What Kind of Faith Are You Talking About?

A majority of Americans claim to have some kind of religious belief. And the majority of those claim some version of the Christian faith. A 2007 pew poll says that 78% of Americans claim to be Christians.  Of that group 51% claim to be Protestant, and 26% going to be evangelicals.  Close to 26% profess to be Catholics.  Of course statistics have their limits.  And it is almost certain that the landscape has further changed in the last 7 years.  This study tells us what people report about themselves.  

 But those percentages are significant.  Found hiding in those numbers is a group of serious religious people. They are caught up in the fight against secularism.  These people may find such numbers encouraging. Maybe things aren't so bad after all? On the other hand, people who are serious about Christianity may also find these numbers troubling. Why? Because there is a disconnect between the walk and the talk.   Does anyone really believe that 78% of Americans are even trying to follow the teachings of Jesus? Perhaps that standard is too high. Do even half of these "believers" faithfully follow the teachings of their own sects?  

This is not a new problem. When we read the Bible we encounter a similar situation. In the Gospel of John we read,  “Now when [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-25, ESV)

In the original text of John chapter 2 something interesting is going on that we might miss in this translation.  The word for “entrust” in v. 24 is the same word describing that the people “believed” in his name (Pisteuo- in bold above).  We could translate it, “many people believed in his name…. But Jesus for his part did not believe in them.”  Their claim to belief was unconvincing.  And though we may be suspicious of religious claims, we do know what is going on deep in someone’s soul. But Jesus knew their hearts.  He skeptical was about their faith.

In James 2, we read about a similar problem. Some of the believers of the early church professed their faith in Jesus, yet they treated the rich and the poor radically different. They treated the poor with contempt.  This behavior was a kind of lie detector for their Christian profession. Their actions were inconsistent with their faith. He writes to them, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”  It is not enough to have a claim of faith if your life doesn’t match up. And the great example is the faith of the fallen angels. They are good theologians and understand God. Even more than that, they have an appropriate emotional response, fear. They tremble before God. Which seems to be more than some of the folks reading the letter from James.

Last week at FGC we looked at Luke 8:26-39. In this passage we see an example of this demonic faith. It may have been the very incident that James had in mind. A man that was possessed by many demons falls down at the feet of Jesus.  The voices that come from him are the voices of these evil spirits. And they express acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus and fear of the coming judgment day. “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” (Luke 8:28, ESV)  You can listen to the sermon here.

This is an important concept for Americans. We seem content with a little bit of religion, and a little bit of Jesus, and a little bit of pop Christianity.  But there is a kind of faith that isn’t worth much. The Bible talks about it in bitter terms.  It doesn’t transform the life. It doesn't make you a christian, it makes you an actor. And it is little better than the faith of demons.  Throughout the rest of Luke 8 we read about commendable responses to Jesus. Read the chapter for yourself. In fact, just before this passage (about the demon possessed man) he tells the parable of the sower. It is a story that vividly depicts the different kinds of responses to Jesus and his teaching. And only one really counts. It is the one the bears fruit.   Unseen faith in the heart always produces visible fruit. Not perfection. Not sinlessness. But real fruit.

As for the other kind of faith, Jesus doesn’t believe in it. I wonder what he would say about America? I wonder what he would say about my faith, and yours?

In The Storm With Jesus

On Sunday I preached on Luke 8:22-26.  This is the passage where Jesus calms the storm.  It is an amazing miracle, and the intent of the passage is to make clear just what kind of person Jesus is. He is not just a gifted teacher or religious pioneer.  At the end this section his disciples are in shock. We read in v.25,  “they marveled, saying to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?’”

Some folks take passages like this to mean that if we have enough faith that Jesus will calm all of our storms. And though we should gladly embrace his ability to calm every storm. And every Christian I know can tell numerous stories of help and rescue.  But, we should remember that even the very disciples in the boat on this occasion would later face storms that would NOT be calmed.  Peter and James would both later be imprisoned. Peter would escape, but James would loose his head to the sword of Herod (Acts 12:2) just like John the Baptist those 21 Egyptian Christians that were martyred by ISIS. 

There are several important lessons for us from this text.

