It's About God, Not Candidates, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 7:29-31

7:29  I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none,
7:30  and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions,
7:31  and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

          Following church services one morning, as the Pastor stood at the door greeting everyone, he noticed a member he had not seen in a while.  He said, “Mr. Jones, I hope you took my sermon to heart about being a member of God’s army?”

          Mr. Jones replied, “Oh, indeed, I did, Pastor.  I am absolutely a member of God’s army.”

          “Really?” the Pastor responded, “but we haven’t seen much of you lately at Sunday muster.”

          “Well,” Mr. Jones replied, “that’s because I’m in the secret service.”

          There is no such thing as a secret Christianity; keeping our relationship with Almighty God a secret from everyone else.  The heart of the church is community in Christ – if we do not have community, we don’t have much of a church.   And yet, it would seem the church has become so enamored with a lust for crowds that we forgot that discipleship is a personal, intimate experience.

          We seem to have gotten lost in the maze that is life, dealing with all its problems, making our own decisions about this and that, dodging the pitfalls and mud puddles of everyday living all by ourselves, as if God could not be bothered with such mundane matters of life. 

          Perhaps one reason we have so many problems is that He loves us so.  I usually get a very strange look when I tell people, “God must really love you, because He has given you so many problems.”

          But it’s true.  He is our creator, and He is crazy about His creation.  He’s crazy about you.  And He wants us to come to Him constantly.  He loves our company.  And so when we run into difficulties, He welcomes us when we come to Him.  Because He loves us, with a love that is so inclusive, so magnanimous, so deep and forgiving that we can hardly understand it.  And yet, it is the thread that pulls the entire gospel together.

          The greatest need in the world today is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is based in God’s love.  It is the greatest need of the world because men, women, and children are perishing without a vital knowledge of God through the good news of our Savior, God’s Son, Jesus who is the Christ.

          The god that men talk of today is a cheap, weak version of a god who is your pal; he’s the “man upstairs,” he’s the fellow who will help you out when you’re down and out and in difficulty, and won’t bother you too much when you’re not.

          Many people are in trouble today because their god is a handmade, unobtrusive god who is there to grant wishes and favors; a combination of various theological ideas and stories passed around that lack the vision and sanctity of the Most High God.

           Let me say it clearly -- Almighty God, who created you and I and the entire universe is neither a wish-granting genie nor Tinkerbell, whispering in our ears.

          David Neff, writing in the Gospel History Blog, as he reviewed a series of volumes titled “Ancient Christian Doctrine“, edited by Tom Oden, points out that “saying ‘I believe’ (Latin: Credo) was a life-endangering act.  Christianity was seen as -- no, it actually was -- subversive in the Roman Empire.  Oden writes, ‘One who says credo without willingness to suffer and, if necessary, die for the faith has not genuinely said credo in its deepest Christian sense as baptism: to die and rise again.’”

          The greatest need in the church today is the gospel that still believes, dangerously, in the sovereignty of God.  The gospel is not only news for a perishing world, it is the message that forms, sustains, and animates the church.   Apart from the gospel, the church has nothing to say; or rather, nothing to say that cannot be said by some other human agency.

          The gospel distinguishes the church from the world, defines her message and mission in the world, and steels her people against the fiery darts of the evil one and the false allurements of sin.  The gospel is absolutely vital to a vibrant, joyous, persevering, hopeful, and healthy Christian, and his or her Christian church.
          The first order of business, then, is to know the gospel.  For the gospel is not just some idea, a holy proposal or suggestion, something to be considered.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and the joints and the marrow, and is a critique of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.” 

          If God’s Word is that alive, that powerful, that searching, then the gospel also carries with it an active life of its own, and it needs to be understood and shared faithfully, not watered down, not contaminated with what we would “like” to be true.  Not simply that we are okay, or only that God is love, or that Jesus wants to be our friend, or even that we should live right; whatever we think “right” is.

          And the gospel is not simply that all our problems will be fixed if we follow Jesus, or that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.  All of these ideas may be true in some sense, but only in a shadow of a sense and never as an all sufficient statement of what the gospel is.  We fail in understanding the gospel because we do not understand that the Bible is God’s living word.  It’s not something made up by men that we can tweak and adjust here and there to fit our ideas of the changing rights and wrongs of the prevailing culture.

