“Why Are You Crying?” – John 20:10-18

How many of you have had kids or grandkids? How many of you have read story books to your kids or grandkids? Of course you have. How many of you had to read the same story over and over again night after night? The kid has 400 books and every night, “No Grannie. Read “The Little Engine That Could” (or whatever) again for the millionth time.”

And so you read it again. And if you try to skip a part or a page they know it instantly and let you know, right? They never seem to get tired of that one story! Kids are so stupid. I can’t stand them. No, I’m kidding. I really am because I have to admit to being that same way sometimes. There are certain stories I love to read over and over again.

When I was a kid I had some dog books that I remember just wearing smooth out. I “read” them even before I could read, just looking at the pictures. Finally, a few years ago I was able to read them. And then I remember reading about Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14. I read that again just this week. I love that story.

Another favorite is David and Goliath. How can you not love that story? I could read that over and over again. It has everything; action, suspense, faith, humor, a headless guy! I wish I had time to read it right now just for grins.

And so it is with the Easter story. I have a favorite. Now, let me tell you that the resurrection of Jesus is prophesied way back in the Old Testament hundreds of years before it ever happened. And it is talked about by Paul and Peter and John and others all through the New Testament even years after it happened. But I like to read the story of how it all went down. I like the first-hand account of it.

But…I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The Easter story is a problem for preachers just like it is a problem around Christmas. How do you keep the story fresh and new if you read the same thing every time? I have seen dozens of different ways to approach this. I’ve gotten emails from other pastors saying they are using such and such Old Testament passage that references the resurrection or they are using some verse from Paul like 1 Thess. 4:14 that says, “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

That’s good stuff! That’ll preach! I can get excited about that. But for me there is no better way to fully understand what happened on that Easter Sunday 2000-something years ago than to read it from one of the Gospels. Like I say, there are innumerable other passages from Old Testament to New Testament that speak of the resurrection of the Messiah. And there should be. Let me put it this way. If it were not for the event that we are here celebrating today then all the rest of this book is a waste of paper. If Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again after 3 days then this book is kindling.

Of course there are many other passages that talk about this event because just as the biggest door swings on a small hinge, everything about our faith hinges on the fact that Jesus defeated death in that tomb and lives today! The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19 that, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” If Jesus didn’t die and then rise in 3 days then we are wasting our time here this morning and every Sunday morning but because He did do that we have the hope of the world!

And there is no better passage to see this than in the Gospel of John, the 20^th chapter and verses 10-18. As you find John chapter 20 I want to say that we as a church went through 5 weeks of grief. We weren’t really grieving but we were literally going through a 5 week video series on the “Journey Through Grief” so that we will be able to help others as they grieve and also help ourselves when the time inevitably comes.

And while I learned some invaluable information about the grief process, 5 weeks is enough. It was a great series but I’m tired of grief. It does, though, help me to understand what is going on in this passage. This passage in John focuses, obviously, on Jesus but also on Mary Magdalene. And it helps to understand the passage if you understand something about the kind of grief Mary is going through here.

This is rock bottom for Mary. Her dear Friend and Lord had died. I’m sure that she and the other Mary and some of the disciples have been together consoling themselves but at this point Mary Magdalene is by herself. She has come to the tomb of Jesus and the Gospel of Mark tells us that she and some of the other ladies had purchased spices and were headed to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus and they were talking on the way there about how they were going to roll the huge stone away from the grave.

They didn’t know. They weren’t thinking straight in their grief and that is common for someone who has suffered a recent loss. They get to the tomb, though, and the stone is already rolled away but the body is gone. They don’t realize what has happened and now this just makes it worse. They think someone has stolen the body. What else could it be? And so everybody else goes back to tell the disciples and Mary Magdalene is left alone at the tomb.

Can you imagine what must be going through her clouded mind? First, Jesus is tried and beaten and hung on the cross. Then she sees Him die the cruelest death ever invented. Her hopes are gone. Her dreams for herself and her nation have died on that cross. And now even His body is gone. This is the time that every emotion starts to come out. Insurmountable grief, anger, shame, coupled with the weariness from a lack of sleep and poor Mary is a mess standing there all alone. Let’s pick up the story in John 20:10-18.

Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. ¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ He asked her,“Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

In an effort to expedite this sermon, I won’t beat around the bush and I only want us to see 2 basic things in this passage. They are, in fact, the 2 things that Jesus says to Mary. The first thing He says I find curious. It’s the same thing that the angels say and it is curious as to why they would say it as well. What do the angels and Jesus both say? “Why are you crying?”

Now you might find that to be a dumb question. Anybody could understand why she is crying and especially Jesus should know, so why did He ask that question? She is in the graveyard obviously looking for someone or something that she sees is not there. Why, it’s almost mean to ask her why, isn’t it?

We learned in this video series on grief that depending on how a person grieves (and everybody is different) that sometimes it is good to let the person grieving go through the process of finding things out on their own. And what Jesus and the angels are doing here by asking this question is not so much asking for their own knowledge but to let her know that there may well be a reason not to cry.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey goofball! It’s me, Jesus!” But instead His question is meant to gently reveal to Mary the possibility that there is a reason to stop crying. Proverbs 8:17 says, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” Doesn’t that fit Mary in this situation so well? Mary sought Jesus very early in the morning and even though she doesn’t yet realize that she has found Him, Jesus loves her so much that He gently reveals Himself to her and gently eases her sorrow.

