The Poughquag Pastor

2009-05-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

Faith
Jesus is quoted saying in Luke 18: "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

This is a valid question. Does this question imply that whatever faith is found on earth at the time of Jesus' return is not going to be adequate? My own father has commented that this generation of people do not have the same faith of their forefathers.

It makes a person wonder then if simply believing in God is not enough. Then what is? I have no answers. I cannot judge anyone's faith even against the Bible because the Bible tells me that only God can judge. I only hope to encourage people to seek a meaningful way of connecting to God in faith through Jesus Christ. That may be expressed in many ways, many ways that I may not even have considered, but the important thing is that we encourage each other as the days grow closer to His coming.

2008-07-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sermon 7/6/08 “Fairy Tale Ending”

Pastor Sung: America is a great country. That’s why my dad pushed so hard to come to America. When we got here, my parents had to work hard. Both of them worked, and I was watched by a babysitter named Betty. I don’t remember a lot about Betty except that she was a large kind woman with a daughter named Mimi. And they had given me a book on fairy tales for one of my birthdays. I loved reading fairy tales. But you know, fairy tales are not reality. They are great dreams, but I needed someone to tell me what a real life Prince Charming was supposed to be. My fairy tale impression was that I had to find the perfect guy. And I think I was really misguided for a long while. But little girls grow up, and I did find my Mr. Right before I had made any serious long term mistakes like many young girls are making in this day and age.

The story we are presented with today is the story of how Isaac met Rebekah. And rather than expound on this story myself, I am going to invite Miriam, who was a servant of Abraham, to tell you the tale herself. She has many insights into relationships and marriage which I hope you catch. But if you don’t, it’s ok, I’ll return later. So, Miriam, where are you?”

Miriam: Hello everybody! I am so honored to be here among you. Pastor Sung has invited me to tell you the story of Isaac and Rebekah from my perspective. And I need to start back when my mistress Sarah had Isaac. You see, she was an old woman, maybe 90 or older, when she gave birth to Isaac. Sarah really wanted a child of her own really badly, and God told her that she would, and lo and behold, she did. It was a miracle. Isaac was her miracle baby. So she spoiled him. He was a mama’s boy. He really loved his mama, and she really loved him. So when he came of the age when boys become men, my master Abraham said to my mistress, “We should find a wife for Isaac.” But my mistress Sarah would always say, “None of the girls here are suitable. We need to find him a wife from the old country.” Master Abraham would nod in agreement, but they never made the trip to the old country. And before we knew it, 30 plus years had passed and my mistress Sarah died at the age of 127. They never did make a trip to the old country, but my mistress made my master swear that the would not find a wife for Isaac among the Canaanite women.

The household was not the same. Abraham was busy with the affairs of his business. The death of his mother really devastated Isaac. My master Abraham put me in charge of my mistress’ duties. While I tried my best, they kept criticizing me that I was not doing things the way that my mistress did them. I did not have the meals cooked like they wanted. One day I just broke down and cried. My master Abraham decided that it was high time that he did something. So he called in his servant Eli one day and said, “Eli, I want you to go back to the land where I was born, to Ur, and find my son a suitable wife.” Eli protested, but to no avail. Now had my mistress still been alive, she would have talked some sense into my master. How could my master expect a servant to find a wife for master Isaac? I mean, everyone knows that we have matchmakers who can be hired. Perhaps my master was thinking that Eli would gain the services of a matchmaker in Ur. Some time passed since Eli left. Those days, my masters still were unhappy with the way the household was being run. I was counting the days when Eli would come back with a bride for master Isaac.

Some time passed, but Eli did come back. And he came back with this young girl, Rebekah. She was young and beautiful. As soon as night fell and the family had fallen asleep, the servants all swarmed around Eli to hear his story.

He said, “When master Abraham charged me to find a wife for master Isaac, I didn’t know what to do. I tried thinking of ways to find a bride, but all my plans seemed too imperfect. I thought about using a matchmaker, but what if they deceived me, then master Abraham would have my head. I thought about just going to my master’s kin, but they too could deceive me. I had no other option except to pray to the God of our master Abraham. I have seen this God answer the master’s prayers, so I boldly sought this God. I asked God to give me favor and to help me find a bride suited to our master. I said to God, “God of my master, if there is a girl who will water my caravan, then I will consider her to be the one.” No sooner had I prayed then a girl arrived who not only gave me water but watered the caravan as well. I asked her who she was and found out that she was the kin of our masters. When her father asked her if she would come and be the wife of master Isaac, she said she would. And that is how I came to be back home rather quickly.

