Nine Eleven

When looking back on the anniversary of September 11, we could look over some grand themes. We could talk about and criticize Islam in broad strokes. We could make judgments about our government response, about our current and our past presidents’ actions. We could talk about pride and security. We could talk about patriotic topics, but we may lose some simple spiritual applications in the midst of these broad strokes.

Our Focus
Are we focused on God or on self? It certainly seemed that people came together after September 11, and many people showed tendencies to turn back to God and Christ in the wake of those events. It’s really no different than the cycle we see in the children of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament, and we have to ask ourselves, “Where am I?” Am I closer to God now, or have I drifted again? Do I have the same fire for the Lord now as I did ten years ago?

Hebrews 10:19-25 talks about the type of stuff we’ll do if we are dedicated on God rather than self. Self denial is a key theme in Jesus’ teachings, and we will be holding to that confession, stirring each other up, meeting with each other, and encouraging each other if we can set aside self and focus on God and one another.

Placing the Blame
Do we blame God for September 11? Do we think such an event is God’s will, that it was a warning shot for the United States? We have to be cautious about molding events to fit in with our particular views. We have a tendency to credit God when it lines up with our own values and dismiss such events as chance at other times. Quite simply, we know that bad things happen to good people because of sin, and we should be blaming Satan for such tragedies rather than assigning God motives and actions left unrevealed to us.

Loving Terrorists
Do we really have to love a terrorist? Matthew 5:43 says:

“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Intellectually, we understand we should love our enemies, but we falter on application. Yes, we should love those who plot to hurt and kill us. We’ve all heard stories of people who’ve forgiven criminals who have wronged them or their family in some horrible way, and that is the mindset we should have. It is the attitude we see when Jesus cries for his murderers’ forgiveness while on the cross.

Conclusion
We may believe that those terrorists deserve death and eternal punishment for their actions, but the tough part is that they deserve such a fate no more than you or I in the face of our sins. We may want to satisfy our own need for vengeance, focusing on self rather than God. Romans 5:12-17 contrasts Adam and Jesus – the one who brought sin into the world and the one who removed all sin by His great sacrifice. The problem of sin is an enormous one, and only an enormous sacrifice could remove it. We have all sinned; we have all put Jesus on the cross.

Where are you with your relationship with and commitment to God? Have you grown stronger? Are you willing to love in the face of personal pain and animosity? We have a great example of commitment, love, and self sacrifice in Christ; and we know that is the example we should be following in our own lives. We don’t have to allow great events of the world to drag us away from who we should be as Christians, so let’s commit ourselves daily to be living sacrifices, to be forgiving and loving individuals, to keep everything in the perspective of God’s word, and to keep God our focus and the center of our lives.

lesson by Ben Lanius

Is God Real To You?

Is God real to you? This might seem like an easy question to anyone who pursues Biblical knowledge or who come together to worship Him every week. The question, however, is not one of belief in existence. Rather, is God real to you? There is a difference between acknowledgement of theoretical existence and application of reality. We are a culture of the virtual – things that look real but are not. Has God been reduced to a theoretical exercise among those who would claim to be His followers?

Why and How God Becomes Theoretical

Why does God become less real to us? Why has He become virtually real instead of actually real? In everyday life, we learn to rely on ourselves, and, ultimately, we feel accountable to ourselves and ourselves alone. Our money goes to our priorities, and our actions have no consequences beyond the immediate ones we can see. We wrestle with these realities of our life that make God seem less and less real to us – reducing Him to the theoretical.

