Christ's Power to Save to the Uttermost

"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who    is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;  who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. (Hebrews 7:25-27 NKJV)" 

I have often thanked God for saving me from the sin that separated me from Him. Sin that would have consumed my life if I had no Savior. Sin that results in death, eternal death. Yes, I and many who know our Lord Jesus cannot thank God enough for saving us from sin through His Son Jesus Christ.

As we reflect on salvation in Christ, let us take an even closer look at what it means to be saved out of our sin. We have come to understand what it means...at least in part...but have we come to understand what power has now been granted to those who have received His Spirit as a result of that salvation? For those who have received Christ's sure promise of the Spirit of Truth, our ever-present indwelling Helper...there is even more to understand about what it means to have been saved out of our sin.

Much of my life, I have thanked God for saving me from my PAST sin.  Many of God's children have come to that point of worthy gratitude, for we once stood in our past sin without the curse being removed...a place separated from God. We are right to thank and praise Him for saving us from those specific past sins. But as we grow in knowledge and depth of insight into God's Word, we learn that not only have we been saved from past, specific sins, but that we are saved from SIN, that is the sinful nature that once ruled our bodies. We come to understand that on our best day, where we did far more good than bad, that at the end of that day, we were still sinful because the sin nature of Adam had been transmitted to us upon birth, for we are descended from Adam. We come to realize that as a human born after the fall of man, a disease is now carried by the entire human species that takes life away from every one who was otherwise created in the image of a holy God...and Christ's finished work on the cross has now provided the one and only way to be cured from that disease we know as sin. We come to know that the specific sins that our consciences were so preoccupied with (a blessed conviction) are the symptoms of the much deeper disease. Treating the symptom may make the patient feel better for a time, but if the patient is to live...and not just live but have life to the full!...he must be completely healed of the disease. We come to realize that even when the sinful symptoms have been suppressed, that the disease of our sin nature remained. The proof of this is the very next day when we once again sinned in a specific manner...demonstrating the symptoms once again of this dreadful and cursed disease.

This is a turning point for any Christ follower--the recognition that Christ has not only come to take away our bad records and blemishes, our sins of the past, but He has won the victory of destroying our very sinful nature and the Evil behind it. For every 1 pharmaceutical medication that cures a disease, there are probably tens or hundreds that treat disease, proof that a disease is much harder to cure than to simply treat. Is the same not true of our sin?!  Oh how we strive to treat our sin! But our Father has administered the cure. How many times have we focused our finite human strength on conquering a specific sin or sinful habit? Only to find ourselves soon struggling with sin in another area, or even repeating sins that we thought we once conquered? Have you not experienced this yourself? I suspect that any measure of introspection will lead to this discovery for the regenerated in Christ. Why is it not enough? Why do we continue to fight sin? Because we have tried to conquer in our strength instead of the strength granted by our Lord through His ever-present Spirit. Because in those times when we have worked in our strength to conquer a specific sin, we have been lured into treating a symptom instead of curing the root of the disease. The Evil One is content to tempt and plague the child of God with the next available sin. He is not overwhelmed by us, walking in our strength alone, sending all of our troops and forces, so to speak, to fight one division of His army of temptation...for it gives Him an open attack on the unguarded areas. Hear this vital truth of the spiritual battle: The Holy Spirit has been sent to be enough. The Holy Spirit is not a scarce resource. The Holy Spirit never makes a decision to send some of His energy to fight one battle at the expense of another--our God is infinite! When we invite our Lord to be our everything, only then do we have the ability to conquer our enemy at the root, and to conquer the sin nature that so tenaciously tries to cling to our flesh. We require a Savior who can save to the uttermost, to the core. We require a Savior who does not simply clean us off every time we sin, His power limited to things we've done in the past...a perpetual eraser. Perhaps you and I have thought of our Lord Jesus as such. No, our Lord has the power to save us from the very disease of sin, and from the Evil One. 

