Life on the edge

Peninsula Community Church
December 9, 2012
God’s Gift of Family – From Barrenness to Fullness

Text: Matthew 1:1-6 and The Book of Ruth

I have made a decision this morning to skip the story of Rahab and move to the story of Ruth. This is not meant to diminish the value of Rahab’s story but I feel that it is important to go to Ruth’s story as it stands in dark contrast to Judah’s and Tamar’s story (Gen. 38). Last week, we saw a story of deceit, deception and broken promises. This week, our story begins in a similar way but has a different outcome and a different tone to it in many ways.

Our story today takes place in the days of the judges who ruled the land (1:1). If you remember your biblical history this was a time when the people would follow God for a season and then they would turn their backs on God and do their own thing. Each time, God would raise a judge up to bring order and to save the people. While it is not clear when this story took place precisely, most historians believe it occurred about the same time as Samson (Judges 13-16).

In studying this story, we could divide the story into two sections. One section would be the story of barrenness and the second section would be the story of fullness and fulfillment.

We begin with barrenness in the land as there was a famine in Bethlehem (1:1). As we read this story we see instances of great irony. The first bit of irony is in the fact that the term Bethlehem means “city of bread” but the “city of bread” was barren and no crops were being produced. Because of the famine and the barrenness of the land, Elimelech decided to move his family to Moab where it seemed that the land was prosperous. This action, however, showed a disregard for the provision of God. It is interesting to note that Elimelech’s name means “God is Sovereign” or “God is King.” Instead of trusting God which Elimelech’s name intimates, he chose rather to take things into his own hands and relocate his family to a land that would present some great challenges.

By moving to Moab, Elimelech put his family at risk because the Moabites manifested a total disregard for God’s ways. The Moabites were especially known for sacrificing children to appease their gods. By moving to Moab, Elimelech was exposing his family to these ungodly religions and unholy acts. He also diminished the possibility that his sons Mahlon and Chilion would marry godly women.

As the story progresses, we see that there the barrenness in relationships. As life would have it we find that Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, dies. We do not know why he died. Some theologians have tried to intimate that he died as a result of his disobedience in moving away to a land where he and his family would be influenced by ungodly men and women and their ways. But there is no clear indication in the text as to this conjecture.

Prior to his death he and Naomi, his wife, had two sons. They were named Mahlon and Chilion. It is ironic that Mahlon’s name meant “sickly” or “diseased” and Chilion’s name meant “weakness” or “wasting away.” Names were important then but even these names baffle the mind as to why these parents would have named their children such names. Mahlon and Chilion married two Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. But after ten years these men died and Orpah and Ruth found themselves facing the rest of their lives as widows. And if you remember our discussion from last week, you will remember that that this is the last place a woman would want to find herself: husbandless and without much hope for the future. And because Noami did not have any other sons, there was little hope for the future for any of them.

Because of these deaths, Naomi and Elimelech’s family is now facing the barrenness of heritage. Because of the death of her husband, the death of her two sons and the lack of sons to carry on the family name, we see that Naomi fell into a deep depression. It is interesting to note that her name meant “my pleasantness” or “sweetness.” But after the death of her husband and her sons she proclaimed that her name would no longer be Naomi, “sweetness” but would be Mara “one who is bitter.” No one could blame her as she was left without a husband, no son to care for her, and no heritage to depend on. As far as she was concerned life was over. She was all alone. In her despair, she encouraged her daughter-in-laws to return to their respective families but an interesting thing happens.

Orpah whose name means “turning back” decided to return to her home. In the text, we witness the act of Orpah kissing her mother-in-law which was a way of Orpah saying goodbye (1:14). She would take her chances with her family. Ruth on the other hand clung to Naomi. For the record her name means “a friend.” A true friend is one that is with us no matter what happens or what issues arise. Ruth was that kind of friend. Ruth had a spiritual awakening as her cry was “Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.” It is supposed by some that Naomi had an influence on her life to the degree that she had accepted the ways of Jehovah and had committed her heart to God.

So off to Bethlehem they go and once they arrive back in Bethlehem, things begin to change. There is a glimpse of hope and life. We now turn from barrenness to fullness. Let me share with you where I see fullness manifested.

There is fullness in that Ruth finds favor with Boaz. Naomi remembers that Elimelech had a relative named Boaz that could help them. Noami instructs Ruth to go and glean from his fields. The law of the land was that the homeless and poor could go onto the fields after the harvest and collect whatever grain had fallen to the ground. As the story progresses, we see that a love story begins to blossom. Boaz takes notice of Ruth and he offers her shade and protection. He instructs those harvesting the grain to leave extra behind for her so that both Ruth and Naomi will be cared for. In Ruth he saw a woman committed to caring for Naomi and a woman that was humble and pure.

There is fullness in God’s provision of a kinsman redeemer. Boaz had the potential of being Ruth’s kinsman redeemer according to the Levirate law (4:1-13). But there was an obstacle in the way. There is one other that would precede Boaz, so Boaz goes to him and offers a deal. It is interesting to note that when the next of kin thought he was going to inherit land and money he was excited but when he realized that the deal also included marrying a Moabite he decided that he did not want to do this because it would cause all that he had to go to Elimelich’s family. He was more concerned about his name and his heritage than he was helping out Ruth and his relative Elimelech.

When the kinsman refused Ruth, a common ritual for that day was performed. The custom of the day was that when the kinsman redeemer gave up his right he would remove his sandal and give it to the next heir. The sandal represented the land that was to be possessed as when someone drew up a contract for land it was measured by one stepping off the land that was to be apportioned. In some cases when the next of kin would refuse the widow, they would take the sandal and would spit on the ground as a means to humiliate the one refusing to follow through with their commitment. Some historians believed that sometimes the widow would spit in the face of the offender. Boaz through his actions confirmed to the elders that he had bought Elimelech’s inheritance so that the name of the dead might not be cut off from his brothers and the gates of the native place.