Don’t raise your hand but how many of you have ever questioned God in the middle of your grief? I would dare say that everybody who has ever experienced grief has in some way questioned God about it. And we have talked before about the right and wrong ways of doing that. There is a respectful way of asking God questions and He has no problem with that.

He doesn’t always answer as we would hope He would and I’m afraid if He did we wouldn’t be able to handle His answer and so He slowly reveals His good and perfect plan as we are obedient to Him with our lives. Most of you who have been following Jesus for any length of time can vouch for the fact that it is so often in the depths of our greatest grief and sorrow that Jesus reveals Himself and His plan to us.

He reveals Himself to us when we have hit rock bottom. When we feel like we can’t take any more that is when Jesus comes to us as a friend and gives us hope by asking why we are crying; wanting us to look up and recognize it is Him. He knows that if we could see the big picture that it would overwhelm us but that as we learn we come to trust Him because He has proven Himself faithful. Again, you can vouch for that in your own life and we can in the life of this church. Isn’t that right?

The next thing Jesus says to her is just simply her name. “Mary.” In her grief and in her confusion and through the tears in her eyes as she stood there in low light, she couldn’t know it was Him. But when Jesus called her name she knew immediately who it was just like a sheep knows the voice of the shepherd.

Jesus had a way of speaking that immediately brought things into focus. Just a few days prior to this in the garden where Judas led the soldiers to arrest Jesus, the soldiers walked up to Jesus and Jesus asked them who they were looking for. They said, “Jesus of Nazareth ”and then Jesus simply said “I am He.” But when He said “I am he” the men all drew back and fell to the ground.

That’s the power of the word of the God-Man Jesus. A simple answer can knock a person down or in the case of Mary, it has the power to clear the fog of grief and misunderstanding and reveal Himself to her.

Mary was in a bad way here. She didn’t understand what was happening and she even tells Jesus who she thinks is the gardener, “Tell me where He is and I will go get Him.” How could she do that? She couldn’t lift Him. Where would she take Him? She didn’t know. She couldn’t understand. All she knew was she was in pain and that’s when Jesus just simply spoke her name.

Can’t you just hear how tenderly and lovingly and yet with power He spoke that name? When Jesus called Paul on the road to Damascus He didn’t scream his name. He simply said, “Saul, Saul, Why do you persecute me?” And Paul was blind and disabled for days. There was no running from it. When Jesus called Peter’s name, Peter had the power to walk on water. When Jesus called the name of Lazarus, Lazarus came out of his grave a well man. And when Jesus said Mary’s name…well, everything changed.

Everything looked different even through a veil of tears. She still didn’t understand everything but she saw Jesus and knew everything was going to be ok. Today could be the day that Jesus is calling your name. And you know it is. You can’t run from it. When Jesus chooses you to do something He doesn’t scream. He simply calls your name.

Maybe He is calling your name to lift you up out of your grief this morning. He knows that you don’t understand and you have been hurt and people have disappointed you. But Jesus isn’t calling you to follow a person. He is calling you to follow Him! He knows that you have grief and He grieves with you because He loves you so much. That’s amazing to me.

Maybe He is calling you because He wants you to do something or to stop doing something but you think you would never be able to do that. Let me tell you that the same voice that called Lazarus from the dead is calling you and the same power that was available to Lazarus is available to you today. That’s amazing to me.

Or maybe Jesus is calling your name today for the first time and He is calling you to have a relationship with Him. He is calling you to be friends with the Creator of the universe and the Redeemer of all creation and He redeemed you by rising up out of that grave on the 3^rd day, a satisfying sacrifice to the Father for all of your sins. Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death and Jesus paid those wages so you wouldn’t have to. That’s amazing to me.

So, on this Easter Sunday, Jesus comes to you personally, calling your name and asking you why you are crying when everything you need is found in Him. He promises a full life here on earth (John 10:10) and the hope of eternal life with Him in Heaven if you just believe (John 3:16). And that ought to be amazing to you.

The last thing Jesus says in this passage is meant for those who are His followers. “Don’t hold on to Me. Go tell my brothers.” As believers, our job is to show Jesus to the world and we don’t do that by arguing about gay rights or abortion. I’m not saying we ease up on our convictions one bit. We follow what the powerful word of God says about that but we will never convince anybody that we are right by arguing. We show the love of the risen Christ and let Him call their name and change their heart.

“The Most Important Thing” I Cor. 15:1-11

Feb. 27, 1991, at the height of Desert Storm, Ruth Dillow received a message from the Pentagon. It stated that her son, Clayton Carpenter, Private 1st Class, had stepped on a mine in Kuwait and was dead.
Ruth Dillow later wrote, "I can’t begin to describe my grief & shock. It was almost more than I could bear. For 3 days I wept. For 3 days I expressed anger and loss. For 3 days people tried to comfort me, to no avail because the loss was too great."
But 3 days after she received that message, the telephone rang. The voice on the other end said, "Mom, it’s me. I’m alive." Ruth Dillow said, "I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I recognized his voice, and he really was alive." The message was all a mistake! She said, "I laughed, I cried, I felt like turning cartwheels, because my son whom I had thought was dead, was really alive. I’m sure none of you can even begin to understand how I felt."