Back to the question: Why do we continue to fight sin? If I sinned today, why have my efforts not yielded a total conquering of the sin nature such that the specific sins have ceased? One reason: I am not fully yielded to the Spirit of The Lord, I am not yet fully crucified and identified with Christ. Oh to be fully yielded to the Spirit of Truth, in whom there is only righteousness and no deceit! Oh to be walking in the Spirit, truly praying without ceasing! Oh to love our Lord such that we had only the desire to obey His commands and worship Him! Oh to be fully surrendered to the cross of Christ, such that our entire self identity has died a gruesome death, leaving behind only an identity in Christ! That day is coming for all who have received the Promised One, being sealed for the day of salvation. That day is coming. But if just now you have sinned, let that spur you onward to seek The Lord all the more. To proclaim once again that you are His and His alone. That you are chosen and accepted, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, once a slave to sin, now a slave to righteousness (Rom 6:16-18)! And therefore you have only 1 master and no other master can claim you: you are Christ's. Though you and your Savior be besieged by Evil, though the battle grows fierce, though you suffer harm and feelings of shame--you cannot be separated from Christ! Our Kingdom stands! The battle is won! "Though the righteous falls seven times, they rise again" (Prov 24:16). This is the power of our Lord granted to those who have been saved by Christ. And not only that, we carry within us the Power not to sin, which is the only true measure of being saved from sin--that we would "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). If we do not hold that power to go and sin no more, than we have only partial salvation, only saved from sins past, but not from the nature of sin that would cause us to sin again. Oh, but we have Christ who does indeed save to the uttermost.

We have carried the Holy Spirit in us since we received Him willingly, yet we have sinned since then. Why? The self is not yet fully conquered, fully surrendered, fully crucified with Christ. And how gracious is our Lord to send us His Spirit to live in communion with us, though we are still not fully sanctified to Him?! If man had conceived of a plan of salvation, surely he would have determined that the Spirit of God could only be granted to those who were fully worthy of perfection. But who would ever qualify? Truthfully, we need God to meet that qualification. Perhaps man would have then decided that instead, upon receiving the Holy Spirit, that the temple must then never be defiled again. That either he no longer had the capacity to sin or if he did sin, he would lose the Spirit of God. We know by observation that the first assertion is not true, for we have retained the capacity to sin after receiving Christ! Even the Apostle Paul cries out in his distress over this truth (Rom 7:14-8:2). And the second assertion that the Spirit would remove Himself from any vessel not still perfect would leave us hopeless...and once again we see perhaps the best scriptural example in the Apostle Paul, for he surely retained the Spirit such that he was empowered to write scripture to tell on himself and his ongoing battle with the flesh.

No, man could not conceive of this plan of salvation on his own. This is a divine master plan. That our perfect God would willingly come to aid us, who are plagued with disease and not fully sanctified to Himself. That He would seal us with the promise of full sanctification and unity. And that He would provide us the power not to sin though granting us such an intimate union with the Spirit that He is said to live within us. Coming to a conclusion, regardless of specific theology regarding salvation and the Holy Spirit, for the sincere in repentance and crying out to God for salvation through Jesus Christ, there is an overwhelming and blessed implication: We have been saved from sin. Not just a sin or sins, but SIN. Not just our pasts, but our futures! Do not misunderstand this: This is not a license to willingly sin knowing that The Lord will, in the future, cleanse us of our future sins after they have been committed (he would still only be an eraser in that case)...this is the opposite...that He has empowered us not to sin, to go and sin no more. He has given us the assurance of being saved from ever sinning again...but He has done it in a way that allows us to reciprocate and be co-laborers with Him. He has not made us robots or forced us not to sin, but instead, through His Spirit, He has empowered us with the strength to defeat the full sinful nature that once reigned over our bodies and to defeat the Evil One altogether.

As Christ-followers, we have each received the full armor of God (Eph 6). We have received the power and divine tools to completely conquer the enemy. But too many of us have taken the armor God has given us and placed it neatly on display in our rooms. We admire it, we may kiss it goodnight and good morning, we may take pride in it and tell our friends so that they can admire it, but too many of us refuse to wield it. I encourage you as Paul did, to PUT ON your armor. It is yours, given to you by our Lord. This is what it means to have received the Power to never sin again AND to choose to use it.

