Trinity Talks #4

WHEN THE FATHER PLANTS A VINEYARD…

My brother has carpentry skills. He loves to build with wood and he is happy to build me something when I ask (i.e. our deck). On his own deck he built an arbor that acts as a grand entrance to one of his favorite spots: his fire pit.

            Adorning this arbor is a vine. When summer is in full swing the vine makes for a fine decoration. My brother indicated to me on one visit that it was a grape-producing vine. I was surprised. Usually one imagines clusters of grapes hanging from the vine. But I didn’t see any grapes. He then proved me wrong by pulling a tiny grape out of a covering of leaves. It was as small as a juniper berry and likely as tasty.

            My brother is not a viticulturist, a vinedresser – in plain language – a grape grower. Neither am I. Coaxing a vine or a garden to grow is not my forte. I admire those of you who take pleasure in growing things.

            Our heavenly Father is a builder, a farmer, a shepherd and so much more. He is also an expert viticulturist – He knows how to grow a grape. We are not grapes; we are branches on the vine. Grapes are the fruit of being in Christ. What our text teaches us today is what the role of the Father is in the analogy of the vineyard.

            At the conclusion of chapter fourteen, Jesus tells his disciples, “Come now, let us leave.” They leave the upper room where they shared a meal, where Jesus surprised them all by washing their feet, and where he taught them what it meant to be “in” him.

            As Jesus and the disciples walk out of the city and towards their campsite, they likely passed through a vineyard. Jesus took the vine in his hand and revealed to his disciples what the Father does in the life of the disciple through Jesus.

            In John 15 we have the story of the vine and how it was God’s purpose that our earth should be its fruitful soil and how humankind became intimately connected with its growth.

1. Branches on the Vine

Jesus held the vine in his hand and pondered its meaning. For centuries, the symbol of the vineyard and the vine had represented Israel. Psalm 80:8 speaks of God taking a vine out of Egypt, drove away the nations, cleared the ground and planted it. But the walls around the vineyard were broken down and everyone stole its fruit. What happened? Why did God’s vineyard not flourish as it was meant?

            We find a further explanation of this horticultural failure in Isaiah 5:1-7 (read). Again, God did everything necessary for establishing a vineyard. But the fruit of this venture was bad; the grapes were sour. What happened was that, despite God’s provision, the people of Israel did not obey God. Isaiah says that God looked for justice but found bloodshed, for righteousness but heard cries of distress. The people were being cruel to one another.  Israel was not being Israel.

            Jesus says, “I am the true vine…” (1). When he said, "I am the true vine," he did not mean, "true in contrast with something false, fake, counterfeit," but rather "real, genuine, as opposed to the mere copy or symbol." As he held this vine and its branches in his hand, he indicated that this was the copy. He was the true vine. He was the vine from which true life is received.[i]

            We can read a little more into the imagery of the vine. A vine is not a like a tree with a sturdy trunk; it is limp and lies on the ground if not cared for. The vinedresser takes the vine and winds it into the trellis or arbor so that it has support and direction. In the hands of the Father, Jesus was directed and guided in his ministry. He said often that it was his Father’s will that he suffer (go to the cross), and Jesus submitted to that direction. He is the vine in the Father’s hands. Jesus never followed his own way but was always bound to the Father’s will.

            We are the branches. There is a oneness in this plant. The vine and the branches are one plant. One stream of sap, one stream of life flows to each branch from the vine. We cannot stand alone, but like Christ we yield to the Father’s will, allowing His skillful hand to work on us. He may twist us into place, fix us with a nail, or let our clusters droop over the wall and into the hands of strangers. If it is the Father’s will we must let Him have His way to accomplish His purpose.

            In any case, to continue to receive that life-giving stream, we must remain in Christ. How many times does Jesus say this in this passage? Remain in me; if you remain in me, I will remain in you; the only way to bear fruit is to remain in me; if you remain in me you can ask the Father for anything; obey my commands and remain in my love. To remain is to rest, to lean on, as if after a long tiring day, you throw yourself on the couch and let it hold you. Jesus wants us to rest in him and let him hold us, as the Father holds him.

2. Going under the knife

To remain in Christ is no static thing. To be in Christ is to submit to the Father’s hand in making us something more. So to be in Christ is not static but dynamic. Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (1-2).

a) Cutting off the fruitless branch – The imagery of cutting off branches concerned me. I wondered if this meant cutting off unbelievers, but then why would unbelievers even be on the vine in the first place? I had to read up on this.

            It seems that in the spring, the green vine sprouts all manner of shoots. As a branch, you may have several shoots with large green leaves giving the impression of health and vitality. But this is when the vinedresser comes with a knife and strips it bare of all this innocent pride. Those shoots would take the sap and continue to leaf while producing nothing. To cut them back makes room for true growth. It is a cleansing process since the shoots trap all manner of debris and dirt.

            This is a powerful analogy for the Christian life. What are these unfruitful shoots the Father trims away? These are the shoots which arise out of our sinful nature and which produce those characteristics that are contrary to the fruit of the Spirit. Paul says, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like…” (Gal. 5:19-21).

            Warren Wiersbe reminds us that, “Your Heavenly Father is never nearer to you than when He is pruning you. Sometimes He cuts away the dead wood that might cause trouble; but often He cuts off living tissue that is preventing you from generating a bumper crop. Pruning does not only refer to removing what is bad. It can also mean cutting away the good and the better so that we might enjoy the best. Yes, pruning hurts, but it also helps. We may not enjoy it, but we need it.”

b) Pruning the fruitful branch – Did you catch that? I don’t know how many times I have read this passage and I did not see this before. The Father takes the branch that does bear fruit and prunes it. Here is a large cluster of grapes, perhaps at the beginning of the growing season, and He cuts it. The plant people here get that; I don’t so much.

            Pruning is a painful process. Sometimes the Father cuts deeper than we would have chosen. This is remarkable imagery: the Father takes the situations we are in, the challenges we are faced with, the trials that are killing us, and applies the Word to those situations, challenges and trials, to make us hear the Word afresh. We might find that something we had been doing all our life, which we thought was right, turns out to be wrong thinking. That hurts.

            Charles Spurgeon preached on this saying: “Well, if I may say so, affliction is the handle of the knife; affliction is the grindstone that sharpens up the word; affliction is the dresser which removes our soft garments, and lays bare the diseased flesh, so that the surgeon’s lancet may get at it; affliction makes us ready to feel the word, but the true pruner is the word in the hand of the Great Husbandman.”

            If you have ever gone for surgery you know how surreal the moment is when they put you under. You should be scared that someone is going to cut you, but there is peace that the cuts made are going to make you better – you will be able to eat again, walk again, breathe better, etc. You trust the surgeon. How much more can we trust the Father who holds the knife to our spirits?

            Spurgeon also said, dear friends, your prayer should be, “Lord, let Your word cut deep into me. Do not let the preacher mince matters with me. Deliver him from sewing pillows under my armholes, and lulling me to sleep. Lord, I would be faithfully dealt with! I put the proud flesh before You— cut it out, that the wound heals not so as to be worse when healed than it was when a running sore.”

