SPECIAL DAYS: Third Sunday in Advent

December 14, 2003, Lesson: Matthew 12.1-8

Sermon Title: Greater Than!

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INTRODUCTION:

  1. Bush 'same God' remark irks evangelicals (1)

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Conservative Christian leaders have criticized President Bush for declaring that he believes Christians and Muslims "worship the same God." In a news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, the president was asked about his views on the subject.

"I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person," the president responded. "I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world. Its much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same God."

Those words brought quick reaction from leaders of two prominent evangelical organizations. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention told Baptist Press that in his view Bush was mistaken. "We should always remember that he is commander in chief, not theologian in chief."

Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, agreed. "The Christian God encourages freedom, love, forgiveness, prosperity and health, while the Muslim God appears to value the opposite," Haggard said. "The personalities of each God are evident in the cultures, civilizations and dispositions of the peoples that serve them. Muhammad's central message was submission; Jesus' central message was love. They seem to be very different personalities. "-RNS

  1. Do we worship the same God?

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MAIN BODY:

  1. There is only one God

    1. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:4b-6:

4b...we know that "no idol in the world really exists," and that "there is no God but one." 5Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as in fact there are many gods and many lords--6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

    1. Again in Ephesians 4:4-6, he wrote:

4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

    1. So there is one God and everyone worships the one God.

      1. Then why are Richard Land and Ted Haggard critical.

      2. There may be only one God, but there are many perceptions and understandings of the one God.

      3. This is very evident in the discussion that is taking place between the Pharisee's and Jesus.

  1. In our lesson from Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

    1. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath."

    2. He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

      1. He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests.

      2. The original story is in 1 Samuel 21.1-6.

        1. David and his men were on a mission for the king.

        2. They are very hungry and in need of food.

        3. Ahimelech gave him the bread of the Presence which was replaced every day with fresh bread.

        4. The bread of the Presence which only the priests were to eat.

    3. Jesus presents another argument.

      1. Have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless?

      2. They do the necessary work offering the sacrifices.

    4. Then we get to the heart of the matter.

  2. I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

    1. Something greater than the law is here.

    2. This something we can define from the Advent lessons for today:

      1. Who or what is being described in Zephaniah 3:14-20

14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
        shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
        O daughter Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,
        he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
        you shall fear disaster no more.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
    Do not fear, O Zion;
        do not let your hands grow weak.
17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
        a warrior who gives victory;
    he will rejoice over you with gladness,
        he will renew you in his love;
    he will exult over you with loud singing
18     as on a day of festival.
    I will remove disaster from you,
        so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors
        at that time.
    And I will save the lame
        and gather the outcast,
    and I will change their shame into praise
        and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you home,
        at the time when I gather you;
    f or I will make you renowned and praised
        among all the peoples of the earth,
    when I restore your fortunes
        before your eyes, says the LORD.

        1. Does this describe greatness?

        2. Of whom is this passage speaking?

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      1. What does Isaiah 12:2-6 add?

2 Surely God is my salvation;
        I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might;
        he has become my salvation.
3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the LORD,
        call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
        proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
        let this be known in all the earth.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
        for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

        1. For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel?

        2. Who is the Holy One of Israel but the something greater than the temple is here.

      1. Philippians 4:4-7 encourages a joyful and exhilarating confidence in the One who can tame aggression and replace it with gentleness

4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

      1. In Luke 3:7-18, John the Baptist points to the one who was more powerful than he was, who would baptize with the Holy spirit and with fire.

16John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." 18So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

      1. He is in their midst but they refuse to acknowledge him.

      2. He is in their midst but they refuse to believe in him.

      3. He is in their midst but they refuse to follow him.

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    1. The Pharisees do not worship the God of Jesus Christ.

      1. They worship a God of rules and regulations.

      2. They worship a God of justice and stiff penalties.

    2. But if you had known what this means,

      1. 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,'

      2. If you had a shred of mercy you would not have condemned the guiltless.

      3. Or, you would have taken into consideration the extenuating circumstances.

In the summer of 1996, a 40-year-old firefighter named David Lemmon of Reisterstown, Maryland, got into trouble and was arrested.