He has empowered us, but we must embrace Him, taking up our cross daily. We must learn to fully surrender to Him. We must learn what it means to truly love Him. So as we give thanks to God for saving us out of sin, let us remember to thank Him for giving us access to the Power to go and sin no more and for saving us from the curse of sinful flesh to the very uttermost. And because of that blessed grace, nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ (Rom 8:35-38). Amen.

"Increase Our Faith" - India Sermon

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking my 4th and final sermon for this 4.5 month stint in India. The Lord has been teaching me a lot about faith and some new things as I prepped for this sermon. When my preparation began, the sermon was about Gideon...then Gideon became one of the illustrations but no longer the central focus...then he was removed altogether as the focus went elsewhere! Thus encapsulates my typical preparation process for any sermon in which I must choose the topic.

Below is the sermon draft, from which I deviated slightly as I spoke. I hope that in reading it the Lord may enrich and bless you:

Have you ever desired greater faith? Have you ever come to a point where you realized just how small your faith was? And you yearned for greater faith? I think that is a healthy realization, and the desire for greater faith is good...but a desire that can still be refined.

I just finished reading the biography of Oswald Chambers, author of “My Utmost for His Highest” and one of the great Christian leaders and writers of the past century. In reading his biography, my admiration for him grew even further. As I read through his biography over the past month or two, I thought to myself, “I wish I could have faith like that!” I see in Oswald Chambers, as well as many Christian leaders of yesterday and today, a faith that is so inviting and desirable. I see it in Abraham in the book of Genesis. Moses, David, and every person listed in Hebrews chapter 11. And as I study the lives of these men and women of great faith, there is something inside of me that cries, “Lord, increase my faith!”

I think that some of that desire for greater faith is good, but some of it may be falling short of what God would prefer for me to desire. The 12 disciples themselves asked this of Jesus, to increase their faith. So let’s turn to Luke 17 and examine closely Jesus' response to the request of His disciples to increase their faith.

Scripture: Luke 17:5-6

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

6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

 

The disciples and Jesus are having a conversation. In verses 1-4 that precede this request for more faith, Jesus has just commanded the disciples to do something truly hard: forgive. And not just once. But to forgive someone even if they continue to sin against you and ask for forgiveness. The disciples response is very interesting and probably similar to ours today: in order to obey such a difficult command the disciples ask for more faith. But Jesus gives an interesting reply to the disciples in this passage.

 

We might have expected him to show them how to increase their faith, or perhaps breathe greater faith into them. But instead of showing them how or miraculously granting greater faith, Jesus instead says “if you had faith as a mustard seed,” you could do mighty works. It was probably not the answer the disciples were hoping for, but it was exactly the answer that they, and we, need. In fact, Jesus’ answer was the perfect response, because it leads us as His disciples to understand the nature of faith, the nature of our God, and the nature of our relationship with Him.

1.       Power in Small Faith – v. 6

Jesus often referred to our faith as being like a mustard seed, and it was always an encouragement, for at least a couple reasons. The mustard seed was an example of one of the smallest of all seeds. Yet, when planted in fertile soil, it could grow into a large bush with mighty branches that even birds could nest in. What an encouragement that when we are convicted of being “ye of little faith,” that it is not a pronouncement of final condition. Instead, it is a declaration of our current status—having little faith—but like the mustard seed, a faith with great potential. We are meant to be growing toward our Lord Jesus, and He makes our tiniest faith into something great.

Though this is an encouragement to me, I do not believe that growing faith is what Jesus is referring to in verse 6 when he says, “if you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” I don’t believe that Jesus is saying that once your faith has grown into the mighty mustard branches, THEN your faith can produce great works. I believe He is saying that even now, when your faith is still as small as they eye can see, even NOW your faith has that power. This is a critically important answer from our Lord to His disciples asking for greater faith. It gets at the heart of who we are in relation to God and the proper perspective of our faith in Christ.

John Piper has these comments on this passage:

“God moves mulberry trees. And it does not depend decisively on the quantity of our faith, but on his power and wisdom and love. In knowing this we are helped not to worry about our faith and are inspired to trust God's free initiative and power.”

