Desperate Measures (Luke 7:11-17)

This sermon was preached at Folsom Community Church on 1/29/12 by Tim Lewis.

Desperate Measures

Luke 7:11-17

Introduction

[Article: Brothers’ Bond Was Tight-In Life, Death, Sacramento Bee, January 28, 2012, A1]

[My first funeral in the Philippines at age 19. What a contrast with my limited experience with funerals growing up, but much closer to what we see in the Bible.]

One of the most useful ways I have found to understand the life of Jesus is to place myself in the shoes of the people who he met, and imagine what it must have been like. I wonder, “What must it have been like? What was I before I met Jesus? What was I after I met Jesus?”

1. Our Situation: Desperation 
2. Jesus’ Reaction: Compassion 
3. Our Response: Amazement 

Our Situation: Desperation (vs. 11-12)

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.  – Luke 7:11-12

In Chapter 7 of the book of Luke, Jesus is traveling from town to town around the portion of northern Israel called Galilee. He has just left Capernaum, one of the bigger cities and now, a few miles from Jesus’ home town of Nazareth, he arrived at the town of Nain. Nain was really not much more than a dot on the map and while the Bible says there was a “town gate” the town was so small that they wrote “Hello” and “Goodbye” on the same sign (just kidding).

The Bible says that Jesus was travelling with two groups: his “disciples” and a “large crowd”. Even this early in his ministry, he was the rabbi or teacher and he had full time students (or disciples). In the closest group of disciples, sort of his inner circle, were “The Rock” Peter and “The Thunder Brothers” James and John. The next nine rounded out his posse. They called themselves “The Twelve” and included the ex-tax collector Matthew, the other type of thief Judas, the twin Thomas and a member of a violent para-military group, Simon. Around these, there were perhaps as many as seventy others who joined Jesus at various points in his travels, including Mary, Mary, and Mary (they didn’t have a lot of creativity in naming girls back then).

Jesus attracted a lot of attention. Everywhere he went, large groups of people tried to get a glimpse of what he was doing, because he had a reputation for miracles (like the healing of a sick servant earlier in this same chapter) and a reputation for smart, authoritative and even radical teaching (like his sermon in chapter 6). He healed and he taught and more and more people kept coming to see this miracle man. Sometimes they even forgot to eat. Sometimes they wanted to make him king. Sometimes they ripped open the roof to get a look at him. Wherever, however, they came to see Jesus.

And this loud, noisy, happy crowd arrives in Nain just in time to confront another large crowd—but this crowd is full of wailing and sadness. Carried upon the shoulders of friends, a plank of wood, a dead young man being carried to a tomb. Young, obviously popular, loved, needed. As a widow, his mother now had no one to support her. The death of her son was the death of hope. It was like a curse. Bad luck. In another place in the Bible, Naomi, who also lost both husband and son, said: “The Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty.” (Ruth 1:20b-21a)

Sometimes life is like that.

Jesus’ Reaction: Compassion (vs. 13-15)

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.  – Luke 7:13-15

Verse 13 says, “when the Lord saw her” The two crowds collide, the happy and the sad, the hopeful with the disappointed, the widow and the Messiah, the kingdom of God and the terrible kingdom of death and despair. And suddenly Jesus and the widow are face-to-face.

Do we see those who are hurting? Or do we rush by them, afraid that they will spoil our good mood? [Veteran by the road in Beaverton] Sometimes we harden our heart; maybe we feel drained; maybe we console ourselves with “someone else will take care of it”; maybe [fill in the blank with your excuse] and we push down on the gas pedal so we don’t have to look them in the eye.

But Jesus saw her and, in that instance, he took in her situation and “his heart went out to her” Another translation says he was “moved with compassion” God is not dispassionate. He is not aloof. His heart is also moved by the pain and suffering and trouble and conflict in our lives. God’s heart is moved, because this is not the way it is supposed to be.

God’s compassion for our broken situation always moves him to action. He saw, he was moved, he spoke and he moved. Jesus’ compassion always moves (not just moved!) him to action that transforms. Look at what the Bible says:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. – Romans 8:28 (NLT)

My failures. My pain. My addictions. My relationships. My mistakes. All of them will, somehow, be transformed by God into the good. Let me state this another way: If you love God and trust him, nothing can keep you from the good. [Illustration: The Simarilion, creation & music; Illustration: virus code]  Why does God transform the terrible things that happen to us into something good? For the same reason he reached out to a widow and her son—because of his great compassion—his great love--for us. We are his children….

