Monday, July 22, 2019

July 20-22, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 9:57-62 “IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST”


PENTECOST 6

July 20-22, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 9:57-62



“IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR FOLLOWING CHRIST”

1.     How much does it cost?

2.     Is it worth it?



Luke 9:57-62 (EHV) As they went on the way, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59He said to another man, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61Another man also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those at my home.” 62Jesus told him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 



          It’s basic economics. It’s an important skill for everyone in life. For some it’s a cost/benefit analysis. For others it’s risk/reward. Whatever the viewpoint it’s really the same: How much does it cost? Is it worth it? Wise parents teach this skill to their children. The kids want something. Maybe the latest video game. They make them save and buy it with their own money. Later they ask, “Was it worth it? All the money you had saved up gone for this game you no longer want to play?” Adults practice the same analysis with important things like car buying and house buying. Same thing is true for our church life. How much does this ministry cost? Is it worth it? All kinds of that has gone on and will continue to go on with our building expansion. Architects and builders will tell you that you can do just about anything—for a price. OK, how much does it cost? Is it worth it? Today Jesus brings that process to the forefront with the most important area of our lives: following Him. His words cause us to ask important questions about following Christ. How much does it cost? Is it worth it?

          How much does it cost to follow Christ? In one respect we can want to  quickly answer that questions this way: Nothing! You know what the Bible says. “It is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” Becoming a follower of Christ costs us nothing. It is by grace. That is unearned and undeserved. It is not by works, not accomplished by us in anyway. God does it all from first to last. As the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  By very nature you can’t pay for a gift of it is not a gift. It costs nothing to become a follower of Christ. But that’s not what Jesus was talking about. He was talking about living as a follower of Christ.

          How much does that cost? Let’s learn the answer from Jesus. As they went on the way, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59He said to another man, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61Another man also said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say good-bye to those at my home.” 62Jesus told him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  We join Jesus in His last year of public ministry. He goes to Jerusalem to lay down His life for all. A man offers to follow Him wherever He goes. Jesus tells the man that following Him means putting Jesus’ work ahead of comforts like a nice home. Another man Jesus calls to follow. He makes what seems to be a normal and legitimate request. “First, let me bury my father.” While we don’t know exactly what “Let the dead bury the dead,” means, we know what Jesus is saying to Him. If you do that, if you put that task ahead of me, you can’t follow me. Another man wants to follow Jesus but all he wants to do first is say good-bye to his family. Sounds reasonable right? Not to Jesus. Just like you can’t safely drive your bike or car looking backwards, you can’t plow a straight furrow when you are looking backwards either and the point again is clear. You can’t follow Jesus if you are looking back at your former life. So what it costs to follow Christ is everything! Following is more important than a comfortable home. It is the most import item on the schedule. The relationship to Jesus is more important than family and friends. That’s what it takes to follow Jesus.

          Have you ever heard the term “Cheap grace?” That term was coined by a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany who spoke out against the atrocities and was executed shortly before the fall of Germany in 1945. This was what he wrote. “Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” Cheap grace. Sounds funny at first. Grace is free. What do you mean cheap? He meant when you take God’s grace and the sacrifice Christ made without the changes the come from following Christ you treat grace like it’s worthless. He’s talking about saying you follow Christ without a willingness to sacrifice, to give up living like the unbelieving world, without giving up my wants and priorities and replacing them with Christ’s. It’s all a matter of priorities. It’s not enough to say I will put Jesus first. We must truly put Jesus first. I’m so glad in New Testament times that we have the freedom to worship on any day we choose and I’m glad we offer 3 different days and 4 different times each week at St Jacobi because you can’t always control your schedule. I have to tell you that that my pastor’s heart is really hoping that we aren’t unintendedly sending the message, “Worship Christ when it is convenient for you.” And never does following Christ give freedom to not worship. Then we make grace look cheap. Of if we say, “I will follow you Jesus but first let me excel in my career, or the sport of the season.” That makes grace look cheap. I’m glad God trusts us to pick an honorable percentage of our income to give back to Him in thankfulness and to further His work but you can’t follow Christ and not have picked that percentage and be giving it first. “I will honor you Christ but first let me pay off my school loans or the new car I always wanted or pay for my kids to get through school.” That’s no following of Christ. How much does it cost to follow Christ? Everything because it requires putting Jesus before earthly comfort, Jesus before friends and family, Jesus ways before our own.

