Restored to Service

“But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:60-62

“He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish."  This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me." John 21:17-19

also John Mark - Acts 12: 25(began), 13:13 (departed) , 2 Timothy 4:11(useful again)

   Messed up, sinned, letdown, failure, abomination, denial, defeated, disappointment . . . whatever you call it our lives are full of sin, and it causes us to do things which we know are against the desired will of God for our lives.  When we walk down the road of sin, especially as Christians, it is easy for Satan to convince us that we are no longer useful to the kingdom of God.  However if we look at scripture we will quickly see that is not the case.

   Perhaps the most pointed case could be that of Peter, the apostle.  In the verses above we see his denial of the Lord, and then his restoration. We all can identify with how Peter must have felt in the weeks between his denials and when he was restored at the Sea of Galilee.  Peter had spent almost 3 years following Jesus, and often expressed his desire to follow Him, even to death.  Then when the situation arose, he denied his Lord not once, but three times.  Peter went from thinking he was the #1 follower of Jesus, to a complete failure; as Luke tells us, weeping bitterly. The beginning of John chapter 21 tells us that Peter returned to his homeland and “went fishing.”  Once Jesus shows him that he is restored, at Pentecost Peter preached and 3000 were added to the church.  He can do the same with us, even as messed up as we are.

   For clarity, this does not mean we are to continue in sin, but that if we fall into sin, that we must repent, then return to the work appointed to us by God.  God chooses us in our weakness to show his power, not ours.  The Old Testament shows how he used drunks, murderers, liars, depressed, and unconfident people.  He still uses the weak of the world to condemn the strong.  We are a church of weak sinners redeemed into the unstoppable church of God.  There are 15,000 unchurched people in Hart Co., in His strength, let’s go and reach as many of them as we can!

Reverent Worship

“So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." Exodus 3:4-5 (Joshua 5:15)

“Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

“When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. “ Isaiah 1:15-17

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” Matthew 6:9

There are many special things about a Sunday morning worship service.  Israel was called to rest on the Sabbath day (seventh, Saturday,) but after the death of Christ, the day of worship gatherings changed to the “Lord’s day” or Sunday.  While we should think of God throughout the week, on Sunday we focus on Him.  We are called to worship Him, (Acts 2:42, Hebrews 10:25) through our music, prayers, and preaching.  However not all prayers, music, or preaching are glorifying to God, or consist of worship. 

The greatness of worship is the setting aside for God.  God is a jealous god.  (Exodus 20:5)  God is not in need of anything; He is perfectly self-sufficient.  His desire is for his creation to glorify Him, yet it must be in single purpose.  We cannot desire glory for ourselves (our talents, wisdom, abilities, or memories ;) all the glory must be to God.  While half-hearted actions and gifts can fill a service, it is not considered worship.  In fact God says He will “hide his eyes” and “I will not hear.”

   We must remember what Solomon says “God is in heaven, and you on earth.”  Not everything is suitable for worship of our holy God.  God is not impressed by leftovers.  He does not desire the resources we have left after we finish all of our other tasks on our agenda or budget.  God asked for first fruits, and sacrifices with no blemish.  We disgrace God when we put so many things ahead of him (comfort, hobbies, recognition, etc.)  We give more in tips, than in offerings; we dress up more for “date night” and are more respectful in a doctor’s office than a worship service; we put more thought in a birthday card, than a prayer to God.  God deserves reverence in our worship.

Voice of Glory

Man’s chief purpose for being born, is to glorify God, and delight in Him forever.  (as taught in the Westminster Shorter Catechism.)  Especially after justification, there is no greater joy for a Christian than for God to receive his just glory through ‘our’ actions.  This is one reason why each person is given spiritual gifts; which are in turn used to glorify God.  God also gives us each a “voice” in order that we can communicate the goodness of God.  I use quotes around voice because some people lose their spoken voice for various reasons, but can still communicate through numerous methods (actions, writing, motions.)  With this frame of reference, let’s look at an often asked question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

While there are multiple facets for this question, and its answer, we want to focus on how God can use a trying time, for his glory.  There are sicknesses, business failures, family failures, natural disasters, and more which occur in our sin-stained world.  While there have always been people which thought that these happened because of sin in the affected’s life; they truly happen because there is sin in the world at large.  What makes these horrible events, God glorifying?

While not making light the effects of these horrible events, the truths in Romans 8:28 are still in effect.  God takes the reactions of his people and contrasts the reactions of the world to show His greatness.  The world is not impressed nearly as much in our testimonies of success, as they are when we say God is still good in times of turmoil.  In this context, our actions and character in times of hardship, become a ‘voice’ which we proclaim the prominence of God.  We may not be able to utter the words, “God is great” in the heat of these situations due to the demands on our time and energies.  Yet an assurance of God’s providence and a positive testimony after his deliverance; shows the world our strength and His true greatness.  Lord bless us with the patience you gave the apostles, shown in your word!

“And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” John 9:2-3

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."  James 1:2-4

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”1 Peter 1:6-7

Seriousness of Sin

What are your thoughts concerning the seriousness of sin?  Please take a moment to reflect on your own thoughts. 

Scripture shows us that God (in all three persons) has a uniform response to sin.  Below is a selection of this reaction.

“Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.” Isaiah 59:1-4

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:29-30

“knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, . . .for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,” 1 Timothy 1:9a-10

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10

   Often as we speak about sin, we talk about “little” and “big” sins.  Somehow we are comforted, talking about ‘murders, adulterers, kidnappers’ and the like.  These sins are easy to see the awful immediate consequences in loss of life or relationships.  Sins like ‘lies, perjury, perverseness, and sins of omission’ seem to be lesser sins, since they seldom have grand visible effects.  However we are judging based on worldly, temporary, flesh-based judgments.  In the greater, spiritual sense there is only one judgment; completely righteous, or not.

   Sin is defined as going against the will of God.  A sin of any type therefore breaks the communion with God.  God is the author, giver, and sustainer of life.  Like a branch we must stay connected to the source of our life; to be disconnected leads to a slow death.  This is why the wages/reward/harvest of sin is death.  Whether our sin is taking someone’s life, or just taking advantage of them through deceit, we commit a sin against God.  No one else in the world may know; but you and God, and it will equally separate you from Him.

  Our ministry as a church and individually requires God power, or all our efforts will turn to naught.  Individual sins can certainly hamper the progress of the entire body (see Achan and the battle of Ai in Joshua 7).  We rightly judge the sins of murder, fornicators, and sodomites, they are atrocious sins.  We must also see the seriousness of lying and omission, since they separate us from our living water of Life.