Who would have thought that something so basic as motherhood would become an issue during a heated campaign for the White House? And yet it is an issue – a big issue.

Recently, a political strategist charged that Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, “has never worked a day in her life.” Ann Romney has been a stay-at-home mom. Her response to the charge was, “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.”

One would think that after all the millennia of human history we would have mother-hood all figured out – but we don’t.

So, really, what is a mother? I want to share with you an essay by Vicki Huffman. Huffman is a syndicated columnist and former editor with Thomas Nelson Publishing and David C. Cook.

For a number of years, a Russian peasant woman held the record for having the most children. She bore 69—including numerous multiple births. She was most certainly a mother. (And undoubtedly a tired one.) But, I can’t help wondering, was she a good mother?

What is a good mother, anyway?

A good mother doesn’t nag — much. Only the essential amount and only about essential matters. Like where to squeeze the toothpaste, how to hang up pants without making eight creases, the inadvisability of 20-minute showers, and which noises are easily produced but socially unacceptable.

A good mother has a speech that begins, “When I was your age, kids had it much harder. My mother didn’t take me everywhere. I didn’t have all these things you kids take for granted….” She belts out this national anthem of motherhood regardless of the indifference of the crowd. She can make herself heard over a blaring CD player by teenagers hanging opossum-like over a bed with a phone plastered to one ear.

A good mother cooks, cleans, and launders without expecting to be appreciated. She knows that only in TV commercials do kids get excited about fragrant T-shirts or seeing their reflection in the china. In real life most kids have lost the directions to the laundry room and would be content to eat off paper plates or pizza boxes eternally.

But a good mother is much more than just a resident reminder service, cook, cleaning lady, and laundress. A good mother is a launching pad with a soft lap: hardheaded about discipline (especially compared with “everyone else’s mother”) and soft-hearted about everything else. She motivates her children to help them reach their full potential and praises them whenever she catches them doing something right.

A good mother gives her children more than a balanced diet and a roof over their heads. She teaches them how to feed their souls and gives them a spiritual foundation on which to build. She directs them into the right paths and prays for them when they occasionally wander off onto others.  A good mother cares how her children turn out. She doesn’t just wait for them to get out.

Stationary companies have tried to glorify motherhood by producing syrupy slogans on plaques. One of the worst is: “God couldn’t be everywhere, so He created mothers.” That phrase may sell a lot of trivets, but it just isn’t so. God is everywhere, and mothers can’t be. I know because I’ve tried.

Maybe God created mothers because He needed someone to keep every generation reminded of His presence. Good mothers have been doing that for thousands of years, ever since Eve held her first wriggling infant in her arms.

Motherhood doesn’t need to be sentimentally glorified with ridiculous state-ments, but it does need to be respected. It is a high calling, a God-given challenge.

The writer of Proverbs 31 described the woman who, like his mother, was a good mother: “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:25-28).

As important as mothers are to us, it is amazing how often we take them for granted. Mother’s Day is a good time to arise and call your mother blessed, but any day will do as well — as long as you do it before it is too late.

Legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant used to remind his players: “Be sure to call your Mom.” Then he would add wistfully, “I wish I could call mine.”

So do I.

In this morning’s message I want to narrow motherhood down to three distinct stages. During these stages a lady goes from being a tentative novice to being a oft-quoted master.

THE FIRST STAGE IS THE NOVICE STAGE OR MOMMY STAGE

Do you realize that somewhere around 4 million women will have babies this year? The median age of a woman giving birth for the first time in the United States has risen to 24.8 years.

The process of becoming a mamma is both strange and wonderful. The woman is amazed at the miracle that is taking place inside her body. Some days she feels great; she feels strong and excited.  Some would say that the mother-to-be even has a glow about her. Her appetite increases, but she explains that away by noting that she is now eating for two.

On other days, she feels awful.  It is the flu and seasickness rolled into one. It is being too hot and too cold within the span of five minutes. It is anger directed at Eve for her sin in the garden. It is anger directed at the husband who got her into this mess.

And then the fun really starts.  Carol Burnett, in trying to describe what labor pains feel like, said, “Take your bottom lip and pull it over your head.”

Finally, the process is over. The two who have become one are now three.  

It has been said that “the moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is some-thing absolutely new.” A mother is not issued a learner’s permit and given six months to learn the ropes. No! When her child is born, he or she is hers, no if, ands or buts about it.

Back to Ann Romney. USA Today carried a piece by her last Wednesday entitled, Three seasons of motherhood. I want to share the opening lines in the article: “It’s hard to imagine now, but before the birth of my first child, I had never held a baby. Not once, not in my entire life. No baby at home to tend, no niece or nephew to babysit. So you can imagine, the day my first boy was born I felt woefully unprepared.

My mother took pity on me and stayed for two weeks, but that wasn’t nearly enough time. As she was preparing to leave, I cried like I was the baby. I told her that I wasn’t ready, that I had no idea what to do. In her smile I saw the truth. Ready or not, my son couldn’t wait, and somehow, I would make it through.

Of course, she was right. Some might say it was the mothering gene kicking in, the same one that every mom throughout history has possessed. Maybe. But I don’t think so. I was a good mom because my own mom was the best.”

I agree with Ann. I think mothers are born with a mothering gene. A mother’s ears are tuned to hear the slightest whimper. They are able to detect that one cry is for a feeding while another cry is a warning that the baby is sick.  A father doesn’t get that. To him, a cry is a cry is a cry. Put a bottle in the kid’s mouth and be done with it. It is this total lack of understanding the baby’s language that dictates that the mother should get up in the middle of the night and care for the kid. She gets it; the dad doesn’t.

Along this line, I have learned from experience that mothers are better designed for changing diapers. (This is Mike speaking, OK?  I did not get this from God.)  For instance, a woman’s  fingers are smaller and more nimble. Their fingers are also more sensitive to the slightest hint of moisture. A man’s fingers, on the other hand, are bigger. The man is also more clumsy. Then too, a man figures, if the kids isn’t dripping, he or she doesn’t need changing.

Then a mother’s nose is more adapt at picking up certain odors. How else would she be able to tell that her teen-age son has not taken a bath in three days? The father simply says, “Yeah, I checked the diaper. I didn’t smell anything.”

Yes, mothers, I believe this is all a part of your calling; a part of that “mother gene”.

Trivia question.  Do you know the age of the youngest mother on record? Her name was Lina Medina. She delivered a 6½-pound boy by cesarean section in Lima, Peru in 1939, at the age of 5 years and 7 months.

Regardless of the age, the birth of a child is meant to bring happiness to a home. It is a sign of God’s blessing.

Notice these verses of Scripture:

Genesis 21:5-6 states: “Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.’” Again, the scene is one of joy and happiness due to the birth of a child.

Psalms 127:3, “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.”

Genesis 48:9, “‘They are the sons God has given me here,’ Joseph said to his father.”

Listen to these words of Hannah after she had given birth to Samuel, “I’m bursting with God-news! I’m walking on air. I’m laughing at my rivals. I’m dancing my salvation. Nothing and no one is holy like GOD, no rock mountain like our God” (in 1 Samuel 2:1-2, The Message).

Notice these words drawn from those verses:

• Laughter.
• Reward.
• “The sons God has given me….”
• Bursting; dancing!

Wow!

• Is there a greater wonder than the birth of a child?
• Is there anything that you treasure more than your own new-born baby?
• Is there anything else that you produce that has eternity stamped all over it?
• He or she looks like you; even bears your name.
• The child even comes via special delivery!

Agnes Newton Keith wrote of being a mother while interned in a prisoner of war camp during World War Two: “It was horrible … more horrible than even the mothers could say. Yet, in a way, it was heavenly too, In the midst of that deprivation there were thirty-four reasons for staying alive—everyone a child.”

Describing how the mothers brought all of thirty-four safely through the tragedy, Agnes added, “I said to begin with that we brought them all through alive. But perhaps they brought us through alive.” Indeed, a child is someone worth living for, and the joys they bring more than compensate for the emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and economic costs of raising them.

THEN THERE IS THE MOTHER STAGE

I grew up under the influence of the Clever family, the Nelsons, Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, Ralph and Alice — The Honeymooners, and Father Knows Best.

Notice that Lucy and Ricky slept in separate beds. Then too, when was the last time that you saw the entire family together in the living room with the teenagers seated on the floor playing checkers?

Back then everything was so neat and predictable. Dad worked. Mom stayed home with the kids. Then too, mom was this ever flowing fountain of wisdom. She would say things like:

• Always change your underwear; you never know when you’ll have an accident.
• Don’t make that face. Do you want your face to freeze in that position?
• Be careful or you’ll poke your eye out.
• What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too?
• You have enough dirt behind those ears to grow … potatoes! (I see she got to you too!)
• Close that door! Were you born in a barn?
• If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
• Don’t put that in your mouth; you don’t know where it’s been!
• Clean your room. Do you want people to think you were born in a pig sty?

So much has changed in the family unit since then. Some of those changes have been good; some not so good. I will leave it up to you to judge which is which.

June Clever has been replaced by Marge Simpson and Ward Clever has been replaced by Homer Simpson.

• Then too, more children today are being raised in a single parent home.
• Blended families are much more common.
• If there is a two parent home, chances are both parents work outside the home.
• Church is less a priority today.
• Families have more demands on their time.
• A growing number of stay-at-home moms now work full or part time from the home.
• There is an increasing number of couples who are living together outside of marriage with children.

The whole family dynamic has changed!

Another change – it simply costs more today to raise a child than back when I was a kid. Please notice these charts.

Obviously, children are expensive!

And yet, in this whirlwind of change, I do not know of a time when mothers have tried any harder to be the perfect mom than today. I mean that. Yes, I know of some exceptions. However, I am talking big picture here. I am talking about the vast majority of you here this morning.

As I pointed out a moment ago:

• Many of you moms work either full or part time.
• You have earned the title of “soccer mom” because you are going here and there trying to take in every sporting event and dance lesson that our society can come up with.

• You try to fit church in there someplace.
• You want to be a good wife – if married.
• You try to keep yourself fit.

I could go on and on.

Let me give you another chart. This one details…

Being a mom is one of the most rewarding, and yet stressful, demanding and difficult jobs in the world.

Returning now to the piece by Ann Romney: People often ask me what it was like to raise five boys. I won’t sugarcoat it. There were times I wanted to tear my hair out. I can remember visiting my friends’ houses, seeing their daughters’ manners, the way they helped with the chores. Then I would return home to my boys, hoping only that my house was still intact.

I like this story. I know that I have shared it once before: Mom was having a terrible day: appliances breaking, telephone and door bell ringing, bills arriving without the money to pay them. Feeling like she was at the breaking point, this young mother picked up her young son and put him in his high chair. She then dropped her head on the tray of his high chair and began to cry!

The little boy watched his mother for a moment, then took the pacifier out of his mouth and placed it into the mouth of his crying mother.

Notice now Luke 2:41-46. Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they travelled on for a day.

Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

When a lad reached the age of twelve in Bible times, he was considered a young man. As it were, the women and children traveled at the front of a caravan while the men traveled at the rear. As Mary and Joseph headed back home to Nazareth, Mary no doubt thought that Jesus was in the back traveling with the men. Joseph, on the other hand, thought that Jesus was up front traveling with the ladies. Actually, he was with neither group. He had been left behind in Jerusalem. They had been gone a whole day before they discovered that He was missing.

I love the fact that God placed this account in the Bible. He could have left it out. He could have protected Joseph and Mary’s reputation. But no. God knows that people like you and me need stories like that. For regardless of how hard we try, we all make mistakes as parents.

Let me ask you…

• Have you ever left a child somewhere? My parent had five children. They once left my then three-year-old sister home alone when they went to the grocery store.
• Have you ever disciplined a child only to find out later that he or she was innocent?
• Have you ever taken action when you should have taken time?
• Have you ever lost your temper?
• Have you ever been too tired to listen, to really listen to your child?
• Have you ever had to miss a concert or a t-ball game?
• Have you ever wanted to pull your hair out?

Jesus understands. His mother would understand.

Nonetheless, Jesus survived! You see, children are resilient. God equips them with mental and emotional bumpers. Unless we are talking about cruel and unusual issues such as physical and sexual abuse, abandonment, and the like, children can and will bounce back.  The average child can recover from the average parent’s mistakes.

Before I move to my next point, I want to share with you a quote from Billy Graham:  “Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.” It is impossible to fully understand the “forever” impact of a mother’s role in the lives of her children.

It is often a mother’s faith that sets the foundation of her children’s beliefs. It is the mother who holds the hearts of her children in her hands and her heart. It is the mother who is the refuge, strength and blessing of her home. She is the encourager, teacher, caregiver, and example.”

A little boy, who had been told that it was God who made people good, responded, “Yes, I know it is God, but mother’s help a lot.”  So they do.

Mom, let me remind you of something you already know:

• Your mini-van will eventually turn to rust or you will trade it off for another pretty paint job.
• Your house will become too small or too large in time. You will want another one.
• Your clothes will wear out.
• Your job will be fine until another one comes along that pays a little more an hour.

Not so with your children. They are a lifetime investment. They have souls, not motors or windowpanes. They don’t go to the junk yard when they die, they go off into eternity!

THEN LET US BRIEFLY LOOK AT THE THIRD STAGE, THE GRANDPARENT STAGE

2 Timothy 1:5, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

Earlier I talked about the changes that are taking place today. I want to draw upon one additional change. Since moms have had to go to work outside the home, more and more grandparents are becoming the secondary caregivers for the children. No doubt, many of you who are grandparents understand the truth of that statement.

This isn’t all bad. As the pastor of this church, I am pleased to know that you are able to live out your faith in front of another generation.  Psalm 92:12-14 states in part, “But the godly shall flourish…. Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green.” The fruit that you produce here is influence and righteousness. It is love and it is faith.

Our young people need role models.

• They still need heroes.
• They need the wisdom that comes with age.
• They need the grace and maturity that a Godly grandmother can provide.
• They need the lovely fragrance of a grandmother’s influence lived on through one, two or even more generations.

Last month I preached the funeral here for Norma Kemp. Norma was 91 years old at the time of her passing. She was survived by her six grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren. Norma was also a saint. She left a godly legacy on each of those generations.

Grandmother, let me encourage you, leave behind some good fruit. Like Norma, leave for subsequent generations a fitting and godly legacy!

Mothers, today I salute you. Whether you are in the mommy stage, the mother stage or the grandmother stage, I do/we do honor you. As the writer of the book of Proverbs states, we rise up to call you blessed.

 

The following story comes from Ron Mehl’s excellent book, Meeting God At a Dead End. Bob loved garage sales. He was just getting ready to leave his last one for the day when he saw something that caught his eye. It was partially hidden underneath a tablecloth and an old comforter. Nevertheless, the shape was unmistakable, it was a motorcycle. As he lifted the covers, he could immediately tell that it was an old Harley.

Obviously it wasn’t part of the garage sale, and that piqued Bob’s interest. “Is the bike for sale?”  he asked the homeowner.

The man shrugged. “Well… don’t rightly see why not. The wife says it’s all got to go. But I’ll warn ya. That bike hasn’t run since I’ve had it. Motor’s sized up. Won’t turn over. Could probably buy yourself a new one with what it would cost to fix up that old thing.”

Bob nodded patiently. “All the same, how much do you want for it?”

“I’m sure they’d give me thirty-five bucks for the metal at the scrap yard. How does that sound?”

Bob looked at the rusty old heap. What would his wife say if he brought it home? But still… to a practiced eye, it had potential. Even if it didn’t run, he could get it shined up as a conversation piece. And he could surely sell it again for more that thirty-five dollars. Parts alone would be worth more than that.

“Okay,” he said, “I’ll take it. Can I pick it up tomorrow?”

Shortly thereafter the old Harley was occupying space in Bob’s garage. After a few weeks of procrastinating, he finally got around to calling Harley-Davidson, just to see what a few of the major parts for restoration would run him. He corrected with someone on the parts line and asked a few questions.

“Why don’t you give me the serial number,” the dealer said. Bob gave him the number. “Hold on just a second while I look it up.”

Bob waited on hold, listening to a sixties rock station piped into the receiver. After what seemed an inordinately long time, the parts man returned to the line. Somehow this time though, his voice seemed to be a little different. Strange.  Self-conscious. Like something was up. “Uh, sir…I’m going to have to call you back, okay? Could I get your full name, address, and phone number, please?”

Why does he need my name and address? Bob wondered. But then again, what was the harm? It was no big deal. He’d probably end up on some motorcycle mailing list. Bob gave the man what he wanted and hung up.

After a few minutes, however, he found himself getting nervous. He regretted giving information about himself over the phone. What if the bike had been involved in a crime of some sort? What if drugs were involved — or murder? What if the bike was stolen? Was he in danger of prosecution? Maybe the police were already on their way — or a Hell’s Angel, ready to reclaim his bike and rearrange Bob’s face.

Bob sweated for a couple of days without hearing back from Harley. But just as his worries were beginning to subside, the phone rang. This time, however, it wasn’t the parts man….

We’ll come back to this story in a few minutes.

WHAT ARE YOU WORTH?

If you were up for auction, what would some knowledgeable person pay for you? Would you believe we have the answer to that question?

The answer can be found in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 7:23 (The New Living Translation) tells us that “God purchased you at a high price….” For the next few minutes, I want us to look at the high price that God our creator paid for you and me.

1.        GOD GAVE HIS LOVE; HIS GREAT AND AWESOME LOVE

John 15:13 declares, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” The Amplified Bible says it this way, “No one has greater love — no one has shown stronger affection — than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends.”

Think, no greater love…. That is the measure that God Himself set.

• Ellen Goodman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist, now retired, once wrote that this is the “love carefully era.”
• The late Moishe Rosen, founder of Jews For Jesus, noted: “I have an imaginary Rosen Poll that I conduct every once in a while to “prove notions for which there is no factual information. My latest Rosen Public Opinion Poll on love found that 92% of the population would rather receive love than give it; 7% were uncertain; and 1% said that they gave at the office.”

So often today love comes without commitment and with conditions. Again, it is the love carefully era.

Not so with God. He doesn’t know the meaning of loving carefully.

• He loved all the way to the Cross;
• He loved us in sacrifice;
• He held nothing back;
• He literally loved humanity to death!

Romans 5:8 notes, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Yes, there were easier ways to show love than to die for someone:

• Jesus healed the sick,
• Raised the dead,
• Fed the hungry,
• Blessed little children,
• The Bible says that He went about doing good.

However, merely doing good wasn’t enough. It was going to take more than a boy scout to redeem mankind, it was going to take a Savior! 

Again, the measure had been set: NO GREATER LOVE….

• That was it!
• Anything less wouldn’t work.
• It would be too cheap.

No, Jesus loved us in the greatest possible way to the greatest possible extent!  And I remind you, He did all of this “While we were yet sinners.”

The songwriter wrote:

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell;

It goes beyond the highest star,

And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled,

And pardoned from his sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Tho stretched from sky to sky.

Oh love of God,

how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forever more endure,

The saints and angels song.

Think with me of the people that Jesus ministered to during His time here on earth. Does anything strike you about those folks? With but few exceptions, they were people who would not be accepted in many of our churches across America this morning. Let’s look at the list:

• The lepers,
• The blind beggars,
• The morally challenged (the woman taken in adultery, the harlot, the woman who was living with a man even though they were unmarried),
• A less than ethical tax collector,
• The demon possessed,
• The poor, hungry and unemployed,
• The diseased and unclean.

These were the very ones that society and even the religious circles turned away and yet like iron shavings are drawn to a magnet, so it was that these people were drawn to Jesus. They were drawn by His love. They felt His acceptance. When they were around

Him, they felt new worth.

I was raised in poverty. I truly know what it is to be in want. Back in my poorer days, certain people considered me defective, a bum, a less than desirable person. No doubt, I had issues.

When I accepted Jesus, I was not all that moved by His miracles, His great healings, or even His wonderful teachings. The thing that struck me was that…

• God Almighty loved me, “a sinner, condemned, unclean.”
• He saw something of value in me.
• He wanted me for His own!  Wow!

The thought still boggles my mind! I was one of those who was drawn by His love, drawn by His mercy, drawn by His grace!

Someone supposedly asked Daniel Webster what was the most profound truth in the world. Perhaps they thought this very learned man would try to impress them with his excellent vocabulary, amaze them with his vast linguistic knowledge, or blow them away with some great scientific truth. Instead Mr. Webster simply answered, “The greatest truth in all the world is this: ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

That was it. That is it! There is no greater truth than the fact of God’s love for you and me. A love so great that God would simply call it “no greater love” love.

2.        NEXT, PLEASE NOTICE THAT GOD GAVE HIS SON

Would you please take out a piece of scrap paper? I want you to guess the value of the following five items. By the way, they are used.

 

The annual Open Heart Spring Fling form is coming up Saturday, May 12 at 10:00AM. The menu will be a continental breakfast. Worship will be led by Stephanie Fink with special music by Linda Maybee. Elisabeth Corcoran will be speaking on Plan B. The cost is $7 for adults and $4 for kids 12 and under. See Kim Rebarchek, Marilyn Jackson, or the church office for tickets.

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It was May 13th, 1981. St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican was filled with 20,000 pilgrims and visitors from all over the world. The air was filled with keen expectation–and a joy which was contagious. Looking like doves of peace, hundreds upon hundreds of light gray pigeons, sat on fountains, window sills, and roof statues all around the square. Like a sweet fragrance, their gentle cooing drifted through the air.

Suddenly the crowd burst into cheers, as Pope John Paul II was driven into sight. Cameras flashed, as the smiling Pope stood in his open-air “Pope mobile.” He waved blessings to the crowd and embraced little children lifted up to him. As the Pope mobile slowly made its way around the crowded square, a forest of eager hands reached out to the Pope. Tragically, one of those hands held a gun!