            The writer of Hebrews encourages this surgery saying, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” (Heb. 12:7).

c) Burning the dead wood – There is still the matter of the dead branches (6). Ezekiel proclaimed that vine branches that don’t produce fruit are dead wood and not even useful for making furniture (Ezek 15:1-8). It’s only good for burning.

            Many commentators say that this refers to Judas. If so, then Judas was a branch connected to Jesus that followed Jesus, preached the gospel, even healed the sick, but was not in Christ. His discipleship was pretence. I suppose then that it is easy to have the appearance of being a Christ follower but not actually living off the vine.

            If the Holy Spirit is not living in them, there will be no fruit. The Father will cut them off and they will be burned in the fire of judgment. Harsh stuff. But Jesus makes it clear that his disciples will be obvious by the fruit of their lives.

3. Bearing Fruit for the Father

There is one purpose for the vine: fruit-bearing. And not just fruit, but “much fruit.” Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (8). God is glorified when we produce fruit because it shows Him to be a great vinedresser, the best in fact.

            What is this fruit? In a word – Christlikeness. Paul reveals a nine-fold description of this one quality, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

            What do you have to do to produce this fruit? Here’s the strange thing – nothing. You do not have to do anything. You could be sick in a hospital bed and still express this quality of being Christlike. It is not activity which glorifies God; it is character, it is what you are, and the way you react to a situation. Do you want to be known as a disciple of Jesus? Do you want to be recognized as one who follows Jesus? Well then, manifest fruit in your life by abiding in him, and he in you.

            A few years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. It reported that production of 100 bushels of corn from one acre of land, in addition to the many hours of the farmer’s labor, required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulphur, and other elements too numerous to list. In addition to these things, which no man can produce, rain and sunshine at the right time are critical. It was estimated that only 5 percent of the produce of a farm can be attributed to the efforts of man.[ii]

            If we were honest, we’d have to admit that the same is true in producing spiritual fruit. Whatever the percentages, the Father does most of the work. Our percentage is to remain in Christ, and without realizing it -- manifesting the characteristics of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, the quality of life which is like Jesus. When that happens, there will come these additional benefits: answered prayer, a glorifying of the Father through the demonstration of discipleship, a deepening of the experience of love, and joy made full.

As the Father prunes us He demonstrates His care for us. To leave us as we are would result in a messy, unmanageable life with inconsistent fruitfulness. So in order to bear fruit for the Lord, the Father needs to prune you.

            Pruning is not a pleasant experience. It may come in the form of a rebuke from another believer; it may come from the Word of God; we may experience the pruning season in an illness (though we must be careful not to assign blame to God for sickness; He uses the experience – He doesn’t give it). But the fact is, as we begin walking the Christian walk with Jesus, we bring a lot of the flesh and the world with us. God is so gracious that He doesn’t hack it all away at once, or we would bleed to death. However, if we want to be like Christ, it has to go. And as it goes we find a new freedom and joy – our joy is actually made fuller as we say goodbye to those things that suck the life of Christ out of us. So we need to be pruned.

            This is a key role of the Father in your life. Look for it. Thank God for it. Consider the measure of your fruit because of it. Remain in Christ and allow the Father to cut where he needs to cut. This is for the Father’s glory

                                                            AMEN

Father God, we have been walking with Jesus to the cross this morning, and we heard him talk about the vine. We see that we are branches clinging to the Vine that is Jesus. He is our life, the very source of faith and fruitfulness. We have seen your faithful and caring hand at work in cutting and pruning. And we are a little fearful to ask for more because it is painful. Yet we know that you do not do it to hurt us, as if you enjoyed our pain, but you do it see us become more like your Son, Jesus. As you work on us to make us fruitful, I pray that all of us here would produce more fruit, that we would be so blessed with fruit, that the community around us would drool with desire to learn the secret of this fruit. We thank you, O God, for the potential you see in us through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

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[i] Ray Stedman, sermon God’s Vineyard, June 10, 1973.

[ii] From a sermon by Albert Corey, "ABIDING IN CHRIST" 7/3/2009

Trinity talks #1

FULL DISCLOSURE OF THE FATHER’S HEART

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, loves you.

            Some people have trouble calling God “Father.” Connecting “love” with the father title doesn’t work for them. Painful experiences have taught them that the father-figures they have known have been anything but loving. Certainly our earthly fathers have been less than perfect.

            Consider the boys and girls who wanted to hang out with dad in his shop working on his projects. Dads are always doing “cool” stuff and little boys want to join in; little girls do too. But dad wants to get this project done; he’s got a schedule; no time for teaching. So he goes to mom with the little one’s hand in his and says, “He’s in the way.” That phrase sears into the child’s mind and emerges repeatedly. They think, “If dad loved me he’d want to spend time with me.”

            In the last four decades, feminist theologians have wanted to remove masculine language from our church talk. Man-centered language must be replaced with language that allows male and female together to appreciate God. They say that predominantly male images of God in the Bible reflect an ancient patriarchal society which subjugates women. A male god expressed in “father” language is a male invention.

            I disagree. That God calls Himself “Father” reveals His relationship within the Trinity and, in the purest sense of the term, reveals the Father’s heart for humankind. That God is our Father indicates a personal and intimate relationship marked by love.

            On the night before His death on the cross, Jesus taught the disciples about the Father’s heart. And on this night, Jesus showed the Father’s heart. John 13:1-11 often forms the basis for what we must do – foot-washing; it really speaks of what has been done for us. The Father loves us so completely that we can do nothing less than let Him love us.

1. For God so loved the world…

a) The way back to the Father – When I first began studying this section (John 13-16) I was impressed with how much Jesus had to say about the Father. Upon further study, I found that the Gospel of John contains more teaching about the Father than any other book in the Bible (approx. 150 references to “Father”). Jesus’ relationship to His Father is extremely tight. In ch. 12 Jesus says, “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it,” (12:49).

            Earlier than that, Jesus told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (4:34). There’s that intimate connection. As Jesus saw it, everything He did and said was in obedience to His Father’s plan. Jesus was fully aware of the plan. At times Jesus would say “my time has not yet come.”

            Now, on the night before the cross, Jesus knew it was time. John records, “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father” (1a). Everything Jesus had said and done built up to this moment: healings, exorcisms, teaching, living…all of it. Jesus was almost finished the Father’s work and then He would join the Father. But the way back to the Father was the way of the cross. Only by going to the cross would Jesus fulfill the Father’s purpose for sending Him into the world.

b) Loved to the full extent – Knowing that the cross loomed ever closer, Jesus gave the disciples one last glimpse of what was to come. He wanted to give them a taste of the Father’s love. John expressed this in a peculiar sentence, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (1b).

            To the end of what? We might think in terms of time: Jesus loved them right up to His death. But the language is more about the type of love than about time. Jesus loved them “absolutely” or “to the uttermost” or “to the full limit.”

