This week at Asbury we are looking at God's Sovereignty, especially from Psalm 33. We read in the Psalm verses like,
"For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does" (33:4)
"The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples" (33:10)
"No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength" (33:16)
These are just a few verses about God's sovereignty, about how God is active and alive in the world. About how God's words stand true despite anything that stand against his plans and purposes.
The thing about these verses is that I should whole heartedly get behind theses words. I should be stirred by the greatness of our God. The thing is, when I read these words I usually am left asking myself how much I really believe in this kind of concept. I tend to be a hyper-Arminian in terms of God's sovereignty. I tend to see the human involvement in life, and the human choice in the actions of the nations and the individuals. Theses verses are redirecting me to think through this concept a bit. God is working in the world. I've been told my entire life that life is what I make it. Success and failure ultimately depend on me and my ability. This is the American dream- the self-made man who only had pennies to his name then became the wealthy and the powerful. This is a lie according to the Biblical narrative. The truth is that God is active in the world, and for the blessings I experience or the failures I experience I need to look to God. The Psalm declares that no one is saved by the size of his army, the same is true for us in terms of our own "armies." Those things we set up as safeguards against destruction: wealth, education, possessions, etc. I am not saved by these things. Saved here is not the eternal kind of salvation like most evangelicals talk about. Saved in this Psalm is the more temporal salvation. The salvation from destruction. The salvation from misery. The salvation from torment and tyranny. Salvation is the blessings in life. No "army" is going to save me, only the LORD.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Glory
I'm preaching this weekend on God's glory. The main question that comes out of looking at God's glory is how do I bring glory to God. I've been giving this some thought for several years. In some ways, this question is answered by many that to give God glory I have to achieve something great. After all, greatness= glory. This is true in some ways. God's greatness is demonstrated in his glory. They are definitely linked. The glory of God is the weightiness of God's greatness. It is the magnitude of his being. It is the splendor of his love. It is the demonstration of his holiness. In the OT it is something that literally shows up: Ex 33, Is 6. This is true (in some ways) in the NT as well as in Matt 17.
However, in the NT something strange happens with the concept of glory. John 1:14 says, "The Word (the Son) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." This is remarkable. The glory of God is God in his finest, when he is surrounded by the heavenly chorus shouting "Hosanna in the highest....Holy is the Lord...The earth is full of his glory...Hallelujah..." And yet, John says that he, in eyewitness, language has seen, himself, the glory of God. The OT describes the glory in cloud like fashion. Yet John says, he has seen it! How has he seen it? The Word made his dwelling among us. He saw it in the life of Jesus. In the ordinary. He saw it in the flesh and blood of a person- in Jesus Christ, his friend. He saw the greatness of God expressed in a carpenter, who wandered around the countryside teaching and preaching. He saw the glory of God in the death of Jesus and in the resurrection. Jesus didn't walk around in a halo, but in Jesus is the image of the invisible God. In Jesus, is the true image of God's glory. In Jesus, is the image of what it means to glorify God- to humble yourself, even to the point of death...that God might rise you up. Humility leads to exaltation.
This example of what it means to glorify God is contrary to our thought that for me to glorify God means that I have to be some Superbowl champion. My wealth is not the glory God seeks. My victory is not the glory God seeks. My abilities are not the glory God seeks. Humility in the image of Jesus is the glory God seeks.
It reminds me of the story of Jim Ryun, one of my heroes. Ryun was the first high schooler to run under 4:00 min in the mile. He held the world record at 3:51 and was a three time Olympian. Ryun ran in the '64 Tokyo Games as an 18 year old. Then at age 22 he ran in Mexoco City in '68 and because of a sickness and lack of altitude training he got second. He gave up running and moved to CA, where through some friends at a Bible Study gave his heart to the Lord. He started running again because of his new found faith. He was going to work his way back into the Olympics so he could use his gifts in glory of God. He would run after that elusive gold medal and in his victory glorify God. However, he never really got the chance. In the prelims, he was tripped with an obvious foul by an unknown runner. He fell pretty early in the race, never able to make up the ground. Even though, he was the world record holder, he was not reinstated to the next round (not even the finals!). He walked away completely dejected. He was running now because of his faith. But he failed in bringing glory to God.
