to one of the many ways in which the people of Israel have defiled the ordinances, statutes, and commands of God.  He’s pointing to one of the ways in which we corrupt a gift and blessing that God has given us today.

                The bottom line of all of this for us today is that our lives are our offerings to God.  We are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.  What that looks like, is both the devotion and commitment to strengthening that relationship that we talked about last Sunday, and our keeping of His statutes in our daily lives as well.  I’ve said numerous times from this very pulpit that the greatest witness that we have to those around us is the way in which we live our lives and conduct ourselves as God’s children.  Our lives are also the greatest gift that we have to offer up to God’s service.  If we take the basic principle of God giving to us and our returning a portion of it back to Him, then it makes complete sense in terms of our living.  God has given us life.  Each of us has had thousands or millions of moments where we could have been plucked from this earth.  Myself, I stand before you a child who was born 9 weeks early, weighing three pounds, having spent the first few months of my life in an incubator, as the only child of parents who had to deal with the tragedy of miscarriage prior to my being born.  I’m someone who has done a lot of dumb things in my life where I’m lucky I didn’t get killed.  I’m sure all of you have similar types of experiences.  God has given us the lives that we have.  It’s really not asking too much for us to give back to Him in the form of Christian service.  God doesn’t call us to spend every waking moment in the context of a worship service.  He gives us our jobs, our recreational activities, and our friends and family as things to enjoy.  What He does command of us, however, is that we conduct ourselves in all of these areas of life, and every other area of life, as children of grace.  He calls all of us to live our lives and conduct ourselves as hearers and receivers of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Shouldn’t our response to all that God has given us and blessed us with be to offer up our lives, and all of it, as a worthy sacrifice?  Should there ever be a part of our lives when we are able to set God aside and live as if He hasn’t called us to be His children?  Let your lives be your worship, your sacrifice to God.  And if you are someone who thinks that they need help in this area, it would be a great privilege and honor for myself and this church to help you along this path.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Malachi 1:1-14 "Don't Just Find Time, Make Time"

Any time I begin a new sermon series, I like to give a little bit of insight as to why I chose the book or texts that I did.  Sometimes there’s a good reason and other times there isn’t.  In being completely honest with you, the biggest challenge for me this time was the time constraint.  As many of you can tell if you’ve walked around many stores today and seen that Christmas decorations are on full display, we’re not that far from Christmas, and in terms of worship, Advent Season.  Now, after Advent has passed, then we’re going to spend some time looking at the 10 Commandments, followed by the book of Acts.  I didn’t want to stop halfway through the commandments and then pick back up in January.  I was afraid that everyone, myself included, would forget everything that had been said.  Then, it came to me; why not do a pre-Advent series?  After all, it’s very likely that many of you haven’t heard too many sermons from the book of Malachi (the final Old Testament book and the last information that we have before the intertestamental period).  So, there’s my reasoning.  It’s probably not that good, but I do think that gaining a sense of what the world was like just prior (relatively) to Christ will help us immensely when we begin our look at the birth of our Savior here in about a month.

               Read Malachi 1:1-14

                Now, I don’t know what everyone’s knowledge of what life was like in the Old Testament is.  So, let me give you a brief timeline as to when Malachi is prophesying in Jerusalem.  In 538 BC, the first exiles are allowed to return home from exile.  After only a few years, in 536, the reconstruction of the temple begins, but it quickly stalls.  The prophets Haggai and Zechariah came in and called Israel to renew their efforts to complete the temple, and eventually it was completed in 516.  However, even though it was built, didn’t mean that the work was done.  Ezra and Nehemiah came in a little later on at different times and worked to rebuild Israel’s spiritual status and the city walls of Jerusalem respectively.  Then, almost 100 years after Israel first returned from exile and began rebuilding the temple, Malachi came onto the scene as a prophet of God.  The biggest problem for Israel during Malachi’s time was apathy.  They had grown lax in their faith and disinterested since the time of prosperity that they thought was at hand had yet to come to them.  They cared nothing for the worship of God and they really only gave it “lip service”, a problem that I think many Christians today can relate to.  Their faiths were in essence part of their daily routine, and nothing more.

                Malachi begins his words to Israel by reminding them of the story of Esau and Jacob that we find in Genesis 25.  However, Malachi isn’t comparing the Lord’s anger with Israel to His anger with Esau.  What Malachi is actually doing is telling the people that they are Jacob (mind you, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel later on in his life); they are the ones whom God has chosen.  He’s reminding the people of Israel that they are set apart, that they are holy; they are different from all other people groups because they have been specifically chosen by God Himself.  They are the ones that God looks upon and calls “MY people.”  However, this does not make them immune to straying from the will of their Father; they are rejecting him even though they have been chosen.