          Is it worth it? Well how much is God’s one and only Son worth? Recently our picnic committee asked if I would be willing to spend some time in the dunk tank with a potential for getting dunked. I remember saying, “Sure. But one thing I ask, don’t sell me cheaply.” They settled on three shots for a dollar. Guess I know how much I’m worth. Some of you may have read a recent story about the Disney heiress who visited Disney to check on the morale of the employees. She was aghast to find out what they were being paid compared to the CEO who makes about 65 million a year. Her next quote caught my attention. She said, “Jesus Christ himself isn’t worth 500 times a median worker’s wages.” I didn’t crunch the numbers. Didn’t need to. She is wrong. What is Jesus worth, the one and only Son of God? What is he worth when His sacrificial death pays for the sins of all people of all time? Priceless. What is it worth to be a follower of  him?

          Everything! Jesus is no beggar. If we don’t follow He can choose others. If we don’t worship others will. If we don’t do His work He will let others have that honor. It is a privilege to be a follower of Jesus and enjoy all the blessings that comes with it. What is it worth to hear the doctor say, “There’s nothing more we can do,” and be able to say, “That’s OK. I’m going to heaven.” What’s it worth to know mom and dad, brother and sister, baby from the womb is in heaven and you will see them and live with them in the glory of heaven forever? What is it worth when hardship comes to know that a loving, not punishing, God stands behind it and is using it for good? Is it worth it? Are you kidding? It’s the deal of eternity.

          But not always easy for us to put into practice, to wholeheartedly, not half heartedly follow Christ. So what does He do? He helps in in our weakness by promising blessings to calm our fears of losing. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well,” is promised to help us prioritize our time and money. “No one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come, eternal life” is promised for when we make real sacrifices for Christ and his work. And there are many more. It’s basic economics, folks. Following Christ will cost us time, money, maybe an easier earthly life. But it’s worth everything and more. Amen.

Monday, July 15, 2019

July 13-15, 2019 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Genesis 39:6B-12, 16-23 (NIV 1984) “THAT’S NOT FAIR!”


PENTECOST

July 13-15, 2019

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Genesis 39:6B-12, 16-23 (NIV 1984)



“THAT’S NOT FAIR!”

1.     That’s life in the sin-filled world.

2.     That’s OK. The LORD is with you!



Genesis 39:6B-12, 16-23 (NIV 1984) “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”



For us to get the most from the Word of God before us today it will be helpful to know a little more of the history of this man named Joseph. Joseph was one of 12 brothers, the sons of Jacob. Jacob made the parental mistaking of having favorites among his children and Joseph was his favorite. Now you can just imagine how the other brothers felt and what they were thinking or saying and if you know it, say it with me. That’s not fair! Jacob’s favoritism showed. For instance he gave only Joseph a special multicolored coat while the others got regular coats. Do you know how the others felt? Say it. That’s not fair! One time Jacob sent the other brothers out to watch the sheep and let Joseph stay at home. Again. That’s not fair. Then Jacob sent Joseph out to check up on his brothers. When  they saw him coming what did they think? That’s not fair! So they made a plot to kill him. One brother, Rueben,  had a little bit of conscience and hoped to rescue Joseph and convinced the other brothers to throw Joseph into  a pit. When they did that you know what Joseph must have thought? Say it. That’s not fair! Before Rueben could rescue Joseph though, the other brothers sold Joseph to some slave traders. What must have been going through Joseph’s mind? That’s not fair! The slave traders sold Joseph to a man named Potiphar, the captain of the guard for the Pharaoh in Egypt. That’s not fair. Joseph did his best to serve. Potiphar noticed and put Joseph in charge of his house. And that’s where our reading picked up.

