Antioch Covenant Church

The Shift

Luke 18:9-14

“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” vs. 1

Membership

There was a guy who was not really a very honorable type of guy. He had committed adultery multiple times, abused alcohol, used language a sailor would be proud of , and tended to tell little white lies to make his status in life a little better. One day, he decided it would be good for his business if he went down to the church his wife attended  and joined it. Even though he had never been a member of a church or really attended church, he thought this was a great idea.

He went down to place membership, sat through the class, said a bunch of the right things, he even stood up and gave a public testimony to the church that there was no sin in his life, and that he had grown up in the church. They were impressed and quickly accepted him as a member.

When he went home he told his wife what he had done, and his wife thinking she would love to have him in church with her; she was a very godly lady, Not quite, she exploded. She called him a hypocrite and demanded that he go back to the church the next week and confess what he really was. Well, God used his wife to really break him, and he took it to heart. He realized the error of his ways and thought confession and a new start would be the right first step.

The next Sunday he went back to the church, walked down to the front again, and this time confessed to the church all of his sins. He told them he was dishonest, an alcoholic, an adulterer, and that he was sorry. They immediately revoked his membership on the spot. He walked out of the church that day really confused and muttered to himself: “These church folks are really strange. I told a lie and they took me in; and when I told the truth they kicked me out!

Read Passage – Luke 18:9-14

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Outward Appearances

In Jesus’ time, the Pharisee’s were the religious leaders of their day.  They were the synagogue leaders. All Pharisees were super-religious men who were extremely careful about obeying the Torah, which is basically the first five books of the Old Testament. They also followed the Mishnah, which explained how to obey the Torah. There might be several chapters in the Misnah devoted to one single verse in the Torah. In addition, they followed the Talmud, which was a commentary on the Mishnah. These guys lived by the book!

Ex.

Talmud

Talmud

Mishnah                      Talmud

Mishnah                      Talmud

O.T. (Torah)                Mishnah                      Talmud

Mishnah                      Talmud

Talmud

Talmud

Remember, most of these guys probably started with good intentions and wanting to do the right thing. The law gave them power and that felt good, and let’s face it, it worked for them. It ‘s fun to be in charge and to have some control. And they liked looking the part.  It worked for them. It’s like when you get a job that you get to where a uniform, it’s empowering and fun and it gives you some pride.

Ex. Getting a job as a security guard

However, there is a tax collector in the story too. He was considered the scum of the earth, the very bottom of the religious food chain in Israel. He would have been a Jew who was hired by the Romans to collect money for them. He would have been a guy they grew up with, played with, interacted with and then all the sudden, he switches teams.  He’s hired by the Romans and they pay him minimum wage, but, whatever he could collect over that, he could keep. So if you owe the Romans 15 denari, he would make you pay 30 and keep the other 15 for himself. He was in many ways ripping-off  his own people., Using them for his own gain.

Over Confidence

So Jesus makes a statement in verse 9 that tells us what this story is all about:

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else…” vs. 9

Now at first this appears to be directed at the Pharisee’s, and it is meant for them but it is also meant for the tax collectors as well. It’s meant for anyone who might be too confident, too prideful, too stuck on their own abilities and not have a healthy perspective of who they really are. It meant for any of us who might be focused on our deeds and our status that we put ourselves above others. When we do that, we foster an “us vs. them” mentality. We get to the place of thinking that our actions justify our worth and our importance and we transfer that to others thinking we are better because of our actions. This kind of thinking only divides.

What Does God Want Me To Be?

So you might be asking: “What does God want me to be?” Funny you should ask.  This story leads us to an understanding of how God wants us to be. There are three things in this story that God is pointing out to us.

• A Seeker of God

The first is that he wants us to seek Him; seek God.  Notice an interesting line in this story in vs. 10:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” vs. 10

Don’t miss that both men went to the temple to pray.  So what is the difference? It was the reason or motivation behind their action. Think about it, the Pharisee went to the Temple to build himself up, to strut his stuff, to fulfill an obligation or check it off his list for the week, and to feel good about himself.  He was his motivation.

The tax collector went to the temple to submit himself to God. Notice the passage tells us he stood at a distance, he wouldn’t even look up, and he beat his chest and repented to God. He was there for God.

Question: Why are you here today? Did you come to satisfy someone else? Because you had to? Because you have always gone to church and it’s just what you do?  Maybe you are like the guy in our opening story, you came becaue it might get you some business. Listen to the words of David from Psalm 14:2:

“The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” Psalms 14:2

God is a God of relationship.  He wants to be with you, he wants to love on you, he wants to grow closer to you and he wants us to have that same attitude.

Ex. You invite one of your friends over for dinner but they don’t really want to go. They go because their spouse made them go, and you know it. You can feel it.  How do you feel? Now put that with God. He’s invited you to rest, to worship, to be with him. He loves it when we come to be with Him. That’s relationship.

• A Lover of People

A second thing God wants us to pick up from this story is that we are to be a lover of people because He is a lover of people.  He uses a negative example for us to learn this. Verse 11:

“The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. vs. 11

Think about his; Who did God want there that day? The answer: both. He wanted both people there with the right motivation because God loves people. But the Pharisee couldn’t get past himself. But here is what we can glean from this.  God created all of us. You are God’s special creation.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. He loves you. His plan for us is to love others they way He loves us. We are the ones who look at the outward.  We look at clothes, we look at features, we look at weight, we look at all these things that are out here (point) and God is looking in here.  When we look here (point to heart) we are taking on a Godly outlook.  Listen to 1 John 4::21 from The Message:

“Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.” 1 John 4:21

Exercise: Tell someone they are loved

Challenge: To love. We are living in a really difficult time. The elections are coming up. I almost hate watching TV because of all the negative ads. It seems that we no longert have commercial that help us understand a candidates values and stances, we only have commercial that cut the other down and use the worst looking picture of the opposite candidate they can find,

Ex. Did you know…God loves Obama and God love Romney. It’s true! God loves Biden and God loves Ryan! Really! I’m not saying that one is better than the other I am saying that God wants both to have a relationship with Him and unfortunately all we get from most of our candidates is negativity and slander.

• Humble  In Heart

Finally, God is wants us to have a humble heart.  Notice again the positive example God gives us in verse 13:

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” vs. 13

Really he shouldn’t be a good example, I mean, he sided with the enemy. He’s a thief, a cheat, a traitor, etc. But his motivation is right and he wants to really get closer to God.

He is humble. Try this explanation for a moment. Humility is no putting yourself down, it’s lifting others up. Do you know what it says when you look up humility in the dictionary? It says: the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people. See, it is not saying put yourself down, it’s saying just don’t elevate yourself above others.

We all make mistakes, we all sin, we all have a tough side to love. But God is a God of forgiveness and he calls us to remember that because He has forgiven us and we are called to forgive and keep the4 proper perspective of who we are with a humility because of the love He shows us. Listen to David’s words from Psalm 149:

For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Ps, 149:4

If you think you might struggle with this, guess what, we all do. But notice that David says that we can have victory in this area in God.

The Result

The great news is God gives us the end result of following His plan. It comes in verse 14:

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.” vs. 14

God justifies us and accepts us as His children. He continues to look at our heart and not at our actions and then just lives us all the more.  Let me confirm this with one more verse. Jesus asks us to follow Him, to be like Him. There is a verse that gives us hope that we can do this. It comes in Matt. 11:29:

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Matt. 11:29

Jesus says, he is a seeker of God, he is a lover of people, he is humble in heart, and when you take on these traits, you find rest, real rest, real peace.

Praying With Hope

Luke 18:1-8

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Prayer Postures

Show pictures of people and animals in prayer postures and make short comments.

Read Passage – Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Understanding God

We often have difficulties with some of the ways God works and really sometimes God can be confusing to us. If you go back into chapter 17:20 where this passage begins it says:

“Once, having been asked by the Pharisee’s when the kingdom of God would come…” Lk. 17:20

There are some things that are just too hard to figure out why God let’s them happen.

Tragedies – Story in the news this week about a man who shot and killed a prowler and it turned out to be his son! He just couldn’t see who it was in the dark! Tragic.

Death – This week I was talking with a man who had a son born with a rare disease and didn’t live once he was born, died immediately. Heartbreaking.

Heaven – Notice in our passage the Pharisee’s are wondering about the kingdom of God and when it would come. Is that her on earth? Is that now? Exactly when is that?

Answers to Prayer – In our story today that is the issue; how and when does God answer prayer and what criteria is there for us to understand it?

Unbelief

It stories like those and many others that really lead many to a place of unbelief.  Why would a good God allow things like that to happen? People say that if that is how God is, they choose not to believe. This story even tells us that at the end; verse 8:

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” vs. 8

It is so hard to have faith when things don’t seem to line up in a way we can understand and make sense of why they happen. Jesus even asks this question here. Will God find faith on earth when he returns? Some of the thing I mentioned earlier cause people to not trust in God. So they just don’t have or even want faith. Faith can be hard.

It Is Easy To Give Up

In our story it tells us one of our tendencies when it comes to these tough questions.  That tendency is: It is easy to give up. Is says that right in the first verse:

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” vs. 1

It is so easy to give up and fall into unbelief when things are out of whack, don‘t make sense, are tragic and many times seem senseless, and when we are going through heartbreak and disillusionment. This story is talking about prayer. Prayer is our communication with God. Prayer in itself is pretty simple; we talk to God, he hears us, he talks back, sometimes we here him and sometimes we don’t; he answers our prayers. Wouldn’t it be great if it was that simple. Prayer is simple but the answers aren’t always that simple. Why didn’t God answer my prayer or why did He answer it that way, or maybe we feel left and that God never heard the prayer. All tough things to understand. Realize this though, being in relationship takes communication.  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to be in relationship and not communicate. Our story today gives us some insight into how we should pray and what to expect and…what our relationship with God looks like.  So, let’s look.

Praying With Hope

I called this, Praying With Hope. Hope is: to desire with expectation or to expect with confidence. Does that definition sound like your prayer life? Or does that definition sound like how you think about praying? Listen to how this story helps us to pray with hope.

