Saturday Morning Sermon - Unequally Great, Dr. Arturo Azurdia III

Clueless

“Now I want you to know, brethren…”, Paul says in Philippians 1:12. It’s a common phrase that the Apostle uses. In this case, he was writing to the church at Philippi to let them know of his condition. With Paul being under house arrest, being in high spirits was the last thing they might be expecting. But, oh no… Paul didn’t want them having wrong thoughts about him or his condition or the progress of the gospel. He didn’t want them being clueless or ignorant of his situation.

Paul uses a similar phrase in Colossians 2:1, “For I want you to know”. And again in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “For I want you to understand”. Or yet in two more places, Romans 1:13 and 1 Corinthians 10:1, “…I do not want you to be unaware, brethren…”. Do you get the impression that Paul did not want the Christians of his time to be clueless, ignorant or unaware? How about in 1 Thessalonians 4:13? “We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren…”. Galatians 1:11: “For I would have you to know…”. The fact that Paul repeats himself (repeatedly), tells me that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing something to us.

Ours is a generation of Christians who are probably the most unaware in all of human history… am I right? Don’t we all (myself included) walk around in our own comfortable Christian bubble, completely oblivious of the spiritual famine around us? We’re unaware and I wonder why. We’ve developed spiritual calluses three feet thick and our hearts are like granite. All the while our relatives, friends and neighbors are running headlong through the wide gate that leads to destruction.

We professing believers (myself included again) are often unaware of our creation around us. We miss a delicate rose, a horse galloping in a field, even a beautiful sunset because from the moment the alarm clock goes off in the morning until our heads land in the pillow at night we are going 90 miles per hour. We ignore a baby's laugh, or are oblivious to an act of kindness - because we rush from one meeting to the next and from one shopping center to another... when one TV show is over we click to the other station. Clueless. Ignorant. Unaware.

“Now I want you to know”, that I plan to make some changes so I don’t remain in my clueless, ignorant, unaware state. Will you too?
Mark

Our Response to God’s Law

We are not under the Law but under grace, right? But if God had a purpose for giving the Law, then we certainly should have some response to it, shouldn't we? What is our response?

1). Learn It - Deuteronomy 5:1 – Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.

Psalm 119:73 - Your hands made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

2). Obey It - Obedience results in BLESSING; Obedience results in WISDOM; Obedience results in LIFE
Deuteronomy 5:31-33 – But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I give them to possess. So you shall observe to do just as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. You shall walk in all the way which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.

Joshua 1:8 - Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 - See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

Deuteronomy 32:46-47a - Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life.

3). Love It - Psalm 119:97 - O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

4). Teach It - Deuteronomy 4:6-7 - These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

The Purpose of the Ten Commandments

God had some reasons for giving us the 10 Commandments (and the rest of the ‘Law’). What are some of the purposes?

1). To guide and direct His people in their relationship to Him

2). To guide and direct His people in their relationship to their fellow man

3). To ‘tutor’ us, teaching us that we are sinful
Romans 3:20 - by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Galatians 3:24-25 - Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

4). To express His love for mankind -
Exodus 19:5-6a - Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation

5). To give mankind a means by which to show his love to God
John 14:15, 21, 24 - If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

1 John 2:3 - By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments

The 10 Commandments from Exodus 20:1-17:
1Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
5“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.
8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9“Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
11“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery.
15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Worry and Difficulty? Or Joy and Peace?

What do the following words have in common? skepticism, suffering, collapse, problem, crisis, predicament, worry, difficult, trouble, foreclosure, recession.

These are all words that our President of 'hope' used in his speech last week. I listened to part of the speech but had to turn it off for fear of plunging into despair with words like that!

It's no wonder 'joy' is absent from the lives of most people. They have put their trust, faith and confidence in an economic system that can never provide the joy and fulfillment that people are longing for. The things happening before our eyes in our country is a distraction for even the Christian. Even we get caught up in the uncertainty of our times and we lose our joy, or worse yet, we let something else steal our joy.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians partially because he was bursting with joy. Paul wasn't too concerned about the Wall-Street-type predicaments of his day - in fact, he mentioned how he'd learned to be content in whatever circumstance he found himself in. Here was a man under house arrest and he was able to maintain his joy and peace regardless of his circumstances.

