Life on the edge

Peninsula Community Church

The Pathway to Forgiveness – The Process

January 29, 2012

Mark 11:25 – 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.”

Dr. Everett Worthington, professor of psychology at Richmond University, has developed a process that will help individuals navigate through to forgiveness. It is from his book “Forgiving and Reconciling: Bridges to wholeness and Hope” that I take much of my notes today.

The first step to forgiveness is to recall the hurt. In some ways this may sound contradictory to what we have already discussed but to successfully navigate to a position of complete forgiveness we must recall or remember the hurt. Otherwise our forgiveness will be like my children when they were younger. When they would do something wrong we would require that they ask forgiveness and apologize for what they had done. The problem too often is that they would say a hasty apology without understanding why they were apologizing and what they were asking forgiveness for. When we would ask them why, they did not know. If we are not careful we will come to the place where we will find ourselves asking forgiveness without knowing why we are asking. But, if we are to navigate through the pain to complete healing we must understand the area of need and why we need to either forgive or receive forgiveness.

The Scripture we read this morning implies that in prayer the one praying realized that they had a specific issue with another person and Jesus issues a command that when we find a reason we need to seek forgiveness.

As we begin to seek forgiveness we must understand what kind of wounds we might have. Do you have nickel wounds, five dollar wounds or five hundred dollar wounds? You see a nickel wound is the kind that comes when the parking space you were sitting and waiting for was taken by someone else. It is an issue but it doesn’t require a confrontation other than dealing with the anger you might feel within yourself. It may hurt for a second but we quickly get over it. But if we don’t deal with 5 cent wounds they can become five dollar wounds.

On the other hand a five dollar wound might be the type when someone embarrasses us by saying something that hurts us but they quickly respond and attempt to make it right. Again this is a painful moment but we should be able to get over it and resolve the issue fairly quickly.

However, at the five hundred dollar level there has been significant pain and hurt involved. These wounds often leave a lasting impression on your psyche. In fact these wounds often begin to define or redefine who you are. For example if it is a wound of rejection you can begin to imagine that everyone is either rejecting you or that they will reject you. These wounds change you for ever. Perhaps it is a divorce. Perhaps it is the child who rebels and makes decisions that impact them but also your family. Perhaps it is sexual abuse that mars your trust in others from that point forward.

Let me just say that too often we reside in the nickel wound area rather than dealing with the big issues. My thoughts over the next few weeks relate to the five hundred dollar wounds but can also be applied to the five dollar and the 5 cent wounds as well.

We usually know that we have a wound or an area of our lives that needs forgiveness because of how we respond to the wounds in our lives. How do we respond to wounds? We usually respond emotionally in various ways. For example, we may respond in any of the following ways:

• Fear – when we are hurt our brain and body tend to avoid future hurts. If similar events or actions occur the emotional alarms are set off. In Genesis 32:7 we see Jacob being fearful of his encounter with Esau.
  
• Anger – When offended we can get angry. We will either respond most often with anger or with fear. We will be thin skinned and be offended by almost any thing. They expect hurt or injury because of the fear that is resident within them. Or people are walking around like volcanoes and waiting only for a place to spew their fire or venom.
  
• Avoidance – Woundedness causes us to want to avoid the offender or anyone that reminds us of the offender.
  
• Retaliation/revenge – Retaliation is striking back with little forethought. Revenge on the other hand is plotted, planned and executed in cold blood.
  
• Attack – Some offenses cause us to go for the jugular.
  

The wages of chronic unforgiveness is eventual illness – physically, morally, relationally and spiritually.

As we look at this issue of forgiveness we must first understand how we are not to recall a wound?

• Rumination – Rumination is the act of continuing to revisit the cause of the wound but refusing to do anything about it. By recalling we are called to act upon the issue.
  
• Bitter unforgiveness – the second way to not recall a wound is to allow bitterness to set in. We are reminded in Hebrews 12:15 warns us about allowing a root of bitterness to spring up in our life. A root of bitterness causes us to do things irrationally and on a whim rather than from a position of strength and power in Christ. When I am weak, He is strong.
  

So how do we recall a hurt?

• Start with prayer. We begin like Jesus commands in the verse above. When we pray and ask God will show us where we need to seek forgiveness. He will give us a plan.
  
• Create an accurate
  picture of what the wound is. We also need to be careful and not imagine things that are not real. Perhaps this is where Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. It is at this stage that we need to have a true and authentic picture of what has offended us and why.
  
  
• Begin to step towards a lifestyle and act of forgiveness. Write it down and develop a plan.
  

Where do you need God’s forgiveness? Would you pray with me that God will help you move from a place of woundedness and hurt to a place of healing and hope.

