“We had a story about Moses in church school today,” said Kelly as the family sat down at the table for dinner. “We learned that God talked to Moses from a burning bush and told him what he was supposed to do. Our teacher says God still speaks to people.”

Kevin jabbed his fork into a potato. “Maybe, but not through anything as interesting as a burning bush,” he said. “I’d like to see one of those–and I don’t mean the kind that has red leaves in the fall! I mean one that’s really on fire.”

“Yeah!” agreed Kelly. “Imagine one of Mom’s best bushes on fire and God speaking to us out of it!”

Mom smiled. “Make it a bush way at the back of the yard, will you?” she said. “We don’t want to burn the house down!”

“You know, it doesn’t require a real burning bush for God to speak to us,” said Dad. “That bush was just what caught Moses’ attention. It was when he took the trouble to check it out that God spoke to him. If we’re open to what God wants for us, He can catch our attention and speak to us through a lot of different situations or people.”

“I suppose so,” admitted Kevin, “but I still think it would be cool to have a burning bush.”

“Maybe you have one,” said Dad. “What about Jon’s wheelchair?” Jon, the son of their new neighbors, had been in a bad accident the year before and was confined to a wheelchair.

Kevin looked surprised. “What do you mean?” he asked. “How is Jon’s wheelchair like a burning bush?”

“Maybe that’s your call to attention,” suggested Dad. “Jon is often on his front porch when you go to play with your friends, and I’ve seen him watching you with a hopeful look in his eyes,” explained Dad. “Maybe God wants you to go over and talk with him. You could even wheel him down to the park to watch your games. Maybe if you do that, God will speak to you through him. You might even end up with a new friend! What do you think?”

Kevin smiled. “I guess it’s worth a shot!”

When Moses saw the burning bush, he saw that God was in the plan. What Moses heard was the voice of God Himself. The appearance of the Lord was the first instance of direct revelation to Moses. After 80 years, Moses was now ready to fulfill the Lord’s calling. No other leader in biblical times had such a lengthy training period. Times of preparation are never wasted: God knows that, properly prepared, His servants can do more in 40 years than they could do in 120 unprepared.

God appears in the ordinary. This is one of many ways in which He gets our attention. He uses positive events such as the birth of a child, and He also uses tragedies. God does not cause tragedies, but He uses them to get our attention. He has to get our attention before He can present Himself to us. When He gets our attention, we stand on holy ground. When we stand on holy ground, we have to remove the dirt from our lives. That dirt is called sin.

Sometimes it is only on the far side of the wilderness where God can get our attention. Sometimes it is when we feel alone, abandoned, and forgotten that our ears are pricked to hear. Isolation is often God’s place of invitation. God doesn’t speak and ask our advice regarding His plan. He makes declarations. He speaks, and that is that.

God meets us where we are. We are not always where we should be, but God adapts and accommodates us. Moses was not where he should have been, but the sight of the burning bush and God’s call brought Moses out of obscurity and isolation and sent Moses back to Egypt to lead the Israelites.

The burning bush represents God’s presence. The fact that the bush was not consumed means that we can know God’s presence eternally. For these divine moments, the area near the bush was the Lord’s house because of the Lord’s presence. The resulting command to “take your sandals off your feet” reflects this. The phrase “I have come down to deliver them” was meant for Israel, but they also point to the future incarnation of Jesus.

When He spoke from the burning bush, God called Moses by name. God became personal to Moses. God sees and knows. God identified Himself so that Moses would know that he was not meeting an unknown God. God often speaks to us through unusual circumstances such as a burning bush that is not consumed. When we find ourselves in the midst of confusing times that we do not understand, we should slow down and listen, because God might be trying to tell us something.

Moses was reluctant to take on the role that God asked of him, but Moses was the ideal person for that role. His dual identity as both an Egyptian and an Israelite made him the perfect person to confront Pharaoh for the sake of the Israelites. In spite of his reluctance and his youthful, misguided interventions, Moses was driven by a deep sense of injustice and a desire to intervene for the victimized and the mistreated. Moses and God were on the same wavelength.

God must break through several hard, exterior barriers in our lives before He can renovate our souls and use us. His persistent goal is to break through to the inner person. What are those layers that God has to break through and how does He break through to that hidden part? He finds pride, and He uses the sandpaper of obscurity to remove it. He finds us gripped by fear and He uses the passing of time to remove that fear. He encounters the barrier of resentment and breaks it down with solitude. He penetrates our inner person, and He brings discomfort and hardship to buff away that last layer of resistance.

Moses typified human response when God calls someone to do what seems beyond them, yet the success of any divine mission is never dependent on human abilities. The Lord’s words- “I will certainly be with you”- were intended to focus Moses on the true source of his future success.

So why did God ask Moses to free the Hebrews from slavery? There are three reasons:

1. God hates injustice, oppression and sin. He saw and heard the misery of His people.
2. God works to undo wrongs.
3. He puts humanity to work.

God has to engage in spiritual warfare. When He asks us to do something, we often have to engage in spiritual warfare as well.

It’s one thing to be concerned and pray for someone from outside their circumstances; it’s another thing altogether to get involved in those circumstances as part of the answer. When we pray, God wants us to have an attitude of availability if He calls us to get involved.

When God said, “I am who I am,” He declared his eternal, unchanging, uncreated self-existence. The identification of the Lord as “God of your fathers” is enormously important: Moses and the Hebrew people needed to know that this was no “new god”-the Deliverer of Israel ever is and ever will be. Because of the covenant God created with Abraham, God was with the Hebrews, and He is with us. In return, He wants us to identify with Him. That’s why He says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

God is eternal. His resources don’t run out. His power doesn’t run out. He doesn’t need to rest. His gifts are limitless. His omnipresence reminds us that we are always being addressed and confronted by God. We are always on holy ground. Every so often we stop, take off our sandals and bathe ourselves in the constancy of divine revelation. If we are too busy to notice these God moments, we fail to see the beauty, wonder and love right where we are. Spiritual formation is about taking time to pause, notice, open, yield and stretch, and then respond to the holiness everywhere.

In Exodus 3:7-10, we see a picture of a redeeming God and redemption that is complete. God’s plan was to deliver His children from bondage so they could worship Him and be established as His chosen people. God did not forget the promise He made to Abraham and confirmed with Isaac and Jacob. God always hears the cries of His people, and He always remembers His covenant.

When he answered God’s call, Moses made several excuses. First. he said that he was not capable. The youthful confidence he had when he killed an Egyptian who was attacking a fellow Israelite was gone. The enormity of the task and the responsibility overwhelmed him. Was it genuine humility or a lack of faith in God’s ability and wisdom? The best promise God could give, He gave to Moses: “I will certainly be with you.”

The second excuse Moses gave was that he did not know God’s name. What would he tell the Israelites if they asked the name of the god he claimed to represent? In ancient times every god had a name, and people believed it was necessary to know the name of the god in order to approach him. A god’s name also revealed something of his character. Did Moses accept those beliefs, or was he concerned that the people had forgotten the God of their ancestors?

We know how Moses felt. We don’t think that we know enough, or that we have experienced enough, or that we feel deeply enough. We don’t think that we have anything to say. God’s answer to Moses’ excuse is the same answer He gives us. God created His personal name: “I AM WHO I AM.”

Community can do that to us. It carries us into uncomfortable experiences and walks alongside us, encouraging and challenging us along the way. And through the challenge and support, we grow. Being part of a community that challenges us may not be high on our priority list but being challenged is one of the only ways we grow. Growing is what God calls us to do.

We are qualified to do God’s work not because of our own talents, abilities, or training, but because God is with us. He does not call the equipped. He equips the called. If He is not with us, no amount of skill or experience will make us qualified. He isn’t impressed with us. He checks out our humility, our sensitivity and our availability.

God knows our needs and answers prayers in the manner that will help us serve His will, and often surprises us. There are many things God could give us to help us through life’s challenges. The best gift is Himself.

We don’t need a miraculous bush to hear God. When God gets our attention, it is up to us to respond. All we have to do is leave behind the cares of the world. We have to forget our “to do” lists. We don’t have to let the world make us feel guilty for spending time with God. We don’t have to listen to lies that tell us that we should be doing something more productive, something that matters. Nothing matters more than spending time with God.

God needed Moses. God needs people. We are God’s hands and feet. God sent Moses as His emissary and revelation. Divine power is real, but it is always connected to human openness and decision making. Would God have been able to free the Israelites without Moses’ commitment? We are not stronger than God, but our efforts can be the tipping point in a lively, interdependent universe.

This is a story of meeting God on God’s own terms. If we are going to know someone, we won’t know him/her until we experience him/her. When this happens, we have a spiritual experience. It transforms our lives. To know God, we have to go with God. Faith is a full contact, participation sport. We can’t just sit back and expect to really know God. We have to get into the game take a risk, try something marvelous, reach for something we thought unachievable, and step out onto the winding road the end of which we can’t see.

God depends on us to remind other people of the message of God’s love. It is by the Holy Spirit of God working through us that we can share the message of God’s love with one another and with those who don’t know God’s love. At this moment in our lives, what might God be calling us to do for His greater purpose? What new plans has He placed on our paths?

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New Kings James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 76-78)
2. “Your Burning Bush.” Retrieved from keys@lists.keysforkids.org
3. Dunnam, M.D. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 2: Exodus (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1987; pp. 54-70)
4. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
5. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
6. Lucado, M.: The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson; 2020; pp. 75-78)
7. Sarah Young, “Holy Ground.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
8. Alan Wright, “Spiritual Experience (Part 1).” Retrieved from www.sharingthelight.org
9. Leslie Koh, “Are You There?” Retrieved from donotreply@email.rbc.org
10. Baptist Bible Hour, “Day 9: Theme.” Retrieved from Oneplace@crosswalkmail.com
11. Ruth Reilly-Smith, “God’s Retirement Plan.” Retrieved from donotreply@email.rbc.org
12. www.insightforliving.ca

1. Charles R. Swindoll, “Moses-I’m Here.” Retrieved from www.insightforliving.ca
2. Sharon Jaynes, “When You Wonder if God is Concerned About You.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
3. Charles R. Swindoll, “Moses-Hard of Hearing.” Retrieved from www.insightforliving.ca
4. John North,” Exodus 3:9-12.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
5. Amy Merrill Willis, “Commentary on Exodus 3:1-15.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=973
6. David Lose, “Get Off the Couch and Into the Game.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=1600
7. Bruce Epperly, “The Adventurous Lectionary-The Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost-August 30, 2020.” Retrieved from www.patheos.com

In the famous words of the late American news commentator Paul Harvey, Matthew 16:21-28 is “the rest of the story”. It is a continuation from Matthew 16:13-20, in which Peter acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God. Now Jesus is telling his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem to complete his God-given mission to save the world by dying on the cross.