• Selfishness. In Romans 1, Paul makes the argument that all need God and the gospel. He claims, in verse 21, that all knew God at one time, but their own selfishness drives them away from God. Verse 28 sums up that they refused God, so God gave them up. He will not force us to follow His will, and our self-centeredness can lead us away from His reality. We can look to what we have accomplished, relying on our own selves rather than on God.
• Worldly Interests. I John 2:15-17 reminds us of the dangers involved in loving the things of this world. God ceases to be real to us when we begin believing that our happiness and our fulfillment come from this life. Things in this world can indeed make us happy for a while, but those joys are fleeting. They are replaced when new things come along. We wear ourselves out pursuing the temporary while neglecting the eternal.
• Priorities & Time. We grow too busy for God, pushing Him further and further down our list of priorities, and we spend less and less time looking for Him and praying to Him. When is the last time you or I honestly and sincerely prayed? When was the time before that.

Making God Real Again 

Philippians 4:19 records Paul calling God his own. He refers to “my God.” In redeeming us from our sins, God has made us His, and He is ours. Paul, in Romans 5, appeals to God’s love for that close relationship, understanding in verses 6-10 that God’s love for him is gracious and unmerited by him. God was neither virtual or theoretical to Paul. God knew Paul, and Paul knew God. God knows us as well, and we should strive to be as close to Him as Paul. God loves each one of us without reservation. In Galatians 2:20, Paul knows the love of God through the sacrifice of Christ, a sacrifice through which he gives himself up in love.

 

In Philippians, Paul says “my God will supply.” He demonstrates a belief that God is active and interested in his life. Philippians 4:5 records Paul writing that the Lord is at hand, and we often apply this to the Second Coming, but the context points instead to a nearness of God, a readiness to help. Romans 8:28, Colossians 1:16-17 – these show a confidence by Paul in God’s interest in his life. God has a direction for my life, and He is an active God. When we say, “If the Lord wills,” we sometimes treat it as a concession. When Paul speaks of God’s will, He expresses confidence in God’s providential control.

 

II Corinthians 9:10, Acts 14:17, Matthew 7:26 – these verses and more express God’s interest in His creation. Philippians 4:6 reminds us to take everything to God, and I Peter 5:6-7 tells us to humble ourselves before God, casting all of our anxiety upon our caring God. Look at the life of Christ – what did He do that was not for the benefit of others? He prays for others’ needs; He heals others; He relieves others’ burdens. Each time Jesus intercedes for others, His intervention is specific and necessary. We can hope for as much from a God that is real to us and active in our lives.

 

lesson by Tim Smelser

John's Picture of the Messiah

The Sabbath system is the most messianic of the ten commandments in its representation of rest and deliverance. Ultimately, Jesus’ ministry points to an eternal and spiritual rest and redemption. This is one picture of Jesus, and each of the gospel writers have a slightly different representation of the Messiah. John records only seven miracles in his gospel, and five of those are unique to John. He portrays Jesus in a very specific way, but, unlike Matthew, he does not continually refer to Levitical scripture to reinforce his points. Rather, he focuses on Jesus’ words describing Himself.

Imagery from John

• In John 2, we see Jesus driving the merchants and money changers from the temple, condemning them for corrupting His father’s house. When asked for a sigh, He said He would rebuild this temple in three days once destroyed, but He has changed subjects. He is not speaking of the physical temple so much as His own body. Jesus here is pictured as God’s true temple.
• John 3 records Nicodemus and Jesus conversing about the meaning of being born again. In verses 14-15, Jesus draws a parallel between Himself and the serpent in the wilderness, lifted up to save people. Where the serpent’s salvation would be physical and temporary, Jesus’ would be spiritual and eternal.
• In John 6:29, after Jesus has fed several thousand from meager portions, the people ask Jesus for another sign once He retreats from them. He speaks to them of a bread from Heaven – to them, a reference to manna. Jesus, however, applies this personally and calls Himself the Bread of Life. He is the true manna.

John 7:37 has Jesus calling those who thirst for life-giving water to come to Him as Moses brought water from a rock in the wilderness. John 8:12 records Jesus calling Himself the light of the world, possibly referring to the pillar of fire the children of Israel followed through the wilderness. In John 15:1, Jesus calls Himself the true vine that bears fruit, and this compares to the vineyard song of Isaiah 5. Finally, John 19 records the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion, and, starting in verse 31, John describes how Jesus’ bones would remain unbroken as a Passover lamb was to remain unbroken.

