Wednesday, February 28, 2018

February 28, 2018 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Matthew 21:18-22 “ONLY JESUS COULD CHALLENGE US TO MOVE MOUNTAINS!”


MIDWEEK LENT

February 28, 2018

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Matthew 21:18-22



“ONLY JESUS COULD CHALLENGE US TO MOVE MOUNTAINS!”



Matthew 21:18-22 (NIV 1984) “Early in the morning, as He was on his way back to the city, He was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”



          I’d like you to try to think of all the different miracles that Jesus did. The first one was to change water into wine. There were many more. He did healing miracles causing the blind to see, the lame, to walk, the deaf to hear, the leprous to be cured. He did feeding miracles, providing food for thousands of hungry people though they only had a few loaves or fish. He brought people back to life, Lazarus, the widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter. He cast out demons and walked on water to calm fearful disciples. All of Jesus’ miracles prove He is the Son of God and did good to help people. And then there is this one, the cursing of the fig tree. In this miracle Jesus made a fig tree wither and die. What good is there in that? What is the meaning of this? With the Holy Spirit’s help we see a needed lesson on faith.

          This happened during Holy Week. It’s Passover week in Jerusalem. Jesus, loving His disciples to the end continues to teach them even though His earthly end is very near. So far the disciples have seen Jesus welcomed triumphantly as king. They have seen him cleanse the Temple of those who were distracting other from worship. They would see their religious leaders, those considered the most spiritual and holy, those who looked the most religious and seemed to care most about what God said, question Jesus and challenge him. They needed a lesson about the true nature of saving faith. And a fig tree provided it. “Early in the morning, as He was on his way back to the city, He was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.”

          Poor fig tree! That might be our first reaction. Every other miracle Jesus helps someone but here He kills the fig tree. Ah but Jesus is helping someone. The disciples. Us. And don’t feel sorry for the fig tree. All creation exists to serve its Creator. The non human created world seems to understand better than people its purpose. And just like Passover lambs and sin offerings in Old Testament times were honored to be pictures that pointed to Jesus. This fig tree gets the honor of serving the Savior in His role as Savior. This isn’t the first time we’ve run into a fig tree. Jesus used one in a parable in Luke 13. Do you remember? Let me refresh you.  “Then He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

          The lesson of the fig tree is clear. The owner expects fruit. If it is not fruitful it loses its place. But Jesus is not talking about trees but people. If someone really is a believer, a member of Jesus’ church, it will show. There will be fruits of faith, evidence of a life changed by Christ. Anyone who claims to believe but has no actions that flow from faith is not a believer. Faith without deeds is dead. No faith at all. What did that look like in Jesus’ day? The Pharisees. The chief priests. The teachers of the law. They talked religion all the time but they rejected what their religion proclaimed, the Savior Jesus, and so their lives were marked by a singular lack of love for people and souls. What might it look like today? We come to church, at least once in a while, or only do it so we don’t get in trouble. We speak God speak and pray with our mouths but then go home to curse our spouse, sass our parents and post filthy words on Facebook. Question. When is a fig tree not a fig tree? Answer. When it has no figs. When is a believer not a believer? When there is no evidence. No fruits of faith. And just like the fig tree that had no figs withered and died at Jesus’ judgment those who look like believers but are not can expect the same sentence of eternal death come Judgment Day. Jesus’ miracle helps us because it forces us to examine our own lives. Do actions match words? Is there a desire to obey Christ’s commands? The owner expects fruit.

          And thanks be to God we can produce it! “When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” I’m not sure I get it. The disciples have seen Jesus walk on water, raise the dead and heal all kinds of serious conditions and they are amazed that a tree could wither so quickly! I guess we aren’t the only ones who are slow to learn, huh? You notice Jesus doesn’t answer the question how but rather helps the disciples to see what a connection to Jesus can do. See faith itself actually does nothing. It’s what you have faith in that matters. I can trust my ability to dunk a basketball all I want but if I don’t have springs in my legs (which I don’t) my faith can’t do anything. But our faith is in Jesus who can do so much more than dry up useless fig trees. Jesus can move mountains and greater things than that. Only Jesus can challenge us to ask Him to move mountains. But like with the fig tree moving mountains isn’t really the point. Seriously what good gets accomplished by moving mountains around? There is a lot of good that can be accomplished through faith in Jesus. You can for instance forgive. You can let go of that mountain of hurt and pain another has caused you and give it to Jesus so you stop hurting people in your lives. Have you asked Him to help you? You can overcome addictive sins which can seem like impossible to climb mountains, sins like pornography, alcohol or drug abuse. You’re connected to Jesus. Have you asked Him?

          Brothers and sisters, today is not a today to look back with regret at all the things in your life you wish you would have done differently. Every past sin that has shaped your present, every squandered opportunity to do good that you left undone, every unkind word and act has been fully paid for by the miracle Jesus did on the cross, a miracle only Jesus could do. Today is a day to look ahead and to realize that your Lord Jesus is challenging you to use Him for your present and your future. Only Jesus could challenge us to move mountains because only Jesus has the power to back it up. And you are connected to Jesus. Amen!

