Giving Yourself to the Lord

We want you to know, brethren, about the grace of God which has been shown in the churches of Macedo'nia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints-- and this, not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

2 Corinthians 8: 1-5

On Sunday morning June 29, 2008 I felt like the McKnight Road Church experienced what the apostle Paul wrote about the church in Corinth. We had prayed and planned a special contribution to help raise money for a leaky roof. But, this was a campaign for so much more.

I shared the following remarks with the church preceding our contribution:

"Today is a special day. The Elders have asked the congregation to pray and consider making a special commitment this day to the work of the Kingdom here at McKnight Road. This commitment is not about a roof. The commitment is centered on the work of the Lord in this community.

Recently, one of our newer members visited with us and asked what our focus was for the church. One of my fellow elders stated quite simply: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. If the Lord does not return for another 1000 years that will still be the cry of his church.

We see the spiritual battle being waged in the lives of the members of this church. Times are tough. This past year many of our members have lost jobs, suffered demotions, taken pay cuts. Everyone here struggles daily learning how to do more with less.

We believe that the congregation is the crossroads of where the proclamation of God intersects with the world. We have chosen things like Missouri not-for-profit corporations, and church buildings to aid us in the mission. This auditorium is NOT a sanctuary. It is a place that is expedient for us to gather as a family for worship. But, we don’t need a building to be the church. But, in having a building, we have some needs.

Our goal here this morning is not to look at brick and mortar and roof supports. We want to be the foundation of the living church. We believe that every human being is called by God to be part of his kingdom. We are a priesthood of all believers. We have no clergy. We do have those who minister here as full or part-time staff. Again this building helps in their function. We simply want every member to understand his and her responsibility to the body of Christ. God made you. And, He has given each of you unique talents and abilities."

As of this morning the members of the church had pledged $70,000 in loans and made cash gifts and pledges totalling another $70,252.00. And, several of our families have indicated that they have yet to make their gift. I am so deeply appreciative of the way that our members have pulled together to help in the ministry of the church that meets at McKnight Road. This has been done by doing what the apostle Paul asked. Giving of oneself to the Lord first and then to work of the Lord! It is a privilege to travel the Way with such dedicated saints!

Joy in Heaven

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7

If you want to know what gets God excited, see the above verse. His kingdom is about finding the lost sheep, binding up the injured and helping the weak. Save us from the self-righteous and the religious.

Trusteeship

For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Matthew 25:29

The day before Jesus was crucified he taught his disciples a parable. In Matthew 25: 14-30 he told them about a Master who was going away for a long time. Jesus knew he was to die the next day. I suspect he had saved this important story until the last day of his teaching. Known as the Parable of the Talents, Jesus introduced a legal concept that today we call a "Trust."

Think of a Trust like it is a box. There are three parts to every Trust. The person who makes the Trust is whom we call a "Trustmaker". The Trustmaker is the person who owns the "box" and the assets inside of it. The person who is put in charge of the trust is known as the "Trustee". The Trustee does not own the assets; but, the Trustee has complete control and authority over the assets for the person who benefits from the Trust. The person who benefits from the Trust is called the "Beneficiary". In this parable the Master [i.e. God] is the both the Trustmaker and the Beneficiary of three (3) different trusts.

There are three different Trustees in our story. The first one is given five talents. In today's economic terms this was a staggering amount of wealth that we would understand to be about 100 years of wages of a typical blue-collar Jewish male. The second Trustee was given the equivalent of sixty years of wages, and the third Trustee about twenty years worth of wages. All were substantial sums of wealth.

After a considerable amount of time the Master returned to reclaim his Trusts. The first Trustee had doubled his investment! Since the Trustee had been faithful over a few things, he was to be put in charge "of many things". Likewise, the second Trustee had been able to earn a 100% rate of return on his investments. He too was rewarded as he had been faithful over a "few things". The third Trustee was then called to account. He did not lose one cent; but, he had stashed the wealth and done nothing with it. Note the Master's reaction. This Trustee was labeled as "lazy", "good for nothing" and "evil". I fear that many faithful pew sitters may find themselves in this category on the day of judgment. Coming to church on Sunday morning and paying the dues for a one hour service is not what God is after. Crying out that one's name was on a church role is not going to cut it on the day of judgment. God wants the total sum of our hearts which puts His Kingdom first in everything we do. The results for the third Trustee were that he was to be cast out into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. So what does this parable tell us today?

