"Salvation Talk"

Fifty 2 Sunday's ~ Listening 4 God

        The sermon was titled "Born Again" and the text was from John 3:1-8 about Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling party, who came to Jesus in the night to speak to him.  Nicodemus starts by acknowledging to Jesus that he knows he has come from God, or else he could not "perform the signs" he had been doing.  In responding, Jesus wasted no time with idle talk, rather he told him that unless he was "born again" he would not see the kingdom of God.

        At some point during the well delivered scripturally based sermon, the minister stopped and encourage the congregation to participate in the classes they were having to teach people how to talk about salvation.  He then outlined how the basics - how a person needs to hear the word of truth (the gospel story), believe it (Jesus), accept it (Jesus), repent of their sins, confess Jesus as savior and be baptized (immersed) .  He advocated that members of the congregation undertake engaging people in "salvation talk".

        It took me back to my conversion...I cannot quite explain how I went from unbelief to believing- but I did.  I wasn’t raised in church and neither of my parents took it upon themselves to educate me about religion, faith, etc.  What I knew about Jesus was completely superficial; he was the reason we had Christmas and Easter, he supposedly performed a bunch of miracles (i.e. walked on water, healed people, made water into wine, etc.) and that Jesus died for me.  NONE of this made any sense or connected with me.  It sounded like pure silly rubbish.  I somehow thought I believed in a God, but like many today, the God I 'believed in' was an all-encompassing-anything goes sort of God.

        The first sermon I ever really listened to was on November 9, 1980.  I do not recall what the sermon was about- but less than two months later - after 6-7 weeks of going to church on Sunday and studying scriptures with the college minister's wife - I moved from a place of unbelief to belief.  I went from not knowing exactly what sin was - to a conviction of my sin and a readiness to repent.  I went from thinking that Jesus' death on the cross sounded like a bunch of poppycock to feeling emotional about it.  I wanted to be born again - of "the water and spirit" (John 3:5) - I wanted to be 'clean' before God-and to have a 'new' beginning in life.  I struggled with the thought (and really it is a lie of Satan's) that I had to 'get my life right' before I could be born again.  However, in the end, my desire and pull of God pushed me up out of my seat at the altar call as the song "I surrender" was being sung.  I went forward to confess my faith in Jesus and be baptized on December 28, 1980.

        I cannot explain how this occurred--I know that it is largely the work of the Holy Spirit - that brought me to the point to where I could actually 'hear' and 'receive' the truth.  I believe God orchestrated my footsteps, the circumstances and timing, and so much more than I will ever know or understand except for the fact that I can say I was changed and that it is real.  Every time I take the Lord's supper, part of my prayer is thanking God for finding me and redeeming me from the "empty way of life" (I Peter 1:18). 

         God is in the salvation business - we can "plant" and "water" but "It is not important who does the planting, or who does the watering.  What's important is that God makes the seed grow” (I Corinthians 3:7 - New Living Translation).  Rest assured if we keep ourselves open and stay closely connected to God, he will 'use' us for his purposes in the life of another - and it may be to help them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  This is "salvation talk" as the minister put it.

        As a postscript, I want to share that the person I spoke about in the blog before this one ("The Church of the Human Heart") died this past week- eight days after I visited them.  I did not sense they were close to death when I was there - but I am eternally grateful that we did not merely engage in idle talk, instead we spoke of God and Jesus, of salvation and eternal life.  It is a fact that none of us knows when our last day is or when we will see or speak to someone for the last time.  We are to "make the most of every opportunity" (Colossians 4:5b) and if we do, we can live with no regrets.  May God help us live so each day.

*~*

        This is my 52nd post-it took me more than 12 months to achieve '52'.  Nearly 40 of the 52-blog entries were from churches other than my 'home' church.  Overall, it has been an encouraging experience - of attending a diverse group of churches mostly in my community and listening for God in the words said and lessons taught.  It has been a spiritual discipline for me to reflect and write weekly about what I have 'heard' God say.  I am grateful for the discipline.  I could easily continue it for another year, but for now (or for some undefined period) I am going to take a break from blogging.  I may be back and perhaps I will blog about something completely different.  To my readers, most of whom are unknown to me, Thank You!  May the sweetness of Christ draw you and keep you forevermore.

