Introduction
It is Easter Sunday morning as our reading begins. Mary Magdalene has come to the Lord Jesus’ tomb accompanied by some other women. Because the Lord’s body had to be hurriedly put into the tomb, they’ve brought spices with them to use to prepare Jesus’ body properly for burial. But the tomb door is open when they arrive and Jesus’ body is gone. The women have run and told Peter and John who have also come to the tomb and found it open and empty, like they said. But no one has understood the Scriptures that Jesus was to rise from the dead.
Now, Mary Magdalene has returned to the grave site, and John writes,

John 20:11-23 [NLTse]
¹¹ Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. ¹² She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”
¹⁴ She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him. ¹⁵ “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought He was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him.”
¹⁶ “Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
¹⁷ “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
¹⁸ Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.
¹⁹ That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said. ²⁰ As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! ²¹ Again He said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.” ²² Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Sermon
How many of you are trying to read the New Testament with me this year, reading the daily sections set before us in the weekly Bulletin and on the website, and me preaching each week from something we’ve read? … Keep up the good work! If reading the Bible each day is a new practice for you it can take some getting used to. So don’t be discouraged if you miss some days and get behind. Leave behind what you’ve missed and start again today. Don’t let the devil convince you that you’ve blown it or that it’s too late. That’s not true. Today’s a new day. Start today! (Or tomorrow, really, since there’s typically no reading on Sundays.) This-coming week we’re moving into the Book of Acts, and you don’t want to miss it!

Which brings us to our reading this morning because in our reading the Lord Jesus has “breathed on His disciples” and commanded them to receive what He has just breathed: The Holy Spirit. And yet we’ve all been taught that the Holy Spirit didn’t come the day Jesus was raised from the dead (as we are reading here in John). Most of us have been taught that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples fifty days later at Pentecost. So, what’s going on here?

I’m glad you asked!

First off, if you didn’t already know it, realize that the Holy Spirit is indeed God’s breath. Ruach – roo-akh – is the Hebrew word for spirit. But it’s a word that also means breath and wind. Likewise in the New Testament, pneuma – nyoo-muh – is the Greek word for spirit. But it, too, can also mean breath or wind.

In the beginning, in Genesis 2, the Lord God breathed into Adam the “breath of life”: The Holy Spirit. Here the Lord Jesus is breathing into the disciples the “breath of new life”, abundant life: The Holy Spirit. And now the Lord Jesus says that the disciples can forgive people’s sins. This coming Tuesday we’re going to read in Acts 2 about the disciples being gathered together on Pentecost and hearing the sound of a violent wind, and how afterwards the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they become bolder in their preaching and begin praising God in other languages and suddenly have better understanding of the Scriptures and more…

So, again, what’s happening here? Have the disciples received the one and the same Holy Spirit two different times? Or have their two fillings been distinct? Are there two separate and different ways that the Holy Spirit comes to a person?

Well, let me make this as clear to you as mud: Yes, the disciples have received the one and the same Holy Spirit two different times, and the Bible tells us that lovers-of and believers-in Jesus should expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit again and again and again and again.

But we’re also witnessing two different acts of the Holy Spirit happening in John and in Acts, as well. It’s what the Bible speaks about as the Holy Spirit coming within a person – that’s what we first see happening in John this morning – and what the Bible speaks about as the Holy Spirit coming upon a person – which is what we first see happening in Acts 2, that we’ll be reading in just a couple days.

First, let’s look at this idea of the Holy Spirit filling Christians over and over again.

We’ve already read about the Lord Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit into His disciples here in John 20. And we’ve talked about the famous passage of the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples at Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. But the Holy Spirit also fills Simon Peter again when he and John are brought before the Jewish Council on account of healing a lame man and teaching that there’s going to be a resurrection from the dead. (That gets spoken of in Acts 4:8) All the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit again after Peter and John get released, in Acts 4:31, and the Bible tells us, “The meeting place shook”!

The apostle Paul was first filled with the Holy Spirit after a disciple named Ananias prayed for him as Paul was first coming to faith in Jesus. (Acts 9:17) And the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit filled Paul again when he and his missionary partner, Barnabas, were preaching on the island of Cyprus and were being opposed by someone practicing witchcraft there. (Acts 13:6-12)

“Keep being filled with the Holy Spirit,” Paul writes to the Christians in the city of Ephesus in Ephesians 5:18. Most English translations read: “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,” but the Greek verb there conveys ongoing action: We’re not just to be filled once and for all, but we are to always to be filled, to keep being filled, to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. And, as we’ve already been reading, we keep seeing examples of that across the pages of the Bible.

So, we, Christians, should expect to be filled with the Holy Spirit again and again and again. The truth is that we leak, and our Father needs to keep topping us off! And yet, the Bible also gives us pictures of two distinct types of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Let’s talk about that.
When the Lord Jesus breathes on His disciples He is filling them with the Holy Spirit within themselves. When the Bible uses phrases or imagery about the Holy Spirit coming inside of us or doing a work within us it is most often referring to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit: That is, the Holy Spirit making us more and more holy from the inside out. We can see the results of such an “inside job” in Galatians 5:22-23s listings of “fruit” that the Holy Spirit produces in a person. The Holy Spirit within us makes us more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, and more patient. As we are filled more and more with the Holy Spirit within we grow more and more kind, good, trustworthy, gentle, and self-controlled. That is the “inside” work that the Holy Spirit does in a Christian’s heart and mind. And that is the work that we see the Lord Jesus beginning with His disciples that first night when He was newly raised from the dead and they began believing in Him. Of course, they believed in Him for different reasons and in different ways long before that, but this is the first time that they fully understood His Person and His mission: They finally “got it” that He was God the Son, and that suffering and even defeat for God’s sake and the sake of the good news was not failure but to be expected, and led the way to being resurrected with Him in the life to come!

So, here they are. And their very first meeting with Jesus since they’ve come to truly and fully believe, He breathes upon them, giving them the Holy Spirit within themselves. And He tells them, ‘Now you have God the Holy Spirit living within you. He will give you the peace with God that I have won for you on the cross. Now you, too, can declare people’s sins forgiven, because I’ve first forgiven your sins. The Father has sent Me. Now I send you!

Wonderful, isn’t it?

Everyone who has come to believe in God the Father through Jesus Christ has God the Holy Spirit living within them doing His sanctifying work, making us holier and holier day by day.

But let’s move on to the next kind of “filling”: What’s happening in Acts 2, that we’ll be reading in more detail this week, is the Holy Spirit coming upon believers in Jesus.

When you read Bible passages about the Holy Spirit working in the life of a Christian that uses external imagery like coming upon or the believer wearing the Holy Spirit like clothing or having the Holy Spirit settle on them, that is an external “filling” of the Holy Spirit and that “filling” leads to empowerment for the work of ministry.

The Lord Jesus says in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus is talking about empowerment for ministry, for being His witnesses, for telling people about Him: The Holy Spirit will come upon us for these things.

And this is where the Bible talks about the gifts the Holy Spirit gives for ministry: Helping, service, mercy; knowledge, wisdom, faith; encouragement, evangelism, pastoring; giving, discernment, leadership; administration, teaching, prophecy; healing, miracles, missions; apostleship, craftsmanship, intercession; hospitality, tongues, interpretation, and making-music… All empowering gifts the Holy Spirit gives to enable us to do the works He calls us to for advancing His Kingdom here in the earth.

But not every Christian receives this empowerment, because this “filling” needs to be sought and waited for. The resurrected Jesus said to the disciples, recorded at the end of Luke, “Stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from Heaven.” (Luke 24:49) So it is a “filling” we need to expect, ask for, and wait for. And many Christians don’t know – have never been taught – to expect such empowerment, let alone to think they need to ask for it, and much less to think they need to wait for it. But it is this “filling” with the Holy Spirit – even as He fills us again and again and again – that is necessary to accomplish the great works – whether visible or invisible – that is necessary to accomplish the great works that greatly advance Christ’s Kingdom among us!

So, to recap: The Holy Spirit fills us within in order to sanctify us that we might bear the holy fruit of godly character; and, the Holy Spirit fills us upon with power and ability so that we might do all that Christ has called and commanded us to do.
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And we keep being filled in these ways. We have times when we see ourselves growing in holiness by leaps and bounds! (Often the evidence of a fresh filling!) And we see other times when we experience our work for the Lord having great – supernatural – effectiveness! It is the Holy Spirit continuing to fill us within and upon to make us more and more into the likeness of Christ and so that His Kingdom might come and His will might be done here on earth as it’s always done in Heaven.

