We Are Touching Lives Through Christ By Reaching Out, Bringing In, Lifting Up, Sending Forth.

Before you read this sermon, understand that parts of it are specific to my home congregation.  However the message goes beyond that group.  It speaks to all who call themselves Christians.

Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version, copyright by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States

For your convenience, Bible readings are shown below the message.

Hebrew Bible:  Ezekiel 34:1-17 & Gospel Reading:  Matthew 25:31-46

  

Message:  by Thomas E. Williams

When studying the scriptures we need to ask questions as we read.  We need to ask; who, what, when, where, why, and how.  We also need to insert ourselves into the narrative.  It is often helpful to ‘try on’ the roles of the different characters in the story.  We can gain new insights by ‘seeing through another’s eyes’.  And finally, we need to ask, what does this mean to ME?

We are going to first examine our reading from Ezekiel.  Let’s take a look at what is going on here.  First of all who are the players in this story? 

• Well, God is God
• Ezekiel is the man God has called on to be his messenger.  That’s pretty straight forward. 
• The sheep are lost.  It seems clear that these are people that are lost, they are without God.
• But we’ve got shepherds, who are they?  The shepherds are the leaders.  Remember that in that day and age the religious and political leaders were the same people.  There was no division of church and state.  So these leaders were supposedly men of God, his spokespersons to the people but they are falling down on the job.

Now we have the WHO let us examine the what.  The WHAT is the scattering, neglect and destruction of the sheep, the lost people.

WHEN is the next question that we ask.  Ezekiel may have had a specific time in mind for this prophesy, but when we examine it we’ll see that the story is timeless.  It could and has taken place over and over.

Where did these events take place?  Again, as in the question of when, the WHERE is not important to the events of the story because it is a story about universal events.

Moving on to the next question, WHY, we find that there are many WHYS here: greed, laziness, self centeredness, self willed and on and on.

The HOW of the story seems to indicate a general neglect of the sheep by the shepherds.  When it is not neglect it is abuse.

Okay, so God says, Hey Zek! Take this message to the leaders of your nation.  Tell them that I am really NOT happy.  And when I’m not happy, ‘aint nobody happy.  Do you blockheadds really think that I can’t see what is going on? 

You are down there getting fat off of My people.  You take the blessings that I have given them to pad your own nest eggs.  You are all dressed up in your fancy clothes , living in your mansions, driving expensive cars – er, camels, and taking the best of everything for yourselves.

Man, it sure points out how little things have changed doesn’t it?

If you watch the TV or read the paper you can tell that these guys would feel right at home in our world today.

They were supposed to be leaders.  Now, you can’t be a leader if you aren’t moving and nobody is following!  And according to this parable, the sheep – that is the people – were lost.  They were scattered over the face of the earth and nobody was searching for them.  

            Not one of these, supposedly good, Godly people was getting out of their comfort zone and ….

            Oh oh!  I just got one of those spiritual slaps up side the head!

I was feeling fairly comfortable with my place in this parable.  I was seeing myself as a sheep – were you? 

But look here, we are not the ‘lost’.  We have been redeemed.  We are sitting here in church because we have found THE WAY.  Oh, we’re not perfect and we may temporarily get turned around but I really can’t see casting us in the role of the sheep.

            But wait a minute, Tom, if they are the lost sheep, who are we 

            Well, we sure aren’t God.

            And unless God has your cellphone number, I don’t think we are Ezekiel either.

Man, I hate to admit this, but I think that we may be the shepherds that ol’ Zeke here is talkin’ to.  I was feeling so smug and comfortable a minute ago. Now, not so much.

The shepherds were the religious leaders and yet they were not doing what shepherds do.  Shepherds do not sit at home while the sheep are in the field.  Shepherds feed the sheep. They lead them to where the water is good.  They protected them from the wild beasts.  They bring them safely home.  That is what shepherds are SUPPOSED to do.

Ol’ Ezekiel’s shepherds did not protect, did not heal the injured, did not lead, they did not even do the most basic of care by feeding the sheep.  And as a result, the Almighty Lord says: I am against the shepherds. I will demand that they hand over my sheep. I won’t let them take care of my sheep anymore, and they will no longer take care of only themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, and my sheep will no longer be their food.

            In our Gospel reading, Jesus lays out the job description for being the right kind of shepherd. 

³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 
            Now, this congregation does many good things to take care of the sheep.  We do protect through various programs such as the blanket bucks,

We feed through programs like the food pantry, the monthly meals at Trinity, the Heifer Project and even the suppers provided through UP kids.

We clothe the naked through our contributions to the Ingathering and yes through the rummage sales.

We visit, pray for and send cards and flowers to the sick

We welcome the stranger that enters our doors.

However, I’m wondering if we doing all that we can to go find the lost sheep that are scattered across the face of the earth.  Our church’s mission statement is.

We Are Touching Lives Through Christ By

Reaching Out, Bringing In, Lifting Up, Sending Forth.

