Sermon Bytes

Living with Low Beams

2010-04-18T23:04:00.002-05:00

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

I'm the obsessive/compulsive type. If I had my way, God would have already given me a road map of my life. I would be able to chart all the major events, how and when they happen, and what plans need to be made. An optional added feature would be a "you are here" arrow that would show me my exact status.

I've always wanted to know God's long-term will, and I've wanted Him to be specific. Unfortunately for me, God does not work that way. He usually deals with us on the short term, and His will is made known generally instead of specifically.

I used to say it like this: "God's will is directional, not terminal." He leads us in the short term because He has planned many turns and twists in the fascinating life he has planned for each of us.

And then there's that "general/specific" thing. Basically, most of us are looking for the specific will of God: "Should I buy this? Should I change jobs? Should I get married? What should my major be?" On the other hand, God's revealed word tells us the generalities: character, conduct, preparation. If we are willing to accept the principles and standards of His general will as revealed in His word, we will be equipped to make those specific decisions when they arise. I have heard people say, "If only the Bible would tell me "do this/don't do that..." For those who have asked that, I have great news. The book of Proverbs is a treasury of practical living that comes across in the simplest form. For my own purposes, I likie to call it "Wisdom for Dummies."

It is interesting to see how God's word guides us. The verse I used to begin this meditation says that His word is a lamp and a light. The direction is what is most important to me. The lamp is for the feet and the light for the path. God's revelation shines on the next step we are to take, and lights the path just enough to take that step.

On the highway, I like my high beams. I want to be able to see as far ahead in the darkness as I can. If it were possible, I would want a clear view for the next five miles ahead of me -- now that would be "high beams."

But God's intent is the "low" beam -- pointed at the path. He gives us our daily bread and calls on us to trust Him for the moment and not to worry about tomorrow.

The best advice I can give anyone for finding God's will and way is to look to the low beams and allow Him to reveal the path in His own time and purpose. There is a time for high beams, and God knows what it is. We do best when we let Him control the lights.

Could Jesus Be Your Travel Agent?

2010-04-02T09:23:00.002-05:00

Let's suppose, just for a moment, that in addition to being King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Wonderful Counselor, Creator, and Savior, that Jesus had come to this world as a Travel Agent!

Now let us suppose that He offered us a nice Caribbean cruise for a modest price, and that the mini-cruise would last three days and three nights. We excitedly get to our departure point, and find out that the cruise will leave Friday night at sundown. Then, we are surprised to find that it will return on Sunday before sunrise.

I think we would all want our money back. Well, first of all, Jesus is all-trustworthy. He would never offer something He did not mean. My first suspicion would be that a self-appointed representative had misrepresented himself.

For at least a thousand years, they have done this. How does someone believe that Jesus, who said He would be in the grave three days and three nights, enter the tomb on Friday night and leave it before Sunday morning? I guess my main problem with this is that I am old enough to remember when they taught simple arithmetic in grammar school, and the story we have been fed does not fit the equation.

It is an easy fix. Matthew 28:1 tells us that the women went to the empty tomb early in the morning "after the sabbaths." No, your translation, none of them, use the plural there, but any first year Greek student can tell you that the word "sabbath" is used as a plural there. Simply, this week that many call "holy week" had an extra holiday in it, in much the same way that happens to us when July 4 falls on a weekday.

The whole "Friday" idea comes from a misunderstanding of why they had to take the bodies down from their crosses "before the sabbath." The sabbath mentioned there was obviously the Passover, which in God's timing was when He offered His Son as the once-for-all Passover Lamb. Sometimes, the Passover coincided with Saturday, but six times out of seven it did not.

On the week of Christ's crucifixion, it is easy to see that the Passover was on a Thursday. If Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, His body would have been put in a tomb on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning to the Jews). The calendar would look something like this:

Nights in the tomb: Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night; days in the tomb were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. He would haved left the tomb during the early evening hours after sunset on Saturday night. Three days and three nights.

This wouldn't be such an issue for me, except that Jesus, who meant what He said and said what He meant, specifically said "three days and three nights." One time, a very respected and famous Bible teacher tried to "explain" the dilemma to me using the IRS tax code. He noted that if a child were born on December 31, he could be claimed as a dependent for the entire year; if a child, sadly, died on January 1, he could still be claimed as a dependent for that entire year. So since Jesus was in the tomb part of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the whole 24 hours of each counted.

It was a well-researched explanation, but let me tell you: If a travel agent tried that with anyone, he would be in court the next week with a stack of lawsuits facing him.

Yes, Jesus could be my travel agent; in fact, He already is. I have a wonderful tour booked, including all lodging, accommodations, and amenities. It will be an eternal trip, and there is still available space for anyone who wants to join me.

