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March 6, 2016                                                                       Text:  Isaiah 12:1-6

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Are you drained?  I don’t mean tired.  I mean drained, down to the bone, to the very core of your existence.

Are you drained from keeping up with the kid’s activities, the house, and the job?  Are you drained from the silliness of political correctness and the judicial decisions that come from around our nation?  Are you drained from the 24-hour news cycle and the same political faces popping up over and over again?  Are you drained from living in a state where most everyone sees a problem but nobody is willing to do anything about it?  Are you simply drained from living day-to-day around other sinful people?

“ARE YOU DRAINED?”

This life can certainly drain our energy and therefore our joy.  A plant cannot survive without water; it will die eventually.  Even desert plants can’t go more than half a decade without some water.  Ever feel like that leafy plant that droops because of a lack of water?

Or think of what you have in your pocket or purse or near your person right now – the cell phone.  The battery in that thing does not last forever.  It needs to be plugged in and charged.  If not it drains away and you lose all ability to function!

Life estranged from God through sin is draining.  Life is a series of relationships and at some point they all need reconciliation or the relationship withers and dies.  Children need reconciliation with a parent over a foolish mistake in their youth.  Parents need reconciliation with their children after some abuse of parental authority.  Spouses need reconciliation on an ongoing basis.  Friends have arguments and need to be brought back together.  Co-workers have a spat and they need to come back together in order to function.  These situations as we live them can be very draining.  If there is no reconciliation there can be resentment and sometimes the relationship does not survive.

Any meaningful relationship you have in life is the result of reconciliation.  A relationship that falls apart at the first need of forgiveness hasn’t had enough time to become meaningful.  Friends who have overcome an obstacle have a stronger bond than casual acquaintances who never faced struggles.  There is joy in relationships that pass the test of time, but at some point they probably need reconciliation.

Without a parent, without friends, these can take the joy out of life and cause of us to drain out.  We need meaningful relationships.

The key relationship we need is to God.  This is the reason for our existence in the first place.  Sin has disconnected us from Him.  Adam and Eve had that perfect communion with God until the fall into sin.  Since then all relationships can become fractured.  Without help from our Lord we find ourselves standing on the outside of a relationship with our Creator.  As a plant needs water and a phone needs to be charged or they will die, humans without God will eventually die.  That overwhelming sense that things are not right in the world is a recognition that we’ve been disconnected from our life-source and are feeling ourselves slowly wither and die.

For good reason as Isaiah says in our text.  The Lord was angry with me, but his anger has turned away.  Isaiah knows reconciliation and he knows why.  He is talking about “that day” when the Lord will send Immanuel, God coming to be with us when we were parted from Him.  He is the Prince of Peace, the branch from the root of Jesse who restores the original peace.

That’s Jesus, God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself by His cross.  Jesus came and died so that we might have abundant life.  Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.  We draw life from Him.  Because we have been reconciled to God by the death of Jesus, we now share in His life.  It is like the plant that is freshly watered or a phone plugged into the charger.  As with the prodigal son, reconciliation with God is a cause for joy and celebration.

As we have been reconciled we can then live in reconciliation with others.  It is a life of thanksgiving – think of a relationship saved through forgiveness.  It is a life of trust – knowing that because of our faith a relationship will not end because of a problem.  It is a life of joy and proclamation and praise – thank God for this wonderful gift when you are feeling drained.

In Christ we are restored to a right relationship with God and those around us.  Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Good Shepherd, for you are right with God.  Rejoice in the abundance of your life, for the Lord God is your strength and your song, and He has become your salvation.

Amen.

Feb. 17, 2016 – Lent                                                              Text:  Job 1:13-22

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

You all know about Murphy’s Law, right?  Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  Murphy’s First Corollary is:  Nothing is as easy as it looks.  Murphy’s Law of Mechanical Repair is:  After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.  Murphy’s Law of Highway Construction is:  The most heavily travelled roads spend the most time under repair.  Murphy’s Law of Insurance Rates and taxes is:  Whatever goes up, stays up.  The Book of Job is our theme for these Lenten services and Job’s Extension of Murphy’s Law is:  Nothing is ever so bad that it can’t get worse.

