Jesus says that the time is coming when true believers will worship in spirit.   Jesus is not saying that we should get rid of all the external things associated with worship; no more hymnals, pianos or physical things.  To worship in spirit means that we must realize that the God we are worshiping is spirit and cannot be limited.        
 
There are many ways in which we can worship the Lord because God is not confined to one way of worship.  Some worship God by singing contemporary songs with their hands upraised .  Some worship God by earnestly singing the great hymns of the faith with quiet reverence.  There are many places of worship.  It need not always be in the sanctuary or even in a church building.  There are many places where we can meet God because almighty God is spirit.  Since God is spirit, we must not limit Him in our worship.
 
Jesus also says that the time is coming when true believers will worship in truth.  This means that we must have the right understanding of God as we worship him.  We are able to do that if we have the person of Jesus clearly in mind.  If we have the Lord Jesus uppermost in mind as we worship God, we will be worshiping in truth.
 
That too is important to understand as we worship together week after week_-  Too often we think of worshiping as us gaining something.  We want a church home which gives us what we want to have.  We ask, “Did I get something out of the music or out of the message?”  We gather to worship God first of all, not to have our particular likes appeased.
 
John Ortberg and Pam Howell write: “Can you imagine the Israelites, freshly delivered from slavery, before a mountain that trembles violently with the presence of God, muttering: `We’re leaving because we’re not singing the songs we like. Like that tambourine song, how come they don’t do that tambourine song anymore?’  Or “I don’t like it when Moses leads worship; Aaron is better.”  Or “This is too formal_ all that smoke and mystery. I like casual worship.”  Or “It was okay, except for Miriam’s dance_ too wild, not enough reference. And I don’t like that tambourine!”
 
Ortberg continues, “Scripture doesn’t read like that.  The people were filled with awe and wonder and trembling and hope and fear, because there in the middle somewhere, before this bunch of ex-slaves, was God!”
 
True worship is something that many are missing.  Several years ago, A. W. Tozer wrote, “Worship is the missing jewel in modern Evangelicalism.  We’re organized, we work, we have our agencies.  We have almost everything, but there’s one thing that the churches, even the gospel churches, do not have:  that is the ability to worship.  We are not cultivating the art of worship.  It’s the shining gem that is lost to the modern church, and I believe that we ought to search for this until we find it.”
 
We still need to grow in how we worship the Lord.  God wants those who worship him to do so in spirit and truth, submitting themselves to the Lord.
 
IV. The Spiritual Discipline of Corporate Worship
 
How can we best prepare for worship?  Realize first that worship begins in our daily walk with God.  We should be consciously and actively living and worshiping before the presence of God.  So we pray, sing songs and worship God in every part of our lives as we live out our lives.  When we live our lives in this way, we can come to worship with a holy expectancy in that we know we will be meeting with the living God!
 
Second, pray for me and other worship leaders prior to the service.  Pray that their minds may be cleared and that the words they will speak will be from God.  There have been many times when I’m not sure how a sermon will go, but I am convinced that the prayers of God’s people take those words and do things with them that I cannot imagine.
As you arrive at church, take a moment to look around at your brothers and sisters.  Then silently pray for those who are lonely or struggling with things in their life.  Praying for others will help you get beyond the “what am I going to get out of it” mentality.
 
Also, remember that our time of worship is indeed of the gathering of the saints as the body of Christ.  We don’t worship so that “I get a blessing” but we worship as God’s people together so that together we all may be blessed.  When we worship, we gather as the body of Christ in a way that is very special and completely unique from our own private times of worship.
 
Next worship in many settings, such as in your small groups or your family settings.  Pray in small groups and be sure to include aspects of praise and worship in those settings as well.  The more you worship in such settings, the more we will appreciate what it means to worship as the full body of Christ.
 
Finally, and very practically, physically prepare the day before.  You can prepare for Sunday by going to bed at a reasonable hour on Saturday night so that you are awake and refreshed on Sunday morning.  Kathleen Eakin tells of a time when her three small children announced one evening that they were going to “play church.” She and her husband were pleased and proud at the same time.  They ate humble pie, though, when they spied them running around pretending to get dressed and yelling, “Hurry up!  It’s time for church! We have five minutes! We’ll be late!”  Does Sunday morning reflect a quiet expectancy to worship God?  Get up early enough so that you have time to prayerfully prepare for worship.
 
Now how can we enhance the experience of worship itself?  When you come to worship, let go of your own agenda.  Again, worship is not about what we will get out of the worship.  Worship is meeting with God and submitting yourself fully to Him so that He can transform you.  So worship prayerfully with the expectation that God will do something very special if you are willing to open yourself to it.
 
Second, worship with the attitude of holy dependency.  Come to worship knowing that nothing will happen without God doing it.  It’s not up to the preacher or the musicians or the song leaders or the worship leaders.  If God is going to do something in your life, it will be God doing it and it will be because you are opening yourself to Him doing that to you in your life.
 
Third, absorb distractions with gratitude.  If there is a distraction, rather than fussing and fuming about it, learn to take it in and overcome it.  If a child is noisy or being active, thank God that they are alive and have all that energy!  Be willing to let even the distractions be used by God to convey a message to you.
 
Finally, come to worship with an attitude of sacrifice.  That means come to worship even when you don’t feel like it.
 