But these people who claim to "represent" Him, who can't do the math -- I will be avoiding their places of business. I don't do "Good Friday" because I don't think the Bible does "Good Friday." Today I will enjoy an amazingly ironic secular holiday from work; I will miss the mail run and the bank that are closed. But outside of that, it is just another day.

The Big One is coming Sunday.

The Shadow of Death

2010-03-23T11:11:00.003-05:00

Psalm 23 is one part of the Bible that everyone seems to know, even those who do not attend church. I've heard it read at funerals, in hospitals, and at other formal gatherings. Though there are many things that can be said about the psalm -- in fact, it's taking me several months to go through it on Sunday mornings right now -- the pivotal verse of the whole psalm would have to be verse 4a, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.

Not everyone in David's time thought of death as a shadow. Most of them saw it as people see it today, a brick wall, a deep pit, a thing of horrible fear and destruction. But David saw it as a shadow. Years ago, I was crossing a parking lot in the Metroplex when the shadow of a 747 passed over me, angling in for a landing at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. While startling when not expected, the shadow did me no harm. A 747 could have done so, but the shadow was just a short moment of surprise. I jumped, but did nothing else.

For those of us who believe, death passes over us like a shadow. The Lord took the hit from the 747 when He paid the once-for-all price for our sin. Jesus took on the terror of death so we would not have to. One more thing about shadows: they are proof that light is on the other side of the object. The Shadow of Death tells me that there is more light on the other side of death than there is here.

Interestingly, Psalm 23 begins in the third person. The Lord is "He," this and "He," that. But after the valley of the shadow of death, He becomes "You." There is no coincidence in this transition from third person to first. When we face our death, and know we "fear no evil," God's continuing presence takes over. We have stopped knowing "about" God, and started knowing Him personally.

Finally, I like what the verse really says about fearing no evil. Most English translations say something like "Because You are with me." A Hebrew scholar can tell you that the actual phrase is thou art with my hand. I've never understood why that didn't get included with the translation. I remember the security of holding my father's hand in a dangerous time, and I have since been a father and experienced the security I could give a child by just holding a hand. I have felt my son's hand tighten on mine as I entered a dark room. It is nice to know that, when I finally have to face that valley of the shadow of death, I will have a Hand to hold, a Hand of Someone who has already made multiple crossings of that valley, and knows the path.

Christian in a Post-Christian World?

2010-02-13T22:21:00.002-06:00

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
-- Matthew 5:13

The mark of Christian maturity in any body of believers is the ability to distinguish between relevance and compromise. We are not to become like the world, but we have an obligation to be interesting to the world. The worst sin of the modern day church is making the Gospel -- the most exciting news in history -- boring. We have succeeded.

Jesus compared us to salt. He didn't tell us we ought to be salt, or that one day we would be salt; He said that we already are salt. The problem is, we are in danger of being salt without flavor. No one wastes their time "salting" salt. If it doesn't do the job, it is thrown out.

When we imitate the world; when we lower our standards so we can "identify with" the world, we lose the most important part of our effectiveness. Salt adds a "zing" to an otherwise boring meal. We are not interesting to the world "in spite of" our differences from them; we are interesting because of those differences. So much compromise has been allowed in the name of so-called "witnessing," but the truth is, when we dress like the world, when we sound like the world, when we use the same terminology as the world, we become a somewhat less exciting version of the very people we are trying to reach.

Those who do not know Christ are thirsty for something genuine, for something that is truly different, that comes from another world. We have that in Christ: standards and a lifestyle that throughout history have been so drastically different that the world around us has resisted, has fought, has investigated, and then has embraced the Gospel that Christ paid so dearly to give us.

So how is the world treating your faith? Are they embracing it or trampling it? Keep your flavor! It's what makes you valuable above all else!

Better than Bombs or Bullets

2009-11-10T11:43:00.003-06:00

As I saw the news this past week of the tragic deaths at Fort Hood, I knew what the responses would be. From one side, we would be told "not to judge too quickly," and some people were even angry that the killer's name was mentioned, since it was definitely Arabic/Muslim. From the other side came the other extreme, that we needed to ship all Muslims back to the Middle East, and that we could trust none of them.

I hope that as you read this, your sentiments lie somewhere between. No, not all Muslims are terrorists, but sadly, in the past ten years, nearly all terrorists have been Muslims. Not since the Oklahoma City bombings have we seen an exception to this rule.

So what should we do? More bombs in the Middle East? Declare war on another Arab nation? These actions have not worked very well so far. I suggest a Weapon more powerful than any that has been unleashed on any nation. I suggest we unload a Prayer Bomb.

