Sermon Select

Joseph of Arimathea: A Covert Plodder 8/8/99

Luke 23:50-53

Jesus Christ said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

In the Biblical era as in every age there has been a legion to do so. Today there are many who march in the ranks of the loyal. In matters of faith as with all disciplines there have been plodders, people who hang in there for the long run. These are people of purpose. They are not necessarily front runners but they are finishers.

To refer to them as plodders is by no means a slur. The term isn’t a synonym for klutz or buffoon. Nor does it means to poke or drag along. It means to consistently pursue with a purpose. I aspire to be a plodded.

Conversely, unfortunately at all times there have been those who are slow learners and reluctant to fully obey Him. Happily some become late bloomers because they do quietly plod along.

Athletic annals are filled with examples of plodders.

One of my favorite announcers who was one of my favorite baseball pitchers is Don Sutton. June 21, 1986, Don became only the thirtieth pitcher to win over 300 games.

He performed few extraordinary feats. Only once did he win more than 20 games. Only once did he lead the league in any category (2.21 ERA, 1980).

He said of himself, “I never considered myself flamboyant or exceptional. But all my life I’ve found a way to get the job done.” Plodders do, they get the job done.

Sutton called himself “A grinder and a mechanic.” America saw six presidents come and go while Don did what a pitcher is suppose to do; he won games. With tunnel-vision he spent twenty-one seasons redefining greatness. He was a plodder. He was reliable.

Follow this plodder. In high school his sports career almost ended when he broke his ankle. His mom wanted him to quit football because he was too small. Slowed by the break the coach moved him to quarterback. When he finished high school he wanted to go to Notre Dame. However, the Irish were reluctant to gamble on a six foot, 138 pound quarterback. The University of Louisville took a chance. His college career blossomed enough that the Pittsburgh Steelers took a chance and drafted him as their 9th pick. They cut him right away. The Cleveland Browns promised him “next year” but he never heard from them. A year later the Baltimore Colts did take a chance on him. In the fourth game of the year with the Colts leading the Browns 20 – 14 their quarterback broke his leg. The aspiring young quarterback went in and threw his first pass for a touchdown as the opposing safety intercepted and ran it back. On the first play after the kick off he fumbled and the Browns covered it for a touchdown.

He lost 58 – 27.

He was a plodder. He being, Johnny Unitus, who when inducted in the NFL Hall of Fame was called “the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.” Unitus, called “the golden arm,” holds the record for the most consecutive games in which a TD pass was thrown. Johnny Unitus, was a plodder, a winner.

Come with me now to the Scripture as we consider the second plodder in our series. The first was Anna who had prayed for the coming of Messiah and at the age of 84 saw the infant in the temple. She was a plodder present at His birth.

Now at His burial we find another plodder, Joseph of Arimathea. He was a rich intellectual plodder who asked Pilate for the lifeless body of Jesus Christ that he might bury it. That was a bold open identity with the man crucified. It was a dramatic departure from his past.

Joseph is described as “being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly” (John 19:38). The reason for being a covert follower is given “fear.”

He was a member of the equivalent of the Supreme Court of that day, the Sanhedrin.

Noted in Luke 23:51 is an important event. He, a disciple of Jesus, was there the night the Sanhedrin, afforded Christ a mock trial, falsely accused and condemned Him to death. However, Luke notes “he had not consented to their counsel and deed.” He was a decenter.

Logically the term secret and disciple don’t go together. A disciple is a learner, one who follows the teaching of another. Against a lifetime of learning one system of religion He had been awakened to the truth taught by Christ. His faith was strong enough at this stage of his development to want to learn and grow. However, old beliefs like old habits are hard to break away from. He had enough faith to want to learn from Christ.

He had enough fear that he was reluctant to be identified with Christ openly. All the time his faith was covert he was learning.

He knew he would be the object of derision, would lose his leadership role, disrupt friendships, and negatively impact his financial fortune if he openly identified with Christ. All of those things still serve as significant centennials used by Satan to keep people from taking a stand for Jesus. We are prone to ask of ourselves: “what will my friends think?,” “will I lose my position?,” and “how will it impact me financially?”

Though those costs must be considered there is one question that must take precedence over them. It is, “what does Jesus Christ want me to do?” It is often said, “Is there a decision that you know it would please Christ for you to make? If so make it without regard for anything or anyone else.”

In the gospel there is a group of people that typify many today: “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42, 43).

A person professed faith in Christ and let it be known in a small group. There was no follow-up, no public profession of faith. No evidence of wanting to obey Christ and experience New Testament believers baptism. Upon being asked why not the answer was, “I have prayed about it and God and I decided to keep it a secret.”

In making that statement I am convinced the person was conscientious. However, our thoughts and opinions should be measured against the Biblical norm. Let’s measure that position against God’s standard. The decision to trust Christ as Savior is the most personal decision one will ever make. However, in the Bible this highly personal experience was never private. At this stage of our story Joseph’s faith was still private. You may be at that stage at this point. However, momentarily you are going to know what caused Joseph to overcome all his fears and go public. At that point you should do as he and go public.

Joseph was in process. He was learning.

