"Faith Is Never Alone"

Matthew 25.31-46

Pastor Allan Buss, November 20, 2011

Consecration Stewards Sunday

 

“Neither Silver nor Gold”

Zephaniah 1.7, 12-18

Pastor Tom Johnson, November 13, 2011

 

As of last week, Silver is worth about $34 per ounce. Gold is worth about $1790 per ounce. They are valuable because they are rare and precious metals. They are shiny and malleable. They have been made into jewelry and art for centuries. Because of their value and light weight, silver and gold have also been used as a currency. Molded into a round piece of metal, it is much easier to enter the marketplace with a coin in your pocket than a cow on a leash.

When you go to market with your silver or gold, you have some convincing to do; the other party must believe that the metal is of the same or greater value than whatever they are selling—silver and gold—for animals, grain, goods, or services; both have placed their faith in the value of these metals. Money can buy anything. So it seems. Our text from Zephaniah says neither silver nor gold will be able to save us from the day of the Lord’s wrath. What our Scripture is trying to do is not threaten us with God’s anger but for us to stop putting our faith in silver and gold.

Think about how vulnerable silver and gold make us. Silver and gold are two elements on the periodic table. As soon as someone no longer believes that silver and gold are worth anything, the metals are useless. And if that is true about rare and shiny metal, how much more true is that of our modern currency? Think about how much faith is required to believe that paper money has value…or checks…or credit cards. They’re just paper and plastic. The prophet wants us to see that our money is hanging on a thin thread of faith in the value of the almighty dollar.

In these few weeks, we have been leading up to our Consecration Stewards Sunday which is next week. The program mandates that I preach about money today. I was pleased when I looked at our appointed Old Testament reading for this morning a few weeks ago, and it said it so simply: “Neither silver or gold can save you.” This morning, God invites us to sit back and reflect on what money is, or rather, what it is not. Money is not a savior. Jesus alone is Savior. Scripture warns that money is the root of all sorts of evil (1 Tim 6:10). Silver and gold cannot deliver us from danger, the prophet tells us. Silver and gold cannot feed empty stomachs. Silver and gold cannot protect from hail and storm. Silver and gold cannot cure an illness. And even more importantly, we cannot buy ourselves out of our sin and brokenness.

Only the Word of God is the Bread of Heaven will satisfy our spiritual hunger. Only the righteousness of Christ will spiritually clothe us. The Lord alone is the strong tower who shelters us from storm and battle. The water, Word, and Holy Spirit of baptism alone make us spiritually clean. Money cannot buy a clear conscience. It cannot right any wrong. It cannot deliver us from temptation. It cannot bring us the assurance of God’s forgiveness and love. We may love money but money does not love us back. We love the Lord because he first loved us. That is not to say that money is useless. We should remember that even money is the Lord’s. He put the silver and gold deep within the earth to be mined. God is the one who provides us with resources, jobs, and money for our daily needs. He answers our prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

And so Scritpure reminds us that money should always be understood and used in the context of God as our Creator and Sustainer. Our money is really our stewardship of God’s resources in the context of his mission to spread his Kingdom and good news on earth. 1 Peter chapter one says, “You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish” (1 Peter 1:18,19). The only currency that is of true value and power is the precious blood of Jesus. It is even more rare than silver and gold. It is even more priceless. It is even more powerful.

And here is the most astounding thing: what is costly to Jesus—what cost him his life—is free to us. Jesus died and rose again to answer our prayer, “Forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.” He has paid off all our debts and has purchased a place for us in the Kingdom of Heaven not with silver and gold but with his own life. We are now clothed, fed, housed, and royal citizens by the rare and priceless blood of Jesus.

“Do you not know what we will be?”

1 John 3.1-3

Pastor Tom Johnson, November 6, 2011

 

Mother butterfly lays a tiny, round egg on a stem or leaf. She lays the egg near plenty of food. She puts the egg in a good position for survival. But she will never come back to monitor the egg. She will never return in order to show her young what the next step is. Soon a tiny larva will come out of that egg—a little worm-like creature that immediately begins to eat the vegetation around. The tiny larva grows bigger every day. It soon becomes a caterpillar eating and growing. And I wonder: Caterpillar, do you not know where you came from? Do you not know what you will be? Are you eating and growing but unaware that one day you will be re-created—that one day you will spread your wings and soar into the sky?

The Scriptures tells us where we came from. Psalm 139 (v. 13) says that we have been knit together by God in our mother’s womb…and (v. 14) that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God has not left as to fend for ourselves. He has not abandoned us as orphans. God has not abandoned the caterpillars. He has not abandoned the little sparrows. Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (Matt 10:29). He has not abandoned any of his creatures—especially those creatures who have been created in his image. Our Scripture says, “We are God’s children now.”

The young caterpillar builds a chrysalis—a cocoon around itself. It lays itself down to rest. Its soft tissue breaks down and harder firmer structures are formed. And I wonder: Caterpillar, do you think that you are dying? Do you think that this is the end? Do you not know what you will be? Do you not know that you will be reborn soon—that you will be a new creation?

Scripture asks us if we know? Paul asks us in Romans chapter 6, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Do you, Christian, think that you will be overcome by death? Do you think that death is end? Do you not know what you will be? Do you not know that we already have the life of Christ at work in us?