Perhaps not, but some who walked the pages of the New Testament would have understood how she felt because they experienced the same emotions themselves. One day they watched their best friend & teacher being nailed to a cross. They witnessed His pain as He cried out, "I thirst!" and "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"

They listened as finally He bowed His head and said, "It is finished!" and "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." They watched as His body was taken from the cross and buried. All their hopes and dreams were buried with Him.

Friday and all day Saturday they mourned, until finally, on "the first day of the week, early in the morning," the scripture says, some women made their way along the path that led to His tomb, not knowing who would roll away the stone for them.

But when they arrived, they found that the stone had already been rolled away. An angel there told them, "You’re looking in the wrong place. You’re looking for Jesus among the dead. He is not dead. He is alive. He is risen, even as He said!"
"He is risen!" That is what we celebrate this morning. When all the evidence is in we’re convinced that Jesus is alive. He is risen from the dead, and what a difference His resurrection has made!

Now, I have to warn you this morning that we have a situation here.  This is a potentially dangerous passage that we are going to be reading this morning because we are going to be reading about the most important thing in the world.  No kidding.  No president has ever declared a more life-changing message.  No great statesman has ever been quoted saying anything deeper or more profound than what we are about to read and I am here to warn you that it may cause problems. 

This passage has the potential to cause problems to anyone with a weak heart because it very well could excite you.  It could easily cause your heart to race and your palms to sweat.  Also, I have to warn you that I am already excited about it and if you were to accidentally say “Amen” or “Preach that!” or even “thank you, Lord” that I could just go off the deep end and if I go off the deep end then there is the possibility that I could preach 5 minutes over my allotted time.

We sure don’t want that.  We sure don’t want anyone’s life to be changed here this morning or that may put us late for the buffet.  And while I don’t want any eternal decisions to be made today, I have to warn you that I fully expect it to happen today and right here.  How could lives not be changed by reading I Corinthians 15:1-11?  It has been called many times the most important passage in the whole Bible.  That’s pretty big talk, I know, but even Paul himself says that what he is writing is the most important thing.

This morning I would like for you to turn there and read silently as I read out loud the powerful words of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, talking about Jesus and written by the apostle Paul on page 815 of most of the Bibles in the pew.

I Corinthians 15:1-11

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. ¹¹ Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Just this week I have heard of some interesting ways that churches have planned to celebrate Easter.  One church is having Batman and Robin show up in costume.  Another church in this area is going to be in 3-D with 3-D glasses provided.  Another church here in Texas is adding a tattoo parlor to its facilities.  But I think we should focus on the Good News, the Gospel that Paul is telling the church at Corinth because I am pretty sure that is the most important thing.

The word “gospel” means good news and the Good News is that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins and then rose again three days later and lives today in our hearts and in Heaven where we will see Him very soon!

It’s the most important thing because everything else in this book and ultimately in our lives as Christians hinges on the Gospel.  We have seen in the passage in Ephesians 6 that says we are in a spiritual battle and we are to put on the armor of God and the very first thing we are to put on is the belt of truth.  Well, this is the very thread that holds that belt together.  If this is not absolute truth then everything unravels and our belt of truth falls and everything else we have been taught falls as well because it rests on the belt of truth.

So, if the most important thing in the world isn’t truth then as Paul also said in verse 19 we are to be pitied more than all men.  I have said many times that everybody wants to know the truth.  Nobody wants to go through life living a lie on purpose.  Nobody wants to waste their life chasing after the wind with nothing to show for it at the end of time.

And since I want to know the truth and I want you to know the truth let’s look at 5 brief pieces of evidence that prove this Gospel, this Good News is, indeed, truth.

The first evidence or testimony that Paul provides is the testimony of the church to which he is writing in Corinth.  In verse 1, Paul addresses them as “brothers” which is to call them fellow-Christians with him.  He says to them that the Gospel he is preaching is the Gospel by which they are known, much like our church is known for holding the Gospel to be truth.  Paul says they have received it from him and now they have taken their stand with it.

The city of Corinth was known even in the pagan world for its moral corruption.  In classical Greek, to behave “like a Corinthian” meant you were involved in sins unlike most others.  Paul warns them against such things in chapter 6 where he talks about the sexually immoral, the homosexuals, idolaters, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers and the like.

But the church was different.  They were now known for taking up and holding on to the truth of the Gospel and, again like our church, they had seen God work and had seen Him prove Himself faithful over and over again.

The next evidence or testimony that Paul provides in verse 3 is the testimony of the scriptures.  The Old Testament clearly predicted Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and Paul says here that what he delivered to them was of first importance, the most important thing and that he didn’t make it up but delivered it to them as he received it.  In the days after Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road he learned a lot about those prophesies including to what those passages were referring in Genesis 22:8, Psalm 16, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 and Hosea 6:2. 

Over and over again, either directly or indirectly, literally or in figures of speech, the Old Testament foretold of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  Paul even says again in verse 4 that this is the testimony of the scriptures.

