 Jesus poses two questions tonight as he gets at an issue so important for our spiritual health. The topic we’re digging into is: being neither hypocritical in action, nor paralyzed into inaction. Take a listen. Jesus tells us:
Matthew 7:3-5 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Do you agree with this statement? “Hypocritical actions are one of the great damaging forces in our world.” I’m thinking especially of damaging to relationships, like friendships. Do you agree? Any disagreement? Okay, now let me focus the statement in a little further: “Hypocritical actions are one of the great damaging forces in our world …and within churches.” If they are present, if they are allowed to go unchecked, do you agree? Yes. We might be led to ponder adopting the minimalist approach that is popular in our culture today, namely “I’ll just keep myself from commenting on anything that anyone else does, to avoid the impression of being unlovingly hypocritical.” But before you go there, or if you’ve bought into that thinking to some degree, I’ve got an additional statement for us to consider: “Inaction is also a great damaging force in our culture in our age.” Make the statement specific to when someone else with whom you are connected – family or close friend – is involved in something harmful. Adopting an “I’ll do nothing, say nothing, in order to avoid the impression of being unloving or hypocritical” approach, results many times in a great deal of damage impacting lives. Do you agree? Let’s pinpoint the type of toxic effects for relationships that are in play with either one of the problematic approaches we’ve identified: being hypocritical in action, as well as being paralyzed into inaction. And keep in view there is more than our relationships with one another involved here. There is also the relationship for each one of us, as Christians, with our God that is connected here. If we see someone in our family in Christ doing something harmful, if we do nothing we allow something toxic to go on working its damaging effects. Think about that proposition. It sounds silly! I’m sure you see the disconnect in that. We, as a family in Christ, want to help one another with identifying whatever is causing hurt or harm. Doing that is important. And how we go at that goal is equally critical. If any “holier-than-thou” / any pride or self-righteous attitude is in the offering, the “help” being offered is actually likely to multiply the harm, rather than help remove it. Why? For starters, any correction offered with such an attitude is harmful to the one offering it. Pride or a self-righteous spirit would indicate some spiritual infection in thoughts and actions of that individual. And in many cases, the recipient of the correction too will experience additional hurt or harm. How so? Either they’ll see the self-righteous attitude for the hypocrisy that it really is, and be understandably turned off by it…. Or, there is this possibility: they can be potentially misled by the appeal of self-righteousness and pride. They may pursue the corrected behavior being offered, but if they do that with the wrong motivation of self-righteousness themselves, it is still spiritually harmful. One word helps us guard against the immensely damaging attitude of hypocrisy when we step in to help someone else. It’s Jesus word: “first.” Matthew 7:5 - "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Now as you see Jesus’ “first,” I want you to look at 1 Timothy 1:15, and see the apostle Paul use this “first” for himself: This saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” of whom I am the first." That “first” is a literal rendering where many English translations say “worst.” As we place Jesus’ “first” in Matthew 7:5 beside the “first” here in Paul’s statement, we can each see a personal perspective for us to make our own. As we view ourselves - and everyone else in relation to us - I’m “first” among the sinners. If you’re standing “first” in line, seeing your sin, and then being on the receiving end of Jesus’ full and fully undeserved forgiveness and peace, - got it? - think of how that affects every interaction you have as you turn back to everyone else you face and encounter in your relationships. Then you and I are not coming from any attitude of “holier than thou” or pride, but from an awareness of “here is a sinner who has received Jesus’ healing.” “Then” also “here is someone happy to share the healing medicine of God’s truth and love.” Just think how different that is than if I were to be turning around to the people around me, without first standing before Jesus with the issue of my sin addressed… If I came to someone else to talk to them about their problem, but I go about that thinking I don’t have any problems myself or my problems are minor compared theirs… how much help am I going to be? That’s a recipe for turning them off (to disregard anything I offer), or tempting them to join in hypocrisy / pride themselves. You could find example after example of harm done by those trying to correct others when they themselves have spiritual planks unaddressed. Notice I say, unaddressed. But once addressed, don’t leave Jesus’ “then” undone. Jesus gives a 2nd part to his answer to the questions he poses here: “First… then.” How important is this “then”? I’ve got another statement I want you to evaluate: “The opposite of love isn’t always hateful action. It is, maybe even sometimes more powerfully, felt in apathy.” Do you agree? Can lack of action cause such a negative impact in lives? Can it cause such negative kind of impact in a church, a Christian family? Our Savior knows what He is talking about when he teaches us this “first… then” truth. Hypocritical actions do harm in churches. Think of the conclusion people are likely to draw if such actions are left unaddressed.