Luke gives him an admirable identity. He is depicted as being “a good and just man.”

“Good” describes what he was personally internally. His goodness resulted in the second trait, he was “just.” This describes his external conduct in dealing with others.

If good works saved a person this man had a lock on heaven. He was intellectual, as evidenced by being on the Supreme Court, he was described as wealthy, and characterized as good and just. Even those admirable traits don’t save. Reflect on this summary:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

Anna, in the temple, is depicted as waiting for the kingdom. Joseph was “waiting for the kingdom of God” (Luke 23:52).

That is the quality that kept his faith alive. He lived a life of expectancy. That energizes life. It frees a person to celebrate life.

The waiting is about over. The center of Joseph’s universe is about to change.

In the cartoon “the Wizard of Id” the dwarfish king of Id enters the workshop of Wiz and finding him staring through a telescope asks, “Whacha looking for, Wiz?” The astrologer answers, “The center of the universe.” The little king answers, “Speaking!” That is a powerful statement of self- centeredness.

The self-centered world of Joseph was about to become a Christ centered world. The same reason that effected this change is the one that should change ours. In a moment it will be noted.

After his colleagues condemned Christ He was immediately crucified. His disciples who had followed Christ for three years were without means and unavailable to bury Him. It was common for the corpse of persons crucified to be thrown on a pile of unclaimed corpses.

Enter Joseph. The secret disciple is about to remove his disguise and acknowledge His allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Joseph was a wealthy man who owned a tomb in a garden near Calvary where Christ was crucified. He went to Pilate and asked to be allowed to bury Christ. What a moment that must have been. In that moment the most powerful religious leader of the day looked into the face of this legal leader and saw a new loyalty. Joseph was a secret disciple no longer. What a murmur must have gone through the assembly. Joseph did not care.

Realizing how cowardly he had been at the trial he became bold in asking for the body of Christ. He was indecisive no longer.

Joseph was about to step on the stage of history as a main player in the fulfillment of prophecy. When he placed the body of Christ in his own personal tomb he was fulfilling prophecy. Isaiah (53:9) had prophesied centuries before Messiah would be buried with the rich.

There is a painting by Peter Bruegel entitled “The Blue Cloak.” In it he has combined at least 78 proverbs, maxims, rhymes, and symbols. One shows a woman carrying fire in her right hand and a bucket of water in the left. It represents an old proverb, “she carries fire in one hand and water in the other,” meaning she carries two contradictory opinions.

Jesus put it simply: “You cannot serve two masters.”

The apostle Paul was equally direct: “Be of one mind.”

Now comes the reason the secret disciple was no longer covert but committed openly.

All the time he had been learning from Christ He had been searching the Scripture. Though secret He was searching. Fortified with facts one act completed the transition.

What was it?

The thing that moved Him to acknowledge his faith and openly demonstrate his devotion was the death of Christ. In that he saw the love of Christ for Him. That love took precedence over all else and he could restrain himself no longer. Out of the depth of love he responded publically. That is the highest form of motivation. The love of Christ enables us to overcome our fears and take a stand regardless of the restraints. It moved Joseph from the category of secret disciple to stalwart disciple. He was no longer a covert disciple but a committed disciple.

The plodder went public.

Mark 15:43 reveals that Joseph “boldly” went to Pilate and asked for the body of Christ. The coward became courageous motivated by Christ’s compelling love as demonstrated on the cross.

Anna: A Consistent Plodder 8/1/99

Luke 2:36-38

Jesus Christ knows you. Not only does He know you, He loves you. Today you are invited to know Him and to know Him better.

His birth was almost a covert act of God. Being born of peasant parents, in a innocuous village, in a unpopular part of the world did little to popularize His birth.

He could have come with regal pomp, With the herald of the archangel’s trump. With a peal as loud and dread As that which shall someday wake the dead. But for that herald gem The star that stood over Bethlehem Not even the angels on His natal morn Would have known that the Son of God was born. As was the custom of the era the infant’s parents took Him to the temple to be dedicated. This is where our story begins. It is a story to inspire all. There He was met by a wonderful woman worth your knowing, a true plodder.

The term “plodder” as used in these messages is used in a most complimentary manner. It means persons who have “stick-to-itive-ness.” They aren’t quitters. They encounter puzzles and problems and work through them. They are confronted by challenges and deal with them constructively. A plodder doesn’t have give up in his or her makeup. I would like to be worthy of being considered a plodder.

Some of the greatest achievers of all times have been plodders.

Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all times, was totally deaf for the last eight years of his life. During that time he composed what is acclaimed as his greatest musical work, the stirring Ninth Symphony. Yet, he never heard it. Attending its first public presentation he had no idea of the audience approval until he saw them stand and engage in prolonged applause.

John Milton considered one of England’s greatest poets wrote his magnificent epic, “Paradise Lost” after 12 years of blindness.

See a dwarf-like cripple named Charles Steinbeck having to stand and lean on his work station. He became one of the most outstanding electrical geniuses of all times. He holds patents on over 100 inventions. An indomitable will guided him to accomplishments seldom matched.