How does God do it? How does his compassion transform evil circumstances into good outcomes? I don’t know. He is God and has more resources and ingenuity and insight than I can even begin to comprehend. But here are four patterns that I have found in Scripture. There may be more, but here are four.

1. God transforms how we respond. One of the ways that God’s compassion transforms the bad into good is by changing you.  Remember when we talked about the fruit of the spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience? What if God changed you so that, when people in your life were unlovable, you were able to respond with love? Or if the situation was depressing, you could respond with joy. Or when the world is going crazy, peace. Or when frustrating, patience. So God changes the situation by changing you-making you stronger. 
2. God works with us to transform your world. Another way that God’s compassion transforms the bad is by using you to change it.  “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)
3. God takes you. “David served God’s purpose in his own generation, then he died and was buried with his ancestors.;…” – Acts 13:36 (CEB)
4. God takes away the evil. Just like Jesus did for this widow. He stretched out his hand, and touched the bier where the dead body was being carried. The men carrying it stopped. And her son sat up and started talking. And Jesus gave the mother back her son.

Our Reaction: Amazement (vs. 16-17)

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”  This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. – Luke 7:16-17

1. God did something only God could do. Literally they were overcome by fear, but it wasn’t the type of fear that cripples you, it was the kind of fear that comes from realizing that you are were there on holy ground when God stepped in and did a God thing. They recognized that. When God acts in a way that you didn’t, you didn’t cause and you didn’t deserve--when you see that triple-play combo-- you are on holy ground, in the presence of a living and active God.
2. God doubled the number of happy people.  There was one happy crowd and one sad crowd before. Now there is one bigger happy crowd. When you recognize that God has been active with you, don’t try to explain it away. Don’t let it slip by. Celebrate it. Some miracles take only a moment, but other miracles are years in the making.  You want to dance, you want to shout, you want to clap, you want to sing, then you are in good company with these people of Nain, who have watched their tears turned to joy.
3. God got the credit. It went to God. Notice that they said: We didn’t start hearing how the boy and his mother went on talk radio and appeared on Dr. Phil or Oprah. It was “A great prophet has appeared…” and “God has come…” The credit goes only to God. Many of the other miracles talked about the “faith” of the people. But Jesus didn’t even wait for this woman’s faith. He saw, he felt, he spoke and he acted. It was pure grace.
4. God motivated righteous gossip. Life will never be the same for anyone who was there. Pretty soon they were texting all of their friends (texting in those days was usually done with paper, or by courier) and from the little town of Nain, everyone found out about Jesus. What happens in Folsom better not stay in Folsom! God’s reputation is enhanced when God works and his people rebroadcast that. “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Conclusion

There is no better example of the transforming power of God’s compassion than in the life of Jesus.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him should not die but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Whatever our situation: financial meltdown, relationship fractures, failing health, disappointment with ourselves, God sees. And his response was to send Jesus.

Have you invited God to transform the most difficult situations in your life?

Maybe you’re in one of those situations right now. Or maybe you still have the hurt or shame from something that happened in the past. God sees you. Will you trust him? The transformation process is often not comfortable, but it is worth it. Maybe you need to pray, “God, I am hurting. I don’t know why it is happening. But I want you to come in and take over and transform this into something good. Just like you did for Jesus and the cross. In Jesus name, amen.”

Have you signed up to help transform the world around you?

In your neighborhood? You are in the middle, who is across the street, who is behind you, who is on the floor above? In your job, who is in the next cubicle? In you school, who is in the seat in front of you, to your left? That is the place that God has placed you to join him in transforming the evil in this world into good outcomes.

When God does something amazing, will your talk about it?

Maybe God has worked miracles in your life, but you have been quiet about it, or haven't even been thankful to him.

In his book The Pressure's Off, psychologist Larry Crabb uses a story from his childhood to illustrate our need to delight in God through adversity:

One Saturday afternoon, I decided I was a big boy and could use the bathroom without anyone's help. So I climbed the stairs, closed and locked the door behind me, and for the next few minutes felt very self-sufficient.