After the testimony of the scriptures, we have the testimony of the eyewitnesses.  Verses 5, 6 and 7 tell of the people who actually saw Jesus in bodily form after His resurrection.  It is interesting that the first one listed is Peter.  Why do you think Jesus revealed Himself to Peter first?  Only a few days after Peter denied and abandoned Jesus, Jesus comes back and shows Himself to Peter, not because Peter deserved it but to show God’s grace.

I have an idea that if God could show us one thing about ourselves it would be that we are a people of pride and that if He could show us one thing about Himself it would be that He is a God of grace.

 

So, of these eyewitnesses, we have the witnesses of quality in the 11 remaining apostles and then we see the witnesses of quantity in verse 6 where it says He was seen by over 500 people.  Paul says that most of those 500 people are still living as of the time he wrote this as if to say, “Go ask ‘em for yourself!”  Paul knew that in those days that with the witness of just 2 people you could be found guilty or innocent of a crime. 

Then in verse 8 Paul breaks out the testimony of a special eyewitness.  It was Jesus who appeared to Paul on the Damascus Road some years later than He appeared to all of the others and so Paul uses his own testimony as a witness for the resurrection.  The definition of an apostle includes one who had seen Jesus with his own eyes and Paul never doubted his apostleship but he also never ceased to be amazed that, of all persons, Christ would have called him to that high office.

Paul knew all of his sins were forgiven and he was not plagued by feelings of guilt over what he had done against God’s people but he couldn’t forget all that he had been forgiven.  Paul hadn’t forgotten who he had been but he recognized it was God’s grace that made him who he now was and that is what he is saying in verses 9 and 10.

Paul and I both conclude our messages with verse 11 where he calls on the testimony of the common message.  By “common message” I mean the same message that the disciples were saying and the 500 were testifying to and the church; they were all saying the same thing.  Paul says whether it was them (the disciples, 500) or Paul himself, they all preached and taught and testified to the same Good News, the same Gospel.

In fact, the very first time the Gospel was ever preached it was Peter who stood up on the day of Pentecost and told the crowd around him in Acts chapter 2 the Good News.  It says that Peter stood up and with a loud voice declared that it was you evil men who crucified Jesus and He died on the cross but God raised him from the dead on the 3^rd day and provided our way into Heaven and into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Peter, who just days before denied and abandoned Jesus, was preaching one of the most powerful and life-changing sermons ever preached, bringing 3000 people into the Kingdom that day.  Peter, like Paul, used the Old Testament as proof of his testimony as well as what he had seen with his own eyes.  Peter, like Paul, told them how Jesus died, was buried and resurrected and that the people should repent and be baptized.  He ended by saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

And so I stand here this morning and like millions of others before me, I tell you to save yourselves from this corrupt generation.  Today is the day of salvation!  We are not given the promise of another breath.  Are you waiting for more proof?  Is it not enough to have the testimony of the church, the scriptures, eyewitnesses and a common message proclaimed by millions of people?

It’s the message of millions of people who have heard the Good News and made the decision to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.  And it’s my message to you today.

“What Jesus Says About Worry” – Matt. 6:25-34

How many of you believe in God? How many of you believe God is all-powerful? How many of you believe God is all-knowing? How many believe God is all-loving? How many believe He is the Creator of the entire universe? Redeemer, Sustainer, Deliverer and yet still calls you – yes, you – His friend?

We all believe all of that, right? Now, how many of you worry sometimes? You worry about your finances. You worry about your job, your marriage, your kids and I know you worry about your pastor. Carol worries about me. Every Wednesday night she worries I’m not eating enough vegetables. “That’s not a salad!”

If we were honest we would all have to say that we worry sometimes. It’s a bigger problem for some of us than for others but everybody does it and the Bible says that worry is a sin. In Philippians 4:6 God gives us a command. “Do not worry about anything.” To disobey that command – any command of God – is sin.

None of us want to sin. None of us want to worry. We don’t intend to. We try not to but when we try to sleep at night or we get a few minutes alone, our minds start to drift off to a place that, for some of us, is just a little too comfortable. Have you ever known of somebody that just wasn’t happy unless they were miserable with worry?

For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he did find a burglar. "Good evening," said the man of the house. "I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting 10 years to meet you." William Marshall, Eternity Shut in a Span.

I hope that’s not you. But even if you worry a little bit or every now and then, those are wasted moments that do absolutely no good. It is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere. Nobody wants to worry but how do we keep from it?

The world would tell you any number of ways to keep from worrying. There are libraries full of books that give all kinds of advice and some it might help. You can prioritize your worries. If it’s low on the list you don’t worry about that at all. You can make a list and worry about it all at one time instead of spreading it out. Maybe that will help some people.

You can even hire somebody else to worry for you. I had a friend over to my house last week that I hadn’t seen in a while. I asked how he was doing and he said he was doing real well. He had just lost his job and his credit cards were all maxed out. He couldn’t pay his car payment and his tags were out but he said he was fine.

I asked him how he kept from worrying about it and he said he paid some other guy to worry for him. I said, “Really? How much does that cost?” He said, “$50,000.” “$50,000??? How can you afford that?” He said, “I don’t know. That’s his worry.”

So, there’s that method. But did you know that for all the books and all the self-help gurus that say they can help you not worry, there is one Guru that has a fool-proof method for quitting worrying and He sums it all up in one sentence? If you haven’t already, turn to Matthew chapter 6, verses 24-35.