An old man was seen every Sunday morning walking to church. He was deaf, so he could not hear a word of the sermon or the music of the choir, or the hymns sung by the congregation.  Someone asked, “Why do you spend your Sundays in church when you can’t hear a word?”  The old man replied, “I want my neighbors to know which side I’m on!”  How much better if he would say that it is time to give to the Lord.
 
Worshiping is an act of sacrifice where you give up your time and give up yourselves to God.  Say, “Lord, I don’t feel like worshiping today but I desire to and will give you this time.”
Now what can we expect when we prepare and enter into worship in such ways? Worship should lead to holy obedience.  If we do not leave this place ready to serve God and live with Him in obedience, then we have not really worshiped.  To stand before the almighty and eternal God is to be changed by Him.  As we worship God, He will change us to be more and more the person He wants us to be.
 
And more than that, worship will then lead to the building of the body.  As we worship together as the body of Christ, we will see each other in new and deeper ways as followers of Christ who rely and depend on one another.  Worship is a way for us to grow as followers individually and as a body corporately.  From there we all go out to serve our God as He uses us to build His kingdom.
 
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1 John 1:8-10:  The Spiritual Discipline of Confession

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:

This morning we continue our study of the spiritual disciplines.  We have looked at the inner disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting and study.   Then we looked at the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission and service.  Now we begin the last section of spiritual disciplines looking at what are sometimes called the corporate disciplines: confession, worship, guidance and celebration.  These are disciplines that we do as a body of Christ.  Today we look at the spiritual discipline of confession.

I have a question for you: If you are very sick or if you are injured, where would you go or where would you need to go:  a hospital or a museum?  If we need to be treated for something, we need to go to a hospital or a clinic because that is what we need.  We go to a museum to see things on display, not to find healing.

When you came here today, did you walk into a hospital or a museum?  Are the people here today on display of holy people that have achieved forgiveness and holiness?  Or are the people you see today patients in a hospital or a clinic that need ongoing healing and treatment?  A church is a hospital and a clinic for sinners.

Too many people think of churches today as museums.  They believe if you want to see Christians in pristine condition, go to a church and look at all the holy people.  Well, we are holy people, but we are also sinners who while redeemed are still struggling in sin daily.  When we are sick we need treatment and one of the ways to receive treatment is through the spiritual discipline of confession.  Let’s read 1 John 1:5-10.

I. Denying Our Sin                                   

II. Two Results of Denying Our Sin

III. Confessing Our Sin                       

IV. The Discipline of Confession

I. Let’s look first at how some were Denying their Sin.

The problem John addresses in this opening chapter is that some false teachers, who claimed to be Christians were claiming fellowship with God although they walked in the darkness and were living in sin.  Evidently the false teachers were saying, “We are without sin” and so John writes in verse 8, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

These false teachers were claiming that their very nature was sinless and so it would be impossible for them then to commit actual sins.  These people believed that the body was something that should be either ignored or was of no importance whatsoever.  Thus what you did with your body was of no consequence.  You could steal or be sexually immoral because the body simply didn’t matter.  In their minds they felt they were pure and so they honestly believed that they were sinless.

We have descendants of these false teachers living among us today.  There are those who live in what I call “relative sinlessness.”  By that I mean that they determine the extent of their sin by looking at others.  “Well yes, I have some foibles, but I’m not a serial killer.”  “I’m really a pretty good person compared with all the other people in the world.”  However, as Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote, “Most of the evil in this world does not come from evil people. It comes from people who consider themselves good.”

Moreover, there are those who hide their sin behind social or psychological causes, the “sinless victim.”  Now please don’t misunderstand me; I do believe that there are psychological disorders and societal ills that cause many problems and have caused tremendous suffering to persons.  There are many today who can legitimately blame their behavior on such things but who then take no responsibility for themselves and their own sinfulness.  They feel that they are purely victims and thus not responsible for their sins.  Granted that their environment may have a great deal to do with what is wrong, but at some point they have to recognize that their own sin is also part of the problem.

And in many cases, sins even end up being redefined.  David Jackman writes, “We no longer call sin ‘sin’. Adultery becomes ‘having an affair’. Theft is ‘helping myself to the perks’. Selfishness is ‘standing up for my rights’. The last thing we human beings will admit is that we sin.”  John’s goal is to shine the light of God on this denial and see what is revealed.

II. Two Results of Denying Our Sin are seen in verses 8 and 10.

John says that “if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”  If we say that we are without sin, both in character and in actual sin, we deceive ourselves.  The way this is phrased indicates a deliberate refusal to face the facts.  Moreover, John says that the truth isn’t in us.  These people wanted so desperately to have the truth, to be in the truth, and John says that as long as they are deceiving themselves about their own sin, they aren’t even close to the truth.

Moreover, in verse 10 John says, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make God to be a liar.”  Scripture clearly teaches the universality of human sin.  Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  In Romans 3:23, Paul summarizes, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Moreover, Scripture emphasizes the character of God as a God who forgives sin and this description would be pointless if men had no sins to be forgiven.  It is to say to God, “God, you were wrong when you said that all people everywhere are sinners.  You didn’t have to send Jesus to this world to save us because some of us don’t need saving!”  To say that we are without sin is to call God a liar.

