This entry is not my view on a current event.
I was asked to fill in for our pastor for the week following Easter. I love to preach, so of course I accepted. I struggled with a topic for weeks and came up with nothing. About a week before it was due, a chain of events lead me to find the scriptures I believe God wanted me to preach on. So here's the sermon I delivered that day. It is based on Genesis 1:26-27,5:1 and Romans 8:28-39.
How many of you have a son or daughter, or maybe a
parent that looks like you? People look at you and say, “there’s no doubt who’s
child you are.”
If you took the baby pictures of my grandfather, my
father, myself, and my daughter at age 3 months, you could not tell which
picture was me other than by the bad color of the photograph. All 4 of us look
like the exact same person. Now, my grandfather’s picture is brown, my father’s
is black and white, mine is in color, but faded and not very realistic color
from the 1960s, and my daughter’s looks more life-like. But the point is, we all look
exactly alike. We could be the same person. The way we each look was determined
by our genetic make-up and since we all share the same genetic traits, being in
the same family, we look just like each other.
In the Genesis passages that Shirley read for us this
morning, the Bible tells us: “God created mankind in his own
image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
So I ask, “What does being created in the IMAGE of God mean to you?” Does it
mean we look like God? Does it mean we act like God? What thoughts are provoked
in your mind when you think about being created in the image of God? When did
you last think about this idea? HAVE you ever thought about this idea?
I have been in churches and heard preachers say things
like, “we are nothing but lowly sinners. We are like worms in the sight of the
Lord.” Paul even tells us in Romans 3, “All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God.” So if we are such lowly creatures and this idea is true, what
hope is there for us? We bought ourselves a one way ticket to fire and
brimstone and that flight ain’t coming back!
Today, I want start off by challenging this idea. I
want us to consider our value as human beings. Does God value us, or are we in
fact lowly and worthless? Yes, we are sinners. No doubt about it. I’m not even going
to try to argue on that. But what does “being created in God’s image have to do
with anything?”
Well, let’s look at that phrase. Being
created in the “image” or “likeness” of God means in the simplest terms, that
we were made to resemble God. Think about that for a second, “WE RESEMBLE GOD.”
So in what way do we resemble God? In John’s
gospel, he tells us that “God is spirit.” And when God created man, first he
formed his body from the dust of the ground. Then He breathed into him, the
“breath of life.” This “breath of life” was God’s spirit. God gave human beings
a piece of His own spirit in order for us to become living beings. Think about
that. Part of God’s spirit is inside of us. So if our spirit is part of God’s spirit,
we are like God. We have the attributes of God as part of our being. God is
love. So we are love. God offers grace. So we offer grace. We don’t do it
because that’s what we are supposed to do, we do it because that is part of
our nature. If you do it out of obligation or a sense of duty, you are denying
what God planned for you, and who God created you to be.
I want to talk a little about another
aspect of being like God. This one is near and dear to my heart.
First, let’s take a poll. By a show of
hands, who is afraid of something? (All hands went up).
Let me ask, "what exactly are the things you
afraid of? "
Some of us could make a huge list, right?
But let me get real specific.
Let’s take another poll. By a show of
hands, who here is afraid of what other people think of you?
If you notice, my hand is up. Because, that’s
a really big one for me. I’m afraid that if I tell someone I’m a Christian they
might not like me. Or if I invite someone to come to church, I might say the
wrong thing and turn them off to church. Or I’m afraid that if they do come to
church, someone who’s having a bad day will talk to them and give a bad
impression of our church, and that will reflect badly on all of us. Maybe, if I talk
about my faith at work, someone will stop talking to me because they have a
different belief? Or worse yet, being from the Church of the Brethren, I might
offend someone! We can’t have that!
You can see how ridiculous this thinking
can get. It sounds like an exaggeration, but many people have those exact
thoughts. I know I do. I have always worried about what people think of me. It
was part of my childhood. I was constantly told, “If you do this or that, what
will people think?” I was taught very early to be concerned with what people
thought of me. I also learned that if I didn’t behave or got out of line, the
concern was “how does that reflect on my parents?” Anyone with kids ever worry
about that? You’re real concern is not “what do people think about them”, but
“what do they think about me?”
So how do we handle this fear? Well, for
me, it’s very simple. I don’t talk about my faith until I am sure that it’s
safe to do so. If my co-worker says, “do you go to church?” WOW! Pressure is
off, and I can talk all day long about how much I love my church and my faith
and about our ministries and how I am active in this, that or the other thing.
You can’t shut me up once the coast is clear. But is that what we are called to
be?