• § Pray Even When Things Seem To Be Against You

First, we need to pray even when things seem to be against us.  Verse 3:

“And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.” vs. 3

I believe that many times people pray in convenience because that is easy; or, they pray in desperation, when it is a last resort. This lady is coming to the judge because things are going against her. She comes back multiple times because she is not getting an answer. The story tells us she has an adversary, an enemy.  Someone who doesn’t like her, who does care for her, and who would love to see her defeated. All she wants is a little justice. She is living with a bothersome situation that is not going away and probably is taking a lot of her effort, her mental state of mind, and is really getting her down.

Point: We all have enemies, people who don’t like us, are against us, etc. It could be a co-worker, a previous friend, it could be something non-human like money, etc.

She may seem desperate but she keeps coming back because she has hope that she will get some resolution. Here’s what God has for us; it’s the right way of putting our difficulties in perspective, Phil 4:6:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Phil. 4:6

Let me put to you this way. Don’t worry, but of course that is easier said than done. So try this: Instead of worrying, let your prayers and petitions (the things you are asking for) shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. God wants to know your requests. He wants to know what is in your heart.  And he wants you to take the things that are bothering you and zapping your energy and turn into prayer and more specifically, prayers of hope.

Ex. My prayer for Amber and her friend who diagnosed with a blood clot this week.

• God Is Working

You might ask what good that does.  Well, you can give those things to God because, point two, God is working. Notice what happens in our story, verses 7-8:

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” vss. 7-8

The woman in our story feels ignored by the judged.  We may get to the point of feeling ignored by God.  But these verses tell us that God I working.  He will see that justice happens. Now we want immediate justice.

Ex. We watch a TV crime shows where someone has been wronged and that person wants to take the action to avenge the wrong and the police always say, “Don’t take the law into your own hands.  Let us do our job. We will get justice.”

God is telling us the same thing.  He is working, He is working His plan and in His time.  We just have a hard time waiting. But Jesus says in verse 8: “He will see that they get justice.” God will get justice because ultimately; “He is in control.” Romans 8:28:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:2

God is working and He is working for good; for a good outcome and for a good purpose. Proof of that comes when we look back on the things we’ve prayed about and see the answers.

Ex. Our prayer list and those who have recently found jobs after long periods of unemployment

• Trust There Are Answers On The Way

So when things are against us and we turn to God in prayer, when we trust and know that God is working, we can also pray with hope trusting there are answers on the way and that God’s answers are always the best answers. There is a few verses in here that might seem confusing but they actually give us a lot of hope.  Verses 4-5:

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear

God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice…” vss. 4-5

When we read these verses we focus in the issue that the judge finally granted this woman’s request and it must be because she pestered him. Really, what we should focus on from this is that even a earthly judge wants justice. If that is true with an earthly judge, how much more with God. So we trust and know that answers are on the way but here is the kicker, it’s not always in our time and in our way. Isaiah 55:8:

““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8

We think we know best. We think we have answers and solutions. But God’s ways and thoughts aren’t our ways and thoughts. We sometimes pray so hard for something we don’t really need or that wouldn’t be good for us.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Prayer is request. The essence of a request, as distinct from a demand, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant them and sometimes refuse them…If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?

Praying with hope is trusting God that if the answer is no, if the answer is wait, or if the answer comes and it’s not what we are expecting, His plan, His way, His solution is what is best because He is much smarter, and wiser that we are.

PUSH Prayers

So let me wrap up by giving you something you can take with you. It’s called PUSH prayers. I got this from a Baptist pastor named David Dykes

Pray

Until

Something

Happens

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.“  Col. 4:6

Balancing Your Resources
Luke 16:1-15
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now?” vs. 3

A Belt of Gold

There once was a man who went on an ocean voyage carrying a large bag of gold coins. The bag represented his entire net worth. He had sold his house, sold all his things, cashed out all his accounts and CD’s and converted them all to gold and was headed off to start a new life. A terrible storm came up in the middle of the ocean, it was hopeless, the boat was going down so the captain did the only thing he could, he called to abandon ship. But there were only so many life boats that were now all full. The man strapped the gold to his waist belt, jumped overboard, and sank to the bottom of the sea. How would you answer this philosophical question… “As he was sinking, did he have the gold? Or did the gold have him?” (Wait for responses) Ask congregation to stand as the Scripture is read.

Read passage – Luke 16:1-15
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’6 “‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’ 7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ 8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

Ineffective
In our story today there is a man who manages a business. His biggest issue was that he wasn’t very good at his job. Verse 1 tells us:

“Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.” vs. 1

So he has wasted the possessions of the owner and now he is getting called on the carpet for it. Interestingly enough, when it says that this man was accused of wasting his masters possessions it is the same term used of the prodigal son when he went off and squander his inheritance that is told in the story in chapter 15 just before this one.

Let’s Make A Deal
His predicament is that he realizes that he really can’t do the manual labor. Verse 3:

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg…” vs. 3

He got himself into a bad situation. He knows he can’t work and yet he’s messed up the manager’s job he has and he facing being without a job. But he’s not dumb. He thinks about it and comes up with a plan. It’s basically Let’s Make a Deal. He comes up with a plan to go to each person that owes his boss money, bargains with them to reduce their bill, and collects the money for his boss all while trying to gain some support and influence with them so when he is out of a job he has some people who will help him out. There are two ways that he could have done this.
1. He went behind his owners back and settle the accounts
2. He reduced the bills and just cut out his own profit.
In this time is was common for an owner to hire a manger and the manager was responsible for his own salary. So if this person owed his boss 500 gallons of olive oil, he would charge the guy 800 and keep the rest for himself. Therefore, when he went to collect he was only cutting his own profit. But then listen to this verse:

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. “ vs. 8

Huh? Here’s what I think is going on. Many times we as Christians, (or in their time those who follow God) aren’t quite as shrewd business wise as those of the world. Think about it, until recently, we haven’t really had many Christian people or organizations who are as smart financially and business wise; but that is changing. We now have people like Ron Bleu, Crown Ministries, etc. We now have more people who are trained and are smarter with finances. Those who don’t know God the way we do think we can’t handle our finances, we don’t have an abundance because we have to tithe, we don’t seem to just have as much as others. In some ways we just don’t seem as astute tot them.

Lessons From A Shrewd Man

Did you know that one out of every six verses in Matthew, Mark and Luke deal with either money or material possessions. Over ½ of the parables Jesus told are about these same this topics. There are over 1000 references in the bible to money. This makes it the 2nd most popular subject in scripture.
So we need to pay attention (get it “pay” attention”) to Jesus’ words and understand why it is so important to handle our resources in the proper way. Let’s look at this story a bit close and learn some things from this “shrewd manager.”

1. We Are Managers, Not Owners
The first clue is in verse 1:

“There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.“ vs. 1

Notice it identifies two people. In the Bible, sometimes we take things literally and sometimes we have to understand them figuratively too. In our story, the rich man is figuratively God and we are the manager. So when it comes to our resources, whether they be money, cars, houses, talents, etc. we have to decide how we view them. So we vie them as ours? Or are we the managers of them? The story implies we are managers. Managers aer people who control things for someone else. So let me challenge you a bit here. How you you look at the things you “own?” or have? You can take that astep further as well by looking again at verse 2:

“So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.” vs. 2

If we take the attitude that we are managers, then we understand that we will have to give an account for how we handle those resources. Let’s put this into perspective this way by me challenging you with another question:

What will you take with you when you die?

It’s an obvious answer, nothing. We either give it to others like our kids and family or in many cases, it goes to the government or to people we don’t even know like lawyers. We take care of the things we have but they aren’t always ours.
Ex. Our house in RWC. We loved it took care of it, people cam by and told us how cute it was, asked us about our plants, etc. We moved and now you can’t even see our house the weeds are so high. It’s a mess. But it isn’t ours anymore. We managed it for a while.

2. Plan Ahead
A second lesson we learn from this manager is the necessity of planning ahead. Verse 3:

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now?” vs. 3

It’s great to enjoy our resources. But that shouldn’t stop us from planning ahead, in fact, it dictates that we should plan ahead. This guy the good life. He had a good job, he made good money, he seemed to have it going on well. But when the crisis came, he didn’t have much to go forward with. Proverbs 20:4 says:

“A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall.” Prov. 20:4 (TM)

That is a great word picture for us to help us understand the need to plan ahead. So let’s put this into practical terms. If you have something, a car, a house, a whatever, most of those things take some amount of maintenance. If you don’t plan ahead, one day your car will need tires, brakes, etc. and if you are living check to check. It will be a difficulty when it comes. Most financial experts will tell you to put 10% of your income aside to maintenance and rainy days.
Ill. But let’s be more practical. Say you only put $20 bucks a month aside. You would have $250 in a year. That may not sound like a lot but it will do something. I am planning for something right now that I know when it comes up in 3 years I won’t have the money for so I am putting $10 aside every month and in 3 years I will have almost $400 and that will cover it.

3. The Gift of Generosity
The third lesson we learn is the gift of generosity. This verse may sound confusing but hear me out on this. Verse 9:

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” vs. 9

As I said, hear me out. I know you can’t buy friends. But you can be generous. And your generosity can win the hearts of others over so that when you need help, they may be more inclined to help you
Ex. You help a friend move and when you move they just might help you. You help someone pain their house and they just may help you paint you house when the time comes. Now I am not saying this will be the case every time. But chances are you will. Proverbs 22:9 says:

“A generous man will himself be blessed…” Prov. 22:9

Being generous does not always mean money. It can mean effort, time, energy, etc.
Ex. Our church bldg.