Naturally this comes as a shock to the disciples. After all, why would God send someone to do something as ungodlike as dying? And if dying was necessary, why couldn’t it be done on the battlefield instead of on a cross. It’s no wonder Peter rebukes Jesus. After all, here he was-a fisherman who believed Jesus, but who could not understand the true purpose of Jesus’ mission. He, like many of the Jews, thought that the Messiah would be a military ruler who would drive out the Romans and restore Israel to the glory days of the reign of King David.

Jesus told his disciples that he was going to lead them into battle-and they should not expect to come away unscathed. In fact, they should not be surprised if they died on the battlefield. They would be facing the forces of evil, and those forces were strong enough to wreak havoc. God would win the ultimate battle against evil, but in the meantime his disciples could expect the fight of their lives. It is a fight we are still involved in today.

Peter rebuked Jesus because he took seriously his new role as the rock on which the church was built. He took his role so seriously that he thought he had a responsibility to make sure that Jesus’ ministry would be successful. He thought it was his duty to rebuke Jesus, but Jesus put him in his place. His place was behind Jesus as a follower-a role we also have to play.

Peter, like Satan, tried to deflect Jesus from the way of God, and Satan tries to deflect us from God’s way today. Satan has lots of traps to put in our path, and because he is smart, he knows that the best time to trap us often comes after some great victory. In Peter’s case, it was just after Jesus told him that he was going to be the rock that the church would be built on. Peter wanted Jesus to follow the wide, smooth road of a worldly life that leads to death and sin. Jesus knew he had to travel on the narrow, rough road of life with God, and it is the same road we as Christians have to travel today.

Jesus wasted no time in dealing with Satan, and neither should we. Peter fell for the enemy’s temptations of allowing his thoughts to turn inward to himself and his desires for the nation of Israel. So Jesus moved quickly to put an end to Peter’s wrong way of thinking. We must never allow the thoughts of pride or sin to linger. We must keep our focus set on God and ask Him to reveal His perfect will to us. He knows the plan and outcome of our lives. We can trust him fully because He knows exactly what the future holds for us.

Jesus knew the road he would have to travel would lead to self-denial and the cross, and he urges his followers to be prepared to pay the price and suffer the consequences if they want to follow the same road of life. We as his followers have to sacrifice our own interests in favour of serving Christ. Our personal goals and interests have to take on a secondary importance if we want to receive eternal life. When we do, we will fulfill God’s purpose of giving life. Jesus often motivated his disciples to love and good works by reminding them that He would return one day in great glory to reward all His faithful servants for whatever they had accomplished in His name.

This concept isn’t east to understand. Spiritual growth takes place slowly. It takes a lifetime, and even as we reach the end of that journey, our understanding is far from perfect. For example, Jesus repeatedly told his disciples about the suffering that awaited him in Jerusalem, but they did not understand until after the Resurrection. The Holy Spirit had not yet come, and their eyes and minds were blinded to the eternal things of the Lord. However, after they saw the resurrected Christ, they knew He was the Saviour. God’s Word always bears fruit at the right time.

We take up the cross of Jesus any time we suffer in some way for identifying with Him and His cause. “Cross bearing” does not always include affliction or persecution in general. It may mean denying what we deeply desire in order to do the will of God. When we obey Him, we position ourselves for great blessing. We can take up our crosses and know that the Lord will bear them with us.

When Jesus said that those who want to save their lives will lose them and vice versa, he was right. Our world is full of examples of people who have sold their souls by using sex, drugs, money, careers, possessions or alcohol to find happiness in life, only to be disappointed. Whatever a person is or becomes in his outward life, the particular quality of his or her soul will be the deciding factor in how he or she lives and how others experience him or her. With God, though, there is another way. Through his life, suffering, death on the cross and resurrection, Jesus saves us by showing us the way to a life of God’s forgiveness, love and grace-given with no conditions and no strings attached. God provides for us the chance to live a life with a full range of the possibilities potentially present everywhere.

Jesus saves us by his death, by overcoming once and for all the power of sin. Sin no longer has a death grip over us. Christ makes it clear that God will forgive the sin that we confess and from which we repent in the sincere desire to renew our lives. Christ makes us realize that we are the most precious creatures in creation-creatures worth dying for.

As Jesus said, death lurks in the darkness of life. Whatever we hope to find outside of God’s plan proves elusive and temporary. Only by walking with Christ on the path of goodness will we find the security and contentment we are seeking. If our lives are more important to us than our faith, our lives will be over.  If our faith is more important to us than our lives, we will be rewarded with eternal life. Our Christian life involves sacrifice because Jesus must come first in our lives. We are to be like Jesus-selfless and obedient, even to the point of death to self and life in Christ. Matthew 25:31-46 tells us that we will be judged according to our deeds of mercy to the needy. We are saved by grace through faith, but Jesus makes it clear that our faith must be shown in good deeds.

Our crosses might not lead to death, but they can lead to other forms of persecution. For example, I subscribe to a Christian news service called ASSIST News. It regularly publish stories about persecution of Christians throughout the world, especially in Third World countries. Here are some recent headlines:

1. “Landlord Evicts Church”
2. “Egypt’s Double Standard Shown in Difference Between Muslim and Christian Abduction Cases”
3. “0.1 Million Pakistani Christians Living Under Constant Death Threats’
4. “A Christian Man Booked in an Engineered Blasphemy Case”
5. “A Cry from Abidjan”
6. “Afghan Christian Refugees Under Threat”
7. “Prayer Sought for Students, Missionary Attacked While Sharing the Gospel

Here in our little corner of the world, our persecution might not be as severe. It could be in the form of rejection by friends or family. Our careers might be affected. All of these are a small price that we must be prepared to pay as we take up the cross of Christ on the road of life-just like Christ and Simon of Cyrene had to carry the cross to Golgotha.

What that will require will depend on our calling. We can discern that calling through prayer, reading the Bible and keeping our eyes and hearts open to see the challenges Christ sends our way. The cross that Jesus commands us to carry is the cross of submissive obedience to His will, even when it includes suffering and hardship and things we don’t want to do. It is a willingness to totally, absolutely, irrevocably and finally yield our lives to Him because we want what He wants more than what we want. When we take up our cross and follow Jesus, we will bring life to those he calls us to serve. In return, he will give us abundant, eternal life.

Sacrifice and self-denial are synonymous with following Christ. That is why the Prosperity Doctrine is so disturbing. That doctrine essentially says that God will bless your life, finances, business and so on if only you believe in Him. While God has called us to the abundant life in John 10:10 and the prosperity of the soul in Psalm 25:12-13, if God chooses to bless us materially, it will only be as a bi-product of putting His kingdom ahead of our own selfish interests.

The church also needs the challenge of the cross today. The church as the body of Christ and his followers also has a cross to bear as it fulfills Christ’s mission. It involves making decisions that will not please everyone, such as decisions made regarding the blessing of same-sex civil unions. Do today’s churches offer a faith strong enough that it can command a sacrifice? Can a church in today’s “me first” culture ask its people to sacrifice something for the sake of the gospel?

The pain and suffering of the cross and the spending of self for Him are a part of the Christian life. The life of self-denial and sacrifice of which Jesus spoke has been real enough for those who would follow him throughout the last 2,000 years. It has filled the meditations of saints and martyrs as well as offering rich metaphors for sacred poetry and hymns of the church.

Today we are reminded that our confession of faith has consequences and shows itself not only in public worship, but through our words and deeds in our daily lives. Peter’s story reminds us that it is not one incident alone that makes a life. Though we fall again and again, it is the getting up that marks the true child of God. So, we offer our lives in surrender to Christ’s purpose. The waters of our baptism still bubble up inside us and enable us to confess with Peter that Jesus is the Son of God. They also constantly renew in us the willing spirit that says, “Yes” to our own taking up the cross to follow Christ.

Bibliography

1. Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV
2. Exegesis for Matthew 16:21-28. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
3. Dr. Jack Graham, “Understanding the Cost of Being a Follower of Christ”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
4. J. Randal Matheny, “Spiritual Aspirin”. Retrieved from www.forthright.net
5. Anne Graham Lotz, “Dying to Self”. Retrieved from www.angelministries.org
6. Anne Graham Lotz, “The Cross of Obedience”. Retrieved from www.angelministries.org
7. Dr. Charles F. Stanley, “Making Changes to Fulfill God’s Plan”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
8. Dr. Charles F. Stanley, “The Narrow Road”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
9. T.M. Moore, “The Primacy of the Lord”. Retrieved from www.colsoncenter.org
10. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions: 22^nd Sunday (A)”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
11. Dr. Ray Pritchard, “How Good Christians Sometimes Do Devil’s Work”. Retrieved from www.keepbelieving.com
12. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software program.
13. Matthew Henry Concise Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software program.
14. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software program.
15. Notes from Peter Anthony’s Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew
16. “Proper Seventeen: Sunday between August 28^th and September 3^rd Inclusive”. Retrieved from www.ministrymatters.com/library/
17. The Rev. Ken Kesselus, “August 31, 2008-Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 17-Year A (RCL)”. Retrieved from www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_99908_ENG_HTM.htm
18. Dr. Mickey Anders, “Look Good on Wood”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
19. John Shearman’s Lectionary Resource, Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Aug. 28, 2011. Retrieved from http://lectionary.seemslikegod,org/aarchives/eleventh-sunday-after-pentecost-august -28-2011

Have you ever thought about the legacy you want to leave behind when you die? I’m not talking about a physical legacy such as the things you own. I’m talking about how you want people to remember you. The type of legacy you leave behind will depend on the kind of life you lead on earth. Do you want to leave a legacy that is based on the world, its possessions and its sinful nature, or do you want to leave a legacy that is based on a life of service to God and that is pleasing to God? God has put together a checklist for a legacy that is pleasing to him. The most important item on that checklist is Christian love. In Romans 12:12-16 Paul teaches us how to show love in practical ways. 

