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Lessons on forgiveness, faith and reward. Luke 17.

July 1, 2007 by William Higgins

We have looked off and on at Luke 17:3-4 about forgiveness and repentance and going to the one who has sinned, bringing in Matthew 18:5. Now we look at some additional teaching from Jesus on forgiveness, that comes after these verses. I will share this with you as two short sermons.

Does forgiving others seven times in a day require you to be super-spiritual? Luke 17: 5-6

We start with v. 5 –

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’”

This verse picks up from v. 4 where Jesus taught the disciples to forgive seven times in a day. The apostles must have thought – ‘That’s impossible!’ ‘Who can do this?’ ‘You would have to be super-spiritual; you would have to have great faith to do this teaching.’ And so their response is to ask Jesus, “Increase our faith.”

This is similar to the objection they raise when Jesus teaches them about divorce and remarriage. “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry” – Matthew 19:10. And it is also similar to their response to Jesus’ teaching on wealth. “When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’” – Matthew 19:25. So also here, Jesus tells them something that seems impossible to them, and they react to it.

Jesus’ response comes in v. 6.

“And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this Sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’”

Lets look at what this means. First, we are dealing with proverbial imagery here:

  • A grain of mustard seed was proverbial for something really small.
  • Despite most translations (mulberry tree), Jesus seems to be referring to the sycamore tree, which was a large, deeply rooted tree that was used in proverbs as well, to talk about something that is difficult to move.

In this case, the idea is to speak to it so that it is uprooted and planted into the sea. This would be a spectacular sight! Mark and Matthew, in other contexts, have a similar saying where you speak to a mountain and cast it into the sea. This saying (and the others) is not meant to be taken literally. It is a proverb. It speaks of doing the impossible. Jesus means – if you have even the smallest faith, you can do the impossible. 

On another level, Jesus is addressing a misconception about faith in v. 6. The apostles don’t understand the way that faith works. You don’t sit back and wait until you get enough faith so that it seems easy. You act on the faith you have – in the midst of it being difficult. And that’s how your faith grows. So their question is a bit odd. They don’t need to receive something. They need to do something with what they have already received.

Putting all this together, Jesus’ answer to the apostles is this: To do the impossible (or what seems impossible to you) all you need is to act on even the smallest amount of faith.

With regard to the difficulty of forgiving someone  seven times in one day, you don’t need to be super-spiritual, or have unusual faith. You just need to act on the faith you have.

This teaching, in these verses, has to do with forgiving others seven times in a day. But it certainly applies to lots of things Jesus teaches, which seem really hard to us: Not seeking wealth, but giving it to the poor; not worrying about our economic future, but trusting in God to provide; practicing nonresistance and loving our enemies; not judging others or speaking angry words that tear others down; being faithful in difficult life circumstances; or fulfilling a special calling that God has given to you.

The message to us from these verses is that – yes, what Jesus teaches is hard. It may seem impossible to us. But if we exercise the little faith that we have and step out – we can do it.

Does forgiving others seven times in a day qualify you for special recognition? Luke 17:7-10

This passage connects with the preceding verses of Luke 17 in that it addresses the apostles’ misunderstanding that only the super-spiritual can practice forgiveness in the way that Jesus teaches. The implication being that people that can obey such hard teaching would deserve special recognition from God. The logic goes like this – you would have to be super-spiritual to forgive someone seven times in one day. And those who are so super-spiritual would surely deserve something special from God in terms of reward.

We begin with v. 7 –

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table?’”

We are dealing with the culture of that day where household slaves were not uncommon. In this case we have a farmer with one slave who does both outside and inside chores. The question is, after the slave has worked outside all day, will you stop and feed him? Will you do something special for him for doing his work? The answer is clearly expected to be “no” in this context.

Vs. 8-9 say,

“Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?”

In this context, the slave does not gain credit for doing what he is supposed to do, which is to work hard. He worked outside all day and then has to come inside and cook for his master before he can relax and eat.

Even though he does this hard work, there is no social obligation or debt created on the part of the master so that the master would say, ‘You have worked hard, let me give you some special recognition.’ Working hard is what slaves do.

Then comes the punch line in v. 10 –

“So you also, [you are slaves to God] when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

God doesn’t owe us any thanks or any debt when we do what he tells us to do, even if it is hard. In fact, even if we obeyed God perfectly all our lives – which none of has done or will do – God would still not owe us anything. We are still only doing what are supposed to do in the first place.

The specific application here is, do you get special recognition for forgiving others seven times in one day; for being supposedly super-spiritual? No. You are only doing what you are supposed to do as God’s slave!

Again, this teaching, in these verses, has to do with forgiving others seven times in a day, but it certainly applies to lots of things Jesus teaches – which seem really hard to us: Not seeking wealth, but giving it to the poor; not worrying about our economic future, but trusting in God to provide; practicing nonresistance and loving our enemies; not judging others or speaking angry words that tear others down; being faithful in difficult life circumstances; or fulfilling a special calling that God has given to you.

The message to us from these verses is that when you start stepping out in faith and are doing the impossible on a regular basis – don’t think that you deserve special credit from God. Don’t get a big head. You are only doing what you are supposed to do.

