June 16, 2013

Doth He Confess Too Much? 

Luke 18: 9 - 14

Luke

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great self-confidence and scorned everyone else.  "Two men went to the Temple to pray.  One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector.  The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there!  For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed.  Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.'  I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.  For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."   

 ***

Thoughts.....

Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!

I had a great Father.  He wasn't always wonderful, but 98% of the time he was....I was a teenager at one point after all.  But who is ever 100% great and wonderful?  God.  Jesus.  Holy Spirit.  We often forget that God, as our Heavenly Father, is worthy and due to hear from us "Happy Father's Day".  If you've forgotten to wish him a happy day and honor him, perhaps now, today, would be a good time to do so.  Think about all the ways he's been there for you....given you life, loved you, raised you up, carried you, dug you out, refined you, offered you forgiveness of your sins.....salvation....and eternal life through the gift of his son's life....and death.  Yup, I think it's time to thank him, tell him how grateful you are to him, and wish him a happy day, honoring him....worshiping him.  I think if you even give 10%, a tithe of thanksgiving and gratitude back to him, you will be richly rewarded.

Todays lesson is about arrogance, as much as it is about confession, and lies.  Rare is the time I have quoted the King James translation of the Bible, mostly because we understand so much more since it was put together, and because the language is so far off from how we speak and understand language today, but I want to share with you how todays text sounds from it.  It has a rather bold expression compared with the New Living Translation I normally use.

From King James translation Luke 18:9-14:

And he [Jesus] spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they [believing themselves] were righteous, and despised others:

"Two men went up ito the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a publican.  [Note how early on in life we are taught that one is better than another.....Pharisee is capitalized and publican is not.  Food for thought.]  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.'

"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner.'

Jesus went on to say, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other :  "For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."  (Also from Matthew 23:12)

James 4:6 reads:  "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."  KJ

And the same text from the NLT reads:  "God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to he humble."  [Where it reads 'God sets himself', picture Paul Bunyan with feet firmly planted and an axe in his hand.]

Which reminds me....remember what John the Baptist said in Luke 3:7-10?  "Here is a sample of John's preaching to the crowds that came for baptism:  "You brood of snakes!  Who warned you to flee God's coming judgment?  Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God.  Don't just say, 'We're safe - we're the descendants of Abraham.'  That proves nothing.  God can change these stones here into children of Abraham.  Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots.  Yes, every tree [that's you and me and others in the Kingdom] that does not [say NOT] produce good fruit will be [say WILL BE] chopped down and thrown into the fire." [That's hell.]

Matthew picks up the rest of what John the Baptist said in Matthew chapter 3 verse 11:  "I baptize with water those who turn from their sins and turn to God.  But someone is coming soon who is far greater than I am - so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.  He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork.  Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn [the grain.....that's the GOOD 'us'] but burning the chaff [that's the BAD 'us'] with never-ending fire."  [That would be hell....from which there is no return.  See the story of the rich man in Luke 16:19-31.]

1 Peter 5:5-6 reads:  "Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that HE may exalt you in due time."  KJ   [Rather than you exalt yourself...falsely....and before God no less.....ouch.]  Who doesn't need grace?!

And this same quote from the NLT reads:  "And all of you, serve each other in humility, for  'God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.'  So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in HIS good time he will honor you."  Quote is from Proverbs 3:34.  Are you ready to receive God's favor?  I AM !!!!!!!! 

Pretty strong words.  Pretty important words to be restated again and again.  Let's look at some other references relating to this.

In Romans 14:10, Paul said:  "So why do you condemn another Christian?  Why do you look down on another Christian?  Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.  For the Scriptures say, 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee  [Say EVERY KNEE] will bow [Say WILL BOW] to me [HIM...GOD] and every tongue [Say EVERY] will confess [Say WILL CONFESS]  allegiance to God.'"  Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to GOD.  So don't  [Say DON'T] condemn each other anymore.  Decide [make the positive choice] instead to live in such a way that you will not [say NOT] put an obstacle in another Christian's path."  [!!!!!!!!]

If you've been traveling the wrong path, all is not lost!

From James in chapter 5, verse 16 we are told:  "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  [Pretty important!]  The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful [PLEASE say.... WONDERFUL !!] results."  Please note:  Righteous does NOT mean arrogant, self-serving, or feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group.  (Galatians 5:20)  It refers to holiness.  One is hardly holy if one is touting their perfections rather than confessing their sins IN TRUTH to God.

In 1 John 1:8-10 we learn from John the Elder, presumably James' older brother, sons of Zebedee:  "If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he IS faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.  If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing [HIM....GOD] that his word has no place in our hearts."  OUCH.