Peninsula Community Church

The Pathway to Forgiveness

January 15, 2012

Ephesians 4:26 & Hebrews 12:15 – Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil …. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled…

When we fail to walk in forgiveness we give room for the enemy of our souls to cause a root of bitterness to grow and once this root has found its place it effects us physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. It is interesting to note that in ancient times a “root of bitterness” was equated to “poison.” Enemies would use poison roots as a means to make their enemies sick or even have them killed. It is for this reason that Paul admonishes us to deal with our anger and fear immediately so that we are not poisoned by our negative emotions which can lead to the death of our emotions.

When we fail to walk in forgiveness there is a process that brings us to unforgiveness:

• Someone commits a transgression against us. It might be an act, a sin, a word spoken or a broken promise that bring us pain.
  
• There is a perception of offense or hurt. This can be real or imaginary. Rather imaginary or real these issues can be just as hard to deal with.
  
• Hot emotions are felt. – anger, fear resentment.
  
• We begin to ruminate about the events. We rehearse the events over and over and each time the pain of the event grows stronger.
  
• The result is unforgiveness
  

When this occurs we can play a game in our minds and begin to think of all of the reasons we should not forgive or take this action toward forgiveness.

Reasons we don’t forgive:

1. Seeking forgiveness requires that we humble ourselves. It is humbling experience to seek for forgiveness. This especially true when it is an issue that hurt or wounded us deeply.
   
2. We have been misled by the phrase forgive and forget. Forgiveness is not forgetting. This is a mistake to think that when we forgive others that we automatically if ever forget the action that occurred. The fact is we never forget. Only God does that and if then the idea that is presented here is that there is not a function of memory lapse but rather we now move to a place where the transgression is not held against the other person or we no longer feel the pain associated with the transgression. The reality is that even God does not forget but He changes the way He deals with us. This is what happens when we forgive others, we in essence change the way we deal with the other party.
   
3. Forgiveness obstructs justice. The key here is that we realize that the act of forgiveness does not in any way stop the process of the other person receiving there reward for the wrongs they have committed. There are consequences to people’s actions. For example, you might forgive the other person of murdering a family member or robbing from you but that does not mean that they we not should go to jail for what they have done. There are consequences to sin and transgression. Another example would be a spouse that abuses their spouse. While the wife may forgive their spouse, wisdom would be that she not lives under the same roof with him until he receives the necessary counseling and subsequent healing he needs to be restored. I have seen spouses who stay in a home where they have been physically abused endlessly. There answer for not dealing with the situation is that they love him.
   
4. We fear that by walking in forgiveness that we present ourselves as being weak or a coward. To forgive is a cowardly act. To forgive by some is a sign of weakness. Meekness and humility must never be confused with weakness. This theory was born out of the belief that to forgive others was a sign of weakness.
   
5. We feel that forgiveness is a one time event. But forgiveness is both a decision and it is a process. We can all ask for forgiveness and get an immediate response but the fact is that emotional we do not feel forgiven or like forgiving.
   

When we consider the pathway to forgiveness we must recognize that there are two types of forgiveness primarily:

1. Decisional – immediate
   
2. Emotional
   

The first of these is forgiveness as a decision. Decisional forgiveness is just what it appears to me. We have made a decision that we will forgive or accept the other person’s apology. For example, “I forgot about our meeting, will you forgive me?” In decisional forgiveness we might be hurt and disappointed but we act quickly to assure the other person that we do not intend to hold the mistake against the friend. We also agree whether we are aware of it or not to control our behavior toward the other person and to restore the relationship to where it was before the transgression. The problem is however that while decisional forgiveness might be immediate one’s emotions usually take longer to navigate.

The second type of forgiveness is emotional forgiveness. This is the type of forgiveness that changes the heart. While decisional forgiveness is immediate emotional forgiveness takes time. We must go back to the place where we have made a decision to forgive over and over again.

Peninsula Community Church

The Pathway to Forgiveness

January 8, 2012

Mat 6:12 …. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Defining Forgiveness – In the writings of David Augsburger, he suggests that forgiveness requires a process of letting go. The root meaning of forgiveness in biblical terms refers to “releasing” or “letting go.” The literal meaning of forgive is “to send away” or “dismiss.”

Before we begin this study there must be an understanding that forgiveness is not dependent on the other person. In fact, I can forgive and walk in forgiveness regardless of what the other person does. Therefore, we must not confuse forgiveness with reconciliation. And yet, forgiveness does not mean that we forget or ignore the pain that the wound has caused, it simply means that we forgive so that we can deal with the issues that brought unforgiveness in a positive and genuine way.

The first step in this pathway to forgiveness is for us to realize that we all have opportunity to forgive and be forgiven and that we are all affected by both unforgiveness and forgiveness.