William Higgins

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What to do if a fellow believer wrongs you. Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3

June 17, 2007 by William Higgins

In working with those who seek to join the church, I try to make a point of telling people, “You aren’t joining a group of angels. You most likely will have conflict, be wronged, or have cause to get angry at times.” I say this to get rid of any illusions to the contrary or false expectations

Church is real life, with real people and if we seek to be a close community, that is involved in each others’ lives this stuff will happen

And so I ask, “Are you committed to working through this kind of stuff?” Jesus calls us to live in peace, not just walk away from each other when there are problems – like the world does. We are to be a different kind of community; one empowered by God to live in peace with one another.

We are really looking once again at Luke 17:3 – “If a brother sins, tell him to stop; if he repents forgive him.” We have dealt with what repentance looks like. And we have dealt with what forgiveness looks like. So today we look at what it means, in the words of this verse, to “tell him or her to stop.”

I am also bringing in Matthew 18:15. It says, “If your brother (or sister) sins, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.

Here is a checklist of seven things to do if a fellow believer wrongs you:

1. Make sure that you really have been wronged

This may seen strange to say, but sometimes our feelings get hurt or we get annoyed and angry, but we haven’t been wronged – at least not seriously. So we need to be discerning.

Is it a misunderstanding?  When people don’t communicate well, or don’t know each other well, or don’t understand each other (maybe they come from different cultural backgrounds) this is always a real possibility. In some cases you may think you have been wronged, but really the different parties just aren’t able to communicate with each other.

Is it a personality clash? Some people just don’t get along! They annoy each other and set each other off. They will probably never be close friends. And that’s OK. God likes different kinds of people. We are not all the same or even similar. We have to love each other, but we don’t have to be best friends.

This is a part of life – just don’t read into the other’s actions the worst possible motive, or make the worst assumptions just because your personalities clash. Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Put on . . . compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another . . ..” We need to learn to bear with one another in love.

 

Also, when there is an offense, ask, “Is this a minor issue that can be overlooked? For example if someone agrees to help you to do some project, but they forget about it and don’t show up – well this made you work more and maybe messed up your plans, but how badly have you been wronged? Proverbs 19:11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

How do you know if it needs to be dealt with? Check your anger level. Does it leave you feeling resentment or even a desire to get even? If there is abiding anger then deal with it.

2. Take the initiative and go

When there is a real wrong, Jesus tells us, “go” – Matthew 18:15.

I want us to notice first of all that if someone wrongs you, they should take the initiative to come to you and repent. This is what Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:23-24. Speaking to the person, he says, if you have offended someone – “.. . leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother . . ..” If you have done the wrong you are to go and make it right.

But if they don’t, don’t just let it slide. You are to go to them. In some cases, they may not be aware of what has happened or how you feel about it.

3. Go and deal with the person face to face

Jesus says, “between you and him alone” – Matthew 18:15. It needs to be a private conversation. In other words don’t go public with it at this point. Also, don’t go to someone else with gossip. Keep it between the two of you.

Now in some circumstances there has to be others involved. If the other person is intimidating or has power over the one who is wronged, for instance. But even here, when someone goes along, it is still to be seen as a private event, not a pubic one.

4. Go in order to make sure what happened

Jesus says, “go . . . between you and him” –  Matthew 18:15.

Don’t rely on hearsay, you know, when someone tells you that so and so did something or said something about you that was wrong.

Jesus tells us, “Do not judge by appearances, but with right judgment” – John 7:24. If you go to the person you may find that it ends up to be a misunderstanding or a minor issue. And then this becomes the opportunity to clear things up.

And even if it is obvious that you have been wronged (there is not hearsay involved), don’t reach a final verdict about all that has happened, or what they were thinking, or their motivation. Talk to the person that has wronged you to get the whole story, not just your side.

(In some cases this step may be unnecessary – when the wrong is great and the motivation is publicly known.)

5. Go in order to restore the person

In other words, go for the right reason. There is always the temptation to go off on them in anger. But the goal here is to “gain” your fellow believer. Jesus says, “go . . .. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (sister)” – Matthew 18:15.

In the case of a personal wrong, it means personal reconciliation. But it also means on another level the restoration of someone caught in sin back to a right relationship with God

If this is our goal, we have to deal with our anger before we go. As Paul says about confronting people in general, “If anyone is caught in any trespass, you who have the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness – Galatians 6:1 (NRSV).

6. Lay out the wrong and call the person to account

Jesus says, “tell him his fault” – Matthew 18:15. This word means to admonish, chastise, reprove or call to account. In Luke 17:3 the word for “tell him to stop” means to rebuke, censure or chide.

You are to confront the person – this is what you did and it was wrong and you need to do something about it

7. If the person listens to you, accept their repentance

Jesus says, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (sister)” – Matthew 18:15. “Listen” here means they really hear you, with the implication that they act appropriately with repentance.

This is what we talked about last week. In the words of Luke 17:3, “If a brother sins, tell him to stop; if he repents (if he listens to you and repents) forgive him.”