Shots rang out! The gentle pigeons scattered in fright. Severely wounded, the Pope fell backwards in intense pain. His white robes showed the spreading red stain of his own blood.

The Pope survived.

It was now a chilly early morning onDecember 23, 1983. Dressed in his crisp white robes, the Pope sat in a bare, white-walled prison cell in Rome. Seated before him, knee-to-knee, was his would-be assassin. Unshaven and clad in blue jeans, this man was now a prisoner, convicted with a life sentence. The Pope looked into the eyes of this man who tried to kill him. Then, leaning forward, the Pope took the man’s hands in his own–and he forgave him!!! He emerged from that prison cell, calling the prisoner his “brother.” This Pope forgave graciously, in a way that is a model for all Christians.

How many will admit that forgiveness is not always easy to do? I would dare say that it was not easy for the Pope to forgive the man who had tried to assassinate him. For-giveness is so hard because it is only necessary when we have been hurt.

IT IS IN THE CONTEXT OF PERSONAL PAIN THAT THE BIBLE TELLS US TO FORGIVE  

Have you ever been hurt? Could it be that you have been abused physically or emotionally? Has some authority figure (a mom or dad, a spouse, a friend, a son or daughter, a pastor or some other church leader) betrayed your trust?

First, let me say to you, I’m sorry. I mean it. On a regular basis I see things and hear things that, to borrow a line from “Fiddler on the Roof, “would cross a rabbi’s eyes.” Some of the situations bring tears to my eyes. Others rob me of my sleep. I can’t help but wonder, how can one human being be so cruel to another human being. I just don’t get it.

Nevertheless, it was for situations such as these that the Bible tells us to forgive. In fact, the One who most understands personal pain, who has been victimized by a unjust judicial system and was murdered at the hands of evil men directs us to…

• “Forgive and you will be forgiven…” (Luke 7:37).
• Mark 11:25 adds, “Forgive if you have anything against anyone… so that your Father also may forgive you and your trespasses.”
• Ephesians 4:32 commands, For­give “each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 

The point is, if you want eternal forgiveness from God the Father, then you have to be willing to forgive others. The Bible cuts us very little slack. We have been forgiven; we now have to forgive. Our relationships with our brothers and sisters will reflect our relationship to our God. If there is a horizontal problem, then more than likely there is a vertical problem.

I well remember having some pretty serious fights with one of my brothers. While he was younger than me by nineteen months, he was bigger than me. I resented that. That was not the way things were supposed to be. Anyway my brother Jack and I would get in a fight and invariably dad would come along and break it up. Dad didn’t just stop the fisticuffs though; he would make us make up. The way he did this was to have us face each other eyeball to eyeball and nose to nose. I then had to put one of my hands on one of Jack’s shoulders, and Jack had to put one of his hands on one of my shoulders. I would then have to tell him that I loved him and that I was sorry for the fight. He had to do the same thing to me. We hated this routine more than we hated each other.

Let me assure you, while the words of forgiveness came from our lips, they never came from the heart. Dad was not able to legislate love. Our forgiveness only came through gritted teeth. The Lord sees the same thing with us when we forgive, not from our hearts, but only out of some sense of religious duty.

Let me take you to a recent news item. An innocent woman was shot in the cross fire between two men. As a result of her injuries, she was paralyzed. The article was about the change that had taken place in her life as a result of the shooting. The thing that struck me most, however, was her statement: “I haven’t forgiven them yet, but I know I have to, because if I don’t God won’t forgive me.”

If you are struggling here, I believe that there is help in sight. I want to give you seven steps to complete forgiveness

1.        ASK GOD FOR HELP

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, one of the issues He dealt with was this issue of forgiveness. He said, in Luke 11:4, “Forgive us our sins, for we also for-give everyone who sins against us.” Pray. Don’t underestimate the Lord’s willingness to get involved in such matters.

As someone once said, “To err is human, to forgive is Divine.” I think that’s very true. Forgiveness is the Lord’s thing. He loves to forgive. He died to forgive!

When God forgives…

• Original sin is covered.
• Sins of action and inaction,
• Sins of omission and commission,
• Sins of the heart, sins of the body, and sins of the will are all covered.

Notice the scope of His forgiveness:

• He forgives us horizontally: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
• He forgives us vertically: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him….”
• He forgives us gracefully: “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” 
• He forgives us eternally: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
• He forgives us repeatedly: “If your brother… sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,’ forgive him.”
• He forgives us completely : “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

• He forgives sins divinely: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
• He forgives sins lovingly: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

That’s Calvary’s love! That is also the pattern — the measure — for our forgiving others! If you need to forgive someone, then I recommend that you go to the forgiving specialist – the Lord Jesus Christ. Entreat His help.

2.        FORGET ABOUT FORGETTING

“Forgive and forget” is an Old English proverb which dates back at least to the 14^th century. As a general rule, though, I do not think that to be good advice. You see, there are certain things that you and I will never forget.    

• If someone murders a loved one;
• If you were raped;
• If your spouse had an affair;
• If someone falsely accused you of some terrible deed;
• If you were molested as a little child;

the chances are excellent that you will remember the deed, the person in spite of your best efforts.

These things are recorded in the subconscious mind and are subject to recall until the day of death. You may forget the matter for a while but then:

• You see the person who committed the offense,
• You revisit it in a dream,
• You are in a conversation with a friend and the matter is brought up and there it is again.

There would be some who would say that the very fact that you remember the issue confirms that you haven’t really forgiven the person. I couldn’t disagree more!

In fact, I believe that there is a valid reason why the mind chooses to remember. We can learn from our injuries, and try to protect ourselves and others from being injured in the same way again. Consider this example: A babysitter abuses your baby girl. The child ends up in the hospital with a broken arm. The sitter is sorry and begs your for-giveness. You forgive her. Sometime later you see the person and she volunteers to baby-sit again. Remembering the past injury, you refuse her services. She accuses you; she says you haven’t forgiven because you haven’t forgotten. You though, know better. You have forgiven, however, you have also learned from the painful experience, and you wisely choose not to repeat it.

Hear me, please: Forgiveness is an act of grace. Trust and responsibility are earned.

It is obvious that I still remember my childhood conflicts with my brother Jack. Nevertheless, today he is one of the people I most admire in life. I truly love him. I also know that I have forgiven him. How do I know? Let me tell you:

1. I no longer hold anything against my brother
2. I do not wish him ill
3. I pray for Jack and I bless him
4. The earlier offenses no longer consume my thoughts
5. When we get together, we no longer review the past
6. We no longer seek an apology or try to determine who was at fault
7. I have peace in my heart about the matter. There is now no condemnation

Yes, friends the war is over. The injury is truly left in the past. It no longer defines or has a grip on our lives in the present.

3.        DON’T REHEARSE THE MATTER WITH OTHERS.

In other words, don’t scatter the poison. Let the offense die. If you feel that you must spread word of the offense, ask yourself why.

• What is the motive?
• What are you hoping to accomplish?
• Are your actions motivated by love or by something less honorable?

Proverbs 26:20 (New Century Version) notes, “Without wood, a fire will go out….” The wise Solomon is saying, if you quit feeding the offense, it will eventually die.

1 Corinthians 13:5 (Contemporary English Version) declares that love “doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do.”

• (New Living Translation), Love “does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.”
• (The Message), “Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others….”
• (The New American Standard), “Love does not take into account a wrong suffered.”

Do you keep an account of the wrongs that you have suffered? Let them go. The next time the offense comes to mind, hit the “stop” button rather than “play”.  

4.        MOVE ON WITH LIFE

I love these words from the Apostle Paul.  He wrote in Philippians 3:13, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead….”

Charles Flood in his book, Lee: The Last Years, he tells of a time after the Civil War when Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky woman who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her home. There she cried bitterly that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Union artillery fire. She waited for Lee to condemn the North or at least sympathize with her loss. Lee paused, and then said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.”

There comes a time when that is the only wise course of action: simply, “Cut it down, and forget it.” Like the apostle said, we no longer allow the past to exercise any control over our life. We just move on, in other words.

I read of two elderly sisters who were in a car accident 20 years ago. Each blamed the other for the accident. The one driving said her sister was distracting her, and the sister said she was driving badly. Both of them should have said “these things happen” and gone on with life, but instead of excusing each other, they have not spoken in 20 years!

This leads me to my next point…

5.        QUIT WAITING ON THE OTHER PERSON TO APOLOGIZE

If they haven’t already……, they probably never will.

Jesus didn’t wait for an apology as He was dying on Calvary — He took the initiative:

“FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.” Likewise, Stephen prayed as he was being stoned to death: “FATHER, LAY NOT HIS SIN TO THEIR CHARGE.”

In our anger or pain, we may feel that we should withhold our forgiveness, until our injurer repents. But consider this question from another angle. Making our forgiveness dependent on another’s repentance is not very helpful. It sets us up to be a victim, not just once, but twice! By making our forgiveness dependent on the other person, we give considerable power over our lives, to the one who injured us!

Some wise soul has observed: “Forgiveness releases us from the past, restores the present, and provides a basis for healing in the future.”

When Chris Carrier was ten, he was abducted, stabbed, shot through the head, and left for dead. Surprisingly, he survived, but the emotional and physical scars were very difficult to heal. Eventually, though, his commitment to Christ helped him to move on with his life. In the meantime, the bad guy got away.

Over twenty years later, Chris received a phone call from a detective in the Coral Gables, Florida Police Department. The detective said that an elderly man in a local nursing home had confessed to being his abductor. The man’s name was David McCallister.

Chris visited David the following day. Here are his words: “It was an awkward moment, walking into his room, but as soon as I saw him I was overwhelmed with compassion. The man I found was not an intimidating kidnapper, but a frail seventy-seven-year-old who had been blind for the last half-dozen years. David’s body was ruined by alcoholism and smoking – he weighed little more than sixty pounds. He had no family, or if he did, they wanted nothing to do with him, and no friends. A friend who had accompanied me wisely asked him a few simple questions that led to him admitting that he had abducted me. He then asked, ‘Did you ever wish you could tell that young boy that you were sorry for what you did?’ David answered emphatically, ‘I wish I could.’ That was when I introduced myself to him.

Unable to see, David clasped my hand and told me he was sorry for what he had done to me. As he did, I looked down at him, and it came over me like a wave: Why should anyone have to face death without family, friends, the joy of life – without hope? I couldn’t do anything but offer him my forgiveness and friendship.” Chris also was able to share Christ with David.

As you can see, in this instance, the guilty party wanted to ask for forgiveness, but time and circumstances had kept that from happening. Then too, sometimes death makes an apology impossible to give or receive.

Now I want to take this in a different direction. Frankly, some people can’t apologize. It just isn’t in them. They just do not have the necessary mental, emotional or spiritual strength to utter an apology. I remember dealing with a man and wife a number of years ago who were going through a painful divorce. One of the issues was, the man could NEVER admit to any wrong, thus he could never, ever bring himself to ask for forgiveness or to simply say, “I’m sorry.” As a result, the wife was made to feel as if every problem was always and forever her fault. She said that she couldn’t take it any longer and so she split!

