When All Else Is Gone, What Do You Have Left?
(Listen to sermon to hear lead in audio clip)
Rules are all around us. There are a lot of rules and laws that we need to follow. There are so many rules; there is no way we can know them all. There are rules for driving, rules at school, and rules at work. The one place that most of us know all the rules is at home. Who felt that their parents had too many rules? I know my brother did. He seemed to break nearly all the rules. It was almost as if once the umbilical cord was cut my parents lost control of him. I’ll never forget the when a friend of his gave him some “Chinese stars” made out of steel. Everything gets kind of fuzzy after mom and dad found holes in the kitchen cabinets. Apparently he decided that it would be fun to throw those stars at the cabinets to see if they would stick. Funny that I can remember all the things he did wrong, but very few of the things that I did wrong.
Now I am the parent of teenagers and I am pretty sure they think there are too many rules. I didn’t notice it when I was a kid, but apparently no matter how we say it when we are talking about rules and sometimes anything, we are yelling at them. Clean your room is met with “You should see Marissa’s room, its worse” or “I don’t have enough room for everything” or even “Just where would you like me to put it.” Telling them that it is time for bed elicits something like “but its only 11 o’clock!” Whether it is one of those or something like brush your teeth many times the answer will be “in a minute.” Did you know that a minute for a teenager is more like an hour for parents? The only time they have any concept of time is when they want or need something. Then look out. A minute becomes a minute.
It is likely that kids view parent’s rules the same way we might view some of the laws that are still on the books in many states, just plain stupid. Did you know that in
A few weeks ago Pastor Mel talked about how inflated the federal tax code has become. “The federal criminal code is just as bad. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to criminally punish “treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the
God started with just a few basic rules that can be found in Genesis 1:28-31 and 2:15-17:
28God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (Genesis 1:28-31 NIV)
15The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17 NIV)
Seemingly simple stuff. God gave them permission to have sex. Told them they had control over the whole earth. There was only one thing they were not supposed to do. They were not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Kind of botched that one up didn’t they. Often times Eve gets a bad wrap because she the serpent talked her into eating the fruit. Read closely, because Adam was standing right next to her the whole time and he kept his mouth shut. Note to all the men, keeping your mouth shut is not always a good idea. It can cost you. And did it cost Adam and Eve. Because of their sin they were separated from God. God didn’t just write them off, but He did lay it out for them that life would no longer be easy. And so it would be and is for all of us.
Concerning the law Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:17 that He came to fulfill the law, but that the law still stood. This brings us to
Faith
Yesterday I read an online comic that showed a middle aged man standing next to a young women and he was talking to a friend. The caption says “Making your faith fit your lifestyle.” In the comic, the friend said, “So, you left your wife for a younger model and now you’ve given up your faith. That’s ‘convenient’ don’t you think?” Rather than live the way that God wants us to, some would rather give up on Him altogether so they can have their way. Others will say one thing and do another. “On the dc Talk album, Jesus Freak, author and speaker Brennan Manning draws this conclusion. “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”” (Live Like a Jesus Freak, p. 17) The first time that I remember anyone being fake was probably in junior high. Kids were getting older and the need to fit in was becoming greater and greater. It only got worse in high school. That desire can lead many good kids down the wrong path. It can lead to drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy, STDs, jail time, and in recent years even death. No parent wants that for their child. I have known kids whose parents went to church on Sunday, but the rest of the week did everything but live a Christ-like life. Just going to church and being a good person will not make you right with God. Just going to synagogue and following the law did not make the Jews right with God. Then and now, kids learn from their parents. If you do the math you can see why Mr. Manning drew the conclusion he did.
So, what is faith? Faith on the primitive level is a universal human act. (Basic Christian Doctrine, p. 171) Everyone has faith in something. Atheists profess to not believe in anything. I would think that people who do not believe in a creator have a lot more faith when it comes to the creation of the world than they are willing to admit. They are banking on everything being in a state of perfection in order for the universe to have been created. Think about this. “If the gravitational force constant were larger by just one part in ten billion billion billion, we would be crushed out of existence.” (Expelled Leader’s Guide, p. 5) Additionally “The famous astronomer Sir Fredrick Hoyle compares the probability of spontaneous life to lining up 1x1050 (one with 50 zeroes after it) blind people, giving them each a scrambled Rubik’s cube, and finding that they all solve the cube at the same moment.” (Expelled Leader’s Guide, pp. 6-7) Just because we can not see it or because we did not witness it does not mean that something did not happen.
The writer of Hebrews said in chapter 11 that Faith [is] in What We Don't See:
1-2The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
3By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.
4By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. (Hebrews 11:1-4 MSG)
This chapter is filled with others who lived by faith. In telling of Enoch it was written, “It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 MSG) The movie Evan Almighty gave a glimpse into what people might think today if someone were to build a ship in the middle of dry ground. Noah likely got some of the same sneers. The list continues with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and his parents, the Israelites as they left
39-40Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. (Hebrews 11:39-40 MSG)
Combine this with what I said earlier about faith being a universal human act and we can conclude that faith is personal act. No one can have faith for you. They could have faith in you, but you would first have to earn their trust. A couple of years ago we took the youth on a mission trip to St. Louis. While there we helped Pastor Scott and his wife Terri at Baden Community Church love on their inner city neighborhood. Each morning we spent doing something for the neighborhood. Scott had the kids attending VBS climb up on some playground equipment, turn around and fall into our hands. Many of them were afraid. They were not sure they could trust us. Then Scott, who was a big guy, said he would go first. The kids were quick to line up to catch him. I knew we could catch him, but I think it took more faith that we would actually be able to hold him. Fortunately none of the kids attending VBS we squashed. Scott showed his faith in us; this in turn showed the kids that they could have faith in those who were putting on the VBS. This was the beginning of teaching many of these kids that they could have faith in Jesus. We could not simply tell them about Jesus, we had to put that faith in action.
For an entire week we loved on those kids. We showed them what the love of Christ looked like. This is what Jesus taught us to do. When Jesus was questioned, “36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)
How can we confess something that we do not know? This is what makes Bible study and time alone with God so important. Today’s the passage has several references to the Old Testament. There are references to Isaiah, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Joel. To simply know one part of the Scriptures is not enough. We have to have knowledge of all of the Scriptures.
If we do the math, we see that faith is a personal act that requires love, knowledge, trust, action and a relationship.
Hope
In the beginning God had created a bridge to us. Because of sin we, not just Adam and Eve, burned that bridge. It has been my experience that once you burn a bridge with someone the likelihood of rebuilding it is very slim.
When there is nothing else left…when all else is gone, what do you have left?
On April 20, 1999 a 17 year old teenage girl was at that point. With a gun pointing at her head, there was nothing left, everything was gone. She was asked two questions. She would only have the opportunity to answer one, “Do you believe in God?” She said yes. She didn’t get to answer why because she was shot and killed. Cassie Bernall died knowing her eternal destination because she had a personal relationship with Jesus. Cassie did not know that when she woke up that morning she was going to die. We do not know when our last moment on earth will be.
But there is hope! When all else is gone we have one thing left. Faith in knowing that if we “confess with our mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 NIV) It is in this act of faith that God, not us, rebuilds the bridge between us.
“Where there is FAITH, there is love. Where there is LOVE, there is peace. Where there is PEACE, there is God. Where there is GOD, there is no need.” (Hallmark bookmark 60HBM 83-8 ©1972)
Amen!