Let’s follow Jesus’ direction. When we see / hear something wrong from someone in our group, let’s lovingly, humbly act.
Pastor Earle Treptow wrote an article entitled “Judge Me, Please!” I’m going to wrap up our topic with a few of his encouragements [2015/05/31/in FIC Features, Forward in Christ - Judge me, please! Earle D. Treptow]. While standing in line to board a plane, I noticed her tattoo. “No one can judge me,” it said. What struck me later about her tattoo was its placement. It was on the back of her neck, a place she probably didn’t see all that often. The words of the tattoo, then, weren’t really intended as words of comfort or encouragement for her. The tattoo meant to sound a warning to others. “You are going to judge me? Please! Who are you to talk to me about my attitude or my words or my actions? You’re no better than I am.” We know exactly where she’s coming from! We don’t particularly care to have people question our attitudes or confront us about our actions. If they want to praise us for what we do, we are willing to listen. But should they wish to address some failing, we definitely don’t want to hear it. That, however, is not the community in which the Lord wants his people to live. He brought us into his church and gave us our fellow believers for our benefit. Because he wants you to live with him forever, the Lord puts fellow believers into your life. He moves them to love you enough to judge you, to confront you with your sinful attitudes, and to rebuke your sinful actions. He does so for your everlasting good, to lead you to repentance and rescue you from death. Knowing our Savior’s love for our souls, we humbly ask our brothers and sisters in Christ, “Judge me, please!” Or, to put that in terms of Jesus’ encouragement from Matthew 7… As we turn to one another after walking to the foot of our Savior, we say, “Please, help me see the ‘specks’ in my life.” May God grant this for His glory and for our good! Amen.
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 I’ve been experiencing some problems in my prayer life recently.
The things that I pray for don’t seem to be happening. This has been going on for years! I prayed for a pony when I was younger; never happened. I’ve prayed for it to rain Doritos. Not once. I’ve prayed for a couple million bucks to show up in my bank account. (I don’t know that there’s ever been a million that passed through the account since its inception) On a more serious note – my wife and I have been praying for a child. But…we’re about seven years in. No little pastor. No little Julianna. No children. What…gives? Maybe the same thing has happened to you. Maybe you’ve asked for something “good” and God has answered with something “bad.” What’s the deal? Doesn’t God understand how prayer works? Jesus has something to say on the matter. Check out his words from Matthew 7: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” Think about it: If your son came up to you with his big, tear-filled eyes and said to you, “Mommy, my tummy’s grumbling. Can I have a piece of bread?” Would any of you say: “Sure, son!” Walk away. Grab a plate, a knife and some butter and then SLAM a big old rock onto the plate. “Bon Appetite!” You wouldn’t. If your daughter really wanted a pet and said to you, “Daddy, I want to get a gold fish and name it Princess.” How many of you would say, “Sure, honey. Anything for you.” Get into car, you head to the pet store, and come back with a poisonous King Cobra. “Here you go sweetie. Although…I don’t know if we should name him Princess.” You wouldn’t. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (v.11) If you then, though you are an imperfect, sin-tainted, selfish human being, know to give a good gift to your child… What do you think your perfect, holiness-radiating, selfless God will give to you? God can ONLY give good gifts. So…what’s the rub then? Why does God’s answers to our prayers sometimes seem disappointing? Two reasons. And they both involve inaccurate assumptions on our part. (1) Assuming Your Request is Good Think back to the Doritos prayer. I thought raining Doritos would be good. It would also ruin the ecosystem, result in my digesting all kinds of germs, and probably ruin the Cool Ranch flavor! Another illustration. Your child may think they know what is best. They may truly believe that staying up late and eating ice cream is what’s best – it’s certainly what they want most at that moment. However, a father who truly loves his children knows that staying up late and eating ice cream will result in children who don’t feel good shortly after and will have a following 12-hour period of crabbiness. The father looks at the whole picture, and knowing better than his child, may tell his child no – out of love! The same is true for some of our real deal, difficult requests… They may not always be centered in ‘goodness.’ They may be centered in “our sinful, imperfectness.” Back to the prayer for a child. One of the main reasons that I am praying for one? I want one. I want to be a father. I want to teach them how to play catch. I want to teach them how to ride a bike. It sounds nice… But… Did you hear what I was praying? I want…I want…I want. What about what God wants? What about God’s desire to increase his eternal family? What about planting the message of Jesus in the Heart of North Raleigh? What about God’s desire to shape and mold myself and my wife and grow our faith as we dig deeper into His Word for answers? What about the fact that I might not know what is good – eternally, absolutely, perfectly…good? Friends, I don’t know your prayer requests. But I know you too are an imperfect, broken, human being. Could it be that our imperfect, broken human heart requests imperfect, broken things from our Father? Thank God he doesn’t give us exactly what we want. Thank God that he gives us exactly what is good. Thank God that when I ask for a snake…God gives me a fish. Thank God that when I ask for a stone…God gives me some bread. (2) Assuming God’s Answers Can