Here is a summary of –

The seven steps

  1.     Make sure that you really have been wronged
  2.     Take the initiative and go
  3.     Go and deal with the person face to face
  4.     Go in order to make sure what happened
  5.     Go in order to restore the person
  6.     Lay out the wrong and call the person to account
  7.     If the person listens to you, accept their repentance

Finally there is the question you have all been thinking about –

“Do I have to?”

I don’t know anyone who wants to go and confront someone about a wrong. Our culture values privacy and conflict avoidance. In our culture we almost always choose not to deal with these kinds of issues. We afraid and we think it is all too messy. In fact, we are willing to sacrifice the relationship with each other, rather than to try to deal with the issues and find healing.

But Jesus values peace among his followers and not our desires for privacy or conflict avoidance. And so he tells us: Go to the one who has wronged you and seek peace.

 

It may be hard, but it is the only way the relationship can heal. Especially if the person hasn’t come to you, or isn’t even aware of the problem

So we need to set aside our fears, our cultural values, and whatever else stands in the way. We need to walk in faith, and do what Jesus tells us to do, even when it is difficult.

William Higgins

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What does forgiveness look like?

June 10, 2007 by William Higgins

We are dealing with community life skills that we all need to be able to be a healthy church community in our relationships with each other.

We talked about repentance last time and ended with Luke 17:3 – “If a fellow believer sins, tell them to stop; if they repent forgive them.” To heal a relationship damaged by sin you need both repentance and forgiveness. And so we look at forgiveness today.

Jesus has some strong things to say about our need to forgive others their wrongs against us

1. If the person repents – you must forgive. As we just saw, “If a fellow believer sins, tell them to stop; if they repent forgive them” – Luke 17:3.

2. If you don’t forgive – you won’t be forgiven by God for your sins. Jesus says, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” – Matthew 6:14-15.

3. You should forgive whenever someone comes to you in repentance. In Luke 17:4 Jesus says seven times in one day. In Matthew 18:22 Jesus says, seventy times seven – or 490 times. These are both meant as overstatements to make the point – forgive whenever someone comes seeking it.

If we ask, “why forgive?” the answer comes in the parable of Matthew 18:23-35. It is an evil hypocrisy and inconsistency to receive forgiveness from God for what is a huge debt that you owe to God and not forgive others what is relatively speaking a small debt. You can’t receive mercy – and then not give mercy.

Three components of forgiveness

So, a person comes to you – with repentance – and you want to forgive them – what does this look like?

1. Set aside your anger and the desire for judgment. When you have been wronged, anger is the natural response. In fact it’s the way God has made us. Anger is given to us as a way of stirring us up to seek out what is right for ourselves and others.

The problem, of course, is that we can’t usually handle our anger, because our fleshly desires corrupt it and turn it into a vehicle to simply get back at those who hurt us. So our anger leads us to seek out judgment of the other person. We want to get even; to make them pay; to harm them in return. We stew in anger and hostility until judgment is done or we sink into bitterness if it is not done.

But Jesus tells us in Luke 6:37-38-

judge not, and you will not be judged forgive, and you will be forgiven
condemn not, and you will not be condemned give (mercy), and it will be given to you

Judging and condemning are the same thing here and they are the opposite of forgiving and giving mercy. Jesus teaches us that we have to choose. You can’t have both at the same time. Forgiveness means setting aside this anger and desire for judgment

This is not based on emotions – you most likely won’t feel like doing it – it’s a decision you make. Also, this is not an overlooking of the wrong that was done. It is a search for a different kind of resolution – other than payback. One that brings peace and wholeness rather than more wounding and harm.

2. In mercy release the person of their debt to you. There is actually an economic background to the idea of forgiveness in Scripture: Sin is seen as a debt that is owed – Matthew 6:12. The word that Jesus uses here – “forgive” means to release someone of a debt.

This shows us that we owe each other to do what is right and good. And when we fail in this by wronging them we are in debt to them. To forgive someone is to release them of this moral debt to you.

So when someone comes to you with genuine repentance, seeking mercy, “I owe you and I can’t ever really make it right” – forgiveness means releasing them of this debt that they can’t pay.

But note, it has to be real, not a show or a put on, or a social courtesy. It has to be “from the heart” – Matthew 18:35. Also, once it is dealt with and you are satisfied that there is real repentance – you must really let it go. You don’t keep bringing it up.

3. Begin the relationship anew. The goal with any broken relationship is reconciliation. As Jesus says in Matthew 5:24 to the one who does the wrong – “leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother.” He also says in Mark 9:50 – “Be at peace with one another.” This can happen when you have true repentance and true forgiveness  – the relationship can heal.

Now this doesn’t mean that you can always pick right up where you left off. Some wounds go deep and need time to heal, time to reestablish trust – and that is fine. It’s a process. The key is that you are in relationship – and you are working at healing.

 Clarification: What if there is no repentance?

In popular language “forgiveness” is something we can just do internally by ourselves – an inner release of anger and debt. But in Scripture “forgiveness” has to do with all three components. There has to be repentance that deals with the issues and leads to reconciliation. Both parties need to be involved.