Blessings,

Kx Hickok

        

The Church of the Human Heart

      Fifty2 Sunday's ~ Listening for God

        

        I did not attend church Easter Sunday.  It had been my intention to do so; I had taken a dress and shoes with me for the occasion when I went to Ohio to visit my elderly parents for the weekend.  I could have gone to the church I attended when I lived in the area-but I did not.  Instead I went to visit someone I used to know-someone I hadn't seen in more than twenty years, someone who's now living in a nursing home because they have memory issues.  This person has lived a hard life, a life of turmoil and strife, a life of just getting by.  Much of the difficulty they have experienced they brought on themselves through poor choices and bad habits.  However, like some people, they were in many ways disadvantaged even before they were born and the circumstances of their life never seemed to allow them to rise above the chaos and calamity that characterized their life.

         It is hard to see God in such a life that has gone like this.  I have a friend who chart's people's "core story", a means to identify how God has been present in one's life - light in the darkness.  I wonder if he would have been able to find any 'stars' in this person's life-those people whom God used to bear witness to his (God's) love for them.  What I know is that this person was born in a time when their unmarried parents felt they could not keep and raise the child, so they were put up for adoption and fortunately were adopted by a couple who could not have children by the age of 4 months.  

        During adolescence, this person experienced some positive opportunities in sports and later when they joined the air force after high school, but ended up being given an honorable discharge because of a health condition.  This was a significant disappointment and initiated a series of decisions that caused them to become involved in activities and with people that would have lasting and detrimental effects.  Their life became a cascade of unfortunate circumstances that picked up speed involving recurrent problems with drugs and alcohol, underemployment, unemployment, multiple arrests for petty crimes, living conditions that included occupying condemned houses and declining health.  Today this person is a shell of the person I once knew - appearing older than their age, their face scarred, many teeth missing and those still present decayed, leaving a dark hole where once had been a charming smile.  The light in their eyes is gone and the posture is bowed and when sitting they rock back and forth - evidence of the medications they are likely on.

        Sitting there, I asked about their faith, did they still believe in God and what about Jesus?  Initially it seemed like they might have forgotten that once nearly forty years ago, professing a faith in Jesus and baptized before a church full of witnesses.  I was there-I saw it.  It was close to the same time I too came to Christ - but soon after this- our paths diverged and contact was lost.  My questions seemed to awaken buried memories, brought forth confessions, and verbalized regrets about how they had lived their life.  Before my visit ended, I read some scripture, and asked them if they recalled John 3:16-which I started to recite it and they finished it.  I reminded them that as we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness - God is quick to forgive (I John 1:9) and that the hard work is forgiving ourselves.  Before I left I prayed aloud for us both. 

        When I got back to my parent's that afternoon, I did not feel like I had been to church-but I did feel like I had attended to the heart of another who needed to be reminded of God's love and that Jesus' death and resurrection atoned for their sins and the strains, stains and scars of this life.  This is the true meaning of Easter; those who place their faith in Jesus can look forward to eternal life; when the perishable is made imperishable (I Corinthians 15:50-56).  I hope our time together encouraged them - this what 'church' is supposed to be about (Hebrews 10:25) - and why I say, I attended the church of the human heart on Easter Sunday.

Leavening & Traveling Light

Fifty2 Sunday's ~ Listening 4 God

       I learned something last Sunday about the unleavened bread and Passover that I have never known or understood.  The Jews were told in Exodus 13: 6 & 7: "For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord.  Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.”  The preacher went on to explain the Jewish custom of searching the house for any grains of yeast.  He assured his listening audience that this custom continues today in homes that celebrate Passover.

        What was perhaps of most interest (and new information) to me was the reason for no yeast.  In simple terms, baking with yeast takes more time and the Jews needed to be prepared to leave quickly when Moses led them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.  In other words, they needed to be prepared walk out the door at all times of day and night.  The preacher went on to discuss what he titled God's "Journey Motif"- the essence of which is that we don't know what God has planned, and we need to be ready to move when he says so.  The Jews who were ready and obeyed God were also protected and provided for.  Much of the rest of the sermon focused on Passover and the similarities between that and what we celebrate at Easter, but I was left thinking about yeast.

 I have been reflecting on if there is any 'yeast' holding me back or making me unavailable for something God might intend for my life.

