"The Pain of Jesus"
Palm Sunday: April 1, 2012
Isaiah 53:7-12; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:1-11, 26:14-16

Introduction: People always hope that some day they just might win the lottery. “Oh, what I would do with that money,” they might say. For Craig Randall, that day did come. Well, he didn’t exactly win the lottery, but he did win something almost as big.

ILLUS. “The Garbage Truck Driver.” Craig Randall is a garbage truck driver and sometimes he salvages some of the trash that he comes across and brings it home with him. There was a sewing machine that he found, as well as a Wendy’s soft-drink cup. That cup turned out to be worth $200,000! You heard me right, $200,000. Neither he nor his fiancée believed it until they drove to Wendy’s restaurant and picked up his check. When he found the cup he noticed the contest sticker had not been removed, so he decided to give it a try, and he is so glad he did, because underneath the sticker it said: “Congratulations, you have won $200,00 toward a new home. Treasure lifted from the garbage heap!

Although most of us probably won’t win the lottery, or some big cash prize, we can receive a prize even bigger; Salvation; Eternal Life with God in Heaven; AND the assurance that this can never be taken away!! It comes to us by way of the cross of Christ. But, before Christ went to the cross as a criminal, He came into Jerusalem as an honored king.

I. The Pain of the Cross- (Matthew 26:20-25, 73-75; 27:45)

When Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He was riding high. He

was on a donkey, people were honoring Him, shouting Hosanna to Him, giving Him praise. But Jesus knew better than to get too caught up in this. Jesus knew what was before Him. BETRAYAL.

a. Betrayed- Over the next week, Jesus would be betrayed by Judas, by

Peter, and by the whole of humanity.

1. Judas- As we read in the scripture, Judas had become frustrated with Jesus not seeing the big picture. Judas had expected Jesus to take over as a king. The Jews would then rule over the Romans, and Judas, as one of Jesus’ key followers would be rich and powerful. It all appeared to be happening as he hoped when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. But then Jesus didn’t follow through on what Judas had hoped would happen. Jesus wasn’t a king in the same sense of what Judas thought. Jesus kept talking about the kingdom of heaven. Jesus kept saying that he was there to serve, not to be served; to be a servant while He was here on the earth, not to be a ruler of people. So Judas decided it was time to cut his losses and make a little money while he could.

READ Matthew 26:20-25 20When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." 22They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?" 23Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." 25Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."

How those words “Yes, it is you,” must have stung both Judas and Jesus. For Judas to know that Jesus knew of his betrayal. And for Jesus to feel the sting of betrayal from one of his close followers; someone He had poured his life out to.

2. Peter- But Judas wasn’t the only one who betrayed Jesus. There was another disciple as well. MATTHEW 26:73-75 ⁷³After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." ⁷⁴Then Peter began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter, who was called by Jesus, the Rock, on whom Jesus was to build the church, had just betrayed Jesus by denying that he even knew Jesus!

3. Humanity- And then there is humanity itself. Humanity, which has been created by God, betrays their very creator. We display betrayal all the time. When we sin against God we betray Jesus; when we sin against each other, we betray Jesus./ As Dr. Donald Strobe once said: “Sin is not breaking God’s laws; sin is

breaking God’s heart.”

b. The cross- The sin of humanity is what drove Jesus to the cross. In the

midst of the pain, Jesus knew that He must endure it because of what the result would be. Matthew 27:45- “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”/ In this cry, Jesus is feeling the separation of Himself with the Father because the sin of humanity has been laid on Him. Jesus, in this moment, was experiencing the pain of sin, and the punishment of sin that should have been for you, and for me, and the rest of humanity. But Jesus endured it for us.

ILLUS. Clint Eastwood- In the 1993 hit movie “In the Line of Fire,” Clint Eastwood played a Secret Service agent named Frank Horrigan. Horrigan had protected the life of the President for more than three decades, but was haunted by the memory of how he was not able to protect President Kennedy on the fateful day of his assassination. When the assassin had fired, Horrigan froze in shock. From that time on Horrigan wrestled with the question: Can I take a bullet for the President? In the climax of the movie he does just that and saves the President’s life!

Secret service agents are willing to take a bullet for someone they consider worth dying for. The pain of the cross shows us that Jesus thinks that we are worth taking the bullet for; we are worth dying for!

II. The Love of the Cross- (Isaiah 53:11-12)

a. A concrete act- Love is not an abstract concept in the Christian faith.

Love is a concrete act. This is important to remember, because the words “I love you,” are so often said, but not always lived out in concrete ways. Words lose their meaning if they are not acted upon. My kids say that they love me, but I know it all the more when they do what they are asked to do. I know it all the more when they do something nice for me, not just for Father’s Day, but just because they love me. How about this one? Last December we were watching the new show The X-Factor. The winner of the X-Factor was Melanie Amaro. She has a beautiful voice, similar to that of Whitney Houston. After she won I made the statement: “I wish she had an album because I would buy it. Tyler took this to heart, and for my Christmas present he paid for (out of his own money) the downloads from the X-Factor show, the songs Melanie sang on the show, and then transferred them to a CD off the computer. He even made a cover for the album with her picture!

b. Love expressed- Love is expressed in so many ways. We just need to

be more aware of it. If you have ever doubted whether God loves you, all you have to do is look at the cross. The cross expresses the love of God./ You have heard the song “Jesus Loves Me,” which of course says: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” But even more powerful words could be: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Cross, tells me so.”