You see, the disciples were viewing great faith as being the gateway to great things. But Jesus was saying that we don’t need increased faith...we need to understand that our tiny faith is enough because of Him.

To illustrate the roles of our faith and God’s faithfulness, and the importance of each, let us examine the mathematical concept of infinity. The concept of infinity refers to something without limit, a number so large that it is beyond counting. It is endless. In mathematics any positive number multiplied by infinity equals infinity. Infinity times 1 equals infinity. Infinity times 100 equals infinity. Soon we discover that the number being multiplied by infinity matters much less than infinity itself. This is what Jesus is getting at when He says that “if you had the faith of a mustard seed” you could do amazing and miraculous things! He is saying that whether your faith is 1 or 100, it is the power of God that makes it miraculous.

Do you ever catch yourself having these thoughts?: "If only I had greater faith, I could do this, or God would do that." But our focus has become our own personal faith. If our focus is on the size of our faith, our focus is off Christ. We are to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

We must realize that our faith by itself causes nothing to happen. We cannot say to God in our faith, “Look, I have the faith of a mustard seed,” or “Look, I have greater faith than even that, and because of my faith you MUST do this.” No, no, no. Instead, God chooses to allow us to take part in His purposes. God CHOOSES to work through our faith. Our faith without God choosing to use it, would be powerless. But instead, God—the one who is faithful—has promised to honor our faith and work through it to glorify Himself and accomplish His purposes.

I would like to share with you a story from my childhood. When I was a boy, about 5 years old, I would go with my father and grandfather into the forest to make a load of firewood. In the northern U.S. many homes are heated by burning firewood in a furnace. I would go with them because I liked to be outdoors, because it was an adventure to go into the forest with them and see new birds, deer, and other animals. I would go because I actually enjoyed the work of my hands and arms and legs in laboring to produce a truckload of firewood. But these were all secondary. I went mostly just to be with my father and grandfather. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from these times. My father and grandfather were skilled and hardworking. They would cut and split every piece of wood into small enough pieces to handle, then they would load them into the truck, and finally after transporting the load, they would unload it at our destination. I helped them with each of these...but how much help can a 5 year old boy be? The truth is that they did 99% of the work, but I was quite happy to do my 1%, and so were they. My father would tell me at the end of the day how much he appreciated my work and that he couldn’t have done it without me. It was always “WE” split a load of firewood. My father and grandfather did not NEED me to help. But they WANTED me to help. It have them joy and it gave me joy, too.

I believe our faith journeys with the Lord and in doing His works on this earth are very similar to my childhood experience of helping my father and grandfather cut firewood. God does not NEED us to help Him do anything. Our faith is not the source of His miraculous works. But we are blessed to be called God’s children! And because of that He absolutely desires for us to join Him. Yes, to do the work…but as with me and my father and grandfather, the work was quite secondary. Just being in each other’s presence was the main purpose. And so, how gracious is our Lord, and loving! That He allows us and our faith to take part in His mighty works. God does the 99% and is capable of doing all 100%, but He allows us to come beside Him like His 5-year old child and contribute our 1% with our mustard seed-sized faith.

Do your mustard-seed’s worth. Do it to your uttermost! But never forget that the power is of God and not of us. Not the size of our faith, but the size of our God is what creates mighty works.

2.       Seeking Christ Above All

I mentioned earlier that if our focus is on our faith, it is off Christ. It is simple to say, but just like the disciples in Luke 17, we ourselves will be tempted to have our focus migrate toward ourselves and the size of our faith. As we have just studied, Jesus corrects the disciples understanding of faith and how God chooses to work though it. But Jesus also addresses the root desire at the heart of our request for more faith, revealing the vanity of seeking our own greater faith and instead the supremacy of seeking Christ. And although asking for faith, or love, or peace, or joy, or successful ministry, or any number of things may be good things to ask of God, there is one greater thing to desire: simply Christ Himself. The disciples’ response to having to do a hard thing to obey God was “we need more faith.” If I had more faith, I could obey...if I had more faith I could do this or that...If I had more faith I could walk more closely to the Lord. But they had it backwards. What produces faith in a child of God is nearness and knowing Christ. To know the Lord more intimately—that is the only legitimate pursuit that leads to greater faith!