            And whom does Jesus love? His own; the disciples; those who choose to follow Him. Jesus wanted to show them the incomparable love that would explain the foot-washing which in turn reflected the cross. The love that Jesus shows them is none other than the Father’s love for humankind.

            We cannot forget that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One, and that they are united. What Jesus says and does, the Father and the Spirit agree. We cannot forget Jesus words, “For God so loved the world…” (3:16). And this same John who recorded these words reflected on them later in 1 John 4:9-10 (show slide).

            In the end, there is no explanation of the cross other than the love of the Father. We cannot say “Jesus loves me” and think how terrible the Father was for sending Jesus to die. Give up the divine child abuse theory and acknowledge that the Father-God loves you so much He sent His Son for this purpose.

c) The Father’s plan will not be hindered – God’s purpose would not be thwarted. Judas was there that night. Judas had in mind to betray Jesus; he had made a deal with the authorities to have Jesus arrested. Jesus will wash his feet too – Jesus will show the love of the Father to Judas.

            Whatever was on his mind that night, for whatever reason Judas resisted the love of Jesus, his ambition, his political leanings, his disenchantment with Jesus’ teaching, it would not change anything. The death of Christ will take place at the hour, the time, and the place, which the Father had ordained it and for which Jesus waited.

            “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power” (3a). Thus, the actors in the drama of His death, Judas, Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate and the mob all acted within the purposes of God. Their failure, rebellion and sin provided the occasion for the revealing of love’s triumph.

            “For God so loved the world…” There is too much in that phrase to comprehend; the meaning of it is astounding and beyond our minds to perceive.

2. He gave His Only Son

a) A raw expression of love – You know, when the disciples entered the upper room for this “last” meal, they were arguing again. First, they were all intent on sitting in the places of honor – at the Lord’s left or right. They came in pushing and shoving, ignoring the basin of water that a servant would have used to wash the feet of guests. They had been arguing about who was the greatest disciple among them (Lk 22:24). This ranking would have been visible in how close they sat to Jesus. No one bothered to wash anyone’s feet.

            The task of washing the guests’ feet before the meal was not the host’s job, since it was a very demeaning task. None of the disciples were going to do it because they were peers and no one wanted to admit they were less than the other. Even a high-ranking servant would not do it. Washing feet was the job of a slave.

            In the middle of the meal, Jesus gets up and takes off His robe. I imagine He is quite exposed to the environment. All He has is a towel. The bickering disciples grow awkwardly quiet. What is the Master doing? Jesus makes His way around the U-shaped group and washes the dust and camel dung off their feet.

            Do you see what happened here? God the Father took off His divine vestments; He shed His glory, and got raw. This is Phil. 2:6-8 dramatized. The Father showed us His love in the most vulnerable manner. “In the washing of their feet the disciples, though they did not understand it at the time, saw a rare unfolding of the authority and glory of the incarnate Word, and a rare declaration of the character of the Father Himself.”[i]

            This is the Father’s love. Jesus enacted it as a slave, washing feet. This is what fathers are supposed to be like. I was reminded of Pastor Pete’s experience with the youth mission trip to Mexico several years ago. Remember? Everyone got sick and was barfing on the plane. Pete and other leaders fathered the group by picking up the bags and cleaning up the youth.

            That’s gross stuff. But is that any different than the condition humanity was in when Christ died? God got down on His knees and cleaned us up.

b) A seemingly inappropriate expression – As Jesus makes His way to Peter, the disciple seems appalled at first. This is too graphic for Peter. We could paraphrase Peter’s words this way: “You don’t think you’re going to wash my feet, do you, Lord?”

            No one wanted this job. Each disciple thought it beneath him to wash the feet of his peers. But here, the Master stoops to wash their feet. This is even more inappropriate. Peter cannot accept this turnabout and resisted having his feet washed.

            It may seem like humility on Peter’s part, but there is pride in this resistance. Peter presumes to know better than Jesus what is appropriate and he corrects Jesus, as though He was wrong.

            Jesus explains that it may be understandable for Peter not to comprehend this action now, but he will get it eventually. After the resurrection, Peter and the others will see what this all means. But they have no perception of the crucifixion let alone the resurrection. They just don’t get it.

            Peter resists more strongly the second time, “No, you shall never wash my feet” (8a). Peter, in false humility, rejects our Lord’s actions because he now feels undeserving. But that is the point. What Jesus’ so-called inappropriate action demonstrates for His disciples is the love and grace of the Father.

            Close your eyes. Can you imagine Jesus washing your feet? I was directed to do this one time. It felt wrong. Jesus washing my feet? I’m not worthy of such an honor. Exactly!

            Would Peter resist having Jesus wash his feet on the premise that he is unworthy? Would we? Then Peter, and we also, must reject having sins washed away by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross, for Peter, and we also, are unworthy of this too. To reject grace in principle is to reject all grace.

            And so Jesus tells Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (8b). For Peter, this was like the ice-bucket challenge. If you weren’t awake before, you are now. The thought of having no part with Jesus was too much.

c) Clean! – When Peter grasped the connection, be it ever so dimly, of foot-washing with following Jesus, he dives in. Peter wants every part of his body washed. He’s ready to strip down for a sponge bath if it means having more of Jesus in his life.

            Jesus tones down Peter’s enthusiastic response. If Peter desired too little of Jesus before, neither should he ask for more than is needed. He is clean; Peter does not need a bath.

            There is a spiritual element to this exchange. The salvation work that Jesus completed on the cross is a finished work. It does not need to happen again. Your sins are forgiven. What then, is the purpose of foot-washing? Foot-washing is a parable pointing to the sacrifice of the cross, the humility of One who is God to die for us. Receiving foot-washing from another is a token of our acceptance of this act. To wash another’s feet is to imitate the servant-heart and love of God. It indicates that we are clean by virtue of Christ’s death; it indicates that we are a clean people who understand the Father’s lavish love.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

            This is not a sermon on why we should do footwashing twice a year as a church. This is not about something we should do. This sermon is about what has been done to us. This sermon is about the Father desiring to show us the full extent of His love to us through His representative and Son, Jesus Christ.

            The Father reveals to us the intimate connection He has with His Son so that they act as one. When we speak of the Trinity, we are using shorthand for the Christian story of God the Father, who sent His Son Jesus Christ and gave us His Holy Spirit. To quote Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the proper name of God. This name separates His person and character from other gods or deities. God reveals Himself as Father to us because in this title we understand the relationship God wants to have with us.

            A short story written by Ernest Hemmingway reveals the grace that everyone hopes for. It is the story of a Spanish father who decided to reconcile with his son who had run away to Madrid. The father, in a moment of remorse, takes out this ad in El Libro, a newspaper. "Paco, meet me at Hotel Montana, Noon, Tuesday… All is forgiven… Papa." When the father arrived at the square in hopes of meeting his son, he found eight hundred Pacoes waiting to be reunited with their father. Was Paco such a popular name? Or is a father's forgiveness the salve for every soul?