Theme of Forgiveness runs throughout Scripture – In this discussion we must understand that forgiveness is one of the many themes that run throughout Scripture. From cover to cover the Bible shows the way of forgiveness and it gives its readers multiple illustrations of what effective forgiveness means and how it is to be transacted in one’s life. It also shows us ultimate forgiveness as seen in the death of Christ on the Cross. You see forgiveness and the redemption of mankind has always been the goal and at the heart of Christ.

We have all experienced a need to negotiate forgiveness. Everyone one of us have been in that place where we have either wounded or hurt someone else or we have been wounded or hurt. There are no exceptions. The degree of to which you have been wounded may differ but there has been woundedness in all of us and it is that wound that requires us to forgive.

Antidotal stories – We have all been impacted by the need to forgive or be forgiven. We could share a whole list of antidotal scenarios to understand this. You may remember the story of the Amish in Nickel Mines, PA. It was in this tiny community that a man stormed into a one-room schoolhouse and shot 10 young girls, killing five of them. Since the tragedy, people around the world have been amazed and inspired by the way the Amish have expressed forgiveness toward the killer and his family. Charles Roberts was not Amish. He was the milk truck driver but the Amish collected money for the family even in the midst of their own tragedy. Donald Kraybill, is a sociologist at nearby Elizabethtown College and co-author of Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. “I think the most powerful demonstration of the depth of Amish forgiveness was when members of the Amish community went to the killer’s burial service at the cemetery,” Kraybill says. “Several families, Amish families who had buried their own daughters just the day before were in attendance and they hugged the widow, and hugged other members of the killer’s family.”

We can also include other such times where forgiveness may have been needed in our lives:

1. The mom who was murdered by intruders.
2. The brother who stole money from the family.
3. The sister’s drug problem and her abandonment of her family and children.
4. The cutting and biting remarks of a parent.
5. The rejection of divorce or the shame of abuse.
6. The betrayal of a friend in whom you have confided.
7. The wrongs and sins committed against others.

We all stand in the need to give and receive forgiveness. The reason for this is multifaceted for the following reasons.

• We have a carnal nature. We have a propensity to sin and to hurt others. Even in the best of us there something that brings out hurt and wounds. We do not intend to. For most us we do not wake up in the morning and say “what a great day to make someone mad at me.”
  
• We interact with other people who are different from us. The fact is just because we are created differently we are candidates to hurt and wound those around us and to be hurt or wounded by those we encounter.
  
  • We have different personalities that form and shape used determine how we respond to the issues of life.
    
  • We have different temperaments that cause us to react to various stimuli in totally different ways.
    
  • We also have a difference in the experiences that have shaped us. How we saw others respond to issues of conflict will most likely be the way we respond.
    
• We live with ourselves. Too often we have not learned to forgive ourselves much less forgive others for the wrongs we have committed. James 4:1-3 says it best –What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. The problem that exists too often is that we love to use our wounds and hurts to our advantage because we feel justified in our anger toward others.
• We cannot forget that we have an enemy who loves to bring division, hurt and pain into our lives and our relationships. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour
  

   

When we walk in unforgiveness we allow others to dictate how we live.

• We avoid others. We will change our seat in the sanctuary to avoid sitting next to the person that has hurt us. We will leave a church because of an offense.
  
• We falsely transfer our hurt to others. Instead of dealing with unforgiveness we often transfer that hurt to others and in the process we end up hurting others. The fact is that hurt people hurt people.
  
• We spend an inordinate
  amount of time thinking about the person and in considering ways to get even. Our focus becomes “how do we get even?” or we focus on the pain to the point that we cannot get anything else done.
  

But what release comes when we walk in forgiveness and release others and ourselves from the pain. Where do you hold unforgiveness today? Who controls you today because you have not released them from their failures? Remember that forgiveness is for the one forgiving and not you.

Peninsula Community Church

Making Resolutions that Count

January 1, 2012

Philippians 3:13-15 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

It is always interesting to me as to how many people make New Year’s resolutions and then never keep them. Most resolutions made are broken by February. Of course, I have been just as guilty as anyone else. I make a positive and genuine gesture to make a change that will benefit me either physically, emotionally or spiritually. For example for a number of years I would make a resolution to read through the Bible in that year. If I read three chapters during the week and five on Sunday I could accomplish the task. Everything would start well but on day three or four I would end up missing a chapter. On the following day instead of reading four chapters, I would only read two chapters. Now I am behind two chapters. But on over the weekend I will catch up but something happens and I only read three chapters over the whole weekend. Now I am behind eight chapters and as the week goes on this gets worse so eventually I give up.

The same thing happens to us whether it is losing weight or trying to stop smoking or drinking less. We do well but then we have a failure of some sort and soon we give up. It is not by chance that advertisers increase their advertising dollars for weight loss programs, and other such programs at the beginning of each year because they know that people will inevitably make a weight loss resolution.