Be Bad Because sometimes at the end of your prayers, God’s answer may be, “Yes. Your boyfriend is leaving you.” Sometimes at the end of your prayers, God’s answer may be, “Yes, you will lose that job.” Sometimes at the end of your prayers, God’s answer may be, “Yes. It’s confirmed. You have cancer.” The temptation might be to say, “God, bad answer.” The reality? God doesn’t give bad answers. We might not always know how. We might not always know why. We might not always know much of anything. But we do know one certain and sure reality: God’s answers are only good. Because God is only good. Case and point? The cross. We asked for a Savior. We asked for God to send someone to help us. We asked for God to get rid of our guilt, grief, and shame. We probably pictured some type of superhero-looking guy. A modern-day Avenger. With an epic Thor like weapon and luscious, Chris Hemsworth looks. We didn’t get that. We got a carpenter’s apprentice. A guy without a home. A mild mannered dude who got roughed up and physically beaten on more than one occasion. He was cursed at. Despised. Arrested, convicted, bloodied, and killed. And it’s easy to look up at the cross. At his broken, bloodied, beaten body… And say, “This can’t be any good. God, you didn’t answer my prayer. God, you don’t know what you’re doing!” But we’d be wrong. Because three days, later… Three days later, Jesus didn’t just beat evil. He didn’t just destroy sin. He didn’t just wipe out death forever. He guaranteed eternal life to you. Do you see it? God answered your prayers. Praying for a better life? God answered. Praying for removal of guilt? God answered. Praying for a Savior from all the junk you’re dealing with? God answered when he sent Jesus. And Now? God keeps giving good gifts. God isn’t hit or miss. His gifts are always good. Always. That boyfriend? Could lead you away from faith. That job? Could distract you from teaching your kids about their Savior. That cancer? It’s will draw you closer in faith to me AND allow you all kinds of opportunity to witness to your family and friends until you join him in heaven apart from cancer…forever. Because that’s the ultimate good. Forever. Eternity. With Jesus. Brothers and sisters, God’s answers all always good. Trust Him. Whether he gives you some bread, some fish, or an eternal Savior… God’s answers are always good. Amen.  Guest Preacher Pastor Tom Glende
Life-changing questions. Identity & purpose. Matthew 5:13-16. It’s a question that might sound deceptively simple if we just kind of get surface deep. If salt loses its saltiness, what good is it? And you’d answer, ‘well, none.’ But the question proves to be huge when we actually dig in, and see the deeper truth to which Jesus’ question is attached, namely: our identity and purpose in life. That’s what we want to meditate on tonight. This is a rather light example to begin with, but I want to use it to lead into our deeper issue. Has anyone konmaried their home yet? Konmari is a pretty big movement. Marie Kondo wrote the best-seller, the Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up. It has spun into a Netflix show. And she has even been named one of Times 100 most influential people. There’s organizational elements to her method, like folding clothes so that they stand vertically for storage, and thus are all easily seen and accessed. Sounds intriguing. And when you get to the part about what to get rid of… The tactic used in Konmari is: hold each item, and evaluate its worth by answering, “does it spark joy?” You keep only those things that bring joy. I think this could really help one de-clutter. But it might get taken too far. If none of your socks spark joy when you hold them, you might still want to hold on to some. (Please, if not for your own sake, then for the sake of us all.) Pastor James Hein in a blog picking up on these limits of the “does it spark joy” method of decluttering life commented: “If you’re holding a screaming, poopy-diapered baby in your arms, it’s unlikely that unmitigated joy is running through you.” It wouldn’t be good to just discard everything in life, and every task in life, that doesn’t spark joy. He went on to talk about the bigger picture of life… “The method itself is logically too simplistic to be a significant life tool. Though the method’s popularity is clearly tapping into a public sentiment – i.e. in a postmodern, subjective, ‘you do you’ world.” Think about that outlook, or worldview: a ‘you do you’ approach to life. Do you hear any indication of what an individual’s purpose in life is going to look like, if this is the focus? It’s a view that our sinful flesh could leverage to a lot of harm. In contrast to that, as we hear Jesus tonight asking the question “what good is salt if it has lost its flavor,” we are directed to the kind of purpose he gives to our lives as Christians. And from purpose, we’re going to get back to the issue of identity as well. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus makes the statements: “You are salt. You are light.” With these examples Jesus describes a very different outlook for us. What salt and light have in common is: they stand out. Jesus talks about us being distinct and different in the world, with the ultimate goal being that people would be directed to God, our Savior. You are salt. You are light. Now those talk about purpose you have as a Christian. But… and this is huge to keep this distinction in view… these statements, connected to Jesus’ question about salt, don’t tell the story of what made you a Christian. If you want to see what made you – and what makes you – a Christian, you have to look back further. Where does your identity come from? Earlier in Matthew 5 we hear the very telling description of “the poor in spirit.” That’s you and me when we recognize our sin. We lack holiness. We “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” We turn to the Lord. We plead for His mercy. We trust in Him to make us right. That’s what we gather in the Lenten season to hear and see.