What should we do when there is no repentance? It is similar to the teaching on forgiveness:

  • We give up our anger and desire for judgment.
  • We choose to love them even as we are to love all our enemies. (And what is an enemy except one who harms you and doesn’t care or repent.)
  • And we stand ready to forgive them if they ever repent and work toward true reconciliation.

Finally –

What is more powerful –  the evil deed or love that forgives?

In some cases forgiveness is seemingly unthinkable – the pain is too deep. I think of sexual abuse, child abuse, or the murder of someone you love. But even in these catastrophic cases, each of us have to choose:

  • Will we allow the evil done to us to be the most powerful reality – and let it enslave us and twist us and deform us and make us bitter?
  • Or will we act on the belief that love is more powerful – and choose to make the hard choice to forgive and allow God to set us free?

It can be an incredible struggle to forgive. We could say like Jesus said to the rich man, “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” – Matthew 19:26. It takes God acting in us and through us to make the decision to forgive and to live out that decision throughout our lives.

But if we make the choice we can put into practice the admonition of Paul in Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Instead of being overcome by the evil done to us, we can overcome it with good – the power of love and forgiveness.

William

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What does repentance look like? Luke 15:11-24

May 27, 2007 by William Higgins

Repentance is talked about a lot in Scripture. It is our proper response to God when we sin. It is also our proper response to other people we have wronged. We will focus on this second part – if I sin against someone and want to make it right, what should I do?

We will look at the story of the prodigal son. Jesus uses this story to illustrate what true repentance looks like – both toward God and toward other people at the same time. We will also look at other scriptures that fill out the meaning of repentance toward the one we have harmed.

The prodigal son definitely sinned against his father:

  • After he got his share of his father’s property he squandered it all in a far country on reckless living – v. 13.
  • He disobeyed his father – v. 29. (No doubt his father told him not to go away and be reckless, but he did it anyway).
  • He devoured his father’s property with prostitutes – v. 30.

So he’s a good candidate to teach us about repentance.

The meaning of repentance

Based on how the word “repentance” is used in the New Testament, it means – a change of heart and mind that leads you to do what is right. We see this in the prodigal son – vs. 17-18. First, “he came to himself” – he had a new realization; a new perspective on his situation. What he has done is wrong. Second, he went back to his father to make things right. So here we see a change of heart and mind that led to appropriate action.

I want to emphasize this second point. Repentance is not just something that happens within you – an inner intention or feeling bad about what you did. Repentance leads to appropriate action so that you stop doing what is wrong and you do what is right. As John the Baptist said in Luke 3:8 –“Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” What

are these fruits? The context show us that it means doing what is right in our relationships with others. Paul’s

message is stated in Acts 26:20 – “Repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” Repentance always involves right deeds, not just an inner change of heart about our wrong deeds.

Four actions that accompany repentance

We also see in the story of the prodigal son four actions that accompany true repentance – which help fill out for us what repentance looks like.

1) Expressions of humility and regret. The prodigal son said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son” – v. 19. When you have done what is wrong it is not a time to be proud. It is a time for humility and sorrow. The prodigal recognizes this, for he has not acted as a son. He has greatly hurt his father and wasted his resources.

When we hurt others we need to see and realize the damage and pain we have caused and we need to humble ourselves. After James calls his readers to repentance he says, “Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection” – James 4:9. It is right to feel badly and to have regret. David calls this “a broken and contrite heart” – Psalm 51:17. And you should express this regret to the person you have wronged.

2) Confession of sin. The prodigal son said, “Father I have sinned against heaven and before you” – v. 18. He freely confessed his sin to the one he wronged.

James talks about this, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” -James 5:16. (I take it that this means confessing to the one you have offended).

Confession means being absolutely honest – this is what I did. Confession means owning what you did – I did it and it was wrong – and that’s it. Not – “Yes, I did what was wrong, but it wasn’t my fault – there was this circumstance, and that issue that has to be considered, and look at what you did. . .”  You can imagine if the prodigal lived in our day he might say to his father – “You didn’t raise me right!” No, true confession means you have to own what you did. Proverbs 18:12 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,  but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

3) Seek mercy so there can be reconciliation. The prodigal son said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father” – vs. 17-18. He wanted to be reunited with his father. So he got up and went to him. “Can I at least by your servant?” he is asking.

Jesus talks about this also in Matthew 5:23-24 – “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your sister or brother has something against you,  leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” If you have wronged someone – don’t even prioritize worship to God (the highest priority) over making things right with the one you have wronged. First go and be reconciled to your brother or sister. You need to try to restore the relationship you have damaged by seeking forgiveness and reconciliation

4) Take responsibility for the consequences of your sin.  The prodigal son said, “Treat me as one of your hired servants” – vs. 19. He was ready to live there as a servant. He knew there were consequences for his actions. Now, his father, in love and grace, accepted him back as a son. But notice – he still lost all that he had, for all the rest that the father had was the other son’s and that would not change.

The example of Zacchaeus’ repentance speaks to this. He was a tax collector who was despised because he made his profit off charging more taxes than were necessary. When he repented he said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold” – Luke 19:8. He takes responsibility for his sin by giving back of his great wealth to those he cheated and he makes amends to those he stole from. In the same way if you have harmed others in a way that can be made right – do your best to do that; try hard to make it right; make it up to them if possible.