One moment is calm, the next moment everything is in chaos.  Job loses his wealth to marauding bandits.  Gone are oxen needed for farming, donkeys and camels for transport, his sheep and workers are massacred.  Job’s financial empire is in ruins.  What has been up goes down.

Shell-shocked and dumbfounded, Job sees the sky getting darker by the minute.  He starts praying, thinking things can’t get any worse.  But they do.  Personal tragedy strikes.  A storm has taken the lives of all ten of his dear children.

Like Job, we have three choices when something catastrophic happens.  We can let it destroy us.  We can let it define us.  Or we can let it develop us.  I want to share how to let even the worst things in life develop us and grow us by the act of surrender.  Tonight, the Lord leads us to . . .

“SWEET SURRENDER”

That’s what Job did.  “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped.  And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.  The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’”

The temptation in our grief is to turn away from God or run from Him.  Because in some way we think God is responsible.  If He allowed it to happen, we are mad and angry and heartbroken.  So we run.  The emotions are okay but they don’t help us in the long-term.  Long-term we need to be in worship again.  Job found a way.  “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  Surrender through worship.

Usually when you tell someone bad news they will react with “No!  No!  It can’t be.  I don’t believe it.”  Our minds want to reject bad news.  So we think, “This isn’t really happening.”

El Shaddai, “the Almighty”, reminds us that God is in control and we aren’t.  That is where surrender comes in.  Surrender is accepting reality.  We accept what cannot be changed.  We surrender not as a victim or with a grudge, but with acceptance.  Acceptance doesn’t mean we don’t still care or that it still doesn’t hurt.  It doesn’t mean we think that what happened was good.  None of that is acceptance.  Acceptance simply means that we can’t change it.

Maybe a relationship is over.  You keep hoping they will call or come back.  It’s over.  Some of you have dreams that haven’t happened.  It’s over.  Maybe you need a new vision or goal for your life.  Surrender with acceptance.

When we experience a devastating loss it can feel like the end.  We think nothing good can come from it.  We lose all hope.

There is another name in the book of Job for God – Eloah.  Eloah is related to the verb “go up.”  God takes people who are down and raises them up.  He takes people from the pit and places them on level ground.  Eloah takes what is dead and brings it back to life.  So what you are going through is not the end of the story.

One of the ways we try to resolve evil is to become dualists.  We believe all good is from God and all evil from Satan.  Although Satan is involved in our world, he is not a second god; a dark force equal to the light force.  He is defeated by Eloah who, on Easter Sunday, brought beauty from ashes; brought life from death; and brought resurrection after crucifixion.

Therefore we can surrender to our present circumstances in hope that this is not the end.  Sadness, sorrow, and sickness will never, ever, be the last word.  Ever!

On February 6, 1870, George Mueller of Bristol, England suffered the death of his wife Mary to rheumatic fever.  They had been married for thirty-nine years.  The Lord gave him the strength to preach at her memorial service.  Mueller said, “I miss her in numberless ways, and shall miss her yet more and more.  But as a child of God, and as a servant of the Lord Jesus, I bow to the will of my heavenly Father.  I pray, ‘Thy will be done.’  And so I kiss continually the hand that has afflicted me.”

Another word for that would be surrender.  And how do I do that?  By surrendering to things I can’t control through the comfort and peace of the Savior Jesus Christ who died so I might live.  He lives and because of that we can let go with sweet surrender.  “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”        Amen.

Feb. 10, 2016 – Ash Wednesday                                                      Text: Job 1:1-12

 

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

In 2007 Jim O’Neill was flying from Glasgow, Scotland to Colchester, England when his vision failed.  Initially, he thought the sun had blinded him, but soon O’Neill realized it was much worse.  He had suffered a stroke.  It gave new meaning to the expression, “flying blind.”  O’Neill groped around, found the radio and issued a mayday alert.  Paul Gerrard of the Royal Air Force quickly took off and, finding O’Neill, began talking to the blind pilot.  “Keep coming down.  A gentle right turn.  Left a bit.  Go right now.”  Gerrard hovered within five-hundred feet, guiding him to the nearest runway.  O’Neill would have to land the plane flying blind.