From here we see that Boaz and Ruth are married.

Fullness in God’s provision of a future and a hope. What began as barrenness we now see as fullness because God provides a son for Ruth and a heritage for Naomi and Elimelech’s name would be remembered. Ruth gives birth to Obed. But notice what transpires. The people are not as excited for Ruth as they are for Naomi who now has a grandson and an heir.

Listen to what the Bible says here in Ruth 4:14-17. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

While Naomi has an heir this is no ordinary heir for Obed ties the genealogy of Perez to David and in essence ties Perez, Obed, and David to Christ himself. What a glorious day!

So what do we learn from this?

First, we learn that God is at work in the darkest moments of our lives. When we don’t see Him working, He is often working the hardest for us.

Secondly, we see that out of barrenness comes life. When we think that all is lost, God intervenes and brings life. And, sometimes it is in very interesting ways.

Thirdly, we can miss the blessing of God even when there is blessing all around us. While her husband and sons had died, Naomi missed out on the fact that she had a daughter-in-law that loved her and would do anything for her.

And finally, we must realize that Jesus came as that elder brother who would become our kinsman redeemer. He is the one who would give himself for us so that we would have an inheritance, a hope and future.

Peninsula Community Church

December 2, 2012

God’s Gift of Family – Dysfunctional to Break Through

 As we continue our this series this morning, I am reminded of what Tim Keller, the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City had to say about this particular story and stories like it in the Bible. He stated that “we can’t always read the Bible as inspirational stories for us to imitate.” The reason for this is that some stories serve to warn us about the consequences of broken promises, disobedience and dishonesty. And this is certainly one of those stories as it is filled with deceit and broken promises and moral degradation. And yet, we can learn so much from the failures of the characters represented in this text.

Our text this morning is Genesis 38, but rather than read the entire text I will allude to different passages at different times throughout the message. It is interesting to note the placement of this particular story as it is almost a sidebar to the story of Joseph. It seems out of place but we know that God does not do anything by mistake. He chose this story as it shows us how open the arms of God are.

This is a story of a dysfunctional family. Our story opens with Judah leaving the safety of his family and his religious heritage to go to Canaan. There he became accustomed to the religious beliefs of that land and he married a Canaanite woman who bore him three sons: Er, Onan and Shelah. When Er was old enough, Judah arranged for him to marry Tamar. But, in verse 7 we see that Er was wicked in the sight of God and the Lord put him to death. By law Judah’s 2^nd born was to marry Tamar in order to carry on the family name and to provide the eldest son with a lineage and a means to pass on his inheritance. But Onan refused to follow through with the commitment of providing offspring for his brother. As a result, he too was put to death because of his evil acts. Then Judah promised his youngest son to Tamar but he was not old enough to marry at this time. But as we will see Judah reneged on his promise.

On a first read of this text, it is possible to be left with a misunderstanding about the story. But to fully understand the story, we must review two cultural issues at play in those that culture.

 The first if these is what was known as the Levirate Law. In those days, the law stated that if a wife’s husband died, it was the father-in-law’s responsibility to provide protection and security for her. This was accomplished by having the next oldest unmarried son to marry the widow. This was necessary so that the family’s name might be carried on and so that the widow would be protected. In those days, this was important because the future inheritance and lineage of the eldest son was critical. This was most important in view of the coming Messiah, the one who would redeem the world from sin.

 A second cultural issue was the status of widows. To be a widow in that day was the worse thing that could ever happen to a woman. As a widow, she was an outcast and she was not always selected as the marrying kind.

The problem was that when this law went unfilled two problems were brought to bear. There was an embarrassment for the father for not having an heir and there was shame on the part of the woman who was not able to bear children.

As we continue with this story, we see that Judah reneged on his promise to give Shelah to Tamar as a husband. As a result, Tamar decided to take things into her own hands. She knew that Judah would be headed to sheer his sheep. She positioned herself on the roadway so that she would be seen by Judah. She took off her widow’s clothes and replaced them with the clothes of a prostitute. It is interesting to note that she must have had a clue to Judah’s lifestyle and his susceptibility to prostitution or else she would not have used this as a temptation for him. He went in and lay with her. When she sought the agreed upon payment, he agreed to leave his staff and signet ring with her until he could pay her later. It should be noted that leaving these things behind would be like leaving your wallet and credit card behind in today’s culture.

As the story progresses, we see that word comes to Judah that Tamar is now pregnant. What does Judah do but he orders her to be burned to death, immediately. But the plot thickens as she reveals that she possesses the staff and signet ring belonging to the one who impregnated her. Judah is caught in a trap as he recognizes his staff and signet ring. As a result he calls off the death sentence which, honestly, was harsh even for those days. He is convicted as seen by his words to Tamara. “She is more righteous than I since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” Note, that he did not say that she was righteous or that her deeds were righteous but simply that her she represented a more righteous position than he did.

So how do we apply this story to our lives?

First of all we can never be driven by misplaced fear. Uncontrolled fear always has unhealthy results. It appears that Judah was driven more by fear rather than by faith in God. He was afraid that if he allowed Shelah to marry Tamar that he would face the same end that his brothers did. It is also interesting to note that Judah’s wife had also died and with the circumstances involving his other two sons he reacted in fear and refused to allow the marriage to take place.

Secondly, we must never blame others for our faulty emotions. Because of his faulty emotion of fear, Judah blamed Tamar for everything that had happened. In verse 11, Judah sends her home and promises to give Shelah to her as a husband. But because he was afraid rather than take responsibility it was easier to blame her. He did not want to admit that he had a role to play in this. For him she was the problem. There was something wrong with her. He sent her away with no intent to marry her off. Many of us may have been in that spot where we have been the scapegoat of blame. There was a season in my life, whether it was real or imagined, I believed that I was being blamed for my parent’s issues (divorce, anger toward one another and so on). Perhaps, you may have experienced this first hand but we can move forward from being dysfunctional to accepting breakthrough faith.