Now rewind to Jesus’ words to us: You are salt; You are light. Being salt and light describes the purpose God has for us as His people, but it doesn’t speak to how we become – and how we remain – God’s children. Do you see how important it is to keep that distinction in place? Where would we be left if our identity would come from what we do, from how well we are salt or light?
And that is precisely what enables us to be salt and light. In a really great book on this topic, “Through the Looking Glass, Your Passport to Identity,” it states it like this: “Not ‘living up to’ requirements, but ‘living out’ our identity in Christ describes the Christian’s life.” & “True humility is knowing that in Christ you are everything you could ever be, have everything there is worth having. You have nothing to prove, nowhere to climb. From that position of strength you, like your Savior, can find great joy in serving.” – Through the Looking Glass, Your Passport to Identity. To wrap up, just think about how much this issue of identity plays into our day-in-day out lives. Teenagers, and even you children who are younger, this topic - “where do you and I look to find our identity” – is important for you too. Where do you look for your identity? In other words, does your identity ever seem tied up with… a) how good of a student you are (heading toward a career goal you have targeted); b) having good friends & being a friend, or another way maybe to view that is how much positive social interaction you have; c) being successful at an activity – whether that is as an athlete, or a musician, or some other interest? Or if you’re a little older, some additional possibilities may arise: d) a relationship with that special someone; and even, e) how your children turn out – if they’re stable, productive, successful. It’s good for us to look closely – do some evaluating – to see: have I slipped and shifted from seeing my identity coming from Jesus, and turned my attention to other things for answering the question of where my identity comes from? You might score 32 on the ACT, you might be the varsity sports star, you may end up making a six figure salary with the profession you arrive at, you may be adored by the special someone or be appreciated for your role in the family. But none of that determines your identity of what makes you who you are in God’s sight. You might work your best to get average grades, you might get cut at the tryouts for the sports team, you might have a blue-collar job at a trade that will never get you to a six-figure salary. But none of that touches your identity. None of that changes the fact of where you stand with God. Think about the joy and relief to be able to come time and time again back to the truth: your identity in God’s sight is entirely based on Jesus. He has made you who you are: holy, forgiven, loved by him, with His truth planted in your heart. And from that position, you get the wonderful purpose in life: to be a reflector of His love. You’re enabled to pass on what He has given to you: His Truth, love, forgiveness, self-less service. This is Jesus’ life-changing truth for us. Amen.  What do you value?