Yet, in our human pride, we still try to say we have no sin in spite of the obvious.  In Charles Colson’s book, Born Again, which is about his experiences during Watergate, Colson shares one of President Nixon’s problems __ he could never admit he was wrong in anything.  In fact, Colson said that even when Nixon obviously had a cold __ nose running, face red, sneezing, all the symptoms of a cold __ he would never admit it.   Even when the sin is obvious, we don’t like to admit it.

However, John says that if a person calls God a liar John says, “God’s Word has no place in our lives.”  To have the Word in our lives indicates the dwelling of God in our lives.  It is more than just that these people don’t have truth.  They don’t have the Way, Truth and the Life in their lives.  If, however, we do the opposite, as is seen in verse 9, there is a completely different outcome.

III. We must Confess Our Sin as John says in verse 9.

To confess sins is not merely to admit that we are sinners, but to lay them before God and to seek forgiveness.  While John states this as a condition beginning with the word “if,” the intent is more that of a command:  “We must confess our sins.”

Notice as well that John uses the plural “sins.”  This means that we are not just to confess that we are sinners in general.  John intentionally uses “sins” to underscore that we are to come to grips with all of our actions.  We must acknowledge all of our sins and confess them.

Then before John tells us what happens to those sins, he reminds us of the nature of God who forgives sins.  John reminds his readers that God is faithful.  Micah 7:18-20 says, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.  You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.  You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago.”

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  The point is that God will be faithful to his promises to bless His people even when they are sinful and rebellious; He is faithful to his promise to forgive.

And God is also just.  In Exodus 34:7, God is described as one who “will by no means clear the guilty.”  Justice means that God must punish all sin, but if that is so, how can He forgive sins?

This is the divine dilemma for the Judge of all the earth cannot lightly cancel sin.  The cross is, in fact, the only ground on which He can forgive sin at all, for there the blood of Jesus His Son was shed that Jesus might be payment for our sins.  God is faithful to forgive because He has promised to do so, and He is just because His Son died for our sins.

And as a result when we do confess our sins, there are then two results that follow confessing our sin.  God forgives our sins.  Forgiveness of sins reflects the fact that our sins make us guilty and guilt needs to be forgiven.  It is something that needs to be dealt with in a legal sense.

God also then purifies us from all unrighteousness.  This reflects the fact that sin leaves a stain, a last effect on our lives.  God purifies us, removes the stain of sin, the lingering effects of sin from our lives.

And again, John emphasizes that this forgiveness and purification is for all unrighteousness.  John doesn’t downplay or try to minimize our sin.  He wants us, in both confession and the recognition that our sins are forgiven and purified, to know the magnitude and mass quantity of our sin.

When we confess our sins, God does something remarkable and unexpected.  Often times we hesitate confessing our sins because we are afraid of the consequences; we are afraid of being punished or being embarrassed.  But God takes our confession for whatever sin and forgives it!

That is the context in which we must always view confession.  Confession is not just baring our souls to someone in order to make us feel better or less guilty.  Confession allows God’s grace to flow uninterrupted.

Mother Teresa once wrote, “Confession is nothing but humility in action. When there is a gap between me and Christ, when my love is divided, anything can come to fill the gap. Confession is a place where I allow Jesus to take away from me everything that divides, that destroys.”  Confession opens the door to forgiveness and God’s resulting peace.

IV. And so what about the Discipline of Confession for us today?

St. Alphonsus Liguori writes, “For a good confession three things are necessary: an examination of conscience, sorrow and a determination to avoid sin.”

We must first have “an examination of conscience.” When we do this, we are inviting God to shine His Word on our lives through the Holy Spirit and show us the areas that need his forgiving and healing touch.

Sometimes, when I try out a different tie, I put it on in our bedroom and I think it looks great!  Then I step outside into the sunlight and I can see that it doesn’t work at all!  God shines his light on areas where we think are ok and we realize that we have many imperfections and that it just isn’t working the way we think it is.

It is very easy for us to live in the shadows or bad light where we think we are ok.  “I’m not too bad at all and in fact, I’m pretty good.”  We need to see ourselves in comparison to a holy and just God and have His Spirit shine on us to reveal our sinfulness.

Helmut Thielicke wrote, “Forgiveness cannot mean that we cover up a fault with the ‘mantle of charity.’ Divine things are never a matter of illusion and deception. On the contrary, before the sin is forgiven the mantle with which it is covered must be removed. The sin must be unmercifully — yes, unmercifully — exposed to the light of God’s countenance.”             And again, we are not talking about a generalized confession, which while it might shield us from shame, it won’t bring the inner healing we need.  People came to Jesus with obvious, specific sins and were forgiven for the same.  And that means not only outward sins but sins in our thoughts as well, the sins of our hearts.

Second, we must have genuine sorrow in order to have a good confession.  Sorrow is not so much an emotional response as an abhorrence of having committed the sin, a deep regret at having offended our Father in heaven.  It must not be only an emotional sorrow but must be accompanied by a sorrow of the will, where we do not want to sin anymore –  which then leads to the third element of good confession.

Finally, we must have a determination to avoid sin. This is not saying, “I’m going to try my hardest to overcome this. I’m not going to sin again!”  Such an attitude will almost always lead to failure.  Rather, this refers to a yearning for holy living and a hatred for unholy living.  It is the desire and will to be delivered from sin that we seek from God as we confess.