Thirdly, regardless of the circumstances of our lives breakthrough is possible. We see here that Judah had a breakthrough because as he was confronted by Tamar and was shown the staff and signet ring, he repented and called off the death sentence. It is interesting to note that Tamar says do you recognize these items. This was a break through moment for Judah. He recognized not only his staff and signet ring but he also recognized his sin. In essence he repented by declaring her more righteous than himself.

The story could have ended here but six months later Tamar gave birth to twins. One of the twins born to Tamar was named Perez. His name meant “breach” or “breaker through.” Names in those days were important as these names were often prophetic as to the future of the one who was named.

While he was born into a dysfunctional situation it did not stop him from having a breakthrough in his life. Here, we see the grace of God breaks through every situation and it breaks into our lives. We do not know much about Perez but we know that he was the great grandfather of Boaz, David, Solomon and eventually Christ himself. What a heritage? What began as a dysfunctional family ended with the one who would be a break through child and would become the predecessor of the King of Kings. Perez was to be the vehicle by which Christ came. We also see in this story that while Judah was punishing Tamara for his sin the real Jesus takes on our sin and forgives us.

So what do we learn from this story? We learn that regardless of your past, regardless of your mistakes you have made, sins committed, or wrongs done to you; there is potential for breakthrough. How about you? Are you ready for a breakthrough? Are you ready to move from a state of dysfunctional circumstance to receive Christ who brings a breakthrough? He invites you to come. So, will you?

Peninsula Community Church

Moral Compass – God Values Human Life

October 28, 2012

Text: … Psalm 139:13-17 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

A discussion on the value of human life no longer centers solely on the unborn but now the elderly and the aged are in the crosshairs of those who have a diminished view of life. For many years the focus was on the act abortion but in recent years the discussion has turned to issues regarding end of life issues. During the debate over the recent health care bill and because of such people as Dr. Kvorkyan, known as the suicide doctor this issue is now on the forefront of a moral discussion. One of the discussions that was front and center on the new health care bill was that “death panels” and boards would be organized in order to determine the level of care that one will be able to receive. The idea that has been propagated is that the cost of treatment will be weighed against the quality of life and life expectancy of the individual. While the bill does not explicitly refer to death panels there is a lot of gray area where the government can control costs by controlling the kinds of procedures that will be approved. Thus, the natural outcome and the unintended consequences of many of the measures put forth in this bill will require a rationing of healthcare to one degree or another which could limit the care that will keep on alive simple on the quality of life or the cost of providing care for them.

We have seen this with the abortion issue in that the argument to support Roe VS. Wade was that abortion would never go beyond the 1^st trimester but as we know now doctors can abort in most cases up until the time the baby is born. In fact to assure that the baby will not survive the abortion the doctor will inject the baby with a saline solution. In 2008, the last year data is available, the total number of abortions for that year was 1.21 million. That is 3322 a day. It is also important to note that an abortion according to Planned Parenthood can cost anywhere from $350 to $950. This would mean that this is a multi-million dollar business and may be as much as 1 billion dollars a year. It is also interested note that 40% of minors reported that neither of their parents knew they had received an abortion. This is in a nation where schools cannot even give out an aspirin without parental approval.

For me personally, the problem I have is that when the government has control over any issue the tendency is that it will become political because bureaucrats will now determine the outcomes and those outcomes will be politically motivated.

Before I go much further let me make an observation. As we look at how God values life, I am keenly aware that there may be some you have been negatively impacted by abortion to one degree or another. You may have experienced it personally or you may have had someone close to you that experienced abortion. But, you need to know that while God values life he also offers forgiveness to those who fall short of God’s plan and purpose for life. While the government focuses on the political expediency of life, the Bible offers us a view and a standard for understanding what life is and how life is to be valued.

First of all we see that God is the creator, sustainer and provider of all human life. In Genesis 1-3 we see that God created mankind in His image. The difference between mankind and the animal kingdom is that God formed and shaped and breathed life into the soul of mankind whereas animal kind was only spoken into existence. It is in this act that God established the value of mankind above and beyond any other part of his creation. In Colossians 1 we come to understand this as Paul reminds the Colossians that God was the creator and sustainer of all of life. It is for that reason that we must trust God and value what God values.

The problem in a discussion of the value of life is that every since mankind’s first sin, man has struggled to control God and has tried to replace God with himself. This is called the depravity of man which means that because of that first sin in the Garden of Eden that man from that point forward has the potential to sin. There is no greater place that this is a reality than in the discussion of the sanctity of life. By aborting unwanted children we are attempting to control what God has created and we are determining what God should do. If we can diminish God’s character and who God is we can feel better about our sin.

It is for this reason that we see that God values all human life from the womb to the tomb. This is clearly presented in Psalm 139 where David states that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Look at David’s words. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Notice that in this passage that God knows us in the womb as it is He that has formed us and shaped us but he also talks about that our days are numbered by the Lord as well. He knows the number of days we will live before we ever begin to live them. And He values this life until its end of days. A second idea is at play here and that is that murder is murder. It cannot be redefined as acceptable based on one’s age or inability to speak for themselves. This why God was clearly focused on teaching that murder was a sin.

The third concept that is presented through scripture is that our bodies belong to God. There is this debate in the world today that people say that this is my body and I am in control of it and nobody can tell me what to do. This plays into the spirit of independence we have and that we do not want anyone to tell us what to do. Perhaps there is some truth to this but the fact is we are temples of the Holy of the Spirit. We do not own our bodies but we are stewards of our bodies. Listen to Paul’s words in 1Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!

We belong to God and we are His therefore we must honor God with our bodies and what we do with our bodies.