            God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, loves you!

                                                AMEN

           

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[i] F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 280.

World Fellowship Sunday, January 24, 2016

ONE!

Today is World Fellowship Sunday! This is a day set aside by the Mennonite World Conference for all Mennonite churches to celebrate together our common faith in Christ.

            I am not entirely comfortable with this limitation. It reminds me of the old joke where a man dies, goes to heaven, and is given a tour of heaven. An angel or some other guide shows him various rooms where Pentecostals are singing ‘hallelujahs’ and Anglicans are reading the Common Book of prayers. But when they come to one room, the guide tells the man to tread quietly. Why? This room contains the Mennonites and they think they are the only ones here.

            I want to go a step farther then, and call attention to the global community of faith beyond the Mennonite circle. As a sub-writer for the new baptism book for the EMC, EMMC and CMC churches, I know that we share a common faith in Christ with a variety of church denominations throughout the world. This common faith is best expressed by the adherence of the majority of churches to the Apostles’ Creed (show slide).

I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. 

Amen.

           

We share our faith in Christ with Christians throughout the world and we want to celebrate that this morning. As How Chuang Chua of Singapore writes, “The church is the worldwide people of God, the community of those who have been redeemed by the work of Jesus Christ. The church transcends ethnic, cultural, and racial lines, being comprised of all those who have repented of their sin and trusted in Christ alone for their salvation. The church is the single most important institution on earth, the organism through which God advances his kingdom.”[i]

            In an effort to encourage unity in the church at Philippi, Paul reminded the believers there of the doctrine and the practice of being One in Christ. These principles were applied to the local church, but they are a reminder to us as well of the elements that bind us as a church (KEMC) to the Global community of faith that calls Christ “Lord.”

1. The Faith that makes us One

a) The Unifying Marks of Christian Faith – If there was a problem with division in the Philippian church, the issues were trivial. But trivial matters can quickly become the wedges that divide us. Paul takes care to remind the local church of the theological foundations that make them a church in the first place.

            In our text there are four “if” clauses in verse one. While “if” usually implies uncertainty, here Paul means to say “If, as is certainly the case…” We might want to say “since” to clarify the meaning, as in “Since you have been encouraged from being united with Christ…” These four clauses are the basis for their unifying faith. Consider these clauses:

1) Sharing the Christ connection: Jesus calls on each of us to join Him in the walk of life. He calls us to faith in Him and to be united with Him in His death and resurrection. Since this is tremendous privilege and joy for you or me, we share a wonderful connection because of our faith in Christ.

2) Sharing the Love (God’s): If you know the love of God, you know the truest consolation of life. Through Christ we know the greatest comfort for our sorrows, the grief we feel over our sins and failures. Since you know this love, and I know this love that comforts, we agree that God’s love is consoling.

3) Sharing in the Spirit: Through faith in Christ I have received His Holy Spirit in my life. But to possess the Spirit is to know that part of the Spirit’s work is to draw me (the individual) into fellowship with God and other believers who love God (the church). If you or I experience the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, can we live any other way?

4) Sharing from the gut: “Tenderness” is the inner source of our emotions (the heart); “compassion” is the emotions reaching out towards the object of our tenderness. To have known the mercy and grace of Christ on the cross yet fail to express tenderness and compassion is a denial of saving truth. In the church we experience the mercy and grace of Christ through our interactions with each other.

            Now these four elements of faith were meant to draw the individuals in Philippi into oneness, whatever their disagreements over other matters might be. These elements are essential to the harmony of believers all over the world. Notice that Paul basically gave us the doctrine of salvation in its classical Trinitarian form as the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If you meet a person from Bangladesh who agrees and accepts these clauses, you and that person are ONE in Christ.

            Jesus is the starting point of this shared faith. Jesus is central to our faith. Jesus is the lens through which we see God and understand the OT.

            It surprises and concerns me then that MWC resources for this Sunday downplayed the role of Christ. (show slide and explain). Missing from the Emmaus story is Jesus Himself. Those two disciples were not suddenly united through philosophy or debate, but by the living, breathing crucified Jesus, who explained the OT prophets to them.

            Not all Mennonites agree on the central tenets of our faith. So let us not celebrate our oneness with Mennonites, but with Christians (and not the political types either, i.e. Trump).

b) Complementing Faith with Action – Paul was not content with rehearsing doctrinal commonalities; he wanted this faith to unify them visibly, “then make my joy complete…” These elements of faith were to unify the church in three ways:

1) Thinking the One way: Paul wanted the individuals of the church to have one mind. This does not mean that we see every matter exactly the same. Nor does it mean we set aside essential truths for the sake of unity. Instead, we must train our minds and hearts toward Christian love so that we seek the highest good of one another. We are allowed to disagree; we are allowed to think differently and to confront error. But we do so with this one mind, a mind inclined to love. We have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).

2) Possessing the same love: Love is not so much an emotion as it is an attitude. Paul begs for this love to be the same as that of Christ Jesus expressed in His taking on human flesh to be with us. His incarnation was meant for this sole purpose: to be with us and to show us God. And this attitude found its fullest expression on the cross (2:6-8).

3) Moving the same way: Unity is not automatic; it must be cultivated and nurtured. We learn unity through the rough and ready ride of living and worshiping together. Riding a horse is not as simple as climbing into a saddle. To be one with the horse takes experience and time. To be one in spirit with other believers, I must deliberately set my mind on being one with those who truly know Christ, even if I don’t agree with them on everything. But we learn to share a common purpose: “being minded on the one thing.” That one thing is the faith of the gospel, the corporate witness of the body of Christ. When we love each other visibly, we testify to that Oneness.

2. Deliberate Gestures of Oneness

a) Reversing our self-estimate – Working towards a global perspective of the church requires a re-working of our mindset regarding our flavor of faith. I grew up in the milieu of the EMC and a father who trumpeted the impression that “we had it right.” If we were “right” that made others “wrong.” Others would include Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Baptists, and even the Mennonite Brethren (according to Dad). This sense of elitism is not unique to old EMCers; everyone feels their church is the right church to some degree. Why else would they go and worship there?

            There are qualities of the Anabaptist/Mennonite perspective of faith I do feel are good (see list).

–     1) A high view of the Bible

–     2) The centrality of Christ

–     3) Emphasis on the NT church

–     4) The believers’ church

–     5) Adult Believer’s Baptism

–     6) Importance of discipleship

–     7) The mission/missional emphasis

–     8) The life of peace

            Appreciating the One Church, the Global church of Christ, however, means reversing this self-estimate. The world’s way of resolving conflicts is to teach you to stand up for your rights, to be assertive, to negotiate, and to have proper self-esteem. The problem is the world’s way does not deal with the root problem, which is pride or self. In contrast to the world’s way, Paul teaches that Christians must do nothing from selfishness or vain conceit (empty self-importance).