Now we also have to be careful that this not become an ongoing state of mind.  We are not called to live in a constant state of sorrow over sin.  Sorrow for sin should lead to joy in knowing that sin is forgiven.  We are sinners, but we must never forget that we are indeed forgiven sinners!

And while we are to confess our sins to each other, we must be cautious to whom we confess our sins.  It is simply a fact that not all Christians are best to hear the confessions of others.  Some might be judgmental while others might simply not take it seriously enough.  So you need to choose someone who is understanding, spiritually mature and will keep a confidence.

So if confession is something that we are to do in community, how are we to hear one another’s confessions?  This does not have to always be in a corporate setting such as our worship service.  This does not mean that during the time of confession, that we should have a time for everyone to list specifically what he or she has done.

Now there should be time for confession, but corporate confession means more than that we live in a community where we know we sin, but we also know that we are forgiven by the grace of God.  Confession means that we recognize that the church is a hospital for sinners and not a museum of manmade saints.

And so with that in mind, how can we hear other’s confessions?

Always remember that we live under the cross and that means that we are all capable of horrible sins.  We can never have an attitude of superiority or thinking that we would never do anything like what the person is telling us.  We are all sinners and we all sin and are capable of doing any sin.  We must not have an attitude of judgment.  One of the things I learned early on is to not look shocked when someone tells me of their sin and the longer I live, the more I realize I could do any of those things myself.

When someone confesses something to you, you must make sure that what is told is remains in strictest confidence.

We must also discipline ourselves to be quiet as we hear their confession.  Let them be silent or to say what they want without you feeling the need to interject things into the conversation.  Resist the urge to counsel and simply pray that God releases them of their sin.

And always, always be listening with the light of cross shining brilliantly down on both of you.  Richard Foster writes, “The discipline of confession brings an end to pretense.  God is calling us into being a church that can openly confess its frail humanity and know the forgiving and empowering graces of Christ.”  When done in this way, confession can be a time of celebrating God’s grace and forgiveness.

John 13:1-17  The Spiritual Discipline of Service

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:

This morning we continue our study of the Spiritual Disciplines. Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the outward disciplines of simplicity, submission, solitude and service.  These are disciplines that have an impact in the lives of those around us.  This morning we look at the Spiritual Discipline of service. Two weeks ago, Claire and I were on Mackinac Island in Michigan for the Calvin College Board retreat.  We stayed at the Grand Hotel which is a 5-star hotel on the island. I should add that the college received an unbelievable end of season deal!  When you stay at that hotel, you are served!  Your bags are delivered to your room and when you check out, you just leave them outside the door.  During the meals at the hotel, the server is right there whisking away used dishes and utensils as soon as you are finished and providing you with the next course.  The staff is at your beck and call for anything you might need.

However, in looking through the hotel material, I didn’t see anything about the staff washing our feet.  And I suspect that if we had asked housekeeping to do that, we would have been reported to the management.  Even in such a service-oriented place, washing the feet of others would be asking or demanding too much.  It would be too demeaning.

Foot-washing in Jesus’ day was something only the lowliest, most menial slave would do.  It was clearly the bottom of the jobs for a slave to do.  And yet, we read here that Jesus washes His disciples’ feet.  In the Christian community, we have heard of this enough times that the full impact is hard for us to envision, but this was a radical and amazing thing for Jesus to do.  Let’s read John’s account of this in John 13:1-17.

I. Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

II. The Dialogue with Peter

III. Jesus’ Explanation

I. Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

What happened that night?  In order to understand the extent of this, it is helpful to go back just a bit and see what had occurred just before this.  According to Luke 22, they had just spent a long time arguing about who was the greatest among them.  They were fully absorbed with themselves and their standing within the kingdom.  This attitude likely continued on into this meal.

They were so absorbed in themselves that they had neglected to do something very basic.  In those days when a person traveled over dusty and dirty roads, it was common courtesy for the host to make sure that the person’s feet were washed when he arrived at the host’s house.  This task was usually assigned to the lowest-ranking servant of the household and was considered a terribly lowly job.  In the upper room there was no servant to do this task.

Certainly, the disciples were not about to humiliate themselves in front of their equals and wash the feet of their fellow disciples!  That was a “slave’s work”, not the work of Jesus’ disciples!  The meal had already been served and they were about to begin eating, but no one had yet washed anyone’s feet.  We don’t like doing humiliating things, especially for others.

There was an article in Sports Illustrated several years ago about Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders football team.  Al Davis is considered by many as one of the most greedy and proud of all owners in the National Football League and is known as one who thrives on power.  This article reported that Davis’s abuses of power have become increasingly visible.  For example, after practice it is customary for him to enter the equipment room, drop a towel on the floor and wait for an employee to clean his shoes.  “I saw him make someone wipe his shoes in front of 75 people,” says Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who coached the Raiders in 1988.

Can you imagine how humbling that would have been?  Well, the disciples were not going to stoop to the level of being a servant.

So Jesus gives them a very important lesson in humility and servant-hood.  Jesus rises from the table and lays aside “His garments” which refers to virtually all of Jesus’ clothes.  He is wearing what a most menial slave would wear, nothing but a loin cloth.

