Sermon on return from Phil.

Trip Report – Cebu, Philippines – 2011

Acts 17.16 - 34

          Thank you for the opportunity go on the Mission trip to Cebu City, Philippines, for the last 3 weeks. This is complex of cities for 3.5 million people, lots of dogs, and even more chickens. Thank you for your prayers – everything went well on the flights, and I am recovering pretty well from the jet lag. I stayed with Nigel and Loida Pyle, and their two kids – David – 16 and Melody – 14. Nigel was originally from New Zealand – his family was farmers who milked cows. He then moved to Australia near Perth where he was converted under the ministry of Leroy Randall. He came to Minnesota Bible College when I was teaching there and I got to meet him. He went to the Phil in about 1990 as a missionary. He worked at a Bible college there until 2001 when he helped start the Central Phil Bible College. They were very good hosts.

          This was a different trip than the Jamaica trips or any of the other mission trips I have been on. I did a lot of teaching on prayer and on the book of James, as well as preaching at different churches in Cebu City. They spoke English so my sermons did not have to be translated. I learned a lot about the Philippines and the religious life there and I am going to share some of that with you today. The city is big, crowded and the traffic is terrible. There are cars, trucks, jeepneys – van type thing that is used as buses – hundreds of them, and more motorcycles than you can count. All of these are crowded onto good sized streets, but way too many vehicles. Add to that people crossing the streets all the time. At night it is even more challenging to drive.

          The scripture that came to mind as I traveled around the city of Cebu was the one found in Acts 17 where the Apostle Paul was in Athens, Greece. As he walked around the city he came to this conclusion: Read with me Acts 17. 16-23. I want you to notice that the people were very religious, but they always were looking for something new and different. They even had a statue for the “unknown god.” They were not dumb – they did not to take a chance of missing and offending any god, so they had this special statue. Paul took the opportunity to proclaim to them the

God who is known, as he revealed himself to them and to us especially in Jesus Christ.

The Philippines as a country is 80% Roman Catholic, 5% Muslim, 10% Protestant, and mixture of other religions. One morning the Pyles took me to the main Cathedral in the city – Santa Nino – in which is a statue of the baby Jesus that has been in the church since the 1600s. (Show the statue)  There were long lines even during the week, for the chance to stand before it. They say it has the power to heal and grant requests. Outside there was a huge open air plaza for huge masses that are said there on special occasions. There was a place to light candles – there could be 1000s of candles lit at one time. This was just one of a number of very large Catholic churches in Cebu. They also honor the Virgin Mary calling her the mother of God instead of the mother of Jesus – she is honored as equal with the God Jesus.

          The same afternoon, we went next door from the Bible College to use the recreational area of a Buddhist temple. (Show the statue) The students from the college used the basketball and volleyball courts. I explored the temple and the monastery areas. It was very interesting. There were other temples – Buddhist and Taoist temples. There was a church group called the Church of Christ which does not believe in the deity of Christ – it is sort of like the Mormon Church here, but different. It has thousands of members and is really politically active. As we drove around the city we saw all kinds of different churches – store front churches and other kinds. There was also a Muslim mosque in Cebu, but they are more prevalent in the southern island of Mindanao.  Cebu is a very religious city. Yet on Sunday there were few people in the big churches.

          Nigel, Loida, and another couple started the Central Phil. Bible College and City Church 10 years ago with the purpose of reaching the city for the Lord. At the time there was just one Church of Christ in the city of 3.5 million people.  In the 10 yrs since, they have helped start 5 churches in various parts of the city. I visited 4 of them. The graduates of the Bible College go into a neighborhood and start a church. They usually rent a house until they can afford to by a property. These are small places – about the size of our foyer – but there are a lot of people close to the church building that they can reach. One place was in an area of shops down a small street – too small for cars. We walked about a half a block to the building. 6 or 8 of the members were meeting for a Bible study – this is in a poor area and only two of them spoke much English – they speak Cebuano. But they were very friendly to us.

          This is something I was really impressed with there, as I have been as I traveled to other places on mission trips – these are brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what the color of their skin or their language. They love the Lord and are trying as hard as they can to win others to him. At the worship services the elders read the same scriptures we do for communion and they have grape juice and wafers. Since they are so far to the East, they are some of the first ones on a Sunday to worship and partake of the Lord’s Supper. Then Chrs all around the world partake. Finally a half a day later we gather to worship and partake together.

