power

Why Study Poverty?

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urban-povertyWe all think we know what poverty is.

Almost all of us are wrong.

In August, Trinity Church will host Dr. Ken Price as he presents a one day seminar called Bridges Out of Poverty.  I’m certain that many people think that this is unnecessary and until a few years ago, I was one of them.

We all think that we know what poverty is, what it means to be poor, and many of us think that we have to solution to how poor people can get back on their feet again.  We think that poor people just need to work harder, or sign up for this or that government program, or get more education, or stop making foolish choices.

These thoughts are almost always wrong.

Poverty is much more complicated.  In fact, there are a great many forces that (unintentionally) work together to trap people in poverty and prevent very logical solutions from being successful.  These forces also prevent those people who are most in need from working harder, getting education, or doing many of the things that ought to lift them up to the next level.

As a church, both locally and nationally, we try to provide assistance to the poor but very often our best efforts are unsuccessful and we struggle to understand why.  We thought that we did all the right things, but the people didn’t come, or the help that we offered didn’t work when we thought that it should.

More often than not, the failure isn’t one of planning, or effort, or budgets but a much more fundamental failure to understand the complexity of the problem.  Moreover, these failures are not unique to the church but the same mistakes are often made by school systems, businesses, local, state and federal governments, and many others.

In order to be good stewards of our gifts, talents, abilities, time and money we should do our best to understand the problem before we set out to fix it.  And that is exactly why I invited Dr. Price to come here and why we are offering the Bridges Out of Poverty seminar.  This seminar was originally designed to teach school teachers so that they could better understand the students (and their families) that lived in poverty but it quickly grew beyond that.  It is regularly taught in businesses, social service agencies, charitable organizations, churches and other groups that work with, or seek to help, people in poverty.

I hope that you will join me, and Dr. Ken Price, on Saturday August 27th as we learn the hidden “rules” that govern the lives of the poor, why the poor can’t get the services that you take for granted, and many other ways in which our own culture and basic assumptions set us up for failure when we try to help.  This seminar is not free.  Participants will each get a course book, and we will be serving lunch, but if you would like to attend and the cost is a problem for you, please talk to me.  I don’t want anyone to miss this because they can’t afford it.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Released From Fear

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“Released From Fear”

June 19, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 8:26-39             Galatians 3:23-29                1 Kings 19:1-15a

 

Have you ever been afraid?

I’m not talking about scary movies where you might be afraid, but a part of you always knows that it isn’t real.  I mean the kind of fear that comes from real life.  You might have been afraid of a bully, or your boss, or cancer, or a number of other things.  If you’ve been in church for a while, you have probably heard some of the things that the Bible says about fear and how we should trust God.  But in the end, even those with the strongest of faith will sometimes be afraid.  We begin this morning once again in 1 Kings 19:1-15a, only days after Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal.

19:1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

If you remember, last week we head about how corrupt Ahab and Jezebel were and how they thought nothing of framing an innocent man just so that they could take away his little piece of land for themselves.  They were both completely unscrupulous and utterly evil.  And so, only days (maybe less) after Elijah witnessed fire from heaven consume God’s sacrifice, and the altar, and the water, and the dirt under it, Jezebel threatens that she intends to kill Elijah next, just as he had done to the prophets of Baal.  And even though Elijah was the most powerful prophet in the entire history of Israel, and even though Elijah had just witnessed God’s amazing power in answer to his own simple prayer, Elijah was afraid and he ran for his life.

And then in Luke 8:26-39, we hear the story about Jesus healing a demon-possessed man that everyone was afraid of because of his great strength and unpredictable nature.

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

At first, the people are afraid of the man who is possessed by demons.  They were so afraid of him and what he could do, that the people put chains around his hands and feet and hired armed guards to watch over him.  But he broke the chains, and drove off the armed guards, because of the strength of the demons within him.  Perhaps this was something similar to the great strength that is sometimes seen when people are under the influence of PCP or other drugs, but however it happened, this scared the daylights out of everyone.  And then the man made his home in a place of death, in the tombs outside of town, so that people would leave him alone.  But Jesus isn’t afraid.  Jesus commands the demons to leave the man and they obey.  And when the people in town heard what Jesus had done, they were afraid of Jesus because they understood that Jesus had great power and it was a power that they didn’t understand.

And then in Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, he writes these words (Galatians 3:23-29):

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Now, I know that I left you hanging on some of these stories, so let’s connect the dots.

Elijah is afraid, despite his intimate relationship with God and despite being a witness to God’s incredible power only days before, and he runs away and hides.  And in the end, God quietly listens to his fears… and tells Elijah to get back to work.

The people who heard what Jesus had done for the demon possessed man were so afraid of Jesus’ power that they asked him to go away. Their fear caused them to push away the one man who could help them.  Their fear caused them to push away the one man who could rescue them from death.  The man who had been healed wanted to leave with Jesus, perhaps because he wanted to help Jesus’ ministry in return for what Jesus had done for him, or perhaps he was afraid of beginning a new life where people were still afraid of him.  But instead of inviting him into the boat, Jesus transforms this man one more time by making him one of God’s first missionaries to the Gentiles.

In answer to his fear, Jesus tells him to get to work.

And Paul’s short summary tells us that before the coming of Jesus, human beings were prisoners to the law.  In other words, they lived in fear of the law.  Do what the law says, or die without God.  But Jesus changed all that.  With the coming of Jesus it doesn’t matter what other gods we might have once worshipped.  It doesn’t matter that we are from a foreign country and we aren’t Jewish.  It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, or anything else.  Paul’s message is a message of belonging.

It’s okay to be afraid.  It’s normal.  Even Elijah, the most powerful prophet in all of scripture, was sometimes afraid.

But don’t let your fear control you.

Don’t let your fear push you away from Jesus.

Take your fear to God.  Tell God how you feel.  Tell God about your fear and trust him with it.

Because of God, we have nothing to fear.

Because of Jesus, we all belong.

We all belong to the same kingdom and we all work for the ultimate good of God’s kingdom.

But the message that God speaks into our fear is the same as it always was.