Come now and meet one of the first female plodders of the New Testament. She should be an encouragement to all. Hopefully you will find her a motivating influence in your life.

Waiting there in the temple when Mary and Joseph arrived with the infant Jesus was the aged Anna. Her very name means “grace.” It is estimated that there are over one-half million persons with that name today.

Let’s learn from the Biblical plodder and respond positively.

I. SHE HAD LIMITATIONS
After only seven years of marriage sorrow struck her young life. She was widowed from then to the end of her eighty-four years. In her youth grief gripped her like a vice. Uncertainty surrounded her.

Sorrow can make us bitter or better. It can uproot our faith or produce the fruit of faith. It can cause a person to turn from God or turn to Him. Her responses turned her scars into stars of hope.

She was aged, 84. Age inevitably robs the body of vitality. It can do worse, it can take away a persons heart and rob them of hope. The decline of the body doesn’t have to diminish ones spirit.

She was inspired to keep plugging away by three primary influences. She worshiped regularly, prayed often, and lived expectantly. This kept hope alive.

Abraham Lincoln said, “We are as young as our hopes and as old as our fears. I have known some old teens and some youthful aged individuals.

II. SHE KNEW GOD’S WORD
She knew the prophecies related to the coming of Messiah. Knowing them and being sensitive to the signs of the time she had great expectations regarding Him coming in her life time.

“Thy word have I hid in my heart” is an expedient today.

I heard it asked recently, “What is the most unread book in the world?” The answer, the car owners manual. Who wrote it? The manufacturer. The very one who knows the car best put in it information as to how to get the most out of your car. Yet, we simply want to get in and drive. You can and it likely will run well, at least for a time. You can get more out of it if you digest the manual. It will function better and longer if you do.

The Bible is the manual provided by the manufacturer of life, your life.

She knew the Scripture and knew when it was fulfilled.

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots” (Isaiah 11:1).

Many “Far Side” cartoons fascinate me. One showed a game show in progress. One of the three contestants was God. As you tune in on the contest the host is saying, “That’s right, Wisconsin! And so it looks like God has 500 points while Norm, our current champion, has zero!”

It is a superb depiction of the wisdom of God compared to our foolishness. You would not want to go on Jeopardy with God. Anyone who contests Him is in jeopardy.

To be a successful plodder and have inspiration for life get to know God’s Word, the Bible.

III. SHE TRUSTED GOD
Our life should be based on this couplet: God said it, I believe it, That settles it!

Imagine the young widow Anna when she first went to the temple. Hope ran high. Expectancy bubbled over. Messiah is coming. A year lapsed and He had not come. Well He will! Two years, no Messiah. Surely time would dim her hope. It didn’t. She was a plodder.

The only reason she had of expecting Messiah was God’s Word. That alone stimulated her unfailing faith. If she had your temperament would she have begun to waver and criticize God for not acting. After about forty years she might have had cause to give up on the project.

She lived ready for glory.

IV. SHE WAS CONSISTENT
“Night and day” she was in the temple. Plodders hang in there.

Anne Scheiber was a 101 year old plodder when she died in January 1995. For years she had lived in a tiny, run-down, rent-controlled studio apartment in Manhattan which rented for $400 a month. She had retired in 1943 and lived on Social Security and a very small retirement check. As an IRS auditor she had not done well and the agency had not done well by her. Despite being a lawyer and doing good work she had not been promoted. When she retired at age 54 she was making only $3,150 a year. Her neighbors admired her thrift in her struggle to survive. She didn’t spend money on herself. As things wore out she didn’t replace them. Instead of subscribing to the paper she went to the public library once a week and read “The Wall Street Journal.”

Imagine the surprise of Norman Lamm, President of Yeshiva University in New York when this unknown lady left her estate to the school. The estate this plodder, Anne Scheiber left Yeshiva was worth $22 million.

In the temple Anna kept investing her faith in God. She never cashed out in the good or bad times.

Are you an Anna plodder, a day and night servant of the Lord. Faith waited ….

V. SHE HAD SELF-CONTROL
She is depicted as praying and fasting. Fasting is a picture of crucifying the flesh. Our appetites for food is a strong basic one. Fasting shows the ability to control ones appetite and that is an indication of a will to control all appetites. Galatians 5:23 speaks of self-control. It is an evidence of a Spirit filled life.

Without self-control she would not have been in the temple day and night for years.

Then one day it happened. Mary and Joseph entered the temple with their infant Jesus. In a moment we will consider her expression, but first consider her emotions. Has there ever been someone or something for which you have patiently waited for what seemed to be a long time? Such were her emotions. Then it happened. She saw Messiah and in that instance she gave thinks to God.

VI. SHE BECAME A MISSIONARY
She “spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Vs. 38). She shared the good news. She was demonstrative.

Her many years of plodding faithfulness began with a single act one day. It resulted in a life- time commitment.

You can attest to your faith in Christ and thereby witness of Him by the act as your Savior.

You: A Work In Progress 4/2/00

Jesus Christ said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

If that be true of Christ it is also true of us. Therefore, once His will is determined do it heartily as unto the Lord. Pour yourself enthusiastically into what you do.