Isaiah 53:11-12 tells us: ¹¹ After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

If ever we wonder, “Does Jesus Love me?” we can know the answer is yes by remembering the pain that Jesus suffered for us on the cross, and the fact that He suffered and endured this out of His love for us. But there is more, and that is, there is hope in the cross as well.

III. The Hope of the Cross- (John 3:16)

a. The reason for Passover- Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem was seen as

dramatic. But Jesus knew that He was not going to allow Himself to take on the Jewish leaders or the Romans through force; Jesus wasn’t about to lift Himself up as an earthly ruler. Jesus was not going to display His Lordship and power in this way. No. The reason for the celebration of the Passover each year was for the purpose of remembering how God had saved the Jews from the Egyptians during the time of Moses.

You might remember that when Moses came to free the Jews from slavery, Pharaoh time and time again said “NO.” So finally, Moses told Pharaoh that if he did not let the Jews go free, that the angel of death would come, and all firstborn children would die. And then Moses went to his people, and spoke this message; we find it in Exodus 12:1-13 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴ If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire,... Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover. ¹² "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—says the Lord, “both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. ¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

And then we read in Exodus 12:14… ¹⁴ "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance.”/ Jesus was going to be this Passover Lamb for us; for all who believe will be saved. This triumphal entry was the start of the dramatic act that would end on a cross. The act seen here on the first Palm Sunday. Holy week starts with Palm Sunday, which leads to Maundy Thursday where Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and when Jesus was arrested, to Good Friday where He was put on the cross, and ultimately to Easter Sunday!

b. Hope found- As Jesus hung on the cross, He felt all the weight of the sins of the universe on His shoulders, but He also knew that by His wounds we would be made whole. Death would pass-over all who believe. All people who believe in Jesus as their Savior have been made whole by the cross. For 2000 years it has been the unique symbol for all Christians; a symbol that brings hope to our faith and to our lives. As John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son (and when it says “gave,” it means gave Him up to death on the cross), so that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life.”/ If you believe this, really believe it, it will change your life. If ever your faith wavers, all you have to do is look at the cross, and remember the promise. The promise is that you are never without hope. God’s power is there for you!

Conclusion: Palm Sunday is the start of Holy Week. When the people yelled out “Hosanna,” they were crying out “Hail to the king.” It was a call for help. Jesus heard their cry, as God heard the Jews cry when they were in slavery, and Jesus became the “Passover Lamb” to take away the sins of the people. Let us not think about Palm Sunday without letting it take us to Good Friday, and the cross; the cross which reminds us of the pain Jesus suffered, but even more the cross that expresses the love of God, and the hope which is found as we believe in Jesus. Let us celebrate this truth as we partake of the Lord’s Supper together. Amen.

"Stones of Condemnation"
John 8:1-11
Sunday, March 25, 2012

Introduction: Labels have become very complex these days. On any given label, you not only have the product name, but you have the company that made it, along with the ingredients that are in it. On top of that you now can get complete information on how many calories there are in each serving, and the amount of fat, and sugar, and on and on it goes. Some people I’m sure care about all this information. I usually don’t care too much about it. But labels can be good for giving important information.

Unfortunately, throughout the history of our world, we put labels on people as well. This is not a good thing, because once we label someone, it is difficult for us to get past this label. And quite possibly it could be difficult for that person to get past that label as well. Maybe you label someone an underachiever; someone who has potential but doesn’t quite live up to it. If you tell them this enough, they begin to believe it. Or maybe someone is a troublemaker. You keep telling them this over and over.

Have you ever noticed yourself doing this? You see someone, and you judge them right away by their appearance. Maybe they are nicely dressed, with a nice car, and you think they are a wonderful person. Or you see someone in torn jeans, with a tattoo, and 5 earrings, and think they are someone you don’t want to get near. And yet, by putting labels on people, you limit yourself to seeing them as you think they are, and not necessarily how they really are. Even more, by putting labels on people, we fail to see them as God sees them; we fail to see them as what God has purposed them to be.