God quietly and patiently listens to our fears…

…and tells us to get back to work.

 

 

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Use of Power

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“The Use of Power”

June 12, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 7:36 – 8:3                  Galatians 2:15-21                   1 Kings 21:1-21a

 

Have you ever seen your boss, or your mayor, any anyone with a little bit of power, use that power in inappropriate or even illegal ways?  On the other hand, have you ever seen people with power, use that power in ways that made you want to cheer?  Think about these examples:

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Sue Ellen Wooldridge bought a $980,000 vacation home with two other people, Deputy U.S. Secretary of the Interior J. Steven Griles, and Don R. Duncan.  Mr. Duncan was, at that time, a lobbyist for oil giant ConocoPhillips.  Nine months after buying this million dollar vacation home together, and just before stepping down from her position as Assistant Attorney General, Ms. Wooldridge approved consent decrees which gave ConocoPhillips three additional years to pay millions of dollars in fines for a Superfund toxic waste cleanup and install pollution controls (which are estimated to cost US$525 million) at nine of its refineries.”

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline provides research funding to doctors who write favorable opinions of depression drugs for children.  Presumably, they do so, so that doctors will prescribe depression drugs for children and GlaxoSmithKline will make money.  Unfortunately, scientific evidence from clinical trials on these medicines shows that when these medications are used on children, they can cause anger and even suicide.

Of course, we get steamed when our Congress, which has done less real work than any congress in the history of our nation, votes to give themselves a raise.  These things might be technically legal, but clearly can be seen as abuses of power.

On the other hand, this past Thursday (June 9, 2016), two armed robbers entered a McDonalds in Besancon, France intending to rob the restaurant.  Unknown to them however, 11 of the 40 patrons in the restaurant belonged to the French Special Forces that had been formed as an anti-terrorism unit and who were simply there to grab lunch and take a break.  The professionals allowed the robbery to continue so that no one would accidentally be hurt by weapons fire in a crowded restaurant, but when the robbers attempted to leave, one was quickly subdued and the other shot when he resisted arrest.  Both will stand trial.

As I have often noted, over thousands of years of recorded history, people have not changed very much.  And so, as we read through the Bible, we find examples, good and bad, that are very similar.  We begin this morning in 1 Kings 21:1-21a where we find King Ahab, who has been, for good reason, described as one of Israel’s worst kings.

21:1 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”

3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”

4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”

6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:

“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”

“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you.

Ahab and Jezebel are so corrupt, that neither of them thinks anything of framing an innocent man, Naboth, and having him executed, just so that they can buy a little piece of dirt that had been in his family for generations.  But, the message for us is not just that government officials and other human beings can be corrupt and abuse their power, and even abuse the legal system, everyone already knows that.  The message for us is that God was so angered by this sort of abuse, that he not only removed Ahab and Jezebel from power and gave the throne of Israel to someone else, but that in their deaths, they would meet the same fate that Naboth did.

And then, in a much more subtle form of abuse we meet a Pharisee in Luke 7:36 – 8:3, who has invited Jesus to dinner.

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping; she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

There are several things that I want to point out.  First, as a person with power, the Pharisee has no problem classifying the woman as a lower class of people so that he can discriminate against her.  But Jesus points out that because of her background, in fact because of the very thing that made the Pharisee think that she should be criticized, God’s forgiveness had become an even greater gift.  Secondly, Jesus uses his understanding to recast the entire discussion so that everyone present can better see the woman’s point of view, as well as understand God’s system of justice.

And finally, at the end of the story, we meet a group of women who are something more than the followers of Jesus.  From this short passage we realize that these women, Mary, Joanna, Suzanna, and several others, actually many others, are not just fans or “groupies” that follow Jesus from place to place, and not just helpers who have come along to do the “women’s work” of cooking and cleaning, but these women are, in fact, the benefactors, the sponsors, that are funding the day to day expenses of Jesus’ ministry.  Think about that, because of their wealth and political access, these women have both monetary and political power but they have chosen to use it to fund the ministry of Jesus rather than to expand their own influence.

And then in Galatians 2:15-21, Paul says this:

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

We are not justified by the works of the law.  That means that we cannot earn our way to God no matter what we do.  Regardless of how powerful we are, and regardless of how rich we are, we are incapable of being good enough, or paying God enough money to earn our way, or buy our way, to heaven.  In the end, all of us, the rich and the poor, the weak and the powerful, all find life at the feet of Jesus because of his mercy and grace.  We are only righteous in the eyes of God because Jesus has made us righteous.

If we can get our minds around it, the implications are absolutely enormous.

What this means, is that every argument that we are having in the public square, and within the church, needs to be completely reframed.  What this means is that we cannot look down on the poor because they are every bit as dependent on Jesus as we are.  We cannot think less of people from another political party, or people who differ in their opinions on some key political argument, because they are just as much a child of God as we are.  We cannot think of ourselves as superior in arguments about sexuality, or abortion, or rape, because, in the eyes of God, we are every bit as sinful and in need of Jesus as they are.

That doesn’t mean that we should ever compromise our values, but it does mean that when we disagree, and whenever we confront people who are different from us, we must see them first and foremost as children of God so that, regardless of any disagreements we might have, we treat them with respect, mercy, and grace.

If more of us can do that, it will not only change our use of power, but it will completely change the way that we see the world and the way that we do almost everything.

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Faith, Fire, and Truth

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“Faith, Fire, and Truth”

May 29, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 7:1-10                  Galatians 1:1-12                           1 Kings 18:20-39

About a dozen of our Trinity folk have been working their way through our short-term Bible study with Lee Strobel’s “A Case for Christ.”  In that study, there is a question that has been presented several times. “If Jesus really is who he says that he is, what does it mean?”  And as we’ve gone through the study, what we come back to is an understanding that if Jesus is who he says that he is, and indeed, if God is who the Bible says that he is, then that has serious implications for how we live our lives.  It’s one thing to ignore Jesus or to pick and choose which of his teachings we like or don’t like, if he was only a good teacher of human nature and morality.  But if Jesus really was the Son of the living God, the creator of all that is, and the judge of all humanity, then how we deal with his teaching, and how we live our lives, is changed dramatically.  And so, this morning, although this message has no other connection to our Bible study, I want to consider the reality and power of God as well as what that means to how we live out our lives.

