Friday, January 15, 2010

Put Your Love Into Action

Introduction
Grace and Peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you a question, have you ever loved someone? I’m sure all of you have, your parents – maybe a friend or significant other. Didn’t you ever want to show your love for that person? Now, what would it look like if you wanted to show God your love for him?

A popular question to ask is, “what is a work,” in the Christian use of the term? Well, the answer is something you personally do for the Kingdom of God. Like when you did the rake-n-run, or when if you worked in a soup kitchen, or perhaps the 30 hour famine. Then you were doing a work. Through out the history of the church, the relation of works to faith in regards to salvation has raised many debates. I do not wish to bore you with the history of the debate. The essential argument is, “nothing you do earns salvation, it is by grace alone.” This is true, we are saved only through the grace of God, however, works plays a bigger role than some may want to admit.

Section 1 - Moses
After 400 years, a Pharaoh came to power who did not know. A Hebrew boy was born in the land of Egypt, as a matter of fact – to many were. Out of fear of loosing his empire and to end any fear of an uprising, the Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of the innocence. All infant boys were to be thrown into the Nile with the crocodiles. One mother refused to give up her son, she made a basket and placed him among the reeds of the Nile only to be found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. The boy Moses grew up as a son of the great Nation, and one day saw a soldier beating a Hebrew slave. Out of rage and caught up in the moment, Moses killed the soldier. His crime forces him to flee the country and embrace the life of a lowly shepherd.

For forty years he lived among the sheep and took for himself a wife named Zipporah, the daughter of the local priest. They have a simple life together – a burning bush changes all of that. When I read this story in Exodus 2 I imagine God as having a low, clearing, and soothing voice. When he speaks, the fire burns brighter. The command comes, remove your sandals for the place you are standing is holy ground. God asks Moses to return to his home land. So he goes baring a message from the God who is named Yahweh which means something like I am I be, “Let my people go,” and the anguish begins. Ramasees II of course does not take the message very well. In response, The Lord said to Moses I make you as God to Pharaoh. Moses sends the ten plagues starting with turning the river Nile into blood and ending with the slaughtering of the first born son. The cries of the people who lost a child fill the city. Pharaoh losing his son was more pain than he could bare and lets the Hebrew slaves leave Egypt.

A short time later Pharaoh looks around and realizes he just sent away all his workers to build up his empire. He takes 600 of his best chariots to chase down their slaves and return them to their chains. The Israelites scream out in horror to Moses “Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians. It would have been better to serve in Egypt then to die in the Wilderness.” I wonder what Moses thought at this point. He looks them all in the eye and says to them “stand by the sea and you will see the salvation of God.” Moses stretched out his hands and God pushed back the sea on either side with a powerful wind so the Israelites could cross on dry land. The chariots follow them on the bed rock of the sea so after all the Israelites reach dry ground Moses lowers his arms so the waters crush down on the soldiers and everything went still and silent. After all the work Moses does for his people he scales mount Sinai to talk with Yahweh. A month later he descended. His skin glowed from being with God, and the people saw the presence of the one called “I am”.

Section 2 - Elijah
About 600 years later a prophet named Elijah arose to play the role of conscience for the nation of Israel. He went here and there traveling through the now separated Israel and Judah. Ahab was a very bad King. He no longer followed Yahweh but instead worshiped an idol named Baal and directed his subjects and kingdom to follow suite. Elijah came upon a man named Obadiah who was a servant to the King of Israel. They were looking for water because of a famine in the land. Elijah tells Obadiah, “go to your master and tell him Elijah is here.”

Ahab finds Elijah and they have an exchange of words. Elijah sets up a competition to lay to rest who the real God of the land is. Ahab is to rally all the prophets of Baal and meet up on Mount Carmel where the altars are. The deal is, who ever can get their deity to send fire to burn the offering they have prepared than their God is the real God of the land. The Prophets of Baal go first, all 450 of them and an extra 400 prophets of Asherah. They gather their wood, then they cut the flesh from the sacrifice and prepare it to be offered up. They danced, chanted, and called out to Baal to send fire to burn the offering from dawn to noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. In fact Elijah began to make fun of them and taunt them. He laughed as they danced and did as they did. He told them to shout louder maybe he is asleep or on vacation. The Baal prophets thought they needed to do more to get Baal’s attention so they began to turn the knife on themselves and cutting their arms and legs to show their devotion. They shed their own blood but as before there was no response, nothing happened.