Then it was time to leave. I couldn't unlock the door. I tried with every ounce of my three-year-old strength, but I couldn't do it. I panicked. I felt again like a very little boy as the thought went through my head, "I might spend the rest of my life in this bathroom."

My parents—and likely the neighbors—heard my desperate scream.

"Are you okay?" Mother shouted through the door she couldn't open from the outside. "Did you fall? Have you hit your head?"

"I can't unlock the door!" I yelled. "Get me out of here!"

I wasn't aware of it right then, but Dad raced down the stairs, ran to the garage to find the ladder, hauled it off the hooks, and leaned it against the side of the house just beneath the bedroom window. With adult strength, he pried it open, then climbed into my prison, walked past me, and with that same strength, turned the lock and opened the door.

 "Thanks, Dad," I said—and ran out to play. – Larry Crabb, The Pressure's Off (WaterBrook Press, 2002); pp. 222-223;

Sometimes we are like that with God. We are in a tight spot and God answers, we run out to play. We’ve forgotten to give credit to God, we’ve forgotten God, and God wonders “do they even like me, or are they just after the stuff—are they just after the miracles.” We barely thank him and no one else knows what God has done. And you wonder why miracles never show up in your neighborhood. Don’t take for granted how God has rescued you.

This church is one of God’s miracles. Watch what happens through FCC. And then, don’t be quiet.

You are one of God’s miracles. Watch what God does through you. And then, don’t be quiet.

"I was really lost. I'm a little less so at the moment."

I read this from Bono concerning his spiritual growth, and I could relate.

Your nature is a hard thing to change; it takes time…. I have heard of people who have life-changing, miraculous turnarounds, people set free from addiction after a single prayer, relationships saved where both parties "let go, and let God." But it was not like that for me. For all that "I was lost, I am found," it is probably more accurate to say, "I was really lost. I'm a little less so at the moment." And then a little less and a little less again. That to me is the spiritual life. The slow reworking and rebooting the computer at regular intervals, reading the small print of the service manual. It has slowly rebuilt me in a better image. It has taken years, though, and it is not over yet. —Bono, lead singer of U2[1]

  

For me, moving forward in my inner life is so frustrating because it seems that the same issues I was dealing with as a young college student are the issues I am fighting with now. In some cases, I have come up with new and inventive ways of expressing the same basic spiritual dysfunction. But the general tone has remained the same.

But I take hope in two things: 

1. Looking back I can see that I am improved. That perspective is important. The fight to suppress the fruit of self and release the fruit of the Spirit has been productive. I have not arrived, but there is progress. "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." - Phil. 3:12
2. There is no condemnation. As much as I fail, "...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1). My life can be crippled by the realization of how bad I have been, or invigorated by the awareness of how much I am forgiven.

 Spiritual growth is not smooth, seamless or comfortable. But I definitely want to grow up and be like my older brother, as promised: "...he [God] also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters." (Romans 8:29)

  

[1] U2 (with Neil McCormick), U2 by U2 (HarperCollins, 2006), p. 7

 

 

 

  

Galatians 5:22-23: Fruit Happens

This sermon was preached on 1/8/12 at Folsom Community Church by Tim Lewis

Fruit Happens
Galatians 5:22-23

Introduction: New Years’ Resolution Checkup

At my house, whenever New Year’s comes around, there is always the question of my resolutions. What do I want to do better in 2012 than I did in 2011? Maybe lose a few pounds. Maybe get better grades. Maybe get a promotion. Maybe pay off the credit cards or put some money in savings. Maybe communicate better with my wife or my kids.

Every year, when the kids were younger, we would tuck away our resolutions when we put the Christmas tree away and then review them again when we set up for the next Christmas. Or rather, when I say we, I mean them. I would make resolutions, but I wouldn’t write them down. Helen is convinced this is so that no one would know that I didn’t keep any of them.

Whatever you have decided to do for the next year, I know that God already has plans for your 2012. The Bible says:

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

God has already set up ‘good works’ appointments for you in 2012. You have a “rendezvous with destiny” were God will put you in the right place at the right time to do the right thing.  Are you ready?

Because it isn’t always easy. [Examples of difficulty doing the right thing]

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

Wouldn’t you like to be able to respond to difficult people with love? Wouldn’t you like to respond to depressing situations with joy? To times of conflict and stress with peace? To delays and frustration with patience? To rudeness with kindness? To selfishness with goodness? To betrayal with faithfulness? To laziness and anger with gentleness and self-control?