I. A Woman Caught in Adultery- (John 8:1-7; Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:13-24)

a. The facts- In our scripture passage this morning, we have a court case

of sorts. Jesus is at the Temple, teaching. There was a legal question involving a woman who was caught in adultery. The normal course of action was to take the case to a Rabbi for a judgment. So the Scribes and Pharisees (the religious leaders of the day) decided to bring it to Jesus./ When they came to Jesus, they tried to lay out the facts before him. Fact 1: Here is a woman, who is accused of committing adultery; Fact 2: The accused is standing before him. She is not a fiction of their imagination, she is real flesh and blood, and she is now standing before Jesus, with I’m sure a guilty and embarrassed look on her face; Fact 3: She actually is more than just accused, as they said she “was caught in the very act of committing adultery”; Fact 4: In the law, Moses plainly states that they were to stone such women; Fact 5: In their presentation, it was a clear cut decision of guilty; Fact 6: This woman had no representation on her behalf, just a mob of people labeling her as an adulteress and expecting a quick guilty verdict (although the scripture doesn’t tell us this, they probably already had the stones in their hands; in fact, in any movie representation of this scene, the men do have stones in their hands ready to throw as soon as they hear a guilty verdict); Fact 7: If she was caught in the act, then they would know who the man was as well, but he wasn’t there being accused, and they don’t mention Moses saying anything about what to do with the man. But in the Old Testament, the book of Leviticus, 20:10- it says, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”/ In this passage it doesn’t say anything about stoning to death, but in Deuteronomy 22:13-24 it does state that they are to be brought outside the city gates and “you shall stone them to death ...”

b. The verdict- And so now it has been given to Jesus to make a decision;

to declare a verdict. Again, picture this in your mind. Jesus is put on the spot. A clear cut decision, right? The woman has been caught in the act of adultery. A mob is all about, stones in hand, ready to stone her to death; ready to follow the letter of the law./But the scripture tells us that the religious leaders were not really so concerned with the right and wrong of the law; they weren’t really concerned with stoning her, as much as they wanted to TRICK JESUS. They wanted to discredit Jesus.

Theologian William Barclay, in his commentary of John has this to say: “The dilemma for Jesus was this. If he said that the woman ought to be stoned to death, two things followed. First, he would lose the name he had gained for love and for mercy. Jesus talked about love, and mercy, and forgiveness. But to condemn her to death would indeed discredit his teaching. Second, he would come into collision with the Roman law, for the Jews had no power to pass or carry out the death sentence on anyone. On the other side, if he pardoned her, it could be immediately said that he was teaching the people to break the law of Moses, and that he was condoning and even encouraging people to commit adultery.” (Barclay, Commentary on John, Vol. 2, p. 2)

The religious leaders thought they had set a great trap for Jesus. They thought that they could finally show him to be the fraud they believed him to be. They thought they might embarrass Jesus in front of His followers and cause Him to lose some status. They hoped that this would be the nail in the coffin that would cause the people to turn away from him (because they believed him to be a false prophet). So Jesus knows that He has to speak; he has to give a verdict. He also knows He is being tested by the religious leaders. So what does he do? He stoops down and starts to write in the dirt. There could be 3 possible reasons why he did this:

1. To buy Himself more time; 2. To make the religious leaders repeat their

charge, so that, in repeating their charge they might see the sadistic cruelty they were proposing; 3. The third reason is the most intriguing, and that is that he began to write the sins of each man there./ Then Jesus stands up, and gives the verdict in verse 7: “Let anyone among you who is with-out sin be the first to throw a stone at her. And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.”

II. A Woman Forgiven- (John 8:7-11)

a. The response of the crowd- Jesus is in essence saying, I forgive her,

but if you do not, then stone her. But let the one who is without sin, be the first to stone her./ It is thought that at this moment, it was the oldest, and wisest who dropped their stones first, and began to walk away. Or maybe, it was those who were closest to Jesus, who could see their sin being written, that dropped their stones first. But once they started to drop their stones, the rest followed.

And actually, the word that Jesus used for sin was the Greek word “anamartetos,” which means without a sinful desire. The one who doesn’t even have a sinful desire, let him throw his stone! The elders who dropped their stones first knew that no one is without a sinful desire. So even if they had sinned in ways that were not visible, they all knew that they couldn’t contend that they didn’t have sinful desires.

Here they had gone from a raucous mob, to a quiet retrieval. They were all so gung-ho to stone this woman. They were all so excited about having caught her in her sin. They were so willing to bring shame on this woman. They cared not about what this public label would do to her. All they thought about was shaming her, and shaming Jesus. They thought they cared about right and wrong, but they did not!

b. Jesus and the woman- So Jesus and the woman are left alone. I’m not

sure that this was much better for the woman, in that she was left alone with a Rabbi, even more, the Son of God. Her sin had been exposed. There was no doubting this. Her shame had become public. She had let herself down, let her family down, and let God down. And now she thought she had to be confronted by Jesus.

Jesus stands up and looks her in the eye. Did she look Him in the eyes?

Probably not at first. But if you know anything about Jesus, you know that He is love. He proved it here. And as He stood there, I’m sure she had to be compelled to look at Him. And as He started to speak, He could have asked “Why did you do this?” Or He could have said many convicting and judgmental things. But He didn’t!! He said to her, in verse 10- “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said: “Neither do I condemn you.”

Let’s take this apart a little bit. Jesus chooses not to even venture into the why of her sin. He doesn’t even attempt to talk to her about right and wrong. In doing this, Jesus gave us an important understanding that the mechanical and rigorous administration of laws, even though they are important, are not the best way of dealing with sinners as persons. Especially when we understand that the administrators of these laws do not have perfectly clean hands themselves.