He then takes a towel, ties it around his waist, pours water into the basin and begins to wash the disciples’ feet wiping them dry with the towel.  He looked like a servant in the clothes he was wearing.  He acted as a servant in his actions.  In doing this, Jesus gives them an example of how they should live for him: serve others!

II. This is seen in Jesus’ Dialogue with Peter in verses 6-11.

Now imagine the scene with me once again.  As Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, they likely sat in stunned silence, ashamed for their lack of action.  Peter, however, as usual decides that he must say something.

He says, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  The words, “you” and “my” are placed next to each other in the Greek to highlight the contrast.  Peter sees the inconsistency of it:  his dirty smelly feet being washed by the Lord of glory!  This was simply intolerable!  But Jesus’ response shows that there is more here at stake than a matter of pride or propriety.

Jesus’ says, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later on you will understand.”  “Later on” refers to the time after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Later on after the Holy Spirit would come, then the disciples would look back on this and understand what Jesus was doing and saying.

But now Peter does not understand at all:  “No, you shall never wash my feet.”  You can almost see Peter taking his feet away from Jesus in protest.

Jesus’ answers, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”  The word “wash” for John here has a double meaning.  It refers to the washing of feet and if Peter does not allow him to wash his feet, Peter will not be able to eat with Jesus.  But Jesus is also pointing to the washing from sin that only Christ can give.  In other words, if Peter is not willing to let Jesus give Himself fully for Him, it will be impossible for Peter to share in the life that Jesus came to bring.  If Peter cannot accept Jesus’ death, He will not have life with Jesus.

But Peter still does not understand what Jesus means.  In typical fashion, he goes to the other extreme.  “If you have to wash, wash everything then.”  He thinks that Jesus is talking about a physical washing which in some way makes one to share in the blessings of Christ.  The more that is washed, the more blessings received.

Again, Jesus corrects his misunderstanding:  “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.  And you are clean.”  The picture he uses is of a man going to a feast.  Before he goes, he would bathe himself so that when he arrives he will only need his feet washed to sit at the table and be wholly clean.  Jesus’ point is that those who believe in him are already clean.  The one who follows Jesus, who has been washed by Jesus, has no need to be washed again for Jesus did that once for all.

The point that Jesus tries to get Peter to understand is that Jesus’ washing his feet is not just a humbling thing to do.  He is demonstrating the sacrifice of Himself for those who follow Him.  To be a disciple means we must accept Jesus’ humiliating death as being necessary for us.  We must be able to say, “Jesus, we need your full cleansing because we are so full of sin.”  Once we have receive that, we are forgiven.

But then what?  Is that all?  Not by any means!  You see being a follower of Jesus Christ is so much more than just believing that He died for us so that our sins can be forgiven.  His sacrifice for us should lead to a changed life for us and changed lives of those around us.

Former Senator Bob Dole once was given a business card by Mother Teresa during a conference in Washington DC. several years ago.  The card said, “”The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer, the fruit of PRAYER is Faith, the fruit of FAITH is Love, the fruit of LOVE is Service, the fruit of SERVICE is Peace.”  A life of discipleship and following Jesus leads to service and then to peace.  We must still wash each other’s feet according to what Jesus says.

III. Jesus’ Explanation and teaching for us is seen in verses 12-17.

Jesus helps them understand what just happened when He asks them if they understand what He had just done for them.  Jesus reminds His disciples of the way they have addressed Him.  “Teacher,”or “Rabbi,” was the ordi­nary respectful way of addressing a religious leader.  “Lord” was not nearly so common but has implications for Jesus’ divinity.  Jesus com­mends the disciples for these expressions that point to who He really is as God.

But precisely because of who Jesus is, there are major implications.  His repetition of “the Lord and the Teacher”  emphasizes His dignity.  The Lord has washed their feet and now they should in turn wash one another’s feet.  No act of service should be beneath them.

In verses 15-16, Jesus reminds His followers of their status as “slaves” and “men sent”.  They are not to stand on their dignity or think too highly of themselves.  If their Master and their Sender does lowly actions, then they the slaves and the sent ones, should not consider menial tasks beneath their dignity.

Then in verse 17 Jesus says: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”  It is good that they understand and see the point that Jesus is making.  He was saying to them:  “This is how much I am willing to serve you.”  He was ready to be humiliated to the point of death, giving up himself in order to save them.  But that is not enough!  They must do these things as well! They must serve each other as Jesus humbled Himself and served them.

And so must we!  But how can we serve others?   Richard Foster gives seven areas where we can serve others.  First, there is the service of small things.  Consider the example of Dorcas in Acts 9:39 where she made coats and garments for the widows.  Consider doing things like providing rides or meals for friends who may need some physical help in things.

We don’t have to think of service in terms of big vision things.  Dwight L. Moody once wrote, “There are many of us who are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do the little things.”  Our best acts of service are the little things that we can do for others in many small ways.

Second, Foster says there is the service of guarding the reputation of others.  In Titus 3:2, Paul says that we should not slander or speak no evil of anyone.  We should hold our tongues when others are spoken of and so provide the service to them of protecting their reputation when others speak badly of them.

Third, Fosters mentions the service of being served.  Remember when Jesus started washing the disciples’ feet, Peter protested.  It is an act of submission and service to allow others to serve you.  We must allow others to give us meals or do kind things for us and not feel the urge to repay out of a sense of obligation.  Let others serve you.