The good news is…you can. The fruit described here is the natural result of the Spirit of God’s work in our life. When God gives us the new life that he promised because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, it starts a process of transformation—of maturing—that shows up in our attitude. The Bible calls this improved attitude a fruit because it is sweet result of our new life in Jesus.

During the depression the field of Yates Pool was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn't able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy.

Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.

At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.

 And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he'd been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn't know the oil was there even though he owned it.

Many Christians live in spiritual poverty. They are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, but they are not aware of their birthright. (Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois; source: Bill Bright, "How to Be Filled with the Spirit" (Campus Crusade publication))

But-here’s the question-if the fruit is supposed to be a natural result, then why don’t I always feel loving and joyful? Good question. We’ll look in the Bible together to get the answers. To get those answers, we need to back up and look at this whole issue from God’s perspective.

1.       God wants to change me.

2.       God changes me by changing my attitudes.

3.       The Bible calls these new attitudes “fruit”

4.       Life is a test to see if the new attitudes are real.

God Wants To Change Me

First, God wants to change me. Look at what the Bible says:

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. – Romans 12:2a (NLT)

God loves you the way you are. But God also loves you too much to leave you that way.

God sees a gap between the person you are now and the person you could be. We don’t always see the gap. We think tweak, but God is thinking overhaul. We are thinking caterpillar, but God is thinking butterfly. We are thinking crawling along, but God is thinking: fly.

If you continue the way you are now, you are either cultivating God’s fruit, or you are cultivating sin’s fruit.

God Changes Me By Changing My Attitudes

Second, God changes me by changing my attitudes.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  – Romans 12:2 (NLT)

God changes the way you think so that you think the way He thinks.

 God has plans for your life. God has plans for your home, for you school, for your job. He wants to introduce a miracle into the most difficult circumstances in life, and that miracle is you. By changing who you are—by changing your attitudes—he is introducing a miracle into every place that you walk.  You may have as many problems in your life as anyone else, maybe more, but the way you deal with them shows that God is present.

The Bible Calls These New Attitudes “Fruit”

Third, the Bible calls these new attitudes fruit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

Let’s look at these new attitudes:

Love, Joy. (Luke 10:21), Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control,

We’re not going to go into all of them right now, but let me point out a few things from this list.

1. One fruit, many benefits.  It says “the fruit of the Spirit is…” See love, joy, peace, patience…they aren’t fruit, they are a part of the fruit. They are more like the vitamins. When you get the Spirit, you get the whole package. There isn’t someone with the “fruit of joy” and someone else with the “fruit of patience”
2. The fruit don’t change the circumstances; rather they change how you deal with the circumstances.
3. Fruit should happen. It says, “Against such things there is no law.” For Jesus’ people, there is no external constraint, no law, no barrier to you having these new attitudes. Why? Because fruit is the natural outcome of growth and development  (http://masteringhorticulture.blogspot.com , 2/2811) Listen: My mom was telling me about a fruit tree in their yard. When they got it, their neighbor offered them some really high-powered fertilizer, which they put around tree. And that tree took off, it grew, it put out all sorts of branches and tons of green leaves. But no fruit. The healthy, mature tree has fruit. The healthy, mature Christian  has fruit.
4. We don’t produce fruit, we bear fruit. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Sometimes we try produce bear our own fruit, and it looks like the good thing, but really its disappointing. If you go to the grocery store in mid-winter and pick up a tomato, you will often find they are gorgeous but tasteless. See, they are picked will green--still immature--and then treated with ethylene gas to make them redden. But they have never had the time on the vine to generate the sugars that make them truly tasty. They have the appearance of beautifulfruit, but they aren’t sweet-they are sour. The sweetest fruit are harvested from the plant, at the right time. Here’s my point: these new attitudes are no generated by you, they are acted upon by you. They are a gift from God-- a natural out-working of the spiritual DNA that God gives you.

Life Is A Test To See If The New Attitudes Are Real
Fourth, Life is a Test to See if the New Attitudes are Real, or just a fad. You see, you can make all of the New Year’s resolutions that you want; you can talk about how 2012 will be the year of the “new you” with “new attitudes” and a “new outlook on life.” but the real test is how you act the next time someone offers you a donut, or a drink, or a stab in the back. Sometimes we can simulate the fruit of the Spirit for a while (Filipino: ningas kugon) but the consistent lifestyle is only a product of a continued, life sustaining relationship with Jesus.