1. God gives everyone Talents to be used for His Kingdom

Talents come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and abilities. Most are overlooked. The ability to speak and read. The gift of memory and mobility. Other gifts may be valued physical or mental abilities, i.e. musical proficiency, athletic prowess or the ability to solve problems. Material wealth is another talent given by God. But, so is a formal education, a house, paved roads or an apartment. All of these are gifts from God that are worth more than one hundred years of wages. Every member of the body is given gifts. Do you know what your gifts are? If not, make a list of them. Every Christian needs to ask himself or herself, how am I using those gifts for the Master's purpose? Everything we own including our own bodies belongs to the Lord. When we really learn to believe that we are just Trustees of what God gives us, we will discover a wonderful freedom that comes to the mind of the believer. It is the realization that naked we entered the world, and when we leave this world we leave with nothing physical. But, what we do now with what we hold in trust for God in this life makes a big difference in how we will spend eternity.

2. God gives us freedom to choose.

The Master gave each Trustee an additional gift - FREEDOM to choose. He did not stand over their shoulder and scrutinize or criticize anything that the Trustees did. They were on their own. They could choose whatever risk factors that they each deemed appropriate.

God gives each of us the same gift today. We get to choose how we will spend our money, time and energy? In the story of the prodigal son, the Father gave his son the inheritance which he subsequently squandered on riotous living and prostitutes. Didn't the Father know what his son was going to do with the money? I suspect the answer is "yes". But, he gave it to him willingly. The freedom to choose is what makes us in the image of God. God gives each of us the gift of life. What we make of it is up to us. But, what we do and how we act now will have consequences into eternity.

3. God wants us to use our gifts well.

The master was delighted that the first two Trustees performed well. He enjoyed rewarding them for faithful service. Here is an eternal truth: OUR CHOICES MATTER TO GOD.
He also reacts with passionate, righteous anger when valuable lives, each embedded with talent and bright possibilities are wasted. What are you doing with what God has given you? My hope is that every reader will hear the following words from Jesus someday:

'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; Matthew 25:34

The Exile

In the past we have explored some of the great themes of the Bible. There are certain parts of life that are designed by God to give us insights into his nature. We are wired to grasp knowledge on an experiential level. When we get it we call it a "paradigm shift". You may have experienced this as the light bulb going off in one's head while standing in the shower or in the middle of a dream at night. Our brains are always searching on how to connect the dots of life. There is a reason Jesus taught in parables. We understand and "get" stories.



One of the great themes in God's revelation is the Exile. On a primal level it begins with the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis. When Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden due to their original sin, this begins the Exile. By partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they desired to be "like God" deciding for themselves what was "good" and what was "evil". The problem of such knowledge is that without an omniscient point of view, one can never figure it out for himself or herself. The result is that all humanity is lost to discover the meaning of life on our own.



When I listen to unbelievers share what they think about God, they will invariably tell me that they don't believe because they feel that God does not exist. In other words, they feel separated, apart and on their own......which is, by definition, the Exile of the human soul. Sin separates us from God. And, we cannot get back to God on our own. But, this is where we have good news! God created a way of escape for everyone. To walk this path it requires faith in His son who desires that all should be saved. It is a journey that takes courage and understanding. One has to examine life to grasp it. But, God did not leave us without a map and a guide.



The map is the Bible. The Bible is the story of Paradise lost and Paradise re-gained. And, beginning with Adam and Eve and running thought out the stories of the Old and New Testaments is the theme of Exile and Restoration. Abraham had to become exiled to his own people when God "called" him to a place that God was going to show him. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and exiled from his family in order to later save them from starvation. And yet Joseph, second only to Pharaoh, knew that his body would be returned to Israel some day. In the book of Genesis 50: 25-26, we read:



"And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die; but God will visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel, saying, "God will visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."



The children of Israel were exiled into slavery for 400 years in Egypt until God sent them a deliverer named Moses to take them back to the promised land. In Exodus 13:19 we read that Moses took "the bones of Joseph" with them when they departed Egypt. How did Joseph know this before he died? It was revealed to him. These events are testimony to the truth of God's promises.

