When God's "No" is a lot smarter than your "yes"

I'm working on part 2 of the Hannah 3 part sermon series that started last week and I just asked the question, "Could God have answered Hannah's prayer even if the answer was 'no'?"  The question came to me in the writing process, so I went with it, and came up with a clear yes to my own question.  God often times answers our prayers by not answering them.  That may seem like a paradox, but it isn't.  The truth is that we often times have very little perspective about our own lives; we can't see the future, we don't know the consequences of our decisions.  As such, how could a loving God who does know these things, give us what we pray for when the result would make things worse? 
That may not make your heartache our worry go away as you continue to pray about something that seems like a no-brainer, but perhaps it will comfort you a little to know that God does indeed hear your prayer, even if the answer is "no" or "not now".
This principle has proven itself numerous times in my life.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait during several rough years of hoping for the help-mate that I wanted in life; it wasn't until several years later that I met my Nicole.  It was God's answer that I needed to wait, again for several years, as I hoped for a ministry opportunity.  He first answered that prayer with the people of Palo, and then, in good time, moved us here to Franklin.  In both cases, I would have wanted to move faster, God wanted me to be useful when I got where I was going.  If I had gotten my way in either case, where would I be now?  I don't know, but I'm here now, doing the will of God and continuing to rely upon the power of prayer.
So why did God answer Hannah's prayer?  For the same reason that he closed her womb in the first place: to bring glory to him name and to bless his people.  You see, Hannah's son, who by her own desperate vow, would spend his life in service to the LORD, would go on to become one of the nation's most important prophets/judges.  How did Samuel end up as a hero of the faith?  God told his mother "not yet".
The next time you feel like giving up on your prayers, like God isn't listening or just doesn't care, consider this: God knows the end from the beginning, he loves the whole world, and he is answering your prayer even if the answer isn't what you want to hear.

Sermon Video, "Hannah's Sorrow" I Samuel 1:1-10

In part 1 of this 3 part series on Hannah, we learn of the pain that Hannah had to endure because the LORD had closed her womb.  Elkanah, her husband, marries and 2nd wife in order to continue his line, and while he continues to love Hannah, her lack of children is a source of cultural shame.  After years of humiliation at the hands of Elkanah's 2nd wife, Peninnah, Hannah stands before the Lord at the Tabernacle in Shiloh and weeps "in bitterness of soul".  Hannah was honest with God, approached him in her misery, and prayed.  All those who have pain, anger, sorrow, bitterness, or regret can follow Hannah's example and seek the Lord honestly in prayer.  The content of the prayer is less important than the willingness to pray.  Those in need can also find shelter and comfort among God's people who are likewise on a journey from repentance to salvation, who have submitted to God's will, and who have lain their burdens down at the foot of the cross.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Getting shot at from both sides...

I thought of something today; the kind of thing you probably should keep to yourself unless you want to get people mad at you...As you may know, that's not really my worry in life, God has placed a burden of truth telling on my heart; so here goes...

I know there is a lot of angst and soul searching going on over this week's election.  There are plenty of God-fearing Americans who are worried about the future of their country...

Let me offer this historical analogy: It took Abraham Lincoln (a politician) to finish off the drive to end slavery, {the parallel in England is William Wilberforce, a generation earlier} but it took Harriet Beecher Stowe to galvanize the people into seeing slavery as a moral evil.  For decades, Abolitionists worked to win hearts and minds when there were no political prospects, and in the end, they fought by teaching people that the Bible speaks of all mankind as made in God's image, not a select group of humanity.  A finale to the drama was in the political arena (as the upcoming Lincoln movie demonstrates), but the work was done in churches long before.

America is a democracy (a representative republic for the technical minded people out there).  We have the government that the people want.  If you aren't happy with the government the people have, you need to change the people, not the politicians.  They reflect society; they reflect the morality of this nation, they do not create it.  America isn't ready for Lincoln, if he came now we'd boo him off the stage.  We will not have another Lincoln until we have another Stowe; we won't change the immorality of American society until we make the Gospel of Jesus Christ known to the lost among us.  The world will be what it is.  We cannot expect Christian morality from those who do not know Christ.  If you want to change the politics, change the people; show them the love of Christ through your actions, not your words. 

This is the dangerous thought: If those on the right are afraid for those on the left because of the alliance between sexual immorality (abortion, homosexuality, etc.) and the Democratic Party, shouldn't those on the left be afraid for those on the right because of the alliance between money (greed and avarice) and the Republican Party?  The Bible speaks an awful lot about sexual immorality and condemns it in no uncertain terms; the only thing that seems to tick God off more is the abuse of money.  What makes one side feel like they have God's ear more than the other, when both sides have made an unholy alliance in the name of politics?