4. Building Character
And finally, fourth, when we are responsible with our resources, we are actually building our character. Jesus follows up this story of the shrewd manage with this point in verse 10:

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” vs. 10

So let me summarize what he is saying here by putting it in a little more modern terms. The small things matter and when we handle those properly, we can be trusted with more. A lot of times we think the little things don’t matter that much. But those little things are character builders. We use this principle all the time. We use it in business, we use it with our kids, etc. It’s a building process and there is a verse in Romans that helps confirm this. Romans 5:3-4:

“We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3b-4

Who You Gonna Serve?
There is one final thing to take note of and it’s an example that Jesus gives us from his own day. It comes from verse 13:

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” vs. 13

Basically Jesus is saying you can’t have it both ways. You have to choose who you are going to serve. If it’s God, put your money in the right perspective and use it wisely. If it’s money, god for it but don’t fool yourself and think you can do both. And in verse 15 he tells us why:

“What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” Vs. 5

God doesn’t see things the way we do or I should say we don’t see things the way God does. We look at things and oogle over them, are impressed by them, and value them. It’s hard to believe but when God sees them, they become detestable to Him; mainly because those things take us away from him.
Ex. When we traded in our Honda for a BMW. She drove it to my work and people were so impressed, with her too! She was the same woman but now they were looking at her differently.

Wonderful Things

Luke 13:10-17

“…but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” vs. 17

Fleas In A Jar

Show YouTube video clip

Open it up to the congregation to comment on what they saw/what interested them

The thing I find fascinating about the video is the way they adapt to their environment and then how from that point on, they limit themselves for the rest of their lives. Their mind set has somehow changed and it even gets passed along to the next generation. It makes you stop and think; what are we allowing from our environment/surroundings/culture to affect our mind set? What are we limited by? And…Are we passing that down to the next generation?

Let’s look at a passage of Scripture where a woman has been hurting for 18 years and is desperately in need of a change. Luke 13:10-17

Read Passage – Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰ On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. ¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” ¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” ¹⁷ When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Oppressive Environment

Let me give you a brief overview of what was going on in Palestine about this time.

Talk about the oppressive environment as told by Phillip Yancy The Jesus I Never Knew p. 56

Jesus is in the synagogue and there is a woman there who has suffered for 18 years from a spirit that has caused her to be weak and bent over. The text does not call it a disease. Luke, more than any other gospel writer, loves to show how Jesus was able to heal immediately (cf. 4:39, 5:25, 8:44, 47, 55, 18:43).

Here’s what it may have been like. One Sabbath day she entered the synagogue, and in all likelihood, she was doing nothing whatsoever to attract attention to herself. She probably slipped in through the side door, quietly, unobtrusively. Jesus was teaching the people, and then he looked off to one side, or up in the balcony and saw that woman come in with her peculiar, crippled, bent-over walk. Jesus interrupted his lesson, then and there, and invited the woman to come over to him. This must have come as quite a surprise to the woman; after-all, no one, perhaps, had paid her much attention for a long time. “Could it be?” she may have asked herself. “Is he really speaking to me?” So, she scurries forward in response to Jesus’ command—what else is she to do? Then Jesus’ voice rings out with a note of authority that no one could miss:

“When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” vs. 12

Jesus brings a healing to a place where oppression reigns.

Well Meaning?

Now the Pharisee’s who were the keepers of the Temple and the religious leaders did not like this at all. In some way we could see them as being well meaning. What I mean by that is they were holding on  to their religion and not trying to give in to Rome. Their way of doing that is by keeping all these rules and regulations.  So what are the synagogue leaders saying about Jesus here? They are calling him a rule-breaker.  Not the Roman law, the Jewish rules and regulations. Way back in Exodus 20 when God gave the 10 commandments; he said:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work…” Ex. 20:8-10a

Their identity was bound up in their God and the covenant (what we now call the Old Testament) that they had with him. And they believed that only by slavishly keeping the rules of that Covenant could they satisfy God. Well, in order to avoid breaking the Commandments, the Pharisees had created more rules to go on top of those rules to make sure that happened. It’s called the Torah. The Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws… By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness.

“There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” vs. 14b

They basically said: This is a place of worship and that does not include healing so if you’re hurting, come back another time.

Ex. You go to the Dr. and they tell you to come back another day. (My positive experience with Dr. Ackerman, DDS)

Jesus: A New Perspective

What Jesus does through this woman, is give us a new perspective. A new perspective of God, a new perspective of church and worship, and a new way to live.

• People Are More Important Than Rules

The first thing that we learn is that People Are More Important Than Rules

“The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?” vs. 15

The leaders are acting hypocritically. They say one thing but then they are doing the same type of thing. Jesus is building in a contrast of the old way of doing things and the new way.  The old way: adherence to law, complaining, governing, ruling and lording it over people.  Unfortunately, we still see that today

Ex. The rules we make to exclude people form our churches

The contrast to that is joy. The notice the woman’s response to Jesus, vs. 13:

“Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.” vs. 13

The new way is joy and joy comes out in our physical being as well as our words and actions. God is about people.  He wants us to be about people too.  It not about rules but it is about relationship.  That comes out in a question the Pharisees asked Jesus about rules.  The question is what is the greatest of all the rules.  He answers with this: (Matt. 22:37-40)

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Mt. 22:37-40

Notice love is the key and important thing.  Love of God and love of people. Relationship building.

Ill. When we affirm others, express our love, treat others well, we are being in good relationship with God.

• He Uses Our Brokenness To Heal Us

Second, Jesus new perspective is that our brokenness is just another chance for God to be glorified. Look at this poor lady.  Verse 11:

“She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” vs. 11

And remember, that this wasn’t something she had done wrong. That’s what the Pharisees thought, sh must have done something wrong to have this, she must have sinned. The passage tells us this is a spirit from Satan that was doing this. But Satan can’t stand up to Jesus. He has the power. He has the touch. Verse 13:

“Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.” vs. 13

The old way of doing things was to cast her out and call it sin. But now Jesus not only tells them and us that this has nothing to do with sin, he shows us he has power over anything, even the demons. Jesus is telling them (as he did in other passages) that we should be about healing not about judging and ostracizing. I love how David sated it in Psalm 147:3:

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

So if judging and outcasting are the old ways, jesus says the new perspective is one of welcoming and freeing. We as a church are to be welcoming and freeing.

• The Blessing of the Sabbath

And…I think the third new perspective that Jesus brings is that the Sabbath is no longer about rote worship and fulfilling a check list and requirement.  He’s conveying to us that it’s a blessing to go to church and worship. Notice verse 16:

“Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” vs. 16

Again, the old way for the Jews was to fulfill a checklist.

Sin=make a sacrifice

Pray=three times daily

Sabbath=go to temple –NO WORK!!!!

The other part of that is we put some of those same types of things on ourselves.  I can only go to church when I feel good, when I have the time and there is nothing better happening, etc. We make it a checklist too! We make it a burden.

Ex. Someone comes to your house to visit but they only do it because they have to, it’s a burden and they don’t really want to be there.  That all comes through in their actions and words.

But get this, Jesus new perspective is that going to church should be joyful, happy, a place of healing and reconciliation. His desire is for us to meet Him, see Him, experience Him, have a relationship with Him so that we walk away from here on Sunday’s blessed and joyful. Listen to how Isaiah put it in 58:13-14:

“If you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable…then you will find your joy in the LORD…” Isaiah 58:13-14

If you come to church and don’t walk out encouraged, joyful, with a new pep in your step, don’t blame me. Don’t blame the praise team. Don’t fall into the blame game.  Look inward and look at this as a joy. You may even say; “I’m going to change my outlook on going to church right now!” I’m going to go on time, I’m going to go more often, I’m going to really think about and enjoy the music as I sing and stand, and  feel free to raise my hands, to clap, etc.

An Invitation

That leads me to this final thought. We have a choice.  Look at what we read in verse 17:

“When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” vs. 17

Even after all this, the Pharisee’s and the rulers of the temple choose to turn away from Jesus and to look for a way to kill him.  On the other hand, the people, the crowd chose to rejoice and relish all the things they had see Jesus do.  Their hearts were moved and they delighted in the events of the day.

Think back for just a second about those fleas in that jar.  They let their environment and circumstances determine how they acted and control their life. You have a choice. You can let outside forces determine your relationship with God or you can start right now and take a new approach. You can choose to cultivate and enhance and build your relationship with God in a positive, encouraging, and loving way.

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things.” vs. 41

Silver Medals

I know for most of us the Olympics are in our rear view mirror and we’ve moved on to other things but I wanted to take a moment and reflect on the 2012 Summer Games. I’m sure most of you, if not all, watched some of the games. Personally, I love watching them; especially those sports that we don’t often get to see like swimming, gymnastics, the track and field games, and even some obscure ones like ping pong, diving, horse vaulting, trampoline, etc. I’m not really as high on the ones where there are professionals. I would rather see the others.

One thing that should have been a bit of sign to us is some of the names of the athletes.  I found a few that maybe was reflective of how they performed.  One was a South Korean pole vaulter. His name is Kim but it’s his last name that gives him problems. “Yoo Suk.” Unfortunately as he is performing everyone is yelling “yoo suk” “yoo suk.” J Another is a Bolivian sprinter who runs the hurdles.   Believe it or not her name is Vania Stambolova (pronounce stumble over) and as luck would hav it, yes, she fell or stumbled over. Ouch!

I love to watch the medal couts and see how each country is doing and of course I pull for the U.S. but isn’t it fun when a country like Morocco or Kuwait, or Qatar win a medal. Sometimes those people have gone through incredible challenges to accomplish what they have done.  There was one aspect of the games that stood out to me this time.  It was the medal winners and their joy, or lack of, at winning, especially when it came to the silver medals.

According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, bronze medal winners are generally happier with their prizes than are silver medalists. Why? Bronze medalists are thrilled to win a medal at all, while silver medalists can’t stop thinking about how close they came to gold. Today in the Word, November, 1996, p. 19

Some silver medalists are just elated to win their medals.  Others on the other hand, seem devastated and so upset. I remember 2 women; one in gymnastics and one in running who both won silver and it devastated them. The runner won silver in the last Olympics and was bound and determined to win gold this time.  She trained four long years and still didn’t attain her goal. It was heart breaking for her. Yet I saw another runner who won silver and he was the happiest guy on earth.  It’s all a matter of how you see it. Let’s look at two women who had a very different view of their circumstance.

Read Passage – Luke 10:38-42

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” ⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Perspectives

A lot of the things we go through in life and the things that happen to us can affect us one way or another depending on our perspective; that is, how we look at a situation we are in.  If we are in a bad mood, the tough things seem tougher. When we are in a good mood,, those tough things are more palatable. The opposite is true as well. When things go well and we are happy they seem a lot better and when we are in a good mood and things go wrong, they don’t seem quite as bad. Perspective is our a mental view or prospect of a situation.