We are continuing our look through the Sermon on the Mount. Because we are disciples of Jesus, we are hoping to do what disciples do and learn from Jesus and then teach and encourage others with what we learn and there is no better place to learn from Jesus than sitting here on the side of this hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee and hearing the greatest sermon ever preached right here in Matthew 6:25-34.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

How many times have you had somebody tell you, “Don’t worry about it.”? I know they mean well. I’m sure I have said the same thing but if that is all they have to say then it’s not really all that helpful, is it? It’s not like you needed to know that. “Oh! Don’t worry about it. Ok, thanks!” No, what I need is somebody to not only motivate me to not worry but give me an alternative to it.

Here’s Jesus doing just that. If Jesus had just stopped at the first sentence, it wouldn’t be much help would it? “Don’t worry about your life.” Oh, thanks. It’s like that song that was popular a few years ago. “Don’t worry. Be happy!” Ugh! I was worried I was going to hear it again.

But here Jesus tells us more than just don’t do it. He tells us where not to worry, why not to worry and how not to worry. Adrian Rogers said that this passage tells us we shouldn’t worry about these things: finance, food, fitness, fashion, or the future. J That’s where not to worry.

Jesus said not to worry about anything. I started out by asking you if you believed in God and that He was the Creator and Sustainer. Jesus is saying here that, yes, He is the Creator and Sustainer and that if He takes care of the most insignificant details of this planet, how much more will He not care for you?

Troy Pittman told me the story the other day about watching some birds build a nest in his front yard. If you know Troy, you know this story took two hours to tell but don’t worry (don’t worry!). I can tell it much quicker. He said he would go outside every morning and drink his coffee and over the course of about a month he would watch these two birds build their nest. They worked and worked, making it just right. Then they went in their nest. Troy said that for a while he only saw one bird and he thought maybe something was wrong with the other one. But pretty soon, the other came out followed by a little bitty baby bird. Then he watched as that baby got bigger and bigger until it finally flew away on its own.

That’s a scene that I’m sure is repeated thousands of times a day all over the world and we don’t think much about it but it just proves the Creator’s love for His created. He provided everything those birds needed. He provided the instinct, the ability, the energy, the sticks to use, the food to eat, everything. It all came from God. If I provided everything one bird needed for a month, I would never quit talking about it. But God does that and so much more for us.

Jesus said in verse 26, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Then He says in verse 28 to look at the lilies. Have you ever seen anything so beautiful as a lily? It’s a beautiful flower but the closer you look, the prettier it is.

I’m sure Solomon was a good-looking fellow and his clothes were the finest and best and most beautiful but they didn’t compare to the natural beauty of this common little flower. But that was Solomon, not you, right? You have to worry at least a little bit about what you are going to wear and what you are going to eat and how you are going to pay for all of that because you’re not the richest man in the world like Solomon.

It’s different for you. It’s understandable that you worry. Your job, your family, your car are all problems that aren’t going away. But did you know that while you are correct, those problems may be with you forever, that God wants to tell you why you shouldn’t worry about them? He says it is offensive to Him when you worry. Look at the end of verse 30. “O you of little faith.”

God says it is a lack of faith that brings worry and Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. During an especially trying time in the work of the China Inland Mission, Hudson Taylor wrote to his wife, "We have twenty-five cents--and all the promises of God!” W. Wiersbe, Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, p. 242.

I love quotes like that. Don’t you? We all want that kind of thing to be said about us, don’t we? I want that kind of faith. I like to say I have it but when it comes down to it and I have twenty-five cents and a mound of debt and my car is broken down and the baby is hungry and needs diapers and the dog is getting skinny, the wife is getting mad and I’m making minimum wage, what keeps me from having that faith that I need?

Oh, I know God took care of Solomon. I know He loved Solomon. But does He love me that much? Does God love me enough to provide for me and protect me and give me what I need? Have you ever had those questions? Oh, we would never admit to that especially here in church. But somewhere deep down all of us have had that thought at least in the back of our minds. I’m a horrible sinner. God doesn’t love me enough to provide for me. What am I going to do?

I know you know the verse. You probably memorized when you were a kid. But I want you to turn to John 3:16. This simple little verse is so powerful and speaks directly to that thought that all of us have sometimes that we are too bad and God surely doesn’t love us enough. Turn there and read with me what it says. That first phrase is “For God so loved the world…” Now if you write in your Bibles, I want you to put your name in there somewhere so that you know it says, “For God so loved…Carol. For God so loved…Samuel. For God so loved…you that He gave His only Son so that you would not perish but that you would have eternal life with Him.”

God loves you enough that He gave the very crown jewel of Heaven to die on the cross so that with your faith and trust in Him that you could have a relationship with the Creator of the universe. He loves you terribly and passionately and created you to have fellowship with Him. I don’t understand all that but I believe the Bible and so when God says He will clothe you and feed you and protect you even more than He does the birds and the flowers, then I have to believe that.

So, we know where not to worry – in our finance, food, fitness, fashion, or the future. We see why not to worry – it is offensive to God who loves us. Now for the really important part. Let’s see in verse 33 how we keep from worrying. What is the alternative? We don’t want to worry. We know we shouldn’t. But how do we keep from it?