We’ve all been struck, perhaps not with a stroke, but with divorce papers, a crippling expense or a cancer-ridden body.  Not midair, but mid-career, mid-semester, or midlife.  Losing sight of any safe landing strip, we’ve issued our fair share of mayday prayers.  We all know the feeling of . . .

“FLYING BLIND”

And so does Job.  One of the Bible’s great wisdom books is the book of Job.  This Lent we are going to delve into Job’s central message and supporting truths.  We begin with Job 1:1-12 and what do we learn?

There are some times when we know why bad things happen.  You run a red light.  You get pulled over and are issued a ticket.  We buy things we don’t need and the credit card is maxed out.

Job’s suffering on the other hand, was undeserved and unjust.  Job is described as “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”  This doesn’t mean he was sinless.  Job was, however, a godly man.  Job was an innocent sufferer.

Job 1:6 lifts the curtain and behind the scenes, a wager is being made between God and Satan.  Like a vindictive lawyer or a corrupt policeman with an obsession to frame the innocent, Satan is on the lookout for someone to drag before the judgment seat of God in order to condemn him.

Job 1:8, “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job?’”  Satan wants the prized diamond from the jewelry store owner.  Thanks a lot God!

Satan then asks the key question in the book.  Job 1:9, “Does Job fear God for no reason?”  Satan knows that every man has his price and that if Satan removes Job’s good gifts then Job will curse the Giver – God Himself.    “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand.  Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’”  Job is about to become Ground Zero as Satan gets ready to launch his assaults.

We see this conversation in heaven between God and Satan.  But Job?  He has no clue.  When all hell breaks loose Job repeatedly, and with increasing intensity as the drama unfolds, cries out, “God, where are you?”  Job was forced to learn the art of flying blind.

All of this points us to Jesus.  That’s right.  Listen to Luke 4:13, “When the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”  We get another bird’s-eye view of spiritual realities.  Jesus, like Job, is “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” – only Christ was without sin in the fullest and most complete sense imaginable.  And Jesus is the ultimate innocent sufferer.  Like no other, Jesus didn’t earn or deserve any of his human hell.

With Job, God didn’t allow Satan to test him to the point of death.  But with Jesus, Satan was allowed all of his weapons of mass destruction.  If Job was reduced to living on the local ash heap, Jesus was stripped naked and nailed like a scarecrow in a God-forsaken garbage dump called Golgotha.

When you cry out, from the depths of your suffering, “Where are you God?”  Jesus says, “I’m here, on the cross, suffering with you and suffering for you.  I’m here, bleeding for the sins of the world.  I’m here, feeling your pain.  I’ll always be here.  I’ll be there to greet you in eternity where there is no death, no crying, no pain, no Job-like flying blind scenarios you will have to deal with.”

And if we want to know how Job’s suffering can be transformed into infinite good, then we journey from the cross to the empty tomb where the crucified Conqueror stands, with the palms of his hands outstretched offering the gift of eternal life.  It is there that we find courage and strength to say again, “I know that my Redeemer lives!”

On that day in 2007, on his first try Jim O’Neill hit the runway and bounced up again.  Paul Gerrard continued to speak calming words of assurance and hope.  Finally on the eighth try the blinded pilot managed to make a near-perfect landing.  When we are flying blind many voices clamor for our attention.  The talk show host says not to worry.  The financial advisor says buy now.  The friend says read this book.  And then we add our own voice that asks, “What’s the use?”  The end result, too often, is that we crash and burn.

It’s time, again, to listen to the only voice that really matters.  Jesus speaks with tenderness and love, “Keep coming down.  A gentle right turn.  Left a bit.  Go right now.”  And at this table he gives us these words for the ages.  “Take, eat, this is my body.  Take, drink, this is my blood.”  With this voice guiding us we will land safely in his loving arms, today and forevermore!

Amen.