But even though He doesn’t condemn her, He does challenge her. In verse 11 He says: “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” Forgiveness, with a challenge. I do not condemn you, but I do not condone sin./ Now, do you think He really expected her to not sin anymore? And if not, what is He saying? Really, what Jesus is doing here is telling the woman that she has a second chance, and in this second chance she is to go and seek to live rightly.

III. Caring or Condemning?- (John 9:1-3; Matthew 7:1-2)

a. Jumping to conclusion- We can see this same kind of thinking

happening in the gospel of John, chapter 9. As Jesus and the disciples are walking along, they come across a blind man. In verse 2 the disciples ask Jesus: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”/ Do you see how quickly they jump to judgment and condemnation?/ Do you see them labeling his parents and/or the blind man as a sinner? When we jump quickly to judgment and condemnation, we fail to take into account that first, we are all creatures of God, created in His image. And second, we are all sinners.

How could they be so harsh? How could they be so insensitive? The man was blind, not deaf, and yet they are discussing his condition right there in front of him. The answer is this, it’s easier to talk about a person than it is to help a person. It is easier to debate homelessness than to be a friend to someone who is homeless. It’s easier to discuss divorce than it is to help the divorced. It’s easier to argue about abortion than it is to support an orphanage. It’s easier to complain about the welfare system than it is to help the poor. It’s easier to label and condemn than it is to love!

Now this doesn’t mean that religious talk is wrong. This doesn’t mean that we should be lax to teach and seek to live out holiness. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have standards and expect people to live up to these standards. But when we label and condemn before we know anything about a person, about their life, about their struggles, it is wrong. How do you like it when others label you?

Don’t people often do this without being explicit about it? It is usually subtle.

They are talking to someone, and they say: “So, you’re unemployed?” But behind their words they are thinking, “this person must be lazy and not want to work.”

Or how about this one: “So, you’re a Democrat?” And in their thinking they are labeling them as someone who is extremely liberal.

b. The stones of today- The stones of the religious leaders represented

their willingness to condemn./ And so we need to ask ourselves, what are the stones of today? What are our stones of condemnation? Do we look around our community, and see people different than ourselves, and judge and condemn them for being different?/ By doing this we fail to see them as people who are created in the image of God.

It is amazing how many times I have gotten into conversations with people, and during the course of the conversation they ask me what I do. And then I tell them that I am a minister. And many times their response is: “Oh, I see.” And then they get quiet. Why? Because maybe they think I will judge them. But I want to say to them, “NO, you don’t see.” I am not only a minister. I am Chris, who ministers.” Don’t put me in that box. Don’t label me. Don’t condemn me to being one who condemns!

And if I want to say this to them, then wouldn’t others want to say it to me when I judge, and label, and condemn? It is so easy to condemn; to be self-righteous. But this is exactly what Jesus spoke against in regards to the religious leaders. And Jesus taught on this a lot as well: Matthew 7:1-2, “Don’t judge other people, or you will be judged. You will be judged in the same way you judge others, and the amount you give to others will be given to you.”

Going back to the blind man, Jesus answers the disciples question in verse 3, saying: “(he was born blind) So God’s power could be shown in him.”/ WHAT A PERSPECTIVE! The man was a miracle waiting to happen. Had Jesus been willing to label and condemn him like the disciples, this miracle wouldn’t have happened. And if we are so willing to judge and condemn, then we will miss the many opportunities that God gives to us to make a monumental impact in the life of another!

Conclusion: The woman caught in adultery got a second chance. The blind man healed by Jesus got a second chance. The forgiveness shown to you and to me gives us a second chance. And yet so often we fail to give those around us second chances. I want you to think for a moment of a person or two of which you have judged (and maybe are even still judging). How can you drop your stone and show them some love? How can you show them forgiveness? I hope you have been challenged this morning to look at others with the eyes of God. I hope you will find ways this week to share this good news of God’s love and forgiveness with others./ As Jesus says: “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” Amen.

"A Stone Marks This Place"
Genesis 28:10-22
Sunday, March 18, 2012

Introduction: Whenever I go to the mountains, I am amazed at the clear air and the green trees. I am also amazed at the contrast in colors; the blue sky, white clouds, green pines, brown on the ground. There is something about the mountains for me that is peaceful; special. For some reason, whenever I am in the mountains I feel closer to God. I know it’s not the fact that in higher elevation, physically I am closer to God. Something inside me just feels more at peace, and more able to feel the presence of God.

Do you have a place like that in your life? A place where you go where you feel closer to God? A place where you just feel like you connect better with God? Maybe for you it is in a church; or maybe at the beach; or maybe in the quiet of your home./ If you don’t have a place like this, I encourage you to be more aware of this concept, and see if you can’t find that place where you just feel drawn to God’s presence.

I. The Lord Beside Him- (Genesis 28:10-14; John 1:51)

a. Dreams- In Genesis chapter 28, we have Jacob, who has received the

blessing from his father, but he received it with deception. You see Jacob was the younger of 2 sons; Esau was the oldest and by law deserved the blessing. But Jacob’s mother helped him to deceive his father, and in the end, he got the blessing. But because of how he got the blessing, he was forced to flee from his country, to avoid Esau. Esau was very angry that Jacob had stolen his blessing, even though in essence Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew./ So this time away, for Jacob, was a time for him to re-evaluate what it meant to follow God and be obedient to God’s ways. This time away, was a time for Jacob to understand the importance of living for God, instead of always seeking to do things his own way.