What is the solution?  We must solve the moral issues that plague our society ourselves.  We, as a Church, must witness to a lost world, and we must cleanse our own house of the immorality that has infested those who claim the name of Jesus Christ.  The politicians will not save us no matter what party they belong to; Jesus Christ already has.

Commence firing!  I'm ready for the arrows from both sides.

Is this place sacred? John 2:12-17

During our Wednesday night Bible study this week we were continuing through the Gospel of John and came to the passage where Jesus chases the merchants out of the temple courts with a homemade whip.  Aside from how cool that must have been, to see Jesus acting so counter to our conception of him as meek and mild (something we get more from religious art than from the Gospels), it led us to discuss our own sense of sacred places.
Do we have sacred places today?  Should our church sanctuary be treated like the Temple?
It is an interesting discussion to have because most people who enter into a place of worship get the feeling that it isn't just another room.  In some branches of Christianity there is an expectation of silence prior to services, maybe even lowered lighting to enhance the solemn mood.  In other Christian churches you'll enter into the sanctuary and be greeted with a cacophony of noise; from pre-worship music to boisterous laughter from the conversations going on all around you.  I've been a part of both, and I can tell you, it only takes a moment to realize which type you've walked into.  Are both styles treating the space with proper reverence?  What should we be doing/saying/thinking as we prepare to worship?
The simple answer is preparing your heart and mind to praise God, learn from the Scriptures, join in corporate prayer, and partake of the rituals which unite our faith (whether you call them a Sacrament or not).  I can see the value of both approaches.  To focus on God, silence helps.  To remember that you're a part of a family that God has created, the warmth of conversation among friends help too.  There isn't one right or wrong on this, the point is that God's people gather together in worship.  Whether they do it in an old store front or a magnificent Cathedral doesn't really matter.  Whether to do it to silence and candlelight or the beating of drums and the hum of old friends catching up doesn't really matter.
In the end, Jesus has replaced the need for animal sacrifices with his own; he has replaced the need for one central place of worship with the gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers, and he has elevated each humble place where we gather to worship into a sacred assembly.

Setting the record straight

There are many misconceptions about what an election might or might not accomplish in America, and several of them have to do with the mission of the Church; in no particular order:

1. No elected official can or should be responsible for the spread of the Gospel.
- This may seem obvious, but there are plenty of people who want someone to take this "burden" of obeying the commandment of the Great Commission away from them.  They feel that if America is clearly a Christian nation with all the bells and whistles that they themselves will somehow not need to talk to their neighbor about Jesus.  No politician led the Great Awakening in America, men and women of faith did that.  No politician led the Second Great Awakening in America, men and women of faith did that. 

2. As Lord Acton said centuries ago, "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely."
- Much has been made in recent years about the power of international corporations; they may be powerful compared to business interests in the past, but their influence and ability pales in comparison with the power of a government like that of the USA.  Even the largest corporations have assets less than $100 billion and yearly budgets far less.  The Federal branch of our government, alone, has millions of employees, a $4 trillion dollar budget, and can make or break any business that it wants to with taxes or regulations.  That the 500 or so men and women in charge of all of that are rife with corruption should be no surprise to us.  That incumbents win nearly every election should be no surprise to us.  To change the part affiliation of those in charge will not change human nature; since immense power will lead to corrupt those who wield it.  The Roman Senate in all of its glory paled in comparison.  That our government isn't more corrupt is the true miracle here.

3. Roe vs. Wade is not going to be overturned by the courts
-This may cut deeply, but its true.  The great moral evil of our time will not be ended by nine men and women in black robes.  It won't be ended at all.  The desire of millions of Americans to choose convenience over life, to value themselves over their unborn child, won't go away with the stroke of a pen.  Abortion is a brutal symptom of a moral sickness that goes far too deep for a surface cure.  The only thing that will make abortion in America rare is a spiritual awakening among its people.  Governments are not in the spiritual revival business; God is.  We must once again fill our churches with people committed to living morally upright lives in imitation of their Savior.  We must begin with the hurting, scared, and pressured young mothers, and we must support them.  When God's people renounce sexual impurity and begin to live pure lives we'll begin to see change.  As it stands now, we're as much of the problem as we are the solution.

4. The Gates of Hell will not overcome the Church of Christ, why are you so worried?
-There will always be reasons to be worried about the future.  There will always be crisis that draw our attention away from the present.  Each election in America gives one segment of the population new hope and another a sense of foreboding.  And yet, in the end, this government, like all that have come before it, will pass away.  The only institution you can join in this world that is guaranteed to never fail is the universal Church of believers in Jesus Christ.  Your local church may close its doors, your denominations may even fall by the wayside, but the faith that began with 12 apostles worshiping a risen Lord will never die.  If you want your life to mean something, to stand the test of time, spend it in service to others.  Love your neighbor, love your enemy, and live by faith. 

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul." (It is Well with my Soul - Horatio G. Spafford)