Answer this for yourselves, are we really reaching out?  Are we seeking the lost?  I know that if the lost find their way into our fold, we will welcome them, we will protect them, we will feed them, and many other things that a good shepherd would do.  But let’s face this, a good shepherd does not just open the gate to the shephold and hope the sheep find their way to.  He actively seeks the sheep and herds them into safety.

I have to ask this, and understand that I’m not just asking YOU, I’m asking US, are we actively inviting people in?  And if we are, are they the lost sheep?  Or we inviting the saved to come and join us?

I ask that because … well, here is a personal admission:  We just recently got some new neighbors who will be spending the winter in an RV near ours.  Ella asked them if they had found a church home yet and we invited them to come to church with us. 

Were we being shepherds?  Not really, these people are already Believers.  We were not inviting sheep.  We were inviting more shepherds.

If we are to live up to our mission statement, we need to go find the sheep and bring them in.  We need to be seeking the lost.  Just as Jesus did.  “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10.  Jesus was fulfilling what Ezekiel had prophesied, “¹¹For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.  ¹²As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.”  We, as Christ’s hands and feet on earth are under an obligation to continue this work. 

Remember the words of the Great Commandment in Matthew 28, “¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit,²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have command you.”

This was not a suggestion to sit in our comfortable sanctuary and wait for the lost to wander in.  This is a command to go and find them.

We each have to ask ourselves how we have obeyed this command.  When we stand before God will He say,  'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'


Hebrew Bible:    Ezekiel 34:1-17 ¹Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, ²Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them- to the shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep?  ³You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings but you do not feed the sheep.  ⁴You have not strengthened the weak, the you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost. but with force and hardship you have ruled them.5 So they were scattered, for there was no shepherd, and scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.

7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:8 "As I live," says the Lord GOD, because My sheep have become a prey, and My sheep have become food for all the wild animals since there was no shepherd, and because My shepherds have not searched for My sheep, but  the shepherds fed themselves and have not feed My sheep;9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:10 'Thus says the Lord GOD, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves.  I will rescue My sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.

¹¹For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.  ¹²As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.  ¹³I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.  ¹⁴I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.  ¹⁵I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.  ¹⁶I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

¹⁷As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats

Gospel Reading:          Matthew 25:31-46

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.  ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.  ³⁴Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'  ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'  ⁴⁰And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'  ⁴¹Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'  ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'  ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'  ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life the foundation of the world”?

re-post from adamjwilliams.blogspot.com

This is a cut and past from Adam's, my son, blog

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

30 Days Of Thanks: Dad

Dear Dad,

            You have always inspired me to use my imagination and I thank you for that. I have talked to you many times before about people wanting their kids to have a better life than their own. I am not passing any judgments on Grandma Williams, but thank you for moving up and out of the chicken shack. I believe that my kids don’t have to worry about mice eating their cereal or people breaking into our house. So progress is in motion.

            It is a running joke between Leigha and myself that I didn’t do anything fun or travel as a kid because I was poor. I guess that is only funny because I am not poor anymore. I do find that sometimes, I still stash food. The emergency beef jerky in the glove box, per se.

            I don’t know if your creativity and artistic interests stemmed from poverty as well, but if that is the case, I say that it was well worth it. I believe that once I entered into the workplace, albeit a few years too late, I have learned from you how to have fun with whatever situation that I am in, and to make friends while doing it.

            One thing that I have admired about you for as long as I can remember is your near-universal likeability. (You can’t really be like by everyone, can you?) It is one quality that I would like to believe that I got from you. You have a special quality when you are interacting with kids. You have the ability to talk to kids without seeming pretentious or creepy. And it isn’t because you look like Santa Clause, either. With the amount of times that people have told me that you are funny and have a great personality, perhaps you were destined to be fat.

            Sometimes, when I tell people that I have already read your will, they think that it is weird. I’ve never though it was weird. What I DIDthink was odd was that you kept it in the freezer. I remember that there was a line that said that I had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. That has always stuck with me. Thank you for dehydrating me and encouraging this thirst. Thank you for swallowing your pride and playing Trivial Pursuit with me again after I beat you for the first time. There is no shame in losing to me repeatedly, as I did the same to you for decades.

            I suppose that I’ve also got you to thank for my appreciation for words and the English language. Leigha says that it get to the point where it is difficult to sit in on a conversation between us when we start trying to out-clever and out-pun each other. That’s fine; it almost becomes our own language. Thank you for being a loving and caring father that has taught me to be the same.