The final thought here is that God has created us with the ability to choose and therefore we must choose to align ourselves with Biblical values that support life and liberty. In Christian circles we call this free will. But with free will there must be responsibility. For example I believe in choice and I believe in a woman’s right to choose. Now before I am stoned as a heretic let me tell what I mean by this. For me there is a choice but the choice must be made early in the process.

Think about this for a moment. If we were to be obedient to God’s plan for marriage and refrained from pre-marriage sex we would not be having this discussion. But the reality is that we once again we are motivated by our sinful desires and passions that are difficult to control unless we have submitted these to God’s will and His plan for our lives.

There is a choice to be made and Paul in his letter to the Romans discusses this choice. But, if we reject the truth we can become futile in our minds and their hearts have been darkened. Romans 1:21-28 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Proverbs 1:29-31 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

The fact is that while our bodies belong to God we can deny that existence and will face the repercussions of denying the truth of God’s import in our lives.

Job offers a counter offer to this in Job 34:4 when he states “Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.”

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

How are your choices? How about those who are running for office? What is their view of the sanctity of life? Do they cherish life? Or, do they say they support life but do not support laws that support life? If we support life, how do we do at supporting those who decide to keep their children rather than having an abortion? You see the world knows what the church is against but do they know what we stand for. We stand for life from the womb to the tomb. And we stand for helping those who choose life over abortion or end of life death. May God help us!

Peninsula Community Church

Moral Compass – God Values Marriage

November 4, 2012

Text: … Genesis 2:23-25 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

It is hard to believe that this Tuesday is finally Election Day. For me, I am so ready to cast my vote because it seems that this election cycle has lasted forever. I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like the little girl in this clip (show video).

As we enter the last few days of this election and we come to the end of this series, I want to share one more key issue that I believe we need to consider before we vote on Tuesday. Today, we will look at the sanctity of marriage and how that plays a role in what we will be as a nation and how it should play a role in how we vote. This is a critical issue as it is my opinion that the sanctity of marriage is under attack today like we have never seen before. We see the sanctity of marriage diminished in a number of ways. We see the increase and normalizing of divorces and multiple marriages. We have seen this glorified by way of TV and movies that present a model of marriage that is far from the ideal established by God. It would be nice to say that the church is immune to these new paradigms but the church is just as susceptible to divorce. In fact, studies have shown that while the divorce rate is 50% plus in society the divorce rate is unfortunately the same for the church.

A second attack on the sanctity of marriage is related to an aggressive gay and lesbian agenda. We have witnessed an increase in gay and lesbian relationships being interjected into many TV programs and movies. It is interesting to note what The New York Times had to say. “Gay marriage may not be the law of the land, but it has become a cornerstone of network television. NBC calls its new comedy about a homosexual couple adopting a baby “The New Normal,” and that kind of understates it. There is nothing particularly new about gay characters on sitcoms. This season they are not only normal, they seem de rigueur (required by fashion, etiquette or custom). GAY is the new straight.” (The New York Times, September 6, 2012).

To date there are six states where gay marriage is legal. So far Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington D.C. have passed laws legalizing gay marriage. Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island have civil unions and California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington offer domestic partnerships (Freedomtomarry.org). As we know, today, Maryland has on their ballot a proposition to legalize gay marriage. The sanctity of marriage is certainly under attack.

While the world around us is attacking the sanctity of marriage we can to look at Scripture to set our compass, I would like to submit to you several ideas that are presented through the Gospel.

First of all the concept of marriage has always been designed by God as a Covenant between one man and one woman. In the text we read this morning, we see that God created man and woman and that the man was to leave his family and to cleave to his wife. In the Hebrew language the term man is in the masculine tense and the term for woman is a female. Therefore, God’s design was always for marriage to be between a man and a woman. We also see that Paul in Ephesians 5:31 speaks to this as well when he states “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

The marriage between a man and woman is also a covenant as noted in Malachi 2:14 where Malachi stated But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

It is interesting to note that that in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony and the KETUBAH or the marriage contract the husband accepts certain marital responsibilities, such as the provision of food, shelter and clothing for his wife, and promises to care for her emotional needs as well. The contract is so important that the marriage is not complete until it signed by the groom and presented to the bride. This demonstrates that both husband and wife see marriage as more than a just a physical and emotional union, it is a moral and legal commitment. It is forbidden for Jewish couples to live together without this document. For the Jew, the marriage covenant symbolically represents the covenant between God and His people, Israel.

For Christians, marriage goes beyond the earthly covenant as well, as a divine picture of the relationship between Christ and his Bride, the Church. The marriage relationship models the work of God in us. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. The wife in turn is to love her husband in recognition of his leadership and his commitment to Christ. So again we see that God’s view of marriage is to have one man and one woman united together in this covenant relationship.

A second issue that is seen through the Scripture is that misplaced emotions and ideologies cannot redefine marriage. One’s emotions and personal ideologies must never be the foundation of scriptural truth. When we depend on our emotions we can be easily deceived because our emotions can easily change.

Listen to what Paul says in Romans 1:19-32 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

It should be noted here that one sin is not greater than another. However, the problem is that some sins have greater consequences. God never intended for man to have a depraved mind but it is the response to rejecting the truth of Christ and His plan for life. So it is when we reject God’s plan and purpose for marriage.

The problem is that once again we see a slippery slope of degradation occurring as this relates to marriage. What began as people of the same sex wanting to have relationships has now evolved to them wanting all of the rights afforded married couples as defined by God. Unfortunately, it may not stop here. The organization LAMDA has reported that they are pushing for laws that will allow men to marry young boys and to have sex with them as a natural action of life.

And, finally moral depravity has always been at the center of the demise of every great nation or empire. Carl Zimmerman, a Harvard sociologist, in 1949 wrote a book entitled Family and Civilization. In the book he wrote, there are six major characteristics of any major world empire just before its fall.