It was said of Joan of Arc, the Maid of Loraine: “She discovered her path and went down it like a thunderbolt.” That is commitment. Can your lifestyle of service be so described or is it better depicted by fits and starts?

The Apostle Paul penned an exhortation to people he loved that the Holy Spirit has directed to people the Father loves. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Is a proof text improperly used by some who support the spurious belief that a person is saved and kept by works. “Work out your own salvation” is asserted to mean you have to devise your own means of salvation by the work you do.

The text doesn’t say work FOR or AT your salvation, but OUT.

Salvation by works makes man and God look bad. It makes man look like everything he does is to get something. It leaves no room for acts of gratitude. It makes God look bad because it makes Him look like He can be bought off.

The text is better understood when interpreted using language of the math classroom. When an equation is written out the instruction regarding the math problem is often “work it out.”

A teacher went to the chalk board and wrote out one of those long equations, such as, X to the 10th power, plus Y, etc. Then she wrote at the end “Find X.” A not so promising math student went to the board, drew an arrow pointing to the X and said, “There it is!”

To assume our text means work to earn your salvation is just as inadequate as that response to the math equation.

All the elements of the math problem were there but the teacher wanted the pupil to carry it to its logical conclusion. To do so in our spiritual life we must work throughout the period of our salvation. We are to do it with “fear and trembling,” which means with “reverence and a healthy respect.”

The Greek verb for “work out,” KATERGAZESTHAI, always has the idea of carrying to a logical conclusion. This is an appeal to “DON’T STOP HALFWAY.” Go on to the very end exercising faith and faithfulness. When exhorted to “work out our own salvation” the appeal is to carry it to its logical conclusion. That is, work through out the time you are saved to reach the end intended, to accomplish the purpose God had in mind for you.

Nearby the Dematiaceae Chapel in Florence, Italy is the Academy of Art. Florence is the location of one of Michelangelo’s most magnificent works, David. As a sculptor he produces such great works as Moses, the Pieta, and David. His highly acclaimed work is incomparable.

A large chamber in the Academy building houses what are known as Michelangelo’s slaves. They are incomplete works of art that were in progress at the time of his death.

He always started with a piece of stone which yielded to his will as his skilled hands freed from it the intended work of art. Until the moment of completion each was always an incomplete work of art in progress. These incomplete works are called “slaves” because they have not yet been completely freed from the stone.

One is of a man whose upper torso and head are complete. The lower part is still the block of unhewn stone. It appears as though the man is standing in stone. In another the lower extremities of the body are complete and the unfinished block of stone rests on the person’s shoulders. It is as though he is struggling to free himself from the stone.

These incomplete works lack the quality of the completed works principally because they are unfinished. Do they mirror your life? Have you stopped part way in your spiritual pilgrimage? Don’t stop half-way. Let our Lord finish the work he began in you the moment of salvation. Let Him free you from spiritual enslavement.

To carry your salvation to its logical conclusion God is willing to help. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Pray for Him to reveal His will to you knowing He will once He sees in you the will to do it. Pray:

“Lord guide me, the sea is so big and my boat is so small.”

Often God guides through long and uncertain pathways. However, if we will follow He will guide.

Young Kurt’s world was turned up-side-down when at age 4 his dad left home. Fortunately there were Christian male role models that came into his life. Some were coaches who saw potential in little Kurt as he developed. He played football at Cedar Rapids High, and earned a scholarship to Northern Iowa where he warmed the bench for four years before becoming a fifth year starter. He got a try out with Green Bay but lasted only two weeks in preseason camp.

He went back to Cedar Rapids and took a job as a stock boy in a Hy-Vee Grocery Store paying $5.50 an hour. Their slogan is “A Smile In Every Aisle.”

While working there he got a call offering him an opportunity to play for the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League. This eight man game played indoors on a field about half the size of a normal field, but that was better than nothing for a competitor. After a few seasons he was offered a chance to play for the Amsterdam Admirals in the Netherlands.

In 1992 Kurt Warner married a Christian who stimulated his own faith. Their shared faith in God is summed up in this statement by Kurt: “I never lost hope, He had a plan for me.”

Last year shortly before the NFL season began Kurt Warner was signed by the St. Louis Rams to play back-up quarterback. His wife Brenda reminded him, “If you have faith in God’s plan, things will work out for you.”

An injury to the franchise quarterback put Kurt in the starting role. It was a fabled season. He threw 41 touchdown passes and amassed 4,353 yards to lead the leagues Number 1 ranked offense and be named the leagues MVP.

This past season at age 28, in the Georgia Dome, he led the Rams to the Super Bowl championship and became the games MVP.

In the post-game interview in the Dome and on global TV he said, “Let first things be first! I want to give all the glory and all the praise to the Lord and Savior above. THANK YOU JESUS.”

His coach, Dick Vermeil said of Kurt Warner: “He is a classic example of what we would all like to be – on and off the field. He has persistence and a deep faith.”