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” “We are God’s children now.” “And what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

The caterpillar’s time in the chrysalis comes to an end. Its transformation is complete. It wakes up from its strange slumber. It spreads its wings and flies off to a bigger world—far above and far away from its beginning. It is a butterfly. And I wonder: Butterfly, did you not know this day would come? Or are you thinking to yourself, “Finally this day has come”? Or are you thinking, “Now isn’t this a surprise! I never knew I had it in me”?

“Beloved, we are God’s children now. And what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” When Jesus died on the cross and was buried, he knew what he would be. He knew that just as Jonah was in the cocoon of the fish for three days, so Jesus would be in the cocoon of the tomb for three days. Jesus overcame death, the devil, and the grave. And that same power that raised him from the dead lives within us—now. And do you not know what we will be is even more glorious?

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ’s death will be raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so that we too might walk in newness of life? Do you know not know that those with faith in Jesus—those saints who are absent from the body are now present with the Lord? Do you know not know that those skeptics around us may soon break free from their cocoons of doubt and unbelief? Do you not know that the same power that worked in Jesus works in them, you, and me?

“What we will be has not yet appeared.” We will be transformed. We will be renewed. We will be re-created. “When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” When we see Jesus face to face, it will the final transformation of our minds, bodies, and spirits. Do you not know that we are his children now? That is who we are. And do you not know that one day we will spread our wings, take flight, and radiate his love and glory forever and ever?

"Truly Free"

John 8.31-36

Pastor Tom Johnson, October 30, 2011

 

Jesus is speaking to the Israelites. He tells them if they continue to believe his teaching, they are on the road toward freedom—a truer and deeper freedom. But their response is that they don't need freedom. They are already free. “We are descendents of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone,” they say. It's hard to understand how the people of God could be so confused—“never been slaves to anyone,” really? Even on the surface this seems hard to believe. “Descendents of Abraham,” you say? Abraham's great grandson, Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. A generation later, all the daughters and sons of Abraham are slaves in Egypt. For four hundred years they suffered the injustice of slavery and bondage.

Every year, the Israelites celebrated Passover—the story of Exodus when God sent Moses down to Egypt to charge Pharaoh to let God's people go. Every Sabbath day, the Jews retold this story that began with slavery and ended in emancipation. And not only is slavery a reality in their history, it is a reality in their current circumstances The people Jesus is speaking with may not be making mud bricks under the Egyptian sun, but they are under the dominion of Rome—forced to serve and pay tribute to a foreign master. So, if they cannot acknowledge slavery in their past or need for freedom from tyranny in the present, imagine how difficult it will be for Jesus to convince them that their slavery runs even deeper than political and physical bondage.

Jesus says, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”. This type of slavery—bondage to sin—is not only the true condition of the Israelites, the descendents of Abraham. It is the true condition of every human being. You'll remember that long before Abraham, Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. In that very first generation of human beings, we were threatened with bondage to sin—the dominion of evil. God saw it coming even before anyone else. Cain was falling prey to temptation and sin. God warns him, “Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you.” “Sin wants to hunt you down, Cain. Like a skillful predator, sin wants to catch you, dominate you, bind you, and eat you for breakfast.”

This very first mention of the word “sin” in the Bible speaks about it as something that wants to overcome us and maliciously take control of our lives. Sadly, Cain did not listen to God’s warning. And like a slave obedient to his own broken condition, Cain murders his brother Abel. “Very truly,” Jesus says, “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.” Not only are we perpetrators of evil when we sin, we are also victims as well. It certainly does not mean that we can wash our hands in innocence when we sin, but that we should understand that we have a deeper problem in our lives beyond just the outward act of sin.

It’s not an easy or comfortable thing—looking into the mirror of Jesus’ words and seeing just how vulnerable we are to sin. It takes a lot of courage to acknowledge that we are prone to wander and be overcome by the power of sin. It takes courage, but ultimately it is God himself who helps us break free. It is from this understanding of the depth of the fallen, human condition that Jesus is trying to speak. Jesus is not trying to drive us into further guilt and despair; he trying to help us see how deep and wide our need for grace is.

Jesus is speaking out of compassion for a people who need liberation—people who seem unable to recognize their own bondage and servitude to sin's tyranny in their lives. And here is the encouraging thing about facing our darker sides: once we understand how deep and wide sin can penetrate our lives, we will also be prepared to see how deep and wide our salvation is in Jesus Christ.

This is the great rediscovery of the Gospel that we celebrate today—the clarity and simplicity of the good news of Jesus Christ. If we are not clear on sin, we will not be clear on forgiveness, grace, and salvation. The bad news is that we are captive to sin and we cannot free ourselves. The good news is that we believe and trust in someone who is greater. And that someone is Jesus who died and rose again to defeat all our enemies and even sin itself.

It is only by the great Liberator and Savior Jesus—by grace through faith alone that we can live the God-pleasing lives he calls us to live. And along with this freedom from sin, we have the assurance of forgiveness and certainty of eternal life. “If you continue in my word,” Jesus says, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Today, Jesus promises to hold sin's power and dominion at bay by the power of his Word in the Scriptures. And the day is coming when he eliminate it once and for all.

          With might of ours can naught be done,
          Soon were our loss effected;
          But for us fights the valiant One,
          Whom God Himself elected.
          Ask ye, Who is this?
          Jesus Christ it is,
          Of Sabaoth Lord,
          And there’s none other God;
          He holds the field forever.