            Considering others as better than yourself is not only biblical, it is also healthier than self-focus. Dr. Karl Menninger was once asked, “If someone felt a nervous breakdown coming on, what would you suggest that he do?” “If you feel a nervous breakdown coming on, I would urge you to find somebody else with a problem—a serious one—and get involved with that individual, helping him solve his problem.” In helping that person with their problem, you may find that your own problem lessens. You’re not thinking internally. You’re not letting things gnaw at your gut. You’re no longer disturbed about yourself because you’re not thinking about yourself. You’re thinking about others.

            Living on the defense when it comes to other churches can have the same effect. If we truly see something in other denominations that troubles us, we need to pray for them. I would suggest adding a church to your daily prayer requests anyways, be it next door or in another country (or both).

b) Taking an interest in others – We are naturally self-centered. We see what is before us and scarcely consider the world around us. We’re so selfish that we’re like fish in the water who don’t know they’re wet. A new husband went up to a ticket counter and bought only one ticket. When his new bride pointed it out, he made a quick comeback saying, “You’re right dear, I’d forgotten myself completely.”

            What I think is important to me would also be something that is important to someone else. So that’s a starting point. What we are concerned about for our church will be a concern for churches around the world.

            John defined love in his first epistle this way: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:16-17). We can apply this to the global church as well. Whether Burma needs bunk-beds or Guadalajara needs teaching materials, our love for these brothers and sisters compels us to act and send — our love for Christ compels us!

           

Today is World Fellowship Sunday.

How can we take an abstract idea and make it real?

            One way is to go and visit a church in another country. David Platt in his book Radical shares the importance of this one act. He writes:

            I remember when I was first preparing to go to Sudan, a nation impoverished by years of civil war.  The trip was going to cost me around three thousand dollars.  It wasn't easy to travel into Sudan since they were still at war, and we would have to charter a plane and spend a few extra days to make that happen. I remember one dear lady in the church coming up to me and asking, "Why don't you just send the three thousand dollars to the people in Sudan? Wouldn't that be a better use of money than your spending a week and a half with them? Think of how far that money would go."

            I wrestled with that question. Was I wasting these funds in order to go when I could simply give the money instead? Should I even be going? I continued wrestling with that question until I got to Sudan.  There I had a conversation with Andrew that shed some light on the question.

            Andrew was sharing with me about his life in Sudan over the last twenty years. He had known war since he was born, and he described facets of the suffering and persecution his people had been through.  He told me about the various groups, most of them secular or government organizations, who had brought supplies to them during that time, and he expressed thanks for the generosity of so many people.

            But then he looked at me and asked, "Even in light of all these things that people have given us, do you want to know how you can tell who a true brother is?"  I leaned forward and asked, "How?" 

            He responded, "A true brother comes to be with you in your time of need."  Then he looked me in the eye and said, "David, you are a true brother. Thank you for coming to be with us."[ii]

            Sending money is important. Going to be with our brothers and sisters is Christ-like. Jesus did not send money; Jesus came to be with us.

            You sent Sharon and me to Mexico to see church planting in action. We see things differently now. We now have a connection with Dallas and Tara and the rest that we did not have before. We have met a family that was saved through this ministry and now we have a connection.

            In two months and a bit we will send our youth to the same place, to Guadalajara. It is a lot of money to send them. But you are giving an incredible gift to these youth – you are showing them the global church. The Church is bigger than Kleefeld and they need to see that; GDL needs to see that too. And when all is said and done and this world comes to a close, we will all see that we who believe in Jesus Christ are ONE!

                                                AMEN

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[i] How Chuang Chua, The Importance of the Global Church, (article), ESVBible.org

[ii] David Platt, Radical (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2010), 197-198.

Baptism Sunday

OUR LIFE IN CHRIST

A small group of men and women huddled in a second floor room wondering what to do. They realized that the church they were part of was not fully obedient to Scripture and they needed to break away. But how? One man suddenly stood up and went to the leader of the group and said “Baptize me!” Somewhat stunned, the leader baptized the man who in turn baptized others in the group. This was the beginning of the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland on January 21, 1525, the first time in about a thousand years that adults were baptized upon their faith in Christ.

            I believe they were poured rather than immersed. Do you know how I know? It was January 21^st. Otherwise they would have had to chip a hole in the ice and jump in quickly.

            One key theological point that separated this baptism from infant baptism was that baptism does not save you. What I mean is — and I know you know this too — the application of water to the head or body does not in itself wash away your sins or make you right with God. Baptism is not necessary for salvation. We are saved from the penalty of our sin when we profess to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins.

            But, as one preacher put it, if you are saved, what in the world would prevent you from publicly identifying with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through the act of baptism? Especially considering that Jesus was crucified publicly for you. He goes on to say, and I would agree, I would not say, "You're not saved if you haven't been baptized." I would ask, however, "If you're refusing to be baptized, are you sure you're saved?" Baptism is obedience to the command of Christ and it indicates that we have identified our life with the life and death of Jesus Christ.

            In the letter to the Colossians we read about what that life in Christ means for the person who has been (past tense) baptized. (Colossians 2:8-15)

1. In Christ we are complete

This morning you will hear two testimonies. I described them as sharp and to the point. They are an excellent example of two people declaring that they want to follow Christ. You will also hear these two guys admit that they have not made it yet. And I would add, “good,” because none of us has reached perfection. We are incomplete.

            Before talking about the benefits of being in Christ, Paul writes of the fullness of Christ. He says, “For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body,” (9 NLT). This is a wonderful place to start because the focus is on Jesus. And who is Jesus? In a word, God. But this revelation is far too profound to leave it there.

            Jesus, the man, embodies all that God is: He is the “I AM,” the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Great Shepherd of Ps. 23, the agent of Creation, the Immortal and Eternal One, the Great and Sovereign Lord…the indescribably immense and awesome God is fully found in the man, Jesus Christ. This is amazing stuff.

            Now what comes next should blow our minds. “…and you are complete through your union with Christ” (10a NLT). Many of us feel that something is missing in our persons. We feel incomplete or lacking. We may even feel that something is wrong with us. When it comes to the Law of Moses or the standards of the Gospel, we feel that we come up short. Graydon Penner will say he feels incomplete; so does Darryl Klassen. We are not all that we should be.

            However, in Christ, we are made complete. Whatever we lack, wherever we feel inadequate, whatever shortcoming we have in morality or perfection, is made up by the person of Christ. He completes us. Yes, we strive to be holy and godly and good disciples…we strain toward the prize. But when we fall short, and we will, Christ makes up the difference. All the fullness of God is found in Christ; and all that is Christ is found in you and me. In Christ we are complete.

2. In Christ our old life is buried

Through our faith in Jesus as the Son of God who died for our sins, we are united to His person. Paul had said “…you are complete through your union with Christ.” That union is represented by the ritual of baptism.