The Apostle Paul, writing to a young man named Timothy
said this, “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but rather a
spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”
Earlier, I was exploring the origin of the human
spirit. Our human spirit was put in us by God, and it was a piece of God’s own
spirit. He breathed that spirit into our bodies and put life into us. Paul says
that it is a spirit of power and love and self-discipline. He says, “it is NOT a spirit of fear.” And what did I
express happens when I want to share my faith with others? FEAR! Every thought
I have is based in FEAR! God didn’t give me a spirit of fear. So why am I so afraid?
I was taught from birth to deny my true nature. My true nature is one of power
and love, not fear. We have to unlearn the lessons that contradict our true nature,
the nature God put in us. If you find yourself in a situation and your reaction
to that situation is fear, you are contradicting your true nature. You are
contradicting God’s nature.
I’m not saying
walk down the worst streets of Richmond just because you have to prove there is
nothing to fear. Of course use common sense, be cautious, and don’t take
reckless chances, but if God calls you to work, for example, in a high security
prison, like our brother Ray is doing this weekend, then go and do what you are
called to do, without fear. If God calls you to do something, you should not
fear it. You should embrace it and know God has reasons why you are chosen and God
will be with you. But there is no need for fear. The Bible is full of examples
of men and women who had fear, Isaiah, Jonah, Elijah, Moses, Aaron, Peter, the
women at the tomb, and the list goes on and on. And we recognize the names I
mentioned because each one went against their fear and did great things for
God. They just had to get over their fear.
I want to read two passages from the New Testament,
first from Hebrews. “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various
ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to
us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created
the worlds. He is the reflection of
God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being (emphasis mine), and he sustains all things by his powerful word.”
The second passage is from Romans that Shirley read
this morning. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters.”
The Hebrews passage tells us that Jesus is “the exact
imprint of God’s very being.” And in Romans, Paul tells us that those who have
faith in Jesus (Christians) are “to be conformed to the image of God’s son.” So
let’s spell that out. We who have faith in Jesus are to be conformed to be like
Jesus, who is the exact imprint of God’s very being. In other words, we, as
Christians are being conformed to God’s very being. How powerful is that? We
are to be ever moving to be more and more like God’s very being.
Here’s a couple of questions for you. Do you think
anything is impossible for God? I’ll go out on a limb and say we answered, “No.”
So, if we are to be conformed to God’s very being, should anything be impossible
for us? Of course not! So why are we not acting like a child of God? Like an
image of God? We are the embodiment of Jesus’ character, who is an exact
imprint of God’s very being. We should be loving other people with
unconditional love, without fear, without hesitation. There is nothing that
should ever hold us back from accomplishing what God has called us to do.
John writes, “There is no fear in
love, but perfect love casts out fear;” So if we love people unconditionally,
how can we have fear of them? You cannot love what you fear. If you fear people
or a particular group of people, you cannot love them. None of us will want to
admit this, but we all have people that we fear, perhaps it’s a particular
group of people, or maybe an individual. But if we fear them, how can we love
them? Let me clarify something, there is a difference between fear “of them”
and fear of “what they may do.” I am not an advocate of placing yourself in
danger to love someone.
Here’s something else to consider. When you meet
someone, talk to them, or whatever the situation might be, how do you view that
other person? For example, I’ve been going on about having part of God’s spirit
in us, being created in God’s image. Do you ever consider that the person you
are looking at or speaking with was ALSO created in God’s image. They ALSO have
a piece of God’s spirit in them. What did Jesus say? “Whatever you did to one
of the least of these, you did it to me.” If you love God, you HAVE to love
other people, no matter who they might be. Because you cannot hate someone who
is created in God’s image and also love God at the same time. IT CANNOT BE
DONE!
What is the mission of this congregation? Let me read
that for you, “Seeking to be God’s voice and hands of love, we continue the
work of Jesus, peacefully, simply, together.” I don’t see where it says, “in
fear.” It says, “we seek to be God’s voice and hands of love!”
Back to the Romans passage Shirley read, “And we know
that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers and sisters. And those he
predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he
justified, he also glorified.” WE are glorified by God! And another thing we
should remember, we are brothers and sisters of Jesus. We share in his kingdom AND
in his resurrection. We are part of a family with God as our Father and Jesus
as our brother! It doesn’t get better than that!
Going on, “What, then, shall we say in response to
these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” I had to let that one
sink in a little, “If God is for us, who
can be against us?”
Why do we get so hung up on little things that don’t
matter? When something negative happens, we focus on it and dwell on it and make
our life revolve around it. If negative people try to tell us to give up on
God’s calling for our life, we let them slow us down, or stop, or even reverse
course. Paul is telling us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The
answer is “no one!” If we focus on God and our calling to do His will, there is
nothing short of death to stop us. It’s when we forget who we are, and whose we
are that we get into trouble.