          I got to meet the two students I have supported at the college. I give $50 a month for their room, board and tuition. For 2 yrs I paid for the education of John Paul. He graduated two yrs ago and is now a youth minister in Davao – he also teaches at a private high school there and leads a basketball ministry. It was fun to meet him. The other student I am supporting is a young man named Roy. He was abandoned at age 7 and spent a few years on the streets. A minister took him in and he became a Chr. He is a second yr student and is an excellent guitar player. He loves the Lord and is studying hard to become a minister. For just $50 a month I think that is a real bargain and well worth it – if you would like to adopt a student – talk to me.

          During the first week I taught them the ACTS prayer material in detail. The last time they were in the US I gave Nigel a copy of the prayer material and he has been using it there. On that Saturday morning all the students and faculty members participated in a 3 hour or so, prayer and fasting time using the ACTS prayer material (6-9 AM). That was a good experience for them and me. They were eager to learn and then used the prayer information in their lives.

          I also taught them the book of James – the Bible study I taught here at the Wed. morning Bible study. They listened and asked good questions. One of the things I learned about the Pilipino students is that they do not like to read books. I really pushed them to read so they would have something to share with others in the churches where they served.

          In Acts 17 Paul finishes his message to the people of Athens with these words: read Acts 17. 29-34. The message of Jesus Christ and his resurrection needs to be preached because there are still lots of people even in a religious nation that need to know Jesus as their personal Savior. That is what our brothers and sisters in Christ are doing in Cebu. I think God used me to encourage them in their work, and I was encouraged in the process. Again thank you for letting me go and for praying for me while I was there.

         

Philippines trip

Pastor DeFor returns from the Philippines

          Thank you for praying for me on my recent mission trip to Cebu City, Philippines. All the flights went well and the whole trip was very good. It was very hot and muggy for me coming from our climate.

          I taught and preached at the Central Philippines Bible College in Cebu. The college is ten years old and I helped them celebrate with a weeklong conference which brought together former and present students. It was great to be with students eager to learn. They loved to sing and praise God.

          One thing I thought about was the church all over the world worshiping God all day on every Sunday. Cebu is 14 hours ahead of Austin so we came together there early to participate in worship and the Lord’s Supper. The Philippines is one of the first places in the world to start their Sunday services. After them, brothers and sisters in Christ in succession in China, India, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and then South and North America come together to worship God – sometimes with the same songs and certainly the same scriptures. We are part of a vast family of believers all over the world – something we sometimes forget being here is the US.

           Cebu is part of a complex of cities of 3.5 million people, and when we were driving from place to place it seemed like all of them were on the streets. There were cars, trucks, hundreds of motorcycle, and Jeepneys – a van like vehicle that the people ride in. Add to this people crossing the streets all the time and driving or riding in a car was an adventure. The city had a lot of churches of different kinds – from large cathedrals to many storefront churches, Buddhist and Taoist temples, and I saw one Mosque. They are definitely a very religious people.

          One of the things I had fun with was giving out nickels. I brought 100 nickels with me, and give them out and asked the people to pray for the kids in the US when they saw it. They were eager to do that. I brought back about 100 pesos and am giving them out here, asking the people to pray for the children in the Philippines. People here have been just as willing to do that.

          It was a tiring but fulfilling trip. Thanks again for your pray

Sermon for 10/23

I HAVE FOUGHT THE FIGHT

^{2Ti 4:5} But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

^{2Ti 4:6} For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.

^{2Ti 4:7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  ^{2Ti 4:8} Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

          As we get older, we begin to think about our lives – what have I accomplished in this life – how have I spent my years? Psychologists say all of us get to a point in our lives where we evaluate our lives – looking back to assess how we have spent our lives. Sometimes we are too negative in doing this and fall into despair according to some. As we look at our lives we can also see that we have indeed served the Lord and have integrity.

The Apostle Paul is my hero – my model, my example in the Chr live. In the NT we have an account of his life from when he was young and fiery, until he was older and ready to go to meet the Lord. We are going to look this morning at what he said about the end of his life. In 2 Timothy 4.5-8 Paul is writing to his younger friend Timothy about his work for the Lord. Read with me what he says. Read 2 Tim. 4.5-8.

First, Paul had a sense of purpose in life. In Acts 9 we read about Saul/Paul being converted. He was a committed Jewish leader who wanted to destroy this new religion which was preaching about a risen Jesus Christ. He was going to the city of Damascus to arrest the Chrs there when Jesus appeared to him and called him to be an evangelist for him. From the very beginning Paul knew what he was supposed to do – preach and teach about the love of Jesus Christ and salvation through his name. Paul spent the rest of his life knowing his purpose and doing it.