We can’t all be Superbowl MVP’s but we can show the same faithfulness to God’s calling upon our lives. Kurt’s example is a living appeal to pray:

“Lord, free me from the pressure of doing great
things in the world by being great in doing small things for you.
Help me to persist even though I want to give up.
Help me to keep trying even though I can’t see what good it does.
Help me to keep praying although at times I’m not sure You hear me.
Help me to keep living in a way that seeks to please You.
Help me to know when to lead and when to follow.
Help me to know when to speak and when to keep silent.
Help me to know when to wait and when to act.
Lord, please help me to hang on.
Please don’t let me give up.
Help me to remember that, like the sun in the morning,
You come when it is time.”

“It is God who works in you both to will and to do…” The same Greek word is translated “works” and “to do.” It is ENERGEIN. In it we can hear our word for energy. This word is only used in the New Testament as a reference to action of God. It is effective action because it is action of God. His actions are not to remain half-finished. Carry your salvation to its logical conclusion.

Observe, this Bible and glove.

I might say to the glove, “I want you to pick up the Bible. It is my will for you to do it!” Nothing happens.

I might appeal, “Please pick up the Bible. I really want you to.” Still no response.

I might order the glove to pick up the Bible, “Pick it up and do it NOW!” If it does —- that door is mine.

I might even demonstrate how to pick up the Bible and appeal to the glove, “Now, do it like that.” Still no action.

I might preach to it, “Pick up the Bible, it’s the thing to do. There is great joy in picking up Bible. Now is the time.” Nothing! It can’t pick up the Bible.

BUT if I put my hand in the glove —– then the will, power and ability of my hand becomes the will, power and ability of the glove. When that happens the glove can do what my hand wants to do and the Bible is picked up easily.

It is Christ who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.

The illustration only breaks down when it is realized that we unlike the glove have the will to resist the Hand. We in our will must be willing to say, “Thy will be done.” When we do it is done by His enabling grace.

Without your consenting help even the actions of God are not completed.

He enlightens and empowers us. He reveals His will and He gives resources for doing it. Therefore, don’t argue with God: “Do all without murmuring and disputing” (Philippians 2:14).

Instead of arguing with God work with the conviction that the promises of God are true.

A logical conclusion of our salvation is that our life should be a sacrificial life of servanthood. Paul uses his life as an illustration: “I am being poured out like a drink offering” (Philippians 2:17). This was a process used in making sacrifices by the Jews and pagans. At a time in the ceremony of worship a drink that would have been a tasty refreshing beverage was poured on the sacrifice as a sacrifice itself. Paul depicted his life as perpetually being sacrificed to and for Christ.

That depicts our biggest problem as Christians. We evidence an unwillingness to give up control of our lives, to abandon them in faith to become Christ like. We give the impression that our lives can’t be good unless we control them. Our trust of Christ must bring us to the point where we are willing to be poured out as a sacrifice knowing the future belongs to God.

Talking about abandonment is beautiful and easy. Doing it is right and responsible — but also challenging.

The statement “work out your own salvation” is an imperative moral command to be obeyed. Don’t downgrade your responsibility as some do. They refer to believers as passive objects, such as, clay and branches, forgetting the Bible also calls us ambassadors, soldiers, servants, watchmen, and children of God.

God works IN and we work OUT. Christianity isn’t a matter of ups and downs but ins and outs.

Look at the linkage in Philippians 2:12 and 13: “…work out your own salvation … for it is God who works in you both to will and to do…”

The Lord works in our thought processes. He works in us to will. We can either dismiss His thoughts and neglect them or let them become ours and result in our actions.

Make sure your thoughts are Christ’s thoughts
because they become your words.
Make sure your words are Christ’s words
because they become your actions.
Make sure your actions are Christ’s actions
because they become your habits.
Make sure your habits are Christ’s habits
because they become your values.
Make sure your values are Christ’s values
because they become your destiny.

It all begins with a thought and ends with a destiny. When inspired and aware of His will do it. Your destiny is at risk.

Thus, we are depicted as the engine and He as the fuel. Both are required if the proper function is to be performed. He is the in filling, unfailing, empowering, and enabling Source.

He is our inspiration. He provides the will, that is, the knowledge as to what to do. He doesn’t quit then. It isn’t as though He gives us a grand
revelation and not the capacity to do it. He works in us to do His good will.

A person suffering from a deadly disease may be offered an absolute cure for the disease that is certain to be fatal. However, the cure is of no effect unless the patient takes the medicine.

A mentor may have the answer to a perplexing question causing great difficulty but the solution isn’t achieved if the student stubbornly refuses the scholars wisdom.

So God offers salvation that works but it is of no effect if the persons won’t respond positively to His offer.

Whistle While You Work 9/3/00

II Thessalonians 3:10-13

JESUS CHRIST said, “I must work the work of Him that sent me…” (Acts 9:4).

He also said, “My father worketh hitherto, and I must work.” (John 5:17).

If Jesus worked, who am I to think I shouldn’t?

If Jesus worked because the Father worked, who am I that I should not emulate my Heavenly Father.

If America fails as a society it will be because a vital principle in our text is neglected. It will be because we have forgotten that all persons are responsible for their own welfare and accountable for their own moral behavior.

Not only is it important that we work but that we work with the right motive and spirit.