Monday, February 19, 2018

February 17-19, 2018 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Romans 8:31-39 “WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!”


LENT 1

February 17-19, 2018

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Romans 8:31-39



“WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!”

1.     God is for us.

2.     Who can be against us?



Romans 8:31-39 (NIV 1984) What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”  37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”



          Just in case you don’t watch the news and have not heard the theme song or seen the torch or five rings on a flag it is Olympics time across the world. The winter Olympics that is. With a competition that is held only once every four years the stakes are high as athletes from across the world who have dedicated their existence to their sport all come together with the same goal: Olympic gold, to be the champion. Many will dream. Few will be. The chances of any of us here becoming Olympic champions ranges from slim to none but God’s word tells us we are champions none the less. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” More than conquerors, literally super victors is what that means. We are the champions. Let’s find out why.

          The words of God before us serve as a kind of a crescendo, a culmination of the great things the Holy Spirit had Paul write down in the first 8 chapters of Romans. How man’s efforts could never make things right with God, how God had always then dealt with people on the basis of faith, trusting the promises of God to make things right through His Son Jesus, how all these things had been planned before the creation of the world so that we would know God works on the basis of grace. And then pondering all these great truths Paul points us back to them saying, What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” And then better than Perry Mason, in a lawyer like fashion with rapid fire questions that have obvious answers he makes it clear why we are the champions. God is for us.

          If you ever need proof in your life how valuable you are to God, if you need reassurance that He really loves you, yes even you, if your back is up against a wall and you are wondering if it will work out in any way at all, then take a Lenten journey with Jesus. Paul puts it this way. “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” For you, God did not spare His own Son. For you. The first lesson today from Genesis showed us a man who did not spare his own Son when it came to showing his love and commitment to God. With Abraham and Isaac you can’t help but see a picture of God’s love for us, not sparing His own Son. In the Gospel lesson we heard the Spirit led Jesus out to be tempted making things worse with forty days without food. No, God did not spare his own Son and this is proof that God is for us. Follow Jesus during Holy Week and see the opposition, the cruel treatment and t mocking. No God did not spare His own Son. To understand the enormity of that one only needs to think of the lengths that parents go to spare their children heartache and disappointment and then ponder anew that while Jesus was tempted by the Devil God did nothing. He let it happen and when His Son was mocked and tortured God did nothing. When His Son was suffering the pangs of Hell the necessary price to pay for our sins God let it happen, He did not spare His own son but gave Him up for us all. There is the proof God is for us and since God is for us we are the champions. We win.

          That’s good news because there will be times we don’t feel like it, time when our opponents will look like they are winning, times when it looks like we are down for the count physically, spiritually, emotionally. “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Who can be against us? Satan will try. He will go against us. His name means accuser, finger pointer. He reminds us of our sin. He charges us. “You are a champion all right, a champion at sinning. Why should God help you when you win gold medals in gossiping, bronze in back biting and silvers in selfishness.” But God is for us. Jesus is for us. He died to pay for sin. He was raised to life to prove his payment was accepted. He is at the right hand of God sticking up for us. Satan our enemy bites the dust. He can’t stand against us.

          Others will try to be against us. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” Into the lives of champions trials come. Did you see that at one of the first events in this year’s Olympics? The Norwegians are calling it the miracle on snow. At the very beginning of a 30K cross country ski event first time Olympian Simen Krueger crashed. Other skiers fell on top of him. One of his poles broke. By the time he recovered he was in last place out of 68 skiers…and yet came back to win to be the champion and it was not even close.

          In our lives as believers we will have trials. The “as it is written” is a quotation of the Psalms reminding the Roman Christians and us that it has always been that way. Troubles and hardships happen in the lives of all believers. Paul had them. Shipwrecks. Unjust jailing. Concerns for sick co workers. You and I have them. Some of you have had to deal with cancer. Some of you have gone through the fears and worries of job loss. Some of you have dealt with the death of a child. Some with the ongoing heartache of family strife. And yet who can be against us? We are the champions. Eventually like with Simen Krueger those trials and hardships and heartaches are in the rearview mirror. With God for us we were brought through each and every one of them even though Satan threw his best at us He can’t stand against us.

          We are forced to accept the conclusion we want anyway. We are the champions. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” With God for us death can’t keep us from heaven. Nothing life has either. Angels won’t try, demons will and will fail. Nothing going on right now, nothing that will happen in our future nothing in the skies above, nothing in the depths of the oceans below, nothing else can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. Every opponent bites the dust and we are left standing, in Christ we are the Champions.

          In Christ. Good for us to remember. Olympic athletes can spend four years between Olympics training. They will compete and hope to win. In our case Jesus spent thirty three years for us, perfectly obeying to give us the status as righteous before God. Jesus went the grueling way of the cross and we are the champions. Very shortly the Olympics will go away. No more theme music, the torch will go out. Athletes will try to parley their medals into endorsements. Their championship glory will fade. Ours is yet to come when we reign with Christ in heaven. What shall we say in response to all this? How about, “Thank You Jesus.” And then let’s live lives that show it. Amen. 


Monday, February 5, 2018

February 3-5, 2018 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Deuteronomy 18:14-20 “WE’VE GOT IT SO MUCH BETTER!”