A few years ago I spoke to the director of the YMCA at Smith Mountain Lake and she said that every year in January that there is a huge increase in the numbers of people who join the YMCA because they have made a resolution to lose weight. But, by the end of February their numbers are down and people end up paying for a service they never use. The first few weeks of the New Year are extremely busy but by mid February the numbers of people coming into the center are down.

A survey has shown that there are some common resolutions made every year. A number of these show up on every list:

• Lose weight
• Become better parents
• Work less
• Enjoy life more
• Take up a hobby
• Become debt free
  

 But here are some resolutions that I am sure that you will never hear:

• Spend more time watching TV / movies.
• Chat more over phone / Internet.
• Read less.
• I want to gain weight. Put on at least 30 pounds.
• Stop exercising.
• Waste time doing nothing.
• Procrastinate more.
• Spend more time at work.
• Stop bringing lunch from home: I should eat out more.
• I am going to be a bigger pain in the neck.
• Go deeper in debt.
  

The idea of being circumspect and reviewing our life is critical to our growth as believers. But we do this evaluation with an understanding that we cannot change the past but we can certainly impact and make a difference in the future. As we look back, we can learn both positive and negative lessons that will benefit us for the future. As we look back, we also walk forward to a new day with a sense of forgiveness for wrongs committed by us or to us and an inner gratefulness for all that God has done for us and in us. This does not mean that we forget about the past or what has happened to us or what events have transpired but we allow these things to shape us and make is into the person who has greater strength, wisdom, patience and understanding of life.

Paul uses an Olympian symbol here. In the days of the Greek games the winners of the games would be brought forward and have a prize placed around their neck. It is similar to our Olympic games today where the name of the athlete is named, his country an d the event he won is announced. The prize that he was looking to was the recognition of a greater understanding of who Christ is and a deepening relationship with Christ.

Paul in Philippians 3:13-15 understood this process. Paul understood that the greatest resolution that could be made is to press forward in our understanding of Christ. He had a goal that was in front of him and he was pressing toward that goal. Paul says here that we forget that which is behind us and we press on to the prize of God. This is not an implication that there is a lack of forgiveness but a realization that nothing can be changed about the past.

Lessons we should learn:

1. We must not allow our past to dictate our future. We have all made mistakes and have failures.
   
2. We must never become stagnate in our growth in Christ. This is why Paul states that we should forget the past for the past will usher in guilt and despair as we look at the failures and mistakes made.
   
3. We must never stand on past laurels and victories or successes. We must never consider ourselves to have arrived at some spiritual place that exempts us form any further growth.
   
4. We must keep our focus on getting to know Christ in a greater way. the prize and not on those who are running the race or on the competition.
   

But what is the prize that Paul is looking to receive. To understand this we must go to the previous verses for it was Paul’s desire that whatever else he had attained would be counted as rubbish when compared to his every growing understanding of Christ. Paul in the previous verses open the door for us to understand that his greatest desire was to know Christ more. This was not just knowledge of Christ but that deep understanding of who Christ is and an understanding of his character. The problem is that too often we look for his hand and not his character.

So what is the greatest resolution we can make. It is this that in 2012 we would make it priority to know and understand Christ and His ways even more than we have in 2011 or any year prior to this one.

As we consider our resolutions for this year let us consider a couple of things. Resolutions we can make:.

1. Commit to pray for one another and for the church
   
2. Consider sharing
   Christ with someone at least once a WEEEK.
   
3. Consider inviting one or more families to join you at church.
   
4. Look to do something for someone in the name of Jesus.
   
5. Develop a regular Bible reading and study habit in order to understand his character. Look for ways in the scriptures that God’s character is revealed.
   
6. Begin a journal where you record the ways you see God’s character in action in your life and the revelation of who He is.
   
7. Learn something new this year. Pray for God to show you what that might me.
   

    

As we close the service today we are going to gather around the Lord’s Table. Because there is no greater place to accomplish this and to come to an understanding of God’s character than around the Lord’s Table where we can repent of past wrongs and begin a new year filled with hope and the idea that I do not have to repeat the failures of the past.

 Pause for a moment of meditation. What would you change about your life? What regrets do you have from 2011? Are there areas of guilt or shame that overtake you? Are their people in your life that you need to forgive or need to seek their forgiveness?

 Let’s pray.

Peninsula Community Church

The Miracle of Christmas – the Manger!

December 26, 2011

 John 1:1-4, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not an thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The birth and life of Jesus came with some amazing claims and promises. What does Jesus claim to be? Let me list just a couple of these for you.

• One of the first things He and scripture claim is that He is the Son of God. On two occasions God Himself proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God.
  
