repentance

An Invitation to Something More

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , ,

“An Invitation to Something More”

February 28, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-9                 1 Corinthians 10:1-13                 Luke 13:1-9

 

We are nearing spring, and have already entered the time when many of us will find special envelopes in our mailboxes.  You’ve seen this kind of mail before and you recognize it instantly.  Most of you will know what I am talking about even as I begin to describe them.  The mail we will receive is not your ordinary cheap white paper but a thicker, richer, more expensive kind of paper with visible fibers in it.  The addresses are often not just typed, but are handwritten, sometimes with rich script and calligraphy and occasionally with special raised lettering.  The enclosures are just as special.  Inside is not just a piece of paper, but a notecard printed on heavy bond cardstock, often with special embossed seals pressed into the paper and colorful printed stickers to seal the flaps.  There are also included, on another piece of cardstock, printed directions and also a stamped, pre-addressed return envelope that also includes yet another piece of embossed and printed cardstock.

Whew.  Just describing it is almost enough to make me tired.

Of course, by now most of us have clearly recognized that what has arrived in our mailboxes, often just by the weight and feel of the envelope, is an invitation to a wedding or to a graduation of some sort.  These can both be grand events, and even when they are done inexpensively, they are moments of celebration as young men and women mark important moments in life as they transition from student to working adults, or from singles to couples and families.  These moments are so important to us that we invite our family and friends to share and celebrate them with us.

And that brings us to our message from scripture today.  There are moments in scripture that are much like those embossed envelopes that we receive in the mail.  Special moments and special invitations like these are intended to get our attention and to ask for our attendance and participation.  We begin in Isaiah 55:1-9 where God invites the thirsty…

55:1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This entire passage is an invitation from God and is not just an invitation to the thirsty.  Over and over again, God invites us to come to him, to listen to him, and to seek him.  God invites us to buy what is good without cost instead of wasting our money, time and sweat on useless things that never satisfy us.  In this invitation, God tells us that there is more to life than money and struggle and if we take the time to listen to him, we will find life.

Throughout this entire passage, in many different ways, God invites us… to belong.

But belonging can come at a price and in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Paul warns the church that there is a difference between participating and following.

10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Paul reminds the church that there were a great many people that travelled with Moses through the wilderness.  They all witnessed many miracles, they ate God’s manna, they saw the Red Sea divided and walked through the middle, they ate together, drank together, learned from Moses together, and heard God’s voice together, and yet, God was not pleased with many of them because they did not do what God asked them to do.

In the movie Apollo 13, the flight director for Mission Control, Gene Franz, famously says, “Failure is not an option.”  But in this letter to the church in Corinth, Paul is saying quite the opposite.  Paul wants the people to know that failure is an option.  It is entirely possible to show up in church, to participate in church, and yet still not do the things that God wants us to do.  Even so, failure is not certain.  We each have the opportunity to choose whether or not we do the things that God commands us to do.

And finally, in Luke 13:1-9 we find two more invitations.

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Luke begins with Jesus answering a question about men who had been murdered by Pontius Pilate while they were in the Temple making sacrifices to God.  The question in many minds was what horrible things these men must have done in order to be punished so horribly by God but Jesus turns that thought in a completely different direction.  Jesus says that neither the men that were murdered by Pilate, nor the eighteen men and women who were crushed when a tower collapsed upon them were killed because of their sin.  But all the same, we will all, sooner or later, end up dead.

Well, that’s an encouraging message.

Sooner or later we will all be dead.

You wouldn’t find that on any office walls or motivational posters outside of a funeral home.

But that isn’t the end of Jesus’ message.  Jesus says that sooner or later we will all end up dead… unless we repent.  Of course our repentance will not make us immortal in this life, but this is, from the lips of Jesus, an invitation to life.  An invitation to something more, a life that is more, a life that is more than anything this mortal life has to offer.

And then Jesus tells a story about a fig tree.

In that story, a parable, a tree is growing but although it is in the garden, and although it is green and has leaves and seems otherwise healthy, it is not producing figs.  The owner of the tree is understandably upset.  He planted the tree, watered it, and cared for it with the expectation that it would produce fruit.  When it does not, he is ready to cut it up and use it for firewood so that perhaps another tree can take its place.  The gardener begs for one more year, one more year in which he will give it special care and attention but if it does not produce fruit after that, then the tree is doomed.

What Jesus is saying is that he has planted us in his garden with the expectation that we will produce fruit.  He plants us, waters us, and cares for us so that we can accomplish what we were intended to do.  Even if we do not initially do as he expects, he gives us extra time, he pours out blessings on us and fertilizes us but, after a while, he will eventually plant someone else in our place.

Jesus invites us to repent, but true repentance reveals itself in fruitfulness.

And so, Jesus invites us to produce fruit.

Life on earth is predictable.  We are born, we live, and we die.  But God wants us to know that there is more.

God invites us to come to him, to listen to him, and to seek him.

God invites us to…belong.

But there is more to belonging than just showing up.

God invites us to do more than take up space, God wants more for us than that.

God invites us to repent and live.

God wants us to have a new kind of life, a life that lasts forever.

But true repentance is more than just living in the garden, soaking up sunshine, and drinking up the water that God is pouring out.

God invites us to fruitfulness.

All of this is a journey and all of it together teaches us that there is more to life than living and dying.  There is more to life than taking up showing up and taking up space.  God wants more for our lives than that.  God wants us to follow him, to live for him, and to produce fruit for him.

Our invitation may not come in a fancy envelope or have embossed lettering, but God invites us to a life that is richer and fuller than what we had before.  God invites us to a life that continues beyond the boundary of death.  God invites us to share what we have with others so that we can produce fruit.