EPIPHANY 4

February 3-5, 2018

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Deuteronomy 18:14-20



“WE’VE GOT IT SO MUCH BETTER!”

1.     A better prophet.

2.     A better message.

3.     Are we any better?



Deuteronomy 18:14-20 (NIV 1984) “The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him. 16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” 17The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put My words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him. 19If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him to account. 20But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”



          It seems the older I get the more I find myself longing for the “good old days.” Does that happen with you? It seems our minds have this ability to forget the hardships and struggles of the past and remember with longing simpler and easier times. Sometimes we are right. The good old days were better. Think of things like national unity and family time. But don’t forget war protests and gas rationing and fewer conveniences and not as good health care. The word of God before us today gives us a chance to compare God’s dealing with people in the good old days of the Old Testament to how God deals with us today. What we’ll find is those good old days weren’t so good at all. We’ve got it so much better!

          We join God’s people as their 40 years of wandering in the desert was nearing its end. If you recall, after God had freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and led them to their new home they had refused to enter it, refusing to trust God’s promise to fight for them and remove the people living there. As a consequence, to help them learn, God prescribed 40 years of wandering in the desert area to teach them to trust. Now as the time came for them to enter their promised land Moses gave them encouragements and warnings to keep them spiritually safe. “The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.” Garbage in, garbage out. You are what you eat. Be careful who you listen to. It will have an effect on you. God’s people were not to be like others who got their information, their beliefs and morals ultimately from the Devil. A good warning for us today. Who are you letting shape your opinions and beliefs? The people around us listen to polls and public opinion. God expects His people to listen to his prophets. The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him. 16For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”

          Moses had been the prophet for God’s people. And the people were terrified. Moses had received the law from God on Mt. Sinai. The mountain shook. There was smoke and fire as God impressed on the people that He was serious about his laws. The people got it. They understood. They were rightfully scared of God’s anger and intimidated by what they heard. They didn’t want to hear from God directly. They wanted a go between, a mediator, a prophet. That had been Moses. But he would die. So God promised a better prophet. He would be like Moses in that God would speak directly to Him. He would also be a man. You and I know Him as Jesus. And you can see why we have it so much better. Jesus is better than Moses. Moses sinned. Moses lost his temper with the people. Moses fell into sinful pride. Jesus, our prophet, our spokesman for God, is God and man. He’s perfect. His love for us deeper than we can know. We have it so much better. We have a better prophet.

          We also have a better message. “The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put My words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him.”  As God’s Old Testament prophet Moses told the people what God said. He delivered to them a two sided covenant. God gave the people laws to obey. God promised that if they obeyed them all unfailingly He would fight their battles for them. He would bless their crops and their herds. They would be healthy, wealthy and wise. Wow! The good old days. Obey God and become prosperous. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that set up where we as the obeyers of  God would get special earthly blessings? But it is important to remember that the promises of God extended only to perfect keepers of His law.

          We have it so much better. If you read only half of the Old Testament laws you know you would not want to live back then. All those laws in addition to the moral laws summarized in the 10 Commandments are impossible to keep. And that’s the point. God was helping the people see they could not do it. They could not keep a 2 way covenant. Only a one way covenant would work and it would all have to be done by God. That’ s what Jesus was commanded to say. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one, absolutely no one, comes to the Father except through me. I am the Resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. If you love me obey my commandments. Don’t obey because you are scared that the mountain is quaking and trembling obey because you came to me weary and burdened with sin and I cleansed you and gave you rest and now you love me in return.” We have is so much better. We have the full Gospel message straight from the lips of Jesus Christ.

          We’ve got it so much better. So, are we any better? That’s a soul searching question we each have to ask ourself. A quick read through the Old Testament will show you a people who were quick to abandon the God who loved them. They were like kids going through an idol candy store. Ooh, I’ll try this one. Baal looks fun. Ooh Asherah worshippers they seem to have it better let’s try Asherah now. Ooh, the Egyptians seem to prosper maybe their gods are better let me have  dozen of those.” The strict law message and the two sided covenant did not work. It was never going to work as long as sinful people were part of it. And God never wanted only outward obedience to begin with. He wants His peoples’ hearts. He set us up to be better to respond to Him because we love Him so He gave us a better prophet, His own son, God in flesh, with a better message. I love you! I forgive you. Love me in return.

          Are we any better? Are we doing better at giving God obedience that comes from love? In the good old days of the Old Testament if you didn’t worship each week you got stoned to death. People showed up in droves. But not always out of love for God. If you misused God’s name, if you committed adultery, if you were a persistently rebellious child you got stoned to death. But that didn’t mean obedience came from love. God said, “If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him to account.” God loves His Son. In the book of Hebrews we are told, “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” Brothers and sisters, using the language of the unbeliever, dressing like the unbelievers, despising the Word and Lord’s Supper by putting other things, pursuit, hobbies ahead of them is a trampling of  the Son underfoot, and an insult to the Spirit of grace. We’ve got it so much better. Let’s each one of us today, commit ourselves to being better as our way to say, “Thank God for dealing with us through Jesus. Amen.