We see that Jacob is on a journey, he is a fugitive of sorts, outside of the protection of the conventional means of his society. He was apart from his family and friends. He decides to stop for the night, and as he falls asleep, he begins to dream./ ILLUS.- Amusing Grace, p. 76, #239.

There are all kinds of dreams that we have: dreams for our children or grand-children, or just the normal dreams we have during our sleep./ In the book Understanding Human Behavior, p. 49, we are told this about dreams: (read) “Our first dreams of the night tend to be rather dull and trivial, mostly having to do with things that we have done during the day. In later REM periods, dreams become more unusual, more vivid, more colorful, easier to remember, and sometimes more anxiety-provoking. During any one REM period, we are likely to experience a sequence of related dreams, or to run through the same dream two or three times. For the most part, however, we dream about things that are of some interest or importance to us, including our daily activities.”/ Now most of the time that we dream, it is like this, related to, or coming from, our life; perhaps even related to what occurred that day.

But some dreams have a greater purpose. Some dreams are given to us by God to help us to learn from God/ a purpose He has for us. This dream that Jacob has is not just an ordinary dream, it is a dream from the Lord. I don’t know if you have ever experienced this, but some dreams seem to be special dreams./ This is the kind of dream Jacob had.

b. Meaning of the dream- As Jacob is in this dream state, God was able

to speak to him. It is possible that Jacob was so concerned with his life because he was fleeing, so worried about what might happen to him, so caught up in making sense of what he was to do next, that he might not have been able to receive anything from God while he was awake. So God chose to speak to him in a dream.

In this dream we see the providence of God. The ladder referred to in the passage, and the angels ascending and descending, remind us that God is ever communicating with His people. It is a wonderful image of God’s desiring to reach out to us and connect with us. The providence of God is at the upper end of the ladder, and it is being brought down to us, His people, at the lower end. This reminded Jacob, and reminds us, that we are not left to our own resources, but can count on the resources of heaven. This was also a statement from God to Jacob that God would be by His side to guard and guide him.

A second message that Jacob received from this dream was of the mediation of Christ. In the gospel of John, 1:51, we are told: “Jesus said to Nathanael, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’”/ The same phrasing is here in Genesis that we see in John. God has a way to connect Earth with heaven. And now that Christ has come, that connection is made through the mediation of Christ. Our way to heaven is through Christ. Now Jacob couldn’t understand this fully because Christ hadn’t come to the earth yet, but God provides ways to communicate and connect with us. And for Jacob, it was in this dream.

A third thing that happens in the dream is that God speaks to Jacob. In God’s speaking, He affirms who He is (the God of Abraham and Jacob’s father Isaac), and shows how Jacob is connected with the promise that was given to Abraham. Jacob is now the heir to the promise; Jacob is now the one who will continue to be the connection of the “many descendants” that were promised to Abraham. Jacob will fulfill this by faith, just as Abraham and Isaac lived it out by faith./ God is going to bless Jacob and will give to him offspring that will carry on the “family of God.”

II. The Lord Will Keep You- (Genesis 28:15-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19)

a. A promise- Illus.- When I was growing up, I probably didn’t

appreciate my parents like I should have. But as I look back on my growing up, the thing I remember the most, is that my parents were always there for me. My dad coached my baseball teams from when I was 8 until I was 16. My mom was the team mom for most of my teams. And whenever I would do anything, sports, music, whatever, my parents were always there to see me and support me. Because of this I knew I could always count on my parents. When they said there were going to do something, I knew that they would do it; I believed their promise.

I’m sure it was like this for Jacob. Jacob saw how the Lord was there for him. Jacob knew how God had been there for his father Isaac. Jacob knew the commitment and faithfulness God had shown to Abraham. The Lord was there for His people./ And so in this time, God gives Jacob a promise; a promise that Jacob could count on. A promise that is for Jacob alone. In the previous verses God had re-affirmed the promise given to Abraham, but now Jacob gets his own promise as well. The promise is this: “I will bring you back to this land.”

What God is telling Jacob, is that even though he is in exile, God will bring him back to this land that has been promised to Abraham, and then to Isaac. Jacob, even though he has received the blessing from his father by deception, it seems that he was meant to be the one to carry on the call from the Lord, and so the Lord is letting Jacob know that he too will be able to come back to this land of his people.