  • The first occasion was at his baptism in Matthew 3:77 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
    
  • The second occasion was at his transfiguration in Matthew 17:5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
    
• Secondly he claims to be the Savior of the world. In John 3:16 John proclaimed that God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but will have eternal life.
  
• Thirdly, He is the only way to heaven. I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. John 14.
  
• Fourthly, He has the authority to forgive sins – Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24.
  
• Fifth, He is the only path to eternal life – John 3:15
  

What do you do with these claims? There are some who would ignore them. There are others who are respectful to Jesus but don’t take His astonishing claims that serious. The religion of Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet and teacher. The Hindu believes that Jesus is just one of many ways of finding God. Many people admire Jesus from a distance, but when it comes right down to it, He’s just a nice man who has some nice stories written about.

It interesting that these claims have been made by someone who:

• Never led an army
  
• Never wrote a book
  
• Never ran a corporate enterprise
  
• Never held political office
  

For some people these are extravagant claims. The reason this seems so is that for many today the problem is that we have been desensitized to believing and trusting anyone’s claims. We have all been given promises and had claims made about certain products and people only to find these products are less than their marketing make them out to be.

• Scientifically – The earth is flat, the sun rotated around the earth and if one had an infection they would bleed them out.
  
• Medically – Don’t drink coffee, eat butter not margarine; eat butter not margarine.
  
• Politically – Don’t worry social security is safe, your taxes will never go up, I promise to keep you mind when I vote in Congress.
  
• Relationally – I promise to love you.
  
• Commercially – This car was driven by a little old lady from Pasadena.
  

You get the idea, promises made only to be broken. The problem is that we have become suspect of anyone that makes claims that seem impossible.

But what if His claims are true? What does that mean for us? How would we be changed if we truly believed?

You see that what we decide about Jesus has both eternal and earthly implications. What we decide will determine our eternal destiny and our earthly direction.
 

C.S. Lewis explained that Jesus did not leave us the option of just respecting Him as a good, noble teacher. His claims leave no room for that position, even though it is very popular. We really only have three options concerning what to make of these claims. He is who He claims to be, the Lord of All. Or, He made these claims knowing that they were false and therefore He is a liar. Or third, He made these claims because He believed them to be true but in reality they were not, which makes Him deceived or a lunatic.

But we know his claims are true and what he said can be trusted.
 

The question here today is what if his claims were true. What would that mean for us? It would mean that we can trust his words and believe that all he has said and done is true and that he has us in mind in all that he does.

• It means that we can trust him with our lives.
  
• It means we can trust him with our family.
  
• It means that if we trust Him with our lives that we have the promise of eternal life in heaven with him.
  

Do you believe?
One of the Christmas classic movies is “Miracle on 34^th Street.” An old man claims to be Santa Claus but no one believes in him. They end up going to court to prove that he exists and they present the court with bag after bag of letters addressed to Santa Clause. It is at this moment that everyone begins to believe that he is indeed the one he claims to be.

It is not enough just to believe but you must step out in faith to receive and live out all that he has given and promised. In believing in Him, He will wipe away the pain of the past and remove the burden of guilt and regret. He alone can give us a reason for living and can fill us with the fullness of His love, His life and His grace.

The Miracle of Christmas

The Message

Hebrews 1:1-2 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

God has spoken in the past. As we see in this passage God has spoken to His people in many different ways. “Long ago” He would speak to a prophet or key leader and then that leader would speak to the people. As we read through the Old Testament we see many different ways and people that God used to speak.

• Moses – the burning bush (Exodus 3)
  
• Elijah – the still small voice
  
• Elisha – It was a whirlwind (2 Kings 2)
  
• Isaiah – through a vision (Isaiah 6)
  
• Joseph – through a dream (Genesis 37)
  
• Hosea – through his family circumstances (Hosea 1)
  
• Jeremiah – the potter’s clay (Jeremiah 18)
  
• Balaam – through a donkey (Numbers 22)
  
• Abraham and Sarah – It was a visitor at night (Genesis 18)
  
• Jacob – it was wrestling with an angel (Genesis 32)
  

What we learn through this is that there is no lack of variety and means by which God will speak to us. He speaks in different ways and at different times in order to get his audience to hear Him. God will use whatever means is necessary to get our attention, to wake us up and to stir us into action.

It is interesting to note that for 400 years after the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, God had been silent. There were no significant books written. There was no evidence that God had spoken in any significant way. There was only silence.

God spoke directly to us through His Son. Things changed in the New Testament because God decided that it was time to speak directly to man through His son. God chose to use His Son to speak to us in ways no one before that time could. In John 1:1-14 John details the coming of Christ as the Word of God. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The Word, Jesus came to dwell with us so that He could communicate directly to us. In the right moment of time God sent His son so that He could interact with us. He came to express Himself and reveal Himself in ways we could understand and comprehend. He came as a man, to live as a man so that we could know how to live as a child of God.