So what does all this mean to us?
We are created in the image of God.
Part of God’s spirit is within us.
Because of that, we also have the attributes of God in
our nature, and should live accordingly.
We do not have a spirit of fear.
We have a spirit of power and love and
self-discipline.
So I challenge you, when you face fear, remember that
God has equipped you through our very existence as human beings, to live as
children of God, not in fear, but in power.
And always remember that when God is with us, who can
be against us?
(What follows is something I felt the the Spirit was telling
me to share that morning. I don’t know why, but when God speaks, I listen. As
it turns out, many were moved by it and shared stories of their own with me. Not
only were THEY encouraged, but so was I.)
I’m not talking about the miracle of childbirth or any
of the ordinary, everyday things we call miracles. Sometimes I think we
actually cheapen the word “miracle” because we call everything a miracle. Like
the sun rising in the morning is a “miracle.” Science can easily explain what
is happening. What I’m talking about is something that happens that cannot be
explained by science. Someone who’s body is riddled with cancer and then
suddenly they are healed and there is not a trace of disease in their body. It
cannot be explained by science.
These things are sometimes reported, but we quickly
dismiss them and think it’s a hoax. Or that can’t be true because it defies
science. My personal belief is that miracles defy science and that’s why they
get called “miracles.”
There’s a story of a church in a drought area that
every Sunday and Wednesday they would gather and pray for rain. They prayed
week after week, month after month, but no rain. One day a little girl came to church
with her parents. She had with her, an umbrella. Everyone looked at her and
just kind of shrugged it off. Well, during their morning prayer, it began to
rain. They people of the church were exclaiming, “I don’t believe it!” and “unbelievable, God
has answered our prayers!” The pastor gathered the congregation back together
and talked about what was happening. He explained, we have been praying for
rain, but it never rained. Today it did because this little girl brought an
umbrella. She is the only one who actually believed that God was going to
answer our prayers. If you had believed, you would have also brought an
umbrella because you would have had faith that God could do it. Not having an
umbrella is evidence of your lack of faith.
I have rarely talked about this, but I am such a
witness. THAT’s why I am so passionate about my faith and why nothing can shake
me from believing in what I’m talking about.
I have only shared this story with a couple of people
over the past 30 years. The reason for that, is fear. Fear that I would be seen
as a nut-case, or some religious fanatic with thoughts of grandeur. But this
morning as I brushed my teeth, I believe the Spirit was leading me to share it.
To stop with this constant fear of what other people think. If you want to see
me as a fanatic or nut case, you are welcome to do that, but I believe today
may be the day that I was meant to share it.
Back in my early 20s, I was having bouts with
tonsillitis. Now, I get tonsillitis like a child, complete with puss filled blisters and raw skin. Not to be gross, but it is what it is. I had a dozen or so recurrences of it over a two year period.
Finally, I was told by the doctor, if I have one more occurrence, my tonsils
had to come out. Well, I did get it again. I was standing in front of the
bathroom mirror looking at my throat with a flashlight, knowing that my tonsils
were going to have to come out. I was scared. I knew (or at least thought) that to have them removed
as an adult can be not only an ordeal, but can be very dangerous. So while I
stood there, I prayed that I would be healed. And a thought jumped into my
head. Jesus taught us that we had the power to speak to an object and command
it to move, and it would be moved. His demonstration was to speak to a fig tree
and commanded that it bear no more fruit. The next day the fig tree was
completely dried up and dead. Jesus said, we all have the power to do that,
provided when we speak, we have faith that God would carry out our desire. We
are to have no doubt about what we want. Be clear about what you want.
So I spoke to the disease in my throat. I commanded it
to be gone. Somehow I knew, that the disease was gone and had complete faith
what I wanted was already given to me.
Suddenly, I was overcome with extreme thirst and sleepiness. I
could barely keep my eyes open. So I drank 2 glasses of water and went to bed.
I slept for 12 hours. When I woke up, I went back to the bathroom and checked
out my throat. The blisters were gone. The soreness was gone. There was not a
shred of evidence of ever having the tonsillitis. That’s why I am convinced
about what I am speaking on today. There is no doubt in my mind that we have
the power Jesus promised us. When we start to live as true believers, the
miracles within this church will begin to flow. We will change lives and see
things we are going to have a hard time believing. But our faith is the key to
change. Do we believe that God can turn our church around and create growth? Do
we believe that God can increase our revenue, so that rather than shrinking our
budget to meet current giving, we’ll have to expand it to accommodate our
mission?
When we are faithful with small things, God will trust
us with bigger things. That’s what Jesus told us, but do we believe that?