Eli’s story amazed us all. God, the God of our master Abraham, found the right bride for our master Isaac. Quite honestly, I thought the way that the men were handling this whole issue was all wrong. But God intervened and found a way to make things turn out right. Praise be the Lord.

Now the household is at peace. Mind you, mistress Rebekah does not do things the same way as mistress Sarah, but she tells master Abraham, “Father, this is how we do it in the old country.” And the old man is satisfied. Master Isaac loves her so that she cannot do any wrong. So you see my friends, even though it may seem impossible, it is always possible to find the right person when God is in control of the plans. My story is finished, and now I am sure that Pastor Sung has a few last words that she wants to say.

Pastor Sung: Parents and grandparents, what can we learn today? We need to teach our kids the importance of finding a suitable spouse. Too many kids go on chemistry and overlook some very important qualities when they begin dating. Chemistry is needed, but they should also weigh things like how they are treated, what they plan to do with their lives, what kind of family they come from, whether they share the same religious values and such. We, as the adult caregivers of children, need to discuss the importance of a well-balanced relationship. When I was a teen, we were told to make a list of the qualities we wanted in our spouse to be. So I started a list, and over the years I refined the list. When I was a teen, I wrote “good-looking” as one of the qualities, but in later years, I modified it to “good-looking to me.” I have kind of a jealous nature so I didn’t want to marry someone too good looking. But even doing this exercise with your kids gives you the opportunity to influence their thinking about what is really important versus what is nice to have.

But the main thing I want to stress about all of this is that God needs to be brought into your plans. You may have your ideas, and your kids may have their own ideas, but you will have success if God is brought into the plans.

I think I shared with you before that I prayed 10 years for my spouse-to-be. In the beginning, I prayed for his many qualities and such, but eventually it boiled down to: “Lord, send me someone who is a man after Your own heart.” So I think I succeeded in getting a great guy because God was in on the works from an early enough point that God could work on me and work on him and get us to a place where our lives could join one day.

We live in a day and age where the media bombards our kids with images of great looking guys and women and it creates an unrealistic level of expectation when young people look to date. When they are taught in the home what the really important qualities are: things like kindness, caring, healthy, financially stable, comes from a good family, happy, has good self-esteem, not proud, not competitive, Christian and you can add to that list. But when we share these ideas with out young people, it can help them to develop a balanced idea of the kind of person they want to commit themselves to.

We live in a day and age where our young people are disillusioned with marriage and so they co-habit or just keep casual relationships. Marriage as an institution is not broken. What is broken is our expectations and us. We need to understand what it takes to make a good marriage and what we need to become to make it work. We need to raise our kids with the hope that God will deliver a great spouse to them and they need to work on becoming a great spouse for that person in the meantime.

Brothers and sisters, we have just celebrated Independence Day, a day which marks America’s freedom from political oppression and injustice. Today can be the first day that your sons and daughters can celebrate independence from spiritual oppression caused by the desire to look a certain way and media messages that conflict with the peaceful life God intended for humanity to experience.

If you are afraid that you or your kids might become one of those statistics that make you cringe, then change your thinking. You can do something about it. The pursuit of happiness is not chasing after fantasies, it is catching and holding on to something good even though she may not be a supermodel and he may not be a hot millionaire. Be thankful if you’ve got something good and hold onto it. Treasure each other. This will speak volumes more than words. Amen.

2008-06-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Sermon 06/29/08 “Worth Doing Right”

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built between November 1938 and July 1, 1940. There was a battle between a tried and true design presented by Washington State engineer, Clark Eldridge, and a sleek, elegant design which would be cheaper, presented by New York engineering consultant, Leon Moisseiff. Leon Moisseiff’s design won. After the bridge was constructed, people noticed that it would sway in the wind. It was called Galloping Gertie. On November 7, 1940 at 11:00AM, the bridge swayed violently, and drivers were madly trying to get across the bridge. The bridge collapsed. Nothing was wrong with its construction, but engineers had not taken into account aerodynamics and resonance. What happened is that the bridge would start twisting in the high wind, and the cables finally snapped. So when the next bridge was built, they took these things into consideration.