Not only did Jesus, the Son, come to speak to us but He also came to reveal the Father to us. When we want to know what God looks like we look to Jesus as He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs (Hebrews 1:3-4). His word is truth and it is powerful for it is His very words that uphold the universe and controls destiny itself.

God continues to speak in order to bring transformation. When He speaks He doesn’t just speak for the sake of hearing his own voice but His words have purpose and meaning. Have you ever known someone who loved the sound of their own voice? He didn’t come to say what we wanted to hear but what we needed to hear. Jesus came to so that we could draw near and as we draw near to Him we are changed and transformed. He came to reveal the Father to us and to connect us to the father. His goal has always been to transform lives and not just be a great orator.

God speaks but too often we are not listening. God speaks to us today in a number of ways. He uses His Word. The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and guides our lives. God has given us pastors and teachers to speak into our lives. He uses the circumstances and events of our lives. He uses the people around us:our family and friends. He uses nature itself.

• Turning a deaf ear – Sometimes we do not hear him because we have turned a deaf ear. We ignore the words we hear and believe that we can do better than what God has commanded. Sometimes we have selective hearing. We listen when God communicates positive words but when it is a corrective word or a word that we think keeps us from doing what we want to do we reject those words.
  
• Too busy to hear – We can fill our calendars full with activity so that there is little time to hear what God is saying to us. Too much TV or newspapers or other media that keeps us from hearing God when He speaks to us.
  
• Too distracted – Too often there are distractions that keep us from hearing God’s word to us. We want to hear but we find it hard because there are so many other voices that are pulling against us. There are so many ideas and ways of living that are presented and there is confusion about which one is right.
  

We all receive messages that impact our lives but this is the moment that Christ’s words come alive.

We all hear messages that impact us negatively. The fact is we have an enemy that likes to distort and discourage us and he will take advantage of the events, circumstances and words spoken into our lives. Some of us, today, have heard some of the following and the words echo loudly in everything that we do and in every way we act.

• “You’ve got cancer or you have MS.” The enemy says be fearful and discouraged. There is no hope.
  
• “I don’t love you anymore and I want a divorce.” The enemy says that you are rejected and not worthy of anyone else’s love. You are unlovable.
  
• A teenage daughter who announces that they are pregnant. The enemy will say as a parent that you are a failure and it is your fault. He will remind you of all the things you should have done.
  
• “You’re fired or you’re laid off.” I am not worthy. I am not needed. I have no value. Once again fear and concern fill our hearts.
  
• “Mom/dad or sis I am gay.” Confusion, doubt and fear resonate upon this news.
  
• The enemy loves to convince us that we’re no good. We are a failure. We will not make it.
  

But it is in the midst of these messages God comes and speaks life and hope.

• There is nothing that will separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:36-38)
  
• Trust in me and I will direct your path (Proverbs 3:5-6)
  
• Forgive those that mistreat you or have done you wrong (Matt. 6:14-15; Mark 11:25-26; Luke 17:3-4; 2 Cor. 2:10-11)
  
• Rejoice and be glad for His has come (Matt 5:11-12; Luke 6:22-23; John 16:22; Rom 5:2; Rom 12:12-15; Phil 4:4; 1 Thess 5:16; 1 Peter 1:6-8).
  
• I have a plan for your life (Jeremiah 17)
  

Are you listening today? Do you hear His voice? Do you hear His message?

The Miracle of Christmas

The Miracle of the Moment

Galatians 4:3-5 – In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 

There is much to be said about time. Think about it for a moment. Think of everything that transpires in just a minute. (Allow 60 seconds to run off the clock without saying or doing anything). 1 minute seems like a long time when you are just sitting still. And yet at other times 1 minute seems to fly by.

Jesus came at the right moment. In the verse we read this morning, the Greek word for time is the word “Chronos” which denotes a specific period of time or a specific opportunity. In the time of this writing the Greeks believed that time was virtually a power which inescapably determined one’s life. In other words the use of time and what transpires in the moment of time forms and shapes who one is. The word “fullness” denotes completeness or the right time.

What is meant here, in this passage, is that when the time was right, that is in the right moment of time God sent His son into the world to be the Savior of the world. This plan had been formulated from the beginning of created time. Now God said its perfect time and He sent the Holy Spirit to impregnate Mary (Matthew 1:18) so that she would give birth to the Savior. This was all accomplished according to God’s time table which is always at the right moment in time.

Why was this the right time? Historians and theologians have given a number of reasons why this was the right time for Christ to come:

1. The Roman Empire was united. Barriers that had existed before had now been destroyed. The world was now melded together as one community.
   