Starting Strong

Today, let’s look at these two women and their view of an encounter they have with Jesus. First, I would like to look at something that many times doesn’t get brought up in this story. It’s the idea of starting strong.  Martha takes a lot of negative criticism for her part in this story. But notice what it says in verse 38:

“He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” vs. 38

Martha opens up her home to Jesus. Jesus traveled from place to place and he relied on people to provide things for him, food, shelter, etc. Martha opens up her home.  Martha starts strong.  She has a good heart, she wants to do the right thing and she graciously opens her home.

Signs We’ve Lost Our Focus

Unfortunately for Martha, things go downhill from there. I think we learn a great deal from Martha. Like Martha, we deal with many things in our life and if we lose the focus of the bigger picture, we can lose our focus. There are some signs, more like actions that we resort to, that are in this story that can help us become aware that we are/have lost our focus and need to adjust our perspective.

• We Get Distracted

First, we get distracted. It uses that word in verse 40a:

“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” vs. 40a

It was a big deal to host Jesus. He was going place to place, performing miracles and healings, and crowds followed him. He also had an entourage of people that traveled with him. He had his 12 disciples; he had other disciples as well, and there were crowds that probably followed him too. We see that in other passages of Scripture.  Then, when he would get to a place, people would come from all over to see him and hopefully be healed.  All that being said, Martha, wanted to make sure everything was just right.  The house picked up, the food prepared, etc. There was a lot to do and she seemed to be very conscientious about it and want it to be done well, so it took all her time and energy.

Ex.  I can relate to this.  On Sunday mornings I want our church to be just right. One thing I like to do is spend some time in prayer so when I get here, I try to spend the first 15 or so minutes walking the property and praying for the day. Inevitably I get distracted. Something is not done, or something comes up, maybe something is not working right, etc. and my goal is to be prepared to spend time with you. And I know sometimes you walk in and see me running around and doing all kinds of things but that is not the way I want it to be.

In Proverbs 4:26-27 it says:

“Watch your step,and the road will stretch out smooth before you.Look neither right nor left;leave evil in the dust.” Prov. 4:26-27 The Message

The idea here is that things distract us. We look to the right to the left and all that is in front of us can be forgotten or put on the back burner. Distractions can be a sign we have lost our focus.

• We Play the Blame Game

A second sign have may have lost our focus is that we begin blaming others for things. I call this playing the blame game.  Notice Martha does that in verse 40b:

“She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister…”  vs. 40b

I find it interesting that when people get into circumstances they feel uncomfortable or upset about that they resort to the blame game.  Really, it’s an attempt to take to focus off yourself and put it onto someone else. We somehow feel better or more justified when we drag others into the circumstance.

Ex. Walking down the hall I walked into the door.  I started thinking about every person it could be and who was to blame.  You know what? I figured it out. It was me. How embarrassing.

In Hosea Ch. 4 God is speaking to the nation of Israel and he tells them in verse 4:

“But don’t look for someone to blame. No finger pointing!” Hosea 4:4 The Message

No blaming. So the solution is: we take responsibility for our actions. We are to be humble, stand up, and take responsibility. Satan wants us to be blamers. He appeals to our pride. The wrong kind of pride stops us from taking responsibility for our actions. But taking responsibility says that we trust God to take care of us, even when we make mistakes, when we fail, when things don go the way we think they should be.

• We Have a Victim Mentality

A third sign we might be losing our focus is that we have a victim mentality. Notice Martha’s victim mentality as verse 40 continues:

“..(she)has left me to do the work by myself?” vs. 40b

Martha feels alone and she feels that she trapped. We get into circumstances all the time where we feel alone and that we are the only ones going through something or that no one has it worse than we do. This is not abnormal.  We all go through it. Think about what she does here. She goes to Jesus, God’s Son, and complains that Mary is paying too much attention to Him and she feels trapped or alone. The victim mentality is that feeling of hopelessness and isolation. It feels unfair and it feels as if we have no choice.

But we live in choice. Martha was in choice. She choose to blame and to play the role of the victim.  She felt sorry for herself and she regretted her decision.

• We Worry, Worry, Worry

And the final sign we see in Martha is that she worries. Verse 41:

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things…” vs. 41

Worrying is mental distress.  It’s the idea of constantly thinking and maybe over thinking what tis happening and running it over and over again in your head. In reality, worrying is taking it all on yourself and not fully trusting God.  It’s not that you don’t trust God at all, it’s the idea we take the load on ourselves.  The remedy is to turn it over to God.  We do that through prayer, we do that through expressions of love and trust, we do that by allowing God to work in ways we never expected or never could have imagined. We do that by giving it to Him.

When I start worrying, I have to stop myself and realize that I haven’t fully trusted God with it.  I have to change my perspective from me fixing to allowing God to work,.  I stop asking why something is happening and start asking God to work and then asking what He wants me to learn through it.

What Is Really Important

So the bottom line is this, and Jesus drives this point home with Mary…what is really important? Look at verse 42:

“…but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” vs. 42

Mary’s perspective is…what is important is spending time with Jesus. It’s building relationships and especially our relationship with God. Let’s spend just a moment visualizing how we do that. Like Mary, we build in time for God.

Ways to build in time with God:

Prayer: build in moments of prayer; i.e. while waking, driving, when we get up, etc.

Music: make an effort to listen to music that draws you closer to God

His Word: Make an effort to read. i.e. if you read during commercial on TV you could read at least a chapter a day.

Time alone: take a walk, sit in your favorite chair, your garden, patio, etc.

Service: serve in the church, in a non-profit, to the less fortunate, etc.

One time someone told me: Show me someone’s check book ledger and I will show you what is important to them. There is some truth to that but that is just one aspect. We have the opportunity to build God into our life…or…we can lose focus, blame, play the victim, and worry.

Help God, I’m Hurting!

Luke 8:40-56

“But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” vs. 46

Running Home From School

I had a rough year or so when I was 16 and 17.  It all started when my uncle Dean, for whom my middle name was given, ended up in the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage. I visited him in the hospital and he was in a coma which he never came out of.  I didn’t realize that this was the beginning of a pretty hard time. Over the course of the next 16 months or so, both my grandparents on my mom’s side passed away, my dad mother passed away, and two more of my uncles passed away and I think I may have had an aunt pass away as well. It was a tough time for our family.  It seemed every time the phone rang it was bad news or someone else had passed away. Our family had a lot of tension and stress and anxiety at this point and it just seemed we were always on edge a bit. I’m not sure most of my friends knew much about those events and it all culminated one day when I was in my Psychology class my Junior year. I remember the day. I went to the class which was my late morning class and the teacher announced we were seeing a movie that day. Of course I was thrilled, as most kids usually are about that, because it means we didn’t have to listen to the teacher but got to watch a movie. To us this was getting a break and if it was boring, you could fake watching and take a nap. I wish I could remember what movie it was but I have no idea. The movie started out okay but when the main character of the movie had a grandparent pass away, it was all I could take.  I jetted out of the class and ran home, tears streaming down my face. When I ran in the house my mom was there and I just broke down in her arms. I cried and I cried hard.  That period was so hard for me and I hadn’t really let out all the emotion of hurt I had been feeling and it all came out at once.  My mom consoled me and then did what she always did to cheer me up, gave me food.  I think she took me down to Baskin and Robbins and bought me a milk shake. I didn’t go back to school that day until I went to swim team practice later that afternoon.

There are times that we hurt, and hurt bad. And when your hurts are deep and tough, likfe can be filled with tension, stress, and anxiety.  Well, this morning lets read a story about some people who were dealing with these very same things. It’s found in Luke 8.

Read Passage – Luke 8:40-56

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” ⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” ⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” ⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” ⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Public and Private Hurt

The people in our text are experiencing hurt.  Notice the difference in verses 42 and 43:

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years…” vs. 43

“(Jairus) his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.” vs. 42

The woman with the bleeding had been hurting for 12 years.  That is a long time. If you hurt, especially for any length of time, you just want the pain to stop. It gets monotonous, tiresome, frustrating, and exhausting. Now her hurt was somewhat private. Most people wouldn’t know that she was hurting because it was a “woman’s” issue and unless she told you, you probably wouldn’t know.

Jairus and his family had hurt too, and even though the context says the 12 year old girl was dying, we get the feeling that it wasn’t nearly as long as the woman. Think about it, this woman had been hurting as long as this girl is old. Their hurt was more public. They lived in a smaller knit community than we do and people knew a lot about each other and what was happening in their lives.  Everyone probably knew that this little girl was dying and when kids hurt, we all hurt.  And this was serious, she was dying although we are not told of what illness.

One thing about when we hurt.  Have you ever notice how it changes us? Some of us retreat and withdraw and others of us want attention, want company, and need to feel cared for. When I get sick, I usually retreat to my room and try to stay away from people. That probably comes form my mom who used to say, “You’re sick? Go to your room and go to bed and don’t come out until you feel better.” I have a friend who when he is sick goes into his living room and plops himself down in the middle of everyone. I think it’s just he feels so bad he wants to know people care and he makes sure he is feeling the company of people and just doesn’t want to be alone but it puts everyone else at risk to get sick.

Encouraging Reminders

We are looking at a passage of Scripture that intertwines two stories into one. I berleive the stories are intertwined for a reason and for us to learn from them. Let’s look at the encouraging reminders that come from them.

• Everyone Counts

First, we are reminded that everyone counts.  Look at how these people are introduced to us in verse 41 and 43:

“Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue…” vs. 41a

“And a woman was there…” vs. 43

We have Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue.  In other words, he is a very religious man and probably pretty devout. He is not only a worker in the synagogue but a ruler as well.  In other words, he carries a lot of clout and is most likely very honored by the people of the community.