            Paul describes three actions that occurred when you came to put your faith in Christ. First, when you came to Christ you were circumcised in the heart. Paul carefully tells his readers that this is not the circumcision done with hands. That was an outward symbol that set a people apart, but was never lived up to in reality. Circumcision is a purposely crude metaphor for cutting away the flesh. In the spiritual sense, Christ cuts away the flesh from our lives so that we are cleansed, purified, made right with God. When Paul talks of “flesh” he does not mean our physical bodies, but rather the sinful nature. Christ rips out the sinful nature from our lives. We still struggle with sin, yes, but its power is neutralized so that it can’t condemn us or kill us.

            Second, through baptism we buried with Christ. We identify with Christ’s death, the death he died on the cross, when we are baptized. We are buried with him as though dead ourselves. Then sin says, “Where did Austin go? Oh, he’s dead. Guess I can’t touch him now.” As Christ identified with us by becoming a man and dying, we identify with him through public baptism.

            Third, we are raised to life by the power of God – the same power that raised Christ from the dead – that power is at work in us (see Eph. 1:18ff).

            These three facts related to our faith are represented by the water of baptism. In Christ our old life is buried as if we were dead. The stark reality of this comes to me through the death of both my parents – I can no longer visit with them or share life with them – they are in so different a place that they no longer exist in this realm. That starkness illustrates the separation of our lives from the life of sin.

3. In Christ we are free

Now, we believe in the doctrine of free will, that we choose to believe in Christ. I strongly believe in this doctrine. Yet there is a sense in which I in myself was powerless to come to God. I was helpless and weak and unable to reach out to God and cry “save me.” This is where God rescued me; He rescued us.

            “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ” (13 NIV), Paul says. So, in this sense, God came to you – you did not go to Him – and thus we can say “God saved you.” We can do nothing to save ourselves, not even reach out to God, unless God comes to us. But when He does come (here’s the paradox) we can still say “no” to Him.

            Through baptism, we declare that we said “yes” to God through Christ. And then we can claim this poignant little phrase “He forgave us all our sins.” Isn’t that the sweetest sound in our ears? Can you imagine hearing anything better?

            I had a misunderstanding with a brother (not from KEMC) this week. Texting is terrible for meaningful and clear communication. I had a sleepless night because of this thing. The next morning I went to him and talked face-to-face and we worked it all out. That is the beauty of two people who love Jesus wanting to restore the peace of Christ in our relationship. Nothing felt better than that. It was a small piece of that great truth: “He forgave us all our sins.”

            God nailed the charge that was against us, the indictment of our sins, to the cross of Christ. Whatever offenses we committed, God nailed to the cross. The worst things we have done, our moral failures, our careless words and actions, and even our most deliberate offenses, are nailed to the cross.

            And I love how this piece ends: God disarmed the powers and authorities – those voices in your head that accuse you of being worthless and imperfect and undesirable – God shamed them, God humiliated them, God made a public spectacle of them on the cross of Christ. I just love that so much. The powers that want to put you back in chains to sin are broken. In Christ we are free.

As I meditated on the celebration of baptism and the water we will apply to these two young men, to Austin and Graydon, my thoughts turned to those that are not baptized. I began to see your faces, the faces of all the parents whose sons and daughters have not chosen Christ and been baptized. There were so many in my mind’s eye it was astonishing and heartbreaking.

            I thought to myself, what if those parents would stand up and lift a hand to God pleading for their child. Just standing there quietly pleading. I can make no promises that those children would come to the Lord, that is not for me to promise. But I would also be remiss to keep that opportunity from you to stand and cry out to God “save my child!” Should we not pray together as a church for such a marvelous act of God.

            And if you are not baptized but you love the Lord Jesus, could I not appeal to you to take this step of obedience? Christ hung on the cross for us; can we not bear a short testimony and a bit of water for Him?

            Our life in Christ is a life of completeness; In Christ we are free. Let’s celebrate that this morning in the water of baptism.

                                                            AMEN

New Year's Day

PRESSING ON: 2016

Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? Go ahead and take a moment; write down the first thing that comes to mind; don’t hesitate or think about it too long. “I resolve to ____________ in 2016.”

            One thing I resolve to do in 2016 is lose ten pounds. I would like to feel less snug in the waist of my pants. Now, to be honest, this is my annual resolution.

            When Sharon and I got married, I weighed 120 pounds. In our first year of marriage I gained twenty pounds — that’s what contentment does to a guy. And over the years my contentment has grown. So I resolve to continue to grow in contentment with my wonderful wife but to do so without the weight gain.

            As many of you know, New Year’s resolutions are made to be broken (not that I will cease to grow in love with my wife, but that I will not lose the ten pounds). For some reason we don’t take resolutions seriously. These “goals” are loosely made, kind of like “wishing well” wishes. We don’t really feel the gravity of these commitments.

            If you have made a resolution for 2016, I sincerely hope that you achieve it.

            As followers of Jesus there is one goal I hope we will all resolve to attain. Paul expresses it simply in his letter to the Philippians:  I want to know Christ. Paul’s intensity in this desire is such that he says he considers everything worthless compared to knowing Jesus. Let us resolve together then, to make 2016 a year in which we strive to know our Lord Jesus better than we ever have, to grow in relationship with Him and be like Him.          

            How will you achieve that goal as a personal resolution? To grow in your relationship with Christ you have to forget what is behind you while grasping all that God has set before you. This is the essence of our text in Philippians 3:10-16.

1. Forgetting what is behind…

a) What was behind Paul? As Paul looked ahead to his goal of knowing Christ better, he realized that there were things he needed to leave behind. “Forgetting what is behind…” he said. What was behind Paul that needed to be forgotten?

            As I considered the letter to the Philippians as a whole, I saw three things that Paul hints at which would hinder growing in relationship to Jesus.

Bitterness: Paul could have been bitter about his circumstances. We can surmise from chapter one that Paul was in chains and in prison. If that was not cause for disappointment, Paul shares that some people were taking advantage of his imprisonment to advance their own agendas with the gospel. Some were even trying to discredit Paul as a preacher of the gospel. They pointed to his imprisonment as evidence of his powerlessness.

            Paul does not succumb to bitterness. Instead, he focused on what God could do through his imprisonment. Read 1:15-18. His attitude towards this situation was to forget himself and exult in the advance of the kingdom through any means.

Ambition: Closely related to the issue of bitterness is our ambition. When we have an aim in life that so consumes us we resent anything and anyone that gets in our way. Paul could have seen his imprisonment and those taking advantage of his chains as an obstacle to his plans. However, in a laid-back, whatever-happens-kind-of-way, Paul rests in God’s plans and puts his own plans on the shelf. Thus he can rein in his ambitions and focus on others. Read 2:3-4.

Pride: We will be disappointed many times in 2016 if we let our pride overcome us. Pride in who we are, what we have done, or what group we belong to, are not sin per se. But when we think those things make us immune to trouble, we might say “I don’t deserve this.” Paul had a pedigree that he could have been proud of and depended on in his life. In regards to his relationship with God, he could have rested in the illusion of his being a perfect Jew (read 3:4b-6). Paul could have said, “I don’t deserve this” in response to his chains, to his suffering for Jesus. He didn’t though; he put his pride behind him and counted it loss in comparison to knowing Jesus better through the circumstances he was now in, even the hardship of prison.