Introduction
Those who are reading through the Bible with Pastor Ben this year read chapters 11-15 in the Gospel of John this past week. This morning Pastor Ben is going to be preaching from some of that, and we’ll be reading from John 11:32-44.
The Lord Jesus’ dear friend Lazarus had become ill, but instead of immediately going to heal him the Lord Jesus delayed, waiting until Lazarus had died before going. Lazarus’ sister Martha has gone out to meet Jesus, wondering why He didn’t come earlier. And now Lazarus’ other sister, Mary, has gone out…

John 11:32-44 [NLTse]
³² When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if only You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
³³ When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” He asked them.
They told Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus wept. ³⁶ The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much He loved him!” ³⁷ But some said, “This Man healed a blind man. Couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”
³⁸ Jesus was still angry as He arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. ³⁹ “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
⁴⁰ Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” ⁴¹ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to Heaven and said, “Father, thank You for hearing Me. ⁴² You always hear Me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe You sent Me.” ⁴³ Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

Sermon
When a person puts their trust in God through Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that such a person is a new creation: Their old life has gone; a new life has begun. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17) But old ways of thinking, of living and responding, old priorities and enjoyments and the attraction of what everyone else is doing can distract and hinder believers from our new life, like graveclothes binding a man newly brought back from the dead…

The Lord Jesus loved Lazarus. And He loved Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, as well. We don’t know if such love was based on family ties or on friendship or even on business dealings the Lord Jesus may have been involved in before beginning His ministry. We don’t know anything about how Jesus came to know and love Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. We just know that He loved them. And when the sisters sent Him the news that His dear friend was sick and dying, in His love for them, the Lord Jesus didn’t drop what He was doing and go to them all to heal Lazarus right away. No. In His love for them the Lord Jesus waited until Lazarus had died, and then He came.

(There’s something for us in this as to how God can love us and yet not answer our prayers right away. If our lives are all about our own comfort and ease then God’s delays in coming to us can seem cruel and it can cause us to doubt His love. But if our lives are all about God getting glory and getting to show His love not just to us but to many, then although His delaying requires faith from us, even so, we can trust that He has plans and purposes to work all our troubles and trials together for good: For our good and for His glory. And He shows us here in Lazarus’ death and Martha and Mary’s mourning and grief that we might have to wait – to wait even beyond when it seems to be too late – for Him to arrive and work it all out, for our good and His glory!)
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As our reading begins, Martha and Mary have talked with Jesus, wondering why He delayed. And they are crying, and the family and friends and professional mourners around them are crying. (Because in those days you could hire people to come to your home and weep and wail with you so you wouldn’t feel so self-conscious and alone.) And John records that when the Lord Jesus saw all their weeping that He got angry, but that then He began weeping, as well!

And He goes with them to the graveyard and asks for the stone to be rolled away from Lazarus’ tomb, and He cries out, “Lazarus! Come out!”
Calling someone back to their body from the land of the dead is not a difficult thing for God the Son, Jesus Christ. But Paul explains for us in his letter to the Philippians that God the Son had taken off His divinity when He was born Jesus of Nazareth to Mary of Nazareth. (See Philippians 2:6-11) So, it was not God the Son Who had called out, “Lazarus! Come out!” It was Jesus of Nazareth filled, as He was, with the Holy Spirit. And Lazarus came out!

(I think it is worth noting that the Holy Spirit has continued to work through Jesus’ people to bring the dead back to life. I attended a conference several years ago where a pastor and missionary to Mozambique in Africa shared her eyewitness account of seeing a parishioner who had died from a massive head wound be raised from the dead, with no longer any mark on him. So, as Jesus has said, filled with the Holy Spirit, anyone who believes in Him will do the same works He did, and even greater works, because He has gone to be with the Father. [See John 14:12]) But, back to Lazarus…

He’d been dead for four days. He was bound up with graveclothes – kind of like a mummy – and the headcloth was still over his face, but Lazarus came out. He was alive! And the Lord Jesus says, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

And I know the Lord spoke those words to those who were there that day as a part of welcoming Lazarus back to this life (because graveclothes are the trappings of the dead not the living), but I also believe that the Lord Jesus is speaking those words to each of us here today, as well.

In his book, “unChristian,” David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, writes that most of the lifestyle activities of born-again Christians are statistically equivalent to those of non-born-again people. When asked to identify their activities over the last 30 days, born-again believers were just as likely to have visited a pornographic website, to have taken something that did not belong to them, to have consulted a medium or psychic, to have physically fought or abused someone, to have consumed enough alcohol to be considered legally drunk, to have used an illegal nonprescription drug, to have said something to someone that was not true, to have gotten back at someone for something he or she did, and to have said mean things behind another person’s back.
But how can that be if Christian people have been made new – their old lives gone; new lives having come? How can that be unless we’re still to some degree wrapped up in the dead-trappings of our old lives? How can that be unless we are still to some degree bound by our “graveclothes” and kept from the fullness of new life Jesus’ has for us all?

A fairly well-known pastor and author once wrote, “Joy in Christ requires a commitment to working at the Christian lifestyle. Salvation comes as a gift, but the joy of salvation demands disciplined action.” He goes on, “Most Christians I know have just enough of the gospel to make them miserable, but not enough to make them joyful. They know enough about the biblical message to keep them from doing the things which the world tempts them to do; but they do not have enough of a commitment to God to do those things through which they might experience the fullness of His joy.” (Tony Campolo. “Seven Deadly Sins.” p. 21)

Taking off our graveclothes is the commitment each and every Christian exhibits towards working at the Christian lifestyle; living out our faith, obedience, and commitment to God in order to do the things He calls us to, those things through which we might experience the fullness of His joy.

I think that graveclothes – the things that hold us back – can take may different forms. Maybe your graveclothes take the form of your heart having hardened to the life and power of God, so that, like Abraham and Sarah, who were promised a son in their old age, arranged for Abraham to sleep with another woman, a younger woman who was still able to bear children, because Abraham and Sarah didn’t believe in the life and power of God and thought they would have to bring about God’s promise to them themselves. (See Genesis 16) Likewise, perhaps your graveclothes are keeping you from expect the miraculous in your life but keep you bound up, only looking for His promises to be fulfilled if you make them happen for yourself?

Or maybe your graveclothes take the form of fearing the unknown and your not being in control or not knowing what to expect? Like the high priest and all the Pharisees and Sadducees’ of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish High Council – who were afraid Jesus was messing up the status quo, who’d come to believe that making a truce with Rome and living under their rule was the best option they had for getting to keep their Temple and at least a modicum of their way of life? (See John 11:45-53)

Maybe we just don’t know what it means to live as His disciple: What to do next or how to trust Him that are our graveclothes? Do you remember, after Jesus’ resurrection, when Peter, Andrew, James, and John went back to fishing for fish? The Lord had to meet them, and cook them breakfast, and set them back out fishing for people again. (John 21:1-25)

Maybe our graveclothes are made up of unforgiveness? Dr. David Seamands in his book “Healing For Damaged Emotions” says, “The two primary causes of emotional stress are the failure to receive forgiveness and the failure to forgive.” [Wheaton, ILL: Victor Books, 1989, pp.29-30] Or, as the great philosopher Lucy explained to Charlie Brown at the end of the game explaining why she had lost sight of the baseball and had failed to make the catch, “Sorry I missed that easy fly ball, manager, I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I’ve missed, and the past got in my eyes.”

What graveclothes are you still wearing? What aspects of your old, dead life are you still living out and hanging onto? Do you realize they are keeping you bound up and away from the new life Jesus’ has for you?
Since the Greatest Commandment is to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, as with all things I think our trouble with these graveclothes comes down to a love-issue: That is, what do we love more than Jesus?

When Peter, Andrew, James, and John went back to fishing for fish after the Lord Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord asked Simon Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?” the Lord wasn’t asking Peter if Peter thought he loved Jesus more than the other disciples. He was asking Peter if Peter loved Him more than he loved fishing and fish?

In proclaiming, “Unwrap him and let him go!” in our midst today I believe the Lord Jesus is asking us, “What do you love more than Me? What’s keeping you bound up? What’s keeping you away from My life? What do you love more than Me?”