Love,

Adam

And here is his response:

Adam,
            First of all, thank you including me in your list of 30 important people in your life.
As you know I grew up without a father.  I did have a couple of father figures in my life.  One was my brother who was seventeen years my senior.  He was there when I was born.  However, I don’t actually remember him until I was in the 2nd grade.  He had graduated, joined the Navy, got out of the Navy, and gotten married to a woman who already had a son, Keith, from a previous marriage.  Even then I didn’t see him often until he moved back into my mother’s house.  By that time he had several more kids (three – I think).  This is when I got to know more about him.  And I didn’t like what I saw.  From my perspective as a kid myself, I saw him as a brute and a bully who was abusive to his kids.  So, when I had children of my own I chose to have a different relationship with my kids.  I wanted to be their teacher, their mentor, and a friend.  (Sometimes it is hard to be a friend when you are also the parent – but you know that by now.)
Another role model that I had was our neighbor, Russell.  Although I was oblivious to it then, he was my mother’s boyfriend.  Russell was my buddy.  He took me fishing – a lot.  In those days there was no trash pick up.  We had a ‘burn barrel’ to dispose of everything that would burn.  The trash that would not burn would accumulate until we had enough to load a pickup truck and take to the dump.  Russell would take me to the dump.  I loved the dump!  I think I may have carried half a load back from the dump whenever we went.  I picked up old radios, business signs or anything that had lights, bells, buzzers, or speakers.  I became a pretty good repair person for those old radios and built lots of ‘neat stuff’ from the motors, lights etc.  Yes, I have found memories of Russell.  Russell was a buddy – but he was not a father.  He would have let me do anything I wanted.  There was no discipline there. 
My best father figure was my mother.  She was fun and enjoyed my craziness and at the same time never forgot (or let me forget) who was the parent.  I got my love of books and education from this woman who dropped out before ever going to high school. (She raised her brothers and sisters after her mother’s health became too bad.) I truly believe she was one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever known.  I know that my sense of humor and sarcasm came from this sharp witted/sharp tongued woman.
I tried to be the kind of father that would encourage you and your siblings to become self-reliant and creative.  By the way, doing that is kind of like being in charge of a stampede.  You can get things moving but have only marginal control of where it goes or when it stops.
I’m so proud of all of you kids for the adults and parents you have become.

Dad

Who Would You Follow Into The Flood?

Read: Joshua 3:7-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 and Matthew 23:1-12          

        I like a church where people read the Bible.  People who read the Bible for themselves are less likely to be lead astray.  Be wary of people who build their lessons on a verse here and a verse there.  Read before and after the verse. See if the whole section, chapter, or book supports the lesson that they are teaching. 

Now, I can promise you that I am not trying to lead you astray.  However, if I was the kind of person who would lead you astray, I would be the kind of person who would lie and say, “I can promise you that I am not trying to lead you astray.”

        So, how do we choose the spiritual leader that we follow?  And I am not talking about how the conference appoints a pastor.  I’m talking about how WE chose to whom we listen.

        Have you ever played “Follow the Leader”?  One person leads and everyone else follows and does exactly what the leader does.  Anyone who doesn’t do the same as the leader is out of the game.  The game goes on until only the leader and one other person is still in the game.  Of course the leader in the game tries to make it as hard to follow as possible.  It is the challenge that makes it fun.  In life we want a leader who wants to make it possible for us to follow even when the times are challenging.

        Some leaders are charismatic. There is just something about their personality that makes people want to follow them.  By all accounts, Jesus Christ was certainly a charismatic leader. People were drawn to Him by the strength of His character.  However, the cult leader Jim Jones was also said to be very charismatic.  So charisma is not the answer.

        Maybe we choose to follow a particular leader because they lead us where we want to go.  That certainly sounds like a leader we could follow.  Amen?  I’ll remind you of some Biblical examples.  Moses lead a mob of ex slaves that complained and back peddled for forty years in the dessert – all because they did not like where he lead them. 

        In the New Testament, Jesus consistently took his disciples to places they did not want to go.  He took them to the houses of sinners and tax collectors.  He took them among the lepers and He took them into Jerusalem when the authorities were making plans to kill Jesus and punish His disciples.  No, we should not choose a leader because he leads us where we want to go.

        Perhaps we choose the leader we follow because he can quote scriptures to back up his leadings.  Recall, if you will, that Satan also quotes scripture.  Between the Old and the New Testaments there are so many passage that can be pulled out of context and made to sound like something they were never meant to say.  No, even Bible knowledge is not the test of a true spiritual leader.

        The Hebrew Bible lesson takes place just after the 30 days of mourning following the death of Moses.  Moses had trained Joshua to take his place.  Moses had told the people’s leaders that Joshua was going to lead them into the Promised Land.  However, this was the moment when Joshua became a leader because “Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to honor you in front of all the people of Israel. I will do this to let them know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.”

Following God’s order, Joshua ordered the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant, “When you step into the water of the Jordan River, stand there.” 

Now remember that the Jordon River was at flood stage.  We, here, have been through floods in the past few years.  We know the power of the flood.  We have heard the warnings to not drive on flooded streets because even a few inches of fast moving water can sweep a car down into deeper waters. 

Now, put yourself in the place of the priests who have just been told to walk into the flood and stand there.  How willing are you to step into that water?  How much do you trust the man who just told you to stand in the flood?

Now Joshua calls to the people of Israel and tells them, “Come here, and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly force your enemies out of your way. Watch the ark of the Lord of the whole earth as it goes ahead of you into the Jordan River. The water flowing from upstream will stop and stand up like a dam.”