How often do we wonder if God is with us? Maybe we have done something wrong, and we think that our sin will keep us from God; keep us from God’s blessings. Through what we see in the dream of Jacob, we can know that when we seek God in faith, God will come to us, will guide us, will guard us, and will bring us into His promise!!

b. A revelation- Jacob wakes up from his sleep, and from his dream, and

he has a revelation. The revelation is a surprise to Jacob. Jacob was surprised that God would meet him there; surprised that God would come to him like this. But Jacob/ even though it had happened in a dream/ knew that he did indeed have an encounter with God. And so in verse 16 Jacob says: “Surely the Lord is in this place”/ Now, God should not be thought of as residing in any one place. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”/ Psalm 139:7 says, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” The inference here is ‘no where.’ There is nowhere we can go that God is not there! God resides in each one of us, through the Holy Spirit, when we believe. God resides over the whole earth. God resides in the heavens. But there are times when God comes to His people in profound and meaningful ways; in ways that make it evident that “the Lord is in this place.”

Now think about this for a moment: Jacob is in exile; he has received his family blessing through deception; he is on the run; his life is in turmoil! Aren’t these the times in our lives when we tend to doubt God’s presence? Aren’t these the times in our lives that we feel the farthest from God? And so it is understandable that Jacob would be surprised at this visit from God. It is understandable that this encounter would make such a profound impact on Jacob.

Illus.- Many years ago, Larry Brown was the coach of the professional basketball team the San Antonio Spurs. One day Coach Brown was at a local men’s store signing autographs. The autograph session was to last 2 hours, but Larry Brown stayed for three. At the end of the three hours Coach Brown was finally able to slip out. He climbed into his car, turned on the ignition, and got ready to leave. But then something caught his eye…a young boy was peddling up on his bike to the store. He was very late in his arriving. As the boy got off the bike, Larry Brown could tell he was looking for him. The boy walked up to the window, looked in, saw that Coach Brown was not there, and with a sad look on his face, slowly walked back to his bike. Coach Brown turned off his car, and walked over to the boy. Now understand that there were NO REPORTERS NEAR; NO CAMERAS WERE FILMING; IT WAS JUST LARRY BROWN AND THIS BOY. Larry Brown signed his autograph and sat down at a table to have a little chat; a chat that had a profound impact!

Jacob’s encounter with God made a profound impact on his life!

III. The House of God- (Genesis 28:18-22)

a. A stone- EX. There is a story of a family who was getting ready to go on

vacation; the bad news was that the father had to work, and so he couldn’t go. He still wanted his family to have this great experience, so he helped them to plan the trip, and get excited for it. The day came for the family to leave, and so they gathered in the car, said goodbye, and off they went. A couple of days into the drive the father realized that he would be able to get off work. So he flew into the state where they would be driving through, and then had someone drive him to a place where he knew all cars had to pass. Since he had helped them plan the trip, he knew about when they would be driving past this destination. And so the father waited on the side of the road/ . Can you imagine this? His family drives by and the kids shout out: “Hey, that guy looks just like dad! Wait a minute, it is dad!!

Here is their father, at a place where they didn’t expect him, coming to be with them. Astounding. Unbelievable. Wonderful. Memorable./ I’m sure his kids never forgot this experience with their dad./ And Jacob would never forget this experience with His God. And because of this experience Jacob chose to memorialize it. He memorialized it with the stone on which his head lay; the stone which he used for a pillow. But along with the stone, which marked the spot where he had this encounter, he also gave it a name: BETHEL. Bethel, which means “the house of God.” Isn’t the house of God one of the profound places where God dwells? And for Jacob, this place was where God dwelled deep in his heart; deep in his being.

But Jacob did one more thing, and that was making a vow to the Lord. In verses 20-21, Jacob is making a solemn vow. At first reading it might seem like Jacob is saying that his vow is contingent on God’s actions, but what he is really saying is that he will depend on God’s presence, God’s provision, and God’s protection. These are what will be proof that God is who He says He is and does what He says He will do./ This stone, and this vow, and the promise that Jacob will give a tenth of all that he has to the Lord, are the ways that Jacob was affected by this encounter.

b. God with us- The amazing thing about this story, is that it is not just

for Jacob. You and I have had, and will have in the future/ visits from God. You might be skeptical about this statement I just made, but it is true. God visits you and me. It is not the same way every time. Maybe he visits us in a dream. Or maybe he visits us through a stranger. God has many ways to visit us. To show you this is true I want to read you 2 scriptures: Hebrews 13:2, and Matthew 25:34-40. Hebrews 13:2 tells us- “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” And we read in Matthew 25:34-40- ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Conclusion: GOD IS WITH US IN MANY WAYS! But we have to be ready to see Him if we are going to see him. And when we do see him, we have to do something that helps us to remember. For Jacob it was placing the stone, and giving the place a name; Bethel, ‘the house of God.’ For me it is writing it in my journal, or telling Tami or a friend about it.

EX. When I was doing youth ministry in Camarillo a number of years ago, I had a volunteer youth leader who was very creative. He was so talented and creative, that when we would take retreats with the kids, I would let him plan and do the teaching. At the end of every retreat, he always had a remembrance object for the kids to help them remember their experience. One year, it was a smooth stone that had the theme of the retreat written on it. Every time the kids would see this stone, they would remember encountering God at the retreat./ I encourage you to find ways to mark the places and events where you encounter God. In this way, you will not forget God’s protection, provision, and presence in your life. Amen.