Your spouse? Your children? Your health? Your church? Maybe even your God? Let me ask again: What do you value? And I don’t mean what SHOULD you value? Or what do you think that I AM expecting you to say that you value. But…reflect…what do you really value? Sometimes my wife and I have a hard time deciding what we value. For instance, on a Friday evening we might be trying to figure out what we want to do. We could head over to Gonza’s Taco and have a delicious Mexican food style evening, or we could head to the local Pho joint for some delicious Vietnamese soup. And I say, “I Don’t care.” And she says, “You pick.” And I say, “It doesn’t bother me.” And she says, “I don’t know.” So…what we do is we throw fingers. It’s a game used to decide what to do – kinda like casting lots. I count to three (1-2-3) and then we both hold out any combination of fingers (1, 9, or maybe 3). Then, we add up the total between the two of us. If the number is even, we go out for Vietnamese; if it’s odd, we go out for tacos. It usually works. But sometimes, what happens is that we throw out the number, it’s odd and I say, “Good. We’re going to tacos. It’s settled.” But Julianna says, “Yes, but…can we go for Pho?” Isn’t how much you value a “thing” best revealed in your reaction to not having the thing? It’s the difference between missing out on your morning orange juice and missing out on your morning coffee. It's the difference between missing a non-Conference game AND the UNC/Duke showdown. It’s the difference between missing the “women tell all” episode of the Bachelor and the “After the Final Rose” episode. It’s the difference between not getting a birthday present from an acquaintance and not receiving one from your spouse. How much you value a “thing” best revealed in your reaction to not having the thing. But then… If that’s the case… The biggest problem. Not that it isn’t true, but that it reveals the things we really value…to. Our. Shame. “Should I get some sleep or stay up late talking to my friend in need?” I choose sleep, because I value it more. “I could go home and spend time with my kids, but…I want my boss to be impressed.” I value my career more. “I could sit down and ask my spouse about their day…OR I could watch a rerun of the Office on Netflix…” I value it more? Jesus has something to say about value. He says, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Mt. 6:25-26) Birds don’t seem to have a lot of value. They aren’t very big. Most are the size of my hand. They can’t get jobs in the tech industry. They don’t often receive medical internships. They aren’t even valued enough to get a job in fast food! Yet…God cares for them. He gets the nightcrawler out of the ground for the little robin to eat. He reserves a few kernels after the squirrel’s ambush for the sparrow to be nourished. He uses a few bread crumbs tossed by a three-year-old down at Lake Lynn to give the duck a kinda fat gut! Birds don’t have a lot of value. Yet…God cares for them. And if God cares for birds of little value, how much more will he care for you…of great value! He’ll feed you (and if you were at the Fellowship meal – he maybe fed you more than enough). He’ll clothe you. (and it appears he did that for all of you today) He’ll give you a roof over your head. (And we have one over ours right now!) More than that – Jesus died for you. Because Jesus didn’t come to earth to save sparrows. He didn’t die on the cross to redeem robins. He didn’t rise triumphantly to triumph trumpet swans! He did that for you. Because… You are more than a body. You are more than organs, blood and bones. You are more than a temporal, physical vessel that will be here for 70 years – 80 if we have the strength. You are more than evolved slime. You are more than a smart animal. You are more than just “the dominant species.” You have a soul. You have an eternal soul. You have an eternal soul that God wants to spend eternity with – so much so that He is willing to shed His Own divine blood on the cross! Do you get that? When God was faced with the choice between losing you OR losing his life… He didn’t haven’t to throw fingers. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing you eternally and so he gave up his life just to be with you. Wow. So…What Now? Two things: (1) Understand Your Eternal Value Because it is easy to feel valueless. It’s easy to feel worthless. It’s easy to look at how other’s treat us, get in our head, and conclude: “I really, don’t have a lot of value. If any!” When that happens, hear God’s voice. Your value isn’t determined by how many hours a week you work. Your value isn’t determined by how many pounds you can lift at the gym. Your value isn’t determined by how many followers you have on Instagram. Your value isn’t determined by how perfectly you parent. Your value is determined by God. And God was willing to die for you. Because to God, you are invaluable. Priceless. (2) See the Eternal Value of Things I used to collect baseball cards. I collected baseball cards because my friends collected baseball cards. It was the thing to do. I remember that I was trading cards with my friends and I saw this card pop up: A Juan Beringer. I thought he looked cool. He looked intimidating. Also – it was signed! I offered to trade for it. What would I give my friend? I’ll give him the Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card! Turns out? Bad assessment of value. Griffy Jr. Rookie? Worth over a hundred. Juan Beringer? About five cents. The more we understand our intrinsic, eternal value to God, the more we will value the things that have intrinsic, eternal value. Things like a midweek Lenten meditation. Things like personal Bible study. Things like Baptism. Things like Lord’s Supper. Things like singing Jesus Loves Me with your kids. Things like meditation. Things like sharing the Gospel with your coworker. Things like sharing the Gospel with our spouse. Things like sharing the Gospel with our neighbor. Friends, this is easier said than done. We live in a world that tells us to value anything but our Savior. Best case it’s confusing, worst case – soul damning. But tonight’s message is that Jesus values you. More than His own life. Value him. And you will have eternal life. Amen. |
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January 2021
Pastor Phil Kiecker
and his wife, Julianna love serving the community of North Raleigh.
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