There are many reasons why some people just can’t humble themselves to the point of seeking forgiveness:

• Pride.
• Ethnicity.
• Culture.
• Insensitivity.

If you wait on such a person to make the first move, you will still be waiting on the other side of eternity! It just isn’t going to happen.  As I said a moment ago, if they haven’t apologized already……, they probably never will.

6.        FORGIVE AS ONE WHO NEEDS FORGIVENESS

Think back over some past or maybe even present offense. I want you to ask yourself honestly, are you entirely innocent in the rift? Could it be that you are indeed:

• 5% guilty?
• 10% guilty?
• 25% guilty?
• 50% guilty?

Acknowledge your own level of sinfulness. Seek forgiveness there.

USA TODAY carried the following article — a human interest story — on forgiveness:

“In an extraordinary act of forgiveness, a Kentucky couple befriended the man who killed their only son. ‘I intended to hate the man forever,’ recalls Elizabeth Morris, 40, whose son Ted, 18, died on Christmas Eve 1982 after being struck by drunken driver Tommy Pigage in Herdon, KY.

When Elizabeth and her husband, Frank, first saw Pigage, 24, in court, the devout Christians were astonished at the intensity of their ha­tred. Says Elizabeth, ‘Tommy was walking and breathing and my son was dead, and it was so unfair, I wanted Tommy dead.’ When Pigage pleaded not guilty, their resent­ment deepened. Pigage was charged with murder, but the charge was reduced to manslaughter.

He was required to spend only every other weekend in jail and par­ticipate in Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) programs for high school stu­dents. Elizabeth forced herself to go hear Pigage talk at a MADD program.  She wasn’t prepared for what she heard. ‘I thought he’d be excusing him­self, but instead he talked about the anguish he felt. He called himself a murderer. He said his sentence was too light.’

Elizabeth went to see him in jail. ‘My son’s life had been destroyed, but it seemed Tommy could still be helped.’ Now, two years later, Pigage goes to the Mor­ris’ church and spends every Wednesday and Sunday with them. ‘Ted would have wanted it this way,’ Elizabeth says. ‘He wouldn’t have wanted us to go on hating.’”

The one party in the story was a young man who was guilty of drunk driving. The other parties were two professing Christians who were angry, bitter, hate-filled people. In the sight of God, who was at fault? If you ask me, both parties were guilty of wrong — sin! Both needed forgiveness.

7.        LEAVE JUDGMENT AND VENGEANCE TO GOD

The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, “There, there. She didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that hurts.” He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.  As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she asked, “What happened?” The little boy replied, “She knows now.”

GHANDI once observed: “If we practice and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, soon the whole world will be blind and toothless.” The only way out is forgiveness!

It is my opinion that if Jesus had not forgiven His murderers, He would have died and simply would have been forgotten.

• The key to His grand victory was His grand forgiveness!
• Without it, Jesus would have been like anyone else.
• Forgiving them made it possible for Him to likewise forgive us.
• He showed us an undeniable lesson that forgiveness under any circumstance with God’s help — is possible!

Therefore, leave it to Him:

• He loves everyone involved. He has proven that.
• He knows the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
• He is faithful and just.
• Then too, Abraham said, “The judge of all the earth will do right.” He will.

He has promised that He will repay. As a result, by faith you can let it go.

I WANT TO NOW GIVE YOU THREE QUICK ACTION STEPS

1.  ASK YOURSELF, DO YOU NEED TO FORGIVE SOMEONE?

The beginning point of true forgiveness is to emotionally accept the fact that you’ve been hurt.

Dr. Neil Anderson in The Bondage Breaker notes: “FORGIVENESS IS AGREEING TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANOTHER PERSON’S SIN.” Anderson continues, “Forgiveness is hard for us because it goes against our sense of fairness. To forgive is a conscious decision of the will. Since God commands us to do it, we know that it is possible. We need to realize that forgiveness is not just for the sake of the offender, but also for ourselves–so that we can be free. The high cost of forgive-ness lies in the fact that it involves being willing to live with the consequences of some-one else’s sin. Genuine forgiveness is always substitutional, just as Jesus took upon Himself the penalty for our sin. That, in fact, is our motive for forgiving: He forgave us.”

2.  RESOLVE HERE AND NOW TO FORGIVE

I do not recall ever knowing anyone who forgave, who did not first consciously want and choose (at least in some sense) to forgive.

Forgiveness is an act of will. If you do not will yourself to forgive, you will never do it.

3.  PUT YOUR FORGIVENESS INTO WORDS

Closure is the big thing here.

Albert Tomei is a justice of the New York State Supreme Court. A young defendant was convicted in Judge Tomei’s court of gunning down another person execution style. The murderer had a bad record, was no stranger to the system, and only glared in anger as the jury returned its guilty verdict.

The victim’s family had attended every day of the two-week trial. On the day of sentencing, the victim’s mother and grandmother addressed the court. When they spoke, neither addressed the jury. Both spoke directly to the murderer. They both forgave him.

“You broke the Golden Rule — loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You broke the law — loving your neighbor as yourself. I am your neighbor,” the older of the two women told him, “so you have my address. If you want to write, I’ll write you back. I sat in this trial for two weeks, and for the last sixteen months I tried to hate you. But you know what? I could not hate you. I feel sorry for you because you made a wrong choice.”

Judge Tomei writes: “For the first time since the trial began, the defendant’s eyes lost their laser force and appeared to surrender to a life force that only a mother can gener-ate: nurturing, unconditional love. After the grandmother finished, I looked at the defen-dant. His head was hanging low. There was no more swagger, no more stare. The destructive and evil forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable display of humaneness.”

Now let your words lead the way here. Your heart will follow in time. Say to the Lord: ‘Lord, I forgive him/her (name each and everyone on your list).’ It’s important not to avoid the bare emotional decision to forgive by saying ‘Please help me forgive’ or ‘Lord, I want to forgive.’ Only forgiveness will free you from the past. Say it ; “I forgive.”

No doubt some of you are acquainted with what I mean when I speak of a Memory-Safe.  A number of caskets today come equipped with a drawer in the lid; that drawer is called a MemorySafe. One casket company describes the drawer thusly:

“Now you have a dignified means to secure and display letters, photos and other cherished memorabilia inside a hardwood casket. No matter how the MemorySafe™ drawer is used, the casket serves as a personal memorial and provides valuable emotional closure for your family and friends.” I have seen tearful prodigals put long, hand-written letters in those drawers hoping somehow those words will bring healing.

Friends, a letter in a casket will never take the place of a telephone call, a letter, or a visit. Speak your forgiveness.

In closing…

No doubt you remember the tragic shooting that took place at Virginia Tech five years ago last week. The gunman killed 32 people and wounded 17 othersin two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, before committing suicide. The massacre is the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in U.S. history. One of those killed that day was Mary Karen Read. I want to read to you her last journal entry: “When deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”

Corrie Ten Boom in her excellent book Tramp for the Lord said much the same thing:

“Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.

Throughout this message I have given you one example after another of forgiveness. Many of the examples were examples of extreme forgiveness. However, the greatest example is the example of Jesus Christ up on that tree – forgiving you; forgiving me. He is now telling each of us to forgive. Forgive now. Forgive and be forgiven.  Simply, let it go.

I want to begin this morning’s message with some Bible trivia. As many of you know, there are 66 books in the Bible; 39 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament. Along this line, there are 1189 chapters in the Bible and 31,102 verses. The book of Psalms is the longest book while 2 John is the shortest book in terms of verses. The 117^th Psalm is the shortest chapter while the 119^th Psalm is the longest chapter. Esther 8:9 is the longest verse and John 11:35  is the shortest verse. I am sure that many of you can quote John 11:35 – “Jesus wept.” Can anyone of you quote Esther 8:9? I didn’t think so. The verse contains 90 words.

Now back to the total number of verses – 31,102. Look at that number. There is something about it that is biblically significant. Let’s see if any of you can figure it out. Here is the answer: 31,102. 3+1+1+0+2 = 7. The number seven in the Bible is God’s perfect number. It signifies completeness and spiritual perfection. The fact that the individual numbers in the number 31,102 equals 7 is pure coincidence, I know.

Out of all of those chapters and verses some obviously stand out in our minds more than others. For instance, John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 13 or Psalm 23. Then there are some passages that we tend to call “Life Verses.” As a rule, life verses are Scriptures that the Lord has specifically directed to us individually. Such verses generally come to us in times of blessing, need, or peril. We like to say that such a verse is “my verse.”

This morning I want to preach on one of my life verses. The Lord spoke this passage to my heart a number of years ago. I was young. I was what I now call a Yo Yo Christian. I was always either high or low; up or down. I was beginning to wonder if I had what it took to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Anyway, it was in the midst of one of those crisis of faith that I discovered the verse that I am speaking on this morning. The verse is Jude 24 (King James Version), “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” Time and time again the verse breathed hope and life into me. I memorized it; quoted it, as well as claimed it. It was, again, “my verse.” If you don’t have a life verse, I

Would be happy to share my verse with you.

Before I open the verse to you, I want to give you some background to the passage in question.

The book of Jude was written by one of the Lord’s brothers. Jude was born to both Mary and Joseph. As he opens the book he points out that he is “a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James….” James was also a brother to Jesus.

At first, Jude did not believe in Jesus Christ. But some time after the resurrection of Christ, he gave his heart to the Lord and surrendered his life to preach the gospel. He became one of the leaders of the early church.

The book of Jude is the next to the last book of the Bible. It is also one of the smallest books in the Bible. It is only one chapter long; it contains a total of 25 verses.

Basically, the book deals with two issues:

• How can we tell whether or not a person is a true minister of God?
• How can we tell whether or not a person is a true believer?

It is against that backdrop that I want us to look at Jude 24 this morning.

THE PASSAGE BEGINS BY REMINDING US THAT GOD IS ABLE.
“NOW UNTO HIM WHO IS ABLE…”

This is one of three times that this declaration is found in the New Testament.

1.        In Romans 16:25 we read, “Now to him who is able to establish you….” Here the Apostle Paul offers praise to God for God is able to give us a foundation for life which nothing and no one can ever shake.  Those of you that are new to this faith, know this, the same God that saved you is able to keep you, establish you, strengthen you, and help you make it across the finish line. Paul is saying, you can make it!

2.        Ephesians 3:20 adds, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine….” Here Paul notes that God who is greater than our dreams; greater than our requests.

Along this line the Lord once asked Abraham, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”(Genesis 18:14)

One commentator put it this way, “He is the God whose grace no man has every exhausted and on whom no claim can ever be too much.” He is able.