There is the service of common courtesy shown to others.  Again in Titus 3:2 Paul says that we are to be “peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”  We must take the time to get to really get to know people and learn about them in order to serve them so that we can treat them with kindness and respect.

There is the service of hospitality.  Peter in 1 Peter 4:9 says that we are to “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”  I’m not talking about  lavish dinners, but just the opportunity to be with fellow believers and spending time in each other’s homes.

There is the service of listening.  We don’t need to be trained therapists simply to take the time to listen to one another.  We don’t have to have the correct answers to listen; we can just listen and pray.

There is the service of bearing one another’s burdens.  Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Paul Tournier writes, “You can never establish a personal relationship without opening up your own heart.”  This takes time to learn how to do so that we don’t get burned out from doing this.

How far do we have to go in this?  I mean, isn’t it possible to go overboard in this?  I want you to think of something that you really don’t like to do at all.  Then think of someone else that you really don’t like very much at all.  Now ask yourself:  “Would Christ do this task for this person?”  The answer is “yes!”  Now I want you to begin to formulate a plan so that you can do this.

We may try to come up with all kinds of objections to this.  We may say, “I don’t know what the needs are where I can serve!”  If you are alert and sensitive to people around you, you will see many opportunities for service.

In September 1985, there was a celebration in a New Orleans municipal swimming pool.  The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in recent memory without a drowning at any New Orleans city pool.  In honor of the occasion, two hundred people gathered, including one hundred certified lifeguards.  As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end.  They tried to revive Jerome Moody, age 31, but it was too late.  He drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.  Sometime I wonder how many there may be among us drowning in loneliness, hurt and doubt, while we, who could help them, don’t realize it because we aren’t looking for them.

The needs are there to be seen if we are not so absorbed in ourselves to see them.  A follower of Jesus is one who submits to others in our minds and then shows it in acts of service.

Some may say, “the person won’t appreciate me for what I may do for them.”  But that should not change what you do in service for them.   Jesus loved us who wanted to sin against God and reject Him; we should be loving others in spite of what they say or do to us.  Are you a follower of Jesus Christ?  Will you serve others to prove that is who you really are?”

Snapshots:  Looking Back, Looking Forward

            Over the past sixteen months, I’ve been relating highlights from our trip to Kenya in March 2007.  I called them “Snapshots from Kenya” to reflect this.  I hope that these articles have given you some additional insights into our trip there as well as what I learned from this trip and what it means for us as a church.

            One of the advantages of doing this prolonged series was that for the past sixteen months, I’ve always had an idea of what to write for the monthly newsletter.  However, like our trip to Kenya had to come to a close, now these articles must come to a close as well.

            However, as I thought about how to draw this series to a close, it struck me how appropriate the title “snapshots” was.  Our family keeps photo albums that provide a visual record of our family’s history.  Many of the photos are of special gatherings at holidays and special trips.  But taken all together they provide a sense of time and direction for us as a family.

            Faith Church also has a history and the emphasis on Kenya reflect the snapshots of that part of our history.   But that is only one small part of the photo album.  There are many pages in the album prior to this.  We have our life together now because of all that has happened before.  We stand on the shoulders of those who have worked so hard in the past.

            But the snapshots really go back much further.  They go back to the help we received from Christian Reformed Home Missions and our “mother” church, Munster Christian Reformed Church.  They go back to those who in the centuries before followed God’s leading and direction.  In fact, our photo album goes back all the way to Jesus and His cross and even back to the time of the Old Testament.

            We are a part of a vast history of amazing things that God has done in the past.  This year we celebrate just a small portion of that history, the part that has been so important to us here at Faith Church.  We have been a Christian Reformed Congregation now for 25 years.  God has provided us a place to worship and minister in this building now for 20 years.  God has been so faithful through all the stages of our history and we celebrate that this month and next year.  So this month we take a look back and do some reminiscing, thanking God for all His blessings to us as a body of Christ.

            However, just like my snapshots from Kenya highlight a certain time, it now comes to the point where we have to also look forward to what is next.  The Council has been emphasizing the goal of helping each of us to become stronger followers of Jesus.  The sermon series on the Spiritual Disciplines is one way for us as a body to learn how to follow Jesus more closely.  After the first of the year, we’ll be looking at what it means to be a group of followers formed into a body together.

            Beyond that, we are looking to the future in other ways.  We want to develop ways for the women of Faith Church to grow in ways that are unique to women.  We also want to be more intentional about developing ways for our children to learn what it means to follow Jesus in ways that are appropriate for their ages.

            A major way of doing that is by this concerted effort to get out from underneath the current debt we have.  I recognize that in today’s economic climate that may be a huge undertaking from a human point of view.  Nonetheless, I also believe that God can do what may seem to be impossible and I ask for your prayers to that end.  We don’t want to serve the building but we recognize that the building is a gift from God as well and we want to move beyond this stage in our congregational life.

Pastor Jerry                                                                                                      

October 2008

1 Kings 17:7-16   The Tests of Faith

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:

            This morning I thought I would begin by going outside and jumping over the building including the steeple. And if that doesn’t work, then I plan to win the Nobel Peace prize next year.  Now unless I have in the last week or so developed some superhuman ability to jump, the first thing just isn’t going to happen.  We might say it is impossible for me to jump over the church.  I can try as much as I want and I won’t ever get more than about a foot off the ground.