Jesus commanded us to "pray to the Lord of the Harvest, that He send laborers into the harvest." The Bible tells us that if we ask anything according to God's will, He will do it. What better indication of God's will than praying as He has commanded us to? Every time a believer asks God to send more laborers into the harvest, it is done immediately. I pray this daily, and lead my church in praying it when we are together. Our one small church has used this promise to unleash thousands of laborers into the harvest. Imagine what would be happening if every church in America began to pray this prayer, regularly and fervently.

So what does this have to do with bombs? I believe that we at our church are bombarding the kingdom of the evil one with these prayers, which he sees as "weapons of mass destruction." Prayer hits the very foundations of Satan's kingdom. It crumbles the base on which he has built. It destroys his work.

In one way, I, as a Christian, am like these radical Muslims. I believe that there is one true God, and one true way to salvation. I believe that the Christianity that Jesus Himself brought to earth is the only way to God's favor, and that all other religions are wrong. I don't even accept Allah as a true god, but see him as an imposter.

My difference is in my response. I do not believe that it is my job to "kill the infidels." I think it is my joyous obligation to love them, to pray for them, and to ask the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into Allah's back yard with the truth of the Gospel.

Christ's coming put an end to the edge of the sword. True conversion is not brought about by intimidation or extermination. I desire no one's death, and wish that Osama bin Laden himself could find saving faith in Christ Jesus, the only way to God.

From my prayer closet, I am bombarding Teheran, Baghdad, Kabul, and Riyadh. I am dropping prayer bombs all over the Middle East that is cloaked in the darkness of deception. I'm also praying for Jerusalem, where Christ is excluded. I'm praying for Pyong Yang, for Calcutta, for Moscow, for Shanghai, and for Manila. I am an equal-opportunity bomber. I am dropping prayer bombs on New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami. I am also remembering small communities, and I have dropped bombs in my own neighborhood.

One well-said prayer, in accordance with God's will, can do infinitely more than bombs, bullets, or ballots. We need to bombard the strongholds of Satan in our world, whether it's on the other side of the world, or in our own backyard.

I invite you to Command Center. We pray at our church. Especially I invite you to Wednesday night, where we get specific. I drop bombs because I love people. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest. May His Gospel sweep over the dark places of this earth like a spiritual Tsunami, wrecking the foundations of evil and deception. Pray for the light of the Gospel to shine in these areas. It's a prayer with a guaranteed answer!

My Control of the Executive Branch

2009-09-21T20:31:00.000-05:00

I was disturbed -- in fact, distressed -- as I read my latest copy of the Baptist Standard today. It seems that some preacher is praying for the death of our president. He is praying publicly for him to develop a brain tumor and die. I am sometimes ashamed to be a member of the ministerial fraternity because of nuts like this one who claim to speak for all of us.

I am not in agreement with many of our president's policies and actions, and he is not the only one whose policies I have opposed. But there is a strong biblical injunction to pray for those who are in authority (and God was not talking about brain tumors). We are told in Romans 13 to respect those in authority over us. Peter told us to "fear God and honor the king."

But perhaps the strongest verse of all is in Proverbs 21:1. We are told that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, and like rivers of water, He turns it as He wishes. Kings, prime ministers, presidents, dictators -- they all have one thing in common: God has a grip on their hearts. They do nothing that surprises Him, and never catch Him off-guard.

I have access to that powerful Hand. Through intercessory prayer, I can touch the hearts of kings. I would humbly like to add that I have seen some prayers of mine apparently answered in the life and administration of our president already.

I will not join the multitudes that are preaching against him in their pulpits. I will not be a part of those who lash out and complain against him. I will certainly not be a part of the evil that masquerades as prayer when some uninformed and spiritually ignorant pastor calls for the death of the president.

Instead, I will continue to enter the throneroom of the King of Kings. I will claim my access to His mighty Hand, and I will petition Him to move the heart of our president, our congress and senate, our courts, and our elected officials all over this country.

And I will continue to see those prayers answered. Would anyone care to join me?

A Chance to Expand

2009-08-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

It's good to be able to share ideas. Some Sundays, the auditorium is full and at noon, I leave with frustration, thinking that I really did not have anything that special to give to the people who came. Then there are the Sundays when I'm excited about what I have discovered, and due to circumstances beyond my control, many cannot be here -- people that I wanted to share my ideas with and get feedback. This place -- Sermon Bytes -- is where I can post the things I'm most excited about, the things that I think God has given me to tell others. I'm leaving the comments tab open, and want to hear feedback.

Champion Baptist Church is a church of great heritage, and has survived rural West Texas conditions for over 100 years. We know we are here for a purpose, and welcome the opportunity to go world wide with our message.

I hope I say something to you that you find helpful. That's all this is for.

-- Bruce Parsons, pastor
Champion Baptist Church
Champion, Texas