On the other hand we have a woman. That’s all we are told about her. We are not told her name, her family history, nothing, not even her name. She is just “woman.” On top of that in verse 43 it says she was “subject” to this bleeding that was affecting her.  Notice she is subject and Jairus is a ruler. I think that tells us a lot about how these two are viewed. Also, she would have been considered “unclean” because that was how this community viewed women who “bled.” She would have been kept at a distance and people would have probably tried to avoid her because if they came into contact with her they would be considered unclean too. Something interesting happens; She came up behind Jesus and went unnoticed although there was a crowd of people around him. Somehow their guard is down and she is able to work her way through the crowd and touch the hem of Jesus garment.  She fesses up to it in verse 47:

“Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet.” vs. 47

Now Jesus is on the way to save a dying girl and people were probably not to happy because Jesus now stops and talks to this unimportant woman. She is important to Jesus because everyone matters. Jesus affirms her, gives here his attention, and encourages her.

The same happens with Jairus in his family too. When people show up and tell him that his daughter had died, I’m sure his heart must have sunk and those around were probably not only in grief, but probably felt some anger that would have been directed toward this woman. Now listen to Jesus words in verse 52:

““Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” vs. 52

With these words Jesus wants the parents, the disciple and the crowd to know that this little girl still matters to him and they count too.  Remember Luke is writing here and he’s a doctor. If anyone know death it’s a doctor.  So she is dead but to Jesus this is not an final thing.Even when things are bleak Jesus hasn’t forgotten and can still work.

• The Power Was Important Not People’s Opinions

Now an interesting thing happens in both stories. First, in the middle of this crowd  Jesus wants to know who touched him. Verse 46:

^“But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” vs. 46

And in verse 52-53 Jesus tells the crowd that this little girl is not dead but asleep.

“Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”  They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.” vss. 52-53

In both stories Jesus seems to not have a pulse on what is going on. In the second story that are actually laughing at him. The crowd here didn’t understand that Jesus had the power to change both situations.  He tells them that in verse 46 and he wants to show them that in verses 52-53. I admire how Jesus handled this. Instead of correcting them, instead of rebuking them, he continues on because in this instance the focus was on his power to heal not what others thought of him. In other stories he corrects and rebukes but not here.

Lesson: Sometimes we are more focused on what others think rather than trusting and focusing on the power that God has for us. I admit, it’s hard when we are laughed at, ridiculed, and doubted. But if they did that to Jesus they will do it to us as well.  Don’t lose focus on God’s power because of what others think.

• No Hurt Is Too Big

Because the final encouraging point is that no hurt is too big, or too small, for God. I know some of our hurts seem huge and overwhelming and we can feel this great weight. God doesn’t ask us to fix those things just to bring them to Him and give them to him.  Notice in both cases the people come to Jesus to be healed. One is a quiet personal hurt (the woman) and one is one the whole community is feeling (the girl). Listen to what Jesus does in verse 44 and 55:

“She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.” vs. 44

“Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.” vs. 55

In both cases the healing was immediate. The things that we feel are overwhelming, that hurt for so long, that seem hopeless are not to God.  At the same time, no issue is too small ofr God as well.

Ex. Our prayer list; we pray for those that are terminal and we pray for people’s animals.

A Small Amount of Faith Can Go a Long Way

Let’s finish by remembering that no amount of faith is too small because a small amount of faith can go a long way.  Notice in both cases Jesus affirms that they have the faith to see this thing through.  So he tells them in verses 48 and 50:

“Daughter, your faith has healed you.” vs. 48

“Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” vs. 50

Sometimes we feel God will only work if we attain some high level of faith. The religious guy has enough faith but so does the woman. There are no certain levels of faith that it takes for god to work.  A small amount of faith can go a long way and no faith is too small.  Jesus gave an analogy one time about a mustard plant.  Their seeds are extremely small and yet they produce this big plant.  Jesus said in  Matt. 17:20 that all you have to do is have faith the size of a mustard seed. Or, a small amount of faith will do it. A mustard seed is oe of the smallest of all the seeds for plants and yet when it is planted and germinated, it produces this huge plant

(Show images)

That’s all the faith you and I need.

My Achan Back – Part 2

Joshua 7:14-26

“Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel.”” vs. 20

Frequently Late?

Let me start by asking you an intriguing question? Have you ever noticed God is frequently late? It seems that there are times in my life where things happen, I want to fully trust God, and then it just doesn’t seem to happen on times. In fact, it seems there are many times that the issue of God’s timing has a lot to do with money.

Ill.Around 1990 a young struggling Canadian actor/comedian named Jim Carrey was sitting in his old Toyota on Mulholland Dr. overlooking Los Angeles. He was dreaming of his future when he decided to pull out his check book and wrote himself a check for $10 million dollars and dated it Thanksgiving 1995 adding in the notation: “for acting services rendered.” He put it in his wallet and carried it around with him.  Over the next few years he began to star in movies and hit it big with Ace Ventura Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. In a tribute to his dad who had done so much for him he placed the check in his father’s coffin after he passed away in 1994 only partially seeing his sons’ fame.

Ex. Maybe that inspired me a few years ago when I was away at a camp and felt I was being led to lead our church to a place of financial stability and to be debt free.  I took out a piece of paper and wrote “Someone here will hand me a check to pay off our mortgage.”  I stuck it in my Bible and carried it around all week.  I was pretty disappointed when we left on Saturday and I didn’t have a check to pay off our building.

We are going to continue a story we started last week about a man named Achan and his disobedience. One of the issues he had was God’s timing.  So let’s read the rest of his story from Joshua 7:14-26. Please Stand if you are able.

Read Passage – Joshua 7:14-26

¹⁴ “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the Lord takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the Lord takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the Lord takes shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵ He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!’” ¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. ¹⁷ The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. ¹⁸ Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. ¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” ²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” ²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the Lord. ²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.” Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. ²⁶ Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

God’s Covenant With Israel

A quick review of the history behind our story.  The Israelites had been captive in Egypt for 400 years and God heard they cries and used Moses to lead them out of Egypt. They wondered in the dessert for 40 years because of their disobedience and then as we enter the book of Joshua they are now entering the Promised Land; a land God had promised them long ago. He told them back in Deut. 28:1:

“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.”  Deut. 28:1

His covenant with them was if they obeyed Him, he would make them a great nation and His people. The covenant was a promise. It was God’s promise to them and their choice to live within it. So as they enter the Promised Land, they come to Jericho and God tells them to march around 1 time for 6 day and 7 times on the 7^th day and when they do, the city falls on itself. They destroy everything and then it’s on to the next city; Ai. When they go to take Ai, a much smaller city and fewer people, they are routed. Joshua throws himself at God’s mercy and God tells him that this happened because someone stole some things from Jericho, they didn’t destroy everything like they were supposed to.

Narrowing The Field

Picking up our story in verse 14, God narrows the field as to who committed this sin. First he narrows it from the 12 tribes to one tribe, the tribe of Judah.  Then he narrows that to the clan of Zerah. From that clan he narrows it to the clan of Zimri; and from there to one man; Achan.  I would have loved to know how God interacted with Joshua on this and kept narrowing the field for him but the scripture doesn’t tell us.

On the other end, how do you think Achan must have felt?  I mean what are the chances they could pick him out? Can you imagine the anxiety and pressure he must have been feeling.  It must have seemed just “lucky” when the tribe of Judah was taken. With each narrowing he must have been sweating bullets and I am sure he must have thought; “There is no way they could pin this on me. What are the chances?” He forgot who he was dealing with; not just Joshua, but God.

It seems that Joshua and Achan were two guys who were heading in opposite directions. Achan is living in disobedience to God and trying to do it all himself.  Joshua is trying to live for GOd in obedience to him and walk closer to God.  In Achan’s disobedience a big issue is God’s timing. So this morning, let’s look at Ahcan and Joshua and how we can discern God’s timing for our life.

Ex. Mrs. Murphy in 8^th grade and the rubber band incident.

Discerning God’s Timing

I wish I could give a list of 3 or 4 easy steps to discern God’s timing and it was just that simple; but it isn’t.  Really, discerning God’s timing is more of putting general principles in your life that lead you to walk closer to God.  We are going to look at these general principles and how Joshua used them in light of what he saw from Achan.

1. Remember God’s Promises

The first general principle is that we need to remember God’s promises. It really is the building block for the things to follow. Joshua relied on what God had said in the past as he moved forward.  The torch was passed from Moses to Joshua and this is what God told Moses in Ex. 33:1:

“Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…” Ex. 33:1

God had a plan for Israel. Joshua trusted that plan 100%. His plan extended back generations.  Think about this, there were generations of people who knew about God’s plan but would not see it revealed. It went all the way back to Abraham. Wow! But God says, trust me, trust my plan. God has a plan for you, for your life and He wants you to trust Him and His plan. Here is the thin g about God, He is 100% trustworthy and everyone of his promises will be fulfilled. Without fail! This is how I know Joshua knew this, he told us so toward the end of his life. Joshua 23:14:
Promise:“You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed.” Joshua 23:14

Achan had probably heard God’s promises but his impatience and his own sense of timing caused him to be disobedient.  Joshua on the other hand choose to bleive God’s promise and rely on them.  Let me give you and example.

Ex. Last year going on the ropes course and zip line and needing to rely on the harness even though my heart was sending mixed emotions about going on it.

2. Feel God’s Presence

The 2^nd general principle in discerning God’s timing is to feel God’s presence. God had promised Joshua he would be with him.  We find that in 1:9:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

God asks Joshua to move forward with full knowledge that He is with him.  I think Achan forgot God was with Him. I believe we do the same.  We hesitate to move forward or we move forward thinking we can do it on our own.  That was Achan’s M.O. You act differently when you feel God’s presence; I would even say you have a confidence and a peace. Jesus, just before he left the disciples made this promise to them and it is for us too; Matt. 28:20:

Promise: “And surely I am with you always…” Matt. 28:20

It’s hard to describe but God is with you, He is with me, and He won’t leave us. I think we all feel it in different ways.

Ex. For me, I know I feel God’s presence this way, when I am down, troubled, frustrated, I do two things, I listen to some of my favorite Christian music and two, I usually get this feeling, and it is a feeling, of God holding me in his arms.  I think of him as my Father and I love that idea of Him hugging me and holding me when I need that little pick me up.