In John 12:25-26 Jesus says that if we love our souls – our lives – in this world that we will have destroyed them. But, He says, if we hate our souls – that is, hate our lives – that that is how we will safeguard them to eternal life. We must keep dying to our selves. Do we think we know the Scriptures well enough that we can stop studying them? We need to die to that and start feasting on the Word or start feasting more than we are. Do we think our prayer life is good? We need to die to that complacency and push the ways we’re praying to new expressions and depths. Do we think we know what true Worship is like? We need to die to that contentment and open ourselves to different manners and expressions of showing the Lord how much He is worth. Do we think we are serving enough, or that it’s someone else’s turn to do this or that service, or that we’re too mature to serve in these or those “lesser” ways? We need to die to such thoughts and humble ourselves to obediently be about whatever the Lord is placing before us.
Whatever you love more than Jesus, those are your graveclothes…

And as you sincerely ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your soul’s competing loves to you, let me tell you one more story:
“An old American Indian tale recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. “It is like two dogs fighting inside of us,” the chief told them. “There is one good dog who wants to do the right and the other dog always wants to do the wrong. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad dog is stronger and wrong is winning the fight.”
“Who is going to win in the end?” a young brave asks.
The chief answered, “The one you feed.”
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Love Jesus first. Feed your relationship with Him the very best of your time, money, and energy. And find a Christian partner, or a small group of Christian partners, who you can be absolutely honest with and who will pray with you and for you. Unwrap each other and help let each other go!

John 6:35-47 [NLTse]

³⁵ Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But you haven’t believed in Me even though you have seen Me. ³⁷ However, those the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I will never reject them. ³⁸ For I have come down from Heaven to do the will of God Who sent Me, not to do My Own will. ³⁹ And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given Me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For it is My Father’s will that all who see His Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

⁴¹ Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from Heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know His father and mother. How can He say, ‘I came down from Heaven’?”

⁴³ But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. ⁴⁴ For no one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws them to Me, and at the last day I will raise them up. ⁴⁵ As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me. ⁴⁶ (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, Who was sent from God, have seen Him.)

⁴⁷ “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.”

Sermon

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the entire creation was good. Everything lived in perfect harmony together – from quarks to koalas and from microbes to manatees – with the entire cosmos drawing its life-energy from the living breath – the Holy Spirit – of God. But all too quickly Adam and Eve showed that they didn’t want to be dependent on God. They wanted to know good from evil themselves, apart from Him, and they sinned, and so the cosmic harmony was broken: Life was broken; sin had entered the world, and through sin, death. And the Bible tells us that, because Adam and Eve had put themselves under the power of sin, and because every human being is descended from Adam and Eve, that every human being is born under the power of sin, as well. And because everyone sins everyone will die.

[Would opening the sermon talking about gene-o-grams and how we can get gifts from people that we don’t want be helpful?]

But Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.”

The Lord Jesus is a little more specific earlier in John, chapter 3, verse 36, when He says, “Whoever has the Son has eternal life.” And in John 5:24 He’s more specific still, saying, “I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God Who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”

Do you notice the timeframe for this eternal life Jesus offered and is offering us? “Whoever has the Son has eternal life”; “I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God Who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”

Now, when you hear about and think about “eternal life”, don’t you (for the most part) find yourself thinking about life after death, life in Heaven, life in the resurrection, in the New Heaven and New Earth, when all things are new, that Jesus said He will bring with Him when He comes back for us? And yet the Lord Jesus is making clear here that the Kingdom of Heaven is now; that eternal life has already begun here and now; that it all began the moment we accepted Him, when we listened to His message and believed in the God He revealed to us. So, our focus on eternal life should not be in the future but right here and now in the present. Eternal life has begun!

In John 17:3 the Lord Jesus makes eternal life even easier to understand when He says, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the One You sent to earth.” And, perhaps, we think this is obvious because of course we know Jesus: We know all about Him!

Except that the Lord isn’t speaking, here, about us getting to know about Him, that is, getting to know a bunch of facts and figures about Him; getting to know Him in an intellectual way. No, Jesus wants each of us to get to know Him personally.

We know this is true because in the Old Testament when a man got to “know” a woman the result was a baby being born! So the biblical idea of knowing someone is highly personal and deeply experiential. The Lord Jesus illustrates such “knowledge” in Matthew 7:21, when He says, “Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of My Father in Heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:21)

And that’s why the person of Jesus Christ is so very crucial. Critics want to say that Christians make too big a deal about Jesus, and that He divides Christianity apart from all that we have in common with other faiths. But only Jesus fully and accurately reveals the Father. The entire Old Testament is all about God, but when God was born, Himself, in Jesus Christ, those who knew the Old Testament best didn’t recognize Him!

Colossians 1:15 says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” Colossians 2:9 says, “In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.” And, Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son radiates God’s Own glory and expresses the very character of God.” And  in John 17:6, Jesus prays, “I have revealed You to the ones You gave Me from this world.” And in John 14:9, He says, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

So, this “knowledge” of the Father and the Son that provides eternal life is not a knowledge based upon the research or study of some common and agreed upon ideas about “god” out there, but is a “knowledge” based on trusting and obeying, and serving and submitting to, God the Father Almighty Who has made Himself known in God the Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is a “knowledge” that puts Jesus’ needs before our own; a “knowledge” that moves us to lay aside the way we want to live our lives in order to live the way the Lord Jesus wants us to. It’s that kind of “knowledge”: A relationship…

Of course, Christians dying while the Lord has promised us eternal life has been a challenge for some. But we can have troubles in some areas of our lives – mental, emotional, and spiritual troubles – without us ever thinking that our life has ended. And so it is with death: We can be having troubles with our physical bodies even while we’re still vibrant mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

There have been instances where people have had the emotional part of them “die” because of an illness or accident while the rest of them seems quiet whole and “alive”. There have been instances where people have been declared “brain-dead”, and yet their body lives on sound and strong. But, as Christians, we never need be afraid of death because our spirits can never die now that they have been united with God’s eternal Spirit – the Holy Spirit.

So, regardless of what happens to our hearts, minds, and bodies – even if they die – we can know that we will never know complete, everlasting death as long as we live in covenant with the Father, knowing Him through knowing Jesus Christ. Because when our physical body dies we know that our souls instantly join Christ in the Garden of Eden in Heaven. And when Jesus returns to bring the dead back to life in the resurrection to come, we will return with Him, and our hearts and minds and spirits will join together again with our bodies – new death-, aging-, accident-, and sadness-free bodies – and that we will continue in eternal life…

Of course, even as eternal life is real and here and now, eternal death is also real. Eternal death is death that will last forever. It’s not an eternal dying, it’s an eternal death: There’s no coming back; it is the end. And all that is “death” will be an eternal reality for those who experience it: Separation from God; and that means separation from all that God is, like love, and joy, peace and patience, hope and kindness, goodness and generosity, etc…

Of course, that’s where we get our images of Hell, because the absence of love leaves either only hate or, perhaps, indifference. The absence of joy leaves only misery, depression, or woe. Without peace there remains only war and worry and disagreement. Without patience there is only agitation, impatience, and frustration. Without hope there is only despair and fear. Without kindness there’s only hostility and harshness, only intolerance and cruelty. If there’s no goodness then all that’s left is wickedness and meanness and dishonesty and corruption. And if there’s no generosity then all that’s left is selfishness and stinginess and greed.

And so eternal death has come to be pictured as a torture chamber or pitch blackness or all wailing and moaning or pain and suffering. And, of course, it’s all these things but worse: Worse than we can possibly contemplate or imagine, just as Heaven and Paradise and eternal life are better than anyone can possibly contemplate or imagine!

I want to invite the Praise Team up to lead us in singing our next song, “When We All Get To Heaven.” And yet, as we sing, I want us to sing in the understanding that eternal life has begun in us. If you know God the Father because you know and trust His Son, Jesus Christ, then eternal life has begun in you. And knowing the Father comes from knowing Jesus and living your life according to His will: Knowing God’s will, trusting Him, and then doing His will. Because it is as we grow in knowing God’s will better and better, and as we grow in trusting God more and more, and as we grow in doing His will more and more consistently that we truly grow in our relationship with God and truly show the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven, the reality of eternal life. So, as we sing let’s sing for the future! But let us also sing for the here and the now!