The most important qualities of genuine love are sincerity and discernment. If there is no sincerity, love becomes manipulation, competition and pretense. There is no room for this because love and truth go hand in hand. Love clings to what is good.

Love is characterized by devoted affection. It is to be characterized by the warm affection that is shared by family members. In our case, it is the warm affection we have for all of God’s people. Sometimes this can be difficult, but we must make the effort because our family bonds can’t be broken.

Love is also characterized by honour. This includes letting someone else have his or her own way in matters that are nonessential. We must listen carefully when other people speak, even if and when they disagree with us. We must treat other peoples’ feelings with respect and dignity.

We must also have enthusiasm and passion. It is a passion for doing well by others. It is a boiling passion to love and serve God. This passion can’t be contained. This does not mean that we have to show the same enthusiasm that is shown in charismatic churches such as the Pentecostal church or the Salvation Army.

Love is also patient, especially as explained in 1 Corinthians 13 (also known as “the love chapter”). This can be hard to do in times of trial and difficulties. It means fulfilling obligations and receiving blessings when we are discouraged. We can press on when we devote ourselves to prayer.

Generosity is also a part of love. Love means sharing what we have with the less fortunate. Love means sharing in the suffering of our fellow human beings even when our own circumstances are different. The resources we have been given by God can be the means of blessing or cursing, the instruments of good and evil. The determining factor is whether we regard our resources as personal possessions to be used as we desire or as gracious gifts from God to be used for his glory and man’s benefit.

Closely tied with generosity is hospitality. The original meaning of the word “hospitality” is “loving strangers”. It means showing love to those who are different from us in race, nationality, creed or belief. Love takes the initiative and actively looks for opportunities. A good example is the hospitality many people here in the Maritimes showed during the immediate aftermath of 9/11. When thousands of airplanes had to land at the nearest airport when American airspace was shut down after the World Trade Centre in New York was attacked, Maritimers opened their homes and hearts  to stranded passengers by providing food, clothing, shelter and day trips. The same hospitality was shown after the crash of Swissair Flight 111 when people provided food for searchers and comfort to visiting relatives of the passengers.

Also tied in with hospitality and generosity is graciousness. It is the most difficult aspect of love to carry out. Graciousness means returning good for evil. Grace in response to evil is a unique characteristic of a godly person, and grace can only come from God.

True love also means showing compassion, sympathy and empathy. It celebrates joy when fellow believers celebrate joy and grieves when fellow believers grieve or die. Compassion says, “I will do anything I can to stop your hurt.” Jesus was repeatedly moved by compassion. He was willing to do whatever he could to stop others from hurting, including going to the cross. He was willing to die to stop our hurt by giving us a way to receive God’s grace and eternal life.

True love is also characterized by an emphasis on satisfying another person’s need for approval. We are to facilitate another person’s victory. We are to rejoice in hope in the assurance that by doing so, our lives will count both now and for eternity.

Love must always be shown with humility. Paul warns the Gentiles in Romans 11:1-2, 29-32 not to be full of pride, and here in Romans 12:9-21 he repeats the same warning to all of us. Paul urges us to think like other Christians, but not to blindly go along with the group. We are to be for the same things even if our viewpoints and approaches are different. In other words, we are to try to find common ground without sacrificing God’s truth. We are to seek out and serve the outcasts of society. Most of the time love must be tender, compassionate and understanding but there are times when love must be tough, firm and unbending, especially when we are speaking the truth of God’s word.

Part of love is forgiveness. It allows God’s love to flow cleanly and clearly. It is the antidote to the bitterness, anger and resentment that come from our tendency to hurt each other. Paul’s warning to bless those who persecute us are an echo of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:44-“Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus says the same thing in Luke 6:28-“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Paul hints that to love others genuinely is to love as Jesus loved. 

Love is hard to show when we have been wronged. It’s only natural for us to seek revenge, but we must remember that God will ultimately punish those who have wronged us unless they repent and turn to him. For example, many of us want to curse those who have wronged us, and I don’t mean cursing as in casting spells or using black magic. Instead, we curse them with words

, including words that take God’s name in vain. We must remember that God does not have a last name that is spelled D-A-M-N. We must speak well of those who have wronged us. We must bless them, which is contrary to our human nature. We have to look beyond our hurt to see what good we can do for the offender. Our behaviour must be guided by a godly character and not by a worldly character that seeks revenge. We are to set aside our revenge so that God can use his own brand of revenge to bring the offender to repentance.

There are times when it is not practical or possible not to take revenge. When we are confronted by an evil that is extremely dangerous, we have no choice but to respond with vengeance. If we do not fight evil, we allow lawlessness, tyranny and oppression to gain a foothold. For example, what would have happened if Nazi Germany had not been fought and defeated? What would have happened if NATO had not intervened during the civil war in Yugoslavia? What will likely happen if democratic countries do not stand up and oppose Russian support of the rebels in Ukraine? The most extreme forms of evil must be fought decisively, but they must be fought with a spirit of love and concern for the victims of evil.

Paul does not condemn any actions we take to protect ourselves against physical attacks. For example, if someone breaks into our homes we are not to say, “Here, help yourselves!” We are to call the police, have the offender arrested and press charges. Paul’s aim is to teach us how we are to respond to verbal attacks, slander, lawsuits or dirty politics at work, school or other places.

So how can we respond to issues that make us angry such as oppression, injustice, deception, manipulation and violence? We can’t simply turn a blind eye. In fact, Paul says in Romans 12:9 that we are to hate evil. That means that we are to do everything within our power to fight evil, but at the same time we are not to repay evil for evil. We are to repay evil with good, as mentioned in Romans 12:21. This is easy to say but difficult to do in practice.

When we respond to evil, we must respect what is honourable in the sight of all men. We must be careful in both our proper conduct and appearances. For example, Billy Graham had a policy of not being alone behind closed doors with any woman other than his late wife Ruth.  It was one of many rules he and his associates followed for the sake of their reputations. There are also rules in my Diocese that govern how members of the clergy are to interact with other people.  The more visible our position, the more careful we must be.

How should we respond when we meet difficult people? Here are four methods that Jesus used:

1. Realize that we can’t please everyone.
2. Learn to say “no” to unrealistic expectations.
3. Never retaliate.
4. Pray for them

Paul’s comments on the issue of vengeance are a mission statement for God’s master plan of salvation. He will overcome the world’s evil with his goodness and grace. He will transform the world and bring it back under his righteousness. If we return evil with good, we show our faith in God by playing a role in his pan for the world. Sometimes we feel we are alone in this task. After all, it’s rare to find other believers coming to help us when we are attacked. It is at times like this when we must remember the question Paul asks in Romans 8:31-“If God is for us, who can be against us?” To paraphrase a popular saying, with friends like God, who needs enemies? We can withstand attacks when we have faith in Jesus. We are to overcome evil with good.

Paul’s letter to the Romans offers advice and direction on how we as Christians are to live our lives. Our old habits and rules don’t apply any more. Our new Christian life takes some getting used to because it goes against our human nature. It calls on us to tame our egos and show Christian love to others.  In our world where trying to get ahead of one another seems to be the rule, God asks us to consider a new reality: to love genuinely and reciprocally, to clutch that which is good and to compete to show the most integrity. When we show the characteristics of true love, we show our faith in God. We also set a good example for other people to follow. When we die, not only will we go to heaven, but those we leave behind will remember and cherish the great legacy we have left behind, and that is because it is the type of legacy that we will want to leave behind-a legacy of Christian love.

Bibliography

1. Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)
2. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
3. Pastor Rick Warren, “How Can We Love Difficult People?” Retrieved from www.newsletter.purposedriven.com
4. ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
5. Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
6. Pastor Rick Warren, “Your Friends Need You to Share in Their Pain” Retrieved from www.newsletter.purposedriven.com
7. Pastor Rick McDaniel, “Have Passion.” Retrieved from Oneplace@crosswalkmail.com
8. Kelly McFadden, “The Family of Believers.” Retrieved from www.homeword.com
9. Sheri Rose Shepherd, “His Presence Every Day-The Bait of Anger.” Retrieved from Biblegateway@e.biblegateway.com
10. Bayless Conley, “When Peace Isn’t Possible.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
11. David Zanstra, “Revenge is wrong.” Retrieved from www.thisistoday.net
12. Exegesis for Romans 12:9-21. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org
13. Elizabeth Shively, “Commentary on Romans 12:9-21.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org
14. Mark Reasoner, “Commentary on Romans 12:9-21.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org

There are few things that bring more happiness than the birth of a new baby. For weeks before the baby is born, the preparations are made. The parents make sure the baby will have everything it needs. They buy clothes, baby bottles, little blankets to keep the baby warm, soft, fuzzy pajamas for the baby to sleep in. After the baby is born, care is taken to make sure that the baby has everything it needs to grow into a strong and healthy child. Good parents will do everything they can to keep their baby safe.

The birth of a child is a miracle. It is the result of the uniting of male and female to create life. The birth of a child causes us to contemplate the mystery of it all and rejoice when its full impact hits us. There are special cases where the miracle is so profound that we know that God is involved. The case of the birth of Moses, which we read about in Exodus 1:8-2:10, is a good example. God worked through Moses’ mother and Pharaoh’s daughter to save Moses’ life so that He could work through Moses to save his people eighty years later.

The essence of the Christian faith is not certainty but trust, and we see that throughout this passage. There are three things that are certain in life-death, taxes and change. Change calls us to trust God. He is constant in His love and in His self-giving.

The Israelites were wise to remember this. A new Pharaoh came to power, and he did not know Joseph. He did not see the heirs of Joseph, whose shrewd policies saved Egypt in the midst of a terrible famine, and whose family came to live among the Egyptians in peace in the land of Goshen. He was afraid of the Hebrews, so he persecuted them. Three unsuccessful methods were used to limit the exploding population growth of the Hebrews:

1. Working the Hebrews to exhaustion.
2. Commanding the Hebrew midwives to commit infanticide.
3. Selective annihilation, with baby boys being cast into the River Nile while baby girls were spared.