       Our faith in Jesus Christ gives us purpose in life. All of us have a reason to live because of Jesus. Some of us serve by cleaning the church; others by teaching Bible school; others by praying for others; some by leading Thursday night alive; many by serving your families; some by helping our neighbors. The list could go on and on, but I believe all of us have a purpose – a God given reason to live. We have a sense of purpose in our lives.

          In the passage Paul also knows that he has a sense of accomplishment. He wrote that he had fought the fight, he had finished the race, and he had kept the faith. The Chr life is a fight or a war according to Paul. We need to recognize that we all are in a life and death battle against satan. He is a like a lion looking for every opportunity he can to destroy us. Many do not even see that they are in a battle for their soul. We are to resist the devil and he will flee from us.

          The Chr life is also a race. Maybe Paul was in a town where they something like the Olympic Games and he saw the races that took place. The runners would line up and run the race and the crowd would cheer. The race he is talking about here is not a 100 yd dash, but a marathon. In 100 yd dash today the runners are done in 10 seconds or so. The Chr life is a marathon. Years ago I ran marathon races (26.2 miles) and a lot of shorter races. I started 15 marathons and finished 14. I ran Grandma’s marathon from Two Harbor to Duluth a number of times. We would start at 7.30 in the morning and if I had a good race, I would finish running before 11. They were tiring but it was a great accomplishment to finish the race. We are called to run your race for the Lord – day after day for his glory.

          The Chr life is about keeping the faith. Paul loved Jesus Christ with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. He believed that Jesus had lived, died, and then arose from the dead to ascend to heaven to live with God forever there. In the life of Paul, all of these things he believed were challenged by those who did not believe them. Paul is probably the greatest defender of the Chr faith who ever lived. Jesus lived his life and taught us what we needed to do, and then Paul took those teachings and told us how to live them.

          We need to keep our faith in Jesus Christ. I know many people who made a commitment to Jesus Christ when they were teenagers, but have not been servants of the Lord for years. I know others who served God in their adult lives, but then for whatever reason, just stopped serving him. Still others may have lived for him into their later years, but then fell away from God. We need to be faithful to God all of our lives. God is faithful to us all of our lives and into eternity. In our lives we have a sense of accomplishment.

          Finally, Paul speaks of a sense of assurance. Listen again to what he says in verse 18. Read. He knew that what God promised through Jesus Christ, he would carry out. Jesus promised eternal life with him for all of his servants. Paul was looking forward to the crown of righteousness that he would get from the hand of God at the end of his life. Maybe Paul was thinking again about the races he had seen. At the end of the race, the winner was given a crown of flowers or leaves as his prize. When I finished a marathon, I got T-shirt and a medal usually. A million times more valuable than that will the crown of righteousness that we get from the Lord at the end of our lives.

          Notice too that is crown will be awarded by the Lord to him and to all others who are looking forward to the return of the Lord. Sometimes we think – sure Paul will get his crown – he was the best Chr ever and served the Lord so faithfully. But not me – I am a sinner; I fail too often to do what the Lord wants. We even get the idea that maybe we will get disqualified from heaven just at the last minute. If I have an evil thought and then step out on the street and get run over by a car, I will miss out on heaven. We think that we have not done enough to earn our way into heaven, so we will not be welcomed there. I am sure that none of us here today will ever earn our way into heaven – none of us. We are saved only by the grace of God, and his grace alone. We have the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ.

          There is one more passage of scripture written by Paul tells us what we need to do with our lives. Listen to Phil. 3.12-14. ¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

          Paul knew that in his Chr life, he must continue serving the Lord no matter what. He did not rest on his past accomplishments, thinking that he had done enough for the Lord. He knew that there was a crown of righteousness promised for him by the Lord, but he was not done on earth. He was not made perfect by God yet, but he would press on to that goal. Do you hear the eagerness and determination in these verses written by Paul? With all his strength he would keep on keeping on. With all the power that came from the Holy Spirit he would press on the goal, so that at the end of his life, he would win the absolutely unbelievable prize of eternal life with the Lord. At the end of his race on earth he would not just have a crown, but eternal life with the Lord.

God calls us heavenward; God calls us to life with him forever in heaven. No matter what age we are, we cannot stop serving the Lord. Do not let anything keep you from the vision of heaven with the Lord forever. Pray for me that I will never let anything keep me from the serving the Lord. I will do everything I can to help you to press on to the goal of winning the prize for which God had called us heavenward in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Come to the Lord.