In Jesus Christ, Heaven has invaded Earth. And as Jesus’ life gets lived through us by the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of Heaven is expanding soul by soul by soul. Eternal life has begun! If it’s begun in you sing loud! If eternal life has begun in you, sing hearty! Let’s torture the evil one with our praise!

John 4:1-26 [NLTse]

4 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that He was baptizing and making more disciples than John ² (though Jesus Himself didn’t baptize them—His disciples did). ³ So He left Judea and returned to Galilee.

⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way. ⁵ Eventually He came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give Me a drink.” ⁸ He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and Who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.”

¹¹ “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

¹³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

¹⁵ “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

¹⁶ “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

¹⁷ “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

¹⁹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. ²⁰ So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

²¹ Jesus replied, “Believe Me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans know very little about the One you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. ²³ But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. ²⁴ For God is spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

²⁵ The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the One Who is called Christ. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

²⁶ Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

Sermon

She comes to the well at Noon, the hottest time of the day, when she knows no one else will be there to chastise, mock, or shun her. She’s surprised to find a Jew there, since Jews almost always skirt around to avoid Samaria when they traveling. She’s shocked when He asks her to get him water, since Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans, if they can help it! And she thinks He’s talking about giving her the freshest of water – living water – which makes no sense to her, either. After all, what is He going to do, put a spigot in her home so she can just turn it on and off when she wants to get a drink? That’s impossible!

But then He mentions her husband, and somehow He knows her sordid story. And I picture tears coming into her eyes as she tries to redirect the conversation away from her shame by asking Him about worship practices. But what He’s saying to her is so engaging and appealing: And He just said He was the Messiah! Could it be? That would surely explain Him. I must let everyone know! And she runs off. (Or, perhaps, she just took off to tell the man she was living with, but ran into the crowd of villagers on the way.)

Did you notice how she’s been changed by her time with Jesus? The villagers ordinarily wouldn’t have given her the time of day: Adulteress, whore, “easy-woman,” trouble they thought of her. And yet this day, after she’s been with Jesus, somehow the villagers are so taken by her zeal and joy and urgency that they forget who she is and they do as she says and go to the well to meet Jesus.

In the meantime, Jesus’ disciples have returned from the market with lunch just in time to see the woman run off. All of the sudden, Jesus isn’t hungry (which they don’t understand since He seemed famished just a little while earlier), and He starts speaking to them about the harvest being ready and how the Father is giving them a chance to gather in the produce of other’s labors. And it sounds to them like stealing, and, as usual, they don’t get what He’s talking about. And then the crowd of Samaritans arrive.

And a small group of Jews who ordinarily would have avoided Samaria all-together “like the plague” decide to stay a whole ‘nother day to establish the Kingdom of Heaven in Sychar. And the woman becomes a part of the community again with people eternally grateful to her for introducing them to Jesus! But now they know Him personally and not just through her testimony: He is the Savior of the world!

Isn’t that the way Christ is calling out to us – whether we have a good reputation or bad, whether we’re popular or outcast: To invite others to come meet Jesus?

The Elders believe that the way the Holy Spirit is wanting to make disciples of Jesus here at First Church is

To all be together showing our commitment to Christ in WORSHIP;

To GROW in our relationships and understanding of the gospel through a Bible class or small group;

To put our faith into practice by SERVING others and each other by being involved in ministry in the church; and,

To spread the good news by INVITING OTHERS to come meet Jesus themselves, inviting them to Worship or to a Bible class or small group…

This woman is such a great example of the INVITING OTHERS part: So moved by being in Jesus’ presence, and by His pushing her and stretching her, and His asking her to serve Him and offering Himself to serve her, and here she is, telling everyone – those who’ve hurt her, made fun of her, those who’ve ignored her existence, who’ve judged and turned everyone against her – but she doesn’t care anymore; Jesus has offered her living water that will bubble up in her to eternal life! God’s Messiah – the Christ – has come! For her!

Is Jesus’ good news still that good to you, to me, to us, that we can’t help letting those around us know about Him, our Savior, the Savior of the World!, the Lover of our Souls, our Lord and our God?

How excited are you about the Lord? Do you genuinely want people to come get to know Him? When you invite friends and family and neighbors is it just a, “Come, if you want.” Or do you follow up with them, too, “You’re coming, right?” And do you check to make sure they’re coming, “You said you would come!” So that they see our excitement and conviction and can’t say, “No”?

I love that such an outcast woman – and that you and me – a could become known as the evangelist to the Samaritans! That we could be known as the evangelist to our families, or to our workplace, or to our classmates or circle-of-friends, or wherever we share Him and go!

The Gospel of John 1:1-18 [NLTse]

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God. ³ God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. ⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

⁶ God sent a man, John the Baptist, ⁷ to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. ⁸ John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. ⁹ The One Who is the true light, Who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. ¹¹ He came to His Own people, and even they rejected Him. ¹² But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. ¹³ They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

¹⁴ So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

¹⁵ John testified about Him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the One I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me Who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me.’”

¹⁶ From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, Who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Sermon

If you really wanted to explain to someone how much you love them, what would you do?

Rent a billboard? Send a video? Flood the community with leaflets? Send someone you trusted to explain on your behalf? Or would you go yourself?

Anybody remember the movie “TRON”? It first came out in 1982? It didn’t make much of a splash when it first came out, other than some – for that time – groundbreaking visual affects. But, overtime, it developed a kind of “cult” following that spawned a bunch of video games, comic books, an animated TV show, and even a movie-sequel that came out in 2010.

As you may remember, in the movie, a computer game programmer is able to digitize himself and enter into his own computer game to fight off a virus that has entered the game’s system and is twisting its programming from being a fun, engaging, adventure game into a game of violence, slavery, and world domination.

I’ve watched the movie (it’s not very good, and is crude and immoral on top of that) and I’ve never perceived any evidence that it’s writers, directors, or producers saw it as any kind of Christian flick, but with our reading from John 1 this past week and this morning in mind, it sure gives a brilliantly modern portrayal of the gospel: Jesus Christ of Nazareth – the spoken Word of God, the heart and mind of God, the will and plans of God – born into humanity – the creation and desire and beloved of God.

John writes that the world and everything that exists was created through the Word, Jesus. And sure enough, Genesis 1 tells us that God spoke, “Let there be light,” and light came into existence. And God spoke, “Let the waters separate and have dry land appear,” and it happened. And God spoke, and it was created. And God spoke and it appeared. God’s Word was the agent of creation. Everything that exists has come into being by God speaking it into existence. Nothing was created except through God’s speaking. Nothing was created except through His Word. And John writes that, like in the movie “TRON”, that the Word came into the very world He created and used His intimate knowledge of the “program” to overcome the virus and undo its work…

We shouldn’t be surprised that Jesus knew the tricks necessary to overcome the devil. And we shouldn’t be surprised when we follow after Him, seeking to be full of unfailing love and faithfulness ourselves – full of grace and truth, just like He was (and is) – that we find ourselves overcoming the world, as well. After all, Jesus knit the world – all of reality – together. He knew (knows) all the ancient machinery. It’s His Own handiwork; His Own ideas; His Own design. The devil and his demons are created beings. They are ancient, but not as ancient as the One Who created them.

C. S. Lewis put it this way in The Chronicles of Narnia’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. After being killed and coming back from the dead, Aslan, the Jesus figure in the story, says of the White Witch, the devil figure, he says, “Though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of Time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”

As followers of Jesus, we Christians are not simply striving to be like Christ because being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled are all the ways He was (and is). No. These characteristics of grace and truth, these fruits of unfailing love and faithfulness are the ways human beings were originally created to be. And when we live these ways, although there may be opposition and resistance from the non-Christians around us, these are the ways that grow our fellowship and communion with the Father, cause us to live in deepest harmony with the rest of creation, and will lead us to rich and deep abundance in our souls, continuing on into everlasting life once our death is past.

That’s why John can say in another place that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (14:6) He’s not a way, a truth, a life. He is the way life was meant to be. He is the truth about everything that exists and how it all interrelates. He is the life that God has wanted for each and every human soul: A life that has no fear of death because it is stronger than death and will live beyond the one death that the devil is due.

Because Jesus is the Maker; because He not only knows the “deeper magic” that’s at the heart of creation and all existence, but is Himself the power and authority behind that so-called “magic”; because He not only knows everything but because He knows everything about everything, you and I can have hope in the face of the impossible!