3. Rely On God’s Protection

The 3^rd general principle is that we can rely on God’s protection. Joshua did and when he looked back on his life he saw that is what God did. Joshua 24:17:

“He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.” Joshua 24:17

Let’s look at our story and how it affected both Joshua and Achan.  It must have been baffling to Joshua at the time. He did everything God asked him to do and yet when they go to Ai, 36 men loose they lives. He didn’t realize the sin.  Achan on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be to upset and maybe he even had a false sense of security that God would protect him despite his sin. God will protect us but we also need to keep our end of the covenant by living according to His Word. Joshua continued in his obedience even when the times got hard.  He lost 36 men. 36 families lost their husband, father, brother, etc.  He felt a responsibility and a obligation to lead them and to walk with God. That is why when trouble hit, he goes running to God and throws himself before Him.  Achan went running and hiding in his tent. So what is god’s promise to you? 2 Thess. 3:3:

Promise: But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thess. 3:3

God is faithful. His promise is that He will always be faithful and what He wants from us is to trust in His faithfulness and run to his protection, even in the difficulties.

4. Trust God’s Provision

And the 4^th general principle is to trust in His provision, his gifts, his blessings. Verse 21:

“When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them.” vs. 21

You know it isn’t going well when we take it into our own hands and that is what Achan decided to do. Acahan took a robe, silver and gold.  Some commentaries I read said that total value of all those things came to probably about $1500 in our terms. He sold his life, his families lives, his integrity, and the nation of Israel’s covenant with God for $1500. We don’t know a lot about Achan, if he didn’t have a lot of money or things, but somehow he felt he needed these things. Remember when Israel sent into the Promised Land God promised them a land flowing with milk and honey meaning he would give them everything they needed. He told them not to take the things from Jericho but to destroy them. God want to be their provision. Achan want something more tangible and something that was his.

Paul tells us in Phil. 4:9:

Promise:“ And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19

God meets our needs.
Bad Ending

This story has a really tough ending. When Joshua send guys to Ahcan’s tent and finds the goods and he fesses up to what he has done, they bring him out, his family, his possessions, everything he’s got and then take into a valley right there in the dessert and stone him.  The entire nation begins throwing rocks until everything that they have is dead and covered in rocks especially Achan. God needed the nation as a whole to understand the seriousness of His covenant and he wanted to see all of them take responsibility. It’s hard to know why everyone and everything had to die. I guess the best way to understand it is that when one part of somethig is bad it makes it all bad.

Here is Joshua’s ending compared to Achan’s

-Joshua knew what it was like to walk with God and to see Him work. He lived in peace

-Achan lived and died not knowing and understanding God’s promises and died in turmoil and disgrace.

Our Church: Let’s live like Joshua. Let’s walk with God, claiming His promises and live in peace with Him.

My Achan Back! Part 1

Joshua 7:1-15

“Achan son of Karmi…took some of them.“ vs. 1

Not So Sly

The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife.

“You were drunk last night weren’t you!” she said.

“No, honey.” He rplied.

“Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?” she said.

I think there is a part of us that thinks that we can somehow keep our darker side, the sin we commit, secret.  We think we can fool others and believe that we have the ability to hide things we don’t want others to see.  We can think we “got away” with it. Truth be told, people see a lot more than we think and we know what we have done and have to live with that. There is a story in the book of Joshua about a guy named Achan. He sins and then tries to hide it. he may have fooled some of the people but He didn’t fool God. If you are able, please stand as we read God’s Word; Joshua 7:1-15

Reading Passage – Joshua 7

But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fearand became like water.

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name? ”10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.14 “‘In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man. 15 Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’”

But…

Let’s take a moment to remind us the background to this passage. After 400 years of captivity and slavery in Egypt, the Israelites are freed by God and they journey to the Promised Land. Along the way they doubt God and they end up doing circles in the dessert for 40 years until one generation has passed and there is a new generation of Israelites. Joshua is now their leader because Moses and Aaron have both died. God instructs Joshua and the Israelites to go into the Promised Land and begin to take the cities one by one and that he will do the fighting for them. This was evident on the first city, Jericho, where they marched around the city once a day blowing horns and trumpets. On the 7^th day they march around it 7 times and when they blow the horns and trumpets the city falls in on itself and everyone is killed and they were instructed to destroy everything. Nothing was to be left or taken. So we pick up the story in verse 1:

“But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things…” vs. 1

There is that word; “but.” It is usually not good when you see the word “but” starting a sentence. If you go back to chapter 6 verse 27 it says; “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.” See they were feeling pretty good about what had just happened and the future was looking pretty bright.  God was on their side, he was fighting for them; they were confident, life was good. “but…” We need to take note that when things are going well we can become too confident, especially in ourselves, and open ourselves up to sin.

It Was Going So Well!

Here’s the thing, it was all going so well. They had just fought a battle and never even had to life a sword; never had to fight.  All they had to do was to show up. How cool, and easy, is that. So when they get to Ai and this city is so much smaller and there are so fewer people, they don’t take everyone and the tables get turned. They have to fight and the passage tells us that 36 of them died in that battle. I can really identify with Joshua here; he does what many of us tend to do, I know I tend to do it, he exaggerates the severity of the situation. And granted, 36 men lost their lives, that is a difficult thing to deal with. We see his prayer to God in verse 7:

“Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us?“ vs. 7

Notice that his perspective is now that they are all going to die. One set back and the situation has become dire. The reality is the situation is sobering, but it is not as dire as he makes it out to be. He’s like, O God, we are all going ot die and your name is going to be tarnished. We tend to do that too. A little set back and the world is coming to an end.

Ex. I get such a kick out of listeing to sports radio. These callers call up and the Giants lose a game and the season is over. Oh the humanity of it all! J It’s one game out of 162!!!! Get a grip  people.

Sometimes we need to stop and evaluate when things are not going well or when there is a set back in our lives but we need to be careful not to exaggerate the situation. For the next two weeks we are going to be looking at Achan and some issues He had and what we can learn from his experience.

Achan’s Issue of Obedience

The first issue, what we will look deeper into today, is Achan’s issue of obedience. What happened in Jericho was that God told them to destroy everything; people, houses, animals, and things like food, gold, clothes, etc. Achan saw all the goodies and took some for himself. After all, who would know? He takes three things; a beautiful robe, some silver, and some gold. He wraps the silver and gold in the robe, takes it back to his tent and buries them (ch. 7:21-22). He thought he could “get away” with it, he thought no one would ever know and that he could keep this little secret to himself. We have some things we can learn from Achan about obedience and how we can handle it in our lives.

1. Wake-Up

First, Achan needed to wake-up. He thought that his sin could be kept a secret and that it only affected him. Wrong! Go back to Joshua’s conversation with God; verse 11a:

“The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant…” vs.11a

God was dealing with a nation here. He was using Joshua to lead the people but his dealings where with the whole nation so when God tells Joshua there is sin he doesn’t say the sin of an individual but he says “Israel has sinned.” We have a similar philosophy today.  We would like to think that our issues are our issues and that they don’t affect others. That is not true. We have a responsibility to others; to our family, to our employees, to our parents, etc. When we fall, it affects others. Sith Achan, his sin caused 36 men to lose their life. There was a price.

Ex. Are you ever really surprised when we see a famous person fall and the rest of there life falls apart? Take Lindsay Lohan. I’m not picking on this young woman but take note of what happens in her life. She gets arrested for drunk driving, for smashin up a hotel room, for going on a binge and we see it affect her, her parents, her career, the studio she works for, etc. It has a much bigger affect and we see it play out all the time in the newspapers.  Your sin has an affect on others. I have been reading through the book of Jeremiah the last few weeks and God tells Jeremiah to tell the Israelites: (Jeremiah 7:23)

“Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.” Jer. 7:23

God asks us to trust Him. He has our best in mind. IF we trust Him it will go well with us. It doesn’t mean you won’t have problem, difficulties, etc. but it does mean that ultimately, when it is all said and done, it will go well with you.

2. Grow-Up

Not only did Achan need to wake-up but he needed to grow-up. Let’s continue with verse 11:

“They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. “ vs. 11b

Follow me on this but Achan had a choice. His choice was to follow God’s instructions or to do what he felt was best for himself. I say grow-up because kids usually have difficulty seeing beyond their own needs. You know someone has grown-up when they see the needs of others and see the bigger picture. Achan deliberately choose not to obey God; it is that simple. We have choices all the time. Some of our choices are about being obedient to God.  We have a lot of other choices too. It probably isn’t a choice of obedience when you choose the color of your car, of what to eat for dinner, of what shirt to wear today.  But our life is full of choices and many of them are issues of obedience to God and like Achan, many times we deliberately choose to disobey and then can’t figure out why things don’t work out for us. At the end of the book of Joshua, he confronts the Israelites and in chapter 24 verse 15 he puts this question to them:

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…” Joshua 24:15

Do you remember that verse? You might remember the end of it because most of us have read it or used it at some point in our life. Joshua tells the Israelites; “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua deliberately chooses to follow God.

Challenge: What thing(s) in your life have you chosen not be obedient to God with? And, do you think you are hiding it? Form others? Yourself? God?

3. Stand-Up

And finally, Achan needed to stand-up. Verse 12:

“I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.” Vs. 12

God tells Joshua that what needs to happen is that whoever has sinned, that being Achan, needs to come clean, confess, and make things right with God. Many times we think this little thing can’t have a big on the big picture. But in God’s economy things are different. Small sin is the same as big sin.  IT’s all sin and all needs to be dealt with. The reason I said stand-up is that Achan needs to man-up, confess his sin, and admit his mistake and come clean to God, to Joshua, and to the Israelite people. We like to put a hierarchy to things but in God’s eyes it’s all the same.

Ex. Bill Butterworth – the janitor is as important as the pastor, as the cook, as the accountant, as the CEO, as the mechanic, etc.

We put things on scales of importance. I am so glad God doesn’t. His grace, his forgiveness, his salvation is for everyone. In the same way, all sin is the same. We would like to think murder is so much more severe than lying. Don’t get me wrong, murder is very wrong and very severe but sin is sin in God’s eyes.  There is a parable in Luke that Jesus is telling the disciples and he tells them in Luke 16:10:

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10

Our little things are important in God’s eyes. Achan probably though “Who is going to miss a robe, a few shekels of silver, and a small wedge of gold. It’s all going to be destroy anyway.” The bottom line is that if you want to think in God’s terms, we have to consider the little things the same as the big things.