But we remember that it was in the humility of Christ that John saw God's glory. It was in the defeat that God came and really changed Ryun's life that he could see his own self-worth in the love of his Savior, not in his ability to accomplish. So, we ask the question what does it mean to glorify God? It means we follow the path of our Savior. Humility before exaltation. I'm going to accept what comes my way because I see a bigger picture than myself. I'm going to base my life on God's work in me, not on my ability to bring God glory. I'm going to choose the life of humility, the life of generosity, the life of the cross. And in this God is supremely glorified.
However, in the NT something strange happens with the concept of glory. John 1:14 says, "The Word (the Son) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." This is remarkable. The glory of God is God in his finest, when he is surrounded by the heavenly chorus shouting "Hosanna in the highest....Holy is the Lord...The earth is full of his glory...Hallelujah..." And yet, John says that he, in eyewitness, language has seen, himself, the glory of God. The OT describes the glory in cloud like fashion. Yet John says, he has seen it! How has he seen it? The Word made his dwelling among us. He saw it in the life of Jesus. In the ordinary. He saw it in the flesh and blood of a person- in Jesus Christ, his friend. He saw the greatness of God expressed in a carpenter, who wandered around the countryside teaching and preaching. He saw the glory of God in the death of Jesus and in the resurrection. Jesus didn't walk around in a halo, but in Jesus is the image of the invisible God. In Jesus, is the true image of God's glory. In Jesus, is the image of what it means to glorify God- to humble yourself, even to the point of death...that God might rise you up. Humility leads to exaltation.
This example of what it means to glorify God is contrary to our thought that for me to glorify God means that I have to be some Superbowl champion. My wealth is not the glory God seeks. My victory is not the glory God seeks. My abilities are not the glory God seeks. Humility in the image of Jesus is the glory God seeks.
It reminds me of the story of Jim Ryun, one of my heroes. Ryun was the first high schooler to run under 4:00 min in the mile. He held the world record at 3:51 and was a three time Olympian. Ryun ran in the '64 Tokyo Games as an 18 year old. Then at age 22 he ran in Mexoco City in '68 and because of a sickness and lack of altitude training he got second. He gave up running and moved to CA, where through some friends at a Bible Study gave his heart to the Lord. He started running again because of his new found faith. He was going to work his way back into the Olympics so he could use his gifts in glory of God. He would run after that elusive gold medal and in his victory glorify God. However, he never really got the chance. In the prelims, he was tripped with an obvious foul by an unknown runner. He fell pretty early in the race, never able to make up the ground. Even though, he was the world record holder, he was not reinstated to the next round (not even the finals!). He walked away completely dejected. He was running now because of his faith. But he failed in bringing glory to God.
But we remember that it was in the humility of Christ that John saw God's glory. It was in the defeat that God came and really changed Ryun's life that he could see his own self-worth in the love of his Savior, not in his ability to accomplish. So, we ask the question what does it mean to glorify God? It means we follow the path of our Savior. Humility before exaltation. I'm going to accept what comes my way because I see a bigger picture than myself. I'm going to base my life on God's work in me, not on my ability to bring God glory. I'm going to choose the life of humility, the life of generosity, the life of the cross. And in this God is supremely glorified.
Get Smart
Saw Get Smart this weekend. I wasn't really wanting to see this movie, but it is Steve Carell so I thought I should give it a chance. The thing is I recently watched Evan Almighty on one of the free movie channels I get with my dish, and I had to redeem that movie from the awful acting and writing. The previews for Get Smart made the movie look pretty funny, and so my expectations were somewhat high, but nothing like they were for Indiana Jones. My friend, Lauren, says that you can tell how good a movie will be by how many trailers you see for it on tv. I've seen a lot for Get Smart. And by watching all these trailers I think I saw all the funny parts. There may have been a few other laughs that slipped in, but not many.
I wasn't hoping for this fresh comedy that I would experience from say Thank You for Smoking, but I was at least expecting to be entertained. I did pay $8.25 for a ticket. I was pretty disappointed though. At one point I had to go to the bathroom just to give myself a break. It wasn't just that I wasn't entertained, I was flat out bored! The jokes were predictable and not delivered with the same sharpness of Steve Carell that I've seen from 40 Year Old Virgin or Bruce Almighty, or even Anchorman. It was rough, and boring.