                Malachi goes on in this first chapter to talk about the poor offerings that they are giving to God.  Instead of bringing animals that were strong and fit, or at the very least healthy, for sacrifice the people of Israel were bringing their diseased, crippled, blind, and in some cases dying animals for sacrifice.  They were only giving to God the things that they didn’t want in the first place.  They weren’t giving to God out of their firstfruits, but out of their excess.  This is very similar to an often deadly (in terms of spiritual health) habit that we have in our world today, and I’m not talking about our giving or donations, although that is many times the case as well.  Each and every one of us is busy.  There’s almost no way to escape it.  Heck, I’ve got three different calendars that I use to keep myself organized that are filled with appointments, dates, practices, meetings, and events that I have to be at or that I have to get my kids to.  There are literally days in which Amy and I see each other at 6:30 am when she leaves for work and then we don’t see each other again until dinner or even later, sometimes not at all.  Sometimes, I get exhausted just thinking about all of the things I have to do.  However, I have to remind myself many times of a few important things.  The first is that many of these things are things I chose.  They’re not things that have to be done but things I wanted to do.  The second thing is that many of them are temporary.  I won’t always have the responsibility of dropping off and picking up my kids from school.  I need to take time and enjoy what I have and not see everything as a bothersome chore.  The third thing, and this is the most crucial, is that I have to remember my priorities.  When I’m running all over the place and hurrying from one activity to the next, what about my faith?  Am I setting apart time each day to work on my relationship with God, or am I letting the world around me dictate what type of relationship I have with the Lord?  You see, it’s all well and good to squeeze in a quick look at Scripture when we’re waiting for our oil to get changed or sitting in a doctor’s office, but is that giving our firstfruits to God, or just what we can spare?  And don’t get me wrong, when I have a free moment, I’m very quick to pull out my phone and start reading my Bible, but that ought to be in addition my daily devotion and prayer.

                The nation of Israel was giving to God what it either had left over or what it didn’t want, are we doing the same?  Even the priests, Malachi says, feel like they are burdened and bothered by the work that they have to do.  If that’s the priests’ mindset, I can’t even imagine what the people must have felt towards worship.  I can only imagine what your opinions of worship would be if I walked around all the time talking about how awful worship was and how it was such a worthless endeavor.  Can you fathom a pastor talking about how much worship got in the way of everything else?  No, because worship of God ought to be what is primary in the eyes of the Christian, especially the pastor.  Now, if you happen to still feel that way, then maybe you and I should have a little talk after the service today.  However, what I want us all to think about is how the words of Malachi, in the midst of an attempt to rekindle the flames of devotion and worship that once burned bright within Israel but now only flicker every once in a while, apply to us today.  You see, as I said earlier, I don’t think that we live in a time that is all too different from that of Malachi.  We’ve allowed our devotion or commitment to worship to be aimed at other things.  We’ve allowed our passion for athletic events to surpass that of worship, and I’m not just talking about church attendance here.  We’ve allowed the structure of our weekend to cause us to think, “If only I didn’t have church on Sunday morning, then I could…”  We’ve allowed our time spent with God to be taken out of what we can spare instead of dedicating time to Him daily.  And don’t get me wrong, I’m just as guilty of these things as anyone else. 

                I want you to hear again what Malachi says in verse 14, “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.  For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”  Those who give only what they are willing to spare are called “cheats.”  Modern context aside, the sacrifice of the fittest male livestock was the highest form of offering that could be given during this time.  To offer up a strong male and then present a crippled animal was not keeping of one’s commitment.  When we became Christians and we promised and vowed to give all that we are to the glory of God and to live for Him, didn’t we vow to bring the best of our flock, the best of our lives to Him.  When you all joined with my family in pledging before God that you would help Amy and I in raising lil’ Bert in the Lord, didn’t we all dedicate his life to the Lord, agreeing to nurture him, and set a godly example for him to follow?  Well, what are we doing when we only offer up to God the parts of our lives that are left over and unwanted?  What are we teaching those around us about what it means to be a Christian when our faith is something that we can set aside at a moment’s notice and act as if it’s not a part of who we are, much less all that we are?  We mirror Israel in our disinterest of worship having not received the prosperity that we thought would be a reality by now.  Somehow, a lack of wealth (in whatever areas that may be defined) has caused us to be disinterested, or at the very least, slightly separated in our commitment to God.  Now, I don’t mean that we say that we won’t worship until God has blessed us with some reward, but we often do set God aside in pursuit of earthly things.

                The question now becomes what to do about it.  Well, we’re going to answer part of it today, and we’re going to keep answering it over the next three Sundays.  For today, let me offer up these suggestions.  The first is to set aside a time for the Lord each day.  Some of you may already do this and my advice to you is to keep it up.  Set aside a time that every day you will offer prayer (even a quick one) and read at least some verse(s) of Scripture.  The second suggestion is to take a look at your life and try and figure out the things that you are placing before God or even close to God in terms of priority.  Now, this one can be a bit tricky, because many times we don’t even realize it, but it must be done.  When we find out what those things are, then we have to work at keeping them in their proper place.  And the final suggestion is to find someone, a spouse, sibling, friend, child, etc., who will help keep you accountable.  Find someone to talk to about your time with God.  Find someone who will take part in a daily reading with you.  Just like a jogging partner or a personal trainer, sometimes we need someone pushing us from the outside.  Friends, we run the risk of looking evermore like the Israelites that let their faith become devoid of emotion.  The only way that we are ever going to get back to where we need to be, is to start taking action against those things in our lives that are pulling us away from our Maker.  Let today be the day that you decide that is not going to happen.  Let today be the day in which you commit or recommit everything you have to the kingdom of heaven.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