NEXT, WE FIND THAT GOD IS ABLE TO KEEP YOU FROM FALLING…

To explain this, I need to take you back to the opening verses of the chapter.  Jude writes in verses 2-3, “My dear friends, I really wanted to write you about God’s saving power at work in our lives. But instead, I must write and ask you to defend the faith that God has once for all given to his people. Some godless people have sneaked in among us and are saying, ‘God treats us much better than we deserve, and so it is all right to be immoral.’ They even deny that we must obey Jesus Christ as our only Master and Lord. But long ago the Scriptures warned that these godless people were doomed” (Jude 1:3-4, Contemporary English Version).

When Jude sat down to write this letter, he planned on writing on the subject of salvation. As  far as we know, he never got around to writing that letter. Rather, due to some urgent issues that had come before the church, the apostle had to move away from the theme of salvation and address the fact that some enemies of the Cross had wormed their way into the fellowship and were sowing error and heresy in the church.

As a result, the writer warned these early saints to hold firm to the faith that had been handed down to them. In other words, they were to keep the faith, guard the faith, as well as pass on the faith to others. Elsewhere the faith is called precious faith. It is certainly worth keeping.

That was nearly 2000 years ago. That faith that was under attack then is still under attack today. The faith that needed to be safeguarded then yet needs to be safe-guarded here in 2012.

Do  you remember the story of the fall of the city of Troy? Greek soldiers had laid siege to the city for over ten years, but were unable to conquer it. In exasperation Ulysses, a brilliant strategist, decided to have a large wooden horse built and left out-side the city walls as a supposed gift to the unconquerable Trojans. The Greeks then appeared to sail away in apparent defeat. The curious and proud Trojans brought the wooden horse inside their fortified walls. That night Greek soldiers hidden inside the horse crept out and opened the city gates to let their fellow soldiers into the city. The soldiers massacred the inhabitants, looted the city, and then burned it to the ground. Ever since, the Trojan horse has been a symbol of infiltration and deception.

Today the church is having to contend with a number of Trojan horses. Let me name a few for you:

• The universalism gospel. In the end, love wins; everyone goes to heaven.
• The prosperity gospel.
• Self-esteem gospel. What really matters is YOU.
• The Man-Is-God gospel. The name says it all.
• The happiness gospel. God wants you happy first and foremost – even if that means breaking up someone else’s marriage. Don’t worry; be happy!
• The relativism gospel. There is no such thing as right and wrong. It is all relative.

In short, there is simply a lot of stuff floating around out there today. Some of it is bad; some of it is real bad.

John MacArthur, pastor, commentator, and radio and television speaker tells of a time he was interviewed on a supposedly Christian radio station. Here is how Pastor MacArthur describes the incident: “The program host asked me, ‘How does a person become a Christian?’ I replied, ‘He must realize that he is a sinner and that he cannot save himself. He must repent from his sin, and cast himself on the mercy of God. He must believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, whose death paid the price for his sins and whose resurrection proves his justification.’ The host asked, ‘You don’t believe that everyone who is a Christian must believe that, do you?’ I replied, ‘Yes!’ The host responded, ‘I certainly didn’t deal with any of my sins when I became a Christian.’ I asked, ‘What do you base your salvation on?’ The host replied, ‘I was into drugs and alcohol, living with my boyfriend, and into Science of Mind for six years. One day I just got Jesus’ phone number and knew where He was.’ MacArthur then closes out the account by saying, “Obviously not everyone who talks about Christ necessarily knows Him.”

Saints, please understand.  Since heresy and error within the church is much more damaging than persecution which comes from outside the church, it is imperative that we learn to distinguish God’s truth from the enemy’s error!

Don’t just accept and believe any and everything simply because it looks good – sounds good – or comes in a religious looking wrap. Ask, is it good? Is it truth?

Job 12:11 (The Amplified Bible) “Is it not the task of the ear to discriminate between (wise and unwise) words just as the mouth distinguishes (between desir-able and undesirable) food?”

Let me give it to you straight. every child of God should remember that better men and woman than we will ever be have fallen into grievous sin and error. I could give you a list of names. Some are famous names. Jude could have given a list of names too.

Nevertheless, the message of our text is, we need not be afraid nor should we quit in despair. Jude tells us that God is able to keep us from falling.

• He is also able to create worlds without end.
• He is able to call out the stars, each by its own name.
• He is able to cause a virgin to give birth.
• He is able to open the eyes of the blind.
• He is able to walk on water.
• He is able to drive out demons.
• He is able to raise the dead.
• He is ABLE!!!

Please understand, all of that is good; in fact, it is really, really great! However, back

when I was a young man trying to juggle hormones, poverty, and a whole host of other things, I needed to know that He was able to keep me from falling! Not just keep me from falling away from faith – the common interpretation of this passage – I needed to know that He was also ready, willing, and able to keep me from falling into error. That is indeed the message and the context of the verse.

When Jude talks about being kept from falling, he uses a word picture of a sure-footed horse which does not stumble or fall even as it makes it way over uneven terrain.

A number of years ago, my wife and I pastored in beautiful Rapid City, South Dakota. One of the things that we most enjoyed about the area was going up in the Black Hills and watching the wildlife.  One day we were driving on the back side of Mount Rush-more along with some friends when we happened to see a full-sized mountain goat. We stopped to watch the animal as he made his way straight up a sheer cliff. It was amazing. The animal was so sure-footed that it never once stumbled or fell. The same as God was able to create that animal in such a way that it could make its way up that rock face without falling, so it is that God is able to keep His children so that they do not fall into error.

That same idea is carried over in the Psalms:

• Psalm 56:13, “For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.”

• Psalm 66:9 (New Living Translation), “Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.”

• Psalm 121:3, “He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber….”

To walk with God is to walk in safety even on the most dangerous and the most slippery path.  Whenever I talk about Jude 24 I like to say, He holds on to me as I hold on to Him. Or to put it another way, “Holding, I am held.”

How does one hold on to God, you ask? That is a very important question. The Life

Application Bible answers that question this way: When you worry about falling, remember God. He keeps us well connected on a rope the devil cannot cut through.

• When temptation surrounds you, pray.
• When evil thoughts invade your mind, rehearse Bible promises.
• When doubts dampen your faith, call a Christian friend for a talk.

In all this, trust God to hold you steady, keep you balanced, and bring you home.

Along this line, we must draw near to Him and stay in touch with Him by learning to walk moment by moment in fellowship with Him and by walking righteously before Him.

In addition: Be vitally connected to a good church. Good is terms of doctrine. One that holds to and guards the Truth. One that avoids spiritual fads.

Being kept by God is not a passive thing; it is a cooperative thing. God and I work on this jointly.

In mountain climbing, the climbers are roped together. Why? They do not want anyone to fall. By linking themselves together they know that if one of the climber should slip, the other climbers can take his weight and save him. Even so, when we bind ourselves to God, he keeps us safe. He is well able to keep us from falling.

HE IS ABLE TO MAKE US STAND BLAMELESS IN THE PRESENCE.

What does the word “blameless” mean to you? Is it easy to think of yourself as being blameless?

I received a precious email last Monday. It is from one of our newer converts here at New Life. The person was mauling over the grace of God. Then the saint went on to describe himself or herself as “The person who totally doesn’t deserve it, the person who sins all the time, the person who made everyone around him or her give up because she or he was a lost cause.”

Could you have written that? No doubt, a number of you could  have.

Notice now these verses of Scripture:

• The Prophet Isaiah said of himself, “I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips” (Isaiah 6:5, New Living Translation).

• In one of his first encountered with Jesus, Peter “fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” (Luke 5:8).

• Then the Apostle Paul noted that he had at one time been “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man….” He then went on to say that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:13, 15-16).  

And yet God is able to make each of these individuals stand in His presence “BLAME-LESS.” Pastor, only God could do that. You’re absolutely right. Only God could do something as amazing as that!

The word for “blameless” means to be spotless and pure. In the Old Testament when-ever the people would bring a lamb to the Lord as a sacrifice, they were required to offer an animal which was without spot or blemish and was therefore fit to be offered as a sacrifice to God. That lamb was consider “blameless.”

The remarkable thing is, when we give ourselves over to God His grace covers our sin and makes our lives nothing less than a sacrifice fit to offer to him.

How does that work, you ask? Notice these verses of Scripture:

• Psalm 103:12, “… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
• Isaiah 1:18, “‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
• Isaiah 6:7, “… your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
• Isaiah 38:17, “In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.”
• Isaiah 44:22, “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sinslike the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
• Micah 7:19, “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
• Revelation 14:5, “No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.”

The redeemed are justified in God’s sight to the extent that they are made to be just as if they had never sinned.

1 John 3:2 tells us that when Christ returns, we shall see Him and in that transforming moment we shall be made to be like Him.

• We shall be made to look like the Bride of Jesus, spotless and without blemish.
• We shall be made to be the righteousness of Christ – redeemed and sanctified.

Today, there are spots and blemishes in the church, but on that day God’s people shall be made blameless.

Satan will have tried everything within his power to bring you down, but he will have failed.

Question. Think before you answer. Which would you prefer, Getting $1,000,000 all at once or getting a penny that’s doubled every day for a 31-day month? Actually, take the penny. A penny doubled every day over a 31-day span would yield nearly $11 million.

Next question. Would you have preferred to have God make you perfect and complete all at once, or would you have preferred that the process take time? Again, the best answer is what we call progressive sanctification. Little by little, day-by-day, we are being transformed into what He wants us to be. Little by little, day-by-day, we are being made to be like Christ – blameless!

FINALLY, HE IS ABLE TO BRING US INTO THE PRESENCE JOYFULLY.

Think of coming into the presence of God. How do you think you would approach Him? I think of how Dorothy and her three companions approached the “Mighty Oz” in the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz.” They bowed low. They trembled. They approached with great reverence.

Surely the natural way to think of entry into the presence of God is in fear, regret and shame. But Jude 24 lets us know that due to the work of Jesus Christ and due to the grace of God, we know that we can approach God with joy – with great joy – with exceeding joy! All fear and shame will be banished.

When we finally come to stand before Him, there will be so much to excite and cause our hearts to joy and rejoice:

• the glory of God’s presence
• being actually in heaven
• the glory of Christ and of seeing Him face to face
• the transformation of our bodies
• the joy of being reunited with our loved ones who have gone on before us
• the unbelievable thrill of being made kings and priests to rule and reign with Christ

To be sure, all of this will result in “unspeakable joy ….”

The book of Revelation gives us a number of glimpses in heaven. Again and again the saints are seen before the throne of God singing and worshipping. It is Christmas, your birthday, your wedding day, graduation, and every other grand and happy occasion all rolled into one. Again, joy; indescribable joy.

As I close this out I want to take you to Jude 1:1, “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.” As the letter begins, so it ends — with assurance. God is able to keep those who commit their lives to Him. In personal terms, that means that He is able to keep you; He is able to keep me.

2 Timothy 1:12 (New King James Version), “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”

Jude closes out the book with the phrase, “To the only God our Savior….” This is the only place in this little letter where Jude called our Lord “Savior.”