• Marriage is no longer viewed as a sacred institution and today we see the demise of the marriage union in this culture;
• Alternative forms of marriage and family are condoned; gay marriage is being readily accepted as the norm;
• There is a rise of feminist movements and the emasculation of males – it is interesting to note that the Bible has done more to liberate women than any other document. In Jesus’ time a man could divorce a woman for as little as burning the toast. Women were treated as a second class citizen but Jesus on many a occasion stated that man and woman were equal as a created being.
• There is a breakdown of parental authority – Schools, computers, games and TV are now the greater substitute for parents.
• Adultery is celebrated instead of recognized as a sin
• There is a rise of sexual perversion including incest and homosexuality

As a nation we are on this slippery slope of our demise but we can make a difference. We can live according to God’s plan and purpose in regard to marriage. And, we need to know where the candidates stand on the sanctity of marriage. We can change and we can live out 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Where do the candidates stand? It is my belief that if our current administration remains in power that it will not be long before the church will be forced to support gay marriage or it will cease to exist as an institution. We see this in the recent developments with contraception and the Catholic Church. There is no regard for religious freedom and I believe that sanctity of marriage will be the next area that we see attacked. How do the candidates match up? Take a copy of the voter guide as you leave so you know where your candidate stands.

Peninsula Community Church

October 21, 2012

Moral Compass for the Voting Booth

 Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

We are hearing much rhetoric about finances and the economic stability of our nation and our families which make up this nation today. We hear about the coming financial cliff if Washington does not respond or react to the issues facing America. We hear of looming tax hikes as a result of the enactment of the Health Care law. We hear of business owners who are closing their doors because they can no longer afford to run their businesses. We hear of business men afraid to hire any new employees because they do not know the future costs associated with running their business as a result of health care costs and new regulations that are being passed every day. We are hearing that Social Security and Medicare may be bankrupt as early as 2034 as reported by the current President’s own cabinet if nothing is done. Unemployment continues to be too high. The total number of people unemployed remains at 23 million people. More people are on food stamps and government programs than ever before. We can add to this the reduction in household income and the rise in prices of food, utilities and gas. And interestingly enough, no one republican or democrat is denying or disputing these claims.

While politicians and economists have much to say about finances, the Bible also has a lot to say and what the Bible says can help to realign our compass so that it is pointed to true North. The Bible serves as a guideline for our living as it is the truth that should guide our moral compass.

Let me share a couple of areas where I see the Bible speaking to our finances.

First of all the Bible calls us to an eternal perspective in regard to our finances. Jesus recognized this truth when He stated that “where you heart is there your treasure will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). What He meant here is that we must recognize that we must be good stewards of what we possess but we will not take any of our possessions with us. Solomon said this about a man’s finances “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)?

But when we have an eternal perspective in regard to our finances we will master our finances but we will be sure and not allow our finances to master us. We will not borrow money we cannot pay back. We will not make investments that our children have to repay. We will recognize how blessed we are and how much God has given us. As a result we will strive to honor God with our finances so that the Kingdom is expanded and grown. Our goal and desire is to make deposits in our heavenly bank where moth, rust and corruption cannot harm them.
The perspective of many in political office is an eternal one but usually is a short term vision that is clouded by the desire to be reelected and to get money pouring into their particular district. But our success as a nation cannot be measured in who gets elected but how we steward the resources and the blessings we have as a nation.

Secondly, we have lost our dependency on God. In the early days of America, story after story has been written about how the settlers to this great nation had to trust almighty God to provide and keep them. But in the early 1900’s there was a shift away a dependency on God to a dependency on government to provide our every need. One of the problems experienced by Americans is that they have borrowed money to live the American dream. America as a nation is no different we either borrow more money or the feds print more money. The problem with borrowing money is that according to scripture we become a slave to the one who holds our debt. Currently, we are nearly 16 trillion in debt and China and Japan holds the largest percentage of that debt. The problem with borrowing money from someone is that the relationship changes rather quickly.
One of the unintended outcomes of our nations move toward welfare is that it has created an entitlement program where men and woman become dependent on its resources for their survival. The fact is this is an issue of trust. Who will we trust to provide our needs? Will we trust God “Who will supply all of my needs in Christ Jesus” or will I trust the government to be my provider. Too many today are trusting the government today as their source of provision.

Thirdly, we have a misguided understanding of who we should help. Helping others in need is an individual responsibility not the governments. In many ways the church has fallen short in its role of providing care. It is interesting to note that the Scriptures have a lot to say about helping others but the emphasis is almost always on the widow and the orphan. Nowhere does scripture justify giving assistance to one is able and capable to work. We have become a lazy and entitlement oriented nation. If you don’t work you don’t eat. In fact scripture says that if you don’t work you don’t eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Let’s look at who we have been called to help from a biblical standpoint. First of the church is called to help the widows and orphans. On several occasions the New Testament points to the need to be sure that the widow and orphan are being cared for. We see this when the disciples ordained deacons to care for the widows who felt that their needs were going unattended. Acts 6:1; James 1:27; and 1 Timothy 5 are examples of this. Beyond that the Bible speaks to families helping families as noted by Deuteronomy 15:7-11.

This does not rule out helping others but the focus of the help was to be on those who could not help themselves. In today’s environment there is no balance in this. I can remember when I first moved to NY I was involved in a refugee resettlement program through our church organization. It was interesting that those families that we settled into a home and a job had a remarkable success at being assimilated into the culture but for some who could not find jobs they were forced onto welfare and the result is that many of them never fully acclimated into their surroundings because they were now depend on the government to provide for

Let me say this I am offended by some who would use the Bible to justify giving money to those who do not deserve and have the ability to work for themselves.

And finally, we lack an attitude of contentment and thankfulness. We have been deceived into thinking that the way to satisfy our desires is to borrow more and more money to get what we don’t need for our immediate survival. We have a false idea that borrowing more money and spending more is the way to achieve greatness. The problem is that we borrow more so that we end up spending more not to reduce our debt but to feel secure.