• The Role of the King
  

When the children of Israel asked God for a king, Samuel warned them that YHWH was their only king. But, they wanted to be like the nations around them and have their own king. In 1 Samuel 8 the people were told how all earthly kings become oppressive and behave. Even the behavior of David and Solomon would prove that point all to well. And, most of David's successors were weak or positively bad. God warned his people that in following an earthly king that they would be lead into exile from his presence. When the northern kingdom of Israel became a nation of Baal worshipers, and in spite of all the warnings delivered by God's prophets, the northern ten tribes were exiled into Assyria and lost forever. Even though Judah had some good kings, like Hezekiah and Josiah, who attempted to reform the temple worship in Jerusalem, eventually the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the remaining remnant of God's people were exiled into Babylon. Psalms 89 , one of the most majestic and haunting of the Psalms, sets forth the issue starkly. On one hand, God made all these great promises to David; and, on the other hand, it looks as though they have all come to nothing. This psalm lays both halves before God as though to say, "What are you going to do about it?" Out of this ambiguity comes a hope that one day there might be a true king, a new sort of king, a king who would set everything right. When he takes his throne, the poor (at last) would get justice; and, the creation itself would sing for joy. Psalm 72:1-4 says:

Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son! May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor!

This now becomes the the way God's ancient promises are to be fulfilled. There will be a new king, anointed with oil and with God's own Spirit. The Hebrew for "anointed one" is "Messiah"; the Greek is "Christ". He will be the one to put the world back into proper order. The echo we hear from within each individual's soul which cries out for justice in this world will be answered. However, the world as it now exists is distorted. It began in Eden. It is rectified by the righteousness of the Messiah. However, the final fulfillment of complete reconciliation will be when the bridegroom returns again. The book of Revelation was given to us as a promise of that fulfilment. But, the final proof of God is given by Holy Spirit.

• The role of the Temple

It is while the children of God were in Exile that they learned more of God's nature. Up until the Babylonian captivity the temple had been the center of the universe for the Jewish faith. It was taught that this was the one spot on the earth where heaven and earth intersected. When Solomon's temple was destroyed, the faith of the people had to change. When the so-called second temple was rebuilt, it could not hold a candle to its predecessor. According to the prophet Malichi even the priests who worked there treated it disdainfully. From the time of David, it was the function of the King to build (or re-build) the temple. In the centuries before Jesus, two men used temple restoration as a means to advance their royal claims, even though neither of them was descended from David.

Judas Maccabeas enjoyed great success in his revolt against the Hellenistic Syria in 164 B.C. He overthrew the tyrant, Antiochus, and restored the temple which had been desecrated in pagan worship to Zeus. That was enough to make his family royalty for about a century. When the Romans conquered Israel they gave to "Herod the Great" the title King of the Jews, even though Herod was not a Jew himself. Herod was at the time the most powerful warlord in the area from Idumea. His father was married to the daughter of a Arabian sheik. Under Jewish law, unless one was born of a Jewish mother, one could not be a Jew. Herod sought to gain favor with the local populace by expanding and rebuilding the temple. The irony was Herod, as a non-Jew, could not enter the temple which he had reconstructed. The point here is that the King took on the obligation to the temple. Perhaps it is the greatest irony that Jesus taught in the temple of the King who would have murdered him as an infant in Bethlehem. Jesus' words to this followers in Matthew 24 beginning in verse 1 was that the temple, which they so much admired, would not be left with one stone on top of another. This prophecy was most distressing to his disciples. They wanted to know when it would happen? In fact, in 70 A.D. when the Romans besieged the City of Jerusalem the temple was torched. It was reported that the heat caused the gold and precious metals to melt and run into the cracks of the building. Looters pried every stone apart to recover the gold. To this day the foundation of the west wall, the so called "Wailing Wall" is the only remnant of the temple mount that remains. Yet, when the true King emerges, he will not only establish justice in the world. He would also involve the proper reestablishment of the place where heaven and earth meet. The deep human longing for spirituality, for access to God, would be answered at last!