Under the Lord’s guidance, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam led the Israelites to a No-Win situation: The 20-mile wide Red Sea’s Gulf of Aquba on the one side and the fearsome Egyptian army on the other. But the God Who created it all provided a way where there was no way! Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, and because they had no child of their own one of their slaves was going to inherit all their wealth and their covenant with God. But God knows the deeper magic, and He gave a 100 year old husband and his 90 year old wife a son! (Along with the joys and hard work of being parents. J) Elijah was alone up against the king’s priesthood: They were well-trained in the popular theology of their day, and there were many of them, and they had all the power and resources of the kingdom of Israel backing them. There was no way! But lighting came down and ignited Elijah’s offering, not theirs.

And Lazarus was in the tomb: The ultimate end. No way back. Until the One through Whom all things were made called him back from death: Just as He’d called creation into being He called Lazarus out from behind the gates of Hell. There was no struggle. There was no contest. The Word Who was with God and Who Himself was God spoke, and Death had to give Lazarus up!

The world, the darkness, non-Christians say, “It’s impossible!” But nothing’s impossible for the Word!

And so it is for your and my impossible situations: Cancer; no job; a lousy job that doesn’t provide; a troubled marriage; or troubles with your kids or with your parents; … God has a Way: Jesus is God’s Way. It may not be the Way we want. Even us Christians tend to want the ways of the world. But Jesus is the “still deeper” Way, the Way of Him Who designed it all, the Way of the One Who gave life to everything and brought light to everyone.

Because the cancer may get worse, and instead of healing you get peace. A job may appear that keeps you living paycheck to paycheck, but you find that you love the work and the people and that you come home each day like you’ve done something that mattered! Maybe your wife never comes around to our way of thinking, but instead you learn to grow in surrender and self-sacrifice as you go forward committing to loving and serving her. Maybe your kids never completely wake-up to the gospel and treating us the way they should, but instead we become prayer warriors as we battle on our knees in desperation for them day after day and year after year, and find ourselves being better parents than we ever thought we would be otherwise, full of grace and truth, full of unfailing love and faithfulness, as we follow Him in the Way.

The Way that was before the beginning. The Way that only God knows, that only the Creator knows, that only the Word knows…

The Prophet Zephaniah 3:6-20 [NLTse]
“I have wiped out many nations, devastating their fortress walls and towers. Their streets are now deserted; their cities lie in silent ruin. There are no survivors—none at all. ⁷ I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for Me now! Surely they will listen to My warnings. Then I won’t need to strike again, destroying their homes.’ But no, they get up early to continue their evil deeds. ⁸ Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord. “Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations. For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth and pour out My fiercest anger and fury on them. All the earth will be devoured by the fire of My jealousy.
⁹ “Then I will purify the speech of all people, so that everyone can worship the Lord together. ¹⁰ My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia will come to present their offerings. ¹¹ On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed, for you will no longer be rebels against Me. I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you. There will be no more haughtiness on My holy mountain. ¹² Those who are left will be the lowly and humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord. ¹³ The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will never tell lies or deceive one another. They will eat and sleep in safety, and no one will make them afraid.”
¹⁴ Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! ¹⁵ For the Lord will remove His hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord Himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. ¹⁶ On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid! ¹⁷ For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
¹⁸ “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. ¹⁹ And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to My former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. ²⁰ On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Sermon
This reading from the prophet Zephaniah may be a strange one to sit around-together here a week and a half before Christmas, but there’s a method to my madness (so they say) and I hope you’ll stick with me. You see, I want to proclaim to you that I believe there is a plot to destroy the joy and wonder and good tidings of Christmas going on around us. And I want to point out this insidious plot and make it known to us all so that we can – together – acknowledge it and stand against it!

Perhaps we’re all familiar with the pressures that have been put on many of our government offices across our nation and the nations to stop placing scenes portraying the birth of Jesus on government properties at Christmastime. Perhaps we’re all familiar with the pressures that have been put on many cashiers and sales associates to keep them from wishing shoppers a “Merry Christmas!” Perhaps we’re all familiar with the intentional replacement of Christmas carols with more secular Christmas songs in shops and stores across our nation and the nations, and, perhaps, we’re all familiar with the growing trend towards “Happy Holidays” and Merry X-mas” leaving out the word and name of Christ…

This plot I’m speaking to you about started with all these things, but they are just the Prologue – the opening skirmishes – in this war, in this drama, in this plot that I believe is working itself out around us to destroy the joy and wonder that surround and accompany the good tidings of the birth of Christ Jesus of Nazareth, God With Us!

The new Star Wars movie is coming out this weekend: Movie #7 in the soon-to-be nine movie series. (Though, perhaps now that Disney’s running the show, there will be more.) Any Star Wars fans in the church? …

I’m a big Star Wars fan, as many of you know. I don’t walk around quoting Yoda or dressed up like a stormtrooper (as many die-hard fans do) but I’ve seen all the movies and read most of the associated novels.
For those of you not so familiar with Star Wars, it all happened “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Space ships keep people and trade connected to planets across the galaxy the way tractor trailers and container ships keep people and trade connected to cities and across nations here on Earth.

There’s a group of super-powered men and women and boys and girls called “Jedi” in Star Wars. Jedi are able to tap into the energy of the universe to enable them to be super-fast or super-strong or to predict future events, and they have set themselves up to be the peacekeepers of the galaxy.

When the first Star Wars movie came out back in 1977, it was the middle trilogy, Episode 4, and there were only two Jedi left: An old man named Ben Kenobi and a green, pointy-eared alien little-person named Yoda. It was Ben Kenobi’s job to safeguard a new generation of Jedi led by young Luke Skywalker, and it was Yoda’s job to train them.
When Episode 1 came out in 1999 that trilogy had to show the transformation from a galaxy filled with Jedi down to the galaxy fans had gotten to know in Episode 4, a galaxy where only two Jedi remained.
As you can imagine, a group of men and women and boys and girls who can tap into the energy of the universe to be able to fight in superhuman ways and even know the future, would be hard to beat!

But there’s a line out of one of the books associated with that first – Episode 1-3 – trilogy that has always stuck in my mind. It’s from a book called “Shatterpoint”, and it’s about a Jedi master named Mace Windu who’s probably the best fighter among the whole galaxy of Jedi. He’s wondering about all the changes that have been brought about by the civil war that has been raging around their once peaceful galaxy. And Mace asks himself, “What’s the best way to undermine and cripple a group of men and women and boys and girls who were raised for peace, knowledge, serenity, and harmony?” And he answers himself, “Such a group is undermined and crippled when you force them into the bloodshed, chaos, power-mongering, fear, and stark necessities of war.”
That’s the plot I see seeking to destroy the joys and wonders and good tidings of Christmas. It has nothing to do with a science fiction group of superheroes, of course. I’m talking about how you undermine and cripple a group of men and women and boys and girls who were made new to live lives of thanksgiving, peace, joy, faith, wonder, love, and the hope of everlasting life? As I look at the course of world events, and those events that have been occurring in various areas of the globe across the past two thousand years, I think, you come against them with terror, uncertainty, confusion, busy-ness, and hatred, all the while seeking to focus their attention on the realities and utmost importance of this life alone.

I believe that the devil and his evil crew have stirred up al-Qaeda, Isis, Vladimir Putin, and other terror-groups and local tyrants in order to tempt us towards worry and fear and in the hopes of stealing our joy and wonder. It is of critical importance to the expansion and strengthening of the Kingdom of Heaven across the face of the Earth (at least as much as is in our power) that we not give in to worry and fear, but that we grow in faith and acts of gracious love.

Which brings me back to our reading from the prophet Zephaniah, and the picture of shepherds being confronted by God’s angel and the armies of Heaven that we’ve been looking at across Worship this morning. Let me start with the shepherds…

Angels throughout the gospels assure those they visit not to be afraid. An angel visits Mary and tells her not to be afraid, that she’s going to bear God’s Son. An angel visits the shepherds in Bethlehem and tells them not to be afraid, that the Messiah has born. And thirty years later an angel appears to the women who come to Jesus’ grave that Sunday following His crucifixion and tell the women not to be afraid, that Jesus has overcome death.