Look at verse 33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. What does it mean to seek His kingdom and His righteousness? There are a hundred different sermons you could preach on this one little verse but let’s see first what His Kingdom is. Is it Heaven or is it something else? Where is it? How can we seek it and find it? That is basically the question the Pharisees were asking Jesus in Luke 17:21. Jesus said:

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” When He says to seek His Kingdom, He’s not talking about Heaven in this instance. He is saying that the Kingdom…is where the King is…inside of you. When you seek to make Jesus King of your life, that is to seek His Kingdom.

When you submit to His will for your life, that is seeking His Kingdom. When you acknowledge your sin, confess and repent of that sin and agree with Him that it was wrong – that is seeking His Kingdom. Not worrying about where the money is going to come from but trusting Him – that is seeking His Kingdom. Using what money you have to store up treasure in Heaven for later – that is seeking His Kingdom now.

Then you combine that with seeking His righteousness. What does that mean? Well, there are two kinds of righteousness that we can have – 3 if you include self-righteousness but we are not told to go after that. The two good kinds are imputed and imparted. Let’s look at imputed righteousness first. When a person puts his faith in Jesus Christ, we are given a status of being righteous. This righteousness is God’s gift to us based on what Christ did for us on the cross. Without that we can’t have the kind of righteousness that we are really told to seek in verse 33. That is imparted righteousness.

Imparted righteousness is when the character of God Himself comes out of us. Because we have faith in Jesus we have imputed righteousness and then the imparted righteousness flows out of us. If you can’t remember that (and who can?) just remember that to seek first His righteousness is to seek after, run after, hunt down, want nothing more than to act like Jesus in every aspect of our lives.

It is, in fact, when we allow the character of God to become, to replace, our character. It is allowing or not being a hindrance to the love of Christ, the purity, the faith, the very nature of Jesus Himself being seen in us. Jesus lives inside of us and He wants everyone to know it. He wants to come out and be seen and heard to everyone we meet and when we allow Him to do that we are seeking first His righteousness.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a powerful Baptist preacher in the late 1800’s. Blackmailers once sent him a letter saying that if he did not place a certain amount of money at a certain place at a certain time then they would publish some things in the newspaper that would defame and embarrass him, ruining his ministry. Spurgeon left a note at the certain place that said, “You and your like are requested to publish all you know about me across the heavens.” He had the righteousness of God because He was seeking it first in his life.

Seeking God’s Kingdom and His righteousness is rarely easy. The world has a different plan for your life. Satan has a different plan for your life. The benefit of it though is two-pronged. Not only are you not wasting time and effort worrying about your situation and whether you are going to have what you want and need, but also, Jesus says at the end of verse 33 that all these things will be given to you as well. That’s a pretty good bargain, I think. In other words, ask great things, and little things shall be added unto you; ask heavenly things, and earthly things shall be added unto you. (Adam Clark’s Commentary on the Bible)

So, when you need to be sleeping and Satan brings those things to your mind to worry about; when the bills are bigger than the bank account and the pantry is bare and the job isn’t cutting it, think of it like my friend who hired a guy to worry for him.

Consider God your guy that is concerned about all that. Turn it over to Him. He’s gonna be up all night anyway. You do your part. You be obedient and you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and then you just go to sleep, knowing that He loves you more than all of the rest of His creation. There is nothing to worry about when we do that.

“What Jesus Says About Money” – Matt. 6:19-24

We are going to be talking about money today and so, in preparation, I researched (googled) what people would do for $100.  I found a website that asked this question and then gave some scenarios.  Don’t worry.  I’ll save you from the really gross ones that will haunt me forever.  Here we go.  Would you do these things for $100?

Punch your dad?  Say “I Love You” to the person making your burrito at Chipotle?  Not bathe for a week?  Eat a bar of soap?  Eat a USED bar of soap?  Call your boss “Daddy” for a week?  Shave all the hair on your head including eyebrows?  Let a toddler shave your legs? Introduce yourself as “Satan” for a month?

That’s all I’m going to read to you.  There were over one hundred of them which just proves that some people have way too much time on their hands.  I have another question for you.  I think it’s a much better question and will tell much more about you.  The question is, what would you do with the $100.  We know what you might do for it.  Now what would you do with it?

The question of what you would do for it might help answer how crazy you are.  The question of what you might do with it might answer how wise you are.  For some people, $100 might not be much and for some others they might think if they just had $100 all their problems would be solved.  How you use your money is a direct reflection of your wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 says, “Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.”  In other words, wisdom and money are both helpful but only wisdom can really save.  The million dollar question is what is true wealth and what is true wisdom?  I say pretty often that everybody wants to know the truth.  Nobody wants to be misled or lied to about anything and especially when it comes to money or anything that really matters.  What is the truth?

The Bible is truth.  It is our rock.  It is infallible and inerrant and is what we have to help us know exactly what is truth and it has a lot to say about money.  It is a subject that Jesus Himself often brought up and we see in Matthew chapter 6 another instance of this as He preaches His famous Sermon on the Mount.  We are continuing to look at what Jesus taught because we, as disciples of Jesus, know that to be a disciple it means to learn from Jesus and then to teach and encourage others with what we have learned.

The Sermon on the Mount is a great place for us disciples to just have a seat here on the side of the hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee and gaze up as the Master teaches in Matthew 6:19-24 about the subject of money. 