James 2:14-26 "Faith & Works"

                The final text for our series on stewardship of self comes to us from one of the most debated texts in all of Scripture.  James 2 has been the battleground for the age-old argument of faith vs. works.  Now, we’ve said in various studies and discussions that good works are the proper response to our right faith in Christ, but I don’t want you to fall into the temptation of just saying that you already know where we’re going and thus there’s no reason to wrestle with the text that is before us.  I want each of us to spend some time taking in God’s Word written here by James and examining our own faiths as we try and determine if we are actually living a salvation by faith life or a salvation by works life.  Notice that I didn’t say whether we believe in one or the other, but how we are actually living.  It’s one thing to say something, and an entirely different thing to put it into practice.

                Our text begins with James asking, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?”  After giving some examples of faith without works, he concludes his opening remarks by saying, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.”  Now, for some reason, this text has been used to promote the concept of good works and to say that they are in some way equal to or greater than faith in Christ; it’s used to promote the notion that we somehow have something to do with our salvation.  While good works ought to be promoted, encouraged, and not overlooked; unfortunately, too many have stretched these verses beyond their meaning and caused them to say something that they do not.  Remember, James, Jesus’ earthly brother, the writer of this epistle, was a very faithful man.  He was a man who trusted in God and fully claimed Jesus as the Lord.  So, when we read the words of James, we have to remember the larger context that is at work here.  This isn’t a man who is simply a moral person who doesn’t hold a high view of faith in Christ.  This is a man who is a very faithful believer in Jesus Christ who is calling for something more than just faith, or at the very least a mere profession of faith.  If we try and separate James’ faith from his ideas about good works, then we have missed the actual meaning of the text.

                What James is trying to get across to his audience here is the notion that faith and works are intertwined.  That notion is something that honestly, is sometimes overlooked in our world today.  In our Reformed traditional, we boldly proclaim that salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  Now, I’m not differing or straying from that statement in the least, but it has caused a bit of a problem.  You see, this statement was taken from Ephesians 2:8-9 as a battle cry of sorts around the time of the Reformation, which finds its beginnings in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of All Saints Church in Wittenberg.  Well, have you ever told a story and then after some time has passed the story makes its way back to you but it’s changed some or the understanding about the story isn’t quite the same?  Well, that is kind of the case here with the concept of saved by grace through faith in Christ.  You see, this statement hasn’t changed in terms of its truth, but it has changed in terms of what it looks like in today’s world.  Unfortunately the sentiments behind this statement and the understanding of how it actually applies have been used more as an excuse to do whatever we want instead of a promoting of how great and powerful our faith in Christ truly is.

                Now, I’m not the type of Christian who gets caught up in outward appearances.  There are some that do and that’s fine, I have no issue with the person who acts in such a manner.  I have no problem with the Christian who removes all habits and behavior that could even slightly be perceived as sinful.  I may view them as going overboard and they may view me as being too lax about my faith, but I would hope that we could both see each other as two people who are living for God.  However, I am very careful to constantly ask myself whether my actions are a.)sinful, b.)causing someone else to sin, c.)destructive to God’s kingdom, or d.)having a negative impact on my Christian witness.  If any of these answers are yes, then I am in need of a change so that my actions or works are not hindering the spread of the gospel.  However, not all Christians ask themselves such questions.  We live in a world where many profess with their mouths and not with their hearts, hands, feet, or any other part of their bodies.  They live immoral lives with no evidence of true saving faith and yet any time they are questioned or opposed about their faith in Christ, they’re very quick to defend themselves with statements that reflect the notion that we are indeed saved by faith alone and not works.  Some of the more common statements we hear are:  “Well, it’s a personal matter and only God knows what’s in my heart.”  “It’s between me and God.”  “It’s not what we do but what we believe.”  I hear these statements, and while there is a great deal of truth to each of them, there’s great shame in them as well.  You see, if the only evidence that someone has that we’re a Christian is what we say we believe, then is it really a true saving faith?  In our text, James answered this question by saying, “You believe that God is one; you do well.  Even the demons believe—and shudder!” 

                Even demons, those who explicitly serve the enemy, they believe in God and in Jesus as the Messiah as well.  However, theirs is only an intellectual admission.  They acknowledge God, but there are no good works that flow forth from them and from their belief in God.  We would never say that such a belief in God is adequate for salvation, but that’s kind of what we do.  When we say that we have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and that his death and resurrection have saved us but our lives don’t reflect such beliefs, how are we any different from the demons.  What’s the difference between saying that we have faith and simply believing or acknowledging God’s existence if neither produces any good works or holy fruit as Matthew Henry puts it?  I don’t really think there’s as much of a difference there as we sometimes think.  The only real difference is that one wording seems a little more forgiving than the other.  To further convey Henry’s thoughts on a faith professed only with the mouth, he says, “A bare profession may gain the good opinion of pious people; and it may procure, in some cases, worldly good things; but what profit will it be, for any to gain the whole world, and to lose their souls?  Can this faith save him?” 