        In the New Testament reading Paul give thanks that the people of Thessalonica have been good followers of his example.  He commends them for being good followers of the gospel of Christ. What kind of leader was Paul?  Well, he says that he took a job to earn a living so that he could minister to them with burdening them financially.  He says that God is his witness that he was pure, honest, and blameless in his dealings with the believers. And that he treated each of them the way a father treats his children. He comforted them and encouraged them. Yet, he insisted that they should live in a way that proves they belong to the God who calls them into his kingdom and glory.

        In our gospel reading we find Jesus warning people to follow the teachings of but not the examples of the religious leaders.  These leaders continued to teach the laws of Moses but they had enforced burdens on the people that the leaders were exempt from.

The reading begins, “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,”

Then – Jesus said.  Then – indicates something had happened before.  So, let’s set what He is about to say into the time frame of what has gone before.

·       Jesus has ridden into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey colt.

·       The people have hailed him as the Messiah.

·       He has cleansed the temple and overturned the tables of the temple merchants.

·       He has been challenged by the religious leaders and has won every debate.

·       He has just finally silenced the Pharisees by asking them questions about the Messiah that they could not answer.

Then – Jesus turns to the crowds and to his disciples and says, “The scribes and the Pharisees teach with Moses’ authority. So be careful to do everything they tell you.”

Jesus recognized that, as persons in positions of authority, the scribes and Pharisees were to be respected.  It is much like what I was told in the military.  When you are saluting and officer, you are saluting the rank – not the man.  So, these teachers were teaching with Moses’ authority and are to be followed because of what they teach – not because of who they are.

Jesus even said, “But don’t follow their example, because they don’t practice what they preach.”

These people obviously knew the truth because they had been teaching it.  Jesus says that what they teach is true.  However, they do not live it.  Even worse, He says that they intentionally make it as hard as possible for the people to follow the rules they create.  And yet do not subject themselves to the same set of rules.

Jesus states their motivation is to “do everything to attract people’s attention. They make their headbands large and the tassels on their shawls long. They love the place of honor at dinners and the front seats in synagogues. They love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have people call them Rabbi.”  These, so called, leaders want all of the attention, trappings, and power of their positions but are unwilling to fulfill the true purpose of their positions.

Then Jesus gives the people a further warning, “Don’t make others call you Rabbi, because you have only one teacher, and you are all followers” When compared to the true teacher, every other person falls short.  We must all be students of the true teacher.

Then Jesus tells us who the true head of our household is to be. “Don’t call anyone on earth your father, because you have only one Father, and he is in heaven.

Since we all have one Father that makes us family.  That means that there is no ‘us verses them’ because we are all ‘us’.  That perspective should eliminate a whole lot of conflict when we finally embrace it.

As to being a leader, He says, “Don’t make others call you a leader, because you have only one leader, the Messiah.”  If you want to truly be a leader and not just be called “Leader” here is what you must do.  “The person who is greatest among you will be your servant.” And remember, “Whoever honors himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be honored.”

So, when we are looking for leadership, these are the attributes for which we should be looking.  We need a leader strong enough to lead us where we do not want to go.  We want a leader that truly has our best interests a heart.  We should look for a leader who is both gentle and firm as a father.  We need a leader who is not just trying to line his own pockets or increase his own power. We need a leader who has the heart of a servant.  And most of all we really need a leader who is a sincere follower of God. 

And let us not forget that we need to do our part by keeping ourselves in tune with the word of God so that we can recognize and embrace the true leaders in our lives.

        So let me ask you, who do you trust to lead you through the flood?

Ownership / Stewardship

(Gathering Meditation:     30 Day In-Home-Trial.

       Lord, I stood with one foot in the door.  I heard you calling me and I wanted to answer, “Here am I!”  My heart cried out, “I believe!”  However my mind was full of doubts.  Your promises seemed too good to be true: Salvation, Life eternal, Be born again as a child of God, Become a new creation – the old passwd away and everything new!  I’ve heard promises before.  I’ve been betrayed before.  It hurts so much to trust and have that trust broken.  How could I trust You, O Lord?  You answered, “Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I won’t open the windows of heaven for you and flood you with blessings.”  Really?  I could test You?  When you kept this promise, then I knew that I can trust You to keep your other promises.  I’ve put you to the test with my tithe as you command and I’ve proven that you are trustworthy.  I believe your other promises!

Based on Malachi 3:10)

Read Deuteronomy 34:1-12 and 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8        

Message             “Ownership / Stewardship”          Tom Williams      

  “He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he can not loose.”  I heard this quote last Sunday and it seemed to fit well with the message for today.

        Next week is Consecration Sunday for our church and we’ll be hearing about financial stewardship.  Financial support is one of the ways that we can support God’s work in the world and is an important part of being a good steward.