This attitude is at the basis of the entitlement society in which we live. We feel we are entitled to a free education, free phones, free medical, free college and so on and so forth. But the fact is nothing is free it will cost someone something along the way. But we are reaching a point where more people are taking benefits than those who are paying into the system and when that happens we are in trouble.

I recently talked with someone who was in the Navy who related a story to me of a friend of theirs who had been late to work so many times that he staged getting beat up to avoid the consequences of another tardiness. But, if that is not the end of the story, that person is filing a claim for disability from the Navy because they have a provision that if you received a concussion while in the service you are entitled for this benefit. He staged a fight, stated at the hospital that he had passed out, the doctors diagnosed him with a concussion and now he is applying for disability.

To get back to the verse we used this morning when all is said and done who do you trust to provide for you. Do you trust God? Have you given yourself fully to Him? If not you can today. Just this week I was reading a book about evangelistic preaching and the author of the text make a great statement. He stated “The Good News is not just about getting saved but it is about living the saved life.” So how is your trust level? The fact is no matter who is elected this fall they will disappoint and fail us. But the government is not our savior. The government is not the answer to all of our woes only God can be that.

Peninsula Community Church

Moral Compass To Live By – Unmovable Foundations

October 14, 2012

Text: Psalms 11:3 … if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Psalms 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

1Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

As I was preparing for this message I remembered that in the mid 60’s and early 70’s I attended a church that taught the congregation that they should not buck the system and that religion and politics should not be mixed. The result was that prayer was taken from the schools; abortion became legal, and the origination of the current debate on the sanctity of marriage was begun all while many in the church remained silent and disengaged. But we can and should change that today.

I want to say to you that truth is only the moral compass that will lead us in the right direction. As believers, we must remember our faith and our sacred duty under that faith when we cast our vote in November. The separation of Church and State can never mean that the Church must remain silent on issues of faith and morals at the heart of government policy. Faithful citizens must not check their religion at the door to the voting booth. Your faith must be your guiding light and your moral compass as you cast your vote. Your vote gives you tremendous power. You have the ability to help preserve life, the family, and freedom. This is a tremendous power, and it comes with tremendous responsibility.

As we begin to take a look at the moral compass that should guide our decisions in the voting booth, I want to make a couple of comments. First of all the election of the right person into office is not going to change the face of America overnight. It will help chart a course for a better future but the election in itself is not the answer.

This brings me to my second observation and that is as believers we must do our part to make the gospel an integral part of how decisions are made. That means that we must allow the gospel to be the ruling authority over our lives again. It is only as believers allow the gospel to rule that we will see significant changes. This is in keeping with 2 Chronicles 7:14 where God calls His people to prayer, confession and repentance.

And this brings me to my third observation. When we begin to discuss the issue of politics I recognize that in a setting like this that there is no doubt a divergence of views and ideas about who should be elected and why. I am sure that if we polled this group in a way where everyone’s response would be kept private that we would indeed have varying views and sometimes about the same person or ideology.

In the first passage we read, David speaks to an issue that is prevalent in every generation but it seems to be more pronounced in some generations than other. It is my belief that we are living in such a time where the very foundations of our society and culture have lost their moorings and need to be realigned with God’s design and purpose.

It is a tragic thing for the foundation of a building to begin to crumple because it will not be too far down the road that the building on which it is built will begin to feel the impact of that crumbling foundation.

In Psalm 89:14 David reminds us that the foundation of God’s throne is righteousness and justice. When these two characteristics are diminished we are in for changes that will effect generations to come.

We will also note that Psalms 11 begins with the premise that we must trust in God and once we lose trust in a Sovereign, creating and loving God we have begun a spiral away from God’s intentions and therefore our foundations will be shaken.

You might ask how the foundation of America is being impacted. I propose the following:

• Tolerance VS intolerance – we must accept everyone’s sin and belief system with judgment but too often those that want us to be tolerant of them are not very tolerant of us.
  
• Religious pluralism – today every religious belief has equal footing and there is the belief that all religions help us arrive at a new state of consciousness or gets us to heaven but we know as believers that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Christ.
  
• Privatizing of religion – there is a move afoot to privatize religion. You can be religious but do so on your own time. There is a separation of the sacred and the secular but the fact is we never stop being a Christian.
  
• Shift of morals to values – today we one’s perspective as being more valuable than one’s moral footing. Morals never change while what one values change from day to day and from situation to situation.
  
• Entitlement mindset VS work ethic – at one time America’s strength was its work ethic. Men settled the west and farmed the land but today we have a mindset that we are entitled something for nothing.
  

 Through scripture we know that it is God that established governments to protect and lead in righteousness but governments can err and compromise its moral integrity (Romans 13) but we also know that we can affect the future and change the course of our nation by exercising the right and privilege we have to vote.

• Vote our conscience
  
• Vote intelligently
  
• Vote Biblically
  
• Vote Prayerfully
  

Peninsula Community Church

Getting Connected – The Rewards of Living in Community

September 9, 2012

Today and for the next four weeks I want to speak to you about the initiation of Connect Groups which will be our Small group ministry here at PCC. This message series will in essence be a vision casting series so that we can all be on the same page and understand where we are headed with small groups as a ministry of the church.

 Today we will look at the reasoning and the blessing of small groups within the church. Let us read together Acts 2:44-47 as one of many scriptures that focus our attention on Connect Groups.

 Act 2:44-47 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Life is to be lived out in community – Notice some particulars in this passage. First of all they believed together and they had all things in common. The first point I would like to make is that church happens in community. We are a community of believers and therefore we are called to meet together, fellowship together, pray together, grow together and do ministry together. That has always been God’s plan.