Let me be clear: Hebrews 11:6 reveals that "without faith it is impossible to please God." But that faith was never meant to be pursued as a means to our own ends, but instead as the fruit of pursuing and knowing Christ. The disciples had let the pursuit of faith replace Jesus as the central object of their desire. In this moment, they were seeing greater faith as the gateway to obedience to God and doing great things. And although they desired a good thing, the insatiable desire for more, more, more of anything except Christ alone had revealed a spiritual lust within them.

Oswald Chambers: “Lust means “I must have it at once.” Spiritual lust causes me to demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Himself who gives the answer.”

I will admit that when I’m reading about Oswald Chambers, or Abraham, or many great examples of faith, I want to have that kind of faith right now! And the desire to have a closer walk with the Lord that produces such faith is pure, but the part that “must have it at once,” is rooted in lust. Spiritual lust. We must guard against such spiritual lust, or spiritual discontent. And the greatest guard is turning our focus of off good things like faith, and onto the greater thing, which is Christ Himself. This is a subtle difference, but central to pursuing Christ.  I am NOT saying that we must make a choice: either faith or Christ. That is nonsense. What I am saying is that if we pursue faith or any other thing, however good, as our chief desire, we will miss Christ. But if we pursue Christ as our chief desire, we will be given faith that moves mountains.

There is a story of a king with three sons, triplets. Under the law of the land, each had equal right to the throne. When the three sons had grown, the king gave each of them three options to prove himself worthy of the throne. To each he said: “Choose one of the following: Spend a month learning the art of war from our master general, spend a month learning every law of the land and the entire legal process from our chief law makers, or spend a month at my side.” The first son answered, “I shall spend a month learning the art of war from our master general, for surely of utmost importance to any kingdom is the ability to defend and conquer.” The second son answered, “I shall spend a month learning every law of the land and the entire legal system from our chief law makers, for surely of utmost importance to any kingdom is the ability to govern and rule the people according to law.” But the third son answered, “I shall spend a month at your side every moment, for surely of utmost importance to understanding a kingdom is knowing its king.” The third son had chosen wisely and was selected as the next rightful king. In knowing the king, he came to know the art of war. In knowing the king, he came to know the law and how to govern the people. In knowing the king, he came to know much deeper and greater things than even these.

I believe that we are in similar positions. (Not as successors to a king, for our King rules and reigns forever. Yet, the Bible does call us heirs of the Kingdom. Co-heirs with Christ.) When our chief desire is to have greater faith, we aim for a good thing, but not the best. Just like the first and second sons who aimed at a specific portion of kingship, but missed the greater thing of knowing and understanding their king. Let us be like the third son, who chose simply to pursue and know his king. Jesus instructed, “Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all of these will be added to you as well” (Matt 6:33). As we seek Christ first and above all, we will find that great faith will be added to us as well.

It is not as though we should not pursue faith, or hope, or love, or any number of great Christ-filled attributes. It is simply to beware that the flesh wars against the Spirit, and because of this, we are tempted to pursue what is good, such as faith, in place of what is best, which is Christ.  We are tempted to replace the central thing—Christ—with the things that exist only because of Him.

By responding to the disciples’ desire for greater faith in this manner, Jesus is leading them in the only path of righteous faith: Pursing and knowing Christ ever more intimately.

Conclusion

Let us as Jesus’ disciples today hear Him. Let us read Luke 17:5-6 and the accounts of so many faith filled Christ followers, and remember Jesus response to the desire for greater faith:

- Remove our focus from the size of our faith and onto Jesus Christ, our infinite God.

- And never let what is good and exists because of Christ replace the only Way, Truth, and Life. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Each of us will likely soon feel that desire for greater faith, or greater joy, or greater love, or greater ministry. But the next time we feel the desire for any fruit of the Holy Spirit, let us resolve to pursue one thing alone: let us choose to get to know our King. He is a good King. And He has invited you to be at his side today and forever. I pray that you accept His invitation. Amen.

Interpreting a Dream

During the holidays, I have had the joy of getting to know our college-aged girls a little better. In addition to discovering their senses of humor and talents for singing, cooking, or others, I have been blessed to have some good conversations. During this time, these girls have really become little sisters to me.