What’s huge about these specific instances of angels telling Mary, the shepherds, and the women-coming-to-Jesus’-tomb not to be afraid is that the Bible uses the present, middle, second person imperative form of “don’t be afraid” each time. I know that’s a Greek thing and might not make sense to you, but, what that means is, the angel was telling Mary, the shepherds, and the women not just to not be afraid, but he was telling them in the strongest language – basically ordering them, “Never be afraid again!”

“Never be afraid again!”

The great news about the birth of Jesus the Messiah – the Son of God, the heir of King David’s throne – creates a new kind of person, when that person puts their faith and trust in such great news. It creates a person who never has to be afraid ever again. The great news about the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah – the Son of God, the heir of King David’s throne – creates a new kind of person, when that person puts their faith and trust in such great news. The reality of Emmanuel – God With Us in Jesus Christ – does not keep fearsome events from happening across the face of the Earth: For those first Christians Roman soldiers would keep acting like bullies, life-threatening storms would still rise up, kings would continue to casually slaughter the newborn children in a given town, etc…; and, in our day employment can lack security, health concerns can seem on the rise, and terrorists can randomly kill and publicly execute people. But by faith and trust in Jesus Christ – the One Who is King over all earthly kings and Who is Lord over all earthly lords – we are a “fear not” people, a “never be afraid again” people!

And Zephaniah 3 shows us how.

In vv. 9-13 the prophet says, “I will purify the speech of all people, so that everyone can worship the Lord together… You will no longer be rebels against Me… There will be no more haughtiness on My holy mountain… The remnant of Israel will do no wrong… and no one will make them afraid.”

So, to live before the Lord under the lordship of Jesus Christ without fear, the Lord calls us to repentance: That is, to turn our lives around from doing the things that are popular and allowed out among non-Christians to be about the things that the Holy Spirit calls us to in the Word of God, the Bible.

So… What is in your life that God doesn’t want there, according to His Word in the Bible? Do you have a habit in your life or a pattern in your life that God speaks against through His commandments or His prophets or the gospels or letters of the apostles? Offer it to the Lord. Lay it down – picture yourself taking it out of your life and laying it down – at the foot of Jesus’ cross. Acknowledge that it’s been a sin in your life, ask His forgiveness for all the ways it has hurt Him, hurt others, and hurt you, lay it down at the foot of the cross, and then leave it behind, asking for the Holy Spirit’s grace to truly leave it there.
We cannot know the fullness of the peace and protection of the One Who came to put sin to death if we have an, “O well,” attitude toward sin and are still playing around with it ourselves. It’s not about being perfect, but it is about repenting and wanting to get rid of anything that would stand between us and Jesus…

Vv. 14-17 of Zephaniah says, “Sing, O daughter of Zion… Be glad and rejoice with all your heart… And the Lord Himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! … With His love, He will calm all your fears…” Zephaniah is calling us to live in the presence of the Lord in worship.
If we want to enjoy the fullness of God’s calming all our fears, He calls us to repentance, and He calls us to know that He is always with us by the Holy Spirit, and to worship Him daily and throughout each day. Not just Worship on Sunday mornings and other opportunities the church gives, but worshiping at work as we think of Him, smile, and give Him thanks and praise; at school, worshiping in class and in the halls when we need a friend, and we remember the friendship we have with Jesus, and enjoy His company and companionship right there up and down those halls; at home, driving the car, out with our friends, humming His songs, thanking Him for the good things He does and gives, confident in and enjoying the reality of His presence with us always!
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Enjoying freedom from fear comes from enjoying the constant presence of the One Who fears nothing because He is master of everything and all else! Nurturing the reality that He is always near, letting those around us know of His presence with us, and worshiping Him throughout the day also nurtures fearlessness in us, even when the forces of darkness seem to be screeching and circling all around us.

Lastly, Zephaniah 3 vv. 18-20 speak of the gifts the Lord wants to give to us: “I will gather you… I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you… I will save the weak and helpless ones… I will give you glory and fame, you who have been mocked and shamed… I will bring you home… I will give you a good reputation, a good name…” God is calling us, through Zephaniah, to receive the good gifts He has for us!

According to Matthew 2:1-11 [NLTse]

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for My people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the Child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Sermon

Bethlehem was occupied territory.

The Roman Empire was known for the peace and security it brought to its inhabitants. The Pax Romana it was called: The Roman Peace. But such peace and security came at a price. Rome ruled its territories with an iron fist. And the province of Judea, and the “little town of Bethlehem”, were a part of its territories.

It was a ninety mile journey from Joseph and Mary’s hometown of Nazareth to their ancestral home in Bethlehem. A ninety mile journey in a culture where traveling ten miles a day was quite an accomplishment. The main roads would have been well-maintained by their Roman masters, and travel would have been relatively safe because of the domineering Roman presence that enforced the Roman peace: Checkpoints. Garrisons. Patrols. Raids and surprise inspections without warning…

Joseph and Mary were not traveling to Bethlehem on vacation or to visit family, of course. They were descendants of King David, and so prior to their journey to Bethlehem Joseph particularly would have been held in high regard because of being a messianic hopeful – that is, because he was a “son of David” (a descendant of King David) that perhaps Joseph would prove himself to be the long-promised messiah-king of the Jews. Or perhaps his and Mary’s children would be. But that was before their journey to Bethlehem. Although they were to some extent celebrities (at least among their own people) because of being David’s descendants, Joseph and Mary had become outcasts on account of Mary’s shameful pregnancy. Even though Joseph had married her anyway, gossip spread like wildfire in those days, and everyone knew that Mary’s unborn child was not his. Mary had admitted it, but then tried to cover her shame with what sounded to everyone like some absurd story that she’d become pregnant miraculously by the Holy Spirit coming upon her…

No, Joseph and Mary were not welcomed by their extended family members in Bethlehem. But they had to travel the ninety miles to Bethlehem anyway. It was Emperor Caesar’s order that everyone in “the occupied territories” travel to their ancestral homes as a part of a census. It didn’t matter that Mary was nine months pregnant, ready to give birth at any moment along the way: Caesar demanded that everyone be counted so that the Empire would not lose one mina – not one fragment of a penny – of tax money!

Bethlehem was indeed a “little town” in those days, just like the song says. It likely had a population of a little less than 1,000 – just a little bit bigger than Milford – most of the inhabitants being wheat farmers, livestock farmers (sheep and goats, not cows), weavers, and stone masons (called “carpenters” in those days, most of their work coming from maintaining and improving the lavish buildings and palaces in nearby Jerusalem, only a five mile walk away).

Bethlehem was a safe place to live. The huge Roman presence in Jerusalem overflowed to grant security and safety to surrounding towns, like Bethlehem, as well, under the Roman’s thumb. Of course, Bethlehem received a bit of special attention from their overlords, containing the homestead of Israel’s favorite king and being the place where their hoped-for liberator-messiah was expected to be born, as it was.

And so, when Joseph and O-so-shamefully-pregnant Mary arrived at the Davidic compound in Bethlehem, everyone else received preferential lodging: Let the whore and her duped husband get what’s left after the respectable “sons of David” and their families get their rooms. Let the embarrassments sleep with the animals, if they have to. Better than bringing shame on our glorious ancestor’s proud reputation.

Of course, there was a lot of attention being paid to the House of David during this time. Messianic-fervor was at an all-time high. With all the benefits that many of the wealthy and political leaders were enjoying under the Roman’s rule, for the common person life was hard. The Romans could beat you, the Romans could take from you, the Romans could make you carry their stuff for them, if they wanted. And though you might get a fair trial if you were to press charges, most had learned that it wasn’t worth the trouble. And, as you know, when discontent and oppression are heavy, deliverance and deliverers are on everybody’s minds!

Concerning this “little town of Bethlehem” the prophet Micah spoke these words of the Lord 500 years earlier:

“But you, O Bethlehem (Ephrathah), [you] are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on My behalf,” said the LORD. ^{3 “}The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last His fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. ⁴ And He will stand to lead His flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. Then His people will live there undisturbed, for He will be highly honored around the world. ⁵ And He will be the source of peace.” (5:2-5)

And this Word has come to pass in the birth and majesty of Jesus Christ then and there, 2,000 years ago, in Bethlehem!