First, Jesus is the eternal God come in the flesh. He is a real man that can take dangerous trips, and be so exhausted that he will fall sleep in a boat. But he is also has power over the wind and the waves. The ability to calm the storm is clearly a power reserved for the LORD God alone.  His disciples as well as anyone familiar with the Old Testament would recognize this. For example, Ps. 89:9 “You  [LORD of Hosts] rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.”  Our savior is powerful. He has strength to rule heaven and earth.

Second, He is with us in the storm.  From one perspective, this is why he came into the world. He entered this world full of death, suffering, and fear so he could bring the death of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Even in the middle of the storm, Jesus is there. And after rebuking the storm he rebukes them, “where is your faith?”  These men, including several professional fisherman, were so taken with the problem that they forgot that Jesus is with them in the boat. When they finally wake him and ask him for help, it is sadly not an expression of faith.  We are never alone in our suffering.   The one who holds heaven and earth in his hands will never leave us alone.

Third, He cares. Mark relates that after waking Jesus, the disciples scolded him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38) When we are in the middle of a trial, there is always the temptation to think that God is unconcerned.   We may not think we are alone, but that he is distant, or that he is not taking our phone calls. But based on the rest of the story, we know this is not true. Not only did Jesus calm this storm. He entered another storm that could not be calmed with a word. He went to the cross for our sins. He swallowed up the storm of death with his own death and resurrection, and he did this by taking our suffering upon himself. We may not know all of God’s reasons for our trials, but we know what the reason is NOT. It is not that he doesn’t care, for he has demonstrated that beyond dispute at the cross.

You can listen to the message here.

Photo Courtesy of the Internet Archive Book Images

Why You Should Respond To Truth

This morning we looked at Luke 8:16-18.  Below is a great passage from Bock’s commentary on the book of Luke.

“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” (Luke 8:16-18, ESV)

“Luke 8:16-18 calls people to respond to the light because of the dire consequences of not doing so. Jesus’ message is portrayed as light. He notes that one does not light a lamp to hide it, but to make its light available by placing it on a lampstand. The function of light is to make visible that which was previously hidden in darkness. So it will be with Jesus’ message. Everything that is hid will be made known, and all secrets will be brought to light. One must therefore listen with care, since we are all accountable. There is much at stake, for whoever has, in terms of responding to revelation, will get more. On the other hand, those who do not have because they refuse to respond will lose what they seemed to have, ending up with nothing.”

Bock, Darrell L. Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. Print. The NIV Application Commentary.

Photo Courtesy of the George Eastman House

Understanding Grace

Josh read this quote on Sunday. We wanted you to have it as well as the source.

"When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.

"To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side, I learn who I am and what God’s grace means. As Thomas Merton put it, “A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God.”

"The gospel of grace nullifies our adulation of televangelists, charismatic superstars, and local church heroes. It obliterates the two-class citizenship theory operative in many American churches. For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is gift. All that is good is ours, not by right, but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God. While there is much we may have earned—our degree, our salary, our home and garden, a Miller Lite, and a good night’s sleep—all this is possible only because we have been given so much: life itself, eyes to see and hands to touch, a mind to shape ideas, and a heart to beat with love. We have been given God in our souls and Christ in our flesh. We have the power to believe where others deny, to hope where others despair, to love where others hurt. This and so much more is sheer gift; it is not reward for our faithfulness, our generous disposition, or our heroic life of prayer. Even our fidelity is a gift. “If we but turn to God,” said St. Augustine, “that itself is a gift of God.” My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.”

I am pretty sure that we would take exception to some of the things Manning says in the book. I feel this way about most books I read. But I am also thankful that we can grow and be challenged by others even we do not agree with on everything. We do this quite often with the church fathers and reformers. This is a sign of spiritual maturity.

Manning, Brennan. The Ragamuffin Gospel Sisters, Or.: Multnomah, 2000. Print.

Pastor Matt

Photo- soup kitchen New South Wales

Breath of Wine, Breath of Locusts

Last Sunday we looked at Luke 7:28-35 where Jesus provides commentary on why so many in Jesus generation (especially of the Pharisees) had rejected him and John the Baptist.   John was a great prophet that was in Jail and questioning whether he had misunderstood whether Jesus was "the one."  It seemed clear before, but prison and a looming death sentence can try the faith of the best men. Jesus bends over in love to show him again, and even to honor him before the listening crowds.