We begin this morning in Luke 7:1-10 where Jesus performs a miracle without ever meeting the recipient of that miracle, or the person who asked for it.

7:1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

In this story, Jesus performs a miracle that stands outside of the ordinary for several reasons.  First, Jesus is asked to heal the servant of a Roman centurion, which is unusual because, for the most part, the Jews were not on good terms with the Roman occupation.  Second, this centurion must have been on good terms with the leaders of the Jewish Temple because the people that he asks to seek out Jesus for him are elders in their religious community and, as you might recall, these leaders themselves often had a difficult relationship with Jesus.  As it turns out, this centurion must have been one of those responsible for the building of the Temple and must have had a regular, daily, working relationship with many of the Jews.  Third, the centurion sees no need for Jesus to trouble himself with actually coming into his house because he understands that if Jesus has real power, and real authority, then he can simply do what needs done without actually being there… and he does.

In the end, Jesus heals the servant of the centurion without ever entering the house, without ever meeting the centurion, and without ever seeing the servant that was healed.  The power that Jesus had went far beyond magic tricks and parlor games.  There were no magic words or incantations, there was no laying on of hands, and you might notice that there wasn’t even a prayer that God would bring healing.  Jesus doesn’t even make some sort of official pronouncement that the servant would be healed, but instead comments on the great faith of the Roman centurion and that the faith of this enemy occupier was greater than any that Jesus had seen in all of Israel.

And the men who had come to Jesus returned to the house and found the servant well.

Next, we read what one of my very favorite Bible stories if not my most favorite of all.  The king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, were worshippers of Baal and had, systematically, persecuted, driven out, converted, or killed almost all of God’s prophets and priests until Elijah believed that he was the only one left.  At that moment, God comes to Elijah and Elijah challenges Ahab to a duel in front of the entire nation.  He invites Ahab to bring all of the prophets of Baal, from all over the country, and they would meet him on Mount Carmel to see which god was real.  (1 Kings 18:20-39)

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [about 24 pounds] of seed.33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

The prophets of Baal pray, and sing, and cry out, and cut themselves, and do all sorts of things to get the attention of their god, and at the end of the day, after they literally drown his sacrifice with water, Elijah prays a simple prayer that God would let it be known in Israel that he… is… God.

And fire comes down from heaven.

And the fire burns up the sacrifice… and the wood… and the water in the trench… and the stones that make up the altar… and the dirt underneath of it.

God answers the prayer of Elijah and leaves absolutely, positively, no doubts in the minds of anyone present that what they had witnessed was something supernatural.  There was no possibility that anyone there harbored any suspicions that what they had witnessed was either an accident or some kind of natural phenomenon.

And, perhaps after a moment of shock and terror, the people fall on their faces and proclaim, “The Lord, he is God.  The Lord, he is God.”

And then we come to the Apostle Paul who writes these words to the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:1-12) where people from the churches, who had previously put their faith in Jesus Christ, were turning away from God and instead following other gods.

1:1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul was astonished that human nature hadn’t changed a bit since the time of Elijah.  People who had heard the good news of Jesus Christ were turning to follow other gospels and being confused by other preachers. And, in his own way, Paul uses the same logic that Elijah did by reminding the people that the message that he carries is not something that was created or invented by human beings.  Paul, like the other disciples, was a witness to the risen Jesus.  Paul was a Pharisee and had been a fervent supporter of the Jewish faith to the extent that he had pursued the followers of Jesus, persecuted them, arrested them, and dragged them back to Jerusalem for trial.  But as he travelled on the road to Damascus, something changed.  Saul met the risen son of God, became a follower and missionary of Jesus, and took on a new name, Paul.  And so, as he writes to the church in Galatia, Paul reminds them that it is this truth that he serves.  Much like the phrase that we hear today, “Follow the money.” Paul says, “If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  If Paul was trying to get rich, following Jesus wasn’t the way to do it.  If Paul wanted a comfortable life with a beautiful wife, a nice house, and plenty of servants, following Jesus was not the way to do it.  But instead of getting rich or having a comfortable life, Paul is compelled to follow the truth and that truth, Paul says, did not come from human beings but was given to him by the resurrected, and very much alive, Jesus Christ.

In all three stories, the question for each of us remains the same.  If God is real, if Jesus really did rise from the dead, then we have some very important decisions to make.  If God isn’t real then it doesn’t matter if you worship Baal or any other god, but if the God of Israel is real then it matters a great deal.  If Jesus wasn’t the Son of God and didn’t rise from the dead, then we are free to live our lives any way that we choose.  But if Jesus was, who he said that he was, then doing the things that he said we should do, and living our lives the way that he said we should live them, suddenly become extraordinarily important.

You may not have seen fire fall from the sky and consume God’s sacrifice, but you have heard the truth.

What will you decide?

What will you do?

How will you live?

Your choices matter.

 

 

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Gift of Excalibur

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“The Gift of Excalibur”

May 15, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: John 14:8-17, 25-27                  Acts 2:1-21                             Romans 8:14-17

 

How many of you have heard of King Arthur, the one of whom so many stories, movies and plays have been written?

Now, how many of you actually know the story of King Arthur beyond the one that we heard from Walt Disney’s “The Sword and the Stone” or the Hollywood musical “Camelot” with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave?

Of course, some of you are young enough that you have no idea who Richard Harris was.  You should go home and look this up on Netflix.  There have been countless other adaptations of this story and each of them is a little different.  But honestly, if once you start looking, the variations started hundreds of years ago and even the oldest sources for the legend of Arthur can be very different from one another.

In any case, the basic story goes something like this: King Uther Pendragon fancied another man’s wife, Lady Igraine, so much that he intended to steal her by force.  To that end, he took an army to attack the castle in Cornwall belonging to her husband, the Duke of Tintagel.  During the battle, the Duke was killed, and Merlin used magic to change Uther Pendragon into the shape of the Duke so that he could sleep with Lady Igraine without her knowing.  By that deception, Arthur was conceived but Merlin didn’t work his magic for free, and in the deal that Uther had made to sleep with Lady Igraine, when Arthur was born, he was given to Merlin and Merlin, in turn, gave him to someone else as a foster parent.

