October 25, 2011

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I’m going to admit today that this post dwells in my geek roots. It’s a geeky post, and full of geeky stuff. I am a geek. So bear with me. Because today I’m going to talk about superheroes.

If you are into superheroes, you’re probably into one of two types of superheroes.

You’re either like me, who likes Superman. Because he’s powerful, and virtuous. Because he flies, and does things no humans could do. He’s the superhero who would leave you wishing you could be something more, like that.

Or you’re more like my wife. Who prefers Batman. For all the opposite reasons. Because Batman IS human. No powers. No flight. No special anything. He’s just a very determined man with very developed skills. He leaves you thinking, with the right motivation and time I could do that too.

We love superheroes for much the same reason at the end of the day. We like a good story, we like the thought of heroes, we like to see conflict overcome.

But right here, we have the best superhero story of all. This man. The Son. As the song that started me down this line of thought puts it, the Savior to the world. The Savior of the world.
Jesus is the best superhero of all. Because he embodies both the attributes I love about Superman, and the attributes my wife likes about Batman. You may be asking what I mean. So let’s take a look.

How is he like Superman? Jesus showed awesome power. Let’s compare.

When you think of Superman’s powers, the first that comes to mind is that he can fly. It seems like most superheroes do these days. But what about Jesus? Well long before we had comic books about flying people, we had this bit of scripture.

Matthew 14: 23-25

After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

Now, is walking on a lake flying? Maybe not technically. But for anyone who says that’s not as awesome, I’d like to suggest you try walking on water.

What else? Well Superman had a strength like no other.

How about this?

In Luke 9, the disciples argue about who will be the greatest. And Jesus tells them that the greatest should act like the least, or the youngest. You think that would settle that though? Let’s jump forward in Luke over to Luke 22.

Luke 22:24-27
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

You know. If it were me. If I had spent years training up these guys. Teaching them over and over again certain principles. And they spent all of their time bickering about who’s better. I would have been angry. I might have lost it. Jesus showed great strength. Not necessarily in some physical way such as lifting cars. But in patience. Have you ever thought about all the things he put up with? Have you ever read something that occurred and thought, “Man if that were me, I’da whipped them good…” But that’s exactly what Jesus didn’t do.
One last thing about this line of thinking. One of my favorite things about Superman? He’s always good. He’s uncompromising. Other heroes are so human that they do evil. Not Superman. He’s the original boyscout. He is the one other Superheroes look to. Now if you ask me, that sounds like he’s based on Jesus.

1 Peter 2:22 tells us:
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

I like how Hebrews 4:14 reminds us:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Well then if he’s like Superman, how is he like Batman?

Batman was an extremely well educated man with great understanding.
That sounds familiar. In Luke we see Jesus has great understanding.

Luke 2:47 says:
Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Batman was human. Funny thing, so was Jesus. We often focus on the divinity of Christ, but sometimes it’s important to focus on the humanity of Christ. He experience life as a human. He lived life as a human. He walked, he bled, he cried.

Batman is a beloved character because there’s this small part of the reader. The one who wants to be a super hero that says, “I could do that..” And that’s the truth of Jesus too. He lead a life that potentially we could live. Even the miracles he performed, we can perform.

He said so himself in John 14:12.

Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

There’s one thing that makes Jesus more human than any of the fictional superheroes. He has scars. In his hands and feet. Superheroes don’t get scars. They sometimes are created with them, conveniently located to look cool and not be an inconvenience. But Jesus has real scars of real consequence.

We live in a super hero generation. But you know what? There’s no reason to really get lost up on fake superheroes. Not when we have a true hero to aspire after. To follow after. Even to worship. Those of you who know me well know that I have a love for coats. My favorites are trench coats. Because they’re like the modern day cape. You can’t wear a cape anymore, it just looks weird. But trench coats, they’re a good substitute. We often symbolize the superhero with the cape. Flapping in the wind. Standing triumphant.

But what’s great. What’s spectacular. What’s stupendous is that we worship and actual triumphant God. We worship someone who made a true sacrifice. Who had the greatest story of all. A real hero. Jesus. As I finish today, that’s what I want to focus on. Worship of Jesus, of God, of the realest hero in our lives

October 21, 2011

What else does Paul advise Timothy on?   Well the thing that catches my eye?  Paul gives an entire sermon on what leaders should be like.  Why?  Because leadership is important.  If you want to grow in your present and future, if you want to become the things God would have you be, then you must do one incredibly important thing that I am thankful to say I think all of us here today have done.  Find a fantastic church, with a fantastic Pastor.