Repentance as a way of life

We all need to learn how to repent and practice this regularly because we all fail at times, sometimes really badly in our relationships with each other.

It is a practice that is necessary first of all because if we don’t repent of our wrongdoing we will be judged by God. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” – Luke 13:3.

But more to our focus, it is necessary because if we don’t repent we can’t work toward restoration of relationships damaged by our sin. We end up hurting each other with no way to find peace; no way to be a community of believers in this place.

Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” – Luke 17:3. This is directed at the one who is sinned against and teaches that forgiveness is necessary. But notice here – Jesus is also saying you need repentance to heal a relationship wounded by sin. You need both.

William Higgins

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Ways You Can Help Others Begin Following Jesus

May 20, 2007 by William Higgins

Perhaps you feel that you are not gifted as an evangelist and this stands in the way of you sharing your faith. Well, here are some ways for you to be involved in this that doesn’t require you to be gifted as an evangelist. This is for those of you who have trouble initiating conversations, engaging people directly and are simply shy.

1. Pray for those who are not yet committed followers of Jesus

Pray for specific people, including our young people who are not yet baptized, and also neighbors & friends. And pray for them regularly. Pray that God will work in their lives; that their eyes will be opened; their heart will be softened; that they will commit to follow Jesus.

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Encouragement for Mothers

May 13, 2007 by William Higgins

 Being a Mother can be amazingly demanding!

Here’s a fact -the average-five-year old asks 437 questions a day. Although raising kids is a full time job in itself, I don’t know of any mom who only does this. Moms also work at home, have their own careers, or some combination of these, plus other obligations.

I can bear witness to how hard it is to be the primary person caring for a child. I stayed at home with Marie for six months when she was a baby. I have worked in a lot of different jobs – general construction, brick laying, house painting – and none of these were as hard as that – and I only had one baby.

Being a mother can be amazingly demanding. Guys I hope you understand this. It’s hard when they are young. It’s sheer craziness at times. But it doesn’t stop when they grow up. To take a biblical example – Simeon the prophet said to Mary, when Jesus was a baby, “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also” – Luke 2:35 referring to the pain she would have as she saw here son suffer and die –  John 19:25.

Given all this I want to share –

Four encouragements for mothers from the Scriptures

 

Hopefully this can comfort you and give you strength for the journey – wherever you are in that journey.

First, a recognition: Mothering embodies the characteristics of God. Since you are doing things that God does, it must be pretty important.

  • Mothers give birth to children. So does God. Deuteronomy 32:18 says ofIsrael, “You forgot the God who gave you birth. . .”
  • Mothers comfort their children. So does God. Isaiah 66:13 says, “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”
  • Mothers are kind and tender. So is God. James 5:11 says, “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” Luke 1:78 speaks of “the tender mercy of our God.”
  • Mothers are always mindful of their children. So is God. Isaiah 49:15 says this speaking of God, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”
  • Mothers try to protect their children. So does God. Luke 13:34 says, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

So don’t be discouraged! What you do as mothers is of utmost importance. Even God embodies these traits and activities in caring for us.

 Second, a promise: You will be honored for your “lowly” work. How many minute, mundane tasks do you do each day for your children? Things that know one even knows about, much less recognizes you for, or thanks you for. Such is the life of a mother.

Yet Jesus praises just this kind of lowly work. Work that doesn’t gain you recognition or social status; that has to do with serving the needs of others – the needy and the weak.

He says in Luke 14:11, “those who humble themselves will be exalted” (NRSV). He goes on to talk about serving the needy who can’t repay you. This is a promise – God will not overlook your labors. God knows each act of kindness and patience, each diaper change and nose wipe, each sacrifice and frustration, and God will honor you for it.

Third, a praise: Those who serve children because of Jesus are some of the greatest disciples in the kingdom. In Mark 9 the disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest. Jesus announces in v. 35, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Then Jesus presents a child to the disciples. A child was at the bottom of the social ladder in that day, even below slaves. Jesus is saying, if you want to be great, the way to do it is by lowering yourself below the lowest and by serving those who are lowly like this child.

In terms of serving children this applies to Christian fathers, Sunday school teachers, and others, but who does it apply to more than Christian mothers? Moms, you are doing what it takes to be first in thekingdomofGod

Fourth, a revelation: Those who serve children because of Jesus are actually serving Jesus and the Father. Mothers, when you take your calling as a mother to include a call to train and disciple your children for the kingdom, Mark 9:37 applies to you. It says, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

When you are caring for your children as a Christian mother – you are really ministering to Jesus and to the Father! This certainly puts a little different light on what you are doing day in and day out with your children.

So yes, it is demanding, but be encouraged:

  • Your work is significant. It is work that God does.
  • You will be rewarded for your work.
  • You are great in the kingdom.
  • You are ministering to Jesus and the Father.