God invites us to… something more.

How will you answer him?

 

 

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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 at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

From Fear to Fruitfulness

PastorPartridge Sermon, Uncategorized , , , ,

“From Fear to Fruitfulness”
December 13, 2015
(Third Sunday of Advent)
By John Partridge

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20    Philippians 4:4-7    Luke 3:7-18

We begin today with an easy question.

Have you ever been afraid?

Almost certainly, every single one of us can answer that “Yes” we have been afraid. But after that simple answer, things quickly get a lot more difficult.

We have all been afraid at one time or another. We might have been afraid of a bully, afraid of losing, afraid of looking foolish in front of our family or friends, when we were expecting babies or held them for the first time we were afraid of what the future might hold, we have been afraid as we watched loved ones spend their last moments on earth or as we attended their funerals and were forced to face a future without them, we were afraid as we sent our children off to school for the first time, or watched them leave for college, or move out of our homes as they started lives and families of their own. There are a great many moments in our lives when fear has crept in.

For the moment, I want you to find one of those places of fear inside of yourself and remember what it was like. Hold on to that feeling for just a moment, and imagine what the people of Israel might have felt as Zephaniah proclaims that God is about to bring judgment upon the nations of the world, Including Judah and Israel, because of their unbelief. At that moment, during the life of the prophet Jeremiah, the Scythians, a nation that had migrated out of what is now Russia, perhaps similar to the Mongols who would come later, had crossed into their nation and had destroyed the fortresses of both Ashdod and Ashkelon and only stopped at the Egyptian border when Pharaoh Psamtik paid them off. Soon, the Babylonians would rise to power, defeat the Assyrians and would also come into the lands of Canaan destroying cities, killing and capturing anyone who got in their way.

Fear was real.

And so, into that environment, Zephaniah pours gasoline on the fire of their fear by proclaiming God’s coming judgment. But… before he is finished, God also gives hope for the future with these words: (Zephaniah 3:14-20).

14 Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16 On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17 The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

18 “I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.

Although judgment is coming, be glad. Although things look grim, do not fear. Never again will God leave you. Never again will you fear harm because God is the Mighty Warrior. God will deal with those who oppress you. God will rescue you and gather those who have been scattered. God says, “I will bring you home.”

Even though God’s people are afraid, and even though the worst is yet to come, God is already moving them toward hope and restoration.

Interestingly, in Luke 3:7-18, as John the Baptist proclaims the coming of the Messiah, his message is very similar. John proclaims the coming of judgment but also offers helpful instruction… and hope.

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

I cannot remember a single time when I have taken classes on preaching or public speaking, when we have been advised to begin a message by openly insulting and taunting our listeners. In fact, I am virtually certain that this is a bad idea most of the time. But this is exactly what John does. I told the children last week that John was probably considered, by most people, to be pretty weird and this is yet another example of that. John begins by calling everyone snakes, and begins talking about judgment and the wrath of God.
According to John, no one can be saved because they were born in the church, born to people who went to church, or because they themselves go to church. For John, the only real measure of godliness is the fruit that grows out of repentance.

Today, some of us would almost certainly have a follow-up question because we wonder what the fruit of repentance would look like, and the people in the crowd felt exactly the same way. John’s answer to that very question is to share what you have with people who don’t have any. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked. But even that isn’t enough because some people want to know specifics. Tax collectors, who were widely considered to be cheats, scoundrels, and collaborating with the enemy, are told to just do their jobs as honestly as they could. Soldiers, who were, in fact, the enemy, were told to do their job, not to take money they weren’t entitled to take, and not to accuse innocent people. It is interesting to note, that although both of these groups were widely hated because of what they did, John did not advise them to quit or to change jobs, but simply to do them honestly.

John then tells the people of the coming Messiah who will bring judgment as he separates the wheat (which is fruit) from the chaff (which is basically useless). Overall, John encouraged, admonished, advised and appealed to the people that they should hear the good news of the coming Messiah.

As we have been working our way through the Advent season, we have spoken often of repentance and the need to get our hearts right before God, but John tells us that repentance is just the first step. What comes next, producing fruit, is just as critical. Fruit trees without fruit will be cut down and burned in the fire. The wheat and the chaff will be separated and the useless chaff burned in the fire. John warns everyone, including us, that our purpose is to live a life of fruitfulness, to do our jobs well, but honestly, and to willingly share what we have with those who do not have.

But just in case we were still a little unclear on what a life of fruitfulness would look like, the Apostle Paul provides a little more detail in Philippians 4:4-7.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s addition to John’s teaching is to rejoice and give thanks always for the things that God has done and for the things that God is doing. But Paul also says that our gentleness should be obvious to everyone around us, and that is a harder thing for some of us to do. In our culture, many of us have found that weakness is scorned and strength is honored and so we, both men and women, have often cultivated a sort of public fierceness in order to appear strong. Paul’s instruction reminds us that gentleness is also necessary. Jesus was a stone mason. He worked with his hands and was no stranger to hard labor. Jesus was no wimp and was not afraid to defy the Temple guards as he overturned tables and stared down mobs that didn’t like his teaching. But at the same time, Jesus was known for his gentleness and self-control with women and children.

Additionally, the followers of Jesus Christ should not worry about anything but instead spend their time praying about their problems and giving thanks for what God was doing. Paul says that when we do these things, then we will find peace that is far beyond all human understanding.

And so the road that we travel from fear to fruitfulness may not be easy, but it ends in a truly wonderful place.

It is no coincidence that at the end of that journey, the person that we find is the same one of whom the angels sang…

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14, KJV)

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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 at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.