Much later, Arthur, not knowing that he is the rightful heir of King Uther Pendragon, pulls a sword out of a stone and anvil.  According to the legend, that sword was well known in England and it was said that only the true and right king of all England would be able to draw it out.

Later still, Arthur complained to Merlin that he didn’t have a really good sword that he could call his own, and so Merlin took him to a lake where he met Nimue, the Lady of the Lake.  Nimue had a fantastic sword that belonged to her and her only, but she would loan it to Arthur and told him that it would serve him well.  The sword was encased by a beautiful scabbard made of gold and inlaid with precious gems but it was more than that.  The scabbard also had the power to protect Arthur from all harm on the battlefield.  Another part of the story says that the sword, through the light that reflected from it, and the magic that it held within it, had the power to bedazzle his enemies so that he could overcome them even if he were vastly outnumbered.

There are tons of books that can tell you more about the legend of the great King Arthur, but this much of the story is important to our message today.  There are three important reasons that I shared these parts of the legend of King Arthur… but I’m not going to tell you what they are until later.

We begin our scripture lesson this morning in John 14:8-17, 25-27 where we hear this:

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Jesus promised the disciples that after he leaves them, God will send his Spirit to live with us forever and that spirit will come to lead us, guide us, and to help us do the will of God.

That promise is fulfilled after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension in to heaven and we hear that story in Acts 2:1-21.

2:1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

People who witnessed the coming of the Spirit of God were amazed and wondered what it meant and Peter is more than happy to explain it to them.  The coming of the Spirit of God was prophesied by the prophet Joel as well as Jesus.  Those prophecies tell us that the coming of the Spirit would give the followers of God the power to prophecy, dream dreams, see visions, and otherwise hear the voice of God as well as to do the will of God so that all of humanity might call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

The Spirit of God gave the disciples the ability to preach in languages that they didn’t know so that the crowds of people, who had come to Jerusalem from all over the world, could hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Finally today, we read from Romans 8:14-17, where we hear Paul explain what it means for us to receive the gift of the Spirit of God.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

And that brings us back to the story of King Arthur because there are three important parallels between King Arthur and each of us who are gathered here.

First, Arthur was the true heir of the King and so are you.  Because Arthur was the true son of the King, despite the fact that he had no knowledge of his real parentage, he was able to draw the sword out of the anvil and stone.  Because you are a child of the King of kings, adopted into sonship, co-heirs with Jesus, regardless of your human parentage, you too are able to receive a great gift.  In your case, what you can receive is not a sword, but the power of the living Spirit of God.

Second, Arthur was given a great gift, Excalibur, which enabled him to do far more than he could have done through his own effort, strength and power.  And so have you.  Because, when you came to faith in Jesus Christ and put your trust in him, the Spirit of God came to live within you.  And because the Spirit of God lives within you, you are able to do far more through the power of that Spirit, than you ever could through your own effort, strength and power.

And finally, The Lady of the Lake gave Arthur the sword Excalibur because he was worthy, but in the end, Arthur was mortally wounded in battle because of a moral failure.  Similarly, Jesus said that if we love him, we must keep his commands.  Our ability to be channels of the power of the Spirit of God is limited, or even lost, when we fail to be obedient to the commands of God.

And so, as we remember and celebrate Pentecost, I want each of you to remember that you are like King Arthur.  It is as if you have been given the gift of Excalibur.  You have been declared to be a true heir of the King of kings.  You have been given a great gift.  It is a gift of indescribable power and it can help you to do the work of God’s Kingdom in ways that go far beyond your own effort, strength, courage, wisdom, and understanding.  But to wield that power effectively, you must stay close to God and do your very best to be obedient to his commands.

You are heirs of the King of kings and are servants, warriors, and knights in his service.

You have been given a gift that is more powerful than the mythical sword Excalibur, and you have been called by God to use that gift in the service of his kingdom.

How will you answer brave knight?

 

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Use of Power

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“The Use of Power”

May 08, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: John 17:20-26                                Acts 16:16-34                         Revelation 22:12-21

 

How many of you are planning to do something today that has something to do with Mother’s Day?  By that I mean, are you taking your Mom out to eat, gathering together as a family to be with your mom or, you are the mom and your family is doing something for you?  More than likely, most of us are.

But why do we do that?

Just asking that question, “Why?” is bound to get a reaction of surprise, shock, and “Well, duh, because she’s my mom!”  And, again, for most of us, we want to honor our mothers because of what they have done for us.  They nurtured us, fed us, cared for us, bandaged our boo boo’s, took us to the doctor’s office, sat through all of our band concerts even when we were just learning and half the band was playing the wrong notes, gratefully and joyously received our third grade art project as a gift on Mothers’ Day, and then she told us how wonderful and talented we were.

But not every mother was like that.

All we have to do is to open the newspaper or turn on the evening news and we hear stories about mothers who abandoned or abused their children.  Just this month we’ve been following the story about a mother (and grandmother) who is now being prosecuted for the murder of her son because she bought him heroin as a 16th birthday present.

Every parent is given an enormous responsibility, to raise a child, to care for them, to nurture them, and to teach them to be a mature and responsible adult.  Today, on Mothers’ Day, we honor those mothers, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, who used what they had been given to do the best that they could in raising us.  But not every mother handles that responsibility well.  All of us have friends who dislike Mothers’ Day and who struggle every year when the rest of us celebrate.  And their struggles grow out of how their mother’s misused their parental responsibility.  Parents who misuse their authority can cause lifelong damage to their children.

And while that isn’t a pleasant thought when we are trying to celebrate those mothers who did a great job, it does tell us something about how other people, in other positions of responsibility (particularly in an election year) use the power and responsibility that have been given to them.  Let’s begin this morning with an example from scripture.  We begin in Acts 16:16-34, as Paul and Silas are arrested for preaching the gospel in Philippi.