I like the fact that the writer called the Lord “Our Savior.” You see, it is not enough to say that Jesus Christ is “a savior,” or “the Savior”; we must say that He is “our Savior—my Savior.” Do you know Him? Is He your Savior?

He is able to save, He is able to keep YOU!

 

Pontius Pilate.

• I am confident that none of us here today would want to invite the likes of him over for dinner.
• If he were alive in 2012, and if he were to move into our neighborhood, most of us would want to relocate.
• I know I certainly would not want him to date one of my daughters.
• In short, he was one of history’s all-time losers!

Let me tell you his story.  I think there is much for us to learn from it on this Easter Sunday.

THE MAN

The one thing that forever marks this man is the trial and subsequent crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  And yet there was more to this fellow than this one awful deed. Frankly, there were numerous awful deeds on his record.

Pilate was the governor in Jerusalem for a period of ten years. He served at the pleasure of Caesar. In spite of his high position, the man lacked in certain social graces. Or to put it another way, Pilate had a knack for rubbing people the wrong way:

Once he had portraits of the Roman Emperor placed in the Jewish temple. This was a big no-no. The Jews saw these things as graven images – idols — and they threatened to riot if the portraits were not removed. Pilate refused to budge so King Herod eventually intervened and had them taken away.

On another occasion Pilate raided the treasury of the Jewish temple in order to finance the construction of an aqueduct into Jerusalem. The Jews again protested. In retaliation, Pilate ordered his soldiers to dress as civilians and to mingle with the people. At a given signal, the soldiers attacked the rioters and beat a number of them nearly to death. This act also enraged the people.

Luke 13:1 likewise reports, “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” It is thought from this passage that Pilate’s soldiers murdered some Galileans while they were in the temple worshiping. The soldiers then mixed the blood of the dead people with the blood of the dead animals. This was reprehensible. The report was brought to the Lord’s attention in part because He too was from Galilee.

One ancient Jewish philosopher wrote of Pilate’s “corruption, his acts of insolence, his habit of insulting people, his cruelty, his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never-ending gratuitous and most grievous inhumanity.”

In short, Pilate hated the Jews and they in turn hated him.

Occasionally someone expresses to me pity for Pilate, for Judas, and for Caiaphas the High Priest. I have been asked, how could they be blamed for the death of Christ when they were nothing more than helpless pawns in this grand conflict between God and Satan; between good and evil?

Hear me, God only uses that which we give Him. Pilate and the others were well suited for their roles here.  God did not make Pilate bad: he was bad already, he was cruel already, he was evil and unjust well before he fell into this situation. When Jesus stood before this dreadful man, Pilate simply acted as he had acted throughout his whole political career. Someone has noted that evil tends to follow evil and violence follows violence. Evil and violence were matters of habit for Pontius Pilate.

THE TRIAL

How many of you remember the name of Judge Lance Ito? He was the judge that presided over the O. J. Simpson murder trial. Hardly anyone remembers any of his other cases. The Simpson case marked his life and career.

1.  Pilate served, again, for ten years and yet like Ito, THIS IS THE ONLY TRIAL THAT HE PRESIDED OVER THAT PEOPLE REMEMBER; this trial forever marked and identified Pontius Pilate. Even though the Lord’s trial involved capital punishment, it lasted at best only a matter of hours. By way of contrast, the aforementioned Simpson trial lasted over nine months.

2.     JESUS SUBMITTED HIMSELF TO THE TRIAL WILLINGLY.  Matthew 26:53 quotes Jesus saying that He had at His “disposal more than twelve legions of angels.” That’s 72,000 angels — one legion for each disciple.

John 10:17-18, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.”

In the opening video clip Pilate asks Jesus, “‘Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.’” (John 19:10-11.)

Two things are happening here. Both are important. First, Pilate boasts that he has to the power either to condemn or to release Jesus. By his own admission, he stated that the buck stopped with him.

Next, and again, Jesus declared that He died of His own initiative. Jesus didn’t go kicking and screaming to the Cross. No, He went willingly out of love for you and for me.

3.  NEXT, PILATE CONDEMNED JESUS TO DIE EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW JESUS WAS INNOCENT.  In John 18:29 Pilate asked of the Lord’s accusers, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

This question was logical and proper. You see, Roman law required three things:

1. As with today’s law, someone had to press charges against the Lord.
2. The bringing of the accusers before the accused, and
3. The opportunity for the accused to answer for himself (Acts 25:16).

Therefore Pilate acted correctly in demanding to know the nature of the crime with which Jesus was being charged.

Two of the accusations are found Luke 23:1-2 (New Living Translation): “Then the entire council took Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. They began to state their case: ‘This man has been leading our people astray by telling them not to pay their taxes to the Roman government and by claiming he is the Messiah, a king.’”

The first charge – the one concerning taxes – was important because avoiding taxes was a violation of Roman law. Such a charge was certain to get Pilate’s attention. The second charge – the one concerning Jesus claiming to be the Messiah – was important because the Jews took such a claim to be blasphemous and a violation of Jewish religious law.

John 18:30 adds this line to the charges, “‘If he were not a criminal,’ they replied, ‘we would not have handed him over to you.’” Here the religious leaders refer to Jesus as a criminal. The word translated “criminal” as used here is formed from two Greek words. The first word means “evil” and the second one means “doer.” The word criminal speaks of “one with an evil nature, a wrong doer, one who is injurious, a person who behaves in a bad way.”

Actually, given the way that the word appears in the original language, the accusation emphasizes that Jesus was an habitual evil doer. Today we would think of such a person as a habitual criminal; a career criminal.

Obviously, these were very serious charges. Let’s look at each of them a little closer.

First, they were charging the Lord with encouraging people not to pay their taxes. Was this true? Listen to Matthew 22:15-17. It tells of a time when the Lord’s enemies “… laid plans to trap him in his words. … ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.  You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.  Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’”

Notice His answer, Matthew 22:18-21 (New Living Translation), “But Jesus knew their evil motives. ‘You hypocrites!’ he said. ‘Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax.’ When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, ‘Whose picture and title are stamped on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. ‘Well, then,’ he said, ‘give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.’”

Did Jesus teach against paying taxes? Certainly not.

The second charge again was that He wanted to replace Caesar as king. On at least two occasions, the masses wanted to take Jesus and make Him the king over Israel.  In John 6:14-15 we find, “After the people saw that miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”

Then at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday prior to His resurrection “… the crowd spread out their coats along the road before him, while others threw down leafy branches from the fields. He was in the center of the procession with crowds ahead and behind, and all of them shouting, ‘Hail to the King!’ ‘Praise God for him who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Praise God for the return of our father David’s kingdom’ ‘Hail to the King of the universe!’” (Mark 11:8-10, The Living Bible)

As you can see, Jesus was innocent of both of the trumped-up charges. Even those that tried to trap Him admitted that He was a man of integrity and a person who taught the Word of God in truth! And yet such details would not keep the Jews from seeking His death nor would they keep Pilate from sentencing our Savior to the Cross!

But what about the charge that Jesus was a criminal – an evil doer?

1.        John 18:38 (The Message), “Then he (Pilate) went back out to the Jews and told them, ‘I find nothing wrong in this man.” Tell me. What is a judge to do when he finds the one accused innocent?  HE IS TO SET THE MAN FREE! That did not happen here!

2.        Luke 23:13-16 then adds, “Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.” Both King Herod and Pilate examined the Lord publicly and both of these men found Him to be totally innocent of all charges. Simply put, Jesus was guiltless. In fact, Pilate added: “as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.”

Pilate then goes on to say: “I will punish him and then release him.” If I am not mistaken, punishment is for those who are guilty. Jesus had done nothing wrong and yet he was still to be punished; why! For what?

3.        Moving now to Luke 23:22, “For the third time he spoke to them: ‘Why?  What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.’” The people’s insistence puzzled Pilate. Again he had to declare the Lord’s guiltlessness.

Truth does not win when numbers alone become decisive. Numbers alone can decide a beauty contest, an election, or some athletic event. But numbers are a poor measuring device when it comes to deciding right and wrong! Right is still right if nobody is right, and wrong is still wrong even if everybody on earth is wrong! The first popular opinion poll in the history of Christianity was wrong — dead wrong!

4.        John 19:4-6 then takes us back to Pilate. “Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.’ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’  As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ But Pilate answered, ‘You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.’”

• By this time Jesus had been cruelly beaten with a whip.
• A crown of thorns had been pressed into His brow.
• They had placed a purple robe on His shoulders as an act of mockery.

And still Pilate notes again – actually twice in two verses – that the Lord is innocent.

5.        Now another person makes her way to center stage: Pilate’s wife. History records that her name was Claudia. She was the granddaughter of Caesar Augustus thus making Pilate a member of the Emperor’s family by marriage. It is believed that it was due to this political union that he got his position in Jerusalem.

By law, women were not allowed to interfere in the process of a Roman trial. No suggest-ions or recommendations were permitted. This law included the governor’s wife. Nonethe-less, Claudia does get involved in this the most important case in her husband’s career. Such an intrusion — while the court was in session — was a punishable offense. Only the extreme importance of the case as well as her own personal sense of urgency could have prompted her interference.  Matthew 27:19 states, “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: ‘Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.’” While the women of Israel were silent, this pagan lady stepped forward to again declare the innocence of our precious Lord! Her plea was simple, “Leave this innocent man alone!”

By the way, she is the only Roman woman mentioned in the Gospels. I also want to note here that the Bible does not record a single instance of one woman calling for the death of Jesus!

6.        Notice now Matthew 27:24 (New King James Version), “When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.’”

• The Knox Translation notes here, “I have no part in the death of this innocent man.”
• Weymonth’s translation says in part, , “‘I am not responsible for this murder: you must answer for it.’”

Of course it was murder. And yet Pilate caved in; he cowered. He yielded and gave his authority to an admitted wrong.

As you may recall, earlier Pilate noted that it was in his power to free Jesus or to crucify Jesus. In spite of his protests here, he was responsible. Simply put, for fear, for ambition, for pride’s sake, Pontius Pilate sentenced an innocent man to death by the most cruel form of punishment known to man. A punishment that was reserved for slaves, foreigners, and the worse of criminals.

THE VERDICT

I hope you noticed that on SEVEN DIFFERENT OCCASIONS the Lord Jesus was declared innocent in the various passages I just read. Nevertheless, he was mocked, beaten, put in prison, and put to death by crucifixion! Think about it.

Oh, I must add here…

• You may remember hearing of one of the men dying with Jesus. The fellow was a thief, a rabble rouser, a man bent on rebellion. Nevertheless, Luke 23:41 records him saying, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong.”

• The centurion at the cross likewise declared: “Certainly, this man was innocent.”
• Judas in Matthew 27:4 admitted that he had “betrayed innocent blood.”
• Herod the king said that the Lord had done nothing worthy of death.
• And Peter, the disciple who denied the Lord three times, testified of Jesus in 1 Peter 2:22, “He committed no sin….” 