                Now, we have to be very careful of the other side of the coin too.  We have to be careful to not look upon someone who displays great works and who has high moral character and think without a doubt that their faith and life is to be emulated.  I have known many good, honest people who live their lives seeking nothing but the good of others, yet the gospel has not impacted them in any way.  Some folks are just good people, but have not come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Now, there are some out there who will say about these folks something along the lines of, “Well, as long as you’re a good person, I think that’s all that counts.”  While I do agree that being a good person (whatever that looks like) is desirable, I want to shedding tears almost every time I hear this statement.  Back when we were walking through John’s gospel, we came across John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  Now, how are we to take this statement made by Jesus in John’s gospel and apply it to the person who thinks that doing what’s right is really all that matters.  Well the answer is simple, faith is what matters.  Faith is the means by which we are saved and faith alone. 

                James’ words here are not an argument for good works being an alternate route to salvation, but showing that a right faith and an understanding of that faith produces good works.  He’s not saying that faith is nothing apart from works, but that if our faith doesn’t stir us to action, then is it really a saving faith or is it a dead faith.  If the good news of our salvation is something that we can hear about or think about and it not affect us in any way or cause us to want to respond with doing good things for God’s kingdom, then I’m afraid that the message hasn’t been received. 

                As we’ve taken time over the past month to look at our responsibilities as faithful stewards of all that God has given us, we’ve seen many different things.  And I want to try and sum up all of these past four Sundays into this one concept or idea.  A right faith and love for God is a truly great gift.  However, it is a gift that comes with a fairly weighty burden, but who said that a burden always has to be a bad thing.  I have a burden to provide for my family because I love them.  I have a burden to care for the needs of my congregation because I love you.  And each of you have similar burdens in your lives for your friends and family.  We all have a burden to see the kingdom of God spread across this earth because we love not only God, but we love all of his children as well.  Friends, our being faith stewards of God’s graces is not about a vast biblical knowledge, it’s not about adhering to strict laws in order to gain favor, it’s about our responding to the wonderful news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ by going out into the world and seek the lost and serving in any way we can.  I know that there are great things on the horizon for God’s kingdom in the coming year and I know that there are great things ahead for this particular church as well.  Let me challenge each of you begin today seeking ways in which you can serve God more.  Let this be a red letter day in the life of First Presbyterian Church, and a red letter day in your life as well.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

Matthew 23:23-24 "Proper Focus"

                Since we’re jumping right into the middle of Matthew’s gospel today as we continue our look at being faithful stewards with what we have to offer, I want to take a second and give some clarity to where we are in the sequence of events.  Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He has already entered the city on the back of a donkey and been greeted by the multitudes that lined the street.  He has already cleansed the temple and driven out those who are conducting themselves corruptly within its walls.  He has taught for quite some time about the kingdom of heaven and how we are to conduct ourselves as God’s children.  He has already had some disagreements with the temple personnel and the religious leaders of Jerusalem.  That being the case, the Pharisees have already been working to try and find some reason that Jesus should be discredited, or even found to be a heretic, so that he may be arrested.  Now, in the midst of somewhat of a strife between Jesus and the religious leaders of Jerusalem, Jesus goes into a long discourse about what he sees currently in Jerusalem and what is to come.  In the midst of that is where we find our text for today, Jesus’ warning against and condemnation of the religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees.

                Now, we’re not going to spend time talking about each of the issues that Jesus raises against the Pharisees here, commonly known as the “Seven Woes.”  Beginning in verse 13, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for seven things that they had been doing corruptly or incorrectly.  He condemns them for focusing upon their laws and not the will of God, for caring more about earthly things than those of the divine, for worrying more about tradition than worship or obeying God, for neglecting the things that really matter, for only focusing on outward appearances, and covering sins with the appearance of being spiritual.  In essence, Jesus condemns these leaders for being more concerned with themselves and the world that they are in than with God’s kingdom.  Now, like I said, I’m not going to deal with each of these offenses this morning, but each one of them would take quite some time to adequately flush out.  No, what I am going to do today, as we continue our stewardship series, is to focus upon the “woe” that we find in verses 23 and 24.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocites!  For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faithfulness.  These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.  You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.”