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.  At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

In the first paragraph we read how Paul, through the power of Jesus Christ, commands a demon to come out of a female slave.  But immediately, this display of power frightens the leaders of the city and they demonstrate their own power by having Paul and Silas arrested, stripped, beaten and thrown in jail.  But Paul and Silas are not intimidated by political power.  As they sit, chained, in the depths of the prison, they sing about God.  And as they do, an earthquake threatens to tear the prison apart.  All the doors are opened and chains on the prisoners are loosened.

The jailer, seeing that the doors of the prison have been opened, draws his word and prepares to take his own life because, he understands Roman justice.  In the Roman world, the penalty for allowing a prisoner to escape is death.  And, for anyone who has ever heard the story of Easter, it isn’t difficult to imagine that the penalty for allowing a prison full of captives to escape would be unpleasant in the extreme.  And so, the jailer is prepared to kill himself rather than face the torture that the Roman army would exact upon him.  But as he does, Paul hears him unsheathe his sword and calls out that no one has escaped and that everyone is where they should be.

In this we see that God, once again, demonstrates his power over both humanity and nature, but also that the proper application of that power is not to crush his enemies underfoot, but to show them mercy.  The jailer recognizes mercy when he sees it, asks what he can do to be saved by such a god, and that very night, he and his entire household are baptized and become followers of Jesus Christ.

And in an era filled with broken families, broken government, ugly elections, and even broken churches, the message of Jesus recorded by the Apostle John resonates more than ever.  Jesus prays that God would use his indescribable power to do what some people would otherwise describe as completely and utterly impossible. (John 17:20-26)

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Jesus prays for two things, first, that God’s glory would be revealed by calling the lost to believe and second, that all of God’s people would stop fighting amongst themselves and come to a place of unity with one another and with God.  In a world where everyone seems to be constantly offended by everything, and where everyone seems to be fighting against everyone else, it is often helpful to remember that Jesus himself is praying that we could all get along and do the real work of saving the world.

And finally, in the Revelation of the Apostle John, we are warned about what is to come. (Revelation 22:12-21)

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you [“you” is plural] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Jesus says that on the day of his return, he will bring rewards to everyone who has believed according to what they have done for him.  But more than that, Jesus, the creator of all that is and the judge of all humanity, stands alongside his bride, the church, and uses all of his incredible power… to invite everyone to accept the free gift of eternal life.

And so the answer to the question of why we honor our mothers comes down to this, we honor our mothers because not every mother could do what they did.  Just as many politicians have abused their power and we honor those who used their power responsibly, not every mother has been able to handle the responsibility of raising mature responsible adults.  And so we honor those that did.  We honor the women on our lives that lived the way that Jesus showed us, and who used their authority to show us forgiveness, rescue, unity, grace and mercy.

All of us are called to do the same with the power and authority that we have been given.  Whether we have little, or whether we have much, the church has been called to use our authority to move toward unity, to invite others into God’s kingdom, to tell the world about the good news of Jesus Christ, and to show everyone around us mercy and grace.

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Real: Past, Present, Future

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“Real: Past, Present, Future”

April 03, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: John 20:19-31                    Acts 5:27-32                           Revelation 1:4-8

Have you ever been selected to serve on a jury, or had to testify in court, watched a courtroom drama, or even watched a trial that was on television like the O.J. Simpson mess?

At one point or another, whether it was on television or in real life, most of us have heard these words: Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

A courtroom, in fact, our entire justice system depends upon people who tell the truth, and that, in turn, depends upon those people being courageous enough to stand up in public and speak out.

But, at the same time, there are, and there always have been, people in society and in the judicial system, that do their best to suppress the truth in one way or another because the truth doesn’t benefit them personally.

Defense attorneys know that when they are defending clients that are obviously guilty, it is not in their best interests for everyone to know the truth.  And as sad as it is, often people with power and money attempt to manipulate the system, and manipulate the truth, in order to accumulate even more power and money.

Knowing that, and knowing that human beings have changed very little since the beginning of time, it comes as no surprise to discover that exactly the same thing was happening in the time of Jesus.  In Acts 5:27-32, the disciples of Jesus are hauled into court because they insist on telling the truth.

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The Sanhedrin, which was the ruling council of Israel, the highest authority under Jewish law and second only to the authority of the Roman government, was a cross between our state legislature and the Supreme Court.  They not only decided court cases, but passed legislation and rules under which the people of Israel lived.  These were some of the most powerful men in the nation and they had specifically instructed the disciples of Jesus that they should not preach and teach about Jesus.  Although they were in a position to know that the disciples had not stolen Jesus’ body, and they had probably heard testimony from one or more of the Roman soldiers who had guarded Jesus’ tomb, and although they themselves had manipulated the events that led to the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus, they didn’t like it when the disciples preached that Jesus was alive and that the Sanhedrin had done, exactly what they had done.  In other words, the truth made them look bad, they didn’t like it, and they wanted the disciples to stop telling the truth.

But the disciples were prepared to take a stand.

Despite being ordered to stop, they continued to preach and teach about Jesus and, as eyewitnesses, they continued to tell the truth about what they had seen and heard.  These were the men who were courageous enough to stand up in public and speak out and their best argument was that God had called them to speak the truth about what they had seen and what they had heard.

Jesus was real.

It wasn’t just that Jesus had been real in the past, but then had been crucified and died, it was more than that.  And because it was more than that, it was much more important than that.

Human beings die.  None of us get out of this life alive.  Sooner or later, all of us will die, but these men had seen and heard Jesus, they sat down and shared meals with Jesus, they walked with and talked to Jesus long after they watched him die on the cross.  In John 20:19-31, we hear this:

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Because of these things, and others that John didn’t take the time to record, the disciples knew that Jesus was not just a person from the past, but was indeed a real, flesh and blood, living person in the present as well.

But still, there was more to it than that.  When Jesus left the disciples, he didn’t simply join a caravan to Timbuktu and disappear into the sunset.  When Jesus left, these men watched as he climbed to the top of a mountain and then ascended into the air until he was obscured from view by the clouds in the sky.  And as he left, Jesus told the disciples what they were to do until he returned to earth.  This means that the disciples were also clear that Jesus didn’t just live in the past and in the present, but would continue to live in the future as well.