Jesus Christ: Whose origins are in the distant past! For the origin of Jesus was not Mary’s womb. In the Gospel of John Jesus prays, “Now, Father, bring Me into the glory We shared before the world began.” (17:5) Jesus – God the Son – has always existed, even before creation, in tri-unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We see evidence of this in Genesis 1, during the sixth day of creation, when God is recorded as having said, “Let Us make human beings in our image, to be like us… So God created human beings in His Own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (vv. 26, 27)

And Philippians 2:6-11 tells us how the pre-existent – the always-existent – God the Son became the Son of God and the Son of Man, when Paul writes: “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Yes, Jesus has always existed, with the Father, in tri-unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But He took off His divinity to be born a human being like us, to save us human beings.

The prophecy continues: “And the people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth to this One Whose origins are in the distant past.”

You know, by faith, the apostle Paul makes clear that we Christians have been grafted into – that we’ve become a part of – Israel, according to our faith in Christ. (See Romans 11:1-24) (He makes equally clear that some who have been born Israel have been made not-Israel because of their lack of faith in Christ.) And all of humanity’s enemy – sin – did, indeed, hold absolute power over us, until the woman in labor gave birth to the pre-existent – the always-existent – Christ, and until we put our hope and trust in Him.

Yes, now the Lord Jesus has been born. And He leads us, His flock, with the Lord God’s Own strength; with the Lord God’s Own majesty! (The strength and the majesty that was His before He took off His divinity to be born a Man. The strength and majesty that is His again now that the Holy Spirit has come upon Him with the full authority and power of the living God.)

And now, despite wickedness and violence and unfaithfulness and sin and darkness of every tint and hue, of every shape and size, we – His people – shall live undisturbed. Don’t get me wrong. I know there is much in the world that might disturb a sane and conscientious and moral person. But as we make ourselves a part of Jesus’ flock, as we let Him lead us with God’s strength and as we let Him lead us in the majesty of God’s Own name, as we trust Him and His promises, trusting that what He’s said is true and acting upon it in love, loving with His, same unconditional love, expecting nothing in return, the growing darkness and the increased uncertainties will disturb us less and less, until we are, in all its fullness, living undisturbed.

And He will be highly honored around the world. And He will be the source of peace.

To the Hebrews 10:19-25 [NLTse]
¹⁹ And so, dear brothers and sisters,^[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. ²⁰ By his death,^[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. ²¹ And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, ²² let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
²³ Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. ²⁴ Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. ²⁵ And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Sermon
Anybody ever invited someone to church who told you, “O, I don’t need church. I worship God at home with Charles Stanley or Joseph Prince on Sunday mornings.” Or have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t need church. I worship God in my backyard or in the woods or…”

You know, don’t you, that what these people are telling you – whether they are truly Christians or not – is that they just want to do what they want to do. It doesn’t matter to them that the Bible tells us clearly and repeatedly that God wants us to meet together regularly. It doesn’t matter to them that the pattern the Bible gives for Worship, almost since the very beginning, has been for God’s people to meet together and worship Him together.

You see, worshiping at home or on your own let’s you be in control. You get to listen to the TV preacher’s sermon if you want, and you get to turn him or her off if you want. You get to sing whichever songs you want to sing, that is, if you want to sing songs at all on any given Sunday. You get to pray for what you want to pray about and for who you want to pray about, again, that is, if you decide you’re going to pray that Sunday.

We can trick ourselves into thinking that such a time of Worship is about God. But it is not. When we Worship when we want, for as long as we want, the way we want, doing whatever we want or not doing whatever we want, that is not worshiping God. That is worshiping ourselves, and the small little idol we’ve made God into.

And our Father has given us Worship, and called us to Worship together, just to set us free from those kinds of self-worship and those kinds of idolatry.

The truth is, we need each other.

And I’m not saying that we need each other because you and I are all that wonderful and we need each other’s wonderfulness in our lives. No. The stories you too often hear from many of the people who don’t want to go to church are stories about this or that Christian person hurting them or doing something that made going to church a burden or a chore instead of the wonder and glory of encountering God that Worship has been given to be.

And yet, recognizing that none of us are all that wonderful, and that we have a remarkable capacity to hurt each other and others, I say again, we need each other.

Across the Scriptures, but especially across the letters the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament, there are many different ways that the Lord calls us to treat one another, that is, our fellow Christians.

The Lord calls us to be at peace with one another. He calls us to always seek to do go to one another. He calls us to be hospitable to one another without complaining. To not speak evil against one another. To build each other up. To be subject to one another. To no longer pass judgment on one another. To bear with one another. (That is, to put up with one another.) To love one another. To encourage one another. To agree with one another. To be kind to one another and to forgive one another. To welcome one another. To confess our sins to one another and to pray for each other. To outdoor each other in honoring each other. To never lie to each other. To live in harmony together. To provoke each other to love and good deeds. To become slaves to one another…

How can we do these things if we’re not together a lot? And notice that the list recognizes that we may be doing some things and treating one another in some ways that we don’t like, because it includes our needing to bear with each other and to forgive each other. (If we weren’t upsetting or frustrating each other we wouldn’t need to put up with each other or forgive.)

We human beings who trust in God through our trust in Jesus Christ cannot grow into maturity as Christians if we are not regularly spending time together in Worship, growing together in our studies or classes, and serving together in various ministries. Christians cannot grow into maturity alone: Just me and Jesus!

We need to sing songs we don’t like to sing. We need to pray for people we don’t want to pray for. We need to read from passages in the Bible we wouldn’t read if it were up to us. And we need to hear sermons and teachings that we disagree with and that push us out of our comfort zones and that stretch our faith and challenge our souls.
We need each other. We need the Church. Worshiping – Growing – Serving – and Inviting Others to join us.
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We need each other. We need the Church.

Matthew 6:19-33 [NLTse]

¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in Heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

²² “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. ²³ But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

Sermon

Anybody here use a daily planner or calendar to schedule your days? What would your schedule look like if God were in charge of it?

Most people’s schedules are filled with the meetings and appointments and things we all have to do to keep our grades up or to not lose our jobs. And then we add to that what we have to do to not upset our parents (or our husbands or wives), and to keep up with our kids, etc.

What would your schedule look like if God were in charge of it? What if your schedule were working to help you become the person you know God wants you to become?

We’ve been talking these past weeks about being faithful managers of what God has entrusted to us. It’s true that when people think about what God has given them that many often only think about money. But what about our time? What about our talents and abilities? Our marriages have been entrusted to us. Our children have been entrusted to us. Yes, of course, our wealth and possessions have been entrusted to us. But so have our popularity and our influence. So have our intellect and our accomplishments. And if you think about it, a person’s daily planner is filled with these things: The choices each one of us is making for how we are going to spend our time and how we are going to invest our talents and abilities. What will it be today? Will we invest in our wife or our kids this afternoon? Will we work or will we play? How much of God’s guidance do you seek in putting together your work, school, or personal schedules each day?

I want to tell you about the power of our daily planners. A fellow I know wanted to become a pilot. So he wrote on his daily planner the word “airport” every Wednesday afternoon from 3:00-4:00pm for six months. Now, of course, this fellow had to make some phone calls, and he had to study the manuals and do the coursework, and, of course, he had to go to the airport every Wednesday for his lesson, but because he wrote the word “airport” on his daily planner on each Wednesday for six months he got his pilot’s license!

This fellow wanted to become a pilot. What do you want to become? What matters most to you in life? What matters most to God?

It’s pretty well agreed upon by all variety of different pastors and Christian scholars that God’s priorities for us are as follows:

1) He must be first – our highest goal – our most important relationship, because out from our relationship with Him will flow a right order and direction for everything else in our lives.

2) Our husbands or wives are to be in that second place. The Lord has made us one with our spouses, so that relationship is intimate to who we are once we are married, and because our relationship with our husband or wife shows the world Jesus’ relationship with His Church it is of the utmost importance to keep it strong and healthy, as well.

3) Then our relationship with our kids comes next, dependent upon us as they are.

4) Then our work and ministries and other family and friend relationships, and on and on…

So, scheduling our days can become a holy endeavor. I say that because, although American culture puts a lot of emphasis on getting things done (and so we American’s can tend to see our calendars as daily plans for getting our things done), calendars have the massive potential for helping us become the kind of person we know Christ died for us to be.

In our reading from Matthew 7 the Lord Jesus says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” Our Lord – our leader’s – priority for Himself and for us is “seeking the Kingdom of His Father and our Father”. His priority for Himself and for us is “righteous living”. How well do our calendars and schedules reflect your and my becoming “God first” men and women and boys and girls? Our becoming “righteous”? Are Jesus’ priorities our priorities? If not, why not? But if so, then do our calendars and schedules make that clear so that the whole world might know?