          For example, it’s forever being suggested to me that the phrase “God helps those who help themselves,” is from the Bible.  It’s not.  People who suggest it is, know neither the Gospel nor their Bible.
          The gospel of Jesus Christ is literally “good news.”  As news it contains statements of fact, and truths derived from those facts.  As good news the gospel holds out hope based upon promises of Almighty God and grounded in the historical facts and truths that vindicate those promises.

          Through the perfect obedience of the Son of God and His willing death on the cross as payment for our sins, all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ, following Him as Savior and Lord, will be saved from the wrath of God to come, will be declared just in His sight, have eternal life, and receive the Spirit of God as a foretaste of the glories of heaven with God Himself.

          Yes, the good news is also that God is love, that He will keep His promises to His children, that we are never alone, that His Son has already paid the price that reunites us with Almighty God.  I like to tell people that “God is crazy about you.”  It’s true.  He made us, we are His creation, and He loves us. 

          The Word of God says He knew us even before we were formed in the womb.  He has not known us any the less since then.  When we wake up in the morning, whether we feel good or wish we felt better, He still knows us.  Whether our plans for the day succeed or fail, whether we win or lose, He is still there at the end of the day. 

          What He expects of us is what Jesus asked of us in His Sermon on the Mount. 

          Love one another.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

          As today’s scripture tells us, the love Jesus spoke of does no harm to its neighbor.  On the contrary, if we have that kind of love, we will share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will recognize the presence and the sovereignty of the holy God.

          But here is what today's scripture is all about, what it has to do with this.  For if you understand and accept all I have just shared with you, then you need to pay particular attention to Paul's words to the Corinthians.  They are living in a time when to believe in Jesus Christ is particularly dangerous.  And so Paul is advising them of the shortness of time left to them, more short for some than others, more short for some of us, than others.  Because of the way of the world, because of the shortness of time, Paul advises that they remain unmarried and dead or indifferent to the comforts of the world.  He shows them how worldly cares hinder devotion to God, and distract them in the service to God.

          Right this moment, somewhere, good friends are parting over political issues, disagreeing over political candidates, splitting up over the issues of the election that will take place this coming November.  They are being hindered in their devotion to God, distracted from service to God.

          I believe, because of the increased prayer activity and commitment by Christians in this nation, that this is the year God will begin to set things right in this nation.  For the Christian, then, that means putting our faith in God, not in men, not wrapping our life around political issues and candidates, but being led to support those individuals who most support what is right, what is just, and what is Godly. 

          Four Christian leaders have been driven from this electoral race by the news media, who would be our "kingmakers."  But it is not up to us to fight with the news media, nor any who work against the things of God.  Our job is to worship God and He will fight for us.  We just need to ensure we are on His team, not hope that He will be on our team.

          Read Paul's words to the Corinthians again in 1st Corinthians 7:29-31.  Understand that all the things you and I wrap our lives around in this world are passing away, will one day pass completely away.  Our faith must be in God, who will still be there when everything else has passed away; when we will stand and wonder, what were we so excited about that we threw away friends, that we abandoned our Godly principles, that we didn't have time for Jesus Christ?

          Which candidate?  Wrong question.  Which God?  Yes, in which god will you put your faith, the god of politics, disaffection, frustration, or the Living God?  Too many of us trusted in the cult of politics last time, listening to the glib political promises, and you see where it has led us.  Turn to God.  Turn your attention from the candidates to God.  We don't know what the future holds, but He does.  For He holds everything that is to be in His hands, and He will not abandon His own.  That's a promise.  And no one keeps promises like our God.  Amen.

Week of Worship

January 22-28, 2012

Invocation:  Merciful God, were it not for Your mercy, I would remain lost in sin and confusion.  Thank You for Your extravagant grace and Your mercy without limit.  In this hour hold me in love, even as a mother cradles her child.  Amen.

Read: Psalm 116

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday                1st Peter 2:1-10

Tuesday               Jeremiah 3:1-14

Wednesday          Luke 1:47-56
Thursday              Isaiah 63:7-14

Friday                   James 2:1-13

Saturday               Luke 6:27-36

Sunday                 Isaiah 43:18-25; 2nd Corinthians 1:18-22; Psalm 41; Mark 2:1-12

Reflection: (silent and written)

Prayers for the church, for others, for yourself.

Hymn: "Jesus, Love of My Soul"

Benediction:  Now, my Lord, as I leave this time of devotion, may Your mercy be in me a flowing river reaching out to all whose paths shall touch my own.  Amen.