 

Matthew 6:19-24 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

 

There are three paragraphs here and despite the fact that some people see at least two different trains of thought here, I see it all being one train of thought with three points.  I told you that Jesus was a pretty good preacher and He knew how to break things down into three points.  If you are taking notes, the three points to see here are true wealth, true wisdom and true worship.  (Adrian Rogers outline)

 

So, what is true wealth?  How rich is rich?  I read a study that said that over half the people in the US that have assets of 1-5 million dollars do not consider themselves wealthy.  Can you believe that?  Some guy with $5 million in the bank says, “Nah, I’m not wealthy.”  Do you know why that is?  Let’s ask the wisest man who ever lived.  Speedy Reno, what do you think?

 

No, I’m just kidding.  Speedy’s not the wisest man who ever lived.  Solomon was, and Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”  It is human nature not to be satisfied with what you have.  Solomon recognized it and he was not only the wisest man but also the wealthiest man to ever live.  So, this is coming from somebody who knew.

 

In verse 19 Jesus is literally saying, “Do not treasure treasures here on earth.”  We all know that the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Tim. 6:10)  We all know the truth of Proverbs 11:4 that says, “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath.”  And we can all relate to what Solomon said in Proverbs 23:5:  “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

 

None of us would admit to loving money.  None of us would dare say we rely solely on wealth and yet money is the cause of as many problems today as it was in the days of Jesus.  We read His words here in verse 20 and we say “Amen!” and we believe it and we vow that we will store up more treasure in Heaven and we will do better about treasuring treasure but the days go by and we have to admit again and again that our heart, as it says in verse 21 is with our earthly treasure.

 

We have to admit it when we see our bank balance every month and we see where our money goes.  We have to confess it when we step back and look at where we spend our time and how we use our gifts.  Are they being used for the here and now or the yonder later?  “Pastor, that all sounds real good and I want to do that but I’m not sure how.  What does that really look like?”

 

Well, I’m glad you asked.  Let’s talk about what it means and what it looks like to store up treasures in Heaven.  If we are to invest our assets in spiritual things then that means we need to spend our time, talent and treasure on things going to Heaven.  What goes to Heaven?  Prayer and praise go to Heaven so we need to invest in those for sure and we will talk more about worship in a minute.  But souls also go to Heaven so we should invest our time, money and energy into what is going to get people’s souls there.

 

Now, while it is important to invest our time and energy into spiritual things, Jesus says in verse 21, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  He’s talking about money specifically.  Where is your heart?  Is it with the church; the hope of the world?  Or is your heart and your money somewhere else?  Now, I can just hear some of you thinking, “Oh, great.  Here it comes.  C’mon Ethel, let’s go.  All this guy ever preaches about is tithing to the church.  Money, money, money!”

 

Well, #1, if you have been here any length of time you know that’s not true.  I rarely talk about money.  In fact, I talk about it much less than Jesus did.  I can quote any number of verses that talk about the wisdom of tithing; how the word means “a tenth” and 10% of our gross income is expected of believers but that’s not my message today.  In fact, I am going to tell you something I don’t think I have ever heard a pastor say before in my life.

This church doesn’t need your money.  You heard me.  I’ll say it again.  This church doesn’t need your money.  Do you know why?  This church doesn’t need your money because Jesus said, “I will build My church.”  He didn’t say He will build it if everybody tithes.  He didn’t say if there is enough money in the bank then I will build My church.  Jesus – who is God and who is the Creator and Sustainer and Redeemer and Deliverer and who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and IS LOADED – said He will build His church.

 

So I have to believe that this church lives and dies by His grace and mercy; at His word and by His Spirit this church will grow and thrive leading people in Lake Bridgeport and around the world to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

So…if God tells you to…give your money to the church down the street…if God tells you to.  Or give your money to support missionaries.  I would rather have a church full of missionary supporters who were obedient to God’s will than a church full of church supporters who thought they were doing this church and God a favor by giving their money.

 

See, when Jesus says to store up treasures in Heaven, He is not saying that for the sake of the church.  He is saying it for the sake of the disciple.  He is not saying that we should support the church.  His message is to the person who wants to be blessed; who believes Jesus and wants to have true wealth; a person who wants to know the truth – not the “truth” of the world that changes every time somebody sees dollar signs.

 

Maybe somebody should stop me but I have to preach it like I read it and Jesus was not talking about support for the church.  There are other passages that talk about that and we will see some of that but right here, Jesus is concerned for the eternal blessings of His disciples.  Do you want to spend your money on things that don’t satisfy or on things that will?  If you want an eternal inheritance that satisfies eternally; if you want true wealth, then deposit your money where it will do the kind of good that Jesus was doing. 

 

For your sake, deposit your money where lives are being changed.  For your sake, put your money where people are coming to know the Lord; where people are maturing and growing in Christ.  Deposit it where prayers are being answered.  Give to where marriages are restored.  Give to help the poor and the addicted.  Is Christ Fellowship a place where all of that happens?