And then, for good measure, the Apostle John saw this in a vision that we call the book of Revelation 1:4-8.

4 John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John recalls that in Matthew 23, Jesus had told them that he would be coming in the clouds. And then he hears God himself say that he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, who was, who is, and who is to come.  And so this passage declares that Jesus will come in a time which is in our future, but, at the same time, he says that everyone will see him, including those who where there on the day that he died, which is in the past.

In writing this to the church in Asia, and to future generations, John is proclaiming that Jesus was real in the past, is real in the present, and will continue to be real in the future and until the end of time itself.

But there is one more point that must be noted from God’s revelation to John and that is the part that has the greatest impact on each one of us.  John describes Jesus as “the firstborn from the dead” and that means that although Jesus rose from the dead, he will not be the last.  What it means is that more resurrections are expected and those resurrections belong to those that are followers of Jesus.  Each one of us have been freed from our sins by the blood of Jesus, and in doing so Jesus has called us to, collectively, be members of God’s kingdom and, individually, and be priests that serve God both now and forever.

The apostles had the courage to stand up in public and speak the truth about Jesus even when powerful people tried to stop them.  They knew that Jesus is real in the past, in the present, and in the future and so do we.  And because Jesus is real, we must answer his call to continue the work that the disciples began.  We must speak the truth about Jesus in the world that we live in and we must answer his call as children of God, members of his kingdom, and as priests that minister and witness to the world.

 

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* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Power, Jesus, and You

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“Power, Jesus, and You”

January 17, 2016

By John PartridgeU

 

 Scripture: Isaiah 62:1-5                      1 Corinthians 12:1-11                       John 2:1-11

My grandparents were marvelous gardeners.  They had composted, turned the soil, and nurtured their garden for five or six decades with such care that, even when the soil was dry, you could stick your bare hand wrist deep without much effort.  They had combined generations of practice and stewardship that they had learned from their family and combined it with the best that science had to offer and grew incredible, and delicious, things without chemicals, without fertilizers, and without very many weeds (and what weeds there were, didn’t last long under their watchful care).  When we visited them, we intended to, and were expected to, help.  But helping out came with a few rules.  Grandma and Grandpa were the bosses.  Whatever they said was the law.  You could help but you did what they told you to do, the way that they told you to do it.  Even though their house was a place of incredible love, there was a clear division of labor that was not to be toyed with.

It was good training for real life.

As we got older we discovered that work is often like that too.  At most places of employment there is a division of labor.  Sometimes it is a division between labor and management, or blue collar and white collar, or both, and even within those divisions there are divisions between sales and engineering, between laborers and electricians, skilled and unskilled, and lots of other divisions.

And so, as we come to faith in Jesus, it is fair for us to wonder what the division of labor might be in the church.  Especially in light of last week’s message where we learned how the Spirit of God lives with us and gives us the strength to do God’s will.  If we are called to do God’s work, then what is it that we are called to do?  What should I expect Jesus to do, what does the pastor do, and what am I expected to do?  And so this morning we’re going to talk about some of the ways that we discover a division of labor, as it were, in the Christian life.

We begin with the prophet Isaiah as God declares how he will use his people, and his blessing, to make his name knows throughout the world (Isaiah 62:1-5).

62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.
2 The nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
3 You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, [Hephzibah means my delight is in her.]
and your land Beulah [Beulah means married.];
for the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.
5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.

First off, what we just heard says that God intends to use his power to restore Israel and to vindicate his people.  ‘Vindicate’ is not a word that we use a lot, but it means to clear someone of suspicion, to acquit, or exonerate them of the charges against them.  And so God intends to prove that his people were right in their belief in him and remove all doubts among the nations that Israel’s God was the creator of the universe and rules over everything in it.  God intends to prove to the world that he is the only true God.  But, at the same time, God intends to use his people to accomplish his purpose.  God intends for his people to be so obvious, so amazing, so wonderful, so blessed, and so good, that the entire world will be attracted to him because of them.

And then at the end of that passage, God speaks of his love for his people, his love for you.  God says that he loves you with the love that a bridegroom has for his bride.  God wants you to know that he not only loves you, but he wants to pour himself into you until he is thrilled with you.

And then in John 2:1-11, we see some of the power that Jesus wielded during his life on earth.  It is power that was sometimes a little different that the power of God that we see in the Old Testament, it is power that is a little more local and more personal, but it is still power that goes beyond anything that ordinary human beings could ever hope to accomplish.

2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The jars that Jesus ordered to be filled with water were not small pitchers; they were huge jars that, when full, would weigh between two hundred fifty and four hundred pounds.  Even empty they were probably fifty to a hundred pounds each.  It would have taken considerable time and many trips to the local well for the servants to fill six of these jars.  The servants could probably only carry between two and five gallons at a time, and so to fill the 180 gallons held in these six jars would require between 36 and 90 trips to the well.  And suddenly, without a word being spoken, all six of these huge jars are no longer filled with water, but wine, and not only is it wine, it is excellent wine that the steward in charge of the feast felt must be the best wine in the house.  When it comes to the division of labor, Jesus does those things that no one else can do, those things that require the power of God to do, and when he does them, he does so with outrageous excellence.

And then in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, the Apostle Paul describes how God’s power comes down to us, and how we can be called to do the will of God.

12:1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

What Paul describes is often referred to as the Spiritual Gifts, but this is not an exclusive list.  In other places there are other lists that include more gifts and those are also intended for use by God’s people.  But here we see not only the list, but some important rules on how these gifts can, and should, be used.  Paul says “4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”  And so we know that we do not all receive the same gifts.  Each of us is different, we were created to be different, we are built differently, gifted differently, and inclined differently.