On a pretty regular basis folks will come up to me after Worship and tell me what a powerful Service it was. Sometimes different ones will add, “And I almost didn’t come!” What do you mean, “you almost didn’t come”? What kind of a person do you want to be? The Lord Jesus was always in Worship. Luke makes clear that it was the Lord Jesus’ “custom”, His “habit”, His “regular practice” to be in the synagogue during Worship Services. If our Lord, our Savior, the One Whom we are following, if He had church so firmly plugged into His weekly calendar then why don’t we? The power of our calendars to help us become more like Christ!

What do you want to become?

Do you want to lose weight and get healthier? What difference would it make to write “Working Out” somewhere every day or every other day on your calendar? Is the Lord calling you in a new direction or into a new profession? What difference would it make to write “Night School” somewhere regularly on your weekly schedule?

What would your schedule look like if God were in charge of it? Who is He calling you to become?

I have some Commitment Cards that I’d like to hand out. I want to challenge each of us to consider how the Holy Spirit might be calling us to put the Kingdom of God first in our lives, and to live more righteously. You’ll see there are options for reading the Bible (or reading the Bible more), for praying (or for praying more), for always being in Worship, for tithing (or for giving even more), for growing or serving or sharing our faith more with others… The intention of this Commitment Card is for us to take it home, for each of us to prayerfully fill it out. (You’ll see there is a blank side on the back where you are asked to include some details about your commitment.) And then bring it back next Sunday and hand it in along with your offering during the Collection.

A commitment is not really a commitment if there is no way for anyone to hold you accountable to it. That’s why marriage is a public commitment. That’s why citizenship is a public commitment. That’s why proclaiming our faith in Christ is a public commitment. They are all public so that those around us can hold us accountable to what we’ve committed.

And the elders and myself want to help you keep these commitments, to help support you and encourage you as you begin including some of these spiritual disciplines on your calendars, as you grow n putting the Kingdom of God first in your lives, and as you live more and more righteously. We want to collect these commitments and pray for you as time goes by. Sometime next year – maybe in February or April – we hope to reach out to each of you and ask you how your commitment is going. Not to pick on you or to check on you but to encourage you and to help you along, if we can.

Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Sermon

Have you seen the bumper sticker that says, “Tithe if you love Jesus because any fool can honk”?

Today’s message is about tithing. But more than that, it’s a message about giving, and about being generous, and about God having given us a way to live free from the worries and fears of not having enough that weigh so many people down and keep so many up at night.

Tithing, as perhaps you know, is the biblical concept of giving one tenth of our income to the Lord. A bunch of years ago I did an exhaustive study of the tithe, boiling down everything I learned into a little leaflet I titled, “Something About Tithing”. I based it on Deuteronomy 14:22-23, which says,

²² “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. ²³ Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for His name to be honored—and eat it there in His presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.”

This shows us first that when we tithe we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit to nurture a healthy and wholesome fear of the Lord in ourselves. You see, every time you give the tithe, you must face and deal with the fears within: Fears about paying your bills; fears about security in retirement; fears about keeping up with the Joneses; fears about not being seen as good providers; fears about our kids complaints; fears about the hardships we might have to face; so many fears that are all tied up with greed and envy and worry that come down to whether or not we have or can ever have enough money.

Every time we give the tithe we face and deal with these fears, because to give away to God or to others is not to buy for yourself. And the weekly victory of putting our tithe in God’s plate is utterly important for each of us to maintain. We must fight greed, we must fight worry, we must fight fear, we must fight envy almost every day. And God has appointed an antidote: Giving.

He tests us again and again, week after week, check after check, envelope after envelope, collection after collection: What do we desire most—the advancement of His Kingdom, the lifting up of His name, the blessing that only He can bring, or 10% more security and comfort and fun for ourselves? As Jesus says, you know where your heart is by where you put your treasure. Tithing nurtures a healthy and wholesome fear of the Lord in us, and fights off greed, worry, envy, and the fear of other things.

Deuteronomy 14 has more to say about the tithe.

Moses makes clear that although the entire tithe is the Lord’s and for His purposes, that each Christian is to benefit from the tithes – whether in fellowship dinners and celebrations (like our upcoming Church-Family Thanksgiving Dinner, or in Sunday School and Bible studies; in all these ways and whatever ways we “feed” because of the tithes and because of the Lord.

Skip down a couple verses to v. 27 and about the tithe Deuteronomy 14 says there,

²⁷ “And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.

²⁸ “At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year’s harvest and store it in the nearest town. ²⁹ Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work.”

So, another purpose for the tithe is to pay church-workers. Pastors, Praise Team Leaders, Secretaries, missionaries, etc… none of these do the “normal” work the Lord has given to other people for making a living, but do, in modern times, the work that the Levites are recorded as having done in Bible times. And they are to be paid – ministering among the people, spreading His good news and comfort, nurturing His abundant life around their communities, stirring up His hope and joy in their midst – and their pay comes from the tithe.

Of course the tithe makes the Lord’s mercy and grace clear, too. The poor and vulnerable and abused in our communities are to be served by the tithe, as well. Which is why our Youth Group is open to street kids as well as church kids, and why our church is known to be a place where friends and neighbors can come for help from our Benevolences Team, our White Gifts ministry, and our Food Closet in their times of need.

Psalm 103:8 says, “The LORD is merciful and gracious!” Exodus 34:6 says, “The LORD is merciful and gracious!” What do you think Psalm 145:8 says? “The LORD is merciful and gracious!” Yes! And He wants His mercy and grace proclaimed and made known to our neighbors in the tithe. And when we tithe, and faithfully use the tithes as He has called us to, He promises that we will be blessed in all our work!

Our fearful, materialistic, greedy, and untrusting culture wants us to believe that we need God’s blessing on our work first so that we can then tithe. But that’s not God’s way. That’s never been God’s way.

God commanded Noah to build an ark to save himself and his family from The Flood. “What’s a flood, Lord?” Noah must have asked Him. “Build the ark,” God said, “and you will see.”

God said to Abraham, “Leave your home and I will bring you to a place where you will be a blessing to the world.” Abraham responded, “Where is this place, Lord?” And God answered, “Leave your home and I will show you the place when you get there.”

God told the Levites of Joshua’s day to carry the Ark of the Covenant (that gold box that contained the Ten Commandments) into the fast-moving, deadly waters of the Jordan River, promising once they did that He would stop the Jordan’s waters so that Israel’s army could pass through. “Don’t You want to stop the waters first, Lord?” I can imagine them asking. “No,” He replied, “you step into the torrent and then you will see My wonders!”

We read of this all across the Scriptures. Of course, the most glorious example is the cross. Hebrews 12 speaks of it this way, “Because of the joy awaiting Him, Jesus endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Jesus, as a human being like us, had to trust that joy would be His on the other side of the horrors of crucifixion. But He had to endure the crucifixion first.

It has always been our Father’s way to call us to faith and trust in Him first, and then to bless us with the rewards of our faithful obedience. It is the same with the tithe.

Jesus says, “Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

Giving in a regular, disciplined, generous way—up to and even beyond the tithe—is simply good sense in view of the promises of God.

In Malachi 3:10 the LORD puts it this way,

¹⁰ Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of Heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test! ¹¹ Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ¹² “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

(“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies” is just one of the many titles for God in the Bible.) He’s speaking to Israel when they were a nation of farmers and vine growers working the land. The equivalent for us today is simply, “Bring your tithe so that I can do everything in your communities and worldwide that I long to do! And I will bless you so richly you won’t have enough room in your hearts or your homes to contain it all! All nations will call you blessed for your communities will be such a wonder and such a delight!” says the LORD.

What an amazing challenge from God. “Test Me,” He says. “You think you can’t afford to tithe? Test Me.” And what we find when we test Him is that we cannot afford not to tithe—and beyond! There is an absolute correlation between faith in the promises of God and the peace of mind He has for us when we give away what we think we need but in truth really don’t.

Every time you doubt that you can live on 90% of your income, let the glorious promises of God strengthen your faith. Because tithing boils down to a faith issue: Do we trust God’s promises?

Well, First Presbyterian Church, I appeal to you: Trust God! For as the apostle Paul writes, ^19 “And this same God Who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).