What brought Paul joy?
1). Reflecting and remembering - Philippians 1:3 - "I thank my God in all my rememberance of you". He no doubt was thinking of how Lydia and the Philippian jailer had been converted in Acts 16.
2). Praying for others - Philippians 1:4 - "always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all". Who doesn't find joy in praying for another brother or sister... especially when we start to see answers to our intercessory prayers?
3). Participating in the gospel - Philippians 1:5 - "in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now". Some of my greatest times of joy have been in sharing the gospel... whether it was a ministry trip to feed and clothe the homeless or doing a bible study in the local jail or delivering Christmas presents to kids whose dads were locked up in prison... or whatever ministry work took place... this is joyful and rewarding participation in the gospel.
4). Confidence in God to bring things to fruition - Philippians 1:6 - "for I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus". Paul had unwavering confidence that God would finish what He started. That really is our only hope, that God will not leave us hanging by a thread or leave us out on a limb. He will finish the work, and that should bring anyone the joy that might otherwise seem elusive.
5). Affection and love for other believers - Philippians 1:8 - "how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus". Paul wanted to be with his fellow Christians. He loved that kind of thing. I often find myself renewed, refreshed and encouraged after I've been with a Christian friend for breakfast. Fellowship with like-minded Christians is a source of great joy.

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Mark

Blessed Beyond Measure

I don't know how many blessings in a weekend one man can enjoy, but I will list three of them (although there were many more).

1). My parents celebrated 50 years of marriage yesterday (congratulations, Mom and Dad, I love you). As I shared at their party, this is a major accomplishment. The world defines 'success' in terms of money or status, but I see 'success' differently. Success is keeping a promise to each other and to God, for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and in health. That is success. And that is a blessing.
2). At the celebration, one individual stood up and shared some things I didn't know about my grandfather (who went to heaven some twenty years ago). He told my mom and dad about how much he appreciated my grandfather who had taught him Sunday School as a youth and how much of an impact he had in shaping his life. That too is a blessing.
3). My oldest son was baptized this morning at church. He gave his life to the Lord more than a year ago, and today he followed in obedience to go into the baptismal tank and show the world what Jesus Christ has done in his heart. At his young age, he understands that there is no saving grace in baptism. Salvation is not by an act or a work that we do. He understands that and now has wanted to be a young testimony to the public. He quoted John 1:1 to the leadership of the church as one of his favorite verses before the baptism service. He did great under the 'pressure' of the pillars of the church gathered around to hear why he wanted to go through with this solemn but joyous act. I was very proud of him. This event was a great blessing, not only for me, but for our whole family.

Blessed beyond measure,
Mark

Regeneration

I usually don't post blogs in the middle of the night, but tonight I couldn't sleep. We have some guests converging on our house this weekend for a special family event and so we set up a bed in our unfinished basement for me and my wife to sleep in. Sleeping in an unfinished basement is fine with me - I can sleep anywhere. The problem tonight is that our water softener decided it was time to go into its 'regen' mode, which it does on a regular schedule every nine days (or nights).

What is 'regen'? It means 'regeneration'. The system must go through a process of cleaning and rinsing to make the tanks and water lines pristine and like new again. It's quite an impressive setup and it cost me a lot of money. But while I laid there thinking I was never going to get my beauty sleep for tonight, it made me think of the real 'regeneration' that had happened in my own life. Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology book consisely defines this theological term as "a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us. This is sometimes called being 'born again' (using language from John 3:3-8)".

First Corinthians 6:9-11 brings it home: "do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." Paul says we were 'washed'. If we're truly Christians, we are 'washed'. Cleaned. Rinsed. The stains removed. Like new. Pristine. Regenerated!

Words

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise. - Proverbs 10:19

He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. - Proverbs 17:27

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him. - Proverbs 29:20

Its tough to control our tongue. In fact, James says that no man can bridle the tongue. Here are some thought provoking questions though that may help us with our words:
1). Do my words serve my own interests?
2). Do my words acknowledge the interests of others?
3). Are my words calculated to make me look good?
4). Do my words magnify Christ?
5). Are my words characterized by grumbling and complaining?
6). Are my words filled with thanksgiving and praise?
7). Are my words going to tear someone down?
8). Are my words going to build someone up?
9). Do my words adjust the truth?
10). Am I speaking the truth in love?

The Meaning of Heroism

"Today the word 'hero' has been diminished, confused with 'celebrity'. But in my father's generation the word meant something. Celebrities seek fame. They take no actions to get attention. Most often, the actions they take have no particular moral content. Heroes are heroes because they have risked something to help others. Their action involves courage."

- James Bradley, author of 'Flags of our Father" and son of John Bradley, one of the flag raisers on Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima

What is Living?

Is life supposed to consist of strife and discord, or should there be peace and harmony? Are we to argue and fight? Or encourage and build up? Is our life a repetitious act of kicking, scratching and clawing through the day, only to get up again and do it again tomorrow? Or does our life consist of daily thankfulness, contentment and joy? Are we known by our friends and family as being harsh and brutal, or are we known as gentle and loving? Is our life characterized by arrogance or by humility? Does our life exhibit a lack of honesty, integrity and truth? Or does our life display these attributes? What IS life? Is it godLESS or godly? The Apostle Paul knew what life is: "for to me to LIVE is Christ" - Philippians 1:21