2. The Romans had built roads that would link the known world of that time together. Rome had built these roads to carry Caesar’s armies but they were also to be used to carry the feet of those missionaries that would take the gospel to the world.
   
3. The world was at peace under Roman rule. There were no wars being fought. Prior to this, Christ’s message would have been blocked by self-sufficient and antagonistic nations who did not like each other.
   
4. There was a common language in the world. Latin and Greek were known throughout the world so communication was much easier.
   
5. But more than all of the things that are listed above There was a longing and a search for answers. While everything on the outside looked good there were problems and these problems made it the right time for Christ’s birth.
   
• Economically – Times were hard. In the midst of this grand empire was poverty and unrest. The aftermath of war, the extravagance of Herod the Great, the burden of taxation and the tremendous rise in population all negatively impacted the society. The world was filled with worry and concern.
  
• Religiously – Old philosophies were dying and were found to be powerless to change lives. Strange new mystery religions were invading the empire. Religious bankruptcy and spiritual hunger was everywhere. People were dissatisfied with their lives. They wanted something more and they were turning to all kinds of things to fill the void in their lives.
  
• Morally – The world of the day had sunk to moral hopelessness.
  

Our society today is a mirror image of the Roman Empire. Economically we are being challenged. All it would take is for one major country to fall into bankruptcy and totally collapse for there to be worldwide panic. Morally, we are at a low like we have never seen before. Just recently, I heard a story about a 4 year old that was beaten to death by the mom’s boyfriend because he was crying and the boyfriend could not hear his TV program.

But, it has been God’s plan throughout history to show up at the right moment. He knows when and how to show up at just the right moment and at just the right time. He is never late. He is always on time and it is always at just the right time.

Jesus provides all that we need at the right moment.

If we are not careful we will navigate through the Christmas season and never experience a moment that God shows up and does only what God can do. There are some in this season that need nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps there are issues that are impacting your life in negative ways. I know for some here at PCC they have needed God to show up as we have witnessed some of the PCC families being impacted by the issues of life. Dawn, Doug and Ashley have experienced the death of a loved one. Paul received word that his sister Helen has been diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes that has spread to her other organs. The Brooks had someone scam their checking account of several 1000 dollars. Nancy has been rushed to the hospital as a result if another bleed on her brain.

While these are difficult issues, it is a time for Christ to show up and show Himself strong and provide the right answer and provide at the right moment. So don’t be discouraged for when we are in need it is the right time for Christ to come. But no matter the need, God’s word promises us that He will show up at the right time. But we must always remember that it is His time table that he works from and not our own. Sometimes He strengthens us to endure through the problem and at other times He delivers us from the issue that brings us such pain and difficulty. Either way God is at work.

Psalm 145:14-15 –The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.

Psalm 104:27-28 These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

Deuteronomy 11:13-15 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.

Please that food in these passages represents the provision God has for us. In that day the provision of food was one of the greatest needs they had.

In Romans 5:16 we are reminded that at the right time while we were weak and powerless and while we were in need Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:1-6 – Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Jesus says that now is the right moment.

It seems that we are always looking for the right moment for God to do something. For some we are waiting for the right moment to commit our lives to Christ and the right moment for to begin to serve Him. But now is the time.

• Mark 1:15 – And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
  
• 2 Corinthians 6:2 – For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
  

This repentance is more than just a repentance for salvation but repentance for failing to accomplish all that God has called us to. It is to repent of not seeing God show up when He has been all around us. The sad commentary of Christ’s birth is that He had come and no one knew it. They continued with their business as usual.

Has God shown up in your life this year? Has He shown up this week? What about today? Do not miss Him.

Peninsula Community Church

November 27, 2011

Do you have a Grateful Heart?

Colossians 4:2-6
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison– that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Churchill Illustration – Winston Churchill told the story about a little boy who was playing on a pier. All of a sudden he fell off the pier into the water. He did not know how to swim and was in serious danger of drowning. A very kind-hearted young soldier saw this, and he immediately jumped off the pier and swam towards the little boy. He put the boy on his shoulders and brought him back up to the pier quite safely. This young man saved the boy’s life. The boy had been playing with other little boys, but his parents were nowhere to be found. The soldier drove the child to his parents’ home and left the boy there. The young man did not even think of receiving any reward. He was a very kind-hearted person, and he was extremely happy that he was able to save the life of this little boy. A few days later, the boy’s parents came to look for the soldier. Everybody was helping them look for him, because they thought that the parents had come to give him a reward for saving their child. Finally they found the soldier working at the pier. The parents approached the young man, and the father said, “Where is our son’s hat?” The young man was shocked. He said, “I tried to save your son’s life and I did save his life. Now you are asking me for his hat?” “Yes,” replied the parents. They demanded, “What did you do with our son’s hat? What is wrong with you? We want to know where the hat is!”