William Higgins

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How to Find Peace

April 27, 2007 by William Higgins

Everyone is looking for peace. And there’s many good reasons. We are all broken in one way or another. And we live in a world that is broken and painful. We live with other people who are broken and often cause us pain. And we have to work hard to meet our needs for food, clothing and shelter to care for our families. And on top of this we feel the need to succeed, to be something, to make a difference. So our lives are often full of stress, fear, discontentment and anger. And we want some peace.

The problem isn’t that we search for peace. God wants us to be at peace. God made us to be whole, not broken. So our longing for it is a longing for what God designed us for. The problem is that we seek peace in the wrong places and in wrong ways. So let me begin by warning you to –

Beware of false peace

Our culture teaches us to seek after a peace that doesn’t last, that isn’t substantial, and that doesn’t truly satisfy. And so we look for peace in things like:

  • Consumerism – we look for peace in buying things, not so much what we get as that we like to spend money and get new things.
  • Wealth – we look for peace in having lot’s of resources for our comfort and as security against the future.
  • Sex – we look for peace in satisfying our sexual desires in whatever way we want. Our culture is obsessed with this, as if it were the ultimate goal and source of our contentment.
  • Relationships – we look for peace through our relationships with others, how many or what kind of friends we have.
  • Drugs and alcohol – we look for peace through the effects of drug and alcohol abuse to give us a high and take us away from reality.
  • Entertainment – we look for peace by losing ourselves in the alternate reality of movies, games, the internet, etc..
  • Success in life – we look for peace through social status; by being famous, or having an outstanding career. We look for meaning in this.

But none of these can give a peace that truly satisfies, or lasts. Let’s face it, if these gave peace we would be a country full of contented people. No, these just distract us from out discontentment.

Let’s look now at –

How to find true peace

1. True peace come from complete trust in God. Trust means reliance on someone, in this case, God. Instead of depending on yourself, you depend on God. Isaiah 26:3 shows us that trust in God is the path to true peace. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

 

Trusting can be hard, but God is worthy of our complete trust. That’s because God is faithful in his love for us and is able to take care of us. Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” God’s faithful love will never fail us. Because of this we  can trust God with all of our concerns and needs.

But it is a choice to rely on God. Evan as Christians we often choose to carry our own burdens instead of trusting in God. So here are some scriptural encouragements to trust God: Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

2. True peace comes from complete yieldedness to God. To yield means to concede or surrender. In this case it means you stop resisting and submit to God so that you walk in his ways. Psalm 119:165 shows us that yieldedness to God is the path to true peace. “Great peace have those who love your law” – that is, those who do God’s will. Although Scripture teaches that “there is no peace . . . for the wicked,” (Isaiah 48:22) when we walk in God’s ways, we will find peace

God is worthy of our submission. God is our creator and maker. Psalm 139:13 says, “You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” Although we want to do things our way and make our own choices about everything, God knows what is best for us – God made us! God knows what will bring us true happiness. That’s why God teaches us his will in the Scriptures, so that we will know the way to peace.

But it is a choice to yield to God: Even as Christians we fight with God. We want to do what we know is wrong, because we think we know better than God what will give us peace.

So here are some scriptural encouragements to yield to God: Isaiah 46:12 says, “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness.” Jeremiah 7:23 says, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.”

Finally let’s note that –

God’s peace is a tough peace

God doesn’t fix all of our problems. That has to wait until the time of resurrection, for which we wait in hope. But God gives us a peace that is stronger than our problems. God gives us a peace that we can have in the midst of our difficulties.

 

  • Those who have tribulations in this world can nevertheless have the peace that Jesus gives. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” – John 16:33.
  • Those who are persecuted can nevertheless have joy in the Lord. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” – Matthew 5:11-12.
  • Those who lack all that they need can nevertheless be content through the strength that Christ gives. “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” – Philippians 4:11-13.

God doesn’t give us peace by solving every problem we have, but the peace he gives can give us calm, joy and contentment in the midst of our trials.

William Higgins

 

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The Revelation of God’s Love

April 18, 2007 by William Higgins

Let’s read the Easter story from Matthew 28:1-8. Easter is a powerful story of Jesus’ love and sacrifice for us – and it also reveals to us that:

  • “it was impossible for Jesus to be held by the power of death” – Acts 2:24
  • Jesus had “the power of an indestructible life”- Hebrews 7:16
  • It is true what Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” – John 11:25
  • Jesus really is “the first and the last and the living one” – Revelation 1:17-18

But today I want us to look a bit behind the scenes of Easter at the one who sent Jesus to die for our sins and to be raised for our salvation. I want us to look at what Easter reveals to us about God. Specifically five things that Easter teaches us about God’s deep love for us.

1. God’s love for us is from eternity

God is the one who planned Easter before time began. God loved us before we even existed.

  • In Acts 2:23 Peter tells us that Jesus’ death and resurrection happened “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”
  • Acts 4:28 says that Jesus’ death and resurrection was what God’s “plan had predestined to take place.”
  • Paul tells us that God gave us of his grace “in Christ Jesus before the ages began” – 2 Timothy 1:9.

This was no afterthought on God’s part. He loved us from the beginning of time.