If Joseph were alive today they would try recruiting him for one of those smutty shows like the Bachelor or Bachelorette. Mrs. Potiphar noticed. Joseph was her slave. She wanted him. She ordered him to commit adultery. Joseph said No. Not only did he say No but did you catch the reason why? “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” There’s no, “What if we get caught?” No, “Potiphar will kill me!” Instead Joseph is living his life very conscious of God. What Mrs. Potiphar wanted was wicked. A sin against God! Can you do any better than that? Seriously, is there any better way to resist temptation than to refuse because you don’t want to dishonor, disappoint God?

Here is where we expect, “And God saw Joseph’s faithfulness. He was pleased with Joseph and an angel of the Lord came and rescued Joseph returning him safely to his father, Jacob.” But that’s not what happened. Mrs. Potiphar persisted. When Joseph continued to refuse she falsely accused him. “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison.” There are words for women like her. You know what? Say it with me. That’s not fair.

Now what does this word of God teach us? First, that’s life in the sin filled world is not fair. It is not perfect. It falls short of the glory of God and so will not be fair and it was God’s decision to leave it that way. You have sinners dealing with sinners and God dealing with sinners so it’s always going to be a mess. The heart attack hits the in shape athlete and the lifelong smoker. Cancer doesn’t check your skin color, your bank account or your diet before striking. God hating blatant evildoers can have and enjoy nice things. Hard working lifelong Christians can constantly struggle and have little. To each and every one of those examples and so many more we can rightly say, “That’s not fair!”

And we need to get over it. We need to give up these unrealistic expectations of fairness by our standards. We need to because most often holding on to those thoughts leads to bitterness and sinning on our part. It led Joseph’s brothers to hatred and selling him as a slave. It leads you to envy, anger bitterness and maybe retribution against others. This is a true store about me. I kid you not. One time as growing up in a home with 8 children and not a lot of money we badgered my poor mom so much on a perceived unfair distribution of the evening treat that she actually pulled out a postage scale to show us how fair she was being. Isn’t that awful? She should not have given us anything. Kids, don’t do that. You make your parent’s life miserable. That is sin. It’s bad enough when you do it to parents who love you and make sacrifices for you. It’s worse when we start getting angry with God and accuse Him of unfair treatment of us. And now let’s be honest. Most of the time our cries for fairness are revealed to be a part of our own selfishness because the cries of “That’s not fair!” really only come if we feel we got shorted. When is the last time you cried “Not fair!” to God because people in third world countries have so much less than you do? Been a while if ever? That’s not fair!

Brothers and sisters, here is why that unrealistic expectation of our brand of fairness need not rob us of joy and contentment. It’s OK. The Lord is with us. He was with Joseph. “But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” No, God did not end right away the unfair imprisonment. Joseph endured 13 years of slavery and imprisonment. But God stayed with Joseph. He carried him through. Joseph grew spiritually. Then when the time was right God used Joseph to spare the physical lives of many people and to further the plan of salvation so that later when Joseph’s brothers apologized Joseph was able to answer from the heart, “You intended to harm me but God intended it for good.” The unfairness was OK because God was with him and God had a plan for good.

Brothers and sisters, it’s OK. It’s OK when life is unfair because the Lord is with you. What has He promised? “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am with you always even to the end of the age.” And when God is with you all things work for the good. So it’s OK. Wait for God to make it right in His time and His way. And instead of getting angry, bitter and resentful, get curious. I wonder how God is going to use this for good?

You know if present trends continue and America becomes less and less Christian, those who hold to Bible teaching can expect some unfair treatment. It might come through the courts. It may happen in your workplace. Churches might get the financial squeeze put on us. When those things happen you know what we’ll want to say? That’s not fair. May God give us strength instead to say with a smile, “That’s OK. The LORD is with us.” And maybe God’s plan in that is to use our calm witness to draw others to Jesus so that we can say to those who mistreat us, “You intended it for harm but God intended it for good, to save many lives.” And in so doing we will join the ranks of believers like Joseph and Moses and many others who follow Jesus in dealing with unfair treatment. Think of Jesus, who when he the holy perfect Son of God was treated as the world’s one and only sinner did not cry out, “That’s not fair!” but “It is finished!” so we would know to say with words and lives, not “That’s not fair!” but “Thank you, Jesus.” Amen.