Do you really want to know how to know if you have found a good church?  I’ll tell you the secret. You only have to look two places.  First, you have to look at the Pastor, or the leadership in general.  If the guy with the microphone is preaching and you know that those are the words of God, that he or she is not preaching from his or her own wisdom, or his or her own vanity, but rather out of the good book, and with the passion, and fire, and caring love of God, then you have half of the equation.  The second place you need to look is the congregation.  A good church breeds good Christians.  But even moreso, a good church breeds growing Christians.  Being a Christian is easy.  Being a good Christian is harder.  But being a growing Christian who comes closer to the image of Christ each day in life, that right there is incredibly difficult.  And it takes a good church, with a good leader, who follows the guidance and path of our good God to have that result.  If you look around and you can say that no one has changed in the past two years, then I say get out!  But if you look around at your church, and you see ministers growing.  People volunteering.  Teens dedicating themselves.  The word being spread.  Then you know it is a good church. 

But you know.  Let’s get back to Saul.  I think we know the story of Saul.  He witnessed the stoning of Stephen.  And he approved.  But he didn’t just stop there.  He proceeding to persecute and kill many Christians. He did things that were horrible.  And yet he would someday become Paul.  I still find myself wondering if it ever haunted him.  If he ever had that moment.  I think we all have that moment.  Do you know what it really is?  It’s the devil.  And I know, it’s often said the devil gets blamed for all kinds of things that he doesn’t really do.  But call it the devil, or a demon, or the negavox voices that bring you down.  But I’m going to call it the devil.  Because you know what he will do?  He watches you.  He watched when you were a sinner.  Figured out exactly which chains you liked to wear as a sinner.  Then watched Jesus free you.  Remove those chains.  Toss them to the side.  Then as you went away happy, having forgotten for the moment about those chains, he picked them up.  And here’s what the devil will do.  He’ll softly.  Quietly.  Sneak up behind you.  And rattle those chains.  Not loudly.  Just loud enough.  And he’ll say, “Remember these?  You weren’t perfect.  Not like that Jesus fellow.  These were your chains?  You can’t really escape them.  Sooner or later, sooner THAN later, you’ll wear them again.”  And he’ll just follow you around.  Softly rattling those chains.  Reminding you.  The devil is patient.  And he’s willing to keep at it until you willingly put those chains on.  Without a fight.  Without him having to force you too. You will have bought into the lie.  And that’s the truth. It’s a lie.

This is one of my passions. The lie of the chain. If you get anything at all out of these posts today. I want it to be the title. Your name doesn’t have to stay Saul either. Paul left behind that life. And he stayed Paul. You can too. This is my passion. If you’ve been hearing those chains rattling. If you’ve been hearing that whisper in your ear. “It’s only a matter of time..” If you’ve already given into that lie. I want to pray for you. Maybe you’re wearing the chains. Maybe you didn’t realize that you’re wearing the chains. Maybe you’re an inch from wearing that chain. It’s ok. I’ve put those chains back on before too. But it’s a lie. You DON’T have to wear them If you doubt me I want you to remember this truth and finish this sentence for me. Who the Son sets free… is free indeed. There is a  song by Lifehouse called Everything. It has a pleading in it. That’s why I like it. You’ll hear the words, “You’re all I want. You’re all I need. You’re everything. Everything.” You can take those words too ways. That could be God, pleading for you to turn back to Him. They could be the words we SHOULD be saying to Him. But it’s the final words that always hit me the hardest. They are, “Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?” This, to me, is freedom. Freedom from our chains. Freedom from our past. Freedom from our sin and sinful nature. Freedom from the things that keep us apart from God. And let me tell you the answer to that question. It. Can’t. Be. I’m going to open this altar now. If you have chains today. If you have needs today. If you are even hearing the chains rattle today. Tell me. And let’s go to God together. And I promise by the time he’s through, those chains will be gone.

October 13, 2011

And Saul approved of their killing of him. Acts 8:1.

That has to be one of the single darkest verses that ever opens a book of the bible. And Saul approved of their killing of him. Imagine if that were Saul’s entire story. His one verse. Many people get little screen time, as it were, in the bible. Imagine if this were the beginning and the end of Saul’s tale. It would be sad and dark wouldn’t it? Acts 8 opens up on just a whammy of a line. And to understand it we have to rewind a bit I think. Imagine if this was the very first verse you ever read. It would just smack you out of nowhere wouldn’t it? You’d be left wondering, “Who’s Saul? Who’s this him? Why was he killed? Why did this Saul guy approve?”