We take many things for granted in life, and believe that they are constructed correctly or done right. You’ve heard it said many times, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.” While people’s attitudes may have changed over the years, it doesn’t make this statement less true. In fact, its meaning is more keenly felt today than it ever has been.

The Apostle Paul wrote many letters, and the letter to the Romans was really pivotal. You see, Paul was writing to a newly emerging Gentile Christian community. Some of them had probably had their beginnings in Judaism, but by the time Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, Gentile Christians were more dominant. They were zealous, but not really fully grounded in the fundamentals. So a lot of this letter deals with making sure that they respect and follow the fundamentals just as much as they grow as a Christian community celebrating Jesus Christ.

In this sixth chapter of Romans, we find Paul addressing them about sin and freedom from sin. Jews would have known plenty about sin and the results of sin. Paul writes to this Gentile Christian community to remind them that they need to repent and obey God and the teaching that they were entrusted with. Apparently, there had been members of the community who disregarded the old teaching, and did things that would call into question their integrity as a Christian. We find this to be the case throughout much of the 1st century as there is no single doctrine or rule that all Christians followed. The Roman culture was very decadent and so for Christians in Rome, their call to be a Christian meant a call to stand against society. They had to be holy, really set apart from the rest of their culture.

But apparently just saying so isn’t going to convince these people. Paul explains and reasons with them to be righteous and be sanctified. Half-hearted Christianity would not work. If they were going to be Christians, they would have to do it right. Paul doesn’t end it there though. He explains why it’s worth doing right.

In v. 20-21, Paul says: When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! So he establishes that the life yielded to sin and temptation is a life heading for death. James 1:14-15 reminds us also: Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. How can we define this life that is heading for death? Let’s just say for logic’s sake that a life that is not being sanctified is a life heading for death. Then it begs me to define what life being sanctified looks like.

Verse 22-23 say: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

So the first thing that defines a life being sanctified is that it is a life set free from sin. I just need to add that just because a life is being sanctified doesn’t mean that you stop sinning. No, it means though that you are set free from sin. How does this happen? Every time you repent and make a good faith effort to live as God wants, you are set free from sin. I have known some people who do something bad, and they don’t think God will forgive them. “I did drugs, and so many bad things, God can’t possibly forgive me,” they say. This is a life stuck in sin, and the solution is simple. They need to look at what God promised. The book of Mark is a good place to look. Mark 3:28-29 says: I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. So does God forgive drug use? Yes. Does God forgive abuse? Yes. Does God forgive everything? Yes, except one. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. However to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to basically say that you don’t want anything to do with God, so this is understandable, and I think even the person who repents of this can be forgiven. It’s not true blasphemy unless it’s permanent. There is also another condition of God’s forgiveness. Mark 11:25 says: And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. So the first key to sanctification is to free your self from sin. You cannot be an effective Christian if you are weighed down by sin.

Now let’s look at v. 22 again. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. So the second key is that the life being sanctified lives understanding the benefit of holiness. In fact, the Revised Standard Version says that we have the advantage of sanctification. Why are you Christian? Why do you believe in God? If you answer something other than because it’s the best way to live and only way to live for me, then you don’t have this necessary understanding of the benefit of holiness. You are really like a kid standing outside of a candy store looking in at other kids who are going hog wild inside. If you have received no noticeable blessing or benefit from being a Christian, then you really don’t know the advantage you have of being a sanctified Christian. If you really trust in God, and live your life to please him, then you cannot possibly claim that you have not been blessed. I have seen generational blessing, blessings of healing, financial blessings, blessings of protection and so much more. I have witnessed miracles and transformed lives. If you haven’t, then maybe somehow we haven’t been doing Christianity right. But in the least, if you do not have want, if you have not suffered irreparable damage, if your family is at peace, then this is a great blessing. To me, one of the greatest blessings is not to have drama in my life. But holy living is part of sanctification, and yes, it’s going to take effort, time, and sacrifice, but it’s worth it. So when you decide not to come to church, or you decide not to give generously when you are in a position to, or if you decide that prayer and Scripture reading outside of church is not for you, or when you decide that something else is more important than your relationship with God, question yourself. Just like you don’t get the benefit of a good calorie burning workout unless you do it, you can’t get the benefit of holiness unless you live a holy life.