            Can we relate? Bitterness, ambition, and pride — goals left unaccomplished, disappointments, illness, personal wrongs, tragedy, or simple failures — will cloud 2016 before it has begun. “Forgetting what is behind…”

b) What do you need to leave behind? You need to move on from the past. Leave the past in the past. The picture in “forgetting what is behind” is of a runner who does not look back over his shoulder. His eyes are fixed on the goal. If he made mistakes earlier in the race, he doesn’t kick himself by replaying them or go back to re-run that part. He leaves the past behind and keeps moving toward the finish line.

            Just to be clear, it can be helpful to reflect on what happened in the past to understand the present and where growth needs to take place. Biblically, self-examination is taught, and evaluating the good and bad in our past can help us to grow. But there needs to be balance.

            Paul means that we should not be controlled by our past. Consider the analogy of the car’s rear-view mirror. You don’t drive by looking in the mirror. You drive by looking ahead through the windshield. Now and then you take occasional quick glances in your mirror to use the information to make decisions about how to drive. But if you gaze too long in the mirror you will probably crash because you are not paying attention to the present. In life, we can take glances backwards, but the past must stay in the past, and we must accept God’s grace for our sins and mistakes and move on with His strength.[i]

            MPIC tells drivers that if you stare at the telephone pole you will probably hit the pole. Look where you want to go. Paul aimed at a specific goal and he went there.

2. Straining toward what is ahead

a) With an honest self-estimate – Some of Paul’s critics might have misunderstood his words and thought that Paul was saying he had made it to Christian perfection. By the time of the writing of this letter, Paul had been a believer for 25 years. There is no doubt that he was one of the keenest disciples of Christ that ever lived. His theological understanding of Christ’s death and resurrection continues to impact us all. But even he confessed that he was still in the process of knowing Christ better.

            Paul admits this in v. 12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect…I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.” What he means to say is, “I have not yet come to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings and conformity to His death in a complete and total way.”

            This is an important lesson for us all. We must never be satisfied with where we are at in our Christian walk. I am not talking about beating yourself up for not being spiritual enough. I am pleading for an insatiable hunger for more of what Jesus wants to show us. The Christian life is not a sprint, it’s a lifelong marathon. If you think, “I don’t need to grow anymore” and stop running the race, you will miss out on the prize waiting at the finish line.

            You need to be honest with yourself — I need to be honest with myself too — we have not finished growing in Christ. For all the education I have received, one thing becomes clearer all the time: I really don’t know anything. So we keep going.

b) With singular focus – If we are to grow in Christ we must strain toward what is ahead. Paul says it this way: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (13-14).

            The Greek says literally “One thing! Forgetting what is behind…” (the “I do” was added). Paul’s “one thing” implies focused concentration and effort. Like a runner in the races, he sets aside distractions and works at keeping his mind on the goal of knowing Christ and becoming more like Him. An Olympic athlete is not a person of many interests whose own sport is a side hobby. With diligence, the Olympic athlete gets up early and sets his mind to winning the gold medal. Everything else takes second place to this aim.

            This singular focus is fuelled by a powerful motivation. Paul says, “…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (12b). The word “take hold” is intense; it means to apprehend or seize something after a pursuit. If a policeman chased a thief and caught up to him, he would seize the thief tightly to keep him from getting away. Paul says that the reason he runs the race is because Christ chased him down, seized him, and put him in the race. Think of where Paul was headed in life. He was a persecutor of Christians until Christ chased him down on the road to Damascus and seized his heart.

            As Christ Jesus takes hold of you and meets the deepest need of your soul, it makes you want to grab on to Him too. That’s what Paul did. That’s what we ought to do. I want to lay hold of Jesus and not let go. I want to go where He goes and do what He would do. I want to know Him and be like Him. Isn’t that what you want?

            And so we press on to win the prize; we strain with all our strength to reach the arm across the finish line. We press on because if we think we have arrived at a comfortable place in our spiritual walk we are mistaken. We are not satisfied; we want more of Christ. If we think we have arrived, it probably means that we’ve got just enough of Jesus to satisfy some spiritual responsibility but not so much of Him that it threatens the way we live.

            No we want the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. The prize: The Lord’s “well done”; the crown of righteousness; to see His face. Oh, you know I can’t describe it. For “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

What is your goal for 2016?

            Mine is the same every year: A closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

            How will we achieve such a goal?

            Dr. Howard Hendricks tells about an elderly Christian woman he knew who would come into a social gathering, where everyone was chatting about nothing significant, and say, “Tell me, Howie, what are the five best books you’ve read this past year?” She was not satisfied with idle talk; she wanted to go deep. And through this she grew. Even though she was up in years, she was actively growing in the Lord. When she died in her nineties, her daughter discovered on her desk that the night before she died in her sleep, she had written out her personal goals for the next five years. Like Paul in prison facing his own death, she wanted to be growing.

            I think there is a lesson in this story we can follow. Paul talks about it too in verse 16. We fix our eyes on Jesus, yes, but we can also find examples around us who spur us on. We see models of Jesus, people who love the Lord that we can imitate. Paul says, “Let us live up to what we have already attained” and “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice” (4:9). We can learn from each other what it means to know Christ. He reveals Himself a little bit in each one of us who believe and follow Him. We are His body, therefore we resemble Him. Find those qualities that you feel you are lacking in someone else and learn from that person.

            And of course, do not forget the Word of God. Ultimately, all we know of Christ is found in the gospels. If you read five minutes a day in the Word, read ten. If you pray ten minutes a day, find room for twenty. Not as an arbitrary goal but as a means of knowing Christ better.

            Forget what is behind – forget the failures and sins of the past; they are covered by grace – and strain toward what is ahead. Press on towards the prize of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord.

                                                            AMEN

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[i] Story from Steven Cole’s sermon The Christian Growth Process

Christmas Day

CHRISTMAS DAY SERMON

December 25, 2015

“THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE”

A miracle took place in the midst of a great horror 101 years ago today. The event was unprecedented in the history of the world, and it is unlikely to ever happen again. But with God all things are possible.

            As men were often heard to say to their wives and sweethearts when marching off to war, “I’ll be home by Christmas,” the promise was always broken. “Home by Christmas” was the catchphrase of every war it seemed. They were never home by Christmas.

            The guns of August, 1914, crashed on for the next five months taking the lives of nearly one million men. What many thought would be “great fun” suddenly turned into a bewildering, disillusioning, killing nightmare.

            That Christmas, when the darkness of war seemed to envelop the whole world, a miracle broke into the trenches beginning at Ypres. Watch what happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

            Historians everywhere called this “the Christmas Truce.” A truce is only a temporary peace, but this moment in history demonstrates the power of Christ to unhinge what we call normal.

            In the darkness of the battlefield on December 24^th, German soldiers began singing Christmas carols. In the middle of hell on earth, embattled hearts were reminded that there is hope. Encouraged by the enemy’s festive spirit, the British began singing too. German troops put up Christmas trees with candles on them. Before they knew it, they were exchanging gifts, playing football, and wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Only Christ can do this among people who are supposed to be enemies.