"The Promise"
Romans 4:13-25
Sunday, March 11, 2012

Introduction: There is a story of a family who were sitting down to dinner. The family consisted of a father, a mother, a son Curtis (age 6), and a daughter Clarissa (age 4). As the family is getting ready to say the prayer before the meal, the father could tell that the son was very hungry, so the father says to his son: “Remember son, our rule is that we serve others before we serve ourselves, and I think that you should serve your sister first.” This caused great pain upon the son, because as I said, he was very hungry, and the plate of chicken was right in front of him. After the prayer Curtis picked up the plate and held it for his sister, asking: “Which piece of chicken do you want?” Well, Clarissa being only 4 didn’t know which piece was which, so she said: “I’d like the foot.” “Uh, Clarissa, mommy doesn’t cook the foot!” “Where is it?” she asked. Curtis responded: “I don’t know, but it’s not on this plate!” Then she said: “Okay, just give me the hand.” “A chicken doesn’t have a hand, Clarissa, it has a wing” he says. “I hate the wing, Curtis…Oh, go ahead and give me the head.” At this point Curtis is beside himself with hunger and frustration. She realized at his exasperation that there wasn’t a head on the plate as well, so she says: “Oh, all right! I’ll take the belly button.” At this point Curtis picks up a breast and gives it to her, which was about as close to the belly button as he could get!!! (Swindoll, Come Before Winter, p. 286)

Family. We create some great memories in our families. As we look at our passage this morning, I want us to understand that we are part of a family. We not only belong to a biological family, but we have an ancestral spiritual family of great proportion; a family that is promised to us by God.

I. Not By the Law- (Romans 4:13-15)

a. The need for the law- If you think about laws, you can understand

why there is a need for them. Laws help to keep things ordered and understood. Laws help to determine what is good behavior and what is not. Laws help us to set standards by which to live. But the law can only take you so far. If the law is practiced without love and compassion, it can become hurtful and restraining. If the law becomes too highly thought of, it can replace wisdom and understanding. And sometimes a law serves its time and then must be replaced. Sometimes a law is just foolishness.

FOR EX.- In Arkansas there is a law on the books that states: “It is illegal to mispronounce the name of the state of Arkansas in that state.” Now while it might be rude to mispronounce the state name, I think it is foolishness for it to be illegal.

OR, how about this one? “In Glendale, Arizona, it is against the law for a car to back up.” Now I don’t know how this law came about, but it too is foolishness.

OR this one! “In Massachusetts, it is forbidden to put tomatoes in clam chowder.” Now I am not a cook, but I think it is a bit extreme to make this a law.

Laws have their place, but they can only go so far. That is why it is important to understand that the law helps to determine our place in our biological families. However, there is a family which we belong to, which cannot be dictated to us by any law; and that is the family of God, with Abraham being our father. Let us hear again Romans 4:13…

b. The law brings wrath- “For the promise that he would inherit the

world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” Meaning, that those who are heirs, descendants, family by law, are the Jews. With this being true, it would limit who the family of God could be.

The apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 15, “For the law brings wrath…” What does Paul mean by this? Well, if we leave things to the law, then it is all about our doing, our works. We gain merit and acceptance by what we do/ and how well we keep to the law. This then can create anger when we do not live up to the law. Or we can get can get depressed thinking that we can never live up to the law. We might get angry at God for making it so difficult to live up to His standards. Or we might feel like God is angry at us for constantly falling short. It is difficult to feel loved and accepted in these circumstances.

So it is not by the law that we are brought into the family. If it is not by the law, then how do we become a part of God’s family. Well, I think the answer is pretty obvious; it is by faith. And yet, do we really understand what it means to be a part of God’s family by faith? Let’s take some time to understand this thought.

II. A Family By Faith- (Romans 4:16-21)

a. Roots- Ex.- Have you ever seen a tree that leans, but doesn’t fall. It is an

amazing sight. The tree is leaning in a way that seems like it should fall, but it doesn’t. What is it that keeps this tree from falling? It is the roots. Even though the tree is heavier on top than it is on the bottom, it does not fall. This is a great testament to the importance of the roots of a tree. They go down deep into the ground and keep the tree standing strong. They give the tree the nutrients it needs, and keeps the tree from dying. Even if the tree leans too much the wrong way, the roots hold it firm. (Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, p. 171)

Just as a tree is held up, supported, and given strength through its roots, so we too have strong roots that go all the way back to the faith of Abraham. This family we become a part of by faith, is part of the great tradition of God’s faithfulness to His people. So we are a part of this tradition not by the roots of our bloodline, but by the roots of our faith-line. It is not an adoption of law, but an adoption of faith.

This is important for us to understand, because anyone can be a part of God’s family by faith. God has set it up so that more than the nation of Israel can be part of God’s family. That is why it is said of Abraham that he will be the father of many nations, and that his children will outnumber the stars in the sky. All who believe, through faith, become part of God’s family.