Finally, if all else failed, Paul convinces his fellow Christians in Rome to remember eternity. Sanctification, holiness, is a good rule for this life, but the greatest benefit it yields is eternal life with God. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. You can’t get better than that. It’s worth living a Christian life of integrity to one day claim your place in heaven. You know, sometimes I watch these game shows on TV, and contestants will often play and get past the 5000 dollar level easily, and through to 10,000 dollars with some assistance. But when they are on the brink with no more lives and no more helps, and they are asked, “Do you want to try for the million dollars?” many, not just some, many of them say yes. Why? I usually scream, “Take the 500,000 and go home.” People will take the risk for the million dollars. Let me tell you folks, there is no risk in eternal life. If you live a godly and holy life, only two possible ends can meet you. If God exists, you go to heaven. Yea! If God doesn’t exist, then you cease to exist. If you live an unrighteous life, then if God exists, you will be in eternal separation from God where the worm does not die. If God doesn’t exist, you cease to exist. But let’s take a look at the two extremes, shall we? If God exists, and you lived a holy life, you will get the ultimate reward, eternal life. Whoo hoo! If God exists, and you lived an unrighteous life, then you are eternal toast, literally. I don’t know if it’s true, but I had heard the testimony of a man who had seen hell and let me tell you, it is very scary. It is eternal suffering. Just one example for those of you who like gory stuff, and if you don’t put your hands over your ears, but he said that there was one person who kept burning up little by little, one part slowly at a time. They would be singed like you would singe a person with a cigarette until they were completely burned, and then they would be normal again, only for this process to start all over again. And this keeps repeating over and over again. Like I said, I don’t know if it’s true, but I don’t intend on finding out. If I had my choice of a billion dollars or being hurt over and over again without dying, I would take the billion dollars. If I have a choice of eternal life and eternal suffering, I will choose eternal life. And if you are with me on this, then we need to take eternal life very seriously.

Brothers and sisters, I am not here to preach brimstone and hellfire. No. like Paul, I want to reason with you all to choose the pathway to holiness because advantages and blessings of sanctification far outweigh fear and dread. Once God sets you free through the forgiveness of your sins, and you live reaping the benefits of holiness, you can look forward to the life of joy awaiting you in the hereafter.

My biggest concern, brothers and sisters, is that your faith lacks integrity like the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Structurally, it may appear fine. You may be coming to church and singing the hymns. But when it is really tested, your faith sways like the bridge until at some point something inside you snaps. If you don’t practice constant prayer and constant study of the Word of God, and participate in a small group, you may find that you snap even though you’ve been a believer from birth.

The word of God today is to take your faith life seriously. Gird it with the strength of prayer and the Word. Make it string with the towers of Christian friendships and fellowship. Your faith life is worth doing right. Let us pray.

2008-06-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Sermon 06/15/08 “God, Our Father”

I think that it must be tough to be a dad in this day and age. I mean, most dads work long hours, and see their kids only a few hours a day. Men always feel the pressure for having to provide for their families. Their wives are tired and often get on their case about all the projects that haven’t been completed around the house. And the news never has anything good to say about dads. They only report on dads who have hurt their kids. At least the institution of motherhood is admired and given respect. I can’t say that fatherhood as an institution holds the same level of respect.

In Christian circles, we find that there are some who would want to do this to God as well. They elevate the motherly aspects of God, but they downplay the fatherly aspects of God. And so today, I want us to honor and respect God as our father and not excuse ourselves for being politically incorrect.

And I don’t want to simply rest on the fact that the Bible is full of father references and imagery, but I want us to really understand what this means in 2008, not in 2000 BC.

Let’s be honest, while many people have good relationships with their fathers, just as many people have a distant relationship with their dads. Some may feel disappointed by their dads. Some of you have even been hurt by your dads too. But this not something that we should impose on God. The Bible gives us a picture of the perfect father, the model by which all fathers should follow. The main thing is that God is always there for you no matter who you are, where you are or what you have done.

God is always there. Remember the parable of the prodigal son? Do you remember how the son went to his dad and said, “I want my inheritance now.” The father gave it to him. The son went off and spent every cent. And when things were so bad, when he realized that the pigs ate better than he did, he came to his senses and went back to his dad. And the father saw his son coming, he ran and embraced him. He set a feast for him. This is the kind of father our God is. No matter how badly we mess up, when we come to our senses, and submit our lives to God again, God embraces us and blesses us beyond what we deserve.