One of our girls told me of the dream she had the night before. I will attempt to relay her description as accurately as possible: God had descended and clothed everyone He chose in pink. I thought that was a little humorous, but then I remembered that her favorite color is pink. She looked around her and didn’t know anyone else clothed in pink. Then God and his angel went back into heaven and left everyone in pink here.

A pretty simple dream. But her questions to me about the dream I believe were the exact questions the Lord was leading her to ask. She first said, “Why did He choose me?” She had some difficulty expressing it, but eventually articulated how special she felt for being one clothed in pink and chosen by God. Her next question was, “..and why did He leave me here?” I nodded, then smiled, knowing that I once asked the same question in a very different circumstance. Then I told her as much.

I asked her, “You remember my testimony, right?” She replied, “Oh yes. Your testimony taught me very much.” I then recounted to her that at my lowest point of greatest pain, I asked God with all sincerity to let me die and enter the rest of Heaven. But He said, “no.” What He revealed to me in that time, which struck me more sharply than all the pain I was in, was that He only left me here because He had purpose that remained for my life on earth. And the day, the moment, that my purpose has been fulfilled, I will immediately enter His presence in Heaven. Therefore, every day that I wake up once again, every breath that I draw, has God’s divine purpose behind it. I assured her that we had the same question…and the same answer: purpose.

She repeated a single word to me: “Purpose,” as her demeanor and expression changed into a fascinating combination of resignation, contentment, and deep satisfaction. She smiled. Then we were interrupted (a continual occurance in India, perhaps the subject of another post). The conversation was over.

A simple dream. From the Lord? I believe so. And perhaps He has used me to help to partially interpret her dream, such that she never forgets that God has purpose for her life. Every day. Every breath. And the great news is that the same is true for you and me. I pray that you have that same assurance of purpose this very day. May the Lord turn your countenance into contentment and deep satisfaction, just as He did for my little Indian sister. Amen.

Finishing Christmas in India

Phil 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Well, my Christmas week this year is one of the most unique I have experienced. After all, this is my first Christmas outside the US!

I had the privilege of preaching in church on Christmas morning. I realized that although I don’t preach much in the U.S., I get the opportunity often in India, and this year I preached both on my birthday and Jesus’ observed birthday. Pretty cool. The topic was “Missing Jesus,” and it went as well as I could have hoped, given the minimal amount of time I was able to prep.

But the best part of my Christmas was spending several days away from the city and very near to our oldest girls’ home. Sitting on top of the guest house in the cool mornings or evening, taking in the peaceful scenery or crystal clear night sky, getting ample rest and peace and quiet…to quote the Christmas carol: these are a few of my favorite things. And on the evening of Christmas, as well as the days that followed, the Lord blessed me abundantly with quality time with our girls.

For 3 days, I was 2 things: older brother and teacher. On Christmas day, I gifted our girls a world globe and told them about when I was growing up and I had a globe. I would close my eyes and spin the globe as fast as I could, then plunge my finger down onto the surface, abruptly stopping the speeding globe, often pointing to some fanciful, exotic place that I had never known existed nor ever hoped to see. Sometimes my finger would stop on India. As I recalled that portion, they gave out an “ooo” of delight, which I had not expected. I told them that I had wondered what India was like and decided that I would never go there. Wrong!

Finally, I told them that a person never knows where God might send them. Then they each took turns spinning the globe, eyes closed, and “discovering” where the Lord might take them.  Russia, Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, many African countries, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada were of those that were “discovered” with curiosity and delight.  And even a couple of girls landed on the U.S., bringing the biggest smiles and exclamations. It was a wonderful time.

The rest of the week, in addition to playing many games, I tutored our 5^th-12^th graders in the subjects of algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics, general science, and English. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more. Below is a picture of the board at the end of the physics session. Nerd alert: I must say that to my eyes, there is a certain beauty in meaningful equations and theorems written on a chalkboard!