Well, Elijah had just about enough of this nonsense. He called all who were in attendance to him and he began to rebuild the Altar of the true Lord which previously laid in ruin. He took twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel and placed them together. He then took some logs and cut them down and placed them on the altar. He then prepared the meat, drained the blood, cut it up and placed that on the altar. He also dug a trench around the altar Then, Elijah told four people to take four large jugs of water and douse the altar with water. He asked them to do it again, and a third time. So much water was poured on the altar the trench was full of water and no dry spot remained. Finally, he prayed. He prayed, "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." Fire rained down from the heavens drying up all the water, burning up the sacrificial bull and the wood it laid on, and even consuming the twelve stones and earth around the altar. When all the people saw this, they laid face down and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"

Section 3 – Daniel
It so happens that eventually the kingdom of Israel was carried off into exile by the Assrians of the north, the southern kingdom of Judah was also defeated and taken into exile but by the Babylonians. The Babylonians were overrun by the mighty Persians. A king named Darius came to power over Babylon. Darius established 120 governors throughout Babylon to keep order and collect the tax. Over those 120 governors, he put in power three administrators to keep the governors accountable. One of those three administrators was the prophet Daniel from Judah. Daniel did such a great job that Darius considered giving all of Babylon to him to rule over. Well, the other administrators and governors didn’t like that, not one bit. They met secretly to try and find fault with Daniel’s governmental affairs but could not because he was so honest and trustworthy. Instead, they devised another method to usurp him. They knew he only worshiped the God of Israel and non other. The governors and administrators went to king Darius and told him that he should make an edict that for the next thirty days the people of his kingdom, which was most of the known world at this point, could only worship him and if anyone disobeyed they would be thrown into the lion’s den. Well of course the king of Persia thought this was a great plan.

The word traveled quickly throughout the land and messengers on horse back traveled from city to city. It outraged Daniel. He continued to pray three times a day in his upper room. The governors went to his home and found him praying to Yahweh so they carried him off to be dealt with by the king. This made Darius distressed for he greatly liked and cared for Daniel, he even tried to find a way to let Daniel go but the governors’ plan was sound and an edict of the king cannot be repealed or reneged. The order was given to cast him to the lions. Darius yelled down to Daniel, “may the God you serve continually rescue you.” They rolled a stone in front of the entrance and the King sealed with his ring. Through the night, the king refused entertainment, refused food, and tossed and turned in his bed. Day break came after a long night of waiting, and the king dashed to the den to see what might remain of his favorite administrator. He called down and said, Has the God you served continuously saved you from the lions? He replied, my God has sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. When he was brought up from the den no wound was found on his body because he trusted the Lord God. Consequently Darius threw Daniel’s accusers and their families into the den and they were all ripped to shreds before their bodies could hit the floor. To all the peoples of his kingdom, Darius wrote Fear and revere the God of Daniel, the true living God.

-(pause)-

Darius wrote Fear and revere the God of Daniel, the true living God.

-and-

they laid face down and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"

-and-

His skin glowed from being with God, and the people saw the presence of the one called “I am”.

Section 4 – James 2
What is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, Go in peace be warmed and be filled, and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if is has no works is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works’ show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” You believe that God is one. You do well’ the demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected” 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

This text shows us how our faith is to be carried out. In the beginning I asked what would it look like for you to show your love to someone? Moses showed his love for God by carrying a message and the people were freed. Elijah showed his love for God by being a conscience to an immoral society and it rained fire from the heavens. Daniel showed his love for God by being honest and trustworthy and it shut the mouths of lions. This is what their faith in works looked like.

Closing
Moses, Elijah, and Daniel all were great men of the Old testament and their stories will remain legend for all eternity. They all started from humble backgrounds and became heroes of the faith because they Loved God and did was he commanded. Out faith is tied to our love, if we do not act do we actually have it. Each story ended with what God wanted, to be known to his creation. None of these stories would have happened had they not acted on their faith, had they not put their love into action. So may you see that your faith is not merely words in a book but the footsteps of your life and actions of your body. Love God and Love people, this is the greatest commandment.

(Thesis)
Put your love for God into action and make him known to his creation.

Amen.

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