God is always there. Today we heard a story about Abraham, how he met three men, and they told him he would have a son by Sarah. God had been telling Abraham all throughout his life that he would descendents as numerous as the stars. Abraham kept trying to make this come true on his own by adopting a servant and having a child through a concubine. But God said today that this would happen through Sarah. This was God’s plan. So when God makes a promise, and it seems like God is never going to make good on it, just wait. God makes good on all His promises even if they are long in coming. But this is the kind of father our God is. He keeps his promises to His children.

God is always there. But God is our parent, and so God will discipline us. Hebrews 12:7-11 says: Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Just as a potter who starts to make a common vessel crushes it down to start over to make a vessel of honor, so our father refines us so that we will turn from ordinary to extraordinary.

God is always there. I am going to end with a story. It’s actually a testimony my friend Tom gave. Tom was born to a nurse in Germany who was serving in the army. His father was one of the soldier stationed there. The problem was that this soldier was married, and Tom was the product of their affair. The nurse kept Tom, and Tom would see his dad every now and then. When his mom told him that his dad was coming, Tom would get excited as any child would. They always had a good time together even though the visits were brief and far between. One visit, they had a great time, but his dad said to him, “Tom, you have to be the man now.” And he never came back again. Tom was so sad and disappointed. But he was invited to church, and he learned that God could be his father. As Tom learned more about God, he believed. You see, God was always there for him. No matter who he was, where he was or what he had done, God was there for him. By the way, I know Tom because we went to seminary together and he now serves as a pastor in Washington state.

I want to end today with a song by Graham Kendrick called “I love the Way You Father Me.” This was Tom’s song, and it can be anyone’s song.

O father of the fatherless
hIn whom all families are blessed
I love the way you father me
You gave me life, forgave the past
Now in your arms I'm safe at last
I love the way you father me

*Father me, forever you'll father me
And in your embrace I'll be forever secure
I love the way you father me
I love the way you father me

When bruised and broken I draw near
You hold me close and dry my tears
I love the way you father me
At last my fearful heart is still
Surrendered to your perfect will
I love the way you father me

If in my foolishness I stray
Returning empty and ashamed
I love the way you father me
Exchanging for my wretchedness
Your radiant robes of righteousness
I love the way you father me

And when I look into your eyes
From deep within my spirit cries
I love the way you father me
Before such love I stand amazed
And ever will through endless days
I love the way You father me

Graham Kendrick Copyright © 1992
Make Way Music,
www.grahamkendrick.co.uk
All rights reserved.
International copyright secured.
Used by permission. CCLI #

Happy Father’s Day!

2008-06-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Sermon 06/08/08 “Extreme Healing ”

There is a TV show called Extreme Makeover. I wonder if any of you have ever seen an episode of this show. I really like the premise of it. It’s about a team of house building specialists who build new homes tailored for people who deserve a new home but can’t afford it. I’ve seen episodes where they’ve built a home for a girl who needs an ambient temperature of 68 all the time because she can’t sweat or it will kill her. I’ve seen them build homes for large families and make each bedroom reflect the personality of the child. Families who have struggled to stay together and have no money, often family members have grave illnesses. These families are given a new lease on owning a brand new custom built home and sometimes even a new car. I think that anyone who watches the show would love to have Ty Pennington come and knock down their home ands rebuild an Extreme Makeover home.

In some way, we are all in need of an extreme makeover, and maybe it is more appropriate to say that we need extreme healing. Most of us need healing in our lives of some sort, more than I think we need a new home. We need physical healing, but we need spiritual healing also. We need healing for people we love. We need time to heal. We need to be made whole and made better in some way.

Today’s gospel story gives us two great examples of Jesus’ healing, and we are going to take an in depth look though, not at the miracles necessarily but the people who came for healing.

We’re going to begin with the synagogue leader’s daughter. Well, I should really say that her father is the main character that we will look at. This synagogue leader risked his reputation and his standing to ask Jesus to heal his daughter. Jesus was kind of a rebel in mainstream Judaism’s eyes. He was very unpopular among the who’s who. But Jesus was known to heal and do many miraculous things, and this synagogue leader was desperate. He felt he had no choice but to believe that Jesus could heal his daughter, a young girl who had not seen much of life yet. So when they reach the leader’s home, and they are told that she died, Jesus tells them, “She’s sleeping.” And they think Jesus is crazy, but he does some extreme healing and literally raises her from death.

What we can learn from this example is that sometimes, God defies medicine and science. That’s because God is above medicine and science. There are some of you here today who have witnessed and experienced the divine power of God and healing in your life, and you did nothing but ask for it like this synagogue leader did. Where doctors said, it was not possible, God said, “You’ll get better.” And you did. You got better, or someone you love got better. It defied medical explanation. It defied science. All because you had faith.