 

Finally, on my last evening with them before having to travel back into the city, we were down to our final hour together. I told them, “We have one hour. What would you like to do?” To my surprise, “message” was the popular response. They wanted me to preach? (You should know that this wasn’t because my sermon on Christmas was particularly powerful or special. I rated it a C minus.) Many thoughts ran through my mind. How many teenagers would you expect to ask to be preached to if they only had 1 hour with a person who is not a preacher?  It soothes my heart to see how hungry our girls are for the Word of God and how readily they receive it.

Well, if you know me, you know that if anyone voices a desire for Biblical teaching, I can’t help but at least try. So I thought for about 30 seconds and realized this was very similar to our littlest girls asking for a Bible “story” unexpectedly a few weeks ago. So I decided to go with Gideon again. Except this time, we could dive into it a little heartier than just story telling.

The easiest way to preach in the whole world, in my opinion, is a scripted sermon through an interpreter. While they are interpreting, you can read your next line, look up, and deliver every word that you have chosen exactly. It’s virtually unnoticeable. But easiest doesn’t mean best.  Now, I took several hours to prepare for the Christmas sermon (though much less than normal). I wrote every line prior to speaking (well, most of the lines). And on this night in our girls’ home, I took 30 seconds to prepare and went completely off the cuff…and it was better by leaps and bounds than my Christmas sermon. Sure, with a few hours of prep it could be polished and improved, cross-referenced and summarized with punch, word-smithed and flow established.  But the Lord reinforced something in me through that experience. He is enough. His Spirit is present. He is ever faithful. He is the Teacher.

I don’t know if I’ll go scripted or go extemporaneous in my next sermon in India. Both have been blessed by the Lord at different times, and I’ve struggled with both at different times. But I do know that whatever the approach, it is God who makes the sermon powerful. It is also comforting to know that there is at least one sermon that I can go to “in season and out of season,” (expected or unexpectedly): Gideon. I must thank my Sunday School teacher and classmates back in the U.S. for allowing God to use them to burn the application of Gideon’s life into my brain in such a way.

Finally, since I’m on the topic of preaching. I am often asked in the days leading up to a day that I am preaching, “Have you finished your sermon?” My response has come from experience, “It’s never finished.” What I mean by that is that even when I think it’s finished, the Lord never ceases to change it. Every day and especially the night before, it changes. In fact, it also always changes somewhere between standing up to approach the pulpit and the words leaving my mouth! I thank the Lord for that. I think being a little “out of control” ensures that the Holy Spirit is still taking the control. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t for lack of trying to get it all done and perfect beforehand! But thoughts enter my mind while delivering the sermon that illuminate points that I hadn’t even thought of before. That is a lot of fun to experience, but also a little unnerving because I’m not always sure how it’s all going to tie back in together. And sometimes (I chuckle as a write) it does dead end and I have to reset back on track.

But the Lord hit me with a realization the other day, after being asked yet again if my sermon was finished. I started praying about that. And I had a revelation. I had told the person that the sermon is only finished when the last word is spoken, as we both chuckled. I meant it. But what a sad ending if that is where it ends! No, my prayer now is for an ever-unfinished sermon. A sermon that Lord continues to finish in the hearts and minds of the listeners as they walk through life that week, month, or even years. In fact, the sermons that have impacted me most…they still aren’t finished…as the Lord continues to use them in my life.

My personality type has a quest for conclusion. Finishing. Completing. Achieving. Marking off the list. And so I have always approached preaching in the same way. I search with my whole soul for the end of the sermon and have an almost restless inner stirring until it has been spoken. My prayer has often been for the Lord to help me finish it. Well, I now pray the same words, “Lord, help me finish this sermon,” but with an entirely different meaning.  I now look expectantly to give unfinished sermons. I pray that every sermon, teaching, and interaction I have with another human being remains unfinished…simply because God is still working in them through it.

And such is life with Christ. Ever being finished, never finished. Ever being sanctified, awaiting that glorious day when we enter our Lord’s perfect rest and completion in Heaven. Our Lord Jesus cried out on the cross before His last breath, “It is finished.” What a glorious declaration! And as Jesus has completed His redeeming work on the cross, as He completes every work He begins (Phil 1:6). I want to encourage you today to know that in the bounds of time, you and I may not yet be finished, but in the timeless existence of our Lord, He is proclaiming over you, “It is finished.” May we walk in such assurance and liberty with our Savior. Amen.