Dale Johnsen wrote: “Throughout Jesus’ life on earth, He obeyed all of God’s law perfectly.  Of all the 613 commands [in the Mosaic code], He obeyed every single one that applied to Him. He is the only One who ever did this.”

Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was “TEMPTED IN EVERY WAY, JUST AS WE ARE–YET WAS WITHOUT SIN.”

I want you to listen very carefully to what I am about to say, it is very important. Jesus was not only innocent of the aforementioned charges, He was innocent period.

THE SHUFFLE

I want you to notice now how Pilate kept trying to get rid of JESUS — and yet Jesus wouldn’t go away.

1. First, he tried to get the Jews to handle the issue.
2. Pilate then declared Jesus to be innocent, hoping that would take care of things.
3. Next he sent the Lord to King Herod. He wanted Herod to assume responsibility for

Jesus. Herod refused.

1. He had Jesus beaten in hopes that would pacify the Jews.  Again, it didn’t.
2. He then appealed to the mob’s sympathy. They could not have cared less.
3. Next, Pilate appealed to custom. He remembered that the Jews had a tradition that they would release one prisoner at Passover. He then called forth a contemptible fellow named Barabbas. Barabbas was in prison due to acts of treason against Rome. He was in jail charged with the very same crimes that these same Jews had leveled at Jesus! He was a member of the Jewish underground and was thought to be a murderer.

Some scholars think that Barabbas’ true name was in fact “Jesus Barabbas.” This tradition has been handed down since the first centuries of the church. In fact his name “Bar” means “son of” while “abba” means father. Son of the father. He well may have been a person who claimed to be the Son of God, or, in other words, he could well have been a false Messiah!

When Pilate offered the people a choice between the two, “With one voice they cried out, ‘Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us’” Luke 23:18! So it was that Jesus the Christ was to suffer and die for us as if He were in fact the very worse of sinners. The cross that Jesus bore that day was not his own, rather it had been build for Jesus Barabbas. It was just his size. The strange thing about it is, though, it was also your size and mine. 

7.        The seventh and final way that Pilate tried to rid himself of Jesus was via the wash basin. As I noted a few moments ago, he simply washed his hands of Him. “There,” he thought, “I’m free of innocent blood.” But was he?

Max Lucado writes in his book, And The Angels Were Silent, “Pilate thought he could avoid making a choice. He washed his hands of Jesus. He climbed on the fence and sat down. But in not making a choice, Pilate made a choice. Rather than ask for God’s grace, he asked for a bowl. Rather than invite Jesus to stay, he sent Him away. Rather than hear Christ’s voice, he heard the voice of the people.”

Pilate simply used the wrong cleansing agent:

“What can wash away my sins?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Oh precious is the flow that washes white as snow.

No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

So again, Jesus was Pilate’s problem. He just could not get rid of Him. Seven times he tried, seven times he failed.

Along this line, I think it is interesting that for some 20 centuries, history has rung with the cry that Jesus “SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE.” Pilate is still remembered because of Jesus. Even in death he cannot rid himself of the Lord.

Oh that people would understand; Jesus is not going to go away! 

• He was in the Garden with Adam and Eve;
• He was with Moses at the parting of the Red Sea;
• He was with David when he faced the giant Goliath;
• He was with the Three Hebrew Children in the fiery furnace;
• He was with Daniel in the lion’s den;
• The Psalmist noted that even if he made his bed in hell, there the Lord would find him.
• And Revelation 3:20 promises, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” Even if you ignore Him, He will come to you seeking an entrance into your heart.

THE END

Even though Pilate sold his soul, so to speak, in order to pacify the Jews, they eventually had him removed from office. He was recalled to Rome and banished to what is France or Switzerland today. In fact, it is said that Mount Pilatus, which is found just outside of Lucerne, Switzerland, was named after the man. Legend has it that when a storm rages on that mountain, Pilate’s ghost still seeks to wash away the guilt from his hands in the falling rain. Some local residents have claimed to have heard his cry, “It won’t come off, if won’t come off!”

Tradition says that he eventually committed suicide. The truth be told, no one really knows how or where Pilate died.

To the casual observer it might appear as if Jesus was the one on trial that day 2,000 years ago. The fact of the matter is, though, when Christ stood before Pilate, it was in fact Pilate who was on trial! As with anyone else, he had to decide what he was going to do with this man from Galilee. Pilate obviously failed in this the biggest case of his life!

Does this finish the account? No. The Bible declares in Revelation 1:7, “Look, He (Jesus) is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him.”

Pilate has another date with Jesus. This time, in a stark reversal of roles, Pilate will stand as the one accused and Jesus will be on setting in judgment.  Philippians 2:9-11 adds, “Therefore God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That long list will include Pontius Pilate. Someday in eternity that tyrant is going to bow his knees before Jesus and cry out that truly, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”

Each of us will likewise bow and confess. Either we will do this with great joy or with tremendous sorrow. Either way, we will bow and acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to make your defense before Jesus; before the sinless guiltless Christ?

How many of you have ever crashed into the wall of unmet expectations? Frankly, we all have. Expectations are built into the fabric of every human relationship. Everyone including your hamster has expectations.

The moment a child is born, we develop certain expectations about his or her life:

• The baby is going to defy the odds and sleep all night though.
• The child will never have a dirty diaper.
• He or she will never cost us any money.
• The baby will never develop an ear infection, have an upset stomach, or upchuck on you.

Are those expectations realistic? Probably not. Nonetheless, they are there.

On that same vein, we go into marriage with certain expectations:

• We expect our mate to be faithful.
• We expect our spouse will be loving and attentive regardless.
• He or she will fix all of our childhood hurts.
• She will make me a better person.
• He or she will make me happy.
• It is expected that someone will take care of the domestic chores; that someone will bring home the bacon.
• If it is true love, then we expect our mate to know what we want without our having to ask for it.
• He or she will magically create a perfect marriage.

Then we have other kinds of  expectations:

• Churches have certain expectations. Notice how a Presbyterian church in California ended up dealing with the issue of cell phones in church. I guess you could say that they turned up the heat a little bit.
• We expect our friends to back us up; to be there for us.
• We expect to live to a ripe old age.
• We expect the Packers to win.
• And we expect things from the government, from our coworkers, from our church, from God, and from life itself. Life is full of expectations.

I once read of a guy who argued that he had no expectations in life. He just took whatever life meted out. When challenged though, he had to admit that even he had certain expectations. He said that he expected a paycheck at the end of the week, a certain degree of courtesy and respect from others, as well as a whole host of other things.

What are some of your expectations?

In my sermon last week I spent some time talking to you about John 11 and the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. As you may recall, the dead man’s sisters Mary and Martha had sent a message to Jesus informing Him that His friend, their brother, was sick and needed His attention. Jesus did not hurry and go, rather he stayed put for two more days. By the time He arrived in Bethany at his friend’s home, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Mary and Martha’s expectations quickly turned to disappointment.

Greg S. Baker in his article entitled Dealing With Unrealistic Expectations In Marriage gives four sources of expectations:

1.  From our own desires. From things we want, or like to have.
2. From what we think we deserve. Even the Declaration of Independence says we deserve some things. Most people think this way too.
3. From what we are used to. We all grow up differently. But we all grow up certain way. That ‘way’ becomes familiar, and normal. We come to expect that.
4. From observation of potential. You observe a friend’s generosity, and you come to expect the same level of giving in the future.

I believe that Mary and Martha had reason to expect certain things from Jesus based on each of those four points. But Jesus failed to perform up to their satisfaction.

Well, as I told you last week, today I want to give you a couple of important guidelines on how to creatively cope with unmet expectations.

 

1.        FIGHT UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

John 11:3, “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’”

Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to decipher what is going on here. The ladies are staking a claim to the Lord’s time.

• Was the cause good? Certainly.
• Did they have reason to believe that Jesus would respond? Without a doubt?
• Were the sisters sure the Lord got the message? They knew that He had gotten the message.
• I find it interesting that the two of them even played the love card: “The one that you love is sick.”    

The problem here is they were staking their expectations on something – someone – that was outside of their control. Whether or not Jesus responded as they wanted Him to respond was totally up to Him. Again, Jesus did not drop everything and immediately come to their rescue.

We must understand that sometimes what the other person wants, feels, needs, is more important to them at the time than what you may want, feel, or need. As we will see in a moment, Jesus had other plans. Plans that Mary and Martha were not aware of. And in the end, we learn that His plans were so much greater than Mary and Martha’s plans.

Friends, you can’t, I can’t, base our expectations and happiness on the actions of others. They may disappoint us. Remember the words of Martha in John 11:21? “‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” Her unmet expectations were hanging out there for everyone – including Jesus – to see.

When God doesn’t do what we want, it’s not easy. Never has been. Never will be. You know what would be neat? If there was a signal that would warn us you  are about to enter the realm of unrealistic expectations.

However, there is no such signal. Therefore, we are doomed to face certain disappoint-ments.  Take this guy for instance. How long do you think it is going to take him to realize that maybe his expectations were set a bit too high?

Maybe some of you saw this recent Blondie cartoon. Obviously, Dagwood failed to respond as Blondie thought he should have responded. He failed to meet her expectations.

Staying with the theme of marriage for a moment, I hate break the news to you but your spouse more than likely will not bring you breakfast in bed each morning. He or she will tick you off on occasion. And regardless of how many times you remind him, at some point in the marriage your spouse will forget to pick up something at the grocery store.

University of Denver marriage experts Markman, Stanley, and Blumberg, in their book Fighting for Your Marriage notes that one of the toughest jobs in marriage is accepting the fact that some items on your must-have list will never be fulfilled by your partner — simply because he or she isn’t perfect, and also because he or she isn’t obligated to be your personal fairy godmother. “When you really want something that is just not going to happen, you can either sulk, get angry, or do what every couple needs to do over the long term: grieve the losses that come with commitment.” Accepting your marriage and your mate despite imperfections is a long-term practice necessary for a happy, healthy relationship.

Simply put, basing your happiness on another person is a sure way of setting yourself up for disappointment. That is just not a reasonable expectation. 

I want to tackle another common unrealistic expectation.  Many people actually believe that everyone is going to like them; everyone is going to think that they are the best thing to come along since sliced bread. Hey, I hate the break the news to you, but the truth of the matter is some folks are not going to like you – period. Your mother loves you. God loves you. Your dog or cat loves you. After that, though, things get a little dicey.

• Abraham, in the Bible, was a friend of God but that was not enough to keep him from having his enemies.
• David was a man after God’s own heart. Nonetheless, again and again in the Psalms he alludes to his many enemies.
• Daniel was one of the greatest prophets in all of Scripture. And yet there were those who sought to take his life.
• Jesus was the very Son of the Living God. In spite of that, people hated Him, beat Him, hung Him on a cross and left Him there to die!
• Back to Lazarus. Do you realize that as soon as Jesus raised the brother back to life, there was a plot to put him back in the grave?  John 12:9-11 (The Message), “Word got out among the Jews that he (Jesus) was back in town. The people came to take a look, not only at Jesus but also at Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead. So the high priests plotted to kill Lazarus because so many of the Jews were going over and believing in Jesus on account of him.”