I could tell you miraculous stories of preemies surviving against the odds or cancer patients who were told they would not live who did. But I’m not. I’m not going to tell you a story necessarily about a medical miracle. Instead let me tell you a story from a CBN interview of how God brought a boy back to life because he had faith. As most of you may know, Sudan is a country devastated by civil war. Parents and children are constantly separated either by death or by soldiers attacks. A 13 year old boy named John Dau became a “Lost Boy of Sudan.” He was one of 25,000 lost boys of Sudan. He traveled barefoot and naked across the sub-Saharan desert fleeing rebel soldiers. He would make it to refugee camps as he fled, but one point early in his exodus from Sudan, John was dying from lack of water. He said his body was white and he felt like he was cracking. He wanted to cry but he couldn’t because he couldn’t produce tears. He didn’t have enough water in his body.” But he remembered something he learned back in his village, a song about God and it’s message of faith. He said he learned lots of songs in Dinka that praise the Lord. So he decided in his collapsed state to test God. He prayed, “Jesus Christ, You say that You are always everywhere. Wherever I go, You are with me.’ What can I do? I am now dying of thirst.” He called on the Lord realizing that this was the ultimate test of his faith, and God heard his cry. Two hunters emerged and they had water in a gourd. They gave it to John, and he came back to life. He now had a renewed faith in God as he was protected and his needs provided. He then took on responsibility for taking care of about 1,000 younger boys because in the Dinka culture that is what the older boys did. In the years that John spent in the refugee camps, John took care of these younger boys. And this attracted a documentary crew to him. In the film, God Grew Tired of Us, these filmmakers documented John’s life and the life of other lost boys as they started new lives in America. They brought John to Syracuse, NY where he got his associates degree. You see John wants to build a medical clinic in war torn Sudan. He has written a book and firmly believes that if you give up, then you will fall short of receiving God’s glory. There is nothing in Sudan, no homes, no schools, no infrastructure, but one day John will go back to be a messenger of hope to his people all because his faith healed him and gave him life.

For some of you, healing and blessing, is simply a matter of faith. God will do it all once you exercise your faith. This is what the synagogue leader discovered. This is what John Dau discovered. God does miracles that defy human knowledge and expectation.

On the other hand, the message of the woman with the bleeding problem is different than the message of the synagogue leader. You see, she had had a bleeding disease for 12 years. This is very unusual, because most bleeding diseases are genetic so she would have had it all her life. So it is not likely to be hemophilia (which is extremely rare in women anyway) and may be a form of gynecological hemorrhaging. But what she has is clearly very unusual. So much so that though she had seen doctors, no one could cure her. But she heard about Jesus, and she made up her mind to seek him out. The opportunity arose when Jesus and the synagogue leader were talking. She wasn’t on Jesus’ radar, but she somehow managed to find her way to him. All she wanted to do was to touch him, and she knew she would get better. Where the synagogue leader asked and followed Jesus, this woman had to work for her miracle. In the healing of the synagogue leader’s daughter, Jesus was responsible for 90% of the miracle. 10% I attribute to the synagogue leader’s faith in seeking out Jesus and taking the risk. But most of the work was on Jesus’ part. Jesus had to listen to the father, go to his house and put up with the mourner’s who mocked him, and he took the girl’s hand, and then she got up. Jesus was primarily responsible for the miracle. But in the case of the woman with the bleeding problem, she was 90% responsible for her miracle. She sought out Jesus. She made her way through the crowds. She touched Jesus when he wasn’t even looking. We are told in Mark’s account of this same story that Jesus only knew that something happened, because the power went out of him. He turned to see her and confirm her faith, “Your faith has made you well.” I attribute 10% of this miracle to Jesus, because it was his power that cured, but the great effort that the woman made to procure this miracle speaks volumes.

Sometimes, God gives us miracles that we need to work for. It doesn’t come easily or readily. Sometimes we need to work hard to get to where God gives us power. The test of faith comes at greater cost and maybe over a longer time, but with greater reward.