     There are many species of yeast; some are helpful (i.e. for making bread or alcoholic beverages) and others are harmful (i.e. as in causing infections).  Life is like that too, there can be things in our lives (relationships, habits, etc.) that can have both a positive or negative impact.  Sometimes something that was good can turn bad and that is when we need to let it go.  Jesus warned about the effects of 'bad' yeast (Matthew 16:12 & Mark 8:15) when speaking of the Pharisees and Herod; and the Apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians to get rid of the 'old' yeast - challenging them to be the "new unleavened batch" they were in Christ (I Corinthians 5:6-8). 

    As born again believers and followers of Christ and members of God's kingdom-we are to represent the 'new' yeast (Luke 13:20) to those around us. This may require an unexpected and sudden change, move, job, (etc.) for reasons God ordains.  All the more reason to remember we need to travel light in this life.  

Because He Is...

Fifty2 Sunday's ~ Listening 4 God

         Every once and awhile it is beneficial (if not necessary) to be reminded of God's nature-as I was last Sunday where I worshipped.  The title of the sermon was "God is Supreme.  When I hear "supreme" - I think of Hitler who was the "supreme commander" of the armed forces in Nazi Germany, or the three women who sang R & B in the 1960's - The Supremes.  Then there is also the US Supreme Court.  There is neither higher level to be nor any better quality than "supreme".  Does this describe God- yes-it does-but it is not the first word that I would associate God with being.  Almighty.  Merciful, loving, long-suffering, forgiving...yes--he is all of these and more, and yet he is supreme.  Exodus 33 was the text and the preacher emphasized God is supreme because he is sovereign, holy and merciful.  For this week's blog, I am focusing on the sovereignty of God.

Sovereignty defined:

1. obsolete:  supreme excellence or an example of it

2.  a :  supreme power especially over a body politic

     b :  freedom from external control :  autonomy

     c :  controlling influence

3. one that is sovereign; especially:  an autonomous state

       God is sovereign because there is no authority or power that is over him.  As one writer put it, "God is described in the Bible as all-powerful and all-knowing (Psalm 147:5), outside of time (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2), and responsible for the creation of everything (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1). These divine traits set the minimum boundary for God’s sovereign control in the universe...The fact that God is sovereign essentially means that He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation.  Whether or not He actually exerts that level of control in any given circumstance is actually a completely different question.” 

        It is a mistake to try to understand our God in human terms. We would do well to remember Isaiah 55:8: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Certainly christians both young ('new') and not so young (more mature) can find it difficult to accept that God holds supreme control over all things (as the author above notes). God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.

        It took the Saul of Tarsus being blinded on the road to Damascus (Acts 22:6-11) to appreciate who God truly was.  Saul became the Apostle Paul a completely changed man. Sometime later, Paul was "caught up to" the third heaven " (II Corinthians 12:2) and saw and experienced things that he said were "inexpressible".  Paul experienced the sovereignty of God in his life and it completely changed him. 

        All who come to Christ must recognize the sovereignty of God and be willing to submit to Him.  This requires that each of us dethrone ourselves, relinquish the power and control over our lives (easier said than done), and allow God to be sovereign.  We have to surrender.  Submit, surrender...these are words and concepts I nearly choked on before I went forward, almost 37 years ago, to confess Jesus as Lord and be baptized.  The song that got me up out of my seat was:

All to Jesus I Surrender

1.   All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

o    Refrain:
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

2.   All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

3.   All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

4.   All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

5.   All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame;
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

         Until we accept God for who he is and Jesus as Lord and humble (or be humbled) and submit ourselves to him we cannot fully receive him as Lord.  Speaking for myself, I may have done that initially in 1980, but it is a continual process- acknowledging, submitting, trusting, and accepting that he is sovereign over my life. In closing, the verses below emphasize the sovereignty of God.

Philippians 2:9-11:

      "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father."

Hebrews 1:3 & 4:

      "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs".

Ephesians 1:18-23: 

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

         

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Holy Health & Living Well

Fifty2 Sunday's ~ Listening 4 God

        My ears pricked up when I heard the sermon title "Holy Health"; I was anticipating a description of what constitutes such a state of well-being as well as possible risk factors to be aware of and poor habits to avoid.  Instead, the focus was more along the lines of what we can do to take care of our physical body.  Granted, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19) and it is important, but I had a different sermon in mind than the one I heard.  Still, the subject is a good one, deserving of additional exploration. 

        It is my contention, that there are three relationships central to our experiencing holy health; God, oneself and others; and when these are in balance; wellbeing is possible.  This squares with what is inherent in the first and second commandments: 

 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. ‘  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these." 