Keep on serving him.

Gen.5 walking with God

Genesis 5 – The Ultimate Senior Citizen Chapter

          We are starting a series of sermons about Senior Citizen in the Bible and in our town. Mower County has one of the highest rates of retired men and women in the state. All you have to do is go to the grocery store to see how many SrCs we have here in Austin. They provide this county with some great people and wonderful models to live by. There are many who have church homes but many still needed to have a relationship with Christ and a place to worship.  Some people don’t mind being SrCs but others don’t like it. (Are you a SrC too?)

In Genesis 5 we have the listing of the line of Adam and Eve. In our day, if a person lives to be over 100, they are really old. Listen to the ages of the men when they died as listed in this chapter – Adam was 930; Seth was 912; Enosh was 905; Kenan was 910; Mahalalel was only 895; Jared was 962; Enoch was really young – only 365; Methuselah was the oldest at 969; Lamech was 777 years old. This is definitely the ultimate SrC chapter in the Bible.

          Let me say a little about the ages in this chapter. Many people have questioned the numbers listed in Genesis 5. How could anyone live to be 969 years old? What would the person look like at that age if they aged the way we do? Can you imagine the wrinkles that person would have? Men’s ears get bigger as we age – they would be hanging down to our waist by that time. Can you imagine how bad our knees would hurt by the age of 900? Some have suggested that the years are really months or maybe 1/10 of what we would have.  So Mahalalel was not 895 but maybe 89 when he died. But that would mean that he would have born a son at age 6.5 years old. I believe the numbers are accurate, but the atmosphere in the world before the Flood was different and plants and animals aged differently then. It might have been like a greenhouse where everything was protected from the sunlight so we aged differently.

          I want to look at just 3 of these men this morning – the last three in the chapter. Methuselah is the man who lived the longest on this earth – 969 yrs old - when he died. In our day he would have been of Social Security for over 900 yrs. All we know about him was that his father was Enoch; his first son was born when he was 187, that he had other sons and daughters, and that he died. That is not much information for that many yrs. We assume he was a farmer or a herdsman, and he may have been very good at it, but we do not know. Methuselah is like a lot of people who live and die and not much is known about him. He might have accomplished many things during his life, but we don’t know. There is a poem I use at some funerals called, The Dash – it refers to the dash between the date of birth and the date of death on a tombstone. All of the person’s life is represented by that little “dash” - certainly there was more to his life.

          Next let us look at Lamech. We know more about him than we do his father. The picture we have is a vicious man. In Genesis 4 we hear him bragging to his two wives: ^{Ge 4:23} Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. ^{Ge 4:24} If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.” Lamech was probably more like the other men of his time – arrogant and violent. This is the generation and time that was so evil that God was sorry he had made men and eventually wiped them out with the flood at the time of Noah. Lamech acted like the gangsters in the movies who would kill another person without a second thought.

          There is a second short passage that quotes him – found in Gen.5.29 where is says this: ^{Ge 5:28} When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. ^{Ge 5:29} He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” To Lamech God was the cause of all the problems of the earth. God cursed the ground because of the sin of Adam and Eve, but Lamech did not see that. He was a wickedness man probably for his whole life – 777 years. Are there SrCs like that?

          Now we come to Enoch. The main phrase that characterizes this man is “Enoch walked with God.” Read Gen. 5.21-24. (With the death of Fern Everson last week – I said over and over – she walked with God day by day.) At first we might feel sorry for Enoch since he only lived 365 yrs. He was a young man compared with all his relatives. He had a wonderful quality of life rather than quantity. Again we do not know what Enoch did – whether he was a farmer or what. We know he lived in the midst of a wicked people - listen to what God said: Genesis 6.5 “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ^{Ge 6:6} The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ^{Ge 6:7} So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”  That sounds like people in our age – some people. Can you imagine living in your whole life in that kind of atmosphere? Instead of wanting to do good for others, everyone is trying to hurt you. We are used to living in a fairly Chr world – but there are places where evil is the typical. (In most places in our world you just don’t lock your doors, you have bars on the windows.)

          Yet somehow Enoch was different from the rest – he walked with God. This reminds me of Adam and Eve in Gen.3 where it says God walked in the Garden in the cool of the evening, and they walked with him, talked with him and received his love directly. Enoch must have done the same. Why did he walk with God and not the rest of the people? I know that God sought people then and he does now. The big issue is our receptivity to God. It is like God is a TV station broadcasting on channel 4, but most people do not tune into that channel. God always has and does now want a personal, intimate relationship with people. I don’t know why – we seldom are very good company – we always fail him and break the bond between us. Enoch listened to God and walked with him.