2. God’s love takes the initiative

He worked throughout the course of history calling Abraham, the children of Israel and the prophets. And when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman. (Galatians 4:4).

God wasn’t sitting back waiting for us to get it straight. God didn’t wait for us to come seeking salvation. While we were busy sinning, pursing our own lusts, without a thought for God – that’s when God acted in love for us.

God saw it as our weakness and had mercy on us. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” – Romans 5:6.

1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God . . .” we were in rebellion against God, “but that he loved us and sent his Son” to die for us. That’s what love is. He took the initiative.

3. God’s love includes his enemies

Paul says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” – Romans 5:8.

He also says, “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” – Romans 5:10.

Aren’t you glad that God isn’t like us? When we have enemies we want to harm them and make them pay. We want eye for an eye! Justice! We should be glad because we were God’s enemies and yet God loved us nonetheless.

4. God’s love found a way

It must have seemed hopeless. We were held in the power of our sins, given over to the powers of Satan, Death and judgment. And these said, “God you can’t just let them go free! They are rightfully ours! You can’t be righteous and not punish them!”

But God found a way. He knew that Satan and the powers of evil and judgment would hate Jesus. He used their lust for violence and hatred against them.

For when they crucified and killed an innocent Jesus they were exposed as evil and themselves came under judgment. And so they no longer have a right to us – providing us the chance to escape.

If the powers had only understood what was going on, in Paul’s words, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” – 1 Corinthians 2:8. This is just one more instance of how God “catches the wise in their craftiness” – I Corinthians 3:19.

He went to all this trouble out of love for us. He overcame Satan and the power Death to save us.

5. God’s love is sacrificial

Love requires giving, sometimes sacrificially. God’s love for us cost him dearly. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” – John 3:16.

God “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” – Romans 8:32.

No cost was an obstacle to give us his love. Not even the suffering and death of his only Son.

When I step back and look at all this I have to say, how can you not receive this love?

How can you refuse the:

  • God who loved you from before time itself
  • God who loved you enough to seek you out when you didn’t care about him
  • God who loved you when you were his enemy
  • God whose love found a way to rescue you from an impossible situation
  • God who spared no cost to save you

Open your heart and receive of this love.

William Higgins

 

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Keys to Powerful Worship

April 1, 2007 by William Higgins

We’ve been talking about worship for several weeks now, and I want to bring this series of teaching to a close today by talking about keys to powerful worship.

When we gather on Sundays for worship, as I have said, we are coming into God’s presence together. I have made a lot about the image of God as a King and the protocol of how to honor a king because what we are really doing as a group is coming into the throne room of God together.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Revelation 4 gives us one picture of God’s throne room, full of majesty and power, with Jesus seated at his right hand.

Our own order of service is based on this kingly analogy.

  • we offer praise to the King
  • we offer up our prayers/requests
  • we listen to what the King has to say to us

So we come to meet God, our king, but there are lots of things that can stand in the way of truly meeting with God, so that God does not receive our worship and we don’t, as Hebrews says, receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

So let’s talk about 5 keys to powerful worship. This is teaching that will help us to truly enter in and encounter our king, our God and our Father.

1. Deal with sin in your life

Our sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

When you try to come before God with open, willful sin in your life, you won’t have success. It’s like someone who is living in open rebellion against their king who wants to come before the king and ask for a favor!

Rather, as James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Part of our drawing near is that we get rid of our sin through repentance and forgiveness. This is how we are cleansed and purified. And then the promise is, “God will draw near to you.”

If you want to enter God’s presence, deal with your sin.

2. Deal with broken relationships

We worship together as a community. We are the body of Christ; we pray, “Our Father;” we come before God together. And so when our relationships are broken, it affects our worship to God.

Jesus talks about this in a couple of places. He teaches us that if you have offended someone seek to make it right.

“If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24. The context here is that you have said angry words to a brother or sister, so that they have something against you. This is such an important issue that you are to leave off worship to make it right.

Jesus also taught that if you have been offended and the person seeks to make it right, forgive them

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” – Matthew 6:14-15. If you don’t forgive, you will be separated from God.

Now it may well be you have done all you can do to be at peace with others as Paul talks about in Romans 12:18 – “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Some people just don’t want peace and you can’t control that. But if there is brokenness and you are the one refusing to live in peace with a sister or brother,  this will affect your ability to enter into God’s presence. Just as with #1, there is separation, damaged and broken relationship with God.

So work toward peace with your sisters and brothers so that we can all enter before God and be pleasing to him.

3. Come ready to worship

Come having already drawn near to God during the week in your private times of worship:

  • be prayed up
  • spiritually alive
  • alert
  • ready to go

The assumption is that you are worshipping privately during the week.

  • Luke 18:1 – we “ought always to pray”
  • Ephesians 5:20 – “giving thanks always”
  • Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly”

We ought to be doing these things always, not just on Sundays or during a crisis. If your spiritual life depends on Sunday you are in trouble! Your spiritual life will be weak.

Think about it – how would your physical health be if you ate once a week? It wouldn’t matter how much you got – it isn’t good for you.

Come ready to worship so that you can enter right in.