Paul clearly shows us the path that is right in Romans 10:9-13:  "For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.  As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed."  Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect.  They all have the same Lord, who generously gives his riches to all who ask for them.  For "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Consider the greatest of his 'riches' are forgiveness from sins....salvation....and eternal life.  (Money is a 'prosperity' that we will talk about another time.)

So, in tribute, honor, thanksgiving, and worship to Heavenly Father on this Father's Day, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:13-2:12:

"So think clearly and exercise self-control.  Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ. [Remember he did return!]  Obey God because you are his children.  Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then.  But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God - who chose you to be his children is holy.  For he himself has said, you must be holy because I am holy."

"And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges.  He will [Say WILL] judge or reward you according to what you do.  So you must [say MUST] live in reverent fear of him [that means love greatly with deep respect...obeying him] during your time as foreigners here on earth.  For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.  And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.  He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.  God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see.  And he did this for you.  [And me, and all others in the world.] 

"Through Christ you have come to trust in God.  [IF....big IF....you have accepted him as your Savior and made him Lord of your life.]  And because God raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory, your faith and hope can be placed confidently [Say CONFIDENTLY] in God [Say IN GOD].  Now you can [IF you choose to...and you should choose to] have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News.  [Say ALLELUIA !!]  So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts.  [This is Agape....Christian....love and Philos....Brotherly....love.] 

"For you have been [Say HAVE BEEN, IF you have been] born again.  Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death.  But this new life will last forever because is comes from the eternal, living word of God.  As the prophet says, "People are like grass that dies away; their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers.  The grass withers, and the flowers fall away.  But the word of the Lord will last [Say WILL LAST] forever [Say FOREVER].  And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

"So Get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit.  Don't just pretend to be good!  Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing.  You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation.  Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.  [He DID forgive you and DID die for you, so you could be saved and offered eternal life!] 

"Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple.  He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. 

"And now God is building you [Say ME] as living stones, into his spiritual temple.  What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices [being good, not bad; worshiping him; honoring him by obeying him; thanking him; etc.] that please him because of Jesus Christ.  As the Scriptures express it, "I [GOD] am placing a stone [JESUS] in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone [JESUS], and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed."

"Yes, he is very precious to you who believe.  But for those who reject him, "The stone that was rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone."

"And the Scriptures also say, "He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that will make them fall."

"They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it [Say OR OBEY IT], and so they meet the fate that has been planned for them.

"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people.  You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession.  This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

"Once you were not a people, now you are the people of God.  Once you received none of God's mercy, now you have received his mercy."

"Dear brothers and sisters, you are foreigners and aliens here.  So I warn you to keep away from evil desires because they fight against your very souls.  Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors.  Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world." 

And the people said, "Amen!" 

***

Let Us Pray

Happy Father's Day, God!  Sometimes, Lord God, I am truly at a loss for words.  I am quite sure that seems laughable after I preach a long sermon, but most of those words today were yours, or others.  As I humble myself before you, God, I look back, and not very far, to see how I have lived my life.  Although I have thought I have done pretty good, it is apparent I have not.  I beg your forgiveness, Lord.  I am truly sorry and I humbly repent.  I have not loved you with my whole heart.  I have not loved my neighbor as myself.  I will make every attempt to be better and do better.  I am deeply grateful for all you have done for me, and pray I am worthy for you to continue to be in my life....be my life....and stay with me on the journey....that it may end in your arms in heaven.  I do realize that even though I say I love you, I do not always show you that I love you.  I do not respect what you tell me always.  I think I know better, or I have not heard you, so I go off and do something on my own....I haven't respected you enough to wait on an answer.  Yet sometimes, I think you give me time to make a right decision.  Which I don't always do.  If there is a left fork in the road and a right fork in the road, often, it seems, I take the wrong fork in the road.  And you refine me.  And it's not easy.  And I bow down in repentance yet again.  Will I ever get everything right, Lord?  I know I've gotten some things right....only because of what you and my Father and Mother have foundationally taught me....and I am so grateful.  But, I'm still human, and therefore subject to messing things up pretty royally.  But I certainly give everything my best shot....forgive me, please, that my best shot is not always good enough.  And thank you for loving me anyway....you do, don't you?  I am trying....although I have said 'try' is not an action verb, 'do' is.  Ya....I feel that bite now and again.  So, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please give me the gift of continuing to walk with you and learn from you.  That I might learn to love you, honor you, thank you, uplift you, obey you, worship you, more, with my whole heart.  Give me, please, yet another chance to get this thing called 'life' right....or at least attempt to improve upon my efforts.  Thank you for allowing me to be there....here....for you and others.  That, in and of itself, is extremely humbling, that you would use me to help you.  Thank you.  May you, Father God, be blessed beyond measure today.  'Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me'.  Thank you, again.  I love you, always....really.  Amen. 

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    One last thing....

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

   Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

And the people said,

"Amen."

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided.  I encourage you to pray your own prayers as well.

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