Walking with God for Enoch was difficult for a number of reasons. Nobody else it seems was listening to God. In fact I am sure he was mocked and made fun of for his faith in God. No doubt the rest of the people had invented their own gods by this time, idols and images. But Enoch worshiped the one true God in spirit and in truth directly. He had purpose and fulfillment in life – Augustine said there is a God-shaped hole in our heart that only God can fill. Enoch found God and his heart was filled completely. I am sure he tried to share his faith in God with others, but they did not listen, none of them.

          Remember this was centuries before the Law of Moses, before the Temple, and before the sacrificial system. Enoch had no scriptures to read – we have both the OT and NT to encourage us in our Chr life – he had none. There were probably the stories about Adam and Eve, and all the others and how this God had work with them. Maybe these sustained him some.

Mostly I believe it was God reaching out to Enoch and drawing him to his side day after day. Listen to what is written about Enoch in Hebrews 11.5 &6:  “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” The passage say God rewarded him – he was no more because God took him away – directly to heaven so their fellowship could continue for eternity.

          What about us today? What does it mean to walk with God? Am I doing that – are we walking daily with him? That is what Christianity is – daily walking by faith with the Almighty God, the loving God. As Chrs he takes our hand or puts his arm around us and we walk. We feel his love and forgiveness because of Jesus Christ. He comforts us and challenges us – always helping us to be obedient to him in all of our life. There is nothing that could be more wonderful in the whole world than walking with God day after day. None of us are good enough to be taken directly to heaven like Enoch, but we have the best possible life walking with God.

           

           

Fern Everson

I just got a call that Fern Everson died this morning. She was the sweetest lady ever. She taught all the kids at church for over 50 years and baked cookies for people all over town. She will be missed. I do not know when the memorial service will be yet. A saint went to be with the Lord after a life well lived for Him. Steve.

Sermon for 8/28

Two Seniors Citizens meet Jesus

Luke 2.21-40

          All through the Bible there are people who loved and served God but we know little about them. We know about Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses and many others. In the time of Moses there were thousands of Jews some of whom I believe were fully committed to the Lord. We do not know about them since the Bible could not contain all the stories about all these people. At the time of the birth of Jesus we know about Zachariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptizer. This couple were committed to God and he rewarded by giving them a son in their old age – the joy of their lives – a strange but wonderful young man who prepared the way for the Messiah. There are two other senior citizens at this same time who were as committed to God as any of the famous people of their time. Let us look at them and learn from them.

          In Luke chapter two we see that Mary and Joseph had gone to Jerusalem from Bethlehem to present him to the Lord at the temple.  Every firstborn male was dedicated to the Lord and a sacrifice of two doves was made for him. These new parents were faithful to God in doing what the law required. They did not know, but this would be a surprising and wonderful day for them.

          Read Luke 2.25-26. There could be a more complimentary description of any man. We know little about Simeon except what is written here. At first I thought he must be a retired man from Jerusalem but the people back then did not retire. He might have been a butcher, baker or a candlestick maker or maybe a priest at the temple at one time. We do know he was an absolutely committed to God. He was righteous in his lifestyle and devoted to God completely. These are characteristics that all of us should want in our own lives. They do not come as we passively sit back and do nothing. Simeon was also looking for the fulfillment of the promise of God to send the Messiah to the people of Israel. I don’t know if all the people in Israel were looking forward to the coming Messiah, this man was.

          An amazing thing is recorded about Simenon here – The passage says the Holy Spirit was upon him. As Chrs we know the Holy Spirit is upon us, but Simeon was alive before Christianity was established. (He was a pre-Chr charismatic.) There were few if any in his days, who were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before he saw the Lord’s Christ or the Messiah. What an honor that was for him, and maybe that was because he was so devoted to God. We are not necessarily rewarded like this for our commitment to God, but sometimes God gives these special gifts. (I wonder if he had ever told anyone about this. He could have gone around bragging about this revelation, but I think he just quietly waited, prayed and worshiped God.) (There are many people who think they have a revelation of God about living until the Lord returns a second time. I wonder if that is true.)