Mark 12:30 & 31

        In desiring to live holy well - we must commit (and recommit when we fall or fail) to strive with our whole being (heart, soul (spirit), mind and strength (physicality) to achieve a balance.  To focus on one area to the neglect or exclusion of another does not allow us to experience complete well-being and it somehow contradicts our testimony. 

Regarding ourselves:

• "Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life"...(Proverbs 4:23)
• "Set your mind on things above"...  (Colossians 3:2)
• Keep "your whole spirit, soul and body...blameless"...  (I Thessalonians 5:23)

Regarding others:

• "Honor your father and mother”— which is the first commandment with a promise “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2 & 3).   
• "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure," (Hebrews 13:4a).
• "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4)...
• "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right," (Ephesians 6:1).
• "Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:17 & 18).

      Anyone who has tried to love God, their fellow man or themselves rightly knows there are internal and external struggles and conflicts that challenge our highest resolve.  (A description of some of these can be found in Romans 7:14-25 & Galatians 5:13-26).  When we fail or fall, we should remember that God is for us (Romans 8:31) and he desires that we succeed at holy health and living well.

Testing

       Fifty2 Sunday's~Listening4God

         

        The sermon text was John 6:1-15, the well-known story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with five loaves of bread and two fish.  The minister made the point that this is the only miracle recorded in each of the four gospels.

        There are reasons to marvel at this story; the turning of the few food items into enough to feed 5000 and have some left over, the fact that Jesus did it simply by giving thanks knowing that God would multiply what was there, and the fact that everyone was satiated (John 6:11). 

        However before that, Jesus "tested Philip" by asking him 'where they would (be able to) buy bread' to feed the large number (verse 5).  Why did Philip need testing?  Had his mind or heart wandered?  Did he doubt Jesus?  I can think of a myriad of reasons that would potentially explain why Jesus tested him, but I am sure, all of them would be wrong.  Maybe Jesus was trying to help Philip apply heavenly rather than earthly solutions to the need at hand.

         The idea of testing for those of us raised in this culture, presents us with the familiar success versus failure paradigm, and many of us are uncomfortable with the possibility we might not make the grade.  Life seems to present plenty of 'tests' along with 'temptations' and both can challenge our commitment and resolve to remain true to God.  It is important to remember that God does not tempt us (James 1:13) and that his tests have a specific purpose.  Here are a few scriptures on the matter:

• Deuteronomy 8:2: "Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

• I Thessalonians 2:4: "On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.  We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts."

• James 1:2&3: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

        

        May we as followers of Christ stand firm (I Corinthians 15:58) and 'finish the race' (Acts 20:24) in order that once we have passed all tests, look forward to when we will "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is (y)our reward in heaven” (Luke 6:23).

[All scriptures from the NIV.]

God of Mercy

Fifty2 Sunday's ~ Listening4God

         The sermon was not about mercy - however, one of the songs we sang was and it has stuck with me all week. I believe this was what God wanted me to hear.  Mercy defined is "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power; also: lenient or compassionate treatment"(Webster's).  

        The grace of God is dependent on God being merciful.  What person living has not needed or desired the "unmerited divine assistance" of God (Webster's)?

        Mercy-the word is an easy one to say (and I like to say it aloud).  An easy prayer in any circumstance is "God have mercy".  One can never go wrong praying for mercy-because we ALL need God's mercy.  Mercy is a part of God's plan for salvation. All who have by faith accepted the debt Jesus paid for our sins on the cross are recipients of God's mercy. 

        Salvation comes from the Jews (John 4:22). The scripture says, "Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25b).  Gentile believers are fortunate to have been "grafted" into this promise (Romans 11:17).  However, were it not for the mercy God showed the Jews, there would be no mercy for the Gentiles.  In the same vein, the future salvation of the Jews is dependent on God's mercy toward the Gentiles (Romans 11:25-32) even though God has promised that, "all of Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:26). 

        About mercy the scripture says; “I [God] will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Exodus 33:19).  God is a just God (II Thessalonians 1:6), but he determines who he shows mercy to and showers grace on (Romans :16-19; Ephesians 4:7).  Our God is not a temperamentally unstable king who one day is jovial and generous and the next day angry and partial.  

        Instead, "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"...is..."the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort" (II Corinthians 1:3) ... "the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17) and is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).  Indeed, "Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  ... they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23).