You may all know the name Billy Blanks as the creator of Tae Bo. He is incredibly successful and very fit now, but that wasn’t always the case with his life. He was born to a family in Erie, PA with 15 children. His dad worked in a steel foundry during the day and drove a garbage truck at night. They were a Christian household and his mom influenced Billy a lot. But Billy had a lot of problems when he was a child. He had problems learning in school which he later found out at the age of 37 was because he was dyslexic. He had problems with his hips joints which limited his movements. But at the age of 12 he saw Bruce Lee on TV, and began to learn karate. The discipline of the movements transformed his body. By 16 he became a black belt in karate. He earned a spot on the U.S. Karate Team which won 36 gold medals in international competitions and became team captain in 1980. He also holds a 7th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do which is Korean like me. He moved his family to Hollywood to pursue an acting career, and he got a break in the movie Bloodfist. Other roles came along. But all the while, he was feeling something missing. One day he saw Pastor Fred Price on TV, and then a friend invited him to the church. Billy was impacted by the Lord and gave himself to Christ that day. Soon his wife and children also came to give their lives to Christ. Billy’s competitive career slowed down, and he started to shift to physical fitness. It was after he gave his life to Christ, that Billy created Tae Bo in his basement gym combining Tae Kwon Do and dance moves. He did it. His kids did it. And soon word of mouth brought him clients to his fitness center. It really took off when Paula Abdul joined his gym. Tae Bo is a multimillion dollar enterprise. It combines martial arts and fitness. But more importantly Tae Bo is intended to help people to strengthen their will to make a change. On the wall in Billy’s gym, is the sign, “Walk by faith, not by sight,” which is from 2 Corinthians 5:7. Billy Blanks has dedicated his life to help people. He not only has his fitness center, but he also has a foundation he set up so that underprivileged children can go to college. He is an active member of Fred Price’s church, Crenshaw Christian Center. But it is amazing that a boy with both a learning disability and hip problem overcame his issues through exercise and faith. He fought hard to become the man that he is, and when Billy gave it all and did his 90%, God took care of the rest.
Brothers and sisters, life is a mixed bag. Sometimes we are going to have to work hard to get that blessing that we desire, to get that healing we long for. And sometimes we won’t have to work so hard. Sometimes, there is not much we can do except trust in God. Either way, if you operate out of faith and trust in God to heal you whether that healing comes instantly or whether it comes after many steps, God will give you a miracle. Your job is to discern whether you are in a situation where you’re the bleeding woman or the synagogue leader. Either way, don’t give up before you get the blessing.

I know many of you have private struggles. You need God to do something in your life. You need extreme healing. You need extreme peace. If this is you, I invite you to come forward today during the hymn of invitation for healing prayer. Let’s pray.

2008-06-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Sermon 06/01/08 “A Rock Solid Faith”

Owning a home near water has its pluses and minuses. On the plus side, it is nice to hear a babbling brook or stream or listen to ocean waves. Water has a calming effect when the waters are calm. But when the storms rise up, well I am sure the Bischofs could tell us some stories of how even a quiet babbling brook wreaks havoc. So when Jesus shares the story of two home owners who built their homes in two very different places, we can appreciate the parable on many levels.

But Jesus wasn’t really talking about water and storms. His point was about faith, and how some people have a shaky shifting faith while others have a rock solid faith. So today we want to examine what it takes to have a rock solid faith.

First, we need to talk about the nature of faith itself. The passage in Romans 3 tells us that faith and salvation is a gift. There is nothing you can do to earn it. It is something you receive and hold on to. When we were in sin and ignorant of the price that sin cost, God was patient with us. But when Christ came and died on the cross, he gave the gift of salvation to anyone who would put their faith in him. What Jesus Christ did on the cross paid the price for sin as long as we have faith in him. You know what having faith is like. It’s like trying anything for the first time. In researching what I can do to help David, I learned that many families try going gluten and casein free. This means eliminating wheat and dairy. I went to the organic food store and I bought buckwheat pancake mix. It didn’t sound that appealing to me. But you know what, I made some waffles, and they tasted great. I added a little almond flour and it tasted just like regular pancakes. For the Christian, believing and trusting in Jesus Christ is something that may seem risky, but once you make the leap, it is far better than life without God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

So establishing a faith relationship with God is not difficult. You don’t have to write any essays or even study to have faith. The more difficult part of faith is keeping it in my opinion. And that is what Jesus Christ is talking about in his parable. Jesus uses many parables to illustrate faith like the parable with the seeds that fell on different soils. But today’s parable gives us some tools that we can use to ensure that our faith is rock solid. And so let’s take a good look at some of the things that our wise home owner did right.