          Read with me vss. 27 – 32. The Holy Spirit moved him to go to the temple that day and there he saw a poor couple holding a new-born baby. He rushed up and took the child in his arms and was overcome with joy as he praised God. The Sovereign Lord had fulfilled his promise of the Messiah in this tiny, fragile, baby. Here is the Messiah, the source of salvation for all people, for the Gentiles and for the Jews. The promise God made to the Jewish people centuries before was fulfilled that day and the blessing would not be just for the Jews, but for us, the Gentiles of the world. Do you see this? The one thing that gave Simeon his purpose in life – the promise of seeing the Messiah – was fulfilled completely. He could die now knowing that God had been faithful and truthful to him – he had held in his own arms the Messiah – Jesus Christ, the Lord God himself. (I wonder if he was surprised by this Messiah being a newborn baby instead of a man.)

There was one more message Simeon had for Mary and Joseph – read vss. 34-35. They were told this little baby would cause a tremendous change in the Jewish nation. Some would be lifted up to God by him, and others would turn away from God because of his teachings and his death on the cross. Even this couple would be pierced with a sword – figuratively – by this wonderful child.

As they were standing there marveling at what Simeon had said, another senior citizen came up to them and startled them – this was a lady named Anna. Read vss. 36-38. Again we do not know anything else about this wonderful lady than what we have here. She was very old – 7 years married and 84 years a widow – she must have been 110 or so. That is very old when people had a life expectance of 40 or so. This lady it says never left the temple – she lived there – she was homeless in a sense, but she lived in the best possible place – the house of God. Anna worshiped God night and day, fasting and praying. She is the first nun if you will, living not in a convent, but in the temple in Jerusalem. She was a holy lady who loved God with all her heart. She was a prophetess and there had not been prophets or prophetesses in Israel for a long time. As a prophetess she foretold the future and preached to the people, telling them what the Lord wanted from them in their lives.

Anna I think took the baby Jesus in her arms and praised God, thanking him for sending the promised Messiah. Can you see the scene? The worshipers in the temple were walking around in the temple area as they had done every time they came to the temple. But on this day first Simeon and now Anna was praising God because of Jesus. He was proclaimed as the one who would provide salvation and redemption for all people in the world. I do not think many really knew what was going on here. This was the beginning of the movement of God to start Christianity, the means of salvation for all. Her life was fulfilled – she had seen and held the promised one of God, the Messiah.

What do we learn from these two senior citizens?  First, we learn how to live – the greatest lifestyle is to live for the Lord. They were both righteous and devout believers, living for God. They were also knew God intimately.

He was the center of their lives, and he needs to be the center of our lives. Anna worshiped God day and night, fasting and praying.

These two knew the love and faithfulness of God, and they knew it for a long time. At camp a couple of weeks ago, I preached in chapel about the love has for kids. In the sermon I said I was older than anyone at camp and a lot older than most of them. That meant I had felt the love and faithfulness of God longer than anyone else there.

In their old age, God at times blessed with a very special holy gift – they got to see the Messiah, and hold him. In the midst of our struggles with pain as we get older, God blesses us with his presence, his love, and the absolute hope of eternal life when we will not only see the Messiah, but live with him forever. 

This morning we invite you to come and give yourself to the Lord.

Pictures from Eagle Center

July 4^th, 2011 – If my people…

^{2Ch 7:14} if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

          On the 4^th of July this country celebrates the Declaration of Independence, declaring our independence from England. The 13 colonies had been the possession of England and found that the way they were being treated was intolerable. The Parliament in London made laws for the colonies without even asking the people here what they wanted. There were taxes imposed to control what the people bought and who they bought them from. A Continental Congress was called to see if the 13 colonies could agree to work together to get their freedom from England.

          On July 4^th, 1776 the men who were meeting prayed and then voted to sign this Declaration of Independence. The British did not want to lose the colonies so they sent the best soldiers they had to put down the rebellion of Americans. The war that resulted was fought for many years – a rag-tag army lead by General George Washington against the best army and navy in the world. The British were the best trained and the best equipped military men in the world. The Americans defeated them, by the grace of God – almost miraculously and the colonies won their freedom for themselves and for us.

          The new nation was formed with a new constitution and new way of governing. All the nations of Europe had kings or queens ruling them, and many wanted George Washington to be our king. He refused, was elected President and served two terms – he could have been elected to more terms, but refused to run again – a brilliant move. Our government was of the people and for the people.

          Out of this beginning, a very different nation was formed. There were 13 independent colonies that could have formed 13 countries, but instead became one nation, united with one central government, one language, on currency eventually, and one unique vision for the new nation. Many states formed one nation.