Good For The Soul

Let me end with a quote from David that comes from Psalm 32:5. It says:

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:5

Trust me, I know how hard it is to come clean, to admit our sin, to confess. But it is by doing that we find God’s grace and forgiveness. Let me finish with this example. I have this picture in my office. It’s Willie McCovey, one of my favorite baseball players, and Duke Snider from 1995.

Baseball’s memorabilia market, symbol of a sport mired in money, snared two of its all-time heroes Thursday when Hall of Famers Duke Snider and Willie McCovey pleaded guilty to tax evasion. “I got caught. I’m very sorry about it. I hope to get a second chance from a lot of my fans,” Snider said outside the federal courthouse. “We have choices to make in our lives and I chose to make the wrong choice.”  The convictions were the government’s latest blow in a crackdown on unreported income from baseball card shows, publicity events, autograph signings and memorabilia shows that became million-dollar businesses in the 1980s. Snider, 68, of Fallbrook, Calif, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud. He admitted not reporting $100,000 in cash from card shows and memorabilia appearances from 1984-93. He faces up to six months in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the loss to the government.

Spokesman-Review, July 21, 1995, p. C1

It was sad for many of us to hear that two of our boyhood hero’s would lie and cheat. But after their confession the public was very forgiving. I think that is the case many times. People are more willing to forgive and forget when we come clean. God forgives and forgets everytime; he promises that and God never goes back on his word.

Hang-Ups

Esther 7

“So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.” vs. 10

Wile E. Coyote

As you are well aware of, I am, a kid at heart. I’m not ashamed to admit it and I enjoy some of the simple things in life. One thing I have always enjoyed are cartoons. I love animation and love to draw cartoon characters and love to watch cartoons when I just need a break and something to just make me smile. One cartoon that always intrigued me was one that included this guy—Wile E. Coyote (show picture).  Of course his big nemesis is (wait)…Roadrunner (show other picture). Wile E Coyote is always trying to catch Roadrunner and he ties every trick in the book.  It’s interesting too because he always orders all his schemes from ACME supply company. ACME means the pinnacle and it is suppose to be the best of the best.  So he orders rockets, TNT, traps, bombs, gun powder, traps, and all kinds of gadgets and tricks and  gizmo’s that are suppose to work and help him catch the Roadrunner.  The problem is…every single plan and scheme and plot that he makes backfires on him. Everything bad he plans to happen to the Roadrunner happens to him instead and he gets blown-up, shot, caught in traps, falls off cliffs, etc. you name it, they always backfire and he gets burned by his own traps.

Today we are gong to look at Esther 7 and how Haman’s plan and scheme back fire on him.

Read Passage – Esther 7

So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, ² and as they were drinking wine on that second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted. ” ³ Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. ⁴ For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” ⁵ King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?” ⁶ Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. ⁷ The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. ⁸ Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. ⁹ Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A gallows seventy-five feet^[b] high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it!” ¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

Identifying The Real Enemy

Let’s take a moment to review where we have been in the book of Esther and the story we are talking about today.  The Israelites have been in captivity for about 100 years, first in Babylon and now in Persia. The reigning king is Xerxes and he dismisses his queen because she would not dance for him at a party he had for all his buddies and after a search of all the maidens in the land a woman named Esther is made queen.  She is a Jew who was raised by her cousin Mordecai. Xerxes right hand man is Haman and the king has everyone bowing down to Haman but Mordecai won’t do it. Haman gets tick and his hatred is so deep that he slyly convinces the king to sign a document to execute not just Mordecai but all the Jews which would include Esther but he doesn’t realize that she is a Jew. Mordecai and Esther call for the Jews to fast and pray to God for deliverance. In the meantime, Haman, with the urging of his friends and family, has a gallows 75 feet high built to hang Mordecai. One night when the king couldn’t sleep, he has the records of his reign read to him and realizes Mordecai has never been publicly recognized for saving his life when some attendants plotted to assassinate him. He sets up a parade for Mordecai with Haman’s input and has Haman lead the parade and publicly announce Mordecai’s good will with the king. Haman goes home ashamed while Esther has spent some time preparing a meal for the king and Haman. Enter chapter 7. After dinner, the king says this to Esther in verse 3:

“Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request.“  vs. 3

We should take note of what Esther is doing here.  First this is the third time she has had the king  and Haman to dinner.  She is taking the time to express to the king her love for him and her desire to serve him by spending the time to do the things he likes. She is also trying to please him so that he will be more favorable to her. Then, when she has set the Table (no pun intended), she responds to the kings offer. Now if it were me, I would probably just blurt out “kill Haman because he wants to kill me!” I would want to blame and point the finger right away. How we state our case and the attitude we have are as important as the words we use and choose. She is much more tactful.  First, she pleads for her own life. Then, she pleads for the lives of her people.  She wants the king to understand that her life is in jeopardy and that she is indebted to him because the irony of the story is it is really the king who signed the death order.

I think there is something else going on too.  Getting rid of Haman doesn’t necessarily solve the problem.  The death edict is still out even if Haman dies. Her actions also set the stage for the king to resolve the problem down the line.  Sometimes when we struggle with others, we think getting rid of them will solve the problem but the reality is that our struggles are bigger than people. Let’s look at what the Bible tells us about our problems; Eph. 6:12:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:12

When we are attacked, it is an attempt to draw us away from God. Satan uses his angels to get us to attribute our problems to people rather than see the bigger picture that as Christians our struggles are against Satan and his angels. I am not saying those against us are Satan’s angels I am just saying he can lure us into focusing on the wrong thing. We need to keep the bigger picture in mind.

Facing Your Crises

That leads us to look at this passage from the angle of: When we face the crises of our lives, what can we do to understand the bigger picture and honor God in our actions.  Let’s look at how Esther handled them.

1. Turn Your Fear Into Faith

First, fear can be paralyzing and stop us from living victoriously. And let’s face it, it’s not if we have a crisis, it’s when. The crises come and sometimes it’s not just one. We get past one and them another is right around the corner. The first tool we see in Esther is that she turned her fear into faith.  After consulting Mordecai, after fasting and praying, she makes this statement in Esther 4:16:

“I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esth. 4:16

We face all kinds of struggles and some can be (or seem like) life and death situations. We face financial difficulties, health issues, relationship problems, etc. Here, Esther says she is ready to move forward despite the fact that she can die! Turing our fear into faith is starring fear in the face and saying, “My God is bigger.” It’s the idea of remembering that God is ultimately in control and that He needs to remain our focus.  It doesn’t mean we won’t be hurt or struggle or anything like that. It does mean that even in the most dire situations, our focus remains on God and on His strength. If we go through something, He can get us through it. 1 Cor. 10:13;

“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

1 Cor. 10:13

Notice that the verse says He is faithful. We struggle but God is always there with us and God provides outlets for us.

Key Point: Face fear with God’s strength not your own. Use your fear to direct yourself to Him.

2. In The Crisis Find Your Gift

The second tool that we can rely on in the face of crises is that God has gifted us, each of us uniquely, to use those gifts in our life to bring Him glory.  Remember what Esther did in Ch. 4:

“Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.” Esth. 4:15-16

She fasted and prayed and then acted.  Ever ask yourself; “Why did she serve him dinner three times?” She was using her gift. Her gift, or at least one of them, was hospitality. She was also gracious, kind, and had a servant’s heart. She served him dinner because that is what she did best and that was her unique calling.  I would imagine she made his favorite meal and had the palace looking just right, and must have made that dinner one great meal and great time. God calls us to operate within our gifting; to do what he has given us the capability to do.  1 Peter 4:10 says:

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

You have a gift. It’s not an option, not a chance thing, not a hope we do, you do!

Ex. The 1989 earthquake and my role with UPS administration

3. Let God Do The Fighting

And the third tool is to let God do the fighting for you. Remember Esther’s request didn’t start by pointing the finger and blaming Haman but when it was the right time, Esther does say that Haman is the master mind of this plan. Verse 6:

“Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.”” vs. 6

Now the story gets really hairy, The king gets so upset that he leaves the room. Protocol called for everyone to leave because no man was supposed to be a lone with the queen.  Men were not even allowed to get within 12 steps of her. The passage told us that Haman stayed behind when he should have left. But leaving would be like admitting guilt and going after the king would just cause more anger.  He was in a no win situation. So he goes to Esther to plead for his life but of course then he makes that fatal mistake, he climbs on her couch.  Ouch! When the king returns and sees this, it throws him over the top and now Haman’s fate is sealed. The king’s eunuch reminds the king about the gallows Haman built to execute Mordecai on and the king orders Haman hung on those same gallows. We need to be so careful. We have phrases like; You repa what you sow; and others. Solomon puts it this way in Proverbs 26:27:

 “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” Proverbs 26:27

Esther set an example here for us in that she names Haman but hhis actual fate rests in the hands of the king. The king sets the seal of Haman. God calls us to allow Him to do the avenging for us. Romans 12:19:

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

I understand the desire for revenge. That inner pull to want to take avenge when I’ve been wronged. But the reality is that when our struggle is not against flesh and blood, then the revenge factor is for God.  The passage in Romans tells us that when we take that revenge ourselves, we have not left room for God to act. It seems the real issue is the timing. We want the revenge in our time and in our way. Then it is not God’s timing and that takes us to our closing.

Called Just For This

There is an important thing to remember as we close. It’s something Mordecai brings to Esther’s attention. He spoke it to her in Esther 4:14:

“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esth. 4:14

Esther was called for just this. God used here in the time and place she was to be used for His glory. God has placed us where we are for a specific time and reason and that the reality is that God does not give us more than we can handle and that it is through our difficulties that we grow. Putting this all together; our struggles, our difficulties, our crises, are our opportunity to turn our fear into faith, our opportunity to use our gifts for Him and opportunity to allow God to work in ways we never could. He choose us for that. It says in John 15:16:

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…” John 15:16

You might recall that this passage in John is the passage about the vine and the branches and abiding in Him.