Unfortunately for Pharaoh, he did not know that God was on the side of the Hebrews. The Hebrews had a purpose and destiny that could not be stopped. They were part of God’s larger, more important plan-a plan that was more important than Pharaoh’s. God will have the final word, in spite of Pharaoh’s belief that he is in control. God will bring down the powerful from their thrones and lift up the lowly. This text is resonant today in our congregations, our nations and our world. Issues of race and politics, religion and politics, gender and power, the war on terror, the inequities of our global economy, mission and hospitality to the stranger and all manner of suffering and bondage threaten us and our churches.

Speaking of God, where was  He? He isn’t mentioned in this story until Exodus 1:17, which speaks of the midwives’ fear of God. The story of the oppression of the Israelites was well underway. God’s first explicit action does not come until Exodus 1:20, and He remains in the background as abuse and oppression grow. It is through God’s providence that the Hebrews were fruitful and prolific, which was something God promised to Abraham and Sarah. This same source of blessing and promise of multiplication has become Pharaoh’s fear and the Hebrews’ oppression. The more God multiplies the Israelites, the more Pharaoh opposes them with abuse and death.

This passage is part of the larger story of the relationship between God and His people. The Hebrews will learn who God is, and they will learn that their identity is rooted in belonging to God. God will refer to them many times as “my people.” He will claim the,  hear their cries and deliver them. In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh will ask, “Who is God, that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh and the Israelites will need some convincing about who this God is and to whom the Israelites belong.

The Hebrew population multiplied during their long years of ease. Conflict and oppression took them out of their comfort zone. They were willing to risk a bold Exodus for freedom. Life’s sorrows and burdens give us a perspective that nothing else will. As long as we are happy and content, we will never move along in life. We need to be detached from everything we depend on and trust so that we can depend on God.

The snatching of victory from the jaws of unlikelihood is something God does regularly. He did it through Joseph. He did it through Moses so the Israelites could have a new life. He did it through Jesus so that we who were dead to sin could have a chance for a new life.

Shiprah and Puah-possibly leaders of the guild of midwives-refused to commit infanticide, fearing the real King more than their earthly ruler. These women were likely Egyptians who came to faith in Yahweh and were included in Israel. That is, Yahweh provided households for them.

When one Is faced with committing a great evil, it is permissible (even praiseworthy) to avoid it by committing a lesser evil, especially since some sins are worse than others. In this story, genocide is worse than lying. God sustained and blessed the Hebrew midwives in their commitment. He used them to do His work. They could depend on His power-a power that no one and nothing can defeat.

The word “ark” (in this case, a floating basket) alludes to Noah and, as in his day, served here as a vessel of divine deliverance. The basket was placed among the reeds by the bank of the Nile where the current was slight, so it would not wash out to sea. It was also placed where the women of the palace would see it when they came to dip in the waters of the Nile as part of their religious ritual.

The daughter of Pharaoh knew immediately that this child was a Hebrew because he was circumcised. Her adoption of Moses as her son, along with the selection of Moses’ own mother as his wet nurse, are two ways that God preserved the infant. The word “Moses” in Egyptian most likely means “born”,” but the Hebrew equivalent means “to be drawn out.” God would later use Moses to draw His people “from the water.”

Moses was saved by an individual act of kindness. Today, we must go beyond kindness to create compassionate institutions and compassionate communities. We must do everything we can to ensure the safety and flourishing of people who are at risk.

The key to getting through tough times is to trust God. We can’t just want to trust Him. Trust takes time, and that includes time with Him. Until we are ready to trust, obey and follow Him, we are not ready to be used by God, no matter how good our credentials or our intentions are.

Moses’ early life was part of the preparation for the work God had for his life. God has tasks for each of us to accomplish, and for these tasks we do not have to rely on our own strength and abilities. God has arranged things and handled all of the details so that we will be ready when He calls. Our responsibility is to trust Him rather than our own strength. We can always trust His wisdom and love to both know and do what is best.

This story may have taken place 3,500 years ago, but it’s familiar. All we have to do is look at the carnage that lies in fear’s wake. Fear brings down buildings, causes wars, and dominates legislative processes. One word about employment statistics or credit ratings sends investors fleeing and economies reeling. Fear also dominates our daily lives. How much of our energy goes into protecting, insuring and risk-managing? How often does fear dictate our parenting, our time-management, and even our churches, especially in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic? We would be well-advised to heed the words of Franklin Roosevelt when he said during the Great Depression that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself!”

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New Kings James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 76-77)
2. Dunnam, M.D. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 2: Exodus (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1987, pp. 28-42)
3. T.M. Moore, “Which Sins Are Worse?” Retrieved from noreply@ailbe.org
4. T.M. Moore, “Where is God?” Retrieved from noreply@ailbe.org
5. Dr. Ed Young, “Good Intentions.” retrieved from ministry@winningwalk.org
6. Dr. Paul Chappell, “God Has Already Made the Arrangements.” Retrieved from daily@dailyintheword.org
7. Thea Lunk, “Floating Moses.” Retrieved from today@thisistoday.net
8. “Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Unlikelihood.” Retrieved from http://churchintheworld.com
9. John Holbert, “Pharaoh Goes Bonkers, or the Stupidity of a Tyrant: Reflections on Exodus 1:8-2:10.” Retrieved from www.patheos.com/progressive-christian/pharaoh-goes-bonkers-john-holbert-08-18-2014.html
10. Amy Merrill Willis, “Commentary on Exodus 1:8-2:10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=972
11. Rick Morley, “Fear Versus Compassion.” Retrieved from www.rickmorley.com/archives/721?utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=fear-versus-compassion-genesis-18-210
12. Dennis Olson, “Commentary on Exodus 1:8-2:10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=131
13. Cameron R.B. Howard, “Commentary on Exodus 1:8-2:10.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2169

The events in the Gospel reading from Matthew 16:13-20 took place in the region of Caesarea Philippi. It was a territory where pagan gods were worshipped, and it is there that Jesus asks Peter a question about his identity, not in some safe territory, but in a non-believing location. Perhaps that is why Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah, but I think the real reason is because Jesus had a special sense of timing about his ministry. He did not think it was time to reveal his true identity to the world. He was well aware that his claim was volatile in nature, and it was the claim that ultimately led to his crucifixion.

We as believers today have to answer the same question Jesus asked the disciples- “Who do YOU say I am?” We also have to answer it in a similar location-a world which is often hostile to Christianity. We can’t just coast on our faith, for it is not merely something handed down to us from our parents which we automatically carry with us for the rest of our lives. Our answer will not be made in words or church doctrine. It will be made by how we live and die. Peter’s faith gave him strength to follow Christ all the way to dying like Christ. In fact, the story is that Peter was also crucified, but he was crucified upside-down because he did not feel worthy enough to die in the same way Jesus did. Peter imitated Christ in his daily dying to himself and living for Christ. It is on faith and example like Peter’s that Christ has built the church. 

Peter expressed the full belief he and his fellow disciples had that Jesus was the long-expected Messiah. This contradicts the view that others had of him at that time, and the view some people have of him today; namely, that Jesus was the reincarnation of Elijah or John the Baptist, or that he was a prophet or a good person. Peter did not know the theological implications of his words, and we might not know them either, but we can still make a commitment to know him and follow him until we do understand them. Jesus will teach us about what they mean.

God was the one who put those words into Peter’s mind and mouth. God’s actions were a product of Peter’s faith and reflection. The revelation that opened Peter’s eyes to see and his tongue to proclaim Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” is our gift as well as we run into the gates of hell. We can see the inscription over these gates: cynicism in dealing with others; despair as we face the issues of violence, war and terrorism; greed that puts ourselves first on the list; indifference to the pain of others; cowardice when our faith is challenged; conformity when prophetic witness is called for; and lukewarm religious practice that has stalled through neglect and other reasons.

Peter took a leap of faith when he answered Jesus’ question, and we also have to take a big leap of faith when we answer the same question today. Peter reminds us that even when we want to do our best and when we are sure we can handle things, we are prone to our own human weaknesses. If we are to call ourselves Christians, then we will accept Christ crucified and rose from the dead not only two thousand years ago, but crucified and rises inside our own lives as well. If we do, we will be dead to our own sinful lives and alive in Christ. Then and only then are we dealing with the real Jesus. The only way we can come to confess Jesus as the Son of God is by the road of faith.

What does the word “church” mean to us? It means the body of people and the congregation, and not buildings or properties. For example, Christians thrived in the first and second century, under persecution, when they met secretly in small, informal home settings. The same situation still exists in many countries today, especially because of persecution. Denominations were formed when groups of people formed. The church is not ours to build as we like. It is God’s church, and we as humans have to build it the way he wants us to build it. That means making difficult decisions. As the rock of the church, Peter and the disciples had to make decisions that would not please people, just like Jesus had to make decisions that did not please people. Church leaders today still have to make decisions that do not please everyone.

Peter became the rock of the church and just like Jesus was his rock, Jesus is also the rock on which we can build our faith. Living rocks are the building material of Jesus’ church. Peter himself called Christians living stones who serve as building material for a spiritual house and priesthood. All the living stones are fitted into place around a living cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

Just like Jesus overcame his foes, we as the church will be triumphant over our enemies. God wants to give us the keys to his kingdom to help us spread the Good News of his love and forgiveness and to help us to fulfill the Great Commission. The problem is that we often do not know how to unlock the doors. The master key will open these doors, and it is the same key Peter used-namely, our confession. If we confess God’s Word in our lives, we will open kingdom doors and release God’s power in everyday situations. The other keys are faith, love, obedience, prayer and witnessing.

The keys Jesus promises Peter are meant to unlock the world’s longing for celebration and liberation. They were never intended to keep undesirables out or to rid God’s realm of the unworthy. If that was the case, Jesus would never have promised them to someone like Peter, and they would never have landed in pockets like ours. It’s like the loving parent who hands over the keys of the family car to someone he or she loves dearly and whom he or she knows has not always fared well in training and has yet to be tested by the hurdles of real life. Knowing this, Jesus still promises Peter and us the keys and says, “Use them wisely”.

Peter and the church will open the door of faith to the world, and it is our duty as Christians to keep that door wide open to the entire world. We have the keys to open the doors and windows of the church to the world, but we have to figure out what to do with them, what doors to open and what windows to unlock. We must make sure that they are open to everyone, not just people like us.