                I think that these verses so precisely sum up the thought that underlines our stewardship series this year.  You see, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees about the fact that it’s not exactly about perfect adherence to the law; that is the Pharisaic law.  He was telling them that it’s great that they gave their tithe and that they expected that from everyone else, but that’s not the full extent of it.  The goal of Christian leader ought not to stop at proper giving.  Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be more proud of this church as her pastor for the way in which we responded to our look at biblical stewardship since last year.  I mean, erasing a nearly $20,000 budgetary deficit in only twelve month is remarkable, but like I said last Sunday, that’s not the extent of it.  It’s not about whether or not we reach certain financial goals or whether or not we’re adhering to a strict principle of dedicating 10% to the Lord, but it’s about our being faith biblical stewards with what we have been given.  What good is it for us to strictly keep the principle of a tithe, yet ignore other commands that we are given in Scripture?  What good is adherence to some and disobeying others?  How could we say that it’s important for us to meet these financial commands while failing to even give the slightest bit of attention to others; things such as compassion, mercy, and faithfulness?  Have we really done the work of God by meeting our financial responsibilities and ignoring the hungry, the hurting, the homeless, the lost, and all the other groups that are in need.  The commands to care for those in need are just as important as the commands to tithe and to gather regularly for corporate worship.  The commands for ministries of compassion and caring are just as real and important as the commands to seek the destruction of sinful behavior.  They’re just as important as the commands of Scripture that call us to baptize our children and others in the name of the Lord.  We would never think of ignoring these commands, so why would we even think of ignoring those commands that find us in the service of those in need?  Well, my theory is that because it makes us feel uncomfortable.  It causes us to be confronted with our own sinful desires of self-preservation when we find those that are less fortunate.  Are we really doing the work of Christ when we go and serve at a soup kitchen and the whole time we have one hand on our back pockets making sure our wallets haven’t been lifted in the last 20 seconds?  Notice that I’m not saying that tithing is as important as ministries of mercy, compassion, and justice, but simply that the commands for each are just as plain and present as one another.

                One of the sad facts of the matter is that many Christians in our world today, and I mean honest, hardworking, and good people, are what I like to call Sunday Morning Christians.  These folks are regular church attendees.  Why, if attendance was taken, they might even be the most regular attendants in their church.  They always give and they give generously, never giving less than their tithe.  They always volunteer for events that are held around the time of worship.  Some of them are even seen as pillars of their local churches.  However, don’t expect to find the same Monday through Saturday.  These people have become so concerned with the function of the church as an institution that they have missed the bigger picture.  Their behavior outside of the church setting is completely different from their attitudes Sunday morning.  It’s almost as if their faith has become reduced to one day a week where they show up and pay their money and go about their day.  Now, this may come across a little harsh, and I’m not wanting to offend anyone, but sometimes that’s my job.  And obviously I’m using a large brush here and painting in general strokes, but I think I’m probably more truthful here than any of us would like to admit.  How many times have we seen leaders in local churches, both clergy and laypeople, caught in some type of secret sinful life?  You see, we can’t become so concerned with keeping up what we want to and ignoring what we don’t want to think about.  The Pharisees had become such hypocrites in their actions.  They were calling everyone else to live their lives in devotion to God, but they were really concerned with their own interests.  Their lives, which seemed very pious on the outside, were done primarily so that people would perceive them to be this holier than holy group of leaders.

                Being a pastor is one of the greatest honors of my life, but it does come with some things that aren’t such a blessing.  First, there’s the pain and suffering that you have to help others through.  No one likes to see people hurting, either physically or emotionally, but that’s part of the calling.  There’s also the fact that the pastor’s family never gets a full weekend.  It’s just not really feasible for all of my family to go somewhere for a weekend, because we can’t leave until Friday afternoon and we have to be back Saturday evening.  There have been many times where my family goes on a trip and I stay home because of my responsibilities on Sunday morning.  Finally, there’s the issue of people hiding things from you.  This is one that I’ve never understood, but for some reason people feel like they have to act differently around us pastors and that they ought to be on their best behavior.  It’s ironic because I don’t feel that way at all when I’m around other pastors.  However, I do notice a difference in the people who knew me pre-ministry and those who didn’t.  Also, I see a world of difference in the way that some act in a worship setting versus how they act outside of a church.  If our faith is genuine, shouldn’t it be something that permeated throughout our entire lives, and not just when we’re at church or around “church folks?”

                Friends, the bottom line of it all is this, our faith is not a checklist.  It’s not a series of items that we must complete in order to cross off our list.  Our faith cannot be a matter of completing tasks:  tithing, attendance, committees, a certain amount of outreach and mission trips, etc.  Our faith has to be something that is spontaneous and stirs us to action.  Our faith has to be something that causes us to have this burden of love upon our hearts that seeks for the love of Christ to be spread.  Our faith must cause us to go forth into the world and take the good news of the gospel with us.  And the greatest testimony or witness that we can give is by living as a Christian.  We glorify God’s kingdom when we conduct ourselves as Christians in the world at all times, and not just on Sunday mornings.  Don’t be a Christian who worries about showing up every Sunday, never running late, with a perfectly dressed family, and bringing your own Bible as if having your own raises your commitment a notch.  Be a Christian who seeks to serve.  Be a disciple of Christ who truly is a disciple and wants nothing more than to work for Christ’s kingdom in any way he/she can.  Be a person who hears all of God’s commands and not just the ones that are easy or that you like.  It’s very possible, and common, for us to miss the forest because we’re only focused on a small group of trees.  Don’t get caught upon in every little detail, but let you faith flow from every part of you.  And I promise you this, God will do some mighty things through you and you won’t even realize what’s happening.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