            I believe this event is but a foretaste, a snapshot, a thumbnail of the peace that broke into our world when Jesus was born. It may never happen again on a battlefield but there is reason to believe that when we allow Christ to rule our hearts, peace breaks in. And when Jesus comes as King of kings, His peace will reign for all time. This is our hope.

1. Hope dawns on a dark situation

Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Or it’s advertised that way. You may not want to hear this, however: Christmas can really be a hard time for some people. Christmas can be the loneliest time of the year. Consider those who have lost loved ones and miss their presence at the holiday table. Consider the widows and widowers who must endure another “family” event without their partner. Consider those who are single and would like to have a spouse and a family. Consider those who cannot afford a “happy Christmas” and yet are bombarded by the retail industry to buy more stuff. Consider the seniors in the PCHs who wait for their families to visit and get a precious half-hour with them. When we consider Christmas from this perspective, those who enjoy a Merry Christmas really are a minority. The Christmas season can be a time of gloom.

            The prophet Isaiah painted a picture of his own time. He saw the gloom and depression that Israel faced as their enemies invaded the land and their hopes and dreams being crushed. Assyrian conquerors were being used by God to punish Israel’s unfaithfulness. They had sinned and forgotten God. Their gloom was somewhat self-inflicted.

            Some remained faithful to God, and to them Isaiah prophesied that into their darkness a light would shine. God had humbled the land of Zebulun and Naphtali – these are lands in the northern parts of Israel. But one day, in the future, God would honor those same lands, what Isaiah called the Galilee of the Gentiles. Same land, different name.

            Into the gloom a light will shine. Light is not merely a physical phenomenon. There is something about light that spiritually and emotionally lifts our spirits.

            It is probably no coincidence that Christmas follows the darkest day of the year. December 21^st has the shortest amount of daylight. For those who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), depression, moodiness, or gloom that comes from the dark winter months, the promise of increased sunlight is welcome.

            Isaiah promised that Israel would see the light. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned” (2). Hope, like a tiny point of light in the distance, was given. Darkness cannot stop the light from spreading. Those who have endured the hiding of God’s face will see this light. Those who have not cursed in the darkness but have waited with expectancy will laugh again.

            Their joy, like the light, will grow large. Joy will increase (3). They will know joy like farmers at harvest. How great the feeling of a finished season of work, the joy of accomplishment, the joy of being done.

            Isaiah further paints this joy as comparable to dividing the plunder after a battle. Warriors were allowed to go through their enemies belongings and take little treasures: a shield, a knife, a bag of coins. A better analogy for us would be the dividing of plunder on Christmas Eve or morning when the presents are handed out. This joy will be greater.

            What is Isaiah talking about in real terms?

            First, the land that God humbled, the northern lands he called Galilee of the Gentiles, would be honored to have Jesus of Nazareth grow up among them. And when He was of age, Jesus would teach in the region of Galilee and proclaim that the kingdom of God was breaking into their world.

            Second, the kingdom of God is that light. More importantly, Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). Jesus is the light. When you have light you know where you are going. You don’t trip. You see the path. You can read the signs. With light you are not lost in the dark. We need light to live. Jesus is the light.

            No wonder then that the people would increase their joy. They were living in sin and sinful circumstances. People had ignored God and stumbled into darkness. With Jesus people can see and when they see…what a joy.

2. The reason for this hope

Isaiah described this hope in the first three verses; now he explains the reason for this hope.

            What happened? Human nature is such that we fail to understand what we have until we lose it. Israel had a relationship with Yahweh but failed to grasp what it meant to honor that relationship. God had to show them the disaster of sinful living in order to drive home God’s love for them.

            With sin comes bondage. We become slaves to sin. Sometimes we become slaves to others, literally and figuratively. We fall into the trap of caring what society thinks. We care too much about what our friends want from us. Or literally, we become slaves to our jobs, our lifestyles, our pleasures or addictions.

            Isaiah proclaims that God has shattered the yoke that burdens the people and removed the bar across their shoulders. The image is release from slavery. He is proclaiming Jubilee: “He (God) has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners” (61:1b). Like prisoners of war the people are set free to return home and learn to live again.

            The war is over! When that day comes there will be an end to struggle and fighting. That’s what Isaiah means with this imagery “Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire” (5). Military hardware will be burned because there is no use for it anymore. Other weapons will be turned into farm tools, as Isaiah earlier foretold, “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (2:4).

            But why? How can Isaiah promise such an ideal future? What is the reason for this peace?
            A most amazing reason is given. “For to us a child is born…” Not a full-grown adult – a child is born. Isaiah does not focus on what the child will do when he is an adult but on the mere fact of his birth. His birth will have such an impact that the world will be transformed by his first breath. This child will not bring peace; this child IS peace.

            “…and the government will be on his shoulders” (6). Previously the burden was on the shoulders of the people (4), but now they are released from their burdens when he shoulders the burden of ruling. Your burdens fall on Jesus’ shoulders; your problems are His problems. He is not a King who adds to your burdens; He is a King who lightens your burden. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”, Jesus says (Mt. 11:29-30).

            This child will be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

            All this in a child?

            What child is this?

            This is the same child whose birthday caused 100,000 soldiers, British and German, to put down their guns and celebrate the hope of Christmas. A greater hope than what their leaders promised them in battle glory. But that was a long time ago. That was then, what about now?

            This is the same child whom the politically correct dare not speak His name, yet also dare not dismiss His holiday. And if those proponents of the Christmas season who set up their trees on November 1^st get their way, Christmas will rule the whole of the fall season. This child does that.

            And what breaks the cloud of gloom that shrouds the heart? I know that on some personally cloudy days, nothing breaks in on my cold heart like the smile of Ezekiel Toews. My heart warms to see his happy face. How much more the face of the Christ-child who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorned its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. We were His joy.

Christmas is dangerous. The birth of Jesus upsets the status quo.

            You see, when the Christmas Truce was called in 1914, generals on both sides grew alarmed. As Germans, Brits, Canucks, Belgians, and Frenchman reached across no-man’s land to share Christmas, they stopped fighting. And as they celebrated the birth of Christ together, they found out that they were brothers.

            How do you then kill a man you shared “Jesus” with? From then on, the Generals forbade their men to “cross the line” and fraternize with the enemy. If you like the enemy you are less inclined to kill him.

            Let’s call a Christmas truce today. Put aside your grievances with those who have offended you, the in-laws who annoy you, the family members who take advantage of you, and celebrate our common Savior. Let there be peace in your hearts and in your homes. Leave the burden of your hurt with Jesus who died for that hurt. Rest in His rule of the situation.

            Now as you go forward, live out that temporary truce every day, until the Lord comes and establishes a permanent peace. That peace is coming; let’s practice living that peace in our hearts and with those in the opposite trench.

                                                                        AMEN