But regardless of our differences, it is the same God that works through us and the gifts that we are given are intended to be used for the common good.  God has given us different skills, abilities, inclinations, and different gifts, but that doesn’t make one gift better or more valuable than any other.  That doesn’t make pastors more important than the congregation, just different.  It doesn’t make prophets, or teachers, or healers, or evangelists, better than people who have different gifts, just different.  Engineers and designers have no reason to design if sales people can’t sell.  I may have been given a gift that allows me to teach and help lead worship, but I do not have the gifts that many of you have with music, with children, with food, hospitality, and many other things.  I am not the church, I cannot to do the work of the church by myself, and no one or two of us can.  What we do, we must all do together, using all of the gifts that God has poured out upon all of his people.  Each one of us has a role to play regardless of how important we think that role might be.  Each and every one of us is needed and the gifts of every one of us are required to get the job done.

And so, while the life of the church has an exclusive role for the power of God, and a role for the power of Jesus Christ as he does the things that none of us can do, there is also a role for each one of us.  Just as we saw in Isaiah, God intends to prove to the world that he is the only true God.  But, at the same time, God intends to use his people, God intends to use you, to accomplish his purpose.

God intends for us to be so obvious, so amazing, so wonderful, and so good, that the entire world will be attracted to him because of us.

No one of us is more important than any other.

No one of us is unnecessary.

To do the work that God has prepared for us will require the efforts of all of us, using all of our gifts, working together.

 
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U You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646.  These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org.  To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn.   These messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

(Not) The Politics of Power

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“(Not) The Politics of Power”
August 16, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14                Ephesians 5:15-20                   John 6:51-58

Why would any reasonable person want to be the president of the United States?

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy.” So what is it that drives so many people to run for president, especially knowing the meat grinder that you and your family will pass through at the hands of the media and the other candidates? Why would anyone subject themselves to that?

Certainly, the reasons every candidate has will be different. But while patriotism and service to country certainly should be among the driving factors, we have to at least suspect that fame, money, and power are almost certainly included as well. The salary for the President of the United States is $400,000 per year, but there are some pretty expensive perks that come with that. Some past presidents have made out quite well financially after being in our nation’s highest office, but others have nearly gone bankrupt from bad financial dealings. The candidates for the next election are all over the map financially. Donald Trump, of course is a billionaire with a net worth of $4.5 billion, Carly Fiorina is a former executive of a Fortune 500 company and is worth around $80 million, Hillary Clinton has $15 million (and Bill has another $38 million), and all the way down at the bottom are Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders who each have less than a half a million.

So is it money that attracts people to run for president or is it power, prestige, or something else?
These, after all, are the politics of power.
Whatever it is, it is interesting to compare those who lead us, whether it is those in government or those at the top of the corporate world, with the kind of leaders that God calls to lead his people. We begin, once again, by rejoining the story of the nation of Israel recorded in 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14, this marks the end of David’s life and the beginning of the rule of his son, Solomon.

10 Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. 11 He had reigned forty years over Israel—seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his rule was firmly established.

3 Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.

7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” 15 Then Solomon awoke—and he realized it had been a dream.

    This short passage highlights the character and leadership of King Solomon more than just about any other passage of scripture. As Solomon becomes king, God gives Solomon the opportunity to write his own ticket and asks the “genie in a bottle” question. In no other place in scripture does God allow anyone to “Ask for whatever you want” and perhaps it is because that God knows that Solomon, alone, is the one man who is capable of accepting such a blessing. Because when Solomon is allowed to choose anything in the world, he does not choose wine, women, song, or pleasure. He does not choose money, or power, or prestige, or conquering armies, or fame, or anything else. Instead, Solomon reveals something about himself that we do not often see in people with great power. Solomon, instead of demonstrating greed, or lust, demonstrates humility.

Instead of asking for anything at all for himself, Solomon asks for wisdom so that he can lead well.

And scripture tells us that because Solomon had the humility to ask for something that would benefit his nation and his people instead of something for himself, God gives him all of those other things. Again, perhaps because Solomon alone is the one man who is capable of handling such a blessing.

So as we witness all of the grandstanding and listen to the daily soundbites on the news, it is fair for us to wonder, what is it that makes a good leader?

In Ephesians 5:15-20, Paul echoes the lessons of Solomon but he adds something to our discussion.

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    So, for Paul, wisdom is a major component of good leadership but in Paul’s mind, wisdom is inseparable from faithfulness to God. Paul calls all of us to be filled with the Spirit of God, to be hearers of God’s word, worshippers of God, and to give thanks to God for everything.

Finally, let us look at the example of Jesus. What characteristics of leadership does Jesus bring to the table? What does the leadership of Jesus tell us about what we ought to be looking for in our earthly leaders, and finally, what characteristics should we be growing in ourselves?
Jesus said (John 6:51-58),

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

    Jesus was the King of the Universe but his approach to leadership is not power, or authority, or wealth, or fame, but instead, as the king of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus steps down from his throne, descends to earth, gives up everything he has, is born into a poor family from the middle of nowhere, and gives his life as a sacrifice so that human beings can be rescued from sin and death.

The life of Jesus tells us that real leaders serve.

And one of the highest marks of leadership, God’s way, is sacrifice.

And so as we listen to the sound bites of another political election season we will hear a great many promises. Some will seek leadership because they feel the need to be in front and be the center of attention. Others will be lured by power and authority, some by acclaim, fame, and name recognition, and still others by money. In the political world, these men and women will attempt to convince us that they are qualified because they have already had great power, great wealth, or great experience. That is, after all, normal in the politics of power.

But in the end, scripture teaches us to look for something deeper than motivations of the flesh, these desires, lusts, and greed of our humanity. Instead we are called to look for an altogether different set of qualifications. Instead of business as usual, or politics as usual, instead of looking for the things that the newspapers and the television and Internet soundbites focus on everyday, let us look instead to those far more unusual qualifications. Let us look for men and women, real leaders, who have the heart of God, who lead with humility, wisdom, discernment, service to others, faithfulness, and sacrifice.

Too many people seek to run for president and other offices, political and otherwise, because of what they can gain but that doesn’t make them leaders.

Real leaders lead, because of what they can gain, but because of what they can give.

And that is not the normal politics of power.

May we, as God’s people, be people who seek to serve others, and care for the needs of others, before we seek to satisfy our own desires.