God was very specific about doing it this way. By creating a family based on faith it is made determinant on God, in that it is God setting the entrance requirements. Also, by doing it this way it is based on grace, God’s free gift of love, and it is not earned. So by grace we all have access to all that God has for us!

b. His faith did not weaken- In verse 19 we then read, “He did not

weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.”/ Abraham understood that he was old and past the age of what would be reasonable to have a child. And Sarah’s womb had been barren all these years and her being 90 years old at this time. But even in the midst of this, Abraham believed in God being able to give them a child; an heir. He believed that he would be the father of many nations.

This is where Abraham’s faith is most seen. Abraham understood that God had made a promise to him, and that promise was twofold. The first part of it was that he and Sarah would have a son; an heir. The second part was that that son would lead to many descendants, as numerous as the stars. Even though there were times when Abraham doubted God by his actions, in his heart he stilled hoped and believed.

This is good news for us. Faith is not just the initial understanding of who God is/ and that Jesus Christ is our savior. Faith is not just believing that Jesus died for our sins and by believing in who He is and what He did for us on the cross, we can be saved. Faith is living our lives like we believe in God and God’s promises, even though what we see in front of us defies what God has told us He would do.

It is this kind of ongoing faith that connects us to the roots of Abraham’s faith and makes us a part of this wonderful spiritual family. So I ask you: “Where do you need to believe that God will work in your life? How do you need to change the way you live to show your faith in God? Where in our church do we need to believe that God will do what He says?” To have faith in God’s promise, we have to believe beyond what we can see, or reason, or understand.

III. A Family For Us Also- (Romans 4:22-25)

a. The Paper Boy’s Disobedience- Illus. “The Paper Boy’s Disobedience,”

…The Tardy Oxcart, Swindoll, p. 165. There is a story of a paper boy who at the end of his route, after having thrown about 200 papers, he was coming home on his bike, feeling very tired. Instead of riding around this big yard at the corner, he decided to cut across. He thought it would be a quick, easy shortcut. The first time he did it he said he felt a little bit of guilt, riding over the nice, plush grass. The next afternoon, it was late, and he was again tired from his route, and so he cut across the grass a second time. Not as much guilt the second time. Something inside him told him he shouldn’t be doing this, but he rationalized it, and then didn’t feel so bad. This became a daily habit, and after two weeks his tires had begun to wear a narrow path across the yard. By then, he knew in his heart that he really should be going around the corner, but he continued to shove the guilty feelings aside.

By the end of the third week, a small but very obvious sign appeared near the sidewalk, blocking the path. The sign read: “Keep Off the Grass—No Bikes.” Everything but his name was on the sign. Yet, he ignored the sign, going right around it and across the yard. Because of the sign though, the guilty feelings came back. Why? The sign had identified his sin; the sin which he had pushed aside, and yet, the sign still didn’t stop him from committing the wrong!

Righteous living is about living rightly. As we talked about last week, our conscience is there to help us understand what is right, and what is wrong. The law is there to help us understand what is right and what is wrong. When we push these guilty feelings aside, when we start ignoring the “signs” of the law speaking to us, then we are heading down a road of unrighteous living.

b. Reckoned to us- When we think about being a part of Abraham’s

family, we might hear these words describing Abraham, “Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness,’” and think that there is no way we could belong to this family. If we really admit it, we all have areas in our lives where we are outright disobedient. So how could we be a part of this family of the righteous?

Well, if you think this way, then you don’t know who Abraham is. Abraham is one who was disobedient to God many times, and in many ways. He allowed his wife, Sarah, to be taken from him to be married to the king for fear of his life. He slept with and had a son by his wife’s slave Hagar. And on and on the list of sins go. And yet Abraham is considered righteous! How could this be? The scriptures tell us that Abraham is considered righteous because of his faith, not his works.

Verse 23 gives us some great encouragement. “Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him,’ were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also…” Which means that righteousness it reckoned to us also. How? Verse 24 tells us: “…It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”/ By our faith we are made righteous! By our faith we receive the promise of God to be a part of the righteous family of Abraham. The promise is received by faith, not by works and not by the law.

Conclusion: Now I am not trying to say to you to sin all you want and think that you can still be considered righteous. Again, as I said last week, when you sin, the guilt you feel is good thing. That guilt should lead you to God to ask for forgiveness for your sins. And just like guilt, the law should do this for us as well, as the apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 3:24- “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” When we don’t live up to the law, we understand that the law can’t save us, but it should bring us to God so that we might find a way in Christ to be justified before God.

Ex. It’s like this. Let’s say you are working, and in your working you get all

hot and sweaty and dusty. Now you could brush off your clothes with your

hands, and wipe away the sweat with your hands; but you would not be clean. OR,

you could read a dictionary to understand the purpose of sweat; but still you

will not be clean. You have to go to take a shower and let the water and soap

wash away the dirt and clean you!

As we go through this season of Lent, I want us to understand that we have a savior, Jesus Christ, who supercedes the law, and can overcome our sin. We have a savior who leads us into the family of faith. May our faith be more than an initial statement of understanding who Jesus is and what Jesus had done for us. May our faith be something that shows itself in the way we live, and the way we believe, even when the result of our belief cannot be seen. Let us commit ourselves to God through this kind of depth of faith, and receive the promise of God that we are a part of His family, now and forever. Amen.