It happened this way: On Monday morning, when he checked his sick daughter's temperature, he discovered it had climbed to 104.7 overnight.

Lemmon called the doctor's office, left a message that he was bringing his daughter in for an emergency visit and rushed off in the car.

A Baltimore County police officer clocked Lemmon driving 50 mph in a 25 mph zone and saw him running a stop sign.

When the officer's squad car lights began to flash, Lemmon kept going until he got to the doctor's office. "She was vomiting and choking on it, and all I was thinking was that I had to get her to a doctor," Lemmon said.

A police spokesman said that Lemmon then refused to show his license and registration outside the doctor's office, taking his daughter inside instead.

Accused of resisting arrest, Lemmon was escorted from the doctor's office to the parking lot, where he gave the officer his license and registration.

He then returned to the doctor's office to comfort his daughter and was arrested.

      1. Is there any difference between the experience of David Lemmon and the disciples of Jesus?

      2. No there is not.

    1. Not only that but this kind of application of law does not achieve the desired results that Jesus is seeking to teach.

    1. It may lead to continual dissatisfaction and repetition.

Glen Martin, Beyond the Rat Race (2) describes a conversation between an executive and the interviewer.

"I have found the road to success no easy matter," said a modern business executive to an interviewer.

"I started at the bottom. I worked 14 hours a day. I sweated. I fought. I maneuvered. I schemed. I took abuse. I did things others might not approve of. But I kept on climbing the ladder."

"And now, of course, you are a success?" prompted the interviewer.

"No, I wouldn't say that," replied the business executive.

"Just quote me as saying that I have become an expert at climbing ladders."

      1. He climbed the ladder.

      2. He is an expert at climbing ladders.

      3. Experts at law are in a similar situation.

    1. Another illustration is provided by Ross and Kathryn Petras, The 176 Stupidest Things Ever Done (3)

      1. It may also prove to be embarrassing

Rao was a Hindu yogi, a mystic who devoted his life to prayer and holy thought. And through his discipline, he was able to do remarkable things, it was rumored.

Finally Rao decided to let the people see him in action. In 1966, he announced that he was going to walk on water.

He sent out invitations to 600 of the cream of Bombay society, charging them as much as $100 a ticket.

And the people came, eager to see a miracle with their own eyes.

They weren't disappointed. Rao truly looked like a mystical vision. He stood on the side of a five-foot-deep pond, his beard flowing over his chest, his robes flowing to the ground.

He lowered his head in silent prayer, then lifted it. He was ready to walk on water.

The crowd leaned forward as he stepped forthrightly over the pond.

Then he sank.

    1. The Pharisees sank.

    2. If we are in their position, we sink.

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CONCLUSION

  1. We need the something that is greater than the church and the law.

    1. We need the power of the one who is greater.

    2. This is power that he is willing to share with us.

I may have told you this, if I have it is worth repeating.

I served as a chaplain at Norris Adolescent Center in Mukwonago conducting the 12 Step program of AA and leading spiritual groups.

All was going well, very well, indeed, until the center's leadership changed.

The first three of the twelve steps are:

      1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol- that our lives had become unmanageable.

      2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

      3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.

    1. The new director redefined God.

      1. God now became anything that you wanted god to be.

        1. God could be a tree.

        2. God could be a door knob.

      2. None of the things that were now defined a god were a Power greater than the self.

    2. I talked with this person at length, and with the cooperation and support of the director there was nothing to do but resign

  1. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath."

    1. The sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath.

    2. The law was made for man and not man for the law.

  2. We are not bound by laws, but by principles.

    1. The principles are love.

      1. The Pharisees act out of law.

      2. Jesus acts out of love.

    2. I thank Jesus Christ for his love and mercy and justice.

1. CHRISTIAN CENTURY December 13, 2003, p 14

2. Glen Martin, Beyond the Rat Race (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995), 53.

3. Ross and Kathryn Petras, The 176 Stupidest Things Ever Done (New York: Doubleday, 1996), 115.

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