Jesus calls on us today to answer the question, “Who do you say that I am?” He is not interested in dispassionate, hypothetical views regarding his life and work. Instead, he wants to know what his followers and disciples think of him today. He demands a decision-accept him or reject him. He demands a clear answer that does not have to be certain. Jesus is outside the dogmas of neat religious minds. He is free, and we are truly free only when we allow Jesus to be free. Cage Jesus and we imprison ourselves. Categorize Jesus and we find ourselves in another pigeonhole, another religious clone. Maybe the image in our churches should not be an immoveable Jesus on a statue or a cross or a stained-glass window.  The best image for the church should be the empty tomb with the inscription, “Christ is not here. Christ has gone before you”.

The only way we can adequately answer this question is to study the record of his life as it is found in the four gospels. Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He made astounding claims concerning himself-claims that he backed up with deeds because he IS the Son of God. He had supernatural powers to perform miracles because he IS the Son of God. He rose from the dead and transformed lives because he IS the Son of God. Jesus asked the disciples who the people say the Son of God is in order to give us a hint of his concern for the whole world-a concern that he will make explicit in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

Jesus is the Son of God-a member of the Trinity. The role of Jesus in the Trinity is to show us what God is like. The primary word of God is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We are to imitate Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in our own lives by dying to ourselves and our old, sinful ways of life and rising to a new Christian life in Jesus. He is the Saviour of the world. He is our High Priest. If we do not accept this reality, if we do not act on our belief and commitment to follow him in our everyday life, we are automatically against him.

If we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, he will call us to serve. We might have to serve dangerously. We might have to serve uncomfortably. We might have to serve quietly. If we obey his call, our lives will be a blessing to many, and we will contribute to the building of God’s kingdom, and we will have a special place in God’s kingdom both now and for eternity.

There are challenges and conflicts in our lives today that do not reflect the Holy God in whom we believe. They are placed in our lives as tests to examine what we will declare about Jesus. Can we say that despite the hardships, conflicts, struggles and stresses in our lives, Jesus is our Christ, the son of the living God? Does Jesus impact our lives daily, making a difference in the way we think and feel and what we say? If our faith is wavering in belief, all we have to do is ask God to reveal to us who Jesus is, just as he did with Peter. People and circumstances will change with seasons and times of life, but when all is said and done, we want our faith and convictions to be as solid as rocks so that the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.

Is Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour of our lives? Can we also say, “You are the Christ…?” Only you can say, one way or the other, but make no mistake-professing our faith is of utmost importance. If we can, are we willing to make the life-changing investment Jesus requires of us as disciples? If we say “You are the Christ…” we as individual members of the church are saying to him, “I believe you are here with us today, in this congregation, calling us to be a loving and just people. I believe the poor have a priority in your plans and I will do my best to serve them in your name. I believe you are offering me freedom and a truer self, so that I can turn from false, worldly securities and look to you for my true identity as a child of God, and an important part of God’s people. I believe that as you were anointed by God to do God’s will, through my baptism, so am I—called to be a sign of God’s kingdom on earth where all are brothers and sisters.”

Answering this question is the sign of mature faith. We can’t let others answer for us, nor can we let others’ answers stand as our own answers. We have to decide, we have to say it and claim it and live who Jesus is. Like Peter, we are followers of Jesus. Like Peter, we sometimes have deep faith, and, at other times, a lack of faith. Jesus saw in Peter the same thing he sees in us-building material that can be shaped into a people of faith to serve his reign.

Bibliography

1. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Matthew 16:13-20. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
2. Matthew Henry Concise Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
3. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
4. Phil Ware, Heartlight Daily Verse, Matthew 16:15-16. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
5. Notes from Peter Anthony’s Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew.
6. Dr. Ray Pritchard, “Who is Jesus Christ?” Retrieved from www.keepbelieving.com
7. Exegesis for Matthew 16:13-20. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
8. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions, 1^st Sunday (A)”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
9. The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, “Can You Keep a Secret?” Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
10. Dr. Mickey Anders, “What and Where?” Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
11. The Rev. Amy Butler, “Remembering What We Believe”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
12. Dr. Philip W. McLarty, “The Unspoken Question”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
13. T.M. Moore, “Whose Church? Whose Vision?” Retrieved from www.colsoncenter.org
14. J.M. Njoroge, “The Recalcitrant Jesus”. Retrieved from www.rzim.org
15. Dr. Charles F. Stanley, “The Name of Jesus”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
16. Dr. Charles F. Stanley, “Jesus: To Believe or Not to Believe”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
17. Dr. Bill Bright, “Don’t Forget Your Keys”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
18. Richard Inness “Is Jesus the Son of God, Part III”. Retrieved from www.actsweb.org
19. The Very Rev. Dr. Ian Markham, “How Do We Know What God is like?” Retrieved from www.day1.org
20. The Rev. Dr. Gary Charles, “Keys”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
21. The Rev. Luis Leon, “Sermon for the 13^th Sunday after Pentecost”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
22. Carey KInsolving, “Is Peter the Rock upon Which the Church is Built?” Retrieved from www.arcamax.com/religionandspirituality/kidstalkaboutgod/s-928200?print
23. John Shearman’s Lectionary Resource, Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Aug. 21, 2011. Retrieved from http://lectionary.seemslikegod.org/archives/tenth-sunday-after-pentecost-august-21-2011

How do you think of yourselves? There are two options. We can allow our lives, values, attitudes convictions and relationships to be influenced by the world, or we can be remodeled, transformed, reshaped and redesigned from the inside out by the Holy Spirit.

How can we know God’s will for our lives? If we are not careful, we can mistake God’s will for something else, and we will be intimidated by fear. Well, fear not, because the will of God is realized by the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. To find God’s will in our lives, we don’t have to be supernatural. All we have to do is know how God speaks to us and how we hear him. It’s about learning how to spot his will when we see it and then choosing to follow it.

What is God’s will like? God’s will is good. That means that God has the highest and best goals in mind for us. God’s will is also acceptable, which means that it is well-pleasing and agreeable. God’s will is also perfect, which means it meets the needs of the person.

So how can we know we are in the will of God? There are four steps:

1. Be sure we are already in the habit of obeying God.
2. Decide to always glorify God spiritually and physically.
3. Read and study the Bible constantly.
4. Associate with fellow believers in a church where we can receive faithful teaching based on God’s Word.

There is a note of authority in the words we read from the apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-8. He reminds all Christians that we must be careful in how we evaluate our own lives. This evaluation must come from a mind that has been transformed by faith in Christ, and not by a mind that has been influenced by the world. This evaluation must be based on the gifts God has given us and how we use them.  We need to have a godly sense of self-worth. It provides a safe, stable middle ground while being at the heart of a peaceful life.

Paul uses the analogy of the human body to describe the unity all Christians have in Christ. We are the eyes, ears, head, hands, legs and feet of Christ. All Christians are part of one body of Christ, all of whom have vital parts that work together. Each part is different, but the parts need each other. Christians have individual gifts, and these gifts are really a gift of God’s grace. They are like parts of a human body. When one part of a body disappears, we look for it. Do we look for a member of the body of Christ when that member disappears?

If we truly understand the price of our salvation, we will want to give back to God out of gratitude and thanksgiving. When we truly understand God’s mercy, we will want to worship him with every ounce of our being. God’s love and sacrifice for us will motivate us to love and to sacrifice ourselves in return. That sacrifice involves using the gifts he has given us to do his work in our world. If we want to be the people God wants us to be, we will do what God wants us to do.

Once we are consecrated to God, we must not allow ourselves to be conformed to the world and its sinful nature. We must be guided by the Holy Spirit. This guidance involves two aspects. First, as committed followers of Jesus all of our actions must be in harmony with the will of God as spelled out in the word of God. If we meditate on God’s word daily, it will shape our thoughts and help us to be more Christ-like. Then we will act in a way that pleases God. Second, we need to know what our gifts are and how we can use them to serve God. We have to get the best training we can to sharpen these gifts and use them to serve others. We serve God by serving others.

No one can even begin to imitate Christ’s ministry on his own, because his abilities and ministries were so varied. When we come together as one body we can collectively demonstrate the many and varied forms of ministry that he wants to perform through our united effort. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the correct portion so that we can fulfill our individual roles within the entire body of Christ.

We have to consider our roles within the body of Christ because each of our roles is different. Each role is represented by the individual gifts believers have. One of the spiritual gifts is the gift of prophecy. Old Testament prophets along with some of the New Testament prophets, had the gift of addressing the future. Modern prophets don’t have this gift. Instead, they are teachers and proclaimers of God’s truth. My own ministry is a good example. When I preach, I teach and proclaim God’s truth.

Another gift is the ability to exhort or encourage those who are hurting, weak or discouraged. People with these gifts give them sacrificially. The church also needs the gift of leadership. In particular, the church needs the gift of leadership that has a sense of what the church needs to do. People naturally follow leaders who have that gift.

The most important gift is the gift of mercy. It is the spirit-given ability to extend love and compassion to those who are suffering. It also involves reaching out to the outcasts of society and other people who are ignored by society.

Regardless of the gift we have been given, we must not be full of pride, but at the same time we must understand how much each and every one of us is valued by God. Satan can use discouragement to keep us from using our gifts for God’s work. On the other hand, pride causes us to attribute our contribution to God’s Kingdom to ourselves and not to God.

Paul encourages all believers to consecrate themselves to a Christ-like way of life. This doesn’t happen automatically when we come to Christ. Our consecrated bodies are to be sacrificed to God constantly, undefiled and pleasing to God and his character. We live for Christ because we are grateful for what God has done for us. Transformation is a positive view of the place where God’s redemption unfolds. This transformation occurs because of God’s grace, and therefore we are to give ourselves entirely to God. This is what Paul means when he tells us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.

The world was originally clean, but it became corrupted by sin, and when Christ returns the world will be transformed and cleansed. We are part of the sinful world even though we have been transformed by God’s grace. We learn to see the world through the Scriptures and respond to the world as the Scriptures tell us. Our minds become more and more like God’s mind and accomplish God’s will.