            Regarding the Nobel Peace Prize, that isn’t looking too promising either. One might say that this too is impossible.  However, there is a difference.  I can still work toward peace and reconciliation in a small way.  I may not attain that goal, but I can still make a big difference in working for peace and reconciliation.  It may seem impossible, but working toward it will make a big difference.

            This morning we kick off a fund-raising campaign in which we are seeking to raise a large amount of money.  Over the next 7 months, we are seeking to raise $82,000 to eliminate our debt so that we can devote more of our resources to active ministry here in this congregation and to this community.  We want to enhance the work and ministry of this church.

            We believe that God owns the cattle on the thousand hills.  We believe that God can do all things.  But do we honestly expect this to happen?  This will be a test of faith.  We all will be challenged to work on something that may seem impossible.  But this morning we see from this story in the life of the Old Testament prophet Elijah that faith can produce tremendous results if what we are doing is in God’s will and part of God’s plan.  Let’s read 1 Kings 17:1-16.  We will focus on verses 7-16.

I. The Widow at Zarephath                

II. Elijah’s Faith is Tested                          

III. The Widow’s Faith is Tested

IV. The Blessings of Faith

I. The Widow at Zarephath

            First, we must realize that the condition of Israel at this time is awful.  Most people were not worshiping God any more, but idols called Baal.  They have entrusted themselves to the pagan gods of nature.  God has told the people that as a result of their terrible sinfulness and Baal worship, there will be no rain or dew for three years.

            Elijah then had to run for his life because King Ahab wanted to kill him.  God told him to go to the brook Cherith and wait there.  God showed his control over all creation by feeding Elijah with some ravens at the brook.  Now verse 7 tells us that the brook has dried up and Elijah must move on.

            Elijah is told to go to Zarephath, a small town outside of Israel because God had commanded a widow there to supply Elijah with food.  But why here?  Why not go to some other God-fearing person within Israel?  Many years later, Jesus answered that question in Luke 4:24-26 – “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.  I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.  Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.”

            God wanted to impress on His people that He was the God of all people, not just Israel.  If His own people would not accept Him, then He would give His grace to those outside.  God is in the business of reaching out to those beyond His called and that is something we have to remember as part of our call to follow Jesus as well.

            Moreover, in that unlikely place God will provide for Elijah’s needs.  Elijah must understand that God is in full control of all creation.  God will provide and care for Elijah when and where He chooses in order to impress on Elijah that God alone is the true God.  Elijah had learned this lesson before at the brook, but now he faces his first test of what he has learned.

II. Elijah’s Faith is Tested in verses 10-13.

            Elijah goes to Zarephath and sees a widow gathering sticks.  Widows were often very vulnerable to begin with.  Gathering sticks was something only a poor person would do.  He could see clearly by just looking at her that it wouldn’t make any sense at all to ask this woman to give him room and board.  It would be like us going up to a homeless person in the downtown area and asking them for food and shelter for the next several months.  Clearly they have no resources for this.

            Elijah makes a double request which highlights the testing his own faith.  First, he asks for a little water when water was very scarce.  Then he asks for a piece of bread from a woman who was obviously struggling to feed herself.  Elijah knew there would have to be a miracle for there was no way she would be able to feed him on a regular basis on her own.  Elijah’s request puts what God has told him to the test.

            The widow’s response challenges Elijah’s faith even more.  Her answer paints a hopeless and pitiable picture.  She has absolutely no bread at all!  She has only a handful of flour and a small amount of oil left.

            She plans to take what little she has and make one last cake for herself and her son and then die because there simply is nothing left to eat.  This is the woman God has chosen to care for Elijah during a drought!?  A rational response would be for Elijah to look elsewhere for food.

            Yet Elijah shows that he is fully trusting in God, not human wisdom.  She just told him that she and her son are about to die from hunger!  So what does Elijah ask?:  First make ME a little cake and AFTERWARD make something for yourself and your son.  Elijah is looking beyond the obvious situation and trusting that God will work through apparently hopeless circumstances to care for him.

            How do we handle the trials in our lives that may seem impossible to us?  We tend not to have a response of faith.  We say:  “Why does this have to happen to me?”  “It is hopeless!”  Instead, perhaps we should say, “I wonder how God is going to work through this one!”

            Perhaps we need to develop an attitude of faith like Elijah had.  Elijah gave himself fully to the Lord not knowing HOW God would care for him, but believing fully THAT God would care for him and help him.  But that meant that he had to muster the courage to ask, to venture out in faith, asking what seemed to be impossible.

            Sometimes we tend to not want to take the risks of faith.  I.D. Thomas tells the story of a Georgia farmer living in an old shack.  He hadn’t planted anything and so nothing needed to be tended to.   A stranger stopped by and asked, “How’s your cotton doing?”  “Don’t have any,” the farmer replied.  “Didn’t you plant any?”  “Nope.  Afraid of the boll weevils.”  The visitor continued, “Well, how’s your corn?”  “I didn’t plant any of that either.  I was afraid that there wouldn’t be any rain.”  “How are your potatoes” “Don’t have any.  I’m afraid of potato bugs.”  The visitor said, “What did you plant?”  The farmer said, “Nothing.  I just played it safe.”

