Urban Legends 2: God Has a Plan For Your Life

Text: Acts 26:12-20

To be real honest with you, what I say today will make you feel very uncomfortable. There are some aspects of folk religion that are so ingrained in our lives that we believe them even though we have evidence to the contrary. We even take folk religion ideas and read them back into the pages of scripture so that we make the Bible confirm our superstitions.

So, if you get a little uncomfortable today, I ask you to do four things:

• Suspend your judgment until you have heard everything
• Take time to look at the whole counsel of scripture and not just a few proof texts (passages that seem to justify one position)
• Be willing to reexamine the beliefs you hold in light of scripture
• Enter into dialog, not to prove a point, but to understand

Paul’s mission statement

When we look at Paul’s life we see a man chosen by God for a specific mission. There are situations where is seems that God had a specific plan for everyday of Paul’s life: the call to mission journeys, his arrest and trial at Rome. But here in this passage, Paul recounts for the third time what happened to him on the road to Damascus and spells out the tasks God assigned for him to do:

• To be a servant and witness of the things that would be revealed to him
• To proclaim these to the Jews and Gentiles.

Everything that happened in Paul’s life and ministry was a direct consequence of Paul’s faithfulness to this commission. In other words the plan for Paul’s life was not a minute by minute path from which he was never to stray, but using his gifts and abilities to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ

The Blueprint Plan

The blueprint plan is the idea that God has a specific path marked out for your life. That path includes all the major decisions that you must make for you to be in the center of God’s will. There does seem to be some biblical precedent for such and idea. (Jeremiah, Jonah, Joseph).

The we have modern examples. We try to seek God’s plan for the right college, the right spouse, the right job and then expanded it all of the major decisions of life.

Assumptions of this model

This model assumes several things about and our relationship with God. First, God has a plan for your life fully mapped out from birth to death which you must discover in order to live faithfully in the world – be in God’s will. Second, God is completely in control of your life. And third, God reveals this plan as you seek him in various ways.

Problems

When we go into Scripture we find all kinds of problems with this idea.

It is just not supported in the Bible – just because God worked this way with one person doesn’t mean he does it with everyone.

It makes God a reluctant giver. He hides will will from his children and expected them to go looking for it.

It turns God into a machine spitting out plans rather than a person. At its worse it seems to make God into a blind uncaring force like Fate or Destiny. God has set an unalterable future in front of you and will fulfill it regardless. Like the ancient Greek heroes.

What happens if you get off the path? Are you sunk for the rest of your life because now you are not completely fulfilling God’s plan.

When you do get off the path you have to settle for God’s permissible will rather than his perfect will. And what is that any way? (Rom 12:2)

If God already knows the future and knows that you will either keep or not keep on the path, why bother seeking him? It will happen just as he saw it happen. If God is really in charge how can you do other than his will?

If God has a blueprint for your life, he has already made every decision for you, so there are no decisions for you to make.

It is just not the way we experience the world.

God’s plan for our lives

What is God’s will for your life? God’s will for your life is not so much a path to follow as a purpose to fulfill. There may be something specific, but God is willing and able to show you that.

[Two resources have been extremely helpful in this regard check them out. Decision-Making and the Will of God and Questions to All Your Answers by Roger Olson.]

This is some of what Scripture says about God’s will for you:

• Eph 5:15-17 – make the most of the opportunities we have and be filled with the Spirit
• Eph 6:5-7 – Serve others, carry out your responsibilities
• 1 Thes 5:18 – give thanks always
• Heb 10:36 – Be faithful to God no matter what
• 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is…not willing that any should perish….”
• 1 Thes 4:3: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification….”
• 1 Peter 2:13-15: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:15-18: “Rejoice, pray, give thanks…for this is God’s will for you.”

The Dynamics of the relationship model

God enters into a real relationship with us. God is open and does not hide things from us that he wants us to do. Look at what Jesus said about prayer:

[Mt 7:7 ESV ] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

God is not a heavenly MapQuest; we live in relationship with him and it is a real relationship. We discover what he wants by spending time with him.

What is God’s Plan for our lives?

God wants us to discover and use our gifts and abilities for the Kingdom; How do we begin?