In ancient times, salt was used to preserve and add flavour to food. When Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:13 that they were the salt of the earth, He meant that they could stop the moral decay of society and impact generations for Christ as they ministered his truth to the world. We are to be reflections of Christ on earth. This will mean that we will be different from the world, but our mission is to change the world for the better.  We can’t change the world until we change ourselves. We must not become arrogant by thinking too highly of ourselves. We are to be servants in the world, not its doormats. We are to have a balanced view of ourselves. We are to see ourselves as God sees us and not in comparison to others. All of us are the same in the eyes of God. He chose all believers and the choice is made on the basis of grace.

Transformation causes us to believe God’s truth instead of listening to our feelings. It will take time, but eventually God’s truth will become part of us. When it does, our relationship with God will be stronger and the way we think about ourselves will change. All of this can only happen when we feed on God’s word.

Doing God’s will with certain conditions is not obedience. Obeying and following God’s will means surrendering everything in our lives to God. If we are not surrendering everything to God, we are not obeying God. Our different gifts must be offered humbly to the body of Christ. Only within the body of Christ can our thoughts, desires and behaviour be renewed and changed.

Paul uses God’s mercy to appeal to us as Christians. God’s mercy is the key part of a Christian’s commitment to God. In return, we are to show mercy to others. Christian life is marked by transformation and growth in discernment and understanding.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing, 2013)
2. Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)
3. ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
4. Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982)
5. MacArthur, J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2006)
6. Steve Arterburn, “The Struggle against Worldliness.” Retrieved from www.newlife.com
7. Richard Innes, “Being vs doing.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org
8. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “God’s Success Formula.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org
9. Pastor Bobby Schuller, “Willing to be Weird.” Retrieved from www.hourofpower.org
10. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “The Importance of Salt.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org
11. Michael Youssef, Ph.D., “Opportunities to Serve.” Retrieved from www.leadingtheway.org
12. James A. Harnish, “Squeezed or Transformed?” Retrieved from www.preaching.com
13. Richard Innes, “Square Watermelons.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org
14. Richard Innes, “Discerning the Will of God for Your Life.” Retrieved from www.actsweb.org
15. Dr. Charles Stanley, “Peace with Ourselves.” In Touch Magazine, September 2014, P. 51 (Atlanta, GA: In Touch Ministries Inc.)
16. Exegesis for Romans 12:1-8. Retrieved from www.lectionary.org
17. The Rev. Dr. Charles Reeb, “I Wonder about God’s Will for My Life.” Retrieved from www.day1.org
18.  

Have you ever wondered how you can share the Good News with the people you meet? If so, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 is a good teaching manual. Philip was leading a revival in Samaria that was leading multitudes of people to Christ. God called Philip from evangelizing the crowds to evangelizing to one person, but that one person-the eunuch-led to the spread of Christianity to the African continent. Philip must have wondered why God would take him out of a revival and place him in a desert, but he trusted God.

Evangelism is like that.  Evangelism is a team effort that involves each and every member of the body of Christ, but it eventually comes down to a one on one encounter between a follower of Jesus and a person who is following his or her own way. We do not have to be a Billy Graham, or a Franklin Graham or a Will Graham and lead crusades in major cities and large stadiums throughout the world. We can do the same thing in our own communities with the people we meet every day.

We don’t know anything about the eunuch’s spiritual background other than the fact that he travelled 1,200 miles to Jerusalem. Jewish law would have excluded the eunuch from the temple. This is an example of the Gospel spreading to the Gentiles. The passage the eunuch read was the passage from Isaiah about the suffering servant. There is no better passage with which to introduce someone to Jesus.

The eunuch’s baptism confirms that baptism is for those who profess faith in Jesus. Immersion equals death to sin, coming up out of the water equals rising to a new life in Christ. The eunuch’s joy represents a new spiritual state.

Philip had to overcome a lot of barriers to get to the eunuch’s chariot, but the barriers did not matter to Philip. Barriers should not matter to us either. We must be willing to go, sit and spend time with people who want to get to know God. Differences in race, colour, creed or culture must not be barriers to our mission. We need to pour out our lives for their sake.

The only way to reach people for Christ is to preach Christ crucified, dead, buried and risen again. Clever stories or preaching methods or living our lives in front of lost people won’t do the job. We are called to make disciples. It requires our willingness to become a mentor for new believers. We have to take the goodness God has poured into our lives and pour that goodness into the lives of the lost.

This story is fast-paced and full of action. These might not be the first words we think of when we think of the word “church”, but the intention of the Book of Acts is to show us that the Spirit is alive and we are too. If we are alive in Christ, we will obey when the Spirit says to us, “Get up and go.” We must be prepared to seize each and every opportunity to proclaim the Good News, like I am when I’m given an opportunity to preach. If we are to discover God’s guidance for our lives, we have to be receptive to the Spirit, even if it does not fit into our plans, goals, prejudices, etc. Philip is a good example. He wanted to continue the revival in Samaria, but the Holy Spirit had other plans.

There are two issues in this reading-obedience and preaching the Good News. As I mentioned earlier, the eunuch spread Christianity to Africa. In the case of Philip, he obeyed God’s call to meet with the eunuch at that particular time and in that particular place. The eternal life of someone who would play a key role in the worldwide expansion of Christianity was at stake.

All believers have direct access to God through faith and the Holy Spirit. All believers are able to understand the teachings of the Scriptures and gain the benefit God intends-namely, the ability to share the Gospel with others. Sometimes we wonder about the people and situations God has guided us to. That’s only natural, because we can’t see “the big picture” that God sees. Sometimes the people and situations are difficult for us, but they often lead to blessings. God uses anything he can to convince us to follow his directions. The key for us is to be prepared to follow him, and that preparation includes openness, prayer, Bible study and surrendering to God’s will. If we are prepared we will be ready when opportunities arise. For example, I was a lay minister for several years before I felt the call to preach. God used that time to prepare me through working with other team members and learning from them. As a result, I have had the opportunity to preach over 400 times in different locations.

If we, like Moses, don’t know what to say, that’s okay because the Holy Spirit will tailor our message to the needs of the people we speak to. It’s like advertisers who tailor the message of their products to a particular audience. For example, you rarely see ads for fishing gear in fashion magazines!

We need to consider the needs, background and experience of our audience when we are called to share our faith. When we find out about our audience, our natural desire to help takes over. When that desire kicks in, we have to start where our audience is in relationship to Christ, and not where they should be. When we are nearing the end of our witnessing, we have to wait for signs of readiness and response. If that readiness indicates belief in the resurrection, the audience is ready to begin their new life in Christ.  All of this is only possible if we are willing to talk about Jesus and if we are willing to go anywhere to share the Good News, just like I am prepared to go anywhere God wants me to go and preach. If we let God direct us where he wants us to go, he will give us the courage and the words. All we have to do is to step out in faith.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2. Tony Robinson, “Get Up and Go.” Retrieved from dailydevotional@ucc.org
3. James MacDonald, “Seize the opportunity.” Retrieved from Christianity.com@crosswalkmail.com
4. T.M. Moore, “Read with the Saints.” Retrieved from wwww.colsoncenter.org
5. Lysa Terkeurst, “Might We Dare to be a Little More Common?” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
6. ESV Study Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
7. Ogilvie, L.J. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 28: Acts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983)
8. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2005)

Have you ever been to a family reunion? A reunion is a wonderful time seeing aunts, uncles, and cousins that you haven’t seen fora long time. If you haven’t seen them in a long time, it may be hard to recognize some of them. There is something else you should know about family reunions. There is plenty to eat and lots of hugs and kisses at a family reunion.

Today’s Bible lesson is somewhat like a family reunion. It is a continuation of the story of Joseph and his brothers. I’m sure you remember the story about how Joseph’s brothers beat him up, threw him in a pit, and sold him to some merchants who were on their way to Egypt.

When Joseph arrived in Egypt, a lot of things happened to him – some good — and some not so good. For example:

•Joseph worked in the house of Potiphar and was placed over all of Potiphar’s wealth.

•Potiphar’s wife told some terrible lies about Joseph to her husband.

•Because of his wife’s lies, Potiphar had Joseph thrown into jail.

•The head jailer took a liking to Joseph and placed him in charge of the other prisoners.

•Joseph used his God-given gift to interpret the dreams of the other prisoners.

•Joseph was stuck in jail for more than two years.

•Pharaoh heard that Joseph had the ability to understand dreams.

•Pharaoh released Joseph from jail to explain his dreams.

•Pharaoh believed what Joseph told him and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt.

Now, let’s see what happens next.

Just as Joseph had told Pharaoh, the dream he was having meant that there would be seven years when the harvest would be great and there would be plenty of food. Then there would be seven years when there would be nothing. God was telling Pharaoh to set aside grain during the good years so that there would be plenty of food during the bad years. That is exactly what Pharaoh did. When the bad years came, there was plenty of grain in Egypt, but all the countries around them were starving.

People came from all the surrounding countries to buy grain from Joseph, because the whole world was in need of food. Some of those people were Joseph’s very own brothers. When his brothers came, Joseph recognized them, but they did not know who he was. After all, it had been many years since they had seen him, and they probably didn’t expect to see him in such a position of power.

Joseph met with his brothers several times without telling them who he was. Finally, he could keep it to himself no longer. He told his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father alive?” But his brothers were speechless because they were afraid. But Joseph said, “Come closer. I am your brother, the one you sold! Don’t worry, and don’t be angry at yourselves for selling me into slavery. You see, it wasn’t you who sent me here. God has put me here to save people from starving.”

“Now, go and tell my father all about the high position I hold in Egypt, tell him everything you’ve seen here, but don’t take all day—hurry up and get my father down here.”

Silence followed the words, “I am Joseph.” Previously, Joseph only spoke in Egyptian through an interpreter, but now he spoke in Hebrew to his brothers. The object of their hatred and the evidence of their sin stood before them, and they were dismayed and terrified in his presence. Joseph’s statement that “God sent me before you…to save your lives” showed his ability to see God at work, turning the tragedies of life into triumphs.

Bad people can serve God’s purposes and unknowingly execute His plans. What Joseph’s brothers did is a good example. His story could be our story. Only when we get to heaven will we understand the role we played in God’s plan.

For years Joseph’s brothers assumed they had escaped all accountability for their behaviour. Now their fate was in Joseph’s hands. It was for their own good that they had to face what they did, but they were in for a big surprise. Instead of being punished, they were welcomed and blessed. They were at the mercy of Joseph, and he showed them mercy.