Many people from different counties and nations formed on people – Americans. (I was told by my 3^rd grade teacher to find out what nationality I was – I asked my Dad – he said you tell that teacher we are Americans. I told her that – she said I needed to find out if I were English or Danish or what. My Dad told me to go back and tell the teacher we were 100% American.) We Americans are a different people – maybe too proud and loud, but we get things done and have for our whole history.

          Americans are different in our religions also. All the states of Europe had a state religion – the state paid the ministers and for the churches (if there were offerings they were only for special purposes) . Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany were all Lutheran states. France, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal were Roman Catholic countries. England was the Church of England or Anglican. In the century after the US was formed, all churches were not state supported and really all kinds of religions were tolerated. In our day we are the most open country to all religions, sometime I think too open, but I am glad we are. We are unique in our view of religion.

          Today we have a lot of problems in our country – we could spend the rest of today and all of the 4^th of July talking about them. We are in an economic crisis – and there is enough blame to go around for both political parties in the nation and the state. We have a moral crisis – we have been told for two generations that there are no absolutes and no right or wrong, so we should not be surprised that our prisons and jails are stuffed full of people who break the laws. This crisis is in individual morality, corporate morality, business morality, and governmental morality. We have a crisis in our housing industry – falling home prices and massive foreclosures and bankruptcy. We have a crisis in families – high divorce rates, huge numbers of single mothers, very high rates of unwed mothers having children, and kids who are not getting the love and discipline they need.

          What do we need to do? Let’s look at the passage of scripture I read at the beginning. Read again – 2 Chr. 7.14. The Jewish people were dedicating the newly finished temple in Jerusalem. They had built this magnificent temple with gold and silver all over it. They had sacrificed thousands of animals in the dedication. Then God spoke to them. He began by saying, If. The people had a choice to do what their God is telling them to do. God does not force us to do his will. If my people who are called by my name – we are his people today and we are called by his name.  Do you understand that? He is saying if all my people, my Chrs, will do these 4 things, God will bless us.

1.     We must humble ourselves – pride is the enemy of God – thinking too much of ourselves or thinking what we have is because we deserve it or are responsible for it. Israel thought that the land they had and the beautiful temple they had, were because of their own effort. We need to recognize God is the source of all we have and will ever have.

2.     We must pray – prayer is always to the creator, all-powerful God. We should not pray for more prosperity – we have enough of that and too often, more money and things lead us away from God rather than to him. We need to pray for a return to God’s morality, God’s values and God’s vision of what this country should be.

3.     We must seek his face – That is to seek God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. What good are a rich country, with expensive cars and big houses with lots of stuff, and no relationship with the loving God? We have fewer people going to church in this country than we had just 10 years ago. We have a generation or two who do not know God and salvation in him. I think also that we have a lot of people who go to church but do not really seek his face – his heart – his loving hands.

4.     Last we need turn from our wicked ways. It is hard for us to see how much evil we tolerate in this country. I was watching the Archie Bunker show for a while the other night. I remember when that started the furor about how bad that was show was. Now that is mild compared with all the things we Americans and even Chrs watch every day and night. We cannot make our non-Chr culture follow God ways, but we sure can and better turn from our wicked ways.

5.     Then God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal our land so we can be used for his glory again. God will heal his churches first, and this uniquely special land, for his glory.

Father’s Day 2011 – Fight the fight 2 Timothy 4.7-8

         

^{2Ti 4:7} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

^{2Ti 4:8} Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

          Men – What kind of movies do you like to watch? If I would list my favorite movies of all times most of them would be like Patton, Midway, and Brave heart.

I have watched Midway may times – it is the story of the battle around Midway Island during WWII. The aircraft carriers of the US met the aircraft carriers of Japan. Both sent out planes to find the other. By luck I guess, the US planes found and sunk 3 or 4 of the Japanese aircraft carriers in just a short time, while suffering minor losses in ships and men. It is a 3+ hour movie.

          Why do I like the movie and others like it? It is the pride I have in the US military; at the men how were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect our country; and the bravery of these men. They were warriors fighting an enemy for their own protection and the well-being of their families and country. Men especially like that.

          This morning I am going to talk about a war or a fight all men (and women) are in every day, and one that at times we do not even know we are fighting. This is a different kind of war. It is an all out battle with satan for your life – your life here on earth and your eternal life. The best way to fight an enemy is to know the enemy we are fighting – to be able to see the one we are fighting. We cannot see the devil as such, but we can see the awful work that he does in our world. He indeed is a dangerous enemy. Satan is the original terrorist enemy doing whatever he can wherever he can to destroy us and our families.