And you think you are going to get though life without anyone saying or thinking ill of you? That is an unrealistic expectation.  Listen to Romans 12:18. I am going to read it from three different translations:

• “If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody.”
• “If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people.”
• “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Did you notice the word “if” in each of the three translations? The word raises the question of possibility. I am not a pessimist, nevertheless, I am absolutely convinced that is not possible to get along with everyone in our day and time. Actually, I will go so far as to say that I have met people who are, in my opinion, hooked on nasty pills. They aren’t on cocaine, uppers or lowers, they don’t smoke weed. They are addicted to nasty pills; mean pills. They are snarly, mean-spirited, and cranky. Even Mother Teresa could not have gotten along with them, if she were still alive.

• You don’t believe me? Go shopping at 3:00 in the morning at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. Some of those people will just as soon kill you and eat you as look at you!
• Accidently cut someone off in traffic in Chicago during rush hour. Those people are weird. Do you realize how many things they can do with their middle finger?
• Last year I attended the annual Forward Janesville banquet here in Janesville. Governor Scott Walker was the featured speaker. I had free tickets. Marilyn went ahead due to my having to counsel some people that afternoon. As a result, I had to go in a little late. I had Gene Myers drive me over. He dropped me off on the street in front of the Holiday Inn. I had to walk the rest of the way. It was dangerous. Those people did not know if I liked or disliked the governor. They didn’t know if I was going to the banquet or merely making my way to my hotel room. They didn’t know if I was from Wisconsin or Tupelo, Mississippi.

All they knew was they did not like me. They yelled all sorts of things at me as I made my way through a gantlet. However, the thing that hurt me worse was, some of them yelled “Shame on you grandpa!” How did they know that I was a grandpa? I don’t look old enough to be a grandpa!

Again, those folks were nasty. Mean.

I think the reason that I am hung up on this point is, when I became a pastor, I thought everyone would love me. Back when I was a teenager, before I went into the ministry, I loved my pastor. He was my hero. He literally altered the direction of my life on at least two different occasions. I thought everyone had to love and respect Pastor Thomas as I loved and respected him.

I was away at college in Houston when I heard the news that he had resigned the church in Wichita after having served the same congregation for better than twenty years. Some of the folks in the fellowship had grown tired of the man of God and wanted him to leave. He did. He accepted another charge out on the west coast. I couldn’t believe it. I was crushed.

That was many years ago. I have since come to know that there isn’t a church on earth where the pastor is loved by everyone. While I do not know of a person at New Life that doesn’t love their pastor, I am confident that there are such people here. It is said that in the average church, between 10-20 percent of the people will always be opposed to the shepherd of the flock. After years of serving as a pastor, I have come to the place where it would be nice if everyone in the church loved me, but that is no longer necessary. Being loved by everyone is no longer one of my expectations.

I like this quote. I do not know who wrote it: The man who stands behind the pulpit on Sunday represents God to his congregation and symbolizes a whole system of faith. To add to his burden, he is attributed certain virtues simply because of his position and then expected to exemplify them. He is supposed to be a strong leader but not domineering; preach with fervor but not offend; possess great wisdom but be devoid of pride; and study diligently but not neglect the people. In other words, he must be close to perfect.

These same dynamics spill over into the life of the pastor’s wife. After all, she is married to the man who symbolizes God to the congregation. If he is “Mr. God”, she is “Mrs. God.”

The children do not escape their share of expectations, either. They are to be better behaved and more spiritual than other children of the congregation; have the ability to sit quietly through church services without squirming; avoid childish pranks; and evade sin and temptation. After all, they are “Mr. God” and “Mrs. God’s” children!

While both you and I know that I am not “Mr. God”, I do think that nonetheless the illustration does make a good point.

The same principle applies to you.

• Someone may remove you from their friends list on Facebook.
• They may cut you down at work.
• Ridicule you at school.
• Abuse you at home.
• Leave you off of the team.

The point? People are going to let you down.

Why? There are as many reasons as there are people:

• Your personality may rub certain people the wrong way.
• Some folks may be jealous of you.
• Then they may just dislike your family – for reasons that have little if anything to do with you.
• You are a Christian. That is enough to set some people off.

You just can’t please everyone without sacrificing who and what you are.

One day Victor Frankl (a Jew) found himself standing before an SS officer at the camp at Auschwitz. The Germans had literally stripped him of everything. He stood there stark naked. They had even taken his wedding ring. He said at that moment he realized his enemies could take away every single thing in his life except for one thing — they could not take away his freedom to choose how he would respond. He was to later write that you can choose not to be discouraged regardless of how black, how dark the situation seems, it is your choice.

To make this up close and personal, you cannot control those cantankerous people where you work. You cannot control those carnal people with attitudes that the devil will use to discourage you, to mix you up, to depress you, to try to get you off God’s goal.  But you can chose how you’re going to respond to them. You can choose whether or not you’re going to let them discourage you.

Here’s the rule: Expect much from yourself and little from others and you will avoid many of life’s unmet expectations.

2.        WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT ALL THAT THERE IS

John 11:6, “Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” John 11:14-15, “So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’”

All that Mary and Martha could see delay. They wondered, does Jesus really love us?  They thought that Jesus had let them down in there hour of need.

In time, though, they would realize afresh that Jesus’ love had not faltered. His plans were good. He did not intend to harm them, but rather to give them hope and a future.

Let me ask you; has God left you with some unmet expectations?  I have here seven very personal and important questions for you to consider:

• Has God failed to answer some prayer?
• Do you fault Him for some failed relationship?
• Do you blame Him – as did Mary and Martha – for some loved ones death?
• What is it that He didn’t do that you felt that He should have done?
• What is it that He did do that you think He could have; should have done better?
• I know of a fellow who walked away from God utterly and completely a number of years ago. His parents attended the church that I pastored. Why did he reject faith and God? As he put it, he prayed for a horse back when he was a youngster and the prayer was not answered. His whole faith life was wrapped up in that prayer for that horse. He played on that in his mind until he became an angry and bitter person.
• I think that maybe Mary and Martha felt a twinge of rejection when Jesus didn’t come running. Have you ever felt rejected by God?

As I pointed out last week:

• Jonah went through a time when he was miffed at God.
• Job spent some time in that arena as well.
• Jeremiah visited there as did David.
• Again, Mary and Martha wondered:
  • When will Jesus come?
  • When will Jesus answer the prayer?
  • When will Jesus respond to the need?
  • When, oh God, will you move on our behalf? When?

Obviously, if you are there – or have been there – you are in good company.

At the end of Job’s trial of faith, he was blessed with double that which he had lost. His faith was also still intact. Jeremiah also survived. He found that his doubts could not override the Word of God that was burning inside of him. David eventually came out on top as well/.

Now, are you absolutely sure that God has failed you or could this simply be a four day delay – as in the story of Lazarus? Is it possible that there is more to be scene here than that which meets the eye?

I want to share with you a thought from one of my favorite devotional books — Daily With The King. I love it. The author writes:  Life is full of irreversibles. The crop that the locusts devoured was a lost crop. The year that the locusts had eaten was a lost year. The months that the prodigal spent in the far country were lost months. Israel’s thirty-eight years in the wilderness were lost years, and the generation that died there was a lost generation.

Lord, so many people have made lost decisions: the person who would not obey the missionary call, the man who married the wrong woman, the youth who followed the wrong career. Lord, have You anything to say to them?

“So I will restore… the years that the… locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25, New King James Version). God is the great Restorer. But how? How can He reverse the irreversible and change the inevitable?

By time!

The next year the seed was planted and the harvest reaped. In a year the Almighty wiped out every trace of the locust. When Jesus healed the impotent man He wiped out thirty-eight years of irre­versible weakness. He reversed the process of leprosy in the leper, of sin in Zaccheus, of death in Lazarus. Jesus is the great “turner-around.” He makes time fly backward…. The irreversible becomes reversed in His hands, and we eat what the locust cannot touch. Do so, Lord, in me!

The Prophet Isaiah wrote 700 years before Christ, “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think.” Isaiah 55:9 (The Message) We cannot figure out the infinite God with a finite mind. He is, His ways are incomprehensible to you and me.

I want to repeat a point that I made last Sunday:

What Jesus did know and Martha did not know was, there was a reason that Jesus delayed His visit to Bethany.

• Martha wanted a healing; Jesus was planning a resurrection.
• Martha was wanting now; Jesus was content to wait for four days.
• Martha was thinking then and there; Jesus was thinking of something so amazing that people would still be talking about the miracle 2000 years later!

Jesus was wanting to do the best possible thing but he couldn’t do that until He was facing the worse possible circumstances!

The secret in dealing with unmet expectation with God is simply wait. Wait and see what His plans and purposes are. Don’t draw your conclusions to soon or you might just miss it.

Again, by waiting Mary and Martha were able to see their brother restored back to life.

Can anyone tell me what great historical event took place on June 18, 1815? that is the date of the Battle of Waterloo.

The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the British, Dutch, and Germans under the command of General Wellington. In those days, the people of England used a system of signals given from high points across the countryside, in order to tell the outcome of a battle. The signals were spread from station to station by men waving flags. One of these signal stations was on the tower of a Cathedral in London.

Late in the day, the signalman in the cathedral tower started waving his signal flags: the message said, “WELLINGTON DEFEATED.” As soon as those two words were signaled, a sudden fog bank came rolling in, and made it nearly impossible to see your hand in front of your face.

So, the news of Wellington’s defeat quickly spread throughout the city and the rest of the countryside, as the other signal men picked up the two word message. The whole country was sad as they realized the seriousness of the situation.

Then, just as suddenly as the fog appeared, it also lifted. Immediately, the signal-man on top of the cathedral finished the message. You see, the message had four words, not two. The complete message was: “WELLINGTON DEFEATED THE ENEMY!” It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory!

Today, the Lord is busy defeating the enemy. He is at work – maybe behind the scenes, but he is nevertheless at work. Believe it.

Now as I close, I want to warn you that there is a line, a fine line, between …

• Disappointment and anger.
• Hurt and hate,
• Bitterness and blame.

If you are nearing that line, let me urge you, don’t cross it. Step back. Take a deep breath and wait.

• Maybe you need to revise your expectations.
• Maybe you need to spend some time alone with the Lord in prayer.
• Maybe you need to go see a professional.
• Maybe you need to realize that things are not as they seem. Wait on the Lord to reveal the full picture to you.
• Maybe it is time to rule the hurt rather than allow it to continue to hurt you.

Remember, the fourth day in the story of Lazarus began on such a low note. Lazarus was dead. Hope was gone. The people were wailing; the corpse was stinking. The sisters doubting. Their expectations had been crushed.

At the end of the day though, the wailing had ceased, the sisters were preparing a feast for Jesus, and the corpse was no longer dead but up and walking! Jesus had never intended to meet their expectations, He had planned all along to blow them away. That’s just Jesus.