The brothers changed over the years. The hatred they had for their father’s favoured son was gone. They didn’t hate Benjamin for the special place he held in their father’s heart. They bore the guilt of what they did to Joseph. They saw their current situation as punishment for what they did to Joseph. It is this change of heart and the compassion they showed for their father that moved Joseph to reveal himself to them

Joseph refused to blame his brothers for what happened to him. Instead, he wanted them to see that God sent him to Egypt and that God had done so in order that many people might be blessed. Joseph was referring to the famine, but he could have been referring to God’s eventual plan to save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Joseph’s brothers were invited to see how an understanding of God can deal with bitterness and put sweetness in its place.

God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 12 were fulfilled in Abraham’s descendants. Jacob’s family came to Egypt, and they were the great beginning of the great nation promised to Abraham. In Joseph, we see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God made everything Joseph did prosper, even in slavery and in prison. When Joseph became second-in-command in Egypt, God used him to save the world. 

Joseph chose not to live in his past. Instead, he chose to live in a new future. All of us are products of our past and our family origins, and they exert powerful influences on our lives. Some of us have good pasts, but most of us don’t. Joseph’s story may be a way out of the generation to generation of family disfunction. 

Joseph was able to look upon the hardest days of his life and see the hand of God working for himself and all of God’s people. Joseph was able to look upon his awful experiences and see them as God moving to save His people and all the people of that corner of the world from famine. When he received God’s grace, Joseph could see that God had worked in all of his circumstances. Joseph was able to look beyond his brothers’ actions to see the larger picture. All the years of toil and trouble came to the point where grace and love could be extended and heal the wounds of the past.

Joseph showed wisdom and self-control, which are not natural traits. They have to be developed by a person and in a person. Wisdom is given by God and self-control is the last attribute listed in the fruits of the Spirit. It is through life experiences that we gain wisdom and it is through intense trials that we learn self-control, but experience and trials do not necessarily mean that people become wise and self-controlled. God wants to develop these traits in all of us. When God can trust us, He entrusts us with greater gifts and callings.

Joseph learned this lesson the hard way. People with wisdom and self-control bless God and others as well as themselves. God gave us an example of a man who endured years of trials and abuse but overcame the circumstances to be entrusted with governing Egypt. God does not promise to take away our pain and discomfort. He does promise to make great things happen, but they won’t come easily.

Joseph prefigured Christ in many ways, but the most important way was that Joseph forgave those who hurt him just like Christ forgave those who hurt Him. Both Joseph and Christ set a good example for us to follow. It’s a hard example for us to follow because love is daring and intimidating. It’s natural for us to want to seek revenge on those who hurt us, but that isn’t what God wants us to do. His grace doesn’t return hatred with hatred. His grace returns love to those who hate.

Most touching is Joseph’s reunion with his younger brother Benjamin. Joseph kissed all his brothers to demonstrate forgiveness: Reuben, unstable as water; Simeon and Levi, who brought trouble; and Judah, who saved Joseph’s life by suggesting that he be sold. Reconciliation brings peace, protection, provision, and proximity. Joseph forgave his brothers because God called him to forgive. Similarly, God calls us to have forgiving spirits.

This story teaches two important lessons. First, God is in control and He will prevail with or without our cooperation. God doesn’t ask us to sit back and wait for Him to lead us to success. He asks us to trust Him, obey Him and learn the lessons He is trying to teach us. Second, when we meet God our hearts will be so full of His love that love will easily flow from our hearts.

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New Kings James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; pp. 63)
2. “A Family Reunion.” Retrieved from info@keysforkids.org
3. Briscoe, D.S. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 1: (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1987; pp. 349-354)
4. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
5. F.B. Meyer, “Our Daily Homily.” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
6. Joni Eareckson Tada, “God Meant It for Good.” Retrieved from communic@joniandfriends.org
7. Alan Wright, “Love Like You’ve Never been Hurt (Part 2).” retrieved from www.sharingthelight.org
8. “Wisdom with Self-Control.” Retrieved from info@dailydisciples.org
9. Rick Morley, “When God Sends You.” Retrieved from www.rickmorley.com/archives/693
10. Kathryn M. Schifferdecker, “Commentary on Genesis 45:1-15.” Retrieved from www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=121

There is a story of a group of the very pious who are waiting in heaven for judgment. As they are waiting and complaining about the wait, they begin to see some of the “sinners” they knew on earth coming into the waiting room: a corrupt politician, an itinerant woman who had been convicted of shoplifting many times, a prostitute, a drug addict, a criminal, etc.

With each of these arrivals, the feeling of hostility increased in the first group. They glare at the others. They talk among themselves. Within a short time, words were spoken to those others, “What makes you think you’re going to get in with the evil, sinful lives you lived on earth?”

“We are relying on the mercy and grace of God. What makes you so sure you’re going to get in?”

“Our good lives, of course.” They turned their backs to the others.

Time began to drag on for the first group. They began to complain to one another. “If those other people get in, there’s no justice. After all the sacrifices we’ve made. It’s not fair.”

The Lord arrived. He turned toward the first group, “I understand you’ve been wondering why there has been no judgment.”

“Yes!” they cried out. “We want a judgment. We want justice.”

The Lord replied, “The judgment has already taken place. You’ve judged yourselves. By judging these, the least of my brothers and sisters, you have judged yourselves. In rejecting them, you have rejected me. You have shown yourselves unworthy of the Kingdom of God”.

The issue in Matthew 15:10-28 is true holiness. Specifically, what constitutes true holiness? Is it strict observance of the law or rituals, as the Pharisees or some church-goers think? After all, the Pharisees were so concerned about obeying God’s law that they wrote countless rules to cover every conceivable situation. It makes me wonder if some government bureaucrats are descended from the Pharisees!

Or perhaps true holiness comes from the heart instead, as Jesus argues. He is right when he says that evil thoughts and deeds come from the heart. One only has to read the comments made by the man behind the terrorist attacks in Norway a few years ago to see that this is true. On the other hand, we only have to look at people such as Mother Theresa or Desmond Tutu, or organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse and our local food banks to see that good thoughts and deeds also come from the hearts of people, especially people who are willing to work for social justice.

Jesus continually pointed out the conditions of the Pharisees’ hearts. They held on to outward religious practices, but God wanted their hearts, which were hardened and cold. He wants the same thing from us today. Often times our hearts are hardened because of the world we live in and Jesus warns us of what will happen if we do not soften our hardened hearts. In Matthew 12:33-37, Jesus states:

The good man brings good things out of the good stored in him, and the evil man brings evil out of the evil stored in him. But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.

Purity also affects the issue of just who can be admitted to God’s kingdom, as we can see from the discussion Jesus has with the Canaanite woman. His reaction to her request shocks us, but it should not surprise us when we consider the culture of Jesus’ time-a culture that treated women and children as second-class citizens. For example, Jews also thought that Gentiles were “dogs”.

In Jesus’ time, people did keep dogs as pets, but dogs were mainly scavengers who ate garbage and the carcasses of dead animals. Dogs that were pets were often fed food scraps from their owner’s table, as they sometimes do now-hence the Canaanite woman’s reference to dogs eating the crumbs from the master’s table. The Canaanites were also considered to be dogs in the eyes of the Jews because they were descended from Noah’s son Ham. He was the son who saw his father naked and passed out from being under the influence of alcohol. Instead of doing the sensible thing by covering Noah and keeping his mouth shut, Ham went and told people what he saw. Now there’s a good example of someone having an unclean heart!

In contrast, the Canaanite woman had a pure heart. She was motivated by concern for her daughter and she knew that Jesus could heal her. While Jesus did open the door of God’s kingdom to the Gentiles in his Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, his priority at this time was the Israelites. Jesus represented God’s faithfulness to the covenant he made to the Jews in the Old Testament.

The reference to dogs eating the crumbs from their master’s table is a metaphor for the way in which the early Gentiles heard Jesus’ message. Although Jesus’ ministry was aimed at the Jews, some Gentiles did hear his messages and believed. These Gentiles were the “dogs” who ate the crumbs from Jesus’ table. In the eyes of God, we are all dogs, and we are all dependent on free scraps from God’s Table.

The Canaanite woman and the woman in the parable of the widow and the unjust judge prove that persistence pays off. Both of them refused to give up until they got what they wanted, and in both cases they showed true faith. God will grant our requests in his own time and in his own way if it falls within his plan for our lives, especially if our requests show true faith and holiness that comes from the heart.

Matthew’s Gospel was written for a Jewish Christian audience, but by the time it was written, the church had long since begun opening its doors to the Gentiles. The Gospel reflects the tension between the Jewish community, where the church had its roots, and the Gentiles who were being admitted to the church’s membership. Jesus unites what divides us. In him our many causes of exclusion become opportunities for embrace. Jesus, himself a man on the margins of society, brings the outsider inside.

A similar tension exists within some churches today, especially when they deal with issues such as the blessing of same-sex marriages. God breaks through such tensions. God is much bigger and more inclusive than any religious box people might use to contain God. When we turn to Jesus like the Canaanite woman did, and we receive a favourable response like she did, we learn to reflect on our shared religious customs and life together.

The story also reminds us that we too have come to Jesus through the Jews. We share the same faith; we see the hope this faith gave our ancestors in their wait for salvation. We are reminded that we have no claim to priority with Jesus. We are all equal in the eyes of God. We are recipients of grace-all has been freely bestowed on us. What we see is the God Jesus reveals to the woman; a God who would draw us close, sees our distress and helps us.

Those whom Christ wants to honour must be humbled to feel their unworthiness. The Canaanite woman turned this into an argument to support her request. God’s original plan was to bring salvation first to the Israelites and then to the Gentiles, but he responds to all who call on him in true faith and humility.  For example, one night several years ago my mother had to be rushed by ambulance to the local hospital because of a medical emergency. I followed the ambulance in my own car. The doctor on call diagnosed the problem as a heart attack. After he spoke to the two of us, I went home, knowing that there was nothing more I could do for her at that time. After I called the rest of the family, I got ready for bed. Before I went to sleep, I had a serious talk with the Lord. I don’t remember the exact words I used, but the prayer went something like this.