2 Timothy 4:9-15 "Christian Retirement?"

If we ever want to look to Scripture to find an example of someone who has lived a tough life there are numerous choices. We could look at the book of Job and find a man who had everything taken away from him so that God could prove to Satan that suffering doesn’t necessarily separate us from God. We could look to any number of martyrs that we find throughout Scripture. Some of the beatings and tribulations of Godly men and women in the Bible are so severe that it leaves us thanking God every day that we are not faced with the same circumstances. Perhaps no person fits the term “rough life” better than the Apostle Paul. After Paul’s conversion to Christianity, his life seemed to be filled with one hardship after another; all while working to establish and foster churches here on earth.

Having a very brief history of the Apostle beginning with his conversion will help us to see just how much Paul suffered for the sake of the gospel. Shortly after his conversion, which took place somewhere between 33 and 36 AD, he was nearly killed in Damascus. Only three years after becoming a Christian Paul traveled to Jerusalem in order to spread the gospel. From 46-48 Paul embarked on his 1st missionary journey. He went from Antioch to Cyprus to Southern Asia Minor and back to Antioch. From 49-52 he undertook his 2nd missionary journey. During this 2nd journey, Paul was imprisoned at Philippi with Silas. He escaped this situation when an earthquake hit and allowed one of the prison walls to collapse. This is the story of the Philippian jailer, who upon witnessing these events, immediately devoted his life to following the teachings of Jesus. Paul’s 3rd and final missionary journey began only one year after returning from his 2nd journey. In 60 AD he made a trip to Rome. On this trip to Rome is where Paul was imprisoned once again, and it was there that Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy that we are looking at today. In all, Paul’s travels after his conversion total up to be an estimated 14,000 miles. Remind you that this is on foot. This would be the equivalent of me walking out the door in the back of the sanctuary, and walking to my childhood home in Meridian, MS and back around 27 times.

Now add in the fact that Paul’s travels often took him to some less than desirable locations. Very few times when Paul arrived at places where a church was already established did he find it peaceful and a time of relaxation. Usually there was some conflict within the church that Paul himself had to address. There is also the “thorn in the flesh” mentioned in 2 Cor. 12, which is most likely a physical disability Paul gained during his ministry. Add to that the continuous persecutions, beatings, and aforementioned imprisonments along the way and you start to get the picture. Paul managed to squeeze all of this into about a 30 year period. This letter to Timothy was written only a few years prior to his death in Rome.

We can tell from the previous words in this letter that Paul had a feeling that his life was soon to come to an end. Earlier, in 4:6-7 we find, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul’s acknowledgement of the nearing end makes what we find in our text today an even more impressive message than what we might find simply by a surface reading. After requesting that Timothy come and visit Paul (no doubt so that he may continue to teach and train him for the continuation of his ministry) Paul moved on to reminisce of some of his fellow workers of the past who had worked honorably and dishonorably.

The first name that Paul gives to Timothy is the name Demas. Now this isn’t a name that I expect everyone to be able to recall off the top of their head, but it is someone that Paul has referred to at other points during his letters. In Philemon, Demas is listed in a group of men that Paul calls his “fellow laborers.” In Colossians 4 his name is simply listed without any other qualifying information. Here, we find that the name Demas carries with it a negative connotation. “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” We can take this as Paul warning against loving worldly values more than the spread of the gospel.
The next two names, Crescens and Titus, are of two others who Paul had sent out. When it comes to Crescens there is nothing else known about him other than this passage of him being sent to Galatia. Now Titus, we know from Paul’s letter to him and brief mentions in other letters, was a close friend and associate of Paul’s. Regardless, both of these men have left Paul’s side at this present time.

Whether this desertion was meant as a negative or simply just Paul’s telling Timothy where the others had gone, there is now a shift from those who have left Paul to the one who was still with him. Luke alone was with Paul. It’s funny, despite the fact that Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts, little is known about Luke the person. We know from inference that he was with Paul on his last journey to Rome. It is also mostly likely that Luke even willingly accompanied Paul to prison in Rome (this no doubt shows why Paul speaks so lovingly of him). As far as definitive references to Luke go in Scripture we have similar evidence as we do for Demas. In Colossians 4 Luke is described as the beloved physician is also listed as a fellow laborer in Philemon 24. It has been suggested that Luke’s skills as a physician allowed Paul to carry out his journeys despite his physical ailments. The best quote that I have found for summing up Luke is as follows, “The Church is full of talkers and of people who are there more for what they can get than for what they can give; Luke was one of these priceless people—the workers of the Church.”