If you read the creation story you will note that from the beginning God made it clear that it was not good for man to dwell alone. Mankind needed to be in a relationship with others. Not much has changed since that time as mankind continues to have a need to be in relationship. It is not by chance that the church is represented by the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5.

Solomon recognized the value of relationship and community when he state “And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

In community we have the opportunity to meet the needs of others – The second thought expressed in our verse today is that it is in community that we understand the needs of those around us. It is in community that we can begin to find ways to meet those needs physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Note that in the New Testament church, they had all things in common. They were a sharing group of people. If they saw a need they found ways to meet those needs. Most often it was through the power of prayer, counsel and the Word that the needs were met.

In community fellowship occurs and relationships are built – The third thought expressed in this passage is that while they met in the temple which is important, they also focused on meeting together in their homes where they broke bread together and fellowshipped together. The problem with meeting in the temple is that we usually spend no more than one and one-half hours together. It is difficult to build relationships in that time because of the format of the Sunday service. But in smaller groups you get to know one another and you will learn who they are by name.

In community people celebrate the life of God’s blessings – The fourth thought in this passage is that had a positive response. They received their food with glad and generous hearts. They were praising God and they were finding favor with the people around them. One of the key elements of a Connect Group ministry is that people will be given the opportunity to share their answered prayers and the things they are learning on a personal level.

Through community the church grows – The final thought is that they saw the Lord adding to the church by way of them meeting together both in the Temple and in small groups. Because we will seek to grow the groups we will see the church grow and the needs of the church being met as we grow.

Peninsula Community Church

Displaying the Life Of Christ – Are You Living It?

September 2, 2012

1 John 5:16-21 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

For the last couple of months we have been taking a journey through the book of 1 John. We have unpacked much through this journey but today the rubber meets the road so to speak. The question we must ask is “will we be hearers only or will we put into action what we have learned?” This action is critical to the process of learning to display the life of Christ in our life. And yet, this is one of the greatest struggles of our life.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been taking some golf lessons. The instructor is very capable and is revamping everything I do from changing my grip, to changing the way I swing and how I approach the ball. All of these is awesome but if I don’t implement what I have learned I will never improve my game and never will enjoy the game. It takes practice and it also means there are times I may fail but it is in the failure that I learn how to improve my game.

As passionate followers of Christ we may know what we need to do but doing it sometimes is the most difficult thing we will try. But, we have a secret weapon or two in our arsenal that will help us. First of all, we have the power of prayer that will help us. Secondly, the entire Godhead is on our side and is fighting for us, if we will yield ourselves to God’s will, God’s purpose and His plan for our life. And most of all we have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. It is His assignment to teach us what we need, to convict us when we go astray and to guide us to the truth of the gospel. With that said by way of remembrance let me highlight a couple of issues.

First of all in 1 John as passionate followers of Christ we realize that we are not independent but interdependent upon each other and God. God calls us to love Him and He calls us to love one another because it is through this love that we exhibit our commitment to Christ. We can raise our hands and be completely faithful to church attendance and outwardly we can do everything right but treat others with contempt and disgust. But through the book of 1 John we learn that if we truly want to be passionate followers of Christ we will love others because we have an understanding that God loved us before we could love Him and that He gave Himself for us in spite of what we were or what we did.

This idea of love is exhibited in our passage this morning in the fact that when we see our brother sinning we will pray for them so that they will return to truth and be healed. The fact is we need each other. We need to encourage one another toward hope and a full life. We need to pray for one another. We need to challenge one another in love to grow and become better than they are.

Secondly, a passionate follower of Christ does not keep on sinning because he is obedient to God’s commands in our walk with Christ. To use my golf analogy if I continue in my bad habits I will not see the improvements needed and my game will suffer. This is accomplished by abiding in the Word and abiding in Him. In others words, we saturate ourselves with the Word of God so that we will not keep on sinning. This does not mean that we will never sin, it simply means that because we are in the Word and we are in Him that we will be easily convicted and that conviction will lead to confession and to repentance. When we are in the Word and we are abiding in Him, it will become increasingly harder to intentionally sin without the heart rate increasing and the blood pressure rising. There will be the penetrating sound of that still small voice in our ears and in our hearts.

In the passage for this morning, we see that the one born of God will be protected from the evil one. This happens in two ways. First, God will block the work of the enemy from advancing against us and at other times He will allow things to come so that we learn to make the right decision and stand our ground upon biblical truth and righteousness but He will not allow us to be destroyed. He is our protector. 

God becomes that little alarm in our hearts that says something is wrong. Over the last few weeks we have been getting an alarm here at the church. I was getting calls from the alarm company at all hours of the day and night. You see there was no fire but there was a problem with the system. We could not see the problem but there was a problem. We had to have a tech come in and run diagnostics to determine the source of the problem. The Holy Spirit is that alarm system in our lives that points to a problem and the word of God becomes the diagnostic guideline to determine what is wrong. You see the fact that the alarm going off was not the problem, the problem was that the Mother board of the alarm panel was broken and needed to be replaced.

Too often, we believe that the alarm is the problem and we try to fix the alarm but the alarm only points out that there is a problem. I could turn the alarm off but the problem still exists. Too often we look at the symptoms of sin in our life without dealing with the sin itself or the issue that is causing the problem. We cannot manage sin we must get rid of it.

And lastly, a passionate follower of Christ must keep themselves from idols. We don’t use this word very much anymore but an idol is anything that will distract from our worship of God. Remember we said a couple of weeks ago that worship means to ascribe worth to something. It is to place a value on an item, person, place or thing. An idol is anything that we value more than we value God and obedience to His ways. Our friends can be an idol as we choose to please them more than we please God. Our failures and diminished capacities to be healed can be an idol as we value being unhealthy more than we do being whole in Christ and in essence we prevent God’s work and will from being accomplished in us.