First, the wise home owner did his homework. Once he decided he was going to build a house, he researched into where he was going to build. How many of you have really studied your faith before you believed and/or after you were confirmed or had assurance of salvation? It is a mistake to think that after confirmation that you don’t need to study your faith anymore. You need to always be learning. You research into buying a home and then you do what it takes to maintain it. Your own faith is like a house, and you need to take care of it. There are so many resources out there now to help you not only to establish your faith but to grow it as well. There are books, study Bibles, TV programs, CD’s, DVD’s. It is a good thing to regularly fit in some form of Christian education in your life even outside of Sunday worship. Some of you watch other preachers on TV or go on conferences. That’s good. Do your homework. Just because you aren’t in school anymore, it doesn’t mean that you’ve stopped learning, and there is so much to learn about God and the Christian faith.

Secondly, the wise home owner chose security. After all his research, he decided to build his house on rock. Yes, it might have been nice to have a lakeside home, but he decided that he wanted to be able to sleep at night. He decided that he would build where he knew there would not be a large risk of endangerment to his family or his home. How many of you know what it means to have assurance of salvation? I know that as Wesleyans we don’t believe in once saved always saved, but we do believe that we can be assured of our salvation and have our hearts strangely warmed like John Wesley did. If you have not experienced this, then what is the hope of your faith? If you are sure of your salvation and you can nurture your family with that type of assurance then you are just like the wise home owner who can sleep at night even in the worst storm. We often do all the things that other people in the world do. You buy the latest TV’s and drive nice cars. You spend a lot of time working to pay for these things, but does that leave you time and energy to spend on building your relationship with God? Do you know where your relationship with God stands? You can work on building that relationship anytime, even on the way to work. If you have a long commute, consider that a blessing from God because that is one on one time that you probably would not have otherwise. Use your commute time, pop in a worship CD, praise God and talk to him about the crazy drivers around you and all the things going on in your life. If you don’t know where your relationship with God really stands, then work on it and make time until you know that you are saved.

Thirdly, the wise home owner was prepared. The rains came, the wind beat against the house, but the house stood firm. You know, God doesn’t promise us a trouble free life. If He did, then this parable would not have been necessary. If having faith meant that our faith would never be challenged, then the Bible is useless. God tells us that we will encounter hard times, and we will face many challenges, but if we did our spiritual homework and chose the security of our souls then we will stand firm also. Many years ago, Methodist used to really be heavy into retreating. I went on many youth retreats. And this is basically what would happen. I would go to a retreat feeling pretty normal, then at the retreat I got spiritually pumped up. Then I came home and I would fall from the retreat high and think that something was wrong. This is common for people to encounter, and the only way to lessen the down after the retreat is to constantly feed your spirit. You need Bible study and devotion time. You need to gather with other Christians regularly. If you are not prepared, your faith will be challenged and you will fall apart just like the foolish home owner. Now it doesn’t say this in the Bible, but I can imagine that the foolish home owner probably said, “God, where are you?” And I think God would say, “I was trying to tell you to do your homework, and choose a secure place, and to be prepared for the worst, but you didn’t listen. You still went ahead and built that house on the sand in spite of all my attempts to warn you. Even so, I will help you to get back on your feet, but let’s do things the right way.” This is the point of the parable of the prodigal son. Always have a Plan B.

These three practices are part of faith that is called the sanctification process. It is the process of making us into saints. And if you are wise, you will be like the wise home owner. Not only was he wise, but he was cautious, prepared, practical, thorough, resourceful, detail-oriented, and faithful. He could sleep when the storms raged and the winds blew because not only was his home structurally secure but his soul also was spiritually secure.

Now I suspect that some of you are very much like the wise home owner in regard to your worldly dealings. You are practical and prepared, but in regard to your faith life, you may perhaps be more like the foolish home owner. You don’t really know where you stand with God, and you are probably not prepared to meet Him if today was your last day on earth. But even more immediately, if you are not in a process of always learning spiritually and putting into practice your assurance of salvation, then you will not be prepared in your heart when times of trouble come and any faith that you have will be strangled by worldly cares.

You all know that God is good, and that God only wants to bless you, but not only do you need faith, but you need to build it. Today if there is something hindering you in your sanctification process, then ask God to help you to get focused and do what you are supposed to do to build it up. I pray that all of you will be wise and build a rock solid faith. Let’s pray.