Conclusion

John paints a picture of Jesus as a fulfillment of many Old Testament objects and events. He sends a message that there is more to Jesus than what they thought they saw, and He could be more to us if we open our eyes and hearts. When we begin to comprehend the extent of Jesus’ ministry and sacrifice, how can we not love Him and obey Him?

lesson by Tim Smelser

A Life of Prayer

We need to be a people of prayer. We often become concerned about pattern and format of our prayers, the frequency we should pray with, and what is appropriate to pray for. I Timothy 2:1-2, Paul lays out various elements that could be included in our prayer life. Despite our concerns, we sometimes avoid prayer, and it may be because we know we are not what we should be. “Prayer keeps us from sin, but sin keeps us from prayer.”

The Test of Prayer
In the New Testament, prayer can be used to measure our spirituality. Paul’s prayers were largely concerned with spiritual matters; Jesus’ example prayer was primarily concerned with spiritual concerns. However, our prayers are often filled with physical concerns.

Prayer can also be used to measure humility. Do we only pray when others can hear us? Are we willing to take our concerns and hand them off to God? It can be difficult to remove self from the equation, and we don’t want to talk to God until we have straightened things out.

Prayer is a test of faith. If we are full of faith in God, we will pray to Him. We pray because we rely on God and we believe He cares for and watches out for us. We need to pray with confidence and not treat this avenue as a last ditch effort that is unlikely to work.

The Fervent Prayer of Faith
In James 5:13-16, the role of prayer in a godly person’s life is emphasized. Elijah is used as an example in this instance, and we are encouraged to pray “fervently.” This carries an idea of energy and action. To pray energetically is to pray from a sincere heart. In I Kings 18, we have another example of Elijah and how prayer can produce deliverance. In stark contrast to the prophets of Baal, Elijah offers a simple prayer in verses 36 and 37. Though the words were simple, Elijah’s heart was sincere and committed. His prayer was fervent, and it produced results.

II Kings 19 records Hezikiah’s prayer as Jerusalem is under siege by Assyria. He lays his problems out before the Lord, physically bringing the ultimatum delivered to him. God delivers Jerusalem as a result of Hezekiah’s humble and honest prayer. In Daniel 6, Darius is persuaded to cast those who worship others to be cast into a den of lions. Despite this law, Daniel prays to God. He continued to worship God despite a threat to his life, but, in the end, God delivered His prayerful servant.

All of these individuals were mere men. They had no special powers; they had no superhuman qualities; their strength was in God. They had faith, and they communicated that faith in their prayer lives.

Prayer and Providence
In Esther 4:14, Mordecai is persuading Esther to intervene for the sake of the Jews. He tells her that, should she keep her peace, God will deliver the Jews regardless of her actions. He speculates, though, that she was placed in her circumstance for the very purpose of helping deliver the Jews. Philemon verse 15 suggests there is a possibility that Philemon’s escape as a slave was for the purpose of his learning the Bible. Paul is inspired, and he cannot say for sure whether or not God has intervened in this. He only admits a possibility.

We cannot know for certain God’s role in our circumstances, in our luck, and in our opportunities, but we can know this: When we are blessed, we should thank God. When we have opportunities to spread God’s cause, we should seize that opportunity.

Conclusion
We are told to pray without ceasing (II Thessalonians 5:17). Jesus teaches a parable that illustrates how we should pray persistently and consistently (Luke 18:1-8). However, sometimes things do not turn out as we would like. Still, Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us that prayer still directs our attention toward God, and it reminds us that our strength is in God, and we need Him in every aspect of our lives. Furthermore, even when situations are troublesome, prayer helps us obtain the grace we need to help us overcome these troubles.

sermon by Tim Smelser