• Through worship – offering all of our lives to God
• In Fellowship – developing close relationships with other Christians so we can grow and care for others
• Step out in ministry to develop our gifts and serve others
• Join in God’s mission for the redemption of the whole world

God wants us to grow into the likeness of Jesus

Is there something very specific, maybe? The best place to discover that is in fulfilling this part

The Choice

Paul was confronted by Jesus with a blinding light on the Damascus Road and everything else in his life flowed out of that confrontation. God’s will for Paul’s life was to be a servant and witness of the things that God revealed to him.

The choice is God’s plan or yours; God’s dream for your life or yours?

You must live with the consequences, temporal or eternal of which ever one you choose.

Urban Legends 2: Don’t Judge

Matthew 7:1-5

“You shouldn’t judge,” has become the mantra of our time. We hear it especially when someone is engaged in a questionable activity, at least from your perspective.

You become aware of a couple living together without being married or you see a gay couple on the beach, or maybe you see someone wearing an outfit that is just way too provocative. As soon as you voice your opinion, someone will say, “You shouldn’t judge.”

If the person who is pointing out your judgmentalism is the lease bit religious they may even cite Jesus as the authority on the issue- and he is!

You Shouldn’t Judge!

It’s hard to miss Jesus’ point in this passage. The simple message is do not judge. The Message paraphrase drives the point home well.

[Mt 7:1-5 The Message ] “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults- unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

Jesus gives some valid reasons in this passage not to judge.

Why are we not to judge?

• We are not God – we have no right to judge a person’s eternal destiny. Judging in this way usurps the place of God.
• We have limited knowledge – most of us make snap judgments based on nothing more than our perceptions and prejudices
• We are prone to error – we all make mistakes in almost every area of our lives so why do we think our judgments are 100% correct all the time. We sometimes even spiritualize them by using words like discernment.
• We may have wrong motives – probably the last factor we consider in our judgments, if we consider it at all.

We have all done this haven’t we? Haven’t you ever sat in worship and said to yourself, “Boy, So-and-so should have been here to hear this. You judged someone.

Our culture

Our culture applauds those ideas, because they think you shouldn’t judge either! Amazing our culture agrees with Jesus!

But usually the cultures motivation is not that pure the culture is usually upholding Individualism and Personal Autonomy. They are putting forth a skewed notion of tolerance.

The Other side – we are called to make Judgments

But wait a minute; something doesn’t seem to fit here. Jesus tells us not to judge and then he says:

[Mt 7:6 ESV ] “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Isn’t that a judgment? Yes it is. In fact, much of the Sermon on the Mount assumes that we will make judgments!

• Love your enemies – you made a judgment about a person
• Give to the needy – you made a judgment
• In the Lord’s prayer we talk about forgiving others – how can you forgive someone unless you have judged them as a wrong doer
• We are told to judge the words of those who claim to speak for God – judge their words as either good fruit or bad fruit.

And besides all that, when you tell me that I shouldn’t judge – you just judged me!

It is obvious that whatever is going on here Jesus did not forbid all judgments.

Normal judgments

Judgments are part of everyday life.  If judgments are wrong then we could never have contests of any kind. Sports would be out. We couldn’t shop for clothes at have a favorite store. We couldn’t recommend a doctor, mechanic or a plumber. We could not hire the best candidate for a position or fire someone who didn’t measure up. All of these require judgments – judgments about people

We Are Called to Judge The Fruit of Ministries

Bible teachers / speakers – We are told to evaluate what teachers tell us by the Word of God.

The apostle Paul blasted the churches of Galatia and Corinth because they didn’t do it.

[Ga 1:8 ESV ] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

[2 Co 11:4 ESV ] For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Candidates for ordination – In the United Methodist Church all candidates for ministry undergo scrutiny.  Pastors, Staff-Parish Relations committees, Church Conference, District Committee on Ministry, Board of Ordained Ministry all judge these people.

We Are Called to Decide disputes

Scripture says that we should be able to judge disputes between people.

[1 Co 6:1-3 ESV ] When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

We Are Called to Judge Behavior

[1 Co 5:9-13 ESV ] I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler-not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Why is Paul so harsh on these things? Have you ever been told that the church is full of hypocrites? People see folks involved in church who do things like this and even unchurched people know it is unacceptable behavior. When you engage in this kind of behavior you not only give a black eye to the church but also to Jesus. We are to judge behavior.