Then Jesus replies with a parable. He says that his generation is like children that go the to market place (the place where you are supposed to play), and yet refuse to play no matter which game is suggested.  One kid suggests they play the wedding game with music and dancing. "look, I brought flute." "Nope." Another says, "Well why don't we play funeral? We can act sad and cry and sing those funeral songs." "Get lost."  

Why would Jesus tell this story? Because the pharisees and others claimed that they reason they didn't listen to Jesus or John was because of their methods.  "John is strange, he lives in the wilderness, eats bugs, and wears strange clothes. He is always talking about judgment. He must be crazy, demon possessed. Jesus is always hanging out with the wrong people. John was an ascetic, but Jesus is a festival man. And he goes to the wrong parties. He must be a drunk himself. No self control. Junkie."  That is what they said. "We aren't listening to these guys and repenting because of the way they do business." Jesus says: No, not really. You pretend to want to play, but in the end you aren't willing to sing or dance. The given reasons weren't the real reasons.

One of the takeaways for me, is that this passage shows the diversity of methods and ministries God will use. These men had different methods, but a similar message. They called people back to God in repentance.  John did it as an Old Testament prophet.  He lived a life of self denial. He wore strange clothes, ate grass hoppers and never drank wine or strong drink. Jesus did it as the messiah, the savior himself.  Jesus did it with a full plate and a full glass of wine. He called the worst kind of people to the best thing of all: Forgiveness and Fellowship with God.  And he did it in a way that depicted the very message he preached.  

You can listen to the message here.

Photo used by permission Stefanlend. Some rights reserved 

Abortion and Lies

Sunday I preached on abortion for Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. We have done this since we planted the church. Each year we try to look from a different angle at the issue to provide Biblical truth and also cultural insight.  This is always done with the perspective of the gospel in mind. The deep change that we need to recover from the wounds of abortion and be reconciled to God can come only through the message of His grace in Jesus Christ.

This year we looked at some of the great lies that abortion culture is built on.

Below is one of the stories I quoted in the message that you can listen to here.   You can (and should) read more about the long list of abortion providers that gave up their work after seeing what it was really all about. This comes from the Human Life Review.

"At least one clinic worker, nurse Brenda Pratt Shafer, turned against abortion almost immediately after witnessing a partial-birth abortion. (This is also called a “D&X” abortion for “dilation and extraction.”) Shafer, who was “very pro-choice” at the time, accepted a temporary agency’s assignment to Dr. Martin Haskell’s abortion clinic in Dayton, Ohio, in 1993. On her third day at the clinic, she observed the D&X abortion of a Down Syndrome baby in the sixth month of gestation. She saw Haskell deliver most of the little boy’s body, keeping only his head inside the womb:

The baby’s little fingers were clasping and unclasping, and his little feet were kicking. Then the doctor stuck the [surgical] scissors in the back of his head, and the baby’s arms jerked out . . .

The doctor opened up the scissors, stuck a high-powered suction tube into the opening, and sucked the baby’s brains out. Now the baby went completely limp. I was really completely unprepared for what I was seeing. I almost threw up as I watched Dr. Haskell doing these things. . . .

The woman wanted to see her baby, so they cleaned up the baby and put it in a blanket and handed it to her. She cried the whole time. She kept saying, “I am so sorry, please forgive me.” I was crying, too. I couldn’t take it."

After my message, one of the ladies at church came up to me and asked, with incredulity, "how could anyone who knows that this happens still support abortion?" And the answer is that most people don't know what really happens. I have done outreach on college campuses and discussed this. Most students don't understand what is going on. The evil and moral corruption of abortion can only survive when it is shrouded by deceit and darkness.  Advocates of abortion cannot speak about the dignity and life of the child. The discussion is shrouded in medical and political euphemisms.  And the sad thing is that these lies don't only take the lives of children, they harm women as well. Indeed a great many women go along with abortion because they are lied to.  You can listen to the whole message here. 

Photo used by permission Ged Carroll. Some rights reserved.