In the Biblical stories about stewards they are commonly slaves or servants that are given responsibility over a task or a piece of property.  Think of the three slaves who were given talents/money by their master before he left for a foreign country.  Two of the slaves put the money to work and earned additional income on it.  They were called ‘good’ and given rewards.  The one who only protected the money by burying it gave back to the master exactly what had been entrusted to him.  He was condemned by his master and the little that he had been given was taken away from him. 

        It is important to remember that this is given as an example for us to follow.  We are to take what we are given by God and put it to use for His good.

        Okay, so then the question is, “What belongs to God and what belongs to us?”  Do you remember what was in your hands the day you were born? That’s right, nothing!  That is what you truly own in this world, nothing! 

We often give a dedication prayer after the offering that says, “Of Thy own have we given Thee, O Lord.”  How often do we consider the truth of that statement?  How often do we realize that nothing on this earth is ours to keep?   How often do we realize that we are only tenants and not owners?  When do we admit to ourselves that we are only stewards of God’s world?

        I’m reminded of a story about the old-time farmer who sat down to eat and said this prayer, “Thank you Lord for this bread that I baked from flour that I ground from the seed I harvested from the wheat that  I grew in the field that  I planted on the land  I cleared of rocks with which I built the hearth to bake the bread.”  With his lips he may have said, “Thank You Lord.”  But in his heart he was feeling that he had done everything himself. 

        Perhaps the farmer should have been praying, “Thank You, Lord for this bread. Thank you for the wisdom to make flour ground from seeds you created.  Thank you for the rich soil you provided, and for the sun and rain in their seasons that caused the wheat to grow.  Thank you for the strength to work the soil and build the hearth.  Thank you for the health to eat the bread full of the nutrients you placed there, O Lord.  Thank You for this time of rest and refreshment in which to enjoy this bread. Amen.”

        Our Bible readings from the old and new testaments deal with a couple of good stewards, Moses and Paul.

        In our Hebrew Bible reading, we see the end of the journey for Moses.  It is recorded that Moses saw God face to face and that there has never been another like him.  Moses has brought his people to the Promised Land (for the second time).    Remember that it did not take forty years for the Israelites to reach the Promise Land.  It only took a few months to get there the first time.  But they refused to go in.  God gave it to them but they did not accept the gift.  Because of that, God had them wander in the desert until that whole generation died. Now they are back and ready to go in.

God has given the land to the Israelites.  They will still have to secure it because other tribes and other nations have claimed it as there own.  It is a gift but they have to take it.  This gift of God’s is much like our salvation which is a free gift but unless we accept it and use it, it makes no difference in our lives.  The Israelites were to conquer the land and use it for God’s purpose.  In other words, they were stewards of the land – not the owners.

        In our New Testament reading, Paul points out to his readers that, although he as an apostle of Christ and he had a right to be rewarded for his service, he had not come to them with flattering words not tried to trick them out of their money.  He had come as a steward declaring the love of God in Christ to them.  So that they could also become stewards of God’s plan.

        Jesus has a lot to say in his many parables about stewards and servants and slaves.  Some are bad stewards and they lose their jobs, possessions, and sometimes their lives.  Some are good stewards and they are rewarded and promoted and praised!.  There is a common beginning to all the stories of stewards: at the start, all of them are trusted to carry out the commands and wishes of the master.  By their actions their hearts are revealed to be either trustworthy or not.

        Invariably the trouble with the bad stewards is that they forget who the true owner is.  They begin to think that what they manage belongs to them.  That is a dangerous mindset.  “Mine, mine, mine!” cries the little child within us.

        The good steward is always shown as the one who obeys the master’s wishes.  But more than that, the good steward is one who begins to think like the master – to have the same heart as the master - and to anticipate what the master wants - without having to be told.  “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

        That brings me to my own story.

        I know that many people give financially to God’s work because they believe in God.  That is certainly not unusual.  However, my story about giving is a little different.  I believe in God because I gave.  Did you read the “Gathering Meditation” this morning?  That is basically MY story.

After years of disbelief, I had been asked bluntly if I believed that Jesus died for me.  I started attending church.  I listened to the preacher and the Sunday school teacher talk about the promises of God.  My emotions were stirred, or as Wesley said, “My heart was strangely warmed.”  It was obvious that these Christians had something that I didn’t.  I was drawn to it.

And yet my mind was cynical.  Certainly I was too smart to fall for this foolishness no matter how attractive it was!  What I needed was a thirty-day-money-back-guarantee.  I needed some way to ‘try out’ this God thing.

That’s when I came across Malachi 3:10 which says, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”

Really?  I could put God to the test?  Wow! Here was my guarantee.  
I took God’s challenge and started to tithe.  It was not an easy step for me.  I had precious little ‘spare’ money.  I thought it a good week when I still had money left before the next paycheck came.  But I quickly learned that God didn’t want my ‘spare’ money.  God wanted the ‘first fruits’.  He wanted His 10% off the top.