• The role of the Bible as Scripture

It was while in Exile in Babylon that the role of scripture took place. When one could no longer worship in the temple, the synagogue and the Torah became the new center of worship. The stories of the Torah (the first five books in the Old Testament) were edited into their final form highlighting the ancient stories of slavery and freedom, of exile and homecoming, of oppression and Passover. But, they did more. They set the pattern of conduct for the lives of those who had been rescued. When God frees you from slavery, this is how one must respond, not to earn God's favor (as though you could put God in your debt), but to express your gratitude, loyalty and determination to live by the covenant. This was the practice of the Jewish community from the Babylonian exile until the time of Jesus and beyond. These practices of the Torah are what give Jewish people their identity.

There is a problem however whenever one takes scripture and turns it into law. Legalism was a problem for religious people in the time of Jesus as it is for the church today. Jesus in John 5:39-40 tells the religious people of his day:

You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

The irony is that the author of the Word of God was not recognized by those who focused upon scripture. There are a lot of religious people today who search the scriptures to use them as weapons to justify legal positions and empower their causes and authority. The Bible is a map that shows us the Way. While it contains commandments, they all can be summed up as Love YHWH first with all of one's heart, soul, mind and strength; and, love your neighbor as yourself. And for the believer, God did not leave us alone. Acts 2:38 promises us that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to every believer who is born into the kingdom. God himself now tabernacles with his body, the church, to guide each believer on the Way. The begining of the end occured on the Cross of Calvary. The final end of the Exile is when the saints will gather before the throne to worship our Father in unity of spirit and in truth.

Father's Day

" And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven." Matthew 23:9

This passage quoting the discourse of Jesus has always been somewhat of a puzzle for many. On this day when we honor our fathers what does it mean to not to call someone "father" on earth. We of course have our natural fathers who are worthy of honor. The 4th commandment instructs us to "honor our father and mother". What Jesus is targeting is the authority of God as our "spiritual father" which falls right into the first commandment to obey God above all. This can also be seen in the preceding verse 8 : "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren." In the kingdom of God there is no hierarchy other than the Father in heaven who is King over all. There is to be no clergy-laity distinction of the church in the new testament for we are all brethren. In fact, the concept of authority is turned on its head in the kingdom of God. If one wants to be great in the kingdom, then he or she must become the slave of all. As Jesus girded himself with a towel on the night before his death and washed his disciples feet, he told them to do likewise. In the world greatness is measured by one's individual power and authority. Jesus told his disciples that while gentiles lorded over them it was "not to be so among you". Elevating anyone into a spiritual position of authority and power over someones soul is not what Jesus had in mind for his kingdom.

Even in our own fellowship today which claims that we have no clergy-laity distinctions, we tend to treat ministers, elders and deacons as possessing some kind of power that comes from an office. Corporations have officers, but the church is a spiritual body. We each may have different functions and gifts for the building up of the body of Christ, but no person is to be honored as a spiritual father or teacher aside from the Creator God who made each of us. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray it was to "Our Father in heaven" that our petitions and praise are directed. We need to honor our heavenly father this day above all others.

The Journey through Matthew

David Bearden, our pulpit minister at McKnight Road, is taking us through a study of the book of Matthew on Sunday mornings. I am really enjoying his sermons on this first book in the New Testament. Matthew was a Jew, a Levite; he presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel - the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This first book of the New Testament plunges right in to establish Jesus as the Meshiach Nagid, the Messiah the King. After first establishing the royal genealogy, Matthew then proceeds to focus on the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies: Matthew uses the term "fulfilled" 82 times! Matthew emphasized what Jesus said. He evidently recorded the discourses verbatim. As a customs official, he was a tachygrapher, or shorthand writer. The reason Matthew's Gospel is so much longer than Mark's is that he includes Jesus' extensive discourses, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Olivet Discourse; without these discourses, Mark's Gospel would be longer.

Early Origin

Many scholars now believe that the Gospels were written before Paul's first imprisonment in 57-60 AD, and that virtually all of the New Testament books were written before Jerusalem's destruction.There is no hint in the New Testament of Nero's persecutions after 64 AD, nor of the execution of James, the Lord's brother, in 62 AD. There is not the slightest mention of the Jewish revolt against the Romans, which began in 66 AD, nor of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. These historic events would have been irresistible in making many of the arguments in the New Testament documents.

