The world makes heroes of the bold, the beautiful and the strong. Hollywood actors, professional athletes, self-promoting politicians… these are the ones that we elevate to power and influence. They receive glory and praise from the world. But that’s not how God works, He loves to take the humble, the small, and the weak and lift them up to such great influence that everyone gives glory, not to them, but to God.
Where do you feel weak today? Are you hurting? Some may feel tortured by physical or mental pain. Are you feeling inadequate? You don’t have enough money, or you feel inadequate as a parent, or you’ve been asked to do something that seems beyond you. Are you feeling overwhelmed by difficult circumstances? You’re unhappy and discontent. How can God take your weakness and turn it into strength?
In a modern culture of self-promotion on social media and the constant chatter on our smart phones, texting and tweeting about every opinion that pops in our heads, the Bible says, “Be quick to hear and slow to speak.” That’s biblical wisdom, godly wisdom. Stop talking so much and start listening more. Even when we keep quiet, in our heads we’re already thinking of what we’re going to say. No wonder we’re having so much trouble in our society. Divisions within and without. Arguments everywhere. But no one is listening. And no one is really being heard.
What can be done? The book of James offers the paradoxical wisdom that we can actually talk less in order to say more. For real communication, real understanding to take place, we need less talk and more listening, and more appropriate action. The book of James is one of the most practical books of wisdom in the Bible. It is sometimes referred to as the New Testament’s book of proverbs. Written by James, the brother of Jesus, and the pastor of the first church of Jerusalem, it is also a very pastoral book, and a very practical one too.
In the first chapter of James, he told believers that the first place to apply this paradoxical principle of talking less to say more should be in rightly responding to God’s Word. We can learn to rightly respond to God’s Word.
How do you answer the question, “Who am I?” For many of you, you’ve tied your identity to your name, “I’m John or I’m Susie.” Others might say, “I’m a father or mother, or I’m a husband or a wife, I’m a son or daughter, I’m a teacher, I’m a nurse, I’m a coach, I’m a dog-lover or cat-lover. How do you answer the question? In Tim Keller’s book, Making Sense of God, he describes two ways that people have found their identity. One, he calls the “traditional path,” where the individual finds identity from the community in which they are born and grow up. The second path, Keller calls the “modern” or “secular” approach. This is the new emphasis on looking “inward” to find the true self, where one’s desires and dreams are to dictate one’s identity.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told His followers that they must lose their former sense of self in order to find their true identity in Christ. The only way that we can discover our true, God-given identity is by losing our former one and finding our true identity in Christ. How can we find our true identity in Christ? The text gives three steps to finding your true identity in Christ.
There’s a lot of interest in spiritual things these days. The 20th century’s emphasis on science and technology and the related philosophy of materialism– that accepts only the natural and denies the supernatural– resulted in a generation that is starving for the spiritual. People today, especially young people, are looking for something more. They are looking for a spiritual life. And the numbers are growing…
However, this new search for meaning in spirituality and religion doesn’t necessarily mean that people will discover true spiritual life. Nor will they find the benefits for which they are longing. They only way to find this true spiritual life for which our souls desire, is to place our faith in the resurrected Christ! In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul encouraged believers to understand the benefits of their new spiritual life in Christ. We can be encouraged by the benefits of our new spiritual life in Christ.
There are so many places that we need reconciliation today. War, terrorism, hatred, the brokenness of communities, countries and even churches, these are just some of the outward symptoms of people living without reconciliation. Then, there are the more personal effects of living without reconciliation: Divorce, depression, unresolved anger, unforgiveness, and even suicidal thinking.
The truth is, a lack of reconciliation is at the root of all of these factors. If we could be reconciled to God, reconciled to others, and even reconciled to ourselves, what joy and peace might that bring into our lives? What if Christ’s death and resurrection, could mean a reconciled life for us? In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome to show them how they might rejoice in the reconciled life they have through Jesus Christ. We too can rejoice in the reconciled life through Christ.
Have you been playing your version of the game of life and realized you were either following the wrong rules or aiming for the wrong goal? You thought more money would make you happy, but it made you hungry for more money. You thought new stuff, a new car, new house, new boat would make you happy, but you still feel empty. You thought a new relationship, a new boyfriend, a new girlfriend, a new love would make you feel like a winner. But you still feel like a loser.
So, how do we get a new view of life? Is there a way of starting over, starting fresh, with a new life? In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul wrote that those who identify with Christ’s death and resurrection might live in newness of life. We can experience this new life by identifying with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
In the gospel of Luke, the seventh and last word of Jesus on the cross was a prayer that expressed His total dependence in the Father to bring Him home. God hears and answers the prayers of those who will express their total dependence in Him.
Do you ever feel defeated? Have you ever felt as if you were a failure at everything? School, work, marriage, parenting, etc? Do you ever feel defeated by sin? Like certain sins continue to beset you? Jesus took what looked like complete failure and turned it into total triumph!
In the Gospel of John, Jesus let out a triumphant cry from the cross that He had finished the work of salvation. This salvation is a finished work, yet we still have to respond to it.
Are you thirsty today? Would you admit your thirst? What are you thirsty for? What desire goes unsatisfied, so that you thirst for it always? As Americans, we rarely go thirsty for basic needs. Food, water, clothing, housing… most of us have these needs met. Yet, our thirst remains. Have you tried to quench your thirst with material things? You spend money you do not have to purchase things that will not satisfy. Yet, the thirst remains, so you keep spending. You thirst for love and relationship, so you give your body away, and settle for sexual lust rather than waiting for covenantal love. So your thirst remains. We thirst for significance, for meaning, for happiness, yet the more we have, the more we drink from every worldly fountain, the more we thirst!
Jesus cried out with the constant cry of all humanity, “I thirst.” Jesus took on our thirst that we might be satisfied. He poured out his life that we might be filled.
In this sermon, we will be looking at the fourth of His last sayings, the word of despair. We will consider Christ’s questioning cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Have you ever cried out to God like Jesus did? Have you ever felt forsaken and alone? Have you ever felt distant from God? Have you cried, “God, where are you?” We all feel lonely at times. We all want acceptance. We want to be accepted and approved. But instead, we often feel rejected and alone. The truth is, if we would rightly understand how our sins have separated us from our Creator, we would cry out with a deeper feeling of despair than we’ve ever felt. It was for this, that Christ took on our despair, that we might receive in exchange, His oneness with God.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus cried out in despair to God as He experienced the extravagant exchange that it cost Him for our reconciliation. We can understand the cost of this extravagant exchange.