I wasn't hoping for this fresh comedy that I would experience from say Thank You for Smoking, but I was at least expecting to be entertained. I did pay $8.25 for a ticket. I was pretty disappointed though. At one point I had to go to the bathroom just to give myself a break. It wasn't just that I wasn't entertained, I was flat out bored! The jokes were predictable and not delivered with the same sharpness of Steve Carell that I've seen from 40 Year Old Virgin or Bruce Almighty, or even Anchorman. It was rough, and boring.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Captivity
This is the last and final week of the series from Kings. Kings ends in melancholy. The kingdom is destroyed and the promise of David seems to be forgotten. The Davidic king is sent into exile into a foreign land along with most of the people, and the promise of Abraham also seems to be forgotten. I read the story and I see zero hope in this story.
This is a troubling story. I've heard my whole life that God's plans are perfect and in him there is hope and peace, but when I read a story like this I begin to question those things I've always heard. Even knowing the rest of the story, how the nation lived in a downward spiral of increasing sin and deprivation, I am still left with question after question on why this happened. The really troubling part of this is that I can't be too harsh on the people of Judah or their kings because time after time in this series I've seen my own story. Solomon compromised; I compromise. Rehoboam's pride; Spencer's pride....etc. It makes me wonder about my own captivity and exile. It makes me wonder how I might incur God's judgment. Very troubling.
One thing I've been trying to grow in the last few years is seeing salvation in both temporal and eternal terms. My God saves me, and I believe he saves me now. He saves me from myself now. He saves me from sin now. Eternally this salvation will be complete, but I live into it now. This is a major shift from usual evangelical thinking that limits salvation to eternity only...salvation is only concerned with the soul. I take this from Wesley, salvation begins "at the first dawning of grace until the soul is consummated in glory" (my favorite Wesley quote).
If I believe this about salvation, then I need to also believe this conversely about judgment. Judgment is not only limited to the eternal. Hell is not the only manifestation of judgment. I believe we experience judgment now, which is why the Kings story is so troubling. I don't think this means cities are destroyed. I don't think Katrina or 9/11 was judgment from God. I do though resonate with Paul's understanding in Romans, "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness...for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him...therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity."
Paul goes on later in Romans to talk about salvation in terms of captivity. We are held in captivity, or slavery, to sin until Christ brings us peace with God and makes us slaves to righteousness. In this light, I wonder what I may be in captivity to. I wonder if there are ways I have incurred God's judgment, the horrible judgment of being separated from him, of having my relationship with God estranged for any reason.
"But who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" - Romans 7:24
This is a troubling story. I've heard my whole life that God's plans are perfect and in him there is hope and peace, but when I read a story like this I begin to question those things I've always heard. Even knowing the rest of the story, how the nation lived in a downward spiral of increasing sin and deprivation, I am still left with question after question on why this happened. The really troubling part of this is that I can't be too harsh on the people of Judah or their kings because time after time in this series I've seen my own story. Solomon compromised; I compromise. Rehoboam's pride; Spencer's pride....etc. It makes me wonder about my own captivity and exile. It makes me wonder how I might incur God's judgment. Very troubling.
One thing I've been trying to grow in the last few years is seeing salvation in both temporal and eternal terms. My God saves me, and I believe he saves me now. He saves me from myself now. He saves me from sin now. Eternally this salvation will be complete, but I live into it now. This is a major shift from usual evangelical thinking that limits salvation to eternity only...salvation is only concerned with the soul. I take this from Wesley, salvation begins "at the first dawning of grace until the soul is consummated in glory" (my favorite Wesley quote).
If I believe this about salvation, then I need to also believe this conversely about judgment. Judgment is not only limited to the eternal. Hell is not the only manifestation of judgment. I believe we experience judgment now, which is why the Kings story is so troubling. I don't think this means cities are destroyed. I don't think Katrina or 9/11 was judgment from God. I do though resonate with Paul's understanding in Romans, "the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness...for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him...therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity."
Paul goes on later in Romans to talk about salvation in terms of captivity. We are held in captivity, or slavery, to sin until Christ brings us peace with God and makes us slaves to righteousness. In this light, I wonder what I may be in captivity to. I wonder if there are ways I have incurred God's judgment, the horrible judgment of being separated from him, of having my relationship with God estranged for any reason.