Okay, so this was His challenge.  If I was going to really put Him to the test, I had to follow his plan.  So I did.  I was so surprised to find money left at the end of the first month that I put it aside and didn’t spend it.  The next month I had more money left. 

        This did NOT MAKE SENSE!  And THAT was the big lesson that I learned: this God stuff does not make sense, because God’s wisdom is foolishness to men. 

You see a good steward has that child-like faith that believes what God says, - He will do.  Being a good steward requires an attitude change and in the way we think about

‘our“ possessions.

        I’ll admit that it has not always been easy and sometimes I have not proven to be as faithful as I want to be.  However, God has continued to be faithful to me.

        Now here is a question for us.

Why does God say bring our tithes that there may be food in my storehouse?  Why does God want our tithes?  Not for Himself, certainly, it all belongs to Him anyway!  It is because it is one way that God expresses His love for us, His children.  It gives us a chance to share, to be in partnership with the Almighty. 

Here is that same question turned around. Why should we bring our tithes into God’s storehouse?

I was given this United Methodist Publication entitled “Why We Give” and it says that, “Christians give through their churches for many reasons, including – but not limited to – the following:

        Because God first gave to us

        Because we love God

        Because it is what Christians do

        Because it is what United Methodists do

        To make ministry and mission happen

 Because, together, we can do what no one individual or    
 congregation can do separately

Remember, God does NOT need our money.  He does, however, want us to be good stewards and share in the joy of giving.  For giving is Godlike. 

Here ends the lesson.

 Amen

Where Can I Be A Gate?

Exodus 32:1-14 and Philippians 4:1-9          

       Our scripture readings both deal with intercession.  In simple terms a person who intercedes stands between two opposing forces and brings peace and protection.  I was reminded that at one point Christ referred to himself as the gate in a sheep hold.  He stood between the sheep and the wild animals and thieves who would come to do harm to the sheep.  This is intercession.

       Our message from the Hebrew Bible is an interesting story that has so many possible sermons in it.  We could talk about how quickly these people turned their backs on the God who saved them from slavery.  We could build a sermon around Aaron who so easily gave in to the pressure of the people.  We could focus on the righteous wrath of God toward this ungrateful congregation of freed slaves.  However, the thing that jumped out at me years ago when I first read this account was that Moses argued with God and God relented!

       Let us take a look here starting in verse 7 “God said to Moses, “Go back down there. Your people whom you brought out of Egypt have ruined everything.”

       Did you catch that?  God told Moses “YOUR people whom YOU brought out of Egypt”

       I want to ask the parents in the crowd to ‘fess up to something.  When the kids have just done something that just got on your last nerve, have you turned to your spouse and said, “YOUR kids are driving me nuts!”  Not MY kid or OUR kids but YOUR kids.

       God is saying that they’ve already turned from the way He commanded them to live. They’ve made a statue of a calf for themselves. They’ve bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They’ve already made idols for themselves and said, ‘Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.’ ” 

       God is saying to Moses, “You haven’t even had a chance to take them the commandments that I’ve given you and they’ve already broken three of them! “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with.

       They are impossible to deal with!  I have four children of my own.  I love them each dearly.  I remember telling someone that I wouldn’t take a million dollars for any one of them.  However there are days I would have given you the SET for free! That is not true of coarse but, in a way, I can relate to the frustration that God is feeling.  Here He is just moments from fulfilling everything that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Here is the NATION that God had said would come from their seed.  This plan had been in process for over four hundred years.  In just a short time they would reach the promised land.  Land that God had made rich for them (remember “a land flowing with milk and honey”?). 

       God had brought Moses to the mountain to give them ten laws (the shortest list of laws that any nation has ever had to live by) and during that very time, they had turned to worshiping a god created by their own hands.  No wonder God was saddened and disappointed by this ungrateful and unfaithful mob of people.

       God’s plan had been irreversible changed by the very nation that He had brought into existence.  He was ready to go to plan B. So He said, “Now leave me alone. I’m so angry with them I am going to destroy them.”

       Gasp! What?  But God is a loving God who is willing to forgive over and over and over! (Remember Jesus saying to Peter that he had to be willing to forgive seventy-seven times?)

       Yes He is.  However, He has limits.  Remember the story of Noah begins with God saying nearly the same thing.  The people have become so far gone that He decides to tear it all down and start over – again!  He had been pushed past that 78^th time!

       Then God promises Moses the same thing that He had told Abraham, then Isaac and then Jacob; “I’ll make YOU into a great nation.”
       Moses could have done the same thing that his ancestors did, accept the covenant from God.  But instead Moses pleaded with the Lord his God.  He becomes the gate between God and the nation of Israel when he said, “why are you so angry with your people whom you brought out of Egypt using your great power and mighty hand?”

       Moses reminded God that it was God and not he, Moses, who brought these people out of Egypt.

       Don’t let the Egyptians say, ‘He was planning all along to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth. That’s why he brought them out of our land.’ Don’t be so angry. Reconsider your decision to bring this disaster on your people.