Remember the story of Peter, the friend of Jesus? During the final night of Jesus’ life and Jesus must take the final journey, to the cross, by himself. And Jesus says, in John 13:36, “Where I am going you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” And Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now. I will lay down my life for you.” You know, in that moment, I believe Peter really believed what he said. But then real life continued, Jesus was arrested, and while waiting and watching to see what would happen to Jesus, Peter denied he even knew Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit was faithfulness, but when real life continued, the fruit Peter showed was betrayal.               

If we have Jesus; if we have the Spirit of God working in us-why do we see another type of fruit growing inside us? Because there is another type of fruit being produced! And that fruit is not from God, but rather it is a product of our flesh, our sin nature, and it is in direct competition for the real estate of our heart. Paul says, just a few verses before this:

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. …

 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. – Galatians 5:17, 19-21a

Wow. What a list! Sounds like Jersey Shores or a frat party. But really it shows our natural tendency, our sin tendency. Think of it like this: what would you do if there were no consequences? Jesus knew this and that’s why he said anger is like murder, and lust is like adultery. If you didn’t like someone, just wipe them out video game style. If you liked someone you could just take them, Playboy- or Playgirl style. The way we would act without any "law" or consequences is really the type of people we are. And it isnt' pretty.

There is a battle for territory in my heart-between the new life and the old life.

The poet Carl Sandburg once said, “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” (cited by Richard Hansen in “A Good Mystery, Preaching Today Audio, issue 253)

The new spiritual DNA that God provides through Jesus is there, trying to transform you from the inside out.  But the old, cancerous DNA, is still there, producing its fruit in competition. Which will your heart choose?

Conclusion: So Why Don’t I See The Fruit?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.– Galatians 5:22-23a

I remember about a month ago when I started thinking about this topic, I began to ask myself: why am I not seeing these attitudes in my life? Why is there no joy? Why no patience? I think the Bible gives four possible answers:

1. Maybe we don’t have these new attitudes because we aren’t connected to Jesus. Look what he said:

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5b

2. Maybe we are suppressing the good fruit.   Like spiritual Roundup. The fruit of the Spirit-the good things are there, within our reach, but because of our habits or because of our stubbornness, we prefer the selfish fruit of the flesh. You sometimes when you get angry, there is a point when you know you could let go of that anger but oooh it feels delicious to hold on to it. At that point, we have a choice of which fruit to suppress. We can suppress the fruit of our self, which is self-righteousness and anger and bitterness, or we can supress the fruit of the Spirit, which is love and peace. Which fruit will you pick? Sometimes we are like Christian atheists (see what Pauls says in Titus):

They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. – Titus 1:16

3. Maybe we are in a season of pruning. Jesus said that when we are capable of fruit, for whatever reason, we fail to bear,

…he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. – John 15:2b

This is a season of pruning. He is giving us a chance to do what we were spiritual created to do: bear fruit and bear more fruit. Maybe he affects our health, or maybe he affects our circumstances--temporarily painful but ultimately profitable.

4. Or maybe we are producing seedless fruit. My wife, Helen, the horticulturist, wrte: “The fruit is a seed carrier. We all enjoy the seedless fruit that we buy from the grocery stores because they are so easy to eat. But let me tell you – Seedless fruits are abnormal fruits. Seedless fruits are not performing what they are supposed to do in the natural sense of life. Their services end where the fruits are eaten or when they rot. God intended for the fruit to carry the possibility of a new life. Our life as Christians should bear the fruit that carries the seed of the knowledge of Christ.   In the eyes of God, the seeded fruit is more valuable than its seedless counterpart.” (http://masteringhorticulture.blogspot.com, ibid) 

Without Jesus, our best attempts to change our life and our attitudes will fail, because we don’t have the new life that comes from Jesus. Without Jesus, no amount of cultivation of our natural selves will produce good attitudes. That’s why Jesus died, so that he could give us the new life. Maybe we need to pray the prayer: “Jesus, I don’t do the right things because I have never really been connected to you. I know you paid the price on the cross, so that I can really change my attitudes. As much as I know how, I am going to let you be in charge of my life.”

Every fruit is a seed bearer.