1 Peter 5.8 says this:  ^5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ^5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

This enemy we have wants to devour us – attack us, kill us and then tear us to pieces. He wants to destroy your life and everything that is important to you. He wants to tear up our families and devastate our children. He wants to make us miserable – taking away our money and homes and whatever else he can. He wants to destroy this church and everyone in it. He wants us to take away all our joy and happiness in this life. Ultimately the devil wants to keep us from going to heaven and living forever with our heavenly Father. Other than those things, he is a pretty nice guy. Do you understand what your enemy wants to do to you and all that you love and see as important to you? (As I wrote this I could not help but think that these are the very things Alkida and the radical Muslims want to take away from us too.)

What are we to do about the attacks of the devil? In the passage from 1 Peter 5.8 it says we are to resist him and he will flee from us. Read again. Whenever you and I feel him pushing against us, we need to resist him by standing firm in our faith in God.  God is the one who gives us the strength to fight the attacks of the evil one. Some teachers give us the idea that all we have to do is let God fight for us, but this passage says we have a responsibility to resist satan ourselves. Stand up to him. Call him by name – Jesus said, get behind me satan. Tell him, I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and want nothing to do with you. Stay away from me. This is the phrase I have been using – I love you my God. Please help me fight this temptation. The passage also says that brothers and sisters all over the world are being attacked by this evil one also – we need to stand together with them in resisting the devil.

Do you ever feel like satan’s full-time job is attacking you? Some days I think that is true of me. Right from the beginning of the day, he is after me about something. This temptation comes to mind, and I resist that one, but pretty soon something else comes to mind. I get into a funk and think the burdens of life are too much. Poor me. There is not enough money in my account. I don’t feel good or something else. That is when I have to stop and tell the devil to bug off. What do I say? I love you my God. Please help me fight this temptation. There is a story about the great Martin Luther in his study working on translating the Bible into the German language. He felt the attacks of the devil so vividly he picked up the ink pot and threw it at the devil.

Toward the end of his life the apostle Paul could say this: read 2 Tim. 4.7-8.

I have fought the fight – he is saying day after day he fought the fight against the evil one and won because of Jesus Christ. He says he ran the race – he is not talking about a 100 yd dash here, but a marathon race. I used to run marathons – that is a race of 26.2 miles – from here to Albert Lea and half way back. I started 15 of those races and finished 14. It was actually fun to train for the races and run them – finishing was quite an accomplishment. The winners of the race (who finished an hour or more before I finished) won money for running the race. I got a T-shirt and sore feet and muscles.

          Running the race of life is not just a short sprint, but a life-long race for the Lord. That is part of the problem: the race just keeps going on and on. We are victorious today and tomorrow he comes again to attack us. Remember though before he comes, the Lord is there with us. We ask day after day for the Spirit of God to fill us and he does.

          The rest of the passage says that if we fight the fight and run the race, there is a reward for us – the crown of life – eternal life with the Lord himself. That is the goal we all are aiming at, like I talked about last week. The reward of heaven is what drives us on. Yesterday was Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth – 26.2 miles starting in Two Harbors, MN. I ran that 7 times, I think. This is a unique marathon in that you can see the finish for the last 20 miles or so. The race ends at the foot of the lift bridge in Duluth and you can see that from a long way off. See the end, the goal, helps us going on toward the goal. Heaven is our goal – we need to keep our eyes on that and live today in light of living eternally with the Lord.

          Today is Father’s Day, a day to remember our dad and what they did for us or are doing for us. I believe dads are under a severe attack by the devil today. If he can get to the father, he can destroy the family. We need to pray for our fathers here in the congregation to help keep them safe. Also, I believe we dads have a special extremely important job to do with our families. We need to pray for each of them constantly that they will be ready for the battle each day to resist the evil one. Remember : I love you my God. Please help me fight this temptation.

Lesson on satan

1.     He is the father of lies – John 8.44

2.     Causes spiritual blindness – 2 Cor.4.4

3.     Deceiver of the whole world – Rev. 12.9

4.     Can be angle of light – 2 Cor. 11.14

5.     Prince of this world – John 12.31 & Eph. 6.12

6.     Defeated foe – 1John 3.8

7.     Destiny – Matthew 25.41

Fight against satan

1.     Resist the devil – 1 Peter 5.8

2.     Limit to temptation  - 1 Cor.10.13

3.     Do not fall into temptation – Mark 14.37 – 38