       Moses said to God, “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.’ ”
       Moses reminded God that it was God who had made the original covenant and then repeated it to successive generations of Abraham’s line.  This was not a contract that men had made with God.  This was a contract that God had made with men and could not be broken.

       So the Lord reconsidered his threat to destroy his people.

       God reconsidered.  God relented because Moses interceded for the people.  This vast multitude of people would have perished without the persistent prayer of this one man.  God listened.

       In the new testament reading Paul asks the congregation at Philipi keep their relationship with the Lord firm! And he encouraged both

Eu-o`-di-a and Syn`-ty-che to have the attitude the Lord wants them to have.

       There was a division in this church that was destroying it.  God’s plan for this people was in jeopardy of being destroyed by the people themselves.

       Paul intercedes and becomes an advocate on behalf of the whole congregation by reminding the ‘combatants’ to be open to the love that God intends them of have.  He is asking them to look past their differences and remember that they are both children of God and should love each other as family.

       Then Paul gives them guidelines on how to achieve this harmony.  He says, “Always be joyful in the Lord!”  That is so important that he repeats it by saying, “I’ll say it again: Be joyful!’     Remember the image of the gate on the sheep hold?  Paul is standing between the sheep and the wolf and saying, “Be joyful in the Lord!”  What amazing insight!  How can there be conflict where there is the joy of the Lord?

       So step one is joy. Step two is being considerate.  Being considerate means that you look at the situation from the other person’s point of view. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

       Now step three is never worry about anything.  You know what worry is?  Worry is the interest that the Devil charges on a debt you don’t owe.  Worry is nonproductive waste of time and energy.

       It is easy to say, “Don’t worry.”  But how do we do that?   Paul explains, “In every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.”  Turn it over to God.  Leave it in His hands and trust that He will turn it to good.

       Here is the good news.  If we follow these simple steps, then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard our thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.
       Paul’s final thoughts on this conflict resolution are, “keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable.”

       As you read the Bible it is very easy to find examples of people of God stepping into situations where they became the gate between warring people and factions and brought about a peaceful settlement; examples where righteous people have provided shelter for the weak and guidance to the hurtful.

In my own life I can think of times when someone has stepped in to do intercessory work on my behalf.  I’m sure that you can think of examples in your life also

       We know that we have an intercessor in Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of God and acts as an advocate for us.  This same Christ commands that we do the same for others.  We are to be the bringers of peace and love to the world. We need to look for opportunities to be gates in the sheep hold.  Amen

“Problems in the Vineyard”

Isaiah 5:1-7 and Matthew 21:33-46

       The reading in Isaiah and the reading in Matthew start out a lot alike.  A vineyard has been established.  A wall has been built around it.  Rocks, shrubs and weeds have been removed.  A watchtower has been built so that the fruit can be protected from the wild beasts and thieves.  A winepress has been built in anticipation of the harvest to come.  

       Just preparing the land has most likely taken the first year in the life of this vineyard. And finally the vineyard is planted with grape vines.  Each plant placed by hand into the hole and the soil carefully replaced around it being sure not to leave air pockets.  Usually a little dirt is added, a little water is added, a little dirt is added a little water is added, a little dirt etc. until the hole is filled.

       Now comes the careful watering.  Until the root system is established the ground must be kept moist but not wet.  Too much water will drown the young plants.  Gradually the dry plantings will begin to show signs of green, signs of growth. 

       Now the next four years is spent tending the vines, pruning, supporting and training them to the trellis.  Plus tending the ground, keeping in loose enough for the water to soak in.  And keeping the weeds and varmints out goes on for a long time before it gets to the harvest stage.

       Sometimes when we read these illustrations we fail to realize the amount of time the landowner (God) has put into this vineyard (us).

       Now in the Isaiah story, the good grapes have gone wild.  The expected harvest will not take place.  Imagine all that work and nothing to show for it!  No wonder the owner wants to withdraw from this piece of property and let it go back to its uncultivated nature.

       God had planted his vineyard.  He nurtured it and trained it.  He had built a vineyard / a nation.  He settled them in the perfect spot for them to grow.  He had given ten simple laws for them to follow, though they themselves added many more from their interpretation of His laws.  God had done all that he could do to insure its survival and yet it had gone wild.  God was not pleased.

       In the Matthew reading Jesus is reinterpreting the Isaiah story and saying that the landowner after doing all he could to get the vineyard established had turned the day to day care to some tenants.  The harvest is done and now it is time to collect his share of the produce.  Being still in a far country, he sent his servants to the workers to collect his share of the produce as agreed upon. 

       The tenants in their greed decided that THEY had done all the work for this crop (which was only THEIR point of view because they were discounting all the time, money and effort the owner had put into it first).  But in their greed they chose not to give the owner his share. 

       Remember that we are really talking about God and – well – us!  How often have we denied that it ALL belongs to God?  We are only stewards.  And yet, we look around us and say, “Look what I have done! Or See what I have made!” 