Unanswered Prayer

A great question came up on Sunday as we did an extended time of answering questions on prayer.  The first message on prayer can be found here. That message was an argument for spending more time with God in prayer in the New Year. We had so many great questions on that first Sunday that we decided to take the next Sunday to answer them. You can find the second session audio here.

The question that came up is this: What do you do when you don’t believe that God is going to answer your prayer? And some of this has to do with coming to grips that God may not, and at times probably won’t answer your prayer the way you are asking.   This is a tough question and one that goes to the root of our faith and view of God. It is NOT simply an academic exercise. It involves times where we are praying for legitimate things—like the life of loved ones—and he does not answer our prayers…. At least the way we asked.

The main text we looked at on Sunday was from Matthew 7:7-11 (ESV)

“7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

I believe this passage provides one of the best frameworks for understanding the heart of God in prayer:  that of a generous and loving parent. This perspective says that we should come to God with confidence because he is far more generous and good than the best human parent. And most parents I know LOVE to give their children good gifts. There is little that is more satisfying than seeing your children enjoy and delight in the gifts you give them. This is why Jesus can promise that everyone that asks receives, everyone that seeks finds, and everyone that knocks will have the door open to them. This promise is certainly expansive. But it is not a blank check for us to demand anything our heart desires. I found this out as a teenager when my prayers for a jet pack were not answered. Ridiculous, isn’t it. Almost as ridiculous as some of the things we pray for as adults.

Jesus’ illustration helps us to come to God with confidence, but it also explains why so often God does not immediately answer our prayers. He said it would be unthinkable for a father to give his son a snake when he asks for a fish. True. The reverse is also true. If his son asks for a snake, either knowingly or unknowingly, his father is not going to march down to Rattlesnake Depot to get junior a new pet. It would be BAD for the child.

Sometimes we ask for things that are bad for us. Or it may be that we are asking for something too soon. We are not yet ready to handle it. Last week a 2 year old at Walmart in Idaho got ahold of the gun in his mother’s purse and killed her.  If we are honest, there are times when we have asked God for a loaded gun, and he graciously said NO.  Or maybe he said, “not yet.” Maybe that gift comes 15 years later when you are ready for it.

But what about the times when we aren’t asking for a gun or a rattlesnake? What about the times when we are asking for something good? Like the healing of a child or spouse? What about the times when God doesn’t answer those requests? What about the fear that we have when we come to him in those situations?

This is where we must bow low and appreciate both his gracious heart and his wise plan. His ways are not our ways. And there are times when parents decide not to give their children even good things for reasons the child may not understand. But isn’t it funny how time, experience, and maturity changes our perspective? There are plenty of times I shook my fist at my parents for telling me “NO.” As a teenager those denials felt like tyranny. Now they make perfect sense.  The fact that my dad said “no,” or “wait” are evidence that he was a good father and that he loved me.  And I am actually better off because of what he did. 

Recently my own son was going to take some Motrin for a headache. He asked me how often he could take the medicine. I have a background in healthcare. I definitely know the answer. But he was holding the bottle in his hand, and so I did not tell him the answer. I told him to read the label for himself. At that moment there was a chance for my son to overcome a streak of laziness and learn how to find important information on his own. He may have rolled his eyes at me, but I didn’t give in.

God has a great heart for us. He delights to answer our prayers. He is also a wise parent and his plan for us is sometimes far different, and far more glorious than our plan for us.   What we need to believe is that our God--the one that framed the galaxies--knows more and better than we do.  He has a plan that includes many joys, but also includes many difficulties. Those parts of his plan are not an accident. They are just as much a part of his gracious heart as the times of ease and plenty. Good doctors frequently put their patients through pain in order to help them heal.

He is also a wise parent and his plan for us is sometimes far different, and far more glorious than our plan for us.

And this is where we ought to remember that prayer is NOT just about changing our circumstances. Sometimes it is about changing us. Sometimes it is about seeking God for grace and strength to love and trust him through the difficult parts of his life.  God’s people must learn to pray, “Nevertheless, thy will be done.” (Matt 26:42, 2 Cor. 12:7-9)

Photo used with permission Nathan Gibbs. Some rights reserved