“Lord, I’m leaving the situation in your hands now. Please bless the doctors and nurses who are caring for her. If it’s your will that Mom gets better, then please heal her. If it’s your will that she not survive, please don’t let her suffer. If her condition gets to the point where I have to make the important decisions that Mom and I have discussed, please give me the strength, wisdom and courage to make the right decision; and please give me the strength and courage to accept the consequences of my decision-especially consequences from other family members”.

Thankfully, God answered my prayer in the way I wanted him to answer it. Medical tests the next day revealed that the doctor made the wrong diagnosis. Mom did not have a heart attack-she had blood clots in both lungs. With proper treatment, Mom slowly got better and stronger, and she was released from the hospital after one week. Faith comes from an abundance of trials, not from the lack of trials. Great faith achieves great victories over these trials.

Only two people in the Gospels are said to have had great faith, and both of them were Gentiles. Great faith does not depend on background or position, but on the attitude of the heart. If we are fully committed to God, our entire lives will be expressions of worship and adoration to Him.

As I mentioned a few moments ago, God’s original plan was to bring salvation first to the Israelites and then to the Gentiles, but he responds to all who call on him in true faith. Those who call on him in true faith have some degree of both faith and spiritual poverty. This is nothing new in Jesus’ ministry. From its very beginning he insisted that his message was directed to the lowest of the low in heart, to the emotional down-and-outers, to those knocked down on all fours and willing to crawl. In other words, his message has been directed to “dogs”. The Canaanite woman took this to heart, groveling and grateful for any crumb that might fall from his table. She became a dog, and this was exactly the humility Jesus was looking for.

Legalism destroys spiritual life, makes us narrow and causes us to miss what is most important to God. We condemn those who differ from us in style of worship, language and culture because of legalism. While legalism stresses external behaviour, Jesus emphasizes the motives of the heart. By focusing on the motives of the heart, rather than the legalistic purity, Jesus makes religious observances both easier and harder. It is easier because broad guidelines have replaced legalistic complexity. It is harder because we have to let our devotion to God affect us in the innermost parts of our being.

We live in a world that still needs a Saviour. The Canaanite woman points us to a greater resource than human love. It’s God’s infinite mercy in the person and work of Jesus. He is God’s love in action for her and for us. When she cries out to Jesus, she does so because she knows who he is and what he can do.

This story reminds us how the Church, which is Christ’s earthly body, is repeatedly taught, not so much by respectable insiders, but by those on the margins, the people without power and credibility. These marginal people storm in, insisting that the church should live up to the pattern offered by Jesus. They rock the boat, and in so doing they force the church to remember its reason for being. Often these and others like them come to the church with a commendable faith, even as the Canaanite woman drew near to Jesus. They might come from outside the bounds of power and acceptability, yet they’re eager even for scraps from the table. What they need, what they deserve, is a seat with the rest of us at God’s Table. There is much we can learn from them. Will we acknowledge them, listen to them, welcome them?

Bibliography

1. Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NASV
2. Exegesis for Matthew 15:10-28. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
3. Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament-Matthew 15:10-28. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
4. Matthew Henry Concise Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
5. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
6. ESV Study Bible. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software package.
7. Selwyn Hughes, “When Evil Thoughts Oppress”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
8. Dr. Philip W. McLarty, “The Faith of a Dog”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
9. The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, “A Fool for Love”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
10. The Rev. John Bedingfield, “Who Are the Dogs in Your Life?” Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
11. The Rev. Dr. James D. Kegel, “Those People”. Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
12. The Rev. Gregory Seitz, “Count on Christ’s Mercy for you”. Retrieved from www.lhm.org
13. Micca Monda Campbell, “Great Faith”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
14. “The Voice of the Lord” for Shevat 24. Retrieved from www.lists.studylight.org
15. Jude Siciliano, OP, “First Impressions: 20^th Sunday (A)”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org.
16. Trygve David Johnson, “Faith to Fire Back”. Retrieved from http://christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2008-08/faith-fire-back?print
17. The Rev. Brian P. Stoffregen, “Matthew 15: (1-10)21-28”. Retrieved from www.crossmarks.com/brain/matt15x110.htm
18. The Rev. John Ortberg, “True Grit”. Retrieved from www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2899
19. Sharon Jaynes, “Changing the Way We Speak by Examining the Heart”. Retrieved from www.crosswalkmail.com
20. Daniel B. Clendenin, PhD, “Thinking About Norway”. Retrieved from www.journeywithjesus.net

Have you ever thought that you were alone on your walk of faith? Have you ever thought that you were the only Christian in the world? If so, you are not alone. Many of the Old Testament prophets felt that they were the only Christians in the world. Many Christians today sometimes fee that they are the only Christians in the world.  They even feel that they have been rejected by God.  At the end of Romans 10, it seems that the people of Israel have been rejected. It seemed that God’s plan and purpose for Israel had ended, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth as Paul argues in Romans 11:1-2,29-32.

God knew that the Israelites would reject him, but he chose them anyway and made a covenant with them. He could not make a covenant with them and then abandon them because they turned away from him in sin. To do so would go against his nature, because he does not go back on his word. God did have a “loophole” in his covenant. He was not bound to save the whole nation of Israel. He was only bound to save those who remained faithful. Those few that were faithful are the remnant referred to in Romans 9:27. Just as God reserved a remnant of his people when Elijah thought in 1 Kings 19:1-8 that he was the only faithful person left when in fact he had over 7,000 brothers and sisters in Christ, God has preserved a remnant of Christianity for Paul and for all of eternity. This remnant has been preserved by God’s grace.

Sometimes God uses the disobedience of one group of people to show mercy to another group. The people of Israel rejected God, so God decided to show mercy to the Gentiles by calling on the most hated, hardened Jew-Paul-to spread the Good News to the Gentiles. God surrounds his people with their sin with no means of escape so he can show his people grace. God stands off from his people when they rebel against him, but he never ignores people who cry out to him in faith. When we look beyond the struggles of this life we will see him waiting for us with open arms. When the lost cry out to him, he hears their cries and joyfully carries them to eternity.

God showed mercy to the Israelites even though they were ungrateful. Why? It can’t be explained. Such is the nature of grace. It can only be received with gratitude just like the Gentiles received God’s grace with gratitude.

The apostle Paul is proof that God is not finished with Israel. Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin and he believed in Jesus after his encounter on the road to Damascus. In Romans 11:1-2, 29-32 Paul uses various texts in Scripture to prove that God keeps the promises he makes to believers, unbelievers, disobedient and contrary-minded people, and this is a key part of Paul’s theology. After all, if God was not faithful to the people of Israel, Christians would not have a good reason to repent. God has the power to bring the Gentiles and the Israelites into his kingdom. Paul warns the Gentiles who have received salvation not to become proud and boastful because they can also be punished. The Gentiles were tempted to hate the Israelites because God found them to be unworthy, but Paul reminded the Gentiles that they needed to understand that they were the beneficiaries of Israel’s unfaithfulness. God made the same promise to the Gentiles, including the “loophole” that only the Gentiles who were faithful to God would be saved. These faithful Gentiles are also part of the remnant referred to in Romans 9:27. The Israelites also benefitted by Gentile obedience, because it caused the Israelites to become faithful to God.

God’s grace preserved people of faith throughout history. Noah and his family were preserved during the Great Flood thanks to the Ark. Joseph was preserved by God during years of hardship and imprisonment in Egypt, and in turn Joseph preserved his family and the people of Egypt during the famine. Daniel and his friends were saved from the lions’ den. Jonah was preserved even when he was in the belly of the fish. God always saves a remnant of his people when he punishes his people for their disobedience because this remnant consists only of people who have obeyed God in faith. God’s compassion is the last word when he is dispensing justice. His justice is always balanced by mercy for the people who obey him.

We are in the same situation today. Our world is full of sin. We as individual Christians may feel that we are alone, but God has preserved a piece of Christianity through our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world.  Justification is by faith for everyone.

Israel was willing to accept the special status of being God’s chosen people, but the people did not want to accept the responsibility of obeying him in faith. In other words, they wanted the benefits of the special status but they did not want to do any of the work that came with it.  In spite of this, God made a promise to his people that he would deliver them from sin and evil, and he kept that promise through Christ’s death and resurrection. The Gentiles should not have been upset because God blessed Israel, because God’s promise of salvation was made available to both Jews and Gentiles.

Both Jewish disciples and Gentile disciples thought they were better than less enlightened people, but God’s true Israel includes Jews, Gentiles and any other human group we can think of.  All of the members of God’s kingdom share in the same basis of membership-that is, the mercy of God in Christ. The historic people of Israel did reject God’s work of salvation, and that rejection allowed its acceptance by the Gentiles. The acceptance by the Gentiles prompted acceptance by the Jews. This proves that there is no basis for believers to be conceited, because where there is no merit, there can only be mercy.

God can turn disobedience and the negative circumstances of our lives to redemptive purpose today. For example, a celebrity smoker dies of lung cancer, and other smokers are motivated to quit. An alcoholic loses a spouse or a job and finds the motivation to stop drinking. Our disobedience is never good and often produces terrible suffering, but God always works behind the scenes to turn our disobedience to redemptive purposes. For example, God used the suffering of my father from lung cancer to return me to the church and to the role of lay ministry. God uses our disobedience to motivate us to change our ways. In effect he says to us, “Turn, or burn.”

God makes the same promise to his people today. It is God’s will to save his people and to be faithful to them. He promises to save us from our sins if we believe in him by faith. God’s mercy is always a gift. Mercy is kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly. We know that we could be treated harshly. Our sin indicates that we should be treated harshly, but by the grace of God we are loved and forgiven anyway.

Those who have been called and who have responded to the gospel in faith have become both the remnant of Israel who were God’s elect in ancient times and the new Israel God has created in Christ. If we believe in him by faith, we receive the special status of being a member of God’s chosen people.  In return, we must do God’s work in our world by spreading the Good News and by showing Christ’s love to a hurting world.

Bibliography

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2. Swindoll, Charles R.: Swindoll’s New Testament Insights on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; 2010)
3. Rev. Brian Findlayson, “The Conversion of Israel.” Retrieved from www.lectionarystudies.com
4. Rev. Brian Findlayson, “God Has Not Cast Off Israel.” Retrieved from www.lectionarystudies.com
5. William Loader, “First Thoughts on Year A Epistle, Pentecost 16: 17 August Romans 11:1-2, 29-32.” Retrieved from www.staff.murdoch.edu.au
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