"But who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" - Romans 7:24
Monday, June 16, 2008
Building Committee
This last week was the first service of the Venue68. Tom came in for a live sermon. He began his sermon giving credit to the building committee and the staff/volunteers who oversaw the completion of the buildings. As Tom was going through the names on the various committees, he asked people to stand to be recognized. Somewhat embarrassing was the fact that only a few of the building members were not in the service of almost a 1,000 people. Reflecting on that a little more though, this is a great testimony to Asbury that so few people were actually in the service. This reflects a community of people (mostly older) who have nothing personal to gain from the completion of the building. They will not benefit from this building. They will not experience the programs, the worship, the community. However, they saw the Kingdom growing through this building. Even though it did not involve them or benefit them they worked hard on building this building for others. This is living in the image of Christ, a selfless love for others and the Kingdom that transcends what you will get out of this.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Charlie Wilson's War
I watched Charlie Wilson's War this weekend. The more I watch Philip Seymour Hoffman, the more I think he is a genius. In this movie, he plays the best role for him an arrogant, angry, frustrated man trying to create great change in the world. The whole premise of the movie is wrapped up in a parable Hoffman tells to Tom Hanks character, Charlie Wilson. In a village in Japan there is a boy who while walking in the forest is attacked by a tiger. He barely lives and loses use of his legs. All of the towns people lament the tragedy and say the boy's life is over. The village Zen master simply replies, "We'll see." A few years later a war breaks out and all the men are recruited for the army. All the people begin to rejoice at this turn of event. Now the man will not have to go off to war. What a blessing, say all the people. The Zen master replies, "we'll see." The parable continues with tribulations and apparent blessings for a few more turns, each time the response is "we'll see."
This parable plays well into the point of the movie. Just because the effort to arm the Afghanistan's seems to have worked against the Soviets, we'll see on the success. I think this is a good word for Christians and the battles we march into. Sometimes, it seems the victories we experience lead to another challenge, and then without longterm eyes we think that challenge is the total downfall, but we'll see how that turns out. Speaking on legacy this Sunday, we need to remember the long term effect of each of our decisions.
This parable plays well into the point of the movie. Just because the effort to arm the Afghanistan's seems to have worked against the Soviets, we'll see on the success. I think this is a good word for Christians and the battles we march into. Sometimes, it seems the victories we experience lead to another challenge, and then without longterm eyes we think that challenge is the total downfall, but we'll see how that turns out. Speaking on legacy this Sunday, we need to remember the long term effect of each of our decisions.
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Frozen Donkey Wheel
Every season of LOST has ended with spectacular season finales. Season one was my favorite ending, even though it was not the best season. Walt being taken from Michael by the Others and the light in the hatch turning on was superb. TV doesn't get much better than that. Season two with the hatch blowing up and the final scene of Penny's crew in the arctic looking for the signal was also brilliant. Season three was great with Charlie becoming a martyr for the group and telling Desmond that the boat was not from Penny led to great suspense in the off months. However, I didn't think this season finale of LOST, The Frozen Donkey Wheel, led us with as much excitement as the others.
First of all, Ben had to move the Island by moving a frozen donkey wheel. Gob Bluth said it well, "Come on!" Then he simply disappeared in the North African desert where we already saw his story. It doesn't get too much cheasier than that. Of course Locke had to take over the Island, that was not a big surprise. The writers have been hinting at that since season 2, maybe even season 1. So, it was no real surprise that he would be the one in the coffin. The only real question is how did he get all this power over the Oceanic Six? Why are they so scared of him and won't even call him John Locke? This doesn't energize me the same way the previous season finales have.
First of all, Ben had to move the Island by moving a frozen donkey wheel. Gob Bluth said it well, "Come on!" Then he simply disappeared in the North African desert where we already saw his story. It doesn't get too much cheasier than that. Of course Locke had to take over the Island, that was not a big surprise. The writers have been hinting at that since season 2, maybe even season 1. So, it was no real surprise that he would be the one in the coffin. The only real question is how did he get all this power over the Oceanic Six? Why are they so scared of him and won't even call him John Locke? This doesn't energize me the same way the previous season finales have.
Legacy
Sermon this week is on Legacy based on Hezekiah's end of life story found in 2 Kings 20. In short, the story of Hezekiah is that he shows off the royal treasury to an envoy from the "distant land" of Babylon. The prophet Isaiah then confronts him about his decision to show off the treasury by telling that now future generations will be taken captive and serve in the courts of Babylon. It is not certain whether this was in response to what Hezekiah did or because of another variable. But either way, Hezekiah replies in an unfortunately short-sighted response, "The word of the Lord you have spoken is good...will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?"