Rising Above the Crowd

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“Rising Above the Crowd”
July 26, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture:

2 Samuel 11:1-15

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 6:1-21

Have you ever had an absolutely phenomenal day? One of those days that sounds like something from the movies when they say things like “It’s my time to shine” or “Seize the day” or a day when you “stand above” or “stand out” from everyone else? But most often, when people rise above the crowd it is because they have prepared themselves for that moment. Our astronauts do some amazing things, but nearly all of them are the very best in their fields. Some of them are among the very finest pilots in the world and others hold doctorate degrees in science. They stand above the crowd because they have the chance to do amazing work, but also because they invested much of their lives to prepare themselves for just such an opportunity. Likewise, our Olympic athletes shine in front of an international audience, but they have spent years, and countless gallons of sweat, preparing for that moment. This morning we are going to read three scriptures in which we see three people prepare themselves to do something extraordinary. The first of these is David, who makes a series of choices that prepare him for disaster, the second is Jesus who prepares a miracle that reveals to the world who he really is, and the third is you.

We begin in 2 Samuel 11:1-15, where David makes a string of bad choices that will cause him, and Israel, incredible pain.

11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.

10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”

11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.

14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

In this passage we can clearly see that David, despite his allegiance to God, made choices that prepared him for moral failure. First, although it was traditional for kings to lead their armies, and although David had built his reputation as a warrior, on this particular occasion, when the army of Israel went out to do battle, David chose to abandon his duty and stay home. One evening he went out on the roof to stretch his legs, and probably to cool off. Since stone and brick buildings accumulate heat all day in the sun, David probably wanted to get outside where he could enjoy the evening breezes and, most likely, the palace roof offered the one of the coolest spots in the city. But while he was there, he witnesses someone else doing the same thing. One of his neighbors was enjoying a bath on her roof, and again, this was probably not unusual. What was unusual was that David not only saw, he looked… and he made the choice to keep on looking. Granted, David was a man and as a man, if your beautiful neighbor is taking a bath on her roof, it was probably hard not to notice, but David didn’t just look. David didn’t look away. David didn’t walk away. David didn’t even just enjoy the view and go back inside. Instead, David looked, watched, and lusted in his heart. David wanted her.

And so, David not only lusted, he acted on his lust, first by sending someone to find out who she was, second by sending messengers to get her and bring her to him, but then again by choosing to spend the night with her. When she turns up pregnant, David makes the choice to cover the whole thing up but that doesn’t work either because Uriah is more honorable and loyal than David expected, and, honestly, more loyal and honorable than David himself. David even allows Uriah to stay in town for several days, perhaps hoping that Uriah’s willpower will dissolve as he sleeps on the doorstep of the king only a few steps from his home and his beautiful wife. But Uriah will not dishonor his king or his brothers-in-arms and so David again chooses poorly and plots to have this honorable man murdered.

David made a great many poor choices and each one brought him one step closer to disaster. This series of choices is one that caused David, and all of Israel great pain, misery, and death. David’s choices led him to stand out from the crowd… for all the wrong reasons.

But fast forward to John 6:1-21, where we find the descendant of David, Jesus, fully prepared to do something totally amazing.

6:1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
By this time, Jesus was well into his three year ministry and had spent countless hours in prayer as well and much of his life in the synagogue. It is apparent from scripture that Jesus, and most of the disciples, would attend worship in the synagogue whenever they were able. This preparation brings Jesus to the side of a mountain where they were far from everything. There were no nearby towns, no handy fast food drive-thru’s, no food trucks or even a hot dog guy with a box around his neck. And so Jesus sets out to feed ten to fifteen thousand people (remember that our scripture said that there were five thousand men). Just to buy bread for so many people would take six months of wages and would only give a bite to each one. But Jesus forges ahead anyway. Jesus begins with one sack lunch from one small boy, five miniature barley bagels and two sardines. Not much. But Jesus takes this small offering, gives thanks for what the boy has offered to God, and passes them out to the crowd with each person taking as much as they wanted. And when everyone was finished and had eaten all that they wanted, they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. We should especially note that John says that the baskets were filled, not simply with leftover bread, but specifically leftover pieces from the five barley loaves. I think John wanted to be sure that everyone knew that there was not some other source of supply, people had not brought their own lunches, but that all of the people had eaten, and all of the baskets were filled from the remains of what the boy had given and which God had blessed.

Because of this great miracle, everyone knew that Jesus was sent by God.

Finally, in Ephesians 3:14-21, we hear the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote this prayer for the people of the church in Ephesus and, in effect, all of the followers of Jesus everywhere.

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Here, Paul prays that God would strengthen his people through the power of the Spirit that lives within you. He prays that Christ might live in your hearts through faith and that each of you would be so rooted and established in love that you might fully understand how big, how great, and how powerful Christ’s love for you really is. Paul prays that you are filled with the fullness of God. That last part is a big deal. Paul prays that you (that we) would be filled with the fullness of God, but remember that little boy on the side of the mountain with Jesus. His sack lunch was filled with the fullness of his mother and that was enough to feed one little boy. But when that boy made the choice to give his lunch to Jesus, and when Jesus prayed that God would bless that sack lunch, it became not just filled with the fullness of his mother, but filled with the fullness of God. When that sack lunch was filled with the fullness of God, it not only fed that boy, but ten or fifteen thousand other people.

The fullness of God is often far more than it appears.

Something, or someone, that is filled with the fullness of God is capable of doing far more than they might appear from the outside. Someone that is filled with the fullness of God does not rely only upon their own strength and their own abilities but also on the strength and ability of the creator of the universe.

The choices that we make lead us to our destination.

If we make poor choices like David, we can choose our way into disaster, pain, suffering and death.

But if we make choices that lead us toward Jesus, if we make choices that allow us to be empowered by the Spirit of God and filled with the fullness of God, then God also gives us the ability to rise above the crowd as we do far more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Your “time to shine” may come after a lifetime of preparation and a lifetime of choices. Choices to pray, read scripture, attend church, to attend Bible study, to learn, to think, and to act like Jesus.

When that time comes, will you be ready?

What will you choose?