The next person we come to is a person who has redeemed himself in the eyes of Paul. Paul says that Mark will be useful for him in ministry. Now the Greek word used here for ministry carries with it a wider sense of service. In other words, Paul is saying that having Mark with him was beneficial at this time. This is unexpected in light of what happened during Paul’s first missionary journey. Mark had been picked by Paul and Barnabas to join them on the mission and to become a contemporary of theirs. We are told, however, in Acts 13 that Mark left them and went home. Paul took this defection so hard that when Mark wanted to go with Paul and Barnabas on Paul’s second missionary journey, Paul refused to have such a quitter accompany them. Paul and Barnabas argued over this issue so much that they actually parted ways because Paul would have nothing to do with Mark. We don’t know exactly what happened to mend the relationship between the two, but Paul is now asking for Mark’s presence.

The next name, Tychicus, is someone who Paul had sent out to visit the church that he had established in Ephesus. He was the one who delivered the letters to the churches in Colossae and Ephesus. Then, the final name mentioned is Alexander the coppersmith. It is unknown what exactly Alexander had done, but we can determine from the text that he had worked to disrupt the spread of the gospel and caused Paul personal harm.

Now sandwiched between these last two names is what I want all of us to focus on this morning. Listen to the personal requests made by Paul to Timothy, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” Despite Paul’s seemingly dire situation, this language seems to indicate that he still had work to do. Paul wanted his books, or in the Greek, his biblia, which literally means papyrus rolls, and it is most likely that these rolls contained the earliest forms of the gospels. He wanted the parchments. Perhaps these were legal documents such as his proof of Roman citizenship. However, it is most likely his copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, or as we would say, the Old Testament. Paul was acting like a man who still had work that needed to be done. Even though Paul had been through so much and was certain that the end was near, he continued to work for the sake of the gospel.

One of the ways in which you know that you have fully entered into adulthood is when you start thinking about retirement. Now, obviously Amy and I aren’t thinking about retirement any time soon, but it’s something that we began planning for several years ago. We don’t know what it will look like. I imagine a cantankerous old Presbyterian preacher sitting on the porch with his eternally beautiful bride somewhere, but you never know. After all, what does a preacher retiring even look like. Most preachers I know who have retired have gone right back to work doing something else in ministry. After all, my calling is that of making disciples, and you can’t really retire from that can you? You know we say that we have two jobs in life; we are a doctor, teacher, lawyer, etc., but we are also Christians. It is my opinion, as it is most likely yours, that the later job is a calling that is much more than a profession. As such, it is something that last for a lifetime and never really has a retirement. You can’t retire from Christian service.

If there was ever a person who had a right to say that they were retiring from Christian service it was the Apostle Paul. After penning 13 New Testament epistles (along with numerous other letters that are not in our Bibles) and some 25 years of missionary travels, he could have said he was done and no one could have second guessed him. The truth of the matter is that he didn’t. Despite all of the physical pain, prison stints, the loss of co-workers, the regrets of his lifestyle prior to his conversion, he continued onward. I mean, the man was sitting in prison talking about the fact that he had work to be done. He didn’t know for certain whether or not he would even make it out of prison. Paul knew that one never retires from Christ. You don’t stop being a Christian. When a teacher retires, they no longer go to the school every day. When a lawyer retires, he doesn’t go in every morning to the practice. Retired doctors don’t keep the same schedule as they did before retiring. Christians never retire. They never quit being Christians if they are faithful to the Word of God.

Friends, as we continue during this season of stewardship of self, we are at a crossroads. We have made great progress in suring up the operations of our own church family, but is that the goal? We have worked hard to get ourselves to a stable position in how we operate, but is that the ultimate goal? Well, I don’t think I even need to answer that for you. The goal isn’t about us, but about proclaiming God’s Word and reaching all those around us who are in need of it. We have to continue to be active in our efforts to establish God’s kingdom here on earth. We have to continue to work in the area missions and outreach and evangelism. We have to continue to support and take part in the Christian education of this church. We have to continue to fan the flame of Christ that burns within each of us. Friends, I know that it doesn’t take long of completely devoting ourselves to something before the feeling of being burned out sets in. I know that people in churches many times feel like they need a break and that it’s time for someone else to worry about it. I want to encourage you, just as I have to encourage myself constantly, to keep the mindset of the Apostle Paul. There is still work to be done. Christ has commanded us to continue in our efforts, for He is with us “to the end of this age.” There is never a time, as long as we have air in our lungs, in which our service to Christ is done. We should work each and every day, in some manner or way, at growing Christ’s kingdom upon this earth. There is no such thing as retirement from being a Christian. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

1 Peter 4:1-11 "Using Your Gifts"

You may be sitting there asking yourself why I would choose to read these verses to begin a series on stewardship. Well, it is my hope that over the course of the next few minutes that that will be abundantly clear, but I will at least give you that this text isn’t often thought of in terms of stewardship. However, we have to remember that stewardship is much more than a financial responsibility. I think that it is very apt stewardship text when we look at it in terms of how we use the gifts that God has given us. Remember, our stewardship series won’t be focused on how we are to be faithful stewards with our finances, but how we are faithful stewards with our gifts, time, and talents. The proper use of these things is just as important for the sake of the growth of God’s kingdom as our financial responsibilities are, many even more so.