To get those answers, you have to rewind of course. I think most of us have been around long enough to be able to easily answer these questions. Who’s him? Him is a man named Stephen. We don’t know a great deal about him. But we know this much. He was a good man, God was with him, and he spoke with great wisdom. He was a man so lost in God he was willing to die for his faith. Why was he killed? Because he preached the truth. Who was Saul? He was a pharisee who didn’t like what Stephen had to say. That probably answers why he approved.

But I think we all know who Saul really is too. He’s Paul. The author of roughly half the new Testament. Paul did some really stupid and terrible things once. But God got a hold of him, changed him, and he ending up leading a much better life than what he started. But I sometimes wonder if what he did haunted him. It must have in the beginning. To escape it in a way, to distance himself from it, he changed his name. From Saul, to Paul. And that’s the title of my sermon today. Your name doesn’t have to be Saul either.

I think we all go through that sometimes. We look back on all failings. Our former lives. Our used to bes. All the things that, now knowing better, we wish we could forget forever. But can’t. Our Saul moments as it were. I find myself torn in this all the time. Going back and forth between reminding myself that the Lord has forgotten and so should I. But also reminding myself that my testimony is important. If there is two things we should get out of our past misdeeds, it’s this.

One: Our past is important. It’s incredibly important. In witnessing, in telling the truth of God, in explaining all that He is. Do you know, sometimes I wish we still did fiery hell sermons? Not all the times. But sometimes I do. Because here is the truth. You can’t have the grace of God without the fall of man. And every time we gloss over sin. Every time we downplay wrongdoing. Every time we pretend that hell isn’t really all that bad a place to be, we do a giant disservice to God. We harm the body of Christ, in my opinion. Because every time we downplay the horrible thing that we once were, we diminish the triumph that is God’s freedom. We shrink the grand thing he did for us. If Christ died for our sin, but we end up trying to be politically correct and say sin isn’t that all important then we are essentially saying that Christ died for something that just isn’t that important. And I don’t know about you, but that just doesn’t taste good. Our past is important. Because it IS our past that God freed us from. He did hear us. When we prayed, as the David did in Psalm 34 when he cried,

“I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

If you’ve never tasted something really bitter, can you really truly understand what it is to taste something sweet? We talk of freedom, but if you want the best definition of freedom find a man who’s just been let out of jail.

The second thing we should learn from our Saul moments is that our past is NOT important.

I know. I know. You’re all out there saying, “Uh Canterrain… did you forget your first point already?” No, No I didn’t. And yes, I realize that it sounds contradictory. But let me clarify. Our past is important. Just not THAT important. We should acknowledge the things that God has done in our lives and the transformations that He has led us through. But we shouldn’t get lost in despair of what we were so much so that we forget what we are today. Imagine for a moment if you will how differently Acts would be if Peter forever said, “I can’t stand up and speak. I’m the one who denied Christ.” Imagine if the disciples besides John dwelt on the fact that when push came to shove, they shoved off, ran off, and let Jesus die without them. It’s ok to recognize our past for what it was. But we can’t let it rule our present.

How do we do that though? How do we not let our past overshadow our present and future? I think Paul gives us good advice, as he was advising Timothy. In fact, you should notice three things that Paul advises Timothy to do to be a good leader. I think these bits of advice actually apply to more than just leadership.

The first is found in 1 Timothy 19.

“Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscious clear.”

This is a two parter! But I think the first naturally leads to the second. Cling to your faith in Christ! You know, most of the time it seems like Paul is teaching advanced Christionomics 404, now with greater insights into the divine understanding of theologic mysteries. This right here. Is simultaneously the most straight forward instruction Paul has ever written, and also the hardest. Cling to your faith in Christ! Well everyone knows what that means. Hold fast to Jesus! Don’t let your eyes stray from Him! Why that’s easy. Just ask Peter. Oh wait. Yeah. Cling to your faith in Jesus. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Because it seems like everytime you really decide to do it, that’s when the waves get really choppy. But if you do. If you set your sights on Jesus and try your best to win that staring contest, you’ll maintain a clear conscious. It’s really hard to stray from God while looking at God.

Well what else does Paul tell Timothy?

How about 1 Timothy 2.

“1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.”

I like this advice. You know why? Because I think it fits right in with human nature. No really. In fact it takes one of our worst traits and turns it to good. The trait of gossip! We humans are gossipy. We are! The mall I work in is being purchased by new owners. You know, I actually know what they look like? In fact, I knew before they ever stepped foot in the mall. Other mall employees showed me. I also know when security arrests someone for fighting, when a store closes too early, and when someone has been fired from one of the other stores in the mall. The worst part about knowing all this? I don’t actually care. But that doesn’t stop people from telling me, or telling my employees. We humans love to focus on all things about other people. It takes our minds off of all our problems, I think. So why not use that to good? If we have to know about other people, then we should pray for them. Ask God to intercede on their behalf. If we really must poke into the lives of all our politicians, then let’s pray for them too! I don’t know about you, but I’d love to have a peaceful and quiet lives free from political bickering. And if makes God happy, what more reason do I need?