The issue of legacy in Hezekiah's life is disappointing. This is a king who has been faithful and is praised in the Scripture for tearing down the high places and being devoted to the LORD. He is faithful even when the Assyrians come against Judah. This is a man whose legacy should stretch into many generations. Hezekiah's legacy is then two-fold. On one hand, he somehow led to the exile by his foolish decision to show off his wealth. On the other hand, his legacy is shown in his child Manasseh who the Bible describes as sinful. Just one generation removed from Hezekiah the kingdom is again under the rule of sinful leaders.
Legacy is an important issue in the Bible. I think of the Old Testament that speaks of generations teaching future generations how to serve the LORD. Blessings stretch into the future because of a faithful generation; whereas cursing also stretches forward to future generations for sin. Psalm 145 says one generation will speak of the LORD to the next. Abraham's blessing doesn't fall on him, but on future generations. The kings of Judah reign because of David and the promise made to a man generations before their own rule. The words the patriarchs speak over their children determine how that generation will live. Generational issues are major theme in the Bible.
Even in our time, we struggle with understanding generational issues. The boomers don't like the WWII generation and vice versa. Generation X don't share the values of boomers. And then there are millinialists, like myself who see Xers as the silent generation that didn't fix the problems the boomers brought. But at the same time we hardly see the same tendency of individualism and materialism that the boomers taught us.
I find it impossible right now to think of the legacy I, and my generation, will leave because that is far removed from my thought process right now. But when I think about the future, I think about it in very pessimistic ways, which I think is a tendency of those my age. There are many things that look like they might just destroy our way of life: global warming, terrorism/ and war on terror, social security, massive national debt, massive personal debt of our parents, and a value system that we question in terms of individualism and materialism. What kind of legacy have we been left with?
I can't simply leave it with that though. I recognize that for the most part, we've been left a series of problems that is up to us to fix. In terms of the church, it is up to me and those my age, to re-imagine the church for a new generation that has not been exposed to her message of love and grace through Christ. In terms of the world, it is up to us to re-imagine what it is to live responsibly in the world. To live with justice and mercy in mind. To live in the image of Christ. The choice is up to us to step up to the plate and make a difference.
The issue of legacy in Hezekiah's life is disappointing. This is a king who has been faithful and is praised in the Scripture for tearing down the high places and being devoted to the LORD. He is faithful even when the Assyrians come against Judah. This is a man whose legacy should stretch into many generations. Hezekiah's legacy is then two-fold. On one hand, he somehow led to the exile by his foolish decision to show off his wealth. On the other hand, his legacy is shown in his child Manasseh who the Bible describes as sinful. Just one generation removed from Hezekiah the kingdom is again under the rule of sinful leaders.
Legacy is an important issue in the Bible. I think of the Old Testament that speaks of generations teaching future generations how to serve the LORD. Blessings stretch into the future because of a faithful generation; whereas cursing also stretches forward to future generations for sin. Psalm 145 says one generation will speak of the LORD to the next. Abraham's blessing doesn't fall on him, but on future generations. The kings of Judah reign because of David and the promise made to a man generations before their own rule. The words the patriarchs speak over their children determine how that generation will live. Generational issues are major theme in the Bible.
Even in our time, we struggle with understanding generational issues. The boomers don't like the WWII generation and vice versa. Generation X don't share the values of boomers. And then there are millinialists, like myself who see Xers as the silent generation that didn't fix the problems the boomers brought. But at the same time we hardly see the same tendency of individualism and materialism that the boomers taught us.
I find it impossible right now to think of the legacy I, and my generation, will leave because that is far removed from my thought process right now. But when I think about the future, I think about it in very pessimistic ways, which I think is a tendency of those my age. There are many things that look like they might just destroy our way of life: global warming, terrorism/ and war on terror, social security, massive national debt, massive personal debt of our parents, and a value system that we question in terms of individualism and materialism. What kind of legacy have we been left with?
I can't simply leave it with that though. I recognize that for the most part, we've been left a series of problems that is up to us to fix. In terms of the church, it is up to me and those my age, to re-imagine the church for a new generation that has not been exposed to her message of love and grace through Christ. In terms of the world, it is up to us to re-imagine what it is to live responsibly in the world. To live with justice and mercy in mind. To live in the image of Christ. The choice is up to us to step up to the plate and make a difference.
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