Spilling Over

In my last post, I alluded to another experience from last week that was especially enjoyable for a chemical-engineer-by-training and teacher-at-heart. I am pleased to have the opportunity to share today:

Recently, we were having a Christmas party with our youngest girls. While all sitting down to enjoy our dinner together for this special occasion, one of our littlest spilled her drink right in front of me. Very quickly, I reached over and threw some napkins on top, so as to minimize the devastation (30 little children tracking around sticky soda can be devastation!). For adults, this is a very routine event; however, for these children it was a perfect teaching opportunity.

As the top napkin began to slowly become wet, starting from the center outwards, I heard several of our girls start to gasp and say "Will dada, look!" A few things raced through my mind that may be right in front of me. To my comfort and surprise, it was simply the napkin displaying the principle of wicking. A site that many of our girls were studing with wonder.

For those who know me, you can already guess that this "routine spill" became an instant classroom. I took the opportunity to tell one of our 11-year-olds about the principle of wicking. How tiny spaces inbetween paper particles became like little straws that drew the water along. Part two of the lesson was taking what we could see with our eyes in the napkin and applying it to what is more difficult to see in trees and their roots. I explained to her that trees soak up water from the soil because of the same principle. We talked about capilaries, wicking, and how important it is for the tree to live.

When I get into a conversation like that, even with an adult, at some point I always realize that I have gone into a little bit more detail than they would ever care to hear in their entire lives. So even with this little one, I wondered how much she herself was soaking up and retaining. Her expressions were very matter of fact, so I could not tell.

But when she turned to one of her sisters and began explaining point by point, detail by detail, what was happening, and then explained how trees work the same way, I was thrilled! The greatest test to see if you have learned something is to try to explain it to someone else. The response from the other little girl was quite commical, and one that I have received myself countless times when trying to explain a scientific or engineering concept to someone who has other priorities at the time. The other girl looked at her and said, "I just need a napkin," as she held out her hand somewhat impatiently. I laughed out loud! What also made me laugh is that my scientist-in-training began to hold the napkin hostage and would only give her sister the napkin if she would listen to the entire explanation. At the end, she asked if her sister had understood. She said, "Yes, yes, ok. Will you give me a napkin now?" Yep, take heart little scientist-in-training and teacher-at-heart, you and I will have many of these experiences in our lives.

I loved this interaction more than because it was a successful teaching moment for me with one of our girls, but because it revealed quite a bit about my little scientist in training. I had known that science was her favorite subject, but now I know that she likely has been granted the gift of teaching (still in development, no doubt). I recognized her response of immediately seeking to share and explain what she has learned. And as I saw how important it was for her to not only fully explain but also be fulfilled by her "student" demonstrating an understanding, I realized how similar she and I really are, in that respect. Truly an endearing moment for me.

It all started with a spilled drink, a potential disaster. Before it was over, it was a precious moment. And one more thing brought it full circle for me. When I was about 8 years old, I remember sitting at the island in the kitchen of my childhood home when my father took a napkin and dipped the corner in a puddle of spilled water. To my delight the water began to move across the entire napkin quite magically. And that is the day my dad taught me about wicking and surface tension, something I would study in much, much greater detail over a decade later (sometimes painful detail!). In the moment this week when I realized that our girls were looking in that same amazement as I did as an 8-year-old boy, I myself was thrilled to propogate the learning experience.

Finally, the most sureal thought is this: Perhaps this little scientist in training will one day remember the day that Will dada taught her about wicking and trees as she teaches her little one the same thing. I know I am not this precious child's father, but what a privilege to see how our Father in Heaven has allowed me to be a part of His family, a son of the King sharing life with daughters of the King. I pray that she continues to learn, continues to teach, and most of all continues to love the Lord her God. I pray the same things for you and me. Amen.


P.S. Prayer request: I'll be preaching in church on Christmas morning, definitely a first for me. I've started asking for just three things when I preach: Simplicity, Clarity, Power. Please pray with me for these!