The Scriptures are replete with encouragements to be thankful and grateful.

• Psalms 100:1-5 (A Psalm for giving thanks.) Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
• Psalm 107:22- And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
  
• Psalm 147:7
  Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
  
• Philippians 4:6
  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
  
• It is important to note that the last five chapters of Psalms all begin with the admonishment to praise the Lord!
  

 So what are the signs of a grateful heart? Let us look at a couple of things together.

1. The first sign of a grateful heart is a humble heart. A humble person is generally thought to be unpretentious and modest. A humble person is someone who does not think that he or she is better or more important than others. A humble person will also manifest a healthy limit of their talents, their ability, and their authority. They do not reach for that which is beyond one’s grasp. When one is walking in humility they do not have to profess their humility. They do not have to let anyone know because those around them will know that one is humble because they will present an attitude that exemplifies their humility. They live out the admonition “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” (Prov. 27:2). When one is prideful they will present a different attitude. 
 

A government official who came into President Lincoln’s office was startled to find the chief executive shining his own shoes. “Sir,” he gasped, “surely you do not polish your own shoes!” “Of course,” replied the humble President. “Whose do you polish?”

All of this is illustrated in the life of Jesus. “Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). If we truly follow Christ’s example, then humility will be a way of life, a habit of submitting to God’s will and a lifelong commitment of devoting ourselves to God’s calling. When one is truly humble there are no private agendas, you know where the other person stands without reservation.

The highest title God ever allows in His church is that of “servant.” Are you willing to serve people as Jesus did? We cannot die for people to save them as Jesus did, but we can “die to self” to enable us to tell people that Jesus died for their sins, and thus serve them in the greatest way possible. Therefore, a grateful person is a humble person and is willing to serve others.

2. A second sign of a grateful heart is a God-centered and others-conscious heart. I suspect that for many of us, our Christian experience is too often influenced by our circumstances. When we are “up,” God is great. When we are “down,” God is distant. If things go our way, we have much for which to praise God. If times come that would test our patience, we are tempted to give up. To be God-centered is to realize that God is at the heart of life. It is God that influences and invades all of reality. Why does this matter? How will this enable me to be a grateful person? Because, our happiness is not dependent on personal experience, but on God’s grace and love for me. Again we hear the Psalmist call out in Psalms 100:1-5 “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Grateful people are free to be giving and caring because they are centered on God, and they are centered on others, not on themselves. Grateful people who are God-centered and others centered are loving people who want to bless others. A grateful person is humble and they are God-centered and others-conscious.

3. A third sign of grateful heart is a full heart. No matter how little one may actually have compared to others, a grateful person feels like he is full because he is grateful and full of thanks. A grateful heart brings contentment. One of the problems that exist in our culture is that people are not content with their possessions so they buy things they can’t afford in hopes that it will bring a sense of contentment. So much of advertisement plays on this concept of discontentment. If you buy this car, drink this soda, have McDonalds for breakfast or wear a certain style of clothes and you will be content and happy. Let me make it clear that that this does not mean that we do not desire better things or that we are not to seek improving our current status. It simply means that we must be aware of desiring the things that we can not have or afford. Discontentment is the enemy of a grateful heart. Once again we refer to the words of the Psalmist – Psalm 100:4-5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. The grateful person has an unlimited capacity to enjoy God’s blessings, no matter how few or how many they may be. Let me tell you this; we all have many, many, many blessings from God. The grateful person, even in the midst of heartache and loss, is going to feel full. It is interesting to note that while Paul was in prison he wrote the Church of Philippi that he has all he needed.

Philippians 4:18-19 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. How could he think of himself as full in that situation? Paul had a grateful heart. Even when he was missing some blessings that people would consider pretty important, he felt full because a thankful person always has a sense of fullness. Paul believed that God’s goodness and God’s blessings were so abounding that he goes on in the next verse to reassure the Philippians that there was enough for them as well. Not only is there enough for me sitting here in my prison, but there is enough for you as well. How is your fullness meter? Do you have a sense of fullness or emptiness as you look at your life these days? Could you say with Paul, “I have everything that I need. God’s grace is abounded to me. I am full?” You see, Paul didn’t have “all” in terms of creature comforts. But I’ll tell you what he did have—he had Christ. You may have lost a mate. You may have lost a job. You may have lost a friend. You may have lost the dearest possessions in the world to you. There may be things on your wish list for this year but don’t let your wish drive your success or your feeling of fullness.

Where does God find you with these characteristics? Do you have a grateful heart or an ungrateful heart? Is your heart proud, or is it humble? Is it God-centered and others-centered, or is it self-centered? Is your heart full, or is it empty? The answer to those questions may be seen in whether or not you have an attitude of gratitude. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.