Recently we traveled along the Rhine River in Germany through the mountains where the legend of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs originated. That popular fairy tale became the subject of Walt Disney’s first feature length animated film in 1937. Anyone who has ever heard it has to like it. My imagination is so fertile that I could envision the little characters which never existed as though they still live in those German mountains — the Wicked Queen, the Prince, Snow White, and of course Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy, Dopey, and all the rest. The thing that amazed me was that they whistled on their way to the mines where they worked. Remember them singing…

“Just whistle while you work… So, hum a merry tune. It won’t take long where there’s a song to help you set the pace… whistle while you work.”

That is the attitude with which we Christians should approach all of our work.

There is morality in work. God’s instructions to Adam and Eve set the standard for humanities work ethic. He told them to “dress” the garden. The Hebrew word meant to cultivate by labor. He then said “keep” it. This meant to protect it. He concluded by saying this should be done by the
“sweat of the brow.” By this is meant a living is to be earned by working.

Have you figured out why you are tired so much of the time.

The average person works 1/3 of a day, 8 hours.
That is, they work only 122 days a year.
There are 52 Sundays they don’t work.
52 from 122 leaves only 70 work days each year.
There are 52 Saturdays they don’t work.
52 from 70 leaves only 18 work days a year.
There are two weeks of vacation each year, 14 days.
14 from 18 leaves only 4 work days each year.
The average worker takes off 3 sick days a year.
3 from 4 leaves only one work day a year.

No wonder you are so tired. You are the only one working.

In the New Testament era there were believers in the church at Thessalonica who believed in the second coming of Christ so intently that they quit their jobs and sat around waiting for His glorious return. Aspirations regarding Christ’s advent is admirable. However, it should motivate action not apathy. In light of their attitude, Paul, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit issued the Thessalonian Welfare Reform Act which stated: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” Simple isn’t it?

A good work ethic is rare today. To succeed a good work ethic is essential. The fact many don’t have a good work ethic reduces the competition for those who do. Climbing the ladder of success isn’t difficult. The challenge is getting through that muddled mass at the base of the ladder.

Ethics on the ladder are hard to find also. There are those trying to climb the ladder of success who are licking the shoes of those above them and stomping the hands of those under them. Don’t lick, don’t stomp, to succeed just climb. That is, do your job and do it well.

Some people are as lethargic at work as one girl described her blind date. She told her friend she had to slap her blind date six times. Her friend asked if he was overly aggressive. “No,” she said, “I thought he was dead.”

In appealing for a good work ethic I want to caution against becoming a work-a-holic. Don’t make life a rat race. After all if you win the rat race you are still a rat. The rat race for some persons is so demanding they are now making cheese flavored tranquilizers.

Dr. Nelson Braley, Chief of Psychiatric Studies at Lutheran General Hospital in Chicago, said, “We deplore all forms of addiction except that of the work-a-holic.” He continued, “Put enough pressure on any person and they will become an addict.”

Many people put pressure on themselves. There is a vicious cycle: we want things —- things costs money —- money costs work —- and work costs time.

When you are up to your neck in alligators it is hard to remember your job is to drain the swamp. Avoid the alligators of personally imposed pressure so you can more effectively drain the swamp.

Dr. Braley concluded: “Any change must come from within. We can attack addiction with rules about work and vacations, but the only answer is religion. A new set of values.”

Our goal of happiness is reached only when there is “godliness with contentment.”

My dear friend, Wallace Johnson, one of the co- founders of Holiday Inn was asked why with all his resources and wealth he continued to work so energetically and expressed such strong faith. He replied, “When you have them, then you know that’s not where contentment is found. It is only through Jesus Christ.”

Money will buy:
A bed but not sleep
Books but not a brain.
Food but not an appetite.
A house but not a home.
Medicine but not health.
Luxuries but not culture.
Amusement but not happiness.
A crucifix but not a Savior.

Let’s make application of this text first to the world of your career and profession, and then to your service for our Lord within His church.

Keep three things of importance in mind:

I. YOUR ABILITY
Whatever your ability is use it to the fullest to the glory of the Lord. Manifest the spirit of the magnificent sculptor Michelangelo who said: “It is only well with me when I have a chisel in my hand.” Thus, he was only happy when productive. You will also find your greatest happiness when you are productive. In the church or the working world you will never be happy and productive if all you seek are your rights and your entitlement.

God doesn’t expect you to be the best at everything you do, but to do your best at everything you do.

II. YOUR AVAILABILITY
It is important that we notice what our text does not say before we observe what it does say.

The word translated “work” is ERGAZOMAI. It does not relate to the disabled or legitimately unemployed. It is not possible for them to work. It targets those who “will not work”. The word for this is THELO meaning they don’t “wish to work”. Thus the passage means if there are those who do not aspire, desire, or intend to work they should not be fed. It is aimed at those who are able but unwilling to work.

John Calvin writing on this verse said, “Paul censures those lazy drones who live by the sweat of others, while they contribute no service in common for aiding the human race.”

As unimaginable as it seems to industrious people there are many such people in our society. They are so far removed from the work ethic that they think manual labor is second baseman for the Mets.

III. YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY
Every person shall someday give an account to the Lord. Know what you are to do and do it. A teammate once told Hank Aaron that most batters held the bat in such a way as to be able to read the label. He said, “I don’t go up there to read.”

A theme text of my life is Colossians 3: 23: “Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord.” Do it with enthusiasm.

A person is capable of enjoying his or her leisure time in direct proportion to the extent they know they have earned it. That is one reason so many
people are discontent even in their leisure. They know they haven’t earned it.

You have an audience of one, the Lord. Please Him and you can be pleased yourself.

READ: EPHESIANS 6:5 – 7.

In the word “obedient” is inherent the idea of listening carefully to instructions and following them.

Work “not with eye service, as men-pleasers,” that is don’t require a lot of supervision in order to be productive. Let your attitude toward your job be: “The Lord gave me this job, therefore, I am going to perform it in a way that would be pleasing to Him.”

A person with a good work ethic needs little supervision. No amount of supervision is adequate for a person who doesn’t have a good work ethic.

Now let’s make application of the Christian work ethic to the Christian community called the church. Are there those within the church who do not work for the Lord? That is, they render no service for the Lord.

With all the service that needs to be rendered in the church, what are you doing.

As an infant I slept in a church bed I didn’t pay for. On sheets I didn’t buy. I was heated and cooled by utilities I didn’t provide. Through age 16 I contributed little or nothing to the church.

There are in every church spiritual infants who are contributing nothing. Just as someone provided for us until we had grown to the point we could contribute so we must provide for them.

READ: Ephesians 2:8, 9 and 10. We are His workmanship created to do good works. I want to call you to service. I want to call you to service with a whistle on your lips. That is, I want to appeal to you to serve the Lord with gladness.

Service for Christ’s church.

He’ll Make a Way 9/10/00

Jeremiah 29:10-13

Jesus Christ, the God who knows your load limit will limit your load. Does it ever seem He doesn’t? That is a false perception not true reality. He is able to deliver us in every situation. For years the church has sung:

“He is able to deliver thee…”

There are moments in our lives when He gives us occasion to prove we really believe that “He is able to deliver…” on His promises. Trust Him and you will see He is a God of His Word.

Ask Moses on the banks of the sea with the mighty army of Pharaoh closing in on him, “Is He able to deliver?”

Ask little David hiding in the caves of Engedi with the army of Saul thrashing the bushes looking for him to kill, “Is our God able to deliver?”

Ask Daniel coming out of the lions den, “Is He able?”

Ask Joseph in the prison, “Is He able to deliver?”

Ask Jonah in the belly of the great fish, “Is God able to deliver?”

Ask Noah in the storm tossed ark, “Is God able to deliver?”

Hear their chorus, “He is able!”

Ask the children of Israel in Babylonian captivity. “Is He able? Let’s consider their plight and find an answer that is sure to broaden our understanding of His ways.

The people of Israel had been taken into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. Their plight seemed hopeless. They were removed from their home land, forced into slavery, deprived of their customs, stripped of their possessions, and separated from loved ones. How does your current plight compare to theirs? Their future looked bleak, rather hopeless. Heartbroken and hopeless. Observing them in that state lets inquire of them if our God is able to deliver.

In our text it is as though God says four times “I know…”

First,

I. I KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO DO VS. 11
Our King James reads, “I know the thoughts I think of you.” A modern English translation makes this more clear: “I have not lost sight of my plan for you.”

God never takes His mind off you. We think too seldom of Him, but He is ever mindful of us.

He knows the number of the hairs on our heads and every inch of our path. He knows our sorrows and our joys. They are all calculated and catalogued by Him.

God has not forgotten you nor His plan for you. He is ever mindful of what He thinks of you. He even knows our thoughts.

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise…” (I Cor. 3:20).

The Psalmist said: “You understand my thoughts…” (Ps.139:2).

Knowing your thoughts what does He know you think of Him?

God not only says He knows what He is going to do He knows how to do it. He never has to say: “Oops!”

In verse 11 two traits are noted. First, “thoughts of peace and not evil.” Contained in those two words are concepts made more clear in the New English Bible translation: “prosperity and not misfortune.”

While in Babylonian captivity as slaves they developed and have passed on to their descendants a commendable trait that is still associated with our Jewish friends. They went into slavery penniless and returned wealthy. They learned how to work, earn wealth, save it, and use it. That is still a virtue of the Jewish people. That attribute was developed under the harshest of circumstances. What are you learning from your adversities? Do they make you better or bitter?

A Scotchman was visiting the Holy Land. He was captivated by the beauty of the Sea of Galilee. He endeavored to hire a Jewish boat owner to take him on a ride on the sea. The Jew said that would be $100.00 for one hour. The Scotsman exclaimed he could engage a boat for a day for half that much in Scotland. The Jew explained, “Yes, but this is the Holy Land where Christ walked on the water.” The Scotsman responded, “Yes, and now I know why He walked!”

Our God is able to deliver on His promises. He schooled them in economics in slavery.

The expression “to give you a future and an end” is what is called a hen/dia/dys, that is a means whereby a complex idea is expressed in two words connected by a coordinating conjunction. Thus, the expression a “future and an end” means a “hopeful end.” In the end hope won’t be lost. Things will work out because in the things God is working.