Charlie Brown and one of his friends were discussing the problems of life as they walked down the road. After much discussion, Charlie Brown declared his problem solving philosophy. He said, “There’s no problem so big that I can’t run from it.”

We don’t need to run, we trust in God.

Flawed Perspective

Esther 6

“Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the kings about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him.” vs. 4

Going For The Gold

Runner Ben Johnson’s story

Born in Jamaica, Johnson came to Canada when his parents wanted a better education for their six children. His mother found work as a kitchen server in a Toronto hotel and sent for the children in 1976. The father also came to Toronto for a while but returned to Jamaica to a better job than Canada could offer.  A puny 14-year-old, Johnson entered the eighth grade and proved an average student. After high school he dropped out of an auto mechanics course. Nudged into athletics when his brother joined a track club, by 1980 Ben was 50 pounds heavier, six inches taller, and beginning to win medals in international competitions. His mother took a second job at another hotel to help pay for Johnson’s training, which included weight lifting six days a week.

Enter the 1984 Olympics. Ben Johnson, Canada’s 100-meter sprinter, arguably the fastest man in history, flew down the track in a world-record 9.79 seconds, only .13 of a second in front of 1984 quadruple gold medalist Carl Lewis of the U.S. But photographs freezing that astounding moment of the 1988 Seoul Olympics reveal a dark side of Johnson. At the finish line, in angry celebration and to taunt Lewis, Johnson thrust an index finger to the sky. Johnson later told reporters, “I don’t care about the perfect race. I don’t care what the world record is. I just wanted to beat Carl.’

Johnson’s pursuit of shaming a rival brought shame upon himself. The Olympics crackdown on illegal drugs, requiring post-race urine tests of all winners, revealed Johnson had taken stanozolol, a forbidden anabolic steroid. Within three days he was stripped of his medal and record and banned from competitive athletics for two years. He left Seoul like a criminal, hiding his face behind a briefcase as he was mobbed by photographers. This is the man who once said, ‘running is my life,? The man who sold out to the luxuries and fame it brought.

– Just days before the Olympic track events, an American trainer noticed Johnson’s eyes ‘so yellow with his liver working overtime processing steroids

-After Johnson’s disgrace at the “88 Olympics, his coach admitted Johnson had used steroids for nearly seven years.’ (Talk about his run-ins with the law in the following years)

A seemingly small decision to enhance athletic performance with an illegal drug set Johnson up for a life out of control.

Jeanne Zornes, ‘taking the High Road,? Pursuit, Vol. V, No. 1, 1996, pp. 13-15

Read Passage – Esther 6

That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. ² It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. ³ “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.“Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.⁴ The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him.⁵ His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” the king ordered.⁶ When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” ⁷ So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, ⁸ have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. ⁹ Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor! ’” ¹⁰ “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” ¹¹ So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!” ¹² Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, ¹³ and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” ¹⁴ While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.

The Good Deed Resurfaces

A few weeks ago we looked at the story of Mordecai and his bold and courageous move to reveal to the king a plot that he overheard two men planning to take his life. At that time I asked you a question; Would you being willing to do the right thing even if you didn’t get recognized for it? One of the strengths of Mordecai was that he was willing to do the right thing regardless of being recognized and in spite of the danger. Now the king, Xerxes, can’t sleep this one night, and he does what all good kings do, he says “Hey, someone read me all the (good) things I’ve done and remind me of my legacy so far.” Even kings need reminders that they have done something worthwhile.  Then the story of Mordecai and his revelation about the murder plot is recounted and he realizes that maybe he hasn’t recognized that that he honored him for it, so he says (vs.3)

“What honor and recognition has been Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.””  vs. 3

Let me remind you that it has been 5 years since that took place. That is a long time. The Persian kings had a custom of recognizing people publicly We are never told why the king had not formally recognized him. When the king recognizes that he hadn’t honored him he makes immediate plans to rectify that. So he asks for help in what should be done to recognize Mordecai without mentioning his name. This is where we learn a little more about Haman.

The Focus Of Your Heart

What we learn is in his response from what the king asked him about honoring someone. Vs. 6:

“Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” vs. 6

We learned a few weeks ago about the hatred between the Jews and the Amalikites from years gone by and we remember that Haman has a particular hatred for Mordecai because when the king had honored him, Mordecai would not bow down to him. It is evident that Haman holds grudges but what really comes out now is that Haman’s focus is really askew. It is natural to take care of yourself and to even maybe think that just maybe when someone says something nice that it might be about you or even hope it is about you.  Haman isn’t hoping or guessing here, he thinks it can only be about him. What we are seeing in Haman is that his focus is on him and him only. He doesn’t consider others and he doesn’t care to consider others.  This is a red flag and we are going to talk about the red flags (warnings) that Haman pushes us to consider but first let me introduce one quick thing to you.

Emotional Health

There is something we have to consider about our health and it is the emotional health that we strive to have; it’s the idea of keeping things in the right perspective. We tend to move to extremes, i.e. whether to drink or don’t drink, sex or no sex, etc. This happens in the church a lot because it’s easier to deal with black and whites not grays.  It’s easier to deal with don’s and don’t’s and not maybe’s or possibly’s. Haman has a lot of emotional unhealthy because everything is to the extreme. Don’t just kill Mordecai, kill all the Jews. His opinion and his way is the only way, etc. But realize that God is more of a God of the middle.  God invented sex and he didn’t say not sex, he said sex is good, within the marriage context.  He didn’t say don’t drink, he said don’t get drunk. We put those things in place because it’s easier for us to deal with, We struggle to keep balance.  Emotional health is realizing that there are good things in life but when we let them get out of balance, it causes us some emotional un-health.

Warning Signs Your Focus Needs Adjusting

Today let’s look at three things that each of us need in our life, they are good for our life, but when we tip the scale and they become out of whack and we put too much emphasis on them, they lead us to un-health and possibly away from God. If we find ourselves placing too much emphasis on them, that might be a warning sign that we are focusing on the wrong things and could even be a sign that we have some emotional un-health. We find these three things in Haman’s response to the King Xerxes.

1. Your Outward Appearance Takes Top Priority

Haman’s first thought about honoring someone the king wants to honor focuses on the outward appearance. He ways in verses 7 and 9:

“For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn…Let then robe the man the king delights to honor…” vss. 7-9

He wants people to look at him and go, “Wow, look what he has on, that is awesome!.”He want not only to be the GQ trendsetter but for everyone to be envious that only he would get to wear the king’s robe. There was even some thought in Persia that the King’s clothes, royal robes, could somehow impart magical power.

Please note this: it is not bad to want to look good. We should all want to look good and be presentable and have a style of our own and feel good about our appearance. Haman takes it to a whole new level. Haman’s heart focus was himself and his appearance to others. He has a sin of pride and arrogance that comes from his request. It’s more than just wanting to look good, it is wanting to lord it over others and place himself in a place of superiority, even at the expense of others.

It’s important for us to remember that this is not how God sees us.  I Sam. 16:7 says:

“Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” 1 Sam. 16:7

We spend a lot of time looking at our outward appearance. When was the last time you spent some time fixing up your heart?

2. Your “Things” Are More Valuable Than They Should Be

A second focus of Haman’s reveals itself in the second part of his request; again verses 7 and 8:

“For the man the king delights to honor…and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head.” vs. 7-8

At first this might not seem too unusual.  But think a little more with me on this. His request is deeper than just riding on the king’s horse.  He wants a horse with all the pageantry and pomp that goes with it so he asks for the horse to be robed in all this special attire that only would be done for the king himself. His focus here is on “things.” It’s like saying I don’t want to be driven around in the king’s Mercedes, I want the Hummer limo and “oh yea” can we decorate that thing with tricked out rims, special detailing, like real gold pinstripes, and how ‘bout throwing on some of those. special hood ornaments too. Haman wants the appearance of having the things that bring power over others and many believe that to be riches.

Again, riches are not bad.  It’s not bad to have things and to have nice things but again realize that when we use those things to have superiority over others, to have them bow down to us. Haman’s focus is on treasure and he places it as a major focus of his heart. Jesus warned us in Matt. 6:21:

“For where your treasure is there your heart is.” Matt. 6:21

We can desire treasures, we can work for treasures, we can have some of the things that God blesses us with but we are warned by God not to let that be our hearts focus.

3. You Crave Praise From Others

And the third request that Haman asks for is something that really makes us all feel good; public recognition and praise; so Haman says in verse 9:

“(Let them) lead him on horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him: “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor.” vs. 9b

I love to be praised. I like to be told how much I’m appreciated. And we all need to be told and to affirm others. Haman here is looking for more than just praise.  It might be that those special powers he thought the robe might bring him, would elevate him even more in others eyes and give him more power to carry out his evil scheme to kill all the Jews. The determining factor behind this is the idea of what is driving your heart to do the things you do? In Haman’s case, he was doing it to get more praise. The idea behind this point is that when our goal is to get praise, we have earned our reward.

Ex. Standing applause at the show I went to last week. The feeling of obligation to stand.

Let’s face it, people can praise us to our face and not really feel it or have sincerity with it. That’s what haman wanted.  He didn’t care if people really meant the praise, he just wanted it to stroke his own ego. The Pharisee’s where much that way and Jesus told them that.  John 12:43:

“For they (the Pharisees) loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12:43

When we do things for the praise of man, it feels good for a bit but it wears off fast.  When we do them for God, it has a lasting effect. Part of the irony of this story is that Mordecai did the right thing without getting any recognition and now he is going to get a lot of regonition.

I’ve Got A Bad Feeling About This

The story really takes a great twist when King Xerxes agrees with Haman and then tells him to go and do all that he suggested for Mordecai.  Can you imagine how reluctantly and how difficult it would have been for Haman to do all these things for someone he hated at his core. He does it and then goes home and shame. And all his supporters, his family and friends that all had supported him in building these 75 foot gallows to hand Mordecai on, they are changing their tunes now.

“If Mordecai, before who you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” vs. 13

They see the writing on the wall. This is not turning out at all like they thought it would.  It’s going south and fast many of them were probably jumping off the band wagon pretty quick now.

You never know how God is going to work. Think about this, he uses the king’s insomnia to work his plan.