Making Judgments

Jesus, however, did not leave us without any guidelines.  In the Sermon on the Mount we can discern some very important principles to keep in mind when we make judgments.

Humility

We must always remember that we are not God. And because we are not God our judgments are riddled with errors, misperceptions, prejudices and questionable motives.

A grocery store check-out clerk once wrote to advice-columnist Ann Landers to complain that she had seen people buy “luxury” food items-like birthday cakes and bags of shrimp-with their food stamps. The writer went on to say that she thought all those people on welfare who treated themselves to such non-necessities were “lazy and wasteful.”

A few weeks later Lander’s column was devoted entirely to people who had responded to the grocery clerk. One woman wrote:

I didn’t buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. So what? My husband had been working at a plant for fifteen years when it shut down. The shrimp casserole I made was for our wedding anniversary dinner and lasted three days. Perhaps the grocery clerk who criticized that woman would have a different view of life after walking a mile in my shoes.

Another woman wrote:

I’m the woman who bought the $17 cake and paid for it with food stamps. I thought the check-out woman in the store would burn a hole through me with her eyes. What she didn’t know is the cake was for my little girl’s birthday. It will be her last. She has bone cancer and will probably be gone within six to eight months.

You never know what other people are dealing with. — Terrie Williams, The Personal Touch (Warner Books, 1994); submitted by Danny Smith

Mercy

Making judgments with mercy is about generosity of spirit, a willingness to forgive and give the benefit of the doubt. It is about being conscious of your own failings. Notice the following survey

Percentage of Americans who:

Think incivility is a serious problem: 89.

Think mean-spirited political campaigns are to blame: 73

Think rock music is to blame: 67.

Think talk radio is to blame: 52.

Think their own behavior is uncivil: 1.

U.S. News & World Report (4/22/96). Leadership, “To Verify.”

When it comes to making judgments we would do well to remember Jesus’ words:

[Mt 7:2 NLT ] For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

Willingness to Revise

This principle follows logically from the other two: If our knowledge is flawed and incomplete and our judgments should be tempered with mercy and a willingness to forgive, then our judgments ought to be open to revision.

When we make unfounded, harsh judgments and refuse to revise them we put people in bondage, a bondage from which, at least in our minds, they can never escape. They have no change for appeal.

When we are willing to revise our judgments we release people into an open future. A future where they may become brothers and sisters in Christ

Conclusion

“You shouldn’t judge.” It’s true, but only a half truth and that makes it an urban legend. We cannot live in this world without making judgments. So when we make judgments, especially of people, let us make them with humility, mercy and a willingness to revise them.

Most of us have been on the short side of judgmentalism; we know how much it hurts. If for no other reason we should be willing to hold the reins on our judgments.

There are some you here this morning who have made judgments about another brother or sister in Christ and that judgment has affected every aspect of your relationship, if you have one. You have judged the way they look their spiritual lives, their behaviors even the way they have raised their children. Humility? Mercy? Willingness to revise? Not for you. It is time for you to repent, today. Or maybe you want to be judged that way too.

There are some here who are engaged in immoral lifestyles, sinful or hurtful behaviors. Whenever someone says something to you about it you tell them,” Hey you’re not supposed to judge.” And you think that little statement makes everything OK, but it doesn’t. Because you are still wrong, and if you will not listen to someone who holds you accountable here what will you do when you stand before God Almighty? It’s time for you to repent.

All of us in this place today stand under the gaze of One who knows our hearts better than we ourselves. He knows when we have tried our best and failed and he knows when we said we “couldn’t” and we really meant “wouldn’t.”  God knows our past completely and not just our version of the past. God knows our present and our future. And yet he chooses to be in relationship with us. The only one who can and does judge perfectly is reaching out a hand to you even now to offer you a relationship that will change your life. Don’t you think it’s time?

Urban Legends 2: The Safest Place

What is an urban legend?

Stories which are believed to be accounts of actual incidents that befell or were witnessed by someone the teller almost knows. These tales usually play on our fears and concerns in an effort to confirm the rightness of the way we view the world.  These stories are usually passed around the internet as forwards – and people actually believe them! In this series I am using the term to refer to the Christian cliches which get thrown around our popular culture.