Most of the time, when we look at the first half of 1 Peter 4, much of the attention is given to the third verse: “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, and drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.” I happen to like the way that the NIV translates the beginning of this verse, “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans choose to do.” Now, most of the time when we see this verse, it’s in the context of someone telling us that we shouldn’t do something. Someone doesn’t want another person, for instance, to consume alcohol and so they point to this verse as proof of that. Well, hold on just a minute, we have to be real careful how far we go, we can’t make the text say something that it doesn’t. When we look at the list that’s given to us here in verse 3, we see that they are all abuses of good things that have been given to us by God. Debauchery, lust, and orgies are all abuses of love, something that God gave as a gift to man and woman, to Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden before the Fall ever happened. Drunkenness and carousing are abuses of fellowship and merriment that God has given to mankind. The Rabbis of the Jesus’ day devoted songs to the wine that was shared at times of fellowship. They would say that without wine, there is no joy. Remember when we looked at Jesus’ saying that he was the good wine, the true wine. We said that Jesus was true joy. The first part of this text isn’t a condemnation on a bunch of different behavior exactly, but a condemnation on abusing and misusing wonderful things that have been given to us by God. It is a condemnation and rebuking of us not being faithful stewards of what God has given us.

You see, the central message of this passage is not a condemnation of certain behaviors, but a call to use what we have in a proper manner. Beginning in verse 8, we find, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” And here it is, I really want you to pay attention to verse 10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” In other words, God has given each and every person a gift. He’s given each and every one of His children some type of ability or talent or characteristic or trait that not everyone has. The question then becomes how are we going to us it? How are we going to use those special talents and gifts that we have? Are we going to use them for good or bad? Are we going to use them to construct or to destruct? Are we going to use them to promote kingdom growth or to inhibit kingdom growth? You see, it’s not about the abilities, but about how you use them. What good is having a gift if you never use it?

Now, I could point to numerous examples of folks who were living lives that didn’t reflect Christ in any way and changed. I could point to stories of how people with immense talent that lived immoral lives turned from their ways to a new way of life. I could talk about how many of these folks came to be my colleagues in ministry, but I think that that sometimes gives the wrong idea. Many times, we think that only pastors are those who have been given gifts that can be used in service of God’s kingdom. I don’t know if that’s because we pastors are so often talking about it, or because it makes it easier to deny the fact that many of us don’t use our gifts as we ought to. After all, everyone has been given some type of gift from God. Your gift may not be that of preaching, or teaching, or public praying or anything that usually goes noticed within the church, but don’t think that your gifts are not useful in the service of God’s kingdom. I can promise you thing, that an individual church’s strength is not found in her pulpit, but in her pews.

My job, my calling, is often misunderstood by many people. Many think that the responsibility of the pastor is to tend to the business of the church. He’s to tend to the teaching and preaching of the church. He’s to tend to the various programs and ministry of the church, and he’s to function in many regards as the CEO of his particular church. And while all of those things do describe to a certain extent the responsibilities of a pastor, I prefer to think of my calling as being similar to a pair of glasses. Now, I don’t wear glasses, but most of my family does and in particular my wife. I learned many years ago that without the use of contacts or glasses, she can hardly see a thing. She’s also a very intelligent woman. She has a tremendous ability when it comes to solving problems, in particular problems dealing with numbers. I used to look at her notes from when she would figure out mortgages for people when she was a mortgage lender and the face that I made was similar to that of a monkey looking at a road map. Now, I say all of this to point out the fact that without her glasses to help her focus, her ability with numbers would be completely wasted. The role of the pastor, along with the church and her members, is to help each and every one of us focus our abilities upon serving God. It’s to point us all in the right direction so that we may use our gifts to the glory of God, “so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power for ever and ever.”

So let me ask you a few simple questions? First, what is your gift? Some of you may know it off the top of your head, while others struggle in determining what ability they have. Some people really struggle with figuring out what they bring to the table or what they have to offer. I often find it helpful to seek the advice of those around me when wanting to know about me because many times they notice things that I don’t. Secondly, after determining what your gift is, how are you using that gift? Are you using it in the positive manner that we’re called to, building up God’s kingdom and serving Christ and his church? Or are you abusing it? Are you using it in that the way that Peter condemned earlier in this text? Are you using the gifts that God has given you in a selfish manner? Are you withholding from God what is rightfully his? Are you being a faithful steward of God’s grace? As we spend some time over the next few weeks looking at stewardship as it pertains to our properly using what God has given us, I want you to think of some ways that your gifts, your abilities, can be used in the service of God’s kingdom. And I want each of you to know that there is no such thing as a useless gift or talent, just one that has not found its proper direction. God uses all talents and all abilities in the service of His kingdom. How is God calling you to use the gifts that He has given to you this day? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.