As with His people in slavery at the moment He TODAY has us in training for a blessed and glorious future.

This hopeful ending enables us to live with a sense of optimistic expectancy.

Regardless of the appearance God had not forgotten them. Hope was not dead. Appearance may have made it look as though God wasn’t interested in their plight or even that He had forgotten them. Does that sound like a chapter out of your autobiography?

Seventy years is a long time to wait. God told them to go ahead living. He instructed them to marry and have children, to work and learn. All the time they were busy doing these thing He was busy shaping their emancipation.

A dejected teen mused, “I don’t know why God made me!” “He didn’t,” answered her pastor, “He is still at work on you.” Creatively He is still trying to construct us into the image He has in mind for us to become. His very nature is constantly being absorbed into different aspects of our lives. He is never finished with us. This is our hope.

When we begin to doubt God we lose hope. A willing acceptance of God’s discipline and patient submission to it is essential to peace of mind.

We can be like a wild bird in a cage fluttering and flying against the cage till we break our wings and fall in exhaustion. Or, we can be like the canary that accepts its plight and sits on its swing and sings knowing it is provided for.

If we begin to doubt God we become victims of despondency, impatience, and rebellion. Confidence in your doctor is part of the cure for your ailment. Confidence in our God brings peace.

Even in their bondage the Hebrews realized they were God’s people not Babylon’s slaves. They had their condition in perspective. That perspective grew, and hope flourished.

Augustine said, “Two verbs have built two empires —- to have and to be.” A personal empire built on the verb to have is an empire of things. The empire built on the verb to be is a kingdom of character, that is, Christlike qualities. These kingdoms constantly clash. This ageless conflict goes on as each seeks to subdue the other.

The reason it appears America is unraveling at the seams is our society has become a culture of to have at the expense of the virtue of to be. To which kingdom are you given.

Only when to be wins the warfare is there peace in the heart. God knows what He is doing in your life. He is trying to mold you into the likeness of His Son.

He revealed His perfect timing and it was different from mine. He is always on time every time.

II. KNOW WHEN I AM GOING TO ACT VS. 10
A false prophet, one wanting to be popular with the people, told them they would be delivered immediately. God said, “After seventy years … I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return…”

God had a time table. He knew when He was going to act. Often our watch is not synchronized with His. Our patience runs out before the sand in His hour glass.

Peter wrote: “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly…” (II Peter 2:9).

Not only does He know how He knows when.

Against that backdrop we need to employ His instructions:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).

We start out as children on vacation asking, “Are we there yet?” When a meaningful event is scheduled our childish inquiry is, “Is it time yet?” In dealing with God we never outgrow such impatient questioning.

For nine years I prayed regarding God’s timing related to retirement. I thought I had it figured out. Through the convergence of circumstances I found my timing was wrong. God’s is always right.

III. I KNOW HOW I AM GOING TO DO IT VS. 12
God said in effect, “When my people become dependent upon Me and call on Me I will then respond.”

Here is God’s phone number: Jeremiah 33:3. It is better than 911.

Observe this further fulfillment of God’s plan as noted in Jeremiah 33:10, 11.

Only when they became dependent upon God would He show Himself dependable. In our circumstances as
in theirs God was shaping their desires. The Psalmist wrote: “He will fulfill the desires of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them” (Psalm 145:19).

God is not only omniscient, all knowing, He is omnipotent, all powerful. The might of Babylon to those slaves may well have seemed impossible to overcome. How could they ever be delivered?

In 536 B.C. God put it in the heart of King Cyrus of Babylon and he issued a decree releasing them to return to their homeland. It was exactly 70 years after their exodus.

Each of us is held in a more consuming slavery. As lost sinners we are captive to one of the two universal super powers. He is the second most powerful extraterrestrial superpower. Satan holds us in the slave market of sin from which there is no way we can extricate our selves. God has a fourfold plan for our deliverance.

“Generation” means birth. The prefix “re” means again. Regeneration means to be born again. Follow His plan carefully. It involves —-
REGENERATION This gives us a new PARENT, nature.
JUSTIFICATION This gives us a new POSTURE, standing.
SANCTIFICATION. This gives us a new POSITION, set apart.
GLORIFICATION This gives us a new PLACEMENT, heaven.

It begins with new birth and ends with a new destination.

God has a wonderful plan for your life and He is able to deliver.

IV. I KNOW WHY I AM GOING TO DO IT VS. 13
The bondage of God’s people in Babylon is in some ways like that every human being experiences spiritually. As He delivered His people from slavery He desires to free us from sin. As He had a plan for them He has a wonderful plan for you.

He is constantly at work in our lives to bring us to Himself. Sometimes He has to strip us of substance and deliver us from the tyranny of things in order for us to see our need of Him. He wants to free us from the kingdom of to have and enable us to enter and enjoy the kingdom of to be.

To do as the text states and “search after God” is to educate ourselves.

God said you shall “find me” when you search for me. You can find God right in the middle of you Babylon if you search for Him.

God knew what He was doing and why it was necessary.