One of the problems that existed with Israel is that their worship became an idol. They were good at offering sacrifices and doing the religious things but God’s indictment for them was that their hearts were far from God although outwardly they were doing everything right and by the book. God looks at the heart and not the outward.

To avoid idols we must have a love for God that runs deep. I am reminded of a story told by Gordon MacDonald in his book “The Life God Blesses: Weathering the Storms of Life that Threaten the Soul.” A boat builder wanted to build a boat that everyone would talk about. He outfitted his boat with colorful sails, complex rigging, and comfortable appointments and conveniences in its cabin. The decks were made of beautiful teakwood and all of the fittings were polished brass. As he built the boat, he fantasized about the admiration and praise he would receive from the members of the yacht and boat club where he would be launching his boat. This made him spend even more time on the appearance of the boat. He paid little attention to what was hidden or out of sight. On the day he launched his boat, he received the accolades of the crowd. The people praised him and proclaimed that this was the grandest boat they had ever seen.

With the crack of the champagne bottle on the bow the boat set sail. He stood at the helm with great pride racing through his veins. All was well until a small storm arose. This was not a hurricane or a storm of any significance but just a small squall. Suddenly the boat capsized. And what would have normally caused the ship to right itself was not there for you see there was no weight in the hull. He had spent so much time on the outward appearance of what could be seen but he never attended to the keel of the boat and that part of the boat not seen by anyone.

The lesson here and the lesson of 1 John is to make sure that the parts of our life that are unseen receive just as much attention as the ones that are seen. And in that, we will display the life of Christ with grandeur. The storms may come but because we have the right priorities and the right mindsets we will be righted even in the greatest of all storms. We will display the life of Christ in us and people will see Him through what we do and how we live.

So how is your hidden life? How’s your life when no one is looking? Are you trying to turn the alarm of heart off without dealing with the issues causing the alarm?

Peninsula Community Church

Displaying the Life Of Christ – Prayers that Get Results Part 2

August 26, 2012

In last week’s message, we dealt with the subject of “Prayers That Get Results.” We noted that God longs and desires for us to pray and that when we are obedient to God, we know His word and desire to honor Him we will see our prayers answered. We also noted that God is not looking for perfect people but people who are perfectable by being humble and teachable. We were also reminded that God’s ways are not our ways. He does things at times that defy human logic and reasoning. And finally, we stated that when our prayers are not answered it does not mean that He loves us less nor does it mean that He loves us more when He does answer.

Let’s read our text again.

1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

When we pray there are times where it appears that one’s prayers are not answered in the way or the in the time we think. Today we will look at the reasons our prayers might not be answered.

The first reason our prayers might not be answered is that we praying for things that are outside of God’s will. This can include two things. For one our prayers may not being answered because we are not praying at all. It is God’s will for us to pray. James 4:2 – You do not have because you do not ask. We must never reach a point where we believe that our prayers are not important or vital to the cause of the Kingdom. So, we must pray over the small things and the large things. I have heard people say that this is such a simple thing why would I pray but through prayer our faith is built. If you are not praying, or asking for answers how can your prayers be answered.

At other times we pray for things that counter God’s word, His character or His ways. I think of two things to illustrate this concept. The first is when Michelle and I were looking to purchase a house on Long Island. We had one lady tell us that we should find the house we wanted and every day go and stand outside that house and ask God to give it to us. The problem that I had with that was how was God going to answer our prayer when someone lived in the house. Instead, we asked God to direct us to the house we were to have and He did and it was more than we needed or wanted.

A second illustration is found in two people who came to me that had fallen in love. The problem was that they were married to other people and not to one another. They asked me if it were alright for them to pray that God would work it out so that they could marry each other which would mean they would have to divorce their spouses or have some other issue occur in order for them to be married. This was certainly outside God’s will and beyond scriptural authority.

• John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
• 1 John 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

The second reason that our prayers may not be answered is that our motivation in praying is based in lustful and prideful desires. You see God knows our hearts and motivation better than we do ourselves. He judges our hearts and He knows when we are asking for things out of a selfish motivation or a lust for things that we cannot have. God is looking for humble hearts and teachable spirits to use and move through. Remember this word lust is more than sexual desire it also represents desires and passions that are out of control and when we desire things that are beyond our grasp.

• James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

The third reason our prayers might not be answered is that we show no diligence to do our part to assist God in answering the prayer. We are praying for a new job but we have not looked for a job. We want God to heal our marriage but we are not willing to do our part in making our marriage better. We want a better job but we are not willing to take the classes and gain the knowledge that we need to make this happen. Doing these things can be just as much of a step of faith than anything else we do as you can step out in faith and God will do the rest.

• 2 Thessalonians 3:10-11For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

The fourth reason we might not have answered prayer is that we have secret, unconfessed, habitual sin in our hearts. When we are being rebellious toward God and we have failed to walk in forgiveness our prayers may not be answered. These does not mean that God will not hear their prayer but He can use the unanswered prayer as means to get their heart.

• Psalm 66:18 – If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
• 1 Peter 3:11-12 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

The fifth reason we might not have answered prayer is that we are putting God in a box by not allowing God to be God. There have been times in my life where I know that God has called on me to be very specific in my prayers and there are times where my prayers have been so specific that even God could not answer them. You see God’s expanse is greater than any that we know or comprehend. I know of one young guy that had a list of 100 things he wanted in his mate and he said that He was praying or her to come his way but the problem was that every time he dated a girl if she did not meet all 100 requirements he would break up with her and move on to someone else.

• Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
• Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
  

The sixth reason why our prayers are not being answered is that there is discord at home and in our relationships.

• Mark 11:24-25 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
• 1 Peter 3:7 ikewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Let me illustrate this in this way. If you are having an affair, it is not wise to pray for your marriage to be strengthened if you are not willing to break off the affair and confess your son. If you are addicted to pornography and you pray for purity you must be willing to confess and set up parameters that will help prevent turning to such issues.