Now, a quick clarification. I don’t want anyone going to their Pastor after reading this and saying, “Some guy online just give us all permission to gossip to our hearts content about all the juicy stuff that happens at!” No I didn’t. So you can stop right there in your thoughts about how you can’t wait to tell so and so that this and that happened. I’m personally a believer that we have enough terrible drama on daytime tv. We don’t need it in the Church. What I am saying, of course, is that we can use that terrible urge for good! Instead of telling everyone what you’ve heard about this and that you could be praying about what you heard. And for whom you heard it from. I’m convinced that if I spent less time talking and more time praying, I’d spend less time being insecure about myself and more time being secure in my faith!

On Monday, I’ll continue with part 2 of this topic. 

October 6, 2011

One. I want to talk about the number one today. One has become something almost insignificant. One dollar is all but worthless. One penny won’t buy anything, every year they talk about not making them. A one year old child has not experienced anything in life. One is often relegated to the smallest, least significant, most pointless. But one, one can be the most important number of your life.

 

Genesis 37:18-36

 

 

8 When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

 

21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

 

23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

 

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? His blood would just give us a guilty conscience. 27 Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. 28 So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces[c] of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

 

29 Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief. 30 Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”

 

31 Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. 32 They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”

 

33 Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. 35 His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave[d] mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.

 

Jospeh was the youngest brother of eleven. Eleven brothers. Eventually 12. Just one is so insignificant right? What’s one among 12? How about one among six billion? I’m reminded of a story a missionary once related to me. This was a man who traveled the world, and spoke to many. There was an occasion where he was in another county and had the chance to preach before thousands. He said it was one of his better sermons. He gave it his all and he asked that important question, if anyone wanted to give their lives over to Jesus that day. Standing before thousands and how many answered that call? One. One person. I remember the missionary describing his emotions as he walked away from that service. Defeat. Disappointment. Dejection. He said he found himself asking God, “Why? Why did you send me there if one one person was going to come to know you? Couldn’t I have been better used in a place where more would have come to you?” It’s so easy to get lost in the theory that one doesn’t mean much. He returned to that country the next year. And after the service a woman approached him. She asked, “Do you remember being here last year? And a man who answered the call to Christ?” How could he forget? Politely, he stated that he did. She explained what a miracle it was, his coming to Christ. The man was a hard line atheist, someone who would never believe. She had prayed for years that God would get ahold of him. He had only come to the meeting by chance. Feeling a little better, the missionary asked the natural question. How is that man now? The answer? The very next day after that service, the man was in a car wreck and died.

 

One man. One day. One service. These things can change lives. Why? Because we are real people, and yes we have real problems, but we worship a real and true God. One God. Who says that despite the many people who would have us believe that we are insignificant in the context of a large universe, we ARE important. God find his people so important that he will put one man in a place completely out of his realm, out of his comfort zone, out of his expectations in order to change the life of another?

 

What about Joseph? I think we know the rest of the story. His journey was harrowing, it was harsh, it was long. But this journey took him to being second only to the Pharaoh of Egypt. And he saved the lives of his family, and the Egyptians… seeing them through a famine.

 

We can often look around, and think the too easy thought. My life is insignificant. My actions do not matter, my words do not matter. But I believe that life and death hang in the balance at times on a single word. A single smile. Have you ever brightened someone’s entire day with a smile? A small gesture, yet it can mean so much. As a new husband, I have quickly learned that forgetting the “little things” quickly adds up into big problems. One can make all the difference in the world. A flower to my wife. A word, just for encouragement. Even Jesus’s plan for sacrifice hinged on one man betraying him. It’s so easy to tell ourselves that we don’t matter, and nothing we do will ever matter.

 

But let me remind you of this. That number one? We worship the One true God. The whole human race started from one man and one woman. The Jewish people count their lineage back to one man, Abraham, who had such great faith. When man couldn’t save themselves, the One man who was more than man did. Even the largest church started small, started with the hope and belief of one person.

 

One can make all the difference. And that’s my encouragement to you today. God has a plan for all our lives. A path, a roll, a wish, a desire. And even that plan hinges on one thing. You. And your willingness to follow it. There is no such thing as too small to God.