            We don’t have much faith if we don’t even bother trying because we are afraid to fail.  Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

III. Notice next how The Widow’s Faith is Tested in verse 14.

            Her test may seem very demanding in our eyes.  She was asked to give up everything!  Give up the last bit of food she had.  It would be like if I came to you and asked that you give up all your food, clothing, medicine, job, everything; leave nothing for yourself!  Moreover, Elijah tells her “don’t be afraid”!  “You are about to risk everything you have, but don’t be afraid.”

            But the severe test is also accompanied by a promise.  Elijah promises her in the name of the Lord God of Israel that she will be taken care of completely during the drought.  The flour will not be used up nor the oil run dry during the period of the drought if she will take care of Elijah.

            If she obeys, she will receive the promised blessing from God.  This is the same theme that is found in God’s covenant with Israel.  Long ago, God had promised His people that if they would live in obedience to Him, He would bless them with all they needed and more!  They’d been richly blessed, yet they rejected the covenant with God.  That is why they are being punished with the drought.

            But now the author is saying “look at this outsider!”  She is not even a member of the covenant and has not experienced the rich blessings that the people of Israel had experienced.  Yet she will respond in faith and give up all she has to the Lord.  These verses are a strong rebuke for God’s people as well as a reminder that God’s blessings were to be shared with those outside of Israel.

            What about our tests and God’s promises?  There are times when it seems that God does demand a great deal from us.  God demands all our time and energy.  God demands full obedience in every part of our life!  God may be demanding that we use our material blessings or our time and efforts in a way that seems unreasonable.

            But with the demands we must also remember the promises!  God promises that if we trust in Him, He will richly bless us.  He will not only provide for us and protect us, but will add to our storehouse of spiritual blessings as well.

            A hiker was thirsty for a drink, but could not find water, until he came to an abandoned house.  There he found a pump, and proceeded to pump with all the strength he had remaining.  However, no water came out.  Then he saw a small corked jug and a penciled note, directing that the water in the jug be poured into the pump to prime it.  At first the thirsty man questioned this, but when he followed directions he obtained water.  Before going his way, he filled the jug with water so the next thirsty person could secure water.  He added to the note,  “Believe me, it really works.  You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”

            The demands may be great, but the promised blessings are far greater.

IV. The Blessings of Faith

            Both the widow and Elijah believed and received a rich blessing.  For the widow, the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry in keeping with the word of the Lord.  Imagine what that must have been like!  You have one pound of chicken left in the freezer.  You cook and eat it for supper on Monday night and it’s gone.  On Tuesday morning, you look in the freezer and there is another pound of chicken.  And this continues on for over a year!  That is the miracle that this widow lived in!

            But she also certainly received a spiritual blessing.  For this widow realizes that simple trustful obedience to the word of God is the only way that leads to real life.  She came to entrust her life fully to the Lord and live in His grace.

            But Elijah as well receives a rich blessing.  This would be a powerful reminder that regardless how hopeless things may look to him, God would care for him if he trusted in the Lord!  Moreover, he may have also been encouraged to have hope for if an outsider could come to have such great faith, maybe the people would return to the Lord.

            This story should serve as an encouragement for us as well.  We see God working in those outside of the church and we are encouraged to work more for the Lord and His kingdom.  And we are encouraged and assured knowing that God is in control of us and the whole world just as He was in Elijah’s day.

            Today we look at our finances and the size of the debt we want to pay off in 7 months and we say, “It is very very difficult; perhaps impossible.”  Elijah couldn’t see what this widow could do, but God used her to help him.  We may not be able to see how this fund-raising campaign will help.  But let’s go forward in faith, asking God to bless it.  God may indeed bless us as He has so abundantly in the past.

            Sixteen years ago, we owed over $400,000 on this building.  Now our remaining balance is about $82,000.  God has reduced this amount significantly in that time, even during several very lean years.  The flour and oil was empty, but God provided.

            Perhaps some of us this morning are like the widow of Zarephath.  We may say, “I have little to give or nothing at all.”  If that is the case, I simply ask that you give what you can and desire to from your heart.  Or help out by addressing envelopes or writing thank you notes.  Then watch as God provides for your needs and multiplies your giving of whatever it may be.

            Perhaps others are like Elijah as we think of asking others for help.  We don’t know these people or their financial abilities to help.  But let’s ask them in faith and see if God will bless our efforts.  John Haggai wrote, “Attempt something so impossible that, unless God is in it, it is doomed to failure.”

            People, I firmly believe that the flour and oil, the resources are there because they belong to God.  We don’t know if it is indeed God’s will for us to raise this money.  If it is God’s will, let’s have faith to believe that God will use these gifts to build His church here.

            During World War 2, this country had to have more ships, and fast.  The ship building companies couldn’t produce enough. Their methods were too slow.   Henry Kaiser offered to build them. He had never built a ship. But ships were needed and he believed God would help him do it.  Some men made uncomplimentary remarks about Mr. Kaiser saying, “He’s a fool. He knows nothing about ships. How can he build them?”  But Kaiser did build them – built on average 1 per month for several years –  because he didn’t know he couldn’t!

            Will you respond in faith and pray that God will provide?