Textual evidence suggests that the Gospels were originally written in Hebrew. In hundreds of places the Greek sentence structure betrays a Semitic influence and implies a translation from the Hebrew. It appears that within five years after the death and resurrection of Christ, most of His words and deeds had been committed to a simple written Hebrew form and Matthew is, of course, assumed to be part of this compilation.

In 1994, an ancient segment of the Greek text of Matthew's Gospel was analyzed and it appears to be dated before 66 AD. Known as the Magdalen Papyrus, it contains segments of Matthew 26:23 and 26:31 on both sides of three fragments. Using a scanning laser microscope, it has provided physical evidence that the Gospel according to Matthew is an eyewitness account written by contemporaries of Christ.

The Challenge

Matthew's thoroughness and precision lends many special insights as one delves into his detailed presentations. His rendering of the Seven Kingdom Parables in Chapter 13 is remarkably parallel to the Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, etc. His presentation of Jesus' confidential briefing to His disciples about His Second Coming in Chapter 24 is an essential foundation in any eschatological (end-time) study. So, clearly, this very basic book of the Bible is, of course, a most rewarding study to both novice and experienced Bible students who are willing to diligently dig in.

The Foundation Stone of Christianity

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him."

Acts 2:38-39

Luke begins the story with the resurrection of Jesus. This one fact is the hope of the gospel. Without the resurrection, our faith is a fallacy. Even though Jesus had taught his disciples for three years before his death, it was obvious that they did not “get it”. What did they do after his crucifixion? They went fishing. They returned to their former life. No wonder Jesus had to spend another 40 days on earth with them after the resurrection to teach them that he was still alive. His message was for them to wait. Their questions were still from their own mindset. They asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (1:6) They were still looking for him to make Israel the ruler over all the earth. His answer was to wait until the Holy Spirit would reveal in them the truth of God’s kingdom. They were to become witnesses. The apostles never really “got it” by their observation of the events that unfolded around them. It was only by the revelation of the Holy Spirit that the spiritual nature of the kingdom was made know to the world in Acts 2. The same thing is true of us today. We never really understand God except by being born again into his kingdom and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It is important for us to realize, at the beginning of this study, that the Holy Spirit, often mentioned as acting in the Book of Acts, is actually the continuing presence of Jesus with them. While God the Father, and Jesus the Son, are two persons, spiritually they are one. Every spiritual aspect of them was identical. The Hebrew writer says Jesus was the exact image of God. So the reception of the Holy Spirit is receiving both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Finally, the time came for Jesus to leave them physically. The visible ascension was necessary for these men to actually understand that He, in leaving them physically, was not leaving them spiritually. God does many things to accommodate our childlike inability to understand spiritual dimensions. Heaven is not "up there", but the disciples had to view it that way in order to satisfy their limited understanding and give them the courage to go on.

The events of the day of Pentecost were the culmination of God’s design to inaugurate a new dispensation. No wonder its coming was so spectacular. A mighty rushing wind and tongues of flames were God’s exclamation point via sight and sound! First, let us note the nature of the Spirit they received. In Chapter 2 verse 17, Peter, quoting Joel the prophet, says God said, "I will pour out my Spirit on all people". Secondly, this is identified as God's Spirit. In verse 33, Peter says the exalted Jesus received from the Father His Holy Spirit by which He is causing what you see and hear. In the beginning God gave to His only begotten Son the creative power, and with this He created all things. John tells us all things were created by Him. Here, we are told that the Father gave to the Son His Holy Spirit, and, as He used the creative power in the beginning, He now sends His Holy Spirit to guide and empower those who choose to follow Him. The Father and Son still acting as one in accomplishing the purposes of Heaven.

Third, the Spirit of God and of Jesus (one and the same) will be given to all, for Peter says that those who accept Christ will "receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". The significance of this is that, just as the Spirit enabled the Apostles to do what Jesus wanted them to do, so God's Spirit, indwelling us, will enable us to do what He wants us to do also. But, God made us free moral creatures, so the choice of letting His Spirit enable us is still up to us.

Peter's sermon was simple. This Jesus was the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament. God proved Him to be authentic by the miracles and signs which you have seen Him do. You killed Him, but God raised Him up, and made Him both Lord and Christ. In other words, "He is the promised Messiah". This is the foundation of all that we believe. This is the message of the gospel.