       My three-year-old great granddaughter is at that stage where she is defining boundaries. She’ll look at me as I’m getting a glass of water and say, “That is not YOUR glass, gran’pa.  That’s Daddy’s glass.” Or “This is not MY backpack.  This is Sissy’s!”  Well, this is not MY world.  It is God’s, along with everything else in existence.  But praise God He let’s me use it.

       Remember what you had in your pocket the day you were born?  That’s right – nothing!  And that is all that belongs to you - nothing.  By God’s grace we have what we have and only asks for a small token to be returned to His service.

       Now some of you are maybe starting to think I’m talking about tithing.  Well I am, a little, but that’s not all.  Yes, as far back as the Garden of Eden a sacrifice, was given to God.

       That reminds me of a cartoon I saw of a family sitting in a restaurant.  The son turns to his dad and says, “Why does the waitress get 20% and God only gets 10?  Let us not begrudge God’s his 10% but be thankful that He lets us have the 90%. 

       Okay, so now that I’ve talked about tithing let’s get down to what God REALLY wants from us.  He wants our love.  He wants us to honor him by doing that which he has set before us.  He wants us to care for His creation like good stewards.

       You see, He has a job for each of us.  All it takes is for us to love Him enough – to trust Him enough.  And then we need to give God the thanks and the glory that are rightfully his.

       Back to the illustration: The workers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third to death.

       Instead of seeking revenge or retribution for these deaths, the owner is still only trying to receive his portion of the harvest as is his right.  So the landowner sent more servants. But the workers treated them the same way. 

       Stepping out of the metaphor and into reality for a moment, let’s look at who these servants were.  Well these were the judges, prophets and righteous people that God sent to his people to get them back in alignment with his purpose.  In this day and age we would recognize them as being Pastors, Sunday school teachers, Christian musicians, Christian authors as well as our family and friends who offer us sound advice.  Time to ask ourselves how well we have received these servants of God.  I doubt that any in this congregation have actually beaten and killed God's messengers.  However, have we received them with the love and with justice as God requires?

       Then Jesus says, “Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’ “When the workers saw his son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him and get his inheritance.’

       Now we know that approach is pure foolishness.  Killing the son in no way puts them in line to inherit anything but the father’s wrath!  But greed and other sins can cloud our judgments and make us do really stupid things.

       So the tenants grabbed the son, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

       Jesus was of course talking about himself here!  He knew what these rebellious people were planning for him.  But Jesus never backed down.  Instead he asks these leaders, “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those workers?” 

       Jesus is checking: do they really not understand right and wrong; or do they know right from wrong and just choose wrong?

       They answered, “He will destroy those evil people. Then he will lease the vineyard to other workers who will give him his share of the produce when it is ready.” 

       By their own tongues they were condemning themselves but had not yet realized it. They had not seen themselves as the “evil tenants”.  They didn’t realize that the “vineyard” was about to be taken away from them and given to those people that these leaders looked down their noses at.

       Okay reality check!  Who do we turn our noses up at?  Are we SURE that we are so much more deserving of the vineyard than they are?

       Then Jesus asked them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord is responsible for this, and it is amazing for us to see’? That is why I can guarantee that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce what God wants.

       Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken. If the stone falls on anyone, it will crush that person.”
       Okay, these guys might not have got the point the first time around but, when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard this illustration, they finally knew that he was talking about them.  This angered them and they wanted to arrest him but were afraid of the crowds, who thought he was a prophet.

       Again, we have to be VERY careful with casting judgment on these religious people.  They were, for the most part, good people.  However, they were people so locked into their customs and mind sets that they could not accept what Jesus was telling them even when he explained it to them. 

       We need to be careful that we are not looking at the splinter in their eye and not aware of the log in our own eye.  For we too, can fall victim to the delusion that we are always right because we keep the letter of the law but do not always filter it through the love of Christ as he taught us and command us to do.

       Part of our communion liturgy says, “Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another."  So, during this time of communion let us each examine our own lives to see if we have the righteousness of God within us or if it is our own self righteousness which can blind us to the true purpose that God has for us.

Pockets: the Beginning of Greed.

            Imagine a world without pockets.  Imagine a world without purses, wallets, bags, boxes or luggage!  Imagine not being able to take your ‘stuff’ with you!  Does the thought make you uncomfortable or does it make you liberated?

            Very early one morning this week, I woke with this strange thought in my head, “pockets are an invention of the Devil!”  You see, if a person has no pockets and they find an interesting stone.  They may stop and admire it.  They may pick it up and examine it more closely.  They may drop it back to where it was or toss it away.  If a person with pockets sees and interesting stone, they may also do all of those things.  However, they may also put it into their pocket.

            Once it is in their pocket, it becomes “theirs”.  That which was accessible to everyone now becomes property.  Property needs to be protected, defended, cared for, added to, and admired.  From the simple step of putting into a pocket, all kinds of potential sins can arise: greed, lust, hate and more.

            The Devil is often so subtle with his temptations.  Perhaps pockets are an invention of his.

Matthew 6:19 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”