 

Yes, it is but don’t give to Christ Fellowship thinking that a few bucks (or lots of bucks) are going to make you and God even for the week.  Don’t give out of guilt.  Don’t give expecting to get anything back in this world.  Deposit your money in the bank of Christ Fellowship – or the church down the street or to missionaries or wherever God leads you – knowing that God sees you and knows your heart like He knew the widow who gave the two mites (Luke 21).  “And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, ² and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. ³ So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; ⁴ for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”  God sees your heart.

 

The church doesn’t need your money but you need to give it and knowing where to give it is the next part of the message Jesus is giving in verses 22 and 23.  Here Jesus turns from talking about our heart to talking about our eyes.  Several times in scripture the eye is equivalent to the heart, metaphorically. 

In Psalm 119 the psalmist says in verse 10, “I seek you with all my heart.”  And then in verse 18 he says, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”  So Jesus is continuing His thought about how to invest in treasure that will last and says we will know where to invest if we have a “good eye”.

“Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”  J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 80.  Read again.  Wisdom!  Wisdom allows us to see where our heart is now and to know where it needs to be.  Just like our physical eyes allow us to see where we are and where we need to be, so do our spiritual eyes gained by wisdom.  So, where do we get true wisdom?  Science?  Knowledge? School?  Friends?  The world would say yes but remember, everything Jesus said in this sermon is counter-cultural so don’t bet on any of that.

 

I love how the New Living Translation translates Proverbs 4:7:  “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!”  How’s that for a wise proverb?  But the question remains, how do we get it?  How do we get wisdom to know where our treasure is and should be? 

 

Well, here’s a couple of quick things about wisdom in general.  We all know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom as it says in Psalms and Proverbs.  Also, James says that we can just ask God for wisdom and He will give it generously. (James 1:5)

 

Now, let me ask you about this next verse.  1 Chronicles 29:12 says, “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.”  Do you believe that?  Do you really believe that God is the source of all wealth?  If you do, raise your hand.  Well, if that is true then why would you not just go to God and ask Him for “good eyes” to see how much you are to give, how much you are to save and how much you are to spend on chrome for the Harley, knowing, believing and trusting that even if God tells you to give more than you think you should, you know He will provide for all your needs?

 

Adrian Rogers was one of my favorite preachers and years ago he said, “Sometimes, when I get busy, I find my life not centered on Christ. I'm double‑minded, and I have to take a deep breath and say, "Only You, Lord. I want to be sin­gle‑minded about You." Then I take everything and just give it to Jesus. I give Him my work, my family, all my possessions, my position, my abilities, and even myself. There are times when I struggle with that, so I have to wrestle with my attitude until I can acknowledge Christ as Lord over all. Then it's as though my body is full of light.”

 

Isn’t that fascinating?  He felt as though his body was full of light when he had “good eyes” (wisdom) to turn everything over to the One in whom all wealth comes.  That’s why Jesus is saying here that it takes good eyes to see where your treasure is and wisdom brings that trust that allows us to go to God with open hands because everything we have is His and everything He has is ours. (John 17)  That’s true wisdom.

 

Lastly, let’s see what Jesus says in verse 24 about true worship.  Verse 24 says, ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”  Notice that He doesn’t say that you shouldn’t serve two masters.  He says you can’t serve two masters.  It is impossible.  It will not happen.

 

The word "servant" in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master's purchased property. Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told. (James Packer, Your Father Loves You,  Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.)

 

That does not sound like a very good way of life does it?  To be owned by someone else and to be on call for them 24/7 – not me!  I am not owned by anybody, right?  Wrong.  Jesus is saying that you will be owned by one of the two.  Either you will be owned by God or by money.

 

Now a lot of people, probably most people would have to disagree with what Jesus is saying here.  They just know it’s not true because they do it all the time.  They serve God on Sundays and they go to work on weekdays.  It’s no problem.  Or they serve God with half of their hearts and money with the other half.  No big deal.  Or they say they serve God but really serve money or they even deny serving anything.  They serve themselves.

 

Nowhere does God condemn having stuff, even nice stuff.  1 Timothy 6:17, in fact, says, “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”  The problem is that when you take that money, that stuff, those good things God has provided and you start to cherish those things more than you cherish your relationship with the Lord.  Let me put it this way.  If you can go to God and say, “God, you can have every part of my life…except this thing”, then “this thing” has become your god.

 

God says in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another!”  We all just agreed that God is the source of all wealth.  If He is the source, the how dare we pretend to keep some of it from Him.  The thing is that God is not asking for your permission.  He gives and takes away as He sees fit.  He wants your attitude to be right so He can bless you even more, maybe here and now and maybe then and yonder.

 

God wants your attitude to be right to have true wealth that comes from depositing your money where the work of God is being done.  He wants you to have true wisdom that gives “good eyes” to see where your treasure is and where it should be.  He demands true worship that says, “God, I give you every part of me and all that I have.  I’m not giving permission.  I’m just agreeing with you that you are the giver and supplier of all wealth and all good things and you can have all that I have because I know that ultimately, all you have is mine.  So I worship you in spirit and in truth and with all that I have.”

 

All of that is counter-cultural.  The world says to get all you can because you deserve it.  But the Bible is truth and it says in Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

 

God doesn’t need your money.  This church doesn’t need your money.  As disciples, as we start to grow and mature in our relationship with Jesus, we see His blessings in our lives and will see the eternal blessings in Heaven when our attitude about money is right.  Do you have that relationship with Him today?