Why this series?

In my twenty three years of ministry I have come upon many Christian Urban Legends – cliches which we spout out when we don’t know what else to say. We accept the truth of these sayings even though we have not verified them.
A few months after the last series, theologian Roger Olson published a book entitled Questions to All Your Answers. In this book he tackles many of these cliches like, “God is in control” or “Jesus is the Answer.” In the book he encourages us to adopt Reflective Christianity instead of folk religion which is made up almost entirely of cliches. As Dr. Olsen says, “Folk religion thrives on cliches and slogans that fit on bumper stickers and resists their critical examination even by…Scripture. Reflective Christianity, on the other hand, values critical, deep and thoroughly biblical thought. It values truth more than comfort and refuses to reduce the glory and mystery of God to bumper-sticker slogans
In the next few weeks we are going to look at some of these clichés and examine them in the light of biblical and historical Christianity.

Safety

The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. It sounds really good doesn’t? It gives us a sense of security in a hostile world. But is it biblical?

We are a culture obsessed with safety and security. Last month for example the Consumer product safety commission issued thirty-six product recalls.  Often news stories play on this innate insecurity, and drive our fears to new heights.

Scriptural Context

In the 10th chapter of Matthew Jesus is preparing the disciples for their mission. He tells them who to go to,  what to say and what to do, how to conduct themselves and how to respond to various situations. He prepares them for the persecution they will experience and encourages them in the face of that persecution.

In these verses Jesus cautions them about the cost of following him. Following Jesus will cause conflicts with families and the world at large. This will be a problem if you  are trying to get along with everyone. Following Jesus involves a cross.

The conflict will come from various sources:

• Those who don’t like what you stand for
• Those who don’t understand
• Those who disagree with you
• The Enemy

We want safety even in our mission for God

We crave safety and security above all else. Who could blame us?
Our desire for safety and security could mean that we see the value of this present life. That is a good thing!
But sometimes this desire becomes an excuse for not doing what we know God has called us to do.  Sometimes it is a way to spiritualize our lack of perseverance when things get tough.

God is not necessarily concerned with our comfort; He is more concerned with our faithful witness in the midst of whatever circumstances come our way.
We have a tendency to think that if God has led us to do something then everything will go smoothly, it will be easy and everyone will like us. But that doesn’t square with the biblical witness.

Examples of tough times

When the Israelites came to the Promised land they had real battles and many of them died even though they were doing God’s will. Stephen the first martyr in the book of Acts, was doing Gods will when he was arrested for preaching. Paul was beaten, persecuted and even left for dead all while in the will of God

So what do we do when things get tough?

We continue to do what we have always done. We pray, read the word and continue to trust God as we live as disciples.

We ask questions to get at the reason for the difficulty. Is it something within me? Have I miscommunicated? Did I misunderstand what would be required? Could my perceptions be mistaken? Am I under spiritual attack?

We rely on our spiritual support group to help us weather the difficulty. The we simply persevere we go through the difficulty knowing that faithfulness to God is more important than anything else. We persevre just like the saints of old:

[Heb 11:34c-39a ESV ]  Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

A World in Conflict

Those who would follow Jesus Christ live in a dangerous world. That is not all there is. There is joy and meaning and purpose and excitement and heaven too!
God wants us to know that when we pledge our allegiance to him that pledge, if it is lived out, will put us in conflict with this world. That same allegiance gives us peace with God.
The last night Jesus was with his disciples before the crucifixion he warned them of the coming persecution and gave them a promise:
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.  John 16:33

Pledging our allegiance to God puts in conflict with the world, but it also opens us up to the resources of God’s grace.

Prayer for Courage

Dear God, give me courage, for perhaps I lack it more than anything else.
I need courage before people against their threats and against their seductions.
I need courage to bear unkindness, mockery, contradiction.
I need courage to fight against the devil, against terrors and troubles, temptations, attractions, darkness and false lights, against tears, depression, and above all fear.
I need Your help, dear God.
Strengthen me with Your love and Your grace.
Console me with Your blessed Presence and grant me the courage to persevere until I am with You forever in heaven. Amen