4. Take responsibility for encountering God

Take initiative. You can’t sit back and wait for someone to inspire you to encounter God. You can’t say the music wasn’t good, it’s not the style I like, or the prayer time was too long, or there was a child next to me that was loud, or the sermon was boring.

You are responsible for your encounter with God! No one else is. Participate! Worship is participatory. Don’t be passive!

  • Bring a gift and offer it to God
  • Offer your prayers
  • Listen to God’s word

Be determined to meet God in all these ways. Be like blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:47 – “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And though many rebuked him, telling him to be silent, he cried out all the more. And Jesus answered him.

Be focused, don’t give in to distractions and be determined to encounter God.

5. Have an attitude of expectation

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” As God said to Israel in Deuteronomy 4:29, If “you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

These are great promises that show us that if we truly seek God, God will come and bless us.

We are indeed to expect that when we seek God, we will find God in powerful ways.

The truth is, we often don’t expect much. And if we don’t expect much we limit God.

  • If we come to church – just to go through the routine
  • If we come to church and expect to be bored
  • If we come to church and feel fortunate to get something out of it

Besides the fact that these tend to be self-fulfilling prophesies, we are limiting God. With such little faith how could God possibly bless you!

Remember Jesus trying to minister the power of God in his home town of Nazareth in Mark 6:1-6? They had low expectations and little faith. Hey we know Jesus, he’s not anyone special! And Mark 6:5-6 says, “And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.”

We limit God through our unbelief. So come ready to meet with God and expect that it will happen! God will not disappoint.

So here are five keys to help us to encounter God as we gather together on Sundays.

May God help us all to live them out and to meet God each time we gather.

William Higgins

 

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Authentic Worship

March 18, 2007 by William Higgins

Last week we saw how the most basic understanding of worship is that of bringing God a gift in order to honor God. As the Lord said in Exodus 34:20 – “no one shall appear before me empty-handed.”

We saw that instead of going through insincere rituals God really wants gifts that we give from our hearts. We talked about four gifts to bring to God:

  1. praise and thanks
  2. gifts of resources; offerings
  3. obedience; our bodies as instruments of obedience
  4. humble repentance

Today we are talking about authentic worship, or worship that is genuine, real, true. This really has to do with how we offer these four gifts so that God will be pleased with them and receive our gifts. It’s necessary to talk about this because even as we offer these gifts there are ways in which our gifts can be fake, insincere or false.

1. Our worship must be focused on God

Let’s use the example of giving to the needy as an act of worship. Jesus said, “when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:2-4.

So here is a perfectly good gift of worship to God – giving to the needy. But we can make it false by using it to focus on ourselves instead of God. Sounding trumpets has to do with displays that draw attention to yourself. We are supposed to focus on God, but instead we make ourselves the focus.

Jesus calls this hypocrisy. He means that you look like you are doing one thing, but you are actually doing something else, so you are inauthentic or fake.

  • It looks like you are praising God
  • But you are really looking for praise for yourself

And we can do this with any kind of act of worship.

Authentic worship lifts up God, not ourselves. The Hebrew word for worship means to lower yourself. We lower ourselves before God and then raise God up, we enthrone him in praise. As Psalm 22:3 says, “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”

Authentic worship proclaims who God is to others, not who we are. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race . . . that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

When you sing praises to God do you simply want others to hear how good you sing? Or do you sing out because you want to proclaim God is praise? We have to keep it focused on God, not us.

2. Our worship must truly be from the heart

Jesus said in Mark 7:6-7 – “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me . . ..’” The problem here is that our lips are going, but our heart isn’t there. God wants our heart to be involved.

Worship can involve lots of different kinds of outward activities:

  • Psalm 150:4-5 – “Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals!”
  • Psalm 95:6 – “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”
  • Psalm 47:1 – “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”
  • Psalm 88:9 – “Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.”

All of these and more . . .. But what is important is that this all come from our heart; that there not be a disconnect between the inner and the outer so that we go through the motions outwardly while our heart is not involved.

God doesn’t receive heartless worship. The Lord said, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.” – Amos 5:21-23

We need to really mean it, when we offer our gifts to God.

The phrase in Mark 7:6 is “their heart is far from me.” There can be a lot reasons why this is so:

  • maybe we are physically present but not mentally tuned in, singing a song without even thinking about the words.
  • maybe our heart is far from God because we are not walking in obedience with God.
  • maybe we are in worship, but only because we have to be there.

Whatever the reason -we are just going through the motions of worship. As Jesus said, “in vain do they worship me” (Mark 7:7). Our worship is futile or useless. God does not receive it.

An example of authentic worship

This comes from David in 2 Samuel 6. He certainly knew how to worship as we see from the Psalms. Here a specific example from when the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem.

First of all he worshiped from the heart. “And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” – vs. 14-15.

Second, he focused on God. “Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.” v. 16. She thought he was showing off before the female servants and that he made a fool of himself. But “David said to Michal, ‘It was before the Lord . . . and I will make merry before the Lord.’” – v. 21.

Let me end by saying God is looking for true, authentic worshipers. Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24.

Let us offer up our gifts to God in spirit and in truth, focused on God and from our hearts.

William Higgins

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